The Firebird — Russian fairy tale character

The Firebird — Russian fairy tale character

The Firebird is a Russian version of the legend of the Phoenix. Usually, the bird is a lure for brave young men who seek fame and fortune. The Firebird is a large bird of extraordinary beauty, enveloped in fire – “her feathers were of burnished gold, and her eyes of Oriental crystal.” Despite this magnificent appearance, it’s easy to capture the Firebird for illicitly eating the apples in the Tsar’s garden, or catch her scoffing down the grain of the wheat fields.
Very often, the hero happens upon a Firebird’s feather and brings it to the Tsar as a gift, not knowing what ill may then befall him. Having been given a feather that shines more brightly than many candles, the Tsar usually wants the whole bird and sends the hero off on a perilous quest. We find the Firebird in tales like “Tsarevitch Ivan, the Firebird and the Grey Wolf” and “The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa”

The Fire-Bird and Princess Vassilissa Russian folktale