The Malachite Box them are keepers of hidden underground riches. The Mistress, described as either a beautiful green-eyed woman in malachite gown or a lizard with the crown on her head, is the keeper of gemstones. Poloz is the master of every existing piece of gold. The miners believed that if a gold-bearing lode disappeared, it meant that the Great Snake moved it to a different place. Bazhov introduced numerous daughters of Poloz, including Golden Hair from the tale of the same name. The relationship between Poloz and the Mistress is unclear. Bazhov commented that he asked some story-tellers about it, but they
The Malachite Box "The Malachite Box" was released by Goslitizdat in 1944; the fourth by Sverdlovsk Publishing House in 1944; the fifth edition by Sovetsky Pisatel in 1947; the sixth by Goslitizdat in 1948; the seventh by Sverdlovsk Publishing House in 1949. The eighth was the last edition of "The Malachite Box" to be published during Bazhov's lifetime in 1950. In 1950 his decaying eyesight made the writing difficult. The last story "Zhabrei's Path" was published after his death. According to the All-Union Book Chamber's data as of 1 January 1981, the books in the Soviet Union were republished 253 times with a