University of Virginia Library

THE CYCLE OF NOVGOROD

(1. VASILY BUSLAEVICH. 2. SADKO)

Vasily Buslaevich, the Brave of
Novgorod

IN glorious Novgorod the Great, dwelt old
Buslai for the space of ninety years. He
dwelt in peace with Novgorod, challenging it
not, and had no dispute with the men thereof.
At length he died, being full of years, and left great
possessions, a widow, and an amiable son, young
Vasiliushka Buslaevich,[1] the child of his old age.

When Vasiliushka had attained to seven years,
his mother sent him to learn to read and write.
In this he succeeded well, likewise in church singing:
in all Novgorod the Glorious there was no
singer equal to him. Then he began to roam the
city, to loiter in princely courts, to consort with
foolish fellows and many pot-house sots, and to
jest in rude fashion with noble and princely children.
When he plucked at a hand, it was torn
away from the shoulder; each foot he pulled
dropped off with the leg attached; heads at his
touch spun round like buttons; when he knocked
two or three children together, they lay as dead.

Then came people from the Princes of Novgorod
to the very honourable widow, to make complaint
of her son; and they besought her to put a stop to
his crippling the children. Thereupon she reprimanded
and upbraided Vasily, weeping bitterly the
while:

"My sweet child," she said, "why goest thou
about Novgorod making cripples? At thy age thy
father had not a hundred roubles in his pocket, but
he had a brave body-guard.—But thou hast neither
brother nor brave guards, and thou wilt never be
able to settle matters with any one."

Vasily liked not this word, and ascended to his
lofty tower. There he sat himself down in his
folding-chair, and wrote many a scroll with speed,
and wisely were the words ordered therein: "Whoso
will eat savoury viands all ready to hand, drink
green wine without price, and wear flowered
raiment of divers hues, let him repair to Vaska's
court."

Then he bound these scrolls to stout arrows, and
shot them into Novgorod. As the men of Novgorod
came from church, they gathered them up in
the streets and lanes; and some who could read
chancing there, they looked upon the scrolls, and
interpreted them: "Vasily commandeth us to an
honourable feast."

Young Vasily Buslaevich made ready for his
guests. He rolled a cask of green wine of forty
buckets from his vaults, and set it in the midst of
his court, and took to himself a cudgel of red
elm.

"Whosoever shall lift in one hand a cup of this
wine, in weight a pood and a half, and shall quaff
it at a breath, and shall likewise withstand a blow
from my red elm upon his turbulent head, he shall
make one of my brave body-guard," quoth Vasily.

That night he slept in his lofty tower, on a
bed of down laid upon a little couch of smoothed
planks.

The next morning, very early, the honourable
widow Avdotya Vasilievna paced her palace, and
looked out upon her spacious courtyard; and lo!

it was black with the assembled host. In haste
she went to her dear son, and said:

"Thou sleepest, Vasiliushka, and takest thine
ease, and knowest not the evil that standeth even
now at thy gates. Lo! a force black as the raven
is in thy court."

Vasily, when he heard that, sprang quickly to
his nimble feet, grasped his red elm in his white
hands, and went forth into the spacious court.

"Aï, Vasiliushka Buslaevich!" cried the men of
Novgorod, "we stand now within thy court, and
are minded to devour all thy viands, drink up all
thy liquors, wear out all thy flowered garments,
and drag forth thy golden treasure."

But this discourse pleased not Vasily. He
leaped forth into the court, grasped his red elm
more firmly, and began to brandish it. Where he
swung it a lane appeared, where he drew it back,
an alley; and he slew the men of Novgorod like
a thunderstorm, so that they lay dead in heaps.
And Vasily returned again to his lofty, golden-crowned
tower.

Then came Kostya[2] New-trader, took a cup of
green wine, raised it with one hand, drained it at
a single draught. Thereupon Vasily sprang forth
from the new hall, grasping his red elm, and smote
Kostya a deadly blow; but the child stood firm
and moved not, the black curls on his turbulent
head waved not, the full cup in his hand was not
spilled.

"Is my strength less than of old?" quoth
Vasily: "doth not my red elm serve me as of
yore?"

And lo! a little stone lay there, white and burning:
on this he essayed his strength—and the
stone was shivered to atoms.

"Aï, Kostya New-trader!" he cried, "be thou
of my brave body-guard, and enter now my palace
of white stone."

