The White Duck
A prince married a beautiful princess, but he had scarcely had time to gaze upon her, to speak with her, or to listen to her, when they had to part ways. He had to embark on a long journey, leaving his wife in the care of strangers. What could be done? They say you cannot spend your whole life embracing.The princess wept bitterly, and the prince tried to comfort her, instructing her not to leave the high tower, not to attend gatherings, not to associate with bad people, and not to heed wicked words. The princess promised to obey.
The prince departed, and she locked herself in her chamber, refusing to leave.
After some time, a woman came to her, seemingly simple and kind-hearted.
"Why are you so sad?" the woman said. "You should at least look at the world outside, take a walk in the garden, and ease your sorrow."
The princess hesitated for a long time, but finally thought, "Walking in the garden can't hurt," and went.
In the garden, a crystal-clear spring flowed.
"The day is so hot, the sun is scorching, and the water is so cool and inviting," the woman said. "Why don't we take a swim here?"
"No, no, I don't want to!" But then she thought, "Swimming can't hurt!"
She took off her sarafan and jumped into the water. As soon as she submerged, the woman struck her on the back.
"Swim away," she said, "as a white duck!"
And the princess swam away as a white duck.
The witch immediately dressed in the princess's clothes, adorned herself, and sat down to wait for the prince.
As soon as the puppy yelped and the bell jingled, she ran to meet him, threw herself into his arms, and kissed him. He was overjoyed, reached out his hands, and did not recognize her.
Meanwhile, the white duck laid eggs and hatched chicks: two healthy ones and one weakling. She raised them, and they began to walk along the river, catching golden fish, collecting scraps, sewing little coats, and running up to the shore to gaze at the meadow.
"Oh, don't go there, children!" their mother said.
But the children did not listen. Today they played on the grass, tomorrow they ran on the ant hills, and soon they wandered onto the prince's courtyard.
The witch sensed them, gnashed her teeth, and called the children inside. She fed them, gave them drink, and put them to bed. Then she ordered a fire to be lit, cauldrons to be hung, and knives to be sharpened.
The two brothers fell asleep, but the weakling, whom their mother had told them to carry close to keep warm, stayed awake, seeing and hearing everything.
At night, the witch came to the door and asked, "Are you asleep, children, or not?"
The weakling replied, "We are asleep, yet not asleep; we are thinking that they want to cut us all up: they are lighting fires, hanging boiling cauldrons, and sharpening steel knives!"
"They are not asleep!"
The witch left, wandered about, and returned to the door.
"Are you asleep, children, or not?"
The weakling repeated, "We are asleep, yet not asleep; we are thinking that they want to cut us all up: they are lighting fires, hanging boiling cauldrons, and sharpening steel knives!"
"Why is it always the same voice?" the witch thought. She quietly opened the door, saw the two brothers sleeping soundly, and with a wave of her dead hand, they died.
In the morning, the white duck called for her children, but they did not come. Her heart sensed something was wrong, and she flew to the prince's courtyard.
On the prince's courtyard, as white as handkerchiefs and as cold as slabs, the brothers lay side by side.
She rushed to them, spread her wings, embraced her children, and cried out in a mother's voice:
"Quack, quack, my little ones!
Quack, quack, my dear doves!
I raised you through hardship,
I fed you with my tears,
I lost sleep in the dark night,
I went hungry to give you sweet morsels!"
"Wife, do you hear this? The duck is speaking," the prince said.
"It must be your imagination! Tell them to drive the duck away!"
They drove her away, but she flew around and returned to her children:
"Quack, quack, my little ones!
Quack, quack, my dear doves!
The old witch has destroyed you,
The old witch, the cruel serpent,
The cruel serpent, lurking under the log;
She took away our father,
Our father, my husband,
She drowned us in the swift river,
Turned us into white ducks,
While she lives in grandeur!"
"Aha!" thought the prince, and he shouted, "Catch the white duck for me!"
Everyone rushed to catch her, but the white duck flew around, evading them. The prince himself ran out, and she fell into his hands. He took her by the wing and said, "Become a white birch behind me, and a fair maiden before me!"
A white birch stretched out behind him, and a fair maiden stood before him. In the maiden, the prince recognized his young princess.
They immediately caught a magpie, tied two bottles to it, and ordered it to fetch water of life in one and water of speech in the other. The magpie flew off and brought the water. They sprinkled the children with the water of life, and they stirred. They sprinkled them with the water of speech, and they spoke.
And so the prince had his whole family again, and they began to live happily, accumulating good and forgetting evil.
As for the witch, they tied her to a horse's tail and dragged her across the field: where her leg tore off, a poker appeared; where her arm tore off, a rake appeared; where her head tore off, a bush and a log appeared. Birds flew in and pecked at her flesh, winds rose and scattered her bones, and not a trace or memory of her remained!
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