The Invisible Ax

He knew that the woods are full of forest demons who graze deer and hares like cattle, that the Chuhaistyr – who rends wood nymphs from limb to limb – roams about, inviting passers-by to join him in dance, and that the sound of the ax lives in the forest. He also knew about the Rusalky who emerge from the rivers on clear days to sing songs, to invent tales and prayers, and about the drowned men who dry their pale bodies on river boulders after sunset.