In a far away kingdom in Russia, there lived a man, whose wife was terminally ill.
The man and his wife had a beautiful daughter named Vasilisa.
Vasilisa was crying beside her mother’s bed because the young girl felt that something terrible was going to happen to her mother.
“Mother, don’t leave me alone,” Vasilisa begged.
Her mother opened her eyes feebly and studied the young girl. The mother smiled and took out a wooden doll and handed it over to the young girl.
The young girl was surprised as she studied the doll and then looked at her mother.
“This doll was given to me by my mother.” Her mother said. “Do not tell anyone that you have this doll. But when you are in need give this doll something to eat and drink, then this doll will comfort you.” The mother smiled feebly as she saw confusion in the face of her daughter. “The doll will help you, even if no one else can,” the mother finished.
The daughter was surprised but she took the doll and kept it.
A few minutes later, her mother breathed her last.
Vasilisa wept bitterly as she sat there.
After that, there were many nights when Vasilisa would just sit in the lonely nights hugging herself to sleep and she would weep for her mother. But there was no one to comfort Vasilisa and she was miserable.
Then one night when Vasilisa again remembered her mother, she suddenly saw the doll which her mother had left for her.
Remembering what her mother had told her, Vasilisa took some food from her room and gave the doll something to eat and drink.
That was when something astonishing happened.
The eyes of the doll glowed like as if it was a human. The doll smiled as it saw Vasilisa and comforted the child, exactly the same way like Vasilisa’s own mother would comfort her. After many nights, Vasilisa felt her misery lessen. She hugged the doll and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.
Soon this became a routine with Vasilisa. Whenever she felt the need for any comfort, she would feed the doll and the doll would in turn help Vasilisa.
Vasilisa’s father also missed his wife terribly.
The elders of the village told him that he had to get married again. They told her that that way Vasilisa would have a mother when the father went away in far away tours. And Vasilisa’s father would also have some companionship.
When Vasilisa’s father told her about what the elders had told him, she was horrified. Because her father had also told her whom he was planning to remarry. It was a widow from the village, who already had two daughters of her own. Vasilisa did not like the woman at all and Vasilisa was sure that the woman did not like her too much.
Vasilisa tried her best from discouraging her father. But her father was determined and he soon married the other woman. So now Vasilisa had a step mother and two elder step sisters.
When Vasilisa’s father was in the house, the step mother treated her with love and care. But when her father was not around, the step mother showed her true character and Vasilisa knew that what she had sensed was true. Her step mother really hated her.
Vasilisa had another problem. A serious problem. She was extraordinarily beautiful. In fact the villagers called her Vasilisa, the Beautiful. This made the step mother hate her more. Vasilisa was also kind and gentle and so the villagers loved her. They loved her as much as they hated the step mother and her daughters.
Soon the step mother was unable to bear this. When Vasilisa’s father was not around, the step mother sent Vasilisa to do the hardest chores in the house. The step mother sent Vasilisa to work the fields in the hope, that working there would make Vasilisa’s skin pale and weak, and reduce her beauty.
But the ploys of the step mother failed. Vasilisa had the doll with her and Vasilisa told no one about it. When Vasilisa’s step mother gave her such difficult chores, Vasilisa would turn to the doll. The doll would make sure that Vasilisa was properly rested and using its magic the doll would do all the work which Vasilisa was meant to do.
As the years passed, many suitors came for Vasilisa. This caused great problems for the step mother. Her daughters were elder than Vasilisa, but because they were bad-tempered, absolutely no one wished to marry them. In a fit of rage, the step mother refused all the marriage proposals which had come for Vasilisa claiming that the youngest daughter could not be married before the elder ones.
This sorry state of affairs continued and it became worse.
Once when Vasilisa’s father had left for his tours, the step mother closed the house and took the three of them to another place. The step mother was sick of the neighbours talking bad things about her and she realized that if she hoped to get her daughters married she had to get out of the place.
The step mother also had another ulterior motive. She planned to get Vasilisa out of the way, permanently.
The wicked step mother planned on living in the edge of a dense forest.
In the forests there lived a wicked witch called Baba Yaga. It was rumoured that Baba Yaga ate people who came close enough to her house. The step mother wanted to make sure that Vasilisa met Baba Yaga and hoped that Vasilisa would never return.
So, right at the outskirts of the forests, the step mother had another house built and lived there. The step mother and the step sisters sent Vasilisa out to the forests everyday with some chores or the other, hoping that Vasilisa would meet Baba Yaga.
