Based on an old Russian folk tale
Riese sent to ???
The second eldest, Elleene, was a thin, dark haired girl and rather sulky at times. She often felt bullied by Maleva, but was afraid to stand up to her and usually ended up doing whatever Maleva wanted. However, she had her own little methods of paying back Maleva for her bullying.
The two were known in the village as "the Belles from hell."
Riese, the youngest, was generally a quiet girl (although she had her moments of fire), with long hair of a plain straw color. She spent a lot of time on her own, since the others considered her 'too young' to be included in their doings.
The village provided almost everything they needed, but sometimes they had to go into the local town to buy other items that were not available.
One day the merchant was going to town, and asked his daughters what they would like. Maleva said she wanted earrings, while Elleene wanted a silk scarf.
Riese, however, had rather a strange request.
But then again, there were those who thought Riese 'strange,' or a little odd because of her daydreaming. She spent a lot of time out alone in the forest and was often seen talking to plants and animals.
She had had a dream once of a Morair from a far off Keep and sometimes felt that this dream was more real to her than her own life. She often thought about this dream and what it could mean, but she never spoke of it to anyone.
She asked, "Father, please bring me back a feather of Finn the Bright Falcon." Now, her father, although he knew nothing of Finn the Bright Falcon, was not at all surprised at her request, for it was already the third time she had asked this of him during the past year.
"But darling," he replied, "I have asked time and time again in the town for such a feather and no one has ever heard of Finn the Bright Falcon. People are surely beginning to think I'm a little mad." Riese answered with a smile "But I have heard of him, father, and perhaps I will be lucky this time."
The merchant, not knowing quite what to say, merely shook his head and promised that he would try his best. Then he kissed his daughters goodbye.
Her two sisters had, of course, laughed at her request. When the father had left the house they began to tease her. "What do you want with an old feather?" Maleva sneered. And Elleene added "Just look at you in those old things, why, you're a disgrace to the family!"
Riese said nothing. When her sisters teased her, she was usually silent, which made them angry and likely as not they would then find some unpleasant task for her.
"Since you have nothing better to do why don't you go out and clean the henhouse!" Maleva ordered her.
"Go on, what are you waiting for?" Elleene sneered, "perhaps you'll find a feather out there!"
Meanwhile, the merchant had found the silk scarf and the earrings at the market. With a sigh he remembered the feather for Riese.
"Here we go again," he thought as he went all around the market place asking for one.
But search as he might, nobody could help him. Some remembered him from last time and shook their heads, saying to each other "Here's that funny man from the village again - and still looking for that feather of his!"
After he had once again asked everyone in sight, he set out for home with a heavy heart, knowing he must once again disappoint his youngest daughter.
He drove along the road wondering where in the world Riese had gotten such an idea into her head about the feather.
"Perhaps she has been listening again to the old tales," he muttered to himself, just as a hare raced out of the forest right into the path of his paard.
With a loud whinny, his paard reared up startled, almost overturning the cart. Jumping down quickly he managed to grab hold of the paard's bridle before it had time to bolt. He stood beside the paard for a moment and spoke calming words in its ear.
As he was about to get back into the cart, an old man stepped out of the forest. He had long white hair and a beard that reached to his waist. He was dressed in long flowing robes and was carrying a small wooden casket.
As the old man came nearer it could be seen that the casket was carved with strange symbols.
"What have you got in your casket, old one?" he called out to the man. "A feather of Finn the Bright Falcon." the old man replied.
Hardly daring to believe his ears, the merchant managed to stammer out "How much do you want for it?" He forgot to ask if it was on sale, but, as luck would have it, the man nodded and gave his price.
Eagerly the merchant handed over the money and took the casket from the old man.
His hands trembling, he somehow managed to pry open the lid of the casket, and to his joy, found a beautiful rainbow coloured feather inside. Unable to tear his eyes away from it he asked, "Where did you get this beautiful feather?"
There was no answer from the old man, and looking up, the merchant found no trace of him, though he called after him for many minutes. The only answer was the wind and the dry crackle of the leaves.
Somewhat unnerved by the sudden disappearance of the old man, he said aloud to himself "I can't understand it, there's not a sign of him on the road and he looked as if he could barely hobble along!"
With all manner of wild thoughts crowding into his head, he lifted the lid of the casket again, to reassure himself that the feather was still there. It was! With a sigh of relief, he mopped his brow and still muttering to himself, he hurried back home as fast as his horse's legs would take him.
His three daughters came out to welcome him home and, needless to say, to get their presents. He gave Maleva the earrings and Elleene got the silk scarf.
He then turned to Riese. "And for you my dear, I have something I think you will like." When he brought out the casket with the feather of Finn, she was overjoyed.
"It's a feather of Finn the Bright Falcon, isn't it father?" she exclaimed happily, opening the casket. When she saw the beautiful rainbow-coloured feather, she hugged it to herself, all the time dancing around the room like a mad thing.
Now her sisters, who had been watching all this, exchanged glances. "Well, it's all right for a feather, I daresay, but I can't for the life of me imagine what it's good for," Maleva sneered, out of earshot of her father.
"Well, whatever tickles your fancy, I suppose!" sniggered Elleene.
Taking no notice of these remarks, Riese thanked her father, returned the feather to its casket and went straight to her tiny room at the top of the house. As was her custom, she locked the door behind her.
When she was alone in her room, she opened the casket. The feather immediately flew out and drifted gently to the floor. It had barely touched the floorboards, when a handsome young Morair appeared before her. Startled,she gasped out "Who are you?"
