Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media.
Speaker 2: Book Club, book Club, book Club, book Club, book Club,
Speaker 2: book Club, book Club. I don't know why the chanting
Speaker 2: sounds worried. There's nothing to worry about. Why are you worried.
Speaker 2: You're listening to Cool Zone Media book Club, the only
Speaker 2: book club. We don't have to do the reading because
Speaker 2: I do it for you, so there's nothing to worry about.
Speaker 2: I'm your host, Margaret Kiljoy, and this week I'm going
Speaker 2: to read you more folk stories because I really like them,
Speaker 2: and because this week's folk stories come from a book
Speaker 2: called Beliny Book Hero Tales of Russia by Mary and
Speaker 2: Chilton Harrison from nineteen fifteen. And they're not really by
Speaker 2: Mary and their you know, interpretations of traditional stories. And
Speaker 2: why am I reading these stories? Well, they're about this
Speaker 2: hero named Ilia iliav. Murrum, but they're not really about
Speaker 2: that to me. What they're about to me is Nightingale
Speaker 2: the robber who's night in Yale the Robber. Well, Nightingale
Speaker 2: the Robber is a robber who's a nightingale, and he
Speaker 2: lives in a nest in the forest and he robs people.
Speaker 2: But he doesn't rob people with swords or claws. He
Speaker 2: whistles them to death. His whistle is so frightening that
Speaker 2: it kills people. And I came across him very recently
Speaker 2: because I was doing that thing that normal people do,
Speaker 2: where you go and you listen to Russian and Ukrainian
Speaker 2: songs about anarchists during the revolution, and I came across
Speaker 2: a song called Nightingale the Robber and I was like,
Speaker 2: who's that? And it was a song about Makno, the
Speaker 2: anarchist from Ukraine from nineteen whatever. I've done on a
Speaker 2: bunch of podcasts about him, and so is Robert on
Speaker 2: Behind the Bastards. But they talked about him in this song,
Speaker 2: this kind of punk song from I think the early nineties,
Speaker 2: where they're like, you have to remember this is the
Speaker 2: land of Nightingale the Robber, And I was like, ooh,
Speaker 2: so he's a full hero that's like an antagonist in
Speaker 2: most versions of the story, in fact, all the versions
Speaker 2: of story that I can find, But like all good antagonists,
Speaker 2: he's a hero to some people. And I wanted to
Speaker 2: know more, and I still don't know everything. I want
Speaker 2: to know everything, but I famously don't read Russian or Ukrainian,
Speaker 2: so I only know what I was able to find
Speaker 2: in translation. So I read a whole bunch of translations
Speaker 2: about Ilia Murrham and Nightingale the Robber, and then I've
Speaker 2: picked my favorite one, which is the one that I
Speaker 2: already told you. It's from Blani book hero Tales of
Speaker 2: Russia by Mary and Chilton Harrison from nineteen fifteen, and
Speaker 2: I like it because it's like both a clearer translation
Speaker 2: and a slightly less literal than some of the other ones,
Speaker 2: but also it's a little bit more sympathetic till Nightingale,
Speaker 2: and it like kind of plays up some of the
Speaker 2: weird proletarian elements in that Ilia is a peasant hero,
Speaker 2: unlike some of the other heroes of the same kind
Speaker 2: of era of folk heroes from Russia. Ilia as a peasant.
