The Vampire and St Michael · page 21 2 3101Then came a bang! bang! from the coffin, and again the Tsarivna started up.102She left her coffin and fluttered about the church.103She rushed at the boards and made a snatch at him, and fell back; she rushed at him again, and again she fell back.104She foamed at the mouth, and her fury every instant grew worse and worse.105She dashed herself about, and darted madly from one corner of the church to the other, seeking him everywhere.106But he skipped into the coffin, with the image of St Michael by his side.107She ran all over the church seeking him. "108He was here--and now he is not here!" cried she.109Then she ran farther on, felt all about her, and cried again, "He was here--and now he's not here!"110At last she sprang up to the coffin, and there he was.111Then she began to beg and pray him, "Come down, come down!112I'll try and catch thee no more, only come down, come down!"113But he only prayed to God, and answered her never a word.114Then the cock crew once, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"--"Alas! come down, come down, _my consort!115_" cried she.116Then he came down, and they both fell on their knees and began praying to God, and wept sore and gave thanks to God because He had had mercy on them both.117And at dawn of day crowds of people, with the Tsar at the head of them, came to the church. "118Shall we find him reading prayers, or shall we only find his bones?" said they.119And lo! there they both were on their knees praying fervently to God.120Then the Tsar rejoiced greatly, and embraced both him and her.121After that they had a grand service in the church, and sprinkled her with holy water, and baptized her again, and the unclean spirit departed from her.122Then the Tsar gave the young man half his power and half his kingdom, but the merchants departed in their ships, with their nephew on board.123They lived together, and time went on and the young man still remained a bachelor, and was so handsome that words cannot describe it.124But the Tsar lived alone with his daughter.checked by a teacher125She, however, grew sadder and sadder, and was no longer like her former self, so sorrowful was she.126And the Tsar asked her, saying, "Wherefore art thou so sorrowful?"--"I am not sorrowful, father," said she.127But the Tsar watched her, and saw that she _was_ sorrowful, and there was no help for it.128Then he asked her again, "Art thou ill?"--"Nay, dear dad," said she. "129I myself know not what is the matter with me."130And so it went on, till the Tsar dreamt a dream, and in this dream it was said to him, "Thy daughter grieves because she loves so much the youth who drove the unclean spirit out of her."131Then the Tsar asked her, "Dost thou love this youth?"--And she answered, "I do, dear father."--"Then why didst thou not tell me before, my daughter?" said he.132Then he sent for his heyducks and commanded them, saying, "Go this instant to such and such a kingdom, and there ye will find the youth who cured my daughter; bring him to me."133Then they went on and on until they found him, and he took just the same laths and boards that he had had before, and went with them.134The Tsar met him, and bought all his boards, and when they split them in pieces, lo! they were full of precious stones.135Then the Tsar took him to his own house and gave him his daughter.136And they lived right merrily together.137THE STORY OF TREMSIN, THE BIRD ZHAR, AND NASTASIA, THE LOVELY MAID OF THE SEA138There was once upon a time a man and a woman, and they had one little boy.139In the summertime they used to go out and mow corn in the fields, and one summer when they had laid their little lad by the side of a sheaf, an eagle swooped down, caught up the child, carried him into a forest, and laid him in its nest.140Now in this forest three bandits chanced to be wandering at the same time.141They heard the child crying in the eagle's nest: "Oo-oo! oo-oo! oo-oo!" so they went up to the oak on which was the nest and said one to another, "Let us hew down the tree and kill the child!"