Continuing to work with the episode “How did the princes get married?”, the teacher suggests remembering how long Ivan Tsarevich searched for his arrow, how he initially wanted to “give up on his find”, “to run away”. The teacher will continue, develop and complement the children’s answers. Really, appearance The frog princess frightened the prince, which is confirmed by his own words: “How can I marry you? People will laugh at me."
But the frog princess repeats her request for the second time: “Take it, Ivan Tsarevich, you won’t regret it!” The episode is unusually expressive and important for further understanding of the fairy tale. This is something for students to think about. What held the prince back? Why doesn't he leave? - The frog turns out to be extraordinary, it speaks in a human voice. This amazes and captivates the prince.
Schoolchildren read the text role-playing or retell it, introducing dialogue, trying to convey the main ideas of the fragment. Working with the text helps schoolchildren answer the question: “What can we say about the frog princess and Ivan Tsarevich after reading the first episodes of the fairy tale?”
When working on the episode “The Tsar’s First Order,” the following questions are possible: with what words does the frog princess greet Ivan Tsarevich? How to pronounce them correctly? (“Why were you so sad? Or did you hear an unkind word from your father?”) What character traits of the frog princess appeared at this?
The tests to which the king subjects his daughters-in-law help to convince themselves of the extraordinary merits of the frog princess. The princess immediately guesses that the prince is sad and tries to calm him down. Let us note how warm and caring her words are, how sincere her speech is: “Don’t worry, Ivan Tsarevich. Better go to bed and get some rest: the morning is wiser than the evening...”
Students during such a conversation find out that the princess was attentive, kind, caring and modest (“She carefully asks the prince, immediately sees that he is saddened by something...”; “She calms him down, she herself thinks about how to carry out the king’s orders , but for the time being he does not tell the prince about this. This is also popular wisdom: “Don’t get ahead of yourself!”;
“Do it first, and then talk...” This is what Vasilisa the Wise does."
Let us note that the princess is called wise when they tell how she works. Students at reading and in the retelling of this episode they note and real description labor characteristic of the Russian people and their way of life, and a special rhythm that seems to accompany these labor processes:
She took the fine sieves,
fine sieves,
Sifted the wheat flour,
I kneaded the white dough,
I baked a loaf - loose and soft.
Students talk about how the wives of their older brothers carried out the king’s order. Let us note that the fairy tale exaggerates the shortcomings of their work, taking the extreme degree of negative (one is burnt, the other is raw). For what purpose is this exaggeration introduced? Schoolchildren will be able to conclude that this exaggeration emphasizes the art of Vasilisa the Wise, which surprises the prince and deserves the king’s high praise: “This loaf is only eaten on major holidays!”
The retelling of the third episode is even more interesting for comparative work.
Let us remember what the king wanted to know (“The king wanted to find out how his wives could do needlework. He ordered his sons’ wives to weave a carpet “by tomorrow” with their own hands”).
What is different about the work of Vasilisa the Wise? She weaves herself, the wives of other sons call mothers, nannies and red girls. Mothers and nannies weave, some with silver, some with gold, some with silk. The fairy tale does not tell what Vasilisa the Wise weaves, but everything comes to life under the hands of a skilled craftswoman. When describing her work, the rhythm changes again. Students even determine by ear that these lines sound like a poem. You can write this text in advance on the board and work on expressively reading the passage so that the children feel its special rhythm:
Where he pricks with a needle once -
the flower will bloom.
Where it will sting another time -
tricky patterns are coming.
Where the third one will stab -
birds are flying.
Let us recall the episodes that tell how the prince’s admiration for the work of Vasilisa the Wise gradually increases. If in the first case the bread was such as he had “never seen”, and the prince was “amazed,” then in the second case the carpet turned out to be something “that you couldn’t imagine, except in a fairy tale,” and the prince gasped. Here, not only the skill of the princess is noted, but also the ability of Ivan Tsarevich to appreciate this skill.
