Reading Notes Russia Part A

A husband and wife lived in a village, and all of their neighbors envied them. The mother had a baby, but she died during birth. The father didn't know how to take care of the baby so he hired an old woman. During the day the baby wouldn't eat and he would cry nonstop. However, at night the baby was silent. The old woman decided to stay up one night to see what was happening. At midnight someone opened the door and went to the babies cradle. She told the father about this and he decides to see for himself. The next night the figure comes in again and when it gets to the cradle then shine a light on it. It's the dead mother. She immediately leaves silently. They go up to the cradle and the baby is dead.

An old couple lived in poverty. One winter the wife died in the winter. Everyone was poor so no one would help him dig a grave for his wife. Even the pope wouldn't help because he didn't have money. The old man decides to do it himself. While he is digging he finds a pot full of gold. He returns in the hope and gives him gold to bury his wife. The old man invited the pope to his home, and the pope asked him how he got the money. He thinks that he robbed someone. The man tells him how he found it. The pope is greedy and devises a plan to steal the money. He kills a goat and has the wife sew the skin on him. He goes to the man's house at night. He knocks on the window and tells the man he's the devil. He tells him to give him the gold. The man obliges. The pope goes back home and tells his wife to cut the skin off, but she can't. The goat skin had merged with the man.

The devil the man was impersonating. Source

Bibliography:

Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).