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In: Folklore·Children's Myths, Fairy Tales, etc.·Mythology, Legends & Folklore
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #22373.
This volume is a compilation of Russian folk narratives, gathered under the heading “Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk‑lore.” The opening story introduces a humble smith and his mischievous son, whose careless treatment of a painted demon on the smithy door sets off a chain of bargains, transformations, and tragic reversals. The tale unfolds in a single, richly detailed paragraph, moving from a church‑side encounter with a fearsome image to a series of contracts with the demon‑in‑disguise, a desperate attempt to rejuvenate an old lady, and the fatal consequences that befall the smith when he imitates the demon’s craft. The narrative is interspersed with scholarly footnotes that cite Russian collectors, comparative mythology, and parallels in European folklore, giving the reader a sense of the story’s place within a broader oral tradition.
The language reflects a 19th‑century translation style, combining a formal, almost academic tone with the colloquial speech of peasants. Its elaborate sentences, frequent asides, and extensive annotations create a texture that feels both literary and ethnographic. Readers who enjoy immersive folk‑tale collections, comparative mythology, or the study of how Russian village legends intersect with Christian iconography will find this work rewarding. Those interested in the moral complexities of trickster figures and the interplay between everyday labor and supernatural forces will be especially drawn to its vivid, if occasionally labyrinthine, storytelling.
The opening · free to read
The following are the principal Russian books to which reference has been made:--
AFANASIEF (A.N.). Narodnuiya Russkiya Skazki[7] [Russian Popular Tales]. 8 pts. Moscow, 1863-60-63. Narodnuiya Russkiya Legendui[8] [Russian Popular Legends]. Moscow, 1859. Poeticheskiya Vozzryeniya Slavyan na Prirodu [Poetic Views of the Slavonians about Nature].[9] 3 vols. Moscow, 1865-69.
KHUDYAKOF (I.A.). Velikorusskiya Skazki [Great-Russian Tales]. Moscow, 1860.
CHUDINSKY (E.A.). Russkiya Narodnuiya Skazki, etc. [Russian Popular Tales, etc.]. Moscow, 1864.
ERLENVEIN (A.A.). Narodnuiya Skazki, etc. [Popular Tales, collected by village schoolmasters in the Government of Tula]. Moscow, 1863.
RUDCHENKO (I.). Narodnuiya Yuzhnorusskiya Skazki [South-Russian Popular Tales].[10] Kief, 1869.
Most of the other works referred to are too well known to require a full setting out of their title. But it is necessary to explain that references to Grimm are as a general rule to the "Kinder- und Hausmaerchen," 9th ed. Berlin, 1870. Those to Asbjoernsen and Moe are to the "Norske Folke-Eventyr," 3d ed. Christiania, 1866; those to Asbjoernsen only are to the "New Series" of those tales, Christiania, 1871; those to Dasent are to the "Popular Tales from the Norse," 2d ed., 1859. The name "Karajich" refers to the "Srpske Narodne Pripovijetke," published at Vienna in 1853 by Vuk Stefanovich Karajich, and translated by his daughter under the title of "Volksmaerchen der Serben," Berlin, 1854. By "Schott" is meant the "Walachische Maehrchen," Stuttgart und Tubingen, 1845, by "Schleicher" the "Litauische Maerchen," Weimar, 1857, by "Hahn" the "Griechische und albanesische Maerchen," Leipzig, 1864, by "Haltrich" the "Deutsche Volksmaerchen aus dem Sachsenlande in Siebenbuergen," Berlin, 1856, and by "Campbell" the "Popular Tales of the West Highlands," 4 vols., Edinburgh, 1860-62.
A few of the ghost stories contained in the following pages appeared in the "Cornhill Magazine" for August 1872, and an account of some of the "legends" was given in the "Fortnightly Review" for April 1, 1868.
[1] So our word "book," the German Buch, is derived from the Buche or beech tree, of which the old Runic staves were formed. Cf. liber and +biblos+.
[2] "Russische Volksmaerchen in den Urschriften gesammelt und ins Deutsche uebersetzt von A. Dietrich." Leipzig, 1831.
[3] "Russian Popular Tales," Chapman and Hall, London, 1857.
[4] "Die aeltesten Volksmaerchen der Russen. Von J. N. Vogl." Wien, 1841.
[5] Such as the "Orient und Occident," "Ausland," &c.
[6] Professor Reinhold Koehler, who is said to be preparing a work on the Skazkas, in co-operation with Professor Juelg, the well-known editor and translator of the "Siddhi Kuer" and "Ardshi Bordschi Khan."
[7] In my copy, pt. 1 and 2 are of the 3d, and pt. 3 and 4 are of the 2d edition. By such a note as "Afanasief, i. No. 2," I mean to refer to the second story of the first part of this work.
[8] This book is now out of print, and copies fetch a very high price. I refer to it in my notes as "Afanasief, Legendui."
[9] This work is always referred to in my notes as "Afanasief, P.V.S."
[10] There is one other recent collection of skazkas--that published last year at Geneva under the title of "Russkiya Zavyetnuiya Skazki." But upon its contents I have not found it necessary to draw.
CONTENTS.
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