Front matter
Maude Ashurst Biggs translation
THE FAIRY GIRLS MAKE THE CARPET
POLISH FAIRY TALES
TRANSLATED from A J GLINSKI
By MAUDE ASHURST BIGGS ILLUSTRATED By CECILE WALTON
LONDON: JOHN LANE the bodley head NEW YORK john lane company 1920
The Mayflower Press, Plymouth, England. William Brendon & Son, Ltd.
The pictures in this book are dedicated to my sons .... Gavril and Teddy." Cecile Walton.
TALES FROM POLAND
These are selections from a large collection made by A. J. Glinski, printed at Wilna in 1862. These fairy tales come from a far past and may even date from primitive Aryan times. They represent the folklore current among the peasantry of the Eastern provinces of Poland, and also in those provinces usually known as White Russia.
They were set down by Glinski just as they were related to him by the peasants.
In the translation it was of course necessary to shorten them considerably; the continual repetition—however quaint and fascinating in the original—cannot easily be reproduced. Portions, too, are often told in rhyme, or in a species of rhyming prose that we associate with the ancient ballad. The obvious likenesses between these and the folklore of Germany, the Celtic nations, or to the Indian fairy-tales, will strike every reader.
Maude Ashurst Biggs.
CONTENTS
PAGE
The Frog Princess 1
Princess Miranda and Prince Hero 15
The Eagles 29
The Whirlwind 37
The Good Ferryman and the Water Nymphs 53
The Princess of the Brazen Mountain 69
The Bear in the Forest Hut 79
Appendix 94
ILLUSTRATIONS
The Fairy Girls Make the Carpet FRONTISPIECE TO FACE PAGE
The Little House Turns 10
The Way Home 13
Through the Telescope 15
The Dragon who Kept Watch 25
The Children Transformed 29
The Old Man Blesses the Princess 31
To Trick the Basilisk 36
The Bride Carried off by the Whirlwind 37
The Horse Appears in the Storm 42
The Dwarf Defeated 49
The Good Ferryman Captures the Mermaid 53
The Purse that was Ever Full 55
The Meeting of the Sisters 63
The Fight for the Magic Boots 69
The Prince Steals the Wings 70
The Truant Wife is Captured 77
The Mouse Saves the Good Little Girl 79
The Good Little Girl is Sent Away 80
The Reward of the Good Little Girl 93
POLISH FAIRY TALES
