Balkan Folktales: Balkan Folktales, #2

Contents

FOREWORD

Uncovering the Hidden Treasures of European Folk Literature

The Poor Man and the Sparrow

The Traveler Who Lent the Rug to His Friend

The Rich Man Who Bought a Liver for a Poor Man

A Judge’s Just the Sentence for a Poor Man

The Philosopher and the Doctor

The Man Who Drinking Like a Donkey

The Man Who Lost 1000 Eggs to the Tax Officials

The Young Man Who Became a Drunkard

The Rich Bachelor Who Was a Great Miser

The Rich Bachelor who wanted to marry the Wealthy Duke’s Daughter

Everything Will Pass

A Woman’s Craftiness

Two Millionaires with Same Nickname

The Woman Who Paid Jewels with Lies

The Three Thieves Who Kill Each Other for Money

Granny and Grandpa Cancel the Wedding

He’s Got Two Wives

The Man Who Kept a Written Record of All the Wiles

Don’t Go With Empty Hands

The Woman with the Watermelon

The Two Partners

The Saddler Who Hid the Money in the Saddle

Two Tight-fisted Men

Nine Meatballs for a Penny

The Lad with the Broken Spade

The Magistrate Who Wanted to Become a Heavenly Judge

The Master Chimney Builder

The Three Fates and Boy

Foreword

THIS EDITION, THE SECOND volume in the series Balkan Folktales contains twenty-nine of the amazing and loved folktales from the heart of the Balkan, 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.

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

These folktales 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.

Uncovering the Hidden Treasures of European Folk Literature

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.

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. Since there are stories from all corners of the Balkan Peninsula, we believe that these stories will find readers from all over the world. 

We are convinced that this page will teach you and your child moral lessons and make him/her a better offspring to make you proud of. 

We wish you a happy reading

The Poor Man and the Sparrow

Apoor man had a small paddock behind his house which he sowed with millet. Despite its small size, he still hoped to grow enough grain to feed his children over the coming year. Though, if that man’s luck had been good, he wouldn’t have been poor, would he?

As soon as the millet ripened, a huge flock of sparrows and other birds descended to eat it. It seemed that every single bird from the entire district had gathered in his millet and within a matter of a few days; they had all but pecked it clean. When the poor man saw that extraordinary sight, he leaped into frenzied activity, chasing and shooing the birds away, but as soon as he’d shoo them away from one side, the birds would merely move to the other side. They pecked and pecked, and before long, they ate the millet.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, he moaned to his wife. What bad luck we’re having. We planted a little millet to harvest and keep us for the next year, but those blasted birds have eaten it all!

Don’t worry, replied his wife. Every cloud has a silver lining- from evil comes good.

His wife’s answer seemed to comfort the poor man a little, and he wandered out to view the remains of his millet. As luck would have it, an audacious sparrow had flown down and was swallowing the last grain. As soon as he spotted the bird, the poor man took his hat in his hand, crept up slowly behind it and with one swift throw, trapped it under his hat. He ran up quickly and picked the bird up in his hand.

Now, my little sparrow, he said, Which would you prefer? Should I slay you or tear you apart? You realize, don’t you, that you shall be the one to pay for all my millet? No matter how I chased you away, you kept coming back; I wore myself out running, and here you are again!

Please, Mr. Man, please don’t harm me, pleaded the sparrow. I’m the daughter of the Sparrow King. Take me to him and tell him you captured me in your millet He will give you a large reward so that till your dying day, you’ll be able to live like a lord. But, if you kill me, you’ll get nothing for your trouble!

Those words convinced the poor man and so he went to the Sparrow King, where he was welcomed with great pomp and ceremony when it was observed mat he held the Princess Sparrow in his hand. Once the King had understood that the poor man had caught his daughter