🧚 Opening, part 33 · page 2

Then the King said to him, “You are not the only suitor for my daughter; there is another suitor, a mighty knight.72 If I refuse him he will destroy all of my kingdom.”73

“But, if you decline my offer, I will ravage your kingdom.”74

“What will you?—you had better measure your strength with him: to whichever of you conquers I will give my daughter.”75

“Very well; summon all the Tsars and Tsarévichi, all the Kings and Korolévichi, to see us wage an honourable holmgang to win your daughter.”76

So then hunters were sent out to all cities, and one year had not gone by before from all the neighbouring parts all the Tsars and Tsarévichi, all the Kings and Korolévichi came together, as also the Tsar who had put his own daughter into the barrel and sent her out into the sea.77

On the day appointed all the knights made ready for a bloody holmgang.78 They fought and fought, and the earth groaned at their blows, the forests bowed down and the rivers rose in waves.79 The Tsarévna’s son first overcame his opponent and cut off his turbulent head.80

Then all the royal _boyárs_ ran up, took the doughty youth into their hands and led him into the palace.81 Next day he was married to the Korolévna.82 And after they had feasted at the wedding he set about inviting all the Tsars and Tsarévichi, the Kings and the Korolévichi as his guests to his father and mother.83 So they all came together, and they got their ships ready and sailed on the sea.84 The Tsarévna with her husband received her guests with honour, and they began to celebrate banquets and to be joyous.85 The Tsars and the Tsarévichi, the Kings and the Korolévichi, gazed at the palace and the gardens and wondered.86 They had never seen such wealth.87 Then some of them wondered when they saw the ducks and drakes, every one of them worth half a kingdom.88

So the guests were fed and bethought themselves of going home, but before ever they had got to the haven, swift hunters precursed them, saying, “Our master bids you turn back again; he wishes to hold secret counsel with you.”89

So the Tsars and Tsarévichi, the Kings and Korolévichi, were turning back, when the master came to meet them and said: “Oh ye good folk, one of my ducks has gone: has any one of you taken it?”90

“Why are you making a vain quest?” the Tsars and Tsarévichi, the Kings and Korolévichi answered; “this would be an unguestly act.91 Search us all over.92 If you find the duck on any one of us do with him what you will; if you do not, let your own head pay for it.”93

“I will,” said the master.94 And he placed them all in a row and searched them; and, as soon as he had come to the father of the Tsarévna, he said quietly:95

“At the pike’s good pleasure, At God’s good measure—96

under the lappet of the kaftan of this Tsar, let the duck be found.”97 So he went and lifted his kaftan and found the duck tied to the lappet; one feather was of gold, one was of silver.98

Then all the Tsars and Tsarévichi, Kings and Korolévichi cried out fiercely, “Ho! ho! ho! what a deed! are Tsars turning into thieves?”99

Then the Tsarévna’s father swore by everything holy that as to thieving there had never been such an idea in his head.100 And he had no idea how the duck had come to him.101

“That is a fine tale; it was found on you; you must be guilty.”102

Then the Tsarévna came out, burst upon her father, and acknowledged that she was his daughter whom he had given away to the poor peasant in marriage and had put into a barrel.103 “_Bátyushka_,”[50] she said, “you would not then believe my words, and now you have acknowledged yourself that it is possible to be guilty without guilt.”104

And she told him how it had all arisen.105 And after that they began to live, and lived all together and lived all for good and forgot bygones.106

THE JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM107

An archimandrite one day got up for matins; and, whilst laving his hands, saw an unclean spirit in the Holy Water, seized him and crossed him.108

The devil besought him: “Let me go, Father, I will do you any service I can; I will, I will!”109

So the Archimandrite said: “Will you take me to Jerusalem between High Mass and matins?”110

The Archimandrite released him, and after matins was transported to Jerusalem, and was back in time for High Mass.111 Then inquiries were set going how this might be, and every one was astonished how he could get to Jerusalem and back so fast.112 They asked him about it, and he told them the story.113

VAZÚZA AND VÓLGA114

The Vólga and the Vazúza had a long argument whether who was the wiser and the stronger and the more honourable of the two.115 They contended and quarrelled, and could not decide it.116 So they resolved at last: “Let us both go to sleep at the same time, and the one which wakes up earlier and first reaches the Khvalýnsk Sea is wiser and stronger and the more honourable.”117

So the Vólga went to sleep, and so did the Vazúza.118

But at night the Vazúza got up quietly and ran away from the Vólga; she took the next nearest way and flowed off.119

When the Vólga woke up she went neither hurriedly nor lagging, but in an ordinary fashion.120 At Zubtsov she overtook the Vazúza, and looked so threatening that the Vazúza was frightened, and owned she was the younger daughter, and begged the Vólga to take her in her arms into the Sea of Khvalýnsk.121

And, to this day, the Vazúza wakes up in the spring before the Vólga, and wakes the Vólga up out of her winter sleep.122

THE ENCHANTED TSARÉVICH123

Once upon a time there was a merchant who had three daughters: it so happened he had one day to go to strange countries to buy wares, and so he asked his daughters, “What shall I bring you from beyond the seas?”124

The eldest asked for a new coat, and the next one also asked for a new coat; but the youngest one only took a sheet of paper and sketched a flower on it: “Bring me, _bátyushka_,[51] a flower like this!”125

So the merchant went and made a long journey to foreign kingdoms, but he could never see such a flower.126 So he came back home, and he saw on his way a splendid lofty palace with watch-towers, turrets, and a garden.127 He went a walk in the garden, and you cannot imagine how many trees he saw and flowers, every flower fairer than the other flowers.128 And then he looked and he saw a single one like the one which his daughter had sketched.129 “Oh,” he said, “I will tear off and bring this to my beloved daughter: evidently there is nobody here to watch me.”130 So he ran up and broke it off, and as soon as he had done it, in that very instant a boisterous wind arose and thunder thundered, and a fearful monster stood in front of him, a formless, winged snake with three heads.131

“How dared you play the master in my garden!” cried the snake to the merchant.132 “Why have you broken off a blossom?”133