Chernushka
Once upon a time, there lived a gentleman; he had a kind wife and a beautiful daughter named Masha.His wife passed away, and he married another woman—a widow who had two daughters of her own, both wicked and unkind! They made poor Masha work for them, and when there was no work, they ordered her to sit by the stove and rake out the ashes. Because of this, Masha was always dirty and covered in soot, and they nicknamed her "Chernushka" (Little Blackie).
One day, people began to talk about how their prince wanted to marry and that he would host a grand celebration where he would choose his bride.
And so it happened. The prince invited everyone as his guests. The stepmother and her daughters began to prepare, but they didn’t want to take Masha with them. No matter how much she begged, they refused.
So the stepmother and her daughters left for the prince’s celebration, but they left their stepdaughter a whole measure of barley, flour, and soot—all mixed together—and ordered her to sort everything grain by grain, speck by speck, before they returned.
Masha went out onto the porch and wept bitterly. Suddenly, two doves flew in, sorted the barley, flour, and soot for her, then perched on her shoulders—and in an instant, the girl was dressed in a beautiful new gown.
"Go," said the doves, "to the celebration, but don’t stay past midnight."
As soon as Masha entered the palace, everyone couldn’t take their eyes off her; the prince himself liked her most of all, while her stepmother and stepsisters didn’t recognize her at all.
Masha danced and had fun with the other girls, but when she saw that midnight was approaching, she remembered the doves’ warning and hurried home. The prince ran after her, trying to find out who she was, but she vanished without a trace!
The next day, the prince held another celebration. The stepmother’s daughters fussed over their outfits and constantly shouted and scolded Masha:
"Hey, you girl Chernushka! Dress us up, clean our clothes, and prepare dinner!"
Masha did everything, and in the evening, she again enjoyed herself at the celebration and left before midnight. The prince chased after her but couldn’t catch her.
On the third day, the prince hosted yet another grand feast. In the evening, the doves dressed and adorned Masha even more beautifully than before. She went to the palace, danced, and had so much fun that she forgot about the time. Suddenly, midnight struck. Masha rushed to run home, but the prince had ordered the stairs to be coated with tar and pitch. One of her slippers stuck to the tar and remained on the stairs. The prince picked it up and the next day ordered that the owner of the slipper be found.
They searched the entire town, but the slipper didn’t fit anyone. Finally, they came to the stepmother’s house. She took the slipper and tried it on her eldest daughter—no, it didn’t fit; her foot was too big!
"No," said the prince’s messengers, "it’s not her!"
The stepmother tried the slipper on her middle daughter, and the same thing happened.
The messengers noticed Masha and ordered her to try it on. She put on the slipper—and in that very moment, she was dressed in a beautiful, shimmering gown. The stepmother’s daughters could only gasp in shock!
So Masha was taken to the prince’s chambers, and the next day, they held a wedding.
The wedding was merry, and I was there too. I drank mead and beer, which ran down my mustache but didn’t make it into my mouth.
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