Vasilisa is wonderful. Traditional folk doll Vasilisa beautiful, processed by Afanasyev

- Listen, Vasilisa! Remember and fulfill my last words. I’m dying and, together with my parent’s blessing, I’m leaving you this doll; always keep it with you and don’t show it to anyone; and when some misfortune befalls you, give her something to eat and ask her for advice. She will eat and tell you how to help the misfortune.

Then the mother kissed her daughter and died.

After the death of his wife, the merchant struggled as he should, and then began to think about how to get married again. He was a good man; It wasn’t about the brides, but he liked one widow the most. She was already old, had two daughters of her own, almost the same age as Vasilisa - therefore, she was both a housewife and an experienced mother. The merchant married a widow, but was deceived and did not find in her a good mother for his Vasilisa. Vasilisa was the first beauty in the whole village; her stepmother and sisters were jealous of her beauty, tormented her with all kinds of work, so that she would lose weight from work, and turn black from the wind and sun; There was no life at all!

- Here, doll, eat, listen to my grief! I live in my father’s house, I don’t see any joy for myself; The evil stepmother is driving me out of the world. Teach me how to be and live and what to do?

The doll eats, and then gives her advice and consoles her in grief, and the next morning she does all the work for Vasilisa; she is just resting in the cold and picking flowers, but her beds have already been weeded, and the cabbage has been watered, and the water has been applied, and the stove has been heated. The doll will also show Vasilisa some grass for her sunburn. It was good for her to live with her doll.

“I won’t give the younger one away before the older ones!” And while seeing off the suitors, he takes out his anger on Vasilisa with beatings. One day, a merchant needed to leave home for a long time on trade business. The stepmother moved to live in another house, and near this house there was a dense forest, and in the forest in a clearing there was a hut, and Baba Yaga lived in the hut; She didn’t let anyone near her and ate people like chickens. Having moved to the housewarming party, the merchant's wife continually sent her hated Vasilisa into the forest for something, but this one always returned home safely: the doll showed her the way and did not let her near Baba Yaga's hut.

Autumn came. The stepmother gave all three girls evening work: one made her weave lace, the other knit stockings, and Vasilisa made her spin. She put out the fire in the whole house, left only one candle where the girls were working, and went to bed herself. The girls were working. Here's what's burned on the candle; one of the stepmother’s daughters took the tongs to straighten the lamp, but instead, on her mother’s orders, she accidentally put out the candle.

- What should we do now? - the girls said. — There is no fire in the whole house. We must run to Baba Yaga for fire!

- The pins make me feel bright! - said the one who wove the lace. - I will not go.

“And I won’t go,” said the one who was knitting the stocking. - I feel light from the knitting needles!

“You should go get the fire,” they both shouted. - Go to Baba Yaga! And they pushed Vasilisa out of the upper room.

Vasilisa went to her closet, placed the prepared dinner in front of the doll and said:

- Here, doll, eat and listen to my grief: they send me to Baba Yaga for fire; Baba Yaga will eat me!

The doll ate, and her eyes sparkled like two candles.

- Don't be afraid, Vasilisa! - she said. “Go wherever they send you, but always keep me with you.” With me, nothing will happen to you at Baba Yaga's.

Vasilisa got ready, put her doll in her pocket and, crossing herself, went into the dense forest.

She walks and trembles. Suddenly a rider gallops past her: he is white, dressed in white, the horse under him is white, and the harness on the horse is white - it began to dawn in the yard.

Vasilisa walked all night and all day, only the next evening she came out into the clearing where the Baba Yaga’s hut stood; a fence around the hut made of human bones; human skulls with eyes stick out on the fence; instead of doors at the gate there are human legs, instead of locks there are hands, instead of a lock there is a mouth with sharp teeth. Vasilisa was stupefied with horror and stood rooted to the spot. Suddenly the rider rides again: he is black, dressed all in black and on a black horse; galloped up to Baba Yaga's gate and disappeared, as if he had fallen through the ground - night fell. But the darkness did not last long: the eyes of all the skulls on the fence glowed, and the entire clearing became as light as day. Vasilisa was trembling with fear, but not knowing where to run, she remained in place.

Soon a terrible noise was heard in the forest: trees were cracking, dry leaves were crunching; Baba Yaga left the forest - she rode in a mortar, drove with a pestle, and covered the trail with a broom. She drove up to the gate, stopped and, sniffing around her, shouted:

- Fu, fu! Smells like the Russian spirit! Who is there?

Vasilisa approached the old woman with fear and, bowing low, said:

- It's me, grandma! My stepmother's daughters sent me to you for fire.

“Okay,” said Baba Yaga, “I know them, if you live and work for me, then I’ll give you fire; and if not, then I will eat you! Then she turned to the gate and screamed:

- Hey, my locks are strong, open up; My gates are wide, open!

The gates opened, and Baba Yaga drove in, whistling, Vasilisa came in behind her, and then everything was locked again.

Entering the upper room, Baba Yaga stretched out and said to Vasilisa:

“Give me what’s in the oven here: I’m hungry.” Vasilisa lit a torch from those skulls that were on the fence, and began to take food out of the stove and serve it to the yaga, and there was enough food for about ten people; from the cellar she brought kvass, honey, beer and wine. The old woman ate everything, drank everything; Vasilisa only left a little bacon, a crust of bread and a piece of pig meat. Baba Yaga began to go to bed and said:

- When I leave tomorrow, you look - clean the yard, sweep the hut, cook dinner, prepare the laundry, and go to the bin, take a quarter of the wheat and clear it of the nigella. Let everything be done, otherwise I’ll eat you!

After such an order, Baba Yaga began to snore; and Vasilisa placed the old woman’s scraps in front of the doll, burst into tears and said:

- Here, doll, eat, listen to my grief! Baba Yaga gave me a hard job and threatens to eat me if I don’t do everything; help me!

The doll replied:

- Don’t be afraid, Vasilisa the Beautiful! Have dinner, pray and go to bed; morning is wiser than evening!

