Kolobok*

*The word "Kolobok" has a Turkic root "kolob" meaning "round," "ball-shaped." It is considered to be evidence of Turkic influence in the Russian language from the Mongolian Horde times, similar to Baba Yaga.

***

Once upon a time, a poor old couple lived in a village at the edge of a great forest. One day the wife wished to bake a special treat for her husband. She scraped the bottoms of all her birch-bark flour and corn jars and found enough to make a small bun called a kolobok. She added the last of oil and sour cream to it, made the bun and baked it.

When the kolobok was done she placed it on the open window sill to cool. The kolobok lay there for some time, and just as the woman came up to take and cut it, Kolobok suddenly came to life, rolled off the sill and into the garden. Waiving good-bye to the grandma, he continued to roll through the garden, down the path to the road, and down the road to the forest.

At the edge of the forest Kolobok met a scary hungry bear. "Ah, little Kolobok, you look so crispy golden and tasty, I'll eat you right away,” the bear said.

"Don't eat me, bear. I'll sing you a song instead," Kolobok pleaded. And he started singing his song:

I'm Kolobok, Kolobok! I was scraped from the flour-jar,

Swept from the corn-jar,

Mixed with sour cream into a bun

Baked in the oven till I was done,

Then left on the sill to cool some.

I ran away from grandpa and grandma too,

And I'm sure I'll have no trouble running away from you.

And Kolobok rolled off into the forest, so fast that the bear could only give him a shocked glare.

Rolling down the forest path, Kolobok stumbled upon a big gray wolf. "Ah, little Kolobok, looking so good and tasty, I could eat you right now," said the wolf.

"Don't eat me, the big gray wolf. I'll sing you a song instead,” cheekily starting his song:

I'm Kolobok, Kolobok! I was scraped from the flour-jar,

Swept from the corn-jar,

Mixed with sour cream into a bun

Baked in the oven till I was done,

Then left on the sill to cool some.

I ran away from grandpa and grandma,

And rolled away from the big bear too,

And I'm sure I'll have no trouble, running away from you.

When he was done, Kolobok rolled away, so fast that the wolf could only growl and stare.

Kolobok rolled farther into the forest until he met a hare. "Ah, little Kolobok, you look so tasty, I'll eat you right now," the hare said.

"Don't eat me, hare. I'll sing you a song instead," Kolobok said and sang his song:

I'm Kolobok, Kolobok! I was scraped from the flour-jar,

Swept from the corn-jar,

Mixed with sour cream into a bun

Baked in the oven till I was done,

Then left on the sill to cool some.

I ran away from grandpa and grandma,

And rolled away from the hungry bear too,

The big bad wolf couldn't snap me into two,

And I'm sure I'll have no trouble, running away from you.

Singing the last line, Kolobok rolled away quickly, so fast that the hare could only stare.

Kolobok rolled even farther into the forest until he ran into a fox.

"Kolobok, Kolobok, where are you going?" asked the fox.

"I'm just rolling along the forest path."

"Little Kolobok, I heard you have a wonderful voice. Would you sing me your beautiful song?" the cunning fox asked.

Flattered, Kolobok began to sing.

I'm Kolobok, Kolobok! I was scraped from the flour-jar,

Swept from the corn-jar,

Mixed with sour cream into a bun

Baked in the oven till I was done,

Then left on the sill to cool some.

I ran away from grandpa and grandma,

And rolled away from the hungry bear too,

The big bad wolf couldn't snap me into two,

And the hare was no match to my flare.

So I'm sure I'll have no trouble, running away from you.

"What a fine song,” said the fox. “But I am hard of hearing lately. Kolobok, be so kind as to sit on my nose and sing your beautiful song again, a little louder."

Kolobok hopped onto the fox's nose and started to sing his song. As he got to the part about the wolf, the fox quickly flipped Kolobok into the air and with one big snap of her jaws, caught the singing bun and gobbled him up.

***

Author's note: I took some creative license on this very old and famous Russian fairy tale by adding some character to the translation. In its original version, it's much dryer, matter-of-fact, simply describing the actions and dialogues. I am publishing it here so that I could use it as a reference story for Rick Henry Christopher's Haunted Letter challenge.