Russian Fairy Tales

Русские народные сказки

Russian Fairy Tales

Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka

The Turnip

Баба Яга

Baba Yaga

• Parents dead so the obvious thing to do is to go explore the world
• Ivanushka is thirsty. Pond water = calf, river water – colt, lake water = baby goat
• He's a baby goat
• Tzar asks her to marry him when they accidentally trespass into his yard
• A witch came to the palace when the Tzar was away and lured Alyonushka to the sea. The witch tied a rock around her neck and pushed her into the water.
• The witch impersonated Alyonushka and only the little goat knew it was not her.
• He refused to eat and would not leave the shore of the sea – The witch told the Tzar to kill the goat
• The Tzar eventually agreed, although confused because of Alyonushka's previous love for the goat.
• The goat kept asking to go to the sea for some water before he was killed, on the third time, the Tzar followed and saw Alyonushka emerge from the water after much persuading from Ivanushka
• They burned the witch

• Evil stepmother sends girl to her “Aunt” (but she is actually sending her to Баба Яга) for a needle and thread so she can sew a blouse
• The girl goes to her real aunt and asks what to do. She told her to get oil, ribbon, fresh rolls, and ham for the people she will meet on her journey
• Баба Яга asks the girl to weave, and also tells her maid to heat water so she can eat the girl for breakfast. The girl gives the maid a handkerchief, which persuades the maid to let the girl go, which means no little girl for Баба Яга to eat
• The girl then meets a kitty whom she gives ham. The kitty gives the girl a comb and a towel – a towel for a river and comb for a forest. She is to place them on the ground to prevent the witch from getting her.
• Dogs tried to eat her, she fed them rolls
• Gates tried to stop her, she oiled them
• Tree also tried to stop her, she tied a ribbon to it which helps for reasons unknown to me
• All things she helped turned against Баба Яга.

• Giant turnip, old man can’t pull it out, so he calls over an old lady
• They can’t pull it out, so she calls over her granddaughter
• They can’t pull it out, so she calls over the dog
• They can’t pull it out, so the dog calls that cat over
• They can’t pull it out, so the cat calls the mouse over and – SUCCESS!

кощей бессмертный

Koshchey the deathless

The Firebird

http://www.druzhnikov.com/english/text/vizit2.html

Arina Rodionovna

Баба Яга

Baba Yaga

Why I chose this project

• As a kid, Prince Ivan's nurses would sing lullabies to him about a future bride who resides in a tower named Vasilisa Kirbitievna.
• At 15 he decides to go find her.
• He reaches a village where some guy is being flogged for not paying back 10,000 rubles at the agreed time. As further punishment, his wife will be taken by Koshchey. Ivan takes pity on the guy, and pays back the money he owed.
• The guy later tells Prince Ivan that, had he not helped him, he would never get his bride. He then asks Ivan to buy him a horse and saddle so he can assist Ivan on his journey. His name is Bulat the Brave.
• They get to the place where Vasilisa is kept, and Bulat says to gather chickens, geese, and ducks so that whenever he comes back to Ivan, Ivan can cut off the right wing and give it to him on a plate so he can use it to take Vasilisa.
• This is how he does it: he goes to her room, gives his greeting from himself and Prince Ivan, offers the wing, and when she doesn't answer out of confusion, he replies for her, offering himself some vodka from a cupboard. On his third visit, she doesn't wait for him to answer for her, she goes to get him some vodka and he takes her.
• Vasilisa's dad is angry that she is taken and sends people to kill them but Bulat fights them off.
• While they're camping, Prince Ivan doesn't keep watch like he is supposed to, and Koshchey takes Vasilisa away.
• They find Vasilisa and she discovers Koshchey's death is inside an egg which is inside a duck which is inside a hare which is inside a coffer which is under an oak tree which is on an island far, far away.
• They befriend a dog who later helps catch the hare, an eagle who later helps catch the duck, and a lobster who helps get the egg that rolls into some water.
• They crack the egg on Koshchey's head and he dies.
• The next three nights, twelve doves come and tell Bulat (who is keeping watch -- I guess he never sleeps) that a dog will tear Vasilisa to pieces and if Bulat tells them this, he will find that his knees down to his feet will be stone. A horse will try to trample Prince Ivan, and if Bulat tells, his knees to his waist will be stone, and finally, a cow will try and stampede Ivan, and his waist to his head will be turned to stone.
• Bulat kills all the animals and Ivan orders Bulat to hang so Bulat reveals everything.
• He is later brought back to life after telling Prince Ivan and Vasilisa to kill their children and smear their blood on his statue. After that, they walk into the kids' rooms and discover they are alive.

