and calling him lopsided, toothless, etc. The bridegroom’s relations have to purchase the silence of the girls by giving them spirits, after which they are driven out of the room. The bride is then carried to the stove or fire-place, to become acquainted and good friends with it. She bows to it and beseeches it not to dirty her, but to love and obey her. Then she sits on the oven and a child is handed to her. Her mother-in-law gives her a glass of pure, which she drinks and then returns the child to her mother-in-law. While the rest of the company[1] is eating and drinking, the bride is carried to the outhouse serving as a bridal chamber, where her husband has remained since leaving his carriage. She does not go willingly, but tries to free herself, though her bearers pay no heed to her struggles, shove her into the room with the words, “Here, wolf, is a lamb for thee,”[2] and bolt the door. After a lapse of some minutes a bridesmaid brings in some spirits and a pan containing an omelette. She makes the couple eat and drink, and then they are left alone for half an hour. After this they are raised from the nuptial bed and brought with rejoicing into the common room, where all the guests impatiently await them. The young man proffers spirits to all present, and his bride gives presents chiefly made by herself. In doing this she bows down to the feet of each person and does not rise till the recipient has placed his hand on her head, drunk the spirits, and wiped his mouth with her gift. Each guest in turn gives her something, generally money.
After the wedding, the couple stay together a whole week, after which time the bride returns home on a visit to her parents. For a whole year she leads a happy life, and does not soil her hands with any household work.
- ↑ In the last century composed entirely of the bridegroom’s relations and friends.
- ↑ Variant: “There is a wolf for thee there” (Erza of Teryshevsk). The bride is referred to as a lamb by the Magyars (Magyar Folk-tales, p. 414), and also by the Esthonians (Kohl, Travels in Russia, p. 388), though not in this connection.
