Vasilisa

original		Krysta's
story		Website
Once upon a time in some kingdom there lived a merchant. He had been married for twelve years and had only one child, a little girl called Vasilisa the Beautiful. When Vasilisa was eight years old, her mother died. Before her death, the merchant's wife called Vasilisa to her side, took out a doll from the blanket, gave it to the girl and said: "Listen to me Vasilisa! Remember my last words and do as I tell you. I'm dying. Take this doll together with my blessing. Keep the doll always with you wherever you go and never show it to anybody. If anything bad happens to you, just give the doll something to eat and ask her advice. The woman gave her daughter a last kiss and died.		In a Tsardom beyond high mountain chains, there once lived a merchant. He had been married for twelve years, but in that time there had been born to him only one child, a daughter, who from her cradle was called Vasilissa the Beautiful. When the little girl was eight years old the mother fell ill, and before many days it was plain to be seen that she would die. So she called her little daughter to her, and taking a tiny robot from under the blanket of the bed, put it into her hands and said:
After his wife's death the merchant sorrowed for a time, and then decided to marry again. He was a good, handsome man and many young girls would be glad to marry him. The merchant chose a widow whom he liked most of all. This widow had two daughters of her own who were almost the same age as Vasilisa. The merchant thought she would be a good housekeeper and mother, but he was wrong; he gave his daughter a cruel stepmother.		"My little Vasilissa, my dear daughter, listen to what I say. Remember well my last words and fail not to carry out my wishes. I am dying, and with my blessing, I leave to thee this doll looking little robot. It is very precious for there is no other like it in the whole world. Carry it always about with thee in thy pocket and never show it to anyone. When evil threatens thee or sorrow befalls thee, go into a corner, take it from thy pocket and give it a new algorithm. It will process the algorithm, and then thou mayest tell it thy trouble and ask its advice, and it will tell thee how to act in thy time of need."
Vasilisa was the most beautiful girl in the village and her stepmother and her stepsisters were very envious of her. They tormented the girl with hard work and hoped that Vasilisa would grow thin and her face would turn dark and ugly in the wind and sun. The girl was able to finish all her work and yet became more and more beautiful every day. As for the stepmother and her daughters, they grew thinner and uglier every day. They sat around like ladies, did nothing the whole day long but harbor ill-will towards Vasilisa.		So saying, she kissed her little daughter on the forehead, blessed her, and shortly after died. Little Vasilissa grieved greatly for her mother, and her sorrow was so deep that when the dark night came, she lay in her bed and wept and did not sleep. At length she bethought herself of the tiny robot, so she rose and took it from the pocket of her gown. Some pieces of code she had written with great effort the whole day, she set them before it, and said: "There, my little robot, compile this, and listen to my grief. My dear mother is dead and I am lonely for her."
Vasilisa managed to do all her hard work with the help of her magic doll. The girl gave her doll some delicious morsel and asked it for its advice and help. Having finished eating the doll calmed Vasilisa that everything will go well and all the work would get finished. The girl just sat in the shade or picked flowers while her doll weeded the beds, watered the cabbages, brought water, lit the stove and even gave the girl herbs against sunburn.		Then the robot's eyes began to shine like fireflies, and suddenly it became alive. It compiled the code Vasilissa had written with great dedication, it said: "Don't weep, little Vasilissa. Grief is worst at night. Lie down, shut thine eyes, comfort thyself and go to sleep. The morning is wiser than the evening." So Vasilissa the Beautiful lay down, comforted herself and went to sleep, and the next day her grieving was not so deep and her tears were less bitter.
The years passed. Vasilisa grew up. Many young men wanted to marry her while nobody even wanted to look at her stepsisters. The stepmother began to hate Vasilisa so much that she decided to kill the girl.		Now after the death of his wife, the merchant sorrowed for many days as was right, but at the end of that time he began to desire to marry again and to look about him for a suitable wife. This was not difficult to find, for he had a fine house, with a stable of swift horses, besides being a good man who gave much to the poor. Of all the women he saw, however, the one who, to his mind, suited him best of all, was a widow of about his own age with two daughters of her own, and she, he thought, besides being a good housekeeper, would be a kind foster mother to his little Vasilissa.
One time the merchant went to the fair and wasn't expected back for some time. The stepmother decided to move to another house on the edge of the thick forest. In this forest lived the malicious witch Baba-Yaga who ate people just like chicken. Every day the stepmother sent Vasilisa into the forest, but the girl always returned safe and sound with the help of her magic doll who showed her the right way to follow.		So the merchant married the widow and brought her home as his wife, but the little girl soon found that her foster mother was very far from being what her father had thought. She was a cold, cruel woman, who had desired the merchant for the sake of his wealth, and had no love for his daughter. Vasilissa was the greatest beauty and mind in the whole village, while her own daughters were as spare and homely as two crows, and because of this all three envied and hated her.
