The Weaving Maiden was such a dutiful worker, she would never leave her loom. Her father said, "You should go out and have some fun!" She said, “Sorrow, age-long sorrow, shall come upon the Weaving Maiden when she leaves her loom." Her father put no stock in old...
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Lady of the Morning Dew
When the Festival of Bon arrived, the time of returning souls, the good folk of Yedo took lanterns and visited the graves of their loved ones. They would bring us food and flowers to care for us. On the night of the thirteenth day of the seventh month, my beloved...
King Who is Left Alone
What am I to do? My wife, the mother of my sons, has been taken away by Koschei the Deathless. My two elder sons have gone off to search for her and they haven't returned. And now my youngest, Ivan, is asking for my blessing to go on his own search. How can I give it...
Princess Engaged to a Spellbound Snake
Everyone was terrified for me because I had been promised to a snake. But I couldn't wait to meet my destiny. The snake slithered into the garden and as soon as I saw him, I loved him. He wound around me and kissed me, and then I followed him to a room in the castle....
Spinning Maiden with a Golden Thread
I glanced up from my spinning and I saw the prince sitting on his horse, looking at me through the window. The setting sun blazed on his face, and when he turned away, the room had become so warm! I went to the window and opened it. I watched him ride away for as long...
Ram Singh
I found the entrance to the old well, and I went down a flight of stairs that descended into darkness. They were broad, white slabs of alabaster, gleaming in the shadows. Even the sound of my bare feet on the stone echoed in that lonely place, and when one of my water...
Ring of the Lady in Red
She wore me on her finger over the course of many years. He had forgotten her, but still she wore me. Then one day, she took me off and put me in the pocket of her red dress. She wore that red dress to her lover's wedding feast. That night, the spell that had been on...
Peter the Hermit
The queen found me in my forest hut. She and her two little sons came to live with me, and, before long, she found my blood-stained shirts. I knew she would. She scrubbed them until they were white again and hung them out to dry. Now she wants to know why I come home...
Bereft Chief
I followed the path that the old ones spoke about, and it led me to the Land of Souls. I came to the hut of an old man clothed in skins. He told me to rest. How could I rest? I had to find the soul of my wife. Why did she die just before our wedding feast? Where did...
Chief’s Dead Wife
I knew that he would follow me into the Land of Souls. He wouldn't be willing to let me die so quickly. I looked out for him after I crossed over. And there he was, riding on the great lake in his own stone canoe. How he had been able to leave his body behind, I did...
Alfonso
Julia is weeping because she afraid that I will be seduced by the siren I've heard in the woods. In her upset, she goes and takes a seashell from a treasure box. Then she sings into it in her pure, beautiful voice. She gives the shell to me and tells me to put it to...
Elf Maiden’s Husband
My elf wife and I were happy, but every now and then she would disappear. I asked her one day, "What can I do to keep you from vanishing into the other world?" "Dear husband, I am bound to go, even against my will, and there is only one way to stop me. Drive a nail...
Queen Who Wants to Keep Her Child
My husband has shut me in a tower with my baby girl so that she will not be taken by the fairies. I promised her to them, and now the fairies are furious. I have betrayed them! They've unleashed a dragon and it's ripping through countryside and eating everyone. The...
Shape-Changing Princess
I am the youngest of twelve sisters, and we are the daughters of King Kostiei, king of the Underworld. Our favorite thing to do is to go to the seashore at sunset, change our shapes into geese, swim in the water, and fly in the dusk. When we leave our dresses on the...
Elf Maiden
When we arrived on the island, my sister and I brought a basket of provisions to the hut. As we were going back to the ship, I noticed the form of a man crouching behind a bundle of sticks. We were frightened, but he looked at us with peaceful eyes. We drew closer,...
Lonely Husband
When she stopped hunting with me, life became hard. When I hunted alone, I never had any luck. Then she fell ill and died, and I was left alone in an empty house, far away from our people. Her absence became so unbearable that I made a wooden doll in her image. The...