The Hasty Word

The Hasty Word

THE HASTY WORD.[470]

In a certain village there lived an old couple in great poverty,

and they had one son. The son grew up,[471] and the old woman

began to say to the old man:

"It's time for us to get our son married."

"Well then, go and ask for a wife for him," said he.

So she went to a neighbor to ask for his daughter for her

son: the neighbor refused. She went to a second peasant's,

but the second refused too--to a third, but he showed her the

door. She went round the whole village; not a soul would

grant her request. So she returned home and cried--

"Well, old man! our lad's an unlucky fellow!"

"How so?"

"I've trudged round to every house, but no one will give

him his daughter."

"That's a bad business!" says the old man; "the summer

will soon be coming, but we have no one to work for us here.

Go to another village, old woman, perhaps you will get a bride

for him there."

The old woman went to another village, visited every house

from one end to the other, but there wasn't an atom of good to

be got out of it. Wherever she thrusts herself, they always

refuse. With what she left home, with that she returned

home.

"No," she says, "no one wants to become related to us

poor beggars."

"If that's the case," answers the old man, "there's no use

in wearing out your legs. Jump up on to the polati."[472]

The son was sorely afflicted, and began to entreat his parents,

saying:

"My born father and my born mother! give me your blessing.

I will go and seek my fate myself."

"But where will you go?"

"Where my eyes lead me."

So they gave him their blessing, and let him go whithersoever

it pleased him.[473]

Well, the youth went out upon the highway, began to weep

very bitterly, and said to himself as he walked:

"Was I born into the world worse than all other men, that

not a single girl is willing to marry me? Methinks if the devil

himself would give me a bride, I'd take even her!"

Suddenly, as if rising from the earth, there appeared before

him a very old man.

"Good-day, good youth!"

"Good-day, old man!"

"What was that you were saying just now?"

The youth was frightened and did not know what reply to

make.

"Don't be afraid of me! I sha'n't do you any harm, and

moreover, perhaps I may get you out of your trouble. Speak

boldly!"

The youth told him everything precisely.

"Poor creature that I am! There isn't a single girl who

will marry me. Well, as I went along I became exceedingly

wretched, and in my misery I said: 'If the devil offered me a

bride, I'd take even her!'"

The old man laughed and said:

"Follow me, I'll let you choose a lovely bride for yourself."

By-and-by they reached a lake.

"Turn your back to the lake and walk backwards," said the

old man. Scarcely had the youth had time to turn round and

take a couple of steps, when he found himself under the water

and in a white-stone palace--all its rooms splendidly furnished,

cunningly decorated. The old man gave him to eat and to

drink. Afterwards he introduced twelve maidens, each one

more beautiful than the other.

"Choose whichever you like! whichever you choose, her

will I bestow upon you."

"That's a puzzling job!" said the youth; "give me till to-morrow

morning to think about it, grandfather!"

"Well, think away!" said the old man, and led his guest to

a private chamber. The youth lay down to sleep and thought:

"Which one shall I choose?"

Suddenly the door opened; a beautiful maiden entered.

"Are you asleep, or not, good youth?" says she.

"No, fair maiden! I can't get to sleep, for I'm always thinking

which bride to choose."

"That's the very reason I have come to give you counsel.

You see, good youth, you've managed to become the devil's

guest. Now listen. If you want to go on living in the white

world, then do what I tell you. But if you don't follow my

instructions, you'll never get out of here alive!"

"Tell me what to do, fair maiden. I won't forget it all

my life."

"To-morrow the fiend will bring you twelve maidens, each one

exactly like the others. But you take a good look and choose

me. A fly will be sitting above my right eye--that will be a

certain guide for you." And then the fair maiden proceeded to

tell him about herself, who she was.

"Do you know the priest of such and such a village?" she

says. "I'm his daughter, the one who disappeared from home

when nine years old. One day my father was angry with me,

and in his wrath he said, 'May devils fly away with you!' I

went out on the steps and began to cry. All of a sudden the

fiends seized me and brought me here; and here I am living

with them!"

Next morning the old man brought in the twelve fair

maidens--one just like another--and ordered the youth to

choose his bride. He looked at them and took her above whose

right eye sat a fly. The old man was loth to give her up, so he

shifted the maidens about, and told him to make a fresh choice.

The youth pointed out the same one as before. The fiend

obliged him to choose yet a third time. He again guessed

his bride aright.

"Well, you're in luck! take her home with you," said the

fiend.

Immediately the youth and the fair maiden found themselves

on the shore of the lake, and until they reached the high road

they kept on walking backwards. Presently the devils came

rushing after them in hot pursuit:

"Let us recover our maiden!" they cry.

They look: there are no footsteps going away from the

lake; all the footsteps lead into the water! They ran to and

fro, they searched everywhere, but they had to go back empty

handed.

Well, the good youth brought his bride to her village, and

stopped opposite the priest's house. The priest saw him and

sent out his laborer, saying:

"Go and ask who those people are."

"We? we're travellers; please let us spend the night in

your house," they replied.

"I have merchants paying me a visit," says the priest,

"and even without them there's but little room in the house."

"What are you thinking of, father?" says one of the

merchants. "It's always one's duty to accommodate a traveller,

they won't interfere with us."

"Very well, let them come in."

So they came in, exchanged greetings, and sat down on a

bench in the back corner.

"Don't you know me, father?" presently asks the fair

maiden. "Of a surety I am your own daughter."

Then she told him everything that had happened. They

began to kiss and embrace each other, to pour forth tears of

joy.

"And who is this man?" says the priest.

"That is my betrothed. He brought me back into the white

world; if it hadn't been for him I should have remained down

there for ever!"

After this the fair maiden untied her bundle, and in it were

gold and silver dishes: she had carried them off from the devils.

