![]() Of course she had no intention of getting the needle and thread. Natasha sat down at the loom and Baba Yaga left, snickering. “Sit down at this loom and go on with my weaving while I fetch it for you.” “Has she, my niece?” Baba Yaga grinned slyly. “Good day, Auntie,” Natasha said to her, trying not to sound afraid, “My stepmother has sent me to you for a needle and thread.” The creaky old house turned around on its chicken legs, seeming to stare at her before kneeling down and allowing Natasha to enter through it’s mouth-like door. Natasha followed the step mother’s directions, soon coming to Baba Yaga’s hut in the forest. But the stepmother insisted, shoving a handkerchief full of stale meat and cheese into Natasha’s hands before sending her off. Natasha was reluctant to go, for she had heard tales of Baba Yaga, and how any children who entered her home were never seen again. ![]() One day the stepmother got the wicked idea in her head to get rid of Natasha for good, and instructed the girl to go deep into the forest to see the stepmother’s sister, Baba Yaga, for a needle and thread. Natasha’s stepmother was a cruel woman who hated children. Happily, that is, until he decided to marry again. Natasha lived happily with her widower father in the forests of Russia. One of the most famous Russian children’s stories about Baba Yaga follows a young girl named Natasha, and begins quite similarly to the Grimm brothers’ tale of Hansel and Gretel. She has been portrayed with several different facets, and symbolizes aspects that range from an earth-mother goddess to death itself. Baba Yaga is a mysterious character at the best of times. She also has quite a reputable nose, which is said to scrape against the ceiling of her hut as she snores in her sleep. Baba Yaga is known for being quite thin, despite her appetite for pretty young girls and handsome youths. Baba Yaga also forgoes the traditional broom-method of transportation, and travels by sitting in a giant floating mortar, her bony legs tucked under chin, and rows herself through the forest with her giant pestle. ![]() Instead, she lives in a hut which walks around on long chicken legs with a mind of its own, surrounded by glowing red skulls. Baba Yaga is not your boring, run of the mill witch who wears a pointy hat. Today we’re travelling to Slavic regions to learn about Baba Yaga, the old crone-like witch who lives deeps in the forests of Russia and Eastern Europe.
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