Name Koshchei Classification Dragon Origin Russian

In a kingdom, a great Tsar had a new son named Ivan. If it is a Russian tale, the prince will always be named Ivan. The young son was sung to sleep by his maids with promises of one day marrying the most beautiful princess Vasilissa Kirbit'evna. When Ivan was finally a young man, he asked for his father's blessing as he set off to find his bride.
While traveling, Ivan came across a man shackled in the town square. When the prince asked what crime the man had committed, Ivan was told that he stole from Koshchei the Deathless, and anyone who helped the man would have his wife stolen away. Having no wife, Ivan paid for the man's freedom. He thanked him greatly, and told the prince that his name was Bulat the Brave, and that without him, Ivan would have no chance of getting the princess. Her father kept her locked in a tower. Fortunately, Bulat had a plan that made no sense involving a duck, a goose, and a chicken.
Bulat told the prince to cut off the right wing of a bird and put it on a plate whenever he returned. At that, he set off to the princess's tower. He threw a rock, shattering the glass ceiling that contained the princess. Bulat went back for one of the wings and introduced himself, offering the poultry, much to her confusion. When she gave no reply, Bulat answered for her.
"Hello, Bulat the Brave. Let me fetch you a glass of vodka from the cupboard," he said to her, and then raced back to the prince to find him sleeping. "Why are you sleeping? Quickly, give me the wing of the duck!" On the third presentation of the wing, the princess caught on. Instead of Bulat answering for her, she rushed to the cupboard and poured out a glass of vodka. As she reached to hand it to Bulat, he snatched her from her tower, and the three were off.
After dispatching troops sent by her father, Bulat required rest. He told Ivan to keep guard that night, and of course, he did not. While they all slept, Koshchei the Deathless made good on his promise and stole Ivan's new wife. The heroes eventually found Koshchei's castle. Vasilissa told them that they could not kill Koshchei, for his death was hidden outside his body. Vasilissa attempted to coax the location of Koshchei's death from him, at first unsuccessfully leading to a broom and a goat. When the true location was revealed, the heroes set out.
Along their adventures, they became hungry and decided to eat a dog. The dog begged them to spare it and not make orphans of its children. The dog told them that one day, she could be useful. The same predicament happened with an eagle. They then decided to eat a lobster, but it was able to convince the heroes that it could be useful to them one day, too.
When they reached the tree on the island in the sea, they dug up the chest from under it. As soon as it was opened, the hare raced out. The dog they had spared tore it apart, releasing the duck, which flew into the horizon. The eagle swooped down and rended the duck, dropping the egg into the sea. Swimming up to the beach was the lobster, carrying the egg in its mouth. Ivan returned to Koshchei's castle, smashed the egg against his head, and killed him once and for all.
Bulat kept watch during the nights when they returned to Ivan's castle. The first night, nine doves perched on the trees above. They removed their skins, revealing nine maidens, the sisters of Koshchei. To get their revenge, they said that Ivan's favorite dog would break loose from its tamer and kill the prince. Anyone who told this would become stone from the knees down. On the second night, they appeared again, giving the same ominous message about the prince's favorite steed. Any who revealed this would become stone from the waste down. On the third night, it was the cow; any betrayers would become entirely stone!
While Bulat was a guest at Ivan's castle, he prevented each of the accidents by killing the animals before they had a chance to harm the prince. He was, of course, unable to explain this to the prince, which resulted in his great ire. After Bulat killed the third of the prince's favorite animals, he sentenced his friend to death. Since he would die anyways, Bulat told them what he had heard, and turned entirely into a statue.
One day while mourning their lost friend, the statue told Ivan that he could become flesh again if the prince would smear the blood of his children on the statue. For some reason, he actually killed his children and did so, but all was well for the children somehow magically stayed alive... yeah....