In days long since past, Prince Vladimir of Kiev held a magnificent feast in honor of the marriage of his daughter Ludmila and the knight Ruslan. Three jealous suitors looked on - Rogday, Farlaf, and Ratmir. The festivities lasted for hours and when they were over, Ruslan led his beautiful young bride to the waiting nuptial bed. Suddenly a light flashed through the night sky and a clap of thunder shook the ground. A strange mist appeared and from somewhere inside it a strange voice spoke. Ruslan turned to embrace his bride, but she had vanished without a trace.
Once upon a time there lived an old man who had three sons, two of them clever young men and the third, Emelya, a fool. The two elder brothers were always at work, while Emelya lay on the stove ledge all day long with not a care in the world.
One day the two brothers rode away to market, and their wives said:Read full article…
In a certain kingdom, in a thrice-ten realm that lay far away, beyond the thrice-nine lands, there once lived a mighty king. The king had an archer who was as brave as he was strong, and the archer had a horse that was as strong as it was fleet of foot. One day the archer got on his horse and rode off to the forest to hunt.Read full article…
Long ago in a faraway kingdom, three sisters were outside in the courtyard talking, imagining what they would do if they were married to Tsar Saltan. One said that she would prepare a great feast for the entire world. The next said that she would weave linen for the entire world. The third said that she would give the tsar “an heir, handsome and brave beyond compare.”
In one village there lived three brothers. The two elder brothers were successful merchants, but the youngest brother was a fool named Emelya who slept on the stove all day long. Once it happened that when he went to the ice-hole for water and he caught a magic pike. The pike asked him to let her go free and promised him to grant any of his wishes. “Just say these magic words: ‘By the pike’s wish, at my command,’ and everything will be done” the pike said. Emelya agreed.
Somewhere in a Thrice-Nine kingdom there lived the famous Tsar Dadon. When he was young, he was fierce and brave, so, all his neighbors were afraid of him. But when he grew old he wanted to live in peace, to have a rest from wars, but then his neighbors began to make him much trouble often invading his kingdom. To defend the kingdom borders the Tsar had to maintain a mighty army, which fought day and night, led by the glorious chiefs practically without sleeping. Tsar Dadon and his army were so tired that the Tsar decided to ask for help the wise Astrologer, old eunuch from the east.
Once upon a time an old man, a widower, lived alone in a hut with his daughter Natasha. Very merry the two of them were together, and they used to smile at each other over a table piled with bread and jam, and play peek-a-boo, first this side of the samovar, and then that. Everything went well, until the old man took it into his head to marry again.
Listen, please, listen how sometimes it can be…
Once the Grandpa has planted a Turnip. The Turnip has grown to be enormously huge. The Grandpa went to pick the Turnip. He pulls and pulls it out, but could not pull it out…
Then, the Grandpa called the Grandma, his wife, to help him to pull out the Turnip.
Once upon a time there was a peasant family that owned one wheat field. One morning they found that during the night, someone had been trampling around in the field and ruining the wheat. The two elder brothers stood guard during the next two nights, but because of storms and cold winds they left the field, and in the morning it was trampled down even more. On the third night the youngest brother Ivan, whom everyone thought was the fool in the family, managed to catch the wonderful mare that had been destroying the field.
Very, very long ago in an Old Russian village there lived an old couple: the woodcutter and his wife. They barely made the ends meet, owing to the old man who cut logs in the forest and carried them into the nearest town. They were poor and had no children, so as they grew older they became sadder and sadder. The old woman often asked, “Who will take care of us? We are so old.” Her husband used to answer, “Don’t worry, old woman. God will not leave us alone, he will help us, if necessary.”
