Episode 2: Prince Ivan has lost his parents, and now must take care of his three sisters. After marrying them off to an eagle, a falcon, and a raven, he sets out to find a wife for himself. He finds one in the great warrior-queen Marya Morevna. But he also finds more than he bargained for. And it just might lead to him being chopped into pieces…
In the analysis section, Nicholas Kotar leads us through J.R.R. Tolkien’s excellent essay “On Fairy Stories,” exploring why now, more than even, we need the consolation and enchantment provided by old tales.
Episode 3: Prince Ivan has come back to life after Koschei the Deathless chops him into pieces. But he still has not rescued his wife, Marya Morevna. To do so, he’ll have to brave everyone’s favorite villainess, Baba Yaga herself. But if he’s not careful, he’ll lose his head a second time!
In the analysis section, Nicholas Kotar concludes his exploration of Tolkien’s “On Fairy Stories” by examining why escapism isn’t as bad as some people say it is, and how good fairy tales are actually closer to scripture than you might expect.
Marya Morevna, the Wondrous Queen
In a certain kingdom, in a certain land, there lived a prince named Ivan. He had three sisters–the princess Marya, a second Princess Olga, and a third Princess Anna. Their parents grew sick and died. On their deathbed, they instructed their son:
“Whoever comes first to marry your sisters, that’s the groom for them! Don’t hold them in your house overlong.”
Prince Ivan buried his parents, and to calm his grief, he went with his sisters to walk in their wild, beautiful garden. Suddenly, a black cloud covered the sky, thunder rolled wildly!
“Come, sisters! We must get back home!” said Ivan the Prince.
No sooner did they come back to the palace than thunder boomed, the ceiling split in two, and a bright falcon flew in, struck the ground ,and transformed before their eyes into a fine young warrior.
He said, “Hello Prince Ivan! Before this, I’ve visited as a mere guest. Now I’ve come as a suitor. I desire your sister Marya as a bride!”
“If she loves you, I keep no hold on her. She may go!”
Princess Marya agreed. The falcon married her, and carried her away into his kingdom.
Day after day passed, hour running after hour, and a whole year passed as though in a blink of an eye. Once again, Prince Ivan went a-walking with his two sisters into their wondrous garden. Once again, a black cloud covered the sky, lightning struck the ground at their feet.
“Hurry, sister,” said Ivan, “We must get back home!”
No sooner did they come back to the palace than thunder boomed, the ceiling split in two, and an eagle flew in, struck the ground, and transformed before their eyes into a fine young warrior.
He said, “Hello Prince Ivan! Before this, I’ve visited as a mere guest. Now I’ve come as a suitor. I desire your sister Olga as a bride!”
“If Olga loves you, then so be it! I keep no hold on her.”
Olga the princess agreed, and the eagle married her. Immediately he took her up and carried her to his kingdom.
Yet another year passed. Ivan the Prince said to his youngest sister, “Come, let us walk in the garden.”
They walked a short while, but once again– a black cloud, a fierce wind, and lightning!
“Come, sister, we must return home!”
They came home. But they didn’t even have time to sit down. Thunder boomed, the ceiling split in two, and a raven flew in, struck the ground, and transformed before their eyes into a fine young warrior. If the first two were pleasant to look at, this warrior was finer than them all!
He said, “Hello Prince Ivan! Before this, I’ve visited as a mere guest. Now I’ve come as a suitor. I desire your sister Anna as a bride!”
“I have no hold over her will,” said Prince Ivan. “If she has come to love you, she may wed you.”
And she did. The Raven took her and carried her away into his kingdom.
Prince Ivan was left along. A whole year he lived without his sisters, and he became very bored indeed.
“Why don’t I go and find my sisters?” he wondered aloud. And so, he gathered his things, saddled his horse, and with his sword at his side, he rode off.
Whether he rode a long time or short, he came upon a wondrous sight. A plain stretched before him. Upon it lay an entire army of warriors–all dead or wounded.
