A collection Fairy tales from Russia.
Sergei Aksakov: The little scarlet flower.
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He spoke his thoughts aloud, as there was no falseness in his icart. Even so, the Beast of the Forest, Denizen of the Deep knew
what was in his mind, saw he was an honest man and, taking no writ-;en pledge from him, took the gold ring off his finger and handed t to the merchant.
Hardly had the merchant had time to slip it on the little finger of his right hand than he found himself at the gates of his own spacious courtyard; and at that very moment, there arrived his richly-laden
;aravans and his loyal servants bringing treasure and merchandise thrice the value of what he had taken forth. A great commotion arose within the house, his daughters Jumped up from their
embroidery frames where they had been embroidering widths of silken cloth with gold and silver thread, and they rushed to embrace their father, hug and kiss him; and the two eldest sisters were more doting than the youngest. Presently, they saw that something was amiss, that a secret sorrow lay upon their father's heart. And his elder daughters asked anxiously whether he had lost his great fortune; but the youngest daughter gave no thought to his fortune, and said, "Your fortune is of no consequence to me; riches can be obtained again. Do reveal to me your heartfelt grief."
And the merchant made answer to his dear daughters, good and kind.
"I have not lost my great fortune, but multiplied it three or four fold; another sorrow presses upon me. That I'll relate to you
tomorrow, for today let us make merry."
He ordered that his iron-bound travelling chests be brought in:
for his eldest daughter, he took out the golden crown-made from the gold of Araby that neither would fire melt nor water rust-set with precious stones; for the second daughter, he took out the gift of the mirror of Eastern crystal; and for his youngest daughter, he took out the gift of the Little Scarlet Flower in a golden vase. The eldest daughters were beside themselves with joy, carried off their gifts to their lofty chambers to try them out to their heart's delight. But the youngest daughter trembled violently on seeing the Little Scarlet Flower and began to weep, as if her heart would break.
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