Tale: WEE LITTLE HAVROSHECHKA

       There are good people in the world and some who are not so good. There are also people who are shameless in their wickedness.

       Wee Little Havroshechka had the bad luck to fall in with such as these. She was an orphan and these people took her in and brought her up, only to make her work till she couldn't stand. She wove and spun and did the housework and had to answer for everything.

       Now the mistress of the house had three daughters. The eldest was called One-Eye, the second Two-Eyes, and the youngest Three-Eyes. The three sisters did nothing all day but sit by the gate and watch what went on in the street, while Wee Little Havroshe chka sewed, spun and wove for them and never heard a kind word in return.

       Sometimes Wee Little Havroshechka would go out into the field, put her arms round the neck of her brindled cow and pour out all her sorrows to her.
       "Brindled, my dear," she would say, "they beat me and scold me, they don't give me enough to eat, and yet they forbid me to cry. I am to have five pounds of flax spun, woven, bleached and rolled by tomorrow."
       And the cow would say in reply, "My bonny lass, you have only to climb into one of my ears and come out through the other and your work will be done for you." And just as Brindled said, so it was. Wee Little Havroshechka would climb into one of the cow's ears and come out through the other, and behold! there lay the cloth, all woven and bleached and rolled. Little Havroshechka would then take the rolls of cloth to her mistress, who would look at them and grunt, and put them away in a chest and give Wee Little Havroshechka even more work to do.
And Wee Little Havroshechka would go to Brindled, put her arms round her and stroke her, climb into one of her ears and come out through the other, pick up the ready cloth and take it to her mistress again.
       One day the old woman called her daughter One-Eye to her and said, "My good child, my bonny child, go and see who helps the orphan with her work. Find out who spins the thread, weaves the cloth and rolls it."
       One-Eye went with Wee Little Havroshechka into the woods and she went with her into the fields, but she forgot her mother's command and she basked in the sun and lay down on the grass. And Havroshechka murmured, "Sleep, little eye, sleep!"
       One-Eye shut her eye and fell asleep. While she slept, Brindled wove, bleached and rolled the cloth. The mistress learned nothing, so she sent for her second daughter, Two-Eyes.
       "My good child, my bonny child, go and see who helps the orphan with her work."
       Two-Eyes went with Wee Little Havroshechka, but she forgot her mother's commend and she basked in the sun and lay down on the grass. And Wee Little Havroshechka murmured, "Sleep, little eye! Sleep, the other little eye!" Two-Eyes shut her eyes a nd she dozed off. While she slept, Brindled wove, bleached and rolled the cloth.
       The old woman was very angry and on the third day she told her third daughter, Three-Eyes, to go with Wee Little Havroshechka, to whom she gave more work than ever. Three-Eyes played and skipped about in the sun until she was so tired that she lay down o n the grass. And Wee Little Havroshechka sang out, "Sleep, little eye! Sleep, the other little eye!"
       But she forgot all about the third little eye. Two of Three-Eyes' eyes fell asleep, but the third looked on and saw everything. It saw Wee Little Havroshechka climb into one of the cow's ears and come out through the other and pick up the ready cloth.
       Three-Eyes came home and told her mother what she had seen. The old woman was overjoyed, and on the very next day she went to her husband and said, "Go and kill the brindled cow."
       The old man was astonished and tried to reason with her. "Have you lost your wits, old woman?", he said. "The cow is a good one and still young."
       "Kill it and say no more," the wife insisted.
       There was no help for it, and the old man began to sharpen his knife. Wee Little        Havroshechka found out all about it and she ran to the field and threw her arms around Brindled.
       "Brindled, dearie," she said, "they want to kill you!"
       And the cow replied, "Do not grieve, my bonny lass, but do what I tell you. Take my bones, tie them up in a kerchief, bury them in the garden and water them every day. Do not eat of my flesh and never forget me."
       The old man killed the cow, and Wee Little Havroshechka did as Brindled had told her. She went hungry, but she would not touch the meat, and she buried the bones in the garden and watered them every day.
       After a while an apple tree grew out of them, and a wonderful tree it was! Its apples were round and juicy, its swaying boughs were of silver, and its rustling leaves were of gold. Whoever drove by would stop to look, and whoever came near marveled.
       A long time passed by and a little time. One day One-Eye, Two-Eyes and Three-Eyes were out walking in the garden. And who should chance to be riding by at the time but a young man, handsome and strong and rich and curly-haired. When he saw the juicy apples he stopped and said to the girls teasingly, "Fair maidens! Her I will marry amongst you three who brings me an apple off yonder tree."
       And off rushed the sisters to the apple tree, each trying to get ahead of the others. But the apples which had been hanging very low and seemed within easy reach now swung up high in the air above the sisters' heads. The sisters tried to knock them down, but the leaves came down in a shower and blinded them. They tried to pluck the apples off, but the boughs caught in their braids and unplaited them. Struggle and stretch as they might, they could not reach the apples and only scratched their hands.

       Then Wee Little Havroshechka walked up to the tree, and at once the boughs bent down and the apples came into her hands. She gave an apple to the handsome young stranger and he married her. From that day on she knew no sorrow, and she and her husband lived happily ever after.

Russian national tale

“The rolling bun”

   Once there lived an old man and old woman. The old man said,"Old woman, bake me a rolling bun."

