The present collection is intended to exemplify the spirit of the Czech race. It may perhaps be objected that folk-tale themes are part of a common stock belonging to all European races, and even to many primitive peoples: but though this is perfectly true, it is also no less certain that the spirit of the nation manifests itself in the manner of their telling. The selection has been made from all sorts of folk tales, artistic and primitive alike; and yet two things are common to all of them: the moral tendency and a sense of humour. By this I do not mean morality in the vulgar sense of retribution for evil, or of filial devotion, or the sentimental insistence upon “every one living happily ever afterwards,” and above all upon Jack marrying his Molly. I mean that higher sort of morality which was the mainspring of Protestantism. It is often supposed that Protestantism is [xiv]very unfavourable to the development and preservation of folk tales; but those of Bohemia are certainly an exception to this rule. The Czech nation was the first to adopt the Protestant faith, and even to-day is still Protestant at heart, though the Habsburgs forced it back into the Catholic fold.
PREFACE
The present collection has been selected from the following sources:-
Josef Kubín, Povídky kladské, i., ii. (in "Národopisny věstník ?eskoslovansky").
V. Vondrák, Několik pohádek z Dubu u Vodňan (S. Bohemia), in "?esky Lid," xiii.
V. Tille, Povídky sebrané na Vala?sku (S. Moravia). "Národopisny sborník ?eskoslovansky," Svazek vii. Prague, 1901.
Elpl, ?ada pohádek a pověstí nasbíranych v Lí?ni u Brna (Moravia).
B. M. Kulda, Moravské národní pohádky a pověsti, i. (Prague, 1874). From Moravia.
The first two stories ("Twelve Months," "Ví?azko") have been retold by the novelist Bo?ena Němcová (from the Slovak).
My translation could not be, of course, a literal one, because many phrases in the [viii]original might seem strange to the English reader's ear.
Finally, I wish to express my thanks to Miss Eleanor Hull and Mr. Robin Flower for revising my English.
JOSEF BAUDI?.
London, October 1917.
PREFACE
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INTRODUCTION
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THE TWELVE MONTHS
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VíAZKO
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BOOTS, CLOAK, AND RING
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SILLY JURA
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SLEEPY JOHN
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THREE DOVES
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THE BEAR, THE EAGLE, AND THE FISH
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KOJATA
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SHEPHERD HYNEK
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THE THREE ROSES
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THE ENCHANTED PRINCESSES
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THE TWIN BROTHERS
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THE WATERNICK
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THE MAN WHO MET MISERY
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NINE AT A BLOW
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A CLEVER LASS
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THE SOLDIER AND THE DEVIL
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OLD NICK AND KITTY
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THE KNIGHT BAMBUS
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FRANCIS AND MARTIN
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WITCHES AT THE CROSS
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THE WITCH AND THE HORSESHOES
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THE HAUNTED MILL
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