--- title: Opening, part 32 — Russian Folk-Tales · full text with trees description: Opening, part 32, «Russian Folk-Tales» by A. N. Afanas'ev: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: So Ilyá Múromets changed into the beggar’s dress and rode straight back to the palace of the Prince, and cried out in a knightly voice: “Hail to thee, Prin --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/32/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [Russian Folk-Tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/) / Opening, part 32 # Opening, part 32 Opening, part 32 of «Russian Folk-Tales» by A. N. Afanas'ev: the whole text, 143 sentences and 2628 words. The small number after every sentence leads to its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself. **1** [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/32/page/2/) So Ilyá Múromets changed into the beggar’s dress and rode straight back to the palace of the Prince, and cried out in a knightly voice: “Hail to thee, Prince of Kíev! give me, a wandering beggar, alms.”[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") And the Prince saw him and spoke in this wise: “Come into my palace, beggar.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") I will give you food and drink and will give you gold on your way.”[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") So the beggar went into the palace and stood at the stove and looked round.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") Ídolishche asked to eat, so they brought him an entire roasted ox and he ate it to the bones; then Ídolishche asked for drink, so they brought him a cauldron of beer; and twenty men had to bring it in.[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") And he held it up to his ears and drank it all through.[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") Ilyá Múromets said, “My father had a gluttonous mare; it guzzled until its breath failed.”[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") Ídolishche could not stand this affront, and said, “Hail, wandering beggar\![8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") Do you dare me?[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") I could take you in my hands; if it had been Ilyá Múromets I would even have braved him.”[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") “Well,” said Ilyá Múromets, “that is the kind of man he was!”[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") And he took off his cap and struck him lightly on the head, and he nearly knocked through the walls of the palace, took Ídolishche’s trunk and flung it out.[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") And in return the Prince honoured Ilyá Múromets, praised him highly, and placed him amongst the mighty knights of his court.[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") NIKÍTA THE TANNER[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") One day, somewhere near Kíev, a dragon appeared, who demanded heavy tribute from the people.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") He demanded every time to eat a fair maiden: and at last the turn came to the Tsarévna, the princess.[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") But the dragon would not eat her, she was too beautiful.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") He dragged her into his den and made her his wife.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") When he flew out on business, he used to pile logs of wood in front of the den to prevent the Tsarévna escaping.[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") But the Tsarévna had a little dog that had followed her all the way from home.[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") When she wrote a letter to her father and mother she used to tie it to the neck of her little dog, which would run all the way home and bring an answer back.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") One day her parents wrote to her: “Try to discover any one who is stronger than the dragon.”[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") The Tsarévna got every day on more intimate terms with her dragon in order to discover who was stronger.[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") At last he owned that Nikíta, the tanner at Kíev, was the stronger.[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") So the Tsarévna at once wrote to her father: “Look for Nikíta, the tanner at Kíev, and send him on to me to deliver me from my imprisonment.”[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") So the Tsar looked for Nikíta, and went to him himself to beg him to release the land from the cruelty of the dragon and redeem the princess.[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") Just then Nikíta was tanning skins.[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") He was just enfolding twelve hides in his hands.[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") But when he saw the Tsar come to see him, his hands so trembled for fear that he rent the twelve hides.[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") But, however much the Tsar and the Tsarítsa asked him, he would not set out against the dragon.[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") Then the Tsar assembled five thousand children, who were to mollify the tanner with their bitter tears.