# Russian Folktales — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for Russian Folktales by A. N. Afanasyev.

- [The Pronunciation of Russian Words](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-pronunciation-of-russian-words.md): This chapter provides a guide to pronouncing Russian words, explaining the accent system and the phonetic values of letters such as Ch, G, J, Kh, L, S, V, Y, Z, and Zh, with comparisons to English and other languages.
- [Russian Folktales](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/russian-folktales.md): A collection of traditional Russian folktales featuring magical transformations, cunning animals, heroic quests, and moral lessons about good versus evil, fate, and social hierarchy.
- [The Dun Cow](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-dun-cow.md): Márya Tsarévna, mistreated by her witch stepmother, is sent to the heath with a dun cow. She discovers the cow magically provides her with fine clothes and food. The stepmother's daughters spy on her, but only the three-
- [A Tale of the Dead](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/a-tale-of-the-dead.md): A peasant traveling at night encounters a corpse that rises from its grave, kills two young lads, and is forced to reveal how to revive them. The peasant uses the information to bring the lads back to life, but is initia
- [A Tale of the Dead](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/a-tale-of-the-dead.md): A carpenter, returning late from a feast, meets a friend who died ten years prior. Unaware of the friend's death, they drink together. The friend offers his horse, but at cockcrow the horse is revealed to be a gravestone
- [A Tale of the Dead](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/a-tale-of-the-dead.md): A discharged soldier visits a miller friend and learns of a sorcerer who rises from the grave at night. Undeterred, the soldier encounters the sorcerer at a graveyard, accompanies him to a wedding where the sorcerer drai
- [The Bear, the Dog, and the Cat](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-bear-the-dog-and-the-cat.md): A dog, abandoned by his master for growing old, is befriended by a bear who helps him regain his place in the household by saving the mistress's child. Later, the dog tries to host the bear at a party, but the bear's sin
- [Egóri the Brave and the Gipsy](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/eg-ri-the-brave-and-the-gipsy.md): A poor gipsy with a family to feed repeatedly asks Egóri the Brave to inquire of God what trade he should pursue. After three requests and a forgotten stirrup, God decrees the gipsy's trade is to cheat and perjure. The g
- [Danílo the Unfortunate](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/dan-lo-the-unfortunate.md): Danílo the Unfortunate, a noble servant of Prince Vladímir, is given an impossible task: to sew a shúba from unprepared sable skins with molded buttons and embroidered buttonholes. An old woman advises him to seek help f
- [The Sorry Drunkard](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-sorry-drunkard.md): A drunkard drowns in a river and is turned into a horse by devils. His son, Petrúsha, is invited by the Devil as a guest. Guided by a captive maiden, Petrúsha asks for the sorry horse instead of gold, brings it home, and
- [The Wolf and the Tailor](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-wolf-and-the-tailor.md): A hungry wolf is sent by Christ to eat a mare, a ram, and a tailor, but each outwits him. The mare kicks him, the ram butts him, and the tailor whips him and tears off his tail. When the wolf gathers seven other wolves t
- [The Tale of the Silver Saucer and the Crystal Apple](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-tale-of-the-silver-saucer-and-the-crystal-apple.md): A peasant's youngest daughter, called the Little Fool, is given a silver saucer and a crystal apple by her father. When she rolls the apple on the saucer, it magically shows cities, seas, and stars. Her jealous sisters l
- [The Foundling Prince](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-foundling-prince.md): A Tsar and Tsaritsa lose their only son, who disappears for fifteen years. A peasant finds the boy in a corn-kiln, and the Tsar recognizes him as his own son after the boy cleverly solves a riddle about how to present hi
- [The Sun and How It Was Made by Divine Will](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-sun-and-how-it-was-made-by-divine-will.md): This chapter describes the divine mechanics of the Sun, explaining its size, the angelic retinue that dresses and undresses it daily, the role of fiery phoenixes and Ksálavy birds in cooling its rays, and the prophetic n
- [The Language of the Birds](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-language-of-the-birds.md): A merchant's son, Vasíli, understands the prophetic song of a Nightingale, which foretells that his parents will one day serve him. Enraged, they set him adrift at sea, but the Nightingale accompanies him. He is rescued 
- [Bába Yagá and Zamorýshek](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/b-ba-yag-and-zamor-shek.md): An old man and his wife, unable to have children, follow a mysterious old man's advice to collect eggs from every house in the village and hatch them. Forty healthy sons are born, plus one weakling named Zamorýshek. The 
- [The Miraculous Hen](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-miraculous-hen.md): A tale of two brothers who, after being saved from death by a cook, embark on separate paths. The elder becomes king when his candle lights by itself. The younger uses a magical hen's liver to generate gold, wins a princ
- [Mark the Rich](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/mark-the-rich.md): A wealthy and ungracious merchant named Mark the Rich, after a dream that God Himself will be his guest, prepares a grand feast but drives away a poor beggar who is actually Christ in disguise. An old woman shelters the 
- [By Command of the Prince Daniel](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/by-command-of-the-prince-daniel.md): An aged queen, deceived by a witch, gives her son a ring that will only fit his destined bride. After the queen's death, the prince searches far and wide but finds no maiden whom the ring fits. His sister tries it on, an
- [The Thoughtless Word](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-thoughtless-word.md): A poor young man, unable to find a bride due to his family's poverty, angrily wishes the Devil would provide him a wife. An old man (the Devil) appears and leads him to an underwater palace where he must choose among twe
- [The Tsarítsa Harpist](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-tsar-tsa-harpist.md): A Tsar is imprisoned by the Accursed King and forced into hard labor. He writes to his Tsarítsa for help. She disguises herself as a wandering harpist, gains favor with the Accursed King, and secures the Tsar's release. 
