Speaker 1: Cal Zone Media book Club Club. Hello, and welcome to
Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media book Club, your weekly book club that
Speaker 1: you don't have to do the reading for because I
Speaker 1: do it for you. I'm your host, Margaret Kiljoy. And
Speaker 1: it's spooky Month, you're thinking to yourself. But Margaret, it's
Speaker 1: November and you're thinking incorrectly. You're thinking correctly that it's November,
Speaker 1: but you're incorrect that that means that Spooky Month has
Speaker 1: to be over. Because while I'm recording this on All Saints'
Speaker 1: Day and the veil is still thin, although I saw
Speaker 1: a really good meme today that was like, the veil
Speaker 1: is always thin, That's why it's called a veil. And
Speaker 1: I like that. I like the idea that the other
Speaker 1: world is always right there next to us, so close
Speaker 1: that we can almost reach out and touch it, but
Speaker 1: then we can't. But that's why we have fiction and
Speaker 1: things to kind of explore those ideas. Whatever. Anyway, next
Speaker 1: week on Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff, my other podcast,
Speaker 1: I'm going to talk about witches and the story of
Speaker 1: the witch hunts in Europe, so check that out Monday
Speaker 1: and Wednesday on Cool Zone Media. But I figured to
Speaker 1: close out Spooky Month here on book club, I would
Speaker 1: read you some of the stories about, you know, witches,
Speaker 1: and I went through and I found a bunch of
Speaker 1: different ones, and I was really excited about some of them,
Speaker 1: and some of them talk about like some of my
Speaker 1: favorite things. I love the washer at the Ford, the
Speaker 1: Scottish folklore idea that there's this strange woman with long,
Speaker 1: saggy breasts that hangs out and washes clothes in the
Speaker 1: ford and if you see her, you have to like
Speaker 1: grab her breast and then she'll tell you if you're
Speaker 1: going to die in battle, because it's so weird. But
Speaker 1: you want to know. I didn't read you that one
Speaker 1: today because it has so many Scottish Gaelic words and
Speaker 1: I would have to look them all up. And I'm
Speaker 1: on a very tight deadline, so maybe i'll read that
Speaker 1: one to you. I really liked it, well, I honestly
Speaker 1: it was a whatever. I liked it because I like
Speaker 1: some of the concepts in it. I love the idea
Speaker 1: of the washer at the Ford, but it's not really
Speaker 1: a witch, is it. I mean it's kind of a
Speaker 1: way or whatever, which is whatever. I'm going to do
Speaker 1: a whole two weeks worth of content about witches and
Speaker 1: what isn't isn't a witch. But instead I'm going to
Speaker 1: read you about Russian witches, which is cool. I thought that,
Speaker 1: like you know, most Russian witches are sort of conflated
Speaker 1: down to Baba Yaga, which we've done a whole series
Speaker 1: of episodes about. If you want to hear me read
Speaker 1: Baba Yaga stories and tell you about Babba yagah, go
Speaker 1: back a couple of halloweens when I talked to Jamie
Speaker 1: Loftus about it. But I found Russian fairy tales talking
Speaker 1: about witches that are just sort of different witches, and
Speaker 1: some of them like clearly relate into the Baba Yaga story,
Speaker 1: but they're not Baby Yaga. And I find that really interesting.
Speaker 1: So you might find it interesting too, Who knows. If
Speaker 1: you don't, hopefully you'll at least be entertained. I know
Speaker 1: at least I've talked to a couple of people who
Speaker 1: listen to this to go to sleep. So if that's you,
Speaker 1: get ready to put on your sleeping mask, and if
Speaker 1: it's not, you get ready to not fall asleep while
Speaker 1: you're driving, that would be bad. These three stories that
Speaker 1: I'm going to read to you today are from a
Speaker 1: book from eighteen seventy two called Russian fairy Tales, a
Speaker 1: choice collection of Muscovite folklore by W. R. S. Ralston,
Speaker 1: who is mostly known as a Russian translator. This first
Speaker 1: story is called the Dead Witch. There was once an
Speaker 1: old woman who was a terrible witch, and she had
Speaker 1: a daughter and a granddaughter. The time came for the
Speaker 1: old crone to die, so she summoned her daughter and
Speaker 1: gave her these instructions. Mind, daughter, when I'm dead, don't
Speaker 1: you wash my body with lukewarm water, but phil a cauldron,
Speaker 1: make it boil its very hottest, and then with that
Speaker 1: boiling water, regularly scald me all over. After saying this,
Speaker 1: the witch lay ill two or three days and then died.
