The Moon, the Wind and Frost

The tale: an editorial retelling

An old man and an old woman had three beautiful daughters. One day the Moon arrived to ask for the eldest daughter’s hand. Her parents gladly agreed and celebrated the marriage with a joyful wedding.

After a while, the father went to visit his daughter and her husband. His daughter cooked pancakes for him on the Moon’s bald head. He enjoyed the meal so much that, once home, he asked his wife to make the same. But the attempt failed: however long she tried to cook them, the pancakes remained raw.

Later the Wind came to ask for the second daughter’s hand. The parents agreed to this marriage too. After the wedding, only the youngest daughter remained at home with them.

The old man visited his second son-in-law as well. After an enjoyable day, he asked where they would sleep. The Wind invited him onto the roof. The father feared falling, but his host promised to hold him. They all lay down on the roof; the Wind kept the old man from slipping off, and he greatly enjoyed the night.

On returning home, he suggested that he and his wife sleep on their roof that very evening. She feared they would fall, but he reassured her: he had slept that way at his son-in-law’s home, and the Wind would hold them both.

At dusk they climbed onto the roof. They had scarcely lain down and closed their eyes when they rolled off. They were so badly bruised that half an hour passed before they could get up. They went indoors to sleep, and the wife scolded her husband until he had nothing left to say.

A few months later Frost proposed to the youngest daughter. Again the parents agreed and held a wedding. In time, the old man went to visit this third son-in-law. Frost shaved his beard and prepared a thoroughly heated bathhouse for him.

As soon as the old man entered, he cried that it was too hot. Frost put a finger through a hole in the door. The man still complained of the heat, so Frost repeated the action. Only on the third insertion did the bathhouse become comfortably warm. The old man washed very happily.

Frost brought him a mirror. Looking into it, he was astonished to find himself young again. Back at home, his wife barely recognised him and asked how it had happened. He told her to heat their bathhouse thoroughly: she would grow young too.

She heated it so fiercely that it was almost impossible to step inside. Her husband bored a hole in the door and sent her in to wash. She immediately cried that it was too hot. He put his finger through the hole. She cried again, and he copied his son-in-law’s gesture once more. At her third cry, he inserted his finger a third time.

Everything fell silent behind the door. The old man thought his wife had begun washing and waited. Eventually he asked whether she had finished, but there was no reply. After waiting a little longer, he opened the door and found her dead, overcome in the stifling heat. He wept aloud at losing her.

After his wife’s death, he went to live with his sons-in-law.

About this version

This retells No. 204, pp. 576–578, of Lietuvių tautosaka (Lithuanian Folklore), volume III (1965). The note on p. 675 gives A-Th 552B and Mūsų pasakos, book II, p. 33. The volume’s abbreviation list describes that earlier collection as tales gathered by readers of Žvaigždutė. The 1965 text was consulted here; this does not claim verification of the earlier edition.

All three weddings, visits and attempts to repeat the sons-in-law’s actions at home are retained. The first son-in-law in this version is the Moon, not the Sun. The narrative does not explain in detail how cooking on the Moon’s head is attempted at home, and this retelling does not invent a new method. The bathhouse episode’s tragic ending is preserved.

Telling and discussing the tale

The rhythm of three visits helps listeners recognise the pattern: visit, wonder, attempted imitation. Discuss the difference between a son-in-law’s power and merely copying his gesture. Do not act out the dangerous episodes in real conditions; a voice, three picture cards and a clearly told ending are enough.