In the vast expanse of the Ukrainian countryside, where rolling hills meet dense forests, lies a patchwork of ancient tales woven into the fabric of the land. These stories, passed down through generations, offer a glimpse into the rich cultural legacy of the people, their beliefs, and the mysteries that have captured the imagination of all who have heard them. One such story, shrouded in the fog of folklore, is the curious tale of the Mare's Head.
The Tale
Once upon a time, there was an old man and an old woman. The old man had a daughter, and the old woman had a daughter. Both girls were already grown up.
The old woman did not like the old man's daughter. She would constantly scold her and mock her, and even incite the old man to torment his own daughter. Whenever the two girls went to the evening gatherings, the old woman's daughter would just flirt with the young men, letting them burn the flax and ruin the yarn, while the old man's daughter would work diligently, spinning or doing other tasks, without a moment's rest.
In the morning, when they would return home, the old woman's daughter would say to the old man's daughter:
"Sister, let me hold your bundle for you as you climb over the fence."
And she would take the bundle, then rush into the house and tell her mother:
"Look, mother, how much I've spun! But that good-for-nothing just spent the whole time flirting with the boys."
And the mother would immediately pounce on the poor girl: "You lazy, useless thing, you don't know how to do any work!"
The girl would just start crying.
The old woman's hatred for her stepdaughter only grew worse over time. One day, she said to the old man:
"Take your daughter out to the forest and leave her there. The beasts can devour her. She's too lazy to do any work - let her perish."
The old man resisted for a long time, as he felt pity for his daughter, but what could he do against his wife? She had him firmly under her control, and he was afraid of her.
"Alright, daughter, get ready and come with me," the old man finally said.
The old woman was overjoyed, bustling around the house excitedly, packing food for the girl.
"Here, daughter, I've wrapped up some wheat flour for you - you can make dumplings or something. And here's some millet for porridge, and some lard."
The girl took the bundle, crying, and went with her father. They walked and walked, until they reached the forest. There was a path, and the old man said:
"Let's go down this path. Wherever it takes us, that's where you'll live."
They continued on, going deep into the dense, impenetrable forest. Suddenly, they came upon a little glade with a beehive and a small earthen hut.
"Good day!" they called out, entering the earthen hut.
An old man rose from the hut's stove. "Greetings, good people!"
They explained their situation, and the old man agreed to take in the old man's daughter.
"Stay here, daughter," he said. "We'll live here together. In the summer I'll tend the beehive, and you can have a little garden plot and prepare things for the winter. And even in the winter, when the bees are back home, I'll still stay here - so we'll have each other's company, if that's what you wish."
The father spoke a bit more with the old beekeeper, then said to his daughter:
"Look through what your mother packed for you, and start making supper. I'll go chop some firewood."
The girl opened the bundles and saw that one contained ashes, and the other contained charcoal. She burst into tears.
"Don't cry, daughter," said the old man. "Go to the pantry, I have all sorts of provisions. Take some wheat flour and lard, and you can make dumplings."
She did as he said, kneading the dough and starting to cook the meal. The old man left for the night, saying he needed to go back to the village to get some beehives and other supplies, but that he would return in the morning. And her father said that he would spend the night here and go home early tomorrow. He said this only to stop his daughter from crying. He came out of the dugout, took a block of wood, tied it to a corner, and started to go home.
Whenever the wind blew and the block knocked, the girl would say, "That's my father chopping wood."
The supper was ready, but the father didn't return. The girl waited and waited, then decided to go look for him.
She went outside and circled the hut, but her father was nowhere to be seen. It was pitch dark out, with no moon. Returning to the hut, she didn't feel like eating alone. She walked around, thinking, "I'll go out and call, maybe someone will answer."
She stepped outside and called out:
"Oh, who's in the forest, who's beyond the forest, come have supper with me!"
No one answered. She called out again:
"Oh, who's in the forest, who's beyond the forest, come have supper with me!"
Still no answer. She called out a third time.
Suddenly, a Mare’s Head answered. It came clattering and clanging, approaching the old man's daughter to have supper.
"Girl, girl, open the door!"
She opened it.
"Girl, girl, help me over the threshold!"
She helped it over.
"Girl, girl, put me up on the stove!"
She lifted it up onto the stove.
"Girl, girl, give me something to eat!"
She served it the supper.
"Girl, girl, climb into my right ear, and out through the left!"