As if the apotheosis of the wisdom and beauty of the frog princess is her appearance at the royal feast. With a wave of her hand, the remains of food turn into lakes and swans, and then suddenly disappear. The art of the frog princess becomes extraordinary and magical. The beauty of Vasilisa the Wise was revealed to everyone.
By this time, schoolchildren will be able to easily answer the textbook question: “What true beauty Vasilisa the Wise?
It is advisable to combine work on an artistic retelling of the “Feast” episode with consideration of a reproduction of a painting by V. Vasnetsov and an illustration by I. Bilibin.
The painting by V. Vasnetsov creates a generalized image of the beautiful princess: next to her are the guslars and the people. I. Bilibin’s illustration specifically depicts an episode of the feast: in the center is Vasilisa the Wise, at the wave of whose hand miracles occur; There are people around, amazed by what is happening. Possible here different types works:
1. Describe verbally what you see in each of the paintings (characters, setting, appearance surrounding people, their mood, prevailing colors).
2. Compare the image of Vasilisa the Wise by Vasnetsov and Bilibin. Is this how you imagine the main character of a fairy tale?
After this, the schoolchildren explain why Tsarevich Ivan is in such a hurry to burn the princess’s frog skin. The princess was saddened, but she did not scold Ivan Tsarevich, but only sadly reproached him and at the same time helped with advice.
The last time the words of Vasilisa the Wise are heard is at the very end of the fairy tale: “Well, Ivan Tsarevich, you managed to find me and find me, now I will be yours all my life.”
What kind of person does Vasilisa the Wise appear before us? How does she surprise and captivate everyone? These questions will be asked in a conversation with students and will lead them to the appropriate conclusions about the integrity of the character of Vasilisa the Wise, beautiful, warm-hearted, modest, intelligent, patient, caring, hardworking and kind.
How do 5th grade students imagine Vasilisa the Wise? The class listens to the stories and evaluates them.
Vasilisa the Wise, who, according to Gorky, is characterized by majestic simplicity, contempt for posture, gentle pride in herself, a remarkable mind and a deep heart full of inexhaustible love, concentrated in herself best features Russian folk character.
To summarize the work, you can use questions: what did the king order to his daughters-in-law? What did he find out about them? Why was Vasilisa called the Wise? What was the true beauty of Vasilisa the Wise?
Students are preparing for the next lesson expressive reading in faces (episodes of meetings between Ivan Tsarevich and a bear, drake, hare, pike).
In the third lesson, work on the fairy tale “The Frog Princess” is completed. The lesson begins with a conversation (“What happened after Ivan Tsarevich burned the frog’s skin?”), in which the teacher moves from the students’ conclusions about the character of Vasilisa the Wise to the question: “Is Ivan Tsarevich worthy of Vasilisa the Wise?” If some students say that he can hardly be considered worthy (“After all, he burned the frog’s skin”; “He wanted to run away first, retreat”), the conversation will go even more lively and spontaneously, because other schoolchildren will definitely convince their comrades that the prince is atoning for his guilt. At the same time, the guys remember the path of Ivan Tsarevich and talk about him.
After the royal feast - climax episode fairy tales, when Ivan Tsarevich burns the frog's skin, a sharp turn in the plot occurs: the action speeds up, the fairy tale takes on a more dynamic character. Ivan Tsarevich, by force of circumstances, is forced to make independent decisions and act independently.
Does he immediately decide to go in search of the princess? Let us remember the text: “Ivan Tsarevich began to burn inconsolably. He got dressed, took a bow and arrows, put on iron boots, put three iron loaves in his backpack and went to look for his wife, Vasilisa the Wise.” Students, retelling this episode, note that the prince does not hesitate for a minute; he decides to go on a search immediately after the disappearance of the princess.