He said nothing at first and just stood there smiling at her.
"Not - Finn?" she brought out at last.
"Who else?" he replied, at the same time giving her an exaggerated bow and a click of his heels.
She laughed and clapped her hands. '"That's just what you did in my dream!" she exclaimed.
After a while she forgot her nervousness and soon they were talking together as if they had known each other all their lives.
Meanwhile, her sisters had heard the sounds of whispering and muffled laughter coming from her room. They knocked upon the door calling out "Who are you talking to in there, Riese?"
"No one, I'm just talking to myself as usual," she replied, trying to repress a giggle. This infuriated the other two, who demanded to be let into the room at once.
Finn immediately changed back into a feather again. Riese picked up the feather, returned it to its casket and unlocked the door. Her two sisters made a mad dash into the room, but there appeared to be no one there but Riese.
The two sisters scowled, and Maleva muttered '"She's really gone crazy!"
Elvira grumbled in agreement, "That's what comes of father giving in to her silly whims - I don't know how he could waste money on such a silly thing!"
Her sisters had barely left the room when the feather changed back into the form of the Morair, and Riese could not help but laugh. "I wish I could laugh like this about my sisters when I'm alone," she said wistfully, her eyes trained almost reverently on Finn's handsome face.
"From now on," said Finn, "you need never be alone again; whenever you call for me I will fly to you. If you should ever want anything, just wave the feather to the right and everything you wish for will be yours. When you wave it to the left, all will be as before."
As the first rays of dawn broke over the dark forest, they said their farewells. Finn gave Riese a kiss on the cheek, and Riese took the feather from the casket, opened the window and flung it to the breeze.
The feather changed into a rainbow coloured falcon and flew out and upwards into the brightening sky.
After that Finn the falcon came every night and told her of the world outside the village.
"My land is distant," he told her, "and my Keep lies on the blue ocean. One day I will take you there."
'What does your Keep look like?" she asked, as she had never seen a Keep before.
"You will know it when you see it," he answered with a smile.
He spoke to her of the dark forests and wide, flat grasslands which he flew over during the day. She longed to see the mountains, rivers and oceans which he knew so well.
At the end of the week, the two older sisters usually spent hours getting themselves ready for a gather, which meant dancing and feasting. They would preen themselves and parade up and down in front of the mirror, plucking their eyebrows, trying on this and that and bickering about which one of them looked the oldest.
That particular week-end, Maleva wore her new earrings and Elleene put on the silken scarf. They had been ready for over an hour, and having nothing better to do, they began to take an interest in what Riese was wearing.
"I'm not going to church with her looking like that!" began Maleva.
"Look here, Riese," said Elleene, "you can't possibly wear those rags to church. It's your own fault you have nothing else to wear. Why didn't you ask father to bring your back something decent instead of that ridiculous feather?"
Maleva snorted. "What will people think of us if we are seen with you? It would be better for everyone if you stayed at home with your feather!"
Riese answered vaguely, "But, of course I'll stay home with my father."
"Not father - feather!" corrected Elleene.
"Not feather - father," Riese murmered in return, still not paying attention.
The other two looked at her sharply to see if she was trying to insult them. But she wasn't really listening at all - she was staring out the window.
She seemed to be searching the skies for something. They craned their necks to try and see what she was looking at. But there was nothing but a few birds in the distance. Maleva whispered to Elleene, "Well, she's definitely for the birds today!" And the two of them fell to laughing at this.
After the rest of the family had left, Riese sat at the window and watched the people all dressed in their finery going to the gather.
After a while, when the street had become quieter, she stepped outside. Looking up and down the road to make sure there was no one around, she took the feather and waved it to the right.
All at once a crystal coach pulled by four prancing paards appeared before her, with servants dressed in gold, while clothes inlaid with precious jewels and gold were laid out for her to wear. When she had changed into the beautiful clothes, she got into the coach and drove to the gather.
No one in the village recognized her, not even her own family, so utterly changed was she in her royal headdress and garments.
"She is perhaps a Morair's daughter from a far-off Keep across the sea," the villagers whispered to each other.
While the last song was being played, and people were still dancing, Riese quickly left the gather, got back into the coach, and drove off. The villagers crowded out behind her to see where the coach was going, but it had already disappeared into the distance.
She drove home, and waved the feather to the left this time. A servant took her clothes and the crystal coach disappeared. She went back inside the house. There she sat as before, as if nothing at all had happened, watching the people going home from the gather.
Soon her sisters returned. Excitedly they related what they had seen. "What a wonderful sight we saw today at the gather! Such beauty - such nobility! She must have been a Morair's daughter from a distant land. You should have seen the clothes she wore - silk and gold brocade inlaid with precious stones," related Maleva.
"We have never seen the like before," said Elleene, "it's the talk of the whole village! But of course, you have only yourself to blame that you missed it all, and didn't see a thing!"
"That's all right, my dear sisters, you have described it all so well to me that I feel as if I'd been there myself!" said Riese, wondering whether she should try it again next week...
The same thing happened on the next two week-ends after that. Riese again made pretend in gowns of silk and velvet, and once again the village and her family was fooled.
However, on the last week-end, she was enjoying the attention so much that, for a few minutes, she almost forgot that she was not a real Morair's daughter and nearly stayed too late. Jumping into her coach, she ordered the coachmen to make all haste, but some of the villagers, who had expecting her to leave the gather early as she always did, began to follow. She had to take a detour into the forest to shake them off. Begging the coachmen to go faster, she almost wept from worry and fright. "Oh what are we going to do? Surely someone will see me as I return home!" When the coast was clear, she jumped out of the coach into a clearing.
