The Witch's Daughter

Once upon a time, there lived a king named Yannakis. His mother said to him:
- Yannaki, get married.
- No, I don’t want to.
- Get married, my son. It’s not fitting for a king to be without a queen.
- I haven’t found a bride for myself yet.

One day, Yannakis went hunting, shot a bird, and its blood dripped onto the snow. He came home and said to his mother:
- I will only marry someone who is as white as snow and as red as blood.
- Where can you find such a girl, my child? Someone as white as snow and as red as blood? Such maidens only exist in the Underworld!
- Tell me who she is, and I will go and bring her back as your daughter-in-law.
- Go, then, to the Underworld and find Mario, the daughter of the witch Lamia. She is your destined bride.

At once, Yannakis set off on his journey. He reached the Underworld and found Mario, Lamia’s daughter. When he saw her, he was nearly blinded by her beauty. The maiden said:
- What are you doing here, Yannakis? Leave, or my mother will eat you.
- Hide me, and she won’t eat me.
- Where can I hide you? People don’t come here. How did you even get here?
- I came for you, Mario. You are my destined bride!

She grabbed him and hid him. No sooner had she hidden him than the witch returned:
- It smells like a human here, somewhere.
- What are you talking about, mother? How could there be a human here? Sit down and have a good meal!

Lamia sat at the table, ate, drank, and had her fill. When she was done, her daughter asked:
- Mother, if you found a human now, would you eat them?
- Not now, I’m full.
- Hey, Yannakis, come out and show yourself to my mother!

A little later, Lamia got up and went hunting, leaving her old husband to guard the house. As soon as the mother left, Mario put her father to sleep, grabbed Yannakis by the hand, and they ran off. When Lamia returned, Mario was nowhere to be found. She searched high and low, shook her husband awake:
- Where is Mario?
- How should I know? I was asleep, I saw nothing.

The witch flew into a rage and set off in pursuit. Mario and Yannakis ran and saw a black cloud in the distance. Mario said:
- Do you see that cloud, Yannakis? That’s my mother chasing us. Turn into a church, and I’ll become the bell tower.

Yannakis turned into a church, and Mario became the bell tower. The cloud caught up, and the witch jumped down to the ground. She pushed the church, shoved the bell tower, but couldn’t destroy the fugitives. Then she flew away empty-handed.

- Hey, Yannakis, let’s run, the road is still long! They ran further and saw another black cloud behind them.
- Mother is catching up again! Now, you become a spring, and I’ll be the water.

Yannakis turned into a spring, and Mario became the water, flowing freely. The witch jumped down from the cloud, ran to the spring, splashed the water, and muddied it, but couldn’t destroy the fugitives. Then she flew away empty-handed.

Yannakis and Mario set off again. They saw another cloud chasing them. Mario said:
- Now, Yannakis, become the sea, and I’ll be a duck.

Yannakis turned into the sea, and Mario became a duck. She ran to the sea, dove into the waves, and began to swim. The cloud approached, and Lamia descended. She ran to the sea and called out:
- Mario, my dear, my little light, come home! When Yannakis returns to his mother, she’ll wash him, comb his hair—he’ll forget you!

Mario said to Yannakis:
- Do you hear, Yannakis, what my mother is saying?
- Let her talk, my Mario! You are my destined bride—how could I ever forget you?!

The witch waited and waited, but when she didn’t succeed, she flew back. Yannakis said:
- Now, Mario, let’s go to my mother.

They walked and walked until they reached the palace. Yannakis gave the girl a ring and a charm and said:
- Mario, my dear, my destined bride, wait here for a while. I’ll go prepare a dress for you and bring it. You’ll change, and we’ll go to my mother together.

He said this, but as soon as he entered the house, he forgot about Mario.

Some time later, his mother arranged his marriage to another. Mario waited and waited for her groom, but he didn’t return. An old woman passed by, gathering vegetables. Mario said to her:
- Auntie, won’t you take me with you and let me live with you?
- Why not, come live with me.

The old woman took Mario to her house. It so happened that her house was near the palace where Yannakis lived with his mother. One day, Mario heard that the king was planning to marry and realized that Yannakis had completely forgotten her. She took some flour, kneaded dough, and shaped three little birds. She gave the birds to the old woman and instructed her:
- Go to the king, where he combs his hair in the morning.

The king came out in the morning to comb his hair, and there on the mirror sat three little birds in a row. The first bird flew down, perched on the king’s shoulder, and said:
- Mario, my dear, my little light, come home! When Yannakis returns to his mother, she’ll wash him, comb his hair—he’ll forget you!

The second bird flew down:
- Do you hear, Yannakis, what my mother is saying?

Then the third bird spoke:
- Let her talk, my Mario! You are my destined bride—how could I ever forget you?!

Yannakis gasped:
- Woe is me, wretched one! What have I done? I’ve forgotten my bride!

Yannakis fell into despair, neither eating nor drinking. Where should he go? Where could he find Mario?

The heralds began to cry out:
- Our king is ill, our king is wasting away from an unknown ailment! Any resident may come to him with food: perhaps the king will taste it and recover!

People flocked to him, bringing new dishes every day, but nothing helped. Then Mario said to the old woman:
- Let’s cook something for the king too.

Mario made a soup, poured it into a bowl, and threw the ring inside. She said to the old woman:
- Take this soup to the king. When he tastes it, he’ll start to recover!

The old woman took the bowl and went to the palace.
- Good day, children!
- Hello, old woman, what do you want?
- I’ve brought something for the king!
- Go away, old woman! Since when does the king eat your slop?!

The king heard this and called from the window:
- Let her come up, she’s free to do so!

The old woman went up and gave the king the soup. He took the bowl, ate the soup, and saw the ring inside. As soon as Yannakis recognized the ring, he felt better. He called his servants:
- Give this woman as much silver and gold as she wants, and tell her to bring something else tomorrow morning!

They loaded the old woman with gold, and she returned home happy.
- They told me, Mario, to cook something else for tomorrow morning!
- Well, that’s not hard!

The next day, Mario sent the old woman for vegetables and baked a vegetable pie, hiding the charm inside. She gave the pie to the old woman and said:
- Go, auntie, take this pie to the king. When he eats it, he’ll recover instantly!

The old woman took the pie to the palace and gave it to the king. Yannakis cut the pie and saw the charm inside.
- Where have you taken the girl? Yannakis asked.
- What are you talking about, child? I don’t have any girl!
- Tell me, old woman, or it will go badly for you!
- I was lucky, I found her outside the village where I was gathering vegetables. So I took her into my home.

The king called his servants and ordered them to give the old woman as much money as she wanted. She took a heap of money, packed it into a bundle, and carried it home. Behind her came the king in a carriage, with a dress and jewelry. He entered the house, took Mario with him, and married her at once. And I wasn’t there, but you wouldn’t believe me anyway!

↑ To the top

The Witch's Daughter

More fairy tales