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A. Context.
The “Russian Folk-Tales” was collected and translated by William Ralston Shedden Ralston in 1873, it contains 51 stories and the edition consulted was published in London at Smith, Elder, & Co., 15 Waterloo Place.
B. Summary.
Once upon a time, there was an old couple who had a boy named Ivashko. The boy wanted to go fishing and so, he went to the river with his little canoe. Every now and then, either his mother or his father called him to the shore for food and drink. Hearing the old couple, a witch tried to deceive the boy and call him to the shore in the same manner his parents did. But Ivashko realized that the witch’s voice was different and he did not come to the shore. The witch then went to a smith to make her voice thinner. Having the boy fooled, the witch grabbed him and took him to her place, where she ordered her daughter Alenka to prepare the oven and bake him for the feast. Ivashko tricks Alenka into sitting in his place on a shovel and throws her in the oven. When the feast began, the witches ate Alenka, believing they feasted on the boy’s flesh. Ivashko seeks refuge on top of an oak tree. When the witch realizes that Ivashko is still alive, she goes to the smith to craft her some iron teeth. With her brand-new iron teeth, she chews the tree, but then Ivashko sees a flock of geese and ducks flying by and jumps on them. The birds carry him home where he and his parents lived happily ever after.
C. Position in the Aarne-Thomson-Uther Index.
The story fits in the Aarne-Thomson-Uther Index in Tales of Magic (300-749), more specifically in Supernatural Adversaries (300-399), since Ivashko’s main enemy is the evil witch who tries to eat him.
It isn’t much of an animal tale, but Wild Animals (1-99) can be found in the tale.
D. Characters and functions according to Vladimir Propp.
The Hero – Ivashko: young boy who is tricked by a witch, but who uses his cleverness into tricking Alenka to take his place in the feast.
The parents: do not seem to notice Ivashko’s disappearance and they only remember to call him up for breakfast, when he already arrived back home from his adventure with the witches.
The Villain – The witch: does not seem to have many supernatural abilities for “a witch”, apart from her hunger for children’s flesh...
The Daughter – Alenka: a victim of her own mother’s plan of eating Ivashko alive. Irony makes that the witch eventually eats her own daughter.
The initial situation: Ivashko lives with his parents;
The Abstentation: Ivashko leaves home to go fishing;
Reconnaissance: The witch appears and makes an attempt at reconnaissance;
Delivery: The witch gains information about Ivashko and how his parents call him for food and drink;
Trickery: The witch goes to a smith to make her voice thinner and deceives Ivashko;
Complicity: Ivashko is tricked and kidnapped;
Mediation: Ivashko is freed by Alenka by accident;
Counter-action: Ivashko burns Alenka alive;
Guidance: Ivashko is heading home with the help of geese and ducks;
Arrival: Ivashko arrives home, directly into his room;
C. Similarities
I cannot help but think about “Capra cu trei iezi” when the witch went to the smith to make her voice thinner. I made me think about how the wolf tried to trick the lambs in some similar manner, by making his voice sound different. At the same time, the scene in which Alenka is burned alive automatically made me think of “Hansel and Gretel” and how the two children burned alive the witch who tried to eat them. Just like them, Ivashko escaped by burning the witch (presuming that Alenka was also a witch, like her mother). Last, but not least, the scene in which Ivashko travels back home with the help of geese and ducks reminded me of Selma Lagerlöf’s Swedish tale “The Wonderful Adventures of Nils [Holgerson]”.
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