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THE WOODCUTTER AND THE FAIRY
One day a poor woodcutter was cutting a big tree near a wide river.
Suddenly his old axe slipped from his hand and fell into the deep water. He sat on the bank and was very unhappy because he had lost his only axe, when suddenly a lovely fairy appeared and asked the woodcutter what the matter was.
"I have lost my axe", he said. "It fell into the deep water".
The fairy showed him a gold axe and said, "Is this yours?"
"No", said the woodcutter.
Then the fairy showed him a silver axe and said again in clear voice, "Is this yours?"
"No", answered the woodcutter again.
Then she showed him an old iron axe with an old wooden handle.
"Yes, that's mine", said the happy woodcutter.
"I know it quite well", said the fairy.
"I only wanted to see if you told me the truth. And now I will give you your axe and the gold axe and the silver axe because you are an honest man.
Vocabulary:
The Woodcutter and the Fairy - Лісоруб І фея
to cut (cut, cut) - рубати
axe - сокира
to slip - вислизнути
had lost his only axe - втратив свою єдину сокиру
to appear - з'являтися
matter - справа
gold - золотий
silver - срібний
iron - залізний
handle - ручка, держак
honest - чесний
Answer the questions:
1.What was a poor woodman doing one day?
2.What suddenly happened?
3.Why was he very unhappy?
4.Who appeared before him?
5.What did the fairy show him three times?
6.What did the fairy give him? Why?
SANTA CLAUS
Many, many years ago there lived a poor farmer in Britain who had three daughters. His wife died when the girls were very young and the poor man had to take care of his daughters himself.
Kitty, Betsy and Sally were good girls. They helped their father about the house, they worked in their orchard and took care of their chickens and sheep. Still they were poor and the farmer could not buy them nice dresses or shoes.
By and by the girls grew up and became very beautiful. But as they had no pretty dresses and shoes they did not go anywhere. The farmer was very sad because he could not give his daughters their dowries and for that they could not be married to some young farmers.
One day the old farmer was coming home from the forest. He was carrying some firewood and was very tired.
Suddenly he saw a funny old man with white hair, rosy cheeks and bright eyes in front of him. The funny old man said, "Hey! Why are you so sad, my man? What is the matter with you?"
The farmer looked at him and answered, "I have three daughters who are beautiful and kind. They are good girls but we are very poor. I can't give my daughters their dowries and that's why they cannot be married to some young farmers in the village".
The funny old man said nothing. He only smiled and went away. He was Santa Claus but the farmer did not know about it.
Late in the evening Kitty, Betsy and Sally hung up their stockings to dry by the fire. That night Santa Claus made his way to their home, and threw three pieces of gold down the chimney. The pieces of gold fell into the girls' stockings.
In this way Kitty, Betsy and Sally got their dowries and could be married to the young farmers of the village.
That is why the children of Britain hang up their stocking over the fire on the eve of Christmas Day and believe that Santa Claus comes down the chimney and puts presents into their stockings.
Vocabulary:
Santa Claus - Санта Клаус (Дід Мороз)
had to take care of - повинен був піклуватися про
By and by - Тим часом
dowry - посаг
they could not be married to - вони не могли одружитися з
firewood - дрова
Hey! - Ну! [виражає здивування)
hung up their stockings to dry by the fire - повісили сушити панчохи
біля каміна
down the chimney - у димар gold - золото on the eve of Christmas Day - напередодні Різдва
Answer the questions:
1.Who lived many years ago?
2.How many daughters had the farmer?
3.When did his wife die?
4.Were Kitty, Betsy and Sally good daughters? Why do you think so?
5.Why didn't the girls go anywhere when they grew up?
6.Whom did the old farmed meet one day when he was coming home from the forest?
7.What did the farmer tell the funny old man?
8.What did Santa Claus throw down the chimney?
9.What did the pieces of gold fall into?