Vasilisa woke up early, and Baba Yaga had already gotten up and looked out the window: the eyes of the skulls were going out; then a white horseman flashed by - and it was completely dawn. Baba Yaga went out into the courtyard, whistled - a mortar with a pestle and a broom appeared in front of her. The red horseman flashed by and the sun rose. Baba Yaga sat in the mortar and left the yard, driving with a pestle and covering the trail with a broom. Vasilisa was left alone, looked around Baba Yaga’s house, marveled at the abundance in everything and stopped in thought: what work should she take on first. He looks, and all the work has already been done; The doll was picking out the last nigella grains from the wheat.

- Oh, my savior! - Vasilisa said to the doll. - You saved me from trouble.

“All you have to do is cook dinner,” answered the doll, getting into Vasilisa’s pocket. - Cook with God, and rest well!

- Is everything done? - asks the yaga.

- Please see for yourself, grandma! - said Vasilisa.

Baba Yaga looked at everything, was annoyed that there was nothing to be angry about, and said:

- OK then! Then she shouted:

“My faithful servants, dear friends, grind my wheat!”

Three pairs of hands appeared, grabbed the wheat and carried it out of sight. Baba Yaga ate her fill, went to bed, and again gave orders to Vasilisa:

“Tomorrow you do the same as today, and besides that, take poppy seeds from the bin and clear them from the earth, grain by grain, you see, someone, out of malice, mixed the earth into it!”

The old woman said, turned to the wall and began to snore, and Vasilisa began to feed her doll. The doll ate and said to her as yesterday:

- Pray to God and go to bed: the morning is wiser than the evening, everything will be done, Vasilisa!

The next morning, Baba Yaga again left the yard in a mortar, and Vasilisa and the doll immediately corrected all the work. The old woman returned, looked at everything and shouted:

“My faithful servants, dear friends, squeeze the oil out of the poppy seeds!” Three pairs of hands appeared, grabbed the poppy and took it out of sight. Baba Yaga sat down to dinner; she eats, and Vasilisa stands silently.

- Why don’t you say anything to me? - said Baba Yaga. - Are you standing there dumb?

“I didn’t dare,” answered Vasilisa, “but if you allow me, I would like to ask you something.”

- Ask; But not every question leads to good: if you know a lot, you will soon grow old!

“I want to ask you, grandmother, only about what I saw: when I was walking towards you, a rider on a white horse, white himself and in white clothes, overtook me: who is he?”

“This is my clear day,” answered Baba Yaga.

“Then another rider on a red horse overtook me, he was red and dressed all in red; Who is this?

- This is my red sun! - answered Baba Yaga.

“And what does the black horseman mean who overtook me at your very gate, grandmother?”

- This is my dark night - all my servants are faithful! Vasilisa remembered the three pairs of hands and was silent.

- Why don’t you ask yet? - said Baba Yaga.

- I'll have enough of this too; You yourself, grandmother, said that if you learn a lot, you will grow old.

“It’s good,” said Baba Yaga, “that you only ask about what you saw outside the yard, and not in the yard!” I don’t like to have my dirty laundry washed out in public, and I eat people who are too curious! Now I ask you: how do you manage to do the work that I ask you?

“My mother’s blessing helps me,” answered Vasilisa.

- So that's it! Get away from me, blessed daughter! I don't need the blessed ones.

She pulled Vasilisa out of the room and pushed her out the gate, took one skull with burning eyes from the fence and, putting it on a stick, gave it to her and said:

- Here's a fire for your stepmother's daughters, take it; That's why they sent you here.

Vasilisa started running in the light of the skull, which went out only with the onset of morning, and finally, by the evening of the next day, she reached her home. Approaching the gate, she wanted to throw the skull: “That’s right, at home,” she thinks to herself, “they don’t need fire anymore.” But suddenly a dull voice was heard from the skull:

- Don’t leave me, take me to my stepmother!

- Perhaps your fire will hold on! - said the stepmother. They brought the skull into the upper room; and the eyes from the skull just look at the stepmother and her daughters, and they burn! They wanted to hide, but no matter where they rush, eyes follow them everywhere; by morning they were completely burned into coal; Vasilisa alone was not touched.

In the morning Vasilisa buried the skull in the ground, locked the house, went into the city and asked to live with a rootless old woman; lives for himself and waits for his father. Here's what she says to the old lady:

- I'm bored of sitting idle, grandma! Go and buy me the best linen; At least I'll spin.

The old woman bought good flax; Vasilisa sat down to work, her work is burning, and the yarn comes out smooth and thin, like a hair. There was a lot of yarn; It’s time to start weaving, but they won’t find reeds that are suitable for Vasilisa’s yarn; no one undertakes to do something. Vasilisa began to ask for her doll, and she said:

- Bring me some old reed, an old shuttle, and some horse mane; I'll make everything for you.

- Sell this painting, grandma, and take the money for yourself. The old woman looked at the goods and gasped:

- No, child! There is no one except the king to wear such a linen; I'll take it to the palace.

The old woman went to the royal chambers and kept pacing past the windows. The king saw and asked:

- What do you want, old lady?

“Your Royal Majesty,” the old woman answers, “I brought a strange product; I don’t want to show it to anyone except you.

The king ordered the old woman to be let in and when he saw the painting, he was surprised.

- What do you want for it? - asked the king.

- There is no price for him, Father Tsar! I brought it to you as a gift.

The king thanked him and sent the old woman away with gifts.

“You knew how to strain and weave such a fabric, you know how to sew shirts from it.”

“It was not I, sir, who spun and wove the linen,” said the old woman, “this is the work of my stepchild, the girl.”

- Well, let her sew it!

The old woman returned home and told Vasilisa about everything.

“I knew,” Vasilisa tells her, “that this work of my hands would not escape.”

She locked herself in her room and got to work; She sewed tirelessly, and soon a dozen shirts were ready.

