Knjigice
Fairy tale · Classic fairy tales
The Firebird
A Russian tale of the youngest prince and the grey wolf
Also in: Žar ptica (Slovenian) · Vták Ohnivák (Slovak)
Tsar Vyslav had a garden like no other in the world. In the middle of it grew a tree of golden apples that glowed in the sun like a hundred little lamps. Every evening the tsar counted them. Then one morning he stopped short: a branch was bare. The next morning, another. Every night someone was stealing his golden apples, and nobody knew who.
1
The tsar called his three sons. "Whoever catches the thief shall be my heir." The first night Dmitri kept watch, and fell asleep. The second night Vasili — and he fell asleep too. The third night the youngest, Ivan, kept watch. At midnight the garden blazed as bright as noon: the Firebird had come. Ivan sprang and caught her by the tail. She tore free, and one single feather stayed burning in his hand, and yet it did not burn him.
2
The tsar looked at the feather a long time. "Go," he told his sons, "and bring me the bird herself." The brothers rode off, each by his own road. Ivan rode for three days until he came to a great stone at a crossroads. On it was written: whoever goes on will lose his horse. Ivan went on. A great grey wolf came out of the forest — and the horse was gone.
3
Ivan walked on, on foot and sad. Then the grey wolf caught up with him. "I ate your horse, so now I shall be your horse. Sit on my back." Ivan sat, and the wolf ran — faster than the wind, faster than any horse in the world. They reached Tsar Dolmat's wall before nightfall. "Take the bird," said the wolf, "but do not touch the golden cage."
4
Ivan climbed the wall. The Firebird shone in the dark like embers, and the whole garden smelled of night flowers. But the cage was so beautiful that he reached for that too — and little bells rang out along the wall. Guards came running from every side. Tsar Dolmat said: "I will forgive you if you bring me the horse with the golden mane from Tsar Afron's kingdom."
5
The wolf carried him to Tsar Afron and waited outside the stable. "Take the horse," he said, "but leave the golden bridle alone." Ivan was already leading the horse out when he saw the bridle glittering like the sun. He reached for it — and again the bells rang. "I will forgive you," said Tsar Afron, "if you bring me Yelena the Beautiful."
6
A third time the wolf ran across the world. At dusk Yelena the Beautiful stepped out into her garden. This time Ivan did exactly as he was told: he touched nothing, only took her gently by the hand and lifted her onto the wolf's back. They fled all night, and Yelena held on tight. By morning the two of them were in love.
7
"I cannot give her away," said Ivan. The wolf smiled. "You will not have to." He spun round in the grass — and became Yelena the Beautiful, so like her that anyone would have been fooled. Ivan led her to Tsar Afron and rode off with the golden-maned horse. Three days later the wolf slipped out of the palace and caught them on the road.
8
They did the same once more. The wolf spun round in the grass and became a horse with a golden mane, so fine that Tsar Dolmat gave up the Firebird in her golden cage without a thought. Soon after, the wolf was a wolf again. Now they had all three. At the edge of the forest the wolf stopped. "Here I say goodbye. Safe journey, Ivan."
9
The day was hot, and Ivan dozed off under an oak while Yelena watched the horse. There his older brothers found them. When they saw the bird, the horse and the girl, envy squeezed their hearts. They took everything of his and left him lying in the grass. There he stayed, dead. They ordered Yelena to keep silent and rode home.
10
The grey wolf felt something was badly wrong and came running back. He ran far, over three mountains, to the spring of the water of life. He carried the water in his mouth and sprinkled Ivan with it. Ivan drew a deep breath, looked round and stood up. "I slept a long time," he said. "Almost too long," said the wolf. "Sit on my back. A wedding is being made ready."
11
They rode into the courtyard as the bells were ringing. Yelena rose and said: "This is the one who saved me." The Firebird sang, and the golden-maned horse neighed. The tsar understood. He sent the brothers out of the land and married Ivan and Yelena that very day. From the doorway the grey wolf nodded to Ivan and went quietly back into the forest.
12The End
