| CHAPTER I. | |
| INTRODUCTORY. | |
| | PAGE. |
| The Folk-tale in general, and the Skazka in particular—Relation of
Russian Popular Tales to Russian Life—Stories about Courtship,
Death, Burial and Wailings for the Dead—Warnings
against Drink, Jokes about Women, Tales of Simpletons—A
rhymed Skazka and a Legend | [15] |
| CHAPTER II. | |
| MYTHOLOGICAL. | |
| Principal Incarnations of Evil. | |
| On the “Mythical Skazkas”—Male embodiments of Evil: 1.
The Snake as the Stealer of Daylight; 2. Norka the Beast, Lord
of the Lower World; 3. Koshchei the Deathless, The Stealer of
Fair Princesses—his connexion with Punchkin and “the Giant
who had no Heart in his Body”—Excursus on Bluebeard’s Chamber;
4. The Water King or Subaqueous Demon—Female Embodiments
of Evil: 1. The Baba Yaga or Hag, and 2. The
Witch, feminine counterparts of the Snake | [75] |
| CHAPTER III. | |
| MYTHOLOGICAL. | |
| Miscellaneous Impersonations. | |
| One-eyed Likho, a story of the Polyphemus Cycle—Woe, the Poor
Man’s Companion—Friday, Wednesday, and Sunday personified
as Female Spirits—The Léshy or Wood-Demon—Legends
about Rivers—Frost as a Wooer of Maidens—The Whirlwind
personified as a species of Snake or Demon—Morfei and Oh,
two supernatural beings | [186] |
| CHAPTER IV. | |
| MAGIC AND WITCHCRAFT. | |
| The Waters of Life and Death, and of Strength and Weakness—Aid
given to Children by Dead Parents—Magic Horses, Fish,
&c.—Stories about Brides won by a Leap, &c.—Stories about
Wizards and Witches—The Headless Princess—Midnight
Watchings over Corpses—The Fire Bird, its connexion with the
Golden Bird and the Phœnix | [237] |
| CHAPTER V. | |
| GHOST STORIES. | |
| Slavonic Ideas about the Dead—On Heaven and Hell—On the
Jack and the Beanstalk Story—Harmless Ghosts—The Rip van
Winkle Story—the attachment of Ghosts to their Shrouds and
Coffin-Lids—Murderous Ghosts—Stories about Vampires—on
the name Vampire, and the belief in Vampirism | [295] |
| CHAPTER VI. | |
| LEGENDS. | |
| 1. Saints, &c. | |
| Legends connected with the Dog, the Izba, the Creation of Man,
the Rye, the Snake, Ox, Sole, &c.; with Birds, the Peewit,
Sparrow, Swallow, &c.—Legends about SS. Nicholas, Andrew,
George, Kasian, &c. | [329] |
| 2. Demons, &c. | |
| Part played by Demons in the Skazkas—On “Hasty Words,”
and Parental Curses; their power to subject persons to demoniacal
possession—The dulness of Demons; Stories about
Tricks played upon them—Their Gratitude to those who treat
them with Kindness and their General Behavior—Various
Legends about Devils—Moral Tale of the Gossip’s Bedstead | [361] |