Then came Lame Potanyshka, lifted the great
cup in one hand, drained off the green wine at a
breath, and when he had withstood Vasily's stern
assault he likewise became one of the body-guard;
and in like manner also, Komushka the Hunchback.

These three went not forth from the new hall.

"Enter now my palace of white stone," quoth
Vasily. "There we will quaff sweet liquors, and
eat sugar viands; and there is none in Novgorod
whom we must fear."

Thus did Vasily choose his brave body-guard,
and chose these three, no more.

After that, Vasily made an honourable feast for
the men of Novgorod. But when they came to it,
he gave meat and drink to his guards, and gave
neither meat, drink, not honour to the men of
Novgorod.

So when the men of Novgorod perceived that
things were not well with them they said: "Cursed
be thou, Vasily Buslaevich! We have come at thy
bidding, yet have neither fared sumptuously, nor
worn fine apparel. Therefore is eternal strife engendered."
Then they took counsel together, and
said:

"Children! let us turn Vasiliushka into a
laughing-stock: let us make an honourable feast
for Vasily, and let us not bid him to it—this
miserable little Vasily!"

So they made their feast. And when Vasily
heard of it, he said: "My lady mother, I shall
go to that feast."

Avdotya Vasilievna, that honourable widow,
would have dissuaded him. "My dear child,"

she spoke, "there is room for the guest who is
bidden, but not for him who is unbidden."

Nevertheless Vasily hearkened not to his
mother's counsel. He took his brave body-guard,
and went to the feast. He asked no leave of the
gate-keepers, nor yet of the lackeys at the doors,
but entered straight the banquet hall. He set his
right foot in the hall, his left on the oaken table in
the great corner, and flung himself on the wall-bench
in the corner by the oven, stretching out his
right hand and his right foot.

The guests all came to the oven-corner; and
Vasily moved to the corner by the door, and
stretched out his left hand and left foot. Thereupon
the guests went to the new hall, and some
fled to their homes in terror.

Then Vasily went to the oaken tables with his
body-guard, and all the guests assembled again,
and said: "Though thou hast taken thy seat in
the great corner, Vasily Buslaevich, yet art thou
an unbidden guest, while we are bidden."

Thereto Vasily made answer: "Though I be an
unbidden guest, where I am placed, there will I
sit; and what cometh under my hand, that will
I eat and drink."

The red sun declined to even, the feast waxed
mirthful; all the guests grew drunken and merry,
and began to make great brags. Thereupon
Vasily, with drunken and stupid mind, laid a great
wager, even his turbulent head, that he would go
on the morrow to the bridge over the Volkof, and
there, with the sole aid of his good guard, hold his
own against all Novgorod.

When he left the feast, and returned home to
his princely palace with drooping head, and eyes
fixed on the ground, his mother inquired the cause
of his sadness.

"Did they pass thee with the cup, or did some
drunken churl jeer at thee?"

Vasily could make no reply, but his brave bodyguard
told her all. Then Avdotya Vasilievna put
her shoes in haste upon her bare feet, cast her
mantle of sables upon one shoulder, took her
golden keys, and went to her deep vaults. There
she heaped a bowl with red gold, another with
pure silver, and yet a third with fair round pearls,
and came to the honourable feast. She crossed
herself as prescribed, did reverence in courteous
wise, and said:

"Hail, ye men of Novgorod! Forgive now
Vasily his fault."

But they refused to accept her gifts, or to
pardon Vasily. "If the Lord help us to take
Vasily, we will ride his good steeds, wear his
flowered garments, and squander his golden treasure.
We will pardon him when we shall have cut
off his head!"

Then Avdotya Vasilievna went home in grief
and sadness, scattering the red gold, pure silver,
and fair round pearls over the open plain, saying:
"Not this is dear to me, but the turbulent head of
my beloved son, young Vasily Buslaevich!"

So when she was come to her own dwelling,
she gave Vasily to drink of the cup of forgetfulness,
led him to a deep dungeon, and locked him
securely therein. Then she loosed his good steed
in the open plain, and hid his red-elm cudgel of
forty poods, his sharp sword, and heroic garments.

Early the next morning, Vasily's brave troop
took their stand by the Volkof river, and began
to contend with the men of Novgorod.

All that day they fought without eating; a
second day and night they fought without drinking,
and yet a third day without pausing to rest.

