I’ve mentioned before that I’m captivated by сказки (fairytales). So, let’s start out this week with a “short and sweet” example of Armenian origin.

I chose this one not only because it’s so short, but also because it features an unexpected twist. The plot involves a poor person outwitting a rich and powerful person, which is very much a шаблон (cliche) in fairytales. But stories of this type are typically heavy on нравоучение (“didactic moralizing”) — the wealthy nobleman is greedy and deceptive, and rigs a contest in order to cheat the honest peasant, yet ends up “hoist by his own petard.” Sometimes, the poor-but-honest peasant is clever enough by himself to see through the rich man’s scheme and turn the tables; other times, he’s a kindly dimwit who gets help from a brilliant wife, a precocious child, a magical talking animal, or the rich man’s own mistreated servants! But in any case, there’s a blatantly obvious moral along the lines of «Не рой чужому яму, сам в неё попадёшь» — “Don’t dig a pit/trap for someone else, you’ll fall into it yourself.”

Here, however, there’s no moralizing, no magic animals, and no Disney romance — the short tale is really just a set-up for an amusing logical conundrum. In fact, if you’re a fan of that genre of logic-puzzles where “the cannibal tribes on the remote island of Oonga-Boonga always tell the truth, and the vegetarian tribes always speak falsely,” the story’s ending may seem rather familiar…

If you need some assistance with the translation, hover your cursor over the yellow lines (without clicking) for pop-up hints — or select the yellow area with your mouse to view the English translation. As added help, there’s a glossary of selected words at the bottom of the post. (Some readers might prefer to skim through the glossary first before tackling the сказка.) And one final comment: You’ll notice that the narrative rather haphazardly switches between the past and present tense; this is simply a characteristic of oral storytelling, and there are no hard-and-fast grammar rules to fret over.

Лгун
(The Liar)

Жила-была прекрасная царевна…
Once upon a time there was a beautiful Tsarevna…

Было скучно царевне во дворце. Музыканты и шуты ей давно надоели!
The Tsarevna was bored in the palace. She had long since gotten sick and tired of the musicians and jesters!

Однажды она посылает во все стороны своих слуг, которые кричают народу:
One day she sends in all directions her servants, who shout to the folk:
“Кто лучше всех солжёт, тому царевна даст золотое яблоко в награду!”
“To the one who tells the best lie, the Tsarevna shall give a solid-gold apple in reward!”
Стали приходить к царевне люди и рассказывать самые невероятные истории.
People began coming to the Tsarevna and telling the most unbelievable stories.
Приходило много людей , но их лжи не угодили царевне.
Many people came, but their lies didn’t satisfy the Tsarevna.
И вот пришёл наконец бедняк с большой кожаной сумкой в руке.
And finally there came a pauper with a large leather bag in his hand.
“Чего тебе надо?” — спросила у него царевна.
“What do you want?” — the Tsarevna asked him.

Бедный мужчина ответил: “Я пришёл получить свои деньги — ведь вы мне должны сумку бриллиантов.”
The poor man answered: “I’ve come to receive my money. After all — as I need hardly remind you [cough-cough] — you owe me a bag of diamonds.”

“Лгун, я тебе ничего не должна!” — удивилась она.
“Liar, I don’t owe you anything!” — she said in surprise.

“Если я лгу, то дайте мне золотое яблоко,” — тихо отвечает бедняк.
“If I’m lying, then give me the golden apple,” replies the pauper quietly.

Царевна думает, что она поняла его хитрость: “Нет, ты не лжёшь!”
The Tsarevna thinks that she has understood his trickery: “No, you’re not lying!”

“Ну, если я не лгу, то вам надо платить долг. Наполните мою сумку бриллиантами!”
“Well, if I’m not lying, then you have to pay the debt. Fill my bag with diamonds!”

Царевна рассмеялась на это, и ей пришлось отдать бедняку золотое яблоко!
The Tsarevna burst out laughing at this, and she was forced to hand over the gold apple to the pauper!

Glossary:

• бедняк [gen. бедняка ] — “pauper; a penniless person”; not to be confused with бедняга, which can be used for both males and females and basically means “oh, you poor thing!”
• ведь [unstressed particle] — introduces a fact of which speaker and listener are mutually aware, and can be translated with something like “since you and I both know…” or “let’s not forget, after all…” or “considering that…”, etc.
• должен, -жна, -жны (что-нибудь кому-нибудь) — “to owe (something to someone)”
• лгать/солгать (я лгу, ты лжёшь … они лгут) — “to tell a lie; to fib”
• ложь [gen. лжи ] — “a lie”
• надоедать/надоесть [perf. conjugates like есть , “to eat”] + кому-нибудь — “to become tiresome, boring, or annoying (for someone)” [used impersonally with dative subject]
• посылать/послать [perf. пошлю, пошлёшь… пошлют ] — “to send”
• приходиться/прийтись (кому-нибудь делать) — “to leave (someone) with no choice but (to do something)” [impersonal with dative subject, and generally in 3rd sing. or past neuter]
• сумка — “a bag”
• угождать/угодить (кому-нибудь) — “to be pleasing/satisfactory (to someone)”