Reading Notes: Russian Tales - Part B

The Witch Girl is a story about a girl who was a witch. She roamed around at night and kill people in the village. Her cruel act was stopped by Cossack, a stranger who rested in the house that she intended to kill. I can write about why the girl wants to kill the people in her village.

The Headless Princess is a story about princess, who was also a witch. A boy accidentally saw her took her head off and dressing it. The princess set out to kill the boy by requesting him to read the psalm for three nights in front of her coffin. The boy’s teacher taught him how to protect himself. I can write why the princess is the witch and how the boy retells this story to younger generation.

The Warlock is a story about a greedy Warlock, who didn’t want anybody to have his money. So, before he dies, he told his children to send his daughter-in-law to watch his coffin. Each night, he rose up and killed his daughter-in-law, but his third daughter-in-law outsmarted him and killed him. I can write the story about the warlock feared that his daughter-in-laws would split his money and so he pretended to die to punish them.

Warlock. Link

The Fiddler in Hell is a story about a fiddler who went to hell and saw the punishment of a greedy man. I can write a how the fiddler attempts to convince the rich man’s son to share the money to the poor and how he convinces the King to build road and bridge to improve the peasants’ lives. I want to add my own twist that it was too difficult to convince the rich son and the King to share their wealth. The fiddler ends up taking them to a trip to hell to see what the greedy wealth can bring to them in the afterlife. I want to write this story as lesson passed down from generation teaching people to be generous with others.

Bibliography.  W. R. S. Ralston.  Russian Fairy Tales. Link