Russian
Fairy
Tales from the cold northen villages and forests where Europe meets
Asia. Each Fairy Tale Story
is like a dark poem of a land shrowed under the Midnight Sun of the
North.
Russian
Fairy Tales
Translated
By Zeluna.net
The
Brothers Frost
I
love how playful the frost fairies come across in this fairy tale.
There is a tendancy in Russian stories to depict them as dour, but in
this story they skip through the forest and plan their mischief.
The
Shepherd's Flute
A
sheepherd is so good at playing a flute that those who hear it must
dance. A skill he uses to get revenge on an employer who mistreated him.
The
Bear and the Man
Similar
to a number of other European fairy tales in which a man tricks a
creature by offering them all the tops of turnips and roots or rye. The
difference is that as with Asian fairy tales this fairy tale depicts an
animal rather then a troll or devil.
The
Girl in the Well
This
story depicts a girl who enters an alternative world at the bottom of a
well where she works hard and earns her fortune.
Snorgurashka
and the Fox
A
fox saves a little girl who gets lost in the forest and is rewarded.
The
Fox and the Wolf
Russian
Fairy Tale translated by Zeluna.net about
a tricky fox who torments a wolf. This fairy tale shows the transition
from Asia where they are fairy like figures to Europe.
The
Wind, Frost, and the Sun
This
Russian Fairy Tale shows the importance of carefully choosing who to
show respect to as there are many forces of nature which are each
easily angered.
Baba
Yaga II
The
tale of a girl who's father takes her out to Baba Yaga to be the
witches servent.
The
Goat's Kids and the Wolf
A
wolf tricks a goat's kids and devours them but the goat gets its
revenge.
The
Fox and the Sick Lion
A
sick lion tears appart all his guests except for the clever fox.
The
Old Man and the Fox
An
old man climbs with his wife up to the sky on a magic bean stalk and he
seeks revenge on a fox. This appears to be two seperate tales put
together in a strange way.
The
Fox and the Wolf's Honey
A
fox steals a wolf's honey.
The
Soldier's Christmas Carol
Some
soldier's use caroling as a way to steal a Christmas goose.
The
Wolf and the Quail
A
wolf learns that a bird in the hand is better then a small herd of
imagined calves.
The
Old Man and the Wolf
An
wolf keeps demanding that an old farmer feed him until the old farmer
snaps.
More
Tales From the Mari-El Region of Russia
Taken
From Russian Fairy Tales by W.R.S. Ralston, M.A.
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTORY. PAGE.
The Folk-tale in general, and the Skazka in particular--Relation of
Russian Popular Tales to Russian Life--Stories about Courtship, Death,
Burial and Wailings for the Dead--Warnings against Drink, Jokes about
Women, Tales of Simpletons--A rhymed Skazka and a Legend 15
THE
FIEND
A
girl meets a stranger at a party, he is kind to her and all the guests
and they soon fall in love, and that is when the trouble begins. A dark
russian folk tale of cannabalism, death and rebirth.
THE
DEAD MOTHER
A
mans wife dies leaving his baby with no source of food, a short Russian
Folk Tale of how even in death those who love may try to return
and the horror that may resault.
THE DEAD WITCH
In
this Russian Folk Tale a witch dies, leaving her daughter with specific
instructions on how to deal with the body, as she knows that the demons
are comming for the body.
THE
TREASURE
An
old mans wife dies, and he wishes to bury her but the priest of the
town is greedy and refuses to allow him to bury her at the grave, or to
preform a funeral without money. So the man must bury her himself, in
the process of doing so he is gifted with money which the priest
attempts to steal and in the process looses his humanity. This folktale
is a warning against greed, and of the dark plight of the Russian
Peasents.
THE
CROSS-SURETY
A
Merchant goes broke and uses his cross as culateral to get a loan, and
soon discovers that the power of the cross will not only require him to
pay all debts and keep all promises but that it will aid him in doing
so. This Russian Fairy tale helps to set the stage for all that comes
after.
