A depiction of Ilya Murometz riding his steed, Burushka-Kosmatushka.

The central character of the first story, Ilya Murometz, is a classic Russian folk hero who defended Rus, the medieval state that developed into the Russian empire.  Ilya Murometz is a bogatyr, a type of epic folk hero.  These knights have superhuman strength and supernatural powers.  This tale was translated from Bilini (Folk tales), a collection of two tales about Ilya Murometz adapted by Irina Karnauhova and published in 1982 by Veselka in Kiev.

The second story, “The Frog Princess,” tells a classic tale of the marriage of a young prince to a frog.  Like most heroes of Russian fairy tales, the prince is named Ivan.  In pursuit of his wife, he meets two other popular characters, Baba-Yaga and Koshchei the Deathless.  Baba-Yaga is an ugly hag who lives in the forest.  She uses her magic to both help and harm.  Koshchei the Deathless, a skeleton wrapped in a black hooded cape, is an evil spirit from whom there is no escape.  This story was translated from the collection Russian Fairy Tales, Adapted by Authors, edited by U. Rosenbloom and published by Art Literature in 1981.  “The Frog Princess” was adapted by Aleksey Tolstoy, a Soviet writer.

The Three Journeys of Ilya Murometz

From his youth to old age, Ilya rode across open fields, defending Rus against enemies.

Good was the old man’s kind horse, his Burushka-Kosmatushka.  Burushka’s tail was three sazhens long (twenty-one feet), his mane reached his knees, and his coat was three inches thick.  He didn’t look for fords, nor did he wait for ferries, but with one stride he galloped over rivers.  He saved his master from death a hundred times.

Over the years, the hero’s hair turned white, and his clear vision clouded.  “Oh, you relentless old age,” he lamented.  “You found Ilya in the open fields and flew in on a black raven!  Ah, youth, prime youth!  You flew away from me on a falcon!”