Александр Пушкин

Although many sites about Pushkin leave out this lady, every Russian knows that this is Alexander's nanny and she told him the fairy tales that he would later write about. She was born on April 10, 1758.

Alexander Pushkin

I chose to do fairy tales because they are a major part of Russian culture. Given that this is Russian class and part of the course is to learn about Russian culture, it fits in just dandy.

три богатыря

The Three Knights

The Scarlet Flower

Baba Yaga the witch, Koshchey the deathless, a three to twelve headed dragon, and a whistler.

Alexander Pushkin was born in Moscow on June 6, 1799. He was the "founder" of modern Russian literature and is considered to be Russia's greatest poet. He started writing poems when he was fifteen and was thought to be a rival against many of the great literary leaders of the time. He died two days after being wounded in a duel on January 29, 1837.

Common Characteristics

• Reappearing "bad guys"

• Reappearing "good guys"

• Talking animals

иван дурак

Ivan the Fool

илья муромец и дракон

Also known as "Russia's Bard"

• Prince Ivan and his two brothers
• Tsar has a golden apple tree, firebird eats the golden apples which in some strange way, makes the Tsar sick
• Eldest brothers cannot guard tree properly and do not see the firebird, Ivan does.
• Tsar tells them to bring back the firebird
• Ivan searches and comes to an open field with a sign: “Whosoever goes from this pillar on the road straight before him will be cold and hungry. Whosoever goes to the right side will be safe and sound, but his horse will be killed. And whosoever goes to the left side will be killed himself, but his horse will be safe and sound”
• Ivan picks the right side and his horse is eaten by a wolf, the wolf ends up helping him throughout the story; tells him where the firebird is and not to touch the cage. Ivan touches the cage and is sent on a mission to get the horse with the golden mane. The wolf tells him where the horse can be found but touches the bridle which was forbidden by the wolf. He is then set on a mission to get a beautiful lady, so the wolf takes her. Ivan will not part with the lady, so the wolf transforms himself into her and meets up with Ivan later. Ivan will not part with his new horse, so the wolf transforms himself into the horse and meets up with Ivan later. Ivan now has his firebird and takes a nap
• His brothers had no success in finding the bird and they saw him under the tree with these beautiful things so they killed him. The wolf saves him again by asking a crow to get sparkling and still water which revives him. The wolf later scatters the remains of Ivan’s brothers (whom he has just killed) all over the green field from before.
• The dad doesn’t seem to care much and is delighted that Ivan is getting married and that he has the firebird and a horse.

The three knights, Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka, and Ivan the Fool.

Ilya Morumets and the Dragon

заяц

ёжик

мышка

петух

корова

Hare

Hedgehog

Mouse

Rooster

Cow

He wasn't really a fool, just a kind-hearted guy, trying to help everybody.

• Father going away on a trip, asked daughters what they would like, to which they answered, a golden crown, a crystal mirror, and a scarlet flower.
• He found the first two easily, but couldn’t find a little scarlet flower until he came to a magical forest; a palace deep within the woods
• He picked the flower, but a “hideous beast” told him that one of his daughters had to come live with him forever for payment, so the father told the daughter who wanted the flower and off she went.
• The beast showered her with gifts.
• She asked to see him after growing fond of him and as the beast feared, she recoiled in fear when he did show himself.
• Later on, the daughter had a dream of her father on his deathbed, so she asks the beast if she can go visit
• The beast lets her go on one condition: that she come back in three days’ time
• Her sisters were jealous of the rich life she lived, and changed the times on the clocks so she would arrive late when she returned.
• When the girl came back, there was a dead beast holding a scarlet flower.
• She announces her love for him, kisses him and he turns into a prince. Happily ever after ending, hooray.

