ABSTRACT
In a certain tsardom, not in our country, yet in fact in the very one in which we live, there lived a young tsar. He was just taking a walk when Pagan Idolishche took his wondrous cross from him. So he organized a feast for many princes and boyars and strong and mighty bogatyrs [warriors]. “Whoever manages to go and fetch my most wondrous cross from the Pagan Idolishche I shall sign over half my tsardom while I am alive and when I die the entire tsardom!” All the strongest deferred to the middle ones, and the middle ones to the juniors who never have an answer. The tsar became unhappy. He couldn’t find a single person who would take up the challenge. One old man said, “Your royal highness! You do not have this person at your feast, but there is a Danilko, a foolhardy lad, at three years he hasn’t a brain in his head. He lives with an old woman. Perhaps he could get it.” The tsar rode off to look for this Danilko and he was sitting there on the hearth without any trousers on.