"I know a shortcut back from here," she said as she jumped down. She tore off the clothes in a mad rush and handed them back to the servant. Then throwing on her own as she ran, she took the feather from her apron pocket and waved it to the left.
Glancing back over her shoulder she saw that the coach had disappeared. She tore back through the forest, almost bumping into a bunch of villagers taking a shortcut home from the gather.
Somewhat out of breath and scratched from brambles, she nevertheless managed to be back sitting at the window when her family returned. She had just smoothed down her hair and was trying to hide a tear in her dress when her sisters walked into the room. Luckily, they were so preoccupied with the latest appearance of the Morair's daughter that they did not notice anything.
"And everyone is wondering just who she is and why she has chosen our village to go to gather in," Maleva was proclaiming in her loud voice. "Some say she must be staying somewhere nearby! Just think - we might just run into her in the village some day!"
"Isn't it marvellous!" added Elleene, "I think that she must be in hiding because her father wants her to marry a man she does not love. Others think she is searching for her lost lover..."
Maleva and Elleene were describing the Morair's daughter to Riese for the third time the next morning, when a ray of sunlight through an open window suddenly caught a diamond hairpin sparkling in her hair. "What was that? It looks like something flashing in your hair," said Maleva peering closely at Riese's hair. Elleene came across the room, her eyes nearly falling out of her head. "But, it can't be..." She stopped suddenly, he mouth open in amazement as she saw the diamonds sparkling in her sister's hair.
"Why, it's exactly like the diamond hairpin that the Morair's daughter was wearing today! Where on earth did you get it?"
Riese's heart almost missed a beat. Quickly her hand went to her hair. Her knees were shaking. What could she do? Why hadn't the hairpin disappeared with everything else? Ripping it from her hair, she jumped up knocking over a chair. Before the other two could stop her she raced upstairs. and just managed to lock the door on them before they reached it.
She stood there panting behind the door, while her sisters hammered on the other side, yelling at her to open up and show them the diamond hairpin. After an hour or two they gave up and went away.
When all was quiet again, she called up the servant again with the feather and returned the hairpin to him.
The questionings, whisperings and accusations went on for days. But she wouldn't say a word about it and just smiled to herself when she was asked about the hairpin.
Now the other two were watching every move she made. They searched her room several times and found nothing.
One night they went to their father. "Father, we are worried about Riese. We can't sleep at night with the noise. We think she has a secret visitor. She locks herself in her room and she is talking to someone all the time. And we know that someone has given her a diamond hairpin."
"Don't be ridiculous," said the father, secretly worried and suspecting that Riese had a lover, "Riese has no friends. She never has any visitors. And where's this diamond hairpin that she's supposed to have?"
"Well, we don't know where it is now, but we've seen it father, and we think it belongs to the Morair's daughter."
"Belongs to the Morair's daughter! And how do you think Riese got it? Are you going to tell me now that the Morair's daughter is visiting her in her room? Whatever will you two think of next? You've been listening to too many of those old wives' tales again!"
"But you don't understand father, we're sure that a young man's been visiting her!" said Elleene.
"Is that so? Well, can you please explain what the Morair's daughter's got to do with it?" said the father, getting more and more annoyed at them. Perhaps I've spoiled them a bit much, he thought to himself.
"But you've got to believe us father!" wailed Maleva.
"Yes father!" cried Elleene. "She has been acting so strangely lately - she never does any work in the house, and she just sits around day dreaming all day."
"What's so strange about that?" the father wanted to know. "She's always been a bit of a day-dreamer."
However, seeing that he would get no peace, he at last gave in to their pestering and went to check up on Riese. But Finn had already turned himself back into a feather long before the father had reached the top of the creaking staircase.
He berated the two sisters afterwards. "You silly jealous things! Stop telling lies and leave your sister alone!"
The two were now seething with anger against Riese. "So, she thinks she can outwit us!" hissed Maleva between gritted teeth. "There's definitely someone coming to her at night and I'm determined to find out who it is!"
Elleene agreed. "We've got to think of a plan - she's clever of course, but if we watch her like a hawk, she's sure to make a mistake sometime and then we've got her - hah!"
"That's exactly what I say - hah!" Joining hands, they both did a little dance around the room at the thought of their success, chanting :
"We're going to get her! We're going to get her!"
Suddenly there was a loud knocking on the door. They froze immediately and clutched at one other in fright. It couldn't be ...?
"It must be ...!" they whispered to one another staring wide-eyed at the door. The knocking became even louder.
Maleva called out coyly. "Just wait a minute sir, if you please."
Then to Elleene, "How do I look? Oh, I wish we had a mirror in here!"
"Never mind how you look, how do I look? Oh, I wonder if he'll give me a diamond hairpin too?" she giggled.
"Why should he give it to you? I'm the eldest!"
"And why shouldn't he?"
"Just a minute, if you please sir!" called out Maleva shrilly.
Then again to Elleene: "Will you let me open the door!"
"Certainly not - I want to open it!" While they were bickering about who should open the door, it suddenly swung open with a loud bang. Their father stood in the doorway looking furious.
"Oh it's you, father!" they both exclaimed together.
"And who else would it be? What on earth's going on? Don't you know it's four in the morning! Can't a man get a bit of peace around here? And you two complain about Riese - hah!"
