Kolobok Kolobok!

I am a firm believer in the thought that things happen for a reason but when we were on a train going to Coney Island and it stopped two stops short I completely forgot that I thought that and was just annoyed at the delay. We exited the station and started walking though Brighton Beach towards Coney Island. We passed by a store that I had bought a couple of Russian Nesting Dolls from in the past. I was thrilled to see this store because I thought it had been heavily damaged during Super Storm Sandy and didn't know it had re-opened. So of course I couldn't just walk on by. I went inside to look around at the different items. I was looking for a Nesting doll that was unique so I wasn't necessarily looking for something with a signature (though obviously that is a bonus and would entice me to spend more than for an unsigned doll).

At first I was looking at a cute doll that was a Santa Claus figure and was in the shape of a cone and the center piece was a Christmas Tree. Then I saw a larger Nesting Doll in the shape of a bear. So I opened it up and inside was a fox. I opened that one up and there was this strange little round thing with feet. I was very confused by the little thing. We asked one of the employees what the story was behind the little figures. She responded "Kolobok Kolobok." We were confused. And seeing our confusion she repeated "Kolobok Kolobok!" She walked off and another employee came over and told us Kolobok was a pastry and it was from a Russian fairytale. Then the original employee came back with a book of Russian of Russian Fairytales and opened to the page with the story of Kolobok.

Kolobok!

Once upon a time an old man and woman lived in a village.

One day the old man said to the old woman: "Grandmother, 

go scrape in the flour-tin and sweep the corn-bin,

perhaps you will get enough flour to make a Kolobok."

The old woman went off and scraped the flour-tin and swept 

the bottom of the corn-bin and she got a coupe of handfulls of flour.

She mixed the flour with sour cream and shaped it into a

Kolobok- a kind of little round bun.

Then she baked it in the oven

and left it on the window sill to cool.

The Kolobok lay thee for a good while

then suddenly it got up and rolled.

It rolled from the sill to the bench,

from the bench to the floor,

across the floor to the door, 

it hopped over the threshold and into the hall,

from the hall it rolled onto the porch,

from the porch into the garden, and then from the garden it rolled out the gate.

Further and further it went ....

The Kolobok rolled down the road until it meet a Bear.

"Ah Kolobok, Kolobok, I'll eat you now!"

"Don't eat me, Bear! I'll sing you a song:

I'm Kolobok, Kolobok!

I was scraped up in the flour-tin,

swept up from the corn-bin,

mixed with sour cream into a bun,

baked in the oven till I was done,

then left on the sill till I cooled some.

I ran away from Grandfather, 

I ran away from Grandmother too,

And I'm sure I'll have no trouble, Bear,

running away from you!"

And off it rolled down the road,

so fast that the Bear could only stare.

The Kolobok rolled down the road until it met a Fox:

"Ah Kolobok, Kolobok, Where are you going!"

"I'm just rolling along the road."

"Kolobok, Kolobok sing me your song."

And the Kolobok began:

"I'm Kolobok, Kolobok!

I was scraped up in the flour-tin,

swept up from the corn-bin,

mixed with sour cream into a bun,

baked in the oven till I was done,

then left on the sill till I cooled some.

I ran away from Grandfather, 

I ran away from Grandmother,

and I ran away from the big bear too

And I'm sure I'll have no trouble, Fox, running away from you!"

But the Fox said:

"What a fine song. But, you know I am rather hard of hearing,

Kolobok, be so kind as to sit on my nose and sing your song again."

The Kolobok hopped onto the Fox's nose and sang the song.

But the fox said:

"Kolobok, be so kind as to sit on my tongue and sing your song a little louder

just one more time!"

The Kolobok hopped onto the Fox's tongue and -SNAP- 

The fox gobbled it up!

And there it is Kolobok! Kolobok!