Translated from the Ukrainian by Oles Kovalenko and Vasil Baryshev It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that it is the story-writers who actually introduce kids to the world they live in... Using words, they paint a bizarre yet convincing pattern of the essential human values Love, Beauty, Honesty, Courage as opposed to Hatred, Uglyness, Meanness, Cowardice... This is a massive, wide-ranging collection of tales full of action, ferocious energy and imagination offered by leading Ukrainian authors of several generations. .j Rocking with laughter and dissolving in tears, praising the good and grappling with the evil — these entertaining and brilliantly plotted mysteries have it all!
A small, rather frail-looking boy was lying in bed in his little room. He was staring wide eyed at the window in front of which hung an embroidered shawl. A very narrow beam of blue light had found a gap between the shawl and the window frame and was streaming into the boy's room. "What are you looking at, my dear?" asked the boy's mother who was sitting by his bed. "That light. What is it, Ma? Where does it come from?" "It's moonlight, Little Pavlik. I mean it's the moon shining. If I fix the shawl better, there'll be no more light. Shall I fix it, dear?" the mother asked. "No, please don't. I like it as it is." "Don't look at it, Pavlik. Better close your eyes and go to sleep. You're still weak, you must sleep a lot." "I don't want to sleep yet, Mommy, I'm so hot... I don't feel like sleeping at all. Tell me a story." "Which one, my dear?" "Remember, once you told me about the tiny creatures who live inside flowers... they're called elfs. You told me there is a very small he-elf or she-elf inside each blossom and that at night they come out to play, dance and sing. You said they have a Queen, the eldest she-elf. What does she look like?" "Her name is Lady Lily, my dear Pavlik. She lives in the best lily in the whole world. These elfs borrow their names from the flowers they live in." Pavlik propped himself up and begged, "Oh, Mommy, please, tell me more about these elfs. I like your stories about them so much!" "Not now, Pavlik. It's too late for telling tales and it's high time you were asleep. That story is very long and it might go well into the night. I don't want you to lie thinking about it till morning. I'd better shade the candle from you. Sleep well and get up healthy in the morning. Everything will be fine then and I'll tell you that tale. Sleep tight, my dear!" The mother screened the candle with a large book, kissed Pavlik and said again, "Good night, sleep tight." Then she sat into the armchair near the boy's bed and started to sew. The mother waited for Pavlik to go to sleep but he wouldn't drop off. Instead, he watched how his mother sewed, making quick stitches with her shining needle... Then Pavlik fixed his gaze on the clear moonbeam which shone through the window. He kept thinking about his mother's tales, "It's a pity Ma refused to tell me the story. I'm bored. I wish I were asleep already... Lady Lily... What does she look like? Is she tiny like the rest of her elfenfoiks? Ma says they're as little as butterflies... But what about their Queen?..." Such were the thoughts which passed slowly through Little Pavlik's head as he looked at the moon beam... Suddenly, the moonlight beam trembled and grew dark, as though something or someone had moved across it. Pavlik peered into the darkness and, before long, made out an indistinct human figure standing right by his bed. Cold shivers ran up and down the boy's spine but then he saw there was nothing to be afraid of. In front of him was a small, in fact tiny girl. Pavlik looked closer and saw that she was a very pretty girl with fair eyes and long hair shining like silver. She was dressed in a white gauzy robe and had a miniature golden crown on her tiny head. Pavlik also noticed she had a pair of fine wings attached to her shoulderblades. Those wings were as bright and richly coloured as a rainbow. A white lily with a long stem which the girl held in her hand gave out a sweet heavenly scent. The more Pavlik looked at the mysterious girl, the more he believed it was Lady Lily herself. And he had so wanted to meet her! "You're Lady Lily, aren't you?" asked the boy. "Yes, that's right. I was told you wanted to see me, so here I am. Are you happy to see me?" "I'm very very happy!" Pavlik cried out and extended both arms towards her. Lady Lily flashed a smile so radiant that for an instant the dark room