A musician named Sadko is ripped away from his wife and brought to the realm of the Sea King to give a performance. After the Sea King dances to his music—causing a devastating storm in the process—Sadko is forced to choose from one of the king's 900 mermaid daughters to take as his new wife.
Following the advice of a saint, Sadko must refuse three times three hundred daughters before finally accepting the last one. The saint warns that to consummate the marriage with this chosen mermaid would mean that Sadko would no longer be able to return to the human world.
And so when the Sea King put forth to Sadko the last and final offering of one of his daughters, Sadko takes Chernava as his new bride. Chernava is described as a small, scrawny, and young girl who works as a servant in the palace. On their wedding night Sadko lays down beside her but does not touch her. When Sadko falls asleep, Chernava transforms into a river, helping him to get back to the human world. Sadko wakes up on the river shore and rejoins his one and only wife.