ALENOUSHKA and HER BROTHER
by Arthur Ransome · from Old Peter's Russian Tales
Adapted Version
Once upon a time, there were two children. Alenoushka and Vanoushka were their names. They were alone in the world. They walked on a hot, flat land. The sun was very hot. They were very thirsty. Their throats were dry.
Vanoushka saw water in a horse print. "Sister, I must drink!" he said. Alenoushka said, "No. You will be a foal." They walked on. He saw water in a cow print. "Sister, I must drink!" he said. Alenoushka said, "No. You will be a calf."
Vanoushka was very thirsty. He saw a sheep's tiny print. Water was in it. He drank the water. He did not tell Alenoushka. Then, Vanoushka turned into a little lamb. He was a white lamb. He played around Alenoushka.
Alenoushka cried very much. She sat under a hayrick. The little lamb played around her. The Gentleman rode by. He saw Alenoushka crying. He asked her name. She told him her sad story. He felt kind. He liked Alenoushka. He asked her to live with him. She said yes. They went to his big house. The little lamb went too. Alenoushka lived there. She was happy for a time.
One day, an old witch came. She saw Alenoushka. The witch was bad. She gave Alenoushka a drink. It made Alenoushka sleepy. The witch took Alenoushka. She led her to the river. The witch pushed Alenoushka in. Alenoushka went under the water.
The witch changed her face. She looked like Alenoushka. She went to the house. She lived with the Gentleman.
The little lamb was sad. He did not eat. He went to the river. He sang a sad song. "Baa, baa, my sister!" he cried.
The witch saw the lamb. She did not like him. He was too sad. She told a servant. "Take this lamb far away!" she said.
The servant took the lamb. The lamb ran away. He ran to the river. He sang his sad song. "Baa, baa, Alenoushka, my sister! The witch is in our house! She made you go under the water!" From the river, a soft voice came. "Baa, baa, Vanoushka, my brother! A stone holds me down! I cannot come up!"
The servant heard the voices. He was very scared. He ran to the Gentleman. He told him everything.
The Gentleman went to the river. He took other men. They heard the lamb. They heard the soft voice.
The men pulled Alenoushka. They pulled her from the water. She woke up. She was well again.
The little lamb saw Alenoushka. He jumped for joy. He changed back to Vanoushka. He was a boy again.
The witch ran away. She was never seen again. Alenoushka and Vanoushka were happy. They lived with the Gentleman. They loved each other very much. Sibling love is very strong. It can win against bad magic. It makes everyone happy.
Original Story
ALENOUSHKA AND HER BROTHER.
Once upon a time there were two orphan children, a little boy and a little girl. Their father and mother were dead, and they had not even an old grandfather to spend his time in telling them stories. They were alone. The little boy was called Vanoushka,[3] and the little girl's name was Alenoushka.[3]
They set out together to walk through the whole of the great wide world. It was a long journey they set out on, and they did not think of any end to it, but only of moving on and on, and never stopping long enough in one place to be unhappy there.
They were travelling one day over a broad plain, padding along on their little bare feet. There were no trees on the plain, no bushes; open flat country as far as you could see, and the great sun up in the sky burning the grass and making their throats dry, and the sandy ground so hot that they could scarcely bear to set their feet on it. All day from early morning they had been walking, and the heat grew greater and greater towards noon.
[3] That means that they were called Ivan and Elena. Vanoushka and Alenoushka are affectionate forms of these names.
"Oh," said little Vanoushka, "my throat is so dry. I want a drink. I must have a drink—just a little drink of cool water."
"We must go on," said Alenoushka, "till we come to a well. Then we will drink."
They went on along the track, with their eyes burning and their throats as dry as sand on a stove.
But presently Vanoushka cried out joyfully. He saw a horse's hoofmark in the ground. And it was full of water, like a little well.
"Sister, sister," says he, "the horse has made a little well for me with his great hoof, and now we can have a drink; and oh, but I am thirsty!"
"Not yet, brother," says Alenoushka. "If you drink from the hoofmark of a horse, you will turn into a little foal, and that would never do."
"I am so very thirsty," says Vanoushka; but he did as his sister told him, and they walked on together under the burning sun.
A little farther on Vanoushka saw the hoof-mark of a cow, and there was water in it glittering in the sun.
"Sister, sister," says Vanoushka, "the cow has made a little well for me, and now I can have a drink."