Prince Ivan asked, “If there is any alive among you, answer me, I charge you! Who has defeated such a mighty army?”
On man, still alive, answered him, “This entire army was beaten by Marya Morevna, the Wondrous Queen!”
Ivan the Prince rode on until he saw a field of white battle tents before him. Out of one of them, he saw a beautiful queen approach.
“Hello, prince!” said Marya Morevna, the Wondrous Queen. “Where is God leading you? Somewhere of your own will, or someone else’s?”
Prince Ivan answered, “Warriors never ride by the will of someone else!”
“Well,” she answered, “If you’re not in any great hurry, be my guest for a time!”
Prince Ivan was thrilled. Two days and nights he spent with Marya Morevna. He fell in love her her, and then he married her.
Marya Morevna, the Wondrous Queen, took him with her to her own kingdom.
They lived together in peace and joy for a time, but the queen grew restless. The war-wind called to her, and so she left Ivan behind to go to war.
She left the household to his care, but she warned him, “You can go anywhere you like, but don’t look inside that cellar!”
Ivan couldn’t contain himself. No sooner did Marya Morevna ride away than he entered the cellar, opened the door, and saw a wondrous sight. Koschei the Deathless himself hung there on twelve chains.
Koschei begged Ivan the Prince, “Have mercy on me. Give me a drink. I have suffered here for ten years without food or water. My throat is completely dry!”
The prince gave him a bucket of water. He drank and asked again, “One bucket could not possibly satisfy my thirst, give me more!”
The prince did. Koschei asked for a third. As soon as he drank it, his old power came back to him. He yanked on his chains, and all twelve shattered into a thousand pieces.
“Thank you, Ivan the Prince!” said Koschei the Deathless. “Now you will never again see Marya Morevna, just as you’ll never see your own ears!”
Buoyed by a fierce wind, he flew out the window, caught up with Marya Morevna on the road, and took her to his own kingdom.
Prince Ivan wept and wept bitterly. But then he got up, but on his armor, saddled his horse, and departed, saying, “No matter what, I will find Marya Morevna!”
A day passed, and another. On the dawn of the third, he saw a wondrous palace in the distance. An oak tree stood at the palace, and a bright falcon sat on that oak. The falcon flew down from the oak, struck the ground, transformed into a fine warrior, and called out,
“Ah, my dear brother-in-law! How does the Lord keep you?”
Marya the Princess ran out, embraced her brother, started to ask him about his health and his life.
Prince Ivan stayed with them three days, but then, he said, “I cannot stay long. I go to find my wife, Marya Morevna, the Wondrous Queen.”
The falcon answered, “It will be difficult for you to find her. Just in case, lease your silver spoon here. We will see it and remember you.”
Ivan the Prince did just that, and once again took to the road.
A day passed, and another. On the dawn of the third, he saw a wondrous palace in the distance. An oak tree stood at the palace, and an eagle sat on that oak. The eagle flew down from the oak, struck the ground, transformed into a fine warrior, and called out,
“Get up, dear Olga-wife! Our brother is coming!”
Olga the Princess ran out, embraced her brother, started to ask him about his health and his life.
Prince Ivan stayed with them three days, but then, he said, “I cannot stay long. I go to find my wife, Marya Morevna, the Wondrous Queen.”
The eagle answered, “It will be difficult for you to find her. Just in case, lease your silver fork here. We will see it and remember you.”
Ivan the Prince did so and took to the road again.
A day passed, and another. On the dawn of the third, he saw a wondrous palace, finer than the first two by far, in the distance. An oak tree stood at the palace, and a raven sat on that oak. The raven flew down from the oak, struck the ground, transformed into a fine warrior, and called out,
“Hurry, dear Anna, princess-wife! Our brother is coming!”
Anna the Princess ran out, embraced and kissed her brother, started to ask him about his health and his life.
Prince Ivan stayed with them three days, but then, he said, “I cannot stay long. I go to find my wife, Marya Morevna, the Wondrous Queen.”
