Fables And Feathered Friends

Day 98: The Russian language has always fascinated me. I suppose part of its appeal lies in the Cyrillic alphabet's unusual characters, several of which look like Roman letters but have different pronunciations. Over the years, I have made several attempts to learn the language, but with no way to practice with another person, I've only come to the point of being able to limp through reading simple children's stories silently to myself and singing a few folk songs. That said, in the process of building up a small library, I also accumulated a nice collection of trinkets and china made in the old USSR, as well as an electric samovar which had to be rewired for US current.

Birds are a recurrent theme in many Russian stories, most notably the Firebird, a magical creature somewhat similar to the Phoenix, but smaller birds also play roles in many tales. They may be messengers, magical or otherwise, interacting with humans, or they may simply be anthropomorphized characters who join with other talking animals in the traditional style of the fable to accomplish a task or teach a moral lesson.

Birds are popular in design and decor, and as toys such as the key-operated wind-ups shown here. The three smaller birds in the photo shuffle along on their feet, pecking the ground as they move. The larger one's tail and wings flutter, and its head turns from side to side as the beak opens and closes.