Tereshchechka

Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman who had no children. They lived their whole lives but never had any children.
So, they made a little wooden doll, wrapped it in swaddling clothes, and began to rock it, singing a lullaby:
"Sleep, sleep, little child Tereshechka,"

All the swallows are asleep,
And the martens are asleep,
And the foxes are asleep,
Our Tereshechka
Is told to sleep!

They rocked and sang, and instead of the wooden doll, a little boy, Tereshechka, began to grow—a real little treasure.
The boy grew and grew, becoming wiser. The old man made him a little boat, painted it white, and the oars red.
Tereshechka sat in the boat and said:

"Little boat, little boat, sail far away.
Little boat, little boat, sail far away."

And the boat sailed far, far away. Tereshechka began to catch fish, while his mother brought him milk and cottage cheese.
She would come to the shore and call:

"Tereshechka, my little son,
Come, come to the shore,
I’ve brought you food and drink."

Tereshechka would hear his mother’s voice from afar and row to the shore. His mother would take the fish, feed him, give him drink, change his shirt and belt, and send him back to catch more fish.

But a witch learned of this. She came to the shore and called in a terrible voice:

"Tereshechka, my little son,
Come, come to the shore,
I’ve brought you food and drink."

Tereshechka recognized that it wasn’t his mother’s voice and said:

"Little boat, little boat, sail far away.
That’s not my mother calling me."

Then the witch ran to the blacksmith and ordered him to reforge her throat so her voice would sound like Tereshechka’s mother.
The blacksmith reforged her throat. The witch returned to the shore and sang in a voice exactly like his mother’s:

"Tereshechka, my little son,
Come, come to the shore,
I’ve brought you food and drink."

Tereshechka was fooled and rowed to the shore. The witch grabbed him, put him in a sack, and ran off.
She brought him to her hut on chicken legs and ordered her daughter Alyonka to stoke the oven hot and roast Tereshechka.
Then she left to gather more spoils.

Alyonka stoked the oven until it was blazing hot and said to Tereshechka:
"Lie down on the shovel."
He sat on the shovel, spread his arms and legs, and couldn’t fit into the oven.
She said:
"Not like that."
"I don’t know how—show me."
"Lie down like cats and dogs sleep."
"You lie down and teach me."
Alyonka sat on the shovel, and Tereshechka pushed her into the oven and closed the door. Then he climbed out of the hut and up a tall oak tree.

The witch returned, opened the oven, pulled out her daughter Alyonka, ate her, and gnawed her bones.
Then she went outside and began rolling in the grass, saying:
"Roll and tumble, I’ve eaten Tereshechka’s flesh."
But Tereshechka called from the oak tree:
"Roll and tumble, you’ve eaten Alyonka’s flesh!"
The witch said:
"Is that the leaves rustling?"
And she repeated:
"Roll and tumble, I’ve eaten Tereshechka’s flesh."
But Tereshechka replied:
"Roll and tumble, you’ve eaten Alyonka’s flesh!"

The witch looked up and saw him in the oak tree. She began gnawing at the tree. She gnawed and gnawed until she broke two front teeth, then ran to the blacksmith:
"Blacksmith, blacksmith! Forge me two iron teeth."
The blacksmith forged her two teeth.

She returned and began gnawing again. She gnawed and broke two more teeth. She ran back to the blacksmith:
"Blacksmith, blacksmith! Forge me two more iron teeth."
The blacksmith forged her two more teeth.

She returned and began gnawing again. The tree cracked and swayed.
What could Tereshechka do? He saw a flock of geese-swans flying by and called:

"My geese, my swans!
Take me on your wings,
Carry me to my father and mother!"

The geese-swans replied:
"Ga-ga, behind us come hungrier ones—they’ll take you."
The witch gnawed and gnawed, looking up at Tereshechka, licking her lips, and returned to her task.

Another flock flew by. Tereshechka called:
"My geese, my swans!
Take me on your wings,
Carry me to my father and mother!"

The geese-swans replied:
"Ga-ga, behind us comes a plucked gosling—he’ll carry you."
The witch was almost done. The oak was about to fall.

A plucked gosling flew by. Tereshechka called:
"My goose, my swan! Take me, place me on your wings, carry me to my father and mother."
The plucked gosling took pity, placed Tereshechka on its wings, and flew off, carrying him home.

They arrived at the hut and landed on the grass.
The old woman had baked pancakes to mourn Tereshechka and said:
"Here’s a pancake for you, old man, and one for me."
But Tereshechka called from outside:
"And one for me?"

The old woman heard and said:
"Look, old man, who’s asking for a pancake?"
The old man went out, saw Tereshechka, and brought him to the old woman—there was much rejoicing!
They fed and cared for the plucked gosling, then set it free. From then on, it flew with wide wings, leading the flock and remembering Tereshechka.

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Tereshchechka

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