"Not yet, brother," says Alenoushka. "If you drink from the hoofmark of a cow, you will turn into a little calf, and that would never do. We must go on till we come to a well. There we will drink and rest ourselves. There will be trees by the well, and shadows, and we will lie down there by the quiet water and cool our hands and feet, and perhaps our eyes will stop burning."
So they went on farther along the track that scorched the bare soles of their feet, and under the sun that burned their heads and their little bare necks. The sun was high in the sky above them, and it seemed to Vanoushka that they would never come to the well.
But when they had walked on and on, and he was nearly crying with thirst, only that the sun had dried up all his tears and burnt them before they had time to come into his eyes, he saw another footprint. It was quite a tiny footprint, divided in the middle—the footprint of a sheep; and in it was a little drop of clear water, sparkling in the sun. He said nothing to his sister, nothing at all. But he went down on his hands and knees and drank that water, that little drop of clear water, to cool his burning throat. And he had no sooner drunk it than he had turned into a little lamb...
"A little white lamb," said Maroosia.
"With a black nose," said Vanya.
A little lamb, said old Peter, a little lamb who ran round and round Alenoushka, frisking and leaping, with its little tail tossing in the air.
Alenoushka looked round for her brother, but could not see him. But there was the little lamb, leaping round her, trying to lick her face, and there in the ground was the print left by the sheep's foot.
She guessed at once what had happened, and burst into tears. There was a hayrick close by, and under the hayrick Alenoushka sat down and wept. The little lamb, seeing her so sad, stood gravely in front of her; but not for long, for he was a little lamb, and he could not help himself. However sad he felt, he had to leap and frisk in the sun, and toss his little white tail.
Presently a fine gentleman came riding by on his big black horse. He stopped when he came to the hayrick. He was very much surprised at seeing a beautiful little girl sitting there, crying her eyes out, while a white lamb frisked this way and that, and played before her, and now and then ran up to her and licked the tears from her face with its little pink tongue.
"What is your name," says the fine gentleman, "and why are you in trouble? Perhaps I may be able to help you."
"My name is Alenoushka, and this is my little brother Vanoushka, whom I love." And she told him the whole story.
"Well, I can hardly believe all that," says the fine gentleman, "But come with me, and I will dress you in fine clothes, and set silver ornaments in your hair, and bracelets of gold on your little brown wrists. And as for the lamb, he shall come too, if you love him. Wherever you are there he shall be, and you shall never be parted from him."
And so Alenoushka took her little brother in her arms, and the fine gentleman lifted them up before him on the big black horse, and galloped home with them across the plain to his big house not far from the river. And when he got home he made a feast and married Alenoushka, and they lived together so happily that good people rejoiced to see them, and bad ones were jealous. And the little lamb lived in the house, and never grew any bigger, but always frisked and played, and followed Alenoushka wherever she went.
And then one day, when the fine gentleman had ridden far away to the town to buy a new bracelet for Alenoushka, there came an old witch. Ugly she was, with only one tooth in her head, and wicked as ever went about the world doing evil to decent folk. She begged from Alenoushka, and said she was hungry, and Alenoushka begged her to share her dinner. And she put a spell in the wine that Alenoushka drank, so that Alenoushka fell ill, and before evening, when the fine gentleman came riding back, had become pale, pale as snow, and as thin as an old stick.
"My dear," says the fine gentleman, "what is the matter with you?"
"Perhaps I shall be better to-morrow," says Alenoushka.
Well, the next day the gentleman rode into the fields, and the old hag came again while he was out.
"Would you like me to cure you?" says she. "I know a way to make you as well as ever you were. Plump you will be, and pretty again, before your husband comes riding home."
"And what must I do?" says Alenoushka, crying to think herself so ugly.
"You must go to the river and bathe this afternoon," says the old witch. "I will be there and put a spell on the water. Secretly you must go, for if any one knows whither you have gone my spell will not work."
So Alenoushka wrapped a shawl about her head, and slipped out of the house and went to the river. Only the little lamb, Vanoushka, knew where she had gone. He followed her, leaping about, and tossing his little white tail. The old witch was waiting for her. She sprang out of the bushes by the riverside, and seized Alenoushka, and tore off her pretty white dress, and fastened a heavy stone about her neck, and threw her from the bank into a deep place, so that she sank to the bottom of the river. Then the old witch, the wicked hag, put on Alenoushka's pretty white dress, and cast a spell, and made herself so like Alenoushka to look at that nobody could tell the difference. Only the little lamb had seen everything that had happened.
The fine gentleman came riding home in the evening, and he rejoiced when he saw his dear Alenoushka well again, with plump pink cheeks, and a smile on her rosy lips.
