Malachite jewelry box

Author: (Russian) Baryshnikov, translated by Gu Shenggen et al.
Translators: Gu Shenggen, Qian Hongxi et al.
Country of Origin:
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2001-06-01
Features: The story takes place a long time ago. One day, two young men from our factory went to inspect a mowing field. The mowing field was very far away, on the opposite bank of the Shevyrushka River. It was a holiday, and the weather was unusually hot, a pure hot day after rain. Both young men worked in the mine, specifically at the Gumeshka Mine, mining ores. They dug azurite and also dug celestite. Oh, sometimes they would occasionally stumble upon natural copper crystals, as well as other useful ores. One of the young men was still unmarried, but his eyes had been poisoned for years and had turned green. The other young man was slightly older and had exhausted his strength from working underground for years, looking utterly exhausted. His eyes were green, and his cheeks seemed to be covered with a layer of green, with constant coughing. The forest was comfortable and pleasant. The birds were chirping joyfully, and the earth emitted a faint, fresh scent. The two young men were so tired from the scorching sun that they finally reached the Red Mountain Mine, where they had once mined iron. Upon arriving there, the two young men immediately lay down under a rowan tree and fell into a deep sleep. Suddenly, the young man felt as if someone had pushed his waist, and he woke up immediately. He saw a large stone in front of him, and on a pile of ores beside the stone sat a woman. She was facing away from the young man, and from the braid at her waist, he could tell she was a girl. Her braid was dark gray-blue, and unlike the braid of the girls in our factory that swayed freely, hers was stuck to her back. The ribbon tied at the end of her braid was either red or green, and it shone brightly, occasionally making a crisp, pleasant sound, like the jingle of metal. The young man was amazed by the braid and kept staring at it. The girl was not tall, but she was well-proportioned and lively, always restless. She would sometimes lean forward as if searching for something under her feet, then lean back, and bend to both sides. Sometimes she would jump up, wave her hands, and then lean forward again. In short, she was a lively and restless girl. Now, she could be heard murmuring, but it was unclear what language she was speaking or who she was talking to. She kept laughing, clearly very happy. The young man was about to ask her something when a sudden thought struck him, and he remembered. "Oh, this is the mistress of the copper mountain! Her clothes show it. How did I not recognize her immediately? It seems my attention was drawn to her braid." Her dress was truly magnificent, as if no other such dress existed in the world. It was made of polished azurite, sewn together like silk. Azurite was a mineral, but it looked as smooth and beautiful as silk, and anyone who saw it would want to touch it. "Well, that's bad!" the young man thought, "Before she notices me, I'd better sneak away." Because he had often heard old people say that the mistress of the copper mountain—the girl in the azurite dress—liked to tease ordinary people. As soon as he had this thought, the girl turned around. She looked at the young man with delight, laughing broadly and teasing him, "What, Stepan Petrovich? Is it free to look at a girl's beauty? It costs money to see her. Come closer, let's chat for a while." The young man felt nervous but tried to remain calm. Although she was a fairy, she was still a girl. He was a young man, and to be timid in the presence of a girl would be embarrassing. People either believed or disbelieved the stories about her, but from then on, a rumor spread: "This house is haunted. No wonder she lives here alone." This rumor reached Katya's ears, but she did not feel sad. Instead, she thought, "Let them talk. If they are afraid of ghosts, it is better for me. See, next time they won't dare to come." The neighbors found it strange that Katya often sat at her workbench and worked, and they all mocked her. "She's doing the work of men! What can she possibly achieve?" Hearing this, Katya felt upset; she was also wondering, "Can I achieve something working alone like this?" But she still restrained herself, "Make something that is in demand in the market! Is it that hard? As long as you polish it smooth, can't you do that?" Katya cut a piece of azurite and found that its pattern was extremely rare, as if it had been marked in advance, telling her to cut it horizontally. Katya was amazed: everything was so perfectly arranged. She cut the azurite along the existing pattern and then began to polish it. The work was not particularly difficult, but without the habit of working, it was still challenging. At first, Katya struggled, but gradually, she learned without a teacher. The result was a beautiful belt buckle, with minimal material waste. Only the scraps from the polishing were discarded. Katya had finished the belt buckle and was once again amazed at how unexpected the discovery of this azurite had been. Then she thought about how to sell this small handicraft. In the