By Pike's Command

A cheerful, naughty fairy tale. Here, the stove goes to visit the Tsar, the axe chops firewood on its own, and the sleds—without a horse—go into the forest. All these marvels, which greatly upset dear father the Tsar, were caused by no one other than Emelya-the-fool. Emelya lies on the stove and recites: “By the command of the pike, by my own wishing,” and things begin to go wild. Whatever he takes up, he succeeds—thanks to the “pike’s word”...