Long ago, the beautiful Winter settled on Earth. Slender, with long white locks, in a magnificent dress embroidered with precious stones, she looked down haughtily at everything around her, and a splendid crown sparkled on her head. Winter reigned for three months, and then Spring—bright, joyful, blooming, and kind—took her place.
And then one day Maslenitsa came to Earth—a wonderful young girl. Her face was radiant, and her cheeks were rosy. Maslenitsa was dressed in a beautiful long gown, with multicoloured precious stones woven into her hair that shimmered beautifully in the sun. The forest animals were Maslenitsa's best friends. Every day she would visit them in the forest to play and chat together. Maslenitsa understood the language of animals and could always help them.
For eleven months Maslenitsa didn't show herself to people; she lived in the forest in her small cottage. And only with the arrival of February would the beautiful young girl appear and celebrate a worldwide festival. With her arrival, everything around would thaw, and Winter would grow anxious. For with Maslenitsa's coming, Spring would replace Winter.
And so one day, as Maslenitsa was strolling through the thick snowy forest, she overheard two squirrels talking:
Do you know that this year Winter won't be replaced by Spring!
It can't be! How is that possible? Spring always comes after Winter!
It turned out that Winter had decided to rage this year and make it so that Spring would never come again. Everything would be covered with ice and snow, blizzards would blow every day, and snow would bury everything around, and people would never again be able to admire the budding leaves, beautiful early flowers, and the sun that melts the ice and warms the Earth.
How can that be!
Maslenitsa suddenly cried out loudly.
What does this mean? Now I won't be able to bring joy to people and treat them to my delicacies. In such a harsh winter, I won't be able to get through the snowdrifts and ice, and then our friends will stay in their homes forever, without sunlight, without birdsong, and without flowering trees.
Let's drive Winter away together!
The squirrels squeaked in unison.
We'll help you deal with this Winter; we're tired of it too! These constant blizzards, ice, winds, and snowfalls don't let us jump happily from branch to branch—it's too slippery.
Maslenitsa thought and thought, and came up with a plan! Winter needed to be driven away with warmth and joy! Winter doesn't like it when people take off their coats, rejoice in the sun, and joyfully welcome Spring. We need to warm people's hearts, melt the ice on Earth, and then Winter herself won't want to stay here.
Maslenitsa went from house to house, asking each homeowner:
Greetings, dear master! Things are bad for us; Winter won't leave! So I thought, shouldn't we try together to deal with her and drive her away so that Spring can melt the ice and make the buds on the trees bloom!
Of course, dear one, of course, beauty! What do we need to do?
The homeowners supported the young girl.
I ask you, bake pancakes every day, but not plain ones—with fillings. With jam, with honey, with berries and mushrooms! And put more wood in the stove so that warmth and cosiness reign in your homes. Together we'll drive away this harsh Winter!
People began baking delicious, rich pancakes every day. After enjoying the treats, smiles appeared on their faces, and harsh Winter raged. She didn't like it when people rejoiced so in warmth and cosiness. In the homes, a joyful and warming atmosphere reigned, and everyone kept talking about how warm and good they felt.
Maslenitsa, together with her forest friends, baked many, many pancakes with forest delicacies. The beautiful young girl walked across the Earth, treating everyone to tasty food.
And to weaken Winter completely, children from all the yards gathered and went sledding down the hills. They raced into the wind, laughing and joyfully shouting:
Oh, Winter, dear Winter, we're sledding on your last days! We joyfully welcome Spring!
But Winter wouldn't give up! She waved her sleeve with precious stones and ice figures, and everything around was buried in snow again. And then Maslenitsa decided to trick harsh Winter. She made a figure of herself from twigs, dry branches, and leaves, and dressed it in her own gown. It looked just like Maslenitsa, but it wasn't real.
She told people about her plan, and they supported her. At dawn, they placed the Maslenitsa made of twigs in the middle of a village and decided to set it on fire.
The real Maslenitsa stayed home so Winter wouldn't suspect anything. And Winter, meanwhile, looked in her icy reflection to see what was happening, and was delighted.
The people lit a huge bonfire around the effigy, so large that all the snow and ice on the Earth melted from the fire.
From that day on, harsh Winter understood that with Maslenitsa's arrival, she couldn't rule. She gave her power to Spring and quietly faded away, taking with her the blizzards, snow, and ice. Now people eagerly await Maslenitsa's arrival every year, for with Maslenitsa comes the beautiful Spring!