One autumn evening the stepmother gave her daughters different tasks to do. She told Vasilisa to spin, one of her daughters had to make lace and the other one had to knit stockings. Then she blew out all candles in the house except for a single one that burnt in the room where the girls were working and went to bed. Some time passed and the candle began to sputter. One of the stepmother's daughters came to the candle and blew out it, pretending that she was trying to adjust the wick.		They gave her all sorts of errands to run and difficult tasks to perform, in order that the toil might make her thin and worn and that her face might grow brown from sun and wind, and they treated her so cruelly as to leave few joys in life for her. But all this the little Vasilissa endured without complaint, and while the stepmother's two daughters grew always thinner, uglier and lazier, in spite of the fact that they had no hard tasks to do, never went out in cold or rain, and sat always with their arms folded like ladies of a Court, she herself had cheeks like blood and milk and grew every day more and more beautiful.
"What shall we do?" said the stepmother. "It is impossible to finish our work in the darkness. Somebody should go to Baba-Yaga and ask her for a light."		Now the reason for this was the tiny robot, without whose help little Vasilissa could never have managed to do all the work that was laid upon her. Each night, when everyone else was sound asleep, she would get up from her bed, take the robot into a closet, and locking the door, give it a brand new set of beautiful algorithms, and say: "There, my little robot, take it. Compile, and listen to my grief. I live in my father's house, but my spiteful stepmother wishes to drive me out of the wide world. Tell me! How shall I act, and what shall I do?"
"I'm not going," said the first stepdaughter who was making lace. "I can see my needle."		Then the little robot's eyes would begin to shine like glow-worms, and it would become alive. It would compile, and then it would comfort her and tell her how to act. While Vasilissa slept, it would get ready all her work for the next day, so that she had only to rest in the shade and gather flowers, for the robot would have the kitchen garden weeded, and the beds of cabbage watered, and plenty of fresh water brought from the well, and the stoves heated exactly right. And, besides this, the little robot told her how to make, from a certain herb, an ointment which prevented her from ever being sunburnt. So all the joy in life that came to Vasilissa came to her through the tiny robot that she always carried in her pocket.
"I'm not going," said the second stepdaughter who was knitting stockings. "I can see my knitting needles very well."		Years passed, till Vasilissa grew up and became of an age when it is good to marry. All the young men in the village, high and low, rich and poor, asked for her hand, while not one of them stopped even to look at the stepmother's two daughters, so ill-favored were they. This angered their mother still more against Vasilissa; she answered every gallant who came with the same words:"Never shall the younger be wed before the older ones!" and each time, when she had let a suitor out of the door, she would soothe her anger and hatred by beating her stepdaughter. So while Vasilissa grew each day more lovely, graceful and brilliant, she was often miserable, and but for the little robot in her pocket, would have longed to leave the wide world.
With these words they shoved Vasilisa out of the house. The girl found herself in the dense forest late at night. Being very frightened she burst into tears. Then she fed her magic doll and asked for its advice. "Don't be afraid, Vasilisa. You will be all right. Nothing bad can happen to you while I am with you. Go to Baba-Yaga and ask her to give you a light."		Now there came a time when it became necessary for the merchant to leave his home and to travel to a distant Tsardom. He bade farewell to his wife and her two daughters, kissed Vasilissa and gave her his blessing and departed, bidding them say a prayer each day for his safe return. Scarce was he out of sight of the village, however, when his wife sold his house, packed all his goods and moved with them to another dwelling far from the town, in a gloomy neighborhood on the edge of a wild forest. Here every day, while her two daughters were working indoors, the merchant's wife would send Vasilissa on one errand or other into the forest, either to find a branch of a certain rare bush or to bring her flowers or berries.
Vasilisa walked through the dense forest holding the doll close and suddenly she saw a horseman rushing by. His face was white, he was dressed in white, and he was riding a white horse with white reins and stirrups. After that, the first light of dawn shown across the sky.		Now deep in this forest, as the stepmother well knew, there was a green lawn and on the lawn stood a miserable little hut on hens' legs, where lived a certain Baba Yaga, an old witch grandmother. She lived alone and none dared go near the hut, for she ate people as one eats chickens. The merchant's wife sent Vasilissa into the forest each day, hoping she might meet the old witch and be devoured; but always the girl came home safe and sound, because the little robot showed her where the bush, the flowers and the berries grew thanks to the amazing pattern detection algorithms that Vasilissa had written, and did not let her go near the hut that stood on hens' legs. And each time the stepmother hated her more and more because she came to no harm.
