Part 14

The rich miller went to his wife and told her how the matter stood, and what riddles the judge had given him to guess. "All thy riddles are but simple ones," replied the miller's wife; "if they ask thee what is the strongest and swiftest thing in the world, tell them that my father has a dark-brown horse so strong and nimble that it can run down a hare. And if they ask thee what is the fattest thing in the world, dost thou not know that in our stall we are fattening up a two-year-old boar, and he's getting so fat that his very legs won't be able to hold him up? And as for the third riddle, what is the softest thing in the world, why it's quite plain that that's a down pillow; thou canst not imagine anything softer than that. And if they ask thee what is the sweetest thing in the world, say: 'Why, what sweeter thing can a man have than the wife of his bosom?'"

But the orphan went out of the town into the fields and sat by the roadside and racked his brain. He sat and thought of his misery; and along the road, close to him, passed the self-same lovely damsel. "Why art thou so racking thy brains again, good youth?"--"Why, look here, the judge has given me four such riddles to guess that I shall never be able to guess them all my days," and he told the damsel all about it. The damsel laughed, and said to him: "Go to the judge and say to him, that the strongest and swiftest thing in the world is the wind; that the fattest of all is the earth, for she feeds everything that lives and grows upon her; the softest of all is the palm of the hand, for however soft a man may lie he always puts his hand beneath his head; and there's nothing sweeter in the whole world than sleep." The poor little orphan bowed to the very girdle to the damsel, and said to her: "I thank thee, thou sagest of maidens, for thou hast snatched me from very ruin."

When the three days had passed, the miller and the orphan appeared in court, and told the court the answers to the riddles. Now the Tsar chanced to be on the bench at that time, and the answers of the orphan so pleased him that he ordered that the cause between them should be given in his favour, and that the miller should be driven with shame from the court. After that the Tsar said to the orphan: "Didst thou hit upon these answers thyself, or did some one else tell thee?"--"To tell the truth, they are not my own; the lovely damsel taught me these answers."--"She has taught thee well too, sage indeed must she be. Go to her and tell her in my name that if she be so wise and sensible she must appear before me to-morrow: neither on foot nor on horseback, neither naked nor clothed, and with a present in her hand that is no gift. If she accomplish this I will reward her as becomes a Tsar, and make her higher than the highest." Again the orphan went out of the town, and again he fell a-fretting, and he said to himself: "Why, I don't even know how and have no idea where to find this lovely damsel; what sort of a task is this that I am bidden to give her?" No sooner had he thought this than the sage and lovely damsel again passed by that way. The orphan told her how his guesses had pleased the Tsar, and how he wanted to see the damsel himself and have proof of her wisdom, and how he had promised to reward her. The damsel thought a bit, and then said to the orphan: "Fetch me a long-bearded billy-goat, and a big net for catching fish, and catch me a pair of sparrows. To-morrow morning we'll meet here, and if I get a reward from the Tsar, I'll share it equally with thee."

The orphan carried out the orders of the damsel, and waited for her next morning at the roadside. The damsel appeared, stripped off her sarafan, [58] and wound herself in the long fishing-net from head to foot; then she sat on the goat, took a sparrow in each hand, and bade the orphan lead the way to town. The young man brought her to the Tsar at court, and she bowed low to the Tsar and said: "Behold, O sovereign Tsar! I come to thee neither on foot nor on horseback, neither naked nor clothed, and I have brought a present in my hand which is no gift."--"Where is it?" asked the Tsar. "Here!" and she gave the Tsar the live sparrows, and he was about to take them from her hands when the sparrows wriggled out and flew away. "Well," said the Tsar, "I see thou canst vie even with me in wit. Stay at my court, and look after my children, and I'll give thee a rich recompense."--"Nay, my sovereign lord and Tsar, I cannot accept thy gracious favour; I have promised this good youth to share my reward with him for his services."--"Look now! thou art witty and wise; but in this matter thy head is turned, and thou dost not judge according to reason. I offer thee a high and honourable place with a great recompense; why then canst thou not share this reward with this youth?"--"But how can I share it then?"--"How, thou sage damsel? Why if this good youth be dear to thee, marry him; for honour and recompense, and labour and sorrow and bright-faced joy are shared by husband and wife half and half."--"Thou too art wise, I see, O sovereign Tsar, and I'll gainsay thee no longer," said the lovely damsel. So she took the orphan for her husband, and though the orphan had no very great mind, his heart was simple and good, and he lived with his sage wife all his life in contentment and happiness.

THE PROPHETIC DREAM.

