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 Long ago in Russia, a young girl lived with her father. Although the girl's mother had died, the two lived happily together. Their happy life changed when her father remarried. His new wife was jealous of her stepdaughter's close relationship with her father. One day, she decided to get rid of the girl permanently. She called her stepdaughter and told her she had a job for her.
"Go and ask my aunt Baba Yaga for a needle and thread," her stepmother commanded. "Take the path through the woods. It will lead you to her house."
Now the young girl had never met her stepmother's aunt, but she had heard her name. Baba Yaga was, by all accounts, a fearful old hag. People whispered that Baba Yaga had a magic mortar and pestle that she used to fly at night. The girl had even heard rumors that the old woman ate children! She was very afraid, but her stepmother gave her no choice. The girl wrapped some ham and cheese in a cloth tied with a ribbon and she set off into the woods.
Baba Yaga's house was easy to find. It was built on stilts made of chicken legs. As she approached, it seemed to creak and moan. A tree at the end of the garden path swayed towards her menacingly. The girl undid the ribbon around her parcel and tied it to one of the tree's branches so she would remember the way back. Then she opened the garden gate. It squealed loudly as she pushed it ajar. Noticing a can of oil nearby, the girl poured a little oil onto the hinges. "I don't want the gate to rust shut," she thought.
Nervously she walked towards the house. Suddenly a dog leapt up and came snarling toward her. She pulled out some ham and offered it to the dog. The thin animal took it hungrily and let her pet it as she passed by. Gingerly, the girl knocked on the door. Baba Yaga opened it with a grin that showed her rotting teeth. She had bony legs, a huge hooked nose, and her face was covered with warts.
 "What do you want?" she asked, peering closely at the girl.
"My stepmother is your niece. She told me to come to ask you for a needle and thread," the girl said nervously.
"Come in. It will take me a while to find it. In the meantime, you can do a job for me. I was spinning some yarn when you arrived. Finish the job," Baba Yaga said.
Baba Yaga knew that her niece had a sewing box full of needles and thread, and guessed that her real aim was to get rid of the girl. "How nice of my niece to send me such a tasty morsel," Baba Yaga thought, and she put water in a pot to boil for dinner.
The girl sat down at the spinning wheel. At once, a mangy-looking cat began playing with the yarn, undoing all her work and scratching her with its claws. The girl reached into her bag and gave the cat a piece of cheese. "Meow. Thank you for the cheese," the cat said. "You have showed me kindness, so I will help you. Baba Yaga means to eat you. You must run away."
"But how can I?" the frightened girl asked. "If I stop spinning, Baba Yaga will hear and if I leave through the front door, she will see me."
"I will spin the yarn for you," the cat said. "You must climb out through the window. Go while you can!"
The girl did as the cat suggested and ran from the house as fast as she could. Baba Yaga was tending the stew pot, listening to the sound of the spinning wheel. After a while, she went into the sewing room to check on the girl's progress. She was astounded to see the cat spinning yarn.
"Traitorous cat! Why did you let the girl escape?" Baba Yaga bellowed.
"You make me catch my own dinner. That girl was nice and gave me cheese," the cat said.
Baba Yaga ran outside. She grabbed the dog and yelled, "Why didn't you bark and attack that girl before she could leave?"
"That girl gave me ham and petted me. You only ever kick me and make me find my own dinner in the garbage."
Baba Yaga ran to the gate. "Why did you open for that girl?" she demanded.
"You have left me outside in the rain to rust away. That girl oiled my hinges," the gate replied.
Baba Yaga cursed the tree at the edge of the path. "Why did you not grab the girl with your branches and hold her captive?" she asked.
"That girl tied a ribbon around me. You never decorate me," the tree replied.
Baba Yaga ran for her mortar and pestle and prepared to fly after the girl. But it was too late. The girl was already safe at home. When the girl told her father what her stepmother had done, he became very angry. He banished his new wife from the house and ended his marriage. The girl and her father lived happily ever after.
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