Speaker 2: And the other thing that I think is really funny
Speaker 2: is that people talk about like superheroes as if they're
Speaker 2: this new thing. Folklore is just superhero stories, not all
Speaker 2: of it. Some of it's really cool and like monsters
Speaker 2: and stuff, and I usually like the monsters more than
Speaker 2: I like the superheroes. But Ilia Muham is a superhero,
Speaker 2: and this one's a little bit less superhero than some
Speaker 2: of them, and so I like it a little bit
Speaker 2: more that's my introduction. What comes after the introduction is
Speaker 2: the story. I'm actually gonna read you two stories. The
Speaker 2: first one is a little bit longer and has a
Speaker 2: Nightingale in it, and the other one I just thought
Speaker 2: was kind of cool, so I'm going to read it
Speaker 2: to you too, because why not. I can do whatever
Speaker 2: I want. Well, I guess that's clearly not true, but
Speaker 2: I can do a lot of things, including read you
Speaker 2: to this story Ilia of Muham and Nightingale the Robber. Okay,
Speaker 2: so in most versions of this story it starts a
Speaker 2: little bit differently, and one of the things that it
Speaker 2: cuts out in this particular one that is an interesting
Speaker 2: detail that I'm just gonna interject here right at the beginning,
Speaker 2: is that in Ilia of Muham, the hero of this
Speaker 2: story was not able to walk until he was thirty,
Speaker 2: and then as soon as he was thirty or thirty three,
Speaker 2: depending on the story, he suddenly could walk and became
Speaker 2: a mighty hero. The green oak bows not down to
Speaker 2: the earth. Leaves of paper do not grow. Elia had
Speaker 2: made up his mind to go to Kiev town to
Speaker 2: seek service with the gracious Prince Vladimir. But before setting
Speaker 2: out on that long journey. He wished to see his
Speaker 2: father again and ask for his blessing, so he rode
Speaker 2: back to Murham and to his old home. He found
Speaker 2: his old father there and greeted him, saying, come thou,
Speaker 2: my own dear father. I am here to ask for
Speaker 2: thy blessing. I go to glorious royal Kiev town to
Speaker 2: pray at the sanctuary of Kiev and to pledge myself
Speaker 2: to Vladimir the Prince, to serve him in faith and
Speaker 2: in truth, and to uphold the Christian faith. The old
Speaker 2: farmer Ivan blessed Ilia and said, I give thee my
Speaker 2: blessing for the good work, but for evil work, no blessing.
Speaker 2: I give. Go thou on the right road, and do
Speaker 2: no harm to any woman, whether she be Christian or Tatar.
Speaker 2: Other versions of this he only says, like, don't hurt
Speaker 2: any Christians, don't spell Christian blood, and I like that
Speaker 2: this version, uh doesn't do that, you know, because the
Speaker 2: whole history of this area is a history of conflict
Speaker 2: between like the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire. Ilia
Speaker 2: of Muham bowed to the earth before his father and
Speaker 2: said farewell to his mother and his sisters and brothers.
Speaker 2: And then he mounted his good horse and rode through
Speaker 2: the open plain with his whip. He struck his horse
Speaker 2: on the curved hind quarter, and his restive steed was wroth,
Speaker 2: and suddenly sprang from the earth and bounded higher than
Speaker 2: an upright tree, almost as high as a moving cloud.
Speaker 2: At the first bound he passed twelve miles. At the
Speaker 2: second bound, he came to a well. By the well,
Speaker 2: Ilia cut down a green oak tree, and beside the
Speaker 2: well he built a small chapel, And upon the chapel
Speaker 2: he wrote his name, Ilia of Muham, son of Ivan,
Speaker 2: so that if some strong and mighty hero should ride
Speaker 2: that way, he should know the name of the builder
Speaker 2: of that chapel. At the third bound, Ilia's horse brought
Speaker 2: him to the town of Cherney, near Chernigov. There stood
Speaker 2: a countless host of Tatars, and at their head were
Speaker 2: three princes, each with the strength of forty thousand. On
Speaker 2: seeing his vast horde, the hero's heart grew hot within him,
Speaker 2: and he could not control his longing to fight. His
Speaker 2: heart was filled with fires, and it burned too, as
Speaker 2: if scorched by frost. Then he spoke and said, I
Speaker 2: desire not to go against my father's wish, or knowingly
Speaker 2: disregard his command. Then he took in his hand his
Speaker 2: battle sword and taught it to take a walk through
Speaker 2: the army. Where he turned it opened out a street,
Speaker 2: and when he turned round there was a great open space.
