In a certain kingdom, in a certain realm, there lived a princess. She was beautiful and sweet, but also capricious and wilful, much like all princesses, truth be told. One day she took it into her head to travel through her kingdom. The King and Queen tried to dissuade their daughter. They said:
Why venture out in winter? Wait for spring!
But the princess did not heed her parents' words. She ordered her servants to harness the horses, dressed herself in the most fashionable furs, packed sweets for the journey and set off down the road.
And what a long journey it was, for the kingdom stretched across vast expanses. To travel through it all, one had to go round the forest, cross the river on ice, and pass by hundreds of villages.
Our princess had no wish to meet the village folk, for the girl did not like them, considering them uneducated, unfashionable and dirty.
The princess could not have imagined that all the food on her table came from the village: milk and butter, meat and bread. And all these delicacies were obtained through the labour of ordinary people.
And so she rides in her sleigh, munching honey cakes. Suddenly a blizzard rose up and swirled and whirled so fiercely that it lifted the princess into the air. And she landed in a dense forest.
Rather than look about her, the girl immediately let out a deafening scream. But no one could hear her. Whether for a long time or a short time, the princess wept bitter tears, but there was nothing to be done.
She decided to walk through the forest to find her way. She walks and trudges along, hears wolves howling, branches crackling in the frost. From fear, the traveller's heart sank into her boots.
Suddenly she looked more carefully and spotted a little light gleaming in the dark thicket. The princess walked towards this light. She walked and walked and came upon a clearing where a fire was burning. And around it sat four beautiful maidens.
The princess was afraid to approach them at first, so she decided to observe them. One maiden wore a white fur coat, with snowflakes in her hair that sparkled like precious stones.
The second girl wore a smart sarafan, decorated with snowdrops and coltsfoot, and from her eyes shone such warmth, like rays of sunshine!
The third was quite a young girl, her dress light and airy. In her hands a little bouquet of wildflowers. And the fourth sister held a sheaf of golden ears of grain in her hands, and her dress was embroidered with colourful leaves.
Still, the princess plucked up courage to approach them. But instead of greeting the maidens with kind words, she asked coldly:
What are you doing in my forest?
The maidens replied:
Why is it your forest? After all, you do not know what plants grow in it, when the berries and mushrooms ripen? What animals live in it, what help they need?
The princess pondered—and it was true, foreign tutors had taught her, told her about distant lands, about fashion, about various ways of life. But they could tell her nothing about Mother Russia.
And the princess became so eager to learn about every little tree and bush, about every tiny creature in 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, which in winter wrap themselves in white fur and confuse their tracks so as not to become the fox's prey.
And the maiden Spring offered to tell the story of a bear, whom the sun had awakened, and now he wanders hungry through the forest. How buds swell on the trees and young leaves appear from them. And such a fragrance fills the forest that one's head spins. Spring did not forget to remind the princess about the village folk either. For them, a spring day feeds the whole year.
And the young girl Summer, who listened with respect to her elder sisters, told of the delicious strawberry, of butterflies which, like the princess, seem to boast of their fine clothes. She added that the village folk's work had not diminished: the beds must be watered, cows and goats tended, fodder prepared for them.
A sorrowful tale was told by the maiden Autumn. And how could she not be sorrowful, when she hears the farewell song of cranes and ducks, and the songs of the peasants gathering grain from the field are also not cheerful.
Such tales enchanted the princess, and she decided to ask her father and mother to invite Russian tutors to her. She wanted to learn as much as possible about her native nature. And the princess also decided to make friends with the peasant children.
And as soon as these thoughts came to her, a carriage appeared in the clearing. The princess got into the sleigh and they set off for her native kingdom. But her life had changed greatly! Readers can surely guess what our princess became!