Just then Riese called down the stairs "What's all the noise about down there? I'm trying to sleep! Don't you two know what time it is?"
"Sorry, dear," said her father, "your sisters are just acting a little silly tonight, but they're going straight to bed now," he said, and added in a fierce undertone, "aren't you?"
"Yes father," they both said meekly.
"Well that's just the limit!" hissed Maleva through gritted teeth, when their father had gone. "Getting us into trouble! - She'll pay for this! I'm going to catch her out if it kills me! I'm sure that whoever comes to visit her can only be coming through the window."
"But it's so small, Maleva, how could anyone possibly squeeze through it?"
"Look, we've been watching her door for weeks, and we haven't seen a thing, so it can't be that way. I'll tell you what I've been thinking. Elleene, dear, what about you keeping watch at night in the old barn opposite the house, until we find out how her secret visitor gets into the room."
"Me? Why me?" said Elleene sulkily. "Why not you, Maleva?"
"Well, you see, I'll be keeping an eye on the door, just in case he comes that way."
"But I don't see why I have to be the one out in the barn!"
"But you know how I fall asleep so easily Elleene dear, and I do get so very bad-tempered when I don't get a full night's sleep. You should know that by now." There was no mistaking the threat in Maleva's voice.
"Well, perhaps you're right," muttered Elleene frowning sulkily, "but I still think we should take it in turns."
"Yes, of course we will, Elleene dear," said Maleva smoothly, "but I'm trusting you to do the first couple of nights, as I'm sure you can do it so well."
Realising she didn't have much choice in the matter, Elleene resigned herself to spending her nights out in the the barn keeping watch on Riese's window.
Whenever her sulking became unbearable, Maleva would take an odd turn at keeping watch.
The father shook his head in dismay at the sight of all three of his daughters yawning and dozing off at all hours during the day.
"I don't know what's going on around this house - it seems as if I'm the only one doing any housework around here. The rest of you just seem to be half asleep all day!"
Already in a rather bad mood from lack of sleep the night before, Maleva replied, "Yes, but as we've already told you father, it's because Riese is always chattering away in her room at night. It keeps us awake."
"Hah!" was his only answer to this as he washed the dishes, clattering them noisily around the sink.
Although they often fell asleep on the job, the watching and waiting of Maleva and Elleene in the barn at night eventually paid off. They noticed the falcon flying in and out of the window several times.
At first, they did not pay much attention to this, as Riese often fed wild birds, which sometimes became tame enough to come to her.
But after a while, they noticed that whenever the falcon flew in the window, the talking and laughter began again. "I'm certain that the falcon has something to do with her secret visitor," muttered Maleva one morning after a another night out in the barn.
"But, how could it be? Falcons can't talk!" exclaimed Elleene.
"Yes, but I've heard the old ones in the village say that there are some humans who can understand the language of birds. Perhaps Raisa has these powers," guessed Maleva.
"You could be right," admitted Elleene after thinking this over for a minute or two.
"But we've got to put a stop to it," continued Maleva, "for if word got out about this, someone might think she's a witch - and we might also get branded as witches. You know how superstitious the villagers are!"
Elleene looked at her in horror. "You mean they'd even suspect us? How awful!"
"It's quite possible. And for father's sake, we've got to put a stop to it now before it's too late!" said Maleva, feigning more concern for her father than she felt for herself.
"Yes, as you say, we've got to think of a plan. For father's sake," agreed Elleene.
"We could try to block up the window, to stop the falcon coming through it," said Maleva with a sly smile.
"But she might notice it and take it away."
"Not if she was asleep!" said Maleva.
"But how? Oh, I think I see... You mean a sleeping potion? Doesn't father take something like that to help him sleep at night?" said Elleene.
"Now you get it! I know where he keeps it. He'd never miss a few drops. And now for the second part of our plan; what do you say to this? We put something against the window so the falcon can't get in. That something has to be nice and sharp so he doesn't want to come back again - but what?" Maleva frowned.
Ellene thought about this for a moment. "What about those rusty old knives out in the barn? And there's a few old nails out there too. They just might do the trick!"
"Not a bad idea, isn't there a ladder out there too?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Well, this evening I'll put a few drops of sleeping potion, perhaps even more than a few, into her drink and then she won't notice a thing when her precious falcon tries to flap against the window! What do you think of my plan now?" grinned Maleva.
"Perfect! Let's go and sharpen our knives!"
That evening when it was dark, Maleva and Elleene took the ladder from the barn, along with the other things they had prepared. They climbed up to the window and put rusty knives and sharp nails crossways outside it.
Later on, Maleva sent Riese out to the henhouse, so that Elleene could make a quick dash up to Riese's room to draw the curtains. "Let's hope she doesn't notice anything!" whispered Elleene to Maleva as she sneaked back down the stairs.
"Don't worry, I wasn't too sparing with the nightcap!" Maleva smirked back at her.
That evening they kept Riese busy downstairs. After she had taken her supper--and the sleeping potion, they kept her talking until they were certain she was almost asleep.
"I don't know why I'm so sleepy this evening," she murmured yawning, as they almost had to carry her up the stairs.
"Well, that's what comes of chattering away to yourself all night long, I suppose," muttered Maleva under her breath.
"Oh, just let me sleep please," Riese sighed as she slumped back onto the bed already snoring lightly. The other two winked at each other and said, "Good night, dear Riese and sleep well." There was no reply. Riese was already in a deep sleep.
