The Big Dipper

Long, long ago there was a great drought on earth: all the rivers, streams, and wells dried up, and the trees, bushes, and grass withered, and people and animals were dying of thirst.

One night a girl left her house with a little ladle to look for water for her sick mother. The girl could not find water anywhere and, exhausted, lay down on the grass in a field and fell asleep. When she woke up and took hold of the ladle, she almost spilled the water from it. It was full of pure, fresh water. The girl was overjoyed and was about to drink, but then she thought that there would not be enough left for her mother and ran home with the ladle. She was in such a hurry that she did not notice the little dog underfoot, stumbled over it, and dropped the ladle. The dog whimpered pitifully. The girl grabbed for the ladle.

She thought she had spilled it, but no—it stood upright on its bottom, and all the water was still in it. The girl poured some water into her palm, and the dog lapped it all up and cheered up. Then the girl took hold of the ladle again, and it changed from wooden to silver. The girl brought the ladle home and offered it to her mother. Her mother said: “I am going to die anyway; you had better drink it yourself,” and gave the ladle back to the girl. And at that very moment the ladle changed from silver to gold. Then the girl could no longer hold back and was just about to put the ladle to her lips, when suddenly a stranger came in the door and asked for a drink. The girl swallowed her saliva and offered the ladle to the stranger. And suddenly seven enormous diamonds appeared on the ladle, and a great stream of pure, fresh water began to pour from it.

And the seven diamonds began to rise higher and higher, and they rose up into the sky and became the Big Dipper.

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Translator’s Notes:

• The Russian title uses both “Большая Медведица” (Big Dipper/Ursa Major) and “Ковш” (ladle/dipper) in parentheses, connecting the household object in the story to the constellation’s name.
• “С английского” indicates Tolstoy adapted this from an English source, though the specific origin is not identified in the Jubilee Edition.
• The story follows a classic fairy tale structure where acts of kindness transform the ladle: wood → silver → gold → diamonds, with each transformation corresponding to a selfless act: caring for a dog, offering to mother, giving to a stranger.
• This tale exemplifies Tolstoy’s selection criteria for the Circle of Reading: simple language, moral clarity, and universal spiritual themes accessible to all readers.