# Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar/Princess Vera the Wise

PRINCESS VERA THE WISE.
In a far distant and unknown land there lived and reigned a king and queen who had three wonderfully handsome sons. So good-looking were they that the like had never been seen, especially the youngest, Akem, who was the handsomest, cleverest, and best of the three, and the greatest favourite with everybody. Their names were Egor, Vania, and the youngest was called, as we have already said, Akem.
One day the king, their father, called them to him; and said,—
"My dear children, I want you all to get married; but as no one seems to please you, an idea has just struck me which I think is rather a good one. Listen. Take up your bows and arrows and shoot. You, Egor, shoot to the left; and you, Vania, as straight as ever you can; while you, Akem, my dearest and best of sons, shoot to the right, for I have heard that that is the lucky side, and before whatever person or thing your arrows fall, that same person or thing you must marry."
The princes were greatly astonished, and did not quite like this idea of their father's; for—who could tell?—the arrows might fall before some horrid object. However, they had not much time given them to think, and obey their father they must.
​"When I have counted three," said the king, "you must let your arrows fly."
The princes stood in readiness. Prince Egor looking towards the left, Prince Vania pointing his bow and arrow straight in front of him, and Prince Akem to the right, as his father had commanded. One, two, and three!—away went the arrows. Prince Egor's arrow fell at the feet of a beautiful damsel, the daughter of a very rich nobleman. Prince Vania's fell before a fair young maiden, daughter of a wealthy merchant. But, alas for poor Prince Akem! his arrow fell in front of an ugly frog, that was sitting at the mouth of a large hole in the ground by the side of a pond! Prince Akem was very angry.
"What!" he cried, "am I, the son of a king, to marry an ugly green frog?"
His brothers laughed.
"Take it," they said, "and never mind. Bottle up your pride, dear brother, and marry the frog. You have our blessing."
But the old king was very much cut up about it, for he loved his youngest son more than anything in the world, and would have done anything to help him. But break his word, never! He had never been known to do such a thing in his life, and if he were to do it now it would be the ruin of him. No; when he once said a thing he meant it, and it could not be undone, not even for the son whom he so dearly loved and almost worshipped.
So the princes were married.
Egor to the nobleman's daughter.
Vania to the merchant's daughter.
​And poor Prince Akem, after a great deal of storming, married the ugly green frog.
Some time after these grand events, the king said to his sons,—
"Tell your wives to bake me, by to-morrow morning, some very, very soft white bread; but, mind you, it must be so wonderfully white and light and soft that the like was never seen, nor ever likely to be seen again."
Away went the princes. Egor and Vania were happy and cheerful, for they thought their wives could do everything, which, of course, was the proper way of thinking! But Prince Akem left his father's palace in rather a different frame of mind, and small blame to him, poor fellow! When he got to the hole where the frog lived he was very sad and miserable, and rather enraged as well.
"Why are you so sorrowful, my prince?" asked the frog.
"How can I possibly be otherwise?" returned Akem, somewhat impatiently. "The king, my father, has ordered me to tell you to bake him some very white bread by to-morrow morning. It must not be like the ordinary bread, but quite different from anything that has ever been seen. It must be white and light and soft, and goodness only knows what else."
"Is that all?" said the frog. "Well, then, go to sleep, and to-morrow morning you will find all that the king, your father, requires. For the present good-night, and don't worry yourself."
She waited (or, we should say, the frog waited) until the prince was sound asleep, then running, ​or rather hopping, to the entrance of the hole, she threw off her frog-skin, and behold—a beautiful and graceful princess! But so lovely, so charming, was she that no mortal ever saw or ever even dreamt that such a being could possibly exist. Then she cried out in a voice which sounded like the sweetest music,—
"My cooks and my servants, listen to my call, and do my bidding faithfully. Bake and bring me some white bread, such as I had when I lived at the court of the king, my father."
Next morning, when the prince woke from his slumbers, he was astonshed, as well as delighted, to see some beautiful white bread lying by his side. He took it to the palace, and gave it to the king, his father, who was just as much delighted with it as his son had been, saying that it was far better than he really wanted it to be. But he again gave his sons another order for their wives. This time it was to get him a beautiful silk carpet, such a one as had never been seen before, and was not likely to be seen again.
"What has happened, my prince?" asked the frog, when Prince Akem returned from the palace, looking very dull and dreary. "Was not the bread of the right kind?"
"Yes, the bread was right enough; but the king wants you now to get him a silk carpet, something that has never been seen before, and is never likely to be seen again."
"Cheer up, my prince," laughed the frog. "You really must not be so down-hearted about such trifles. ​Go to sleep, and to-morrow morning you will find the loveliest carpet that ever mortal eye beheld; so good-night!"
As soon as the prince fell asleep, the frog went to the entrance of the hole, changed itself into the beautiful princess as on the night before, and cried out,—
"Cold winds and warm winds, listen to my call! Hasten to the palace of the king, my father, and bring me the carpet that lies in my room. Away!"
