The Legend of the Firebird

In Slavic mythology, the firebird is a beautiful, peacock-like bird with a long tail and bright plumage of glowing yellow, red and orange. Many myths are associated with the firebird and most of them involve a quest. Let’s go on one such quest with Prince Ivan.

In the days of old Russia, there was once a tsar named Berendey who lived in a grand palace that was surrounded by a beautiful orchard. In the middle of that orchard was a tree that bore golden apples.

One day, the tsar noticed that all the apples had disappeared. Someone was stealing them! He appointed some of his men to guard the tree all night long but they were unable to catch the thief.

Now the tsar had three sons and the eldest of them offered to catch the thief himself. ‘I’ll keep watch tonight, Father, and bring you the one who dares to steal from right under our noses,’ he said. He stayed in the orchard that night.

The night was long and quiet and the prince fell asleep at some point. The morning came and he awoke to find the apples missing again! The tsar was, naturally, very angry. Then the second prince spoke up. ‘Father, I’m sure I’ll be able to catch this stealthy fellow tonight. Have patience—tomorrow I shall bring him to you!’

And that night it was his turn to keep watch. Again, the night wore on, painfully silent, and not a leaf stirred. A little after midnight, the second prince, too, fell asleep. The next morning he was greeted by the same sight as his elder brother. The apples were gone.

Now it was the turn of the youngest prince, Ivan. When he offered to keep watch, his brothers laughed. ‘You are not going to succeed, little brother! The thief is too clever for any of us.’ Prince Ivan said nothing and spent the night in the orchard like his brothers before him. The prince refused to even sit down because he knew that he would soon be lying down and then sleep would overcome him. Past midnight, he found himself almost falling asleep, still on his feet. He used some dew to wipe his face. Refreshed, he quietly waited. An hour after midnight, there was a brilliant glow that lit up the orchard. Ivan followed the light and came upon a fiery bird seated on the golden apple tree, pecking away at the fruit!

The bird was all aglow; its red, orange and yellow feathers lit up like a bonfire. The prince quietly made his way to the tree and climbed up from behind the bird.

Just as he caught the bird by its tail, it took flight and disappeared! All Ivan was left with was a single glowing feather.

The next morning, he took the feather to his father. The feather was still aflame, magically glowing. ‘The thief is a magical firebird, father! But he was too swift for me,’ said the prince sadly. But the tsar was more fascinated with the fiery feather than anything else.

‘Umm . . . firebird, you say? We must catch it somehow. I shall put it in a golden cage here at the palace! Tell me now, who will find this bird?’ asked the tsar.

All the three princes (no doubt, an enthusiastic bunch) took up the challenge and rode off on their horses to find the firebird.

They went in separate directions, riding night and day on their quest. Prince Ivan, however, did not hurry; he went through dales and meadows, valleys and forests, lingering long enough to see if the bird was hiding in some unseen tree. After three days of journeying, he reached an open meadow where there stood a single pillar.

When he came close, he could see there was an inscription on it. This is what it said: ‘Whoever goes straight will go cold and hungry; whoever takes a right from here will be safe but his horse will die; and whoever takes the left will die but his horse will be safe.’

No prizes for guessing the choice he made—of course, it was to go right. ‘Let me see what this path has for me. If my steed were to die, I’m sure I would be able to find another,’ he told himself as he rode on further from the green meadow.

Prince Ivan rode on and on and soon lost count of how long or how far he had travelled. One evening, he reached the edge of a blue forest and decided to rest for a bit. He got off his horse and tied it to a tree nearby and went to sleep under its shade. When he awoke the next morning, his horse had disappeared. The prince looked everywhere for his horse but there was no trace of him.

All alone in the blue forest with his steed missing, Ivan began to weep. He missed his horse and was also worried about how he would continue. Don’t judge him harshly for, if you were tired, lost, all alone and hungry, you would cry too.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a big Grey Wolf approached Prince Ivan. To his surprise, it began to speak: ‘I’m so sorry but I couldn’t help myself. It was I who ate your horse!’

‘What? You ate my horse? How could you?’ cried Ivan. ‘I hadn’t eaten for days, you see! Did you not read the inscription on the pillar? Did it not warn you that your horse would die if you turned right?’ said the Grey Wolf.

‘How will I find the firebird now?’ murmured Ivan, almost to himself. ‘You would have never found that bird with your horse anyway,’ the wolf told him. ‘Come, I will take you on my back and together we will catch the bird you are looking for!’

So Ivan, not having a choice anyway, climbed on to the Grey Wolf’s back and they sped through the blue forest. The wolf took him across mountains, meadows and valleys. At last, they came upon a high fortress. The Grey Wolf stopped.

‘See that tower over there,’ he pointed. ‘Climb this wall and go all the way up to the top. Don’t worry, all the guards are asleep and won’t hear you. When you get to the top, you will see a golden cage inside. The firebird is in that cage. Take the bird and hide it in your coat but do not, I repeat, do not, touch the cage.’

Prince Ivan scaled the walls quite easily and soon found his way up the tower. Sure enough, the gleaming bird sat in a beautiful golden cage. When he reached out, taking care not to touch the cage, and took the bird, it came without a fuss. Ivan hid it in his coat as instructed.

Task over, he looked at the cage again. Such craftsmanship—why should I not take that too? After all, we need a cage to put the bird in at the palace, he thought, before reaching for the cage. As soon as his hands brushed the cage, there was a clamour of bells. Drums rolled and trumpets blared. The noise woke the guards, who caught him immediately. He was then chained and taken to Tsar Afron, who owned the castle. ‘Who are you that dares steal our firebird?’ asked the tsar.

‘I’m Ivan, son of Tsar Berendey,’ replied the prince shamefacedly. ‘What? A prince? And you behave like a thief?’ ‘Your bird has no business coming to our kingdom and stealing our golden apples every night!’ Ivan did not want to appear apologetic.

‘If you had asked us nicely, we’d have given the bird to you gladly. But here you are, stealing from our castle in the middle of the night . . . now you have to pay! If you want to take the bird you must perform a task I set for you,’ said the tsar, who did not seem too angry in any case.

‘I do apologize for my mistake. I will do whatever you ask of me. Pray, tell me what is it that you want.’ asked Ivan, happy to make amends.

‘Now there’s a Tsar Kusman who owns a horse with a golden mane. Go find that horse and get him for me, and in return, you shall have the bird,’ declared the tsar.

Prince Ivan returned to the wolf, who lay waiting for him outside. When he told him what had happened, the wolf chided him for touching the cage.

‘Now look what you’ve gone and done. You’re going to steal for this tsar now! Never mind . . . let’s get going. I will take you to Tsar Kusman’s. Let’s get that golden horse!’

And Ivan set off again on the Grey Wolf to look for the golden horse.