Alexander Volkov’s "Yellow Fog," a summary

This fairy tale was created in 1970. The narrative centers on the inhabitants of a fairytale land’s confrontation with the evil giantess Arachne, who unleashes a poisonous curtain against them, blocking sunlight and causing a devastating cold. It is the fifth book in the "Wizard of the Emerald City" cycle. The series also includes the fairy tales "The Wizard of the Emerald City," "Urfin Jus and His Wooden Soldiers," "The Seven Underground Kings," "The Fire God of the Marranos," and "The Secret of the Abandoned Castle."

The awakening of the giantess and her first failures

Five thousand years ago, the kind giant Hurrikap cast the evil sorceress Arachne into an enchanted sleep to stop her evil deeds. For fifty centuries, a loyal tribe of dwarves carefully preserved the giantess’s body in a cave and kept a detailed chronicle of the land’s events. When the spell expired, Arachne awoke and decided to subjugate all the surrounding peoples.

Having familiarized herself with the dwarf chronicles, the sorceress attempted to recruit the carpenter Urfin Jus into her service. However, Urfin, realizing his past mistakes and having destroyed the plant shoots for the life-giving powder, categorically refused to assist the sorceress. Arachne then took on the ambitious Ruf Bilan, whom the dwarves had kidnapped from the Dungeon before his re-education was complete.

Arachne spread an ancient flying carpet and set out to collect tribute from the peoples. The Marran Jumpers pelted her with stones from slings. In the Purple Country, the mechanic Lestar shot the giantess with bent nails and horseshoes from a repaired cannon, causing the sorceress to lose her shoes and flee. A night assault on the Emerald Isle failed due to the deep defensive moat and Din Gior’s catapults. And in the settlement of the Underground Miners, the pet dragon Oikhho tore a corner of her flying carpet.

Invasion of the Poison Veil

Enraged by her failures, Arachne cast a spell from an ancient magic book and sent a thick Yellow Mist across the entire land. This poisonous veil escaped only the domains of the fairies Villina and Stella, as well as Arachne’s own valley. The air was filled with acrid particles, causing a constant, choking cough and eye inflammation in people, animals, and birds.

The sorceress Ruf Bilan’s emissary issued an ultimatum to the inhabitants of the Emerald City: accept the giantess’s rule or die of suffocation. The Scarecrow the Wise rejected the invader’s demands. Soon, scientists Dr. Boril and Dr. Robil discovered that the porous leaves of the rafaloo tree serve as an excellent filter. Using these leaves, the doctors began producing protective bandages for the population and also attached them to the nostrils of wild animals and birds.

To protect their eyesight, the town’s craftsmen equipped their goggles with leather eyecups. Urfin Juice sent a letter proposing to burn off the toxic mist with smoke from fires of damp grass. This method allowed the living quarters to be purified. However, fog obscured the sun, ruined the harvest, and brought an unprecedented cold snap. The water froze, and snow began to fall. Realizing the threat of an endless winter, the Scarecrow decided to send the dragon Oikhho to Kansas for help.

Preparing a rescue expedition

Faramant and the crow Kaggy-Karr flew to the Smith farm on a dragon. Upon hearing of the disaster, one-legged sailor Charlie Black volunteered to lead the expedition along with Annie, her friend Tim O’Kelly, and their dog Artoshka. The captain purchased sheets of durable iron, springs of varying strengths, bolts, and nuts in Kansas. Craftsmen attached a spacious wooden cabin to the dragon, and the travelers flew over the mountains and the Great Desert.

In the Emerald City, Charlie Black set up a workshop in the palace basement. Using his designs, the Winkies, led by Lester, forged and assembled a metal giant thirty cubits tall (approximately 15 meters). Its menacing appearance was inspired by a wooden statue of the god Tilly-Willy from the Kuru-Kusu Islands. A control cabin with a soft chair and levers was installed inside the body.

When the assembly was complete, Tilly-Willy, wound up by the keys, came to life under the laws of the magical land. The giant spoke in a deep voice, adopted Charlie Black’s sailor’s idiosyncrasies, and sincerely loved his creator. The Blockheads brought Ellie’s old van from the land of the Munchkins. The sailor converted it into a sealed mobile fortress on wheels, equipped with filters made from rafaloo leaves.

A Journey to the Witch’s Domain

The battle group marched south. To prevent Arachne from flying away, Annie whistled for the mouse queen, Ramina. Thousands of field mice, led by Tim O’Kelly, flying on a small flying carpet, made the journey to Arachne’s cave. That night, the mouse army gnawed and swallowed the giantess’s drying magic flying carpet whole, depriving her of her greatest advantage.

As the mobile fortress moved forward, Tilly-Willy devised an ingenious system of counter-rods and springs. This gave the iron knight the ability to self-wind while walking. Along the way, the sorceress attempted to destroy the caravan: she created pitfalls, destroyed dams to flood lowlands, and unleashed avalanches of rocks on the travelers. The iron knight protected the wagon with a massive shield and cleared the rubble with his mighty sword.

For air support, Annie flew into the mountains on a carpet and enlisted the help of the giant eagle Carfax. The noble bird agreed to participate in the battle to save the region’s natural environment from the deadly cold.

The defeat of Arachne and the dispersal of the darkness

The united force reached the sorceress’s mountain domain. Artoshka, the dog, unerringly picked up the scent of the giantess, hiding among the inaccessible cliffs. When Arachne attempted to throw boulders down the slope, Carfax attacked her from the sky, tearing her with his beak and claws. From below, Tilly-Willy swiftly rose toward the summit, smashing obstacles with his iron sword.

Finding herself cornered on the edge of the abyss near the Cliff of Doom, the sorceress engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Tilly-Willy chopped the sorceress’s club in half, and Carfax, attacking from above, blinded her with wing strikes. In despair, Arachne, screaming, "Urfin was right!", threw herself into the bottomless ravine and perished.

The dwarf elder Castallo showed Annie a secret niche in the cave where the magical book was kept. The Scarecrow sent the repentant Ruf Bilan to the Cave to be put to sleep for a short time and then raised as an honest worker. The dwarves themselves voluntarily swore allegiance to the Emerald City, pledging to donate scrolls of the centuries-old chronicle to the city library.

At the edge of the enchanted zone, Captain Charlie Black read aloud the spell from the book he had found. The Yellow Mist instantly dispersed, the sky became azure once again, and the hot sun melted the snow and returned eternal summer to the land. The sailor burned the harmful spellbook over a bonfire. The travelers returned triumphantly to the flourishing Emerald City, where they were greeted by joyful residents, the king of beasts, Leo, and the dragon, Oikhho, ready for the return voyage.