- [The Tale of Iván Tsarévich, the Bird of Light, and the Grey Wolf](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-tale-of-iv-n-tsar-vich-the-bird-of-light-and-the-grey-wolf.md): Iván Tsarévich, the youngest son of Tsar Výslav, is sent to capture the Bird of Light that steals golden apples from his father's garden. After his elder brothers fail, Iván obtains a feather but must journey to retrieve
- [The Priest with the Envious Eyes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-priest-with-the-envious-eyes.md): A priest, after serving St. Nicholas poorly, leaves his parish and meets an unknown man who becomes his companion. They cure a dying princess by cutting her into pieces and reassembling her with a magical breath. The pri
- [The Soldier and Death](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-soldier-and-death.md): A discharged soldier, after serving God and the Tsar for twenty-five years, volunteers to spend a night in a haunted palace plagued by devils. He outwits the devils at cards, traps them in his nosebag, and has them beate
- [The Midnight Dance](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-midnight-dance.md): A widower king with twelve daughters discovers they wear out new shoes every night. He offers a reward to anyone who can discover where they go. A poor nobleman, aided by an old woman who gives him a cap of invisibility,
- [Vasilísa the Fair](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/vasil-sa-the-fair.md): After her mother's death, Vasilísa is given a magical doll that helps her endure the cruelty of her stepmother and stepsisters. Sent into the forest to fetch fire from Bába Yagá, she completes impossible tasks with the d
- [The Animals in the Pit](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-animals-in-the-pit.md): A pig, wolf, fox, hare, and squirrel journey together to St. Petersburg but fall into a deep pit. To survive hunger, the fox tricks them into singing and then eating those with the thinnest and fattest voices, leading to
- [The Poor Widow](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-poor-widow.md): Christ and the twelve Apostles, disguised as simple wanderers, are refused lodging by a rich peasant but welcomed by a poor widow who shares her meager food. Christ miraculously multiplies the food, then commands a wolf 
- [Ilyá Múromets and Svyatogór the Knight](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/ily-m-romets-and-svyatog-r-the-knight.md): Ilyá Múromets encounters the mighty knight Svyatogór and, after a series of events involving Svyatogór's unfaithful wife, the two become sworn brothers. They journey to the Holy Mountains, where Svyatogór enters a tomb t
- [The Smith and the Devil](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-smith-and-the-devil.md): A smith paints a devil in his smithy and greets it as a fellow countryman for ten years. After his death, his son disrespects the devil by striking it with a hammer and spitting on it. The devil, in revenge, disguises hi
- [The Princess Who Would Not Smile](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-princess-who-would-not-smile.md): A princess never smiles or laughs, so her father promises her hand to anyone who can make her smile. Meanwhile, a humble workman, after three years of honest labor, takes only one coin each year, loses it, and eventually
- [The Tsarévich and Dyád’ka](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-tsar-vich-and-dy-d-ka.md): A Tsarévich frees a Woodsprite from an iron tower, is exiled by his father, betrayed by his servant Dyád’ka who usurps his identity, and becomes a scullion and then a horseherd. The Woodsprite's daughters give him magica
- [Prince Evstáfi](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/prince-evst-fi.md): A Tsarévich who prefers charity to courtly life is condemned to death by his father, but wins a reprieve and uses three chests—gold, silver, and a humble wooden one—to teach a lesson about inner worth versus outward show
- [Vasilísa Popóvna](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/vasil-sa-pop-vna.md): Vasilísa, the daughter of Pope Vasíli, lives as a man named Vasíli Vasílyevich, dressing in male fashion, riding, and drinking vodka. Tsar Bárkhat, suspecting she is a maiden, tests her with an embroidery frame, a pearl-
- [The Dream](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-dream.md): An old man seeks shelter at a peasant's home and agrees to tell stories in exchange for lodging. After falling asleep, he has a strange dream filled with symbolic visions—candles, birds, snakes, cats, frogs, and mysterio
- [The Soldier and the Tsar in the Forest](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-soldier-and-the-tsar-in-the-forest.md): A soldier, disowned by his general brother, deserts and hides in a forest. There he meets the Tsar, who has become lost while hunting. They spend the night in a hut inhabited by an old woman who is a receiver for robbers
- [The Tale of Alexander of Macedon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-tale-of-alexander-of-macedon.md): This chapter recounts the legendary exploits of Tsar Alexander of Macedon, a great and invincible knight who conquered all the kings of the earth. He journeyed to the edge of the world, where he encountered fearsome peop
