I pray thee grant me
Of the water of this lake,
To aid me,
To sprinkle my bees.
I will speak a word,
And God will give me help,
The all-holy Mother of God,
The mother of Christ,
Will aid me,
And the holy Father
The holy Zosimos, Sabbateus and the holy Friday
Parascabeah!
"When this is said take the water and bear it home without looking back.
Then the bees are to be sprinkled therewith."
CHARM AGAINST THE BITE OF A SERPENT.
"The holy Virgin sent a man
Unto Mount Sion,
Upon this mountain
Is the city of Babylon,
And in the city of Babylon
Lives Queen Volga.p. 36
Oh Queen Volga,
Why dost thou not teach
This servant of God
(Here the name of the one bitten
by a serpent is mentioned)
So that he may not be bitten
By serpents?"
(The reply of Queen Volga)
"Not only will I teach my descendants
But I also will prostrate myself
Before the Lord God."
"Volga is the name of a legendary heathen princess of Kief, who was
baptized and sainted by the Russian Church. The feminine form, Olga, or
Volga, corresponds to the masculine name Oleg, or Olg, the earliest
legendary character of Kief. His surname was Viechtchig--the sage or
sorcerer" (i.e., wizard, and from a cognate root). "In popular songs he is
called Volga, or Volkh, which is related to Volkv, a sorcerer. The Russian