Baba+Yaga

=** __​ Baba Yaga__ **=

Once upon a time there was a couple. The wife died, so the husband remarried. He had a daughter from his first marriage, very young, and she wasn’t liked by her stepmother. She would beat her and think of ways to kill her. One day when the father was out the stepmother said to the girl, “Go to your aunt, my sister, and ask her for a needle and thread to make you a shift. Her aunt was Baba Yaga. The girl was not stupid for she knew that her aunt was a witch, so she went to her real aunt and said, “Good morning auntie!” Her aunt replied “Good morning my dear! What have you come for?” “Mother has sent me to go and ask her sister for a needle and thread to make a shift.” The aunt then told her what to do. “There is a birch tree there, niece, which would hit you in the eye. You must tie a ribbon round it. There are doors which would creak and bang. You must pour oil on their hinges. There are dogs which would tear you in pieces. You must throw them these rolls. There is a cat which will scratch your eyes out. You must give him a piece of bacon.” Then the girl left and went to Baba Yaga’s house. When she got there she called out, “Good morning auntie.” “Good morning, my dear.” Baba Yaga replied. “Mother has sent me to ask for a needle and thread to make a shift”, said the girl. Baba Yaga replied. “Very well, sit down and weave a little for me in the meantime.” The girl sat down and started to weave on the loom. Baba Yaga went outside and said to her servant maid, “Go and heat up a bath and wash my niece, and look out for her. I want her for breakfast!” The young girl sat behind the loom and was full of fright. She asked the servant maid, “Dear woman, poor water on the fire and get the water in sieve.” Then she gave the servant maid her handkerchief. Baba Yaga went to the window and said, “Are you weaving my niece? Are you weaving my dear?” “Yes, oh auntie, I’m weaving!” she replied. So Baba Yaga left and a cat walked in. She gave him a piece of bacon and asked, “Is there a way to escape from here?” The cat said, “Take this comb and towel and leave. Baba Yaga will follow you, but you must put your ear to the ground. If you hear that she is close, throw do wn the towel. It will become a wide river. When she crosses the river you must throw down the comb. It will become a dense forest and she will not be able to get you.” The girl took the towel and comb and ran. The dogs went to bite her but she threw them rolls. The doors would have squeaked but she oiled them. The trees would have scratched her but she put ribbons on them. The cat sat at the loom and worked while the girl left. Baba Yaga came to the window again and asked the girl if she was weaving. The cat said, “Yes, auntie I’m weaving.” Baba Yaga ran into the hut and saw that the girl was gone. She abused the cat and asked it why he let the girl escape. The cat simply replied, “As long as I have worked for you, not once have you given me anything, not even a bone. But this girl gave me bacon!” Baba Yaga then asked the dogs, who said, “As long as we have worked for you, never gave us even a crumb. She gave us rolls.” She asked the gate who replied, “As long as we worked or you, you never gave us a drop of water, she poured oil on us.” Then Baba Yaga asked the Birch tree. It said, “As long as I have worked for you, not once have you tied ribbon on me but she did.” She asked the servant maid who said, “As long as I have worked for you, not once have you even given me a rag, but she gave me her handkerchief.” Baba Yaga quickly jumped onto her broom, and chased after the girl. The young girl put her ear to the ground and when she heard Baba Yaga coming, she threw down the towel. It became a wide river. When Baba Yaga came up to the river she stopped and grounded her teeth together. She flew home and got her oxen. She made them drink up the river then she continued on with her search. When the girl put her ear to the ground again and heard Baba Yaga coming, she threw down the comb. It became such a dense wide forest. When Baba Yaga got to the forest she tried to eat the trees, but she couldn’t, so she went home. By now the young girl’s father had come home. He asked his step-wife, “Where is my daughter?” “She’s gone to her aunt’s.” the step-mother replied. A little bit later the girl came, and ran into the house. “Where have you been?” asked her father. “Oh father!” she said, “Mother sent me to aunts to ask for a needle and thread to make a shift. But aunt was a Baba Yaga, she tried to eat me!” “How did you get away?” he asked. “By doing this,” she said and told him the story. When her father heard the story he was so mad at his wife that he shot her.

In Russia a Baba Yaga is a witch. She is also a witch in Slovic culture. In folktales from Russia anyone called a Baba Yaga is a witch. In the story Baba Yaga, the step-mother knows that her sister is a Baba Yaga, and she sends her step-daughter to her house because she knows that the girl will get killed. Baba Yaga flies around on a giant mortar or broomstick, kidnaps and sometimes eats small children, and lives in a hut which stands on chicken legs. In most Slavic folk tales she is portrayed as an antagonist; however, some characters in other mythological folk stories have been known to seek her out for her wisdom and she has been known on occasion to offer guidance to lost souls, although this is rarely seen.The name of Baba-Yaga is made up of two words. //Baba// means "old woman, grandmother" used in most Slavic languages, it comes from the child language. The second word, //yaga//, is from Proto-Slavic. It means "lazy bones". Yaga might have came from the name Jadwig.The name is different with the various Slavic languages. It is spelled "Baba Jaga" in Czech, Slovak and Polish. In Slovene, the words are reversed, making //Jaga Baba//. In Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian and Belarusian it is //Баба Яга// translated as //Baba Yaga//. In South Slavic languages and traditions, there is a similar old witch, written //Baba Roga// in Croatian and Bosnian, and //Баба Рога// in Serbian and Macedonian. In Romainian, the name is "Baba Cloanţa" Which means "old hag with broken teeth". She is also known as Baba Yaga Boney Legs, because, in spite of a ferocious appetite, she is as thin as a skeleton. In Russian that's: 'Baba Yaga Kostianaya Noga'. In some stories she has two older sisters, who are also called Baba Yaga, just to confuse you! Her nose is so long that it rattles against the ceiling of her hut when she snores, stretched out in all directions upon her ancient brick oven. Whenever she appears on the scene, a wild wind begins to blow, the trees around creak and groan and leaves whirl through the air. Shrieking and wailing, a host of spirits often accompany her on her way. Being a somewhat secretive lady, she sweeps away all traces of herself with a broom made of silver birch. She can also fly through the air in the same manner. Baba Yaga lives in a hut deep in the forest. Her hut seems to have a personality of its own and can move about on its extra-large chicken legs. Usually the hut is either spinning around as it moves through the forest or stands at rest with its back to the visitor. The windows of the hut are its eyes. While it’s spinning round, it emits blood-curdling screeches and will only come to a halt, amid much creaking and groaning, when a secret incantation is said. When it stops, it turns to face the visitor and lowers itself down on its chicken legs, throwing open the door with a loud crash. The hut is sometimes surrounded by a fence made of bones, which helps to keep out intruders. The fence is topped with skulls whose blazing eye sockets illuminate the darkness. When a visitor enters her hut, Baba Yaga asks them whether they came of their own free will, or whether they were sent.


