Reading Notes: The Dog and the Corpse

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A moujik went hunting with his dog ans found nothing but his own pain. He passed a grave having no game, and saw where two roads met a corpse. He was very frightened and did not know which way to go, or to turn back entirely.

He walked forth with his dog, and the corpse, sensing him, came alive. The corpse rushed him, but his dog grabbed the thing by its calves. The moujik saw his dog and was so happy that he was protected. In his rejoice he ran home but forgot the dog. The dog overpowered the corpse, and ran after his master. When he found him, the dog started attacking the moujik. Everyone in the house was confused, except the moujik's mom who said that the dog was upset he abandoned the dog. The next morning, the dog growled when moujik approached it. The family fastened the dog to a chain, and kept it there all year. Even after one year, the dog still would try to attack it's master so they killed it.

image source

Reading Notes: Friday, Part A.

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A woman did not pay her respects to the god Mother Friday. She made cloth and fell asleep, but the door opened and thus behold Mother Friday herself. She wore a white dress and was angry, stuffing the dust from her machine in to the woman's eyes. When she only had dust instead of eyes, Mother Friday left. The woman awoke and started screaming because she could not see. The others told her Mother Friday punished her for working on her holiday. The woman begged for forgiveness and offered a tapestry, promising to never herself or let others dishonor her. Mother Friday was a forgiving god and gave the poor woman her eyesight back, and now it is a sin to comb and spin flax on the holiday.

image source

Reading Notes: The Two Corpses, Part B

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A soldier was going home to pray and pay respect to his parents. On his way home, when it was dark, he passed a graveyard and heard someone running and crying saying he couldn't escape. He saw a corpse running after him with lashing teeth. The soldier ran and found a church, hiding inside. In it, there was nothing but another corpse on a table. The soldier hid in the corner, waiting to see what would happen. The first corpse ran inside and the second asked the first why it was here. The first said he wanted to eat a soldier he found, but the second argued the soldier was in his home so he should get to eat the soldier. They argued and fought, and fought so hard they fought to death (super death I guess). The soldier went home, and praised god.

image source