In the meanwhile Vasily slept, and took his
ease, knowing naught of the evil that was come
upon them. But a brave, black-visaged handmaiden,
who went with her oaken buckets and
her maple yoke to the stream for fresh water,
beheld the evil case of the bold youths. She
seized her yoke, and began to brandish it, and slew
four hundred men therewith. Then she ran very
quickly, and came to the dungeon, and cried:

"Sleepest thou, Vasily, and wilt not waken?
Upon you Volkof bridge thy brave guards stand
up to their knees in blood, and captive, their heads
broken with whips, their hands bound with their
girdles."

Thereupon Vasily entreated the black-visaged
maid: "Release me from this dungeon, and I will
give thee golden treasure as much as thou desirest."

So she undid the door, breaking the lock with
her maple yoke, and let Vasily out into the white
world. And since he could not find his warlike
harness, his mace and sharp spear, he wrenched
the iron axle from a cart which stood near by (its
length was two fathoms, and its weight forty poods),
—threw it over his heroic shoulder, and said:

"I thank thee, damsel, that thou didst not let
my brave body-guard perish. I will reckon with
thee hereafter, but now I must not tarry," and
therewith departed.

When he came to the Volkof bridge, and found
all as the maiden had told him, he shouted:

"Aï, my brave body-guard! Ye have breakfasted,
now let me dine. 'Twas not I, brothers,
who betrayed ye, but my own mother. Go now,
my well-beloved brothers, and rest, while I play
with these children."

Then he began to stride about upon the bridge,
brandishing his axle, and the men of Novgorod fell

in heaps before him. The princes perceived that
their pitiless inevitable fate was come upon them,
and that Vasily would leave no man alive of all
Novgorod, and so went with the Voevoda and
the Elder to his lady mother, and spoke this
word:

"Aï, thou honourable widow, Avdotya Vasilievna!
Curb thy dear child, young Vasily
Buslaevich; soften his heroic heart, that he may
leave but a handful of our men alive." But she
replied:

"I dare not, ye princes of Novgorod. I have
done him grievous wrong, in that I confined him
in a deep dungeon. But my dear child hath a
godfather, the Ancient Pilgrim, who dwelleth in
the Sergyei monastery. He hath great power;
ask him."

So the princes went to the Ancient Pilgrim,
and told him all; and he sorrowed greatly, but
made ready to go. He leaped into the lofty belfry,
tore down the great bell of St. Sophia, in weight
three thousand poods, and set it on his head, as a
good cap. When he set out for the Volkof bridge,
he leaned upon the clapper for a staff, and the
bridge bent beneath him as he went.

Straight up to Vasily's clear eyes he strode, and
spoke: "My godchild! Restrain thy heroic heart;
spare at least a remnant of these men."

But Vasily's heroic heart grew hot at this
speech.

"Aï, my godfather!" quoth he. "If I gave
thee no egg at Easter-tide, yet take thou this red
one now at Peter's day. Christ is risen!"[3]

Thereupon he smote the Ancient Pilgrim upon
the great bell of Sophia, with his axle; and after
that one blow, the Pilgrim's praise was sung.[4]

But Vasily seized the great clapper, and continued
to slay the men of Novgorod. At length
the princes prevailed upon his mother to make
intercession for them. So she arrayed herself in a
robe of black, threw a cloak of sables about her
shoulders, set a helmet on her turbulent head, and
went to her dear child. The old woman was wise,
and approached him not from before, but crept up
behind him, fell upon his mighty shoulders, and
entreated him. Vasily dropped his arms, the axle
fell from his hands to damp mother earth, and he
said:

"Fair lady mother! thou art a cunning old
woman and a wise! Thou hast known how to
break my great power, by coming upon me from
behind; for if thou hadst approached me from
before, I should not have spared thee, my lady
mother, but should have slain thee in the stead of
a man of Novgorod."

Then came the Princes, the Voevoda, and the
Elders of Novgorod, and fell at Vasily's feet, and
prayed him to be their guest.

And they besought him also to gather up the
bodies of the slain, and give them to damp mother
earth; for the waters of the Volkof ran blood for
a full verst.

Vasily gave command that all this should be
done, and went to the banquet, but felt ill at ease
there, and so returned to his palace of white stone,
to his lady mother, and his brave body-guard.

There he lived at ease, healing the wounds of
his good guards, and restoring them to their
strength of former days.

