--- title: Opening, part 7 — Russian Folk-Tales · full text with trees · page 2 description: Opening, part 7, «Russian Folk-Tales» by A. N. Afanas'ev: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: BÁBA YAGÁ AND ZAMORÝSHEK --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/7/page/2/) [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 7 # Opening, part 7 · page 2 [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/7/) **2** As he was going home one day he met a sorry drunkard, who had a hen in his hands.[77](../../77/ "tree and pragmatics") “Will you, old man, buy my hen?”[78](../../78/ "tree and pragmatics") “What do you want for it?”[79](../../79/ "tree and pragmatics") “Give me fifty kopeks for it.”[80](../../80/ "tree and pragmatics") “No, brother; take these few pence—that will be enough for you; you will get a pint and can drink it out on your way home and go to sleep.”[81](../../81/ "tree and pragmatics") So the drunkard took the pence and gave the old man the hen.[82](../../82/ "tree and pragmatics") Then the old man returned home.[83](../../83/ "tree and pragmatics") But they were very hungry there; there was not a crust of bread.[84](../../84/ "tree and pragmatics") “Here,” he said, as he came in, to his wife, “here is a hen I have bought you.”[85](../../85/ "tree and pragmatics") But his wife turned on him fiercely and scolded him.[86](../../86/ "tree and pragmatics") “What an old fool you are\![87](../../87/ "tree and pragmatics") You must have gone utterly mad: our children are sitting down at home without any bread, and you buy a hen which you must feed!”[88](../../88/ "tree and pragmatics") “Hold your tongue, foolish woman; does a hen eat so much?[89](../../89/ "tree and pragmatics") Why, she will lay us an egg and will bring us chicks; we can sell the chicks and then buy bread.”[90](../../90/ "tree and pragmatics") So the old man made a little nest and he put the hen under the stove.[91](../../91/ "tree and pragmatics") In the morning he looked, and the hen had laid a jewel of absolutely natural colours.[92](../../92/ "tree and pragmatics") So the old man said to his wife, “Now, old lady; amongst other folks the hens lay eggs, but our hen lays jewels: what shall we do?”[93](../../93/ "tree and pragmatics") “Take it into the city; possibly somebody may buy it.”[94](../../94/ "tree and pragmatics") So the old man went into the city, went into all the inns by turns and showed his precious stone.[95](../../95/ "tree and pragmatics") All the merchants gathered round him and began valuing the stone.[96](../../96/ "tree and pragmatics") They valued it and valued it, and it was at last bought for five hundred roubles.[97](../../97/ "tree and pragmatics") From that day the old man went on trading in precious stones which his hen laid him, and he very soon became enriched, had himself inscribed into the merchants’ guild, put up a shop, hired apprentices, and set up seafaring ships to carry his wares into foreign lands.[98](../../98/ "tree and pragmatics") One day he was going into foreign parts, and he bade his wife have a great heed to the hen: “Treasure her more than your eyes; should she be lost, you shall forfeit your own head.”[99](../../99/ "tree and pragmatics") As soon as he had gone the old woman began to think evil thoughts.[100](../../100/ "tree and pragmatics") For she was great friends with one of the young apprentices.[101](../../101/ "tree and pragmatics") “Where do you get these precious stones from?” the apprentice asked her.[102](../../102/ "tree and pragmatics") “Oh, it is our hen that lays them.”[103](../../103/ "tree and pragmatics") So the apprentice took the hen, looked, and under the right wing he saw written in gold: “Whoever eats this hen’s head shall become a king, and whoever eats her liver shall spit out gold.”[104](../../104/ "tree and pragmatics") So he told the wife, “Bake me the hen for supper.”[105](../../105/ "tree and pragmatics") “Oh, my dear friend, how can I?[106](../../106/ "tree and pragmatics") My husband will be coming back and will punish me.”[107](../../107/ "tree and pragmatics") But the apprentice would not listen to any argument.[108](../../108/ "tree and pragmatics") “Bake it,” he said—that was all.[109](../../109/ "tree and pragmatics") The next day the old woman got supper ready, made ready to twist the hen’s neck and to roast it for supper with the head and the liver.[110](../../110/ "tree and pragmatics") The cook twisted the hen’s neck and put her into the oven, and himself went out.[111](../../111/ "tree and pragmatics") But in that time the two little children of the house, who were at school, ran in, looked into the oven, and wanted to nibble.[112](../../112/ "tree and pragmatics") The elder brother ate the head and the youngest ate the liver.