was aglow and the blue moonbeam turned orange. "Would you like to make a trip with me?" asked Lady Lily. "Yes, but... I can't fly," replied Pavlik. "I don't have any wings!" "It's all right, I'll carry you myself." "But... you are so small and I am big and -- heavy!" "Don't worry," Lady Lily said and smiling she touched Pavlik with her flower and the boy instantly became a flower himself. He was now a carmine poppy. Then, Lady Lily put one arm around Pavlik, and holding on tight to him she took to the air. She winged her way out of the room and came to land in the garden. All the flowers bent low before her and began to sway. They swayed until the elfs living inside flew out to meet her. "Go back to sleep," Lady Lily told the elfs. "I've got no time to talk with you tonight." The elfs duly returned to their flowers, shut the petals behind them and were soon fast asleep. "Now, my dear Pavlik," Lady Lily turned to the boy, "where shall we go?" "Wherever you want," said Pavlik. Even though he was now a flower he still could speak. "In that case I'll carry you to the landlord's orchard on the hill. My younger sisters bloom there. They may have some news for us." And they zoomed up into the sky and soon reached the landlord's premises. Some of the windows of the magnificent palace, which looked out into a large orchard, were lit up. Obviously, the palace residents were still awake. But there was no one to be seen anywhere. Lady Lily landed right on the flower bed covered with white lilies. The lilies stood still, none of them as much as stirred. "Fast asleep and dead to the world!" Lady Lily exclaimed, indignant. "Wake up, all of you!" She touched the drowsy plants with her magic flower. That very second all the lilies started and began to sway. One by one pale-faced elfins peered out of their flower homes and the lilies started to speak in their thin melodic voices: "We beg your Majesty's pardon. If you only knew how little sleep we've had these days!" "Now tell me all about it! Who's been keeping you awake?" demanded Lady Lily. "It's terrible! We get no rest day or night. Our situation is really miserable!" "But what's happened? What are you crying about?" "What can we do except cry? We're helpless. They grab at us; they tear off our leaves and cut short our lives. Then they carry us to the grand hall and put us into vases; to make them glad we must be sad. O dear, too many of us have been destroyed that way, tod many sisters are not here today... Every time they have a celebration, they cut us down without hesitation." "My poor little sisters," Lady Lily exclaimed, tears welling up in her eyes. "Still, my dear ones, you benefit from this. Here in this orchard, you are taken care of while you grow, then you are admired -- you have quite a nice life." "Oh no, Your Majesty, we have a most awful life! Sometimes it's just too much to bear. We've never been happy here, we only want peace and tranquility... Every evening we pray for peace with our white tops bent low- but our prayers do no good! Our lord's noble friends come to visit. They aren't old or poor, neither they are prim. They sing and joke till the dead of night while we remain sleepless and mourn our plight... This orchard is like a bed of nails for us, so please do not tell us our fate is best..." The lilies' voices trailed off, their heads bent sadly even lower. Presently, the glass doors of the palace opened and a young lady in a fashionable white dress stepped out onto the porch. She plopped down in a chair and viewed the moonlit orchard disapprovingly. "My headache's killing me," she said to herself. "It's throbbing, I can't sleep at all. I know it's because I'm bored! There's no doubt about it. I'm simply wasting away in this backwater of a village. There's no one to see, no one to talk to all day. I would have died of boredom by now if it weren't for the evening guests. But they are boring too! "Everything's so dreary here: the palace, the orchard with these flowers. Yes, I'm sick of everything, even the flowers! What a foolish idea it was to have lilies galore, and white ones at that! If only they were a more interesting colour, pink or something like that... "Besides, you can find white lilies in any orchard! Even peasants grow them. These lilies smell so strong they make my head reel. And that's supposed to be a delicate fragrance! I'd better go inside before my head gets worse!" As the young lady said this, she went back into the palace banging the doors shut behind her. "You've really got a