The Twelve Months

ACT 1

Scene 1

Twelve brothers Months gathered in the winter forest. It's time to call for the New Year and make a bonfire. They are singing “Burn-burn brighter” – the holiday is coming soon!

A Soldier came out of nowhere. He is not cheerful at all, on such a frosty day, wandering through the forest is a real test. But he is not alone in the forest, the Soldier meets a young girl – Stepdaughter, her Stepmother sent her to get firewood. He said that the Queen herself had sent him to cut and bring the New Year tree. She was also very young and lonely. She was left an orphan, so she's having fun, wants to dress up the New Year tree and surprise everyone. So the Soldier and the Stepdaughter became friends, and said goodbye to each other in the hope of another meeting.

Scene 2

A Professor came to the Queen's palace. Although she rules the country and is used to balls, compliments and holidays, no one canceled spelling lessons. The Queen does not like dictation at all and agrees to write only “The grass is turning green.” The lesson is interrupted by the Chancellor with a decree to be signed by the Queen: execute or grant a pardon to a subject. She does not hesitate to write “execute” – this is a shorter word... The spelling lesson is replaced by arithmetic. How bored the Queen is with all this, she wants something interesting. Then the Professor tells her about the twelve months of the year, describing each of them. The Queen is delighted and wishes that April would come immediately and snowdrops would appear. She writes a decree according to which whoever delivers a basket of snowdrops to the palace for the New Year will be rewarded royally with a basket full of gold.

Scene 3

After learning about the Queen's decree, the Stepmother and her Daughter are already arguing which basket will hold more gold. But who will get snowdrops in winter? The Stepdaughter returned home with a full bundle of firewood, but they did not even give her a break and sent her back to the forest so that she would not return without snowdrops.

Scene 4

The Stepdaughter wandered into the dark forest. She was so tired that she began falling asleep. “Don't sleep, my daughter, you'll freeze. You can't sleep in the cold! Wake up, my honey girl” – who says this? The girl woke up. Was it really her own mother's voice? And now it's like she's waving her hand, calling for a light ahead. Was it a dream?

Scene 5

Brothers Months are having fun around the bonfire, and everyone keeps invoking that his month to be successful this year. The Stepdaughter asks to warm herself by a hot fire, she is too cold. The brothers have been asking her for what she's doing here. The girl told them how the Stepmother and her Daughter sent her to look for snowdrops. But they're nowhere to be found, she shouldn't have come... April took pity on her and began to beg the brothers to give him time so that the snowdrops would bloom. Everyone agrees, the Months know how difficult the girl’s life is, and they have seen her in the forest more than once, always in labour and care – her heart is golden. The Months parted, gave way to April – and snowdrops appeared. The brothers told the girl not to tell anyone about them. They also gave her a ring, if the girl gets into trouble, she is just to say: “Roll, the ring, roll to the spring steps...”, and twelve months will come to the rescue. And the moon was ordered to light the girl's way home.

ACT 2

Scene 1

Meanwhile, the courtiers brought all the flowers they could find on their windowsills to the palace. But the Queen ordered snowdrops! There will be no New Year until they are brought. The Professor has already lost his temper – the Queen issued an impossible decree. Their quarrel is interrupted by the Chancellor, and the Stepmother and her Daughter appear before the Queen with a basket of snowdrops. The Queen is rejoicing! She orders the promised reward to be brought. But where do these flowers grow? The Stepmother and her Daughter tell an unprecedented story about how they found a magical lake in the forest, where dragonflies buzz and raspberries grow… Just miracles! The Queen asks to see this place. The Stepmother and her Daughter let it slip that it was not they, but the Stepdaughter who found the flowers. The Queen orders the Soldier to deliver the girl to her – they all go for a walk together!

But the Stepdaughter is not having fun at all, her ring is missing, the sister stole it.

Scene 2

The Stepmother and her Daughter took the Queen and the courtiers into the forest, and how lucky – right to the lake, even though they lied about it. But there are no dragonflies, raspberries, or snowdrops in sight... The Queen orders everyone to look for flowers. The Soldier brings the Stepdaughter. The Queen wants to reward her, but the girl does not need anything, only her ring would be returned. The Queen takes it away from her thief sister, but she is in no hurry to return it: let the Stepdaughter first tell where she found the snowdrops. The girl cannot break the oath given to the brothers Months. Then the Queen orders to take off her fur coat and hat, but this does not help either. The Queen throws the ring in a rage, and while it is rolling, the Stepdaughter utters the cherished words...

Twelve Months appear. January menacingly asks why they came here! The Queen asks for help to get them out of the forest, and she will reward him in full. But the Month does not need anything; he himself can give whatever one wants. Who has a wish? The Queen asks to go to the palace, she would like to get there as soon as possible, the Soldier only needs one thing – to warm up and it will be fine.

The Stepdaughter thanks the brothers Months that they saved her from death again, but she lost the ring. But is it for sure? The Soldier opens his palm, and there is a magic ring that becomes an engagement ring. April instructs the young man: “Put it on your beloved's finger, so that it will bind you forever!”

Thank you, brothers Months!