Baba Yaga's Secret

Baba Yaga's Secret

1957

By Nancy K. Ford
Pictures by Kurt Werth

Russian legend tells of Baba Yaga, "the witch, her powerful magic, her strange secrets, and her terrible temper." She lives in an odd little house named Izbushka, that turns itself around on chicken legs.

This story is based on those old tales.

In Baba Yaga's Secret, the Tsar and Tsarina have a new baby princess, and Baba Yaga is determined to present the tiny monarch with a most special gift. Something not only rare and beautiful, but that will protect her tiny highness from harm. To do this, Baba Yaga enlists not only her magical powers, but her un-named and overworked cat, who despite his prominent role in the story, is only called "the cat".

To create the gift, the poor cat must gather "one thousand and one newly spun spider webs" in the course of a night. (The idea of spinning a garment from dewy gossamer webs really caught my fancy as a child, and as a result I spent years trying to track down a copy of this book. Finally I found one in time for my youngest child to enjoy.)

The cat must also outwit a fox, a giant malicious spider, a shape-shifting Cossack, and Baba Yaga's notorious temper! Along the way we see magical copper, silver and gold shuttles that weave all by themselves, an enchanted black stallion, and Baba Yaga flying through the night skies in her iron mortar.

Being a fairy tale, all ends well. The wicked sorcerer-spider is defeated, the little princess receives her magic kerchief, and is saved from an evil fate.

If you have a child that loves magic and fairy tales, this is the book for them! I still remember gathering cobwebs and trying to make something beautiful out of them after reading this book when I was in 4th grade. It didn't work for me as well as it did for Baba Yaga.

Used, from $27.03 on Amazon. Availability varies. I paid 40 bucks for mine. That's a lot for a cheapskate like me.