Speaker 1: The daughter ran round to all her neighbors, begging them
Speaker 1: to come and help her wash the old woman. And meantime,
Speaker 1: the little granddaughter was left all alone in the cottage.
Speaker 1: And this is what she saw there. All of a sudden,
Speaker 1: there crept out from beneath the stove two demons, a
Speaker 1: big one and a tiny one, and they ran up
Speaker 1: to the dead witch. The old demon seized her by
Speaker 1: the feet and tore away at her, so that he
Speaker 1: stripped off all her skin at one pole. Then he
Speaker 1: said to the little demon, take the flesh for yourself,
Speaker 1: and lug it under the stove. So the little demon
Speaker 1: flung his arms round the carcasse and dragged it under
Speaker 1: the stove. Nothing was left of the old woman but
Speaker 1: her skin. Into it, the old demon inserted himself, and
Speaker 1: then he lay there just where the witch had been lying. Presently,
Speaker 1: the daughter came back, bringing a dozen other women with her,
Speaker 1: and they all sa work laying out the corpse. Mammy,
Speaker 1: says the child. They've pulled Granny's skin off while you
Speaker 1: were away. What do you mean by telling such lies?
Speaker 1: It's quite true, Mammy, there was ever such a blackie
Speaker 1: came from under the stove, and he pulled the skin
Speaker 1: off and got into it himself. Hold dear tongue, naughty child,
Speaker 1: you're talking nonsense, cried the old Crone's daughter. Then she
Speaker 1: fetched a big cauldron, filled it with cold water, put
Speaker 1: it on the stove, and heated it until it boiled furiously.
Speaker 1: Then the women lifted up the old crone, laid her
Speaker 1: in a trough, took hold of the cauldron, and poured
Speaker 1: the whole of the boiling water over her at once.
Speaker 1: The demon couldn't stand it. He leaped out of the trough,
Speaker 1: dashed through the doorway, and disappeared skin and all the
Speaker 1: women stared. What marvel is this? They cried, Here was
Speaker 1: the dead woman, and now she isn't here. There's nobody
Speaker 1: left to lay out or to bury. The demon have
Speaker 1: carried her off before our very eyes. And that's the
Speaker 1: end of the story. It's a real short one. And Okay,
Speaker 1: the thing I like about it is that here you've
Speaker 1: got this witch. She was like a wicked witch. What
Speaker 1: do they call her? A terrible witch? But she's like, well,
Speaker 1: she cares about her family and she knows that, you know,
Speaker 1: she's made all these packs with demons. So after she dies,
Speaker 1: like real bad stuff's going to happen. So she's still
Speaker 1: just like looking out for her kids. You know. She's
Speaker 1: not like on the demon's side here. And I think
Speaker 1: that's sweet, much like I find it entertaining to be
Speaker 1: interrupted by advertisers like these ones. And we're back. Okay.
Speaker 1: This next story is just called the Witch, but not
Speaker 1: with two v's. It's a different story. There once lived
Speaker 1: an old couple who had one son called Vashko No
Speaker 1: one could tell how fond they were of him. Well,
Speaker 1: one day Avashka said to his father and mother, I'll
Speaker 1: go out fishing if you let me. What are you
Speaker 1: thinking about? You're still very small. Suppose you get drowned.
