Research Catalog

Title

Yiddish folktales / edited by Beatrice Silverman Weinreich ; translated by Leonard Wolf.

Publication

New York : Pantheon Books : Published in cooperation with Yivo Institute for Jewish Research, ©1988.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Weinreich, Beatrice.
• Wolf, Leonard.

Description

xxxii, 413 p. : ill.; 25 cm.

Summary

Presents nearly 200 folktales from all walks of life from East European Jewry.

Series Statement

Pantheon fairy tale and folklore library

Uniform Title

Pantheon fairy tale & folklore library.

Subject

• Jews > Europe, Eastern > Folklore
• Folk literature, Yiddish > Translations into English
• Folk literature, Yiddish > Europe, Eastern
• Folk literature, Yiddish
• Jews
• Mondelinge literatuur
• Jews > Eastern Europe > Folklore
• Yiddish literature
• Eastern Europe

Genre/Form

• Folklore.
• Translations.

Bibliography (note)

• Bibliography: p. 407-413.

Contents

• Part one. Naked truths and resplendent parables: allegorical tales -- Naked truth and resplendent parable -- A bit of herring, a pinch of salt, and a morsel of bread -- Things can always get worse -- The luck that snored -- The fever and the flea -- Why dogs chase cats and cats chase mice -- Wisdom or luck? -- Pleasing all the world -- Poverty grows and grows -- The sacrifice of Isaac and the caretaker of Brisk -- The treasure at home -- A fable of a bird and her chicks -- Letting in the light -- Bad luck -- Part two. A rooster and a hen, let the story begin: children's tales -- The pain in the neck: a nonsense tale -- The six-pointed homentash: a Purim tale -- A tale of two brothers -- Stones and bones rattle in my belly -- Sóre-Kháne at the tip of the church tower -- Little bean -- A topsy-turvy tale -- Clever Khashinke and foolish Bashinke -- The granny bear -- Moyshele and Sheyndele -- Next time that's what I'll say -- The naughty little girl -- Part three. Magic rings, feathers of gold, mountains of glass: wonder tales -- Hang the moon on my palace roof -- The sorcerer's apprentice -- The beggar king and the Melamed -- Of nettles and roses -- The demon and Sosye -- How much do you love me? -- The master thief -- The orphan boys -- Two brothers who went to the Devil -- The snake bridegroom -- The princess and Vanke, the shoemaker's son -- The foolish youth and Elijah the Prophet -- The king's lost daughter -- The magic fish and the wishing ring -- The hunchbacks and the dancing demons -- The princess of the third pumpkin -- The orphan boy who won the bride -- Forty hares and a princess -- The merchant's son and the demons -- The ram, the basket, and the stick -- The golden feather -- Part four. Justice, fait, and everyday morals: pious tales -- The tale of a stingy woman -- The wheat poured in at the door -- In Heaven and Hell -- The miracle of the tree -- The poor man's ruble -- Blood and water -- A letter to God -- The seven good years -- Set a trap for another -- A Succos tale -- Only eleven little fish -- A Passover tale -- A shocking tale of a viceroy -- The leper boy and Elijah the Prophet -- The trustees -- A tragic tale -- Upon me -- The ballad of the faithful wife -- The iron chest -- Water wouldn't hurt -- The unlearned villager -- Holding on to one-quarter of my world -- The poor rabbi and his three daughters.
• Part five. Nitwits, wits, and pranksters: humorous tales -- The clever girls: a riddle tale -- Then where's the cat? -- The best for my wife -- The coat of patches -- The bishop and the moshke: another riddle tale -- Good manners and foolish Khushim -- Khushim and his bride -- The tale of a leaf from the tree of knowledge -- Reb Hershele and the goose leg -- Hershele Ostopolyer and the Sabbath caftan -- Why Khelmites are fools -- The angel spills the jar of fools -- A Shoyfer in Khelm -- The hill pushed away -- How Khelmites lighted up the night -- The melamed's trunk -- The rolling stone -- A cat in Khelm -- Khelmites who refused to tread on snow -- The sundial -- A Khelm compromise -- A bridge in Khelm -- Sowing salt -- Two cows for a melody -- Froyim Greydinger, the magic stick, and the pot of soup -- What makes tea sweet: an exercise in logic -- The visitor from the world beyond -- The ten women -- The congregation loves jam -- Motke Khabad needs a place to live -- Why the head turns gray before the beard -- The love potion -- Skotsl Kumt: Skotsl's here -- The clever little tailor -- Two tunes for three hundred rubles -- Some true miracles of God -- Part six. Sages, tsadikim, and villains: legends -- Sabbath in paradise -- The Baal Shem Tov and the herdsman -- Yisroel, the child rebbe -- The disciple who went astray -- The rebbe's melody -- Don't go into the mud in the first place -- The missed moment of redemption -- The Mekarev rebbe gets even with a stingy woman -- The happy pair and the Baal Shem Tov -- The fleet-footed Tomeshef rebbe -- The right order is important -- Reb Khaim Urbakh rocks a cradle on Yom Kippur -- Rain and the rebbe of Stolin -- The miracle of the dry well -- The reincarnation of Queen Esther -- The penitent and the Rebbe of Tshekhenove -- The boy who put two socks on one foot -- The power of the mourner's prayer -- The curious disciple -- A common piece of earth -- Reb Malkiel and the 702 candles -- A modern miracle -- How Judah Halevi entered Heaven alive -- Rabbi Joshua and the Emperor of Rome -- A wonderful legend of a cave -- Waiting for the Messiah -- The Torah of my servant Moses -- Rabbi Jonathan and the minister: a disputation -- He has only one weakness -- The rabbi shows respect for his shoemaker -- Evening the score -- Reb Leybele of Mir goes to the marketplace -- Napoleon the First and the jewish officer -- Napoleon in Vilna -- Nafol tipol: Napoleon, you will fall -- The cantonist's mother and Nicholas the First -- Czar NIcholas decrees the burning of the Talmud -- Emperor Franz Josef and the innkeeper's infant -- The poor man and Rothschild -- Rothschild's shoes -- Rothschild's end.
• Part seven. Elves and dibbuks, ghosts and golems: supernatural tales -- The shoemaker and the Shretelekh -- The synagogue, the church, and the town hall -- The transmigrating soul -- Who's milking the cows? -- The Passover elf helps great-grandmother -- The old shul in Motele -- The blacksmith and the horses with human hands -- The mysterious gold chain -- The unquiet grave -- The large stone synagogue of Berditshev -- The golem of Vilna -- The Baal Shem Tov and the Gilgl -- The shretele that took a little nip -- The lost hat and the pile of gold -- The miracle of the beer keg -- How doves saved a synagogue from fire -- The calf that turned to gold -- A cave that leads to the land of Israel -- Late-night spooks -- The demon sheep -- The dibbuk melody of Tolne -- The missing bridegroom -- Two Hrubeshoyv legends -- Why the rebbe's pipe must be kept lighted -- Luckily, the rooster crowed late -- Neither eat nor drink what a demon offers -- A balshem drives out a dibbuk -- Lantekh, the bridge hobgoblin -- The demon and the willow twigs -- The sleepy tailor and the Zmore -- The last dibbuk.

ISBN

• 0394546180
• 9780394546186
• 0679730974
• 9780679730972

LCCN

88042594

OCLC

• ocm17983064
• 17983064
• SCSB-1716047

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library