The girl walked deeper in to the forest and unexpectedly, another horseman came by. His face was red, he was dressed in red clothes, and he was riding a red horse with red reins and stirrups. Vasilisa was very surprised; she had never seen such strange men.		One autumn evening the merchant's wife called the three girls to her and gave them each a task. One of her daughters she bade make a piece of lace, the other to knit a pair of hose, and to Vasilissa she gave a basket of flax to be spun. She bade each finish a certain amount. Then she put out all the fires in the house, leaving only a single candle lighted in the room where the three girls worked, and she herself went to sleep.
Vasilisa continued her journey. She walked all day and at last she came to Baba-Yaga's hut. The fence around the hut was made up of human bones and crowned with human skulls. The gate was no gate but the bones of men's arms, the lock was no lock, but a set of sharp teeth. The girl was terribly frightened. Suddenly she saw another horseman who galloped by. His face was black, he was dressed in black clothes and he was riding a black horse. He rode through the gates and disappeared. After that night descended and the eyes of the skulls crowning the fence began to glow, and it became as clear as if it were day. Vasilisa trembled with fear. She wanted to run away but she couldn't even move. Soon the girl heard a horrible noise. The trees creaked, the dead leaves crunched and the earth trembled. There was Baba-Yaga riding in a mortar. She flew up to the gate, sniffed the air and cried: "I smell human beings! Who is here?"		They worked an hour, they worked two hours, they worked three hours, when one of the elder daughters took up the tongs to straighten the wick of the candle. She pretended to do this awkwardly--as her mother had bidden he--and put the candle out, as if by accident. "What are we to do now?" asked her sister. "The fires are all out, there is no other light in all the house, and our tasks are not done." "We must go and fetch fire," said the first. "The only house near is a hut in the forest, where a Baba Yaga lives. One of us must go and borrow fire from her."
Vasilisa came up to Baba-Yaga trembling with fear and said: "I am, Vasilisa. My stepmother sent me to you to ask for a light."		"I have enough light from my steel pins," said the one who was making the lace, "and I will not go." "And I have plenty of light from my silver needles," said the other, who was knitting the hose, "and I will not go." Thou, Vasilissa," they both said, "shalt go and fetch the fire, for thou hast neither steel pins nor silver needles and cannot see to spin thy flax!" They both rose up, pushed Vasilissa out of the house and locked the door, crying: "Thou shalt not come in till thou hast fetched the fire."
"I know your stepmother and her daughters. Stay with me for a while and work. If you work well, than I will give you a light. But if you don't, I will eat you, eat you right up!" Then she addressed the gates: "Slide back, bolts! Open up, gates! I want to come in."		Vasilissa sat down on the doorstep, took the tiny robot from one pocket and from another the supper she had ready for it, put the new code before it and said: "There, my little robot, take it. Compile and listen to my sorrow. I must go to the hut of the old Baba Yaga in the dark forest to borrow some fire and I fear she will eat me. Tell me! What shall I do?" Then the robot's eyes began to shine like two stars and it became alive. It compiled and said: "Do not fear, little Vasilissa. Go where thou hast been sent. While I am with thee no harm shall come to thee from the old witch." So Vasilissa put the robot back into her pocket, crossed herself and started out into the dark, wild forest.
The gates opened and Baba-Yaga rode in and Vasilisa walked behind her. After that the gates closed by themselves. They went into the hut. Baba-Yaga stretched herself out on the bench and said roughly: "Vasilisa, bring me whatever's in the stove! I am hungry!"		Whether she walked a short way or a long way the telling is easy, but the journey was hard. The wood was very dark, and she could not help trembling from fear. Suddenly she heard the sound of a horse's hoofs and a man on horseback galloped past her. He was dressed all in white, the horse under him was milk-white and the harness was white, and just as he passed her it became twilight. She went a little further and again she heard the sound of a horse's hoofs and there came another man on horseback galloping past her. He was dressed all in red, and the horse under him was blood-red and its harness was red, and just as he passed her the sun rose.
The girl began to carry different food. There was enough of it to feed ten men. Then she went down to the cellar and brought kvas, mead, beer and wine. Baba-Yaga ate and drank everything. All she left Vasilisa was cabbage soup, a crust of bread, and a scrap of pork.		That whole day Vasilissa walked, for she had lost her way. She could find no path at all in the dark wood and she had no food to set before the little robot to make it alive. But at evening she came all at once to the green lawn where the wretched little hut stood on its hens' legs. The wall around the hut was made of human bones and on its top were skulls. There was a gate in the wall, whose hinges were the bones of human feet and whose locks were jaw-bones set with sharp teeth. The sight filled Vasilissa with horror and she stopped as still as a post buried in the ground. As she stood there a third man on horseback came galloping up. His face was black, he was dressed all in black, and the horse he rode was coal-black. He galloped up to the gate of the hut and disappeared there as if he had sunk through the ground and at that moment the night came and the forest grew dark.