difficult life, you poor things," said Lady Lily. Her heart was bleeding for her unfortunate sisters. "You must grow somewhere else, but it's beyond my power to carry you to another place... I don't know what else I can tell you, my unfortunate friends..." Lady Lily walked along the lilies looking sadly at each one in turn. Suddenly she saw one was missing. She stopped abruptly and asked: "And where is Fair Lily? Can you tell me where my youngest sister is?" The lilies explained in their sweet voices: "Fair Lily was born a lucky flower: she's been taken away to live in clover. There was a peasant girl Hanna who worked hard in our landlord's fields last summer. He said Hanna would take any lily she asked for, since he knew that otherwise he would've had to pay her more. Yes, our sister was born a lucky flower: she's been taken away to live in clover." "Then I must go and see her," decided Lady Lily. "I wonder how she feels in that Hanna's garden." She wanted to ask her sisters about something else but Pavlik complained that he felt uncomfortable in that strange orchard with the sad lilies and the nasty people in the palace. He begged Lady Lily to carry him away. "All right, we'll fly to a big city. We might find life more attractive there." Lady Lily took Pavlik into her arms and soared into the sky. Seconds later they found themselves above a big bustling city. The streets were wide and the shop windows were brightly lit. Pavlik had never seen so many people and they were all hurrying up and down the streets, looking busy and excited. Lady Lily was gliding above the crowds looking curiously at the shop windows. There on display were a lot of earthly wonders: fine dolls and super toys, choice sweets and exquisite jewellery, books with lavish illustrations and loads more besides! It would be simply impossible to list everything that was on sale in those shops! Finally, Lady Lily landed in front of a large florist's with plenty of flowers in the window. The flowers were delightful! There was nearly every kind of flower imaginable. There were also some exotic flowers which could not be found anywhere else... Roses, lilies of every shade and shape, violets and some strange blooms, silvery or golden yellow, with very odd sounding names. The flowers were arranged in gorgeous garlands, bouquets, and sprays, and all of them looked simply wonderful. Pavlik clapped his hands gleefully: ''These flowers are amazing! I've never seen anything like them before. Your lilies back there in the orchard are nothing compared to these. Are you going to speak with these flowers, Lady Lily? I wonder what they will tell you." "No, Pavlik, they won't tell me anything. They simply cannot speak because they're artificial." "What do you mean, artificial? How come they are so nice? And why are there no elfs inside them?" "Elfs, Pavlik, never live inside such flowers because these are fake flowers, they are hand-made. They don't smell, their leaves are thick, and we don't live inside such flowers however nice they may look." "Fake flowers..." repeated Pavlik and his heart sank. "But who makes them and how?" "I can take you to those who make them, if you want," said Lady Lily. She held on tight to the boy and flew up towards the top floor of the building they were standing by. Pavlik peered through the window and saw a large dingy room with bare, dirty walls. In the centre of the room there stood a long wooden table littered with heaps of paper cuts, thin cord and bits of string, cotton strips, threads, glue bottles with brushes sticking out of them, and platefuls of coloured paint and gold paint. All these things were scattered around in a terrible mess. Sitting along the table on long benches- were young girls in cheap but neat clothes. They had tarnished aprons wrapped around their waists. Each girl was equipped with a small knife, a set of tweezers and pincers and a vise to work with. Each one had paper cuts and other necessary things piled up in front of her. Some of the girls were making paper leaves and petals while the others were fastening the fake foliage to thin wires. 