Once upon a time there was a woman who lived in a simple house with two daughters. Helen was her own and Mary was her stepdaughter. Helen had no work to do, she just lazed around all day and dreamed of a rich groom coming for her. But Mary was something else. She did all the work in the house, and she was good at everything.
Moreover, she grew more beautiful every day. Her stepmother figured no groom would come for her daughter. Everyone would want Mary. She’d have to get rid of Mary somehow…
One day in the middle of winter, Helen got into her head that she wanted a bouquet of violets. She would put it behind her belt so she could smell it whenever she wanted. And her stepmother knew who to send for the violets. She’d drive Mary out into the cold and get rid of her once and for all. So she told Mary to do it: “Bring Helen a bunch of violets, or I’ll throw you out of the house.” Mary tried to stand up for herself, “But where could I find violets now? If Helen can hold out, I will pick her a beautiful bunch of violets in the spring.”
“You dare talk back to me? The girl wants violets now. In the spring, every girl can wear them. Don’t come home without violets, I tell you,” raged the stepmother.
And so the poor Mary went out to fulfill her half-sister’s impossible wish. She wandered in the snow for hours and saw no sight of violet, until she reached a meadow where a great fire was burning. Around it were twelve stones set in a circle, and on each stone sat a tall man. The twelve men were the twelve months. They took turns according to the month.
Marywas chilled with cold, so she plucked up her courage and asked the months if she could sit with them for a while and warm herself by the fire.
“Sure you can warm up, little girl. And what brings you so far away from all human dwellings in this cold?”
“I am coming to pick up violets for my sister,” answered Mary truthfully.
“What has got into you, girl? This is not the time to go for violets, everything is covered with snow,” said January, who was sitting on the biggest stone, for he was in command.
“I know, but my sister and my stepmother told me to do it. If I don’t bring them the violets, they’ll throw me out of the house,” explained Mary.
January looked at Mary for a long moment and then motioned toward another man in the circle, “Little brother March, come and sit in my place.” March exchanged places with January. Then he raised a wooden hammer above his head and shook it several times. The snow melted around him, green grass sprouted, and a few violets peeled out of the ground. Just enough for a pretty bouquet.
“Come on Mary, hurry up and pick them,” March urged her.
The happy Mary picked the violets and thanked the months from the bottom of her heart. Then she ran home with the violets to her sister and stepmother. When she opened the door, the scent of violets flooded the whole room. But Helen and her stepmother were not as happy as Mary expected. They started to ask her where she had gotten the violets.
“Up there on the hill. There are lots of them growing there,” said Mary.
Helen and her stepmother gave Mary a hostile look, but said nothing more. The next day Helen got a craving for strawberries. And her stepmother knew right away who she would send for them. Mary’s effort to explain that it made no sense to want strawberries in January was in vain. Under threats, she had to set out again into the cold and blizzard. The strawberries, of course, were nowhere to be found; the only option was to try again to ask the months for help. When she got there, half-frozen, she said hello, bowed respectfully and recounted what had brought her there.
“Dear months, please help me. My little sister got a craving for strawberries and I can’t find them anywhere.”
“Well, that’s no surprise, with snow and frost everywhere…” said January. Then he challenged one of his brothers:
“Brother June, come and sit in my place.” June moved to the largest stone, twirled his wooden hammer above his head, and suddenly tiny green strawberry bushes grew from the ground. Within moments they were covered with red strawberries, just to take a bite. June urged Mary to quickly pick them up and run home.
Mary did so and thanked the marigolds very much. When she returned to the cottage with the strawberries, she received no thanks. But Helen did enjoy the strawberries.
But it was as if nothing could satisfy her appetites. The next day, she lamented her overwhelming craving for apples. She urged Mary out the door, telling her not to come back without apples, or bad fortune would come her way. Poor freezing Mary went straight to the meadow with tears in her eyes, where she found the twelve months. When she arrived at the bonfire in the meadow, she did not have to explain anything.
“So what does your sister ask for this time?” January asked directly.
“My little sister has a great appetite for apples, dear January.”
“Brother September, come and sit in my place,” January invited his brother. The latter took his seat, swung a wooden hammer over his head, and a nearby apple tree turned green, sprouting buds that turned into juicy apples, a joy to behold. “Come and shake some off quickly, little girl,” he urged Mary. Mary shook the tree until a few apples fell.
“Pick them up quickly and go home, little girl,” urged September. Marushka picked what fell, thanked the marigolds for once and ran to take the apples to Helen before they froze.
Helen enjoyed them very much, but it was not enough for her. “Why are there so few? You ate the rest of them anyway, you useless little layabout,” she thundered at the poor Mary.
“No, sister, I didn’t even take a bite, I brought you all the apples I shook off the tree.”
“And where is the tree?”
“Up there high on the hill. There was a tree full of apples,” said Mary.
When Mary heard that there were still plenty of apples, she took her warm coat and apple sack and hurried up the hill. She wouldn’t let that greedy girl eat all her apples again. When she reached the hill, she saw the fire and went straight to the fireplace without asking or saying hello.
“Hey, you oldsters, have you seen a tree full of apples?” This grossly offended the mighty months. January whirled his wooden hammer over his head, the sky grew cloudy, a blizzard came, and it snowed as if all the heavenly blankets had been torn. It blew Helen away and she wandered through snowdrifts as high as mountains until she got cold and froze to death.
Meanwhile, Helen’s mother was waiting for her at home, but Helen was nowhere to be found. “So Helen is stuffing herself with apples somewhere and she won’t bring me any? Well, I’ll have to go and get them myself.” She went up the hill and arrived just as the wind was blowing the hardest. In the drifting snow, she too wandered off and eventually froze to death.
Mary waited impatiently at home for several days. She was worried about them. When the blizzard and snow finally stopped, she went to the months to see if they knew anything about her sister and stepmother.
January reassured her, “Don’t worry about them anymore, little girl. They’ve met the fate they deserved. You have a good heart and you’ve suffered enough with them. Go home, happiness will not pass you by.”
Mary returned, even though she felt sorry for her half-sister and mother. Hate and revenge never had a place in her heart. But after a while her sadness passed, she managed her own farm and did well. Her beauty and kindness did not escape the eye of the handsome son of the local landlord. Mary also found a liking for him and soon they were farming together and doing very well.
Interesting