But the little lamb knew everything. He was sad and melancholy, and would not eat, and went every morning and every evening to the river, and there wandered about the banks, and cried, "Baa, baa," and was answered by the sighing of the wind in the long reeds.
The witch saw that the lamb went off by himself every morning and every evening. She watched where he went, and when she knew she began to hate the lamb; and she gave orders for the sticks to be cut, and the iron cauldron to be heated, and the steel knives made sharp. She sent a servant to catch the lamb; and she said to the fine gentleman, who thought all the time that she was Alenoushka, "It is time for the lamb to be killed, and made into a tasty stew."
The fine gentleman was astonished.
"What," says he, "you want to have the lamb killed? Why, you called it your brother when first I found you by the hayrick in the plain. You were always giving it caresses and sweet words. You loved it so much that I was sick of the sight of it, and now you give orders for its throat to be cut. Truly," says he, "the mind of woman is like the wind in summer."
The lamb ran away when he saw that the servant had come to catch him. He heard the sharpening of the knives, and had seen the cutting of the wood, and the great cauldron taken from its place. He was frightened, and he ran away, and came to the river bank, where the wind was sighing through the tall reeds. And there he sang a farewell song to his sister, thinking he had not long to live. The servant followed the lamb cunningly, and crept near to catch him, and heard his little song. This is what he sang:—
"Alenoushka, little sister,
They are going to slaughter me;
They are cutting wooden fagots,
They are heating iron cauldrons,
They are sharpening knives of steel."
And Alenoushka, lamenting, answered the lamb from the bottom of the river:—
"O my brother Ivanoushka,
A heavy stone is round my throat,
Silken grass grows through my fingers,
Yellow sand lies on my breast."
The servant listened, and marvelled at the miracle of the lamb singing, and the sweet voice answering him from the river. He crept away quietly, and came to the fine gentleman, and told him what he had heard; and they set out together to the river, to watch the lamb, and listen, and see what was happening.
He stepped on one of its fiery wings and pressed it to the ground. (page 247)
The little white lamb stood on the bank of the river weeping, so that his tears fell into the water. And presently he sang again:—
"Alenoushka, little sister,
They are going to slaughter me;
They are cutting wooden fagots,
They are heating iron cauldrons,
They are sharpening knives of steel."
And Alenoushka answered him, lamenting, from the bottom of the river:—
"O my brother Ivanoushka,
A heavy stone is round my throat,
Silken grass grows through my fingers,
Yellow sand lies on my breast."
The fine gentleman heard, and he was sure that the voice was the voice of his own dear wife, and he remembered how she had loved the lamb. He sent his servant to fetch men, and fishing nets and nets of silk. The men came running, and they dragged the river with fishing nets, and brought their nets empty to land. Then they tried with nets of fine silk, and, as they drew them in, there was Alenoushka lying in the nets as if she were asleep.
They brought her to the bank and untied the stone from her white neck, and washed her in fresh water and clothed her in white clothes. But they had no sooner done all this than she woke up, more beautiful than ever she had been before, though then she was pretty enough, God knows. She woke, and sprang up, and threw her arms round the neck of the little white lamb, who suddenly became once more her little brother Vanoushka, who had been so thirsty as to drink water from the hoofmark of a sheep. And Vanoushka laughed and shouted in the sunshine, and the fine gentleman wept tears of joy. And they all praised God and kissed each other, and went home together, and began to live as happily as before, even more happily, because Vanoushka was no longer a lamb. But as soon as they got home the fine gentleman turned the old witch out of the house. And she became an ugly old hag, and went away to the deep woods, shrieking as she went.
"And did she ever come back again?" asked Ivan.
"No, she never came back again," said old Peter. "Once was enough."
"And what happened to Vanoushka when he grew up?"
"He grew up as handsome as Alenoushka was pretty. And he became a great hunter. And he married the sister of the fine gentleman. And they all lived happily together, and ate honey every day, with white bread and new milk."
Story DNA
Moral
The bond of sibling love can overcome even the darkest magic and deception.
Plot Summary
Orphaned siblings Alenoushka and Vanoushka wander the world. Vanoushka, overcome by thirst, disobeys his sister and drinks from a sheep's hoofprint, turning into a lamb. A kind gentleman marries Alenoushka, but an evil witch drowns her and takes her place. The loyal lamb, Vanoushka, laments by the river, revealing Alenoushka's plight. The gentleman rescues Alenoushka, who is revived, and Vanoushka transforms back into a boy. The witch is banished, and the family lives happily ever after.
