1 Злая мачеха ее не полюбила, била ее и думала, как бы вовсе извести. The motif of the evil or wicked stepmother often appears in Western European folk tales as well as in Russian folklore. Well-known tales such as “Cinderella” have the evil stepmother model at their heart.
2 А тетка эта была баба-яга костяная нога. This is Baba-Yaga’s usual epithet, which may be translated as “Baba-Yaga The Bony-Legged.” The boniness indicates her preternatural old age, which was commonly associated with sorcery in Russian folk belief. Women in general were expected to be plump, as an indication of both beauty and strength and ability to resist famine and bear healthy children. Although Baba-Yaga is not always villainous and not always cannibalistic, she is both in this tale, and the assertion of kinship between the stepmother and Baba-Yaga connects the two as threats to the heroine.
3 Вот девочка не была глупа, да зашла прежде к своей родной тетке. The girl knows that if she goes to Baba-Yaga, she may be killed by the witch, so she seeks advice from her real aunt. That the girl is not stupid associates her with the tradition of “wise maidens” in Russian fairy tales. The motif of the wise old woman who advises her is also a common fairy-tale motif, and is comparable to the western “fairy godmother.”
4 Та ее и научает: «Там тебя, племянушка, будет березка в глаза стегать — ты ее ленточкой перевяжи; там тебе ворота будут скрипеть и хлопать — ты подлей им под пяточки маслица; там тебя собаки будут рвать — ты им хлебца брось; там тебе кот будет глаза драть — ты ему ветчины дай». The aunt has told the girl all the things she needs to know to survive being sent to Baba-Yaga, as we will see later in the tale. As is common in fairy tales, no explanation is offered for how the aunt has obtained her knowledge.
5 Девочка сидит ни жива, ни мертва, вся перепуганная The girl has clearly heard the witch speaking to the servant woman about eating her for breakfast.
6 «Родимая моя! Ты не столько дрова поджигай, сколько водой заливай, решетом воду носи», — и дала ей платочек. The girl’s request to carry water in a sieve is impossible, and is meant to keep the servant woman from cooking her as the witch requested, a ruse that demonstrates the girl’s wisdom. The gift of the shawl also is meant to bribe the servant not to complete the task (and the servant understands it as such and complies; see below).
7 Вот тебе гребешок и полотенце, — говорит кот, — возьми их и убежи Talking animal helpers appear regularly in the tales. Typically the heroine must pass a test in order to earn assistance from the magic helper; in this case the test is implicit, and consists of the heroine giving ham to the cat.
8 за тобою будет гнаться баба-яга, ты приклони ухо к земле и как заслышишь, что она близко, брось сперва полотенце — сделается широкая-широкая река; если ж баба-яга перейдет через реку и станет догонять тебя, ты опять приклони ухо к земле и как услышишь, что она близко, брось гребешок — сделается дремучий-дремучий лес; сквозь него она уже не проберется! The cat’s advice, like the aunt’s, is predictive—the cat knows how Baba-Yaga will pursue the girl and directs her accordingly. The towel that turns into a river and the comb that turns into a forest, both of which delay a pursuing villain, are common motifs in Russian folk tales.
9 Девочка взяла полотенце и гребешок и побежала; собаки хотели ее рвать — она бросила им хлебца, и они ее пропустили; ворота хотели захлопнуться — она подлила им под пяточки маслица, и они ее пропустили; березка хотела ей глаза выстегать — она ее ленточкой перевязала, и та ее пропустила. By following the aunt’s advice, the girl successfully negotiates all the perils and obstacles and escapes. Note that the gates, like the birch tree below, are described as having volition, an example of folkloric animism.
10 Баба-яга костяная нога поскорей села на ступу, толкачом погоняетпомелом след заметает This is Baba-Yaga’s typical method of travel.
11 Баба-яга стала его грызть Gnawing through trees to escape from confinement or overcome obstacles is a common motif in Russian fairy tales.
12 Дед как узнал все это, рассердился на жену и расстрелил ее The weak father who is unable to stand up to the wicked stepmother is a familiar motif in Russian (and non-Russian) fairy tales. It is unusual for the father to kill the stepmother, as he does here; more typically she dies of grief or spite when her plot is foiled, or the heroine somehow brings about her death (as in “Vasilisa the Beautiful.”).
13 и я там был, мед-пиво пил: по усам текло, в рот не попало This sort of poetic ritual ending represents an intrusion of a first-person narrator (“I was there”), and may represent a coded request to be paid in drink for having told an entertaining story (“I tried to drink mead and beer, but none of it got in my mouth” = “I’m thirsty, and would appreciate being given something to drink now”).