Baba Yaga: The Wild Witch of the East in Russian Fairy Tales

“The Geese and Swans”

 128 The Geese and Swans There once lived an old man and an old woman. They had a daughter and a baby son. “Daughter, daughter!” said her mother.“We’re going to work.We’ll bring you a bread-roll, we’ll sew you a dress and buy you a handkerchief . Be good, take care of your little brother, and don’t go out of the yard.” The parents left, but the daughter forgot what they had told her. She set her brother down on the grass under the window, and she herself ran out onto the street and lost track of the time, playing and running around. The geese and swans flew over, grabbed the boy, and flew away with him. The girl came back and looked, and her brother wasn’t there! She gasped and ran here and there, but he wasn’t anywhere! She called, she sobbed, she lamented—she was going to be in trouble with her father and mother—but her brother didn’t answer! She ran out into the empty field. She caught sight of the geese and swans far away, and then they disappeared beyond the dark forest. These geese and swans had had a bad reputation for a long time; they did a lot of harm and would steal little children. The girl guessed that they were the ones who had taken away her brother, and she ran off after them. She ran and ran and saw a stove standing there.“Stove, stove! Tell me, where did the geese fly?” “Eat my rye pastry, and I’ll tell you.” “Oh, in my dad’s house we don’t even eat wheat ones!” The stove wouldn’t tell her. She ran farther and saw an apple tree standing there.“Apple tree, apple tree! Tell me where the geese flew?” “Eat some of my wild apple, and I’ll tell you.” “Oh, in my dad’s house we don’t even eat orchard apples!” She ran farther, and there was a river of milk, with banks of custard. “Milk river, custard banks! Where did the geese fly?” “Eat some of my simple custard with milk, and I’ll tell you.” “Oh, at my dad’s we don’t even eat cream!”  The Geese and Swans 129 And she would have run through the fields and wandered in the forest for a long time, but fortunately she ran into a hedgehog. She wanted to give him a poke, but she was afraid of pricking herself, so she asked,“Hedgehog, hedgehog, did you happen to see where the geese flew?” “Right that way,” he showed her. She ran off, and there stood a little house on chicken legs: it stood there and turned around. Inside the house sat a Baba Yaga, sinewy snout, leg made of clay. She was sitting there, and the little brother was on a bench playing with golden apples. The sister saw him, stole up, grabbed him, and Baba Yaga / Geese and Swans, by Katherine Bykova. A lacquer box illustrating Geese and Swans by the young Palekh artist Katherine Bykova, who also produces art for children. The owl and the flying bats in the background betray a Western influence, for they are not part of the Russian folkloric tradition. Artist: Katherine Bykova, from the village of Palekh, http://www.rus sianlacquerart.com/gallery/ Mstera/0000/001000.  The Geese and Swans 130 carried him away. But the geese flew after them and chased her. The villains were about to catch her; where could she hide? The milk river was flowing by, with its banks of custard.“Mother river, hide me!” “Eat some of my custard!” The girl had no choice, so she ate it. The river set her down under its bank, and the geese flew past. She came out and said,“Thank you!” Again she went running with her little brother, but the geese had turned around and were flying toward her.What could she do? Oh no! There stood the apple tree.“Apple tree, mother apple tree! Hide me!” “Eat my sour apple!” She ate it on the double. The apple tree shielded her with its branches, covered her with its leaves, and the geese flew by. She came out and ran again with her brother, but the geese saw them and took off after her. They were ever so close, already hitting her with A lacquer box...