“The Tsar-Sovereign wants to see the artisan who made the shirts for him, and reward her from his royal hands.”

Vasilisa went and appeared before the king's eyes. When the Tsar saw Vasilisa the Beautiful, he fell in love with her without memory.

“No,” he says, “my beauty!” I will not part with you; you will be my wife.

Then the king took Vasilisa by the white hands, sat her down next to him, and there they celebrated the wedding. Vasilisa’s father soon returned, rejoiced over her fate and remained to live with his daughter. Vasilisa took the old woman in with her, and at the end of her life she always carried the doll in her pocket.

№104The location of the recording is unknown. AT 480 V * (The stepdaughter gets fire from Baba Yaga by completing difficult tasks with the help of the doll). AT takes into account Hungarian and Russian texts. There are 3 Russian versions, 2 Ukrainian ones. This text, apparently, has undergone literary processing. The motif of a girl getting fire from a cannibal witch is known from various fairy tales and legendary stories of many peoples - it is found, for example, often in Bashkir fairy tales (Bashk. tvorch., I, No. 61, 62 - AT 313 H *). The episodes of the flight of Vasilisa the stepdaughter have a remarkable typological similarity with the plot of the ancient Icelandic “Saga of Edile” (Icelandic Sagas / Editorial introductory article and notes by M. I. Steblin-Kamensky. M., 1965, p. 182). Research: Propp. East. sk. , With. 181-182; Meletinsky, p. 185-186; Ivanova A. A. On the issue of the origin of fiction in fairy tales. - Soviet ethnography, 1979, No. 3, p. 119-121; Nazirov R. G. Skull on a pole. International parallels to one fairy tale motif. - Folklore of the peoples of the RSFSR, Ufa, 1982, p. 33-44.

In a certain kingdom there lived a merchant. He lived in marriage for twelve years and had only one daughter, Vasilisa the Beautiful. When her mother died, the girl was eight years old. Dying, the merchant's wife called her daughter to her, took out the doll from under the blanket, gave it to her and said: “Listen, Vasilisa! Remember and fulfill my last words. I’m dying and, together with my parent’s blessing, I’m leaving you this doll; always keep it with you and don’t show it to anyone; and when some misfortune befalls you, give her something to eat and ask her for advice. She will eat and tell you how to help the misfortune.” Then the mother kissed her daughter and died.

After the death of his wife, the merchant struggled as he should, and then began to think about how to get married again. He was a good man; It wasn’t about the brides, but he liked one widow the most. She was already old, had two daughters of her own, almost the same age as Vasilisa - therefore, she was both an experienced housewife and mother. The merchant married a widow, but was deceived and did not find in her a good mother for his Vasilisa. Vasilisa was the first beauty in the whole village; her stepmother and sisters were jealous of her beauty, tormented her with all kinds of work, so that she would lose weight from work, and turn black from the wind and sun; There was no life at all!

Vasilisa endured everything without complaint and every day she grew prettier and fatter, and meanwhile the stepmother and her daughters grew thin and ugly from anger, despite the fact that they always sat with folded arms like ladies. How was this done? Vasilisa was helped by her doll. Without this, where would a girl cope with all the work! But sometimes Vasilisa herself would not eat, but would leave the doll the most delicious morsel, and in the evening, after everyone had settled down, she would lock herself in the closet where she lived and treat her, saying: “Here, doll, eat, listen to my grief!” I live in my father’s house, I don’t see any joy for myself; The evil stepmother is driving me out of the world. Will you teach me how to be and live and what to do?” The doll eats, and then gives her advice and consoles her in grief, and the next morning she does all the work for Vasilisa; she is just resting in the cold and picking flowers, but her beds have already been weeded, and the cabbage has been watered, and the water has been applied, and the stove has been heated. The doll will also show Vasilisa some grass for her sunburn. It was good for her to live with her doll.

Several years have passed; Vasilisa grew up and became a bride. All the suitors in the city are wooing Vasilisa; No one will even look at stepmother's daughters. The stepmother gets angrier than ever and answers all the suitors: “I won’t give the younger one away before the older ones!”, and after seeing off the suitors, she takes out her anger on Vasilisa with beatings.

One day, a merchant needed to leave home for a long time on trade business. The stepmother moved to live in another house, and near this house there was a dense forest, and in the forest in a clearing there was a hut, and Baba Yaga lived in the hut: she did not let anyone near her and ate people like chickens. Having moved to the housewarming party, the merchant's wife continually sent her hated Vasilisa into the forest for something, but this one always returned home safely: the doll showed her the way and did not let her near Baba Yaga's hut.

Autumn came. The stepmother gave all three girls evening work: she made one weave lace, the other knit stockings, and made Vasilisa spin, and gave everyone homework. She put out the fire in the whole house, left one candle where the girls were working, and went to bed herself. The girls were working. When the candle burned, one of the stepmother’s daughters took the tongs to straighten the lamp, but instead, on her mother’s orders, she accidentally put out the candle. “What should we do now? - the girls said. “There is no fire in the whole house, and our lessons are not over.” We must run to Baba Yaga for fire!” - “I feel light from the pins! - said the one who wove lace. - I will not go". “And I won’t go,” said the one who was knitting the stocking. “Knitting needles give me light!” “You have to go get the fire,” they both shouted. “Go to Baba Yaga!” - and they pushed Vasilisa out of the room.

Vasilisa went to her closet, put the prepared dinner in front of the doll and said: “Here, doll, eat and listen to my grief: they are sending me to Baba Yaga for fire; Baba Yaga will eat me! The doll ate, and her eyes sparkled like two candles. “Don’t be afraid, Vasilisa! - she said. - Go wherever they send you, just keep me with you at all times. With me, nothing will happen to you at Baba Yaga’s.” Vasilisa got ready, put her doll in her pocket and, crossing herself, went into the dense forest.

She walks and trembles. Suddenly a rider gallops past her: he is white, dressed in white, the horse under him is white, and the harness on the horse is white - it began to dawn in the yard.