Speaker 2: Ilia made his way to the three princes and spoke
Speaker 2: thus to them, Come, my three king's sons. Shall I
Speaker 2: take you away as prisoners? Or shall I cut off
Speaker 2: your warlike heads. If I take you away as prisoners,
Speaker 2: I must travel over roads that I know not, and
Speaker 2: must carry bread. But if I take off your heads,
Speaker 2: the kingly race will be destroyed. If you will go
Speaker 2: home to your own country, you will spread such report
Speaker 2: of me that it will be known all over Russia,
Speaker 2: and you will tell it everywhere that in holy Russia
Speaker 2: there are strong and mighty heroes. The governor of Chernigov
Speaker 2: saw Ilia and said, the Lord has vanquished our tyrant
Speaker 2: and cleansed our glorious city of Chernigov. And he spoke
Speaker 2: to his princes and nobles and said, go ye, and
Speaker 2: call in this goodly hero to eat bread and salt
Speaker 2: with me. And the princes and nobles came forth to
Speaker 2: greet Ilia. Of Murrham, and said, come now, thou stalwart
Speaker 2: and goodly hero, and tell us by what honored name
Speaker 2: thou art called, and what ist thou renowned father's name.
Speaker 2: They call me by the name of Ilia, and I
Speaker 2: am honored as the son of Ivan. Said Ilia, Come,
Speaker 2: Ilia of Murrham, said, the princes and the nobles come
Speaker 2: to our governor. He sends us to invite thee to
Speaker 2: eat bread and salt with him. But Ilia wished to
Speaker 2: be on the way to Kiev, and answered, with little ceremony,
Speaker 2: I will not come to your governor. I wish not
Speaker 2: to eat bread and salt with him. Show me the
Speaker 2: straight road to the gloeous royal Kiev town. So they
Speaker 2: had to let him go on his way, and they
Speaker 2: showed him the straight road to Kiev across the open plain.
Speaker 2: Farther farther upon the open plain, waves of the feather
Speaker 2: grass and the breeze. There upon the open plain, among
Speaker 2: old folks, mothers and men, rode the old cossack iliav. Murrham.
Speaker 2: And the horse he rode was like a fierce wild beast,
Speaker 2: and he himself like a bright falcon. Now the old
Speaker 2: hero carried no money, only seven thousand golden Dukatsi had
Speaker 2: with him, and of small money forty thousand pieces. And
Speaker 2: the horse the hero rode was priceless. Why was the
Speaker 2: hero's horse priceless? Because there was no price for the horse.
Speaker 2: When he came to a river, he looked for no ford.
Speaker 2: Now the river was a full mile wide, but the
Speaker 2: good steed leaped from bank to bank. Then Ilia saw
Speaker 2: a village nearby, and the villagers, brigands, as we say
Speaker 2: in our Russian tongue, rode out after the hero. They
Speaker 2: swept round him and tried to rob him, tried to
Speaker 2: part him from his life and soul. Then said Ilia
Speaker 2: of Morm son of Ivan, Oh, come brother, villagers. No
Speaker 2: reason have ye to kill an old man like me,
Speaker 2: And ye shall take nothing from the old man. He
Speaker 2: took from his saddle his tough bow, and brought out
Speaker 2: from his quiver a sharp arrow. He bent his bow
Speaker 2: and fitted the arrow to the silken string, and shot
Speaker 2: not at the village folk brigands, though they were, for
Speaker 2: he would have been loth to slay them. But he
Speaker 2: shot at the green oak tree, and the bowstring sang
Speaker 2: in the tough bow, and the villagers fell from their horses.
Speaker 2: The arrow struck the crackling green oak tree and shattered
Speaker 2: the oak into chips and shavings. By this heroic deed
Speaker 2: of thunder, the brigand villagers were filled with fear, and
Speaker 2: for five hours they lay without sense, and Elia made
Speaker 2: sport of them. Come, come, good youths, you village brigands.
