Masha and the Bear

Once upon a time, an old man and woman lived with a granddaughter named Masha. One day, some friends of Masha decided to go to the forest to gather mushrooms and berries, and they came to Masha’s house to ask her to go with them.
"Please, Grannie and Grampa, let me go to the forest," said Masha.
"You may go, but see that you keep close to the others and do not lose sight of them, or you might get lost," the two old people replied.
Masha and her friends came to the forest and began to hunt for the mushrooms and berries. From bush to bush, from tree to tree, went Masha. Before she knew it, she had strayed away from her friends. When she finally saw that she was alone, she began to halloo and call them, but her friends did not hear her and gave no answer. Masha went here and there; she walked all over the forest, and there before her, she saw a little hut. Masha knocked on the door, but there was no answer, so she pushed it, and the door opened. Masha entered the hut and sat on a bench by the window.
"I wonder who lives here, she thought". Now, a great big bear lived in that hut; he was walking in the forest just then. It was evening when he came home, and when he saw Masha, he was delighted.
"Aha," said he, "Now I’ll never let you go! You will live here in my house as meek as a mouse, cook my dinner and breakfast too, and be my servant, faithful and true."
Masha grieved and sorrowed for a long time, but it could not be helped, so she stayed with the bear and kept house for him. Every day, the bear would go into the forest for the day, and before leaving, he would tell Masha to stay in the hut and wait for him.
"You must never go out without me, he told her, for if you do, I will catch you and eat you up."
So Masha sat and thought about getting away from the bear. All around was the forest, and no one would ask which way to go. She thought and thought until she knew what to do.
That day, when the bear came back from the forest, Masha said to him:
" Bear, Bear, let me go to my village for a day. I want to take something good to eat for my Grandma and Grandpa."
"No, that won’t do at all," said the bear. You will get lost in the forest, but if you give me what you want to give your Grandma and Grandpa, I will take it myself."
Now, that was all that Masha wanted to hear. She baked some pies, put them on a plate, and, getting out a huge basket, said to the bear:
"I'll put the pies in the basket, and you can take them to my Grandma and Grandpa. But remember, you are not to open the basket on the way or eat any pies. I will climb to the top of the big oak tree and watch that you do not open the basket."
"Very well, "said the bear, "Give me the basket."
The bear went out on the porch to ensure it was not raining. Masha crawled into the basket and covered herself with the pies when he did. The bear came in, and the basket was ready to go. So he strapped the basket on his back and started. Tramp-tramp went the bear amid the spruce trees. Clumpity-clump he went amid the birch trees, uphill and down Dale went his long winding trail, and on and on he walked. At last, he got tired and sat down to rest.
"If I don’t rest my bones, I think I will die so that I will sit on a stump. And I’ll eat a pie", said the Bear.
But Masha called out from the basket:
"I see you, I see you. Don’t sit on the stump, And don’t eat my pie, But take it to Grandma And Grandpa, say I".
"Dear me, what sharp eyes Masha has! "said the bear. " She sees everything."
He picked up the basket and went on. He stopped again and said:
"If I don’t rest my bones, I think I will die, so I’ll sit on a stump and eat a pie."
But Masha called out again from the basket:
"I see you, I see you! Don’t sit on the stump, and don’t eat my pie, but take it to Grandma and Grandpa, say I".
"What a clever little girl Masha is," said the bear. "She is sitting high up in a tree, far away, but she sees all I do and hears all I say."
He got to his feet and walked on and on even faster than before. He came to the village and, finding the house where Masha’s grandfather and grandmother lived, he began to bang away on the gate with all his might.
" KNOCK, KNOCK, open the gate," he cried, "I have brought something for you from Masha, he cried."
But the village dogs scented the bear and rushed out at him from every yard, yelping and barking. The bear was frightened, so he set the basket by the gate and ran away as fast as he could without looking back.
The old man and woman approached the gate and saw the basket.
"What is in the basket?" the old woman asked.
The old man lifted the top and looked but could not believe his eyes. For there in the basket sat Masha alive and well. The old man and woman were overjoyed. They kissed and hugged and embraced. Masha, and they said she was as clever as clever can be, as indeed all our readers will surely agree.