Russian Garland, Being Russian Folk Tales

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. It is hardly necessary to dilate on the peculiar expressions here to be found; how that a child grows not day by day, but hour by hour, how that when the Tsar wants to drink beer is not brewed nor brandy distilled, seeing he is served at once, how the hero passes through thrice nine lands to the thirtieth country, how brothers are always in threes, and how the youngest always succeeds where his elders fail. Students of folk lore will know all about them, and the rest of us must take them on trust. Do you know why you must never go under a ladder?