The merchant looked at them and said:

"Ah! those are my dishes. One day I was feasting with my

guests, and when I got drunk I became angry with my wife. 'To

the devil with you!' I exclaimed, and began flinging from the

table, and beyond the threshold, whatever I could lay my hands

upon. At that moment my dishes disappeared!"

And in reality so had it happened. When the merchant

mentioned the devil's name, the fiend immediately appeared at

the threshold, began seizing the gold and silver wares, and

flinging in their place bits of pottery.

Well, by this accident the youth got himself a capital bride.

And after he had married her he went back to his parents.

They had long ago counted him as lost to them for ever.

And indeed it was no subject for jesting; he had been away

from home three whole years, and yet it seemed to him that

he had not in all spent more than twenty-four hours with the

devils.

  [A quaint version of the legend on which this story is

  founded is given by Gervase of Tilbury in his "Otia

  Imperialia," whence the story passed into the "Gesta

  Romanorum" (cap. clxii.) and spread widely over

  mediæval Europe. A certain Catalonian was so much

  annoyed one day "by the continued and inappeasable

  crying of his little daughter, that he commended her

  to the demons." Whereupon she was immediately carried

  off. Seven years after this, he learnt (from a man

  placed by a similar imprecation in the power of the

  demons, who used him as a vehicle) that his daughter

  was in the interior of a neighboring mountain, and

  might be recovered if he would demand her. So he

  ascended to the summit of the mountain, and there

  claimed his child. She straightway appeared in

  miserable plight, "arida, tetra, oculis vagis, ossibus

  et nervis et pellibus vix hærentibus," etc. By the

  judicious care, however, of her now cautious parent

  she was restored to physical and moral respectability.

  For some valuable observations on this story see

  Liebrecht's edition of the "Otia Imperialia," pp.

  137-9. In the German story of "Die sieben Raben"

  (Grimm, No. 25) a father's "hasty word" turns his six

  sons into ravens.]

When devils are introduced into a story of this class, it always

assumes a grotesque, if not an absolutely comic air. The evil spirits

are almost always duped and defeated, and that result is generally due

to their remarkable want of intelligence. For they display in their

dealings with their human antagonists a deficiency of intellectual

power which almost amounts to imbecility. The explanation of this

appears to be that the devils of European folk-lore have nothing in

common with the rebellious angels of Miltonic theology beyond their

vague denomination; nor can any but a nominal resemblance be traced

between their chiefs or "grandfathers" and the thunder-smitten but

still majestic "Lucifer, Son of the Morning." The demon rabble of

"Popular Tales" are merely the lubber fiends of heathen mythology,

beings endowed with supernatural might, but scantily provided with

mental power; all of terrific manual clutch, but of weak intellectual

grasp. And so the hardy mortal who measures his powers against theirs,

even in those cases in which his strength has not been intensified by

miraculous agencies, easily overcomes or deludes the slow-witted

monsters with whom he strives--whether his antagonist be a Celtic or

Teutonic Giant, or a French Ogre, or a Norse Troll, or a Greek Drakos

or Lamia, or a Lithuanian Laume, or a Russian Snake or Koshchei or

Baba Yaga, or an Indian Rákshasa or Pisácha, or any other member of

the many species of fiends for which, in Christian parlance, the

generic name is that of "devils."

There is no great richness of invention manifested in the stories

which deal with the outwitting of evil spirits. The same devices are

in almost all cases resorted to, and their effect is invariable. The

leading characters undergo certain transmutations as the scene of the

story is shifted, but their mutual relations remain constant. Thus, in

a German story[474] we find a schoolmaster deceiving the devil; in one

of its Slavonic counterparts[475] a gypsy deludes a snake; in another,

current among the Baltic Kashoubes, in place of the snake figures a

giant so huge that the thumb of his glove serves as a shelter for the

hero of the tale--one which is closely connected with that which tells

of Thor and the giant Skrymir.

The Russian stories in which devils are tricked by mortals closely

resemble, for the most part, those which are current in so many parts

of Europe. The hero of the tale squeezes whey out of a piece of cheese

or curd which he passes off as a stone; he induces the fleet demon to

compete with his "Hop o' my Thumb" the hare; he sets the strong demon

to wrestle with his "greybeard" the bear; he frightens the

"grandfather" of the fiends by proposing to fling that potentate's

magic staff so high in the air that it will never come down; and he

persuades his diabolical opponents to keep pouring gold into a

perforated hat or sack. Sometimes, however, a less familiar incident

occurs. Thus in a story from the Tambof Government, Zachary the

Unlucky is sent by the tailor, his master, to fetch a fiddle from a

wolf-fiend. The demon agrees to let him have it on condition that he

spends three years in continually weaving nets without ever going to

sleep. Zachary sets to work, but at the end of a month he grows

drowsy. The wolf asks if he is asleep. "No, I'm not asleep," he

replies; "but I'm thinking which fish there are most of in the

river--big ones or little ones." The wolf offers to go and enquire,

and spends three or four months in solving the problem. Meanwhile

Zachary sleeps, taking care, however, to be up and at work when the

wolf returns to say that the big fishes are in the majority.

Time passes, and again Zachary begins to nod. The wolf enquires if he

has gone to sleep, but is told that he is awake, but engrossed by the

question as to "which folks are there most of in the world--the living

or the dead." The wolf goes out to count them, and Zachary sleeps in

comfort, till just before it comes back to say that the living are

more numerous than the dead. By the time the wolf-fiend has made a

third journey in order to settle a doubt which Zachary describes as

weighing on his mind--as to the numerical relation of the large beasts

to the small--the three years have passed away. So the wolf-fiend is

obliged to part with his fiddle, and Zachary carries it back to the

tailor in triumph.[476]

The demons not unfrequently show themselves capable of being actuated

by gratitude. Thus, as we have already seen, the story of the Awful

Drunkard[477] represents the devil himself as being grateful to a man

who has rebuked an irascible old woman for unjustly blaming the Prince

of Darkness. In a skazka from the Orenburg Government, a lad named

Vanka [Jack] is set to watch his father's turnip-field by night.

