This work was begun by you through a clear perception of what was needed for laborers in a most important field of inquiry, and achieved by tireless and patient care in seeking and finding.

Your labors as a scholar are honored abroad as at home, and your work on English and Scottish ballads will endure as a monument of skill and devotion.

During your career as Professor you have been true to the ideals of Harvard scholarship and life, adding to them meanwhile something of your own.

Whoso adds to or freshens the spirit of our revered Alma Mater deserves well of the country; for Harvard, now in the second half of the third century of her existence, is the oldest witness and, so far, the most eloquent that we have to the collective and continuous striving of Americans towards a higher life.

To you,—the distinguished Professor, the earnest scholar, the faithful friend,—I, one of thousands who have listened to your instruction, dedicate this volume, gathered from a field in which you take so much delight.

Jeremiah Curtin.

Smithsonian Institution,
Bureau of Ethnology.
Washington D. C. October 23, 1890.

CONTENTS.

Page
Introduction[vii]
RUSSIAN MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES.
The Three Kingdoms,—The Copper, the Silver, and the Golden[1]
Ivan Tsarevich, The Fire-Bird, and the Gray Wolf[20]
Ivan the Peasant’s Son and the Little Man Himself One-finger Tall, his Mustache Seven Versts in Length[37]
The Feather of Bright Finist the Falcon[47]
The Pig with Gold Bristles, the Deer with Golden Horns, and the Golden-Maned Steed with Golden Tail[59]
Water of Youth, Water of Life, and Water of Death[72]
The Footless and Blind Champions[82]
The Three Kingdoms[97]
Koshchéi Without-Death[106]
Vassilissa Golden Tress, Bareheaded Beauty[124]
The Ring with Twelve Screws[137]
The Footless and the Blind[149]
Koshchéi Without-Death[165]
Go to the Verge of Destruction and Bring Back Shmat-Razum[179]
Marya Morevna[203]
Variant of the Rescue of Ivan Tsarevich and the Winning of the Colt[217]
Yelena the Wise[218]
The Seven Simeons, Full Brothers[228]
The Enchanted Princess[238]
Vassilissa the Cunning, and the Tsar of the Sea[249]
CHEKH MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES.
Boyislav, Youngest of Twelve[273]
The Table, the Pack, and the Bag[295]
The King of the Toads[311]
The Mouse-hole, and the Underground Kingdom[331]
The Cuirassier and the Horned Princess[356]
The Treacherous Brothers[370]
MAGYAR MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES.
The Poor Man, and the King of the Crows[409]
The Useless Wagoner[424]
Mirko, the King’s Son[434]
The Reed Maiden[457]
Kiss Miklos, and the Green Daughter of the Green King[477]
The Hedgehog, the Merchant, the King, and the Poor Man[517]