Sivka-burka
To main
All authors
Home → Russian folk tales → Sivka-burka
Russian folk tale “Sivka-Burka, the prophetic kaurka” with illustrations by I. D. Sytin, 1916
Once upon a time there lived an old man, rich and literate. He had three sons, and he taught all his sons to read and write. His sons were good guys, and only the youngest son, Vanya, was somehow strange and always sat on the stove, for which they called him Vanyusha the Fool.
The time has come for the old man to die. He called his sons to him and said:
“When you bury me, come and take turns reading for three nights over my grave.”
The old man died, his sons buried him and held a wake. Now night comes, the eldest son needs to get ready for the grave, but he doesn’t want to.
- Vanyusha! - he shouted to his brother, “won’t you go and read at my father’s grave for me?”
“Why not go,” Vanyusha answers, getting off the stove, “I’ll go.”
- Come, dear!
Vanya got dressed, took a book with him and went. He began to read at the grave, and exactly at midnight his father came out to him and asked:
- Who reads? Eldest son?
- No, father, junior.
- Well, your happiness.
The old man whistled and shouted:
- Sivka-Burka, prophetic kaurka, stand in front of me like a leaf in front of the grass!
The horse runs, the earth trembles, flames come from the horse’s ears, and smoke pours out of its nostrils. The horse ran up to the grave and stopped dead in its tracks.
“Sivka-Burka, prophetic Kaurka,” said the old man, “serve my son faithfully, as you served me.”
The horse snorted in response and instantly disappeared from view, and the old man lay down in his grave.
Vanyusha came home in the morning.
- Well, how did you spend your night? - his brothers ask.
“Nothing,” the fool answers, “I read all night and nothing else.”
In the evening, the second son decided to get ready, but he became lazy, and he asks Ivan to go for him.
“Why don’t we go,” Ivan answered and began to get ready.
He came to the grave and began to read. Suddenly, at midnight, the father gets up.
- Who reads? Are you the middle son?
- No, father, youngest son, Vanya is a fool.
- Well, so much the better for you.
The old man whistled and shouted.
- Sivka-Burka, prophetic kaurka, stand in front of me like a leaf in front of the grass!
The horse runs, the earth trembles, flames come out of its ears, and smoke pours out of its nostrils. The horse came running and stopped dead at the grave.
“Sivka-Burka, prophetic kaurka,” said the father, “serve this son of mine faithfully, as you served me.”
The horse snorted in response and disappeared from view, and the old man lay down in the grave.
Vanya comes home in the morning.
- Well, how did you spend your night, Vanya? - his brothers ask.
“Nothing, okay,” answered Vanya, “I read all night.”
By evening, Vanya got off the stove and began to get ready. He came to the churchyard and reads at the grave. Exactly at midnight the old man got up.
- Is that you here, Vanya? - He said.
“I am, father,” answered Vanya.
The old man whistled and shouted:
- Sivka-Burka, prophetic kaurka, stand in front of me like a leaf in front of the grass!
The horse runs - the earth trembles, flames come out of its ears, and smoke pours out of its nostrils. He galloped up to the grave and stopped dead in his tracks.
“Sivka-Burka, prophetic kaurka,” said the old man, “serve my son faithfully, as you served me.” And you, Vanya, get into the horse’s right ear and get out of the left ear and you will become a fine fellow, blood and milk.
Ivan the Fool climbed into the horse's right ear, climbed out into the left ear and became a fine fellow, blood and milk.
“Well, now, Vanya,” said the old man, “get into the horse’s left ear and get out of the right ear, and you will be yourself again.” Ivan did as his father ordered, and the old man said to him:
“Now let go of the horse, and when you need it, go out into the field, whistle and shout: “Sivka-Burka, prophetic kaurka, stand in front of me like a leaf in front of the grass,” and the horse will appear.
The old man said goodbye to his son and went to his grave forever. And Ivan patted his horse on the neck, let him go and wandered home.
- Well, Vanya, how did you spend your night? - his brothers ask.
“Nothing, okay,” Ivan answers, “I read all night.”
So after that they began to live and get along. The two older brothers were working, and Vanyusha was still lying on the stove.
Suddenly a cry went out from the king throughout the kingdom:
- Gather everyone: boyars and nobles, merchants and townspeople and simple peasants to the Tsar for a holiday for three days; Take the best horses with you, and whoever rides on his horse to the princess’s mansion and tears off the portrait of the princess from the log chambers, the king will marry her to him.
