Виктор Мазанов – Tales of Wisdom. Insights from Russian Folklore (страница 15)
He climbed onto the roof. Crash! The corners fell apart, the roof collapsed, the walls broke – only the stove remained intact.
The bear froze, looking at his paws: “Oh… what have I done…” Tears glistened in his eyes. Then he whispered:
– I’m sorry… Let’s build a new house together – spacious, so everyone has enough room!
And work began:
The bear uprooted stumps and brought thick logs.
The wolf sharpened them with his sharp claws.
The fox wove strong ropes from lichen.
The hare gathered moss for thatching.
The mouse painted flowers on the shutters.
The fly brewed fragrant tea for everyone.
By autumn a new house stood – with a high porch for the bear, sun‑shaped windows for the fly, a warm floor for the mouse, a garden bed by the door for the hare, a weaving corner for the fox, and a watchtower for the wolf. They all lived together happily.
Even today, if someone wanders into the deep forest, they may hear friendly songs echoing from the woods.
Correcting mistakes through action
– The bear didn’t just apologize – he offered a solution.
– His strength, which broke the old house, helped build a new one.
Labor and home‑building
– Each animal contributed: from clearing to guarding.
– The little house became cozy thanks to their joint effort.
Consequences of thoughtless actions
– The bear didn’t consider his size and strength.
– The destruction became a lesson: think before you act!
What should the bear have done to avoid breaking the house?
Why were such different animals able to live together peacefully?
Whose work was the most important? Why is that question problematic?
Did the bear act badly or well?
What does the fairy tale teach?
The Turnip
Grandfather planted a turnip. The turnip grew huge.
Grandfather tried to pull the turnip out of the ground: he pulled and pulled, but he could not lift it!
He called Grandmother. Grandmother pulled Grandfather, Grandfather pulled the turnip: they pulled and pulled, but they could not lift it!
Grandmother called the granddaughter. The granddaughter pulled Grandmother, Grandmother pulled Grandfather, Grandfather pulled the turnip: they pulled and pulled, but they could not lift it!
The granddaughter called Juchka. Juchka pulled the granddaughter, the granddaughter pulled Grandmother, Grandmother pulled Grandfather, Grandfather pulled the turnip: they pulled and pulled, but they could not lift it!
Juchka called the cat. The cat pulled Juchka, Juchka pulled the granddaughter, the granddaughter pulled Grandmother, Grandmother pulled Grandfather, Grandfather pulled the turnip: they pulled and pulled, but they could not lift it!
The cat called the mouse. The mouse pulled the cat, the cat pulled Juchka, Juchka pulled the granddaughter, the granddaughter pulled Grandmother, Grandmother pulled Grandfather, Grandfather pulled the turnip: they pulled and pulled – they finally pulled the turnip out!
Historical note
The original version of the folk tale “The Turnip” was first recorded by Alexander Afanasyev in 1863 from storytellers of the Arkhangelsk Governorate. In his collection Russian Folk Tales a remarkable variant appears: instead of the familiar Juchka, cat and mouse, five “nógi” (pronounced with the stress on the first syllable) take part. The fragment reads:
The mystery of the word “nóga”
Neither Afanasyev nor the storytellers understood the meaning of this term. Linguists assume that the word survived from ancient times and by the 19th century had become a “museum exhibit” – a phonetic shell without clear content. Several hypotheses have been proposed:
Technical – the legs of a weaving loom or a spinning wheel, which Grandmother could “call” as animate helpers (in folklore tools are often personified).
Mythological – spirit‑helpers called nógili (from “leg” + “il”, a swamp spirit in Pomor belief), similar to house‑spirits.
Zoomorphic – a distorted “nórka” (dialectal name for a ferret) or “nogayka” (a breed of dog among nomads).).
Mathematical version.
Ethnographer Vladimir Propp discovered a variant with nine “legs”, where the chain resembles a counting sequence:
This suggests that the tale could have been used as a mnemonic device for memorising numeric sequences in oral tradition.
Changes introduced by Ushinsky.
In 1864 Konstantin Dmitrievich Ushinsky radically altered the story for his textbook Native Word. Why did he replace the “legs” with animals?
The new chain – “grandfather → grandmother → granddaughter → dog → cat → mouse” – teaches:
the hierarchy (from elder to younger);
the importance of the smallest (the mouse as the key hero);
rhyming names (Juchka–granddaughter, cat–mouse) for easier memorisation.
Why did the “legs” disappear?
By the 1880s Ushinsky’s version completely displaced the original. Reasons:
Technical – the legs of a weaving loom or a spinning wheel, which Grandmother could “call” as animate helpers (in folklore tools are often personified).
Mythological – spirit helpers called nógili (from “leg” + “il”, a swamp spirit in Pomor belief), similar to house spirits.
Zoomorphic – a distorted “nórka” (dialectal name for a ferret) or “nogayka” (a breed of dog among nomads).
Power of unity
– The turnip could be pulled only by a team: from Grandfather down to the mouse.
– Even a tiny contribution (the mouse’s effort) can become decisive.