The Complete Folktales of A. N. Afanas'ev

Volume I

Jack V. Haney

• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9781626743151
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Folklore & Mythology
• Index: Social Sciences

The folktales of A. N. Afanas'ev represent the largest single collection of folktales in any European language and perhaps in the world. Widely regarded as the Russian Grimm, Afanas'ev collected folktales from throughout the Russian Empire in what are now regarded as the three East Slavic languages, Byelorusian, Russian, and Ukrainian. The result of his own collecting, the collecting of friends and correspondents, and in a few cases his publishing of works from earlier and forgotten collections is truly phenomenal. In his lifetime, Afanas'ev published more than 575 tales in his most popular and best-known work, Narodnye russkie skazki. In addition to this basic collection he prepared a volume of Russian legends, many on religious themes, an anthology of mildly obscene tales, and voluminous writings on Slavic folk life and Slavic mythology. His works were subject to the strict censorship of ecclesiastical and state authorities that lasted until the demise of the Soviet Union at the end of the twentieth century. Overwhelmingly, his particular emendations were of a stylistic nature, while those of the censors mostly concerned content. The censored tales are generally not included. Up to now, there has been no complete English-language version of the Russian folktales of Afanas'ev. This translation is based on L. G. Barag and N. V. Novikov's edition (Moscow: Nauka, 1984-1986), widely regarded as the authoritative edition. The present edition includes commentaries to each tale as well as its international classification number.

Little Sister Fox and the Wolf

1.

There lived then an old man and his woman. The old man said to the woman: “Woman, you go bake some pies, and I’ll go after some fish.” He caught a lot of fish and was carrying a whole cart home. Then as he rode along, he saw a vixen curled up like a pastry and lying in the road. The old man climbed down from his cart, went up to the vixen, and she didn’t move, she lay there as if dead. “Here’s a gift for the wife,” the old man said, and he took the vixen and laid her in the cart, and he walked on ahead. The vixen waited for the right moment and started casually tossing the fish off the cart one by one, one after the other. When she had tossed off all the fish, she went away.

“Well, old woman,” said the old man, “What a collar I have brought you for your overcoat!”

“Where is it?”

“It’s there, in the cart, both the fish and the collar.” The woman went up to the cart: no collar, no fish. She began cursing her husband: “Oh, you, you old fool! You so and so! And you thought you could trick me!” Right then it occurred to the old man that that vixen hadn’t been dead. He was bitter, ever so bitter, but there was nothing to be done.

Now the vixen gathered all those fish she had tossed from the cart into a heap, sat down, and began eating. A wolf approached her.

“Greetings, little friend!”

“Greetings, friend!”

“Give me some fish.”

“Catch them yourself and eat them!”

“I don’t know how.”

“Oh you, I caught these. You just go over to the river, let your tail down into an ice hole, and the fish will attach themselves to your tail, but be sure you sit there quite a while, else you won’t catch any.”

The wolf went off to the river, lowered his tail into an ice hole. This whole business took place in winter. So he sat there and he sat there, and he sat through the whole night there, and his tail got frozen in the ice. He kept trying to get up, but no way! “Yikes, so many fish have got attached that I can’t pull them out!” he thought. He looked about. Some women were coming for water and they started shouting when they saw the gray one: “Wolf, wolf! Beat him, beat him!” They came running up and started hitting him, some with a bucket yoke, some with a bucket, with whatever was to hand. The wolf jumped and jumped, tore off his tail, and fled without a glance backward. “Well, well,” he thought, “I’ll pay you back, you little friend.”

Now little sister fox, having eaten her fill of fish, desired to try to make off with something else. She crept into one little hut, where the women were making bliny. She stuck her head into the vat of batter, got all smeared up with it, and ran away.

And the wolf met her: “So that’s how you teach somebody? I’ve been clobbered.”

“Oh, my friend,” said little sister fox, “You’re just bleeding a little, but they’ve beaten my brains out and that hurts even more. I can hardly drag myself along.”

“That’s so true,” said the wolf, “How can you walk like that? Climb on my back and I’ll carry you.”

The vixen got on his back and the wolf started off. So that little sister fox sat there, quietly saying, “The beaten is carrying the unbeaten, the beaten is carrying the unbeaten.”

“What are you saying, friend?”

“I said, my friend, that the beaten is carrying the beaten.”

“That’s just so, my friend.”

“Let’s make ourselves a little hut, my friend,” said the vixen.

“Let’s,” said the wolf. “I’ll make one of bast, and you make yours of ice.”

They set to work and made themselves these little huts, the fox one of bast, and the wolf one of ice, and they started living in them. Spring came, and the wolf’s hut melted away.

“Oh, my friend,” said the wolf, “You’ve deceived me again, and for that I’m going to eat you up.”

“Oh, let’s just go on, friend, and we’ll see who eats who.”

That little sister fox led him into the forest to a deep pit and said, “Jump! If you jump over it, you’ll eat me, but if you don’t jump over it, I’ll eat you.”

The wolf jumped and fell into the pit. “Well, my friend, you just sit there,” said the fox, and she went on her way.

