The Tale of the Priest and his Workman Balda

A mean and greedy priest had a workman, Balda, who did not receive any payment for his labour, except the right to give the priest three slaps in the face. When the time came for payment, the priest grew frightened, and decided to give Balda such a task that would kill him. Balda coped with all that he was given, managed to outwit the forces of evil, and punished the priest for his avarice and deceit.

Boris Dekhteryov illustrated The Tale of the Priest and his Workman Balda and Alexander Pushkin’s other fairytales in the late 1940s and early 1950s. His most successful drawings were those made in graphite pencil, reflecting his own humorous interpretation of the story. Dekhteryov’s illustrations were reprinted throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.