Pushkin's Tales

Баба Яга

Чебурашка

(Cheburashka)

1. Ruslan and Ludmila.

2. Tale of Tsar Saltan.

3. The Golden Rooster.

4. Tale of the Pope and his Work-Man Balda.

5. Tale of the Dead Princess and Seven Champions.

6. Tale of the Fisherman and the Little Fish.

медведь

волк

лиса

Bear

Wolf

Fox

Yes, I know he's not a fairy tale character nor a real animal, but he posed so nicely for this shot and it presents the point of magical talking animals nicely.

• Child grew up for eighteen years without legs
• Beggar came in asking for alms, boy ripped up trees to get down to the river and get the water the beggar requested. The beggar told Ilya to drink the water and a strength came to him
• Ripped up trees in forest
• Sovereign heard of him
• Tzar had a fair daughter that Ilya liked, but he was sent to slay a twelve-headed dragon that sucked the life out of another Tzar's daughter
• He rode alone and came to a three-way road
• He chose the road that was labeled “You will die” instead of the him being hungry, or the horse being hungry road
• Made it to a hut and said, “Little hut, little hut, turn your back to the forest, and your front to me” It turned and Баба Яга heard him and she was going to cut off the intruder's head with a scythe
• He gained her acceptance and stayed with her for two days, she sent him off with a letter telling her sister, should he come in contact with her, to accept him with honor
• He meets the second Baba Yaga, and gives her the letter after almost being killed via saber. He stays with her for two days and is warned of Solovey the Robber who can deafen Ilya with his whistling
• He finds Solovey and shoots him with an arrow. He stuffs him in a sack after stunning him and goes on his way
• They arrive at the castle where the Tzar's daughter is visited by a twelve-headed dragon
• He chops off all the dragon's heads and goes back home and marries the Tsar's daughter that he took a liking to.

Sadko

История

• Poor boy who plays dulcimer for dancers in Novgorod
• Very handsome, but gets no attention because he is poor
• Plays songs of the beautiful sea and river Volkov
• Tzar of the sea invites him to play at the green palaace to please him and his daughters if he likes his gift which is a coffer full of precious tones
• He sold some gems, opened a booth at the market and was a successful trader
• Still sang to Volkov even though people were throwing themselves at his feet
• He would throw things, presents to his river for twelve years
• On a business trip to the Caspian Sea, they were stuck and could not move on
• Drew strings, Sadko had the short one among the crew and he kept his promise to the Tzar of the sea
• He jumps down and lands at the bottom of the sea. He finds Volkov, one of the Tzar's daughters, marries her, and lived alone until death, or he swam into the River and lived with her

The Cockerel with the Golden Crest

According to a google timeline, there was almost nothing recorded about Russian fairy tales until years after Pushkin's birth in 1799. After that, what I like to call "The Russian Fairy Tale Research Department" had major increases in information. However, the fairy tales that went to Arina which she passed to Pushkin had to have come from somewhere, so we must assume these tales have been around for quite a while before Pushkin's time, and they were probably different variations of the stories he wrote of.

History

• A cat, a thrush and a cockerel lived together.
• One day the cat and the thrush went to cut firewood, they tell the cockerel to watch the house and make sure the windows are shut when the fox comes around.
• The fox goes to the house, sits under the window and sings to the cockerel, persuading him to open the window. The fox takes the cockerel, and he calls out to the cat and the thrush who come to his rescue.
• The cat and the thrush need to go into the forest again for firewood, and they warn the cockerel that they will not be near enough to hear him cry out if he opens the window for the fox to get him, so don't open the window.
• However, the cockerel gives in to the fox eventually and is carried away, but once more, the cat and the thrush hear him and take him back.
• They warn him a third time not to open the window for the fox for they will not hear him if he gets captured again.
• Next thing you know, the cockerel is caught by the fox. The cockerel cried out for the cat and the thrush but they did not come. They discovered he was taken when they could not find him at home, so they went to the fox's den and played a song for him. When the fox came in with the cockerel, the cat and the thrush attacked him and left with their friend. After that, they never had a problem with the fox again.