She went along, carrying a rolling pin in her paws, and she asked a peasant to spend the night in his hut: “Let this sister fox in to spend the night.”

“It’s already crowded without you.”

“I won’t crowd you. I’ll just lie down on a bench, stick my little tail under the bench, my rolling pin next to the stove.”

They let her in. She lay down on the bench, her little tail beneath the bench, and her rolling pin next to the stove. Early in the morning the vixen got up and burned up her rolling pin, and then she asked, “Where’s my rolling pin? I won’t take less than a goose for it!” The peasant—there was nothing to be done—gave her a goose for the rolling pin. She took the rolling pin and went off, singing:

Little sister fox went along the road.

She’d been carrying a rolling pin,

But now she’s got a goose for the rolling pin.

Knock, knock, knock! She knocked at another peasant’s door.

“Who’s there?”

“It’s me, little sister fox, let me in to spend the night.”

“It’s already crowded without you.”

“I won’t crowd you. I’ll just lie down on a bench, stick my little tail under the bench, and my goose next to the stove.”

They let her in. She lay down on the bench, her little tail under the bench, the goose next to the stove. In the morning she leapt up, grabbed the goose, plucked it, ate it, and said, “Where’s my goose? I won’t take less than a turkey for it!” The peasant—there was nothing to be done—gave her a turkey for the goose. The vixen took the turkey and went off, singing:

Little sister fox went along the road.

She’d been carrying a rolling pin,

But for the rolling pin she got a goose,

For the goose she’s got a turkey hen.

Knock, knock, knock! She knocked at a third peasant’s door.

“Who’s there?”

“It’s me, little sister fox. Let me in to spend the night.”

“It’s already crowded without you.”

“I won’t crowd you. I’ll just lie down on a bench, stick my little tail under the bench, and my turkey next to the stove.”

They let her in. So she lay down on the bench, her little tail under the bench, the turkey next to the stove. In the morning she leapt up, grabbed the turkey hen, plucked it, ate it, and said, “Where’s my turkey? I won’t take less than a bride for it!” The peasant—there was nothing to be done—gave her a bride for the turkey. The vixen put her in a sack and walked along, singing:

Little sister fox went along the road.

She’d been carrying a rolling pin,

But for the rolling pin she got a goose,

For the goose she got a turkey hen

For the turkey hen a bride!

Knock, knock, knock! She knocked at a fourth peasant’s door.

“Who’s there?”

“It’s me, little sister fox. Let me in to spend the night.”

“It’s already crowded without you.”

“I won’t crowd you. I’ll just lie down on a bench, stick my little tail under the bench and put my sack next to the stove.”

They let her in. She lay down on the bench, her little tail beneath the bench, and the sack next to the stove. Ever so quietly, the peasant let the bride out of the sack, and stuffed a dog into it. So then in the morning little sister fox got ready to go, took her sack, and went off saying, “Oh bride, sing some songs!” And the dog started yelping! The vixen took fright and tossed away that sack with the dog and ran.

The fox ran along until she saw a cock perched on a gate. She said to him, “Cock, little cock! Climb down here and I’ll confess you. You have seventy wives; you’ve long since been a sinner.” The cock came down. She grabbed it and ate it up.

2.

A peasant was riding through a wood with some smelt. A fox stole the smelt from the peasant, put them in a little jug, and sat down next to a haystack to dine. A hungry wolf came running by. “Friend, oh friend, what are you eating?” he said when he saw the fox.

“Smelt,” she answered.

“Give them to me!”

“Catch them yourself!”

“But I don’t know how,” said the wolf.

“Here’s a jug. Tie it to your tail, and let it down in an ice hole.”

The wolf listened to that fox, and the fox said to herself: “Shine, shine, stars in the sky! Freeze that wolf’s tail.”

And then she ran off to a village, made her way into a hut where she managed to get her head covered in dough starter, and raised a great commotion. The fox ran out of the village and bumped into that wolf, with the villagers after the fox. From fear the wolf tried to tear away, but his tail was frozen solid; with effort he tore off half his tail. The wolf caught up to the fox in the wood, where she was pretending to be sick. “Oh, my friend,” she said. “They beat my brains out, I’ve no strength to go on.” “Then get on my back, my friend,” the wolf said. So the fox rode on the wolf singing this song: “The beaten is carrying the unbeaten!” “What are you saying, my friend?” asked the wolf. “I’m in a fog, my friend,” the fox replied, and she, the thief, added, “The beaten one’s ass hurts!”

That’s a tale for you but for me a pot of butter.

3.

In the outskirts of this one village one winter were some haystacks, and a fox clambered up on one of them. She somehow had contrived to get hold of some fish and was eating them. That night a wolf chanced to pass by, and he said to her: “Greetings, my friend!” “Good health to you, my friend,” she answered.

“What are you eating?”

“A fish.”

“Where did you get it?”

“I caught it in a pond.”

“And just how did you catch it?”

“If you like, I’ll teach you.”

“I’ll say ‘Thank you’ to that.”

“Then let’s go.”