Reading by role the episode of the meeting with the old man, the students agree that the prince was in a hurry to burn his skin, did not appreciate the wisdom of the frog princess and was punished for this. The old man also speaks about this, although he helps Ivan Tsarevich in his further difficult path. Reading in faces or retelling episodes of Ivan Tsarevich’s meetings with a bear, drake, hare, pike, schoolchildren answer the questions: “Why did he want to kill them?” (“He was very hungry”); “How does he talk about it?”
The path of Ivan Tsarevich ends at the Koshcheev oak tree, the description of which is extremely interesting. To help schoolchildren understand the meaning of this description, the teacher poses an auxiliary question: “Was help needed for the prince?” Here you can suggest reading the description of the oak tree by heart. Question “Why is a detailed description of the Koshcheev oak so important?” provides food for new thoughts to students (“A detailed description of the oak is needed to show how difficult it was for Ivan Tsarevich to defeat”; “If the Koshcheev oak was not so terrible, then there would be no need to call the animals...”).
So, in the character of the prince we note courage. He gained respect for himself by being fair, kind, and fighting against Koshchei, whom even Baba Yaga fears, calling him a villain.
The students like Ivan Tsarevich. And they form their own idea about him, which they express in stories.
We are talking about the main character's bride. Whether he is Ivan Tsarevich or Ivanushka the Fool, he will certainly find Vasilisa the Wise or Vasilisa the Beautiful. The girl is supposed to be saved first, and then married - everything is honorable. But the girl is not easy. She can hide in the form of a frog, have some kind of witchcraft abilities, be able to speak with animals, the sun, wind and moon...
In general, she is clearly a difficult girl. At the same time, it’s also kind of “secret”. Judge for yourself: it is much more difficult to find information about her than about any other fairy-tale character. In encyclopedias (both classic, paper, and new, online ones) you can easily find lengthy articles about Ilya Muromets and Dobrynya Nikitich, about Koshchei the Immortal and about Baba Yaga, about mermaids, goblin and merman, but there is almost nothing about Vasilisa . On the surface lies only a short article in the Bolshoi Soviet encyclopedia which reads:
"Vasilisa the Wise is a character in Russian folk fairy tales. In most of them, Vasilisa the Wise is the daughter of the sea king, endowed with wisdom and the ability to transform. The same female image acts under the name of Marya the Princess, Marya Morevna, Elena the Beautiful. Maxim Gorky called Vasilisa the Wise one of the most perfect images created by folk imagination. The destitute orphan, Vasilisa the Beautiful, in Afanasiev’s unique text, is different in nature.”
Let's start, perhaps, with Vasilisa the Elder, with the one whom Gorky identified with Marya the Princess, Marya Morevna and Elena the Beautiful. And there was every reason for that. All these characters are very similar, for example, in that nothing is really said about them in fairy tales. Like, a beautiful maiden, the likes of which the world has never seen - and that’s all. Neither detailed description appearance, or any character traits. Just a woman-function, without which a fairy tale will not work: after all, the hero must conquer the princess, and who she is is the tenth matter. Let there be Vasilisa.
The name, by the way, hints at high origin. The name "Vasilisa" can be translated from Greek as "royal". And this royal maiden (sometimes in fairy tales she is called the Tsar Maiden) begins to subject the hero to tests. That is, sometimes it is not she who does this, but some fairy-tale villain like Koshchei the Immortal or the Serpent Gorynych, who kidnapped the princess and is holding her captive (at best) or is going to devour her (at worst).
Sometimes the father of the potential bride plays the role of the villain. In the fairy tale, where Vasilisa appears as the daughter of the water king, the ruler of the sea waters puts obstacles in the way of the hero to destroy him, but loses because the enemy suddenly turns out to be dear to his daughter’s heart, and no witchcraft can defeat him. But here everything is more or less clear: there is some evil force (a dragon, a sorcerer, or the girl’s evil parents), and the hero must fight the enemy. In fact, this is how he becomes a hero. And a princess, princess or princess (it doesn’t matter) is a reward for the hero.