The eagle answered, “It will be difficult for you to find her. Just in case, lease your silver snuffbox here. We will see it and remember you.”
A day passed, and another. On the dawn of the third, he reached Marya Morevna. She saw her beloved, threw her arms around his neck, wept bitter tears, and said,
“Oh, my beloved Ivan! Why did you not listen to me? Why did you go into that cellar and release Koschei the Deathless?”
“Forgive me, Marya Morevna! Don’t dwell on the past. Come with me instead, while Koschei isn’t here. Perhaps he won’t catch us!”
And so they did. Koschei the Deathless was hunting. In the evening, he rode home, but the horse underneath him tripped over its own feet.
“You useless nag! Why are you tripping over your own feet? Do you sense something wrong?”
The horse answered, “Ivan the Prince was here. He took away Marya Morevna.”
“Can we catch them?”
“We can sow a field of wheat, wait for it to grow, harvest it, thresh it, turn it into flour, fill five ovens full of bread with it, eat that bread, and then go after them. And we’ll still catch them!”
Koschei rode after them and caught Ivan the Prince.
“Well, he said, “I’ll forgive you the first time for your kindness to me. I might even forgive you a second time. But the third–take care. I’ll chop you into pieces.”
He took Marya Morevna away and rode back home. Ivan the Prince sat on a stone and wept.
He wept and wept bitterly. But then, he returned to Marya Morevna while Koschei was not at home.
“Come with me, my love,” he said.
“Oh, Ivan! He will catch us!”
“Let him catch us. At least we’ll spend an hour or two together.”
And so they rode away.
Koschei the Deathless was hunting. In the evening, he rode home, but the horse underneath him tripped over its own feet.
“You useless nag! Why are you tripping over your own feet? Do you sense something wrong?”
The horse answered, “Ivan the Prince was here. He took away Marya Morevna.”
“Can we catch them?”
“We can sow a field of barley, wait for it to grow, harvest it, thresh it, brew it into beer, get properly drunk, sleep all night, and then go after them. And we’ll still catch them!”
Koschei rode after them and caught Ivan the Prince.
“I told you,” he said, “you’ll never again see Marya Morevna, like your own two ears!”
He took Marya Morevna away and rode back home. Ivan the Prince sat on a stone and wept.
He wept and wept bitterly. But then, he returned to Marya Morevna while Koschei was not at home.
“Come with me, my love,” he said.
“Oh, Ivan! He will catch us and chop you into little pieces!”
“Let him chop away! I can’t live without you.”
And so they rode away.
In the evening, Koschei rode home, but the horse underneath him tripped over its own feet.
“You useless nag! Why are you tripping over your own feet? Do you sense something wrong?”
The horse answered, “Ivan the Prince was here. He took away Marya Morevna.”
Koschei rode after them, caught Ivan the Prince, chopped him into little pieces and put him into a barrel sealed with pitch. He took that barrel, secured it with metal bands, and threw it into the ocean. Then he took Marya Morevna back with him.
At that very moment, the silver keepsakes left with the brothers-in-law turned black.
“Oh,” they said, “Something terrible has happened!”
The eagle flew over the ocean, grabbed the barrel and carried it to shore. The falcon flew away and found Living Water. The Raven flew away and found Dead Water. All three of them gathered in one place, broke open the barrel, took out the pieces of Ivan the Prince, and washed them gently, putting him back together as he should be.
The raven sprinkled him with dead water–the body grew whole again. The falcon sprinkled him with Living Water, and Ivan the Prince shuddered, got up, and said,
“Oh, how long did I sleep!”
“You would have slept for much longer if not for us!” answered his brothers in law. “Now come and stay with us for a time.”
But Ivan the Prince said, “No, brothers! I go to seek Marya Morevna!”
Once again, he came to Koschei’s house while he was out hunting. She ran outside and asked him, “How did God bring you back to life?”