Speaker 1: What good will there be in that? No, No, I
Speaker 1: shan't get drowned. I'll catch you some fish. Do let
Speaker 1: me go. So his mother put a white shirt on him,
Speaker 1: tied a red girdle round him, and let him go
Speaker 1: out in a boat. He sat and said, canoe, canoe
Speaker 1: float a little farther, canoe, canoe float a little farther.
Speaker 1: Then the canoe floated on farther and farther, and Avashko
Speaker 1: began to fish. When some little time had passed by,
Speaker 1: the old woman hobbled down to the riverside and called
Speaker 1: to her son, Ivashak go, Ivashako, my boy, float up,
Speaker 1: float up onto the water side. I bring thee food
Speaker 1: and drink. And Avashko said, canoe, canoe float to the
Speaker 1: water side. That is my mother calling me. The boat
Speaker 1: floated to the shore. The woman took the fish, gave
Speaker 1: her boy food and drink, changed his shirt for him
Speaker 1: and his girdle, and sent him back to his fishing again.
Speaker 1: He sat in his boat and said, canoe, canoe float
Speaker 1: a little farther, canoe, canoe float a little farther. Then
Speaker 1: the canoe floated on farther and farther, and Avashko began
Speaker 1: to fish. After a little time had passed by, the
Speaker 1: old man also hobbled down to the bank and called
Speaker 1: to his son, Ivashko Ivasheko, my boy, float up, float
Speaker 1: up on to the water side. I bring thee food
Speaker 1: and drink. And Ivashka replied, canoe, canoe float to the
Speaker 1: water side. That is my father calling me. The canoe
Speaker 1: floated to the shore. The old man took the fish,
Speaker 1: gave his boy food and drink, changed his shirt for
Speaker 1: him and his girdle, and sent him back to his fishing.
Speaker 1: Now a certain witch had heard what Avashko's parents had
Speaker 1: cried aloud to him, and she longed to get hold
Speaker 1: of the boy, so she went down to the bank
Speaker 1: and cried with a hole voice, Iva shack go, Iva
Speaker 1: shack go, my boy, float up, float up onto the
Speaker 1: water side, I bring thee food and drink. Ivashko perceived
Speaker 1: that the voice was not his mother's but that of
Speaker 1: a witch, and he sang, canoe, canoe float a little farther, canoe,
Speaker 1: canoe floats a little farther. That is not my mother,
Speaker 1: but a witch who calls me. The witch saw that
Speaker 1: she must call to Avshko with just such a voice
Speaker 1: as his mother had. So she hastened to a smith
Speaker 1: and said to him, smith, smith, make me just such
Speaker 1: a thin little voice as a Veshko's mother has. If
Speaker 1: you don't, I'll eat you. So the smith forged her
Speaker 1: a little voice just like Aveshko's mother. Then the witch
Speaker 1: went down by night to the shore and sang, ivashek go,
Speaker 1: ivashek go, my boy, float up, float up onto the
Speaker 1: water side. I bring thee food and drink. Ivashka came
Speaker 1: and she took the fish and seized the boy and
Speaker 1: carried him home with her. When she you arrived, she
Speaker 1: said to her daughter, Alenka, heat the stove as hot
Speaker 1: as you can and bake of Oshko well, while I
Speaker 1: go and collect my friends for the feast. So Alenka
Speaker 1: heated the stove hot ever so hot, and said to Avshko,
Speaker 1: come here and sit on this shovel. I'm still very
Speaker 1: young and foolish, answered Avshko. I haven't yet quite got
Speaker 1: my wits about me. Please teach me how one ought
Speaker 1: to sit on a shovel. Very good, said Olenka. It
Speaker 1: won't take long to teach you. But the moment she
Speaker 1: sat down on the shovel, Avashko instantly pitched her into
Speaker 1: the oven, slammed too the iron plate in front of it,
Speaker 1: ran out of the hut, shut the door, and hurriedly
Speaker 1: climbed ever so high in an oak tree which stood
Speaker 1: close by. Presently, the witch arrived with her guests and
