Source: Russia

Tale Summary Once there was a King with three sons, named Szabo, Warza, and Iwanich. One spring they were all walking together admiring the fruit trees, until they came to a barren spot where there were three splendid trees. The King that a magician had given the seed to his...

Tale Summary Once upon a time, a King announced that he would marry his daughter to anyone who could build a flying ship. There were three brothers living in the village, and the eldest two were clever and their mother’s favorites, and they set off right away with her blessing...

Tale Summary Once upon a time there was a young girl who went for a walk in the forest, searching for a dove which she could hear singing. The girl forgot the way home, and when the sun set she began to cry. Suddenly, a white dove appeared and gave...

Tale Summary There was once a widower and a widow who each had a daughter. One day, the widower’s daughter passed a message to her father from the widow that the woman would like to marry him, and if he agreed, his daughter would wash in milk and drink cream...

Tale Summary There was once a tough and clever cat, who had one ear, who belonged to a farmer. The man wished for a soft kitten instead, and so stuffed the clever cat into a sack and threw it into the forest. He clawed his way out and decided to...

Tale Summary There was once an elderly man and his second wife, who was very bossy and had two similarly mannered daughters. Before her death, his first wife bore him a daughter named Martha, who was clever, beautiful, and did all the housework and chores. As she grew prettier her...

Tale Summary There was a woman, named Marusha, and her husband, Youshko, who very much wanted a daughter. One winter day they watched their boys happily build a snowman and decided to go make one for themselves. They sculpted a small one, not much bigger than a baby, and when...

Tale Summary Once upon a time, there was a peasant woman who had a daughter, who got everything she wanted, and a stepdaughter, who had a hard time and was blamed for everything although she was good-hearted. Her husband (the girl’s father) gave in to the woman’s wishes to get...

Tale Summary Once upon a time, an old man and his wife died, leaving their daughter Alionushka and her younger brother, Ivanushka, all alone in the world. The girl set out looking for work with her brother in tow, but all along the way he was thirsty. Ivanushka saw a...

Tale Summary There was once a boy named Klimka, whose parents decided he should be apprenticed to a master thief. Klimka learned how to seal so well that the only thing he did not know how to do was steal eggs from a magpie’s nest. The master thief told him...