Presently comes a boy who fills two huge sacks with turnips, and

vainly tries to carry them off. While he is tugging away at them he

catches sight of Vanka, and immediately asks him to help him home with

his load. Vanka consents, and carries the turnips to a cottage,

wherein is seated "an old greybeard with horns on his head," who

receives him kindly and offers him a quantity of gold as a recompense

for his trouble. But, acting on the instructions he has received from

the boy, Vanka will take nothing but the greybeard's lute, the sounds

of which exercise a magic power over all living creatures.[478]

One of the most interesting of the stories of this class is that of

the man who unwittingly blesses the devil. As a specimen of its

numerous variants we may take the opening of a skazka respecting the

origin of brandy.

"There was a moujik who had a wife and seven children, and one day he

got ready to go afield, to plough. When his horse was harnessed, and

everything ready, he ran indoors to get some bread; but when he got

there, and looked in the cupboard, there was nothing there but a

single crust. This he carried off bodily and drove away.

"He reached his field and began ploughing. When he had ploughed up

half of it, he unharnessed his horse and turned it out to graze. After

that he was just going to eat the bread, when he said to himself,

"'Why didn't I leave this crust for my children?'

"So after thinking about it for awhile, he set it aside.

"Presently a little demon came sidling up and carried off the bread.

The moujik returned and looked about everywhere, but no bread was to

be seen. However, all he said was, 'God be with him who took it!'

"The little demon[479] ran off to the devil,[480] and cried:

"'Grandfather! I've stolen Uncle Sidor's[481] bread!'

"'Well, what did he say?'

"'He said, "God be with him!"'

"'Be off with you!' says the devil. 'Hire yourself to him for three

years.'

"So the little demon ran back to the moujik."

The rest of the story tells how the imp taught Isidore to make

corn-brandy, and worked for him a long time faithfully. But at last

one day Isidore drank so much brandy that he fell into a drunken

sleep. From this he was roused by the imp, whereupon he exclaimed in a

rage, "Go to the Devil!" and straightway the "little demon"

disappeared.[482]

In another version of the story,[483] when the peasant finds that his

crust has disappeared, he exclaims--

"Here's a wonder! I've seen nobody, and yet somebody has carried off

my crust! Well, here's good luck to him![484] I daresay I shall starve

to death."

When Satan heard what had taken place, he ordered that the peasant's

crust should be restored. So the demon who had stolen it "turned

himself into a good youth," and became the peasant's hireling. When a

drought was impending, he scattered the peasant's seed-corn over a

swamp; when a wet season was at hand, he sowed the slopes of the

hills. In each instance his forethought enabled his master to fill his

barns while the other peasants lost their crops.

  [A Moravian version of this tale will be found in "Der

  schwarze Knirps" (Wenzig, No. 15, p. 67). In another

  Moravian story in the same collection (No. 8) entitled

  "Der böse Geist im Dienste," an evil spirit steals the

  food which a man had left outside his house for poor

  passers by. When the demon returns to hell he finds

  its gates closed, and he is informed by "the oldest of

  the devils," that he must expiate his crime by a three

  years' service on earth.



  A striking parallel to the Russian and the former of

  the Moravian stories is offered by "a legend of

  serpent worship," from Bhaunagar in Káthiáwád. A

  certain king had seven wives, one of whom was badly

  treated. Feeling hungry one day, she scraped out of

  the pots which had been given her to wash some remains

  of rice boiled in milk, set the food on one side, and

  then went to bathe. During her absence a female Nága

  (or supernatural snake-being) ate up the rice, and

  then "entering her hole, sat there, resolved to bite

  the woman if she should curse her, but not otherwise."

  When the woman returned, and found her meal had been

  stolen, she did not lose her temper, but only said,

  "May the stomach of the eater be cooled!" When the

  Nága heard this, she emerged from her hole and said,

  "Well done! I now regard you as my daughter," etc.

  (From the "Indian Antiquary," Bombay, No. 1, 1872, pp.

  6, 7.)]

Sometimes the demon of the legenda bears a close resemblance to the

snake of the skazka. Thus, an evil spirit is described as coming

every night at twelve o'clock to the chamber of a certain princess,

and giving her no rest till the dawn of day. A soldier--the fairy

prince in a lower form--comes to her rescue, and awaits the arrival of

the fiend in her room, which he has had brilliantly lighted. Exactly

at midnight up flies the evil spirit, assumes the form of a man, and

tries to enter the room. But he is stopped by the soldier, who

persuades him to play cards with him for fillips, tricks him in

various ways, and fillips him to such effect with a species of

"three-man beetle," that the demon beats a hasty retreat.

The next night Satan sends another devil to the palace. The result is

the same as before, and the process is repeated every night for a

whole month. At the end of that time "Grandfather Satan" himself

confronts the soldier, but he receives so tremendous a beating that he

flies back howling "to his swamp." After a time, the soldier induces

the whole of the fiendish party to enter his knapsack, prevents them

from getting out again by signing it with a cross, and then has it

thumped on an anvil to his heart's content. Afterwards he carries it

about on his back, the fiends remaining under it all the while. But at

last some women open it, during his absence from a cottage in which he

has left it, and out rush the fiends with a crash and a roar. Meeting

the soldier on his way back to the cottage, they are so frightened

that they fling themselves into the pool below a mill-wheel; and

there, the story declares, they still remain.[485]

This "legend" is evidently nothing more than an adaptation of one of

the tales about the dull demons of olden times, whom the Christian

story-teller has transformed into Satan and his subject fiends.

