# The Realm of Stone explained — Russian Folktales > Chapter companion for Russian Folktales by A. N. Afanasyev. ## What happens A soldier who served faithfully but was mistreated deserts his post and eventually enters the service of a king as a garden sentry. After failing to prevent a giant bird from destroying the king's trees, he wounds the bird and follows it into a pit, emerging in a subterranean world where all inhabitants have been turned to stone. He meets a Tsarévna who explains that her sister, the bird, cursed the kingdom. The soldier must read a sacred book for three nights, enduring terrifying demonic assaults, to break the spell. He succeeds, the kingdom is restored, and he marries the Tsarévna, becoming a beloved king. ## Themes in this chapter ### Good vs. Evil The soldier's steadfast reading of the holy book against demonic forces represents the triumph of good over the evil curse cast by the bird-sister. ### Magic and Transformation The entire kingdom is turned to stone by a magical curse, and the soldier breaks the spell through a ritual of reading, leading to the restoration of life. ### Heroic Quest and Transformation The soldier's journey from a mistreated deserter to a heroic figure who endures three nights of torment and ultimately becomes a king exemplifies a classic heroic transformation. ## Character check-ins ### The Soldier A long-serving soldier who deserts after being mistreated, then becomes a sentry in the king's garden. He bravely follows the giant bird into the underworld and breaks the stone curse by reading a book through three nights of torment. ### The Tsarévna A fair princess whose kingdom was turned to stone by her sister, the giant bird. She instructs the soldier on how to break the curse and later marries him, making him king. ### The King The ruler who hires the soldier as a garden sentry after hearing his story. He is concerned about the destruction of his best trees. ### The Firebird A huge, fearful bird that shatters the king's trees. The soldier wounds it and follows it into the pit. It is later revealed to be the Tsarévna's sister who cursed the kingdom. ## Key lines > Suddenly it seemed to him as though someone had come up the steps. So he shouldered his musket and went to the door. A fair Tsarévna was coming in with her maids of honour and attendants. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, the soldier grabbed his gun and went to the door, where he saw a beautiful princess entering with her retinue. _Introduces the Tsarévna and sets the stage for the soldier's task._ > If you can stay here for three nights I will come and marry you. The princess promises to marry the soldier if he can endure three nights in the palace reading the book. _The condition for breaking the curse and the soldier's reward._ > Then there was a knocking and a thundering, and an entire host appeared in the palace. All his former superiors appeared in front of the soldier, scolded him and threatened him with the punishment of death. A loud uproar filled the palace as a ghostly army, including his old commanders, appeared and threatened to execute him. _The first night's demonic trial, testing the soldier's resolve._ > At the same time the entire kingdom awoke, and in the streets and in the houses people bestirred themselves, and in the palace the Tsarévna and her generals and her suite appeared, and all began to thank the soldier, and they made him their king. As the cocks crowed on the third night, the stone curse was lifted: the kingdom came back to life, and the grateful princess and her court made the soldier their ruler. _The climax: the curse is broken and the soldier is rewarded with kingship._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-realm-of-stone - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters