青蛙公主

In Imperial Russia， there lived a Tsar. He had three sons， the youngest of which was named Ivan.

One day the Tsar asked each of his sons to shoot an arrow. In whatever court it falls， in that court there will be a wife for them.

The arrow of the oldest 1）Tsarevitch fell on a 2）boyarhouse； the arrow of the second Tsarevitch flew to the porch of a rich merchant， and there stood a girl， the merchant’s daughter. The youngest， Ivan Tsarevitch， had the bad luck of sending his arrow into a swamp， where it was caught by a croaking frog.

“How can I marry the frog？” complained Ivan. “Is she my equal？ Certainly not！”

“Never mind，” replied his father， “you have to marry the frog， for it is evidently your destiny.”

Thus the oldest Tsarevitch was married to a nobleman’s daughter； the second to the merchant’s daughter， and the youngest， Ivan， to a croaking frog.

After a while the Tsar called his three sons and said：

“Have each of your wives bake a loaf of bread by tomorrow morning.”

Ivan returned home， with his brow clouded.

“C-R-O-A-K！ Dear husband， why so sad？” gently asked the frog. “Was there anything disagreeable in the palace？”

“Disagreeable indeed. My father wants you to bake a loaf of bread by tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry. Go to bed. The morning hour is a better advisor than the dark evening.”

Ivan went to sleep. Then the frog threw off her frogskin and turned into a beautiful， sweet girl， Vassilisa by name. She stepped out on the porch and called aloud：

“Nurses and waitresses， come to me at once and prepare a loaf of white bread for tomorrow morning， a loaf exactly like those I used to eat in my royal father’s palace！”

In the morning， Ivan awoke， the loaf was already made. It was adorned all about with pretty figures of towns and 3）fortresses， and within it was white as snow and light as a feather.

The Tsar was pleased and Ivan received his special thanks. And the Tsar gave another order—have his daughters-in-law weave a rug. The frog prepared a rug with threads of silver and gold interwoven among bright-colored silk.

But now， he wished for his sons to present their brides the next day.

Ivan returned home， and cloudier was his brow than ever.

The frog said：

“It’s not so bad after all. You should go alone and I will follow you. When you hear a great noise， don’t be afraid； simply say： ‘There is my miserable froggy coming in her miserable box.’”

The two elder brothers arrived first with their wives， beautiful， and dressed in rich garments. Both the happy bridegrooms made fun of Ivan.

“Why alone， brother？ Why did you not bring your wife along？ We wager that in all the swamps it would be hard to find another one like her！”

Suddenly there came a noise！ The palace trembled， the guests were all frightened. Though Ivan alone remained quiet and said：

“No danger； it’s my froggy coming in her box.”

To the red porch came flying a golden carriage drawn by six splendid white horses， and Vassilisa， beautiful beyond all description， gently reached her hand to her husband. He led her with him to the table. Vassilisa poured some wine into her left sleeve. She ate some fried swan， and the bones she threw into her right sleeve. Her sisters-in-law watched her and did the same.

After the dinner， the guests began dancing and singing. Vassilisa came forward， as bright as a star， and danced with her husband.

While dancing， Vassilisa waved her left sleeve and a pretty lake appeared in the midst of the hall and cooled the air. She waved her right sleeve and white swans swam on the water. The Tsar， the guests， the servants， and even a cat were all amazed. Her two sisters-in-law envied her. They also waved their sleeves， but instead， sprinkled wine all around and the swan bones flew in the face of the Tsar， which enraged him.

In the meantime， Ivan ran home unseen， and burned the frogskin. When Vassilisa came back and found the skin lost， she cried to her husband， “Oh， dear Tsarevitch， what have you done？ There was but a short time left for me to wear the ugly frogskin. The moment was near when we could have been happy together forever. But now I must bid you goodbye.” Vassilisa turned into a white swan and flew away through the window.

Ivan wept bitterly. Then he went on a mysterious journey to look for her.

One day he met an old man and told him all about his misfortune.

