A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Vertodub and Vertogor are encountered separately in The Witch and the Sun’s Sister. The first uproots trees; the second levels mountains. Each declines to shelter the wandering Ivan because his life will end when the remaining work is finished. Their danger is exhaustion of a finite task rather than an enemy’s attack. On his return journey Ivan casts down a magic comb to generate dense oak forests for Vertodub, and a brush to produce high mountains for Vertogor. Both rejoice in the replenished work.

They later repay him when his cannibal sister pursues him. Vertodub piles uprooted oaks across her road, but she gnaws through them. Vertogor throws down the highest mountain and another on top; she must climb the barrier. Neither intervention alone destroys the pursuer, but each gives Ivan distance to reach the Sun’s Sister. Ralston explains their names through turning or extracting trees and mountains. The tale calls them giants without specifying numerical height, extra limbs or a fixed lifespan measured in years.

Labour-bound lifeTree and mountain manipulationReciprocal aid
01

Origins & earliest records

Afanasief, volume VI, no. 57, attributed to Ukraine in Ralston’s note.

02

Records & interpretation

Ralston’s English translation or explicitly identified story summary, with collected-source reference. His comparative interpretation is distinct from the narrated events.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Russian Fairy Tales: The Witch and the Sun’s Sister, pp. 179–182, footnotes 216 and 218

    W. R. S. Ralston, translator and commentator, after the collector identified here · Undated Hurst title page; London edition catalogued 1873

    Afanasief, volume VI, no. 57, attributed to Ukraine in Ralston’s note. Hurst title page is undated; hosted Gutenberg publication metadata is not used to identify it as the London copy.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary translated narrative or located summaryRalston: The Witch and the Sun’s Sister, pp. 179–182, footnotes 216 and 218Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

FT·511 · RESEARCH EDITION 01Back to top ↑