And so the vixen led him to a hole in the ice. “Sit down here and put your tail down into the water, and a fish will soon climb onto it to get warm.” The friend sat down and dropped his tail into the hole, and the fox intoned: “Shine, shine in the sky! Freeze, oh freeze that wolf’s tail!”

“What are you saying, my friend?”

“Oh, old man, I’m summoning the fish to you.”

“Well, thank you!”

When the fox saw that the ice in the hole had frozen over, she said, “I’ll just run off to the village for some honey.” She ran off, and all trace of her grew cold. And some peasants saw that deceived wolf with the frozen tail in the pond and killed him. I was there, I drank mead, it flowed over my moustaches, but none got into my mouth.

4.

There were this old man and his wife. The old man had a cock and the woman a hen. One day they went out to the manure pile to look for something to eat. The cock found a head of wheat and the hen a poppy seedpod. From the head of wheat the old man threshed the grain and ground some flour. And the old woman cleaned the seeds from the poppy pod, ground the poppy seed, mixed it with honey and some ordinary flour, and made a pie with the ground poppy seed. And lacking a stove and fire, a result of her poverty, she placed the pie on the windowsill of her hut, so that it could be baked by the sun.

Just then a vixen and a wolf were passing by. The fox said, “What do you think, brother wolf, let’s steal that pie and divide it between us in brotherly fashion.”

“Fine, sister fox, let’s steal it.”

The vixen stole it. Going off to one side, she noted that the pie wasn’t quite baked through and to finish it off it needed to bake in the sun longer. “We’ll meanwhile have a sleep and when we wake up, we’ll have a really tasty breakfast.”

In just such a way the fox deceived the brother wolf, who soon went to sleep. She then went up to the pie, broke it open, ate the sweet filling and stuffed it with, permit me to say— well, better you guess yourself with what. And then sticking it back together, she put the pie back. The wolf woke up, and the vixen right after him. They started out dividing the pie, and it was the fox that first noted that that pie didn’t have the right filling, and she let fly at the wolf. The wolf swore, took an oath, even ate some dirt, but then so what?¹ The fox didn’t believe him. Finally they decided on a test: They would both lie down in the sun, and the first one to have wax on his body from the sun would be the one who ate the honey. They agreed to this.

Without a care in the world, the wolf went to sleep. And the fox ran to a nearby beehive, stole and ate the comb, and smeared the wolf all over with the beeswax. When he woke up and was unmasked, the wolf confessed that he himself didn’t recall how it had happened. But in the face of such evidence, he was guilty and would very willingly submit to the sentence of sister fox: which was that when he first got some prey, he was not to have a share in it, but give all to the fox. So they went off in their several directions, hunting.

The vixen, seeing some ox carts with their drivers, lay down on the road and pretended to be dead. And she began to let off a stench with all her might. The drivers saw her and thought she was alive at first. But coming up closer, they noted that at several paces she was stinking to high heaven, and they called out: “It’s dead, see how it stinks!” And they took the fox and tossed it into the cart with their fish.

The vixen’s first task was to gnaw through the bast straps and toss off the fish. When she’d tossed off all she required, she safely scooted down from the cart, gathered all the fish into a pile and began eating the fish in her dainty way.

The wolf, who had wandered about everywhere without success, came back to their meeting spot and saw the fox with her luxurious feast. “Little sister fox! Give me just one fishy. . . .”

“Oh brother wolf! Catch them yourself as I have, and then you can eat to your heart’s content!”

“But little sister fox, give me just a fish head.”

“Oh brother wolf! Not even a bone. I labored hard to catch them and I’m very hungry.”

“Where, how, and with what did you catch them?”

“It’s no big deal! There’s a river not far away. Go there and put your tail down through a hole in the ice, and then wait and repeat: ‘Catch on, fishy, both little and big. Catch on, fishy, both little and big.’ Afterward pull up your tail, and you’ll see how many fish you’ve caught.”

When the vixen had finished her dinner, she led the wolf to the ice hole. The wolf let his tail down and began to intone in his coarse voice, “Catch on, fishy, both little and big!” And the fox running about him intoned, “Freeze, freeze the wolf’s tail.”

“What are you saying, sister fox?”

“I’m helping you,” while all the while she’s affirming:“Freeze, freeze the wolf’s tail.” And then the wolf would say, “Catch on, fishy, both little and big!” and the fox: “Freeze, freeze the wolf’s tail!” Then the wolf again: “Catch on, fishy, both little and big! Catch on, fishy, both little and big!” And then the fox: “Freeze, freeze the wolf’s tail!”

“What’s that you’re saying, sister fox?”

“Oh, I’m just helping you!”

So the wolf was ready to pull his tail out of the ice hole, but the fox warned him: “Wait a little, you haven’t caught many.” And so they started up again, and then the wolf would try to pull out his tail, and the fox would say to him, “Wait, it’s still early!”...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction A. N. Afanas’ev: His Life and Works
• Glossary
• On Translating Afanas’ev’s Collection of Folktales
• The Tales
• Commentaries
• Bibliography