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Жар-птица (THE FIRE BIRD)
In a far away land a thief was stealing golden apples which had
the power of bestowing youth and beauty from Tsar Berendey`s
magic Garden. The guards of the Tsar were unable to stop this,
for as hard as they tried, the thief always got away. None of
the guards could even see this thief. The Tsar was frustrated
for he needed the golden apples for himself, as he was married
to a very beautiful young Queen.
The only person who spotted the thief was the Tsar's son, Prince
Ivan Tsarevich. As the night came upon the Garden, the young
Tsarevich hid under a water bucket and listened closely to every
sound around him. At dawn, the Prince almost fell asleep, but
the silence was broken by a magical being. The Prince pulled the
water bucket up slightly so he could just see through the thin
opening. And there it was; The Fire Bird.
In the depth of night the Fire Bird would fly into the garden
with its feathers blazing with a silvery of golden sheen. Its
eyes were shining like crystals and would light the place as
brightly as a thousand burning fires. The Tsarevich crawled up
to the unsuspecting bird, and rushed to grab it by the tail.
The next day Prince Ivan told his father the old Tsar, about the
Fire Bird. He showed his father the only feather he had managed
to get from the Bird's tail. As the Bird was too smart and flew
away. From that day on the Tsar was obsessed with the idea of
capturing the Fire Bird for himself. In order to find the Bird
he sent his three sons on a journey to another Kingdom.
Ivan Tsarevich's adventure begins when after a long day's ride
he falls asleep, only to awake in the morning and find his horse
gone. Wondering through the woods he meets a gray wolf who
confesses that he ate the horse. Grateful that Ivan had spared
his life, Gray Wolf offers to let Ivan ride on his back. Grey
Wolf takes Ivan to Tsar Afron's kingdom, where the Fire Bird is
kept in a golden cage inside the Tsar's walled garden.
The Prince warned by the Gray Wolf to take only the bird, and
not the cage, takes the cage as well and triggers an alarm.
Captured by Tsar Afron, he is told that in order to have the
Fire Bird he must pay for it with the Horse of the Golden Mane,
which is in possession of Tsar Kusman.
The Gray Wolf carries Ivan to Kusman's palace and advises him to
acquire the horse but not the bridle. Once again the Prince is
tempted by the gold and diamonds in the bridle, so he ignores
the advice. He again becomes captured by Kusman, who now says he
will only give him the horse in exchange for the fair Princess
Elena, who was residing with Tsar Dalmat.
This time the wolf does the work himself and seizes Elena. He
brings her back to Ivan and the Prince falls in love with her.
The wolf offers to trick Kusman by assuming Elena's shape and
also to trick Afron too by assuming the form of the horse.
Ivan returns, with Elena, the horse and the Fire Bird, however
when the wolf leaves him he is ambushed and killed by his
brothers.
The wolf then returns and revives him with the Waters of Life
and Death, the brothers are banished, and Ivan Tsarevich meets
Tsar Berendey to tell his tragic story. When the Tsar's grief
fades, the Prince marries Elena the Fair and they lived happily
ever after. |