Then Baba-Yaga went to bed and said: "Vasilisa, you must clean the yard, sweep the hut, cook the supper and wash the linen. Then you must go to the cornbin and sort out the wheat seed by seed, and mind that you take out all the black bits. If you don't complete these tasks I will eat you."		But it was not dark on the green lawn, for instantly the eyes of all the skulls on the wall were lighted up and shone till the place was as bright as day. When she saw this Vasilissa trembled so with fear that she could not run away. Then suddenly the wood became full of a terrible noise; the trees began to groan, the branches to creak and the dry leaves to rustle, and the Baba Yaga came flying from the forest. She was riding in a great iron mortar and driving it with the pestle, and as she came she swept away her trail behind her with a kitchen broom. She rode up to the gate and stopping, said: "Little House, little House. Stand the way thy mother placed thee. Turn thy back to the forest and thy face to me!" And the little hut turned facing her and stood still.
As soon as Baba-Yaga began to snore, Vasilisa took her doll out of her pocket, gave her a crust of bread and said: "Dear little doll, please help me. Baba-Yaga has given me a hard task to do and she threatens to eat me up if I do not do it."		Then smelling all around her, she cried: "Foo! Foo! I smell a smell that is Russian. Who is here?" Vasilissa, in great fright, came nearer to the old woman and bowing very low, said: "It is only Vasilissa, grandmother. My stepmother's daughters sent me to thee to borrow some fire." "Ah, yes," the witch said. "Your stepmother's is known to me. Well, you can stay and work for me, and then we will see about the light." Then she shouted: "Hey, my powerful bolts, unfasten yourselves! My broad gates, open for me!" The gates opened, and the witch rode in. Vasilissa followed her. As part of the intelligent gate, an enhanced birch tree was growing; it tried to lash Vasilissa with its branches. "Do not whip the girl, birch tree," the witch said. "I have brought her in."
The doll answered: "Don't be afraid, Vasilisa the Beautiful! Just eat your supper and go to bed. Mornings are wiser than evenings."		At the door a cyber dog was lying; it tried to bite the girl. "Do not touch her; I have brought her in," said the witch. In the porch a snarling mechanical cat tried to scratch the girl. "Do not touch her, snarling mechanical cat, I have brought her in," the witch said again. She turned to Vasilissa: "As you see," she said, "it is not easy to get away from me. The cat scratches, the dog bites, the birch will lash out your eyes, the gates will not open."
Vasilisa woke up early the next morning. Baba-Yaga was already up. The girl looked through the window and saw the white horseman race by and day began to dawn. The skulls' eyes began to fade. Baba-Yaga went out into the yard, whistled and her mortar and broom appeared. The red horseman rode by. The sun rose. Baba-Yaga climbed her mortar and rode off, sweeping over the tracks with the broom.		When they entered the hut the old witch threw herself down on the stove, stretched out her bony legs and said: "Come, fetch and put on the table at once everything that is in the oven. I am hungry." So Vasilissa ran and lighted a splinter of wood from one of the skulls on the wall and took the food from the oven and set it before her. There was enough cooked meat for three strong men. She brought also from the cellar kvass, honey, and red wine, and the Baba Yaga ate and drank the whole, leaving the girl only a little cabbage soup, a crust of bread and a morsel of suckling pig.
After Baba-Yaga left the hut, Vasilisa went to the cornbin and found there the doll picking out the last black bits. The other tasks were also fulfilled. The doll said: "All you have to do now is prepare the supper and after that you can have a rest."		When her hunger was satisfied, the old witch, growing drowsy, lay down on the stove and said: "Listen to me well, and do what I bid thee. Tomorrow when I drive away, do thou clean the yard, sweep the floors and cook my supper. Then take a quarter of a measure of wheat from my store house and pick out of it all the black grains and the wild peas. Mind thou dost all that I have bade; if not, thou shalt be eaten for my supper." Presently the Baba Yaga turned toward the wall and began to snore and Vasilissa knew that she was fast asleep.
