Ivasyk-Telesyk - Ukrainian

Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Ivasyk-Telesyk. He lived with his grandma and grandpa in a cozy house by a big, sparkling river. Every morning, his grandpa would help him push his little golden boat into the water. Ivasyk would take his shiny silver paddle and go fishing. His grandma always told him, “Only come home when you hear my voice calling.”. And Ivasyk always promised he would. This is the story of how Ivasyk-Telesyk was very brave and very clever.

One day, while Ivasyk was fishing, a sneaky serpent-witch was hiding in the trees. The witch heard his grandma call him home for dinner and she wanted to catch him. So, she tried to copy his grandma’s voice. “Ivasyk, come home.” she called in a deep, scratchy voice. Ivasyk knew that sound was not his grandma's sweet voice, so he stayed in his boat. The witch went to a blacksmith and asked for a new voice, a high and sweet voice just like grandma's. When she called again, it sounded just right. Ivasyk paddled to the shore, and the sneaky witch snatched him up and took him to her hut.

At the hut, the witch told her daughter, Alenka, to get the big oven ready. Ivasyk was very scared, but he had a very clever idea. He told Alenka that he did not know how to sit on the big wooden peel to get into the oven. “Silly boy.” she said. “It’s easy, like this.”. When Alenka sat down on the peel to show him how, Ivasyk quickly pushed the peel and she got stuck. He ran out of the hut as fast as his legs could carry him and climbed the tallest tree in the forest to hide.

From the top of the tall, tall tree, Ivasyk saw a flock of geese flying by. “Oh, friendly geese, please take me home to my grandparents.” he shouted. The first geese said they were too tired to help. But the last little goose heard him and swooped down from the big blue sky. Ivasyk climbed onto its back, and together they flew high above the forest. They flew all the way back to his home. His grandparents were so happy to see him. They hugged him tight and gave the kind little goose lots of treats for being such a good friend. This story reminds us to be brave and clever, even when we are scared.