“Vassilisa was born wiser than her own father， and as he envied his daughter’s wisdom he condemned her to be a frog for three long years. You shouldn’t burn the frogskin. But I pity you and want to help you. Here is a magic ball. In whatever direction it rolls， follow without fear，” said the old man.

Ivan followed the magic ball. In a flowery field he met a big bear. Ivan took his bow and was ready to shoot.

“Don’t kill me， kind Tsarevitch，” said the bear. “Who knows but that I may be useful to you？” And Ivan did not shoot the bear.

Along his journey， he also came across a white duck and a blinking hare. He let them go， too.

He followed the ball to the deep blue sea where， on the sand， there lay a big dying fish.

“O Ivan Tsarevitch！” prayed the fish， “have mercy upon me and push me back into the sea.”

Ivan did so. Then the ball led Ivan to a strange， little wooden hut standing on hen’s feet， in which lived a most ugly witch. Ivan told the witch the story of his marriage， and that his only desire was to find her.

“She is now in the palace of the horrible Koschei the Immortal. He watches her day and night and no one can ever conquer him. His death depends on a magic needle. That needle is within a hare； that hare is within a large trunk； that trunk is hidden in the branches of an old oak tree； and that oak tree is watched by Koschei as closely as Vassilisa herself， which means closer than any treasure he has.”

Under her guidance， Ivan found the oak tree. But he was discouraged， not knowing what to do. Just then， an old acquaintance of his， the bear， came uprooting the tree. A hare jumped out of the trunk and ran fast； but another hare， Ivan’s friend， caught it and tore it into pieces. Out of the hare there flew high into the sky a grey duck， but the white duck struck it， and it lost an egg. When the egg fell into the deep sea and disappeared， Ivan couldn’t help but weep. Then， all of a sudden， the big fish he had saved came swimming up， and brought the egg in his mouth. How happy Ivan Tsarevitch was！ He broke the egg and found the magic needle inside.

Ivan Tsarevitch entered the dominions of Koschei， killed him with the magic needle， and found his dear Vassilisa. He took her home and they lived happily ever after.

在沙皇俄國，曾有一位沙皇。他有三個兒子，年紀最小的名叫伊萬。

一天，沙皇讓他的每個兒子各射一支箭。箭墜落到哪里，皇子們就要娶那兒的女子為妻。

皇太子的箭墜落到一位貴族的宅邸；二皇子的箭落到了一位富商的門廊里，那兒站著一位姑娘，是個富商的女兒。最年輕的伊萬皇子，卻不幸把箭射到一片沼澤里，被一只呱呱叫的青蛙撿到了。

“我怎么能娶一只青蛙為妻？”伊萬抱怨道。“她配得上我嗎？當然不！”

“配不上也沒關系，”他的父皇回應道，“你必須娶這只青蛙，因為顯然這就是你的命運。”

因此，皇太子娶了貴族的女兒；二皇子娶了商人的女兒；而最年輕的伊萬皇子，娶了一只呱呱叫的青蛙。

過了一段時間，沙皇召來他的三個兒子，說：

“讓你們各自的妻子在明天早上之前烤好一條面包。”

伊萬愁眉緊鎖地回到了家里。

“呱呱！親愛的丈夫，為什么這么傷心？”青蛙溫柔地問。“宮里有什么讓你不順心的事嗎？”

“確實讓我不順心。我父皇想要你在明天之前烤好一條面包。”

“別擔心。去睡吧。清早比黑夜更易解決問題。”

伊萬就去睡覺了。然后青蛙脫下她的蛙皮，搖身變成一位美麗可愛的姑娘，名叫瓦茜里莎。她走出門廊大聲召喚：

“保姆和侍女們，馬上來為我準備明天早上要吃的一條白面包，要和從前我在父皇的宮殿里吃的面包一模一樣！”

早上，伊萬醒來時，面包已經做好了。整條面包外部都裝飾著漂亮的城鎮和堡壘圖案，里面則潔白如雪花，松軟如羽毛。

沙皇很滿意，伊萬收獲了特別感謝。……