That night when Finn the Bright Falcon came to her window he found it closed. He flapped against the window and cut his wings on the sharp weapons that were set against it.
"Farewell my love!" he cried out sadly, "if you want to see me again, you must search for me in a far-off land. You must now wander to my land... But first, you must wear out three pairs of iron shoes, break three iron walking sticks and gnaw through three stone-hard loaves of bread, before you find me."
Through her sleep Riese heard these words as though in a dream, but she could not wake up. The wounded falcon, hearing no reply from her, flew out over the dark forest to his own kingdom.
Next morning, on seeing how the window had been barred with sharp knives and rusty nails, which dripped blood, Riese almost went mad with grief. She cried out, "Oh Finn, my love, my cruel sisters have driven you from me!"
Her dream suddenly came back to her and the words Finn had spoken. She took her feather out of the casket and waved it aroung wildly, crying, "Please come back, Finn!" But Finn did not come.
Suddenly, anger grew in her and she tore down the stairs, searching for her sisters. But, having heard her as she made her wrathful way down, her two sisters cowardly escaped to the village. Not finding them, Riese sank to her knees, dissolved in tears.
She spent many sleepless nights afterwards standing at the window.
At last she could bear it no longer and went to her father. Blinking back the tears, she told him, "Father, I must go away! Please give me your blessing. If I live, you will see me again. Should I die, that is my fate."
Hearing these sad words, her father, who loved Riese dearly, was heartbroken, but he gave her his blessing and told her, "Go my child, and do what you have to do."
She went to the blacksmith and had three pairs of iron shoes and three iron walking sticks made. She put on the first pair of iron shoes and took the first iron walking stick in her hand. She packed a goatskin sack with three stone-hard loaves of bread. She then set out in the direction from whence the falcon had come.
She walked for miles and miles, through the dark forests, across the wide fields, through towns and villages and through places where the people spoke a different language. Some of the people were kind and provided her with food along the way. In some of the villages, however, the people were rough mannered, and as she passed through, the children ran behind her and mocked her.
"She's running away from home!" they would taunt. Sometimes the parents came out and encouraged their children in this. Some of the children even threw stones at her.
Once, she managed to catch one of them and asked him why they were doing such a thing. After squirming around in her grasp for a few minutes with a great deal of kicking and biting, he at last told her, "Everyone thinks those iron shoes look so ugly and people are saying you shouldn't expect others to feed you! They say your place is at home with your family!"
She let him go and was suddenly filled with doubt. Perhaps they're right! I'm wasting my time looking for Finn the Bright Falcon! I don't even know where I'm going!
She looked down at the iron shoes, which she had never once taken off, even when sleeping. "I don't want to wear these any more," she thought angrily, "I'd rather go barefoot like the village children!" She sat down on a fallen tree to take the iron shoes off, but they remained stuck fast to her feet - they would not come off! "Oh, these stupid shoes!" she cried and pulled hard at them becoming angrier and angrier, until she she eventually burst into tears.
Suddenly the words she had heard through her dream came back to her: "You must wear out three pairs of iron shoes ..." The sound of Finn's voice was still in her head. Her despair turned once again to hope.
"If I don't wear out the iron shoes, I won't find him. And I will wear them - I don't care what anyone says!'' she wiped away her tears with a grubby hand and got up to go.
There were several times again where she almost lost heart and turned back, for she often suffered from hunger, thirst and cold.
Often just when she thought all was lost someone would give her a crust of bread or some water.
After walking for several weeks, she eventually wore through one pair of iron shoes. A few days later the iron walking stick broke in her hand. She had already gnawed through one of the stone-hard loaves.
Soon afterwards she entered a dark forest. She wandered on and on and it became darker than ever. The tops of the trees seemed to touch the sky. The path was completely overgrown and she had to keep going around fallen trees.
Just as she was thinking she would have to turn back, she came to a clearing in the forest. In the middle of the clearing was a hut on chicken's legs, which spun around and around.
I'm so tired and hungry, she thought, if only it would stop spinning!
She watched it for a few minutes until she almost felt dizzy from the spinning and then she said the first words that came into her head:
'Little hut on chicken feet,
I am Riese and I'm pleased to meet
you, but I want to eat some bread
I want to sleep, to rest my head.
So put yourself on the forest floor
and turn to face me with your door!"
The hut stopped spinning around and stood with its door side facing towards her. She went inside und saw the witch Baba Yaga stretched out on the stove, her long nose pointing towards the ceiling.
"Where are you going to, my pretty one?" croaked the witch in a voice older than time itself.
"I am searching for Finn the Bright Falcon."
"Do you come of your own free will or have you been sent?"
"I come of my own free will."
"And why are you here?" the witch continued.
"Finn the Bright Falcon was my love, but my sisters hurt him and he flew away. Now I am looking for him."
"You have a long journey ahead of you, my pretty one," rasped Baba Yaga, "I know Finn the Bright Falcon of the rainbow feathers. He is living on the blue ocean in his Keep and is due to be married. But do not despair - follow your dream and I will help you! And now you must have something to eat."
Although the hut looked small from the outside, when Riese stepped inside she had the feeling of being in an enormous hall. It was packed full of all kinds of paraphernalia, some of which she couldn't even give a name to.
The first thing she noticed in the hut were some twisted, strangely shaped tree roots, many of which looked as if they had faces.There was a pile of what she at first thought were rocks and stones, but when she looked a little closer, she realised that they were crystals and semi-precious jewels.