10. What do the children of Britain do on the eve of Christmas Day?
THE STORY OF THE TWINS
A long time ago at the village of Serki a woman gave birth to twins-both boys. They were very nice children.
One of the twins, Eiba by name, had a white spot on his right hand. The other one - they called him Saiba - had two white spots on his left hand. Father and mother were very happy and sad at the same time. You will ask — why? Because there was a very bad custom in Serki — to kill twins. And the chief of Serki said, "Those twins must die, too." But their father and mother did not want to kill the twins.
"What?" said the chief angrily. "You don"t want to kill them? Go away from the village and never come back or I shall kill you together with your children."
So the poor family went away from the village.
For many years the family lived in a forest. Life was not easy there, but the children grew up strong. When they grew up, they helped their father and mother with their work. They were good and handsome young men.
One day they found a man in the forest. He was dying. They tried to help him, but he said, "Don't help me. I shall die soon. I came from Serki. There is a war on there now. We fought bravely. But the enemy is stronger than we are. Go and help my people if you can." With these words he died.
Eiba and Saiba wanted to go to Serki and help to fight, but their father and mother were against it and said: "The Chief does not want you there. He wanted to kill you when you were small children. That's why we went away from Serki and came to live in the forest"
But the twins wanted to go and help Serki. They said, "This is our country. We must help the people of our country."
So the boys came to Serki and fought against the enemies. They fought bravely. The people of that country won the fight and made the enemy run. So the war was over.
Then a feast at the chief's house began. Saiba and Eiba were at the feast, too. Then one of the men stood up and said: "There are two young men here, two brothers. I think they are very brave soldiers. But we don't know who they are."
The twins' uncle was at the feast, too. He said to the chief, "Do you remember two little twins - one with a spot on his right hand and the other with two spots on his left hand? Eighteen years ago you told their father and mother to go away from our village as they did not want to kill the twins. These are the same twins."
The chief stood up and asked the twins to forgive him. Then he sent the two young men back to their father and mother with many presents and a letter in which he asked them to come back.
From that time on they stopped killing twins in Serki.
Vocabulary:
gave birth to twins - народила близнюків
spot - пляма
custom - звичай
to kill - вбивати
chief - вождь
handsome - гарний
to be dying - помирати
to try - намагатися
soon - незабаром
war - війна
to fight (fought, fought) - битися, боротися
enemy - ворог
word - слово
to be against - бути проти
That's why - Ось чому
bravely - мужньо, сміливо
to win the fight - перемогти у битві
to be over - закінчитися
feast - бенкет
the same - той самий
to forgive (forgave, forgiven) - вибачити, пробачити
present - подарунок
to come back (came, come) - повернутись
from that time on - Від того часу
Answer the questions:
1.Whom did a woman give birth to?
2.What had two brothers on their hands?
3.What bad custom was there in the village of Serki?
4.Why did the poor family leave the village?
5.Where did they live for many years?
6.Was their life easy?
7.Did the twins help their parents with their work?
8.Whom did the brothers find in the forest one day?
9.What did the dying man tell them?
10.Did the brothers come to Serki and fight against the enemies?
11.What took place when the war was over?
12.What did the twins' uncle say to the chief at the feast?
13.What did the chief do?
14.What happened from that time on?
THE LION'S DINNER
There was one place in the savannas which the animals liked very much. There was good water and green grass there. But a strong lion lived there. He killed two or three animals every day. One day the animals came to the Lion, and one of them began to speak:
"Oh, dear Lion, it is not good for you to run and hunt all day long in the savannas. We'll send you one animal for your dinner every day."
"All right," the Lion said, "but you must begin to send me my dinner now: I am hungry. I must have my dinner every day! If you don't send an animal to me every day, I shall kill as many of you as I want!"
"Don't kill us, dear Lion. We shall send you an animal every day."
They cast lots, and that day it was an antelope who became the Lion's dinner. And every day they sent one animal to the lion.
But the animals were not happy. Each of them thought: "Oh, tomorrow my turn will come!"
