The Princess, The Bear, & The Witch

Long ago, there was a tsardom by the sea. The tsardom was a happy and fruitful land. Every season at harvest, the crops were fresh and plentiful. The rivers were beautiful and filled with the cleanest drinking water. The people were happy. Every person was welcome in their neighbor’s home. The children laughed as they played in the field. They celebrated every holiday with enthusiasm and festive jubilation. Most importantly, they loved their tsar. The Tsar was a good tsar who was very kind to his people. The land prospered because of his wisdom and kindness. The Tsar had a beautiful daughter named Princess Marina.

            Princess Marina had long, brown hair and deep blue eyes. Not only was Princess Marina the prettiest girl in the whole tsardom, she was also the most talented. She was the best dancer, 89the best flute player, and the best singer in the tsardom. Everyone loved Princess Marina because of her gifts and because she was kind, like her father.

            One year, winter came early to the tsardom. It was a bitterly cold winter with heavy snowfall. One night, a strong wind swept through the Tsar’s castle, chilling the Tsar. The tsar became very weak and sick and could not leave his bed. No matter how hard they tried, they could not make the Tsar warm and Tsar’s wisest doctors thought he might die. Princess Marina scared and sad for her father. She held his hand as he laid in bed, crying and begging him to not die. The Tsar told his daughter that one day she would become Tsarina over the land. He instructed her to rule over the people with love and wisdom. She promised that she would. 

The Tsar also told Princess Marina secret. He told her that if something was wrong with the Tsardom and she cannot fix it on her own, she can fix it with the help from Baba Yaga because she has the power to make wishes come true. He told her the way to find Baba Yaga, which is to follow the river past the mountains and to the forest. Once she is in the forest, she needs to keep walking until it gets so cold that she can no longer bear it. Then, she will see house built on chicken legs, with the back of the house facing her. She must then command the house to turn around to face her. After it turns around, Baba Yaga will come out of the house and ask her what she wants. Princess Marina can ask for whatever she wants, but the Tsar warned her that Baba Yaga will take something very valuable from her. The Tsar made Princess Marina promise him that she would not visit Baba Yaga to save him, but only to see her for the good of the Tsardom.

That night, all Princess Marina could think about was going to see Baba Yaga to save her father, but she did not want to break her promise and disobey him. She realized though, that saving her father would be best for the tsardom. She sneaked out of the castle in the middle of the night and followed the path to Baba Yaga. She followed the river, went through the mountains, and walked through the forest.

The forest was very dark and cold and none of the trees had any leaves on them. When she got deeper into the woods, a bear came into Princess Marina’s path. The bear was extremely large and brandished razor-sharp teeth. 

The bear growled and said, “I am very hungry! If you do not give me food, I will eat you up!” Princess Marina was not scared because she knew exactly what to do. 

She responded, “Bear, I do not have any food to give you, but I can give you something much better than food.” Princess Marina began to dance. She had never danced so elegantly and beautifully in all of her life. As she danced, the bear sat down, smiled, and clapped its paws. 

When she was finished dancing, the bear said, “I am filled with joy so I will not eat you.” The bear thanked Princess Marina and wandered off to another direction in the forest.

As she walked deeper into the forest, Princess Marina got colder and colder. When she got so cold that she could no longer bear it, she noticed a strange looking house that stood on chicken legs with the back of the house facing Princess Marina. 

Princess Marina said, “Baba Yaga, I command you to turn your house around!” The house began to turn around and was eventually facing Princess Marina. The front door opened and a woman stepped out and walked down the stairs to stand next to Princess Marina. Baba Yaga was a very old and very ugly woman. She was tall, thin, and had bony, claw-like fingers. 

“What is it that you want, my dear?” said Bab Yaga. 

“Baba Yaga, my father is the Tsar and he is very kind and wise ruler. This cold weather has made him very sick and he won’t live much longer. I wish that you can make him better.” 

Baba Yaga smiled and slyly said, “Yes, I can make that happen, but you must sacrifice something valuable to me if you want your wish to come true.” Princess Marina had brought a beautiful doll, one of her favorites, to give to Baba Yaga.

“I will sacrifice this doll,” said Princess Marina.

“I do not want this doll,” said Baba Yaga. “You are the princess, so you have a thousand dolls just like this, which means it is not valuable.”

“What is it that you want?” asked Princess Marina.

“If you want to save your father, you must sacrifice your ability to dance,” said Baba Yaga. Princess Marina agreed to the terms.

Baba Yaga laughed an evil laugh and said, “it is done.” She put her bony hand over Princess Marina’s eyes and Princess Marina fell asleep.