However, it also happens that Ivan Tsarevich or Ivan the Fool or some other central fairy tale character He is forced to undergo trials not because of dragons or sorcerers - he is tormented by the bride herself. Either the hero needs to jump on horseback to the windows of her little room and kiss the beauty on the sugar lips, then he needs to recognize the girl among twelve friends who look exactly like her, then he needs to catch the fugitive - or demonstrate enviable cunning in order to hide from the princess so that she didn’t find him. At worst, the hero is asked to solve riddles. But in one form or another, Vasilisa will test him.
It would seem that what is unusual about the tests? Testing a man is generally a matter of a woman’s character: is he good enough to connect her life with him or give birth to offspring, does he have the strength and intelligence to be a worthy husband and father? From a biological point of view, everything is absolutely correct. However, there is one small detail. If unfortunate Ivan does not complete the task, then death awaits him - and this is repeatedly emphasized in dozens of Russian fairy tales.
One wonders why beautiful princess demonstrates bloodthirstiness, which is more suitable for the Serpent Gorynych? Because in reality she doesn’t want to get married at all. Moreover, she is the enemy of the hero, he believes famous explorer Russian folklore Vladimir Propp in his book " Historical roots fairy tale":
“The task is set as a test of the groom... But these tasks are also interesting to others. They contain a moment of threat: “If he doesn’t do it, he will have his head cut off for his offense.” This threat reveals another motivation. In the tasks and threats one can see not only the desire to have the best groom for the princess , but also a secret, hidden hope that such a groom will not exist at all.
The words “I guess I agree, just complete three tasks in advance” are full of deceit. The groom is sent to his death... In some cases this hostility is expressed quite clearly. It manifests itself outward when the task has already been completed and when more and more new and more dangerous tasks are asked.”
Why is Vasilisa, aka Marya Morevna, aka Elena the Beautiful, against marriage? Perhaps in fairy tales, where she constantly intrigues the main character, she simply does not need this marriage. She either rules the country herself - and she does not need a husband as a rival in power, or she is the daughter of a king who will be overthrown by her potential husband in order to seize the throne. Quite a logical version.
As the same Propp writes, the plot about the machinations that the future father-in-law perpetrates on the hero together with his daughter or in defiance of her could well have had a real basis. According to Propp, the struggle for the throne between the hero and the old king is a completely historical phenomenon. The tale here reflects the transfer of power from father-in-law to son-in-law through a woman, through a daughter. And this once again explains why fairy tales say so little about the appearance and character of the bride - this is a character-function: either a prize for the hero, or a means of achieving power. Sad story.
Meanwhile, in the Russian tradition there is a fairy tale that tells about Vasilisa’s childhood, adolescence and youth. It was Gorky who mentioned her, saying that she was not like the usual image of a princess whom the hero is trying to win. In this fairy tale, Vasilisa is an orphan girl. It's not a fact that this is the same character. However, this Vasilisa, unlike other fairy-tale namesakes, is an absolutely full-blooded heroine - with a biography, character, and so on.
I'll sketch it out in dotted lines. storyline. A merchant's wife dies, leaving him with a little daughter. The father decides to marry again. The stepmother has her own daughters, and all this new company begins to tyrannize Vasilisa, loading her with backbreaking work. In general, it is very similar to the fairy tale about Cinderella. It seems, but not entirely, because Cinderella was helped by a fairy godmother, and Vasilisa was helped by a creepy witch from the forest.
This is how it turned out. The stepmother and her daughters said that there was no more fire in the house, and they sent Vasilisa into the forest to Baba Yaga, of course, hoping that she would not return. The girl obeyed. Her road is through dark forest was scary - and strange: she met three horsemen, one white, another red, and the third black, and they were all riding towards Yaga.
When Vasilisa reached her abode, she was met by high fence made of stakes planted with human skulls. Yaga's house turned out to be no less creepy: for example, instead of servants, the witch had three pairs of hands that appeared out of nowhere and disappeared to God knows where. But the most terrible creature in this house was Baba Yaga.