--"No," replied one of them, "it were better to climb up the tree and bring him down alive."142So he climbed up the tree and brought down the lad, and they nurtured him and gave him the name of Tremsin.143They brought up Tremsin until he became a youth, and then they gave him a horse, set him upon it, and said to him, "Now go out into the wide world and search for thy father and thy mother!"144So Tremsin went out into the wide world and pastured his steed on the vast steppes, and his steed spoke to him and said, "When we have gone a little farther, thou wilt see before thee a plume of the Bird _Zhar_[12]; pick it not up, or sore trouble will be thine!"145Then they went on again.146They went on and on, through ten tsardoms they went, till they came to another empire in the land of Thrice Ten where lay the feather.147And the youth said to himself, "Why should I not pick up the feather when it shines so brightly even from afar?"148And he went near to the feather, and it shone so that the like of it cannot be expressed or conceived or imagined or even told of in tales.149Then Tremsin picked up the feather and went into the town over against him, and in that town there lived a rich nobleman.150And Tremsin entered the house of this nobleman and said, "Sir, may I not take service with thee as a labourer?"--The nobleman looked at him, and seeing that he was comely and stalwart, "Why not?151Of course thou mayst," said he.152So he took him into his service.153Now this nobleman had many servants, and they curried his horses for him, and made them smart and glossy against the day he should go a-hunting.154And Tremsin began to curry his horse likewise, and the servants of the nobleman could not make the horses of their master so shining bright as Tremsin made his own horse.155So they looked more closely, and they perceived that when Tremsin cleaned his horse he stroked it with the feather of the Bird Zhar, and the coat of the good steed straightway shone like burnished silver.156Then those servants were filled with envy, and said among themselves, "How can we remove this fellow from the world?157We'll saddle him with a task he is unable to do, and then our master will drive him away."--So they went to their master and said, "Tremsin has a feather of the Bird Zhar, and he says that if he likes he can get the Bird Zhar itself."158Then the nobleman sent for Tremsin and said to him, "O Tremsin! my henchmen say that thou canst get the Bird Zhar if thou dost choose."--"Nay, but I cannot," replied Tremsin.--"Answer me not," said the nobleman, "for so sure as I've a sword, I'll slice thy head off like a gourd."--Then Tremsin fell a-weeping and went away to his horse. "159My master," said he, "hath given me a task to do that will clean undo me."--"What task is that?" asked the horse.--"Why, to fetch him the Bird Zhar."--"Why that's not a task, but a trifle," replied the horse. "160Let us go to the steppes," it continued, "and let me go a-browsing; but do thou strip thyself stark-naked and lie down in the grass, and the Bird Zhar will straightway swoop down to feed.161So long as she only claws about thy body, touch her not; but as soon as she begins to claw at thine eyes, seize her by the legs."162[12] _I.e._ Burning bright.163So when they got to the wild steppes, Tremsin stripped himself naked and flung himself in the grass, and, immediately, the Bird Zhar swooped down and began pecking all about him, and at last she pecked at his eyes.164Then Tremsin seized her by both legs, and mounted his horse and took the Bird Zhar to the nobleman.165Then his fellow-servants were more envious than ever, and they said among themselves, "How shall we devise for him a task to do that cannot be done, and so rid the world of him altogether?"166So they bethought them, and then they went to the nobleman and said, "Tremsin says that to get the Bird Zhar was nothing, and that he is also able to get the thrice-lovely Nastasia of the sea."167Then the nobleman again sent for Tremsin and said to him, "Look now! thou didst get for me the Bird Zhar, see that thou now also gettest for me the thrice-lovely Nastasia of the sea."--"But I cannot, sir!" said Tremsin.--"Answer me not so!" replied the nobleman, "for so sure as I've a sword, I'll slice thy head off like a gourd an thou bring her not."--Then Tremsin went out to his horse and fell a-weeping.--"Wherefore dost thou weep?" asked the faithful steed.--"Wherefore should I not weep?" he replied. "168My master has given me a task that cannot be done."--"What task is that?"--"Why, to fetch him the thrice-lovely Nastasia of the sea!"