In a small Russian village, there lived an old man and an old woman. They had a daughter named Alyonushka and a son named Ivanushka. Soon, the couple died, and Alyonushka and Ivanushka were left all alone in the world. Alyonushka had to go out to work and Ivanushka went along as he was too young to stay alone at home. One day, when they were coming back home, Ivanushka felt thirsty. “Sister Alyonushka, I am thirsty,” he said. Alyonushka asked him to wait until they came to a well. But the day was too hot and they had a long way to go. They came upon a cow’s hoof filled with water. Ivanushka asked Alyonushka if he could drink just one sip from the cattle trough. “Please do not drink from there, otherwise you will turn into a calf. The well is not that far from here,” warned Alyonushka. Ivanushka obeyed her. They walked on a bit farther and came upon a horse’s hoof but Ivanushka could not drink from there as well.
Ivanushka Turns into a Goat
Alyonushka and Ivanushka kept walking and came upon a goat’s hoof filled with water. Ivanushka was exhausted and thirsty. This time, he did not listen to his sister and drank out of the goat’s hoof. The moment he finished drinking, he turned into a white baby goat. As soon as Alyonushka saw the young goat, she understood what happened to Ivanushka and she started weeping. She sat on the ground near a stack of hay and the little white goat happily leapt in play around it. Just then, a merchant chanced to ride near by and asked her why she was crying. Alyonushka told him his sad story. The merchant fell in love with her and proposed to her for marriage. “Marry me, pretty lady. I will dress you in gold and silver, and the little goat will live with us.” Alyonushka agreed to marry him. Both Alyonushka and her young brother moved to the merchant’s house and lived in harmony.
Alyonushka and the Witch
One day, when the merchant was away from home, an ugly witch appeared. She stood under Alyonushka’s window and begged her sweetly to go and bathe in the river with her. Alyonushka followed the witch. The witch attacked Alyonushka, tied a huge rock round her neck and threw her into the depth of the river. Then, she put on Alyonushka’s clothes and went to her house. No one guessed she was not Alyonushka but a witch, not even the merchant. Only the little goat knew that she was not real Alyonushka, but the wicked Baba Yaga. Every evening, he used to run to the lake to call for his sister. When Baba Yaga got to know this, she asked the merchant to kill the goat. She insisted so much that the merchant said, “All right; you kill him then.” In the meantime, the witch ordered the servant to search for the goat and bring it to her.
Alyonushka is Saved
Ivanushka ran to the river and cried, “Alyonushka, my dear sister! Swim out to me.” Alyonushka responded from the bottom of the river, “Ivanushka, my dear brother! The heavy stone doesn’t let me swim. I can barely breathe.” The servant saw Ivanushka on the shore who was crying by talking to the river, and a human voice answered him. The servant rushed back home and told his master what he had heard and seen. The merchant himself went to the lake to find out the truth. He called some people who went down to the river and, casting a net, dragged Alyonushka out onto the bank. They untied the stone which was round her neck and Alyonushka opened her eyes. Ivanushka was happy and delighted. The wicked witch was executed and the little goat turned back into the young boy Ivanushka. The three of them lived happily throughout the rest of their life.