By glorious Novgorod the Great, and on famous
Ilmen Lake, swam and floated a gray drake, and
dived like a fearless duck:—there floated the red
ship of young Vasily Buslaevich, and thereon Vasily
and his brave troop. Kostya held the helm, little
Potanyshka stood on the prow, and Vasily paced
the vessel, uttering these words: "My bright
body-guard and brave, all my good youths and
bold! Set our vessel against Ilmen, and sail to
Novgorod."

With anchors they caught the shore, threw out
gangways to the bank, and Vasily went to his
lordly court, followed by his brave troop, leaving
but a watch behind.

When he came to his lady mother, he wound
about her like a convolvulus vine, and besought
her great blessing to go to Jerusalem town with
his band; there to pray the Lord, to worship at
the holy of holies, to visit the grave of the Lord,
and bathe in the Jordan river.

"Aï, my dear child," his mother made answer,
"if thou goest for a good purpose, I will give thee
my great blessing, but if thou goest to rob, I will
not give it; and may the damp earth not bear
Vasily!"

Stone softeneth in the fire, steel melteth in the
glow, her mother's heart gave way: she gave Vasily
stores of bread, and far-reaching weapons.

"Defend thy turbulent head, Vasily!" she said.

Then in haste he assembled his good youths,
and when they had taken leave of his widowed
mother, they embarked on their scarlet vessel,
raised the delicate linen sails, and ran out upon
Lake Ilmen.

They had sailed a second day, and e'en a second
week, when there came to meet them mariner
guests.

"Hail, Vasily Buslaevich!" they said.
"Whither, O youth, art thou pleased to
journey?"

"I journey, O mariners," Vasily made answer,
"an unwilling way. In my youth I killed and
stole much: in my old age I must save my soul.
Inform me, good youths, the straight way to the
holy city of Jerusalem."

Then they told him that the straight way demanded
a seven-weeks' journey, and the way
about, a year and a half. But upon the glorious
Caspian Sea was a stout barrier; for the chieftains
of the Kazáks, three thousand in number, made
their lair on the Island of Kuminsk, robbing barks
and galleons, destroying scarlet ships.

"I believe neither dream nor vision," quoth
Vasily; "I trust in my red elm alone: haste now,
my children, by the straight way!"

When Vasily espied a lofty mountain, he ran
quickly in to the steep shores, and ascended that
Sorochinsky[5] hill, and after him flew his brave
troop.

At mid-ascent, an empty human skull lay in
the road, and human bones; Vasily spurned them
from the path, whereupon the skull addressed him:
"Hey, Vasily Buslaevich! Why dost thou cast
me aside? I was no worse than thou, O youth!
And I know how to defend myself. On this
Sorochinsky mountain, where lieth this empty
skull of a youth, shall lie likewise the head of
Vasily."

Vasily spat and passed on. "Either the Enemy
speaketh in thee, thou skull, or an unclean spirit!"
he said, and proceeded up the mountain. On the
very peak thereof stood a stone, three full fathoms
broad; across it only an axe might be hurled: its

length was three arshins[6] and a quarter; and on it
was written this inscription, "He who shall solace
himself at this stone, and divert himself by leaping
along this stone, shall break his turbulent head."

This Vasily believed not, and began to divert
himself with his brave guards, by leaping across
the stone. Nevertheless, lengthwise they did not
dare to leap.

At length they descended from the Sorochinsky
mountains, embarked again upon their scarlet
ships, spread their sails of fine linen, and ran across
the Caspian Sea to that barrier to shipping where
the robber Kazáks with their aged chieftains held
their stand. At the landing stood a hundred men;
nevertheless, young Vasily approached, cast out
landing-stages upon the steep shore, and sprang
to land, leaning upon his red elm.

Then all the bold and goodly youths, the guard,
were terrified, and did not long await his coming,
but fled to the chieftains of the Kazáks.

The atamans sat, marvelling not, and said:

"We have defended this isle these thirty years
past, and have beheld no great terror. 'Tis young
Vasily Buslaevich who cometh with falcon flight,
and youthful daring."

Vasily and his band strode up to the Kazák
chiefs, and stood in a single ring. Then Vasily
bowed low, and spake this word: "Hail, ye Kazák
chieftains! Tell me now the straight road to the
holy city of Jerusalem."

Said the atamans: "Ho, Vasily Buslaevich!
We pray thee to eat bread with us at one
table."

And Vasily refused not, but sat with them at
one table.