Speaker 2: Why do you lie half the night there upon the
Speaker 2: damp earth? Why go off to sleep and sleep half
Speaker 2: the night? On my way here I passed many people,
Speaker 2: both on horseback and on foot. You have let many
Speaker 2: a good chance escape you. The goodly youth stood up
Speaker 2: upon their nimble feet and threw themselves at Elia's feet
Speaker 2: and said, O, thou, brave hero, come and join our band,
Speaker 2: and be thou our chieftain. The good hero iliav Morum
Speaker 2: answered them, I desire not to join your band. I
Speaker 2: am on my way to Kiev town to Vladimir the Prince,
Speaker 2: to help him and to fight and defend him. The
Speaker 2: bold hero rode on through the open plain till he
Speaker 2: came to a pillar of white oak. On the pillar,
Speaker 2: this writing was written to ride straight on only five
Speaker 2: hundred miles, but by making a round seven hundred miles,
Speaker 2: Elia looked at this writing and said, if I ride straight,
Speaker 2: I shall cease to live. This way, I can neither ride,
Speaker 2: nor walk nor fly. Nightingale the Robber sits in his
Speaker 2: nest upon the seven oaks, and the robber dog will
Speaker 2: seize me at the seventh mile, much like you can
Speaker 2: be seized by these sweet, sweet products and or services.
Speaker 2: And we're back. I hope you got advertised swords, big
Speaker 2: fan of swords. Ilias stood still to think what he
Speaker 2: should do. The straight horse road is broken up. The
Speaker 2: little bridge of white Hazel is broken down. It would
Speaker 2: be no honor to me or glory to my knighthood
Speaker 2: to ride by that roundabout way. It is better to
Speaker 2: ride by the straight road. At once, he got down
Speaker 2: from his good steed. With one hand he led his horse,
Speaker 2: while with the other he put planks across the stream
Speaker 2: for a bridge that bridge of white Hazel. The straight
Speaker 2: road he mended, and he rode on till he came
Speaker 2: near the clump of seven oak trees upon which Nightingale
Speaker 2: the Robber had built his great nest. Nightingale the Robber
Speaker 2: was sitting upon his nest of twisted boughs, upon the
Speaker 2: seven oak trees, and Ilia rode up to the oak trees.
Speaker 2: The robber dog tried to seize him, just as he
Speaker 2: had come to the seventh mile, and Nightingale the robber
Speaker 2: roared like a wild orox, and the villain whistled like
Speaker 2: a nightingale, and the robber dog howled like a dog.
Speaker 2: And at these sounds, Elia's good steed fell upon his
Speaker 2: knees with terror at the roar of the orox, and
Speaker 2: the whistle of the nightingale, and the dog like howling
Speaker 2: of the robber dog. Elia struck his horse between the ears,
Speaker 2: and also struck him upon the flank, saying, O thou
Speaker 2: food for wolves, thou grasp bag. Hast thou never heard
Speaker 2: the roar of an orox. Hast thou never heard the
Speaker 2: whistle of a nightingale and the howling of a robber dog.
Speaker 2: The hero did not sit still, but quickly bent his
Speaker 2: strong bow, took a sharp arrow from his quiver, and
Speaker 2: shot the arrow at Nightingale the robber, as he sat
Speaker 2: there in his nest and on the seven oak trees.
Speaker 2: The arrow hit Nightingale, the robber and the right eye,
Speaker 2: and came out at the left ear, and Nightingale the
Speaker 2: robber fell from his nest down upon the damp earth.