The witch, however, received Vasilisa favorably and promised that she would give her fire if Vasilisa completed all her tasks. Completing difficult tasks is an indispensable path of the hero. Unlike the fairy tales mentioned above, in this one it is a woman who goes through it, and therefore her tasks are female, there are simply too many of them: to clean the yard, and sweep the hut, and wash the linen, and cook dinner, and sort the grains, and that’s it. - for one day. Of course, if the tasks were completed poorly, Baba Yaga promised to eat Vasilisa.
Vasilisa washed Yaga's clothes, cleaned her house, prepared food for her, then learned to separate healthy grains from infected ones, and poppy seeds from dirt. Afterwards, Yaga allowed Vasilisa to ask her a few questions. Vasilisa asked about the three mysterious horsemen - white, red and black. The witch replied that it was a clear day, a red sun and a black night, and all of them were her faithful servants. That is, Baba Yaga in this fairy tale is an extremely powerful sorceress.
Afterwards she asked Vasilisa why she didn’t ask further, about dead hands, for example, and Vasilisa replied that if you know a lot, you will soon grow old. Yaga looked at her and, narrowing her eyes, said that the answer was correct: she doesn’t like people who are too curious and eats them. And then she asked how Vasilisa managed to answer her questions without errors and how she managed to do all the work correctly.
Vasilisa replied that her mother’s blessing helped her, and then the witch pushed her over the threshold: “I don’t need blessed ones here.” But in addition she gave the girl fire - she removed a skull from the fence, whose eye sockets were blazing with flame. And when Vasilisa returned home, the skull burned her tormentors.
A creepy tale. And its essence is that Vasilisa the Beautiful, while carrying out the tasks of Baba Yaga, learned a lot from her. For example, while washing Yaga’s clothes, Vasilisa literally saw what the old woman was made of, the famous fairy tale researcher Clarissa Estes writes in her book “Who Runs with the Wolves”:
"In the symbolism of the archetype, clothing corresponds to the persona, the first impression that we make on others. A persona is something like a camouflage that allows us to show others only what we ourselves want, and no more. But... a persona is not only a mask behind which you can hide, but there is a presence that eclipses the usual personality.
In this sense, the persona or mask is a sign of rank, dignity, character and power. This is an external indicator, an external manifestation of mastery. By washing Yaga’s clothes, the initiate will see with her own eyes what the person’s seams look like, how the dress is cut.”
And so - in everything. Vasilisa sees how and what Yaga eats, how she makes the world revolve around her, and makes the day, sun and night walk as her servants. And the terrible skull, blazing with fire, which the witch hands to the girl, in this case, is a symbol of the special witchcraft knowledge that she received while being a novice with Yaga.
The sorceress, by the way, might have continued her studies if Vasilisa had not turned out to be a blessed daughter. But it didn’t work out. And Vasilisa, armed with strength and secret knowledge, set off back into the world. In this case, it is clear where Vasilisa got her magical skills, which are often mentioned in other fairy tales. It is also clear why she can be both good and evil.
She is still a blessed child, but Baba Yaga’s school is also here to stay. Therefore, Vasilisa ceased to be a meek orphan: her enemies died, and she herself married a prince and sat on the throne...
Mikhail Pasechnik
Vasilisa the Wise is the main character folk work, personifying collective image Russian feminine character, combining wonderful human qualities.
In the work, Vasilisa is described as an intelligent, modest girl, who is characterized by kindness, wisdom, and sophistication.
The image of Vasilisa the Wise is fully revealed in the descriptions of her actions and in her attitude towards her betrothed, to whom the girl shows sincere love, understanding, and care.
Punished by the cruel Koshchei and bewitched for three years into a frog, Vasilisa, by the will of fate, turns out to be the bride of Ivan Tsarevich
Vasilisa performs all household chores at night, because future husband must not be seen in human form without frog clothing.