Ivan the Prince told her everything. Then he asked her, “Find out from Koschei. Where did he find such a horse?”
And so, Marya Morevna chose a good moment and began to ask Koschei. And Koschei told her.
“Beyond the thrice-nine lands, in the thrice-tenth kingdom, beyond a river of fire, Baba Yaga lives. She has a wondrous horse on whose back she rides across the whole world every single day. She has many other fabled mares. I herded her mares for three days, and I didn’t lose a single one! And for that, Baba Yaga gave me a single foal.”
“But how did you get across the river of fire?”
“Oh, that? I have this magical handkerchief. If I wave to my right three times, a terribly high bridge appears, and the fire can’t touch it!”
Marya Morevna listened carefully, told Ivan everything, and gave him the handkerchief.
Ivan the Prince crossed the river of fire and began the journey to Baba Yaga’s house. He walked a long time without eating or drinking anything. Suddenly, just on the side of the road, he saw a bird of paradise with its checks. Ivan the Prince said to himself,
“I think I’ll eat one of those chicks.”
“Don’t eat him, Ivan the Prince,” begged the bird of paradise. “I’ll be useful to you yet!”
Ivan kept on going. Then he saw a wild bees’ nest on a tree.
“I think I’ll grab a little honey,” he said to himself.
But the queen bee said, “Don’t eat any of my honey, Ivan the Prince! I’ll be useful to you yet!”
He listened to the queen bee and went on. Suddenly, just ahead of him, he saw a lioness with her cub.
“I think I’ll eat the cub, I’m so hungry, I’m going to fall over any minute!” said Ivan the Prince to himself.
“Don’t eat my cub,” begged the lioness. “The time will come when I’ll do you good service.”
“Very well,” said Ivan the Prince. “Let it be as you say.”
He kept going, still very hungry. On and on he went, until suddenly he saw a house on chicken feet. Around that house stood twelve stakes. Eleven of those stakes were crowned with human skulls. Only the twelfth was unoccupied.
“Hello, grandmother,” said Ivan the Prince.
“Hello, Prince Ivan. Why have you come? By your own will or because of desperate need?”
“I’ve come to earn a horse fit for a warrior.”
“As you wish, princeling. After all, you need not serve me a year, only three days! If you don’t lose my mares, I’ll give you a horse fit for a warrior. But if you fail, don’t be afraid, it’s only business after all, but it’ll be your head decorating the twelfth stake!”
Ivan the Prince agreed. Baba Yaga fed him and gave him to drink, then sent him out to work.
But no sooner had Ivan sent the mares out to pasture than they picked up their tails and ran away in all directions! The prince didn’t even have a chance to see where they went before they were completely gone. Ivan the Prince began to cry, sat on a rock, and fell asleep. The sun was already coming down to the horizon when the bird of paradise flew up and woke Ivan the Prince:
“Get up, Ivan the Prince! The Mares are all back in their stables.”
Ivan got up, returned to Baba Yaga’s house just in time to hear Baba Yaga complaining loudly at her mares:
“Why did you come back?”
“How could we not? As soon as we rode off, birds descended on us from all directions. They almost pecked our eyes out!”
“Well,” said Baba Yaga. “Tomorrow, don’t ride along the meadows. Go straight into the deep forest!”
Ivan the Prince slept well that night. In the morning, Baba Yaga told him, “Have a care, princeling. If you lose my mares, your head’s place will be on my twelfth stake!”
But no sooner had Ivan sent the mares out to pasture than they picked up their tails and ran away into the deep woods! Once again, Ivan the Prince began to cry, sat on a rock, and fell asleep. The sun was already coming down to the horizon when the lioness ran up to him and woke him up.
“Get up, Ivan the Prince! The mares are all back in their stables!”
Ivan got up, returned to Baba Yaga’s house just in time to hear Baba Yaga complaining loudly at her mares:
“Why did you come back?”
“How could we not? As soon as we rode off, terrifying beasts attacked us from all directions. They almost tore us into pieces!”
