Teryoshka - Russia

Translated from the Russian by Olga Shartse

Once upon a time there lived an old man and his wife who had no children,and were very lonely. One day, the old man shaped a piece of wood and the old woman wrapped it up and rocked it like a baby, singing:

Little by little, the pierce of wood they called Teryosha began to change into a real child, and before long he grew into a big and clever boy. The old man made a boat for him, painting it white, and a pair of paddles, which he painted red. Teryosha got into the boat, and said:

The little white boat obeyed, and took Teryosha far out into the river. After that, he went fishing every day, and at midday his mother would bring him his lunch and, standing on the bank, sing out:

Teryosha, hearing his mother's voice from afar, would paddle to the bank and come ashore. His mother would take the fish he had caught, give him his lunch, change his shirt and belt, and let him go out in his boat again. The Witch saw and heard all this. And so, one day she came to the bank and called in her ugly voice:

Teryosha knew it was not his mother's voice, and urged his little white boat to take him as far away from the bank as it could. The Witch ran to the blacksmith and told him to re-fashion her throat so that her voice would sound as sweet as that of Teryosha's mother. The blacksmith did his best. And then the Witch came to the bank and called:

Teryosha thought it was his mother calling, for the voice was exactly like hers, and paddled to the bank. The Witch grabbed him, stuffed him into her bag, and carried him to her cottage in the forest. She told her daughter Alynoka to light the stove and roast Teryosha for dinner, while she was away doing more wickedness. Alyonka got the fire going, and when the oven was very, very hot, ordered Teryosha to lie flat on the shovel. But he sat on it, instead of lying down, threw out his arms and legs and try as she might Alyonka could not push him into the oven. "I told you to lie flat," she snapped at him. "I don't know how. You show me…", Teryosha replied. "Lie down the way cats sleep and dogs sleep, that's how." "You show me anyway". Alyonka lay down on the shovel, and Teryosha quickly pushed her into the oven and clamped the oven door shut. He ran outside and climbed to the top of an old oak, because he saw the Witch returning home. The Witch opened the oven, gobbled up Alyonka and picked the bone clean. When she had stuffed herself, she came outside and started rolling in the grass, chanting:

Teryosha replied quietly from the top of the oak:

"With Alyonka's meat you're full." The Witch thought it was simply the oak leaves rustling in the wind, and went on chanting:

And again Teryosha said: "With Alyonka's meat you're full." The Witch looked up and saw him sitting in the tree. She rushed at the oak and tried to bite it across. She bit and she bit, broke two of her front teeth, and ran to the blacksmith: "Make me two iron teeth, quickly." Yhe blacksmith made her two iron teth, and she went back to bite the oak across. She bit and she bit, and broke two of her lower front teeth. She ran to the blacksmith again, and told him to make her two more iron teeth. The blacksmith did as he was told. Now she went at the oak so hard that chips flew to right and left. The oak was beginning to creak and sway. What was Teryosha to do? Suddenly he saw a flock of geese flying overhead, and he begged them:

But the geese replied: "Another flock's close behind, the geese are feebler than we are, they'll take you'" Now the Witch would take a bite or two, give Teryosha a glare, smack her lips, and go on biting at the tree. Another flock came along, and Teryosha begged:

And the geese replied: "There's a pecked young goose coming behind us, he'll take you home!" The Witch had only a little way to go before the oak toppled. The pecked young goose came, and Teroysha begged him:

The pecked young goose took pity on Teryosha, came down to let him climb on to his back, and carried him home to mother. They came to the cottage and alighted on the grass right under the window. The old women had made some pancakes to remember Teryosha by, and handing one to the old man she said: "here's a pancake for you, and here's one for me." "What about me?" Teryosha asked from where he was. The old woman heard him, and said to the old an: "Go outside and look who's asking for a pancake." The old man went outside, saw Teryosha, took him home to the old woman, and she could not kiss and hug her darling son enough! They gave the pecked goose all the food and water he wanted, and let him run free in the yard until he grew into a big and strong bird. He leads the flocks now, flaps his wide wings and often remembers Teroysha.

Morozko - Russian - Old Man Winter

Once there lived an old widower and his daughter. In due time, the man remarried to an older woman who had a daughter herself from a previous marriage. The woman doted on her own daughter, praising her at every opportunity, but she despised her stepdaughter

She found fault with everything the girl did and made her work long and hard all day long. One day the old woman made up her mind to get rid of the stepdaughter once and for all. She ordered her husband:

"Take her somewhere so that my eyes no longer have to see her, so that my ears no longer have to hear her. And don't take her to some relative's house. Take her into the biting cold of the forest and leave her there."

The old man grieved and wept but he knew that he could do nothing else; his wife always had her way. So he took the girl into the forest and left her there. He turned back quickly so that he wouldn't have to see his girl freeze.

Oh, the poor thing, sitting there in the snow, with her body shivering and her teeth chattering! Then Morozko (the Father Frost), leaping from tree to tree, came upon her. "Are you warm, my lass?" he asked.

"Welcome, my dear Morozko. Yes, I am quite warm," she said, even though she was cold through and through.

At first, Morozko had wanted to freeze the life out of her with his icy grip. But he admired the young girl's stoicism and showed mercy. He gave her a warm fur coat and downy quilts before he left. In a short while, Morozko returned to check on the girl.

"Are you warm, my lass?" he asked.

"Welcome again, my dear Morozko. Yes, I am very warm," she said.

And indeed she was warmer. So this time Morozko brought a large box for her to sit on. A little later, Morozko returned once more to ask how she was doing. She was doing quite well now, and this time Morozko gave her silver and gold jewelry to wear, with enough extra jewels to fill the box on which she was sitting!

Meanwhile, back at her father's hut, the old woman told her husband to go back into the forest to bring back the body of his daughter. He did as he was ordered. He arrived at the spot where had left her, and was overjoyed when he saw his daughter alive, wrapped in a sable coat and adorned with silver and gold. When he arrived home with his daughter and the box of jewels, his wife looked on in amazement.

"Harness the horse, you old goat, and take my own daughter to that same spot in the forest and leave her there," she said.

The old man did as he was told. Like the other girl at first, the old woman's daughter began to shake and shiver. In a short while, Morozko came by and asked her how she was doing.

"Are you blind?" she replied. "Can't you see that my hands and feet are quite numb? Curse you, you miserable old man!" Dawn had hardly broken the next day when, back at the old man's hut, the old woman woke her husband and told him to bring back her daughter, adding:

"Be careful with the box of jewels." The old man obeyed and went to fetch the girl. A short while later, the gate to the yard creaked. The old woman went outside and saw her husband standing next to the sleigh. She rushed forward and pulled aside the sleigh's cover. To her horror, she saw the body of her daughter, frozen by an angry Morozko. She began to scream and berate her husband, but it was all in vein. Later, the old man's daughter married a neighbor, had children, and lived happily. Her father would visit his grandchildren every now and then, and remind them always to respect Old Man Winter