[113](../../113/ "tree and pragmatics") When supper-time came, the hen was put on the table, but when the apprentice saw that both the head and the liver were missing he was very angry, quarrelled with the old woman and went home.[114](../../114/ "tree and pragmatics") The old woman followed him and wheedled, but he still insisted: “You bring your children, take their liver out and brains, and give them me for supper; otherwise I will have nothing to do with you.”[115](../../115/ "tree and pragmatics") So the old woman put her children to bed, called the cook and bade him take them whilst they were asleep into the wood, there kill them and extract their liver and their brains and get them ready for supper.[116](../../116/ "tree and pragmatics") The cook took the children into the slumbrous forest, stopped, and made ready to whet the knife.[117](../../117/ "tree and pragmatics") The boys woke up and asked, “Why are you sharpening the knife?”[118](../../118/ "tree and pragmatics") “Because your mother has bidden me take out your liver and brains and cook them.”[119](../../119/ "tree and pragmatics") “Oh, grandfather, little dove, do not slay us; we will give you all the gold you desire, only pity us and let us free.”[120](../../120/ "tree and pragmatics") So the younger brother filled his skirt with gold, and the cook was contented with this and he set them free.[121](../../121/ "tree and pragmatics") So the boys went forth into the forest and he turned back.[122](../../122/ "tree and pragmatics") Fortunately for him a bitch came his way, so he took her two puppies, took their livers and brains, roasted them and gave them for supper.[123](../../123/ "tree and pragmatics") The apprentice was very pleased with the dish, swallowed it all, and became neither a king nor a king’s son, but simply a fool.[124](../../124/ "tree and pragmatics") The boys went out of the wood on the broad road, and went whither their eyes gazed—maybe far, maybe short, they went.[125](../../125/ "tree and pragmatics") Soon the road divided into two, and a column stood there, and on the column it was written:[126](../../126/ "tree and pragmatics") “WHO GOES TO THE RIGHT SHALL RECEIVE A KINGDOM, WHO GOES TO THE LEFT SHALL RECEIVE MUCH OF EVIL AND OF GRIEF, BUT HE SHALL MARRY A FAIR PRINCESS.”[127](../../127/ "tree and pragmatics") So the brothers considered this inscription, and decided to go in different directions; the elder went to the right and the younger to the left.[128](../../128/ "tree and pragmatics") The elder went on and on, and soon came to an unknown capital city.[129](../../129/ "tree and pragmatics") He also saw a mass of people, only they were all mourning and sad.[130](../../130/ "tree and pragmatics") So he begged shelter of a poor old widow.[131](../../131/ "tree and pragmatics") “Will you protect,” he said, “a foreigner from the dark night?”[132](../../132/ "tree and pragmatics") “I should be very glad to have you,” she said, “but I cannot put you anywhere, I am so closely packed.”[133](../../133/ "tree and pragmatics") “Do let me in, \_bábushka\_; I am such a simple youth, just as you are; you can find me some small space, some kind of nook for the night.”[134](../../134/ "tree and pragmatics") So the old woman admitted him, and they began to speak.[135](../../135/ "tree and pragmatics") “Why, \_bábushka\_,” the stranger asked, “is there such a throng in the city, why are rooms so dear, and why are the people all mourning and melancholy?”[136](../../136/ "tree and pragmatics") “Well, our king has just died, and the \_boyárs\_ have sent the town-crier out to announce that old and young are to assemble, and each of them is to have a candle, and with the candles they are to go into the cathedral, and whosesoever’s candle lights of itself is to be king.”[137](../../137/ "tree and pragmatics") So in the morning the boy got up, washed, prayed to God, said the grace for the bread and salt and the soft bed which his hostess had given him, and went into the cathedral.[138](../../138/ "tree and pragmatics") When he got there, if you had been there three years you could not have counted all those people.[139](../../139/ "tree and pragmatics") And he took a candle in his hand, and it lit up at once.[140](../../140/ "tree and pragmatics") So they all burst upon him and began to blow out his candle, to damp it, but the flame lit all the brighter.[141](../../141/ "tree and pragmatics") There was no help for it: they acknowledged him as their king, and dressed him in golden apparel and led him to the palace.[142](../../142/ "tree and pragmatics") [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/7/) **2** - ← previous: [page 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/7/) - next →: [Opening, part 8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/8/) - ↑ back to [Russian Folk-Tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/)