17. The Soldier And The Devil : p. 166 17 THE SOLDIER AND THE DEVIL A DISCHARGED soldier was going home. He had only threepence in his pocket. As he was going through a forest he met a beggar. The beggar asked him for a penny. The soldier gave him one, and went on his way. Then he met another beggar. This beggar was very ill...
Introduction : p. xiii INTRODUCTION THE present collection is intended to exemplify the spirit of the Czech race. It may perhaps be objected that folk-tale themes are part of a common stock belonging to all European races, and even to many primitive peoples: but though this is perfectly true, it is also no less...
7. The Bear, The Eagle, And The Fish : p. 94 7 THE BEAR, THE EAGLE, AND THE FISH ONCE there was a count and he had three daughters. All of them were young and as pretty as peacocks, but the youngest was the loveliest of them all. The count had little money to spend, for he had lost it all by gambling. And so--since he had to spend...
22. The Witch And The Horseshoes : p. 186 22 THE WITCH AND THE HORSESHOES ONCE there was a farmer's wife--I can't tell you which one--who was a witch. Now these folks used to have a feast every Eve of St. Philip and St. James. As soon as they began to burn the brooms she couldn't rest: go she must. So she stripped her clothes off...
13. The Waternick : p. 147 13 THE WATERNICK ONCE upon a time there were two children, a boy and a girl. They only had a mother, who was a widow. One day their mother sent them to get some wood for the fire. Off they went. The girl was just learning to knit, so she put a ball of wool in her pocket. They went on as far...
18. Old Nick And Kitty : p. 172 p. 173 18 OLD NICK AND KITTY ONCE upon a time there was an old maid-servant on a farm. She was a score or two years old, but she wanted to get married, though nobody would even touch her. She never missed a dance: she was sure to turn up at every one of them, though nobody ever asked her...
23. The Haunted Mill : p. 188 p. 189 23 THE HAUNTED MILL THERE was a haunted mill, and, dear me, what was it like! A rope-dancer came there with some monkeys. In the evening the Waternick came with a basketful of fishes. He made a fire and fried the fishes. Meanwhile the monkeys had been sitting behind the stove, but...
11. The Enchanted Princesses : p. 124 p. 125 11 THE ENCHANTED PRINCESSES IN the days of King Bambita, his two noble daughters oppressed the people, laying heavy taxes on them without the king's knowledge. The people cursed them, and the curses did their work. The princesses vanished. The king sent some of his servants to look...
15. Nine At A Blow : p. 157 15 NINE AT A BLOW ONCE upon a time there was a tailor, and, whenever he hadn't a job, he used to spend his time mending stockings. One day after dinner the table was covered with flies. The tailor struck at them with a stocking and killed nine of them at a blow. As he hadn't any job in h...
19. The Knight Bambus : p. 176 19 THE KNIGHT BAMBUS THERE was a poor gamekeeper once, who had suffered from hard times all his life, so as he grew older, he wanted to get rich. He was only an under-forester. One day the forester said: "Near those old ruins, you know the ones I mean, a fox or a roe, or some creature...
2. V'itazko : p. 16 2 VTAZKO ONCE there was a mother, and, being a mother, she had a son. She suckled him for twice seven years. After that she took him into a forest and told him to pull up a fir-tree, roots and all. But the lad could not pull up the fir-tree. "You are not strong enough yet," said the mother...
20. Francis And Martin : p. 180 20 FRANCIS AND MARTIN ONCE there was a father who had only one son, Francis by name. They had a farmhand called Martin. One day Martin and Francis were ploughing behind the barn. Francis's mother brought their meal for them, and Francis said: "Well, mother, the old man must have a lot more...
12. The Twin Brothers : p. 138 12 THE TWIN BROTHERS ONCE there was a princess, and she was under a curse and enchantment, so that she had to spend her life in the shape of a fish. One day a woman happened to be working in the meadow by the river, and she saw a flock of birds flying above the river and talking to the fish...
16. A Clever Lass : p. 161 16 A CLEVER LASS ONCE upon a time there was a shepherd. He used to pasture his sheep upon a hill, and one day he saw something glittering on the opposite hill. So he went there to see what it was. It was a golden mortar. He took it up and said to his daughter: "I will give this mortar...