--"Oh-ho!" laughed the horse, "that is not a task, but a trifle.169Go to thy master and say, 'Cause white tents to be raised by the sea-shore, and buy wares of sundry kinds, and wine and spirits in bottles and flasks,' and the thrice-lovely Nastasia will come and purchase thy wares, and then thou mayst take her."170And the nobleman did so.171He caused white tents to be pitched by the sea-shore, and bought kerchiefs and scarves and spread them out gaily, and made great store of wine and brandy in bottles and flasks.172Then Tremsin rode toward the tents, and while he was on the way his horse said to him, "Now when I go to graze, do thou lie down and feign to sleep.173Then the thrice-lovely Nastasia will appear and say, 'What for thy wares?' but do thou keep silence.174But when she begins to taste of the wine and the brandy, then she will go to sleep in the tent, and thou canst catch her easily and hold her fast!"175Then Tremsin lay down and feigned to sleep, and forth from the sea came the thrice-lovely Nastasia, and went up to the tents and asked, "Merchant, merchant, what for thy wares?"176But he lay there, and moved never a limb.177She asked the same thing over and over again, but, getting no answer, went into the tents where stood the flasks and the bottles.178She tasted of the wine.179How good it was!180She tasted of the brandy.181That was still better.182So from tasting she fell to drinking.183First she drank a little, and then she drank a little more, and at last she went asleep in the tent.184Then Tremsin seized the thrice-lovely Nastasia and put her behind him on horseback, and carried her off to the nobleman.185The nobleman praised Tremsin exceedingly, but the thrice-lovely Nastasia said, "Look now! since thou hast found the feather of the Bird Zhar, and the Bird Zhar herself, since also thou hast found me, thou must now fetch me also my little coral necklace from the sea!"186Then Tremsin went out to his faithful steed and wept sorely, and told him all about it.187And the horse said to him, "Did I not tell thee that grievous woe would come upon thee if thou didst pick up that feather?"188But the horse added, "Come! weep not! after all 'tis not a task, but a trifle."189Then they went along by the sea, and the horse said to him, "Let me out to graze, and then keep watch till thou seest a crab come forth from the sea, and then say to him, 'I'll catch thee.'"--So Tremsin let his horse out to graze, and he himself stood by the sea-shore, and watched and watched till he saw a crab come swimming along.190Then he said to the crab, "I'll catch thee."--"Oh! seize me not!" said the crab, "but let me get back into the sea, and I'll be of great service to thee."--"Very well," said Tremsin, "but thou must get me from the sea the coral necklace of the thrice-lovely Nastasia," and with that he let the crab go back into the sea again.191Then the crab called together all her young crabs, and they collected all the coral and brought it ashore, and gave it to Tremsin.192Then the faithful steed came running up, and Tremsin mounted it, and took the coral to the thrice-lovely Nastasia. "193Well," said Nastasia, "thou hast got the feather of the Bird Zhar, thou hast got the Bird Zhar itself, thou hast got me my coral, get me now from the sea my herd of wild horses!"--Then Tremsin was sore distressed, and went to his faithful steed and wept bitterly, and told him all about it. "194Well," said the horse, "this time 'tis no trifle, but a real hard task.195Go now to thy master, and bid him buy twenty hides, and twenty poods[13] of pitch, and twenty poods of flax, and twenty poods of hair."--So Tremsin went to his master and told him, and his master bought it all.196Then Tremsin loaded his horse with all this, and to the sea they went together.197And when they came to the sea the horse said, "Now lay upon me the hides and the tar and the flax, and lay them in this order--first a hide, and then a pood of tar, and then a pood of flax, and so on, laying them thus till they are all laid."198Tremsin did so. "199And now," said the horse, "I shall plunge into the sea, and when thou seest a large red wave driving toward the shore, run away till the red wave has passed and thou dost see a white wave coming, and then sit down on the shore and keep watch.200I shall then come out of the sea, and after me the whole herd; then thou must strike with the horsehair the horse which gallops immediately after me, and he will not be too strong for thee."--So the faithful steed plunged into the sea, and Tremsin sat down on the shore and watched.1 2 3← previousThe Voices At the Window, part 4next →The Serpent-wife↑ back to Cossack Fairy Tales and Folk TalesThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg29672/8/page/2/