Category: Thursday’s Tales

"The Maiden and the Fish" is a tale similar to Cinderella. It's from Portuguese Folk-Tales by Consiglieri Pedroso, translated by Henrietta Monteiro, 1882. We have a widower who has three daughters. The youngest is his favorite, of course, but likes to spend her time helping manage the house and working with the servants in the kitchen while her older sisters cared only about parties and pretty dresses. One day the father caught a fish, brought it home, and gave it to the youngest girl to cook. The fish was a pretty yellow color and the girl asked her father if she could keep it as a pet instead and he agreed. First she keeps it in a pot in her room, but at the fish's request she puts it in the well. Yes, the fish talks - this is a fairy tale. The next day,  she takes a walk in the garden to see the fish in the well. As she gets...

I thought I'd share another Baba Yaga tale this week. This one is from Folk Tales from the Russian by Verra Xenophontovna Kalamatiano de Blumenthal, 1903. The story takes place somewhere in Russia. There was a couple who had twins, one girl and one boy. Of course, mom dies and dad is heartbroken, but eventually remarries. Surprise, surprise, step-mom is not exactly the best person. She decided after being pretty mean to the kids, to send them to the witch's house and figured they'd never come back. Why the dad doesn't stop this doesn't make any sense, but I've mentioned before how useless father's are in fairy tales?" So, she sends the kids to her "grandmother's" house in the woods, a small cottage with chicken legs. She tells them to do whatever the old woman says and they will be happy. The kids are not fools, so instead they head off to their own grandmother. Their grandmother feels sorry for them, but...

I talked a little about Baba Yaga last week in connection with the novella, Wickedly Magical by Deborah Blake. A couple people mentioned that Baba Yaga was a new character for them, so I thought I'd share one of her stories this week. As I said, Baba Yaga is a strong, powerful, frightening witch who comes to us from Slavic folklore. While she doesn't have her own story, she's present in several tales, including the Russian fairy tale, "Vasilissa the Beautiful." As happens to so many beautiful young fairy tale women, Vasilissa's mother dies early in the story. On her deathbed, she gives Vasilissa a little wooden doll. This wooden doll is magic. When Vasilissa feeds her, she comes alive, listens to Vasilissa's griefs and problems, and offers advice and assistance. Eventually, Vasilissa's father remarries and, surprise, surprise, the step-mom is awful to Vasilissa. She makes Vasilissa do all the difficult chores, while her own daughters do nothing. Yes, father is still around...

"The Most Sensitive Woman" is a tale from Italy retold by Christian Schneller in Märchen und Sagen aus Wälschtirol. I read the version on D. L. Ashliman's site. It's from the South Tyrol region in Northern Italy, an area with close historical and cultural ties to Austria. It's similar to "The Princess and the Pea" - you'll see why. Once upon a time there was a prince. (Isn't there always?) His parents want him to get married, but he states he would only marry the most sensitive woman in the world. His parents say fine, go out and find her. The thing is by sensitive he doesn't mean attuned to others feelings, he apparently means someone who feels pain easily, which really doesn't seem like the best quality to seek in a wife. The first lady he meets has her head wrapped up because her maid had pulled out a single hair when she was brushing her hair that morning. The prince decides she's...