Tales Published 1960-1969

Tale Summary There was once a youth named Wang P’ing who went off on a trading journey, but there was a horrible storm which drove his ship against a mountain. He was seized by a bear woman and carried off by her, and they became man and wife. She shut...

Tale Summary There was once an official who had three wives but no children although he longed for a son. One day, while leaving for a new post, his eldest wife said that she would offer him gold on his return, the second offered silver, and the youngest wife promised...

Tale Summary There was once an old castle hidden deep in the forest, and in it lived a witch, who spent her time in the day as an owl or a cat to catch creatures in the forest for food, and her evenings as a horrible hag. Any man who...

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 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...

Tale Summary There was once a man who was made miserable by his wife, who was constantly nagging him and who felt he was always wrong. If he said one thing, she would say or do the other. One day, they were out picking green raspberries (they were picking them...