Carrying out the instructions of the father-tsar, Vasilisa proves herself to be a true master of needlework and craftsmanship: she bakes a loaf of bread with the image of patterned cities, skillfully makes a woven magnificent carpet, and during the royal feast, where Vasilisa stays under thunder and lightning in a little box for a frog, she appears in the form of a majestic magical swan, performing unique tricks with bones in its sleeves, without hiding its natural extraordinary beauty.
Describing Vasilisa’s actions, the legend emphasizes folk wisdom that no amount of appearance or wealth will help in the search for real happiness in life.
In difficult moments, the heroine is distinguished by her ability to maintain inner calm, support her desperate husband and accept correct solution. Possessing perfect magical knowledge, Vasilisa helps Ivan Tsarevich defeat the evil Koshchei, unraveling the secret of his immortality with the help of a pike, a hare and a drake, and the young people in love find the long-awaited well-deserved happiness, living in love, fidelity and peace.
The image of Vasilisa the Wise was used more than once in Russian folk tales and has always been a symbol of beauty, love, wisdom.
Essay about Vasilisa the Wise
At all times, fairy tales attract the attention of not only children, but also many adults. After all, they always have a good ending, where good triumphs over evil. Both children and adults look at and analyze the meaning of a particular fairy tale differently. They draw conclusions and each find something useful and instructive for their age.
In the fairy tale “The Frog Princess,” the most instructive, vivid and attention-grabbing character of the reader is Vasilisa the Wise. It was not for nothing that the author gave her such a name, because she fully corresponds to the word from her name “wise.”
This is a beautiful girl with magnificent appearance, but by the will of the evil Koshchei, she is enchanted for a certain period of time into a frog, which disgusts a person. But this is only in the first minutes of meeting her; with further communication, Vasilisa the Wise attracts her to herself and evokes completely different feelings, which is what happened with Ivan Tsarevich. The heroine of the fairy tale carries this heavy curse in her life with dignity and with angelic patience. Once in the house of Ivan Tsarevich, she, despite her appearance, consoles him, calms him down, and tells him not to be sad. Vasilisa the Wise appears for her husband reliable support and support. This speaks of her very deep life wisdom, which allows her to find a way out of any current situation.
Vasilisa the Wise is a wonderful mistress of the house. She cooks delicious dinners and bakes pies, and is great at handicrafts. All this was shown and proven in practice when she carried out the tasks of the Tsar-Father. There is no job that she cannot do. Vasilisa looks and dresses beautifully and with a good sense of taste, and behaves with dignity when visiting. And how wonderfully she dances! With her graceful and smooth movements, like a sorceress, she can so captivate the viewer’s attention that they get the impression that the landscape pictures she depicts are happening in reality. Vasilisa always evokes delight and admiration, and some even envy.
From all of the above, we can conclude that Vasilisa the Wise is an exemplary and instructive hero of the fairy tale “The Frog Princess” not only for children, but also for adults.
Several interesting essays
Winter will come soon. There will be huge drifts of snow. Reservoirs will be covered with ice. The trees will put on snow caps.
The central character in L.N. Tolstoy’s story is Ivan Vasilyevich. In the work “After the Ball,” he tells a story that left an indelible mark on his life.
Every child loves to listen to fairy tales, because they immerse you in the mysterious and Magic world, where animals and birds come to life, trees speak and miracles happen. One of my favorite fairy tales is. The plot of this tale is very interesting, and most importantly instructive. But today we will not talk about the plot in mine, but about the main character Vasilisa the Wise and her, for whose sake main character Ivan Tsarevich passed serious tests.
Vasilisa the Wise Brief Description
In the fairy tale, we immediately meet Vasilisa the Wise, who appears before us in the form of a frog. It was to her that the arrow shot by Ivan flew to her. Besides the fact that the frog can speak in a human voice, nothing else suggests that the beautiful girl Vasilisa, who was bewitched by Koschey, is hiding in the frog’s skin.
