Bony was a baby bat. Like all bats he was blind and scared of lights. At night when Bony went to sleep, he would often wake up with a start. “The street lights are still on, Mama!” he would call out anxiously. “Don’t worry, my child; we will go to a darker place,” comforted his […]
Once upon a time, two old serfs lived together for many years without a child. In their old age, they prayed for a child. After seven years, their prayers were answered and the old woman gave birth to seven sons, who were all named Simeons. When they were ten years old, their father died. Simeons
Once upon a time, there were three brothers. They lived in a small village on the shore of the Volga River. The two elder brothers were married. They were merchants. The youngest Emelya was foolish, lazy, and despised work. While Emelya’s brothers went out to work, he sat on a warm stove in the kitchen.
It was a Black School run by the Devil. Students in this school were taught witchcraft and magic. It was located in a dark dungeon below the Earth. Many children attended the school. But the Devil had a strange custom he would keep back a boy with him from the graduating batch of students as
In all the legends, St. Nicholas is regarded as a kind character. This quality was attributed to him in the story in which he and Prophet Ilya were introduced together. It was autumn. One afternoon, a Russian peasant was driving along a heavy road. All of a sudden, his cart stuck fast in the mire.
Once upon a time, an old man planted a turnip. After a few days, it grew and became an enormous turnip. The old man decided to pull the turnip out of the ground. He tried very hard but couldn’t pull it out. So, he called out to his wife for help. The wife took hold
Once upon a time, a hunter shot and wounded a bird. The bird begged him not to kill her but to take her home, and when she went to sleep, strike her head. The hunter did exactly like that and the bird transformed into a beautiful woman. She proposed to the hunter for marriage, and
In a certain kingdom, there lived a King who was getting old and his vision had become poor. He had heard of a garden with apples of youth that would make a man grow young, and well with the water of life that would restore his vision. He called his three sons and asked them
Once, there lived a mighty Tsar named Visalev who had a magnificent orchard of which he was very proud. But every night, a firebird came to his favourite apple tree and stole away golden apples. Feeling upset, he called his three sons to help. The Tsar said, “Whoever catches this firebird, I will give him
Farmers of a village were happy. They had reaped a good harvest of wheat this year. They rejoiced and made merry at their good fortune. But they forgot to thank God for their good fortune. They became idle and selfish. They did not work in their fields anymore. Next year there was no crop to
Once upon a time, there was a King who had twelve beautiful daughters. All of them slept together in one room in twelve beds. When they went to bed, the doors were shut and locked up. Nevertheless, every morning their shoes looked quite worn as if the princesses had danced all night. But nobody knew
In a small Russian village, there lived an old man and an old woman. They had a daughter named Alyonushka and a son named Ivanushka. Soon, the couple died, and Alyonushka and Ivanushka were left all alone in the world. Alyonushka had to go out to work and Ivanushka went along as he was too
A peacock lived in a jungle. He was very afraid of the hunters who used to come to the jungle to hunt peacocks for their feathers. One day the peacock came rushing to the lion, the king of the jungle. He told him about the hunters. “Please help me!” he cried. The lion said, “
Once upon a time, there was a Princess who never laughed. Throughout her life, she did not even smile. Her father loved her very much and felt very sad to see her like this. He made the announcement that whoever made the Princess laugh would marry her. Soon, the palace was filled with clowns, jugglers
Two boys were collecting hazel nuts in the woods. They wanted to eat the nuts but could not crack open the nuts with their teeth. Just then, a very tiny man came up to them and offered, “I can crack open the nuts for you. But will you give me some of your nuts in