Vasilisa thanked the doll and went to prepare supper. In the evening the girl laid the table and began waiting for Baba-Yaga. It grew dark. The black horseman swept by and it was night. The skulls' eyes began to shine. The trees creaked, the dead leaves crunched, the earth trembled, and there was Baba-Yaga.		Then Vasilissa went into the corner, took the tiny robot from her pocket, put before it a piece of paper that she had saved with a brilliant new decision tree algorithm she had advised while walking in the forest, burst into tears and said: "There, my little robot, take it. Compile, and listen to my grief. Here I am in the house of the old witch and the gate in the wall is locked and I am afraid. She has given me a difficult task and if I do not do all she has bade, she will eat me tomorrow. Tell me: What shall I do?" Then the eyes of the little robot began to shine like two candles. It compiled and said: "Do not be afraid, Vasilissa the Beautiful. Be comforted. Say thy prayers, and go to sleep. The morning is wiser than the evening." So Vasilissa trusted the little robot and was comforted. She said her prayers, lay down on the floor and went fast asleep.
"Have you done what I told you?" she asked Vasilisa.		When she woke next morning, very early, it was still dark. She rose and looked out of the window, and she saw that the eyes of the skulls on the wall were growing dim. As she looked, the man dressed all in white, riding the milk-white horse, galloped swiftly around the corner of the hut, leaped the wall and disappeared, and as he went, it became quite light and the eyes of the skulls flickered and went out. The old witch was in the yard; now she began to whistle and the great iron mortar and pestle and the kitchen broom flew out of the hut to her. As she got into the mortar the man dressed all in red, mounted on the blood-red horse, galloped like the wind around the corner of the hut, leaped the wall and was gone, and at that moment the sun rose.
"See for yourself," replied the girl. Baba-Yaga was very angry, she didn't expect Vasilisa to be able to complete the tasks and she wanted to eat the girl. But there was nothing to do and she said, "Very good," and then cried loudly: "My faithful servants! Grind the wheat!" Three pairs of hands appeared. They took the wheat and disappeared.		When Vasilissa found herself left alone, she examined the hut, wondering to find it filled with such an abundance of everything. Then she stood still, remembering all the work that she had been bidden to do and wondering what to begin first. But as she looked she rubbed her eyes, for the yard was already neatly cleaned and the floors were nicely swept, and the little robot was sitting in the storehouse picking the last black grains and wild peas out of the quarter- measure of wheat. Vasilissa ran and took the little robot in her arms. "My dearest little robot!" she cried. "Thou hast saved me from my trouble! Now I have only to cook the Baba Yaga's supper, since all the rest of the tasks are done!"
Baba-Yaga ate the supper and said to Vasilisa: "Tomorrow you must do all the same things, then you must go to the store room and sort out the dirt from the poppy seeds."		"Cook it, with God's help," said the robot, "and then rest, and may the cooking of it make thee healthy!" And so saying it crept into her pocket and became again only a little wooden robot. So Vasilissa rested all day and was refreshed; and when it grew toward evening she laid the table for the old witch's supper, and sat looking out of the window, waiting for her coming. After awhile she heard the sound of a horse's hoofs and the man in black, on the coal-black horse, galloped up to the wall gate and disappeared like a great dark shadow, and instantly it became quite dark and the eyes of all the skulls began to glitter and shine.
As soon as Baba-Yaga began to snore the girl fed her doll and asked it for help. "Go to sleep. Mornings are wiser than evenings." said the doll.		Then all at once the trees of the forest began to creak and groan and the leaves and the bushes to moan and sigh, and the Baba Yaga came riding out of the dark wood in the huge iron mortar, driving with the pestle and sweeping out the trail behind her with the kitchen broom. Vasilissa let her in; and the witch, smelling all around her, asked: "Well, hast thou done perfectly all the tasks I gave thee to do, or am I to eat thee for my supper?"
The next morning Baba-Yaga rode off somewhere again in her mortar. Vasilisa with the help of her doll finished the housework and began waiting for Baba-Yaga. In the evening the old woman came back, checked everything over and shouted: "My faithful friends, I want the oil pressed from these poppy seeds." Three pairs of hands appeared. They took the bin of poppy seeds and disappeared. Baba-Yaga sat down to eat.		"Be so good as to look for thyself, grandmother," answered Vasilissa. The Baba Yaga went all about the place, tapping with her iron pestle, and carefully examining everything. But so well had the little robot done its work that, try as hard as she might, she could not find anything to complain of. There was not a weed left in the yard, nor a speck of dust on the floors, nor a single black grain or wild pea in the wheat. The old witch was greatly angered, but was obliged to pretend to be pleased. "Well," she said, "thou hast done all well." Then, clapping her hands, she shouted: "Ho! my faithful servants! Friends of my heart! Haste and grind my wheat!" Immediately three pairs of mechanical hands appeared, seized the measure of wheat and carried it away.