Speaker 1: knocked at the door of the hut, but nobody opened
Speaker 1: it for her. Ah, that cursed Alenko. She cried, no doubt,
Speaker 1: She's gone off somewhere to amuse herself. Then she slipped
Speaker 1: in through the window, opened the door, and led in
Speaker 1: her guests. They all sat down to table, and the
Speaker 1: witch opened the oven, took out a Lenka's baked body,
Speaker 1: and served it up. They ate their fill and drank
Speaker 1: their fill, and then they went out to the courtyard
Speaker 1: and began rolling about on the grass. I turn about,
Speaker 1: I roll about having fed on a Veshko's flesh, cried
Speaker 1: the witch. I turn about, I roll about having fed
Speaker 1: on a Veshko's flesh, but Avshko called out to her
Speaker 1: from the top of the oak. Turn about, roll about
Speaker 1: having fed on a Lanka's flesh. Did I hear something,
Speaker 1: said the witch. No, it was only the noise of
Speaker 1: the leaves. Again, the witch began, I turn about, I
Speaker 1: roll about having fed on a Veshko's flesh, and Avshko repeated,
Speaker 1: turn about, roll about having fed on a lanka's flesh.
Speaker 1: Then the witch looked up and saw Avashko and immediately
Speaker 1: rushed at the oak on which Avashka was seated and
Speaker 1: began to gnaw away at it. And she gnawed and
Speaker 1: gnawed and gnawed until at last she two front teeth.
Speaker 1: Then she ran to a forge, and when she reached it,
Speaker 1: she cried, smith, Smith, make me some iron teeth if
Speaker 1: you don't all eat you. So the smith forged her
Speaker 1: two iron teeth. The witch returned and began gnawing the
Speaker 1: oak again. She gnawed and gnawed and was just on
Speaker 1: the point of gnawing it through when Avashko jumped out
Speaker 1: of it into another tree which stood beside it. The
Speaker 1: oak that the witch had gnawed through fell down to
Speaker 1: the ground, but then she saw that Avashko was sitting
Speaker 1: up in another tree. So she gnashed her teeth with
Speaker 1: spite and set to work afresh to gnaw that tree also.
Speaker 1: She gnawed and gnawed and gnawed, and broke two lower
Speaker 1: teeth and ran off to the forge smith smith. She
Speaker 1: cried when she got there, make me some iron teeth.
Speaker 1: If you don't, I'll eat you. The smith forged two
Speaker 1: more iron teeth for her. She went back again and
Speaker 1: once more began to gnaw on the oak. Avashko didn't
Speaker 1: know what he was to do now. He looked out
Speaker 1: and saw that swans and geese were flying by, so
Speaker 1: he called to them imploringly, Oh, my swans and geese,
Speaker 1: take me on your pinions, Bear me to my father
Speaker 1: and my mother, to the cottage of my father and
Speaker 1: my mother. There to eat and drink and live in comfort.
Speaker 1: Let those in the center carry you, said the birds.
Speaker 1: Avashka waited. A second flock flew past, and again he cried, imploringly, Oh,
Speaker 1: my swans and geese, take me on your pinions, Bear
Speaker 1: me to my father and my mother, to the cottage
Speaker 1: of my father and my mother. There to eat and
Speaker 1: drink and live in comfort. Let those in the rear
Speaker 1: carry you. Said the birds again. If Oshko waited, a
Speaker 1: third flock came flying by. A third flock came flying up,
Speaker 1: and he cried, Oh, my swans and geese, take me
Speaker 1: on your pinions, bear me to my father and my mother,
Speaker 1: to the cottage of my father and mother. There to
Speaker 1: eat and drink and live in comfort. And those swans
Speaker 1: and geese took hold of him and carried him back,
Speaker 1: flew up to the cottage and dropped him in the
Speaker 1: upper room. The next morning, his mother set to work
Speaker 1: to bake pancakes, baked them, and all of the sudden
Speaker 1: fell to thinking about her boy. Where is my Evashko?
