Okay, so, the other week at Poetry at an Uncouth Hour (9:15 at Nitelights above the bookstore, funtimes), this girl read the story of the Baba Yaga and Vassilisa the Brave, which is essentially a Russian Cinderella story. You can read an annotated version here.
The Baba Yaga is a witch of sorts who helps those pure of heart and eats those that are not. Her vehicle of choice is a mortar and pestle, a picture of which is at the top of this post. (The question of why, and how, this is the case is left as an exercise to the reader.) The story of Baba Yaga and Vassilisa the Brave was first recorded by Александр Афанасев.
why a mortar and pestle? the answer to such questions with fairy tales is ALWAYS... latent sexual imagery.
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Oh, right, of course. The answer is always phallic symbol.
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