One day it was a Hare's turn to be the Lion's dinner. But the Hare was not unhappy. He smiled!
"That's good, very good!" the Hare said. "Don't be afraid! The Lion win not eat me up!"
The Hare ran to the river, jumped into the water and then began to roll in the mud. He came to the Lion very dirty.
The lion saw him and became angry.
"But I don't want that dirty animal for my dinner," he cried.
"Oh, dear Lion, I am not your dinner. I had to bring you a big hare. But on my way I met another lion, and he took the hare for himself."
"Is there another lion in the savannas?" asked the Lion.
"Yes, there is. He is big and strong. I think he is stronger than you are."
The Lion became angrier than before and said to the Hare, "Show me that lion!"
"All right!" said the Hare. "Let us go to him."
And they went to a big well. The Hare looked into the well and said, "Look, he is there, and the Hare is with him."
The lion looked into the well. He saw himself and the Hare in the water. He jumped into the well to catch them and never came back!
The animals were happy, they jumped and danced and thanked the clever Hare.
Vocabulary:
savannas - савани
to hunt - полювати
all day long - цілий день
cast lots - кинули жереб
antelope - антилопа
turn - черга
began ro roll in the mud - почав кататися у багнюці
had to bring - я повинен був принести
well – колодязь
Answer the questions:
1.What place did the animals like very much?
2.Who lived there?
3.What did the lion do every day?
4.What did the animals propose the Lion one day?
5.What did the Hare do when his turn was to be the Lion's dinner?
6.Why did the Lion become very angry?
7.Where did the Lion and the Hare go?
8.What did the Lion see in the well? Why did he jump into it?
9.Why did the animals thank the clever Hare?
A boy and hot-dogs
A train stopped at one station. A man looked out of the window and saw a woman selling hot-dogs. He wanted to go and buy one but then he understood it was not a good idea, `cause the train made a stop only for some minutes. Suddenly he saw a boy on the platform.
- Hey, you – he cried. – Come over here.
The boy came up to the man.
Listen, - said the man.
Don`t you know how much the hot-dog costs –he asked.
Sure, -answered the kid, - One dollar.
Look here, -he said, -I shall give you two dollars. Go to that woman and buy two hot-dogs. One for me and one for yourself.
The kid took two dollars and went away. Soon he came back but with only one hot-dog. He gave the man back one dollar and said.
Sorry, sir, but she had only one left.
Answer the questions:
1. Whom did the man see on the station?
2. Why did not he go himself?
3. Whom did he ask?
4. What did he promise for that?
5. Did the boy bring the hot-dog? Why?
Hungry Clothes
A poor man heard that the Rajah enjoyed talking to clever people and was always glad to see them. "People say I'm clever," the man said to himself. "If I go to the Rajah's palace perhaps he will help me."
When he got to the palace the soldiers at the door stopped him and asked what he wanted. "I want to see the Rajah and talk to him," the poor man explained. The Rajah was just leaving the palace and heard what the poor man was saying. "Send him away," he said to his soldiers. "His clothes are old and dirty. I don't enjoy talking to such people or looking at them." The soldiers pushed the poor man away from the door and promised to beat him if he came back.
The poor man had a friend who lived not far away, so he went to that man's house to rest before returning home. The poor man described his meeting with the Rajah to his friend and said, "It's clear that without better clothes I'll never get into the palace." "Yes, I think you are quite right," his friend said. "Take my new clothes and put them on. Then try again."
The old man agreed, and the next morning he put on his friend's new clothes and again went to the palace. The Rajah came to the door and said, "Come in, come in. I'm glad to see you. I'm just going to have dinner and you will be my guest. I don't like to eat alone."
They went in together and sat down to table with all kinds of good things on it to eat. But instead of eating the Rajah's visitor began to put the food into the pockets of his clothes. The Rajah looked at him in surprise. "Why are you putting the food into your pockets?" he asked. "When I came here yesterday in my old clothes," the poor man explained, "you refused to see me or talk to me. I came today in these fine clothes and you invited me to dinner. So I understand that the food is not for me. It is for my fine clothes."