Speaker 2: Then Elia took Nightingale the Robber and tied him to
Speaker 2: his Circassian stirrup, and made him walk besides the horse
Speaker 2: towards Kiev town. Presently they came to the house of
Speaker 2: Nightingale the Robber. It was a big house in a
Speaker 2: large yard, and round the yard was a high iron
Speaker 2: fence with spikes on the railings, and upon every spike
Speaker 2: was set the head of a hero. For Nightingale the
Speaker 2: Robber killed all that passed that way. Nightingale's children caught
Speaker 2: sight of their father and called out, look, father is
Speaker 2: bringing a man. And Nightingale's young wife looked from the
Speaker 2: window and said, a strange man is carrying off your
Speaker 2: dear father. And she called to some men who were
Speaker 2: idling about the yard, and said, will you not take
Speaker 2: him from this wanderer on the road. Is your dear
Speaker 2: father nothing to you? Has he fallen into the power
Speaker 2: of this horseman. It would be better to take a
Speaker 2: cupful of red gold, and another of pure silver, and
Speaker 2: a third cup of round pearls. Go now and offer
Speaker 2: them as a ransom. Speak to this horseman and persuade him,
Speaker 2: coax him and talk him over so that he may
Speaker 2: release Nightingale. And they rushed into the house, and Nightingale's
Speaker 2: wife took the keys and went down to the deep
Speaker 2: vaults where all Nightingale's treasure was stored. And they filled
Speaker 2: up a cup of red gold, and another with pure silver,
Speaker 2: and a third with round pearls. And they went out
Speaker 2: to Elia with flattering words and tried to coax him
Speaker 2: and talk him over, saying, oh, thou bold hero, good youth,
Speaker 2: give us back our dear father, and we will give
Speaker 2: thee gold and silver. Elia received these messengers and talk
Speaker 2: to them thus, look here, brothers, you who work for gain,
Speaker 2: I will not give you your dear father. He would
Speaker 2: only turn brigand again and rob the travelers passing this way.
Speaker 2: And Ilia rode on to Kiev town with Nightingale, the
Speaker 2: robber by his side, still tied to the stirrup so
Speaker 2: that he could not run away. Ilia hurried on, for
Speaker 2: he would not feign to be at Kiev in time
Speaker 2: for the service on the Easter morning, but he could
Speaker 2: not get there in time. When he reached Kiev, he
Speaker 2: rode into the wide courtyard of the Prince's palace. He
Speaker 2: tied up his good horse to the gold ring on
Speaker 2: a Garvin pillar, but did not take off either the
Speaker 2: saddle or the bridle, and he left Nightingale the robber
Speaker 2: still tied to the stirrup. Then Ilia walked quickly through
Speaker 2: the new entrance, through the guardroom and into the hall.
Speaker 2: There he crossed himself like a good Russian and made
Speaker 2: his bow. As he came into the hall, the steward
Speaker 2: of Vladimir the Prince, he greeted and asked him where
Speaker 2: is the Prince Vladimir of Royal Kiev. Prince Vladimir has
Speaker 2: gone to mass, was the answer. Ilia sat down on
Speaker 2: the plain wooden bench to wait. In a short time,
Speaker 2: Prince Vladimir came in with his nobles and attendants from
Speaker 2: the Easter service. Then they all gave greetings to one another,
Speaker 2: and each hero greeted the other. And Vladimir spoke to
Speaker 2: Elia and said, all to thee brave youth, I know
Speaker 2: not thy name or thy father's name. Art thou Azar,
Speaker 2: or a czar's son? Art thou a king or a
Speaker 2: king's son. Elia answered and said, I am from the
Speaker 2: town of Murham. I am the old Cossack Ilia of Murham.
Speaker 2: And they all sat down at the table to eat bread,
Speaker 2: and they carved and ate white swans. And Ilia began
Speaker 2: to talk and boast of what he had done. I
Speaker 2: am a brave hero. I have been riding through the
Speaker 2: eve of Easter day. I would fain have been here
Speaker 2: in time for Easter mass, but I could not get
Speaker 2: here in time for Easter morning, for the hour was past.