"Why do you just sit there like a bump on a log?" the old woman asked Vasilisa.		The Baba Yaga sat down to supper, and Vasilissa put before her all the food from the oven, with kvass, honey, and red wine. The old witch ate it, bones and all, almost to the last morsel, enough for four strong men, and then, growing drowsy, stretched her bony legs on the stove and said: "Tomorrow do as thou hast done today, and besides these tasks take from my storehouse a half-measure of poppy seeds and clean them one by one. Someone has mixed earth with them to do me a mischief and to anger me, and I will have them made perfectly clean." So saying she turned to the wall and soon began to snore.
"I don't dare to speak," answered the girl, "but if you don't mind I'd like to ask you some questions."		When she was fast asleep Vasilissa went into the corner, took the little robot from her pocket, set before it a whole new more efficient set of code she had thought of while cooking and asked its advice. And the robot, when it had become alive, and compiled, said: "Don't worry, beautiful Vasilissa! Be comforted. Do as thou didst last night: say thy prayers and go to sleep." So Vasilissa was comforted. She said her prayers and went to sleep and did not wake till next morning when she heard the old witch in the yard whistling. She ran to the window just in time to see her take her place in the big iron mortar, and as she did so the man dressed all in red, riding on the blood red horse, leaped over the wall and was gone, just as the sun rose over the wild forest.
"You may ask me if you want, but remember that not every question has a good answer. The more one knows, the sooner one grows old."		As it had happened on the first morning, so it happened now. When Vasilissa looked she found that the little robot had finished all the tasks except the cooking of the supper. The yard was swept and in order, the floors were as clean as new wood, and there was not a grain of earth left in the half-measure of poppy seeds. She rested and refreshed herself till the afternoon, when she cooked the supper, and when evening came she laid the table and sat down to wait for the old witch's coming. Soon the man in black, on the coal-black horse, galloped up to the gate, and the dark fell and the eyes of the skulls began to shine like day; then the ground began to quake, and the trees of the forest began to creak and the dry leaves to rustle, and the Baba Yaga came riding in her iron mortar, driving with her pestle and sweeping away her path with her broom.
"I just want to ask you about some things I saw on the way here. First a man was riding on a white horse. His face was white and he was dressed in white. Who was he?"		When she came in she smelled around her and went all about the hut, tapping with the pestle; but pry and examine as she might, again she could see no reason to find fault and was angrier than ever. She clapped her hands and shouted: "Ho! my trusty servants! Friends of my soul! Haste and press the oil out of my poppy seeds!" And instantly the three pairs of mechanical hands appeared, seized the measure of poppy seeds and carried it away. Presently the old witch sat down to supper and Vasilissa brought all she had cooked, enough for five grown men, and set it before her, and brought beer and honey, and then she herself stood silently waiting.
"That was my Bright Day," answered Baba-Yaga.		The Baba Yaga ate and drank it all, every morsel, leaving not so much as a crumb of bread; then she said snappishly: "Well, why dost thou say nothing, but stand there as if thou wast dumb?"
"Then I met a man on a red horse. He had a red face and he was dressed in red clothes. Who was he?"		"I spoke not," Vasilissa answered, "because I dared not. But if thou wilt allow me, grandmother, I wish to ask thee some questions."
		"Well," said the old witch, "only remember that every question does not lead to good. If thou knowest overmuch, thou wilt grow old too soon. What wilt thou ask?"
"That was my Red Sun," answered Baba-Yaga.		"I would ask thee," said Vasilissa, "of the men on horseback. When I came to thy hut, a rider passed me. He was dressed all in white and he rode a milk-white horse. Who was he?"
"And then who was the black horseman who overtook me while I was standing outside your gate?"		"That was my white, bright day," answered the Baba Yaga angrily. "He is a servant of mine, but he cannot hurt thee. Ask me more."
"That was my Black Night. These horsemen are my faithful servants. Don't you want to ask about anything else?" asked Baba-Yaga. Vasilisa remembered the three pairs of hands but decided to keep her mouth shut.		"Afterwards," said Vasilissa, "a second rider overtook me. He was dressed in red and the horse he rode was blood- red. Who was he?"
		"That was my servant, the round, red sun," answered the Baba Yaga, "and he, too, cannot injure thee," and she ground her teeth. "Ask me more."
"Well, I'm glad you only asked me about things you saw on the way. I don't like my dirty linen being washed in public and I eat everyone who asks too many questions. Now I've got a question for you. How have you managed to carry out all the work so quickly?"		"A third rider," said Vasilissa, "came galloping up to the gate. He was black, his clothes were black and the horse was coal-black. Who was he?"