Unusual pet
Small boys have a sort of hunting instinct, but, there was one particular schoolboy who decided that he would have nothing less than a snake for a pet — and he aimed to get one from London Zoo.
He cycled to the zoo in the early hours of the morning and climbed over the wall close to the front gate. From there he only had to walk a few yards to get to the open-air snake collection. He waited in the shadows for the night watchman to go on his way and ran to the reptile house where using his fishing net he fished out a snake. His plan worked very well.
Imagine this young lad cycling home with a fishing net containing a surprised damp snake! Luckily for the snake, the boy lived only half a mile away. He was able to reach home, park his bicycle, get back into the house and go up to his room without waking his parents. However, he was puzzled as to what to do with the snake. Suddenly a brilliant idea came to his mind.
The next morning the sleeping thief was woken by the terrible screams and shouts of his agitated mother. "Look!.. Look — in the toilet!" The father walked over to the toilet and, sure enough, happily swimming around was a coiled up snake.
The father marched to his son's bedroom where he found the boy pretending to be sound asleep. "What do you know about the snake in the toilet?" "Dad, all my friends at school collect animals and I don't have a pet..." "No!" this father exclaimed.
"This house is too small for them".
The boy confessed his night raid and his father didn't know whether to laugh or become angry. He gave his son five minutes to get the snake out and then phoned the zoo. So the snake was returned to the zoo, who were grateful, as they hadn't even noticed it was gone! They all took a liking to the boy. Such was his love for snakes that they gave him a Saturday job in the reptile house. He was brilliant at it. The boy had a great kinship and bond with the animals, an important quality for any veterinary surgeon, which he eventually became.
THE WISE LITTLE GIRL
Once upon a time...in the immense Russian steppe, lay a little village where nearly all the inhabitants bred horses. It was the month of October, when a big livestock market was held yearly in the main town. Two brothers, one rich and the other one poor, set off for market. The rich man rode a stallion, and the poor brother a young mare.
At dusk, they stopped beside an empty hut and tethered their horses outside, before going to sleep themselves on two heaps of straw. Great was their surprise, when, next morning they saw three horses outside, instead of two. Well, to be exact the newcomer was not really a horse. It was a foal, to which the mare had given birth during the night. Soon it had the strength to struggle to its feet, and after a drink of its mother's milk, the foal staggered its first few steps. The stallion greeted it with a cheerful whinny, and when the two brothers set eyes on it for the first time, the foal was standing beside the stallion.
"It belongs to me!" exclaimed Dimitri, the rich brother, the minute he saw it. "It's my stallion's foal." Ivan, the poor brother, began to laugh.
"Whoever heard of a stallion having a foal? It was born to my mare!"
"No, that's not true! It was standing close to the stallion, so it's the stallion's foal. And therefore it's mine!" The brothers started to quarrel, then they decided to go to town and bring the matter before the judges. Still arguing, they head ed for the big square where the courtroom stood. But what they didn't know was that it was a special day, the day when, once a year, the Emperor himself administered the law. He himself received all who came seeking justice. The brothers were ushered into his presence, and they told him all about the dispute.
Of course, the Emperor knew perfectly well who was the owner of the foal. He was on the point of proclaiming in favor of the poor brother, when suddenly Ivan developed an unfortunate twitch in his eye. The Emperor was greatly annoyed by this familiarity b y a humble peasant, and decided to punish Ivan for his disrespect. After listening to both sides of the story, he declared it was difficult, indeed impossible, to say exactly who was the foal's rightful owner. And being in the mood for a spot of fun, and since he loved posing riddles and solving them as well, to the amusement of his counselors, he exclaimed:
"I can't judge which of you should have the foal, so it will be awarded to whichever of you solves the following four riddles: what is the fastest thing in the world? What is the fattest? What's the softest and what is the most precious? I command you to return to the palace in a week's time with your answers!" Dimitri started to puzzle over the answers as soon as he left the courtroom. When he reached home, however, he realized he had nobody to help him.
