Monday, October 17, 2011

"WONDROUS WONDER,MARVELOUS MARVEL"

I researched many ideas to make my "Russian Zakuska Christmas Party 2010" as authentic as possible.I came across the famous Russian Fairy Tale"Wondrous Wonder,Marvelous Marvel"in"Russian Fairy Tales Collection" by Aleksandr Afanas'ev. I can't get that catchy title out of my head even today as I plan for my "African Safari Christmas Party 2011! Thought I'd share the tale....

...it's about a merchant who asks his wife what she would like him to bring back from his overseas journey,she asks for a wondrous wonder, marvelous marvel (repeated several times in the fairy tale). The merchant finds his wondrous wonder, marvelous marvel in the form a goose that will lay itself down on a tray on command, be cooked and eaten, and then come back to life again. He returned home,greeted his wife,gave her the goose & told her that with this bird she could have a roast everyday without spending a penny_"Just roast it,& it will come to life again"!The next day when he is off selling goods at the market the wife's lover comes over and she tries to cook the goose for him, but when she grabs the goose she is stuck. The lover then tries to pull her from the goose and becomes stuck.The goose then walks to market with the stuck wife and lover attached. The husband removes the goose and demands to know who the man attached to the wife is. He then beats the lover, takes his wife home and whips her. With every blow he says_" Here's your wondrous wonder, your marvelous marvel"! ** Learned that Fairy Tales will frequently punish "bad wives" for such behaviour in Russian Fairy Tales.Now,I'm interested in learning more Russian Literature!

Back to the party_So,I gave my friends Russian names,we all dressed in attire fitting for a person of Russian origin_gathered many kinds of Vodka for a Tasting, I prepared the Food,Decor & Music.What a WONDROUS WONDER to see & A MARVELOUS MARVEL of a Party to share with friends! ~Always be on the lookout for the presence of Wonder~e.b.white

                                           RUSSIAN TREASURES 
                                           RUSSIAN TEAROOM

                                           RUSSIAN VODKA TASTINGS

1 comment:

apond said...

Very interesting story! Quite different from fairy tales that I'm used to :)

Amy Pond,
Tacoma, WA