But as days passed nothing happened.
Finally, the step mother was very angry and she made a definite plan.
That evening, the step mother put out all the lights of the house except one and gave each one of the three girls a task to do. The eldest daughter was asked to do some sewing, the second daughter was asked to knit socks. Vasilisa was asked to do some spinning.
As the girls were working, the eldest daughter went near the candle in the room, pretending to straighten up the wick.
The eldest daughter put out the light and the house was suddenly plunged in complete darkness.
On cue, the second daughter spoke. “Mother will be furious with us if we do not finish our work.”
The first daughter continued pretending to look scared. “But....we do not have light!”
Both the girls turned to Vasilisa.
“Go and get some light from our neighbour, so that we can light the house and finish our work quickly,” the second daughter finished.
Before Vasilisa could even protest, the two girls had pushed her towards the door of the house.
“D.....o...n’t.” Vasilisa started. But before she could finish, the first daughter interrupted. “You know how important this work is, so don’t come back until you have the light.”
The second daughter opened the door of the house as Vasilisa found herself out of the house. Before Vasilisa could say anything, the daughters closed the door of the house.
Having no other choice in this matter, Vasilisa walked deeper and deeper into the jungle.
She was shocked.
As she was walking she heard horse hooves behind her. She eagerly turned when she found a very strange sight.
The horseman who was behind her was dressed in white, completely. He had a white horse and even the harness of the man was white. Before Vasilisa could say anything, the horseman drove past her and vanished. As the man vanished, strangely enough dawn broke open and the first rays of the sun were seen through the dense and dark jungle.
Not understanding what it was that she had just seen, Vasilisa walked a little hesitatingly deeper into the forest.
Vasilisa kept walking, when a little while later, she heard another horseman. She turned and this time, the horseman was red. From head to toe, the horseman was dressed in red. The horseman’s horse was red and so was his harness.
The horse passed her and vanished when the sun came up high in the sky.
That was when Vasilisa came upon a clearing. In between the clearing she saw a hut. Or at least she thought it was a hut.
She was beginning to get horrified because it was a hut, but the hut was standing on chicken bones and the worst part was the fence around the house. The fence around the house was made of human bones and skulls. Vasilisa was getting horrified as she heard hooves again. She saw a third horseman dressed completely in black riding through the jungle.
The minute the man drove past Vasilisa, the day turned into night. The eye sockets of the skulls in the fence of the house glowed in the darkness...The light from the eye sockets were so bright that the entire clearing and the hut glowed almost like it was day.
Vasilisa was horrified and she was about to run from there.
That was when Vasilisa heard someone whizzing in the air. Vasilisa realized that this was Baba Yaga.
Vasilisa could not move in fear as suddenly the hut before her turned to face Baba Yaga.
Baba Yaga was about to move inside the house when she stopped and smelt the air. Vasilisa nearly screamed in terror as Baba Yaga whipped her head and spied her.
“I thought I smelt someone,” Baba Yaga said in a raspy, old voice. “Who are you?”
“I...I...am Vasilisa. I am your neighbour!” Vasilisa croaked. “We..I..we need some light for our house.”
Baba Yaga watched Vasilisa with a sudden shrewd smile on her face. “If you want light then you must work for it.” She said in the same tone. “Will you?”
“Yes.....” Vasilisa said nodding her head, looking terrified.
Before Vasilisa could say anything, Baba Yaga continued. “...or I will eat you for my dinner.”
Vasilisa took a deep breath trying to calm herself and followed Baba Yaga inside the house.
After having her dinner, Baba Yaga watched the trembling Vasilisa. “Tomorrow, you will cook my food, clean the house from top to bottom, and clear this yard.” Baba Yaga said pointing at the front of the house.
Vasilisa nodded trembling.
“And you must separate the bad grains from the good grains of the wheat seeds in my storehouse.” Baba Yaga finished.
Vasilisa nodded weakly again.
The next morning, Vasilisa woke up and saw the white horseman gallop by the house and the first rays of dawn came up.
Baba Yaga woke up and using her mortar she flew away from the house.
After Baba Yaga left, Vasilisa tried doing the work all by herself. But it was just too much work. Vasilisa was exhausted before even completing one of the tasks.
She then remembered her doll and then took it out, fed her doll and told it all that had to be done.