"Well, I will just have to seek help, for if I can't solve these riddles, I will lose the foal!" Then he remembered a woman, one of his neighbors, to whom he had once lent a silver ducat. That had been some time ago, and with the interest, the neighbor now owed him three ducats. And since she had a reputation for being quick-witted, but also very astute, he decided to ask her advice, in exchange for canceling part of her debt. But the woman was not slow to show how clever she really was, and promptly demanded that the whole debt be wiped out in exchange for the answers.
"The fastest thing in the world is my husband's bay horse," she said. "Nothing can beat it! The fattest is our pig! Such a huge beast has never been seen! The softest is the quilt I made for the bed, using my own goose's feathers. It's the envy of all my friends. The most precious thing in the world is my three-month old nephew. There isn't a more handsome child. I wouldn't exchange him for all the gold on earth, and that makes him the most precious thing on earth!"
Dimitri was rather doubtful about the woman's answers being correct. On the other hand, he had to take some kind of solution back to the Emperor. And he guessed, quite rightly, that if he didn't, he would be punished.
In the meantime, Ivan, who was a widower, had gone back to the humble cottage where he lived with his small daughter. Only seven years old, the little girl was often left alone, and as a result, was thoughtful and very clever for her age. The poor man too k the little girl into his confidence, for like his brother, he knew he would never be able to find the answers by himself. The child sat in silence for a moment, then firmly said:
"Tell the Emperor that the fastest thing in the world is the cold north wind in winter. The fattest is the soil in our fields whose crops give life to men and animals alike, the softest thing is a child's caress and the most precious is honesty.";
The day came when the two brothers were to return before the Emperor. They were led into his presence. The Emperor was curious to hear what they had to say, but he roared with laughter at Dimitri's foolish answers. However, when it was Ivan's turn to spea k, a frown spread over the Emperor's face. The poor brother's wise replies made him squirm, especially the last one, about honesty, the most precious thing of all. The Emperor knew perfectly well that he had been dishonest in his dealings with the poor br other, for he had denied him justice. But he could not bear to admit it in front of his own counselors, so he angrily demanded:
"Who gave you these answers?" Ivan told the Emperor that it was his small daughter. Still annoyed, the great man said:
"You shall be rewarded for having such a wise and clever daughter. You shall be awarded the foal that your brother claimed, together with a hundred silver ducats. But...but..." and the Emperor winked at his counselors:
"You will come before me in seven days' time, bringing your daughter. And since she's so clever, she must appear before me neither naked nor dressed, neither on foot nor on horseback, neither bearing gifts nor empty-handed. And if she does this, you will have your reward. If not, you'll have your head chopped off for your impudence!"
The onlookers began to laugh, knowing that the poor man would never to able to fulfill the Emperor's conditions. Ivan went home in despair, his eyes brimming with tears. But when he had told his daughter what had happened, she calmly said:
"Tomorrow, go and catch a hare and a partridge. Both must be alive! You'll have the foal and the hundred silver ducats! Leave it to me!" Ivan did as his daughter said. He had no idea what the two creatures were for, but he trusted in his daughter's wisdom.
On the day of the audience with the Emperor, the palace was thronged with bystanders, waiting for Ivan and his small daughter to arrive. At last, the little girl appeared, draped in a fishing net, riding the hare and holding the partridge in her hand. She was neither naked nor dressed, on foot or on horseback. Scowling, the Emperor told her:
"I said neither bearing gifts nor empty-handed!" At these words, the little girl held out the partridge. The Emperor stretched out his hand to grasp it, but the bird fluttered into the air. The third condition had been fulfilled. In spite of him self, the Emperor could not help admiring the little girl who had so cleverly passed such a test, and in a gentler voice, he said:
"Is your father terribly poor, and does he desperately need the foal?"
