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The Three Woodcutters Once upon a time there was a bladder, a straw and a bast shoe. They went into the forest to chop wood. They came to a river and didn't know how to get across. Bast shoe said to the bladder, "Shouldn't we swim across on your back?" The bladder replied, "Oh, I have a better idea. You, straw, lie across the river like a real bridge and we'll get across dry. But straw didn't want to serve as a bridge because she was afraid of breaking under the weight of bast shoe, which would cause the gloating bladder to burst with laughter - and so begins the wonderful Russian folk tale.