Merchant Sadko, the Rich Guest of Novgorod

In the glorious city of Nóvgorod dwelt Sadkó the gúsly-player. No golden treasures did he possess; he went about to the magnificent feasts of the merchants and nobles, and made all merry with his playing.

And it chanced on a certain day, that Sadkó was bidden to no worshipful feast; neither on the second day nor the third was he bidden. Then he sorrowed greatly, and went to Lake Ilmen, and seated himself upon a blue stone. There he began to play upon his harp of maple-wood, and played all day, from early morn till far into the night.

The waves rose in the lake, the water was clouded with sand, and Sadkó feared to sit there: great terror overcame him, and he returned to Nóvgorod.

The dark night passed, a second day dawned, and again Sadkó was bidden to no worshipful feast. Again he played all day beside the lake, and returned in terror at nightfall.

And the third day, being still unbidden of any man, he sat on the blue burning stone, and played upon his harp of maple-wood, and the waves rose in the lake, and the water was troubled with sand.

But Sadkó summoned up his courage, and ceased not his playing. Then the Tzar Vodyanói emerged from the lake, and spake these words:

"We thank thee, Sadkó of Nóvgorod! Thou hast diverted us of the lake. I held a banquet and a worshipful feast; and all my beloved guests hast thou rejoiced. And I know not, Sadkó, how I may reward thee. Yet return now, Sadkó, to thy Nóvgorod, and to-morrow they shall call thee to a rich feast. Many merchants of Nóvgorod shall be there, and they shall eat and drink, and wax boastful. One shall boast of his good horse, another of his deeds of youthful prowess; another shall take pride in his youth. But the wise man will boast of his aged father, his old mother, and the senseless fool of his young wife. And do thou, Sadkó, boast also '" I know what there is in Lake Ilmen — of a truth, fishes with golden fins.' Then shall they contend with thee, that there are no fish of that sort, — of gold. But do thou then lay a great wager with them; wager thy turbulent head, and demand from them their shops in the bazaar, with all their precious wares. Then weave thou a net of silk, and come cast it in Lake Ilmen. Three times must thou cast it in the lake, and at each cast I will give a fish, yea, a fish with fins of gold. So shalt thou receive those shops in the bazaar, with their precious wares. So shalt thou become Sadkó the Merchant of Nóvgorod, the rich Guest."

Then Sadkó returned again to Nóvgorod. And the next day he was bidden to a worshipful feast of rich merchants, who ate and drank, and boasted, one of this thing, and the other of that thing. And as the rich merchants of Nóvgorod sat there, they spoke thus to Sadkó;

"Why sittest thou, Sadkó, and boastest not thyself? Hast thou nothing, Sadkó, whereof to boast?"

Sadkó spoke; "Hey, ye merchants of Nóvgorod! What have I, Sadkó, that I may boast of? No countless treasures of gold are mine, no fair young wife; there is but one thing of which I may boast; in Ilmen's Lake are fishes with fins of gold."

Then began the rich merchants to contend with him; and Sadkó said: "I stake my turbulent head upon it, and more than that I have not to wager."

Said they: "We will stake our shops in the bazaar, with their precious wares — the shops of six rich merchants."

Thereupon they wove a net of silk, and went to cast it in Lake Ilmen. At the first cast in Ilmen, they took a little fish with fins of gold, and likewise with the second and the third cast.

Then the rich merchants of Nóvgorod saw that there was nothing to he done, for it had happened as Sadkó had foretold; and they opened to him their shops in the bazaar, with all their precious wares. And Sadkó, when he had received the six shops, and their rich goods, inscribed himself among the merchants of Nóvgorod; he became exceeding rich, and began to trade in his own city, and in all places, even in distant towns, and received great profit.

Sadkó the rich merchant of Nóvgorod married, and built himself a palace of white.stone, wherein all things were heavenly. In the sky, the red sun burned, and in his palace likewise a fair red sun; and when shone the lesser light, the moon, in heaven, in his palace it shone also; and when the thick-sown stars glittered in the sky, stars thickly sown gleamed within his towers. And Sadkó adorned his palace of white stone in all ways.

After this was done, lo! Sadkó made a banquet and a worshipful feast, and called to it all the rich merchants, the lords and the rulers of Nóvgorod, and the rulers were Luká Zinovief and Thoma Nazarióf. As they sat and feasted, after they had well eaten and drunken, they began to boast, — one of his good steed, one of his heroic might, another of his youth; the wise of his aged parents, the foolish of his young wife. But Sadkó, as he walked about his palace, cried out: "Ho there, ye rich merchants, ye lords, rulers, and men of Nóvgorod! ye have eaten and drunk at my feast, and made your boasts. And of what shall I vaunt myself? My treasures of gold are now inexhaustible, my flowered garments I cannot wear out, and my brave body-guard is incorruptible. But I will boast of my golden treasure. With that treasure will I buy all the wares in Nóvgorod, both good and bad, and there shall be none for sale any more in all the city."

