Waiting for Baba Yaga

The Russian version of Cinderella tells a very different story. Here the heroine, Vasalisa, is forced by the stepmother and sisters to leave Home, and enter the dark forest near her father’s house. She is to fetch a light from Baba Yaga, the witch who lives in a house that turns with the sun on a chicken leg, and whose porch posts hold human skulls. Baba Yaga gives Vasalisa three tasks to complete, threatening to eat her if she can’t finish. Once through this Road of Trials, Vasalisa returns home. She has the light she needs, and a personal gift from Baba Yaga which she uses to transform her life.