Vasilisa walked all night and all day, only by the next evening she came out into the clearing where the Baba Yaga’s hut stood; a fence around the hut made of human bones; human skulls with eyes stick out on the fence; instead of ropes at the gate there are human legs, instead of locks there are hands, instead of a lock there is a mouth with sharp teeth. Vasilisa was stupefied with horror and stood rooted to the spot. Suddenly the rider rides again: he is black, dressed all in black and on a black horse; galloped up to Baba Yaga's gate and disappeared, as if he had fallen through the ground - night came. But the darkness did not last long: the eyes of all the skulls on the fence glowed, and the entire clearing became as light as the middle of the day. Vasilisa was trembling with fear, but not knowing where to run, she remained in place.

Soon a terrible noise was heard in the forest: trees were cracking, dry leaves were crunching; Baba Yaga left the forest - she rode in a mortar, drove with a pestle, and covered her tracks with a broom. She drove up to the gate, stopped and, sniffing around herself, shouted: “Fu-fu! Smells like the Russian spirit! Who is there?" Vasilisa approached the old woman with fear and, bowing low, said: “It’s me, grandmother! My stepmother’s daughters sent me to you for fire.” “Okay,” said Baba Yaga, “I know them, if you live and work for me, then I’ll give you fire; and if not, then I’ll eat you!” Then she turned to the gate and cried out: “Hey, my locks are strong, open up; my gates are wide, open!” The gates opened, and Baba Yaga drove in, whistling, Vasilisa came in behind her, and then everything was locked again. Entering the upper room, Baba Yaga stretched out and said to Vasilisa: “Give me here what’s in the oven: I’m hungry.”

Vasilisa lit a torch from those skulls that were on the fence, and began to take food out of the stove and serve it to the yaga, and there was enough food for about ten people; from the cellar she brought kvass, honey, beer and wine. The old woman ate everything, drank everything; Vasilisa only left a little bacon, a crust of bread and a piece of pig meat. Baba Yaga began to go to bed and said: “When I leave tomorrow, look - clean the yard, sweep the hut, cook dinner, prepare the laundry, and go to the bin, take a quarter of the wheat and clear it of nigella.” Chernukha is a moss moss, a genus of wild field pea.. Let everything be done, otherwise I’ll eat you!” After such an order, Baba Yaga began to snore; and Vasilisa put the old woman’s scraps in front of the doll, burst into tears and said: “Here, doll, eat, listen to my grief! Baba Yaga gave me a hard job and threatens to eat me if I don’t do everything; help me!" The doll replied: “Don’t be afraid, Vasilisa the Beautiful! Have dinner, pray and go to bed; the morning is wiser than the evening!”

Vasilisa woke up early, and Baba Yaga had already gotten up and looked out the window: the eyes of the skulls were going out; then a white horseman flashed by - and it was completely dawn. Baba Yaga went out into the yard, whistled - a mortar with a pestle and a broom appeared in front of her. The red horseman flashed by - the sun rose. Baba Yaga sat in the mortar and left the yard, driving with a pestle and covering the trail with a broom. Vasilisa was left alone, looked around Baba Yaga’s house, marveled at the abundance in everything and stopped in thought: what work should she take on first. He looks, and all the work has already been done; The doll was picking out the last nigella grains from the wheat. “Oh, you, my deliverer! - Vasilisa said to the doll. “You saved me from trouble.” “All you have to do is cook dinner,” answered the doll, getting into Vasilisa’s pocket. “Cook it up with God, and rest well!”

By evening, Vasilisa has prepared the table and is waiting for Baba Yaga. It began to get dark, a black horseman flashed behind the gate - and it became completely dark; only the eyes of the skulls glowed. The trees crackled, the leaves crunched - Baba Yaga is riding. Vasilisa met her. “Is everything done?” - asks the yaga. “Please see for yourself, grandma!” - said Vasilisa. Baba Yaga examined everything, was annoyed that there was nothing to be angry about, and said: “Well, good!” Then she shouted: “My faithful servants, dear friends, sweep away my wheat!” Three pairs of hands appeared, grabbed the wheat and carried it out of sight. Baba Yaga ate, began to go to bed and again gave the order to Vasilisa: “Tomorrow you do the same as today, and besides that, take a poppy from the bin and clear it from the earth, grain by grain, you see, someone from the malice of the earth into it mixed it up!” The old woman said, turned to the wall and began to snore, and Vasilisa began to feed her doll. The doll ate and said to her as yesterday: “Pray to God and go to bed; morning is wiser than evening, everything will be done, Vasilisushka!

The next morning, Baba Yaga again left the yard in a mortar, and Vasilisa and the doll immediately corrected all the work. The old woman returned, looked at everything and shouted: “My faithful servants, dear friends, squeeze the oil out of the poppy seeds!” Three pairs of hands appeared, grabbed the poppy and took it out of sight. Baba Yaga sat down to dinner; she eats, and Vasilisa stands silently. “Why don’t you say anything to me? - said Baba Yaga. “You’re standing there dumb!” “I didn’t dare,” Vasilisa answered, “but if you allow me, I would like to ask you something.” - "Ask; But not every question leads to good: if you know a lot, you’ll soon grow old!” - “I want to ask you, grandmother, only about what I saw: when I was walking towards you, a rider on a white horse, white himself and in white clothes, overtook me: who is he?” “This is my clear day,” answered Baba Yaga. “Then another rider on a red horse overtook me, he was red and dressed all in red; Who is this?" - “This is my red sun!” - answered Baba Yaga. “What does the black horseman mean who overtook me at your very gate, grandmother?” - “This is my dark night - all my servants are faithful!”

