Verlioka (Russian: верлиока) or wyrlook (Ukrainian: вирлоок)[1] is an East Slavic fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki (1855–63).
The grandpa wonders why his granddaughter hasn't come back and sends his youngest grandchild to find her.
[5] According to Alexander Afanasyev's note, the tale was collected by Nikolay Tikhorski in "Southern Russia".
[6] Notemakers Lev Barag [ru] and N. V. Novikov theorize that the typical Ukrainian ending «Вот вам сказка, а мне бубликов вязка» (Ukrainian: Ось вам казка, а мені бубликів в'язка, "Here's a tale for you, and a bunch of donuts for me"; in Bain's translation "So there's a skazha for you－and I deserve a cake or two also.
"), as well as usage of the vocative case («А вы, добродею, знаете Верлиоку?») possibly suggest that the tale was written in or near Ukraine.
[10] Robert Nisbet Bain included a retelling of the story in Russian Fairy Tales, a translation of Nikolai Polevoy's work.