“In the Land of the Souls.” The Yellow Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, London, New York, Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1906, pp. 152-154
Tale Summary
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful Native American maiden who was to be married to a handsome chief whom she had loved for some time. The night before the wedding, she fell suddenly ill and died. For many days and nights, the man sat by her grave, and then decided to find a path that led to the Land of Souls, which he had heard was to the south, and after traveling for a long time he found an old man living in a wigwam. He told the chief that he had been expecting him, and that his wife had rested with him, and now he should rest before continuing his journey. The next morning the old man showed him where to find the Land of the Souls, but he must leave his body and belongings behind. After doing this, the chief flew along, light as air, until he came to the shores of a great lake with a lovely island in the middle of it. He jumped in a glittering canoe and set up, and noticed another following him, and inside was his beautiful maiden. There were horrible waves, and in the water they saw bones and people struggling, but they made it to the island unharmed because they had lived their lives without evil. For some time the happy couple wandered together in perfect content, but the chief heard the Master of Life’s voice, and was told he must leave the Land of the Souls and return to his body. He had people he must rule over, and his wife would stay behind, and he would rejoin her when he died.
Fairy Tale Title
In the Land of the Souls
Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)
Andrew Lang
Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)
Henry Justice Ford
Common Tale Type
Tale Classification
Page Range of Tale
pp. 152-154
Full Citation of Tale
“In the Land of the Souls.” The Yellow Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, London, New York, Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1906, pp. 152-154
Original Source of the Tale
A Native American story
Tale Notes
Research and Curation
Kaeli Waggener, 2024
Book Title
The Yellow Fairy Book
Book Author/Editor(s)
Andrew Lang
Illustrator(s)
Henry Justice Ford
Publisher
Longmans, Green, and Co.
Date Published
1906
Decade Published
1900-1909
Publisher City
London
New York
Bombay
Publisher Country
United Kingdom
United States
India
Language
English
Rights
Public Domain
Digital Copy
Available at the Internet Archive
Book Notes
Though this book is written in prose with more difficult language than other books of fairy tales in the collection, the Preface says this book is written for children.