Speaker 2: I rode here by the straight road, and when I
Speaker 2: reached the green oaks, Nightingale the robber was sitting upon
Speaker 2: the seven oaks that ill doer used to seize upon
Speaker 2: every one for seven miles round. When I came near
Speaker 2: the oaks, Nightingale roared like a wild Orix, and the
Speaker 2: villain whistled like a nightingale, and the robber dog howled
Speaker 2: like a dog. Then my good horse fell upon his
Speaker 2: knees with fear. But I took got my tough bow,
Speaker 2: set the sharp arrow, and shot Nightingale the robber. I
Speaker 2: shot the villain through the right eye, and the arrow
Speaker 2: came out by his left ear. Then Nightingale fell upon
Speaker 2: the damp earth, and I took the robber and fastened
Speaker 2: him to my circassian stirrup, and brought the villain with
Speaker 2: me Vladimir the Prince looked at Elia and said, it
Speaker 2: seems to me, my bold youth, that there must be
Speaker 2: a big tavern in this country. Hast thou been drinking
Speaker 2: strong drink? Art thou not making empty boasts? Good hero?
Speaker 2: Elia's wrath grew hot within him, and angrily he said,
Speaker 2: thou it is who art the fool, O Prince of
Speaker 2: Royal Kiev. I have Nightingale the robber here tied to
Speaker 2: my circassian stirrup. Then all sprang up and rushed out,
Speaker 2: hurried and stumbled against each other. As they ran out
Speaker 2: to see Nightingale the robber, they all spoke and shouted
Speaker 2: together and called out to him, Oh thou nightingale the
Speaker 2: robber roarer, O nightingale like an oorux, Thou evildoer, whistle
Speaker 2: like nightingale, Oh thou robber, dog, howl like a dog.
Speaker 2: Nightingale the robber looked up and said, with you, I
Speaker 2: neither eat nor drink, and I will not obey you.
Speaker 2: At once, the crowd of courtiers turned back to the
Speaker 2: hall and came to Ilia of Morum, bowed low to
Speaker 2: him and craved their boon, Oh Ilia of morm, We
Speaker 2: beg thee to make Nightingale the robber roar like an orox,
Speaker 2: Make the villain whistle like a nightingale, Make the robber
Speaker 2: dog howl like a dog. And Ilia spoke to the
Speaker 2: Prince and said, oh, Vladimir, Prince of Royal Kiev, Nightingale's
Speaker 2: lips are now sealed together in his mouth as filled
Speaker 2: with dried blood. For my arrow went through his right eye,
Speaker 2: and it came out by the left ear. Pray, let
Speaker 2: a bowl of strong drink be poured out for him
Speaker 2: a bullwain half a hundredweight, a bull holding four gallons,
Speaker 2: and let it be given to Nightingale. And they poured
Speaker 2: him out a bowl of strong drink, a bull waine
Speaker 2: half a hundredweight, a bull holding four gallons, and they
Speaker 2: took it to Nightingale the robber. He took the ball
Speaker 2: in one hand, drank off the bowl of strong drink
Speaker 2: at one draft, and spoke these words. Pour out another
Speaker 2: bowl of strong beer, a bull wane half a hundredweight,
Speaker 2: to bull holding four gallons, and pour out a third
Speaker 2: bowl of sweet mead, a bull weyne half a hundredweight,
Speaker 2: to bull holding four gallons. And they poured out a
Speaker 2: bullful of strong beer, and they poured out a bullful
Speaker 2: of sweet mead and brought both to Nightingale the robber.
Speaker 2: He took the ball with one hand and drank off
Speaker 2: the bullful at one draft. And then Nightingale the robber
Speaker 2: was drunken, and Ilia of Murrham said to him, Now, Nightingale,
Speaker 2: roar thou robber like an orox, whistle O villain like
Speaker 2: a nightingale, and howl O dog like a dog. A nightingale.
Speaker 2: The robber roared like an orox. The villain whistled like
Speaker 2: that nightingale, and the robber dog howled like a dog.
Speaker 2: Princes and nobles all lay for day, but Vladimir, the
Speaker 2: Prince of Royal Kiev, stood up straight and went to
Speaker 2: the Ilia. For the prince had a boon to ask
Speaker 2: silence Nightingale. The robber, let's he whistle again like a nightingale?
