Showing results by author "Alexander Afanasyev" in All Categories

Russian Folk Fairy Tales is a wonderful collection of the most famous Russian fairy tales. The "Russian skazki" ("skazatz" means to tell) are the mass of folk-tales distributed widely throughout all the Russias. Handed down, by constant repetition, from generation to generation, a possession common to peasant's hut and Prince's palace from a time when history did not exist, they are to-day, from Archangel to the Black Sea, and from Siberia to the Baltic, almost as much a part of the life of the people as the language itself.

Vasilisa the Beautiful is a Russian fairy tale collected by a Russian poet, writer, editor, ethnographer and translator Alexander Afanasyev. It tells the tale of a beautiful girl named Vasilisa. When her mother dies, she gives her a magic doll. Her father remarries, and she gains an evil stepmother and two stepsisters. Despite the stepmother's attempts to diminish Vasilisa's beauty, she continues to grow more beautiful.

Collection The Best Fairy Tales contents. Brothers Grimm: Hansel and Gretel ; Little Red Cap ; Rumplestiltskin ; Rapunzel. Charles Perrault : Cinderella Or The Little Glass Slipper ; The Master Cat or Puss In Boots ; The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods. Hans Christian Andersen: The Ugly Duckling. Oscar Wilde: The Happy Prince ; The Nightingale and the Rose ; The Selfish Giant ; The Devoted Friend ; The Remarkable Rocket.

The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf is a Russian fairy tale collected by a Russian Slavist and ethnographer Alexander Afanasyev. A king's apple tree bore golden apples, but every night, one was stolen. Guards reported that the Firebird stole them. The king told his two oldest sons that the one who caught the bird would receive half his kingdom and be his heir. They drew lots to see who would be first, but both fell asleep; they tried to claim it had not come, but it had stolen an apple. Finally Ivan Tsarevich, the youngest son, asked to try; his father was reluctant because of his youth but consented.

The Russian fairy tale about Tsarevich Ivan and his wife, Vasilisa the Wise, who was enchanted to be a frog, was recorded by the renowned folklorist Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (1826–1871), who collected and published more than 600 Russian folk tales in the middle 19th century.

Finist Clear Falcon 's feather is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki (1855-1863). The story of a daughter who asks only for a scarlet flower when her father goes to market, instead of the luxuries her two sisters ask for. Two times her father forgets; the third time, he buys a scarlet flower from a mysterious old man as long as the daughter agrees to marry his son, Finist the Falcon. This sets in motion a tale of love, jealousy, and adventure as the two overcome many obstacles to their love.

Sister Alenushka, brother Ivanushka is a Russian fairy tale collected by Russian Slavist and ethnographer Alexander Afanasyev. A classic Russian fairy tale about Alyonushka and her naughty brother turned into a goatling.

Marya Morevna is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki. Marya was a warrior queen who ruled a small kingdom and for some 10 years, kept Koschei the Deathless a captive in her castle's tower. The character Koschei is an evil immortal man who menaces young women with his magic.She fell in love with Ivan Tsarevitch, and while she was away on a campaign, he accidentally released Koschei. The evil wizard then abducted the queen and Ivan Tsarevitch was forced to find some way to kill him. Ivan was successful and was reunited with Marya.