Reading Notes: The Three Copecks, Part A

I really loved the Dead Mother story when I was just exploring the UnTextbook, so I thought I would do some reading notes over another Russian Fairy Tale. I chose this one because I had no idea what Copecks were (Russian currency, the more you know).

The Three Copecks

A poor orphan didn't have a penny to his name, so he offered to work for one copeck a year for a rich moujik. When he was paid, he through it down a well thinking if it floated he could keep it and if it sank then he did not deserve it. The next year the same thing happened. The third year, the moujik gave him a rouble instead of a copeck. The orphan demanded a copeck and once it was recieved he threw it down the well. To his surprise, not one but three copecks were floating. He took them and went to town. In town, he saw three horrible children hurting a kitten, and gave his three copecks for it. To earn (money?) again he started working for a merchant. When the business became successful, the merchant asked the boy for his kitten to keep his goods safe from mice out at sea. The orphan agreed, warning him if he lost the cat there would be hell to pay. The merchant then went to a land far away that had never heard of cats. When the landlord offering a room to him was hoping he would die from the rat infestation, he was surprised the little cat kept him safe and killed all the rats. The landlord asked the merchant for the cat, the merchant accepted the offer of a trifle of gold, enough of it to hide the cat with. On his way home, the merchant thought to keep the gold to himself and share none with the orphan. Suddenly, a storm threatened to sink their ship. The merchant realized this was the hell to pay the orphan spoke of, and swore he would pay him back. When he arrived to shore, he gave the orphan all the gold. The orphan used it to buy incense and burn it for God. An old man appeared and asked if he wanted riches or women, and the boy said he didn't know. The old man said to ask three brothers plowing what they thought he should do. The orphan did, and the boys said to ask the eldest brother - somehow, a three year old was the oldest and he told the orphan to ask for a good wife. The orphan did, and then became a husband.

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What an odd story! The cat part got me sad - I adore animals and feel terrible just seeing roadkill. I though there would be a moral to the story... maybe it is that if you are honest and good you will be rewarded? I'm not sure, but I love the bizarre world of Russian fairy tales.