Speaker 2: And my nobles leave me here alone. But you know
Speaker 2: what won't leave you alone. It's advertising. It's everywhere. It
Speaker 2: might even roar like an orox. These ads might whistle
Speaker 2: like a nightingale, and they might howl like a dog.
Speaker 2: And we're back. So that's the end of the first story.
Speaker 2: In most of the versions, of that story, Vladimir then
Speaker 2: cuts off the Nightingale's head. I don't like that version
Speaker 2: as much. I really like the Nightingale. He's the cool
Speaker 2: robber guy who whistles in three voices at once and
Speaker 2: is like half a bird. And you know, it's like
Speaker 2: I found more descriptions of him him online than I
Speaker 2: found like actual stories describing him. These ways that he
Speaker 2: lives in a nest, but he also has a house
Speaker 2: with people. We've got that much. And he's like kind
Speaker 2: of half bird. He can fly, but he also has hands,
Speaker 2: you know, because he can drink from these bulls. He's
Speaker 2: just cool. I get why people are into him. He
Speaker 2: killed all the princes and shit, just by fucking howling
Speaker 2: and whistling. It might we all have such strength. But
Speaker 2: let me read you one more story. It's another story
Speaker 2: of Ilia the Three Ways. One day, Ilia set off
Speaker 2: on his good horse for a ride. He rode a
Speaker 2: long way through the open plane till he came to
Speaker 2: the burning stone. Three lengths beyond the stone, there were
Speaker 2: three paths leading this way and that from the burning stone.
Speaker 2: And upon the stone was written, who goes by the
Speaker 2: first path will be killed. Who goes by the second
Speaker 2: path will find marriage. Who goes by the third path
Speaker 2: will become rich. He stopped to consider, by which path
Speaker 2: shall I go? Why should a bold hero want to
Speaker 2: be rich? Why should I want to marry? I will
Speaker 2: take the way to be killed. So he took that
Speaker 2: way and rode on for three hours, and he rode
Speaker 2: three hundred miles, and he came to a hill. And
Speaker 2: at that hill, that high hill, brigands began to come up.
Speaker 2: And there came up forty thousand brigands. They began to
Speaker 2: defy our bold hero. And the brave Cossacks spoke and
Speaker 2: hailed them, Come you, forty thousand robbers, What will you
Speaker 2: take from me? The bold hero? I have not many
Speaker 2: chests of uncounted gold. I have no beautiful young wives,
Speaker 2: I have no fine clothes. I have nothing but a
Speaker 2: good horse, a good horse which costs three hundred on
Speaker 2: the horse, or trappings worth five hundred on myself, a
Speaker 2: hero's gear worth a cool thousand. When he drew his
Speaker 2: iron mace of three tons weight, he began to defy
Speaker 2: the robber, and he killed the forty thousand robbers. Then
Speaker 2: the bold Hero turned back, and when he reached the
Speaker 2: burning stone, he altered the riding. Thus, if thou goest
Speaker 2: by this road, thou wilt not be killed. And he said,
Speaker 2: I shall go by the road to marriage. So Elia
Speaker 2: took the second path and rode on for just three
Speaker 2: hundred miles. He rode on always through the plain, that
Speaker 2: open plain, through the open plain, the green meadow, through
Speaker 2: those open plains, and through green meadows, till he came
Speaker 2: to a wonderful and a strange thing. If we called
Speaker 2: it a town, it would be too small. If we
Speaker 2: called it a village, it would seem too large. But
Speaker 2: there stood a palace built of white stone. When Ilia
Speaker 2: reached the broad palace yard, there came the most beautiful
Speaker 2: young princess from the palace of white stone. She came
Speaker 2: to meet the brave hero, and took him by his
Speaker 2: white hands, kissed him with her sweet lips, led him
Speaker 2: into the white stone palace, and made him sit down
Speaker 2: at the oaken table, where a feast was spread. Elia
Speaker 2: ate and drank in plenty, and stuffed himself the whole
Speaker 2: day long until evening, when he rose up from the
Speaker 2: oaken table and spoke to the princess and said, O,
Speaker 2: thou enchanting and beautiful lady, Where are thy warm sleeping chambers?