Themes
Emotional Arc
suffering to triumph
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
This story is a variant of a widespread East Slavic folk tale, often known as 'Sister Alenushka and Brother Ivanushka'. The transformation into an animal due to forbidden water is a common motif.
Plot Beats (14)
- Alenoushka and Vanoushka, orphaned siblings, travel across a hot, dry plain.
- Vanoushka repeatedly asks to drink from animal hoofprints, but Alenoushka warns him against it.
- Overcome by thirst, Vanoushka secretly drinks from a sheep's hoofprint and turns into a little lamb.
- Alenoushka weeps under a hayrick, and a fine gentleman finds her, hears her story, and takes her and the lamb to his home, marrying her.
- An old witch visits the house, poisons Alenoushka, and then lures her to the river, where she drowns her with a stone.
- The witch magically transforms herself to look like Alenoushka and takes her place in the gentleman's house.
- The lamb, Vanoushka, is sad and refuses to eat, going to the river daily to lament his sister's fate.
- The witch, noticing the lamb's behavior, orders him to be killed for stew.
- The lamb, fleeing the servant, sings a mournful song by the river, and Alenoushka's voice answers from beneath the water.
- A servant overhears the magical exchange and reports it to the fine gentleman.
- The gentleman, servant, and other men go to the river, where they hear the lamb and Alenoushka's lament.
- They drag the river with nets and retrieve Alenoushka, who is revived and restored to her former beauty.
- Upon Alenoushka's revival, the lamb transforms back into Vanoushka.
- The witch is banished, and the family lives happily, with Vanoushka eventually marrying the gentleman's sister.
Characters
Alenoushka ★ protagonist
Small and delicate, with a youthful build. Her wrists are described as 'little brown wrists' before her marriage, suggesting a sun-kissed or slightly darker complexion from her travels. After being revived, she is described as 'more beautiful than ever she had been before,' implying a radiant and healthy appearance.
Attire: Initially, she wears simple, likely worn, peasant clothing suitable for travel. After her marriage, she is dressed in 'fine clothes' and a 'pretty white dress,' which is later torn off by the witch. Upon revival, she is clothed in 'white clothes.'
Wants: To protect her brother Vanoushka and find a safe, comfortable life for them both. Later, her motivation is simply to survive and return to her husband.
Flaw: Her trusting nature and vulnerability to deception, especially when desperate or feeling insecure about her appearance. Her love for Vanoushka also makes her susceptible to manipulation.
She begins as a protective older sister, becomes a wife and mistress of a household, then falls victim to a witch's curse, is drowned, and is eventually revived to live happily ever after. She learns the dangers of trusting strangers and the enduring power of familial love.
Caring, responsible, protective, resilient, trusting (initially). She prioritizes her brother's safety and well-being, even when suffering herself. She is also somewhat naive, trusting the witch's advice.
Image Prompt & Upload
A young girl standing upright, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. She has fair skin, a round, innocent face, and long, dark brown hair styled with silver ornaments. She wears a cream-colored linen dress with delicate floral embroidery, a sky-blue apron, and soft leather slippers. Her expression is gentle and kind, with a hint of sadness in her blue eyes. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Vanoushka ◆ supporting
A little boy, small and likely thin from travel. As a lamb, he is described as 'a little white lamb' with a 'black nose,' frisking and leaping, and never growing bigger.
Attire: Initially, simple, worn peasant clothing. As a lamb, he has no clothing.
Wants: To quench his thirst. Later, as a lamb, his motivation is to warn Alenoushka's husband and protect his sister.
Flaw: His impulsiveness and inability to resist temptation (thirst), which leads to his transformation.
Begins as a human boy, transforms into a lamb due to his impulsiveness, and remains a lamb until his sister is rescued, at which point he transforms back into a boy. He learns the consequences of not heeding warnings and the power of his bond with his sister.
Impulsive, thirsty, joyful, affectionate, loyal (as a lamb), easily frightened. He acts on his immediate desires but is also obedient to his sister's initial warnings.
Image Prompt & Upload
A small, white lamb with a black nose, standing on its hind legs, frisking and leaping. Its wool is clean and fluffy, and its small tail is tossing in the air. It has bright, curious eyes. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Fine Gentleman ◆ supporting
A man of wealth and status, likely well-built and commanding, given his ability to ride a 'big black horse' and his position as a master of a large house. He is described as 'fine,' implying a distinguished appearance.
