I
A feather, not the bird itself
Prince Ivan returns home with one gold-burning plume and a debt — the tsar wants the whole creature, alive, by Epiphany morning.
From the woodcutter's prologue —
What the firebird leaves behind
II
The grey wolf strikes a bargain
In place of Ivan's slain horse, the wolf offers his back for the road east — three kingdoms in three nights, one promise kept at a price.
III
Baba Yaga, neither friend nor foe
Her hut on chicken's legs turns to face the road only for the well-spoken. Ivan answers her three riddles with bread, salt, and silence.
IV
The cage is the wrong gift
Touch the gilded cage and every bell in the orchard sounds at once — the tale's first warning that beauty answers only to a lighter hand.