[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") The little ones came to Nikíta and begged him to go and fight the dragon.[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") And when he saw them weep, Nikíta the tanner himself almost felt the tears flowing.[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") He took thirty \_puds\_ of hemp, tarred it, and swathed himself in it in order that the dragon might find him a hard morsel, and then set out.[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") But the dragon locked himself up in his den and would not come to view.[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics") “Come with me into the open field, otherwise I will shatter your den to pieces!” said the tanner, and began clattering at the doors.[36](36/ "tree and pragmatics") Then the dragon, seeing his doom approach, came out into the open.[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") Nikíta the tanner fought the grisly worm some time, maybe long, maybe short, and at last got him under.[38](38/ "tree and pragmatics") Then the dragon besought Nikíta the tanner: “Do not beat me to death.[39](39/ "tree and pragmatics") Stronger than us two there is nothing in the white world.[40](40/ "tree and pragmatics") Let us divide the earth.[41](41/ "tree and pragmatics") You may live on the one half and I on the other.”[42](42/ "tree and pragmatics") “Very well!” said Nikíta, “only we must delimit frontiers.”[43](43/ "tree and pragmatics") So the tanner took the plough, which weighed three hundred \_puds\_, and harnessed to it the dragon, and drew the harrow all the way from Kíev to the Caspian Sea.[44](44/ "tree and pragmatics") “Now we have divided the entire earth,” said the dragon.[45](45/ "tree and pragmatics") “Yes, we have divided the earth, but not the sea; we must also divide the sea, otherwise you would say I was taking your share of the water.”[46](46/ "tree and pragmatics") So they then set out into the middle of the sea, and there Nikíta slew the dragon and drowned him.[47](47/ "tree and pragmatics") The trench may still be seen: it is two fathoms deep.[48](48/ "tree and pragmatics") They plough all round it; but never touch the bottom: those who do not know whence came this trench call it a battlement.[49](49/ "tree and pragmatics") When Nikíta had done this feat, he demanded no reward for it, but went home and went on tanning.[50](50/ "tree and pragmatics") THE SINGING-TREE AND THE SPEAKING-BIRD[51](51/ "tree and pragmatics") Once upon a time there was a very inquisitive King who spent all his time eavesdropping at the window.[52](52/ "tree and pragmatics") There was also a merchant, who had three daughters, and one day they were talking to their father, and one said: “If only the King’s bread-bearer would marry me!”[53](53/ "tree and pragmatics") The second one said: “If only the King’s valet would cast his eyes upon me!”[54](54/ "tree and pragmatics") But the third said: “I want the King himself: I would bear him two sons and one daughter.”[55](55/ "tree and pragmatics") Now the King was listening to all this conversation; and after a few days he did exactly as they had wished: the eldest married the King’s bread-bearer, the middle one the King’s valet, but the youngest married the King himself.[56](56/ "tree and pragmatics") The King married very happily, and after some time his Queen was about to bear him a child.[57](57/ "tree and pragmatics") He was sending for the midwife of the town, but the elder sisters asked him why he should; they would act as midwives.[58](58/ "tree and pragmatics") As soon as the Queen had born him a son, the midwives took him away and told the King his wife had born a pup; and they put the new-born babe into a box and threw it into a big pond in the King’s garden.[59](59/ "tree and pragmatics") At this the King was very angry, and wanted to have his wife blown to bits at the cannon’s mouth; but—it so happened—some other princes were on a visit, and persuaded him to forgive a first offence.[60](60/ "tree and pragmatics") So the King pardoned her for the nonce, and gave her a second chance.[61](61/ "tree and pragmatics") One year went by, and the Queen bore him another son, and the sisters again took it away, and told him she had born a kitten.[62](62/ "tree and pragmatics") The King was angry at first, this time he was sore enraged, and was agog to punish his wife, but once more he was won over.[63](63/ "tree and pragmatics") So he gave her a third chance.[64](64/ "tree and pragmatics") This time the Queen bore a very beautiful daughter, and the sisters took it and told the King she had born an unheard-of monster.[65](65/ "tree and pragmatics") Oh! there were no bounds to his fury now; he ordered the hangman in and bade him hang his wife on the spot; but once more some visiting princes overruled him and said: “Would it not be better to put an oratory up near the church and put her into it, and let every one who goes to Mass spit into her eyes?”[66](66/ "tree and pragmatics") So he did; but, so far from being spat upon by every passer-by, every one brought her fine loaves and pasties.[67](67/ "tree and pragmatics") **1** [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/32/page/2/) - ← previous: [Opening, part 31](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/31/) - next →: [page 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/32/page/2/) - ↑ back to [Russian Folk-Tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/)