The Soldier and the Tsar in the Forest

In a certain kingdom, there lived a peasant who had two sons. When the recruiting officer came, he took the elder brother into the army. The elder brother served the Tsar faithfully and was so fortunate in his service that within a few years he rose to the rank of general.

At that same time, there was a new call for recruits, and the lot fell on the younger brother, so his forehead was shaved as a sign of service. As it happened, he was assigned to the very regiment in which his brother was a general. The soldier recognized the general, but it was no use, because the general would not acknowledge him at all. "I do not know you," he said, "and you must not claim acquaintance with me!"

One day, the soldier was standing sentry duty at the ammunition wagons just outside the general's quarters. The general was giving a grand dinner, and many officers and gentlemen were going to him.

The soldier saw that there was merriment inside, but that he himself had nothing at all, and he began to weep bitter tears.

Then the guests began to ask him, "Tell us, soldier, why are you crying?"

"Why should I not cry? My own brother is feasting and making merry, but he forgets me!"

The guests then told the general about this, but the general was angry. "Do not believe him, he is a complete liar." So he ordered the soldier to be taken away from his post and to be given thirty lashes with the cat-o'-nine-tails, so that he would not dare to claim kinship.

This deeply offended the soldier, so he put on his undress uniform and ran away.

After some time, whether long or short, he found himself in a forest so wild and so gloomy that he could not find any way out. He began to pass the time by eating berries and roots.

Just about this time, the Tsar was setting out for a grand hunt with a splendid retinue. They galloped into the open fields, let loose the hounds, and sounded the trumpets, and began to press forward. Suddenly, from somewhere, a beautiful stag leapt out straight in front of the Tsar, dove into the river, and swam across to the other side right into the forest. The Tsar followed after him, swam across the river, and searched and searched, but the stag had vanished from view. He had left the hunters far behind, and all around him was the thick, dark forest. Which way should he go? He did not know; he could not see a single path. So he wandered about until evening and tired himself out.

On his way, the runaway soldier met him. "Hail, good man, where are you going?"

"Oh, I was out on a hunt and lost my way in the forest. Will you lead me to the right path, brother?"

"Who are you?"

"A servant of the Tsar."

"Well, it is dark now. We had better take shelter somewhere in the thickets, and tomorrow I will show you the way."

So they went to look for a place to spend the night. They walked and walked, and at last they saw a little hut. "Oho! God has sent us a place to sleep. Let us go there," said the soldier. So they went into the hut.

An old woman sat there. "Hail, granny!"

"Hail, soldier!"

"Give us something to eat and drink."

"I have eaten it all up myself, and there is nothing to be had."

"You are lying, you old devil!" said the soldier, and he began rummaging about in the stove and on the shelves. And he found plenty in the old woman's hut: wine and food, all ready.

So they sat down at the table, feasted to their fill, and then went to lie down in the attic.

Then the soldier said to the Tsar, "God guards him who guards himself. Let one of us rest while the other stands guard." So they cast lots, and the Tsar had to take the first watch. The soldier gave him his sharp cutlass, placed him at the door, and told him not to fall asleep but to wake him if anything should happen. Then the soldier lay down to sleep. But he thought, "Will my comrade be able to stand sentry duty? Perhaps he is not used to it. I will keep watch over him." Then the Tsar stood and stood, and soon began to nod.

"What are you nodding for?" asked the soldier. "Are you going to sleep?"

"No!" said the Tsar.

"Well, then, keep a good lookout!"

So the Tsar stood for a quarter of an hour, and again dozed off.

"Hey, friend, you are not dozing, are you?"

"No, I don't think so." And he again dozed off.

"Hey, friend, are you not dozing?"

"I don't think so. If you go to sleep, don't blame me."

Then the Tsar stood for another quarter of an hour, but his legs gave way, he fell to the ground, and went fast asleep.

The soldier jumped up, took the cutlass, and went to wake him and to give him a talking-to: "Why do you keep guard in this way? I have served for ten years, and my colonel never forgave me for a single sleep. Evidently they have not taught you anything. I forgave you once before, but a third offense is unpardonable. Well, now go to sleep, and I will stand watch."

So the Tsar lay down to sleep, and the soldier stood sentinel and did not close his eyes all night.

Very soon there was a whistling and a knocking, and robbers came into the hut. The old woman met them and told them, "Guests have come in to spend the night."

"That is very well, granny. We have been wandering the woods in vain all night, and now our luck has come into the hut. Give us supper."

"But our guests have eaten and drunk everything up."

"What bold fellows they must be! Where are they?"

"They have gone to sleep in the attic."

"Very well; I will go and settle them!"

So a robber took a big knife and crept up into the attic. But as soon as he poked his head into the door, the soldier swung his cutlass, and off came his head.

Then the soldier took a drink and stood waiting for what would happen next. The robbers waited and waited and waited. "What a long time he has been!"

So they sent another man to see what was happening, and the soldier killed him too, and in a short time, he had chopped off the heads of all the robbers.

At dawn, the Tsar awoke, saw the corpses, and asked, "Hey, soldier, into what danger have we fallen?"

So the soldier told him all that had happened. Then they came down from the attic. When the soldier saw the old woman, he cried out to her, "Here, stop, you old devil! I have some business with you. Why are you acting as a receiver for robbers? Give us all the money now." So the old woman opened a box full of gold, and the soldier filled his knapsack and all his pockets with gold. Then he said to his companion, "You should also take some."

But the Tsar answered, "No, brother, I need not. Our Tsar has money enough without this, and if he has it, we shall also have it."

"Well, I suppose you know best!" said the soldier, and he led the Tsar out of the forest onto the broad road. "Go," he said, "on this road, and in an hour you will reach the town."

"Farewell," said the Tsar. "Thank you for the service you have done me. Come and see me, and I will make you a happy man."

"Very well; but that's a fine tale! I am a runaway soldier. If I show my head in the town, I shall be seized on the spot."

"Have no fear, soldier. The Tsar is very fond of me, and if I ask him for a favor on your behalf and tell him of your bravery, he will forgive you and have pity on you."

"Where can I find you?"

"Go into the palace."

"Very well; I will go there tomorrow."

So the Tsar and the soldier said good-bye. The Tsar went on the broad road to his capital, and without delay he ordered all the staff, the watches, and the sentries to keep their eyes open, and as soon as a certain soldier came, to give him the honors due to a general.

The next day, as soon as the soldier appeared at the barriers, a sentry ran out and gave him a generous salute. The soldier wondered, "What does this mean?" And he asked, "To whom are you showing these honors?"

"To you, soldier."

So he took a handful of gold out of his wallet and gave it to the sentry as a tip. Then he entered the town. Wherever he went, all the sentries gave him honors, and he always paid them back with tips. "What a wretched dolt was this servant of the Tsar's: he has given a hint to everybody that I have plenty of money on me!" So he came up to the palace, and the entire army was assembled there, and the Tsar met him in the same dress in which he had gone hunting.

Then the soldier at last realized with whom he had spent the night in the forest, and he was terribly frightened. "This was the Tsar," he said, "and I threatened him with my cutlass, just as though he had been my brother!"

But the Tsar took him by the hand and rewarded him with a generalship, and degraded his brother into the ranks, telling him that he must not disown his own kin.