31 OCTOBER 2021

THREE WONDROUS BEGGARS

HALLOWEEN SPECIAL · PART III

There once lived a hard-hearted merchant whose name was Roman. He could not stand the sight of poor people, and if he caught sight of a beggar anywhere near his house, he would order the servants to drive him away, or would set the dogs at him.
Then one night three very poor old men came begging to the door, and just as he was going to let the fierce dogs loose on them, his little daughter, Anastasia, crept close up to him and said: ‘Dear daddy, let the poor old men sleep here to-night.' Her father could not bear to refuse her...

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This episode tells the story of The Three Wonderful Beggars or Vasili the Unlucky. Originally a Serbian folk tale, it can be found in Andrew Lang's Violet Fairy Book, and was originally collected in Alexander Afanasyev's Russian Fairy Tales, a collection of nearly 600 fairy and folktales published between 1855 and 1863 which he modelled on the work of the Brothers Grimm.

A type of wonder tale, The Three Wonderful Beggars is populated with many familiar folk motifs, but also larger-than-life characters and ideas.

Instantly recognisable are the motifs of the hero bearing the letter with instructions for his own death, changed or erased before they reach their recipient. The ploy of pushing a character into a vat in a factory which is avoided or foiled (sometimes suffered instead by the evildoer in other tales). The long quest or journey in which the hero encounters a diverse cast of characters with questions about their own fate. The servant who harbours the hero; the tricking of the enemy into divulging their secret knowledge to the hero unwittingly, here through the ruse of relating a dream.

The three beggars of the story's title seem to be a version of the Three Fates. Their unsettling conference in the loft at the beginning of the story sets the story in motion, recalling not just the fates but also the Greek chorus, and characters like Shakespeare's three witches, as they enter and leave the story repeatedly to direct events to their own mystical ends, invoking both forces of destiny, but also justice, as they pronounce upon the character of the greedy merchant. The hero, Vasili, journeys to the ends of the earth and encounters deep mysteries:a talking oak tree, a ferryman (recalling the ferryman who delivers souls to the land of the dead), and a beached whale who has become a bridge, in order to reach the land of the Serpent King.

The original story features 'Marko the Rich' as the evil merchant. This telling changes the merchant's name to Roman: I was concerned that the character of an evil merchant called Mark might easily be an antisemitic motif.

A Serpent King (Tsar Zmei) is a mythical serpent in Slavic folklore who symbolises cruelty and evil, but was more than a simple dragon. They appear as either male (Zmei) or female (Zmeya) in Slavic literature and poetry, and appear as dragons, as humans with dragon-like features, or are able to shapeshift and take on these and other forms. Even in human form they possessed beast-like characteristics, drives and abilities. They were sometimes depicted with multiple heads (anywhere between three and twelve) and were often matched against Slavic folk heroes known as bogatyr (similar in concept to the knight-errant).

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SOURCE MATERIAL

Texts
"The Three Wonderful Beggars" on fairytalez.com
Russian Folk-Tales: Translated from the Russian by Aleksandr Afanasʹev, Trans. L.A. Magnus (Published 1916 London : Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., ; New York : E.P. Dutton & Company)

Research Sources
"The Story of Three Wonderful Beggars." on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 3 May. 2021. Web. 26 Oct. 2021.
"Alexander Afanasyev."on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8 Oct. 2021. Web. 26 Oct. 2021.
"Russian Fairy Tales." on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 29 Aug. 2021. Web. 26 Oct. 2021.
"Zmei (Russian)." on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 Apr. 2021. Web. 26 Oct. 2021.
"Bogatyr." on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 29 Aug. 2021. Web. 26 Oct. 2021.

EPISODE CREDITS

Stories interpreted and performed by Rick Scott.
Sound editing, audio design and original illustrations by Rick Scott.
Lore & Legend Series Theme composed and performed by Robert Bentall.
Original incidental music and chords also by Robert Bentall.

Podcast hosting by Anchor. Video and audiogram creation using Headliner.

AUDIO CREDITS

'The Streets of Kiev' by Caleb Henessey on Album: Suibhne

'Muzychna Taverna' by Caleb Henessey on Album: Suibhne

'The King's Return' by Caleb Henessey on Album: Suibhne

'Khoru' by Caleb Henessey on Album: Suibhne

'The Manghud' by Caleb Henessey on Album: Suibhne

Caleb Hennessy Compositions on:

Bandcamp
Facebook

YouTube

'Night in Russia' by Derek Feichter on Album: Slavic Lands

'The Bogatyr' by Brandon & Derek Feichter on Album: Slavic Lands

Brandon & Derek Feichter Music on:

Bandcamp

Spotify

Youtube

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Additional incidental music, background ambience and sound effects by multiple authors sourced from Freesound.org.

See below for the full list of audio files and attribution credits for the 2021 Halloween Special Episodes:

Sound

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11896206_1155901677757253_74058739797073

RICK SCOTT
STORYTELLER

THREE WONDROUS BEGGARS

LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUR PLATFORM

SOURCE MATERIAL

EPISODE CREDITS

​

Stories interpreted and performed by Rick Scott. Sound editing, audio design and original illustrations by Rick Scott. Lore & Legend Series Theme composed and performed by Robert Bentall. Original incidental music and chords also by Robert Bentall.

Podcast hosting by Anchor. Video and audiogram creation using Headliner.

​

|

Additional incidental music, background ambience and sound effects by multiple authors sourced from Freesound.org.

​

See below for the full list of audio files and attribution credits for the 2021 Halloween Special Episodes:

​

Stories interpreted and performed by Rick Scott.
Sound editing, audio design and original illustrations by Rick Scott.
Lore & Legend Series Theme composed and performed by Robert Bentall.
Original incidental music and chords also by Robert Bentall.