By way of a conclusion to this chapter--which might be expanded

indefinitely, so numerous are the stories of the class of which it

treats--we will take the moral tale of "The Gossip's Bedstead."[486] A

certain peasant, it relates, was so poor that, in order to save

himself from starvation, he took to sorcery. After a time he became an

adept in the black art, and contracted an intimate acquaintance with

the fiendish races. When his son had reached man's estate, the peasant

saw it was necessary to find him a bride, so he set out to seek one

among "his friends the devils." On arriving in their realm he soon

found what he wanted, in the person of a girl who had drunk herself to

death, and who, in common with other women who had died of drink, was

employed by the devils as a water carrier. Her employers at once

agreed to give her in marriage to the son of their friend, and a

wedding feast was instantly prepared. While the consequent revelry was

in progress, Satan offered to present to the bridegroom a receipt

which a father had given to the devils when he sold them his son. But

when the receipt was sought for--the production of which would have

enabled the bridegroom to claim the youth in question as his slave--it

could not be found; a certain devil had carried it off, and refused to

say where he had hidden it. In vain did his master cause him to be

beaten with iron clubs, he remained obstinately mute. At length Satan

exclaimed--

"Stretch him on the Gossip's Bedstead!"

As soon as the refractory devil heard these words, he was so

frightened that he surrendered the receipt, which was handed over to

the visitor. Astonished at the result, the peasant enquired what sort

of bedstead that was which had been mentioned with so much effect.

"Well, I'll tell you, but don't you tell anyone else," replied Satan,

after hesitating for a time. "That bedstead is made for us devils, and

for our relations, connexions, and gossips. It is all on fire, and it

runs on wheels, and turns round and round."

When the peasant heard this, fear came upon him, and he jumped up from

his seat and fled away as fast as he could.

   *       *       *       *       *

At this point, though much still remains to be said, I will for the

present bring my remarks to a close. Incomplete as is the account I

have given of the Skazkas, it may yet, I trust, be of use to students

who wish to compare as many types as possible of the Popular Tale. I

shall be glad if it proves of service to them. I shall be still more

glad if I succeed in interesting the general reader in the tales of

the Russian People, and through them, in the lives of those Russian

men and women of low degree who are wont to tell them, those Russian

children who love to hear them.

FOOTNOTES:

[424] Afanasief, Legendui, p. 6.

[425] These two stories are quoted by Buslaef, in a valuable essay on

"The Russian Popular Epos." "Ist. Och." i. 438. Another tradition

states that the dog was originally "naked," i.e., without hair; but

the devil, in order to seduce it from its loyalty, gave it a shuba,

or pelisse, i.e., a coat of hair.

[426] Buslaef, "Ist. Och," i. 147, where the Teutonic equivalents are

given.

[427] Tereshchenko, v. 48. For a German version of the story, see the

KM., No. 124, "Die Kornähre."

[428] Afanasief, P.V.S. i. 482.

[429] Afanasief, Legendui, p. 19.

[430] Tereshchenko, v. p. 45. Some of these legends have been

translated by O. von. Reinsberg-Düringsfeld in the "Ausland," Dec. 9,

[431] According to a Bohemian legend the Devil created the mouse, that

it might destroy "God's corn," whereupon the Lord created the cat.

[432] Pit', = to drink.

[433] Tereshchenko, v. 47.

[434] Afanasief, Legendui, p. 13.

[435] Afanasief, Legendui, No. 3. From the Voroneje Government.

[436] Afanasief, Legendui, No. 8.

[437] Who thus becomes his "brother of the cross." This

cross-brothership is considered a close spiritual affinity.

[438] Afanasief, in his notes to this story, gives several of its

variants. The rewards and punishments awarded in a future life form

the theme of a great number of moral parables, apparently of Oriental

extraction. For an interesting parallel from the Neilgherry Hills, see

Gover's "Folk-Songs of Southern India," pp. 81-7.

[439] Afanasief, Legendui, No. 7.

[440] The icona, ἐικών or holy picture.

[441] For some account of Perun--the Lithuanian Perkunas--whose name

and attributes appear to be closely connected with those of the Indian

Parjanya, see the "Songs of the Russian Nation," pp. 86-102.

[442] A Servian song, for instance, quoted by Buslaef ("Ist. Och." i.

361. states that "The Thunder" (i.e., the Thunder-God or Perun)

"began to divide gifts. To God (Bogu) it gave the heavenly heights;

to St. Peter the summer" (Petrovskie so called after the Saint)

"heats; to St. John, the ice and snow; to Nicholas, power over the

waters, and to Ilya the lightning and the thunderbolt."

[443] Afanasief, Legendui, pp. 137-40, P.V.S., i. 469-83. Cf.

Grimm's "Deutsche Mythologie," pp. 157-59.

[444] Afanasief, Legendui, No. 10. From the Yaroslaf Government.

[445] Il'inskomu bat'kye--to the Elijah father.

[446] Strictly speaking, a chetverìk = 5.775 gallons.

[447] Afanasief, P.V.S., iii. 455.

[448] Called Lisun, Lisovik, Polisun, &c. He answers to the

Lyeshy or wood-demon (lyes = a forest) mentioned above, p. 212.

[449] Afanasief, P.V.S. i. 711.

[450] Afanasief, Legendui, No. 12.

[451] Quoted by Buslaef, "Ist. Och." i. 389. Troyan is also the name

of a mythical king who often figures in Slavonic legends.

[452] Afanasief, Legendui, No. 11. From the Orel district.

[453] Afanasief, Legendui, pp. 141-5. With this story may be

compared that of "The Cross-Surety." See above, p. 40.

[454] Afanasief, Legendui, No. 5. From the Archangel Government.

[455] Popovskie, from pop, the vulgar name for a priest, the Greek

πάππας.

