Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 3 (Celtic and Slavic).djvu/386

252 nets and swarms of bees into his hives, protects him against wild beasts, guards his flocks, gets purchasers for his goods, increases the price of his crops, selects good, full ears from other people's sheaves for him, and bestows good health upon him. No one will succeed unless she helps him, and without her assistance all his efforts will be in vain. Woe to him who gets an evil Dolya (Nedolya, Licho) for his share! All his toil and all his endeavours will be of no avail; his evil Dolya does nothing but sleep or dress herself or make merry, never thinking of offering him any aid. Her power has no limits, so that a proverb says, "Not even your horse will get you away from your Dolya," i.e. it is impossible to get rid of her; all attempts to sell her, or make her lose herself in woods, or drown her in the sea are bound to fail.

The Russian Dolya has a Serbian counterpart In the Sreča, her relation to the Dolya being the same as that of the Latin fors to fortuna and of sors to fatum. She is described as a beautiful girl spinning a golden thread, and she bestows welfare upon the mortal to whom she is assigned, caring for his fields and grazing his flocks. In national songs and traditions the Sreča frequently occurs as an independent being by the side of God.

The Sreča is, however, not only good, but also evil, in which latter case she is misfortune personified and may be called Nesreča. In this aspect she is represented as an old woman with bloodshot eyes, always sleeping and taking no notice of her master's affairs, although she is also said to be engaged in spinning. Unlike the Dolya, a man may get rid of her and drive her away.