Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Kozerozhka in the world. More than anything, she loved flowers: she had a large pink garden that she tended to, and the roses returned her affection: they delighted her with their fragrance.
One day, Kozerozhka sat on the porch of her house and saw: a huge Whale flying across the sky. Flying—seeing all the land: houses and small forests, and fields, and Kozerozhka's garden too.
"What a giant!" thought Kozerozhka. "He's bigger than anything I've ever seen in my life. He must have such a big heart! And with such a big heart, he must surely be very friendly. I'll get to know him better, ask him about his aerial travels. I think there will be room in his big heart for one small me."
But the Whale flew high and far, and he never heard how loudly Kozerozhka called, how long she tried to invite him to her garden, and how hard she tried to introduce him to each of her roses. The Whale simply flew on.
Then Kozerozhka became sad, but she decided to get to know and befriend the Whale no matter what. But more than that! The girl wanted to become the Lady of the Whale's Heart (and between you and me, she had every chance: the Whale was just tired of his loneliness and was travelling in search of a wife).
Kozerozhka set off to the edge of the forest to the Witch, so that she would give her wings on which she could fly after the Whale.
She came and asked.
And the Witch answered her:
I want to give you more than you ask for: I want to make you as big and flying as the Whale. Only you need to trust me and obey me in everything.
Kozerozhka became frightened: what if the witch made her jump off a cliff or dive headfirst into a whirlpool! But when she imagined that she would now spend her whole life knowing that the Whale exists and living without him, she thought that it would be a half-life anyway, not a real one.
Kozerozhka agreed. And the witch just waved her hands a couple of times—look, and Kozerozhka became big, very big, even majestic. And how she swims through the sky!
The witch was left only to wave her handkerchief.
Kozerozhka swims through the sky, folding little roses from clouds for her daughter, and the Whale carves a whistle from lightning for his son. They are happy together, that's what I'll say!
