The Glorious Party or Iron Wolf?

The Ukrainian folktale tells of a peasant who was helped to deal with a demonic “Iron Wolf” by his three talented dogs. As with many folktales, the symbolic coding of the politics of the oppressed are quite clear.

A ïðåñâ³òåð (presviter, or “clergyman”) emancipated a long-serving servant, and gave him the gift of a magic egg in lieu of many years’ wages. The Presviter explained that the peasant should go home, make a cattle pen, and crack the egg inside it. He warned the peasant not to break it on the way home.

However, as happens in folk-tales, the peasant disobeyed this warning. Out streamed a great crowd of cattle, and the peasant was in despair as to how to herd them. Then up came the Iron Wolf and offered him a devilish bargain. The Iron Wolf would herd the cattle back into the egg, on condition that he would come and eat the peasant when he sat on the bridal bench.

The peasant agreed to this dubious bargain, and the Iron Wolf herded up the cattle and sealed them back in the egg. The peasant went back to his home village, built a cattle pen, and cracked the egg in it. It was immediately filled with cattle. He decided to farm with them, breeding and selling them, and he soon grew very rich.

One neighbor, a general, had a beautiful daughter. He asked the rich peasant to marry her. The peasant sadly told his story to the general, who offered to guard the church against the Iron Wolf with three ranks of soldiers. The wedding took place, but as soon as the peasant and his new bride sat down on the bridal bench, the Iron Wolf appeared! The three ranks of soldiers were no match for the monster, so the peasant jumped out a window and rode away into the forest on his horse, with the Iron Wolf close behind.

The peasant’s horse was a good horse, and the wolf could not catch him. The man stopped at a hut and begged for shelter from its elderly owners.

In the evening, the peasant stopped at another hut, and received the same hospitality and protection. The dog here was called Vazhko, and could hear pursuit nine miles off. When Vazhko barked in the night, the peasant escaped again, with the gift of a wheaten hearth-cake, and with Chatko and Vashko running alongside. The Iron Wolf followed at a distance, as before.

That evening, the peasant stopped at a third cottage. Exactly the same things happened, and he left with a wheaten hearth-cake and an additional dog, named Bary, who could hear the Iron Wolf from 12 miles away. The Iron Wolf’s grim pursuit continued.

On the fourth evening, the peasant found himself at another hut, but this one was ominously empty. He lay down to sleep, with his three dogs on guard.

In the morning, the Iron Wolf came growling to the hut. Chutko barked! Vazhko pinned him to the ground! And Bary tore out his throat! Then the peasant rode home in safety to his new bride, followed by his three faithful dogs.

Adapted from R. Nisbet Bain’s translation of the original folktale (Bain, 2008).

Three guesses as to who the Iron Wolf is, children!

We have the whole history of Ukraine encoded in this grim little story. There is the blessing of freedom and prosperity that comes from serving the Orthodox Church. We have the unreasonable and devilish “help” offered by Lithuania/Poland/Russia—help with deadly strings attached. We have the rise of wealthy peasants so hated by Stalin, and the Hetmancy of the Cossacks failing to protect Ukraine. Then there is the relentless persecution of the Ukrainian peasants, down to the empty houses of the Holodomor. Finally, there is the apocalyptic vision of the tearing out of the Iron Wolf’s throat, and we can all guess what that means too.

If the communist politicians had taken the time to listen to the folktales, they would not have been surprised at the Ukrainian joy over the dissolution of the USSR.