Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1902-05-06
THE MEADOW ORCHID
WHY THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE CALL IT
1.-THE CUcKoo'S TEARS"
A Legend of the Land of the Cars
That Deals With Magic. Love and
Happiness and One Result of the
Fatal Feminine Tongue.

Happiness and One Result of the
Fatal Feminine Tongue.
One warm Sunday afternoon the vii
lage maidens assembled to lathe In the
RIVER. They took Off their kerchiefs and
their coronet headdresses. seated them
selves OH the bank to cool Off and be-
.an to gossip. One maiden alone sat
silent. Frosya. an orphan. poor, but
beautiful. with fair skin and eyes as
blue lis the gentian. which the Rus
slams call "the flight of the falcon" So
the other girls began to tease her:
Have you no dearly beloved friend
Frosinya? Who is he, where Is he! Is
he handsome, is he ricii:'
"Where should poor girl get rich
and handsome young lover? fonder
adder Is my husband
No sooner had she said this than all
the maidens cried. with one accord.
'"The adderv' and took to their heels.
And upon her kerchief, which Frosya
had thrown upon the grass, behold,
huge black adder lay coiled. She cried
ont In fear. But the adder beat its tail
upon the ground and was transformed
into a wonderfully handsome young
man. There he stood before her, with
golden cap upon his flowing curls, his
eyes flashing fire, and honeyed words
fell from his lips. And he said to her:
"Did you mean it when you declared
that you were ready to marry the ad-
der?"
She knew not what reply to make.
but gazed at him and thought to her
self, "Whence came such wise and
handsome youth?" And he, divining
her thoughts. replied to them, 81 am no
common man. but the czar Of the wa
ters, and my empire is close at hand In
a deep pool on golden sands"
And he read in her eyes that she con-
sented to 20 with him. Then he grasp
ed her with his powerful hand, and to-
gether they sank down into the deep
realm of the waters.
Great was Frosya's happiness She
could not believe in it. He was so
good, so wise; she had never seen such
people, and there Is none such any
where as the car Of the waters. But
Frosya was foolish. Seven years did
she dwell with him In the deep pool in
his palace Of crystal, and the seven
years passed as one day, and there
need not have been any end to her
bliss. \ girl and boy had been born
to them. Then, ali at once, without any
Gil use, she became sad. longed for the
earth. to behold her native hamlet and
her friends once more. So he let her
CO. with the children. for three days
after having exacted a promise that
neither she nor the children, either by
word or by hint, should reveal the
name of her husband or where she
lived. And all this she promised. with
fearful oaths. Then her husband es-
corted her to the dam. At the end OF
three days she was to come to the same
spot and cry Cuckoo thrice, where
upon he would swim at once to meet
her.
She kept her oath, but her friends
coaxed and questioned the children.
The boy to all queries replied simply,
81 don't know" But the girl told ev-
erything. This was all the envious gos-
sips wanted. They ran and told all to
their husbands and brothers. who i'm
mediately ran to the dam and uttered
the magic words. And when the czar
appeared they beat him to death. But
before he died he contrived to. say to
Frosya: 81 have to thank thee, my dear
wife, that | am now come to my death
through thee and my daughter. Hence
forth fly thou ever as a gray cuckoo
and repeat thou ever my call, Cuckoo!
in sadness Of heart from early spring
until st. Peters day [St. Peters day,
June 30 Gully II, o. S.)], and from that
day forth may every bird, both great
and small, beat thee and pursue thee.
And mayest thou, my daughter, my be-
trayer, be turned into nettle bush,
and may that weed. the fiery, forever
burn thine eyes wheresoever thou may
est be- that thou mayest weep forever,
remembering thy fathers death. But
to my loyal son, who kept his fathers
command, make this bequest: That
he shall be the bird beloved which
dwells and sings in gardens and amid
shady groves for the JOY of happy peo-
pie, for the consolation Of those who
weep. the nightingale"
And from that day forth the Russian
people have called the meadow orchid
"the cuckoo's tears" lit is also known
as "the cuckoo's slippers. "]-Isabel f.
Hapgood in New York Post.