Some pieces of amber lay in a heap on the floor, beside one of the tree roots. Riese took up a piece to look at it, and saw a large beetle perfectly preserved inside the amber. When she put it back down again she could have sworn that the tree root beside it had changed position.
"I must have touched it with my foot," she thought, although she could not remember having done so. Afterwards when she looked over at it again, both the tree root and the pieces of amber were no longer there. I must have just imagined it, she thought to herself.
Spider webs adorned the walls and ceiling.Some wheat sheaves hung over the door. The shelves were lined with ancient books and bottles of potions. Dried herbs hung from the rafters; faded colors but still strong scents.
There were jars full of the strangest looking creatures. Riese could not tell whether they were alive or dead.
Sometimes she felt as if the things inside the jars were watching her, and for a moment she thought she saw eyes following her. But whenever she looked around at them they didn't seem to be moving at all. If turned away, out of the corner of her eye she thought she could see something moving in the jars: something watching her.
"Ah, I see you are admiring my jars with the thousand eyes, my dear. Take care you do not look too long at them, they may want you to join them," said Baba Yaga. Riese quickly looked away, and the witch chuckled quietly to herself..
There was an old mirror on the wall, which seemed to have a swirling dark mist inside it. Although there was no one standing in front of it, she thought at odd moments that she could see some strange reflections moving in it. "Take care to keep your eyes off the Mirror of Reality, my dear: it is the one thing that you should truly beware of while you are under my protection."
Riese shuddered and quickly looked away, wondering in which direction it was safe to look.
In front of the large oven was a table and two armchairs with carved bear paws as arm rests. Riese sank exhaustedly into one of them. The armchair seemed to mould itself to her body, as if it were holding her in its bear arms. It was a strange sensation, but very comfortable.
When they at last sat down to eat, a toad crawled slowly over to them and sat under the table, where Baba Yaga threw him scraps of food every now and then. Baba Yaga set food in front of her. There was freshly baked bread, mushrooms, and fresh berries. Raisa drank fresh cold spring water, while Baba Yaga drank a large casket of dark red wine. Riese was amazed at the quantities of food and drink that the old woman consumed.
A large black cat came up to the witch and rubbed itself against Baba Yaga's boney legs, purring. Her legs are as thin as a skeleton's! thought Riese to herself.
"I'm not called Baba Yaga Boney Legs for nothing, you know," the the old crone suddenly cackled, stroking the cat. Her gaze was piercing, and Riese looked away.
How on earth did she know what I was thinking? She must have seen me looking at her legs, Riese was thinking to herself, when seemingly for no reason at all Baba Yaga went off into another cackle of laughter.
After they had eaten their fill, Baba Yaga gave her a bed for the night where she slept soundly.
At sunrise, Baba Yaga woke her and said, "This is my present for you: a silver spindle and golden spinning wheel. When you spin with it, it will spin you a thread of pure gold. When you come to the blue ocean, to the land of Finn's Keep, the bride of Finn the Bright Falcon will be out walking on the beach. When you see her sit down and spin. She will want to buy the spindle from you, but do not take any money for it. Instead ask her to let you see Finn the Bright Falcon. Go now to Baba Yaga, my middle sister. She will teach you well."
"But how will I know how to find her?" asked Riese.
Baba Yaga took a spool of thread, threw in on the ground in front of Riese and told her, "Follow this wherever it rolls. It will be your guide."
Riese thanked Baba Yaga and bade her farewell, and set out again on her journey. But her heart was now heavy since she had heard the news, for she feared that it was now perhaps already too late.
She walked for a long time over steppe and barren wilderness, until the second pair of iron shoes were worn out, the second iron walking stick broken and the second stone-hard loaf gone.
One evening she came to the edge of a swamp. Mosquitoes buzzed over the swamp. There was a smell of stagnant water in the air. It was almost dark, and bats were swooping low over the swamp catching insects.
Through the mist she spotted a hut on chicken's legs just like the last, but because darkness was coming down fast, she was afraid to go any further for fear of falling into the swamp.
In spite of the darkness, she could still see the spool of thread rolling ahead of her. It seemed to be shimmering in the darkness. It rolled on in a zig-zag path across the swamp.
Rather than turn back in the dark and risk falling into the swamp, she decided it would be best to follow it. Although she was already tired, she had to run to keep up with the spool of thread, which seemed to have put on an extra spurt of speed.
She stopped for a second to get her breath, but immediately decided to keep going when a swarm of mosquitoes began dancing around her head. To her relief, once she started moving on they disappeared again as fast as they had come.
A few moments later she realised that she had almost reached the hut.
Just then she heard an old croaking voice. "Ah, so Baba Yaga, my youngest sister, has at last returned my spool of thread! She has had it for more than ninety years. No wonder my clothes are falling apart."
An old woman stepped out from behind a tree, picked up the spool of thread and held it to her gnarled old cheek. She stroked the spool of thread with her long bony fingers and spoke softly to it, "And what have you brought with you this time"' She cocked her head to one side as if listening to something.
Riese listened too, but couldn't hear anything at all. The second Baba Yaga came up to her, squinted up into her face, (for she was bent over even more than the first Baba Yaga,) and croaked "Where are you going to, my pretty one?"
It was quite shocking to see that terrible old face up close, and Riese's first instinct, however unkind, was to turn and run. But she had also been brought up to be polite and to consider the feelings of others. Another reason she did not run away could have been that she was numb with fright. Still, she could not help her voice trembling a little as she said:
"Oh please, I am looking for Finn the Bright Falcon."