THE
AWFUL DRUNKARD
A
man dies leaving his son to care for his family, soon the son meets the
devil and is invited to dine with him. While dining with the devils the
youth has the oppertunity to free his father from the devils grasp.This
is a strange Russian Fairy Tale showing the need to wlways give blame
where do, and of how the devil may snatch any soul.
THE
BAD WIFE
A
man tricks his wicked wife into a deep pit, later as he is checking the
pit he by accedent frees and imp, who agrees to help him trick people
into giving him money. A the end of this Russian Folk Tale the peasent
must find a way to be free of the imps evil.
The
Glovikha
A
women attempts to gain power and learns a lesson about it, A Russian
Folktale about the relationship between women and men.
THE
THREE COPECKS
The
story of a hard working orphan boy, who takes pitty on the defenseless.
And of a merchant who thinks greedy thoughts and is punished for his
sins of averous. Another Russian foktale which shows the need for
truthfulness in all dealings.
THE
MISER
A
poor man lends a rich man a small amount of money, but the wealthy man
goes to great lengths to avoid paying up, just as the poor man goes to
great lengths to get his money. A funny Russian Folk tale of reversed
tables with the rich trying to get out of a loan.
THE
FOOL AND THE BIRCH-TREE
A
foolish brother sells his ox to a tree, thinking that the tree is
speaking to him, as is usual in such stories his brothers make fun of
him and the fool ends up with a great wealth.
THE
MIZGIR
A
folktale about how the spiders came to save the world from flys, and
gnats, and how a spider took pitty on a single fly.
THE
SMITH AND THE DEMON
An
interesting aspect of Russian Folktales and folklore is shown by this
fairy tale for it is about a smith who tortures a picture of a demon.
As it turns out that in turn causes pain to a real demon, who punishes
the smith for his actions. This story shows in the dark world of
Russian Fairy Tales one must pay respect to evil as well as good.
CHAPTER
II. MYTHOLOGICAL. _Principal Incarnations of Evil._
On
the "Mythical Skazkas"--Male embodiments of Evil: 1. The Snake as the
Stealer of Daylight; 2. Norka the Beast, Lord of the Lower World; 3.
Koshchei the Deathless, The Stealer of Fair Princesses--his connexion
with Punchkin and "the Giant who had no Heart in his Body"--Excursus on
Bluebeard's Chamber; 4. The Water King or Subaqueous Demon--Female
Embodiments of Evil: 1. The Baba Yaga or Hag, and 2. The Witch,
feminine counterparts of the Snake
IVAN
POPYALOF
A
boy builds a great mace with his father and then sets out to slay a
family of snakes which is blocking out the sun, but part way through
the battle he must call on his brothers for aid and they must use all
their cunning to achieve victory. One of the more adventuresome
folktales.
THE
NORKA
A
king is tormented by a monster which eats the animals in his garden so
his youngest son battles the beast which flees into the other world. In
this Russian Folktale the hero must travel into the strange other world
to gain victory over his enemy.
MARYA
MOREVNA
One
of the more intresting pieces of folklore for in this fairy tale it is
the women who is strong and carries the man to her home. In this story
with some Blue Beard elements the Prince looses his wife when he frees
a monster from a closet she tolde him never to enter and must set out
to regain her with the help of his brother in laws.
KOSHCHEI
THE DEATHLESS
A
boys mother is taken by Koshchei an immortal monster, and he must
travel far to free her from the man. And when he does find her he
discovers he must travel even further to find an egg which holds the
Key to Koschei's death. A common theme for a folk tale for an immortal
to have his heart or some other thing hidden in a far away place.
THE
WATER SNAKE
A
unique Russian Fairy Tale about a girl which marries a water snake and
has two children and would perhaps have lived happily ever after until
a tragedy strikes.
THE
WATER KING AND VASILISSA THE WISE
A
King spares an eagle who agrees to give him a favor, and over time the
eagle grows to be giant. Through happenstance the Kings sun is left in
the wilderness to meet Baba Yaga and Vasilissa the Wise. This Russian
fairy tale has many twists and turns, as it seems to move through a
number of motifs.