'Still others were painting the leaves that were later starched and pressed. Some more girls were busy making the insides for the flowers from cotton strips and threads. Finally, all these things came into the deft hands of the most skilled craftswomen who glued the leaves and petals together shaping them into flowers, added final touches here, made minor corrections there. The girls worked fast, keeping complete silence. They payed no attention to the muck and grime all over the place, or to their hands smeared with paint and glue. They had not a minute to spare. They didn't seem to notice that they were tired and pale from doing their dull work in this stuffy room filled with the smell of paint and glue. The faster they worked, the more flowers they turned out at the end of the day - - and that meant more money for them. Or so they had been told. But it wasn't quite like that. The poor girls worked their fingers to the bone but they were still payed less than they earned. There was a senior crafts woman who walked to and fro behind the girls' backs and saw to it that nothing was made the wrong way, or wasted, or stolen. Two girls at the far end of the table arched their backs talking to each other in muffled voices lest the senior craftswoman should overhear them. "O my dear Katrusya," one of the girls said fitting a cord to a green leaf, "even my hands are shaking from hunger. I've hardly had a thing to eat since early morning! I reported for work late today. I know it was crazy! Anyway they didn't let me have my lunch-break, and what's more, they aren't goin' to pay me a penny for today, so I was told. You shouldn't be so late, they said! Oh, what a mess!..." "Really," the other girl replied. "As for me, you wouldn't catch me being late for work. It would have... Oh no! what have I done!" The girl shot a frightened glance over her shoulder. "What's up, Katrusya?" asked her neighbour. "Shush, or she will hear us. How on earth did I do it? I've knocked over the dratted plate with paint! And look, I've spoilt so many paper cuts... This is the end! They won't pay me for this workday. Please, dear, don't tell anybody about it, don't give me away! Maybe they won't notice." But the supervisor saw that something was wrong and rushed to the girls. "Hey, you two! What do you think you are doing!" she yelled at the girls so menacingly Pavlik broke out into a cold sweat. "Oh, Lady Lily," he cried, "let's get out of here! I don't like it here at all. It's so grim, so — nasty!" Lady Lily promptly descended to the earth. "Do you want to have one more look at those fake flowers?" she asked the boy. "Oh no, I don't! No, I never want to see one again! I don't want to stay in this city, I want to get back to my dear Mommy..." "Then back to your mother you shall go. Only, I would like to see my younger sister first, the one that blooms in the Hanna's garden, remember? I wonder how they are getting along over there..." "Really, Lady Lily, I'd rather go home right away," said Pavlik. Then he heaved a sigh and added, "All right, do as you please. But let's be quick!" "Sure, Pavlik, we'll be there and back before you can say 'knife'!" And with these words Lady Lily tore off. As they zoomed over the hustling and bustling city, Pavlik watched the flickering lights way down below and the people swarming and bustling up and down the streets. The next moment, the city vanished in the night. They were flying like greased lightning, but Pavlik did have time enough to notice that a new day was being born and a bright rosy dawn was vying against the silvery-blue moon. Meanwhile, Lady Lily levelled off and softly came to land near a little tumble-down hut that leaned to one side. Pavlik immediately realized that they were back in his own village and that the "Hanna" the lilies had mentioned was, in fact, his little neighbour friend. He saw her flower patch, small in size but rich in plants. There were French marigolds, monkshoods, lovage, rues, tansies, mints and a fine bush of roses. The flowers were knit together by periwinkle creeping among them. A tiny, delicate white lily grew in the middle of the flower bed. It was completely clear of weeds and protected with thin and short twigs stuck into the ground around it. Obviously, Hanna had taken very good care of the lily. And, as if in response, the flower had blossomed with all its might. Then Hanna herself came into view. A little boy with fair hair toddled after her. It was her brother Ivasik. In his hand he carried a pitcher filled with water. Hanna led her little helper around the garden and showed which flowers he should water. The girl could have done it herself, of course, but she knew how her brother loved to help her. "Look here, Ivasik," Hanna said to her little brother. "Water this white flower carefully. Remember, it is called Fair Lily. It needs a lot of water because it has recently been removed from a rich man's orchard to take root in