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Far away where the sun rises, there lived in a cottage over a river a poor couple who had a lovable son called Vasilek. From the time he could walk there was nothing the lad liked better than to play by the river. First he made boats out of paper, then he carved them from bark, and sent them downstream. It gave hi great joy to see them floating on and on, but he wa always sad when the disappeared around the bend. Before he wa very old, he asked his father to make him a proper boat, saying he would go fishing, and that they would have plenty to eat. His father smiled, and said: "I'll make you a boat and some oars as soon as you're a little older, Vasilek. But you cant' even swim yet, and you would drown if the boat were to capsize, which often happens if you get a big fish on your line. But Vasilek was not going to give up so easily. He watched the frogs and carefully to see how they swam, and began to practice himself. he drew his arms through the water and pushed off with his feet, until he had really learnt how to swim. Then he went to his father again and asked him once more to make him a boat, saying he could swim so well that he wouldn't drown! He begged his father so, and since the old man had a kind heart, he couldn't refuse any more. So he made the boat a broad boat out of good, solid, spruce wood, carved a pair of oars out of birch, and watched his son row happily out onto the river. He was a bright lad, and soon learned to row and to fish with a rod and line. Soon they had so many fish in the cottage that they couldn't eat them all and Vasilek's mother took some of them to market. Every day towards noon she would go to the riverbank to visit her son. She brought his lunch in a basket, and always called out in a pleasant voice that carried lightly across the water: "My darling son, Vasilek, row to the bank for awhile, I have brought you something nice to eat." Vasilek knew his mother velvety voice, and always rowed to the bank at once. He ate and drank, thanked his mother and kissed her on both cheeks. THen he put the fish he had caught that morning in her basket and, with a merry song on his lips, rowed out into the river again. One day a witch, who lived in a strange cottage deep in the forest, saw Vasilek from the other bank. She was a wicked and ugly woman. Her eyes were bloodshot, her nose came down to her chin, her hair was long and unkempt, and she had a shapeless mouth with two yellow teeth, a pointed chin, and ginger hairs growing from it. When the witch saw Vasilek, she decided he would make a dainty tidbit. So at noon the next day she hid in the bushes beside the river and called out the same words as his mother: "My darling son, Vasilek, row to the bank for a while to eat." The boy heard her, frowned , and said: "Who is calling me in that croaky voice? It is certainly not my mother. SHe has a silky voice." So he did not row to the bank, but waited until his mother came and called for him. You should have seen how angry the old woman was! Right away she flew to the crossroads, where an old forge stood, and said to the blacksmith: "Beat my tongue a little thinner, blacksmith, I must have a voice as gentle as that of Vasilek's mother." I don't know," he said. But it is as well to keep on the right side of witches, so he took his hammer and file, and did the best he could. When the witch flew away from the smithy, she had a thinner tongue and really did speak smoothly as Vasilek's mother. The next day at noon she stood on the bank again and called sweetly. "My darling son, Vasilek, row to the bank for a while to eat." This time Vasilek ws fooled, and he believed that it was his mother calling. He rowed to the bank. The moment he got out of the boat, the witch grabbed hold of him and sat him on her broomstick and shot straight through the woods to her cottage. There she shut him up in a room with a big fireplace and said mockingly. "I'll have to fatten you up first, my boy, so that your flesh will be nice and tender." Vasilek felt terrified, he couldn't bear to think of that fate awaited him. What would his parents do without him? Every morning the witch sat on her broomstick and flew off to get some tasty tidbits. She fed Vasilek on sweet gruel , fatty bacon, cakes and cream. When she flew away in the morning she would lock the room with seven turns of the lock, so that the boy might nt escape. He felt like crying, especially when he remembered the home he loved. One day he heard a strange scrapping noise and something dropped down into the cold hearth. It was a big black tomcat and it came slinking up to him. "Why, I know you," Vasilek said with a smile. :You often used to wander along the riverbank, and I used to throw you little fish. Do you remember?" The cat seemed to understand, and began to purr contentedly, rubbing its large, round heard against the lad's knee. Then it suddenly spoke in human voice. "I shall never forget how generous you were to me. You know how fond of fish i am! That is why I have come