The Sun, the Moon, and Raven Voronovich

An old man and an old woman had three grown daughters. One day, grain spilled from a sack with a hole in it. The Sun warmed the ground, the Moon lit the ditch,…

An old man and an old woman had three grown daughters. One day, grain spilled from a sack with a hole in it. The Sun warmed the ground, the Moon lit the ditch, and Raven Voronovich helped gather the grains. The parents invited their helpers to supper. They became friends with the daughters and began visiting. In time, each pair freely decided to live together: in the house of the Sun, the house of the Moon, and the house in the forest.

The old man visited the Sun first. His daughter welcomed him on a golden porch, and the Sun baked pancakes on a stone warmed by a ray of sunlight. At home, the guest put a frying pan on an ordinary stone and waited. The old woman reminded him that every home had its own ways. They lit the stove, cooked the pancakes, and wrote down the Sun’s recipe beside their familiar kitchen rules.

The next day, the old man went to the Moon. His daughter took him to a bathhouse where silver light streamed through a round window. At home, the old man tried to light their bathhouse through a narrow crack, but it remained dark inside. Then the old woman brought a lantern, and moonlike patterns appeared on the wall. The old man understood that copying a shape was not enough; one had to know where the light came from.

The third road led the old man to Raven Voronovich. The forest house stood among sturdy branches, and its host gave the guest a ladder with a safety rope. The old man hurried and lost his footing, but Raven spread his wings while the youngest daughter pulled the rope taut. They lowered their guest gently onto the hay. After he had rested, Raven showed him how to check the rungs and ask for support.

In spring, the three daughters and their families gathered at their parents’ home. The Sun warmed the yard, the Moon hung lanterns, and Raven secured the ladder. The old man served pancakes and told them what he had learned: one should not copy someone else’s wonder blindly, but one can understand its meaning and find a safe way to apply it. The daughters gave their parents a warm stone, a lantern, and a rope. The family remembered the spilled grain as the beginning of their friendship.