Attire: Rides a horse, suggesting riding attire. As a gentleman of means, he would wear well-tailored, perhaps velvet or wool, garments in rich colors, possibly with embroidery, indicative of Russian gentry of the period. He would not wear a turban or thobe, but rather a kaftan or a similar long coat over a tunic and trousers.
Wants: To find a companion and wife, to care for Alenoushka and her brother, and later to understand the mystery of the lamb's song and rescue his true wife.
Flaw: His inability to discern the witch's deception, blinded by his love and the witch's spell.
He begins as a solitary gentleman, becomes a loving husband, is briefly deceived by a witch, and then acts heroically to rescue his wife, leading to a deeper understanding and happiness.
Kind, generous, observant (initially), loving, somewhat naive (regarding the witch's deception), astonished by sudden changes in his 'wife's' personality.
Image Prompt & Upload
A mature man standing upright, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. He has a strong, noble face with a neatly trimmed dark beard and kind, observant brown eyes. His dark hair is styled back from his forehead. He wears a rich, dark green velvet kaftan with gold embroidery along the collar and cuffs, over a white linen tunic and dark trousers. A wide leather belt with a silver buckle cinches his waist. He has a thoughtful, slightly concerned expression. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Old Witch ⚔ antagonist
Ugly and wicked, with a gaunt or hunched figure. After her defeat, she becomes 'an ugly old hag,' emphasizing her repulsive appearance.
Attire: Initially, her clothing is not described, but she later puts on 'Alenoushka's pretty white dress' to impersonate her, which would look ill-fitting and grotesque on her ugly form. Her original attire would likely be dark, tattered, and simple, perhaps a rough linen or wool dress with a shawl.
Wants: To usurp Alenoushka's place, gain a comfortable life, and inflict suffering out of jealousy and malice.
Flaw: Her wickedness is eventually exposed, and her magic is broken by true love and intervention. Her disguise is not perfect enough to fool the lamb.
She appears as a malevolent force, successfully deceives and harms Alenoushka, but is ultimately defeated and banished, returning to her original ugly form.
Wicked, cunning, deceptive, cruel, jealous, hateful. She delights in causing harm and manipulating others.
Image Prompt & Upload
An elderly woman standing upright, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. She has a deeply wrinkled, sallow face with a prominent hooked nose, small, beady, malicious dark eyes, and thin, grey, straggly hair. Her mouth is open slightly, revealing a single, yellowed tooth. She wears a dark, tattered, rough-spun linen dress with a patched, drab brown shawl draped over her hunched shoulders. Her hands are gnarled and bony. She has a cruel, cunning expression. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Locations
The Broad Plain
An open, flat country stretching as far as the eye can see, with no trees or bushes. The ground is sandy and scorching hot under the burning sun, making the grass dry and brittle.
Mood: Desolate, oppressive, weary, thirsty
Alenoushka and Vanoushka's journey begins here, Vanoushka transforms into a lamb, and they are discovered by the fine gentleman.
Image Prompt & Upload
A vast, sun-baked plain under a harsh, clear midday sky. The ground is a light, parched sand, with sparse, yellowed grass tufts. In the foreground, a small, distinct sheep's hoofprint holds a single, shimmering drop of water, reflecting the intense sunlight. A distant, blurred hayrick offers the only hint of shelter. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
The Fine Gentleman's House
A large, comfortable house, likely a traditional Russian izba or dacha, with space for feasts and daily life. It is implied to be well-furnished and a place of comfort and joy.
Mood: Warm, joyful, later tense and fearful
Alenoushka marries the gentleman and lives happily; later, the witch impersonates Alenoushka and plots against the lamb.
Image Prompt & Upload
The interior of a traditional, well-kept Russian izba, with sturdy, dark timber walls and a high, beamed ceiling. A large, rough-hewn wooden table is set for a feast, with earthenware bowls and a warm, inviting glow from a nearby hearth. Sunlight streams through a small, paned window, illuminating dust motes in the air. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
The River Bank
The edge of a deep river, lined with tall, sighing reeds and concealing bushes. The water is deep and still in places, reflecting the sky.
Mood: Mysterious, sorrowful, foreboding, later hopeful
The witch drowns Alenoushka here, the lamb mourns and sings, and Alenoushka is eventually rescued from the river.
Image Prompt & Upload
A tranquil, deep river bank in a Russian landscape, with tall, golden-brown reeds swaying gently in a soft breeze. The water is dark and still, reflecting the overcast sky. Dense, dark green bushes line the bank, casting deep shadows. The ground is damp earth, with occasional smooth river stones. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