There was once upon a time a merchant, and he had two sons, Dmitry and Ivan. Once the father bade his sons good-night, sent them off to bed, and said to them: "Now, children, whatever you see in your dreams, tell it all to me to-morrow morning, and whichever of you hides his dream from me, no good thing will befall him." In the morning the eldest son came to his father and said: "I dreamed, dear father, that my brother Ivan flew high into the sky on twenty eagles."--"Very good!" said the father; "and what didst thou dream, Vania?" [59]--"Well, such rubbish, father, that it is impossible to tell it."--"What dost thou mean? Speak!"--"No, I'll not!"--"Speak, sir, when I bid thee!"--"No, I won't speak, I won't." The father was very angry with his youngest son, and resolved to punish him for his disobedience, so he sent for his overseers and bade them strip Ivan naked and tie him to a post at the crossways as tightly as possible. No sooner said than done. The overseers seized hold of him, dragged him far, far away from home to the crossways, where seven roads crossed, tied him by the hands and feet to the post, and left him alone to his fate. The poor youth fared very badly. The sun scorched him, the gnats and flies sucked his blood, hunger and thirst tortured him. Fortunately for Ivan, a young Tsarevich happened to be going along one of these seven roads; he saw the merchant's son, had compassion on him, and bade his attendants untie him from the post, dressed him in his own clothes, and saved him from a cruel death. The Tsarevich took Ivan to his court, gave him to eat and drink, and asked him who had tied him to the post. "My own father, who was angry with me."--"And wherefore, pray? Surely thy fault was not small?"--"Well, in fact, I would not obey him; I would not tell him what I saw in my dreams."--"And for such a trifle as that he condemned thee to so cruel a punishment! The villain! But surely he has outgrown his wits! But what then didst thou see in thy dream?"--"I saw what I cannot even tell unto thee, O Tsarevich!"--"What! Not tell? Not tell me? me, the Tsarevich? What! I saved thee from a cruel death, and thou wilt not do this trifle for me in return? Speak immediately, or it will not be well with thee!"--"Nay, Tsarevich! I stick to my word. I haven't told my father, and I'll not tell thee."--The Tsarevich boiled over with unspeakable rage, and shrieked to his servants and attendants, "Hi! my faithful servants, take this good-for-nothing boor, put heavy irons on his hands, weld grievous fetters to his legs, and cast him into my deep dungeon!" The servants did not think twice about their master's commands; they seized Ivan the merchant's son, loaded his hands and feet with fetters, and put him as God's slave in the stone sack. A little and a long time passed by, and the Tsarevich thought of marrying the thrice-wise Helena, the first maiden in the whole earth for beauty and wisdom, so he made ready and went into the strange country far away to marry this thrice-wise Helena. Now it happened that the day after he had gone, his sister the Tsarevna went walking in the garden hard by the very same dungeon in which Ivan the merchant's son had been put. He saw the Tsarevna through the little grated window, and cried to her with a lamentable voice: "Dear mother Tsarevna, thy brother will never be married without my help."--"Who art thou?" answered the Tsarevna. Ivan named his name and added: "I suppose thou hast heard, O Tsarevna, of the trickeries and the cunning wiles of the thrice-wise Helena? I have heard not once nor twice that she has expedited many wooers into another world; believe me that thy brother also will not be able to marry her without me!"--"And thou art able to help the Tsarevich?"--"Able and willing, but the falcon's wings are bound, and no way for him is found."--The Tsarevna bade them release Ivan from his dungeon, and gave him full liberty to do what was in his mind so long as he only helped the Tsarevich to marry. And then Ivan the merchant's son chose him comrades first of all, one by one, and added youth to youth, and they were all as like to each other as if they had been born brothers. He dressed them in mantles of one kind, sewn in one and the same fashion; he mounted them on horses of one colour, and like each other to a hair, and they all mounted and rode away. Twelve was the number of the young comrades of Ivan the merchant's son. They rode for one day, they rode for another day, and on the third day they entered a gloomy forest, and Ivan said to his comrades: "Stay, my brothers, there is here, on the verge of the precipice, an old tree; a hollow, branchless tree; I must look into its hollow trunk and find my fortune there." So he went to the tree he had described and plunged his hand into the hollow trunk, and drew out of it an invisible cap, hid it in his bosom, and returned to his comrades.