 * The Baba || Yaga ||
 * Setting: || Russia ||
 * Characters: || Young girl, her father, her step-mother, Baba Yaga, the cat, trees, servant maid, her aunt, dogs, doors. ||
 * Events: || The dad marries a step mother. She hates the girl and sends her to her sister's, Baba Yaga, house. She visits her aunt first who gives her items. She goes to Baba Yaga's hosue and she wants to eat the girl. Because she was kind to everything there they let her escape. She went home and lives happily. ||
 * Problems: || The step-mom sends the girl to her Aunt Baba Yaga's house. Baba Yaga wants to eat her. ||
 * Solution: || The girl is kind to everything at the house so they let her escape Baba Yagas clutches. ||
 * Magical Items: || A towel that becomes a river and a comb that becomes a dense forest. ||
 * Ending: || The girl goes home and tells her father what happened. He shoots his wife. ||
 * Moral: || Being kind will always reward you. ||

The opening  w ords of the B aba Yag a are   " Once Upon a time ." T he ending words are "And everything went well with them."

= = =**__ R ussian Apple Dessert  __**= =  1/2 cup granulateds uga r = = 1 cup flour = =1 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup butter= =1tsp. cinnamon= =8 sliced and peeled apples= =Fill a large buttered pan with the apples mixed in with the sugar. Mix the other ingredients together and sprinkle ontop of the apples. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.= [|Recipe website]

__Russian Fun Facts__
Russian nesting dolls, or matryoshka dolls, are usually painted to depict smiling women in lace shawls. They are popular souvenirs for travelers to Russia. Russian nesting dolls can also be painted with themes out of Russian culture. For example, some matryoshka dolls show the images of Orthodox cathedrals or scenes from Russian fairy tales. Vodka is the famed national alcoholic beverage of Russia. It makes cameo appearances in Russian literature, it is a regular attendee of Russian celebrations, makes jokeworthy slaves out of those lacking willpower, and its soothing manner encourages conversation. Valenki, Russian wool felt boots, are a part of the Russian traditional wardrobe that has yet to go out of style. They keep the feet warm and dry during the winter.

Some websites for information on Russian culture are: [] [] [] []

__Map Of Russia__ __Flag Of Russia__

__ Inf o On Russia __ Capital: Moscow Official Language: Russian President: Dmitry Medvedev Population: 141,927,297 Currency: Ruble Goverment: Constitutional federation Religion: Russian Orthodox and Muslim At 17,075,400 square kilometers, Russia is the largest country in the world, taking up more than a ninth of the Earth 's land area. Russia is also ninth in the list of most populated countries. It has 142 million people. It reaches across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources, and is considered an energy superpower. It has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.

= __Russian History__ = The Viking Rurik came to Russia in 862 and founded the first Russian dynasty in Novgorod. The various tribes came together by the spread of Christianity in the 10th and 11th centuries. During the 11th century, the grand dukes of Kiev held such much power that existed. In 1240, Kiev was destroyed by the Mongols, and the Russian territory was split into numerous smaller kingdoms. Early dukes of Moscow built up their ruling over other Russian cities through their office of money collectors for the Mongols and because of Moscow's role as an administrative and trade center. In the late 15th century, Duke Ivan III acquired Novgorod and Tver and threw off the Mongol Yoke. Ivan IV, The Terrible (1533–1584), first Muscovite czar is thought to have founded the country. He crushed the power of rival princes and boyars, but Russia remained largely medieval until the reign of Peter the Great (1689–1725), grandson of the first Romanov czar, Michael (1613–1645). Peter made large reforms aimed at westernization and, through his defeat of Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava in 1709, he extended Russia's boundaries to the west. Catherine the Great (1762–1796) continued Peter's westernization program and also expanded Russian territory, taking the land of the Crimea, Ukraine, and part of Poland countries. During the ruling of Alexander I (1801–1825), Napoléon's attempt to subdue Russia, he was defeated (1812–1813), and new territory was gained, including Finland (1809) and Bessarabia (1812). Alexander came from the Holy Alliance, which crushed Europe's new liberal movement. Alexander II (1855–1881) pushed Russia's borders to the Pacific Ocean and into central Asia. Serfdom was gotten rid of in 1861, but many restrictions were put on the emancipated class. Revolutionary strikes, following Russia's defeat in the war with Japan, forced Nicholas II (1894–1917) to grant a representative national body.