The Malachite Casket (fairy tale)

[5] In 1944 the story was translated from Russian into English by Alan Moray Williams and published by Hutchinson as a part of The Malachite Casket: Tales from the Urals collection.

Nastasya becomes the owner of the Malachite Casket, filled with jewellery, which Stepan got from the legendary Mistress of the Copper Mountain.

A good-hearted former mining foreman (щегарь; shchegar') who was something of a scholar had identified and appraised the gems, and advised her not to sell the casket for a paltry sum.

So when the widow with three children to feed could not farm as well as her husband became strapped for money, her in-laws pressured her to sell the box, and merchants flocked to her offering a 100 or 200 rubles, hoping to cheat her.

But the jewellery were tricky for the widow Natasya to use, because the rings would turn too tight after leaving house, and earrings and necklace would also become ill-fitting.

In fact, her appearance resembles that of the Mistress of the Copper Mountain, and the father had been fond of her green eyes taking after the malachite which was his job to find, giving her the nickname "Remembrance".

Although her daily routine was to play with them after her chores, a man appeared one day who armed himself with the family's axe, apparently wishing to steal the treasure.

[13] The family continued to struggle for a few years, until there was some relief when the boys started earning wages, and Tanyushka too had become so skilled at embroidery, her designs marvelled the accomplished seamstresses.

She leaves as a parting gift to Tanyushka a small button of cut glass or crystal, which she is instructed to peer into when in need of answers.

[14] It can be surmised that this beggar woman staying to teach Tanyushka was in fact the powerful Mistress of the Copper Mountain in disguise.

Eventually Mrs. Flogger (who as ex-mistress received a handsome severance pay from the owner) buys the Casket at full price.

In turn, Flogger insults the woman for paying 2000 for jewels she cannot even wear, piquing the interest of the Young Master, who is a gem connoisseur and insists on buying them.

He then sends for the portrait girl, to see for himself, and now it is the Young Master Turchaninov's turn to fall in love with Tanyushka, especially after he has her try on those very jewels.

He proposes marriage which she Tanyushka at first laughs off, but when he persists, she agrees to on condition he shows her the Tsarina herself at the Malachite Room in Saint Petersburg.

Yelena Prikazchikova [ru] commented that Tanyushka is a typical changeling, the child of the mountain spirit and the mortal.

[25] Nataliya Shvabauer noted that Tanyushka is obviously the one destined to inherit the Casket, as she is inhumanly beautiful and is more attracted to gemstones than to people.

[27] Mark Lipovetsky commented that while the Mistress embodies the struggle and unity between Eros and Thanatos,[28] Tanyushka inherits the sexual magic: her beauty is striking and blinding men.

During Soviet times, every edition of The Malachite Box was usually prefaced by an essay commenting on the creativity of the Ural miners, cruel landlords, social oppression and the "great workers unbroken by the centuries of slavery".

The series included the following films: Sinyushka's Well (1973), The Mistress of the Copper Mountain (1975), The Malachite Casket, The Stone Flower (1977), Podaryonka (based on "Silver Hoof", 1978[42]), Golden Hair (1979), and The Grass Hideaway (1982).

[43] The Malachite Casket is a stop motion animated film directed by Oleg Nikolaevsky [ru], with screenplay by Alexander Timofeevsky.