Title Page : THE KEY OF GOLD 23 CZECH FOLK TALES SELECTED AND TRANSLATED BY DR. JOSEF BAUDIS, M.R.I.A. LECTURER IN COMPARATIVE PHILOLOGY AT THE PRAGUE UNIVERSITY WITH 11 ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON: GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD. RUSKIN HOUSE MUSEUM STREET, W.C. 1 [1917] NOTICE OF ATTRIBUTION Scanned , December 2004. John...
14. The Man Who Met Misery : p. 153 14 THE MAN WHO MET MISERY ONCE upon a time there lived a rich man, so rich that you might almost say he oozed gold. He had a son, and from his boyhood the lad was a real spendthrift, for he knew nothing about hard times. Yet he had often been told that there was Misery in the world. So when...
3. Boots, Cloak, And Ring : p. 39 3 BOOTS, CLOAK, AND RING ONCE there was a blacksmith, and he had only one son, John by name. They sent him to school, but fortune changed and his parents fell into poverty, so they were forced to take their son home again. John had already passed through the higher standard, but he could not...
1. The Twelve Months : p. 1 1 THE TWELVE MONTHS ONCE upon a time there lived a mother who had two daughters. One was her own child, the other her stepdaughter. She was very fond of her own daughter, but she would not so much as look at her step-daughter. The only reason was that Marusa, the stepdaughter, was prettier...
4. Silly Jura : p. 52 p. 53 4 SILLY JURA ONCE there were two brothers. They were lazy fellows, and thieves into the bargain. They were expected to give a feast. They said to one another: "We haven't got anything. Wherever shall we find food for the feast?" So the first said: "I'll go to our neighbour's. He h...
5. Sleepy John : p. 59 5 SLEEPY JOHN ONCE there was a lad named John, and he used to go to sleep always and everywhere. One day he came to an inn where some farmers were feeding their horses. So he crept into the cart, lay down on the straw, and went to sleep. When the farmers had driven some distance, they...
10. The Three Roses : p. 119 10 THE THREE ROSES ONCE upon a time there was a mother who had three daughters. There was to be a market in the next town, and she said she would go to it. She asked the daughters what she should bring them back. Two of them named a great number of things; she must buy all of them, they...
21. Witches At The Cross : p. 184 p. 185 21 WITCHES AT THE CROSS THOUGH the witches used to be pretty lively in other places, they were fond of climbing up and down the cross that stands by the road to Mal Cerm (near Slan). Joe Hilma heard tell of this, so he took his horse and off he rode to see. He took with him a piece...
8. Kojata : p. 99 8 KOJATA ONCE there was a king who had an only son. One day the king went to inspect his estates. He came to the first farm and found it all right. Before he had finished going the round of his estates, thirteen big farms in all, he forgot that his wife was about to have a child. On his way...
Preface : p. ix PREFACE THE present collection has been selected from the following sources: Josef Kubn, Povdky kladsk, i., ii. (in "Nrodopisn vestnk ceskoslovansk"). V. Vondrk, Nekolik pohdek z Dubu u Vodnan (S. Bohemia), in "Cesk Lid," xiii. V. Tille, Povdky sebran na Valassku (S. Moravia). "Nrodopisn...
6. Three Doves : p. 66 p. 67 6 THREE DOVES A CERTAIN merchant died. His son was nineteen years old at the time. He said to his mother: "Mother dear, I'm going to try my luck in the world." His mother answered: "Go, dear son, but don't stay long there, for I am old, and should like some help in my old age." She...
9. Shepherd Hynek : p. 106 p. 107 9 SHEPHERD HYNEK To cut a long story short, there was a prince and he had three sons. The first two followed in their father's footsteps, but the third did not. He said he would like to be a forester. The father was angry and turned him out of the house. What was he to do with...
Untitled : This is a short collection of folk tales translated from Czech sources. Aside from the character's names and a mention of a water gnome called a 'Waternick', these stories could be from just about anywhere in Europe, and several (such as 'Three at One Blow') will be familiar to readers of Lang's...