“Well,” said Baba Yaga. “Tomorrow, don’t ride into the forest. Go straight into the blue sea!”
Again, Ivan the Prince slept to his heart’s content. In the morning, Baba Yaga sent him out to pasture the mares. “But take care,” she reminded him. “If you lose even one, on your head be it!”
But no sooner had Ivan sent the mares out to pasture than they picked up their tails and ran away into the blue sea! There they stood, the water up to their necks. Once again, Ivan the Prince began to cry, sat on a rock, and fell asleep. The sun was already coming down to the horizon when a bee flew up to him and woke him up.
“Get up, Ivan the Prince!” said the bee. “The mares are all back in their stables. But this time, instead of coming back to the house, don’t show yoruslef to Baba Yaga. Go hide in the stable behind the manger. There’s an ugly foal there lying in manure. Take him and run away in the middle of the night.”
Ivan got up, returned to Baba Yaga’s house and hid in the stables, behind the manger, just in time to hear Baba Yaga complaining loudly at her mares:
“Why did you come back?”
“How could we not? As soon as we rode off, millions of bees attacked us and started to sting us till they drew blood!”
Baba Yaga fell asleep, and in the middle of the night, Ivan the Prince took the ugly foal, saddled him, sat on him, and rode to the river of fire. He pulled out the handkerchief, waved it three times to the right side, and a mountainous bridge spanned the river of fire. Ivan rode over the bridge and waved the handkerchief to the left side, but only twice. And a thin sliver of bridge remained over the river of fire…
That morning, Baba Yaga woke up, and there was no sign of Ivan or the ugly foal! She rushed in their wake in her huge metal pestle, speeding herself along with her mortar, and sweeping away her tracks with a broom. She rode up to the river of fire, looked at the sliver of a bridge, and thought to herself: “That’s a perfectly fine bridge!”
She rode on that bridge, but only got to the middle, where it cracked and broke apart. Baba Yaga plunked down into the river of fire… And that was the end of that!
As for Ivan the Prince, he fed the ugly foal, washed him, and it turned out that he was no ugly foal at all, but a fine horse, worthy of a warrior! And so, he came back to Marya Morevna. She ran out to greet him, hugged him fiercely.
“Come back with me,” he said.
“I’m afraid, Ivan! If Koschei will catch us, you’ll be chopped up again!”
“He won’t catch us this time! Now I have a horse worthy of a warrior! He rides like the wind!”
They sat on the horse and rode away.
Koschei the Deathless was hunting. In the evening, he rode home, but the horse underneath him tripped over its own feet.
“You useless nag! Why are you tripping over your own feet? Do you sense something wrong?”
The horse answered, “Ivan the Prince was here. He took away Marya Morevna.”
“Can we catch them?”
“Who knows? Now Ivan the Prince has a proper horse, even better than me!”
“No, I can’t stand it,” said Koschei. “I’m going to catch them!”
Whether long a time passed or short, Koschei caught up with Ivan the Prince. He hopped off his horse, drew his sword, and was just about to chop Ivan into little pieces again. But Ivan’s horse kicked Koschei with all its might, and his head cracked in half. Then the Prince finished him off with his mace.
Then the prince collected firewood, built a pyre, lit it, and burnt Koschei down to ashes, which he scattered to all the four winds.
Marya Morevna sat on Koschei’s horse, and Ivan sat on his own, and together they rode to visit first the raven, then the eagle, then the falcon. Everywhere they rode, their hosts met them with joy:
“Well, well, Prince Ivan, we didn’t think we’d ever see you again! But now we understand. There is no peer to Marya Morevna’s beauty!”
They feasted and visited to their heart’s content, then came home to their own kingdom. And they lived happily ever after.
Just for fun, here’s a bonus! Enter your email and I’ll send you a short story of my own. “The Erestuna” is a comic fantasy short about a hapless seminarian, a possibly predatory mermaid, and a bunch of crazy Cossacks.