Along Unknown Paths

A young boy, Mitya Roman Monastyrsky, journeys through a forest to visit his great-aunt, the witch Baba Yaga Tatyana Pelttser, carrying a gift from his grandmother. Along the way, he encounters Likho, a one-eyed evil that knocks him down but does not pursue him further. Soon after, Baba Yaga’s neighbor, the swamp-dwelling Kikimora Yelizaveta Nikishchikhina, appears, and together they peer into a magic dish to glimpse events unfolding in the Tsarist kingdom. In the court, the good Tsar Makar [Leonid Kharitonov] is trapped under rigid rules. He longs to do simple things—clean the floor, even drive a manure wagon—yet the stern scribe Chumichka Yuriy Chernov forbids him from such freedoms.

During a council meeting, the Tsar learns that the wise Vasilisa Premudraya Tatyana Aksyuta has sent him a magical gift—a magic ball. However, the scribe denies its arrival, and the ball is later discovered inside Chumichka’s hat, leading to his expulsion from town for theft. Sworn to revenge, Chumichka vows to free Koschei the Immortal Aleksandr Filippenko and undermine the Tsar’s rule. As the image in the magic dish glows red, a three-headed dragon awakens and cuts the connection between the Tsar’s world and the watchers outside. Mitya and Baba Yaga decide to warn the Tsar about Chumichka’s plan and set off toward the Tsar’s realm on a magical stove—an escape that will be complicated by a strange accident: Mitya accidentally filled a goat’s water into a drinking bottle, which causes anyone who drinks from it to turn into a goat.

Meanwhile, the scribe frees Koschei, supplying him with twelve buckets of water to restore his strength, and guides him back into prison. Koschei then uses duplicitous speeches to win over the Tsar’s servants and ultimately seizes the Tsar’s crown. Tsar Makar is captured, and Baba Yaga who rushed to the scene is imprisoned as well. Before long, Mitya receives the magic ball from Makar, a clue meant to lead him to the wise Vasilisa for counsel. At the same time, the era’s most dangerous criminals—Likho, Nightingale the Robber [Oleg Anofriev], and the three-headed dragon—descend upon the court, threatening to plunge the land into deeper turmoil.

Determined, Mitya travels to wise Vasilisa, who endows him with a cap of invisibility that lets him slip into the castle unseen and begin freeing prisoners. Domovoy, the house-spirit Aleksandr Kuznetsov, meanwhile makes his way to the beach to investigate the fate of Koschei. Traditional lore claims Koschei dies in a duck, which contains a bear, which in turn hides a box on a tree. Yet Domovoy discovers that Koschei’s death is not hidden in the duck itself but in a needle tucked inside the egg inside the duck. The needle’s location remains elusive, buried beneath a haystack, and only Mitya’s cleverness can reach it.

Armed with a pair of scissors, Mitya rides his bicycle toward the haystack to retrieve the needle. A confrontation arises between Koschei and Vasilisa’s forces on a bridge, with Koschei proving formidable in battle. He and his comrades press forward, but Mitya’s search for the needle—guided by the sharp blade and the glow from the needle’s tip—proves decisive. When the needle is finally found and the head is cut, Koschei loses his power and is captured.

With Koschei defeated, Mitya returns the now-normal needle to Baba Yaga, who places it inside a pine needle and packs it into a wooden duck. The duck then becomes a real, living duck, symbolizing a reversal of the magical chaos. As the story unfolds, Mitya teaches Vasilisa how to ride a bicycle, a scene that marks a moment of shared growth between the two youngsters. Baba Yaga, witnessing the end of the tale, explains to the astonished Kikimora why she despises endings—that the world of fairy tales should retain its sense of wonder rather than closing too soon. In the end, balance is restored, and the characters carry the memory of his journey as a reminder that courage and wit can reshape a kingdom.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:56