Speaker 1: She cried, would that I could see him? Were it
Speaker 1: only in a dream? Then his father said, I dreamed
Speaker 1: that swans and geese had brought her Avashko home on
Speaker 1: their wings. Now, then, old man, let's divide the cakes.
Speaker 1: Theres for you, father, theirs for me. Theirs for you, father,
Speaker 1: and theirs for me and none for me, cried out
Speaker 1: of Oshko. Theirs for you, father, went on the old woman,
Speaker 1: theirs for me and none for me, repeated the boy. Why,
Speaker 1: old man, said the wife, go and see whatever that
Speaker 1: is up there. The father climbed into the upper room,
Speaker 1: and there he found of Oshko. The old people were
Speaker 1: delighted and asked their boy about everything that had happened.
Speaker 1: After that, he and they lived on happily together. The
Speaker 1: moral the story is killed people so other people can
Speaker 1: eat them, and then run home to your parents. Important lessons,
Speaker 1: you know. But what doesn't have a moral are these advertisers.
Speaker 1: And we're back. Okay, have one more story for you.
Speaker 1: This one is called the Witch and the Son's Sister.
Speaker 1: In a certain far off country, there once lived a
Speaker 1: king and a queen, and they had an only son,
Speaker 1: Prince Ivan, who was dumb from his birth. One day,
Speaker 1: when he was twelve years old, he went into the
Speaker 1: stable to see a groom who was a great friend
Speaker 1: of his. That groom always used to tell him tales,
Speaker 1: and on this occasion Prince Ivan went to him expecting
Speaker 1: to hear some stories, but that wasn't what he heard.
Speaker 1: Prince Ivan said the groom, your mother will soon have
Speaker 1: a daughter and you a sister. She will be a
Speaker 1: terrible witch, and she will eat up her father and
Speaker 1: her mother and all their subjects. So go and ask
Speaker 1: your father for the best horse he has, as if
Speaker 1: you wanted a gallop, and then, if you want to
Speaker 1: be out of harm's way, ride away whithersoever your eyes
Speaker 1: guide you. Prince Ivan ran off to his father, and,
Speaker 1: for the first time in his life, began speaking to him.
Speaker 1: At that the king was so delighted that he never
Speaker 1: thought of asking what he wanted a good seed for,
Speaker 1: but immediately ordered the very best horse he had in
Speaker 1: his stud to be saddled for the prince. Prince Ivan
Speaker 1: mounted and rode off, without caring where he went. Long,
Speaker 1: long did he ride? At length? He came to where
Speaker 1: two old women were sewing, and he begged them to
Speaker 1: let him live with them, but they said, gladly would
Speaker 1: we do so, Prince Ivan, Only we have now but
Speaker 1: a short time to live. As soon as we have
Speaker 1: broken that trunk full of needles and used up that
Speaker 1: trunk full of thread, that instant will death arrive. Prince
Speaker 1: Ivan burst into tears and rode on long, long did
Speaker 1: he ride? At length? He came to where the giant
Speaker 1: Verdidub was, and he besought him, saying, take me to
Speaker 1: live with you. Gladly would I have taken you, Prince
Speaker 1: Ivan replied the giant, But now I have very little
Speaker 1: longer to live. As soon as I have pulled up
Speaker 1: all these trees by the roots, instantly will come my death?
Speaker 1: More bitterly still did the prince weep as he rode
Speaker 1: farther and farther on bye and bye. He came to
Speaker 1: where the giant vertigore was and made the same request
Speaker 1: to him. But he replied gladly, would I have taken you,
Speaker 1: Prince Ivan, But I myself have very little longer to live.