to help you! "And how might you help dear cat? Vasilek asked in surprise. "The door is locked with seven turns of the key." The cat muttered between his whiskers: "Well climb out of the chimney. Its be a bit sooty, but that'll wash off. Come on, then!" Vasilek did didn't waste any time, and scrambled up the chimney after the cat. In a while they were on the roof, and then they jumped down tooth ground, and that ws that! "Wash yourself in the stream," the cat said, "then go straight in that direction through the forest. If you get lost, take off your coat and put it on inside out, and that will help you find your way to the river. And when you get there you will know it well enough, won't you?" Vasilek stroked the cat gratefully, but it only mewed this time, and shot back into the cottage. But no sooner had Vasilek washed a little soot off himself, than he heard a strange whistling noise. He turned around and froze with horror. The witch was on her way back home on her broomstick. But there was a large maple tree growing behind the cottage and, quick as a squirrel, Vasilek shinned up it. Only the old woman saw him, and made straight to the tree shouting angrily: "Get down at once, you miserable rascal!" "not on your life! No chance" Vasilek torted. "So that you can have me for dinner, eh" Not likely!" and put out his tongue at the witch. So the old woman tried another way: "Dear child, Vasilek, my boy, get down from there, I won't hurt you. Look what I've brought you, pomegranates, sweet cakes, cream and pretzels. You will like those, now don't you, my dear? so come down , my darling boy!" But Vasilek ws having none ot it. He put out his tongue as far as it would go, and climbed higher up the tree!' "I'll get you, you scoundrel," the witch snarled, and started to throw stones at the lad. but the tree was bushy one, so that the branches protected him, and none of the stones found it mark. This annoyed the old woman even more, and she took hold of the trunk, meaning to shake him down. But the tree ws to big, and she couldn't move it. WHen the witch saw that she wasn't going to shake the lad down, she knelt down on the ground and scraped away the soil to expose the roots. Then she bent over and started to gnaw away at them wit h her yellow teeth, one root after another. It wasn't long before the maple began to shake, then started to sway from side to side, and Vasilek grew alarmed. "Heavens, what'll I do now," he thought. Then he heard a peculiar humming sound above him. He looked up in the sky and saw a flock of swans. Vasilek waved at them and called: Dear while swans, your feathers are strong, carry me home, I beg of you, or the witch will eat me up..." "Sorry, my lad but we are in a hurry. Let the one behind us take you!" the swans relied. The witch was gnawing at the last root, and the tree ws leaning over perilously. Vasilek began to cry. Then he heard a faint humming sound. He looked up, and there was a single swan with a broken wing. That must have been why she lagged behind the rest. Vasilek reached out both hands and said plaintively: "dear, dear , swan, I am sure you would save me if your wing were whole..." The swan circled around him. She was sorry for the lad's fearful plight. She put out a wing and said: "Quick! Sit on my mack! The tree i s falling!" Vasilek did as he ws told, and the moment he astride the swan, the maple crashed to the ground, its hugh trunk crushing the witch as it fell for she was still crouching and could not get out of the way in time. And no the witch h gave up her black, venomous soul. The swan flew slowly, carrying Vasilek across the forest and down the river, then along to his parents cottage. There it alighted on the ground and the boy ran to the window, looking in curiously to see what his parent were doing. His father ws sitting sadly on the bench and carving a spoon from a piece of wood His mother ws pulling biscuits out of the oven placing them on a dish, and saying" The brown ones are for you, and the lighter ones for me." "and what about vasilek, is there nothing for him?" asked a voice from the window. You can imagine the joy and the embraces that followed, and the questions and explanations that followed them So after a long time, the three of them at last sat together again at the table, drinking tea and munching bisques. After that they looked after the white swan like some rare treasure. but when its wing was helped it circled the cottage a couple of times and then flew off to join its companions. And, perhaps so that they wouldn't be sad that the good swan had left them, one day the witches black cat came scratching at the door. Vasilek greeted it joyfully, like a long lost friend, and after that they were together all the time. Both of them slept on the stove at night, and both of them fished in the daytime. The only pity ws that the cat never spoke in a human voice again. But it didn't had to, for they understood one another well enough anyway. By Widow Mistress aka ladywildlife |
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