Everyone, young and old, was alarmed. The brothers need to quickly ride their horses so that they can more nimbly gallop after the portrait, and Ivan sits on the stove and says to them:
- Yes, you should give me some kind of horse, I’d at least go and have a look!
And then his brothers got mad at him:
“Where are you going, fool,” they say. - You should sit on the stove and sleep.
And Ivan is not far behind, give it, he says, yes give it, so I had to give in to him.
“Well, if you really want it,” they tell him, “then take the lame filly!”
The brothers left, and Ivan sat on a three-legged mare and rode out of the outskirts into an open field. There he got off the mare, let her go, and he whistled and shouted:
- Sivka-Burka, prophetic kaurka, stand in front of me like a leaf in front of the grass!
The horse runs - the earth trembles, flames pour out of its ears, smoke flies from its nostrils. Ivan the Fool climbed into the right ear, and came out into the left and became a fine fellow, blood and milk. He sat down on Sivka-Burka and galloped off to tear off the portrait.
There were literally no people in the city, and when they saw a young man on an amazing horse, everyone began to look. Vanyusha accelerated his horse and galloped towards the mansions - only he did not jump three logs. Everyone saw how this handsome man arrived, but no one saw how he left: he disappeared like a whirlwind.
And Ivan the Fool galloped into the field, got off his horse, got into his left ear, got out of his right ear, let go of the horse, caught his nag, sat on it and rode home.
Soon the brothers arrived and all they had to talk about was what they had seen in the city.
- What a fine fellow, what a handsome fellow, and what a horse he has! - they said.
“Apparently he came to tear down the portrait?” - Vanya asked from the stove.
“Yes,” the brothers answered, “and I almost lost it.” That's right, he will come again. And disappeared like a whirlwind!
“Wasn’t it me, brothers?” - Ivan noted.
- You've obviously gone crazy, sitting on the stove! - the brothers shouted. - Sit down!
The next day, the brothers had just left and Ivan the Fool got on his little mare and drove out of the outskirts. There he whistled and shouted:
- Sivka-Burka, prophetic kaurka, stand in front of me like a leaf in front of the grass.
The horse runs - the earth trembles, flames come out of its ears, and smoke pours out of its nostrils. He ran up and stood in front of Ivan rooted to the spot. Ivan got into the right ear, came out into the left and became a fine fellow, blood and milk. He jumped on his horse and rushed into the city. Approaching the mansion, he accelerated his horse, galloped and almost reached the portrait. The people saw him arrive, but no one saw him leave: he disappeared like a whirlwind.
And Ivan the Fool let Sivka-Burka go into the field, and he himself came home on a filly.
Following this, the brothers arrive.
- Well, what happened there? - Ivan asks them.
“That fellow came again,” the brothers answer, “and just missed the portrait.”
- Wasn’t it me? - says Ivan.
“Sit on the stove,” the brothers shouted, “don’t talk nonsense!” He was a handsome fellow. And what a horse!
On the third day the brothers went to the Tsar, and Ivan the Fool followed them out on a nag outside the outskirts, whistled and shouted:
- Sivka-Burka, prophetic kaurka, stand in front of me like a leaf in front of the grass!
The horse runs - the earth trembles, flames come out of its ears, and smoke pours out of its nostrils. Ivan the Fool climbed into the right ear, came out into the left and became a fine fellow, blood and milk. He jumped on his horse and galloped into the city, to the royal log chambers.
He accelerated the horse so that he galloped with all his might, and Ivan tore off both the portrait and the towel that was hanging over him.
People saw where the good fellow came from, but no one saw where he rode off: he disappeared like a whirlwind. Ivan arrived outside the outskirts, got off his horse, climbed into the left ear, climbed out into the right ear and let the horse go, and he trudged home on a filly, climbed onto the stove and waited for his brothers.
The brothers arrived and began to tell how the fellow tore off the portrait and rode off with it and the towel. And where - no one knows.
- Look carefully, brothers, was it not me?
- Shut up, fool! Sit on the stove! - the brothers shouted at him.
Soon the tsar announces that he is giving a feast, to which he convenes all the boyars, governors, merchants and peasants. The brothers began to gather, and Ivan went with them. He sat there in the royal chambers somewhere behind the stove and looked at him with his mouth open.
The princess began to treat the guests and provide them with beer and home brew, while she kept a watchful eye on everyone to see if any of them would wipe themselves off with her towel. Whoever wipes himself off is her fiancé. None of the guests dried themselves, and Ivan was sitting behind the stove; the princess did not see him and therefore carried him around. The guests left.