When they poured out green wine, he grasped

the cup in one hand, and emptied it at a single
draught:—and the measure of the cup was a
bucket and a half. Thereat the chieftains marvelled
greatly, for they could not drink so much as
half a bucket. And when they had broken bread,
Vasily betook himself once more to his scarlet
ships; and the chieftains gave him gifts—a bowl
of red gold, a bowl of pure silver, and a third
bowl of fair round pearls. For these Vasily returned
thanks, and did them reverence, craving a
guide to Jerusalem. This they refused not, but
having given him a young guide they took their
leave of him.

Then Vasily and his brave troop hoisted their
sails of fine linen, and ran out upon the Caspian
Sea. When they came to Jordan river, they threw
out strong anchors, and landing-stages upon the
precipitous banks; and Vasily and his bold youths
entered Jerusalem town.

He came to the cathedral church, served a mass
for his mother's health, and for himself, and a mass
with service for the soul of his father and all his
family. On the next day was celebrated a service
with prayers for the bold good youths, who from
their young years up had slain and stolen much.
Vasily prayed before the holy of holies, bathed in
Jordan, reckoned with the popes and deacons,
gave gold without stint to the aged people who
depended on the church, and embarked again with
his band on his scarlet ships.

Then the guards bathed in Jordan river, and an
aged crone came to them, and said:

"Wherefore bathe ye naked in Jordan? None
must bathe naked therein save only Vasily Buslaevich!
For Jesus Christ the Lord himself bathed
in Jordan river. And ye shall lose your great
chieftain, Vasily Buslaevich."

"Our Vasily will not believe that, either in
dream or vision," said they.

A little space thereafter, Vasily came to his men,
and gave order that the ships should be sent out
of the mouth of the Jordan river.

So they sailed across the Caspian Sea, and came
to the Island of Kuminsk where he bowed before
the Kazák captains. With them he talked not
much, when they inquired if he had journeyed in
safety to Jerusalem; but gave into their hands a
writing which laid many labours upon them, and
held a service with prayers for the youths. Then
those Kazák chieftains bade Vasily to eat with
them; but he consented not, and taking leave
of them shortly, set out upon the Caspian for
Novgorod.

When they had sailed a week, and yet a second,
Vasily espied the Sorochinsky mountain, and was
fain to view it once again. So they ran up to
it, threw out their landing-stages, and began to
ascend.

On the summit lay the stone with its inscription,
which Vasily believed not. And after he had
made merry and diverted himself with his bodyguard,
leaping across the stone, he was minded to
essay a leap lengthwise. He leaped but a quarter
way, and falling, was killed upon the stone. And
where the empty skull had lain, there they buried
Vasily.

Then his good body-guard sailed home to Novgorod,
and coming to his mother, the honourable
widow, they did homage, and laid a letter in her
hand. When she had read it, she wept, and said:
"Aï, ye bold and goodly youths! There is nothing
now which I may do for you. Yet go ye into my
deep vaults, and take golden treasure without
stint."

So the black-visaged handmaiden led them
thither, and when they had taken a little gold they
came and gave thanks to Avdotya Vasilievna for
her hospitality, in that she had fed, clothed, and
shod the good youths. Then she commanded that
a cup of green wine should be given to each, and
when they had drunk it, they bowed low before
her.

And after that, the good youths went their
way, each youth wheresoever he listed.

Merchant Sadko the Rich Guest
of Novgorod

IN the glorious city of Novgorod dwelt Sadko[1]
the gusly-player. No golden treasures did
he possess; he went about to the magnificent
feasts of the merchants and nobles, and made all
merry with his playing.

And it chanced on a certain day, that Sadko
was bidden to no worshipful feast; neither on the
second day nor the third was he bidden. Then
he sorrowed greatly, and went to Lake Ilmen, and
seated himself upon a blue stone. There he began
to play upon his harp of maple-wood, and played
all day, from early morn till far into the night.

The waves rose in the lake, the water was
clouded with sand, and Sadko feared to sit there:
great terror overcame him, and he returned to
Novgorod.

The dark night passed, a second day dawned,
and again Sadko was bidden to no worshipful feast.
Again he played all day beside the lake, and
returned in terror at nightfall.

And the third day, being still unbidden of any
man, he sat on the blue burning stone, and played
upon his harp of maple-wood, and the waves rose
in the lake, and the water was troubled with sand.