- [The Brother of Christ](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-brother-of-christ.md): A pious young man, obeying his dying father's wish to care for the poor, shares Easter eggs with a dirty old man at church and brings him home to break the fast. His cruel mother refuses to join them. The old man, reveal
- [Alyósha Popóvich](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/aly-sha-pop-vich.md): Alyósha Popóvich, a mighty knight born to the old prebendary Pope León, grows up with superhuman strength and appetite. He and his servant Marýshko Paránov join Prince Vladímir's court. When the monstrous Túgarin Zmyéyev
- [God’s Blessing Compasses All Things](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/god-s-blessing-compasses-all-things.md): Two peasants, Iván and Naúm, argue over whether God's blessing or personal effort brings wealth. They consult a devil in disguise, who sides with Iván, leading Naúm to lose his money and later his right hand. Naúm overhe
- [Shemyák the Judge](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/shemy-k-the-judge.md): A poor brother, after a series of misfortunes involving his rich brother's horse, a peasant's child, and an old man, faces three lawsuits before Judge Shemyák. The judge, misled by the poor man's threatening gestures wit
- [A Story of Saint Nicholas](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/a-story-of-saint-nicholas.md): Iván, a merchant's son, loses his parents and begins trading, guided by an old man who is revealed to be St. Nicholas. Through faith, obedience, and almsgiving, Iván overcomes robbery, gains wealth from jewel-filled bric
- [The Potter](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-potter.md): A clever potter encounters Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich on the road and impresses him with his wit. The Tsar commissions a large order of clay plates, and the potter later outwits a greedy boyar in a bargain, forcing the boyar 
- [The Witch and the Sister of the Sun](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-witch-and-the-sister-of-the-sun.md): Iván Tsarévich, born mute, learns from a groom that his unborn sister will become a witch who devours their family. He speaks for the first time, obtains a horse, and flees. He encounters two old seamstresses, Vertodúb, 
- [Márya Moryévna](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/m-rya-mory-vna.md): Iván Tsarévich's three sisters marry a Hawk, an Eagle, and a Crow. After they leave, he sets out and meets the warrior queen Márya Moryévna, whom he marries. Disobeying her warning, he frees the imprisoned Koshchéy the D
- [The Realm of Stone](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-realm-of-stone.md): A soldier who served faithfully but was mistreated deserts his post and eventually enters the service of a king as a garden sentry. After failing to prevent a giant bird from destroying the king's trees, he wounds the bi
- [The Story of Tsar Angéy and How He Suffered for Pride](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-story-of-tsar-ang-y-and-how-he-suffered-for-pride.md): Tsar Angéy, proud and mighty, rejects the Gospel verse 'He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble and meek,' imprisoning the priest and tearing the page. He is humbled when an angel takes h
- [The Feast of the Dead](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-feast-of-the-dead.md): A group of girls holding an evening party mockingly invite bones lying on the road to join them. The bones come to life, sit at the table, and demand food and drink. When one girl drops meat, the bones chase the girls, k
- [The Quarrelsome Wife](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-quarrelsome-wife.md): A young man marries a quarrelsome, squint-eyed wife who forces him to do all the housework. To escape her tyranny, he tricks her into falling into a deep pit. Later, he finds a little devil in the pit who agrees to serve
- [Elijah the Prophet and St. Nicholas](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/elijah-the-prophet-and-st-nicholas.md): A peasant honors St. Nicholas but neglects Elijah the Prophet. Elijah threatens to destroy the peasant's crops, but St. Nicholas outwits him by having the peasant sell the field to a priest, then buy it back after the ha
- [The Princess to Be Kissed at a Charge](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-princess-to-be-kissed-at-a-charge.md): An old man dies, leaving three sons. The youngest, Vanyúshka, faithfully reads prayers at his father's grave, while his elder brothers prepare to compete for the hand of Princess Eléna the Fair, who will marry the man wh
- [The Wood Sprite](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-wood-sprite.md): A pope's daughter wanders into the woods without permission and is lost for three years, taken by the Wood Sprite. A bold hunter encounters the Wood Sprite, shoots him, and follows him to a hidden hut where he finds the 
- [The Realms of Copper, Silver and Gold](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-realms-of-copper-silver-and-gold.md): An old man and his wife send their three sons to find brides. The eldest two fail to lift a stone that reveals an underground passage, but the youngest, Iváshko Zapéchnik, succeeds with the help of a three-headed dragon.