Speaker 1: I am set here, you know, to level mountains. The
Speaker 1: moment I have settled matters with these you see remaining,
Speaker 1: then will my death come? Prince Ivan burst into a
Speaker 1: flood of bitter tears and rode on still farther. Long
Speaker 1: long did he ride. At last he came to the
Speaker 1: dwelling of the son's sister. She received him into her
Speaker 1: house and gave him food and drink, and treated him
Speaker 1: just as if he had been her own son. The
Speaker 1: prince now led an easy life, but it was all
Speaker 1: of no use. He couldn't help being miserable. He longed
Speaker 1: so to know what was going on at home. He
Speaker 1: often went up to the top of a high mountain
Speaker 1: and thence gazed at the palace in which he used
Speaker 1: to live, and he could see that it was all
Speaker 1: eaten away, nothing but bare walls remained. Then he would
Speaker 1: sigh and weep. Once when he returned, after he'd been
Speaker 1: thus looking and crying, the son's sister asked him, what
Speaker 1: makes your eyes so red today? Prince Ivan, Oh, the
Speaker 1: wind has been blowing in them, said he. The same
Speaker 1: thing happened a second time. Then the Sun's sister ordered
Speaker 1: the wind to stop blowing. Again a third time did
Speaker 1: Prince Ivan come back with a blubbered face. This time
Speaker 1: there was no help for it. He had to confess everything,
Speaker 1: and then he took to entreating the Sun's sister to
Speaker 1: let him go that he might satisfy himself about his
Speaker 1: old home. She would not let him go, but he
Speaker 1: went on urgently entreating, so at last he persuaded her,
Speaker 1: and she let him go away and find out about
Speaker 1: his home. But first she provided him for the journey
Speaker 1: with a brush, a comb, and two youth giving apples.
Speaker 1: However old any one might be, let him eat one
Speaker 1: of these apples, he would grow young again in an instant. Well,
Speaker 1: Prince Ivan came to where Verdigor was. There was only
Speaker 1: just one mountain left. He took his brush and cast
Speaker 1: it down upon the open plain. Immediately there rose out
Speaker 1: of the earth. Goodness knows whence high, ever so high, mountains,
Speaker 1: their peaks touching the sky, And the number of them
Speaker 1: was such that there were more than the eye could see.
Speaker 1: Vertigor rejoiced greatly and blithely recommenced his work. After a time,
Speaker 1: Prince Ivan came to where Verdidub was and found there
Speaker 1: was only three trees remaining there. So he took the
Speaker 1: comb and flung it out on the open plain. Immediately,
Speaker 1: from somewhere or other they came the sound of trees,
Speaker 1: and forth from the ground arose dense oak forests, each
Speaker 1: stem more huge whig than the other. Verda Dub was delighted,
Speaker 1: thanked the prince, and set to work up rooting the
Speaker 1: ancient oaks. By and bye. Prince Ivan reached the old
Speaker 1: women and gave them each an apple. They ate them
Speaker 1: and straightway became young again. So they gave him a handkerchief.
Speaker 1: If only you had to wave it, and behind you
Speaker 1: lay a whole lake. At last, Prince Ivan arrived at home.
Speaker 1: Out came running his sister to meet him, caressed him fondly,
Speaker 1: sit thee down, my brother, She said, play a tune
Speaker 1: on the lute while I go and get dinner ready.
Speaker 1: The prince sat down and strummed away on the lute.
Speaker 1: Then there crept a mouse out of a hole and
Speaker 1: said to him in a human voice, save yourself, Prince,
Speaker 1: run away quick. Your sister has gone to sharpen her teeth.