The next day, the king again gave a feast, but even at this feast the princess did not notice Ivan, and therefore she carried her away.
On the third day, the king again gave a feast and again the princess began to shower all the guests with beer and mash, and none of the guests wiped themselves with her towel.
“What kind of parable is this,” thought the princess: “but where is my betrothed?”
Then she looked behind the stove and saw a fool, his jacket was torn, he was covered in soot, his hair was disheveled. The princess poured a glass of beer and carried it to him.
The brothers look, grin and think: “Why is the princess bringing beer to our fool too!” And Ivan the Fool drank beer and dried her off with a towel. The princess took Ivan by the hand and led him to the king.
“Father,” she said, “here is my betrothed.”
The brothers gasped and thought:
“Isn’t the princess crazy that she’s taking Ivan the Fool as her groom?”
And our Ivan went into an open field, whistled and shouted: “Sivka-Burka, prophetic kaurka, stand in front of me like a leaf in front of the grass!”
The horse runs - the earth trembles, flames come out of its ears, smoke pours out of its nostrils. He came running and stood rooted to the spot. Ivan the Fool climbed into the right ear, came out into the left and became a blood and milk fellow. He jumped on his horse and rode to the royal court.
The brothers spent a long time trying to figure out what all this meant, but when they learned about Sivka-Burka, they regretted that they had not fulfilled their father’s behest.
Soon, the wedding was celebrated and a feast was given. I was at the feast, drinking honey, drinking beer, and it was running down my mustache, but it didn’t get into my mouth.
Next →
Thank you for reading the fairy tale “Sivka-Burka”!
Read all Russian folk tales To the main page (full list of works)
© “Online-Read.RF”, 2017-2022 Feedback
Appearance
Sivka-burka, the prophetic kaurka is a canonical assistant character in Russian folk fairy tales; a ancestral horse whose magical power is based on the fact that he is an inhabitant of the kingdom of the dead. He appears, as befits a creature from the other world - in smoke and flame: “The horse is running, the earth is trembling, smoke is pouring out of the ears in a column, flames are burning from the nostrils.” And perhaps this appearance of a horse is due to the fact that it embodies the image of a thundercloud: dark color, silvery sheen similar to the flicker of lightning, the ability to fly across the sky, a roar when it appears. We can only guess from the indirect “evidence” found in the sources how our ancestors perceived the nature around them in those distant times and who they associated with what.
What color is Sivka-burka the prophetic kaurka? Sivka, that is, gray, white. Burka - brown, dark red. Kaurka - brown, light chestnut. Three colors at once, as if Ivan had not one, but three horses.
There is also such a description of Sivka-Burka - “one hair is silver, the other is gold.”
Similar creatures in the myths of other peoples, fairy tales, and fantastic works
Arion is a horse in ancient Greek mythology.
Gullfaxi is a magical horse with a golden mane in Norse mythology.
Grani is a magical horse from Scandinavian mythology that belonged to the legendary hero Siegfried.
Svadilfari is a stallion in Norse mythology.
Skinfaxi and Hrimfaxi are the horses of Dagr, the god of the day, and his mother Nott, the goddess of the night (Scandinavian mythology). The names Skinfaxi and Hrimfaxi mean "shining mane" and "frost-covered mane."
Image in art
- Sivka-Burka
- Illustration by B.A. Diodorov
- Painting by V.M. Vasnetsov
- Illustration by E.S. Kochergin
- Illustration by E.S. Kochergin
Image sources:
Nikolai Kochergin, illustrator of Russian fairy tales
Description of the painting by Viktor Vasnetsov “Sivka Burka”
“Sivka-Burka” from ill. B. Diodorova
Pictures for the Russian folk tale “Sivka-burka”
| “Sivka-Burka”: song performed by M. Boyarsky |
Origin
The horse of the ancient Slavs was divine, emerging from the womb of the Serpent Gorynych killed by Perun. Initially, he was associated with Navy, an otherworldly kingdom that existed next to Reality, the kingdom of people. Later, the Horse became the personification of the power of the Sun. And as a Solar Animal, the Horse had two faces: Sivka (i.e. grey-haired, white), which appears in the Sky in winter, and Burka (red), embodying the summer Sun. This is exactly the Horse that Ivan got. Thus, Sivka-Burka is a family horse, an inhabitant of the kingdom of the dead, which the youngest son Ivan receives as a gift from his father.