"I know Finn the Bright Falcon of the rainbow coloured feathers," said second Baba Yaga. "You have a long way in front of you. It won't be easy to find him. But you must follow your dream. The one you seek is promised to be married in his land. But I think I can help you. First come inside and have something to eat."
A crowd of fluttering bats flew up around the doorway as they entered the hut. Baba Yaga crooned to them:
"Don't be frightened of the pretty one, my little pets, she is a friend of Finn the Bright Falcon!"
Everything in the hut seemed to be exactly as it had been in the hut of the first Baba Yaga. There on the shelves were the jars with the thousand eyes that she could feel watching her whenever she looked away. There was the Mirror of Reality again with its strange dark reflections.
The chair with the carved bear's paws seemed to be welcoming her back into their arms again. The toad was starting to crawl over towards the table. The food was as delicious as in the last house, the freshly baked bread, the drink, the mushrooms and berries.
Once again, a large black cat came up to the witch and rubbed itself against her boney legs.
After they had eaten, the second Baba Yaga gave her some cushions for the night where she slept soundly.
At dawn Baba Yaga woke her and gave her a present of a silver dish with a golden egg on it.
"When you come to the blue ocean, in Finn's land, the bride of Finn the Bright Falcon will be out walking on the beach. When you roll the golden egg on the silver dish, she will want to buy it from you, but do not take any money for it. Instead ask to see Finn the Bright Falcon."
She told her. "Go now to the house of my older sister. She knows where to find Finn the Bright Falcon. She will help you."
But how will I find my way back through the swamp, now that I don't have the spool of thread anymore? Riese was thinking. To her relief Baba Yaga had also thought of that.
"You may follow the spool of thread to my older sister. Since I have waited over ninety years for my clothes to be mended, a few more won't make any difference!" With these words Baba Yaga threw down the spool of thread in front of Riese and it began to roll out over the swamp. Riese thanked the second Baba Yaga and went on her way following the spool of thread.
Baba Yaga's spool of thread seemed to be rolling much faster now. Perhaps it knows it's coming to the end of its journey, thought Riese and began to feel a little better. Sometimes, when the thread rolled on and on through the night, she did not dare to rest in case she lost sight of it, no matter how tired she felt. Although she almost felt at the end of her strength now, Riese somehow managed to keep stumbling along after the thread.
When at last the third pair of iron shoes had been worn through, the third iron walking stick broken and the third stone-hard loaf eaten, the spool of thread led her to the house of the oldest Baba Yaga, in the middle of a forest of silver birch trees.
"Where are you going to, my pretty one?" said the oldest Baba Yaga, fixing Riese with her beady eye.
"I am searching for Finn the Bright Falcon," she managed to gasp in reply, for the oldest Baba Yaga was even more terrible to look upon than her two younger sisters.
"I know Finn the Bright Falcon of the rainbow feathers," said Baba Yaga. "Finn the Bright Falcon is living on the blue ocean in his land and is about to be married. There is not much time left."
When she heard this Riese once again shed bitter tears for Finn the Bright Falcon. But this is getting monotonous, she thought wryly, as Baba Yaga began to speak again.
"Dry your tears and follow your dream," said Baba Yaga.
Riese again thought of the words that Finn had said to her and hope came back to her once more. After all, she thought, I've already worn through three pairs of iron shoes, three iron rods and have eaten three stone-hard loaves - it can't be much further.
When she entered Baba Yaga's hut, everything was just the same as it had been in the huts of her two sisters.
"Now, where's that bear-hug armchair?" she said, looking around at all the things that were becoming familiar to her now, although there were quite a few things still that she could not quite get used to. She took good care now not to let her eyes even glance in the direction of the mirror and she ignored the thousand eye jars as best as she could.
"Did you ever get a feeling of déja vu, kitty?' asked Riese of the black cat, amusement in her voice, as she sank into the bear chair.
"I don't speak French," retorted the cat. "Speak English, if you must speak at all!" It sat and purred self-righteously to itself. Baba Yaga admonished it: "That was awfully rude, kitty.."
Poor Riese got quite a shock at hearing the cat suddenly speak, and stood there feeling quite foolish. She did not know what to say.
"Things are not always what they seem," said the oldest Baba Yaga going off into a long, loud cackle of laughter. After a while she said, "And yes, the toad can speak too. He just doesn't bother. He doesn't need to, do you, my pretty?" crooned Baba Yaga to him as she threw him down some food.
Riese slept soundly that night and was woken by the old crone at sunrise.
The oldest Baba Yaga gave Riese a parting gift. "Here is a golden embroidery frame and a needle. When you hold the frame the needle will embroider by itself. When you come to the blue ocean, in Finn's land, the bride of Finn will be out walking on the beach. When she sees the golden embroidery frame she will want to buy it from you, but do not take any money for it. Instead ask her to see Finn the Bright Falcon."
The oldest Baba Yaga took the spool of thread, threw it on the ground in front of Riese and told her, "Go now and follow this thread to the blue ocean. It will be your guide." Riese thanked the oldest Baba Yaga and went on her way, following the spool of thread.
After some time the forest came to an end and soon the blue ocean lay in front of her as far as the eye could see. In the distance the sun sparkled on the golden roof of a white Keep.
This must be the land of Finn the Bright Falcon, thought Riese to herself.
She sat down on the golden sands beside the blue ocean and took out the spinning wheel and began to spin. After a while people began to gather around her and were amazed to see the golden thread.