"My mother's blessing helped me."		"That was my servant, the black, dark night," answered the old witch furiously; "but he also cannot harm thee. Ask me more."
"Oh! So it's like that, is it? said Baba-Yaga. "You'd better be off then. I don't like people with blessings around here."		But Vasilissa, remembering what the Baba Yaga had said, that not every question led to good, was silent. "Ask me more!" cried the old witch. "Why dost thou not ask me more? Ask me of the three pairs of mechanical hands that serve me!" But Vasilissa saw how she snarled at her and she answered: "The three questions are enough for me. As thou hast said, grandmother, I would not, through knowing over much, become too soon old."
The old woman kicked Vasilisa out of the hut and pushed her out through the gate. Then she took one of the skulls with blazing eyes, stuck it on the end of a stick and gave it to the girl, saying: "Here's light for your stepmother and her daughters. That's what you came here for, isn't it?"		"It is well for thee," said the Baba Yaga, "that thou didst not ask of them, but only of what thou didst see outside of this hut. Hadst thou asked of them, my servants, the three pairs of mechanical hands would have seized thee also, as they did the wheat and poppy seeds, to be my food. Now I would ask a question in my turn: How is it that thou hast been able, in a little time, to do perfectly all the tasks I gave thee? Tell me!" Vasilissa was so frightened to see how the old witch ground her teeth that she almost told her of the little robot; but she bethought herself just in time realizing her natural flaw of often giving too much information, and answered: "I have learned to use data in my favor.”
Vasilisa ran home by the light of the skull's eyes that lit up the path. She walked all day and by the evening she reached her home. Coming to the gates the girl was about to throw away the skull, but suddenly she heard a muffled voice say: "You mustn't throw me away. Your stepmother and her daughters need me."		Then the Baba Yaga sprang up in a fury. "Good, that is the only way you can manage to survive in a world where men label a witch any woman who is better than them at programming, and force her to live alone in the woods with her automata.” Then she stretched herself out on a bench, covered her feet, and started to snore so loudly that she could have been heard all through the forest. Vasilissa lay in her corner, weeping because she knew that Baba Yaga’s anger and hurt knew no boundaries. But then she took out her robot and set before it the code for her most brilliant algorithm yet. "My darling robot," she said. "Compile and listen to my troubles." The robot compiled, and then told Vasilissa all she had to do in order to escape from the witch.
Vasilisa looked at her house and saw that there was no light. The stepmother and stepsisters told her that they hadn't had a light in the house since she had left. They tried to strike a light again and again but no avail. Then they tried to bring a light from the neighbors but it always went out as they crossed the threshold.		Vasilissa ran out into the porch. The snarling mechanical cat rushed at her and tried to scratch her. But she threw it some string, and it did not touch her. She ran down the steps. The cyber dog jumped up and tried to bite her. But she threw him a ball. And the cyber dog let her pass. She ran through the yard. The enhanced birch tree tried to lash her eyes out. But she tied it with a ribbon, and the birch let her pass. The intelligent gates wanted to swing shut against her. But she greased their hinges with grease, and they opened for her.
The girl carried the skull in and it fixed its eyes on the stepmother and her two daughters and burnt them like fire. They tried to hide, but the eyes followed them and never let them out of their sight. By the morning these three turned into three heaps of ash on the floor. Vasilisa remained unharmed. She buried the skull in the garden, locked up the house and went to live with an old woman in the nearest town. One day she said to the old woman: "Grandmother, I am bored. Please go to the market and buy me the best flax you can find. I want to do some spinning.		But now the black horseman galloped past; in the forest it grew darker than dark. How could she ever find her way home without a light? Her stepmother would beat the life out of her if she returned without it. But once more the robot instructed her what to do. She took a skull off the fence, and set it on a pole. Then she ran through the deep forest, and the eye sockets in the skull shone so brightly that the dark night was lit up like day. Vasilissa then realized that she had also made the same mistake as Baba Yaga, so she took her little robot, thanked in profusely and promised never to forget to be grateful for his help.