Vasilisa remembered the three pairs of hands and was silent. “Why aren’t you asking yet?” - said Baba Yaga. “I’ll have enough of this too; You yourself, grandmother, said that if you learn a lot, you will grow old.” “It’s good,” said Baba Yaga, “that you only ask about what you saw outside the yard, and not in the yard!” I don’t like to have my dirty laundry washed out in public, and I eat people who are too curious! Now I ask you: how do you manage to do the work that I assign you?” “My mother’s blessing helps me,” answered Vasilisa. “So that's it! Get away from me, blessed daughter! I don’t need the blessed ones.” She pulled Vasilisa out of the room and pushed her out the gate, took one skull with burning eyes from the fence and, putting it on a stick, gave it to her and said: “Here is fire for your stepmother’s daughters, take it; This is what they sent you here for.”

Vasilisa ran home by the light of the skull, which went out only with the onset of morning, and finally, by the evening of the next day, she reached her home. Approaching the gate, she wanted to throw the skull. “That’s right, at home,” he thinks to himself, “they don’t need fire anymore.” But suddenly a dull voice was heard from the skull: “Don’t leave me, take me to my stepmother!”

She looked at her stepmother’s house and, not seeing a light in any window, decided to go there with the skull. For the first time they greeted her kindly and told her that since she left, they had no fire in the house: they could not make it themselves, and the fire they brought from the neighbors went out as soon as they entered the room with it. “Maybe your fire will hold on!” - said the stepmother. They brought the skull into the upper room; and the eyes from the skull just look at the stepmother and her daughters, and they burn! They wanted to hide, but no matter where they rush, eyes follow them everywhere; by morning they were completely burned into coal; Vasilisa alone was not touched.

In the morning Vasilisa buried the skull in the ground, locked the house, went into the city and asked to live with a rootless old woman; lives for himself and waits for his father. One day she says to the old lady: “I’m bored of sitting around doing nothing, grandma! Go and buy me the best linen; At least I’ll spin.” The old woman bought good flax; Vasilisa sat down to work, her work is burning, and the yarn comes out smooth and thin, like a hair. There was a lot of yarn; It’s time to start weaving, but they won’t find reeds that are suitable for Vasilisa’s yarn; no one undertakes to do something. Vasilisa began to ask for her doll, and she said: “Bring me some old reed, an old shuttle, and a horse’s mane; I’ll make everything for you.”

The old woman went to the royal chambers and kept pacing past the windows. The king saw and asked: “What do you want, old lady?” “Your Royal Majesty,” the old woman answers, “I brought a strange product; I don’t want to show it to anyone except you.” The king ordered the old woman to be let in and when he saw the painting, he was astonished. "What do you want for it?" - asked the king. “There is no price for him, Father Tsar! I brought it to you as a gift.” The king thanked him and sent the old woman away with gifts.

They began to sew shirts for the king from that linen; They cut them out, but nowhere could they find a seamstress who would undertake to work on them. They searched for a long time; Finally, the king called the old woman and said: “You knew how to strain and weave such fabric, know how to sew shirts from it.” “It was not I, sir, who spun and wove the linen,” said the old woman, “this is the work of my adopted son, the girl.” - “Well, let her sew it!” The old woman returned home and told Vasilisa about everything. “I knew,” Vasilisa tells her, “that this work of my hands would not escape.” She locked herself in her room and got to work; She sewed tirelessly, and soon a dozen shirts were ready.

The old woman took the shirts to the king, and Vasilisa washed herself, combed her hair, got dressed and sat down under the window. He sits and waits for what will happen. He sees: the king’s servant is coming to the old woman’s courtyard; entered the upper room and said: “The Tsar-Sovereign wants to see the skilled woman who made shirts for him, and to reward her from his royal hands.” Vasilisa went and appeared before the king's eyes. When the Tsar saw Vasilisa the Beautiful, he fell in love with her without memory. “No,” he says, “my beauty! I will not part with you; you will be my wife." Then the king took Vasilisa by the white hands, sat her down next to him, and there they celebrated the wedding. Vasilisa’s father soon returned, rejoiced over her fate and remained to live with his daughter. Vasilisa took the old woman in with her, and at the end of her life she always carried the doll in her pocket.

IN In some kingdom there lived a merchant. He lived in marriage for twelve years and had only one daughter, Vasilisa the Beautiful. When her mother died, the girl was eight years old. Dying, the merchant's wife called her daughter to her, took out the doll from under the blanket, gave it to her and said:

Listen, Vasilisa! Remember and fulfill my last words. I’m dying and, together with my parent’s blessing, I’m leaving you this doll; always keep it with you and don’t show it to anyone; and when some misfortune befalls you, give her something to eat and ask her for advice. She will eat and tell you how to help the misfortune.

Then the mother kissed her daughter and died.

‎ After the death of his wife, the merchant struggled as he should, and then began to think about how to get married again. He was a good man; It wasn’t about the brides, but he liked one widow the most. She was already old, had two daughters of her own, almost the same age as Vasilisa - therefore, she was both an experienced housewife and mother. The merchant married a widow, but was deceived and did not find in her a good mother for his Vasilisa. Vasilisa was the first beauty in the whole village; her stepmother and sisters were jealous of her beauty, tormented her with all kinds of work, so that she would lose weight from work, and turn black from the wind and sun; There was no life at all!

Vasilisa endured everything without complaint and every day she grew prettier and plumper, and meanwhile the stepmother and her daughters grew thin and ugly with anger, despite the fact that they always sat with their hands folded like ladies. How was this done? Vasilisa was helped by her doll. Without this, where would a girl cope with all the work! But sometimes Vasilisa herself wouldn’t eat, but would leave the doll’s most delicious morsel, and in the evening, when everyone had settled down, she would lock herself in the closet where she lived and treat her, saying:

Here, doll, eat, listen to my grief! I live in my father’s house, I don’t see any joy for myself; The evil stepmother is driving me out of the world. Teach me how to be and live and what to do?

The doll eats, and then gives her advice and consoles her in grief, and the next morning she does all the work for Vasilisa; she is just resting in the cold and picking flowers, but her beds have already been weeded, and the cabbage has been watered, and the water has been applied, and the stove has been heated. The doll will also show Vasilisa some grass for sunburn. It was good for her to live with her doll.