Speaker 2: Where are the beds of carved woods? Where are the
Speaker 2: soft feather beds? I am an old man and weary,
Speaker 2: and I would feign sleep. And the princess led him
Speaker 2: to a warm chamber. But the old man stood by
Speaker 2: the bed and shook his head and said, much have
Speaker 2: I traveled through Holy Russia, But so strange a thing
Speaker 2: I have never seen. It seems to me that bed
Speaker 2: is a trap. Suddenly he seized the princess by her
Speaker 2: white hands and threw her against the brick wall against
Speaker 2: which the beds stood. The bed of carved wood turned over,
Speaker 2: and the princess fell down into a deep dungeon below.
Speaker 2: The old Cossack walked out of the palace, and outside
Speaker 2: he found the door of the deep dungeon. Then he
Speaker 2: took the golden keys, went on and unlocked that deep dungeon,
Speaker 2: and set free many goodly youths in brave, and many
Speaker 2: strong and mighty heroes. But the beautiful and wicked enchantress
Speaker 2: was killed. And all the rich treasure which Elia found
Speaker 2: there in that white stone palace he bestowed on the
Speaker 2: good youths and brave, and on the strong and mighty
Speaker 2: heroes with that white stone palace he gave to the flames.
Speaker 2: And then our bold hero rode back again, And when
Speaker 2: he came to the burning stone, he again altered the
Speaker 2: graven letters and wrote, by that way I went, I
Speaker 2: was not married. I go, said he by the third path,
Speaker 2: where one will become rich. And he rode on for
Speaker 2: three hours, three hundred miles he rode. And again he
Speaker 2: rode through the plain and open plain, the meadow, the
Speaker 2: green meadow, to a place where there was sunk deep
Speaker 2: pits in the ground, all piled up with red gold,
Speaker 2: pure silver, and fine round pearls. Elia looked at the
Speaker 2: gold and said, what has a bold hero to do
Speaker 2: with these riches? With this treasure of so much uncounted gold.
Speaker 2: He began to consider. Then he took enough treasure in
Speaker 2: this open plane to build an abbey for prayers to God.
Speaker 2: He built a church, a minister church, ordered the singing
Speaker 2: of psalms and the ringing of bells. And then Ilia said,
Speaker 2: let him whose treasure it was, go and look for it.
Speaker 2: And then the bold hero turned back again again. He
Speaker 2: rode to that burning stone again. He wrote beneath that inscription,
Speaker 2: though I rode by that path and became not rich
Speaker 2: and that's the end. And Okay. One of the reasons
Speaker 2: I like a lot of these fables, they don't really
Speaker 2: map to easy things, you know. I mean, obviously it's like, oh, okay,
Speaker 2: like be humble, build churches for God, like you know,
Speaker 2: women are traps. Whatever. It's like, you know, there's like
Speaker 2: sketchy things and good things and interesting things. I sure
Speaker 2: like that he like set the palace ablaze and you know,
Speaker 2: set it to flame or whatever was the line. But
Speaker 2: that white Stone Palace he gave to the flames. Like
Speaker 2: there's some like Russian Revolution stuff happening there, right. But
Speaker 2: I don't know, I don't feel like it's like they're
Speaker 2: like we're thinking about I get why people like Naegel,
Speaker 2: the Robber and UH heroes are interesting. I get why
Speaker 2: people like superheroes. It's pretty boring when someone can just
Speaker 2: pull out their three ton mace and kill forty thousand brigands.
Speaker 2: But it makes for anti climatic stories by my standards.
Speaker 2: But who am I to say? You should say for
Speaker 2: yourself and join us next week on Cool Zone Media
Speaker 2: Book Club. When I read you some more stories of
Speaker 2: old or new who's to know? Even I don't know yet. Bye.
Speaker 1: It could Happen here as a production of cool Zone Media.
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Speaker 1: You can find sources for It could Happen Here, updated
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