"Oh, yes!" replied the little girl. "We live on the hares he catches in the rivers and the fish he picks from the trees!"
"Aha!" cried the Emperor triumphantly. "So you're not as clever as you seem to be! Whoever heard of hares in the river and fish in the trees!" To which the little girl swiftly replied:
"And whoever heard of a stallion having a foal?" At that, both Emperor and Court burst into peals of laughter. Ivan was immediately given his hundred silver ducats and the foal, and the Emperor proclaimed:
"Only in my kingdom could such a wise little girl be born!"
TSAR SALTAN
Once upon a time in a far away land Tsar Saltan sat listening to the future plans of three sisters. One of these sisters said that she wanted to give birth to a great warrior, and employ the other two sisters in her charge. Tsar Saltan decided to marry this sister, making the other two sisters become very jealous. These two women decided to do everything they could to make the married sister's life unhappy.
Tsar Saltan soon went away to war. During his absence his queen gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Gvidon. It looked as if her dream of the future were beginning to be fulfilled, but her evil sisters wrote to the Tsar and convinced him that his son was an evil monster. Believing their ridiculous story, the Tsar then ordered that his wife and son be sealed in a barrel and cast into the sea.
The barrel drifted for many years, finally washing ashore after Prince Gvidon had already grown into a man. On this shore Prince Gvidon performed his first great task, he rescued a swan being attacked by an evil magician. Having been saved, the swan then turned into an enchanting princess who promised to help Gvidon find his father. The Prince then became ruler of the land that he had washed ashore upon, and his kingdom became famous throughout the world.
One day a merchant ship en route to Tsar Saltan's country passed through Prince Gvidon's magnificent land. On arrival to Tsar Saltan's country the merchant told the Tsar about his son's great land. Tsar Saltan made plans to travel there, but the evil sisters talked him out of it. The next time the merchant passed through the kingdom of Prince Gvidon he saw the Magic Squirrel which lived in a crystal cage that Prince Gvidon had built for it. Again the merchant arrived home to tell Tsar Saltan of his son's magical land, but again the evil sisters interfered. They told the Tsar that he should instead go to the land where one can see 33 warriors and Chernomor rise from the ocean.
The Princess Swan explained to Prince Gvidon that these warriors were her brothers, so when the merchant passed through the land a third time this feat was performed for him. Having heard this story the wicked sisters dissuaded the Tsar once more from traveling to his son by telling him that it would be more worth his while to find the Magic Princess with the Sea Star above her head.
Prince Gvidon was sad when he discovered once more that his father would not come to see him. Little did he know that the Swan Princess and the Magic Princess were one in the same! The merchant then returned home a fourth time to inform the Tsar that his son had married the Magic Princess. The Tsar then immediately set sail for Gvidon's kingdom where the family was reunited.
They lived there happily ever after.
SNOWMAIDEN (1)
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, a peasant woman looked out the window of her cottage to watch the village children play in the snow. She did this often because, although she led a very happy life with her husband, there was still a longing in her heart. The woman and her husband had no children of their own, and their biggest wish was to one day be able to watch their own child play in the snow.
The husband one day suggested to his wife that they should go outside and build a snowman, instead of sitting in the house all day. The wife agreed, but wanted instead to build a girl - a snowmaiden. The couple spent that whole day carefully building and molding a snowmaiden. They inserted two bright blue beads for eyes, and a bright red ribbon for her mouth. Then they stood back to look at their beautiful creation. As they watched they noticed something, it looked as if the snowmaiden was smiling. The couple then realized that she was coming to life. After she smiled her hair curled up and she walked into the house. The peasant couple finally had a daughter of their own!
Snowmaiden grew to be beautiful. Her eyes gleamed bright blue and her flaxen hair hung down to her waist. Snowmaiden was however very pale, with no color in her cheeks or lips, but this did not make her any less beautiful.
