The Twelve Months

"Sew, Marushka! Weave, Marushka. Chop the wood! Milk the cows! Cut the hay and stack it -- Marushka!" The poor girl. No matter what she does or how hard she tries, Marushka can never please her cruel aunt and cousin. Determined to be rid of her, they give Marushka three impossible tasks. She must bring them fresh violets, strawberries, and apples _ in the dead of winter _ or be cast out of their home for good! Lost and freezing, Marushka is without hope. Then she meets the twelve months of the year seated around a fire on the mountaintop. With their kind help, the impossible becomes possible. Without it? Well . . . as Marushka_s greedy relatives are about to discover, that_s another story. Rafe Martin and Vladyana Langer Krykorka give this timeless Slavic tale a delightful new twist.