Speaker 1: Prince Ivan fled from the room, jumped on his horse,
Speaker 1: and galloped away back. Meantime, the mouse kept running over
Speaker 1: the strings of the lute. They twanged, and the sister
Speaker 1: never guessed that her brother was off. When she had
Speaker 1: sharpened her teeth, she burst into the room lo and behold,
Speaker 1: not a soul was there, nothing but a mouse bolting
Speaker 1: into its hole. The witch waxed wroth, ground her teeth
Speaker 1: like anything, and set off in pursuit. Prince Ivan heard
Speaker 1: a loud noise and looked back. There was his sister
Speaker 1: chasing him. So he waved his handkerchief, and a deep
Speaker 1: lake lay behind him. While the witch was swimming across
Speaker 1: the water, Prince Ivan got a long way ahead, but
Speaker 1: on she came faster than ever, and now she was
Speaker 1: close at hand. Verdadub guessed that the prince was trying
Speaker 1: to escape his sister, so he began tearing up oaks
Speaker 1: and strewing them across the land. A regular mountain did
Speaker 1: he pile up. There was no passing by for the witch,
Speaker 1: so she set to work to clear them away. She
Speaker 1: gnawed and gnawed, and at length contrived by hard work
Speaker 1: to bore her way through. But by this time Prince
Speaker 1: Ivan was far ahead on. She dashed in pursuit, chased
Speaker 1: and chased just a little more, and it would be
Speaker 1: impossible for him to escape. Spied, the witch laid hold
Speaker 1: of the very highest of all of the mountains, pitched
Speaker 1: it down with a heap on the road, and flung
Speaker 1: another mountain right on top of it. While the witch
Speaker 1: was climbing and clambering, Prince Ivan rode and rode, and
Speaker 1: found himself a long way ahead. At last, the witch
Speaker 1: got across the mountain and once more set off in
Speaker 1: pursuit of her brother. Bye and bye. She caught sight
Speaker 1: of him and exclaimed, you shantn't get away from me
Speaker 1: this time, and now she is close, and now she
Speaker 1: is just going to catch him. At that very moment,
Speaker 1: Prince Ivan dashed up to the abode of the son's
Speaker 1: sister and cried, son Son, open the window. The son's
Speaker 1: sister opened the window, and the prince bounded through it,
Speaker 1: horse and all. Then the witch began to ask that
Speaker 1: her brother might be given up to her for punishment.
Speaker 1: The son's sister would not listen to her, nor would
Speaker 1: she give him up. Then the witch said, let Prince
Speaker 1: Ivan be weighed against me to see which is the heavier.
Speaker 1: If I am, then I will eat him. But if
Speaker 1: he is, then let him kill me. This was done.
Speaker 1: Prince Ivan was the first to get onto the scales.
Speaker 1: Then the witch began to get into the other. But
Speaker 1: no sooner than she has set foot in it, than
Speaker 1: upshot Prince Ivan in the air, and that with such
Speaker 1: force that he flew right up into the sky into
Speaker 1: the chamber of the Sun's sister. But as for the
Speaker 1: witch snake, she remained down below on earth. That's the
Speaker 1: end of that story. Okay. The thing that I find
Speaker 1: most interesting about that, I mean, obviously there's probably some
Speaker 1: like creation stuff going on or whatever about where the
Speaker 1: sun is and shooting up in the sky. But the
Speaker 1: thing I find really interesting is that they were like
Speaker 1: these poor giants. They're like, oh, I got to destroy
Speaker 1: all the trees and mountains, and then they're almost done,
Speaker 1: and then fortunately they're saved by getting to do more work.
Speaker 1: And I don't know, I kind of like that there's
Speaker 1: weird metaphors about us destroying the earth, but we're not
Speaker 1: going to be by a comb or a brush. But
Speaker 1: also there's just like I don't know, every week we
Speaker 1: push that rock up the hill. Imagine sissyphus happy when
Speaker 1: more rocks arrive, much like I'm happy when I don't
Speaker 1: have to do any more ad transitions for the week
Speaker 1: and instead tell you about my other podcast, Cool People
Speaker 1: That Did Cool Stuff, or the other podcast that this
Speaker 1: one runs on It could Happen here. Both are part
Speaker 1: of cool Zone Media. This is the cool Zone Media
Speaker 1: book club. You probably know that, but cool Zone Media
Speaker 1: is cool. It's in the name. It's also zone. I'm
Speaker 1: done bye. It could happen here as a production of
Speaker 1: cool Zone Media. For more podcasts from cool Zone Media,
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