s she trembles. Suddenly a horseman gallops
by. He is white, and he is dressed in white, under him is a white
horse, and the trappings of the horse are white--and the day
begins to break.

She goes a little further, and a second rider gallops by. He
is red, dressed in red, and sitting on a red horse--and the sun
rises.

Vasilissa went on walking all night and all next day. It was
only towards the evening that she reached the clearing on which
stood the dwelling of the Baba Yaga. The fence around it was
made of dead men's bones; on the top of the fence were stuck
human skulls with eyes in them; instead of uprights at the gates
were men's legs; instead of bolts were arms; instead of a lock
was a mouth with sharp teeth.

Vasilissa was frightened out of her wits, and stood still as if
rooted to the ground.

Suddenly there rode past another horseman. He was black,
dressed all in black, and on a black horse. He galloped up to
the Baba Yaga's gate and disappeared, just as if he had sunk
through the ground--and night fell. But the darkness did not
last long. The eyes of all the skulls on the fence began to shine
and the whole clearing became as bright as if it had been midday.
Vasilissa shuddered with fear, but stopped where she was,
not knowing which way to run.

Soon there was heard in the forest a terrible roar. The trees
cracked, the dry leaves rustled; out of the forest came the Baba
Yaga, riding in a mortar, urging it on with a pestle, sweeping
away her traces with a broom. Up she drove to the gate, stopped
short, and, snuffing the air around her, cried:--

"Faugh! Faugh! I smell Russian flesh![188] Who's there?"

Vasilissa went up to the hag in a terrible fright, bowed low
before her, and said:--

"It's me, granny. My stepsisters have sent me to you for a
light."

"Very good," said the Baba Yaga; "I know them. If you'll
stop awhile with me first, and do some work for me, I'll give you
a light. But if you won't, I'll eat you!"

Then she turned to the gates, and cried:--

"Ho, thou firm fence of mine, be thou divided! And ye, wide
gates of mine, do ye fly open!"

The gates opened, and the Baba Yaga drove in, whistling as
she went, and after her followed Vasilissa; and then everything
shut to again. When they entered the sitting-room, the Baba
Yaga stretched herself out at full length, and said to Vasilissa:

"Fetch o