ReadThe Little Fox and the Pushy Wolf
A clever little fox swapped an empty pie for a calf, but a pushy wolf broke her sleigh, ate the calf and paid for it with the tip of his tail.
Retold from: Ukrainian folk tales
Ukrainian folk tales are stories that generations of children have grown up on: about talking animals, cleverness, kindness and strength.
For centuries these tales lived only in speech: grandmothers told them to their grandchildren, neighbours at evening gatherings, wagon traders on the road. For the youngest there are chain tales, where the characters arrive one after another and repeat the same words. For older children there are magic and hero tales, with feats, dragons and trials.
In the 19th century people began to write the tales down with care. Ivan Rudchenko, the elder brother of the writer Panas Myrny, published two volumes of his collection “Narodnye yuzhnorusskie skazki” in Kyiv in 1869–1870. Many tales were also gathered by Pavlo Chubynsky during his great ethnographic expedition, and by Mykhailo Drahomanov in his book “Malorusskie narodnye predaniya i rasskazy” (1876).
On the site you will find “The Mitten”, “Kolobok, the Runaway Bun” and “The Bramble Goat” for little ones, and “Kotyhoroshko, the Boy from a Pea” and “Kyrylo Kozhumiaka” for older children.
Stories
- Read
ReadThe Cat and the Rooster
Cat goes off for firewood and begs Rooster not to look out of the window, but the fox sings so sweetly that Rooster cannot help it.
ReadThe Straw Ox
An old man wove a straw ox for his wife and smeared its side with tar, and a bear, a wolf, a fox and a hare stuck to it one after another.
ReadRyaba the Hen
Ryaba the hen laid a golden egg. Grandpa and Grandma could not break it, but a mouse flicked her tail, and soon the whole village was sad.
ReadSirko
The farmer sent old dog Sirko away, and a wolf helped him get home. Now Sirko must thank his friend, right in the middle of a wedding.
ReadKolobok, the Runaway Bun
Rosy Kolobok rolls away from Grandpa and Granny, the Bunny, the Wolf and the Bear, but the sly Fox catches him with sweet praise.
ReadKotyhoroshko, the Boy from a Pea
A boy born from a little pea grows into a mighty hero, defeats a dragon, frees his sister and brothers, then sets off into the world with loyal friends.
ReadThe Bramble Goat
A fibbing goat takes over a hare’s little house, and no wolf, bear or ox can drive her out, until a tiny crayfish comes along.
ReadKyrylo Kozhumiaka
A fierce Dragon has stolen the princess of Kyiv, and only Kyrylo Kozhumiaka, who kneads twelve hides at once with his bare hands, can save her.
- Read
The Mitten
Grandpa drops a mitten in the forest, and the animals move in one by one, until a big bear comes along.