Folk-lore and Legends: Russian and Polish 9

Folk-lore and Legends: Russian and Polish 9

“You see,” cried they, “it is now winter, and if you do not go and cut

wood you will be frozen.”

 

“I am lazy,” said the fool.

 

“What! you are lazy!” said the sisters-in-law. “If you do not get up and

cleave wood, we will tell our husbands not to give you the red coat, or

the red cap, or the fine red boots.” The fool, who longed for the red

cap, coat, and boots, saw that he must cleave the wood; but as it was

bitter cold, and he did not like to leave the stove, he repeated, under

his breath, as he lay there: “At the pike’s command, and at my request,

up, axe, and hew wood; and do you, logs, come of yourselves into the

house and lay yourselves in the stove.”

 

The axe instantly jumped up, ran into the yard, and began to cut up the

wood, and the logs came of themselves into the house, and went and laid

themselves in the stove. When the sisters-in-law saw this they wondered

exceedingly, and as the axe did the work of itself whenever Emelyan was

wanted to cut up wood, he lived with them for some time in great

tranquillity. At length the wood was cut, and they said to him—

 

“Emelyan, we have no more wood, so you must go to the forest to cut

some.”

 

“Ay,” said the fool, “and you! who are you, then?”

 

“The wood,” said the sisters-in-law, “is far off, and it is winter, and

too cold for us to go.”

 

“I am lazy,” said the fool.

 

“How! you are lazy!” said they, “you will be frozen, then, and besides,

when our husbands come home we will tell them not to give you the red

coat, cap, and boots.”

 

As the fool longed for the red clothes, he found that he must go and cut

the wood. So he got off the stove, and began to put on his shoes and

stockings, and to dress himself. When he was dressed, he went out into

the yard, pulled the sledge out of the shed, took a rope and the axe

with him, mounted the sledge, and called out to his sisters-in-law—“Open

the gate!”

 

When the sisters-in-law saw that he was going off in the sledge without

any horses, for the fool had not put the horses to it, they cried out—

 

“Why, Emelyan, you have got on the sledge without yoking the horses!”

 

He answered that he did not want any horses, but asked them to open the

gate. The sisters-in-law threw open the gate, and the fool, as he sat in

the sledge, said—

 

“At the pike’s command, and at my request, away, sledge, go to the

wood.”

 

At these words the sledge galloped out of the yard at such a rate that

the people of the village, when they saw it, were filled with amazement.

The sledge went on so very fast, that if a pair of horses had been yoked

to it they could not have drawn it at anything like the same rate.

 

As it was necessary for the fool to go through the town on his way to

the wood, he came to it at full speed. Not knowing that he should cry

out “Make way!” in order that he might not run over any one, he gave no

notice, but rode on. So he ran over a great many people; and though they

ran after him, no one was able to overtake him and bring him back.

Emelyan, having got clear of the town, came to the wood, and stopped his

sledge. He then got down, and said—

 

“At the pike’s command, and at my request, up, axe, hew wood; and you,

logs, lay yourselves on the sledge, and tie yourselves together.”

 

The fool had scarcely uttered these words, when the axe began to cut

wood, the logs to lay themselves in the sledge, and the rope to tie them

down. When the axe had cut wood enough, he desired it to cut him a good

cudgel, and when the axe had done this he mounted the sledge, and said—

 

“Up and away! At the pike’s command, and at my request, go home,

sledge.”

 

Away went the sledge at the top of its speed. When Emelyan came to the

town where he had hurt so many people, he found a crowd waiting to catch

him, and as soon as he got into the town they laid hold of him, and

began to drag him off his sledge and to beat him. When the fool saw how

they were treating him, he said under his breath—

 

“At the pike’s command, and at my request, up, cudgel, and thrash them.”

 

Instantly the cudgel began to lay about it in all directions, and when

the people were all driven away he made his escape, and came to his own

village. The cudgel, having thrashed them all soundly, rolled to the

house after him, and Emelyan, as usual when he got home, lay down on the

stove.

