Long ago, the beautiful Winter settled on Earth. Slender, with long white locks, in a magnificent gown embroidered with precious stones, she looked down haughtily at everything around her, and a splendid crown sparkled upon 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 maiden. Her face was radiant, and her cheeks 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 creatures 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 maiden appear before people and arrange a worldwide celebration. With her appearance, everything around began to thaw, and Winter grew anxious. For with Maslenitsa's arrival, Spring replaced Winter.
And so one day, as Maslenitsa was strolling through the dense 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? After Winter, Spring always comes!
It turned out that Winter had decided to rage this year and ensure that Spring would never come again. Everything around would be covered with ice and snow, every day blizzards would sweep the streets, and snow would bury everything, and people would never again be able to admire the budding leaves, beautiful early flowers and the sun that would melt the ice and warm the Earth.
How can this 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 pass through the snowdrifts and ice, and then our friends will remain in their homes forever, without sunlight, without birdsong and 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 merrily from branch to branch—it's far too slippery.
Maslenitsa thought and thought, and came up with a plan! Winter must be driven away with warmth and joy! Winter doesn't like it when people remove their fur coats, rejoice in the sun and happily welcome Spring. We must warm people's hearts, melt the ice on Earth, and then Winter herself won't want to linger here.
Maslenitsa went from house to house, asking each master:
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 burst on the trees!
Of course, my dear, of course, beauty! What must we do?
The homeowners supported the maiden.
I ask you, bake pancakes every day, but not plain ones—with fillings. With jam, with honey, with berries and mushrooms! And put plenty of wood in the stove so that warmth and cosiness reign in your homes. Together we'll drive away this harsh Winter!
People began to bake 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 constantly spoke about how warm and good they felt.
Maslenitsa, together with her forest friends, baked many, many pancakes with forest delicacies. The beautiful maiden walked across the Earth, treating everyone to tasty food.
And to weaken Winter completely, the children in all the yards gathered and went sledging down the hills. They raced into the wind, laughed and cried out joyfully:
Oh, Winter, dear Winter, we're sledging on your last days! We joyfully welcome Spring!
But Winter didn'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 at home so that Winter wouldn't suspect anything. And Winter, meanwhile, looked in her icy reflection at what was happening and couldn't stop rejoicing.
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 surrendered her power to Spring and quietly slipped 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!
