The Rite of Spring Rite of Spring", with the subtitle "Pictures of Pagan Russia". Stravinsky's sketchbooks show that after returning to his home at Ustilug in Ukraine in September 1911, he worked on two movements, the "Augurs of Spring" and the "Spring Rounds". In October he left Ustilug for Clarens in Switzerland, where in a tiny and sparsely-furnished room—an closet, with only a muted upright piano, a table and two chairs—he worked throughout the 1911–12 winter on the score. By March 1912, according to the sketchbook chronology, Stravinsky had completed Part I and had drafted much of Part II. He also prepared a two-hand
The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in "Narodnye russkie skazki". It is one of many tales written about the mythical Firebird. It is Aarne-Thompson type 531. Other tales of this type include "Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful", "Corvetto", "King Fortunatus's Golden Wig", and "The Mermaid and the Boy". Another, literary variant is Madame d'Aulnoy's "La Belle aux cheveux d'or", or "The Story of Pretty Goldilocks". A royal huntsman found a feather of the firebird and, though his horse warned him against it, picked it up.