The bride of Finn was out walking on the beach. She saw the crowd of people gathered around Riese and her spinning wheel. When she saw the pure gold thread Riese was spinning she said, "Will you sell me your spinning wheel, girl?"
"I will not sell it for money," said Riese. "All I ask is to see Finn the Bright Falcon."
The bride, whose name was Baoe, frowned when she heard these words and said nothing for a few minutes. But she badly wanted the spinning wheel.
I could be rich if I had it! she thought to herself. She walked off a little distance and discussed it with one of her friends.
"Why don't you give Finn a sleeping potion? Then he won't know anything about it!" advised her friend.
"You're right!" Baoe said. "It can't do any harm."
She went back over to where Riese sat spinning. "Give me the silver spinning wheel and the golden spindle and tonight when Finn is asleep, I will take you to him," she said.
That evening Baoe made up a strong sleeping potion and put it into Finn's wine. When he was asleep she took Riese into his room.
Riese spent the night crying and weeping over Finn. She cried over and over again, "Wake up, Finn, wake up! It's me, Riese! I've been searching for you for so long! I've done all you've asked of me. I've worn through three pairs of iron shoes, broken three iron rods and have eaten three stone-hard loaves while searching for you. Just open your eyes and look at me! Oh, why don't you wake up?"
But Finn did not wake up.
At dawn Baoe came into the room and told Riese, "You must go now."
When Finn woke up later that morning, he exclaimed, "How long have I been asleep? I can't understand it - was it a dream, or what? I'm sure there was someone in my room last night. I could hear crying and weeping. But I couldn't open my eyelids, I was so tired."
"You must have been dreaming. There was no one here at all," said his bride.
The next day Riese sat down beside the blue ocean and took out the silver bowl and golden egg. She began to roll the golden egg around in the silver bowl.
When it stopped rolling, a dozen golden eggs appeared in the bowl.
Again a crowd gathered around her and as before, the bride of Finn came up to her. When she saw the silver bowl with the golden eggs, she immediately asked Riese to sell it to her. "It is not for sale," said Riese.
'But if you let me watch a second night beside the bed of Finist the Bright Falcon, you may have it.'
Baoe thought to herself Well, if Finn didn't realise she was there last night, one more night can't do any harm.
"Very well," said Baoe, "come to the palace tonight as before."
That evening a sleeping potion was once again put into Finn's wine.
Riese again spent the night crying and weeping over her beloved Finn, entreating him to awaken. But, as before, he did not wake up. Riese was sent away at dawn.
Later on that morning Finn awoke and said, "I've had that dream again! What can it mean? It seemed as if someone I loved a long time ago was crying and weeping over me all night long. My heart is sad because of this."
"I've had some strange dreams too lately. I don't think they mean anything though," said his bride, with a sly smile.
The next day Riese sat down again beside the blue ocean and took out the golden embroidery frame and needle. When she held the golden embroidery frame in her hand, the needle began to embroider all by itself. The patterns it made were more beautiful than any human hand could make. Again a crowd gathered around her and as before, the bride of Finn came up to her. When she saw the beautiful pictures the embroidery frame could make she clapped her hands together and said to Riese, "I must have it! I want to buy your embroidery frame; how much do you want for it? And don't tell me you want to spend another night at the bedside of Finn! He's already getting suspicious! Look, I can pay you for it!'
"It is not for sale," said Riese. "But if you let me watch just one more night at the bedside of Finn, you may have it."
'Oh, all right then," said Baoe, "just one more night," all the time thinking to herself: You little fool, you're just wasting your time! But aloud she said, "Come to the palace tonight as before."
Baoe made sure that Finn got an even larger dose of sleeping potion that night. When she brought Riese into the room where Finn was sleeping, she said to her, "Take a good look at your precious Finist tonight, for it will be your last! Tomorrow is our wedding day."
Riese again spent the night crying and weeping over her beloved Finn, trying her best to waken him.
Though he could hear her crying through his sleep and his heart grieved, he still could not open his eyes. Just before dawn, her heart full of despair, Riese cried out, "Farewell, Finn my love, you will never see me again!" and she bent over to kiss him. As she bent over him one of her hot tears fell upon his cheek. With a start Finn cried out, "Something burnt me!" and suddenly opened his eyes. When he saw Riese in front of him, he was overjoyed. "I thought it was a dream!" he said.
Riese told him all that had happened: about her sisters, what they had done and how she had searched for him for so long. He heard about how she had made the bargain with his bride.
"Then she cannot love me as I thought," he said quietly.
Just then his bride came into the room. "Time to go," she said coldly to Riese, "and don't let me see you around the palace again!" Then she realised that Finn was awake. "But how?..." she began.
She did not get time to finish, as Finn told her to leave the room and Riese to stay. He ordered all his advisers and courtiers to appear before him and asked them:
"Who do you think I should share my life with, with someone who sold me for gold and silver or for one who has remained true and searched for so long for me though all kinds of hardships?" Riese stared at him in disbelief. After all she had been through, he was going to leave the choice of love to a bunch of servants? However, Finn caught her eye and winked. Riese knew then that all was right, and she relaxed. Luckily, most of them gave the right answer and Riese and Finn the Bright Falcon were soon married.
As for the precious gifts that Riese had given to the almost-bride, they crumbled to dust as soon as she tried to use them.
If you were wondering, the spool of thread did at last make its way back to the second Baba Yaga, and she was finally able to mend her clothes.
Riese and Finn were Found by a dragon, and flown away to be imprinted...