TALES OF THE DEAD

A peasant was driving at night with a cart full of pots; he drove and drove, but his horse grew tired and stopped right in front of a cemetery.

The peasant unharnessed the horse and let it graze on the grass, while he himself lay down on a grave; but he just could not fall asleep. He lay there for a while, and suddenly the grave beneath him began to open; he sensed this and jumped to his feet.

The grave opened, and out came a dead man with a coffin lid, wrapped in a white shroud; he came out and ran to the church, set the lid by the door, and went off into the village.

The peasant was a brave man; he took the coffin lid and stood by his cart, waiting to see what would happen.

A little later, the dead man returned, grabbed at the air, but the lid was gone; he began to search for the trail, found the peasant, and said:

— Give me back my lid, or I will tear you to shreds!

— And what is this axe for? — the peasant replied. — I will hack you into tiny pieces myself!

— Give it to me, good man! — the dead man begged him.

— I will give it to you only when you tell me: where have you been and what have you been doing?

— I was in the village; I killed two young men there.

— Well, tell me now: how can they be brought back to life? The dead man, forced, confessed:

— Cut off the left corner of my shroud and take it with you; when you go to the house where the young men were killed, pour hot coals into a small pot and place that shred of the shroud inside, then close the door; the smoke will bring them back to life immediately.

The peasant cut the left corner from the shroud and gave back the coffin lid.

The dead man approached the grave—the grave opened; he began to descend into it—when suddenly the roosters crowed, and he did not manage to close it properly: one end of the lid remained outside.

The peasant saw all of this and noted everything down. It began to dawn; he harnessed his horse and drove to the village.

He heard weeping and cries in one house; he went inside and saw two young men lying dead.

— Do not weep! I can bring them back to life.

— Bring them back to life, dear soul; we will give you half of all we own, — said the relatives.

The peasant did everything just as the dead man had taught him, and the young men came back to life.

The relatives were overjoyed, but they immediately seized the peasant and bound him with ropes: — No, you rascal! We will turn you over to the authorities; if you were able to bring them back to life, it means you were the one who killed them in the first place!

— What are you doing, good Christians! Fear God! — the peasant cried out, and told them everything that had happened to him that night.

Word spread through the village, the people gathered and flocked to the cemetery, found the grave from which the dead man had emerged, dug it up, and drove an aspen stake right through his heart so that he would not rise again and kill people; and the peasant was handsomely rewarded and sent home with honor.

A soldier was given leave to visit his homeland; he walked and walked, whether for a long time or a short time, and began to approach his village.

Not far from the village, a miller lived at his mill; in the past, the soldier had been well-acquainted with him; why not stop and visit a friend? He went in; the miller greeted him kindly, brought some wine, and they began to drink and talk about their lives. It was towards evening, and by the time the soldier finished visiting the miller, it had grown quite dark. The soldier got ready to go to the village, but his host said:

— Soldier, stay the night with me; it is too late now, and you might not escape trouble!

— Why is that?

— God has punished us! A terrible sorcerer (koldun) has died among us; at night he rises from his grave, wanders through the village, and does such things that he has struck fear into the hearts of even the bravest! I would not want him to disturb you!

— It is nothing! A soldier is a man of the state, and state property neither drowns in water nor burns in fire; I will go, I am eager to see my relatives as soon as possible.

He set off; the road led past the cemetery. He saw a little light shining on a grave.

— What is that? Let me take a look.

He approached, and by the fire sat the sorcerer, stitching boots.

— Greetings, brother! — the soldier shouted to him. The sorcerer looked up and asked:

— Why are you here?

— I just wanted to see what you were doing.

The sorcerer abandoned his work and invited the soldier to a wedding:

— Let us go, brother, and have some fun—there is a wedding in the village tonight!

— Let us go!

They arrived at the wedding, and people began to offer them drink and treats in every way. The sorcerer drank and drank, partied and partied, and then grew angry; he chased all the guests and the family out of the hut, cast a spell of sleep on the bride and groom, took out two small vials and an awl, wounded the hands of the bride and groom with the awl, and collected their blood. He did this and said to the soldier:

— Now let us go from here.

So they went. On the road, the soldier asked:

— Tell me, why did you collect the blood in the vials?

— So that the bride and groom will die; tomorrow no one will be able to wake them! Only I know how to bring them back to life.

— And how is that?

— One must cut the heels of the bride and groom and pour the blood back into those wounds—each their own: I have the groom’s blood hidden in my right pocket, and the bride’s in my left.

The soldier listened, not saying a word; and the sorcerer kept on boasting:

— I, — he said, — can do whatever I want!

— Is it really impossible to deal with you?

— How could it be? Well, if someone were to gather a bonfire of aspen wood, a hundred wagon-loads, and burn me on that fire, then perhaps they might deal with me! But one must burn me skillfully; at that moment, snakes, worms, and all sorts of vermin will crawl out of my entrails, and jackdaws, magpies, and crows will fly out; one must catch them and throw them into the fire: if even one worm escapes, then nothing will help! I will slip away in that worm!

The soldier listened and remembered.

They talked and talked and finally reached the grave.

— Well, brother, — said the sorcerer, — now I will tear you apart; otherwise, you will tell everyone everything.

— What are you doing, come to your senses! Why tear me apart? I serve God and the Tsar.

The sorcerer gnashed his teeth, howled, and threw himself at the soldier, and the soldier drew his saber and began to strike backhand.

They fought and fought, and the soldier was almost exhausted; oh, he thought, I have perished for nothing!

Suddenly the roosters crowed—the sorcerer fell lifeless. The soldier took the vials of blood from his pockets and went to his relatives.

He arrived, said hello; his relatives asked:

— Did you see any trouble, soldier?

— No, I did not.

— That is good! But we have grief in the village: a sorcerer has taken to wandering about.

They talked and went to bed; the next morning the soldier woke up and began to ask:

—They say you have a wedding going on somewhere?

The relatives replied:

—There was a wedding for a rich man, but both the groom and the bride died last night, and why—it's unknown.

—And where does this man live?

They showed him the house; he went there without a word; he arrived and found the whole family in tears.

—What are you grieving about?

—It's like this, soldier!

—I can bring your young ones back to life, what will you give?

—Take even half the property!

The soldier did as the sorcerer (koldun) had instructed him, and brought the young couple back to life; instead of weeping, joy and merriment began.

The soldier was feasted and rewarded.

He turned around and marched to the village elder (starosta); he instructed him to gather the peasants and prepare a hundred cartloads of aspen firewood.

The firewood was brought to the cemetery, dumped in a pile, the sorcerer was pulled from his grave, placed on the pyre, and set alight; and around him the people gathered—all with brooms, shovels, and poker irons. The pyre was engulfed in flames, and the sorcerer began to burn; his belly burst open, and snakes, worms, and various vermin crawled out, and crows, magpies, and jackdaws flew out; the men beat them and threw them into the fire, not letting a single worm escape. Thus the sorcerer burned up! The soldier immediately gathered his ashes and scattered them to the wind.

From that time on, silence settled upon the village; the peasants thanked the soldier, the whole community together; he stayed in his homeland, enjoyed himself thoroughly, and returned to imperial service with money. He served his term, retired, and began to live and prosper, accumulating wealth and avoiding misfortune.