Once upon a time there lived a girl named Kozerozhka. More than anything, she loved flowers: she had a large pink garden that she tended to, and the roses reciprocated her affection by delighting her with their fragrance.
One day Kozerozhka sat on the porch of her house and saw an enormous Whale flying across the sky. As it flew, it could see the entire land: houses and small forests, fields, and Kozerozhka's garden too.
"What a colossal creature!" thought Kozerozhka. "It's bigger than anything I've ever seen in my life. It must have such a large heart! And with such a large heart, it must surely be very friendly. I'll get to know it better and ask it about its aerial travels. I think in its large heart there will be room for one small me."
But the Whale flew high and far away, and it never heard how loudly Kozerozhka called out, how hard she tried to invite it into her garden, or how earnestly she attempted to introduce it to each of her roses. The Whale simply flew on.
Then Kozerozhka became sad, but she decided that no matter what, she would get to know and befriend the Whale. In fact, 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 visit the Sorceress, so that she would give her wings with which to fly after the Whale.
She arrived and made her request.
And the Sorceress replied:
I want to give you more than you ask for: I want to make you as large and flying as the Whale. Only you must 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 have to live her whole life knowing the Whale existed and living without it, she thought that it would be a half-life anyway, not a real one.
Kozerozhka agreed. And the witch only waved her hands a couple of times—and look, Kozerozhka became large, very large, even majestic. And how she soared through the sky!
All the witch had left to do was wave her handkerchief goodbye.
Kozerozhka soars through the sky, folding little roses from clouds for her daughter, whilst the Whale crafts a whistle from lightning for his son. Happy together, that's what I tell you!
