et me perish in that pit?
Now, dearest, thou wilt not get rid of me; now we shall always be
together."

"Stupid Woe," began the rich man; "it was not I who hid thee under the
stone; it was my brother; go to him."

But no, Woe would not go. The monster laughed and laughed.

"All the same, all the same," he answered to the rich man. "Let us
remain dear companions."

The rich man went home under the heavy burden of the misery-giving
Woe. His wealth was soon lost, but his brother, who knew how to get
rid of Woe, was prosperous and is prosperous to this day.

BABA YAGA

[Illustration] Somewhere, I cannot tell you exactly where, but
certainly in vast Russia, there lived a peasant with his wife and they
had twins--son and daughter. One day the wife died and the husband
mourned over her very sincerely for a long time. One year passed, and
two years, and even longer. But there is no order in a house without a
woman, and a day came when the man thought, "If I marry again possibly
it would turn out all right." And so he did, and had children by his
second wife.

The stepmother was envious of the stepson and daughter and began to
use them hardly. She scolded them without any reason, sent them away
from home as often as she wished, and gave them scarcely enough to
eat. Finally she wanted to get rid of them altogether. Do you know
what it means to allow a wicked thought to enter one's heart?

The wicked thought grows all the time like a poisonous plant and
slowly kills the good thoughts. A wicked feeling was growing in the
stepmother's heart, and she determined to send the children to the
witch, thinking sure enough that they would never return.

"Dear children," she said to the orphans, "go to my grandmother who
lives in the forest in a hut on hen's feet. You will do everything she
wants you to, and she will give you sweet things to eat and you will
be happy."

The orphans started out. But instead of going to the witch, the
sister, a bright little girl, took her brother by the hand and ran to
their own old, old grandmother and told her all about their going to
the forest.

"Oh, my poor darlings!" said the good old grandmother, pitying the
children, "my heart aches for you, but it is not in my power to help
you. You have to go not to a loving grandmother, but to a wicked
witch. Now listen to me, my darlings," she continued; "I will give you
a hint: Be kind and good to everyone; do not speak ill words to any