Then sprang the rulers, Thoma and Luká, to their nimble ' feet, and said: "Is it much that thou wilt wager with us?" And Sadkó answered: "What ye will of my countless treasure of gold, that will I wager." Then said the rulers, for the men of Nóvgorod: "Thirty thousand, Sadkó, shall be thy stake against us." So it was agreed, and all departed from the feast.

The next morning, right early, Sadkó rose, and waked his brave body-guard, and gave them all they would of his treasure, and sent them to the marts. But he himself went straight to the bazaar, and bought all the wares of Nóvgorod, both good and bad. And again, the next morning he rose, and waked his troop, and giving them great treasure, went to the bazaar; and finding wares yet more than before, he bought all, of whatever sort. And on the third day, when he came to the market, he found, to the great glory of Nóvgorod, that vast store of goods had hastened thither from Moscow, so that the shops were full to overflowing with the precious stuffs of Moscow.

Then Sadkó fell into thought: "If I buy all these goods from Moscow, others will flow hither from beyond the sea; and I am not able to buy all the wares of the whole white world. Sadkó the merchant is rich, but glorious Nóvgorod is still richer! It is better to yield my great wager, my thirty thousand."

Thus he yielded the thirty thousand, and built thirty great ships, thirty dark-red ships and three. Their prows were in the likeness of wild beasts, their sides like dragons; their masts of red wood, the cordage of silk, the sails of linen, and the anchors of steel. Instead of eyes were precious jacinths; instead of brows, Siberian sables; and dark brown Siberian fox-skins in place of ears. His faithful guards, his clerks, loaded these red ships with the wares of Nóvgorod, and he sailed away down the Vólkof to Lake Ladoga, and thence into the Nóva, and through that river to the blue sea, directing his course towards the Golden Horde. There he sold his wares, receiving great gain, and filling many casks of forty buckets, with red gold, pure silver, and fair round pearls. They sailed away from the Golden Horde, Sadkó leading the way in the Falcon ship, the finest of all the vessels. But on the blue sea the red ships halted; the waves dashed, the breeze whistled, the sails flapped, the ships strained, — but could not move from that spot.

Then Sadkó the merchant, the rich guest, shouted from his good Falcon ship: "Ho there, friends, ship-men, lower ye iron plummets, sound the blue sea, whether there be any reefs or rocks or sand-bars here!" So they sounded, but found nothing.

And Sadkó the merchant spake to his men: "Ho there, my brave body-guard! Long have we sailed the seas, yea, twelve full years, yet have we paid no tribute to the Tzar Morskói, and now he commandeth us down into the blue sea. Therefore, cast ye into the waves a cask of red gold." And they did so; but the waves beat, the sails tore, the ships strained, yet moved not.

Again spake Sadkó the rich guest: "Lo, this is but a small gift for the Tzar Morskói, in his blue sea. Cast ye another cask, a cask of pure silver, to him." Yet the dark-red ships moved not, though they cast in also a cask of seed pearls.

Then spake Sadkó once again: "My brave, beloved body-guard, 'tis plain the Tzar Morskói calleth a living man from among us into his blue sea. Make ye therefore lots of alder-wood, and let each man write his name upon his own, and the lots of all just souls shall float. But that man of us whose lot sinketh, he also shall go from among us into the blue sea." So it was done as he commanded: — but Sadkó's lot was a cluster of hopflowers. And all the lots swam like ducks save Sadkó's, and that went to the bottom like a stone.

Again spake Sadkó the rich merchant to his troop: "These lots are not fair. Make ye to yourselves others of willow-wood, and set your names thereon, every man." This they did; but Sadkó made his lot of blue damascened steel from beyond the sea, in weight ten poods. And it sank while all the others swam lightly on the blue sea.

After that he essayed divers woods, choosing ever for himself the lighter when his men's heavy lots swam, and the heavier when his light lot fell to the depths. Nevertheless, his lot would by no means float, and the others would not sink.

Then said Sadkó the rich guest: "'Tis plain that Sadkó can do nothing. The Tzar Morskói demandeth Sadkó himself in the blue sea. Then ho! my brave, beloved guards! fetch me my massive inkstand, my swan-quill pen, and my paper."

