Old Peter's Russian Tales

Quaint and compelling, Old Peter's Russian Tales by Arthur Ransome is a collection of stories told to young Maroosia and Vanya by their grandfather Peter. The setting is their cozy hut in the woods, so small that the dog has to lie under the table to make room when they are all home. Some stories have a moral; others feature the unexpected, abrupt, and occasionally violent twist that make classic fairytales less sanitized than our modern notions of age-appropriate entertainment.

It was interesting to note the themes that consistently recur among fairytales from so many cultures: the prominence of threes, the foolish son making good, the jealous brothers/sisters, the terrifying witch who eats children, the beautiful princesses, and the show more perfectly providential good fortune that attends orphans and others in distress. Standouts for me included the story "Salt" and the tale of Misery. And of course, Baba Yaga and her chicken-legged house are iconic.

This was also my first introduction to Ransome's work and I see why readers whom I consider "in the know" mention him. His delightfully titled We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea is on my short list now. An enjoyable little read. show less

Old ones, old ones, now I know
Less you love me than a hen,
I shall go away again.
Good-bye, ancient ones, good-bye,
Back I go across the sky;
To my motherkin I go -
Little daughter of the Snow."

When I was a child, we had a large illustrated hardback copy of these stories, so I was glad to come across it in Project Gutenberg. On re-reading them as an adult, it is clear that a lot of the stories are about the importance of kindness, as it's not only the little girl in "Baga Yaga" who escapes due to her kind acts.

I remembered about the forester Old Peter telling Russian folk tales to his grandchildren, Maroosia and Vanya, and I also remembered some of the stories quite well, such as "Baga Yaga" and "The Fool Of The World And The Flying Ship", show more however, my favourite as a child was "Salt" and it is still my favourite, forty odd years later. 'It is the most wonderful dust in the world,' says the Tzar, ' and I will buy every grain of it you have. show less

This is a book written far away in Russia, for English children who play in deep lanes with wild roses above them in the high hedges, or by the small singing becks that dance down the gray fells at home. Russian fairyland is quite different. Under the windows the wavelets of the Volkhov (which has its part in one of the stories) are beating quietly in the dusk. A gold light burns on a timber raft floating down the river. Beyond the river in the blue midsummer twilight are the broad Russian plain and the distant forest. Somewhere in that forest of great trees--a forest so big that the forests of England are little woods beside it--is the hut where old Peter sits at night and tells these stories to his grandchildren.

Before he wrote Swallows and Amazons, Arthur Ransome left his wife and went to Russia to live. He taught himself the language and collected folk-tales, which he made into this book. Rather than present them as separate entities, the tales are told by a grandfather to his grandchildren.The first segment, The hut in the forest introduces Old Peter, little Maroosia and Vanya. The children are a keen audience and as they settle by the stove, they demand to hear a new tale and we're off straightaway into a land of a rich merchant and his three daughters, followed by many others...

These stories are full of magical talismans, poor peasant folk on quests, cunning animals, greedy men and wicked stepmothers, and Baba Yaga of course, also Sadko show more the dulcimer player who plays by the river (made into an opera by Rimsky Korsakov), and ones like the intriguingly titled The Stolen Turnips, the Magic Tablecloth, the Sneezing Goat and the Wooden Whistle. They are delightful, quirky tales and are highly moral and even dark, for those who are bad always get their come-uppance, and happy endings are not guaranteed. show less

I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I still enjoy fairy tales, so these were well met. It was interesting seeing the small differences that exist between cultures - The Golden Fish story, for instance, was nearly identical to an Irish legend that I read several months ago. It has its equivalents in English and American stories as well.

The book was well written, if dated, and would stand up rather strongly to being read aloud.

Looking through my library at home I found that I had not got this on my books I have read. My copy which is bound in blue leather, was chosen by me when I was about 10 years old after being given a book voucher from Sunday School.

The dog chewed it, and it is looking a bit sad, but this book took me through my childhood. I have never tired of reading it and even though it is a few years since I have read through it, each story stays strong in my mind. These are fairy tales which transported me to the far off lands of Russia and captured my imagination like no other book I had as a child.

The fairy tales were different, they felt raw and about real people (obviously not about real people but maybe I wanted them to be).

Out of the book my show more favourite tale is "The Silver Saucer And The Transparent Apple"

This is a wonderful read for children because it transports their imagination beyond their own life. show less

Looking through my library at home I found that I had not got this on my books I have read. My copy which is bound in blue leather, was chosen by me when I was about 10 years old after being given a book voucher from Sunday School.

The dog chewed it, and it is looking a bit sad, but this book took me through my childhood. I have never tired of reading it and even though it is a few years since I have read through it, each story stays strong in my mind. These are fairy tales which transported me to the far off lands of Russia and captured my imagination like no other book I had as a child.

The fairy tales were different, they felt raw and about real people (obviously not about real people but maybe I wanted them to be).

Out of the book my show more favourite tale is "The Silver Saucer And The Transparent Apple"

This is a wonderful read for children because it transports their imagination beyond their own life. show less