‎ Several years have passed; Vasilisa grew up and became a bride. All the suitors in the city are wooing Vasilisa; No one will even look at stepmother's daughters. The stepmother gets angrier than ever and answers all the suitors:

I won’t betray the younger one before the older ones! - and after seeing off the suitors, he takes out his evil on Vasilisa with beatings.

‎ One day, a merchant needed to leave home for a long time on trade matters. The stepmother moved to live in another house, and near this house there was a dense forest, and in the forest in a clearing there was a hut, and in the hut lived Baba Yaga: she did not let anyone near her and ate people like chickens. Having moved to the housewarming party, the merchant's wife continually sent her hated Vasilisa into the forest for something, but this one always returned home safely: the doll showed her the way and did not let her near Baba Yaga's hut.

‎ Autumn has arrived. The stepmother gave all three girls evening work: she made one weave lace, the other knit stockings, and made Vasilisa spin, and gave everyone homework. She put out the fire in the whole house, left one candle where the girls were working, and went to bed herself. The girls were working. When the candle burned, one of the stepmother’s daughters took the tongs to straighten the lamp, but instead, on her mother’s orders, she accidentally put out the candle.

What should we do now? - the girls said. “There is no fire in the whole house, and our lessons are not over.” We must run to Baba Yaga for fire!

The pins make me feel bright! - said the one who wove lace. - I will not go.

“And I won’t go,” said the one who was knitting the stocking. - I feel light from the knitting needles!

“You should go get the fire,” they both shouted. - Go to Baba Yaga! - and they pushed Vasilisa out of the room.

Vasilisa went to her closet, put the prepared dinner in front of the doll and said:

Here, doll, eat and listen to my grief: they send me to Baba Yaga for fire; Baba Yaga will eat me!

The doll ate, and her eyes sparkled like two candles.

Don't be afraid, Vasilisa! - she said. - Go wherever they send you, just keep me with you at all times. With me, nothing will happen to you at Baba Yaga's.

Vasilisa got ready, put her doll in her pocket and, crossing herself, went into the dense forest.

‎ She walks and trembles. Suddenly a rider gallops past her: he is white, dressed in white, the horse under him is white, and the harness on the horse is white - it began to dawn in the yard.

‎ Soon a terrible noise was heard in the forest: trees were cracking, dry leaves were crunching; Baba Yaga left the forest - she rode in a mortar, drove with a pestle, and covered her tracks with a broom. She drove up to the gate, stopped and, sniffing around her, shouted:

Fu-fu! Smells like the Russian spirit! Who is there?

Vasilisa approached the old woman with fear and, bowing low, said:

It's me, grandma! My stepmother's daughters sent me to you for fire.

“Okay,” said Baba Yaga, “I know them; if you live and work for me, then I’ll give you fire; and if not, then I will eat you!

Then she turned to the gate and screamed:

Hey, my strong locks, open up; My gates are wide, open!

The gate opened, and Baba Yaga drove in, whistling, Vasilisa came in behind her, and then everything was locked again. Entering the upper room, Baba Yaga stretched out and said to Vasilisa:

Bring me what’s in the oven here: I’m hungry.

Vasilisa lit a torch from those skulls that were on the fence, and began to take food from the stove and serve it to the yaga, and the food was prepared for about ten people; She brought kvass, honey, beer and wine from the cellar. The old woman ate everything, drank everything; Vasilisa only left a little bacon, a crust of bread and a piece of pig meat. Baba Yaga began to go to bed and said:

When I leave tomorrow, look - clean the yard, sweep the hut, cook dinner, prepare the laundry, and go to the bin, take a quarter of the wheat and clear it of nigella. Yes, so that everything is done, otherwise I’ll eat you!

After such an order, Baba Yaga began to snore; and Vasilisa placed the old woman’s scraps in front of the doll, burst into tears and said:

Here, doll, eat, listen to my grief! Baba Yaga gave me a hard job and threatens to eat me if I don’t do everything; help me!

The doll replied:

Don't be afraid, Vasilisa the Beautiful! Have dinner, pray and go to bed; morning is wiser than evening!

Vasilisa woke up early, and Baba Yaga had already gotten up and looked out the window: the eyes of the skulls were going out; then a white horseman flashed by - and it was completely dawn. Baba Yaga went out into the yard, whistled - a mortar with a pestle and a broom appeared in front of her. The red horseman flashed by - the sun rose. Baba Yaga sat in the mortar and left the yard, driving with a pestle and covering the trail with a broom. Vasilisa was left alone, looked around Baba Yaga’s house, marveled at the abundance in everything and stopped in thought: what work should she take on first. He looks, and all the work has already been done; The doll was picking out the last nigella grains from the wheat.

Oh, you, my deliverer! - Vasilisa said to the doll. - You saved me from trouble.

All you have to do is cook dinner,” answered the doll, getting into Vasilisa’s pocket. - Cook with God, and rest well!

‎ By evening, Vasilisa has prepared the table and is waiting for Baba Yaga. It began to get dark, a black horseman flashed behind the gate - and it became completely dark; only the eyes of the skulls glowed. The trees crackled, the leaves crunched - Baba Yaga is riding. Vasilisa met her.

Is everything done? - asks the yaga.

Please see for yourself, grandma! - said Vasilisa.

Baba Yaga examined everything, was annoyed that there was nothing to be angry about, and said:

OK then!

Then she shouted:

My faithful servants, dear friends, sweep away my wheat!

Three pairs of hands appeared, grabbed the wheat and carried it out of sight. Baba Yaga ate her fill, went to bed, and again gave orders to Vasilisa:

Tomorrow you do the same as today, and in addition, take poppy seeds from the bin and clear them from the earth, grain by grain, you see, someone out of malice mixed the earth into it!

