Natalia Patratskaya - Sapphire fairy. Prose in English

A child appeared in Ilya’s family. This Lisa finally decided to become a mother and gave birth to a girl. Ilya was very happy with her daughter, and she most of all loved to climb her big dad. Her mom was constantly in business and very often absent from home. With the child sat nurse-nanny. Little girl again fluttered in search of adventure in the northern capital. She often spent time with her friends than with a child.

The granddaughter of the king lived not far from the palace, on the channel with golden sphinxes. But the king did not know about his granddaughter and about his son, who lived practically next to him, even by the standards of the nineteenth century.

Elapsed time, two or three hundred years. One day, people came to mine copper in carts, and even stumbled upon a chest, which the gnomes pelted with earth, and next to the skeletons lay the servants of the khan-eyed khan. People took the chest and carried it to freedom, the Queen was immediately informed to the northern capital.

The queen ordered to deliver a chest to her, but some of the stones along the road disappeared along with the people. Not without it. She did not know, she did not know that it was impossible to distribute these gems, it was impossible to look at them for a long time.

The queen died from the radiance of stones. In place of the queen, the king came. He knew about the misfortune with the queen, so he kept the chest closed in his chambers. The king called the fortuneteller to himself and asked him what the power of the stones was. She was a great inventor, but she foresaw a lot.

The fortune teller said that the stones have tremendous energy, incomprehensible to her, and it is better to remove them from the king’s chambers. I obeyed the king fortuneteller. Removed gems from the king. He ordered one of them to make jewelry, so that all of them were beautiful and different in taste.

The king decided to give away all the gems for the benefit of himself and his fatherland. Jewelers, who made the jewelry, died more often than other jewelers. And they made jewels for ambassadors out of those stones, decided to give them away at holidays, assemblies. One jewelery made of yellow sapphire, the king himself called the “Straw widow.”

Katerina’s granddaughter, Varvara, grew up as a beautiful, stately gray-eyed girl with a large light brown braid, and a satin bow was adorned at the top of the braid. From the age of 14, they sent matchmakers to her. To her grandmother, the girl only once went to the banks of the Neva. Grandma was pleased with her granddaughter and was very sorry that she lived in the village, but Varvara’s mother, Marya Yakovlevna, refused to go to the city.

Varvara’s father, Anton Ivanovich, was transformed in the village. Here, no one considered him as lullaby, as in a city. Here he was revered as a smart and strong man. In the village he was in his place. Most often, Anton Ivanovich could be seen in the forge. He liked to work with a heavy hammer. Blacksmith he was excellent. In the village with him, the people began to build stout houses.

They built a good mill for everyone. Anton Ivanovich was the father of his family for all villagers. Marya Yakovlevna, in moments of sadness, took out a gift from her mother – the Sapphire “Straw Widow”. Sapphire was not very fond of life in the village, but he approved of the actions of Anton Ivanovich and meekly endured the sad glances of Marya Yakovlevna. Sapphire lay in his golden frame and sad with his mistress.

In the village a tragic event occurred. One rebellious horse kicked Anton Ivanovich so hard when she was shod, that he fell down and soon died. Marya Yakovlevna was numb from grief and practically did not move herself. Barbara bothered around her mother. Mother solemnly, as far as was possible in her situation, gave the sapphire “The Straw Widow” to Barbara and died.

The girl was 15 years old. In memory of her mother, she had a sapphire, but her daughter considered him mom’s trinket and put it behind the stove. Without sapphire, she felt better, he mysteriously acted on her badly, he interfered with her yellow eye. In a word, sapphire and Varvara did not like. She was left alone. She endured the sad state of losing her father and mother with great difficulty.

Near the village grew forest. She was unknown to shyness, she was born near the forest. Barbara began to walk in the woods for strawberries, for raspberries, for mushrooms. Her friends took little interest; she preferred solitude in the forest. Instead of a gun, she took with her a light bow and arrows.

A neighbor, at her request, made arrowheads. Bow for her bent master, who knew the properties of the tree, but more often for people he wove baskets. Barbara shot well at a small target. She did not hope to kill the archery bear, and she needed her for complacency. From the bow Varvara could shoot a duck on the fly.

A friend of the girl showed up the most unexpected – an elk. This marvelous animal with branchy horns always went on the path when Barbara went into the forest. The first time the girl was frightened by an elk and turned back to the house. The elk stopped and began to beat his hoof on the ground, as if he asked: come back, do not go.

Barbara stopped, turned to the moose, and approached him, as if he were a simple horse. Barbara knew how to handle horses, but preferred to walk, not ride a horse. And elk? Barbara did not know what to expect from an elk. In the bag she had a piece of bread. She broke off half and stretched the elk. Elk with huge soft lips took the bread from the palm of Barbara.

Barbara began to talk to him, and then said a simple phrase:

– Elk, come with me.

And the elk went with her. Varvara patted his withers. Elk shook his head. Barbara did not collect anything that day, but she was calm in her heart. She walked a little with the elk, with this slim and proud animal from the forest world. And again she said:

– Elk, let’s go home.

The elk turned and went to accompany her home. When the hut began to shine through the trees, the elk stopped. Barbara understood him and said:

– Elk, go to the forest. We’ll meet Again.

Elk obediently went to the forest. Elk met Barbarian several times in the forest. The meetings of Varvara with the elk were noticed by Andrew, the son of the manager, who was once appointed by Maria Yakovlevna. Andrei asked:

– Barbara, what kind of friendship do you have with a wild moose?

“I don’t know, but the elk is waiting for me constantly on the path when I go into the forest.”

“Did you feed him bread?”

– Yes.

– Barbara, friendship with a moose is interesting, are you not afraid? Why do you carry a bow?

– I like to hit the mark.

– Barbara, marry me! I understand it’s hard for you to live alone.

– Let’s get married, but in a year.

Barbara married handsome Andrew, but he was soon called to the army. He returned as a completely sick person, and yet they had a daughter, Masha, when Varvara turned 25 years old.

Six months after the death of Andrei Varvara Antonovna married a second time, for the widowed man Artem Ivanovich, his son Mitya left his wife. The life of Barbara became poorer and more difficult. Artem Ivanovich and Barbara decided to go to Siberia, to look for happiness. They stopped in a village, put a house with a roof over his head.

Artem Ivanovich met with a political exile, helped him. The exile was literate, he began to teach literacy Mitya, and mother was not allowed to teach Masha. The girl’s neighbors fed rye bread with milk, and it was very tasty, went for a treat. In Siberia, the sticks did not grow on trees, happiness did not smile, but the cold was harsh.

Masha’s parents decided to return to their homeland, to their native village, where their relatives helped them, and they stayed in the village. Artem Ivanovich worked as a tailor, went with his wife to the villages. Together they sewed clothes to the one who invited, they received mostly products for the work. So they kept and fed the family.