Balkan Folktales: Balkan Folktales, #4

By Tatjana Nikolovska

The telling of tales has been for many ages a principal form of entertainment among most peoples of the world. The guess is that it is the fundamental form of literature, a form which can be studied on a world-wide basis. The chief purpose of telling tales has been the whiling away of leisure time, an aesthetic practice. Listening to tales has the same function as looking at the movies has with us—simple, innocuous entertainment. There is no utilitarian, educational, or religious basis for folk tales, nor are they meant to be didactic in any way. There is not much realism in the field of folk tales; it is a world of imag­ination, improbability, and impossibility.

These tales and Folklore are the true mirrors of the Balkan civilizations, culture, customs, and traditions. And the beauty is that they teach very simple and basic universal values of moral character, love, truth, dutifulness, compassion and the brotherhood of all humans. The grassroots level texture of the stories is endearing. 

In this collection, we attempted to compile only the best educative and moral folktales. They entertain, educate, and kindle into the children a new realization of the world they are part of. The folktales introduce children to the civilizations and the cultures of the Balkan countries and to the diversity of their own country to embellish their general knowledge. This is an additional step further towards making them the brilliant ones.

This edition, the fourth volume in the series "Balkan Folktales" contains 12 magnificent Serbian folktales, selected and translated into English. The folk tales are translated into easy and accessible English and they are suitable for reading both by children and their parents.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tatjana Nikolovska
• Release date: Sep 13, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393577171

Book preview

Contents

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Foreword

Uncovering the Hidden Treasures of European Folk Literature

The Unfaithful Wife

The Three Brothers and the Golden Apple Tree

The Wise Fox

The Silly Brother

Tsar Trojan and the Goat's Ears

The Three Strong Men

The Story of Pleiades

The Spotted Tomcat

Cinderella (Serbian version)

How a Poor Farmer Gained Riches

The Princess Who Wouldn't Laugh

The Boy Who Fooled the Devil

Foreword

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This book will take you on a journey into the wonderful world of Balkan folklore, inhabited by the life events of ordinary people.

These folk tales and fables tell stories of high virtue being rewarded, of hardworking and good-hearted people winning over evil forces in life. They open the door to ancient times and spread belief that is still firmly rooted in Balkan country's culture to this day.

Balkan folktales are rooted in Slavic traditions, but they have a unique flavor, unlike most Slavic fairy stories. Their difference lies in a mix of Christian and Islamic ideals and traditions that are woven into Balkan folklore, influenced by a Greek and oriental heritage.

Balkan folktales were gathered from those who lived there, including the Slavic peoples. Like other European folktales and fairy tales, Balkan folklore began in the oral tradition.

All the artistic wealth that had survived in the collective memory of the Balkan people has a legitimacy of truth because it has been told, and in some parts of this region, even today, the spoken word, the direct contact has crucial importance. The forefathers are given all the deserved respect - and nowhere does the line in the beginning was the Word resound more strongly than in Balkan. The passage also foreshadows what would be called in Latin America literature - magical realism.

Reality and fantasy are intertwined in the tale, yet anything imagined becomes real when it is being told, i.e. because it has been told.

In this literary work, the author also imbues every passage with benevolent humor, which finds its way to all readers. Tales also explore the social relations and injustice - tales are always on the side of the poor, the deprived, the subjugated, tales criticizes the corrupt priests, officials and judges expose human stupidity, vanity, greed, and stinginess, exalts the moral values of honesty, chastity, faithfulness, and quite calmly expounds the fatality of human destiny, in which righteousness always prevails.

Perhaps most importantly, even amidst all the hardship and suffering of his people and of his own, the author firmly believed in ultimate justice. As the people in this region saying goes - ‘Justice and truth may thin themselves out, but they are never torn’.

In this sense may this edition of only a small section of Balkan’s stories, but we are certain that the author’s humanism will conquer the hearts of his English readers.

This edition, the fourth volume in the series Balkan Folktales contains 12 magnificent Serbian folktales, selected and translated into English. The folk tales are translated into easy and accessible English and they are suitable for reading both by children and their parents.

We wish you a happy reading!

Uncovering the Hidden Treasures of European Folk Literature

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Folktales have been an integral part of human life from the very beginning of civilization. The journey of the folktales is like that of flowing water body that trickles off its source and streams down being joined on its way by rivulets to become a river to join the sea. The story doesn’t end there. It again travels back riding the clouds and rains down over its origin or on some nearby hill. 

These tales mirror the cultural and social conditions of the Balkan region. During the time, they keep adding new colors. Besides entertaining, these tales reflect the social history of civilization. There is a sweet mixture of sentiments, realities of everyday life, ideals and moral values. These folktales unveil the dreams and the fantasies of common rural peoples or a small town ordinary man in the simplest form. 

Every society and every ethnical group in Balkan has a treasure of folk tales. Selecting stories from all parts of the Balkan Region was no easy task. Finally, were selected the tales that have the best ingredients of entertainment and educative values. We have attempted to keep the language and the narrative simple and easy to make this page enjoyable for every age group besides young readers.

The telling of tales has been for many ages a principal form of entertainment among most peoples of the world. The guess is that it is the fundamental form of literature, a form which can be studied on a world-wide basis. The chief purpose of telling tales has been the whiling away of leisure time, an aesthetic practice. Listening to tales has the same function as looking at the movies has with us—simple, innocuous entertainment. There is no utilitarian, educational, or religious basis for folk tales, nor are they meant to be