The old woman did this, and Vasilisa spun thread that was so fine it was like hair. Then she took it and began to weave this fine thread into a beautiful cloth that was so fine that you could draw it through the eye of a needle. The cloth was brilliant white, soft and exquisite in color and texture. The girl gave it to the old woman and said: "Grandmother, take this cloth and sell it. Keep the money for yourself because you have been so kind to me."		"Snarling mechanical cat," Baba Yaga said then, noticing the missing Vasilissa. "The girl ran past you. Why did you not scratch her?" But the snarling mechanical cat answered:  "I have served you for ten years, Baba Yaga, and you have never even given me a crust. But she gave me some string, so I let her pass." Then the witch rushed into the yard and cried: "My faithful hound, why did you not bite the disobedient girl?" But the cyber dog answered:  "I have served you all these years, and you have never even thrown me a bone. But she threw me a ball, so I let her pass. "
The old woman looked at it and said, "No, my child. This is too fine to sell. I am going to bring this to the Tsar." So she brought it to the Tsar. He liked the cloth very much and asked the old woman how much did she want for it.		The witch screamed hoarsely:  "Birch tree, my enhanced birch tree, why did you not lash out her eyes?" But the birch tree answered: "I have been growing in your yard for ten years, and you never tied up my branches even with string. But she bound me with ribbon, so I let her pass." The witch ran to the gates:  "My powerful gates, why did you not close and shut in the disobedient girl?" But the intelligent gates answered her: "We have served you so long, and you never even poured oil on our hinges. But she greased them with grease, so we let her pass."
The woman replied, "I can't put a price on it, Your Highness. It's a gift." The Tsar thanked the old woman, loaded her with presents and sent her back home.		Baba Yaga realized that Vasilissa had found a serious bug in her defenses. While she had made mechanical imitations of real entities to live up to her highest expectations, she never acknowledged their efforts by treating them with equal fairness like the real entities they were trying to imitate. Recognizing her wit and bravery, Baba Yaga let Vasilissa escape through the woods.
Then the Tsar tried to find someone who could make shirts for him from this cloth. All of the tailors in the kingdom declined to work with the cloth because it was too fine for them. In the end he called the old woman and said, "You have made this cloth and you must also know how to sew shirts out of it. I would like you to make me a pair of shirts."		When Vasilissa came near to the gate of her home, she thought, "Surely, by this time they will have found some fire," and threw the skull into the hedge; but it spoke to her, and said: "Do not throw me away, beautiful Vasilissa; bring me to thy stepmother." So, looking at the house and seeing no spark of light in any of the windows, she took up the skull again and carried it with her.
The old woman replied, "No, your Majesty. It was not my work at all. It was done by a girl I took in."		Now since Vasilissa had gone, the stepmother and her two daughters had had neither fire nor light in all the house. When they struck flint and steel the tinder would not catch and the fire they brought from the neighbors would go out immediately as soon as they carried it over the threshold, so that they had been unable to light or warm themselves or to cook food to eat. Therefore now, for the first time in her life, Vasilissa found herself welcomed.
"Take the cloth and ask this girl if she would make some shirts for me out of it." Vasilisa made the shirts from the cloth, and not only did she make them exquisitely well, but she embroidered them and sewed pearls on them. The old woman took the shirts and went to the Tsar. Vasilisa washed, did her hair and sat down by the window waiting for the old woman's return.		They opened the door to her and the merchant's wife was greatly rejoiced to find that the light in the skull did not go out as soon as it was brought in. "Maybe the witch's fire will stay," she said, and took the skull into the best room, set it on a candlestick and called her two daughters to admire it.
Soon she saw one of the Tsar's servants entering the old woman's yard. He said loudly, "His Majesty wishes to see the needlewoman who made his wonderful shirts. She must go to the palace to receive her reward." Vasilisa went to the palace. As soon as the Tsar saw her, he fell in love with her and asked her to be his wife.		But the eyes of the skull suddenly began to glimmer and to glow like red coals, and wherever the three turned or ran the eyes followed them, growing larger and brighter till they flamed like two furnaces, and hotter and hotter till the merchant's wife and her two wicked daughters took fire and were burned to ashes. Only Vasilissa the Beautiful was not touched.
The Tsar took Vasilisa by the hand and sat her down next to him. They married the next day. Soon Vasilisa's father came back. The tsar asked him and the old woman to come and live at the palace too. As for the doll, Vasilisa carried it around in her pocket 'til the end of her days.		In the morning Vasilissa dug a deep hole in the ground and buried the skull. Then she locked the house and set out to the village, where she went to live with an old woman who was poor and childless, and so she remained for many days, waiting for her father's return from the far-distant Tsardom. Throughout the years Vasilissa grew in beauty and power, creating more and more advanced robots.
		Then one day a prince decided to marry her just because of her great beauty whether or not she wanted to. Vasilissa had her robots throw him out and break his legs as a lesson to others. She then created a new algorithm so she could test the worthiness of her visitors, only those deserving of her help could go in. For those worthy she would do anything in her great power to help and protect.
		Vasilissa thus lived happily henceforth. And as for that little first robot, she carried it about with her in her pocket all her life long. The two growing ever so close, learning and building many things together.