Rewards, old maids, and a little magic

[Alina Israeli]

>I have never had a slightest doubt that it was a reward. While they were
>talking, it was just a talk, and they had nothing to expect. They became
>not just a weaver and a cook but "the court weaver and the court cook."
>Certainly, their status was elevated. And any other time they would be
>very happy, but they envied their sister and that was the cause of the
>evil-doing.




"Кабы я была царица, -
Говорит одна девица, -
То на весь крещеный мир
Приготовила б я пир".
"Кабы я была царица, -
Говорит ее сестрица, -
То на весь бы мир одна
Наткала я полотна".
"Кабы я была царица, -
Третья молвила сестрица, -
Я б для батюшки-царя
Родила богатыря".

Not a reward but granting the stupid wish in the most literal sense.
Stupid, because he doesn't need the feast nor that the whole world has
enough fabric; he does need a son, however, that's why he needs a wife in
the first place, to ensure the succession.

..................................

Царь Салтан за пир честной
Сел с царицей молодой;
А потом честные гости
На кровать слоновой кости
Положили молодых
И оставили одних.
В кухне злится повариха,
Плачет у станка ткачиха,
И завидуют оне
Государевой жене.

They are not too happy and do not perceive it as a reward. Or do you think
Saltan was so stupid that he gave as the reward something they did not
like?
....................

А ткачиха с поварихой,
С сватьей бабой Бабарихой,
Извести ее хотят,
Перенять гонца велят;

Why извести if they got their rewards? And извести they tried. Granted,
they did not kill her. But that would have been a tragedy, not a fairy tale.

IMHO they got their "just desserts" and were taught the lesson more than
once (blinding them was another one). And that was the lesson for the
reader as well. A tale has to have a moral.

__________________________
 Alina Israeli
 LFS, American University
 4400 Mass. Ave., NW
 Washington, DC 20016

 phone:    (202) 885-2387
 fax:      (202) 885-1076 

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