Pavel Petrovich Bazhov's 'The Mistress of the Copper Mountain' is a fairy tale often read as a Ural legend about miracles, craftsmanship, and the rugged beauty of the mountains.

But for me, this story is, first and foremost, a tale of unrequited love.

Stepan passed two tests.

He proved himself honest, courageous, and incorruptible.

But he failed the third test—he could not forget the Mistress of the Copper Mountain.

And this, I believe, is his greatest tragedy.

He returned to the human world, but his soul remained there forever—among the stone, the cold, and impossible love. That is precisely why Stepan never found earthly happiness: not in work, not in family, not in life. His love for the Mistress became both a gift and a curse for him.

In this audiobook, I read 'The Mistress of the Copper Mountain' not as a children's fairy tale, but as an adult, bitter, and very beautiful story—about choice, about the price of a dream, and about love that lasts until the end of life.