Once upon a time there lived an old man and an
old woman, and they had a daughter named
Alyonushka and a little brother named
Ivanushka.
The two old people died, and Alyonushka and Ivanushka
were left all alone.
One day Alyonushka set out to work in the field and she
took Ivanushka with her. They had a long way to go and a
wide field to cross, and after a while Ivanushka felt very
thirsty.
“I’m dreadfully thirsty, Sister Alyonushka!” he said.
“Wait, little brother, we’re sure to come to a well soon,”
Alyonushka replied.
On they went. They walked and they walked. They felt
very hot and weary too, but it couldn’t be helped, as well they
knew, for the sun burned bright but no well was in sight.
By and by they came upon a cow’s hoof filled with water.
“I think I’ll drink a little water out of the hoof,
Alyonushka,” Ivanushka said.
“Oh no, you mustn’t do that, little brother, or you’ll turn
into a calf.”
Ivanushka obeyed and on they walked. They felt very hot
and weary too, but it couldn’t be helped, as well they knew,
for the sun burned bright but no well was in sight.
By and by they came upon a horse’s hoof filled with water.
“I think I’ll drink a little water out of the hoof,
Alyonushka,” Ivanushka said.
“Oh no, you mustn’t do that, little brother, or you’ll turn
into a foal.”
Ivanushka sighed, but there was nothing to be done so on
they walked.
They felt very hot and weary too, but it couldn’t be helped,
as well they knew, for the sun burned bright but no well was in
sight.
By and by they came upon a goat’s hoof filled with water.
“I must have some water, Alyonushka, I can’t bear it any
longer! v Ivanushka said.
“Oh no, you mustn’t drink it, little brother, or you’ll turn
into a kid.”
But Ivanushka disobeyed. He drank some water from the
goat’s hoof, and no sooner had he done so than he turned into
a little white goat.
Alyonushka called to her brother, but instead of Ivanushka
the Little White Goat came running up to her.
Alyonushka burst out crying. She sat down on the ground
by a stack of hay and she wept and sobbed, and the Little
White Goat skipped round playfully.
Just then who should chance to come riding by but a Merchant.
“What are you crying for, bonny lass?” he asked.
Alyonushka told him of her trouble, and the Merchant said:
“Be my wife, bonny lass! I will dress you in gold and silver,
and the Little White Goat will live with us.”
Alyonushka thought it over and agreed to marry the Merchant.
They were married soon after and they lived together very happily,
and the Little White Goat lived with them and ate and drank out of
Alyonushka’s own cup.
One day the Merchant happened to be away, and all of a
sudden as if out of nowhere a witch appeared. She came up to
Alyonushka’s window and begged her ever so sweetly to go
bathing in the river with her.
Alyonushka agreed, and the Witch led her to the river, but
when they got there, she fell upon her, tied a stone round her
neck and threw her into the water. Then she made herself
look just like Alyonushka, dressed herself in Alyonushka’s
clothes and went to her house instead, of her. No one guessed
who she was, not even the Merchant who came home soon after.
Only the Little White Goat knew what had happened. He
hung his head and refused to touch food or drink. He never
left the river bank, morning or evening, and, standing at the
water’s edge, called out:
“Alyonushka, my sister, can you hear me?
Swim out to me, swim out to me.”
The Witch learned about this
and she asked her husband the
Merchant to slaughter the Little
White Goat.
Now, the Merchant was loath
to do this, for he had grown fond
of the Little White Goat and felt
sorry for him. But the Witch
kept at him day and night, she
coaxed and she wheedled, and he
gave in at last.
“You do away with him your-
self,” he said.
The Witch then had big fires
made up, huge pots heated and
great knives sharpened.
Learning that he had not long
to live, the Little White Goat
said to the Merchant:
“You have been like a father
to me. Heed my last wish and let
me go to the river before I die,
to have a drink of water.”
The Merchant let him go, and the Little White Goat ran to
the river, stood on the bank and called out in piteous tones:
“Alyonushka, my sister, can you hear me?
Swim out to me, swim out to me.
Big fires are blazing,
Huge pots are boiling.
Great knives are gleaming,
Ready to slaughter me.”
And Alyonushka called back to him out of the river:
“Ivanushka, my brother, can you hear me?
A heavy stone presses down on me.
Silken grasses entangle my legs,
Yellow sands lie on my breast.”
The Witch went to look for the Little White Goat, but she
could not find him, so she sent a servant in search of him.
“Bring the Little White Goat to me!” she said.
The servant went to the river, and what did he see but the
Little White Goat running up and down the bank and calling
in piteous tones:
“Alyonushka, my sister, can you hear me?
Swim out to me, swim out to me.
Big fires are blazing.
Huge pots are boiling,
Great knives are gleaming,
Ready to slaughter me.”
And from the river came the reply:
“Ivanushka, my brother, can you hear me?
A heavy stone presses down on me.
Silken grasses entangle my legs,
Yellow sands lie on my breast.”
The servant ran home and told the Merchant what he had
heard and seen. People gathered, they went down to the river
and, casting a silken net, dragged Alyonushka out onto the
bank. They removed the stone that was round her neck, dipped
her in fresh water taken from a spring and dressed her in pretty
clothes. Alyonushka came back to life, and she looked more
beautiful than ever.
And the Little White Goat was so happy that he turned
three somersaults, and lo and behold! — he turned into Little
Ivanushka once again.
And as for the wicked Witch, she was tied to a horse’s tail,
and the horse was turned loose in an open field.
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