Soldier Ivanka

The soldier Ivanka served for twenty-five years, earned his discharge papers (the "blue ticket"), and headed home. He had only three kopecks to his name. But this soldier was a kind man, willing to share even his last penny.

As he walked along, a little beetle flew up to him:

- Hello, soldier!

- Hello, beetle!

- Have you served for twenty-five years, soldier?

- I have.

- And you earned your blue ticket and three kopecks?

- I did.

- Give me a kopeck! I'll help you in your time of need.

The kind soldier gave the beetle a kopeck. The beetle grabbed it and flew off on its way.

The soldier walked on, thinking to himself, "It's alright, I still have two kopecks left: I'll spend one on a shot of vodka and the other on some tobacco."

Just as he thought this, lo and behold, a mouse came running:

- Hello, soldier!

- Hello, mouse!

- Have you served for twenty-five years, soldier?

- I have.

- And you earned your blue ticket and three kopecks?

- I did.

- Did you give a kopeck to the beetle?

- I did.

- Give me a kopeck too! I'll be of use to you in your time of need. The kind soldier gave the mouse a kopeck. The mouse grabbed it and scurried off to its hole. "Well," thought the soldier as he walked on, "I won't drink. I'll buy some tobacco with my last kopeck and make do."

Just as he thought this, lo and behold, a crayfish crawled out from under a bridge.

- Greetings, soldier!

- Greetings, crayfish!

- Have you served for twenty-five years, soldier?

- I have.

- And you earned your blue ticket and three kopecks?

- I did.

- Give me a kopeck. I'll be of use to you in your time of need.

The soldier gave away his last kopeck and walked on.

He arrived in the capital. He saw a crowd gathered near the royal palace. Some were playing trumpets and violins, others were singing cheerful songs, and still others were performing tricks. A prince with feathers on his hat was especially eager, pushing everyone aside and trying to get ahead.

- What's going on here? - asked soldier Ivanka of a royal servant.

- Well, you see, - replied the servant, - the king has an only daughter who has never laughed in her life, and no one can make her laugh. The king has declared that whoever can make her laugh will become her husband.

The soldier mustered his courage, twirled his mustache, and began to make his way closer to the palace: "Maybe," he thought, "I'll be able to make her laugh."

- Where do you think you're going, dirty soldier? - shouted the prince with feathers on his hat. - There are plenty of suitors here without you!

He grabbed the soldier by the collar and shoved him away. The soldier stumbled and fell into a muddy puddle—it had just rained heavily.

The soldier stood up, soaked and covered in mud, his overcoat filthy. "What a disaster!" he thought. "How am I going to dry off now? Oh, if only the beetle, the mouse, and the crayfish were here, they'd surely help me in my time of need!" No sooner had he thought this than the beetle, the mouse, and the crayfish appeared before him.

- So, what's your trouble, soldier? - they asked.

- Well, you can see for yourselves, - replied the soldier.

- Take off your overcoat! The soldier took it off. The beetle, the mouse, and the crayfish grabbed the coat and dragged it to the river.

The king's daughter saw this from the palace and couldn't look away: what kind of comedy was this?

The soldier's helpers washed the overcoat and dragged it back to the shore to dry. The crayfish stood on its hind legs, raised its claws, and the beetle and mouse hung the coat on them. The crayfish couldn't hold it—it fell into the mud with the coat... They dragged the coat back to the river to wash it again. After washing it, they hung it on the crayfish's claws once more. The mouse wrung it out, while the beetle flew around, flapping its wings to create a breeze and dry it faster.

The princess watched and watched, and finally, she laughed. She went to her father and said:

- None of the princes, kings, or generals could make me laugh, but this simple soldier did. I will marry him.

Though the king wasn't pleased that his son-in-law would be a simple soldier, there was nothing he could do.

And so, the soldier became the husband of the king's daughter, but he didn't want to live in the palace.

- I'm not used to palaces, - he said. - I'll live in a simple hut. Just send me my soldier's rations and plenty of tobacco.

They built him a simple hut in the royal garden, and there he stayed. He lived happily, free from trouble.

Meanwhile, the prince with feathers on his hat became a king himself, but he couldn't forget that the king's daughter had married a simple soldier instead of him. He gathered his army and went to war against the king.

The king sent his daughter to fetch the soldier—it was time to prepare for war.

- No, - said the soldier to his wife, - I won't go to war. I've served my time—I have my blue ticket.

His wife cried and went to war with her father. The soldier filled his pipe with a whole handful of tobacco and puffed so hard that the entire royal palace was filled with smoke. After finishing his pipe, he said to himself:

- Oh, if only the beetle, the mouse, and the crayfish were here! They'd give me good advice on how to defeat the king.

Suddenly, the beetle, the mouse, and the crayfish appeared before him:

- What do you need, kind soldier? Why did you call for us?

- Well, I wanted to ask your advice on how to defeat the king.

- Alright, - they said. - We'll help you. The mouse and the crayfish brought a magical sword from the king's treasury, and the beetle flew into the open field and brought back a heroic horse with a silver mane.

The horse stomped its hoof in front of the soldier and said:

- Climb into my right ear, Ivanka, and come out of my left.

Ivanka climbed into the horse's right ear and came out of its left, transformed into a mighty hero, so handsome and strong that words cannot describe him.

