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He began to pluck
the strings of his faithful gusli, and to sing a song of lament.
All the day, from just after the rising of the great, red sun
until late in the afternoon as that same sun sank toward the
western hills, Sadko played and sang. First a lament, then a
mighty ballad of a great bogatyr, then a love song, then another
lament, and so on through the passing hours. Just as evening
fell, as he finished another song, there was a disturbance in
the waters of the lake. Suddenly the waves began to swirl and a
great noise of thunder rose from the depths of the waters. Great
clouds of sand darkened the lake still further. Sadko, quite
frightened, tucked his gusli under his arm and fled back to the
town of Novgorod.
The dark night
passed and once again the sun rose into the heavens, but once
again no invitation to perform came to Sadko. Being forced into
idleness is tremendously wearing, so the bard went once again to
the lovely shores of Lake Ilmen, sat upon the rocks by the blue
waters, and began to sing. This day he sang new songs, songs he
was only then composing in his mind. He sang to the glory of
Novgorod, and to the prince, and he sang to the glory of Christ
our Lord and to His Mother, the Theotokos. He sang new tales of
Russian bogatyri and of magical beings who played tricks on
unwary travelers. All the day long he played, and as it grew on
toward dusk, there was a disturbance in the waters of the lake.
Suddenly the waves began to swirl and a great noise of thunder
rose from the depths of the waters. Great clouds of sand
darkened the lake still further. Sadko, once more afraid,
returned swiftly back to Novgorod.
On the third
morning the door remained undarkened by anyone inviting Sadko to
play at feasting, and so for the third time he went again to the
stones on the shore of Lake Ilmen and sat in the warm sun and
played his gusli while he sang sweet songs. As on the previous
two days, at dusk the waves began to swirl and a great noise of
thunder rose from the depths of the waters. Great clouds of sand
darkened the lake still further. This time, however, Sadko
remained in his place atop a great boulder and continued to sing
and to play. He played as the night came on, a long while or a
short while, it matters not a bit, for all of a sudden the waves
grew high and crashed at the base of Sadko's stone, and the
thunderous roar of the waters grew louder than ever before.
Then, before the terrified bard could move a muscle, the waters
sank back into quietude and parted! Up from the depths of Lake
Ilmen strode the mighty form of the King of the Blue Seas!
"Many thanks to
you, O Sadko the Bard of Novgorod," cried the King, and his
voice was like the crashing of waves and rushing of waters. "For
three days now you have greatly entertained us, for I have been
holding feast day in my palace beneath Lake Ilmen. All have been
bewitched by the golden tones of your voice, the dexterity of
your fingers on the gusli, and the wit and wisdom of your words.
Would that we could reward you adequately, but I know not how I
should... But wait! Go now to your home in Novgorod, O Sadko,
and on the morrow you shall be called to perform at the banquet
of the wealthiest merchant of the city. Everyone will be
present, from the veche, to the prince, to the merchants. As
always happens with men, when they have eaten and drunk all they
desire, they will begin to boast, and oh, such boasting as would
make a bard's ears tingle with ideas for rollicking songs! One
will brag of his great wealth, another of his noble steed, yet
another of his great might and prowess in battle, and even more
of his youth. Wisdom will boast of his elderly father and
mother, foolishness will boast of his sweet young wife. But you,
Sadko the Bard, will make a boast to shame theirs! Say to them:
'I, Sadko the Bard, know that dwelling in Lake Ilmen are fish
with fins of pure gold!" Those rich (and ignorant) merchants of
Novgorod will delight t ridiculing your words, and they will
contradict you and deny that such fish are in Lake Ilmen.
Thereupon you must wager with them, setting your turbulent head
against all their shops and precious goods. When they accept
(and they will, for foolish men always do), take a net of silk
and come here, casting the net into the lake three times. When
you do this, I will send you each time a fish with fins of pure
gold. And in this way you will win markets full of shops and
become Sadko the richest merchant of Novgorod, and you will be
able to play and sing solely for pleasure rather than
sustenance!"
Sadko returned
to Novgorod, sighing over the tricks of a head left to sit too
long in the heat of the sun. But lo and behold! on the morrow
when he went forth from his bed he was greeted by the
chamberlain of the richest merchant in town, and invited to
grace a great feast with song and story. And everything happened
just as the King of the Blue Sea had predicted.
When everyone
present, the veche, the prince, and the rich merchants, had
eaten and drunk all they desired, they began to boast and oh!
the braggarts told tales that would make fodder for many fine
witticisms of Sadko the Bard for long years to come! One boasted
of his great riches and endless treasures, another of his noble
steed descended from the most ancient and worthy bloodlines, yet
another of his knightly bearing on the field of battle and his
prowess a arms, while a wise man boasted of his elderly and
saintly father and mother, and a fool bragged of his sweet young
wife. All the while, Sadko sat and spoke not a word. When the
feasters had finished their bragging, the host of the banquet
turned to the silent and smiling Sadko and asked him whether he
had nothing to boast of. Laying aside his gusli, Sadko arose and
said:
"Aie me! O
noble merchants of Novgorod, o mighty prince, o all-powerful
veche, what could a poor man such as I, Sadko the Bard, have to
match against your glorious boasts? I have no golden treasure, I
have no sweet wife. My music is a gift of God and not mine to
boast of. I know of only one thing whereof I could boast, for I
alone know that in Lake Ilmen swim fish with fins of gold!"
At first there
was silence, then a snicker, and finally the merchants of
Novgorod roared with laughter! Then they began to argue and
contend with the bard, asserting that no such fish existed in
the lake, or even in the wide world. "Ah,
if I were rich, like you," lamented Sadko, "I would be able to
wager much gold on the truth of my words. But alas! I have
nothing but my own turbulent head to offer as stakes."
"We gladly accept your wager, Sadko!" chuckled the
over-confident merchants. "We say no fish with fins of gold are
in Lake Ilmen, and we shall wager all of our shops in the Great
Market and all of their fine goods against your turbulent head!"
Then Sadko took
a net of silk and went straightaway to the shores of Lake Ilmen
and cast it into the waters. When he drew it out, there lay
within it a tiny fish with fins of pure gold. The merchants were
amazed, but Sadko did as the King of the Blue Sea had bidden him
and cast the net into the lake twice more, and each time he drew
forth a tiny fish with fins of pure gold. Without argument and
seeing that the bard had spoken truth (for the merchants of
Novgorod prided themselves on their honesty), they turned over
to Sadko the shops in the Great market and all their fine goods.
Thus did Sadko the Bard become one of the richest merchants in
the glorious town of Novgorod, and no more sang for sustenance,
but rather for pleasure. |
