Kitka presents: Nataliya Bondar’s Wintersongs Offering
A Russian Wintertime Fairytale
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Nataliya Bondar is a singer, actor, storyteller, puppeteer and educator, now living in California’s Silicon Valley. Kitka has enjoyed working with her through our many collaborations with Russian House Kedry and Kostroma Vocal Ensemble. During the 2020 Shelter-in-Place period, Nataliya launched an online series of bedtime stories for Russian- speaking children. One need not be a child nor understand a word of Russian to become enchanted by her magical telling of this Wintertime fairytale.
Piglet In A Prickly Winter Coat
by Sergei Kozlov, translated by Marina Nikiforov and Alisa Nikiforov
It was winter time.
It had been so frosty-cold outside, that the Little Hedgehog had not left his little house for many days. He kept the fire going in the wood stove and kept looking through the window. The frost painted the window all over, covering it completely. The Little Hedgehog had to climb up the windowsill to breathe upon the frozen window to rub off the frost.
“There!” he would say.
Now he could see the fir tree, the stump, and the clearing in front of his house. Above the clearing, snowflakes were circling round and round, sometimes flying upward, then landing down on the ground.
One day, the Little Hedgehog pressed his nose against the window, when one of the snowflakes landed near the tip of his nose just outside the window. The snowflake got up on her little toes, and said:
“Is that you, Little Hedgehog? Why are you not coming out to play with us?”
“It's too cold,” said the Little Hedgehog.
“Not really,” said the snowflake, “we are not cold at all. Watch me fly!”
She leapt off his nose and began to twirl above the clearing.
“Can you see? Can you see?” she called back, passing the window.
And now the Little Hedgehog pressed his nose against the window so hard that it began to look like a piglet’s snout.
So then, it began to seem to the snowflake that he was no longer a hedgehog but a piglet in a prickly winter coat looking at her through the window.
“Hey Piglet!” she cried. “Come out and play with us!”
“Who is she calling now?” thought the Little Hedgehog.
He pressed his nose ever so hard against the window to see if there was some piglet sitting on the firewood pile outside.
Now the snowflake was convinced that there was a piglet in a winter coat behind the window.
“Hey Piglet!” she cried even louder than before, “you have that winter coat of yours! Come out and play with us!”
“Well,” the Little Hedgehog thought to himself, “perhaps there is a piglet in a coat down there who does not want to play. I shall invite him into my house and offer him some tea.”
So he got himself down from the windowsill, put on his woolen boots and a hat, and ran outside to the porch.
“Dear Piglet!” he cried. ”Won't you come in for some tea?”
“Little Hedgehog,” said the snowflake. “The piglet just ran away. Why don't you play with us?”
“I can't, it's cold,” said the Little Hedgehog, and he went inside. He closed the door, left his boots there, put some more firewood on the fire, climbed up the windowsill, and pressed his nose against the window.
“Hey piglet!” cried the snowflake. “Are you back? Come out! We're going to play together!”
“The piglet is back!” thought the Little Hedgehog. He put his woolen boots on again, and ran out on the porch.
“Piglet!” he yelled. “Pigleeeet!”
Deep into the late night the Little Hedgehog kept running outside, calling to the piglet in a prickly winter coat.
It didn't really matter to the snowflake whom to play with, so she either called out to the piglet when the Little Hedgehog was sitting on the windowsill or to the Little Hedgehog when he ran out on the porch.
He kept climbing up the window, pressing his nose against it, looking.
Even while falling asleep the Little Hedgehog kept thinking about the piglet in a prickly coat. “What if he gets cold and freezes on such a cold cold night?”
That is why he left his magic lamp lit up on the porch. When you look at its light, it makes you feel warm inside.
SONG: I GO WITH MY BRIGHT LITTLE LANTERN
from Lantern walk by Cincinnati Waldorf Songbook
“I go with my bright little lantern,
my lantern is going with me.
In heaven the stars are shining,
on Earth shines my lantern with me.
The light grows dim as we go in
La bimba la bamba la bim.
The light grows dim as we go in
La bimba la bamba la bim.”
Learn more about Russian House Kedry at http://www.kedry.org
Learn more about Kostroma Vocal Ensemble at: http://www.kitka.org/kostroma
Watch more of Nataliya’s stories on her YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq3SQ9VS-Ri9lyhrh2h8doA/featured
Click here to explore the Wintersongs Village
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