“Ivan the Merchant's Son and Vasilisa the Wise." The falcon under the hat: Russian merry tales and fairy tales, Selected and translated by Guy Daniels, New York: Funk & Wagnalls; 1969, pp. 32-51.

Tale Summary

There was once a Sparrow and a Mouse who both took grain from the same granary, each living off of the food inside. When there wasn't much left, the Mouse chewed a hole in the floor and hid the remaining grain for himself. The Sparrow angrily went to the Mouse’s King, the Lion, and asked him to be prosecuted for his actions, but was ignored. So the Sparrow went to his own lord, the Eagle, who was outraged and called for a battle with the Lion. A great many animals were killed after three days and three nights of fighting, but the Eagle won. Nearby there was a merchant who woke up from a dream in which an eagle ate him out of house and home, and to calm himself he went for a walk, when he found the injured Eagle. He raised his rifle to kill him, but the Eagle told him that if the merchant took care of him for three years, three months, and three days, he would be greatly rewarded. The Eagle soon became too much to feed, so he told the merchant the whereabouts of all of the dead animals from the battle, and said he should sell the furs for money. After a year, the merchant took the Eagle to the forest to try and fly, but he crashed. A year later it was the same, but after another year, three months, and three days, he recovered his strength. He brought the merchant on his back and flew very high up, and on his ascent, dropped the young man three times to teach him the fear of death which his rifle had brought on the Eagle. He then flew to the Copper Kingdom where his oldest sister lived, and told the merchant that she would offer gifts but he should ask for the copper casket. The Eagle turned into a handsome young man and introduced him to his sister, who denied him the casket. The merchant and the Eagle then went to the Silver Kingdom, where the Eagle’s second sister lived, and the merchant was given instructions to ask for the silver casket, which was denied to him. They then went to the Gold Kingdom, home of the Eagle’s youngest sister, where the merchant asked for the Golden Casket and was given it. The Eagle told the merchant not to open the casket until he was home, but as he traveled back, he stopped in the realm of the King of the Unbaptized Brow and curiosity overtook him. Out of the casket, a whole palace emerged, and when the King heard, he ordered the newcomer to leave because he had no permission to have a castle on his land. The merchant could not figure out how to put his palace back inside the casket, so the King asked for the merchant to give him what was in his house that he did not know about. The merchant agreed, the palace was put back in the casket, and he arrived home to find that his wife had given birth to a baby boy. He was sad, because he knew this was what was in his house unbeknownst to him. The three of them began to live in the palace from the casket, and Ivan grew into a strong youth. One morning, he awoke and told his father that he dreamt the King of the Unbaptized Brow commanded he come to him, and so he set off, until he came upon a little hut on hen’s legs. Inside was Baba-Yaga of the Bony Nose, who told him to follow a path until he came to a pond, where he must take cover behind a tree and wait for three doves to appear. These would be the King’s three daughters, and he must steal the wings of the speckled dove and not give them back until she promised to marry him. He did as she told him, and Vasilisa the Wise agreed to marry him, giving him directions to her father’s realm. When he reached the castle he was put to work in the kitchen, but the cook, Chumichka, disliked him and complained to the King, telling him that Ivan had boasted that in just one night he alone could cut down and chop up a whole forest, dig up the roots, plow the ground, plant wheat, harvest it, grind it into flour, and use it to bake pies for the King’s breakfast. The King called upon Ivan and told him he must do these things by the next morning. Vasilisa the Wise told him not to worry, that it was a small task compared to what would come later, and that night called upon many workmen to do the job, and the next morning Ivan was rewarded. Chumichka, even angrier, told the King that Ivan had boasted that in one night he could build a ship that could fly, and as before Ivan was given until morning to complete the work. Vasilisa again told him the task was tiny, that the great task would come later, and that night had many workmen complete the task. Ivan, the King, and the cook took a ride, and Ivan pushed the cook to his death, torn apart by wild beasts on the ground. The King told Ivan that if he could break in a wild stallion for him, he would give him his daughter’s hand in marriage. Ivan told Vasilisa about this, and she told him he must go to the blacksmith and have a hundred-pound iron hammer made, because this was the great task: the stallion was the King of the Unbaptised Brow himself and Ivan would need to hit him on the head. He did this and won, and the King told him the next day he could select his bride. Vasilisa told him that he would have the three daughters turned into mares, but to identify her, her bridle would have a tarnished spangle. They would also be turned into doves, but he could identify her because she would keep her wings beating. Lastly, they would be identical maidens, but she would wave her kerchief. Ivan selected her each time because of these clues, and the King had to give him her hand in marriage. After the wedding, they decided to run away to Ivan’s home, and the King and his men pursued them. Vasilisa turned him into a vegetable patch and herself into a head of cabbage, then him into a well and herself into a bright falcon, but her father recognized them. She had only a brush, a comb, and a towel with her. Vasilisa threw behind the brush and a thick forest grew, then the comb turned into a huge mountain, and then where the towel touched the ground became a vast ocean, which the King could not cross. Ivan told Vasilisa to wait while he greeted his family, but she warned him not to kiss his godmother or he would forget about her. He did not heed this, kissed her, forgot his bride, and later married someone else. When Vasilisa heard this, she dressed as a beggar woman and went to Ivan’s parents for alms. His mother made her one pie and one for the family, and when she cut into the family’s pie, two doves flew out. 

“Kiss me”

Said the he-dove to the she-dove.

“No, I won’t. You’ll forget me, just as Ivan the Merchant’s son forgot Vasilisa the Wise”

Said the she-dove to the he-dove.

This exchange happened three times until Ivan came to his senses, and he and Vasilisa the Wise lived together and prospered.