[456] The prosvirka, or prosfora, is a small loaf, made of fine

wheat flour. It is used for the communion service, but before

consecration it is freely sold and purchased.

[457] A few lines are here omitted as being superfluous. In the

original the second princess is cured exactly as the first had been.

The doctors then proceed to a third country, where they find precisely

the same position of affairs.

[458] Byely = white. See the "Songs of the Russian People," p. 103,

the "Deutsche Mythologie," p. 203.

[459] Shchob tebe chorny bog ubif! Afanasief, P.V.S., i. 93, 94.

[460] Afanasief, P.V.S. iii. 314, 315.

[461] Lemboï, perhaps a Samoyed word.

[462] Lemboi te (tebya) voz'mi!

[463] Afanasief, P.V.S. iii. pp. 314, 315.

[464] Prolub' (for prorub'), a hole cut in the ice, and kept open,

for the purpose of getting at the water.

[465] Satana.

[466] The word by which the husband here designates his wife is

zakon, which properly signifies (1) law, (2) marriage. Here it

stands for "spouse." Satan replies, "If this be thy zakon, go hence

therewith! to sever a zakon is impossible."

[467] Abridged from Afanasief, P.V.S. iii. 315, 316.

[468] See the notes in Grimm's KM. Bd. iii. to stories 100 and 101.

[469] Afanasief, v. No. 26.

[470] Afanasief, v. No. 48.

[471] "Entered upon his matured years," from 17 to 21.

[472] The sleeping-place.

[473] Literally, "to all the four sides."

[474] Haltrich, No. 27.

[475] Afanasief, v. No. 25.

[476] Khudyakof, No. 114.

[477] Chap. i. p. 46.

[478] Afanasief, vii., No. 14.

[479] Byesenok, diminutive of Byes.

[480] Chort.

[481] Isidore.

[482] Erlenvein, No. 33. From the Tula Government.

[483] Quoted from Borichefsky, by Afanasief, Legendui, p. 182.

[484] Emy na zdorovie! "Good health to him!"

[485] Afanasief, v. No. 43.

[486] Afanasief, Legendui, No. 27. From the Saratof Government. This

story is merely one of the numerous Slavonic variants of a tale

familiar to many lands.

INDEX.

Ad, or Hades, 303

Anepou and Satou, story of, 122

Andrew, St., legend about, 348

Arimaspians, 190

Awful Drunkard, story of the, 46

Baba Yaga, her name and nature, 146;

stories about, 103-107, 148-166, 254-256

Back, cutting strips from, 155

Bad Wife, story of the, 52

Beanstalk stories, 35, 296

Beer and Corn, legend of, 339

Birds, legends about, 335

Blind Man and Cripple, story of the, 246

Bluebeard's Chamber, 109

Brandy, legend about origin of, 378

Bridge-building incident, 306

Brothers, enmity between, 93

Brushes, magic, 151

Cat, Whittington's, 56

Chort, or devil, 35

Christ's Brother, legend of, 338

Chudo Morskoe, or water monster, 143

Chudo Yudo, a many-headed monster, 83

Clergy: their bad reputation in folk-tales, 40

Coffin Lid, story of the, 314

Combs, magic, 151

Creation of Man, legends about, 330

Cross Surety, story of the, 40

Curses, legends about, 363

Days of the Week, legends about, 206-212

Dead Mother, story of the, 32

Demons: part played in the Skazkas by, 361;

souls of babes stolen by, 363;

legends about children devoted to, 364;

about persons who give themselves to, 367;

dulness of, 375;

tricks played upon, 375;

gratitude of, 377;

resemblance of to snakes, 380

Devil, legends about, 330, 331, 333

Dnieper, Volga, and Dvina, story of the, 217

Dog, legends about, 330-332

Dog and Corpse, story of the, 317

Dolls, or puppets, magic, 167-169

Don and Shat, story of the rivers, 215

Drink, Russian peasant's love of, 42;

stories about, 48

Durak, or Ninny, stories about, 23, 62

Eggs, lives of mythical beings connected with, 119-124

Elijah, traditions about, 341-343

Elijah and Nicholas, legend of, 344

Emilian the Fool, story of, 269

Evil, personified, 186

Fiddler in Hell, story of the, 303

Fiend, story of the, 24

Fool and Birch-tree, story of the, 62

Fools, stories about, 62

Fortune, stories about, 203

Fox-Physician, story of the, 296

Fox-Wailer, story of the, 35

Friday, legend of, 207

Frost, story of, 221

George, St., legends about, 348;

the Wolves and, 349;

the Gypsy and, 350;

the people of Troyan and, 351

Ghost stories, 295-328

Gold-Men, 231

Golden Bird, the Zhar-Ptitsa or, 291

Golovikha, or Mayoress, story of the, 55

Goré, or Woe, story of, 192

Gossip's Bedstead, story of the, 381

Gravestone, story of the Ride on the, 308

Greece, Vampires in, 323

Gypsy, story of St. George and the, 350

Hades, 303

Hasty Word, story of the, 370

Head, story of the trunkless, 230

Headless Princess, story of the, 276

Heaven-tree Myth, 298

Helena the Fair, story of, 262

Hell, story of the Fiddler in, 303

Hills, legend of creation of, 333

Ivan Popyalof, story of, 79

Katoma, story of, 246

Koshchei the Deathless, stories of, 96-115

Kruchìna, or Grief, 201

Kuzma and Demian, the holy Smiths, 82

Lame and Blind Heroes, story of the, 246

Laments for the dead, 36

Leap, bride won by a, 266-269

Legends, 329-382

Léshy, or Wood-demon, story of the, 213

Life, Water of, 237

Likho the One-Eyed, story of, 186

Luck, stories about, 203-206

Marya Morevna, story of, 97

Medea's Cauldron incident, 359, 368

Miser, story of the, 60

Mizgir, or Spider, story of the, 68

Morfei the Cook, story of, 234

Mouse, legends about the, 334

Mythology, &c. Personifications of Good and Evil, 77;

the Snake, 78;

