Traditional Slovak Folktales

This delightful collection makes the rich but little-known Slovak folk culture available for English-language readers. Most of the fifty tales assembled here from the collections of folklorist Pavol Dobsinsky are translated into English for the first time. The poetic qualities of the originals have been carefully preserved. The general reader will enjoy these tales immensely, and students will find an insightful introduction to the genres of the folktale and the specifics of Slovak tales. For expert readers, all of the tales have been classified according to the Aarne-Thompson index, and many include short commentaries that draw on the work of Viera Gasparikova.

David L. Cooper

1: The Enchanted Forest; 2: Two Rascals; 3: The Wizard; 4: Stovey the Fool; 5: The Spinner of Gold; 6: The Gypsy Duped the Devil; 7: Radúz and L'udmíla; 8: The Golden Horseshoe, the Golden Feather, and the Golden Hair; 9: Brother Birdie; 10: Lomidrevo or Valibuk; 11: The Bear and the Mosquito; 12: The Little Deer; 13: Kubo's Adventures; 14: Mataj; 15: Dalajláma; 16: We Three Brothers; 17: Lady Kitty; 18: Bladder-Blatherskite and His Friends; 19: Vintalko; 20: Sitno; 21: The People-Eaters; 22: The Sorceress Queen; 23: Heavenly Glory; 24: Old Bodrík and the Wolf; 25: A Pair of Equal Beauty; 26: Klinko and Kompit King; 27: Kinglet, Cooklet, and Ashlet; 28: The Old Maid and the Devil; 29: The Tale of the Foolish Woman; 30: Johnny Pea; 31: The Man Who Never Sinned; 32: Beautiful Ibronka; 33: The Shorn Nanny Goat and the Hedgehog; 34: The Old Man and the Twelve Sheep; 35: The Twelve Months; 36: The Wooden Cow; 37: A Woman's Wit; 38: The Toad's Godmother; 39: The Kids; 40: Salt over Gold; 41: The Tinkers and the Evil One; 42: The Honest Valach; 43: Auntie Death; 44: Petor and the Heavenly Father in the Wide Vale; 45: The King of Time; 46: The Ba?a and the Dragon; 47: The Golden-Horned Stag; 48: Right; 49: The Dead Suitor; 50: Popolvár, the Greatest in the World