Ready Diary A: Russian Folktales

The Dead Mother- A dead mother feed her baby even after she died but then the baby died as well. I am not sure how they baby died. They didn't really make it clear in the story.

The Treasure- She took a knife, and was beginning to cut the thread at the seam, when forth flowed blood, and the pope began to howl: “Oh! it hurts, mother, it hurts! Don’t cut mother, don’t cut!”

The Bad Wife- The Demon rushed to the window, stared with all his eyes, and heard everyone shouting at the top of his voice the words, “The Bad Wife!”

The Three Copecks- “A mere trifle. I’ll make the beastie stand on his hind legs while I hold him up by his forelegs, and you shall pile gold pieces around him, so as just to hide him—I shall be content with that!”

The Miser- Out jumped the poor man, crying: “What’s the good of disputing that way? Let the sabre belong to him who will cut this corpse’s head off!”

The Water Snake- They took the girl down to the pond, and dived right into the water with her. And there they all turned into men and women. The mother remained for some time on the dike, wailed a little, and then went home.

Friday- Well, what do you think? During the night, back came Mother Friday and took the dust out of that woman’s eyes, so that she was able to get about again.

Wednesday- Well, the young woman ran home, beat the pails together, and cried out beneath the window: “Wednesday’s children have been burnt at sea!”

The Leshy- Up came the priest, and cried, “Why, that’s my daughter.” Up came running the priest’s wife, and cried: “O thou dear child! Where hast thou been so long? I had no hope of ever seeing thee again.”

Dnieper, Volga, Dvina- Therefore is it that his flow is swifter than that of the Volga and the Dvina; therefore also is it that he has many rapids and many mouths.

Emilian the Fool- As soon as the fool had said this, the pails immediately went home of their own accord and became set in their places. The sisters-in-law looked and wondered.

Russian Building.