ReadThe Turnip
Grandad Andrushka grows a turnip as big as his head but can’t pull it up alone, so he calls Granny, Minka, Finka, Varvarka and a mouse. Who won’t tumble?
Retold from: Ivan Franko
Ivan Franko is a classic of Ukrainian literature, the author of “Mykyta the Fox” and of the children’s collection “When the Animals Still Spoke”.
Franko was born on 27 August 1856 in the village of Nahuievychi near Drohobych, into a blacksmith’s family, and died on 28 May 1916 in Lviv. He was a poet, prose writer, translator, folklorist and public figure. Among his best-known works are the novella “Zakhar Berkut” and the poetry collection “Withered Leaves”.
Franko wrote for children in a lively, cheerful way. The tales in “When the Animals Still Spoke” were first printed in the children’s magazine “Dzvinok” and came out as a separate book in 1899. He often took his plots from folk tales and fables but told them in his own way, with humour and sharp dialogue that sounds good aloud.
The site has three tales from this collection: “The Painted Fox”, “The Fox and the Crane” and “The Hare and the Hedgehog”.
Stories
- Read
ReadThe Hare and the Hedgehog
A boastful Hare laughs at the Hedgehog’s short legs, but the clever Hedgehog and his wife beat him in a race.
- Read
The Painted Fox
Mykyta the Fox falls into a barrel of blue paint and becomes the mighty King Hostromysl, until one moonlit night his own yapping gives him away.
ReadThe Fox and the Crane
The Fox serves the Crane porridge on a flat plate, the Crane serves her fish soup in a narrow jug, and each goes home hungry.