As she looked into the right ear, she saw an incredible sight - all sorts of treasures, both visible and invisible! There were fine clothes, horses, carriages, coachmen. And so much gold and silver! And money!
"Take whatever you need, as much as you want," said the Mare's Head. "This is for listening to me."
She gathered up a great many riches and climbed out through the left ear. The Mare's Head then vanished, as if it had sunk into the earth.
In the morning the old man came back. He entered his hut, and would not recognize the house or the grandfather's daughter: the room was clean and tidy, like a manor house, and the girl was sitting there like a magnificent lady, dressed in a silk dress and gold, with servants and maids around her, and as soon as she looked, they knew what she wanted. When the old man came in, she immediately told him everything that had happened and gave him money:
- "Here," she said, "grandfather, for taking me in, a poor orphan”.
Then she ordered a carriage to be hitched up, and went to visit her father. No one recognized her there. When she told them what had happened, the stepmother was beside herself, realizing that instead of getting rid of the girl, everything had turned out the opposite of what she had planned. The girl stayed for a while, gave her father some money, then went to the city, bought herself a fine house, and began living as a lady.
As soon as she left, the stepmother started pestering the old man:
"Take my daughter there too, where you took yours - let her also become a fine lady."
"Alright, let her get ready, I'll take her."
The stepmother quickly packed some food for her - not ashes and charcoal, like for the old man's daughter, but wheat flour, millet, and all sorts of delicacies. She blessed her daughter:
"Listen to your father. Wherever he leads, you follow."
They set off into the dark, dense forest, where the ancient oaks were so thick a man couldn't wrap his arms around them, and there was not a single visible path, as if no human foot had ever trod there.
They walked and walked, until they came upon a hut standing on chicken legs. They entered the hut.
"God be with you!"
No one answered. The daughter looked up on the stove - it was empty.
"Well, you stay here, daughter, and I'll go chop some firewood for you. You can cook supper in the meantime."
The old man left, and again tied the little block of wood to the corner, so that when the wind blew, it would knock. Whenever the wind blew and the block knocked, the stepmother's daughter would say, "That's my father chopping wood."
She cooked the supper. She waited and waited, but her father didn't return. Finally, she went outside and called out:
"Oh, who's in the forest, who's beyond the forest, come have supper with me!"
No one answered. She called out again, and a third time.
Suddenly, the Mare's Head came clattering and clanging.
"Girl, girl, open the door!"
"You're not a grand lady - open it yourself."
"Girl, girl, help me over the threshold!"
"You're not a grand lady - climb over yourself."
"Girl, girl, put me up on the stove!"
"You're not a grand lady - get up there yourself."
"Girl, girl, give me something to eat!"
"You're not a grand lady - take it yourself."
"Girl, girl, climb into my right ear, and out through the left!"
"I don't want to."
"If you won't listen to me," the Cow's Head said, "then I'll eat you up."
It grabbed her, climbed up on the stove, and crept into the farthest corner, where it devoured her. It took her bones, put them in a little bag, and hung the bag on a pole.
The stepmother waited and waited for her daughter to come back as a fine lady in a carriage.
The stepmother had a little dog that always told the truth.
One day, the dog was running around the house, yapping:
"Yap, yap, yap! The old man's daughter is a fine lady, but the bones of the stepmother's daughter are in a bag!"
The stepmother listened, then got angry and broke the dog's leg. But the dog kept on yapping, hopping on three legs:
"Yap, yap, yap! The old man's daughter is a fine lady, but the bones of the stepmother's daughter are in a bag!"
The stepmother broke the dog's other leg. Still the dog wouldn't stop, yapping and yapping until the stepmother had broken all its legs. Then the dog just rolled around, still yapping the same thing. The stepmother got so angry that she killed the dog.
"There, you cursed beast, that's what you get for prophesying!"
The old man came home.
"Go, old man, and see about my daughter - she may not even be alive anymore."
The old man went to the hut where he had left the stepmother's daughter. He went in, but there was no one there. He looked up on the stove - a little bag was hanging there, full of bones. 
"Ah, the wretched dog spoke the truth," he said.
He returned home and showed the bones to the stepmother.
"You, you scoundrel, you deliberately gave her to the beasts, you deliberately got rid of her!"
And the poor old man had no peace until the day he died.There was once a tsar and tsarina, and in their courtyard there was a well, and in the well there was a bushel, and that's the end of my tale.