But Sadko summoned up his courage, and ceased

not his playing. Then the Tzar Vodyanoi[2]
emerged from the lake, and spake these words:

"We thank thee, Sadko of Novgorod! Thou
hast diverted us of the lake. I held a banquet
and a worshipful feast; and all my beloved guests
hast thou rejoiced. And I know not, Sadko, how
I may reward thee. Yet return now, Sadko, to
thy Novgorod, and to-morrow they shall call thee
to a rich feast. Many merchants of Novgorod
shall be there, and they shall eat and drink, and
wax boastful. One shall boast of his good horse,
another of his deeds of youthful prowess; another
shall take pride in his youth. But the wise man
will boast of his aged father, his old mother, and
the senseless fool of his young wife. And do
thou, Sadko, boast also: `I know what there is in
Lake Ilmen—of a truth, fishes with golden fins.'
Then shall they contend with thee, that there are
no fish of that sort,—of gold. But do thou then
lay a great wager with them; wager thy turbulent
head, and demand from them their shops in the
bazaar, with all their precious wares. Then weave
thou a net of silk, and come cast it in Lake Ilmen.
Three times must thou cast it in the lake, and at
each cast I will give a fish, yea, a fish with fins of
gold. So shalt thou receive those shops in the
bazaar, with their precious wares. So shalt thou
become Sadko the Merchant of Novgorod, the rich
Guest."

Then Sadko returned again to Novgorod. And
the next day he was bidden to a worshipful feast
of rich merchants, who ate and drank, and boasted,
one of this thing, and the other of that thing.
And as the rich merchants of Novgorod sat there,
they spoke thus to Sadko:

"Why sittest thou, Sadko, and boastest not

thyself? Hast thou nothing, Sadko, whereof to
boast?"

Sadko spoke: "Hey, ye merchants of Novgorod!
What have I, Sadko, that I may boast
of? No countless treasures of gold are mine, no
fair young wife; there is but one thing of which
I may boast; in Ilmen Lake are fishes with fins
of gold."

Then began the rich merchants to contend with
him; and Sadko said: "I stake my turbulent head
upon it, and more than that I have not to wager."

Said they: "We will stake our shops in the
bazaar, with their precious wares—the shops of
six rich merchants."

Thereupon they wove a net of silk, and went to
cast it in Lake Ilmen. At the first cast in Ilmen,
they took a little fish with fins of gold, and likewise
with the second and the third cast.

Then the rich merchants of Novgorod saw that
there was nothing to be done, for it had happened
as Sadko had foretold; and they opened to him
their shops in the bazaar, with all their precious
wares. And Sadko, when he had received the
six shops, and their rich goods, inscribed himself
among the merchants of Novgorod; he became
exceeding rich, and began to trade in his own
city, and in all places, even in distant towns, and
received great profit.

Sadko the rich merchant of Novgorod married,
and built himself a palace of white stone, wherein
all things were heavenly. In the sky, the red sun
burned, and in his palace likewise a fair red sun;
and when shone the lesser light, the moon, in
heaven, in his palace it shone also; and when the
thick-sown stars glittered in the sky, stars thickly
sown gleamed within his towers. And Sadko
adorned his palace of white stone in all ways.

After this was done, lo! Sadko made a banquet
and a worshipful feast, and called to it all the rich
merchants, the lords and the rulers of Novgorod,
and the rulers were Luka Zinovief and Foma
Nazarief. As they sat and feasted, after they had
well eaten and drunken, they began to boast,—
one of his good steed, one of his heroic might,
another of his youth; the wise of his aged parents,
the foolish of his young wife. But Sadko, as he
walked about his palace, cried out: "Ho there, ye
rich merchants, ye lords, rulers, and men of Novgorod!
ye have eaten and drunk at my feast, and
made your boasts. And of what shall I vaunt
myself? My treasures of gold are now inexhaustible,
my flowered garments I cannot wear out, and
my brave body-guard is incorruptible. But I will
boast of my golden treasure. With that treasure
will I buy all the wares in Novgorod, both good
and bad, and there shall be none for sale any more
in all the city."

Then sprang the rulers, Foma and Luka, to
their nimble feet, and said: "Is it much that
thou wilt wager with us?" And Sadko answered:
"What ye will of my countless treasure of gold,
that will I wager." Then said the rulers, for the
men of Novgorod: "Thirty thousand, Sadko, shall
be thy stake against us." So it was agreed, and
all departed from the feast.

