hot and told Iváshechko: “Come and sit on the shovel.”
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“I’m too young and stupid,” Iváshechko answered; “show me how to sit on the shovel.”
“Oh, that’s easy enough!” said Alyónka; and as soon as she was on Iváshechko shoved her into the stove, slammed the door to and went out of the hut, and climbed a great big tall oak-tree.
The wise woman came with her guests and knocked at the hut; there was no reply, no one to open the door. “Oh, confound Alyónka; she must have gone out to play.” The wise woman climbed up into the window, opened the door and admitted her guests, opened the oven door, took out Alyónka, who was well cooked, and they all sat down to table and ate and ate and drank, and at last went out to take a turn on the grass:
“I am dancing, I am prancing, I have eaten Iváshechko’s flesh.”
Then Iváshechko interrupted from the top of the tree: “Dance and prance! you have eaten Alyónka’s flesh.”
“Did I hear anything?” said the wise woman; “it must have been the leaves rustling.” Again the wise woman said, “I am dancing, I am prancing, I have eaten Iváshechko’s flesh!”
Iváshechko repeated: “Dance and prance! you have eaten Alyónka’s flesh!”
So at last she looked up and saw Iváshechko, and began to gnaw at the oak-tree on which he was sitting, and gnawed and gnawed, broke two of her front teeth, and went to the smithy. She called the smith. “Smith, smith, make me some iron teeth, or I’ll eat you up.”
The smith made her two iron teeth.
So back she went and gnawed away at the tree, and as soon as she had gnawed it through Iváshechko just jumped on to the next oak-tree, whilst the one the witch had gnawed through fell down.
Then the wise woman gnawed and gnawed at this tree, and gnawed and gnawed, broke the two front teeth, and went to the smithy. She called the smith: “Smith, smith, make me two more iron teeth, or I’ll eat you up.”
The smith made her two more iron teeth.
So she went back and gnawed away at the tree.
So Iváshechko did not know what to do. He looked up and saw geese and swans flying; he asked them:
Geese and swans, geese and swans,
Waft me away on your pinions:
Take me home to my mother and father;
With my mother and my father
There is plenty to eat
And life is sweet!
“The next covey may take you,” said the birds.
So he waited. And another flock came, and he repeated:
Geese and swans, geese and swans,
Waft me away on your pinions:
Take me home to my mother and father;
With my mother and my father
There is plenty to eat
And life is sweet!
“Perhaps the last may take you.”
So he waited on, and as the third flock appeared he said:
Geese and swans, geese and swans,
Waft me away on your pinions:
Take me home to my mother and father;
With my mother and my father
There is plenty to eat
And life is sweet!
They took him home on their wings up to the hut and placed Iváshechko in the loft.
Early next day the woman cooked a pancake on the stove, and whilst cooking it thought of her poor little boy Iván, and said: “Where is my Iváshechko? I dreamed of him last night!”
And gaffer said: “I dreamed last night the geese and swans were wafting our little Iván home.”
She had finished the pancake by now, and said: “Now, gaffer, we’ll share it, this bit for you, this bit for me!”
“And none for me!” Iváshechko chimed in.
“This is for you, and this is for me!”
“And none for me!”
“What’s that noise, gaffer?” the woman asked.
The grandfather clattered up into the loft and found Iváshechko. They were overjoyed, asked him all about everything, and lived a jolly life.
Never-Wash
Once upon a time there was a soldier who had served through three campaigns, but had never earned as much as an addled egg, and was then put on the retired list. Then, as he went on the road marching on and on, he became tired and sat down by a lake. And, as he rested, he began thinking things out: “Where shall I now betake myself, and how shall I feed myself, and how the devil shall I enter into any service?”
As soon as he had spoken these words a little devil rose up at once in front of him and said, “Hail, soldier, what do you wish? Did you just now not say that you wished to become one of our servants? Why, soldier, come up and be hired: we will pay you well.”
“What is the work?”
“Oh, the work is easy enough: for fifteen years you must not shave, you must not have your hair cut, you must not blow your nose, and you must not change your garb. If you serve this service, then we will go to the king, who has three daughters. Two of them are mine, but the third shall be yours.”
“Very well,” said the soldier, “I will undertake the contract; but I require in return to get anything my soul hankers after.”
“It shall be so; be at peace; we shall not be in default.”
“Well, let it befall at once. Carry me at once into the capital and give me a pile of money; you know yourself how little of these goods a soldier ever gets.”
So the little devil dashed into the lake, got out a pile of gold, and instantaneously carried the soldier into the great city, and all at once he was there!
“What a fool I have been!” said the soldier: “I have not done any service, no work, and I now have the money!” So he took a room, never cut his hair, never shaved, never wiped his nose, never changed his garb, and he lived on and grew wealthy, so wealthy he did not know what to do with his money. What was he to do with his silver and gold? “Oh, very well,
