Tsarevitch Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf
A Russian fairy tale of a prince, a firebird, and a helpful wolf.
This Russian fairy tale, collected by Alexander Afanasyev, follows a prince seeking a firebird. It belongs to the Aarne-Thompson type 550 quest narrative. Similar stories include "The Golden Bird" and "The Greek Princess and the Young Gardener."
Quick Facts
- Folk tale name
- Tsarevich Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf
- Aarne-thompson grouping
- ATU 550 (Bird, Horse and Princess)
- Country
- Russia
- Published in
- Russian Fairy Tales by Alexandr Afanasyev
- Related
- The Golden Bird
Facts from the source article.
Synopsis
A king's apple tree bore golden apples, but each night one was stolen. Guards reported that the Firebird was the thief. The king promised half his kingdom and his heirship to whichever son caught the bird. His two oldest sons drew lots to guard first, but both fell asleep; each claimed the bird had not come, though an apple was missing. Finally, Ivan Tsarevich, the youngest, asked to try. His father hesitated due to his youth but consented. Ivan stayed awake and saw the bird; he tried to catch it by the tail but only grasped a feather. The Firebird did not return, but the king still longed for it and repeated his offer. The older brothers set out and came to a stone marking three roads: one brought hunger and cold, the second let the traveler live but killed his horse, and the third killed the traveler but spared his horse. Unable to choose, they took up an idle life. Ivan begged to go until his father yielded. He took the second road, and a wolf ate his horse. Exhausted, he walked until the wolf offered to carry him. The wolf brought him to the garden where the firebird was and warned him to take the bird without touching its golden cage. Ivan entered but thought it a pity not to take the cage; when he touched it, bells rang, waking everyone, and he was captured. He told his story, and the First King said he could have had the bird for the asking but now could be spared only if he brought the Horse with the Golden Mane. Ivan met the wolf and admitted his disobedience. The wolf carried him to the stables and warned him against the golden bridle. Tempted, Ivan touched it, and brass instruments sounded. He was captured, and the Second King said he would have given the horse if Ivan had come with the word, but now he would be spared only if he brought Helen the Beautiful to be his wife.
Translations
The Slavic Firebird is commonly kept as such in English translations, but it can also be called Ohnivak, Zhar Bird, Bird Zhar, Glowing Bird, The Bird of Light, or Fiery Bird. This tale was translated into English as "The Tale of Iván Tsarévich, the Bird of Light, and the Grey Wolf." In Edith Hodgetts's translation, titled "The Grey Wolf and the Golden Cassowary," the bird is identified as a cassowary. Lilian Gask named it Magic Bird, and Charles Fillingham Coxwell translated the tale as "Prince John, the Fiery Bird and the Grey Wolf."
Analysis
The tale is classified as East Slavic type SUS 550, which it gives its name to: the hero seeks a firebird, a horse, and a princess with the aid of a gray wolf; jealous elder brothers kill him, but the gray wolf revives him. Folklorist Jeremiah Curtin noted that Russian, Slavic, and German variants are many. Scholar Andreas Johns observed that tale type ATU 550 was diffused through East Slavic tradition by printed lubok, with its first appearance in Slavdom in 1786, though Johns admitted the type may have some roots in East Slavic tradition. Charles Fillingham Coxwell suggested the helpful gray wolf may have originated from an Eastern source and noted that the motif of resurrecting the hero with water of death and water of life was a Russian characteristic. In a Russian variant, "Ivan Tsarevich, the Gray Wolf and Elena the Most Beautiful," the prince must take part in a chain of deals: to get the golden bird, he must first capture the golden-maned horse, but to get the horse, he must kidnap Princess Elena. Another variant, "Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf," was also collected. This tale was translated into Croatian as "Carević Ivan, Žarka ptica i mrki vuk. Russian author Ivan Khudyakov collected a variant titled "Жаръ-птица. Similar variants exist in the Georgian Folktale Index under ATU 550, where the type is titled "The Prince and the Wolf."
Adaptations
Vasily Zhukovsky, a Russian Romantic poet, turned this story into a poem called "Сказка о Иване-царевиче и Сером Волке." British writer Alan Garner gave it a new version as "Grey Wolf, Prince Jack and the Firebird," where the hero is Prince Jack, the firebird lives in the Copper Kingdom, and the horse with the golden mane is kept in the Iron Castle. The WEBTOON series "The Red King," created by Heylenne, draws loosely from this same tale.
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