In this post we will see a story collection for children. A Mountain Of Gems: Fairy Tales of the Peoples of the Soviet Land.

Many different peoples live in this huge country, each with their own habits and traditions, their own language. The Uzbek language, for instance, bears as little resemblance to the Russian or, say, the Moldavian as the Arabic does to the English or the Chinese.

And all of the peoples of the Soviet Union have their own fairy tales.

The Chukchi and Nenets tales as well as the tales of other peoples of Russian North transport us into the snowy tundra, a realm of fierce frosts and howling blizzards, where the dog and the reindeer are man’s best friends. In the tales of the peoples of Central Asia caravans of camels plod slowly over the scorching sands, and the ceaseless murmur of water comes from the numerous canals that feed the ever thirsty fields. Other scenes and images rise up before us when we read Russian fairy tales. The stout-hearted young heroes of these tales gallop on horseback over hills and dales which are green in summer anti carpeted with snow in winter, while their lovely tsarevnas sit patiently waiting for them in their log towers with windows of mica.

Do you know why I have translated all these fairy cates for you? It was because I enjoyed reading them so much.

Open the book, and you will find yourselves in a world of magic. Together with Ivan the Peasant’s Son you will cross words with Chudo-Yudo, the fire-breathing monster, follow Pokati-Goioshek, or Pea-Roll Along, into the underground kingdom and return from there on the back of an eagle or marvel at the cleverness of Zarniyar who outwitted a cruel Shah, be filled with admiration for Boroldoi-Merger the brave hunter of the Altai mountains who risked the Life of his own
son in order to save his people, delight in the resourcefulness of a simple weaver who surpassed in wisdom the wisest councillors of the Tsar.

And I know that when you have met them, these and other characters in this book, you will grow to love them, and they will become your good and faithful friends.

The book was translated by Irina Zhelenova and was illustrated by Vladimir Minayev. The book was first published in 1962, with second printing by Raduga in 1983.

Many. many thanks to Guptaji for this Mountain of Gems. 🙂

You can get the book here.

PDF | 42.5 M | Color | OCR | 231 Pages

CONTENTS

FROM THE TRANSLATOR 7
THE FROG TSAREVNA. A Russian Fairy Tale 9
AXE PORRIDGE. A Russian Fairy Tale 16
CHESTNUT GREY. A Russian Fairy Tale 18
IVAN THE PEASANT’S SON AND THE THREE CHUDO-YUDOS. A Russian Fairy Tale 24
A TRIAL LIKE NO OTHER. A Russian Fairy Tale 34
PEA-ROLL ALONG. A Ukrainian Fairy Tale 37
GOOD AND EVIL. A Ukrainian Fairy Tale 50
THE WOLF, THE DOG AND THE CAT. A Ukrainian Fairy Tale 57
HOW A MUZHIK DINED WITH A LORD. A Ukrainian Fairy Tale 60
THE MAGIC FIDDLE. A Byelorussian Fairy Tale 63
WHY THE BADGER AND THE FOX LIVE IN HOLES. A Byelorussian Fairy Tale 66
HOW VASIL VANQUISHED THE DRAGON. A Byelorussian Fairy Tale 70
PILIPKA. A Byelorussian Fairy Tale 75
OLD FROST AND YOUNG FROST. A Lithuanian Fairy Tale 82
HOW A LORD TURNED INTO A HORSE. A Latvian Fairy Tale 85
TO EACH HIS DESERTS. An Estonian Fairy Tale 88
HIYSI’S MILLSTONE. A Karelian Fairy Tale 91
THE THREE BROTHERS AND THE POT OF GOLD. A Moldavian Fairy Tale 98
BASIL, FET-FRUMOS AND ILANA COSINZANA, SISTER OF THE SUN. A Moldavian Fairy Tale 101
THE STORY OF ZARNIYAR WHO HAD ALL HER WITS ABOUT HER. An Azerbaijan Fairy Tale 113
SHEIDULLAH THE LOAFER. An Azerbaijan Fairy Tate 117
ANAIT. An Armenian Fairy Tale 120
THE TSAR AND THE WEAVER. An Armenian Fairy Tale 133
DEER-CHILD AND YELENA THE BEAUTIFUL. A Georgian Fairy Tale 136
THE LION AND THE HARE. A Georgian Fairy Tale 149
A LESSON IN WISDOM. A Georgian Fairy Tale 151
ALTYN-SAKA THE GOLDEN KNUCKLEBONE. A Bashkir Fairy Tale 153
TSARKIN KHAN AND THE ARCHER. A Kalmyk Fairy Tale 161
A MOUNTAIN OF GEMS. A Turkmen Fairy Title 184
THE CLEVER BROTHERS. An Usbek Fairy Tale 188
THE GREEDY KAZI. A Tajik Fairy Tale 193
BOROLDOI-MERGEN AND HIS BRAVE SON. A Fairy Tale of the Altai 198
WHICH WAS THE BIGGEST? A Kirghiz Fairy Tale 202
ALDAR-KOSE AND SHIGAI-BAI. A Kazaakh Fairy Tale 206
THE FERN GIRL. A Yakut Fairy Tale 213
THE GOLDEN CUP. A Buryat Fairy Tale 222
KOTURA, LORD OF THE WINDS, A Nenets Fairy Tale 227
THE GIRL AND THE MOON MAN. A Chukchi Fairy Tale 235