His brave, beloved men brought him his inkstand, pen, and paper; and Sadkó, the rich merchant of Nóvgorod, sat in his folding-chair, at his oaken table, and began to write away his possessions. Much gave he to God's churches, much to the poor brethren, and to his young wife. And the remainder of his possessions he bestowed upon his brave body-guard.

After that he wept, and spake to his men:

"Ai, my men, well loved and brave! Place ye an oaken plank upon the blue sea, that I, Sadkó, may throw myself upon the plank; so shall it not be terrible to me to take my death upon the blue sea. And fill ye, brothers, a bowl with pure silver, another with red gold, and yet a third with seed pearls, and place them upon the plank."

Then took he in his right hand an image of St. Mikóla, and in his left his little harp of maple-wood, with its fine strings of gold, and put on him a rich cloak of sables; and bitterly he wept as he bade farewell to his brave company, to the white world, and Nóvgorod the glorious. He descended upon the oaken plank, and was borne upon the blue sea, and his dark-red ships sped on and flew as they had been black ravens.

Then was Sadkó the rich merchant of Nóvgorod greatly terrified, as he floated over the blue sea on his plank of oak; but he fell asleep, and lo! when he awoke it was at the very bottom of the Ocean-sea. He beheld the red sun burning through the clear waves, and saw that he was standing beside a palace of white stone where sat the Tzar Morskói, with head like a heap of hay, on his royal throne.

The Tzar Morskói spake these words: "Thou art welcome, Sadkó, thou rich merchant of Nóvgorod! Long hast thou sailed the seas, yet offered no tribute to the Lord of the sea. And now thou art come as a gift to me. I have sent for thee that thou mayest answer me, which is now of greater worth in Russia: gold or silver or damascened steel. For the Tzaritza contendeth with us on this matter."

"Gold and silver are precious in Russia," Sadkó made answer; "but damascened steel no less. For without gold or silver a man may well live; but without steel or u-on can no man live."

"What hast thou there in thy right hand, and what in thy left?"

"In my right hand is an ikón of St. Mikóla; in my left, my gúsly."

"It is said that thou art a master-player on the harp," said the Tzar Morskói then; "play for me upon thy harp of maple-wood."

Sadkó saw that in the blue sea he could do naught but obey, and he began to pluck his harp. And as he played, the Tzar Morskói began to jump about, beating time with the skirts of his garment, and waving his mantle; fair sea-maidens led choral dances, and the lesser sea-folk squatted and leaped. Then the blue sea was churned with yellow sands, great billows surged over it, breaking many ships asunder, drowning many men, and ingulfing vast possessions.

Three hours did Sadkó play; and the Tzaritza said to him:

"Break thy harp of maple-wood, merchant Sadkó the rich guest! It seemeth to thee that the Tzar is dancing in his palace, but 'tis on the shore he danceth, and many drown and perish, all innocent men."

Then Sadkó brake his harp, and snapped its golden strings; and when the Tzar Morskói commanded him to play yet two hours, he answered him boldly that the harp was broken; and when the Tzar would have had his smiths to mend it, Sadkó said that could only be done in Holy Russia.

"Wilt thou not take a wife here?" the Tzar Morskói said, "wit thou not wed some fair maid in the blue sea?"

And Sadkó answered: "In the blue sea, I obey thy will."

Then the Tzaritza said to him: "Choose not, merchant Sadkó the rich guest, any maid from the first three hundred which the Tzar shall offer thee, but let them pass; and the same with the second three hundred; and from the third, choose thou the Princess who shall come last of all: she is smaller and blacker than all the rest. And look to it that thou kiss not, embrace not thy wife; so shalt thou be once more in Holy Russia, so shalt thou behold the white world and the fair sun. But if thou kiss her, never more shalt thou behold the white world, but shalt abide forever in the blue sea."

So Sadkó let the first three hundred maidens pass, and likewise the second, and of the third he chose the last of all, the maiden called Chernáva.

Then the Tzar Morskói made him a great feast; and afterwards Sadkó lay down and fell into a heavy sleep. And when he awoke, he found himself on the steep banks of the Chernáva river. And as he gazed, behold, his dark-red ships came speeding up the Vólkof, and his brave body-guard were thinking of Sadkó under the blue sea. When also his brave troop beheld Sadkó standing upon the steep bank, they marvelled; for they had left him on the blue sea, and lo! he had returned to his city before them.

Then they all rejoiced greatly, and greeted Sadkó, and went to his palace. There he greeted his young wife; and after that, he unloaded his scarlet ships, and built a church to St. Mikóla, and another to the very holy mother of God, and began to pray the Lord to forgive his sins.

And thenceforth he sailed no more upon the blue sea, but dwelt and took his ease in his own town.