The Water Snake
by W. R. S. Ralston · from Russian Folk Tales
Original Story
The Water Snake
THE WATER SNAKE.[141]
There was once an old woman who had a daughter; and her
daughter went down to the pond one day to bathe with the
other girls. They all stripped off their shifts, and went into the
water. Then there came a snake out of the water, and glided on
to the daughter's shift. After a time the girls all came out, and
began to put on their shifts, and the old woman's daughter wanted
to put on hers, but there was the snake lying on it. She tried
to drive him away, but there he stuck and would not move. Then
the snake said:
"If you'll marry me, I'll give you back your shift."
Now she wasn't at all inclined to marry him, but the other
girls said:
"As if it were possible for you to be married to him! Say
you will!" So she said, "Very well, I will." Then the snake
glided off from the shift, and went straight into the water. The
girl dressed and went home. And as soon as she got there,
she said to her mother,
"Mammie, mammie, thus and thus, a snake got upon my
shift, and says he, 'Marry me or I won't let you have your shift;'
and I said, 'I will.'"
"What nonsense are you talking, you little fool! as if one
could marry a snake!"
And so they remained just as they were, and forgot all about
the matter.
A week passed by, and one day they saw ever so many snakes,
a huge troop of them, wriggling up to their cottage. "Ah,
mammie, save me, save me!" cried the girl, and her mother
slammed the door and barred the entrance as quickly as possible.
The snakes would have rushed in at the door, but the door was
shut; they would have rushed into the passage, but the passage
was closed. Then in a moment they rolled themselves into a
ball, flung themselves at the window, smashed it to pieces, and
glided in a body into the room. The girl got upon the stove, but
they followed her, pulled her down, and bore her out of the room
and out of doors. Her mother accompanied her, crying like
anything.
They took the girl down to the pond, and dived right into the
water with her. And there they all turned into men and women.
The mother remained for some time on the dike, wailed a little,
and then went home.
Three years went by. The girl lived down there, and had
two children, a son and a daughter. Now she often entreated
her husband to let her go to see her mother. So at last one day
he took her up to the surface of the water, and brought her
ashore. But she asked him before leaving him,
"What am I to call out when I want you?"
"Call out to me, 'Osip, [Joseph] Osip, come here!' and I
will come," he replied.
Then he dived under water again, and she went to her
mother's, carrying her little girl on one arm, and leading her boy
by the hand. Out came her mother to meet her--was so
delighted to see her!
"Good day, mother!" said the daughter.
"Have you been doing well while you were living down
there?" asked her mother.
"Very well indeed, mother. My life there is better than
yours here."
They sat down for a bit and chatted. Her mother got
dinner ready for her, and she dined.
"What's your husband's name?" asked her mother.
"Osip," she replied.
"And how are you to get home?"
"I shall go to the dike, and call out, 'Osip, Osip, come
here!' and he'll come."
"Lie down, daughter, and rest a bit," said the mother.
So the daughter lay down and went to sleep. The mother
immediately took an axe and sharpened it, and went down to the
dike with it. And when she came to the dike, she began calling
out,
"Osip, Osip, come here!"
No sooner had Osip shown his head than the old woman
lifted her axe and chopped it off. And the water in the pond
became dark with blood.
The old woman went home. And when she got home her
daughter awoke.
"Ah! mother," says she, "I'm getting tired of being here; I'll
go home."
"Do sleep here to-night, daughter; perhaps you won't have
another chance of being with me."
So the daughter stayed and spent the night there. In the
morning she got up and her mother got breakfast ready for her;
she breakfasted, and then she said good-bye to her mother and
went away, carrying her little girl in her arms, while her boy
followed behind her. She came to the dike, and called out:
"Osip, Osip, come here!"
She called and called, but he did not come.
Then she looked into the water, and there she saw a head
floating about. Then she guessed what had happened.
"Alas! my mother has killed him!" she cried.
There on the bank she wept and wailed. And then to her
girl she cried:
"Fly about as a wren, henceforth and evermore!"
And to her boy she cried:
"Fly about as a nightingale, my boy, henceforth and evermore!"
"But I," she said, "will fly about as a cuckoo, crying
'Cuckoo!' henceforth and evermore!"
[Stories about serpent-spouses are by no means
uncommon, but I can find no parallel to the above so
far as the termination is concerned. Benfey quotes or
refers to a great number of the transformation tales
in which a husband or a wife appears at times in the
form of a snake (Panchatantra, i. pp. 254-7 266-7).
Sometimes, when a husband of this kind has doffed his
serpent's skin, his wife seizes it, and throws it into
the fire. Her act generally proves to be to her
advantage, as well as to his, but not always. On a
story of this kind was doubtless founded the legend
handed down to us by Appuleius of Cupid and Psyche.