And they came to the realm of the thrice-wise Helena, went straight into the capital, sought out the Tsarevich, and begged him: "Take us into thy service, O Tsarevich; we will serve thee with a single heart." The Tsarevich thought the matter over and said: "How can I help taking such gallant youths into my service? perhaps in a strange land they may be of service to me." And to each of them he assigned his post; he made one his equerry, another his cook, but Ivan he bade never to depart from his side.

The next day the Tsarevich attired himself in festal raiment, and went forth to woo the thrice-wise Helena. She received him courteously, regaled him with all manner of rich meats and drinks, and then she said to the Tsarevich: "I don't at all mind being thy wife, but first of all thou must accomplish these tasks. If thou do them I will be thy faithful wife, but if not, thy haughty head shall wag no more on thy stalwart shoulders."--"Why be afraid before the time? tell me thy tasks, thrice-wise Helena!"--"This then is my first task for thee: I shall have ready by to-morrow what I will not tell thee, and for what purpose I do not know; show thy wit, then, and bring me the fellow of it, of thine own devising." The Tsarevich went home from the court by no means happy; his haughty head hung lower than his stalwart shoulders. And Ivan met him and said: "Halve thy grief with me, O Tsarevich, and it will be better for thee."--"Well, look now," said the Tsarevich, "Helena has set me a task that not a single wise man in the world could do"--and he told Ivan all about it. "Well," said Ivan, "'tis not such a great matter after all! Pray to God and lie down to sleep; the morning is wiser than the evening--to-morrow we'll consider the matter." The Tsarevich lay down to sleep, but Ivan the merchant's son put on his invisible cap, went as swiftly as possible to the palace, ran through all the chambers, and made his way right into the bedchamber of the thrice-wise Helena. And then he heard her giving these orders to her favourite servant: "Take this cloth-of-gold to my shoemaker, and let him make me shoes for my feet as soon as possible." The servant ran with all her might, and behind her ran Ivan. The cobbler set to work; the work seemed to burn his fingers, so quickly did he do it; he beat the stuff with his little hammer and stitched it with his needle; a little shoe was quickly ready, and he put it on the little window-sill. Ivan the merchant's son took the little shoe and hid it in his bosom. The shoemaker was in great consternation: what was the meaning of it? His work had vanished from before his eyes. He searched and searched. He rummaged in every corner, but it was all in vain. "What marvel is this?" thought he; "can the unclean spirit [60] be playing his tricks with me?" There was no help for it. He set to work again with his awl, finished the other slipper, and sent it by the servant-maid to the thrice-wise Helena. But Ivan was after her again, crept like a shadow into the palace in his invisible cap, stood behind the shoulders of the thrice-wise Helena, and saw that she sat behind her little table and began to cover the slipper with gold, embroider it with large pearls, and set it thickly with precious stones. Ivan the merchant's son drew his own slipper out of his bosom and began to do the like with it; whenever she took up a little gem, he chose out just such another; wherever she threaded a pearl, he took another and sewed that on too. The thrice-wise Helena finished her work, looked at the slipper, and couldn't admire it enough. She smiled, and thought to herself: "We will see what the Tsarevich will present himself with to-morrow morning." But Ivan the merchant's son awoke the Tsarevich very early next morning, took the slipper from his bosom, and gave it to him. "Go to thy lady and show her this slipper," said he; "there thou hast her first task!" The Tsarevich washed and dressed himself, hastened to his lady, and found her apartments full of Boyars and Grandees, and her Councillors were all assembled there down to the very last one. There was a noise of melody, there came a crash of lively music, the doors of the inner chambers were thrown open, and out came the thrice-wise Helena, sailing along like a white swan. She bowed on all sides, but particularly to the Tsarevich: then she drew out of her pocket the shoe, set with large pearls and adorned with precious stones, and she looked at the Tsarevich with a mocking smile, and all the Boyars, the Grandees, and the Councillors who were in the palace looked intently at the Tsarevich. And the Tsarevich said to the thrice-wise Helena: "Thy slipper is very fine, but 'tis no good at all unless it have a fellow. Well, here it is, and I give thee the other, which is exactly like it." And he drew out of his pocket the slipper, and placed it by the side of the other one. The whole palace heaved a great "Oh!" The Boyars, Grandees, and Councillors exclaimed with one voice: "Thou art indeed worthy, O Tsarevich, to wed our Tsarevna, the thrice-wise Helena."--"Not so quick, please," cried the Tsarevna; "let us see what he'll make of the second task. I shall await thee to-morrow in this self-same place, Tsarevich, and this is my task for thee: I shall have an unexplainable somewhat disguised in feathers and in stones; bring thou also just such another unknown, somewhat disguised in just such feathers and stones." The Tsarevich bowed and went out, looking much blacker than the evening before. "Well," thought he, "now indeed my shoulders will not support my head very much longer." And again Ivan the merchant's son met him and consoled him with a friendly smile: "Come, Tsarevich, wherefore grieve? Pray to God and lie down to sleep, the morning is wiser than the evening." Ivan made the Tsarevich lie down, then he quickly took his invisible cap, darted into the palace, and arrived just in time to hear the Tsarevna give this command to her favourite servant: "Go into the fowl-yard and bring me hither a duck." Off went the servant to the fowl-yard and Ivan after her; she put a duck under her arm, but Ivan hid a drake in his bosom, and they came back the same way. The thrice-wise Helena again sat down at her little table, took the duck, adorned its wings with ribands and its little tail with amethysts, and fastened a necklace of pearls round its neck; and Ivan saw it all, and did just the same to his drake.

