The Wise Little Girl (Мудрая дева) is a Russian Fairy Tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki (Народные Русские Сказки).
Once upon a time there were two brothers, one rich and the other one poor, who were travelling together. The rich man rode a stallion, and the poor brother a young mare. While they spend the night in a field, the mare gives birth, and her newborn colt rolls under the rich brother's cart.
The next day, both men find the foal under the cart, and the rich brother claims his cart has given birth to the foal, ergo the horse is his, whereas his sibling argues that cannot possibly be true. Neither of them back down, so they head off to the nearest city to settle their dispute in court.
The Tsar, who happened to be visiting the city, hears of their case and summons them to ask them several riddles to establish who is right. When they are summoned back, the answers of the rich man are laughably shallow, whereas his brother's ones are very thoughtful. When the man freely admits he got his answers from his little daughter, the Tsar feels intrigued and decides to test the poor man's daughter's wisdom.
Some versions of the tale can be read here
and here.
The Wise Little Tropes:
- Adults Are Useless: The penniless brother needs his seven-year-old girl to make a bunch of judges and a king see and admit that a cart cannot give birth to a horse.
- Armor-Piercing Question: The little girl uses one to settle the dispute between her father and her uncle:Little Girl: "We live on the hares he catches in the rivers and the fish he picks from the trees!"
The Tsar: "Aha! So you're not as clever as you seem to be! Whoever heard of hares in the river and fish in the trees!"
Little Girl: "And whoever heard of a cart having a foal?" - Blatant Lies: When both brothers find a foal under the rich brother's cart, the latter rushes to declare the horse must be his cart's offspring and not his brother's mare's.
- Cain and Abel: The rich brother blatantly tries to steal from his poorer sibling.
- Horse of a Different Color: Since the Tsar insists that she must appear before him "neither on foot nor on horseback" when she responds to his summons, the little girl goes to his court riding a large hare.
- Impossible Task: Wanting to test the little girl's wisdom, the Tsar demands she comes before him within seven days... but "she must appear before me neither naked nor dressed, neither on foot nor on horseback, neither bearing gifts nor empty-handed." Seven days later, the little girl appears draped in a fishing net, riding a hare and holding a partridge in her hand which flies off as soon as she releases her grasp.
- Liminal Time: The Tsar demands the little girl to appear before him "neither naked nor dressed, neither on foot nor on horseback, neither bearing gifts nor empty-handed." Seven days later, she comes into the palace wearing a fishing net, riding a hare and holding a partridge which flies off as soon as she lets it go.
- Missing Mom: The poor man and his seven-year-old daughter are living alone. The little girl's mother is not seen or even mentioned, and it is said the girl is used to take care of herself when her father is away.
- Nameless Narrative: No character is given a name.
- No Name Given: No character is given a name. They are the rich brother, the poor brother, the Tsar, the little girl...
- Riddle Me This: The Tsar challenges both siblings to solve the next riddle: "What were the swiftest, fattest, softest, and loveliest things in the world?". The rich man's godmother answers are her husband's bay mare, a pig that they had been fattening, eiderdown, and her baby nephew. The poor man's daughter's answers are: "Tell the Emperor that the fastest thing in the world is the cold north wind in winter. The fattest is the soil in our fields whose crops give life to men and animals alike, the softest thing is a child's caress and the most precious is honesty."
- Rule of Three: The Tsar summons the little girl, but he insists she must meet three conditions: she must appear before me neither naked nor dressed, neither on foot nor on horseback, neither bearing gifts nor empty-handed.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: The poor brother's seven-year-old girl is exceptionally smart and clever for her age.
- Women Are Wiser: When the Tsar asks his riddles, the rich brother goes to his godmother, whereas the poor brother is given the answers by his daughter.