Daylight eclipsed by a Snake, 81;

the Chudo-Yudo, 83;

the Norka-Beast, 86;

the Usuinya-Bird, 95;

Koshchei the Deathless, 96-116;

the Bluebeard's Chamber myth, 109;

stories about external hearts and fatal eggs, &c., 119-124;

the Water Snake, 129;

the Tsar Morskoi or Water King, 130-141;

the King Bear, 142;

the Water-Chudo, 143;

the Idol, 144;

Female embodiments of Evil, 146;

the Baba Yaga, 146-166;

magic dolls or puppets, 167;

the story of Verlioka, 170;

the Supernatural Witch, 170-183;

The Sun's Sister and the Dawn, 178-185;

Likho or Evil, 186-187;

Polyphemus and the Arimaspians, 190;

Goré or Woe, 192;

Nuzhda or Need, 199;

Kruchìna or Grief, 201;

Zluidni, 201;

stories about Luck, 203-206;

Friday, 206;

Wednesday, 208;

Sunday, 211;

the Léshy or Woodsprite, 213;

stories about Rivers, 215-221;

about Frost, 221;

about the Whirlwind, 232;

Morfei, 234;

Oh! the, 235;

Waters of Life and Death, 237-242;

Symplêgades, 242;

Waters of Strength and Weakness, 243-245;

Magic Horses, 249, 264;

a Magic Pike, 269-273;

Witchcraft stories, 273-295;

the Zhar-Ptitsa or Glow-Bird, 289-292;

upper-world ideas, 296;

the heaven-tree myth, 296-302;

lower-world ideas, 303;

Ghost-stories, 308;

stories about Vampires, 313-322;

home and origin of Vampirism, 323-328;

legends about Saints, the Devil, &c., 329;

Perun, the thunder-god, 341;

superstitions about lightning, 343;

legends about St. George and the Wolves, 349;

old Slavonian gods changed into demons, 362;

power attributed to curses, 364;

dulness of demons, 375;

their resemblance to snakes, 380

National character, how far illustrated by popular tales, 18

Need, story of Nuzhda or, 199

Nicholas, St., legends about, 343;

his kindness, 352-354;

story of the Priest of, 355

Nicholas, St., and Elijah, story of, 343

Norka, story of the, 86

Oh! demon named, 235

One-Eyed Likho, story of, 186

One-Eyes, Ukraine legend of, 190

Peewit, legend about the 335

Perun, the thunder-god, 341

Pike, story of a magic, 269

Polyphemus, 190

Poor Widow, story of the, 336

Popes, Russian Priests called, 36

Popular Tales, their meaning &c., 16-18;

human and supernatural agents in, 75-78

Popyalof, story of Ivan, 79

Priest with the Greedy Eyes, story of the, 355

Princess Helena the Fair, story of the, 262

Purchased Wife, story of the, 44

Ride on the Gravestone, story of the, 308

Rip van Winkle story, 310

Rivers, legends about, 215-221

Russian children, appearance of, 157

Russian Peasants;

their dramatic talent, 19;

pictures of their life contained in folk-tales, 21;

a village soirée, 24;

a courtship, 31;

a death, 32;

preparations for a funeral, 33;

wailing over the dead, 35;

a burial, 36;

religious feeling of, 40;

passion for drink, 42;

humor, 48;

their jokes against women, 49;

their dislike of avarice, 59;

their jokes about simpletons, 62

Rye, legends about, 332

Saints, legends about, 341;

Ilya or Elijah, 341-343;

story of Elijah and Nicholas, 344;

St. Andrew, 348;

St. George, 348-352;

St. Nicholas, 352-354;

St. Kasian, 352

Scissors story, 49

Semilétka, story of, 44

Shroud, story of the, 311

Skazkas or Russian folk-tales,

their value as pictures of Russian life, 19-23;

occurrence of word skazka in, 23;

their openings, 62;

their endings, 83

Smith and the Demon, story of the, 70

Snake, the mythical, his appearance, 78;

story of Ivan Popyalof, 79;

story of the Water Snake, 126;

Snake Husbands, 129;

legend about the Common Snake, 334;

likeness between Snakes and Demons, 380

Soldier and Demon, story of, 380

Soldier and the Devil, legend about, 366

Soldier and the Vampire, story of the, 318

Soldier's Midnight Watch, story of the, 279

Sozh and Dnieper, story of, 216

Sparrow, legends about the, 335

Spasibo or Thank You, 202

Spider, story of the, 68

Stakes driven through Vampires, 326-328

Stepmothers, character of, 94

Strength and Weakness, Waters of, 243

Suicides and Vampires, 327

Sunday, tales about, 211

Sun's Sister, 178-182

Swallow, legends about the, 335

Swan Maidens, 129

Symplêgades, 242

Terema or Upper Chambers, 182

Three Copecks, story of the, 56

Treasure, story of the, 36

Troyan, City of, legend about, 351

Two Corpses, story of the, 316

Two Friends, story of the, 309

Ujak or Snake, 126

Unwashed, story of the, 366

Usuinya-Bird, 95

Vampires, stories about, 313-322;

account of the belief in, 322-328

Vasilissa the Fair, story of, 158

Vazuza and Volga, story of, 215

Vechernitsa or Village Soirée, 24

Verlioka, story of, 170

Vieszcy, the Kashoube Vampire, 325

Vikhor or the Whirlwind, story of, 232-244

Volga, story of Vazuza and, 215;

