THE LEGEND OF THE DIPPER

An Eastern European spin on a classic tale.

Young Katrusya and her mother live in a small cottage atop a hillside in an idyllic landscape. The pair are very close, so when the older woman falls ill, Katrusya strikes out to find water for her to drink. There’s no fresh water nearby, and Katrusya travels so far that the sun sets before she even arrives at the river where she can fill her tin dipper. On her way back, she encounters a thirsty dog to whom she offers a sip of water. As the dog runs off, “a wondrous thing happened—the tin dipper changed into a silver dipper filled with more water than before.” Katrusya next encounters a woman to whom she also grants a drink; this time the dipper turns to gold. Katrusya is able to return to her mother with more water than she had expected, not only curing her but becoming responsible for a lasting celestial legacy in honor of her kindness. This folk tale from Hayda, who most recently wrote Dzvinya’s Gift for Mama (2023), is a Ukrainian take on Carolyn Sherwin Bailey’s 1906 tale “The Legend of the Dipper.” Much of the text is the same, though Hayda has changed the gender of the thirsty and has introduced Ukrainian names. Her acrylic paintings evoke images of quilts and ditsy floral fabrics, while the whiteness of some flowers foreshadows the significance of stars at the story’s conclusion.

A new version of an old story; perfect for in-depth fairy tale collections.