What magical entities aid the heroes of Russian fairy tales?
The heroes of Russian fairy tales, despite all the trials that befall them, never cope with difficulties alone - someone always helps them, or even does all the work for them. Who are these magical helpers, and what motivates their actions?
Firstly, these helpers are always "not of this world" - that is, most often the male or female protagonist meets them when they have already crossed the border between the worlds and find themselves in the Far Far Away Kingdom - that is, in the territory of magic and sorcery. If the hero did not go anywhere, stayed at home, but a great misfortune happened to them (for example, their mother died), then the magical helper can appear in the realm of the people. At the same time, the protagonist will still be special, or in some way different from their own kind. For instance, if it is a horse, then it must be small and with a hump; if a doll, a cow or an apple tree, then it’ll likely be a talking kind.
The second ‘rule’ is, it only seems that they help the hero out of the kindness of their hearts. They always do something in return: for example, the heroine took the pies out of the oven, so the oven hides her from Baba Yaga's geese or swan minions. In another scenario, the heroine might shake the ripe apples from the apple tree, and the apple tree covers her with its branches as a form of protection. Or, for example, the hero spares the raven’s babies, so the raven brings the hero dead and living water as a sign of gratitude. Finally, should a gray wolf eat the protagonist’s horse, it will then become both their horse and their own mother for a time.
Thirdly, magical helpers - be they animals, birds, reptiles or objects - never have their own personality and destiny. Their sole purpose is to help the hero cope with a test. We are usually never told what becomes of them later on. Furthermore, all their merits are automatically credited to the main character. In this sense, even Ivan the Fool ultimately turns out to be both - a daredevil and a great fellow.