of Dnieper and Dvina and, 217

Vy, the Servian, 84

Warlock, story of the, 292

Water King and Vasilissa the Wise, story of the, 130

Water Snake, story of the, 126

Waters of Life and Death, 237-242

Waters of Strength and Weakness, 243

Wednesday, legend of, 208

Week, Days of the, 206-21

Whirlwind, story of the, 232

Whittington's Cat, 56-58

Wife, story of the Bad, 49;

about a Good, 56

Wife-Gaining Leap, stories of a, 266-269

Witch, story of the, 171

Witch, story of the Dead, 34

Witch and Sun's Sister, story of the, 178

Witch Girl, story of the, 274

Witchcraft, 170-183, 273-295

Woe, story of, 193

Wolf-fiend, story of a, 376

Wolves, traditions about, 349

Women, jokes about, 49-56

Yaga Baba. See Baba Yaga

Youth, Fountain of, 72

Zhar-Ptitsa or Glow Bird, 289-292

Zluidni, malevolent beings called, 201

Transcriber's Note:

This book was originally typeset using three different font sizes:

largest for the main body of the text, smaller for the text of the

tales, and smallest for the square bracketed author notes. As font

size cannot be varied in this version of the e-text, the effect has

been reproduced here using indentation: no indentation for the main

body of the text, small indentation for the tales, and larger

indentation for the square bracketed author notes.

The frontispiece illustration has been moved to follow the title page.

There were a very large number of typographic errors in the source

edition of this text. Minor punctuation errors (omitted or incorrect

punctuation, mismatched quote marks etc.) have been amended without

note. Regularly used abbreviations (for example, "Grimm, KM." or

"P.V.S.") have been made consistent throughout, without note. Use of

accents have been made consistent throughout without note. Hyphenation

has been made consistent throughout, without note.

The author uses some alternative spellings--for example, "arn't"

rather than "aren't", "dulness" rather than "dullness", both "shan't"

and "sha'n't"--which have been left unchanged. There are also some

unusual grammatical structures in places, which probably result from

the author's intention to render the translations as literally as

possible. These have also been left unchanged.

The remaining amendments are listed below. All were checked against a

later edition of the book that had been retypeset, and references to

other works were additionally checked against online library

catalogues. In the case of proper names, the amendments were based on

other available occurrences of the name in the text.

Page 9--Khudyayof amended to Khudyakof--"KHUDYAKOF (I.A.). ..."

Page 9, footnote [7]--1 amended to i--"... Afanasief," i. No. 2,

..."

Page 10--Karadjich amended to Karajich--"The name "Karajich" refers to

the ..."

Page 10--Tale amended to Tales--"... the "Popular Tales of the West

Highlands," 4 vols. ..."

Page 14--page reference for The Shroud amended from 351 to 311.

Page 14--page reference for The Dog and the Corpse amended from 316

to 317.

Page 16--medieval amended to mediæval--"... a blurred transcript of a

page of mediæval history ..."

Page 20, footnote [13]--Helen amended to Helena--"... the close of

the story of Helena the Fair ..."

Page 32--bare amended to bore--"Well, the mistress bore a son ..."

Page 37--garveyard amended to graveyard--"I'll go to the graveyard,

..."

Page 37--pack amended to back--"... and hobbled back again ..."

Page 41--rubles amended to roubles--"... he had gained a hundred and

fifty thousand roubles ..."

Page 42, footnote [37]--Nicola's amended to Nicholas's--"In another

story St. Nicolas's picture is the surety."

Page 44, footnote [41]--Dei amended to Die--"Die kluge Bauerntochter"

Page 45--crouched amended to couched--"... couched in terms of

the utmost severity ..."

Page 49--alternation amended to alteration--"... how little

alteration it may undergo."

Page 54, footnote [54]--chortevnok amended to chortenok--"...

(chortenok = a little chort or devil) ..."

Page 55--Golovh amended to Golova--"Golova = head"

Page 59--the author uses the statement, "The folk-tales of all lands

delight to gird at misers and skinflints ...". While gird does not

seem to be the right word in this context, it's unclear what the

author really intended--possibly gibe?--so it is left as printed.

Page 80, footnote [77]--Afansief amended to Afanasief--"... i.e.,

says Afanasief ..."

Page 83, footnote [83]--Wissenchaften amended to

Wissenschaften--"... Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften ..."

Page 92--Mährchen amended to Märchen--"...Schleicher's "Litauische

Märchen" ..."

Page 97, footnote [101]--Afansief amended to Afanasief--"Afanasief,

viii. No. 8. ..."

Page 98--gronnd amended to ground--"The Eagle smote upon the ground

..."

Page 101--Is it amended to It is--"It is possible to sow wheat, ..."

Page 104--me amended to met--"Presently there met him a lioness ..."

Page 104--omitted 'I' added--"... so hungry, I feel quite unwell!"

Page 109, footnote [108]--No. 20o amended to No. 20--"Khudyakof, No.

20."

Page 110--faries amended to fairies--"... a lake in which fairies of

the swan-maiden ..."

Page 113, footnote [114]--chigunnova amended to chugunnova--"_Do

chugunnova kamnya_, to an iron stone."

Page 120, footnote [128]--Siebenbügen amended to Siebenbürgen--"...

Deutsche Volksmärchen aus dem Sachsenlande in Siebenbürgen ..."

Page 123, footnote [136]--Professer amended to Professor--"...

referred to by Professor Benfey ..."

Page 123, footnote [136]--Egyptain amended to Egyptian--"... parallel

to part of the Egyptian myth ..."

Page 126--nto amended to into--"Then in a moment they rolled

themselves into ..."

Page 129, footnote [142]--Rusalk amended to Rusalka--"For a

description of the Rusalka ..."

Page 138, footnote [146]--traslated amended to translated--"The

word here translated ..."

