Impressed by the “prince’s?apparent ardor, the king readily agreed and soon the expedition set sail. But the impostor had evil intentions. Once the ship was far from shore, the false prince ordered soldiers to seize the young groom and sew him up inside a great sack.?Then the sack, with the groom inside, was cast into the sea.

The princess saw this wicked deed in her magic mirror.? Desperately she drove in her carriage to the ocean shore.?There she saw an old man, making a net.? It was the wood sprite.? “Help me, help me,?she begged.? “The evil servant has drowned my prince. Help me in my hour of need.?o:p>

“Do not fear, sweet maid,?said the old sprite.?“See, this net is ready.?Cast it into the sea.?o:p>

The princess did as she was told.?With her first throw she pulled in the sack carrying the captive groom.? Finally, the lovers were untied. Quickly they retuned to the palace, and there the princess and the prince told her father everything. Now that the truth was out, the king ordered a feast to be prepared. The princess would marry the true champion, and all the wedding celebrations could begin.?Even as the marriage banns were being announced, the corrupt servant came hurrying into the court, carrying some paltry potions and ointments he had gathered.? He was seized, and though he begged for forgiveness, the king ordered that justice be done.? The usurper was taken outside the city walls and executed.?The prince and princess were married in a celebration that is remembered to this day.?And while they ruled, the wood sprite’s blessings touched every crop and harvest.

Elena Pavlova is senior literary assistant for But why? An educational magazine published in Moscow.? This essay is a retelling of a legend first collected and recorded by the Russian folklorist Alexander Afanasiev (1826-1871).