The Daughter and the Stepdaughter

Once upon a time, there lived an old man and his wife, and they had a daughter. The old woman died, and after a while, the old man married a widow who had a daughter of her own. Life became very hard for the old man’s daughter. The stepmother was hateful and gave the old man no peace:

“Take your daughter to the forest, to the dugout hut. She’ll spin more there.”

What could he do? The man obeyed his wife and took his daughter to the hut. He gave her a flint, a tinderbox, and a bag of grain, saying:

“Here’s some fire for you. Keep the fire going, cook porridge, and don’t dawdle—sit and spin.”

Night came. The maiden lit the stove and cooked the porridge. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a mouse appeared and said:

“Maiden, maiden! Give me a spoonful of porridge!”

“Oh, my little mouse! Cheer me up in my loneliness, and I’ll give you not just one spoonful, but I’ll feed you until you’re full.”

The mouse ate its fill and left. At night, a bear burst in:

“Hey, maiden, put out the fire and let’s play blind man’s bluff!”

The mouse climbed onto the maiden’s shoulder and whispered in her ear:

“Don’t be afraid, maiden! Say: ‘Let’s play!’ Put out the fire and crawl under the stove, and I’ll run around and ring the bell for you.”

And so it happened. The bear chased the mouse but couldn’t catch it. He roared and threw logs around. He threw and threw but didn’t hit anything. Finally, he got tired and said:

“You’re a master at blind man’s bluff, maiden! For that, I’ll send you a herd of horses and a cart of silver in the morning.”

In the morning, the stepmother said:

“Go, old man, and see how much your daughter has spun overnight.”

The old man left, and the stepmother sat waiting, wondering if he’d bring back his daughter’s bones. When it was time for the old man to return, the dog barked:

“Woof-woof-woof! The daughter is coming with the old man, driving a herd of horses and bringing a cart of silver!”

“You lie, you wretched dog! Those are bones rattling in the cart!”

The gates creaked, the horses ran into the yard, and the daughter and her father sat on the cart—it was full of silver. The stepmother’s eyes burned with greed.

“What’s the big deal!” she shouted. “Take my daughter to the forest! My daughter will bring back two herds of horses and two carts of silver!”

The old man took the stepmother’s daughter to the hut. He gave her a flint, a tinderbox, a bag of grain, and left her alone. In the evening, she cooked porridge. The mouse ran up and asked:

“Natasha! Natasha! Is your porridge sweet? Give me at least a spoonful!”

“Oh, you pest!” shouted Natasha and threw a spoon at it.

The mouse ran away, and Natasha kept eating the porridge all by herself. She ate the whole pot, put out the fire, lay down in the corner, and fell asleep. At midnight, the bear burst in and said:

“Hey, where are you, maiden? Let’s play blind man’s bluff!”

The maiden was terrified and stayed silent, only chattering her teeth in fear.

“Ah, there you are! Take the bell, run around, and I’ll catch you.”

She took the bell, her hand trembling, and the bell rang unevenly. The mouse whispered:

“The wicked maiden won’t live!”

The bear rushed to catch the stepmother’s daughter, and as soon as he caught her, he strangled her and ate her. In the morning, the stepmother sent the old man to the forest:

“Go! My daughter will bring back two carts and two herds!”

The old man left, and the stepmother waited by the gate. The little dog ran up:

“Woof-woof-woof! The stepmother’s daughter won’t come home! The old man is sitting on an empty cart, and bones are rattling in it!”

“You lie, you wretched dog! That’s my daughter coming, driving herds and bringing carts. Here, eat a pancake and say: ‘The stepmother’s daughter will come back dressed in gold and silver, but no one will marry the old man’s daughter!’”

The dog ate the pancake and barked:

“Woof-woof-woof! The old man’s daughter will be married off, but the stepmother’s daughter will be brought back as bones in the cart.”

No matter what the stepmother did—she gave the dog pancakes, she beat it—it kept repeating the same thing... Suddenly, the old man appeared at the gate, handing his wife the cart. The stepmother opened the cart, saw the bones, and wailed. She was so enraged with grief and anger that she died the very next day. The old man married his daughter to a fine suitor, and they lived happily ever after, prospering and thriving.

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The Daughter and the Stepdaughter

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