When Princess Marina woke up, she was laying comfortably in her warm bed at the castle. Just then, the Tsar walked in her room. He looked happy and healthy. Princess Marina became so joyed.

“Father, are you not ill?” she asked.

“No, it is a miracle! The cold winter has ended and the season is warm again!” exclaimed a happy tsar. “This is cause for a celebration. Get out of bed, Princess! Let us have a dance.” When Princess Marina tried to get out of bed, she noticed that her feet were missing. She began to cry. The Tsar promised her that he would get the best carpenter in the land to carve her new feet made out of wood. Though Princess Marina learned how to walk with her new wooden feet, she still could not dance.

Even though the warm weather was a nice change, the sun became hotter and hotter. The sun became so hot that the river started to dry and the crops started to die. The people became sad and worried because they had nothing to eat or drink. Princess Marina did not like seeing her people suffer, so she decided to go visit Baba Yaga again. She followed the dried river, went through the mountains, and went through the dark forest.

When she got deep into the forest, the bear came to Princess Marina and was growling and showing its teeth. “Give me food,” barked the bear, “or I’ll eat you up!” Princess Marina was not scared because she knew what to do.

“Bear, I do not have any food to give you, but I can give you something much better than food.” Princess Marina brought her flute with her and she began to play a song for the bear. She had never played so elegantly and beautifully in all of her life. As she played, the bear sat down, smiled, and clapped its paws. 

When she was finished playing the flute, the bear said, “I am filled with joy so I will not eat you.” The bear thanked Princess Marina and wandered off to another direction in the forest.

As Princess Marina walked deeper and deeper into the forest, she got colder and colder. When she got so cold that she could no longer bear it, she saw the house on chicken legs with the back facing her.

Princess Marina said, “Baba Yaga, I command you to turn your house around!” The house turned around as it did before. Baba Yaga opened the door and came down the stairs.

“What is it that you want, my dear?” said Bab Yaga. 

“Baba Yaga, the tsardom cannot grow crops and the river is drying up. The people are hungry and thirsty. Can you make it so that the tsardom will not go hungry or thirsty?

Baba Yaga smiled and slyly said, “Yes, I can make that happen, but you must sacrifice something valuable to me if you want your wish to come true.” Princess Marina showed Baba Yaga the same flute she used to play for the bear. It was made from gold and had jewels.

“I will sacrifice this flute,” said Princess Marina.

“I do not want this flute,” said Baba Yaga. “I cannot play the flute, so it has no value to me.”

“What is it that you want?” asked Princess Marina.

“If you want your people to eat and drink, you must sacrifice your ability to play the flute,” said Baba Yaga. Princess Marina agreed to the terms.

Baba Yaga laughed an evil laugh and said, “it is done.” She put her bony hand over Princess Marina’s eyes and Princess Marina fell asleep.

When Princess Marina woke up, she was in her warm bed at the castle. Her father was in her room with her to tell her some good news. The Tsar was good friends with a king over another land. The King’s name was King Karl. His kingdom had extra crops and water that he could give the Tsar to feed his people. In exchange, King Karl wanted Princess Marina to marry his eldest son, Prince Wilhelm. The Tsar was so excited to see his daughter get married that he wanted her to play the flute for him. When Princess Marina went to grab her flute, she noticed that her hands were missing. She began to cry but the Tsar promised her that his best carpenter would make wooden hands for her. Although her new hands could hold things, she could no longer play the flute.

After she married Prince Wilhelm, Princess Marina learned that her husband was not a good man. He was not kind and wise like her father, but was mean spirited and dull in thought. He mocked Princess Marina for her wooden hands and feet. Princess Marina was sad to be married to Prince Wilhelm, but she knew she had to keep King Karl happy to feed the people. 

One day, Prince Wilhelm left on a ship to go visit his friends back home. While he was gone, Princess Marina decided to visit Baba Yaga. She followed the dried river, went through the mountains, and walked through the dark forest.

As she walked through the forest, the bear walked came to her again. The bear growled and showed its teeth. “I am hungry!” said the bear, “give me food or I’ll eat you up!” Princess Marina was not scared because she knew what to do.

“Bear, I do not have any food to give you, but I can give you something much better than food.” Princess Marina began to sing a song for the bear. She had never sang so elegantly and beautifully in all of her life. As she sang, the bear sat down, smiled, and clapped its paws. 

When she was finished singing, the bear said, “I am filled with joy so I will not eat you.” The bear thanked Princess Marina and wandered off to another direction in the forest.

