[109] Afanasief, i. No. 14.
[110] Khudyakof, No. 62.
[111] Erlenvein, No. 31.
[112] Afanasief, ii. No. 24. From the Perm Government.
[113] A conventional expression of contempt which frequently occurs in the Skazkas.
[114] Do chugunnova kamnya, to an iron stone.
[115] “Russkaya kost’.” I have translated literally, but the words mean nothing more than “a man,” “something human.” Cf. Radloff, iii. III. 301.
[116] Bog prostit = God will forgive. This sounds to the English ear like an ungracious reply, but it is the phrase ordinarily used by a superior when an inferior asks his pardon. Before taking the sacrament at Easter, the servants in a Russian household ask their employers to forgive them for any faults of which they may have been guilty. “God will forgive,” is the proper reply.
[117] Khudyakof, No. 43.
[118] Vikhor’ (vit’ = to whirl), an agent often introduced for the purpose of abduction. The sorcerers of the present day are supposed to be able to direct whirlwinds, and a not uncommon form of imprecation in some parts of Russia is “May the whirlwind carry thee off!” See Afanasief, P.V.S. i. 317, and “Songs of the Russian People,” p. 382.