# The Sun, the Moon, and Crow Crowson explained — Russian Folktales

> Chapter companion for Russian Folktales by A. N. Afanasyev.

## What happens

An old man promises his three daughters to the Sun, the Moon, and Crow Crowson in exchange for help gathering spilled grain. Each daughter is taken by her respective suitor. The old man visits each son-in-law, but fails to replicate their magical feats at home. His visit to Crow Crowson ends in disaster when both fall from a perch and are killed.

## Themes in this chapter

### Magic and Transformation

The Sun, Moon, and Crow Crowson possess magical abilities that the old man cannot replicate, highlighting the boundary between mortal and supernatural.

### Fate and Divine Justice

The old man's promises set in motion events that lead to his daughters' fates and his own demise, suggesting a moral about overreaching or failing to understand divine powers.

## Character check-ins

### The Old Man

Promises his daughters to the Sun, Moon, and Crow Crowson; visits each son-in-law but fails to replicate their magic.

### The Old Woman

Wife of the old man; attempts to follow her husband's instructions but fails to produce magical results.

### The Sun

Marries the eldest daughter; cooks custard by sitting on the pan.

### The Moon

Marries the middle daughter; lights the bath by twisting his finger into a chink.

### Crow Crowson

Marries the youngest daughter; invites the old man to sleep on a perch, leading to both falling and dying.

## Key lines

> If only the Sun would warm the grain, and the moon show its light on it, and Crow Crowson help me to get the groats, I would give my eldest daughter to the little Sun, and my middle daughter to the Moon, and my youngest to Crow Crowson.

The old man wishes aloud that the Sun, Moon, and Crow Crowson would help him gather the spilled grain, and in return he promises each of his three daughters to them.

_This vow sets the entire plot in motion._

> So the old man went into the bath, and the Moon twisted his little finger into a chink, and it was quite light in the bathroom.

The Moon lit the bath by inserting his little finger into a crack, making it bright inside.

_Demonstrates the Moon's magical ability to provide light._

> But as soon as ever the old man dropped off to sleep both of them fell down and were killed.

When the old man fell asleep, he and Crow Crowson tumbled from the perch and died.

_The story ends abruptly with the deaths of both characters._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-sun-the-moon-and-crow-crowson
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters