Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 3 (Celtic and Slavic).djvu/409

Rh its course, and floods the mill; and if the miller wishes to succeed, he should bury some living being in the foundations of his mill, such as a cow, a sheep, or even a man. There is also a wide-spread belief that the Vodyanik drowns those who bathe at midday or at midnight.

The Vodyanik is married and is the father of a family, being said to have one hundred and eleven beautiful daughters who torture and torment the drowned. He marries water-nymphs or drowned and unhappy girls who have been cursed by their fathers or mothers; and when the waters of a river or a lake overflow their banks, he is believed to be celebrating his wedding, for on that occasion he is apt to get drunk, to make the waters rise, and to tear down dikes, bridges, and mills. When his wife is about to be confined, he comes to the villages in human shape to get a midwife and sponsors whom he afterward richly rewards with gold and silver.

He likes to visit markets, and his appearance foretells the price of corn; if he buys dear, there will be a bad harvest, if cheap, a good crop may be expected. During the winter he remains in his dwelling; and in early spring, when he wakes from his slumber, he is hungry and troublesome, breaking the ice, setting the waves in commotion, and frightening the fish. To propitiate him a horse, smeared with honey, is sacrificed, and for three days he impatiently awaits this offering, betraying his greediness by making the waters heave and by howling dismally. Fishermen pour butter into the water as a sacrifice to him, while millers kill a black, well-fed sow and offer it in his honour that he may not tear down their dams or trouble their sleep. In order to make the dam durable and to prevent the Vodyanik from destroying it the Ukranians bury a horse's head in it.

The "Water-Nymphs" (Vodní Panny), often called "White Women" (Bílé Paní) as well, are tall, sad, and pale, and are dressed in green, transparent robes. They live under the water in crystal palaces which may be approached by paths