lay your ear on the ground, and when you hear that she is close
at hand, first of all throw down the towel. It will become a wide,
wide river. And if the Baba Yaga gets across the river, and
tries to catch you, then you must lay your ear on the ground
again, and when you hear that she is close at hand, throw down
the comb. It will become a dense, dense forest; through that
she won't be able to force her way anyhow."

The girl took the towel and the comb and fled. The dogs
would have rent her, but she threw them the rolls, and they let
her go by; the doors would have begun to bang, but she poured
oil on their hinges, and they let her pass through; the birch-tree
would have poked her eyes out, but she tied the ribbon around
it, and it let her pass on. And the Cat sat down to the loom,
and worked away; muddled everything about, if it didn't do
much weaving. Up came the Baba Yaga to the window, and
asked:

"Are you weaving, niece? are you weaving, my dear?"

"I'm weaving, dear aunt, I'm weaving," gruffly replied the
Cat.

The Baba Yaga rushed into the hut, saw that the girl was
gone, and took to beating the Cat, and abusing it for not having
scratched the girl's eyes out. "Long as I've served you," said
the Cat, "you've never given me so much as a bone; but she
gave me bacon." Then the Baba Yaga pounced upon the dogs,
on the doors, on the birch-tree, and on the servant-maid, and set
to work to abuse them all, and to knock them about. Then the
dogs said to her, "Long as we've served you, you've never so
much as pitched us a burnt crust; but she gave us rolls to eat."
And the doors said, "Long as we've served you, you've never
poured even a drop of water on our hinges; but she poured oil
on us." The birch-tree said, "Long as I've served you, you've
never tied a single thread round me; but she fastened a ribbon
around me." And the servant-maid said, "Long as I've served
you, you've never given me so much as a rag; but she gave me
a handkerchief."

The Baba Yaga, bony of limb, quickly jumped into her
mortar, sent it flying along with the pestle, sweeping away the
while all traces of its flight with a broom, and set off in pursuit
of the girl. Then the girl put her ear to the ground, and when
she heard that the Baba Yaga was chasing her, and was now
close at hand, she flung down the towel. And it became a wide,
such a wide river! Up came t