Sleipnir is a river.
Ivan the Fool or Ivan the Ninny is a stock character of lucky fool who appears in Russian folklore , a very simple-minded , but , nevertheless , lucky young man .. stock character of lucky fool. fool ( stock character ). Russian folklore. Russian folklore. Ivan is described as a likeable fair-haired and blue-eyed youth .. The approximate setting of Ivan The Fool 's adventures is the 15th or 16th century Russia .. When he appears in stories , Ivan The Fool is usually portrayed as either a peasant or the son of a poor family .. He is usually the youngest of three brothers who appear to be much smarter than him , yet they are , nevertheless , sometimes unkind and envious of him .. Unlike typical heroes , it is Ivan 's simplicity and lack of guile that turn out to help him in his adventures .. For example , he listens to his heart , rather than his mind , he easily forgets offence and endeavours to help others even at his own expense .. His naivety , kindness and daring help him fight villains , make friends , win princesses ' hearts and ultimately he is rewarded with half a kingdom or some similar accomplishment .. The moral of these stories is that Ivan The Fool is rarely the fool , he is merely perceived as such by others owing to his simple nature and joviality .. According to one theory , Ivan the Fool as he was originally created was not intended to be a fool at all .. At that time the Russian word `` дурак '' -LRB- fool -RRB- did not have any negative connotation , and was used to refer to the youngest son in the family .. It was only later that it obtained a new meaning , from which the ambiguity arose .. It is inevitably the case that he is a positive character in all tales that he is mentioned in .