The Empty Drum (Tolstoy)
Short summary
A poor laborer named Emelyán nearly stepped on a frog while crossing a meadow. The frog transformed into a beautiful maiden who proposed marriage to him.
They married and settled in a small hut at the edge of town.
The King saw Emelyán's wife and became obsessed with her beauty. He ordered Emelyán to work at the palace, planning to work him to death.
With his wife's magical help, Emelyán completed impossible tasks: building a cathedral overnight and creating a river with ships. Finally, the King commanded him to go to "there, don't know where" and bring "that, don't know what." Following his wife's advice, Emelyán found an old woman who directed him to a city where he stole a drum that commanded absolute obedience. Returning with it, he beat the drum and the King's entire army followed him instead of the King.
When he reached the river bank Emelyán smashed the drum to splinters, and threw the splinters into the stream. And then all the soldiers ran away.
The King returned Emelyán's wife to him, and they lived happily ever after.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Meeting the mysterious woman and marriage
Emelyán worked as a laborer for a master, living in poverty with nothing but the clothes on his back. One day while crossing meadows on his way to work, he nearly stepped on a frog that jumped in front of him but managed to avoid it. Suddenly, a lovely young woman appeared behind him and asked why he didn't get married.
When Emelyán explained his poverty, the mysterious woman offered to become his wife, saying:
One only has to work more and sleep less, and one can clothe and feed oneself anywhere.
Emelyán agreed to marry her, and she led him to a small hut on the edge of town where they wed and began their life together.
The Kings desire for Emelyáns wife
One day the King drove through town and passed by Emelyán's hut. When Emelyán's wife came out to see him, the King was struck by her extraordinary beauty. He stopped his carriage and questioned her, saying:
Why did you, who are such a beauty, marry a peasant? You ought to be a queen!
Though she politely declined his attention, the King became obsessed with her and couldn't sleep that night.
The King consulted his servants, who devised a plan to work Emelyán to death at the palace so the King could take his widow. The King summoned Emelyán to work at the palace, but his wife advised him to work all day and return home each night.
Impossible construction tasks
At the palace, the steward gave Emelyán work meant for two men, hoping to exhaust him. However, by evening all the work was mysteriously completed. They increased his workload to four times the amount, but again Emelyán finished everything and returned home singing cheerfully.
Each night Emelyán returned home to find his house clean, food prepared, and his wife waiting. When he complained about the impossible workload, she gave him wise counsel:
Don't fret about the work... don't look either before or behind to see how much you have done or how much there is left to do; only keep on working and all will be right.
For two weeks, no matter what tasks they set him—rough labor, carpentry, masonry, or roofing—Emelyán completed everything on time. Frustrated, the King's servants decided to give him an impossible task: building a cathedral in a single day. The King commanded Emelyán to construct a new cathedral by the next evening or face execution. Emelyán despaired and wanted to flee, but his wife insisted they must obey. The next morning, she sent him to work with just nails and a hammer, saying there was still a day's work left to finish. When Emelyán arrived, he found a nearly completed cathedral and finished the remaining work by evening.
Angered by Emelyán's success, the King set another impossible task: creating a river around the palace with ships sailing on it, to be completed overnight. Again, Emelyán's wife assured him all would be ready, and he need only level a small mound by the wharf. The King awoke to find the river and ships exactly as ordered, but remained frustrated at his inability to condemn Emelyán.
The quest to there, dont know where
The King's servants devised what they believed was an impossible riddle. The King commanded Emelyán:
Go to 'there, don't know where,' and bring back 'that, don't know what.' If you fail to bring it, I will have you beheaded.
Emelyán's wife became thoughtful, realizing they had taught the King how to trap him. She told Emelyán he must seek help from Grandam, the old peasant woman who was the mother of soldiers. She gave him a spindle as a token and showed him the way, warning that she would be taken by force but promising their separation would be brief if he followed Grandam's guidance.
Emelyán traveled far and encountered drilling soldiers who gave him a philosophical answer about their own endless quest for unknown destinations. He continued until he reached a forest hut where he found Grandam spinning flax and weeping, wetting her fingers with tears instead of spittle.
After hearing Emelyán's story, Grandam gave him a ball of thread to follow to the sea, where he would find a great city. She instructed him to seek lodging at the furthest house and look for something that men obey more than father or mother. Following the ball to a seaside city, Emelyán witnessed a son who ignored his parents' pleas to work but immediately obeyed when he heard a thundering, rattling sound from the street.
The magical drum and victory over the King
Emelyán discovered the source of the commanding sound was a man carrying a drum—a round, empty instrument with skin stretched over both ends. Unable to obtain it by asking, Emelyán followed the drummer all day and stole the drum while the man slept. He returned to his town to find his wife had been taken to the palace. When he announced his return to the King, the ruler dismissed both his destination and the drum as incorrect. Emelyán declared that if it wasn't right, it must be destroyed, and began beating the drum.
And as he beat it all the King's army ran out to follow Emelyán, and they saluted him and waited his commands.
The King shouted at his soldiers from his window, but they ignored him and followed Emelyán instead. Realizing he had lost control, the King returned Emelyán's wife and begged for the drum. But Emelyán refused, saying:
It can't be done... I was told to smash it and to throw the splinters into the river.
Emelyán carried the drum to the river with all the soldiers following. He smashed it to pieces and threw the splinters into the water, causing all the soldiers to disperse. Emelyán took his wife home, and the King never troubled them again. They lived happily ever after.