The
Female Personification of Evil in Russian Folk Tales.
THE
BABA YAGA
A
girls wicked step mother is related to Baba Yaga, and the mother sends
her step daughter to be eaten by her aunt Baba Yaga. A Russian folktale
which introduces Baba Yaga as an aristocratic figure with servents, a
dark fairy tale of cannabalism, as will as of aid through friends and
pity.
VASILISSA
THE FAIR
A
sort of Cinderella story in which the wicked step sisters send
Vasilissa out one day to be eaten by Baba Yaga whom they know. But
Vasilissa has help from a magical doll which her mother gave her on her
death bed. This is a long Russian Fairy Tale in which the main
character must enter and serve Baba Yaga to servive.
THE
WITCH
Much
the same as many stories a witch is bringing death to a village and a
Cossack slices off her arm allowing her to be identified later, however
this story is unique in that the witch rather then being a monster or
beast is a women all in white as her manifestation of death.
THE
WITCH AND THE SUN'S SISTER
Prince
Ivan Must find a home, yet at first all he comes to say they will soon
die causing him to cry. He eventually finds a home with the suns
sister. However as with all fairy tales he must travel forth to
discover what has happened to his old home. However on returning
to his old home his sister tries to eat him.
CHAPTER
III. MYTHOLOGICAL. _Miscellaneous Impersonations._ One-eyed Likho, a
story of the Polyphemus Cycle--Woe, the Poor Man's Companion--Friday,
Wednesday, and Sunday personified as Female Spirits--The Leshy or
Wood-Demon--Legends about Rivers--Frost as a Wooer of Maidens--The
Whirlwind personified as a species of Snake or Demon--Morfei and Oh,
two supernatural beings
ONE-EYED
LIKHO
In
this story a smith realizes he has not yet seen evil so he sets out to
find it with a taylor, and as with all people in Russian Fairy Tales
those who search for evil will find true evil for the taylor is
devoured by and the Smith looses his hand to a witch with one eye.
WOE,
the Poor Man's Companion
A
poor man struggles hard for a loaf of bread from his rich brother then
watches as his brother provides feasts to guests. Soon the man
discovers that his companion is woe itself.
FRIDAY
A
women is punished by Mother Friday for disrespecting the day itself,
and so the women must beg for forgivness.
WEDNESDAY
In
this Russian Folk Tale a women is punished for spinning on Wensday.
VAZUZA
AND VOLGA
A
short story about an arguement that ends in a race between two rivers,
to the Caspian Sea.
SOZH
AND DNIEPER
Another
short story of the rivelry between two rivers.
THE
METAMORPHOSIS OF THE DNIEPER, THE VOLGA, AND THE DVINA
A
folktale of how three people turned into the three rivers Dnieper,
Volga, and The Dvina
FROST
A
Wicked step mother has her husband take his daughter (her step
Daughter) into the wilderness to marry the Frost, but the girl is so
kind that Frost takes pity on her and gives her gifts. So the women
asks the man to take out her wicked step daughters, to see Frost they
being wicked however freeze to death.. In the Harsh winters of Russia
the cold makes sounds, of the trees cracking, and so this very real
force is given a nature.
THE
BLIND MAN AND THE CRIPPLE
A
prince and his wise man set out to marry a Princess who set tasks to
get married, and the wise man helps the prince finish these tasks.
However the Princess even in maraige is cruel and always thinking of
ways to get rid of the Prince but the wise man always helps the prince.
However the Princess manages one day to get the wise mans feet cut off
then she leaves him in the woods, where he meets a blind hero, and
together they live, and face down Baba Yaga. One of the longer Russian
stories with a more complex plot.
PRINCESS
HELENA THE FAIR
In
this story a man dies asking his son to read prayers by his grave
but only the youngest will do so as is common in folktales he is small
and weak. But his comes up from the grave to help him win the princess
by calling a magical horse for him.
