Antique Tales

The collection includes the author's tales of Josef Koschin, the novella of Galina Artemyeva, and tales recorded by the German writer of the 17th century, Paul Pretorius. The idea of creating the book came to its compiler Galina Artemyeva in Prague, during the celebration of the release of another of her books, «A Large Collection of Traditions, Myths, and Tales of the Western Slavs». The tales of Josef Koschin are based on folk motifs, but he is a full-fledged author of his tales. They were extremely popular among several generations of Czech readers. In Russia, these tales see the light for the first time. «The Student Awaiting a Miracle, or Life in Doctor Faustus's House» — is the author's novella of the compiler, G.M. Artemyeva, based on old Prague traditions and legends about the famous Doctor Faustus and the fate of his house. The third section of the collection consists of tales about the Spirit of the Mountains of Rübezahl, collected by Paul Pretorius. Tales about the foolish Gonza, of which there are a great many in the Czech Republic akin to our tales of Ivanushka the Fool, will be interesting and comprehensible to young readers. But there are also completely adult tales, for example, about a treacherous sister who fell in love with a robber and acted against her brother, who did everything for her; and about the ensuing punishment for the sister, a terrible punishment. Both fans of entertaining children's tales and those seeking instructive lessons based on centuries-old experience in folklore, as well as horror enthusiasts—stories filled with mystical terror—will find pleasure in reading «Antique Tales».