our patch. Only, be careful and don't overdo it. Too much water may break its stalk. Well, I think I'd better do it myself." Hanna watered her precious flower herself though Ivasik wa's reluctant to part with the watering can. "My Fair Lily has a nice smell, doesn't it, Ivasik?" "Of course it does!" replied the boy, bending over and sniffing at the lily. "It smells better than any other flower." "It does, Ivasik, it does!" said Hanna, beaming. "Now we shall have a bite to eat*and then I'll go to work. You stay at home, Ivasik, and chase the hens away from our flowers. And see to it that the boys don't ruin my lily. Will you do that?" "I will, Hanna." "Be a good boy and I'll bring you a toy. Or I'll ask the landlady for some sugar for you, But if you don't protect our lily, I'll be angry with you! The boys may come and break it and I can't get another one like that, you know!" "I will look after the lily, dear sister, I will." When Hanna and Ivasik had gone into their hut, Lady Lily and Pavlik came up to the white flower. "I'm so glad to-see you, Lady Lily," Fair Lily said in her thin ringing voice. "Where have you been and what have you seen? Lady Lily, do you know where my poor sisters grow?" "Yes, I've visited theni> my dear, and they told me your story." "I think of them both night and day, for their good luck I always pray! Do they still remember me, their lily-sister who now is free?" "Yes, they still remember you and they are missing vou badly," "Let them not cry, let them not moan. With such lovely memory I'm never alone. I'm happier now than I've ever been, I'm looked after by Hanna as if I were a queen! I am safe and I am sound, blooming on this quiet ground. To me Young Hanna is everything, when I see her I just want to sing. She waters me thoroughly day and night, and weeds and keeps on me her sweet eye. "Right from the dawn Hanna is busy. She leaves the hut holding a watering can. She carries it full of water with her strong little hands. As Hanna waters us in the morning, she sings a merry song: 'My garden is cleaned and sweapt, Among the flowers periwinkle has crept.,,' Her voice is ringing, sweetness bringing, like a small silver bell. Even a Nightingale praising a good day couldn't sing so well! The song brings vigour, for work is hard. There's no time to rest. Hanna's busy from morning till night doing her very best. "The field is not hers, she doesn't work for herself. But those are her legs which are aching. Cruel pastor's lettuce hurts her hands when she pulls it up so the roots are taken, she's often so tired she sways when she's finished the work at the end of the day. Then she feels so sorry for herself but looking at me and, smiling, she says: 'You give me comfort, my Fair Lily, and I'm happy, my dear, I won't be silly. Seeing you flourishing proudly here, I quickly forget my sorrows and fears. Grow, my Fair Lily, and bloom every day to make me feel happy always!" That's how Fair Lily sang her song while Lady Lily listened to her and smiled happily. She was glad her youngest sister had been lucky enough to find the peasant girl Hanna! Then Lady Lily drew nearer, touched Fair Lily with her magic flower and pronounced solemnly: "From now on, my Fair Lily, be grand and graceful!" The moment she said so, Fair Lily turned into a very tall and very magnificent plant with fantastic flowers emitting silver-rosy light. Her leaves were wet with dew sparkling with all colours of the rainbow! ...Then everything disappeared. Pavlik looked about him only to find out he was in his bed again. "Lady Lily!" he called out loud. "Lady Lily, I don't want it to be over so soon. I want you to bring me back to Hanna and Fair Lily! Please, take me back to them!" Lady Lily stood in front of him bathed in the pale orange light of the newly-born day. "Not now, Pavlik," she said, "some other time. Enough is enough. I've got some other things to attend to. The night is over. Bye-bye!" Lady Lily touched the boy with her flower, bent over to kiss him on the forehead and — was gone. Pavlik stretched out both his arms and was about to let out a cry of surprise when he... woke up. Warm sun light dazzled the boy. He squinted and saw his mother bent over him and felt her warm and tender kiss on his forehead. "Why, you're awake, dear!" the mother said. "How do you feel?" "I feel good," Pavlik answered, embracing his mother. "Very good indeed... You know, Mommy, what a fine dream I had! I was with Lady Lily last night!"
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