The old woman said, turned to the wall and began to snore, and Vasilisa began to feed her doll. The doll ate and said to her as yesterday:

Pray to God and go to bed; morning is wiser than evening, everything will be done, Vasilisa!

‎ The next morning, Baba Yaga again left the yard in a mortar, and Vasilisa and the doll immediately corrected all the work. The old woman returned, looked at everything and shouted:

My faithful servants, dear friends, squeeze the oil out of the poppy seed!

Three pairs of hands appeared, grabbed the poppy and took it out of sight. Baba Yaga sat down to dinner; she eats, and Vasilisa stands silently.

Why don't you say anything to me? - said Baba Yaga. - You stand there dumb!

“I didn’t dare,” Vasilisa answered, “but if you allow me, I would like to ask you something.”

Ask; But not every question leads to good: if you know a lot, you will soon grow old!

I want to ask you, grandmother, only about what I saw: when I was walking towards you, a rider on a white horse, white himself and in white clothes, overtook me: who is he?

“This is my clear day,” answered Baba Yaga.

Then another rider on a red horse overtook me, he was red and dressed all in red; Who is this?

This is my red sun! - answered Baba Yaga.

And what does the black horseman who overtook me at your very gate mean, grandma?

This is my dark night - all my servants are faithful!

Vasilisa remembered the three pairs of hands and was silent.

Why aren't you asking yet? - said Baba Yaga.

This will be enough for me; You yourself, grandmother, said that if you learn a lot, you will grow old.

It’s good,” said Baba Yaga, “that you only ask about what you saw outside the yard, and not in the yard!” I don’t like to have my dirty laundry washed out in public, and I eat people who are too curious! Now I ask you: how do you manage to do the work that I ask you?

My mother’s blessing helps me,” Vasilisa answered.

So that's it! Get away from me, blessed daughter! I don't need the blessed ones.

She pulled Vasilisa out of the room and pushed her out the gate, took one skull with burning eyes from the fence and, putting it on a stick, gave it to her and said:

Here's a fire for your stepmother's daughters, take it; That's why they sent you here.

That’s right, at home, he thinks to himself, they don’t need fire anymore.

Don't leave me, take me to my stepmother!

‎ She looked at her stepmother’s house and, not seeing a light in any window, decided to go there with the skull. For the first time they greeted her kindly and told her that since she left, they had no fire in the house: they could not make it themselves, and the fire they brought from the neighbors went out as soon as they entered the room with it.

Perhaps your fire will hold on! - said the stepmother.

They brought the skull into the upper room; and the eyes from the skull just look at the stepmother and her daughters, and they burn! They wanted to hide, but no matter where they rush, eyes follow them everywhere; by morning they were completely burned into coal; Vasilisa alone was not touched.

‎ In the morning Vasilisa buried the skull in the ground, locked the house, went into the city and asked to live with a rootless old woman; lives for himself and waits for his father. Here's what she says to the old lady:

I'm bored of sitting idle, grandma! Go and buy me the best linen; At least I'll spin.

The old woman bought good flax; Vasilisa sat down to work, her work is burning, and the yarn comes out smooth and thin, like a hair. There was a lot of yarn; It’s time to start weaving, but they won’t find reeds that are suitable for Vasilisa’s yarn; no one dares to do something. Vasilisa began to ask for her doll, and she said:

Bring me some old reed, an old shuttle, and some horse mane; I'll make everything for you.

Sell this painting, grandma, and take the money for yourself.

The old woman looked at the goods and gasped:

No, child! There is no one except the king to wear such a linen; I'll take it to the palace.

The old woman went to the royal chambers and kept walking past the windows. The king saw and asked:

What do you want, old lady?

“Your Royal Majesty,” the old woman answers, “I brought a strange product; I don’t want to show it to anyone except you.

The king ordered the old woman to be let in and when he saw the painting, he was astonished.

What do you want for it? - asked the king.

There is no price for him, Father Tsar! I brought it to you as a gift.

The king thanked him and sent the old woman away with gifts.

‎ They began to sew shirts for the king from that linen; They cut them out, but nowhere could they find a seamstress who would undertake to work on them. They searched for a long time; Finally the king called the old woman and said:

You knew how to strain and weave such a fabric, you know how to sew shirts from it.

“It was not I, sir, who spun and wove the linen,” said the old woman, “this is the work of my stepchild, the girl.”

Well, let her sew!

The old woman returned home and told Vasilisa about everything.

“I knew,” Vasilisa tells her, “that this work of my hands would not escape.”

She locked herself in her room and got to work; She sewed tirelessly, and soon a dozen shirts were ready.

The Tsar-Sovereign wants to see the artisan who made the shirts for him, and reward her from his royal hands.

Vasilisa went and appeared before the king's eyes. When the Tsar saw Vasilisa the Beautiful, he fell in love with her without memory.

No,” he says, “my beauty!” I will not part with you; you will be my wife.

Then the king took Vasilisa by the white hands, sat her down next to him, and there they celebrated the wedding. Vasilisa’s father soon returned, rejoiced over her fate and stayed to live with his daughter. Vasilisa took the old woman in with her, and at the end of her life she always carried the doll in her pocket.

After the death of his wife, the merchant struggled as he should, and then began to think about how to get married again. He was a good man; It wasn’t about the brides, but he liked one widow the most. She was already old, had two daughters of her own, almost the same age as Vasilisa - therefore, she was both an experienced housewife and mother. The merchant married a widow, but was deceived and did not find in her a good mother for his Vasilisa. Vasilisa was the first beauty in the whole village; her stepmother and sisters were jealous of her beauty, tormented her with all kinds of work, so that she would lose weight from work, and turn black from the wind and sun; There was no life at all!