---

This is a traditional Russian folktale, rich in symbolism and moral lessons. Let me know if you'd like further analysis or clarification!
- "Now, sit on me," says the horse. Ivan mounted the heroic steed and set off to war. He arrives and sees the royal army defeating the tsar's forces.

Ivan spurred the horse and charged into the thick of the royal army. With each swing of his magic sword, the enemy fell like chaff to the right and straw to the left. Ivan fought from early morning until evening, utterly crushing the enemy forces. He flew up to the king, cut off his arms at the shoulders, and rode back to the tsar.

The tsar, of course, did not recognize him.

"Tell me, brave lad," the tsar asked, "who are you, and what is your lineage?" The soldier said nothing in reply.

"How shall I reward you for your bravery?"

"I need nothing," the soldier said, "just give me your royal handkerchief as a keepsake."

The tsar gave him his handkerchief.

Ivan returned to the garden, climbed into the horse's left ear, emerged from the right, and became his old self again. He set the horse free and went back to his hut.

The tsar returned from the war with his daughter. Trumpets blared everywhere, people danced and sang—such joy all around!

The tsar's daughter came to see Ivan, the soldier.

"Ah," she said, "it's a shame you didn't come with us! You should have seen it: so many troops, so many cannons!... We would never have defeated the king if it weren't for one brave knight. He charged in, crushed the royal army, and cut off the king's arms at the shoulders. But who he is, no one knows. I wish my husband were like that! But no, I'm unlucky. My husband is a bumbling fool!"

"Don't scold me, wife," Ivan said. "Bring me some soldier's rations and tobacco instead."

His wife brought him the rations and tobacco. Ivan ate his food and smoked his pipe.

The armless king healed and declared that he would wage war against the tsar and his daughter once more—this time with two other kings by his side.

The tsar prepared for war and sent his daughter to fetch her husband.

"Oh, my dear husband," she said, "a great army is marching on our kingdom again, led by three kings. My father is too old to fight. Won't you go in his place?"

"Why should I go?" the soldier replied. "I've already done my part."

"But if they conquer our land, what will become of us?"

"They won't conquer it! That brave knight will help you."

"But we don't know who he is or where to find him..."

"Don't worry, he'll find you himself."

The wife wept and went off to war with her elderly father. Meanwhile, Ivan finished his rations, smoked his tobacco, and said to himself:

"If only my helpers were here now—the beetle, the mouse, and the crab!"

No sooner had he spoken than the beetle, the mouse, and the crab appeared before him.

"What do you need, good soldier?"

"I want to consult with you on how to defeat the three kings."

"Very well," his helpers said. "We'll help you."

The mouse and the crab dragged a new, thrice-larger magic sword from the tsar's storerooms, while the beetle flew to the open fields and brought back a new heroic steed with a golden mane.

The horse stamped its hoof before the soldier and said:

"Climb into my right ear, Ivan, and come out of my left."

Ivan climbed into the horse's right ear, emerged from the left, and became a hero so magnificent it defied description.

"Now," the horse said, "mount me, and let's go crush the royal army."

Ivan mounted the heroic steed and rode off to war.

He arrived to find the royal soldiers surrounding the tsar and his daughter, demanding their surrender.

Ivan charged into the enemy ranks and began to strike. To the right, the enemy fell like chaff; to the left, like straw. Some he cut down himself, others his horse trampled underfoot...

For three days and three nights, Ivan fought. He reduced the enemy forces to dust, then flew up to the armless king and cut off his head.

"Now, you scoundrel, you'll never set foot on our land again!" Ivan declared.

The other two kings barely escaped with their lives. Ivan rode up to the tsar's tent, and the tsar greeted him with joy.

"Who are you?" he asked. "What is your lineage?"

Ivan said nothing.

"How shall I reward you, brave knight?"

"I need nothing," Ivan said. "Just give me your daughter's golden ring as a keepsake."

The tsar's daughter was very taken with the knight and gave him her golden ring.

Ivan mounted his horse and was gone in an instant. He returned home exhausted, unable to climb into the horse's left ear and emerge from the right. Instead, he collapsed like a sheaf of wheat onto the grass and fell into a deep, heroic sleep.

He slept for one day, then a second, while his horse grazed in the garden, for its master had not yet released it.

On the third day, the tsar returned from the war.

A grand feast was held throughout the capital! Music played, and the people rejoiced.

The tsar's daughter went to the garden to see her husband. "He must have starved to death by now," she thought.

She entered the hut and found no one there. She looked around and suddenly saw the golden-maned horse grazing in the garden, with a handsome knight sleeping beside it.

The princess approached the knight and noticed her golden ring on his finger and a corner of her father's handkerchief sticking out of his pocket...

She woke the knight.

"Who are you, glorious knight?" she asked.

"Who else? Your husband, the soldier Ivan!" the knight replied.

The princess was overjoyed that her husband had become so handsome. She took his hand and led him to her father.

"Here, father," she said, "is the one who saved us from trouble—my husband, the soldier Ivan!"

She showed her father the golden ring and the tsar's handkerchief with his mark.

Ivan no longer needed to climb into the heroic horse's left ear. He remained a glorious hero.

They say he lives to this day.

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Soldier Ivanka

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