For the Russian people, Afanasyev’s collection is a monument to their original culture. These stories contain the collective wisdom and insights of peasants, merchants, craftsmen, soldiers, hunters, fishermen, and people from every walk of life throughout Russia’s vast territories. They express the people’s realistic view of life, if not the reality. As the great poet Aleksandr Pushkin once said: “The folktale is not true, but it contains hints, lessons [for young people].”

Every storyteller interprets, rephrases, and even re-creates the tale he recounts. Thus folk stories combine both the inherited wisdom of our ancestors and a vitality drawn from our own experience. They are repeated and familiar in every society. The story that I have recounted here is included in Afanasyev’s collection. Though I love my country and its culture and like to consider our Russian tales quite unique, I know that this story contains elements and themes that you may immediately recognize. Perhaps you have similar tales in your country. Do they teach the same lessons, offer the same hints, or suggest different ones? What do you think?

Elena Pavlova is senior literary assistant for But Why? Magazine in Moscow