No sooner said than done. When morning came, Prince Akem saw, to his surprise, a most beautiful as well as extraordinary carpet lying in front of his bed. On it were all the kingdoms, towns, seas, and rivers in the world, with ships sailing on the seas, and boats on the rivers. Besides all this, there were wars going on between countries; the guns were firing, and the wounded soldiers were lying about on the battle-fields. But the most surprising thing of all was that all the people, the animals, flowers, trees, grass, and everything on the carpet were alive!
Great was the astonishment at court when Prince Akem brought this wonderful carpet to his father, and greater were the thanks the young prince received.
But the king gave another order, which to Prince Akem seemed far more difficult than the others. It was that each of the young princes should bring his wife to the palace on the following day, that the king might thank them himself for all the trouble they had taken for him in trying to please him.
Prince Egor and his brother Vania went to their homes light-hearted and happy. But not so Prince ​Akem; he felt sadder and more miserable than ever, for how could he possibly take the ugly green frog to the palace? Everybody would laugh at him and pity him, which he would never be able to stand.
When the frog saw him looking so sad, she again asked him the reason.
"How can I be happy?" said the poor prince. "The king, my father, has ordered my brothers and me to bring our wives before him to-morrow to thank them himself for all the trouble they have taken. But how can I take you to my father's court, you ugly green frog?"
"You are very rude, my prince," replied the frog. "But never mind; don't be sad. Go to the palace alone, and I shall follow later. When you hear a terrible noise like thunder, and the people all dreadfully frightened and wondering what it is, tell them that it is only the frog, your wife, coming to the palace in a box."
Next day the two elder brothers arrived with their wives at the king's palace, and laughed at Prince Akem, saying,—
"Where is your wife? Why did you not bring her with you? You could easily have put her in your pocket!"
Hardly had they said these words when there was a terrific clap of thunder, which shook the whole kingdom, and made all the people tremble.
"Be not afraid, good people," said Prince Akem calmly. "It is only the frog, my wife, coming to the palace in a box."
The king and all his people were rather astonished ​and rushed to the balconies and windows; and what was their amazement when they beheld a carriage of pure gold, with diamond windows, drive up to the palace-gates, with six beautiful white horses and powdered footmen! But out of this wonderful vehicle there stepped a most beautiful princess, clad in garments of gold and silver, with such a number of diamonds about her that, together with her marvellous beauty, they dazzled the eyes of the lookers-on, and lighted up the palace and court as though by lightning. Prince Akem felt rather puzzled; but she went straight up to him, and put her arm through his, and led him into the grand reception-room, where the king and his courtiers were waiting. They were greatly charmed with this beautiful frog-princess. As for the king himself, he was too delighted to speak or do anything. A grand feast was then ordered, and they all descended into the dining-hall, where they made merry, eating and drinking as much as they pleased, and then they proposed the health of Prince Akem and his frog-princess. The most remarkable thing about the frog-princess was that, whenever there was any wine left in her glass, she at once poured it down her left sleeve, and what little meat there was left on her plate she threw down her right sleeve.
Prince Egor's wife, having noticed this, thought she would do the same. Later on in the evening the frog-princess danced with Prince Akem. While the rest looked on as they danced, she waved her left hand three times in the air, and lo! and behold a little pond appeared. She then waved her right hand, and ​two beautiful white swans were seen sailing about on the pond.
The people stood looking on in wonder and amazement, until it became Prince Egor's turn to dance with his wife; and as they danced the fair damsel waved her left hand, just as the frog-princess had done, but, alas! she only splashed all the people with the wine. She tried her right hand, but the bones and meat which she had concealed in her sleeve flew right into the king's eyes, and hurt him very badly on the nose. He grew very angry, and ordered his guests to go to their respective homes, and trouble him no more.
Meanwhile, Prince Akem found time to run home to the frog's hole, determined that that beautiful princess should never be changed into a frog any more. He searched everywhere for the frog-skin, which he at last found and burnt. When the lovely frog-princess reached home, and found what the prince had done, she became very sad, and wept bitterly.
"Oh, Prince Akem," she cried, "what have you done? Oh, if you had but waited a little longer, all would have gone well; but now, alas! farewell! You will have a difficult task if you wish to find me again, my beloved prince; but if you want me to come back to you, take this pair of iron boots, put them on, and go to the tenth kingdom at the World's End. There you will find me waiting for you. Farewell!"
She embraced the unhappy prince, and, changing herself suddenly into a lovely white bird, flew away up into the spotless blue sky and was out of sight, leaving Prince Akem alone in his terrible and uncon​solable grief. He tore his hair, walked to and fro in the little chamber under the earth, called himself all the most awful names he could think of; but finding that all this did not bring back his beautiful wife, he pulled on the iron boots which she had given him, and bent his way to the tenth kingdom at the World's End, though he had not the slightest idea as to where it was—he thought it must be somewhere, so away he went.
He walked on and on for days and days, until he met a very old man, bent with age, whose hair was white as shining silver.
"Good day, father," said the prince.
"Good day to you, young prince. Whither are you going?" asked the old man, "and why?"
The prince told the old man his grief.