Among its wildest versions are the Albanian
"Schlangenkind" (Hahn, No. 100), a very similar
Roumanian tale (Ausland 1857, No. 43, quoted by
Benfey), the Wallachian Trandafíru (Schott, No. 23, in
which the husband is a pumpkin (_Kürbiss_) by day),
and the second of the Servian tales of the
Snake-Husband (Vuk Karajich, No. 10).]
The snakes which figure in this weird story, the termination of which
is so unusually tragic, bear a strong resemblance to the Indian Nágas,
the inhabitants of Patala or the underground world, serpents which
take at will the human shape and often mix with mortals. They may,
also, be related to the mermen and mermaids of the sea-coasts, and to
the similar beings with which, under various names, tradition peoples
the lakes, and streams, and fountains of Europe. The South-Russian
peasantry have from immemorial times maintained a firm belief in the
existence of water-nymphs, called Rusalkas, closely resembling the
Nereids of Modern Greece, the female Nixies of the North of Europe,
and throughout the whole of Russia, at least in outlying districts,
there still lingers a sort of cultus of certain male water-sprites who
bear the name of Vodyanies, and who are almost identical with the
beings who haunt the waters of various countries--such as the German
Nix, the Swedish Nek, the Finnish Näkke, etc.[142]
In the Skazkas we find frequent mention of beauteous maidens who
usually live beneath the wave, but who can transform themselves into
birds and fly wherever they please. We may perhaps be allowed to
designate them by the well-known name of Swan-Maidens, though they do
not always assume, together with their plumage-robes, the form of
swans, but sometimes appear as geese, ducks, spoonbills, or aquatic
birds of some other species. They are, for the most part, the
daughters of the Morskoi Tsar, or Water King--a being who plays an
important part in Slavonic popular fiction. He is of a somewhat
shadowy form, and his functions are not very clearly defined, for the
part he usually fills is sometimes allotted to Koshchei or to the
Snake, but the stories generally represent him as a patriarchal
monarch, living in subaqueous halls of light and splendor, whence he
emerges at times to seize a human victim. It is generally a boy whom
he gets into his power, and who eventually obtains the hand of one of
his daughters, and escapes with her to the upper world, though not
without considerable difficulty. Such are, for instance, the leading
incidents in the following skazka, many features of which closely
resemble those of various well-known West-European folk-tales.
Story DNA
Plot Summary
A young woman is forced to promise marriage to a water snake who traps her shift. A week later, a multitude of snakes abduct her to an underwater realm where she lives for three years, bearing two children with her snake-husband, Osip. During a visit home, her possessive mother learns how to summon Osip and brutally decapitates him. Discovering her husband's fate, the distraught daughter transforms herself into a cuckoo, her daughter into a wren, and her son into a nightingale, and they fly away forever.
Themes
Emotional Arc
innocence to suffering
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
The story reflects common folklore motifs of zoomorphic spouses and the dangers of the supernatural, particularly water spirits. The mention of 'Osip' (Joseph) is a common Russian name.
Plot Beats (14)
- A girl goes bathing with friends; a snake lands on her shift.
- The snake demands marriage in exchange for her shift; the girl reluctantly agrees under peer pressure.
- The girl tells her mother about the snake's demand, but they dismiss it as nonsense.
- A week later, a large troop of snakes invades their cottage, smashing a window to enter.
- The snakes forcibly take the girl from her home to the pond, with her mother crying alongside.
- The snakes and the girl dive into the water, where they all transform into humans.
- Three years pass; the girl lives underwater with her snake-husband and has two children.
- The girl asks her husband to visit her mother; he takes her to the surface and tells her to call 'Osip' to summon him.
- The girl visits her mother, bringing her children, and tells her about her life and husband's name.
- The mother, feigning concern, asks the daughter to rest, then takes an axe to the dike.
- The mother calls 'Osip,' and when he appears, she chops off his head.
- The daughter wakes, prepares to return home, and goes to the dike to summon Osip.
- Osip does not come; the daughter looks into the water and sees his severed head.
- Realizing her mother's betrayal, the daughter transforms her daughter into a wren, her son into a nightingale, and herself into a cuckoo, and they fly away.
Characters
The Daughter ★ protagonist
Unspecified, but described as a 'girl' who bathes with others.
Attire: A shift (simple undergarment or dress) for bathing, and then period-appropriate peasant clothing for daily wear.
Initially reluctant, obedient, later sorrowful and transformative.
Image Prompt & Upload
A young woman in her late teens with a determined expression, her long chestnut hair braided with wildflowers and slightly windswept. She wears a practical, forest-green tunic over a cream-colored blouse, brown leather leggings, and sturdy traveling boots. A simple leather satchel is slung over her shoulder. She stands confidently, one hand resting on the hilt of a sheathed dagger at her belt, her gaze fixed on a distant point. Soft, magical particles of light drift around her. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Old Woman ⚔ antagonist
Unspecified, but implied to be physically capable enough to wield an axe.
Attire: Period-appropriate peasant dress, possibly with an apron or head covering.
Protective, impulsive, violent, decisive.