CHAPTER
IV. MAGIC AND WITCHCRAFT.
The Waters of Life and Death, and of Strength and Weakness--Aid given
to Children by Dead Parents--Magic Horses, Fish, &c.--Stories about
Brides won by a Leap, &c.--Stories about Wizards and Witches--The
Headless Princess--Midnight Watchings over Corpses--The Fire Bird, its
connexion with the Golden Bird and the Phoenix
EMILIAN THE FOOL
A
pike is captured by a fool and offers to grant him magical powers in
return for its life.
THE
WITCH GIRL
THE
HEADLESS PRINCESS
In
this Fairy Tale story a boy sees a witch take her head off and in
revealing her secret he causes her to die, and must face her undead
wrath to keep her dead and survive himself.
THE
SOLDIER'S MIDNIGHT WATCH
A
soldier unknowingly flirts with an evil witch, and then discovers that
she will attempt to kill him in the night from a Grandfather. However
he learns how to defeat her in turn.
THE
WARLOCK
A
wizard dies and has his daughter in laws come to his grave where he
strangles one, then the other must come, but she uses a cross to defeat
him. A short Russian folk tale of dark magic.
CHAPTER V. GHOST STORIES. Slavonic
Ideas about the Dead--On Heaven and Hell--On the Jack and the Beanstalk
Story--Harmless Ghosts--The Rip van Winkle Story--the attachment of
Ghosts to their Shrouds and Coffin-Lids--Murderous Ghosts--Stories
about Vampires--on the name Vampire, and the belief in Vampirism
THE
FOX-PHYSICIAN
An
old man plants a cabbage which grows to the sky, and in climbing it his
wife falls to the ground and dies, the a fox comes and offers to heal
the women. Fairty tales such as this rarely have happy endings in
Russia.
THE
FIDDLER IN HELL
A
fiddler stumbles into hell where he meets an old man who is being
punished for greed, and is then captured by the fiends of hell. The
fiddler is set to play until his strings break and then is escorted to
the surface to get some more strings. In this Russin Fairy Tale we the
fiddler must outsmart the fiends and then keep his promise to free the
old man.
THE
RIDE ON THE GRAVESTONE
A
Traveling Artisan meets an old friend who has been dead many years and
dines with him all night, then in the morning discovers the truth.
THE
TWO FRIENDS
A
man goes to invite a dead friend to his wedding, however when he visits
the dead friend 300 years pass by.
THE
SHROUD
Some
girls dare another to go take a picture from a grave, the girl does
this at takes a corpses shroud as well, however corpses do not like to
be robbed.
THE
COFFIN-LID
A
man steals an undeads coffin lid as the corpse goes out to kill. Then
he blackmails the corpse into helping him bring the people back to life.
THE
TWO CORPSES
A
soldier is beset by a corpse which chases him into the territory of
another corpse and they fight over who will get to eat him. A short
folktale.
THE
DOG AND THE CORPSE
A
mans dog saves him by attacking a corpse that is trying to eat him, and
rather then help the dog the man runs away a coward forever earning the
wrath of the dog.
THE
SOLDIER AND THE VAMPIRE
A
weird sort of vampire which steals its blood as a human would not for
food but out of anger and spite. The soldier must defeat this dark
creature.
CHAPTER
VI. LEGENDS. 1. _Saints, &c._ Legends connected
with the Dog, the Izba, the Creation of Man, the Rye, the Snake, Ox,
Sole, &c.; with Birds, the Peewit, Sparrow, Swallow,
&c.--Legends about SS. Nicholas, Andrew, George, Kasian, &c.
329 2. _Demons, &c._ Part played by Demons in the Skazkas--On
"Hasty Words," and Parental Curses; their power to subject persons to
demoniacal possession--The dulness of Demons; Stories about Tricks
played upon them--Their Gratitude to those who treat them with Kindness
and their General Behavior--Various Legends about Devils--Moral Tale of
the Gossip's Bedstead
ELIJAH
THE PROPHET AND NICHOLAS
Elijah
keeps trying to curse a faithful servent of Nicholas however Saint
Nicholas works to protect the farmer from the misfortune.
THE
PRIEST WITH THE GREEDY EYES
THE
HASTY WORD
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