 

After he had left the town the people began everywhere to talk, not

about the number of persons whom he had injured, but about the amazing

fact of his riding in the sledge without horses; and from one to another

the news spread till it reached the court, and came even to the ears of

the king. When the king heard the story he felt an extreme desire to see

Emelyan, so he despatched an officer with a party of soldiers in search

of him. The officer whom the king sent lost no time in leaving the town,

and he took the road that the fool had taken. When he came to the

village where Emelyan lived, he summoned before him the Starosta

(Head-man) of the village, and said to him—

 

“I am sent by the king to take a certain fool, and bring him before his

majesty.”

 

The Starosta at once showed him the house where Emelyan lived, and the

officer, entering it, asked where the fool was. Emelyan, who was lying

on the stove, made answer and said—

 

“What is it you want with me?”

 

“How!” said the officer. “What do I want with you? Get up and dress

yourself. I must take you to the king.”

 

“What to do?” asked Emelyan.

 

The officer was so enraged at the rudeness of his replies, that he gave

him a slap on the cheek.

 

“At the pike’s command, and at my request,” said the fool, under his

breath, “up, cudgel, and thrash them.”

 

At the word, up sprang the cudgel, and began to lay about it on all

sides, on officer and on men alike. The officer was forced to go back to

town as fast as he could; and when he came before the king, and told him

how the fool had cudgelled them all round, the king marvelled greatly,

and would not believe that he had been able to cudgel them at all.

 

The king then selected a wise man, commanding him to bring him the fool

by craft, if nothing else would do. The envoy left the king, and went to

the village where Emelyan lived. He called the Starosta before him, and

said—

 

“I am sent by the king to take your fool. So do you send for those with

whom he lives.”

 

The Starosta then ran and fetched the sisters-in-law. The king’s

messenger asked them what it was the fool liked, and they answered—

 

“Noble sir, if any one entreats our fool earnestly to do anything, he

flatly refuses the first and the second time. The third time, however,

he does not refuse, but does what one wants, for he does not like to be

roughly handled.”

 

The king’s messenger then dismissed them, charging them not to tell

Emelyan that he had summoned them before him. He then bought raisins,

baked plums, and grapes, and went to the fool. When he came into the

room, he went up to the stove, and said—

 

“Emelyan, why are you lying there?” and with that he gave him the

raisins, baked plums, and grapes, and said—

 

“Emelyan, we will go together to the king. I will take you with me.”

 

“I am very warm here,” said the fool, for there was nothing he was so

fond of as warmth.

 

The messenger then began to entreat him.

 

“Be so good, Emelyan,” said he; “let us go. You will like the court

vastly.”

 

“Ay,” said the fool; “I am lazy.”

 

The messenger began once more to entreat him.

 

“Be so good,” said he; “come with me, and the king will get you made a

fine red coat, a red cap, and a pair of red boots.”

 

When the fool heard the red coat mentioned, he said—

 

“Go on before, I will follow.”

 

The messenger then pressed him no further, but went out and asked the

sisters-in-law if there was any danger of the fool’s deceiving him. They

assured him that there was not, and he went his way. The fool, who was

still lying on the stove, then said to himself—

 

“How I hate this going to the king!”

 

Then after a few minutes’ thought—

 

“At the pike’s command, and at my request,” said he, “up stove, and away

to the town.”

 

Instantly the wall of the room opened, and the stove moved out. When it

had got clear of the yard, it went at such a rate that there was no

overtaking it, and it came up with the king’s messenger, and went after

him, and entered the palace with him. When the king knew the fool had

come, he went forth with all his ministers to see him, and when he saw

that Emelyan was come riding on the stove, he was greatly amazed.

Emelyan still lay where he was, and said nothing. Then the king asked

him why he had hurt so many people when he went to the wood.

 

“It was their own fault,” said the fool; “why did they not get out of

the way?”

 

Just at that moment the king’s daughter came to the window and looked at

the fool, and Emelyan, happening suddenly to look up at the window where

she stood observing him, and seeing that she was very handsome, said,

quite softly to himself—

 

“At the pike’s command, and at my request, let this lovely maiden fall

in love with me.”

 

Scarcely had he spoken the words, when the king’s daughter was

desperately in love with him. He then said—

 

“At the pike’s command, and at my request, up and away, stove, go home.”

 

Immediately the stove left the palace, went through the town, got home,

and set itself in its old place. There Emelyan lived for some time, comfortable and happy.