Chapter III. MYTHOLOGICAL, part 1 · page 21 2101The opening of the story of Likho is somewhat similar to that of one of the tales of Indian origin translated by Stanislas Julien from the Chinese.102Once upon a time, we are told, a king grew weary of good fortune, so he sent messengers in search of misfortune.103It a certain god sold to them, in the shape of a sow which devoured a peck of needles a day.104The king's agents took to worrying his subjects for needles, and brought such trouble upon the whole kingdom, that his ministers entreated him to have the beast put to death.105He consented, and it was led forth to die.106But neither knife nor axe could penetrate its hide, so they tried to consume it with fire.107After a time it became red-hot, and then it leaped out from amid the flames, and dashed about setting fire to all manner of things.108The conflagration spread and was followed by famine, so that the whole land was involved in ruin.109[227]110The Polyphemus story has been so thoroughly investigated by Wilhelm Grimm,[228] that there is no occasion to dwell upon it here.111But the following statement is worthy of notice.112The inhabitants of the Ukraine are said still to retain some recollection of the one-eyed nation of Arimaspians of whom Herodotus speaks (Bk.113IV. c. 27).114According to them the One-Eyes[229] dwell somewhere far off, beyond the seas.115The Tartars, during their inroads, used to burn towns and villages, kill old folks and infants, and carry off young people.116The plumpest of these they used to sell to cannibals who had but one eye apiece, situated in the forehead.117And the cannibals would drive away their purchases, like sheep, to their own land, and there fatten them up, kill them, and eat them.118A similar tradition, says Afanasief (VIII.119 exists also among the Ural Cossacks. 120While on the subject of eyes, it may be remarked that the story of "One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three-Eyes," rendered so familiar to juvenile English readers by translations from the German,[230] appears among the Russian tales in a very archaic and heathenish form.121Here is the outline of a version of it found in the Archangel Government.122[231] There once was a Princess Marya, whose stepmother had two daughters, one of whom was three-eyed.123Now her stepmother hated Marya, and used to send her out, with nothing to eat but a dry crust, to tend a cow all day.124But "the princess went into the open field, bowed down before the cow's right foot, and got plenty to eat and to drink, and fine clothes to put on; all day long she followed the cow about dressed like a great lady--when the day came to a close, she again bowed down to the cow's right foot, took off her fine clothes, went home and laid on the table the crust of bread she had brought back with her."125Wondering at this, her stepmother sent her two-eyed stepsister to watch her.126But Marya uttered the words "Sleep, sleep, one-eye! sleep, sleep, other eye!" till the watcher fell asleep.127Then the three-eyed sister was sent, and Marya by the same spell sent two of her eyes to sleep, but forgot the third.128So all was found out, and the stepmother had the cow killed.129But Marya persuaded her father, who acted as the butcher, to give her a part of the cow's entrails, which she buried near the threshold; and from it there sprang a bush covered with berries, and haunted by birds which sang "songs royal and rustic."130After a time a Prince Ivan heard of Marya, so he came riding up, and offered to marry whichever of the three princesses could fill with berries from the bush a bowl which he brought with him.131The stepmother's daughters tried to do so, but the birds almost pecked their eyes out, and would not let them gather the berries.132Then Marya's turn came, and when she approached the bush the birds picked the berries for her, and filled the bowl in a trice.133So she married the prince, and lived happily with him for a time.134But after she had borne him a son, she went to pay a visit to her father, and her stepmother availed herself of the opportunity to turn her into a goose, and to set her own two-eyed daughter in her place.135So Prince Ivan returned home with a false bride.136But a certain old man took out the infant prince afield, and there his mother appeared, flung aside her feather-covering, and suckled the babe, exclaiming the while with tears--137"To-day I suckle thee, to-morrow I shall suckle thee, but on the third day I shall fly away beyond the dark forests, beyond the high mountains!"138This occurred on two successive days, but on the second occasion Prince Ivan was a witness of what took place, and he seized her feather-dress and burnt it, and then laid hold of her.139She first turned into a frog, then assumed various reptile forms, and finally became a spindle.140This he broke in two, and flung one half in front and the other behind him, and the spell was broken along with it.141So he regained his wife and went home with her.142But as for the false wife, he took a gun and shot her.143We will now return to the stories in which Harm or Misery figures as a living agent.144To Likho is always attributed a character of unmitigated malevolence, and a similar disposition is ascribed by the songs of the people to another being in whom the idea of misfortune is personified.145This is _Gore_, or Woe, who is frequently represented in popular poetry--sometimes under the name of _Beda_ or Misery--as chasing and ultimately destroying the unhappy victims of destiny.146In vain do the fugitives attempt to escape.147If they enter the dark forest, Woe follows them there; if they rush to the pot-house, there they find Woe sitting; when they seek refuge in the grave, Woe stands over it with a shovel and rejoices.148[232] In the following story, however, the gloomy figure of Woe has been painted in a less than usually sombre tone.149WOE.150[233]151In a certain village there lived two peasants, two brothers: one of them poor, the other rich.152The rich one went away to live in a town, built himself a large house, and enrolled himself among the traders.153Meanwhile the poor man sometimes had not so much as a morsel of bread, and his children--each one smaller than the other--were crying and begging for food.154From morning till night the peasant would struggle, like a fish trying to break through ice, but nothing came of it all.155At last one day he said to his wife:156"Suppose I go to town, and ask my brother whether he won't do something to help us."157So he went to the rich man and said:158"Ah, brother mine! do help me a bit in my trouble.159My wife and children are without bread.160They have to go whole days without eating."161"Work for me this week, then I'll help you," said his brother.162What was there to be done!163The poor man betook himself to work, swept out the yard, cleaned the horses, fetched water, chopped firewood.164At the end of the week the rich man gave him a loaf of bread, and says:165"There's for your work!"166"Thank you all the same," dolefully said the poor man, making his bow and preparing to go home.167"Stop a bit! come and dine with me to-morrow, and bring your wife, too: to-morrow is my name-day, you know."168"Ah, brother! how can I? you know very well you'll be having merchants coming to you in boots and pelisses, but I have to go about in bast shoes and a miserable old grey caftan."169"No matter, come! there will be room even for you."170"Very well, brother!171I'll come."172The poor man returned home, gave his wife the loaf, and said:173"Listen, wife! we're invited to a party to-morrow."174"What do you mean by a party? who's invited us?"175"My brother! he keeps his name-day to-morrow."176"Well, well! let's go."177Next day they got up and went to the town, came to the rich man's house, offered him their congratulations, and sat down on a bench.178A number of the name-day guests were already seated at table.179All of these the host feasted gloriously, but he forgot even so much as to think of his poor brother and his wife; not a thing did he offer them; they had to sit and merely look on at the others eating and drinking.1 2← previousChapter II. 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