Valery Carrick’s bear walks on a wooden replacement leg toward the village
The bear approaches the village with the wooden hind leg he has made after losing his paw. This belongs to Carrick’s Bear’s Paw telling, whose ending has him retrieve his flesh and skin and leave; the picture does not depict a regenerated paw.
Overview
A peasant finds the bear asleep and cuts off one hind paw with an axe. His wife prepares its flesh for soup and spins the hair for clothing. On waking, the bear makes a wooden replacement from a tree and ties it in place before travelling to the village. His song refers to a lime-tree leg and birchen crutch, while describing the woman boiling his flesh and spinning his hair. These are the tale’s material and speaking actions, without a human-to-bear transformation.
The frightened woman hides beneath the floor. The bear enters the empty house, retrieves the skin and flesh from the cooking pot, and leaves. This selected ending does not show him killing either peasant or magically regrowing the severed paw. His recovery of the stolen pieces concludes the narrative; a restored biological limb or different violent ending must not be imported from related bear stories.
Origins & earliest records
More Russian Picture Tales, The Bear’s Paw, printed pp. 67–71, with a following illustration page 72 before the next tale’s title on 73. Valery Carrick’s selected English edition, translated by Nevill Forbes, carries copyright 1914 and 1920.
Records & interpretation
The complete selected illustrated English tale supplies the figure’s actions. Its title names Carrick and translator Nevill Forbes, while the copyright notice lists 1914 and 1920. No named oral narrator, collecting site or independently collated Russian original is provided here.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
More Russian Picture Tales, The Bear’s Paw, text pp. 67–71
Complete narrative through retrieval and departure; following image page 72 not used to invent a killing or regeneration scene.
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.
- Primary textCarrick/Forbes: More Russian Picture Tales, selected title/copyright and complete storyResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
Historical illustrationValery Carrick’s bear walks on a wooden replacement leg toward the village
The bear approaches the village with the wooden hind leg he has made after losing his paw. This belongs to Carrick’s Bear’s Paw telling, whose ending has him retrieve his flesh and skin and leave; the picture does not depict a regenerated paw.
