Vasilisa the Beautiful

In a certain tsardom there lived a merchant and his daughter, Vasilisa. When the girl was eight, her dear mother fell gravely ill. Before dying, the mother gave Vasilisa a tiny doll, saying: "Always keep this doll with you, and never show it to anyone. If you find yourself in sorrow or need, give the doll a little food and ask its advice – it will help you."

After her mother's death, Vasilisa's father remarried a widow with two daughters of her own. Unfortunately, the new stepmother was cruel, and her daughters were jealous of Vasilisa's beauty. They forced Vasilisa to do all the housework – weaving, cooking, washing – hoping she would grow thin and tired and her lovely face would tan under the sun. Yet Vasilisa only grew rosier and more beautiful each day, while the stepmother and sisters withered with envy. They did not know Vasilisa's secret: the magical doll was doing all the hard work for her at night.

One autumn, the merchant had to journey afar on business. The stepmother and sisters plotted to get rid of Vasilisa. They extinguished all fire in the house and ordered Vasilisa to go deep into the forest to ask Baba Yaga for a light. Vasilisa was fearful but had no choice. Tucking her doll in her apron, Vasilisa ventured into the dark woods.

After long wandering she saw the strange hut of Baba Yaga, perched on chicken legs, twirling about. The witch's servants – a white horseman at dawn, a red horseman at noon, and a black horseman at night – heralded her coming and going. Baba Yaga ordered the girl to perform impossible tasks, threatening to eat her if she failed. But with the doll's help, Vasilisa succeeded.

✦Vasilisa ventured into the dark woods, guided by the magical doll her mother had given her.✦

Grudgingly, the old witch gave Vasilisa a skull lantern with burning coals for light. When Vasilisa returned home, the skull's eyes began to glow fiercely, burning her evil stepmother and stepsisters to ashes.

Later, when her father returned, Vasilisa moved to the capital city. With the doll's guidance she became a skilled spinner and weaver, creating linen so fine that it impressed even the Tsar. When the Tsar met the humble, beautiful Vasilisa, he was smitten and soon learned of her cleverness and kind heart. In time, Vasilisa the Beautiful became Tsaritsa of that realm, always keeping the little doll – her mother's blessing – close by in a pocket of her royal gown.