I've never really had an idol, someone I wished I could be.
Unless, of course, you count the infatuation I've had with a russian witch ever since I'd seen her illustrated in some of the most beautiful story books of my childhood. She was always there, an omnipresent shadow of power, really reflecting whatever it was that we feared most. People stayed away from her, the same way they evade the things that scare them the most, until finally life forces them to meet her and overcome what it is they were running from. My fascination with fairy tales has lead me to pursue not only hearing a story read in its native tongue, but also attempting to read it for myself.
My bucket list, this funny little scribbling of hopes for my life, happened to include listening to a babushka tell the story of Baba Yaga; the only trouble with that was that the story was Russian, not Ukrainian. This meant that beg as I might, no one really knew the story.
So, I got the next best thing; my eventually to be working counterpart read and translated it for me.
The problem was that I had been learning Ukrainian and the story I chose to translate was Russian; they may look similar, but there's a vast difference between the two languages.
Anyway, you can imagine how comical it was for my counterpart to listen to me try, and butcher, a language that had oppressed and continues to oppress the Ukrainian language that I have grown to deeply appreciate.
But I digress, the following is the English translation of Baba Yaga;
Once upon a time there were gramma and gramps. The grampa became a widow, and married another wife, and from his first wife he had a girl. A wicked stepmother did not love her, and was thinking of how to get rid of her.
One day father went away and stepmother tells to girl; go to you aunty "my sister", ask her for a needle and thread to sew you a shirt. And this aunt was Baba Yaga Boney Leg.
But the girl was not silly and before hand came to her real aunt.
-Hello aunty!
-Hello dear! Why did you come?
-Mother sent me to her sister to ask for a needle and a thread to sew me a shirt.
Looking at her, aunty told her where she would have to go, and then warned her:
-there you are dear niece, but the birch will try to hit you in the eyes; tie her with a ribbon.
There the gates will creak and clap; pour oil in them.
There the dogs will tear you; give them some bread.
There the cat will scratch your eyes; give him some ham.
The girl went, and she was going, going and finally came.
There was a hut and the Baba Yaga Boney Leg was sitting there, making fabric.
-hello aunt!
-hello my dear child!
My mother sent me to ask you for a needle and a thread to sew me a shirt.
-okay, sit for now and make the fabric.
And the girl sat near the spindle and Baba Yaga left and told her maid;
-go start the bania and wash her knees and do this properly, I want to have her for breakfast.
The girl sitting, not alive nor dead, scared asks the maid;
-my dear! Don't burn the wood but pour it with water, and bring the water with a seive - and she gave her a hanky.
Baba Yaga is waiting, and she came to the window and asked;
-are you making the fabric my niece, are you making the fabric my darling?
-i am making my aunty, I am making my dear.
Baba Yaga went away and the girl gave ham to the cat and asked;
-is there a way to get away from here?
-here take a hairbrush and this towel - says the cat - take them and run away; the Baba Yaga will follow you, put your ear to the ground and when you hear she is near throw first the towel and the wide wide river will appear.
If she will cross this and will nearly catch you put your ear to the ground and If you hear she is near throw the hairbrush and the thick thick forest will appear. She won't get through it.
The girl took the towel and the brush and ran away;the dogs wanted to tear her but she threw them some bread; the gates wanted to shut but she poured them with oil; the birch wanted to whip her eyes out but she tied it with a ribbon and it let her go.
And the cat sat near the spindle and made the fabric; not that he makes a lot but more he spoiled it. Baba Yaga came to the window and asks;
-are you making the fabric my niece, are you making my dear?
-i am making my aunty, I am my dear - answers the cat in a rough voice.
Baba Yaga ran into the hut, saw that the girl ran away and started beating and arguing with the cat, asking why didn't he scratch the girls eyes out?
-i am serving you for so long - says the cat - and you didn't give me even the bone but she gave me ham.
Baba Yaga went to the dogs, to the gates, to the birch and then started yelling at everyone and beating them.
-we are serving you for so long and you didn't give us even hard burned bread, but she gave us fresh bread.
The gates say;
-we are serving you for so long and you never even poured us with water but she poured us with oil.
The birch says;
-i am serving you for so long and you never tied me with a thread but she tied me with a ribbon.
The maid says;
-i am serving you for so long, and you didn't give me even a piece of cloth but she gave me a hanky.
Baba Yaga Boney Leg jumped into her mortar and pestle and began to sweep around herself and then flew to catch the girl. The girl put her ear to the ground and here's Baba Yaga is following her and she is near so she took her towel and through it and a river appeared really wide.
Baba Yaga came to the river and gritted her teeth with anger; so she returned home, took her oxen and brought them to the river and the oxes drank all the water from the river.
So Baba Yaga followed the girl. The girl puts her ear to the ground and hears the Baba Yaga is near so she throws the hairbrush and the forest appears, the thick and scary forest. Baba Yaga started to chew it but she couldn't get through it so she returned back home.
The grampa was already at home and asks;
-where is my daughter?
-she went to her aunty - answers the mother.
Soon afterwards the girl ran into the house.
-where have you been - asks the father.
-oh daddy - says the girl - so and so, my mother sent me to my aunt to ask for a needle and thread to sew me a shirt, and aunt Baba Yaga wanted to eat me.
-how did you escape daughter?
-so and so - tells the girl.
Grampa when he heard that became angry at his wife and ahot her; and himself with his daughter started to live in good, an I were there, honey and beer drank on moustache, ran but nothing came into my mouth.
Baba Yaga is honestly my favorite; ever since I was a small child, she struck fear and awe in my heart. Why, you may ask, was this evil witch one of my heros?
It wasn't really that she lived in a house sitting on chicken legs, or that she flew in a mortar and pestle set, but more that she was just such a funny and honest character; she represented desire.
A large difference I noted, through many hours of research made just in the attempts of communicating with my kindergarteners, brought me to observe that Ukrainian stories and Russian stories, did not use the same characters to communicate messages.
Ukrainian fairy tales centered around animals and food before humans, and Russian fairytales focused on humans before animals and food.
I'm still trying to figure this one out.
I'm in love with stories; tell me a story and you'll steal my heart.
That being said, I've got a lot more listening to do.