From the first days of her marriage, even in the form of a frog, Vasilisa tries to support her husband and appears loving, caring wife and a jack of all trades. This is evidenced by all the king’s tasks being completed perfectly. The image of Vasilisa the Wise embodied the best features of Russian women. These are loyalty, humility, intelligence and patience. Her character intertwined spiritual simplicity, modesty, majesty, calmness and cunning. In any situation, she retains the ability to think sensibly, and her phrase “The morning of the evening is wiser” helps many people in real life.
This is Vasilisa the Wise - a wise woman who did not reproach her husband when he burned the skin of a frog, although she understands that she now needs to return to Koshchei. But she believes in Ivan and that he will not leave her in trouble. And Ivan justified all the hopes of Vasilisa the Wise. They stay together.
To summarize, in the image of the princess we see the personification of love, kindness, family happiness and peace.
The description of the Frog Princess from the fairy tale “The Frog Princess” will help you remember everything about this hero in detail.
“The Frog Princess” description of Vasilisa the Wise
The image of a frog reflects the people's dream of an ideal heroine, smart, modest, hardworking, capable of defeating the forces of evil and creating a new happy and fair world.
Description of Vasilisa from the fairy tale “The Frog Princess”: She knew how to work beautifully and deftly, She showed dexterity in any task, She baked bread and wove tablecloths, She sewed shirts, embroidered patterns, She danced like a white swan...
Vasilisa the Wise is an image created by the people, it is collective, it concentrates the best features of the Russian national character. Vasilisa the Wise is characterized by majestic simplicity, gentle pride in herself, a remarkable mind, and a deep heart full of inexhaustible love.
The main role of the heroine of a fairy tale is to be an assistant to her fiancé or husband. Only thanks to her do the heroes of fairy tales end up together. That is why the people created such a majestic image of Vasilisa the Wise, combining the truth of life, warmth and kindness of the soul, love, and intelligence.
“The Frog Princess” characterization of Vasilisa the Wise
When his younger brother's arrow fell on a muddy swamp, he lost all interest in life, since he got a frog as his wife. From that moment on, he begins to be constantly haunted by bitter reflections that fate has dealt very cruelly with him, giving him a disgusting, bug-eyed frog as his wife. However, he suggests that the Frog Princess is actually a beautiful and sweet girl who was bewitched because she disobeyed her father, as a result of which she was bewitched and had to wear a frog skin for three whole years.
The Frog Princess does all the housework at night, since the groom should not see her in the form of a girl. When the king orders each bride to sew a caftan for him, the Frog Princess turns out to be a wonderful needlewoman and sews such a caftan in which the king is not even ashamed to go out on a holiday. When the king wanted each of the brides to bake bread, he did not even imagine what beautiful bread the bride would bake youngest son. The bread was decorated with printed patterns, and on top it was decorated with cities with outposts. When Ivan Tsarevich and his bride came to the feast, she amazed him with all her extraordinary beauty. During the feast, the heir to the throne commits a rash act; he finds a frog skin and throws it into the fire.
Vasilisa the Wise was very sad, since she had only three days left to wear the frog skin, the Frog Princess turned into a gray cuckoo and flew away to the kingdom of Koshchei the Immortal. Now real adventures begin for him, since his bride ends up in Koshchei’s castle and in order to save her, he needs to go through a lot and experience a lot of difficulties.
During his journey to the kingdom of Koshchei, Ivan Tsarevich encounters other animals, namely: a hare, a drake and a pike. At first he was going to kill them, but then he feels sorry for the animals and lets them go. Animals show their gratitude and become his true friends and assistants on his difficult path to the kingdom of Koshchei.
The image of the Frog Princess was previously considered as an archetype of the totemic wife whom the primitive hunter had to marry in order for the hunt to be successful. A myth was considered that explains this meaning of the ritual and explains that marriage is necessary so that the culture hero can obtain certain benefits for people.
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