Russian Folk Tales
Baba Yaga, the Firebird, enchanted kingdoms and resourceful travellers appear in these Russian tales, alongside related Slavic material identified in the sources. The English versions come through different nineteenth- and early twentieth-century collections.
Names, helpers and endings can change between versions. The source note matters particularly when a familiar villain appears in a different kind of adventure. Read the individual guidance for violence, coercion or tragic outcomes.
17 stories are in this collection right now.
Browse by region: Russia.
The Firebird, the Horse of Power, and Princess Vasilisa
A young archer ignores his wise horse and picks up a firebird's feather, and his greedy Tzar sends him on ever deadlier errands to the edge of the world.
Russian Folk Tales
Sadko
A poor Novgorod dulcimer player is paid in jewels by the Tzar of the Sea, grows rich, and twelve years later must leap overboard to keep his promise.
Russian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Morozko
Abandoned in the freezing fields, a stepdaughter receives gifts from Morozko; her stepmother sends her own daughter after riches, with a fatal result.
Russian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Snow Maiden (Snegurochka)
A childless old couple build a snow girl who comes to life, but when they cheat the fox who saved her, she hears that a hen matters more and melts away.
Russian Folk Tales
Vasilisa the Beautiful
Sent to Baba Yaga's hut for a light, Vasilisa survives the witch's chores with help from her mother's magic doll and carries home a glowing skull.
Russian Folk Tales
Koschei the Deathless
Prince Ivan frees a chained prisoner and loses his warrior wife to him, then must win a horse from Baba Yaga before he can defeat Koschei the Deathless.
Russian Folk Tales
Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird, and the Gray Wolf
Carried by a gray wolf, Ivan Tsarevich twice gives in to temptation on the Firebird quest, then wins a horse, a bird and a princess before his brothers strike.
Russian Folk Tales
The Three Kingdoms: Gold, Silver, and Copper
Searching for his stolen mother, Ivan climbs into Whirlwind's kingdoms of copper, silver and gold, only to be stranded there by his jealous brothers.
Russian Folk Tales
Father Frost
Father Frost showers a patient stepdaughter with furs and a silver-trimmed sarafan for her gentle words, while her rude stepsister's temper costs her dearly.
Russian Folk Tales
The Golden Mountain
Tricked into digging gold on a mountaintop and left there to die, a ruined merchant's son escapes with a girl's gift and turns the trick on his master.
Russian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Baba Yaga
Sent to a witch by their stepmother, orphan twins remember their grandmother's advice, share food with every creature, and escape with a towel and comb.
Russian Folk Tales
Ages 6-8
Dimian the Peasant
Bossy Dimian forces gifts on his guests to make them refuse, until a sly visitor accepts his supper, his best coat and finally his finest horse.