Polish Fairy Tales

Polish Fairy Tales

TRANSLATED from A J GLINSKI

By MAUDE ASHURST BIGGS

ILLUSTRATED By CECILE WALTON

LONDON: JOHN LANE the bodley head
NEW YORK john lane company 1920

The Mayflower Press, Plymouth, England. William Brendon & Son, Ltd.

The pictures in this book are dedicated to my sons.... Gavril and Teddy."
Cecile Walton.

TALES FROM POLAND

These are selections from a large collection made by A. J. Glinski, printed at Wilna in 1862. These fairy tales come from a far past and may even date from primitive Aryan times. They represent the folklore current among the peasantry of the Eastern provinces of Poland, and also in those provinces usually known as White Russia.

They were set down by Glinski just as they were related to him by the peasants.

In the translation it was of course necessary to shorten them considerably; the continual repetition—however quaint and fascinating in the original—cannot easily be reproduced. Portions, too, are often told in rhyme, or in a species of rhyming prose that we associate with the ancient ballad. The obvious likenesses between these and the folklore of Germany, the Celtic nations, or to the Indian fairy-tales, will strike every reader.

Maude Ashurst Biggs.

CONTENTS

	PAGE
The Frog Princess	1
Princess Miranda and Prince Hero	15
The Eagles	29
The Whirlwind	37
The Good Ferryman and the Water Nymphs	53
The Princess of the Brazen Mountain	69
The Bear in the Forest Hut	79
Appendix	94

ILLUSTRATIONS

The Fairy Girls Make the Carpet	FRONTISPIECE TO FACE PAGE
The Little House Turns	10
The Way Home	13
Through the Telescope	15
The Dragon who Kept Watch	25
The Children Transformed	29
The Old Man Blesses the Princess	31
To Trick the Basilisk	36
The Bride Carried off by the Whirlwind	37
The Horse Appears in the Storm	42
The Dwarf Defeated	49
The Good Ferryman Captures the Mermaid	53
The Purse that was Ever Full	55
The Meeting of the Sisters	63
The Fight for the Magic Boots	69
The Prince Steals the Wings	70
The Truant Wife is Captured	77
The Mouse Saves the Good Little Girl	79
The Good Little Girl is Sent Away	80
The Reward of the Good Little Girl	93