past, Prokopyich would take such small trinkets to a small shop in the city to sell. Katya had heard many things about this shop, so she decided to go to the city. "I'll go there and ask if they are willing to buy my handicrafts in the future." Katya locked the door of her house and went into the city on foot. The people of the Polevaya mining area did not notice that she had gone into the city. Katya found the residence of the owner who had previously bought Prokopyich's handicrafts and went straight to his small shop. When she arrived, she saw that the shop was filled with all kinds of gemstones, and there was an entire glass cabinet filled with belt buckles made of azurite. Many people were in the shop, some coming to buy handicrafts, and others to sell them. The owner looked stern and dignified. At first, Katya did not dare to approach, but later, gathering courage, she asked, "Do you buy belt buckles made of azurite?" The owner pointed to the glass cabinet and said, "You don't see how many of these I already have?" Some craftsmen who were selling their work also chimed in, "There are many craftsmen making such handicrafts now, but they are wasting azurite. They don't understand that the stone must have a beautiful pattern to make a belt buckle." Among these craftsmen was one from the Polevaya mining area. He whispered to the owner, "This girl is a bit foolish. The neighbors always see her sitting at her workbench. But she has indeed made something." Then the owner said, "Well, let's see it: what kind of goods did you bring?" Katya handed him the belt buckle. The owner looked at it and then stared directly at her, asking, "Did you steal this from someone?" Of course, Katya felt insulted. She immediately replied in a different tone, "What right do you have to accuse a stranger of theft the moment you see them? If your eyes aren't blind, take another look! Where can you steal so many belt buckles with the same pattern? Answer me!" With that, Katya poured all her small handicrafts onto the counter. Andryukha, unaware of what was happening, came to the top of the mine in the evening. Obviously, it was better to be on the top of the mountain than in the grand hall underground. He sat by a large stone, thinking about how to see his companion. Additionally, he kept thinking about a girl. "Perhaps she also believes I am dead. She must have cried a lot." Coincidentally, at that moment, two women were walking through the forest. They might have come back from the meadow or were picking berries. Would there be fewer people in the forest in the summer? They were getting close to the mine. At first, Andryukha could only hear their singing, but gradually, he could hear their voices clearly. One woman said, "Tsyotka has heard about Andryukha. She will probably think carefully. They say he is still alive." The other said, "If he turned all the copper furnaces into dead ones, how could he not be alive!" "Well, what about Tsyotka? Does she plan to find him?" "Tsyotka is such a foolish girl. Yesterday I told her a lot, but she believed the old women's stories. She is afraid that Andryukha will come to her window and cry." "She is indeed a foolish girl. She doesn't deserve to marry such a man. If I had a fiancé like him, even if he died, I wouldn't be afraid." Hearing these words, Andryukha wanted to peek to see which woman was criticizing Tsyotka. He thought, "Can I send a message back through them?" He followed the sound. When he got there, he saw two familiar girls, but he couldn't show himself at this time. Look, there were many people walking around, and even children. How could he find them? He looked around but never dared to reveal himself. In the end, he went back. Andryukha sat in his usual spot, looking worried. But when he had been moving around earlier, it was clear that the foreman's lackey had seen him and then quietly told others. So, people surrounded the small mountain. They were overjoyed. The leader shouted loudly, "Catch him!" Andryukha noticed that people were running to him from all directions. He immediately pushed the large stone again, and the person returned to the underground. The lackey, who had been acting as a guard, ran over and saw that the person had disappeared. Where did he go? They planned to push the stone, but after exerting great effort, they were still unable to move it. Oh, could a person push such a stone? Turning it over, they couldn't help but feel scared again: "If he could fit inside the stone, it seems he really is a ghost." The lackeys quickly ran back to report to the foreman. The foreman, upon hearing this, trembled all over. "I will go to Shesteritsk," he said, "This is very urgent. Even if I am not there, you must catch him. If you fail to catch him, I will severely punish you." He threatened them for a while and then mounted his horse, galloping to Shesteritsk. At this point, the lackeys didn't know what to do. In the end, they could only do this: send someone to guard the small mountain every day. Andryukha, hiding under the large stone, was also thinking: What should I do? He was not used to doing nothing, but going out was not an option. "I could try at night," he thought. "Maybe I can sneak out in the dark and then decide what to do next."