As winter melted into spring, and the weather started getting warmer, Snowmaiden started to behave strangely. She no longer wanted to go outside to play with the other children, and she began to hide in the dark places of the house. The husband and wife began to worry about her.
Soon summer came and Snowmaiden was more withdrawn than ever. One day her friends asked her to join them on a trip into the woods to pick berries. Snowmaiden was reluctant to join, but at the persistence of her parents went along. In the woods Snowmaiden was sure to stay in the shade. When nightfall came her friends built a fire, and played games jumping over it. Snowmaiden, however, sat by an icy river. Her friends called to her to join their games, but Snowmaiden did not want to go. But as the night went on Snowmaiden grew very lonely by herself at the river, and decided to join their games. "Jump over the fire!" her friends yelled at her. Snowmaiden took a step, ran towards the fire, jumped, and melted away. The poor peasant couple were once again childless.
SNOWMAIDEN (2)
There was once a daughter born to Fairy Spring and Father Frost. This daughter was the most beautiful maiden that had ever been known, she had skin as pale as the snow, eyes blue like the sky, and thick blond hair that hung to her waist. She was named Snowmaiden.
Fairy Spring had to hide her daughter from the Sun God, whose rays could easily destroy the beautiful girl, so for a very long time Snowmaiden lived deep within the woods. But it was very lonely there, and one day Snowmaiden decided to take a long walk. As she walked she heard a beautiful sound. At first it was very far away, but it drew Snowmaiden closer and closer to its source. Snowmaiden followed it for a long time, all the way to the edge of the forest. There in an open field sat Lyel, a farm boy, playing his flute. Snowmaiden listened and watched form the edge of the forest, and became enchanted with Lyel.
Snowmaiden went to the edge of the forest every day to listen to the farm boy play his flute. Lyel always ignored the beautiful girl standing in the shade of the trees, and instead danced with the girls who sat with him in the field. This broke Snowmaiden's tender heart, and she decided to go speak with her mother about it. "Mother," Snowmaiden began, "please let me feel real love." Fairy Spring understood that her daughter wanted the farm boy to fall in love with her. "If you want real love," Fairy Spring answered, "you must leave the protection of the forest and go into the open field where the boy plays his flute."
The next day Snowmaiden once again followed the sweet sound of Lyel's music to the edge of the woods. She stepped out of the trees, and walked into the opening. Lyel turned to look at her, and thought she was the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen in his life. Just then Snowmaiden stepped into a ray of sunshine, which illuminated her beauty to its fullest. But the Sun God's ray was to strong for Snowmaiden, and she melted before Lyel's eyes.
THE STORY OF THE SLEEPING BEAUTY
Once upon a time in a land far, far away an evil queen sat with her magic mirror in her hand. She was appalled when this mirror revealed to her that she was no longer the most beautiful in all the land, but that a young princess was instead.
In her rage, the evil queen ordered that the princess be led deep into the forest, and then be killed. However, the old woman assigned the grim task of leading the beautiful girl astray took pity upon her intended victim, and left her in the forest without killing her. In the forest the princess found shelter with seven "bogatrys"(warriors), and she lived there very happily. She had no idea that back in the castle the wicked queen's magic mirror had told her the secret of the girl's whereabouts, and that the queen had made plans to ensure that the princess would not once again escape her wrath.
One day the beautiful princess was approached by a seemingly harmless old woman who offered her a delicious red apple. The naive princess never suspected that it was the evil queen in disguise, and gladly took the apple, whereupon her first bite she fell into a deep, seemingly irreversible sleep.
All hope was not to be lost. Far away the great Prince Yelesei had heard of the fate befallen his love, and set out to break this spell which had cast her into such a deep sleep. He rode on his horse, inquiring the moon, the wind, and the sun, as to where his princess could be found. He finally found her sleeping body encased in a crystal tomb. Smashing the tomb with his sword, he broke the evil spell, and the princess awoke. They lived happily ever after.
The evil queen however, did not. She died of grief as soon as her mirror revealed to her that the princess would live happily ever after.