Image Prompt & Upload
An elderly woman with a deeply wrinkled, cruel face and a sharp, pointed nose. She has wild, unkempt gray hair and wears a tattered, dark hooded cloak over a ragged black dress. She stands hunched over a gnarled wooden staff, her long bony fingers gripping it tightly. Her expression is one of malicious cunning, with a faint, sinister smile and eyes that glow with a faint, eerie green light. She is positioned in a misty, moonlit forest clearing, surrounded by twisted, bare trees. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Osip ◆ supporting
Initially a snake, later transforms into a man. His human form is not described, but his snake form is a 'snake'.
Attire: As a man, unspecified, likely simple clothing. As a snake, no clothing.
Demanding, loving (implied by having children), trusting.
Image Prompt & Upload
A middle-aged man with a sturdy build, wearing a simple linen shirt under a worn leather vest. His hair is short and dark brown, slightly graying at the temples, with a neatly trimmed beard. He has a calm, observant expression and stands in a relaxed but attentive pose, his hands resting at his sides. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Son ○ minor
A young boy, able to walk by hand.
Attire: Simple, period-appropriate children's clothing.
Innocent, follows his mother.
Image Prompt & Upload
A young boy around ten years old with a simple, earnest expression. He has short, tousled brown hair and a light freckle or two on his nose. He is wearing a plain, slightly oversized cream-colored tunic with a leather belt, brown trousers, and worn leather boots. He stands straight with his hands loosely at his sides, looking forward with a calm, observant gaze. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Daughter's Daughter ○ minor
A young girl, small enough to be carried on one arm.
Attire: Simple, period-appropriate children's clothing.
Innocent, carried by her mother.
Image Prompt & Upload
A young girl around seven years old with wide, curious hazel eyes and a dusting of freckles across her nose. Her long, wavy chestnut hair is tied in two messy pigtails with faded blue ribbons. She wears a simple, slightly oversized cream-colored pinafore dress over a white blouse with puffy sleeves, and scuffed brown ankle boots. Her posture is slightly slouched, leaning forward with her hands clasped behind her back, a faint, shy smile on her lips. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Locations
The Pond
A body of water where girls go to bathe, and from which a snake emerges. Later, the girl is taken into its depths.
Mood: Initially recreational and innocent, then mysterious and foreboding, finally tragic and sorrowful.
The initial encounter with the snake, the girl's abduction, Osip's murder, and the daughter's final transformation.
Image Prompt & Upload
A secluded forest pond at twilight, its dark, glassy water reflecting the deep purple and indigo sky. Thick, silvery mist curls over the surface, partially obscuring clusters of pale, glowing lily pads. At the pond's center, a single, massive black snake with iridescent scales coils upward from the depths, its head breaking the water's surface, sending out slow, concentric ripples. Ancient, moss-covered willow trees with weeping branches frame the scene, their twisted roots dipping into the murky water. The atmosphere is heavy, silent, and deeply mysterious, with a single beam of fading moonlight piercing the canopy to illuminate the snake. No border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
The Old Woman's Cottage
A small dwelling with a door, a passage, a window, and a stove. It is vulnerable to invasion.
Mood: Initially safe and domestic, then violently invaded and chaotic, finally a place of temporary refuge and a mother's dark deed.
The girl's conversation with her mother, the snake invasion, and the daughter's brief return visit.
Image Prompt & Upload
A small, weathered cottage huddled at the edge of a dark, whispering forest at twilight. Its thatched roof is patchy, the wooden door slightly ajar, and a single, dimly lit window glows with a warm, orange light from within. A thin curl of smoke rises from a crooked stone chimney. The path to the door is muddy and overgrown with thorny weeds, and the surrounding trees seem to lean in, their gnarled branches casting long, grasping shadows in the fading purple light. The air feels damp and heavy with an impending storm, the sky a swirl of bruised clouds. The scene conveys a profound sense of isolation and fragility. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
Underwater Realm
The hidden world beneath the pond where the snakes transform into men and women, and where the girl lives for three years.
Mood: Mysterious, domestic, and a place of new life and family.
The girl's life with her snake-husband and their children.
Image Prompt & Upload
Beneath a still forest pond at twilight, a hidden underwater realm glows with bioluminescent light. Sunlight filters through the murky surface in shimmering green-gold rays, illuminating ancient stone arches covered in glowing algae and soft coral. The water is deep teal and indigo, filled with drifting spores of light and schools of tiny silver fish. Towering, twisted tree roots descend from the pond floor above, intermingled with delicate, translucent kelp forests that sway gently. On the silty bottom, faint, serpentine patterns are etched into smooth rocks, and clusters of pearl-like orbs pulse with a soft, ethereal blue light. Sunken, moss-covered statues with humanoid forms half-emerge from the sediment, their features eroded and mysterious. The atmosphere is serene, magical, and slightly eerie, with floating particles catching the light like underwater stars. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