The next morning, right early, Sadko rose, and
waked his brave body-guard, and gave them all
they would of his treasure, and sent them to the
marts. But he himself went straight to the
bazaar, and bought all the wares of Novgorod,
both good and bad. And again, the next morning
he rose, and waked his troop, and giving them
great treasure, went to the bazaar; and finding
wares yet more than before, he bought all, of

whatever sort. And on the third day, when he
came to the market, he found, to the great glory
of Novgorod, that vast store of goods had hastened
thither from Moscow, so that the shops were full
to overflowing with the precious stuffs of Moscow.

Then Sadko fell into thought: "If I buy all
these goods from Moscow, others will flow hither
from beyond the sea; and I am not able to buy all
the wares of the whole white world. Sadko the
merchant is rich, but glorious Novgorod is still
richer! It is better to yield my great wager, my
thirty thousand."

Thus he yielded the thirty thousand, and built
thirty great ships, thirty dark-red ships and three.
Their prows were in the likeness of wild beasts,
their sides like dragons; their masts of red wood,
the cordage of silk, the sails of linen, and the
anchors of steel. Instead of eyes were precious
jacinths; instead of brows, Siberian sables; and
dark brown Siberian fox-skins in place of ears.
His faithful guards, his clerks, loaded these red
ships with the wares of Novgorod, and he sailed
away down the Volkof to Lake Ladoga, and thence
into the Neva, and through that river to the blue
sea, directing his course towards the Golden Horde.
There he sold his wares, receiving great gain, and
filling many casks of forty buckets, with red gold,
pure silver, and fair round pearls. They sailed
away from the Golden Horde, Sadko leading the
way in the Falcon ship, the finest of all the vessels.
But on the blue sea the red ships halted; the waves
dashed, the breeze whistled, the sails flapped, the
ships strained,—but could not move from that
spot.

Then Sadko the merchant, the rich Guest,
shouted from his good Falcon ship: "Ho there,
friends, ship-men, lower ye iron plummets, sound

the blue sea, whether there be any reefs or rocks
or sand-bars here!" So they sounded, but found
nothing.

And Sadko the merchant spake to his men:
"Ho there, my brave body-guard! Long have we
sailed the seas, yea, twelve full years, yet have
we paid no tribute to the Tzar Morskoi,[3] and now
he commandeth us down into the blue sea. Therefore,
cast ye into the waves a cask of red gold."
And they did so; but the waves beat, the sails
tore, the ships strained, yet moved not.

Again spake Sadko the rich Guest: "Lo, this
is but a small gift for the Tzar Morskoi, in his
blue sea. Cast ye another cask, a cask of pure
silver, to him." Yet the dark-red ships moved not,
though they cast in also a cask of seed-pearls.

Then spake Sadko once again: "My brave,
beloved body-guard, 'tis plain the Tzar Morskoi
calleth a living man from among us into his blue
sea. Make ye therefore lots of alder-wood, and
let each man write his name upon his own, and the
lots of all just souls shall float. But that man of
us whose lot sinketh, he also shall go from among
us into the blue sea." So it was done as he commanded:—but
Sadko's lot was a cluster of hop-flowers.
And all the lots swam like ducks save
Sadko's, and that went to the bottom like a stone.

Again spoke Sadko the rich merchant to his
troop: "These lots are not fair. Make ye to
yourselves others of willow-wood, and set your
names thereon, every man." This they did; but
Sadko made his lot of blue damascened steel from
beyond the sea, in weight ten poods. And it sank
while all the others swam lightly on the blue sea.

After that he essayed divers woods, choosing
ever for himself the lighter when his men's heavy

lots swam, and the heavier when his light lot fell
to the depths. Nevertheless, his lot would by no
means float, and the others would not sink.

Then said Sadko the rich Guest: "'Tis plain that
Sadko can do nothing. The Tzar Morskoi demandeth
Sadko himself in the blue sea. Then ho!
my brave, beloved guards! fetch me my massive
inkstand, my swan-quill pen, and my paper."

His brave, beloved men brought him his inkstand,
pen, and paper; and Sadko, the rich merchant
of Novgorod, sat in his folding-chair, at his
oaken table, and began to write away his possessions.
Much gave he to God's churches, much to
the poor brethren, and to his young wife. And
the remainder of his possessions he bestowed upon
his brave body-guard.

After that he wept, and spake to his men:

"Aï, my men, well loved and brave! Place ye
an oaken plank upon the blue sea, that I, Sadko,
may throw myself upon the plank; so shall it not
be terrible to me to take my death upon the blue
sea. And fill ye, brothers, a bowl with pure silver,
another with red gold, and yet a third with seed-pearls,
and place them upon the plank."

