Baba Yaga

A girl lived with her father, stepmother, and sister. She loved spinning and dreamed of learning forest crafts. Her father took her to visit Baba Yaga, who…

A girl lived with her father, stepmother, and sister. She loved spinning and dreamed of learning forest crafts. Her father took her to visit Baba Yaga, who lived in a hut on chicken legs. “Little hut, turn your porch toward us!” he asked. The house stepped around, turned, and the girl went inside.

Baba Yaga told her to spin a whole basket of wool, light the stove, and prepare the bathhouse. The girl did not know where to begin. Mice ran out from under the bench, and the guest treated them to some porridge. The mice showed her how to put a thread on each spindle and brought dry kindling themselves. By evening, everything was ready.

The next day, Baba Yaga asked her to dye the yarn with bark and berries, arrange it by color, and gather mushrooms. The girl shared her breakfast with the mice again, and they helped lay out the skeins. That evening, the forest craftswoman praised her patience and her care for her little helpers. She gave her apprentice a shirt embroidered with forest flowers and a basket of colorful balls of yarn.

The following day, the second sister came to the hut. After seeing the gifts, she too wanted to become Baba Yaga’s apprentice, but she decided that she deserved a reward without making an effort. When the mice asked for porridge, the girl replied that she had to receive a gift first. By evening, the yarn was tangled, and the stove had still not been lit.

Baba Yaga did not become angry. She sat beside her guest, untangled the yarn with her, and explained that generosity in the forest begins with paying attention to others. As they parted, she gave the girl a plain ball of yarn and a small bag of seeds for the mice. The girl thanked Baba Yaga and promised that at home she and her sister would weave one large coverlet together.