Selected Russian Folktales

Author: Chen Fu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-02-01
Features:
The big bear hadn't woken up yet, and the little dumpling had already vanished. The little dumpling continued rolling forward and met a fox. The fox said, "Hey, little dumpling, where are you going?" The little dumpling said, "I'm going straight forward on this road." The fox asked, "Will you sing me a song?" The little dumpling loved to sing, so it sang:
"I am little dumpling, I am little dumpling,
Old grandma took the flour to scrape the bottom,
Mixed with fresh cream and kneaded into a ball,
Fried in the oil pan until fragrant,
Placed on the windowsill to cool.
I ran out of grandma's house,
Passed the rabbit's checkpoint,
Passed the wolf's checkpoint,
Passed the bear's checkpoint,
Passing your fox checkpoint won't be difficult!"
The fox said, "This song is so beautiful, but I have poor hearing and didn't catch the words. Can you sing it again on my nose?" The little dumpling hopped onto the fox's nose and sang again. The fox said, "This time, come to my tongue and sing one more time!" The little dumpling hopped onto the fox's tongue, and the fox immediately swallowed it whole.
One day in late summer, an old man who wandered everywhere came to the nearby marshland. Suddenly, he stepped on a long staff, and upon stopping, he discovered a reed growing in the marshland that could be made into a reed pipe. He cut the reed and made a reed pipe. He placed it to his lips and blew, and the reed pipe began to sing:
"Blow, old grandpa, blow,
I and my sister were not born of the same mother,
For a basket of red berries,
For my mother's dowry left behind,
Her heart is as black as ink and as cruel as a wolf,
She pushed me into this muddy pit."
That night, the wandering old man came to the village of the orphan girl and sought shelter at a household at the village head. It happened to be the orphan girl's home. After dinner, the old man told the story of the reed pipe and took it out, asking the male head of the household to blow it. The male head just blew once, and the reed pipe sang again:
"Blow, dear dad, blow,
I and my sister were not born of the same mother,
For a basket of red berries,
For my mother's dowry left behind,
Her heart is as black as ink and as cruel as a wolf,
She pushed me into this muddy pit."
The male head's face changed dramatically. He handed the reed pipe to his stepdaughter and said, "You sing it!" The stepdaughter just placed the reed pipe to her lips, and it sang again:
"Blow, sister, you blow, blow, blow,
You evil spirit, blow, blow!
Your heart is as black as ink and as cruel as a wolf,
You pushed me into that muddy pit,
To snatch away my berries, to snatch away my mother's dowry!"
The male head immediately went to the village to find some witnesses and bound the evil mother and daughter. He had them watched and then took the witnesses and the wandering old man to the marshland in the forest to search. They finally found the orphan girl and pulled her up. They cleaned her body and dressed her in new clothes. The orphan girl then opened her eyes and said, "Wow, I slept for such a long time! I dreamed of many things! Dear dad, don't keep them mother and daughter here anymore. With them here, we won't have good days."
The father had found his daughter and was overjoyed, so he forgave their lives but drove them out of the house, saying, "You came from where you came, go back there!"
"Get out," the brother said. "Don't let me see you again. I wanted to cut off your head, but it seems your fate is to live." The brother looked at his sister one last time and couldn't hold back his tears. He thought, "Why does good never come in pairs, and misfortune never comes alone? I lost my son, and now I've lost my sister." The brother went back, and the sister, now without hands, stood up and walked aimlessly forward. At first, she walked along the path, but the path was overgrown with grass and became increasingly difficult to distinguish. Eventually, she got lost. She walked aimlessly day after day, always thinking of her brother, crying as she went:
"Oh, wind, wild wind,
Carry my tears to my mother,
Carry my tears to my father,
I lost my mother and father!"
"Oh, sun, bright sun,
Bring warmth to this poor soul of mine!"
Tears blurred her vision, but she had no hands to wipe them away. She walked step by step forward, invisible wind combed her hair, and the sun made her cheeks rosy, turning her into a beautiful and lovely woman.
As the saying goes, misfortune makes the honest beautiful, and beauty is not beauty for the dishonest.
The son went to war, and the mother missed him during the day and dreamed of him at night—sometimes dreaming that her son had returned, and sometimes dreaming that her son had died on the battlefield, with crows pecking at his eyes. She couldn't take it anymore and put on a soldier's uniform and went to the battlefield herself.
The mother without hands arrived at the battlefield, and the soldiers thought she was a farmer. They said, "Why aren't you staying at home on the kang? You're disabled and still coming to fight! Though your courage is admirable, it's not in the right place."
The mother without hands discovered that she could comfort the wounded and dying soldiers and boost morale. She did just that. One day, she watched her son fight firsthand as many enemies fell around him. He fought hard, and his companions gradually fell, leaving him alone. The enemy reinforcements swarmed in, and even though he was strong, he had his limits. At that moment, the commander was watching the battle from afar and said to his deputy, "Go find out which brave soldier is still fighting and give him immediate reinforcement."
When would the reinforcement arrive? Would it be in time? Suddenly, the mother without hands saw her son stand up from the pile of dead. Immediately, enemy soldiers surrounded him. The mother shouted in panic, "Hold on, my son! Hold on, my only child! I'll help you!" She forgot she had no hands, her heart pounding with love and hatred. She felt as if she had hands again and picked up a sharp blade from a fallen soldier and swung it at the enemy's heads. She fought for a long time, protecting her beloved son, who was also fighting, covered in blood.
Finally, the reinforcement arrived and defeated the remaining enemies. The son and mother had fought side by side for half a day without recognizing each other. He didn't even spare a glance at her, and even if he had, he wouldn't have recognized her, because she had strong hands.
Soon, the war ended. The commander summoned the brave soldiers and inquired about their backgrounds, rewarding them accordingly. When it was the son's turn, the commander asked, "Hero, who are your parents? They raised such a fine son and should be rewarded as well."
"I don't have a father," the son replied after saluting. "I grew up with my mother. The earth was our bed, the sky our roof, and kind people took the place of my father."
"The people are the father of all fathers," the commander said. "I am also a child of the people before them and have no right to reward him. But your mother raised such a brave son and should be rewarded. Let her come here to receive the award!"
"My mother doesn't have hands," the son said.
The commander looked closely at the young soldier and said sadly, "Bring your mother to me."
The young soldier returned to the village to find his mother, but the villagers told him that she had also gone to the battlefield. The young soldier reported this to the commander. The commander ordered a search in the army and finally found a woman in a soldier's uniform without hands, who was brought before the commander. The commander instantly recognized her as his wife. The woman without hands also recognized the commander as her husband and was about to rush forward to hug him when she suddenly remembered that after driving back the enemy and protecting her son, her hands had been lost again. But she couldn't resist hugging her long-lost loved one and rushed forward without hesitation.
In an instant, a pair of strong hands grew from her heart once more, and they tightly embraced her husband, and they never disappeared.
The father called his son over and said, "I am your father, and you are my son. We did not know each other, but the villains separated us. However, there is a power stronger than evil in this world."
The son was overjoyed to be reunited with his father. Then he saw his mother's hands return and remembered the soldier who had helped him in the final moment. The son knelt before his mother and passionately kissed her hands that had saved him.