Then took he in his right hand an image of
St. Mikola, and in his left his little harp of maple-wood,
with its fine strings of gold, and put on him
a rich cloak of sables; and bitterly he wept as he
bade farewell to his brave company, to the white
world, and Novgorod the glorious. He descended
upon the oaken plank, and was borne upon the
blue sea, and his dark-red ships sped on and flew
as they had been black ravens.

Then was Sadko the rich merchant of Novgorod
greatly terrified, as he floated over the blue sea on
his plank of oak; but he fell asleep, and lo! when
he awoke it was at the very bottom of the ocean-sea.

He beheld the red sun burning through the
clear waves, and saw that he was standing beside a
palace of white stone where sat the Tzar Morskoi,
with head like a heap of hay, on his royal throne.

The Tzar Morskoi spake these words: "Thou
art welcome, Sadko, thou rich merchant of Novgorod!
Long hast thou sailed the seas, yet offered
no tribute to the Lord of the sea. And now thou
art come as a gift to me. I have sent for thee that
thou mayest answer me, which is now of greater
worth in Russia: gold or silver or damascened
steel. For the Tzaritza contendeth with us on
this matter."

"Gold and silver are precious in Russia," Sadko
made answer; "but damascened steel no less. For
without gold or silver a man may well live; but
without steel or iron can no man live."

"What hast thou there in thy right hand, and
what in thy left?"

"In my right hand is an ikóna[4] of St. Mikola;
in my left, my gusly."

"It is said that thou art a master-player on the
harp," said the Tzar Morskoi then; "play for me
upon thy harp of maple-wood."

Sadko saw that in the blue sea he could do
naught but obey, and he began to pluck his harp.
And as he played, the Tzar Morskoi began to jump
about, beating time with the skirts of his garment,
and waving his mantle; fair sea-maidens led choral
dances, and the lesser sea-folk squatted and leaped.

Then the blue sea was churned with yellow
sands, great billows surged over it, breaking many
ships asunder, drowning many men, and engulfing
vast possessions.

Three hours did Sadko play; and the Tzaritza
said to him:

"Break thy harp of maple-wood, merchant
Sadko the rich Guest! It seemeth to thee that
the Tzar is dancing in his palace, but 'tis on the
shore he danceth, and many drown and perish, all
innocent men."

Then Sadko brake his harp, and snapped its
golden strings; and when the Tzar Morskoi commanded
him to play yet two hours, he answered
him boldly that the harp was broken; and when
the Tzar would have had his smiths to mend it,
Sadko said that could only be done in Holy Russia.

"Wilt thou not take a wife here?" the Tzar
Morskoi said; "wilt thou not wed some fair maid
in the blue sea?"

And Sadko answered: "In the blue sea, I obey
thy will."

Then the Tzaritza said to him: "Choose not,
merchant Sadko the rich Guest, any maid from
the first three hundred which the Tzar shall offer
thee, but let them pass; and the same with the
second three hundred; and from the third, choose
thou the Princess who shall come last of all: she
is smaller and blacker than all the rest. And look
to it that thou kiss not, embrace not thy wife; so
shalt thou be once more in Holy Russia, so shalt
thou behold the white world and the fair sun. But
if thou kiss her, never more shalt thou behold the
white world, but shalt abide for ever in the blue
sea."

So Sadko let the first three hundred maidens
pass, and likewise the second, and of the third he
chose the last of all, the maiden called Chernava.[5]

Then the Tzar Morskoi made him a great feast;
and afterwards Sadko lay down and fell into a
heavy sleep. And when he awoke, he found himself
on the steep banks of the Chernava river.

And as he gazed, behold, his dark-red ships came
speeding up the Volkof, and his brave body-guard
were thinking of Sadko under the blue sea. When
also his brave troop beheld Sadko standing upon
the steep bank, they marvelled; for they had left
him on the blue sea, and lo! he had returned to
his city before them.

Then they all rejoiced greatly, and greeted
Sadko, and went to his palace. There he greeted
his young wife; and after that, he unloaded his
scarlet ships, and built a church to St. Mikola,
and another to the very holy mother of God, and
began to pray the Lord to forgive his sins.

And thenceforth he sailed no more upon the
blue sea, but dwelt and took his ease in his own
town.