Vasilisa makes her way through the dark deep forests in search of Baba Yaga for she must get a light for her stepmother…
Vasilisa kept walking through the birch forest blindly, going deeper and deeper, stumbling on roots and twigs that littered the ground beneath her. There was such a wind, which blew everything about and branches of trees were about this way and that.
After what seemed like the longest time, she saw a white horse that went by like a bolt of silver lightning as if keeping pace with the wild wind. The rider was clad in white, coat, breeches and boots. His face, what she glimpsed of it, appeared just as pale. Who could that be, she wondered. Shortly after, dawn appeared and the sky slowly lit up, a shade of white.
Grateful for the light, Vasilisa walked on and before long another horseman passed her by. He was dressed in red and his stallion was the same colour. And as he whizzed past, she noted he was red-faced. Then the sky began to turn a shade of red as the sun rose and began his march across the sky. Vasilisa stopped shivering as the dew lifted off the silvery leaves and she was warm again. The doll was silent as she had nothing to feed her.
Vasilisa walked the entire day but there was still no sign of Baba Yaga’s house. It was dusk when she came upon a clearing in the forest and in the middle of it was a very strange sight. A little hut stood on what appeared to be giant chicken legs and it was spinning round and round like a top! There was a rather macabre fence surrounding the hut, all made of bones (most definitely human, she knew) and atop these were skulls with spooky eye sockets. The gate was made of human bones too and the lock on it was made of a jaw with razor sharp teeth. So this was Baba Yaga’s house. Vasilisa’s first instinct was to run and escape before she was seen by the dreaded witch but her legs stood stubbornly rooted to the ground.
Just then she saw a black stallion riding towards the hut, the horseman dressed all in black and, predictably now, Vasilisa knew his face would be as dark. The horse galloped all the way to the gate and then disappeared into thin air along with the rider. And with that darkness fell and dusk turned to a dark night. All of a sudden, the earth began to shake violently and Vasilisa thought she would fall in if it parted. She stood clutching the fence for support but let go in shock as eerie light shone from the eye sockets, casting a glow all around.
A tornado appeared out of nowhere and there she was… Baba Yaga riding on her mortar, brandishing a pestle in her right hand and sweeping behind her with a broom in her right! Upon reaching her gate, the dreaded witch sniffed hard with her long, long nose.” Ah… I smell a Russian’s flesh! Come out wherever you are…”
At this, Vasilisa approached and bowed respectfully. “Please grandma, I’m Vasilisa.... My stepmother Lillya asked me to come here and ask you for a light.” Baba Yaga looked at her closely. “Let’s see now. Lillya is a relative of mine. Come in and spend some time working for me, girl and we’ll see what can be done about that light you seek, ’’ said Baba Yaga and turned to the gate before them. “Open wide, my tall gates... unlock, my solid lock!” thundered Baba Yaga. The grinning jaw that was the lock unlocked itself and the bony gates opened, creaking loudly. Vasilisa followed the witch inside towards the hut, which was still spinning on its chicken legs. ” Stop spinning, hut and show me the front door!” croaked the old witch and the hut stopped obediently.
As soon as they entered, Baba Yaga threw herself down beside the stove. “Go girl, get me all the food from the oven! I’m sooo hungry!” Vasilisa looked around quickly and found the oven. There was a lot of food in there, a whole cow, twenty geese, ten chickens all roasted and ready! She also found barrels of mead, kvass and red wine. She brought them over to the witch who devoured it all so fast, cracking the bones loudly with her frightful iron teeth. Then she noisily drank off the giant barrels, finishing each in a couple of gulps. Some of the liquid dribbled down her long crooked chin which she wiped off. Meal over, she turned to Vasilisa. “There is a crust of bread and some leftover cabbage soup for you. And tomorrow you shall begin work. Cook my dinner, clean my yard and see that sack of wheat there? Pick out the grains one by one and remove all the black ones. By evening you shall have cleaned it. If I see a single black grain, I shall eat you for supper!”
And then she climbed onto the stove and went to sleep. Vasilisa was shocked. The stove was so hot, how could she sleep on it? But Baba Yaga had no such worries. Very soon, she was snoring loudly and her long nose was going up and down, almost touching the ceiling. Vasilisa stepped out through the back door and took her doll out of her pocket. She fed it the crust of bread she had and the doll’s eyes shone with life once more. “My little one, what do I do? I can’t finish these chores in a day for sure. Have you seen how big that sack of grain is? She will surely eat me tomorrow!”
“Do not worry Vasilisa,” said the doll,” for I will take care of everything. Say your prayers and go to sleep now and remember the morning is always wiser than evening,’’
Slipping the doll back in her pocket, Vasilisa returned to the hut. She said her prayers and curled up in a far corner from the stove. Very soon, she was fast asleep.
To be continued...