Slavic Folklore

Free Printable Story and Coloring Sheet

Baba Yaga is a witch. She lives deep in the Russian forest in a hut perched on chicken legs. Unlike most witches, she doesn’t fly on a broom - she flies in a bucket instead, and uses a broom to push herself off the forest floor.

Baba Yaga knows many things, and occasionally people come to her hut seeking wisdom. If they offer a good trade sometimes Baba Yaga will help them. However, visitors to her hut should be careful - sometimes Baba Yaga traps them there!

One morning, a young girl named Natasha was walking through the forest. She came upon Baba Yaga’s strange house and thought she would knock on the door and ask for directions. After she walked inside, however, the door slammed shut behind her and Baba Yaga locked her in!

Baba Yaga told Natasha that she would have to stay there forever to clean her house and do all the chores. Baba Yaga told Natasha that if she were ever lazy or didn’t complete her work in time, she would cook her up for dinner. Natasha was scared, but as soon as Baby Yaga went to bed she planned her escape!

First, she gave a bone to Baba Yaga’s hungry dog. He happily began chomping away and couldn’t be bothered to bark at her as she sneaked out of the hut.

As she shut the door behind her, she heard a loud hiss. She found it came from the skinny cat that lived beneath Baba Yaga’s front porch. Natasha searched in her pocket and found a piece of cheese leftover from her breakfast. She offered the cheese to the cat, who gratefully took it. He was so busy eating the cheese that he forgot to scratch at Natasha’s ankles or to meow for Baba Yaga.

Natasha was almost out! She only had to get through Baba Yaga’s garden gate and escape into the forest. The gate was so squeaky that Natasha thought Baba Yaga would be sure to hear her open it, so she searched around Baba Yaga’s fence until she found an old can of oil. She poured the oil over the gate’s hinges, and it swung open silently. Natasha ran through the gate and out of the forest as quickly as her legs could carry her!

Because Natasha was clever and kind, she was able to escape from the witch and arrive safely home.

One of my favorite scenes from the movie “Ant-Man and the Wasp”

“You know Baba Yaga…?”