- [Chufíl-Fílyushka](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/chuf-l-f-lyushka.md): Three brothers—Ram, Goat, and Chufíl-Fílyushka—go into the forest to visit their grandfather. While the older brothers hunt, Fílyushka sneaks into a garden to pick apples, is captured twice by the Yagá-Búra (Baba Yaga), 
- [Donotknow](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/donotknow.md): Iván the merchant's son, after being given a scabby foal as his 'luck' and surviving his stepmother's attempts to poison him with the foal's help, disguises himself in a bull's hide and bladder, calling himself 'Donotkno
- [The Sea Tsar and Vasilísa the Wise](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-sea-tsar-and-vasil-sa-the-wise.md): Iván Tsarévich, promised to the Sea Tsar at birth, is sent to the underwater kingdom where he must perform impossible tasks. With the help of Vasilísa the Wise, the Sea Tsar's daughter, he levels land, threshes barley, a
- [The Animals’ Winter Quarters](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-animals-winter-quarters.md): An Ox, Ram, Pig, Goose, and Cock set out to seek summer in winter. The Ox builds a hut, but the others refuse to help, each boasting they can survive the cold on their own. When winter comes, they beg for shelter, threat
- [The Story of the Brave and Doughty Knight Ilyá Múromets and the Nightingale Robber](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-story-of-the-brave-and-doughty-knight-ily-m-romets-and-the-nightingale-robber.md): Ilyá Múromets, after thirty years as a stay-at-home, gains great strength, receives his parents' blessing, and sets out for Kíev. He defeats a camp of robbers, rescues the city of Sébezh from three Tsarévichi, and routs 
- [Nikíta the Tanner](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/nik-ta-the-tanner.md): A dragon terrorizes Kyiv, demanding maidens as tribute. When the Tsarévna is taken, she learns from the dragon that only Nikíta the Tanner can defeat him. Despite initial reluctance, Nikíta is moved by the tears of five 
- [The Singing-Tree and the Speaking-Bird](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-singing-tree-and-the-speaking-bird.md): A king eavesdrops on three sisters and marries the youngest, who promises to bear him two sons and a daughter. Her jealous sisters replace each newborn with animals, and the queen is imprisoned. The gardener rescues the 
- [At the Behest of the Pike](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/at-the-behest-of-the-pike.md): A poor peasant catches a magic pike that grants wishes. He uses it to gain wealth and inadvertently causes the Tsarévna to bear a son. The Tsar marries them in anger and sets them adrift in a tarred barrel. They wash ash
- [The Journey to Jerusalem](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-journey-to-jerusalem.md): An archimandrite captures an unclean spirit in holy water, crosses him, and the devil bargains for release by offering to transport him to Jerusalem and back between matins and High Mass. The archimandrite accepts, makes
- [Vazúza and Vólga](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/vaz-za-and-v-lga.md): The Vólga and Vazúza rivers argue over which is wiser, stronger, and more honorable. They agree to sleep and race to the Khvalýnsk Sea; the Vazúza cheats by waking early and flowing off, but the Vólga overtakes her at Zu
- [The Enchanted Tsarévich](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-enchanted-tsar-vich.md): A merchant's youngest daughter asks for a specific flower, which he picks from a snake's garden. The snake demands the first person to greet the merchant upon his return, which is his youngest daughter. She goes to live 
- [The Snake Princess](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-snake-princess.md): A Cossack accidentally sets fire to a hayrick and rescues a fair maiden who turns into a snake. The snake coils around his neck and instructs him to carry her for seven years and then seek the Kingdom of Tin, where he mu
- [Beer and Bread](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/beer-and-bread.md): A poor peasant, unable to afford food or supplies for a church festival, is visited by an old man who instructs him to borrow malt from a rich neighbor and throw it into his well. Miraculously, the well turns into beer, 
- [Sorrow](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/sorrow.md): A poor peasant, tormented by a personified Sorrow, drinks away all his possessions until Sorrow leads him to a hidden treasure. The peasant traps Sorrow under a stone, becomes rich, and later his envious brother frees So