"Ah, Prince Akem! why did you do anything so silly as to burn the skin? It was not you who made it, and therefore you had no right to burn it. You see Princes Vera the Wise—as she is called in her country—is a very cunning princess, very much more learned than her father, and he is by no means a donkey. Well, the king, her father, got very angry with her for something, and changed his beautiful daughter into an ugly green frog for three years. These three years are now almost at an end, and if you had waited patiently Princess Vera would have been changed into her proper shape, and you would not have had all the bother of going to find her, and getting into trouble, as you are likely to do now. However, I have very little time, so I must bid you good-bye. But stop. Here is a little ball; take it, and follow ​it whithersoever it goes, and stop when it stops. Farewell!"
The silver-haired old man had vanished before Prince Akem had time to thank him for his kindness. On went the prince, following the little ball, which, strange to say, rolled on and on without stopping until it came to a little hut standing on chickens' legs, and which was turning round and round like a weather-cock, only much faster, so that it was impossible for any one to get in. Before the wonderful hut the ball came to a sudden standstill. The prince, who was getting hungry as well as tired, was glad to find a place where he would be sure to have something to eat and drink; but the question was, how on earth was he to get in? After waiting a moment to think, he at last called out,—
"Little hut! little hut, stand still, if you can, with your front to me and your back to the forest!"
And the little hut actually obeyed.
Prince Akem entered, and found a very old, old witch, with wooden legs, sitting on a bench sharpening her iron teeth. She seemed very much astonished to see the hut come to a standstill.
"I smell the blood of a Russian! Who is there?" Then, looking towards the door, she beheld Prince Akem.
"Oh, it is you. Prince Akem!" she said in a kinder tone. "And what, may I ask, brought you here?"
"Ah! you old, grey, wooden-legged, iron-toothed old witch, could you not have the politeness to get me something to eat and drink before asking me ​what I came for? You might have thought that I was hungry."
The witch laughed.
"True, my prince, it was not kind of me I admit. Come! eat, drink, and make merry!"
So saying, the old lady hobbled to a little safe, and brought out some eatables and drinkables, which she put before the prince on a little wooden table.
When Prince Akem had done eating and drinking to his perfect satisfaction, he turned to the old witch and told her his tale.
"Oh, my dear child!" exclaimed the good-natured old witch, "why did you not come before? Your wife, Princess Vera, has been here, and waited for you, and was grieved that you did not come. She has not been gone very long. She may forget you if you don't make haste now; so go at once to my dearly-beloved sister, who lives in a hut not many miles off. She may be able to tell you where your wife is."
The prince thanked the witch, and, leaving the hut, followed the little ball until it stopped before a hut similar to the last one. Here the prince cried out as before,—
"Little hut, little hut, stand still, with your front to me and your back to the forest!"
This hut also obeyed him. Prince Akem walked in, and saw an old woman, much like the first only older, but she seemed very merry.
"I smell the blood of a Russian! Who is there?" she cried, looking up at the prince and smiling. "What do you want in my humble dwelling, Prince Akem?"
​"I am looking for my wife, the Princess Vera the Wise."
"I am very sorry for you, my prince," replied the good old dame, shaking her aged head, and looking as grave as her merry old face would let her. "Methinks that Princess Vera has forgotten you, for when last I saw her she talked of marrying; but I may be mistaken. She is now staying with my eldest sister, so make haste and go there, lose not a moment's time. You will find my sister spinning gold thread, and winding it on a golden spindle. This spindle is your wife. Don't laugh, but listen. Take the spindle, break it into three parts, and throw the two ends behind you and the middle in front of you, and—well, you will see for yourself what will happen. And now go."
Prince Akem left her, much amused at the idea of his wife being a spindle. On he went after the ball, until they again stopped in front of another chicken-legged hut that turned round and round like the two former.
"Stand still, little hut, with your front to me and your back to the forest!" said the prince.
The hut did so, and the prince walked in. Here he found an old, old woman—in fact, she was so very, very old that there was nothing left of her but bones! She sat spinning away at some gold thread, and then began winding it on a golden spindle. She did not notice the prince, nor did she make any sign when he took hold of the spindle and broke it into three parts, throwing the two ends behind him; but he had hardly thrown the middle part down when who should ​stand before him, in all her great beauty and grace, but the lovely Princess Vera the Wise!
"Ah! my beloved prince, if you had been a little later I might have forgotten you, and married some one else, for in this country one's memory fails one sometimes!"
So saying, Princess Vera embraced the happy prince, and they left the hut together. After walking a short distance, Princess Vera waved her right hand, and immediately a beautiful flying carpet of gold, worked with silver and diamonds, appeared, and on this carpet the happy pair seated themselves, and flew to the kingdom of Prince Akem's father.
The king was delighted at the sight of his beloved son and his charming daughter-in-law. Princess Vera's father came to stay at the palace for a few days, to make the acquaintance of his son-in-law and all his relations. Before he left a grand ball was given, to which everybody was invited. After that, Princess Vera, her father, and Prince Akem returned to the tenth kingdom at the World's End.
Princess Vera's father made Prince Akem his heir, for the good king had no son of his own.