🧚 Opening, part 32

So Ilyá Múromets changed into the beggar’s dress and rode straight back to the palace of the Prince, and cried out in a knightly voice: “Hail to thee, Prince of Kíev! give me, a wandering beggar, alms.”1

And the Prince saw him and spoke in this wise: “Come into my palace, beggar.2 I will give you food and drink and will give you gold on your way.”3

So the beggar went into the palace and stood at the stove and looked round.4

Ídolishche asked to eat, so they brought him an entire roasted ox and he ate it to the bones; then Ídolishche asked for drink, so they brought him a cauldron of beer; and twenty men had to bring it in.5 And he held it up to his ears and drank it all through.6

Ilyá Múromets said, “My father had a gluttonous mare; it guzzled until its breath failed.”7

Ídolishche could not stand this affront, and said, “Hail, wandering beggar!8 Do you dare me?9 I could take you in my hands; if it had been Ilyá Múromets I would even have braved him.”10

“Well,” said Ilyá Múromets, “that is the kind of man he was!”11 And he took off his cap and struck him lightly on the head, and he nearly knocked through the walls of the palace, took Ídolishche’s trunk and flung it out.12 And in return the Prince honoured Ilyá Múromets, praised him highly, and placed him amongst the mighty knights of his court.13

NIKÍTA THE TANNER14

One day, somewhere near Kíev, a dragon appeared, who demanded heavy tribute from the people.15 He demanded every time to eat a fair maiden: and at last the turn came to the Tsarévna, the princess.16 But the dragon would not eat her, she was too beautiful.17 He dragged her into his den and made her his wife.18 When he flew out on business, he used to pile logs of wood in front of the den to prevent the Tsarévna escaping.19 But the Tsarévna had a little dog that had followed her all the way from home.20 When she wrote a letter to her father and mother she used to tie it to the neck of her little dog, which would run all the way home and bring an answer back.21 One day her parents wrote to her: “Try to discover any one who is stronger than the dragon.”22 The Tsarévna got every day on more intimate terms with her dragon in order to discover who was stronger.23 At last he owned that Nikíta, the tanner at Kíev, was the stronger.24 So the Tsarévna at once wrote to her father: “Look for Nikíta, the tanner at Kíev, and send him on to me to deliver me from my imprisonment.”25

So the Tsar looked for Nikíta, and went to him himself to beg him to release the land from the cruelty of the dragon and redeem the princess.26

Just then Nikíta was tanning skins.27 He was just enfolding twelve hides in his hands.28 But when he saw the Tsar come to see him, his hands so trembled for fear that he rent the twelve hides.29 But, however much the Tsar and the Tsarítsa asked him, he would not set out against the dragon.30 Then the Tsar assembled five thousand children, who were to mollify the tanner with their bitter tears.31 The little ones came to Nikíta and begged him to go and fight the dragon.32 And when he saw them weep, Nikíta the tanner himself almost felt the tears flowing.33 He took thirty _puds_ of hemp, tarred it, and swathed himself in it in order that the dragon might find him a hard morsel, and then set out.34 But the dragon locked himself up in his den and would not come to view.35

“Come with me into the open field, otherwise I will shatter your den to pieces!” said the tanner, and began clattering at the doors.36

Then the dragon, seeing his doom approach, came out into the open.37 Nikíta the tanner fought the grisly worm some time, maybe long, maybe short, and at last got him under.38

Then the dragon besought Nikíta the tanner: “Do not beat me to death.39 Stronger than us two there is nothing in the white world.40 Let us divide the earth.41 You may live on the one half and I on the other.”42

“Very well!” said Nikíta, “only we must delimit frontiers.”43

So the tanner took the plough, which weighed three hundred _puds_, and harnessed to it the dragon, and drew the harrow all the way from Kíev to the Caspian Sea.44

“Now we have divided the entire earth,” said the dragon.45

“Yes, we have divided the earth, but not the sea; we must also divide the sea, otherwise you would say I was taking your share of the water.”46 So they then set out into the middle of the sea, and there Nikíta slew the dragon and drowned him.47

The trench may still be seen: it is two fathoms deep.48 They plough all round it; but never touch the bottom: those who do not know whence came this trench call it a battlement.49

When Nikíta had done this feat, he demanded no reward for it, but went home and went on tanning.50

THE SINGING-TREE AND THE SPEAKING-BIRD51

Once upon a time there was a very inquisitive King who spent all his time eavesdropping at the window.52 There was also a merchant, who had three daughters, and one day they were talking to their father, and one said: “If only the King’s bread-bearer would marry me!”53 The second one said: “If only the King’s valet would cast his eyes upon me!”54 But the third said: “I want the King himself: I would bear him two sons and one daughter.”55

Now the King was listening to all this conversation; and after a few days he did exactly as they had wished: the eldest married the King’s bread-bearer, the middle one the King’s valet, but the youngest married the King himself.56

The King married very happily, and after some time his Queen was about to bear him a child.57 He was sending for the midwife of the town, but the elder sisters asked him why he should; they would act as midwives.58 As soon as the Queen had born him a son, the midwives took him away and told the King his wife had born a pup; and they put the new-born babe into a box and threw it into a big pond in the King’s garden.59

At this the King was very angry, and wanted to have his wife blown to bits at the cannon’s mouth; but—it so happened—some other princes were on a visit, and persuaded him to forgive a first offence.60 So the King pardoned her for the nonce, and gave her a second chance.61

One year went by, and the Queen bore him another son, and the sisters again took it away, and told him she had born a kitten.62 The King was angry at first, this time he was sore enraged, and was agog to punish his wife, but once more he was won over.63

So he gave her a third chance.64 This time the Queen bore a very beautiful daughter, and the sisters took it and told the King she had born an unheard-of monster.65 Oh! there were no bounds to his fury now; he ordered the hangman in and bade him hang his wife on the spot; but once more some visiting princes overruled him and said: “Would it not be better to put an oratory up near the church and put her into it, and let every one who goes to Mass spit into her eyes?”66 So he did; but, so far from being spat upon by every passer-by, every one brought her fine loaves and pasties.67