“You cook the food for Baba Yaga,” the doll said. “I will take care of the rest.”
Just like yesterday, Vasilisa saw the red horseman drive past through and towards the end of the day, Vasilisa saw the black horseman drive through too.
The place became dark.
Baba Yaga came back home when it was dark and she was in for a shock. All the work that she had asked Vasilisa to do was finished and it was done to perfection.
Grudgingly Baba Yaga turned to Vasilisa. “When I go out tomorrow, I want you to find the poppy seeds in my storehouse and separate the good ones from the bad ones.” Baba Yaga said fuming, trying to hide the fact that she was disappointed that Vasilisa had finished the work perfectly.
Baba Yaga then used her magic and Vasilisa was shocked when three hands appeared before Baba Yaga.
“Squeeze the oils from the grains that this girl has separated.” Baba Yaga told the hands. The hands started working as Vasilisa watched the entire scene too terrified to talk.
The next day, Vasilisa saw the three riders and that day too, Baba Yaga could find nothing wrong with Vasilisa’s work, thanks to the doll which was with Vasilisa.
Just like yesterday Baba Yaga summoned the hands to grind the poppy seeds.
Baba Yaga looked at Vasilisa after her dinner and watched Vasilisa angrily. “Well? Have you nothing to ask?” Baba Yaga demanded from Vasilisa.
Vasilisa took in a deep breath and started timidly. “I saw three horsemen galloping outside. Who are they?” She asked Baba Yaga, describing the three of them.
“That?” Baba Yaga snarled watching Vasilisa. “The white one is Dawn, the red one is the Red Sun and the Black one is Night.”
Vasilisa nodded to herself. Now that Baba Yaga was in a talking mood, Vasilisa was very curious to ask about the hands which appeared and were doing the work and and was about to ask it, when the doll which was in her pocket vibrated, real hard.
Vasilisa realized that the door was trying to tell her not to ask the question and immediately fell silent.
“And I have to ask you a question.” Baba Yaga said angrily.
“Yes?” Vasilisa said as her heart thundering.
“How were you able to finish the work that I set for you?” Baba Yaga demanded.
Vasilisa was almost gasping wondering what she could say to Baba Yaga, when she thought of her “My mother’s blessings!” Vasilisa squeaked. “My mother’s blessings helped me do all that.”
Vasilisa’s mother had specifically told Vasilsia never to tell anyone about her. So she thought she had done well in replying to Baba Yaga. She was wrong.
“Blessings?” Baba Yaga shrieked. “You have your mother’s blessings?”
Vasilisa was shell shocked not knowing what to say.
“I want no one near me who has another’s blessings. Get out of my house!” Baba Yaga said angrily.
Vasilisa was actually glad and nearly ran from the house. As she was near the fence, Baba Yaga angrily picked up one of the glowing skulls. “Take this fire for you family.” She said as Vasilisa stepped out of the house. “Take it and never come back!”
Vasilisa walked through the forest real fast trying to put herself as far away from Baba Yaga’s house as possible. She passed the three horsemen as she was moving away from the forest.
She then reached her house and she was in for a surprise. The house was in complete darkness.
Vasilisa thought that there was no one in the house.
She took the skull and she went inside the house and saw her step sisters and her step mother sitting glumly inside the house.
“....it is so dark!” One of the step sisters was muttering.
“Silence!” The step mother snapped angrily. “Ever since Vasilisa left the house, the entire house has been like this. No light stays up. Any light we bring from outside, gets snuffed out, the minute the light comes inside the threshold. We have not even been able to cook or do anything else,” the step mother fumed angrily.
Vasilisa heard the words and came inside with the skull having the light in it. The step mother and the daughter immediately fell silent.
The step mother angrily took the light from Vasilisa, realizing that the girl had been successful in this task too.
That was when the step mother screamed. The light from the skull burnt her. The step mother let the skull go as Vasilisa caught it.
But the step mother and the step sisters were not spared even after that. No matter what, the fire from the skull found them and soon they were all burnt to ashes.
Vasilisa was the only one who was untouched by the fire.
She then buried the skull outside the house and left the house and went back to her home to await her father.
Much later, it is said that with the help of the doll, Vasilisa started making the best fabrics in the country. Her fabrics were said to be so good that even the Tsar started noticing it. The Tsar liked the cloth and when he saw Vasilisa he fell in love with her.
The Tsar married Vasilisa and they lived happily ever after.
- Russian Folk Stories