Page 143, footnote [148]--Afansief amended to Afanasief--"Afanasief,

v. No. 28. In the preceding story ..."

Page 146, footnote [160]--the word "jenzi" is repeated. Probably one

of the occurrences had a diacritical mark which was not reproduced in

this edition; it has been left as printed.

Page 153--foul's amended to fowl's--"... twirling round on "a fowl's

leg.""

Page 160--By-and-bye amended to By-and-by--"By-and-by she put out the

lights ..."

Page 167, footnote [194]--government amended to Government--"From the

Poltava Government."

Page 170, footnote [204]--Afansief amended to Afanasief--"Afanasief,

vii. No. 18."

Page 170, footnote [205]--Sanscrit amended to Sanskrit--"...

answering to the Sanskrit ..."

Page 171, footnote [206]--Voronej amended to Voroneje--"From the

Voroneje Government."

Page 172, footnote [208]--Shazka amended to Skazka--"... the Skazka for that

of witch ..."

Page 172--Ivaschechko amended to Ivashechko (verse following "...

called to her son")--"Ivashechko, Ivashechko, my boy ..."

Page 177--servants-maids amended to servant-maids--"... the bereaved

mother sends three servant-maids ..."

Page 177, footnote [214]--Id. amended to Ibid.--"Ibid. No. 52."

Page 179--woman amended to women--"... where two old women were

sewing ..."

Page 190--in amended to it--"... there is no occasion to dwell

upon it here."

Page 208, footnote [255]--Rhudyakof amended to Khudyakof--"Khudyakof,

No. 166."

Page 213--plating amended to plaiting--"... sat a moujik plaiting a

bast shoe."

Page 214--alloting amended to allotting--"... when God was allotting

their shares ..."

Page 215, footnote [267]--i.i. amended to ii.--"Afanasief, P.V.S.,

ii. 226."

Page 217, footnote [271]--Borichesky amended to Borichefsky--"Quoted

from Borichefsky ..."

Page 218--withen amended to within--"... when he came within a few

versts of the sea-shore ..."

Page 225--superfluous 'to' removed before "out to merry-makings"

Page 228--put amended to puts--"... the girl puts on the robes, and

appears ..."

Page 233--n amended to in--"... went out one day to walk in the

garden."

Page 233--omitted 'a' added--"... hiding him behind a number of

cushions, ..."

Page 241--Brynhildr amended to Brynhild--"... who bear so great a

resemblance to Brynhild ..."

Page 252, footnote [321]--omitted roman i. reference added--"See

A. de Gubernatis, "Zool. Mythology," i. 181."

Page 255--euough amended to enough--"That's no go, sure enough!"

Page 257--t amended to it--"If the Princess found it out, ..."

Page 260, footnote [326]--omitted word 'Cox' added--"... by

G. W. Cox ..."

Page 261, footnote [328]--Kullish amended to Kulish--"For a

little-Russian version see Kulish ..."

Page 262--shaskas amended to skazkas--"But skazkas tell that ..."

Page 276--the amended to The--"The fiend disappears howling, ..."

Page 276, footnote [363]--Märchensammlung amended to

Mährchensammlung--"Brockhaus's "Mährchensammlung des Somadeva Bhatta"

..."

Page 277--dont amended to don't--"... from your psalter and don't look

behind ..."

Page 286--of amended to off--"Do you drive off with the coffin, ..."

Page 288, footnote [368]--Gessellschaft amended to Gesellschaft--"...

Königl. Sächs. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften ..."

Page 291--sportman amended to sportsman--"... a sportsman finds in a

forest ..."

Page 313, footnote [407]--Geöthe amended to Goethe--"... Goethe

founded his weird ballad ..."

Page 321--omitted word 'in' added--"The pyre became wrapped in

flames ..."

Page 334, footnote [430]--Tereschenko amended to

Tereshchenko--"Tereshchenko, v. p. 45."

Page 335, footnote [433]--Tereschenko amended to

Tereshchenko--"Tereshchenko, v. 47."

Page 344, footnote [445]--Il'inskomy amended to

Il'inskomu--"Il'inskomu bat'kye--to the Elijah father."

Page 350, footnote [448]--page reference 206 amended to 212--"...

mentioned above, p. 212."

Page 354, footnote [453]--page reference 27 amended to 40--"... See

above, p. 40."

Page 365, footnote [464]--omitted apostrophe added after Prolub--"Prolub'"

Page 369--merged amended to emerged--"At last he emerged from his

ecstasy"

Page 374--cap amended to chap--"... into the "Gesta Romanorum"

(chap. clxii.) ..."

Page 378--youself amended to yourself--"Hire yourself to him ..."

Page 379, footnote [482]--Governmen amended to Government--"From the

Tula Government."

Page 381, footnote [486]--familar amended to familiar--"... a tale

familiar to many lands."

Page 383--page reference 316 amended to 317 in index entry for

"Dog and Corpse, story of the".

Page 384--page reference 194 amended to 201 in index entry

for "Mythology, &c. Personifications of Good and

Evil,--Zluidni".

Page 385 and Page 386--page reference 243 amended to 242 in

index entries for "Symplêgades".

Page 385--lighting amended to lightning--"superstitions about

lightning, 343;"

Page 385--page reference 255 amended to 355 in index entry for

"Priest with the Greedy Eyes, story of the".

Page 385--page reference 383 amended to 157 in index entry for

"Russian children, appearance of".

Page 385--page reference 36 amended to 49 in index entry for

"Russian peasants—their jokes against women".

Page 386--page reference 83 amended to 84 in index entry for

"Vy, the Servian,".

Page 386--page reference 113 amended to 130 in index entry for

"Water King and Vasilissa the Wise, story of the".

Page 386--30-237 amended to 237-242, in line with other index

entry for "Waters of Life and Death".