Vasilisa endured everything without complaint and every day she grew prettier and fatter, and meanwhile the stepmother and her daughters grew thin and ugly from anger, despite the fact that they always sat with folded arms like ladies. How was this done? Vasilisa was helped by her doll. Without this, where would a girl cope with all the work! But Vasilisa herself would not eat, but would leave the doll the most delicious morsel, and in the evening, after everyone had settled down, she would lock herself in the closet where she lived and treat her, saying: “Here, doll, eat, listen to my grief!” I live in my father’s house, I don’t see any joy for myself; The evil stepmother is driving me out of the world. Will you teach me how to be and live and what to do?” The doll eats, and then gives her advice and consoles her in grief, and the next morning she does all the work for Vasilisa; she is just resting in the cold and picking flowers, but her beds have already been weeded, and the cabbage has been watered, and the water has been applied, and the stove has been heated. The doll will also show Vasilisa some grass for her sunburn. It was good for her to live with her doll.

She walks and trembles. Suddenly a rider gallops past her: he is white, dressed in white, the horse under him is white, and the harness on the horse is white - it began to dawn in the yard.

Vasilisa lit a torch from those skulls that were on the fence, and began to take food out of the stove and serve it to the yaga, and there was enough food for about ten people; from the cellar she brought kvass, honey, beer and wine. The old woman ate everything, drank everything; Vasilisa only left a little bacon, a crust of bread and a piece of pig meat. Baba Yaga began to go to bed and said: “When I leave tomorrow, look - clean the yard, sweep the hut, cook dinner, prepare the laundry, and go to the bin, take a quarter of the wheat and clear it of nigella 1. Let everything be done, otherwise I’ll eat you!” After such an order, Baba Yaga began to snore; and Vasilisa put the old woman’s scraps in front of the doll, burst into tears and said: “Here, doll, eat, listen to my grief! Baba Yaga gave me a hard job and threatens to eat me if I don’t do everything; help me!" The doll replied: “Don’t be afraid, Vasilisa the Beautiful! Have dinner, pray and go to bed; the morning is wiser than the evening!”

Vasilisa woke up early, and Baba Yaga had already gotten up and looked out the window: the eyes of the skulls were going out; then a white horseman flashed by - and it was completely dawn. Baba Yaga went out into the yard, whistled - a mortar with a pestle and a broom appeared in front of her. The red horseman flashed by - the sun rose. Baba Yaga sat in the mortar and left the yard, driving with a pestle and covering the trail with a broom. Vasilisa was left alone, looked around Baba Yaga’s house, marveled at the abundance in everything and stopped in thought: what work should she take on first. He looks, and all the work has already been done; The doll was picking out the last nigella grains from the wheat. “Oh, you, my deliverer! - Vasilisa said to the doll. “You saved me from trouble.” “All you have to do is cook dinner,” answered the doll, getting into Vasilisa’s pocket. “Cook it up with God, and rest well!”

Vasilisa got everything she needed and went to bed, and the doll prepared a glorious figure overnight. By the end of winter, the fabric is woven, and so thin that it can be threaded through a needle instead of a thread. In the spring, the canvas was whitened, and Vasilisa said to the old woman: “Sell this canvas, grandma, and take the money for yourself.” The old woman looked at the goods and gasped: “No, child! There is no one except the king to wear such a linen; I’ll take it to the palace.” The old woman went to the royal chambers and kept pacing past the windows. The king saw and asked: “What do you want, old lady?” “Your Royal Majesty,” the old woman answers, “I brought a strange product; I don’t want to show it to anyone except you.” The king ordered the old woman to be let in and when he saw the painting, he was astonished. "What do you want for it?" - asked the king. “There is no price for him, Father Tsar! I brought it to you as a gift.” The king thanked him and sent the old woman away with gifts.

1 Chernukha is a lichen, a genus of wild field pea.

1899)

Vasilisa’s stepmother often sent her to the forest, hoping that Baba Yaga would meet her and eat her. But the girl, thanks to the guidance of the doll, always avoided dangerous paths. Finally, the stepmother and daughters conspired to directly send Vasilisa to Baba Yaga’s hut for a fire, so that during the autumn women’s work (weaving, knitting and spinning), performed at night, they deliberately extinguished the burning candle. The doll, as usual, promised to take care of the girl’s safety, and she set off on the road.

On the way, she met three horsemen: white, red and black (according to Baba Yaga, these are her servants: day, sun and night). On Baba Yaga’s fence, made of human bones, there were skulls hung, the eyes of which illuminated the surroundings with their light, as if during the day. Then the hostess herself came out of the forest: “she rides in a mortar, drives with a pestle, covers up the trail with a broom.”

Having listened to the girl’s request, Baba Yaga demanded that she, on pain of death, first work as a servant. At the voice command, the gates opened and then locked themselves. Baba Yaga gave Vasilisa various tasks, but she, thanks to the help of the doll, completed everything on time.

Baba Yaga also had assistants - three pairs of hands that responded and came to the call of her voice. Baba Yaga did not explain what these pairs of hands were: “I don’t like having my dirty laundry washed out in public, and I eat those who are too curious.” After some time, Baba Yaga asked the girl how she managed to do all the work so well, and having learned that the reason for this was “her mother’s blessing,” she pushed her out, saying: “I don’t need the blessed.”

With her, instead of a lamp, she gave as a gift one skull with glowing eyes. Vasilisa wanted to get rid of him, but the skull told her not to do this, but to take her to her stepmother’s house. There, the light emanating from the eye sockets of the skull incinerated the stepmother and her two daughters.

After what happened, Vasilisa buried the skull in the ground and went to the city, where she settled with an old woman, deciding to wait there for her father’s return, and took up spinning and weaving. The fabric in her hands turned out to be so thin that the old woman somehow carried it straight to the royal palace. The Tsar asked him to sew shirts from this fabric, which Vasilisa did.

Having appreciated the skillful work, the king wanted to personally see and reward the craftswoman. The king, enchanted by her beauty, took Vasilisa as his wife. Having returned from a trading trip, Vasilisa's father remained to live at court. The new queen also took the old woman into her household, and carried her doll assistant in her pocket until the end of her days.

Vasilisa is wonderful. Traditional folk doll Vasilisa beautiful, processed by Afanasyev

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