The next day the Tsarevich again went up to the palace, and again all the Boyars and Grandees were assembled there; again there was a crash of music, and the doors of the inner chambers opened, and the thrice-wise Helena came forth strutting along like a pea-hen. Behind her came the maids of honour bearing a golden dish, and they all saw that upon this dish beneath the white cloth some living thing was moving about. Softly, very softly, the Tsarevna raised the cloth from the dish, took out the duck, and said to the Tsarevich: "Well, didst thou guess my riddle?"--"How could I help guessing it?" replied the Tsarevich, "there's nothing so very knowing in such a task as that," and forthwith he put his hand into his cap and drew out his dressed-up drake.

All the Boyars and Grandees cried "Oh!" and with one voice exclaimed: "Well done, young hero Tsarevich! Thou art indeed worthy to take Helena the thrice-wise to wife." But Helena the thrice-wise knit her brows and said: "Stop a bit! Let him first fulfil my third task. If he be such a hero, let him fetch me three hairs from the head, and three hairs from the beard, of my grandfather, the Sea-king, and then I am ready to be his wife." The Tsarevich returned home gloomier than an autumn night: he would look at nothing and speak to nobody. "Don't fret, Tsarevich!" whispered Ivan the merchant's son in his ear, and he seized his invisible cap, and was in the palace in a trice, and saw the thrice-wise Helena sitting in her state-coach and preparing to drive to the blue sea. And our Ivan, in his invisible cap, took his seat in the very carriage, and the fiery horses of the Tsar carried them in hot haste to the blue sea.

So the thrice-wise Helena arrived at the blue sea, sat under a rock by the shore on a large stone, turned her face to the blue sea, and began to call her dear grandad the Sea-king. The blue sea boiled as in a storm, and despite a great calm, the depths of the sea were disturbed by a huge wave; a crest of silvery foam worked its way up, rolled along the shore as if caressing it, broke up gradually on the golden beach, scattering crystal jets and pearly shells on the shore, and there rose out of the water, up to the waist, the old, old grandfather. On his head heaps and heaps of gray locks sparkled like silver in the sun, dripping wet, and great tufts of hair hung over his brows; but his face was covered with a thick, thick golden beard like moss; he rode up to the breast in a broad big wave which swept over his shoulders and hid his body to the waist. The ocean grandfather leaned against a stone with his goose-like paws, looked with his green eyes into the eyes of the thrice-wise Helena, and cried: "Hail, granddaughter of my desires. 'Tis a long time since I have seen thee; 'tis a long time since thou hast visited me. And now, please, comb my little head for me." And he leaned his unkempt head against the knee of his granddaughter, and dozed off into a sweet sleep. But the thrice-wise Helena began smoothing her grandfather's hair and winding his gray locks round her fingers to curl them, and whispering soft words in her grandfather's ear, and lulling him to sleep with gentle songs; and as soon as she saw that her grandfather was asleep she tugged three silver hairs out of his head. But Ivan the merchant's son, slipping his hand below hers, wrenched out a whole handful. The grandfather awoke, looked at his granddaughter, and said sleepily: "Art thou mad? It hurts me horribly!"--"Pardon, dear grandfather," said the thrice-wise Helena, "but it's such a long time since I did thy hair, that it is quite tangled." But the grandfather did not hear her to the end; he was already snoring, and shortly afterwards the Tsarevna pulled three golden hairs out of his beard. Ivan the merchant's son thought, "I must have some of that too," seized the grandfather by the beard, and tore out a good piece of it. The sea-grandfather roared aloud, awoke from his sleep, and dived into the depths like a bucket--only bubbles remained behind.