- [Iváshko and the Wise Woman](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/iv-shko-and-the-wise-woman.md): A young boy named Iváshechko goes fishing despite his parents' concerns. A wise woman (witch) tricks him by having a smith forge a voice like his mother's, captures him, and orders her daughter Alyónka to cook him. Ivásh
- [Never-Wash](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/never-wash.md): A retired soldier, having served three campaigns with nothing to show for it, makes a pact with a little devil: for fifteen years he must not shave, cut his hair, blow his nose, or change his clothes, in exchange for wea
- [Christ and the Geese](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/christ-and-the-geese.md): St. Peter expresses a desire to be God for half a day, and Christ grants his wish. They encounter a peasant girl who leaves her geese unattended on a feast day, trusting God to watch them. Christ reminds Peter that, as G
- [Christ and Folksongs](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/christ-and-folksongs.md): Christ and St. Peter travel through a village, where Christ stops to listen to folksongs while passing by a house chanting hymns, explaining that the folksongs had a good scent but the hymns lacked reverence.
- [The Devil in the Dough-Pan](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-devil-in-the-dough-pan.md): A woman forgets to bless her dough, allowing the demon Potánka to inhabit it. When she remembers and crosses herself, Potánka becomes trapped inside the dough. After three days of being tossed by pigs, he finally escapes
- [The Sun, the Moon, and Crow Crowson](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-sun-the-moon-and-crow-crowson.md): An old man promises his three daughters to the Sun, the Moon, and Crow Crowson in exchange for help gathering spilled grain. Each daughter is taken by her respective suitor. The old man visits each son-in-law, but fails 
- [The Legless Knight and the Blind Knight](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-legless-knight-and-the-blind-knight.md): Iván Tsarévich, following his parents' advice to heed his attendant Katomá Oaken-cap, seeks to marry Ánna the Fair, who kills suitors unable to solve her riddles. With Katomá's clever riddle, Iván wins her, but Ánna rese
- [A Cure for Story-Telling](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/a-cure-for-story-telling.md): A porter, whose wife is obsessed with listening to stories, devises a plan to cure her habit. He invites a freezing old man who claims he can tell stories all night, on the condition that the wife makes no interruptions.
- [General Notes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/general-notes.md): This chapter provides explanatory notes on various characters, places, and concepts from Russian folklore, including Alyósha Popóvich, Tsar Angéy, Bába Yagá, the Bogatýr, Bryánsk, Chernígov, Christ, the Brother of Christ
- [The Crystal Apple and the Silver Saucer](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-crystal-apple-and-the-silver-saucer.md): A tale with Celtic influences, featuring a magical harp that reveals a murder, the unfortunate Danílo who encounters a witch, and the personification of Death as a skeletal figure. It also introduces Dobrýnya Nikítich, a
- [The Dream](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/the-dream-notes.md): This chapter provides extensive notes on Russian folklore, including descriptions of the traditional izbá (hut) and its features, explanations of various folk figures such as Ilyá Múromets and Egóri Khrábry, and discussi
- [Midnight Dance. General Notes to This Story](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/midnight-dance-general-notes-to-this-story.md): This chapter provides extensive general notes and commentary on various figures, motifs, and cultural references found in Russian folklore, including explanations of Sorrow, St. Nicholas, Svyatogór, the Swan Maiden, Kosh
- [Glossary](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/glossary.md): A glossary of terms and names used in the book, providing definitions and cultural context for Russian folklore elements.
- [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/russian_folktales_se/chapters/endnotes.md): This chapter provides annotations and explanatory notes for the preceding tales, clarifying terms, mythological references, and cultural contexts such as the Vodyanóy, Lěši, and the bylína heroes like Ilyá Múromets.

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