"What can I make it from? I have no flour." "Eh, eh, old woman! Scrape the cupboard, sweep the flour bin, and you will find enough flour."
       The old woman picked up a duster, scraped the cupboard, swept the flour bin and gathered about two handfuls of flour.

   She mixed the dough with sour cream, fried it in butter, and put the rolling bun on the window sill to cool. The rolling bun lay and lay there.

       Suddenly it rolled off the window sill to the bench, from the bench to the floor, from the floor to the door. Then it rolled over the threshold to the entrance hall, from the entrance hall to the porch, from the porch to the courtyard, from the courtyard through the gate and on and on.

       The rolling bun rolled along the road and met a hare."Little rolling bun, little rolling bun, I shall eat you up!" said the hare. "Don't eat me, slant-eyed hare! I will sing you a song," said the rolling bun, and sang:

  I was scraped from the cupboard,Swept from the bin, Kneaded with sour cream, Fried in butter, And cooled on the sill. I got away from Grandpa, I got away from Grandma, And I'll get away from you, hare! And the rolling bun rolled away before the hare even saw it move!
       The rolling bun rolled on and met a wolf. "Little rolling bun, little rolling bun, I shall eat you up," said the wolf. "Don't eat me, gray wolf!" said the rolling bun. "I will sing you a song." And the rolling bun sang:

I was scraped from the cupboard, Swept from the bin, Kneaded with sour cream, Fried in butter, And cooled on the sill. I got away from Grandpa, I got away from Grandma, I got away from the hare, And I'll get away from you, gray wolf! And the rolling bun rolled away before the wolf even saw it move!
       The rolling bun rolled on and met a bear. "Little rolling bun, little rolling bun, I shall eat you up," the bear said. "You will not, pigeon toes!“ And the rolling bun sang:

       I was scraped from the cupboard, Swept from the bin, Kneaded with sour cream,Fried in butter, And cooled on the sill. I got away from Grandpa, I got away from Grandma, I got away from the hare, I got away from the wolf, And I'll get away from you, big bear! And again the rolling bun rolled away before the bear even saw it move!
       The rolling bun rolled and rolled and met a fox."Hello, little rolling bun, how nice your are!" said the fox. And the rolling bun sang:

  I was scraped from the cupboard, Swept from the bin, Kneaded with sour cream,Fried in butter, And cooled on the sill. I got away from Grandpa, I got away from Grandma, I got away from the hare, I got away from the wolf, I got away from bear, And I'll get away from you, old fox!
       "What a wonderful song!" said the fox. "But little rolling bun, I have became old now and hard of hearing. Come sit on my snout and sing your song again a little louder.“ The rolling bun jumped up on the fox's snout and sang the same song.

"Thank you, little rolling bun, that was a wonderful song. I'd like to hear it again. Come sit on my tongue and sing it for the last time," said the fox, sticking out her tongue. The rolling bun foolishly jumped onto her tongue and- snatch!- she ate it."

The end

Queen Victoria vs. Queen Elizabeth II:

Queen Elizabeth II takes over from Queen Victoria
as the United Kingdom's longest-serving monarch.

Here's a tale of the tape:

• Age
Victoria: 81 when she died in 1901.
Elizabeth: 89 and still going strong.

Queen Elizabeth II takes over from Queen Victoria as the United Kingdom's longest-serving monarch. Here's a tale of the tape:

• Age
Victoria: 81 when she died in 1901.
Elizabeth: 90 and still going strong.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip attend the Braemar Gathering in Scotland this month. They are third cousins. (Photo: Robert Perry, epa)

• Relationship (apart from marriage) to spouse
Victoria: Her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg, was her first cousin.
Elizabeth: Her husband, Prince Philip, is a third cousin.

• Number of children (and grandchildren)
Victoria: Nine (42).
Elizabeth: Four (eight).

Queen Elizabeth II looks on as Prince Charles and his new bride, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, emerge from blessing ceremony at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in April 2005. (Photo: Odd Andersen, AP)

• Naughty eldest sons
Victoria: Edward VII, who married Princess Alexandra of Denmark, was a serial philanderer, including with actress Lillie Langtry.
Elizabeth: Prince Charles, while married to Princess Diana, fooled around with Camilla Parker-Bowles, who he later married.

• Clothing color preference
Victoria: Black.She wore dark clothing after the death of her husband in 1861.
Elizabeth: Pastels, pastels, pastels.

• Hairstyle
Victoria: Straight and severely pulled back.
Elizabeth: Sensible curly helmet that has grayed over the years.

• Reigns how much of the world?
Victoria: Under her rule, the British Empire covered about a quarter of the globe.
Elizabeth: The British Isles (though not the Irish part) and a few small islands.

• Official visits to the United States
Victoria: Zero. Nada. None.
Elizabeth: Five.

• Most memorable saying
Victoria: "We are not amused" (in response to a risqué story told over dinner).
Elizabeth: "Grief is the price we pay for love" (memorializing British victims of 9/11).

Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1980.

Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1980. Queen Elizabeth reportedly did not get on with the Conservative leader. (Photo: Gerald Penny, AP)

• Number of prime ministers
Victoria: Ten. Benjamin Disraeli reportedly was her favorite.
Elizabeth: Twelve. Margaret Thatcher reportedly was her least favorite.

• Notable British export to America during reign
Victoria: Weaving technology.
Elizabeth: The Beatles.

Kirk Douglas, American actor (100 y.o.)