THE SCARLET FLOWER
Once upon a time in a far away land a merchant was preparing to set out on a long journey. This merchant had three daughters, and he asked all of them what they would like as gifts for themselves when he returned from his voyage. The first daughter requested a golden crown, and the second one wanted a crystal mirror. The third daughter asked only for "the little scarlet flower."
The merchant set out on his journey. It did not take him very long to find a beautiful golden crown and a fine crystal mirror. He had difficulty however, finding the third gift, the scarlet flower. He searched everywhere, and eventually his search led him into a magical forest. Deep within these woods there was situated a palace, in whose courtyard grew a beautiful flower. As the merchant drew closer to the flower he realized what it was, the scarlet flower. Cautiously, the merchant picked the flower that his youngest daughter wanted so badly. Upon picking the scarlet flower he was confronted by a hideous beast, who demanded that in return for picking the flower the merchant must send one of his daughters deep into the enchanted forest, to live with the beast forever.
Upon recieving the scarlet flower, the merchant's youngest daughter agreed to go to the beast. She journeyed alone into the forest and found the castle where she would dwell forever. For a time, she lived there very happily. The beast had not revealed himself to her, and showered her daily with kindness and gifts. She started to grow quite fond of her invisible keeper, and one day asked that he show himself. The beast reluctantly gave into her plea, and just as he had feared, she recoiled in terror at the site of him.
That night the girl had a haughnting dream about her father falling deathly ill. She begged the beast to release her, so that she could find her dying father. Touched by her concern, the beast released her on one condition - that she return to him in three days time. The girl found her father, and prepared to return to the beast in the alloted time. However, her sisters altered the time on the clocks, making her arrive late. There upon her arrival the girl was horrified at what she encountered. The beast was dead, lying there clutching her scarlet flower. Heartbroken, the girl embraced the dead beast, and declared her love for him. Having done this, she unknowingly broke the evil spell, and her beloved beast awoke, turning into a handsome prince. They lived happily ever after.
SADKO
In the fable of Sadko, a man appearing to be a poor psaltery player, has talents which are neglected by the merchants of the City of Novgorod. However Sadko, was indeed a very talented person. This was the reason that the beautiful Sea princess, Volkhova, daughter of Tsar Morskoi, the King of the Sea, was charmed by Sandko's music and songs. Eventually, the princess Volkhova fell in love with the psaltery player.
Princess Volkhova gave Sadko a chance to redeem himself when betting on the incidence of golden fish in Lake Ilmen. Sadko won his wager, which had been his life against the wealth of all merchant ships. He took the ships and asked the townspeople to take care of his wife, Lubava, and set sail.
On his journey, Sadko visited Venice, Scandinavia, Egypt, India and many other countries. But, as the ships sailed back to Russia, the wind ceased and the ships could not move. It was that then Sadko realized that because the people had not made proper sacrifices to the Tsar Morskoi, king of the Sea, the ships now stood still. In order to save the sailors Sadko sacrificed himself and jumped into the water. Instantly a brisk breeze filled the sails of the ships and they sailed away towards home.
Sadko fell to the bottom of the sea and found himself in the palace of the Tsar Morskoi. The King and Queen of the Sea had heard about Sadko's musical talents and asked him to play and to sing for them. They were overjoyed and decided to make Sadko stay in Sea Tsardom and promised Volkhova to be his bride. But Sadko told Volkhova that he couldn't marry her, as he still loved his wife, Lubava. Upset, but still loving the psaltery player, she helped Sadko to pluck away with the help of a flock of sea-horses which took Sadko back to the shore of Lake Ilmen.
Tired form the journey, Volkhova sings a lullaby to Sadko and he falls asleep. Volkhova kisses him quietly and disappears into the mist, thus becoming the river Volkhova which flows from Lake Ilmen to the sea.
Sadko's wife, Lubava, who was waiting for her husband all that time, was overjoyed to see her beloved husband again.
They lived happily aver after.
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