Princess Marina kept walking until she got so cold she could no longer bear it. She saw Baba Yaga’s house and commanded it to turn around. The house turned around and Baba Yaga came down to greet Princess Marina.

“What is it that you want, my dear?” said Bab Yaga. 

“Baba Yaga, my husband is mean to me. One day he will be the tsar of my people and I think he will be an evil ruler. Can you make it so I will be married to a good man?

Baba Yaga smiled and slyly said, “Yes, I can make that happen, but you must sacrifice something valuable to me if you want your wish to come true.” Princess Marina showed Baba Yaga a necklace she was wearing. It was elegant, shiny, and made from large diamonds.

“I will sacrifice this necklace,” said Princess Marina.

“I do not want this necklace,” said Baba Yaga. “Every girl that comes to me always wants to sacrifice jewelry. I do not want any more jewelry.”

“What is it that you want?” asked Princess Marina.

“If you want to have a good husband, you must sacrifice your singing ability,” said Baba Yaga. Princess Marina agreed to the terms.

Baba Yaga laughed an evil laugh and said, “it is done.” She put her bony hand over Princess Marina’s eyes and Princess Marina fell asleep.

When Princess Marina woke up, she was in her warm bed at the castle. Her father came into her room with news. He told her that Prince Wilhelm’s ship had went down in the sea. He also told her that King Karl would still give the tsardom food and water if she would marry his second eldest son, Prince Bjorn. Princess Marina agreed. The happy Tsar told Princess Marina that he wanted to celebrate by hearing her sing. When she tried to sing, no sound came out of her mouth. Princess Marina began to cry.

After the wedding, Princess Marina soon learned that Prince Bjorn was a good man. He was sweet to Princess Marina and kind to everyone he spoke to. He was also wise like the Tsar. Princess Marina was very happy to be married to such a loving person. However, she noticed that was sad. Whenever he wanted to dance with Princess Marina at parties, he sat with her to keep her company. Whenever he wanted to play music with her, they read books instead. Whenever he wanted to sing with her, they went on walks instead. Because he loved the Princess so much, he pretended to be happy, but Princess Marina knew he was sad. She loved him and wanted him to be happy. She decided to go to Baba Yaga.

She followed the dried river, went through the mountains, and walked through the dark forest. The bear approached her and growled. “I’m so hungry,” said the bear, “give me food or I’ll eat you up!” Princess Marina was scared and did not know what to do. 

Princess Marina said, “Bear, I do not have any food, but I can give you something better.” She leaned in and kissed the bear on the cheek. The bear began to transform into a person. Princess Marina saw that the bear now looked exactly like her. It had the same face, hair, and wooden hands and feet. The only difference is that the bear had brown eyes instead of the Princess’s blue eyes. Princess Marina’s look alike then ran away into the forest.

When Princess Marina walked until it got so cold that she could not bear it, she saw Baba Yaga’s house. She commanded it to turn around and greeted Baba Yaga when she came out of the house.

“What is it that you want, my dear?” said Bab Yaga. 

“Baba Yaga, my husband is sad. He is a good man and I want him to be happy. Can you make him happy?

Baba Yaga smiled and slyly said, “Yes, I can make that happen, but you must sacrifice something valuable to me if you want your wish to come true.” 

“I can give you a kiss,” said Princess Marina.

“You cannot give me a kiss,” said Baba Yaga. “Your kisses only belong to your husband.”

“What is it that you want?” asked Princess Marina.

“If you want your husband to be happy, you must sacrifice your life,” said Baba Yaga. Princess Marina was scared. She did not want to die, but really wanted her husband to be happy. She agreed to the terms.

Baba Yaga laughed an evil laugh and said, “it is done.” She put her bony hand over Princess Marina’s eyes and Princess Marina fell asleep.

Princess Marina woke up. She was in her warm bed at the castle. She removed her covers and saw that her feet came back to her. Her hands were there too. She tried to sing and a beautiful note came out of her mouth. Prince Bjorn ran into her room and said that he felt happy today. The held a party where they danced together, played music together, and sang together. That evening, Princess Marina and Prince Bjorn walked on the beach. They talked about how happy they were together and discussed what they wanted to name their future children.

As they walked on the beach, the waves washed something up on the shore. Princess Marina saw that it was wooden feet and wooden hands. As she stared at it, she noticed a puddle of water next to the them and saw her reflection. She saw that she had brown eyes.

Prince Bjorn grabbed her hand and kissed her. He told her that he loved her and walked her back to the castle. 

They lived happily ever after.