In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a princess. She was beautiful and sweet, but also capricious and willful, just like all princesses. One day she decided to take a journey through her kingdom. The King and Queen tried to dissuade their daughter. They said:
Why would you go in winter? Wait for spring!
But the princess didn't listen to her parents, ordered the servants to harness the horses, dressed in the most fashionable furs, packed sweets for the road, and set off on her journey.
And the journey was long, the kingdom stretched across enormous expanses. To travel through it all, one had to go around the forest, cross the river on ice, and pass by hundreds of villages.
Our princess didn't want to meet with village dwellers, because the girl didn't like them, considering them uneducated, unfashionable, and dirty.
The princess couldn't even imagine that all the products for her table came from the village: milk and butter, meat and bread. And all these delicacies were obtained through the hard work of simple people.
And so she rides in her sleigh, munching on honey cakes. Suddenly a blizzard rose up and swirled and whirled so much that it lifted the princess into the air. And she landed in a dense forest.
Instead of looking around, the girl immediately let out a deafening scream. But no one could hear her. For a long time the princess cried bitter tears, but there was nothing to be done.
She decided to walk through the forest to find the road. She walks and trudges, hears wolves howling, branches crackling in the frost. From fear, the traveler's heart sank into her boots.
Suddenly she looked more carefully, and a little light flashed in the dark thicket. The princess walked toward this light. She walked and walked and came to a clearing where a fire was burning. And around it sat four beautiful maidens.
The princess was afraid to approach them right away, so she decided to observe them. One maiden was in a white fur coat, with snowflakes in her hair that sparkled like precious stones.
The second girl wore a festive sarafan decorated with snowdrops and coltsfoot, and from her eyes, like sun rays, such warmth emanated!
The third was just a little girl, wearing a light, airy dress. In her hands was a small bouquet of wildflowers. And the fourth sister held a sheaf of golden wheat ears in her hands, and her dress was embroidered with colourful leaves.
Still, the princess decided to approach them. But she didn't say welcoming words to the maidens; instead, she asked coldly:
What are you doing in my forest?
The maidens answered her:
Why is it your forest? After all, you don't know what plants grow in it, when berries and mushrooms ripen? What animals live in it, what help they need?
The princess thought—and it was true, foreign teachers had taught her, told her about overseas kingdoms, about fashion, various ways of life. But they couldn't tell her anything about Mother Russia.
And the princess became so interested in learning about each little tree and bush, about each tiny creature from her native forest. She asked the maidens to tell her what happens in the forest in winter and spring, summer and autumn.
The maiden—Winter told her about hares that bundle up in white fur coats in winter and confuse their tracks so as not to become prey for the fox.
And the maiden—Spring offered to listen to a story about a bear that the sun woke up, and now he wanders hungry through the forest. How buds swell on trees and young leaves appear from them. And such an aroma fills the forest that your head spins. Spring didn't forget to remind the princess about village people either. For them, a spring day feeds the year.
And the little girl—Summer, who listened respectfully to her older sisters, told about the delicious strawberry, about butterflies that, like the princess, seem to boast of their outfits. She added that village work hadn't decreased: water the gardens, pasture cows and goats, prepare feed for them.
A sad tale was told by the maiden—Autumn. And how could she not be sad when you hear the farewell song of cranes and ducks, and the songs of peasants harvesting grain from the field are also not cheerful.
Such stories enchanted the princess, and she decided to ask her father and mother to invite Russian teachers to her. She wanted to learn as much as possible about her native nature. And the princess also decided to make friends with peasant children.
And as soon as these thoughts came to her mind, a team of horses appeared in the clearing. The princess got into the sleigh and they set off for her native kingdom. But her life changed greatly! Readers can guess for themselves what our princess became?
