Firebird
Mercedes Lackey
 The story revolves around the life of a clever young man named Ilya, who is one of the eight sons of a powerful Tsar (Russian prince) named Ivan. Being in a household where the philosophy is 'survival of the fittest', Ilya has to contend with his jealous and overcompetitive brothers, who fear him for his intellect and abuse him constantly. His only friends are a priest and a shaman, who are both as unwanted as he is, and an elderly woman who runs the dairy. His already dismal life takes a turn for the worse when the legendary Firebird, an enormous hawk of fire similar to the phoenix, visits his father's prized cherry tree orchard and eats all of the ripe cherries. Days pass on and more cherries disappear, causing Ivan great anger as the culprit remains unknown and free. In a fit of rage, he promises a great reward to whoever catches the thief and brings them to him. However, this proves to be useless as well for none are able to catch the culprit without falling asleep. Curious, Ilya spends the night at the orchard and, through the use of charms and some clothespins, manages to stay awake enough to see the Firebird. Shocked at what he found, Ilya remains quiet about his discovery and is soon rewarded for his silence with the gift to speak with animals. He is, however, cursed with terrible luck afterwards, which leads to him losing his horse and wandering the forest in early winter. He soon stumbles upon the castle of Kashchei the Immortal and finds himself within reach of Princess Tatiana, the most beautiful girl in the world. Pretending to be a half-witted fool, Ilya must use all his wits to win the Princess’ freedom. But once he saves Tatiana, he realizes that he isn't in love with her.