#Slavic stories

[katriniac]

OMG you are in folk fairytales and legend Please can you tell me some of the cuteer ones you found even better if involving bears ? I loved interact with your OC too thanks fir joining and pls relax too from time to time and do not rush in answering me either 🙏🙏 I wish you a wonderful day 🤗🤗😘😘

Yesssss, I love them! Since a very young age I have been an avid reader/student of folklore, fairy tales, myths, and legends. 

Below I talk more about my personal history/feelings on the topic, and end with my three favorite fairy tales. I hope they are “cute” enough for you!

But first I wanted to answer your question about stories featuring bears.

I tried to think of one in my memory where a bear played a prominent part, but turned up empty. I mean, yes, there is the standard “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”, but I assumed you wanted to hear about something off the beaten path. 

So I dug around and found this one for you:

"The Bear in the Forest Hut". 

It is a Slavic folk tale about a prince who was cursed to take the shape of a bear, and the brave and kind woman who helped him out of that curse. She had the typical misfortune to have a stupid father and an ‘evil stepmother’ who tries to stop anything good from happening to the heroine. 

I liked this one because there is plenty of detail about the trials and tests the girl goes through in order to earn the bear’s trust and break his curse. Even more unique is how the story doesn’t just end right when the curse is broken (like so many folk tales). Instead, it goes on at length about how the two get married, travel over his kingdom, and what happens to the stepmother and stepsister.

@queengiuliettafirstlady What are some of your favorite fairy tales and myths?

How did I come to love fairy tales so much?

I think I can trace it back to my godmother, who was an amazing storyteller. She was Irish, so most of the tales she told me came from the British Isles and dated back to the 12th Century or earlier. The stories I most vividly remember her telling me were about the 3rd Century charismatic (but slightly foolish) folk hero Finn MacCool (or Fionn mac Cumhaill) and his very very clever wife Sadhbh. 

As I entered my preteen years (1990s, pre-internet era) a library was built within a 15 minute drive from our rural town. I had never had such a frequent exposure to books before that, except our small school library. My mom would take me to the new public library often and I devoured every book they had on fairy tales and legends.

When I started college, the trend of turning ancient folktales into modern, dark retelling had begun to rise in popularity. Not only was my backpack full of those every week, but now I also had access to scholarly papers through our inter-collegiate online system! I could read published research on people all over the world, those who retraced Charles Perrault’s steps, or compared similar narratives, or discovered a new translation of an old work. It was also during my college years that I discovered The Aaarne-Thompson-Uther index, which categorizes the plots and themes of fairy tales. 

When I learned about Perrault and the ATU Index, it changed my self-image.

Of course kids like fairy tales, but we are expected to grow out of those stories as we mature. I still had a deep love of folklore and myths well into my 20s and that made me feel a little silly and childish. But when I discovered that Charles Perreault (a historian in the 17th Century) believed the stories being shared in the oral tradition were important enough to be written down for posterity, that boosted my spirits. And when I stumbled across the ATU Index (begun in 1910, and continues to be updated annually still to this day), which took fairy tales seriously as anthropological artifacts, I was vindicated even more. 

These historical efforts were proof that folk lore, legends, and fairy tales weren't just for children. 

This short article is a MUST-READ for anyone who wants to have their love for storytelling rekindled and get pumped up to talk about fairy tales. It’s all about hope and courage.  I especially appreciated the excerpt from Katherine Rundell when she talks about “the hope that is sharper than teeth”

As I studied more and more obscure stories from around the world, I soon had a list of my top 4 favorites that I came back to:

Katie Crackernuts

The Twelve Dancing Princesses 

Beauty and the Beast 

The Myth of the Selkie

The middle two I have owned a few printed copies of. They are quite common and have many retellings/variations. But Katie Crackernuts was a story I could only read online; I had never seen it in print. 

There are actually similarities between parts of all three stories, which is probably why I love them so much.

I know you asked for ‘cute’ ones, but I don’t know if these really are that adorable. They all have happy endings for the heroines. Does that count? LOL

Katie Crackernuts (collected by Andrew Lange, first printed 1889)

This is a Scottish story about two sisters, one plain but clever (Katie) and one beautiful but simple (Anne). Despite this difference, they loved and supported one another as much as two sisters could. Through no fault of her own, Anne was cursed (you guessed it, by an evil stepmother) with the head of a sheep (or sometimes a donkey or goat, depending on the version) because the stepmother was jealous of her beauty. Katie put a hood over Anne to disguise her and left the house together, never to return.

They eventually came to the kingdom where there was a sick prince. His parents offered rich rewards for anyone who could heal his mysterious disease. Katie knew there had to be a reason normal medicine wasn’t working. She thought perhaps he was under a curse, too. Yep, he was going out at night in a trance to go under a hill to dance with fairies. So she watched and listened and investigated until she discovered the cure and how to administer it. Turns out the way to lift her sister’s curse was under that hill, as well!

She out-smarted the fairies, collected the items from them, and followed the instructions precisely. He grew well and discovered he loved her during all their time together while she was patiently investigating. When she used the cure on her sister, Anne’s sheep head turned back into a human one and the prince’s brother fell in love with her on the spot (of course he did). It was a lovely double-wedding. 

The Twelve Dancing Princesses (collected by the Brothers Grimm, first printed 1812)

This is about twelve sisters who are constantly tired and ruining their expensive shoes every night, and no one can find out why. The king has offered rich rewards and even marriage to the most beautiful of his daughters, but any man who steps up to the challenge either dies, fails the task, or is never seen again. Until one clever man (who has been watching this happen over and over) decides to try solving the mystery. The eldest sister (the most intelligent and haughty of the siblings) tries to stop him each time, but he outsmarts her as he follows the princesses into a fairy forest where they dance all night until their shoes fall apart and they drop from exhaustion.

Just like Katie in the story before, he is observant and waits until he has all the information and proof he needs to confront the princesses. He convinces the king, who is angry that his daughters were escaping every night. The man explains they were under a spell that compelled them to sneak out. The king offers him the most beautiful daughter (who is also the youngest and the most silly), but the man opts to marry the eldest because she was the only one who came close to matching wits.

Katie Crackernuts has much in common with The Twelve Dancing Princesses.

Both have very strict rules for entering into the world of fairies, and the “wasting sickness” that comes upon a human who spends too much time in that world (which is also a metaphor for other maladies that were rampant during those centuries, such as tuberculosis). I enjoy that theme of “Good luck if you’re beautiful because your looks won’t save you. You need to be wise, patient, and clever in this world.”

Beauty and the Beast

This was one of my favorites long before Disney made their movie. Almost everyone knows how the story goes, so I won’t make this long post even longer by summarizing it here. The bravery and selflessness of the heroine was very inspiring to me, and I loved the idea of being surrounded by talking furniture and not a single human! I was a very introverted kid. And I guess I loved the idea of a sad prince in an unloveable disguise who needed to feel loved.

Another thing I think is neat about that story is there is an actual author: Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, published the story in 1740. Most folklore and fairy tales have a shared origin and no single creator. Not so for Beauty and the Beast. This one has a bonafide author, which makes it unique. Not only that, but the author was a woman! 

What Beauty and the Beast has in common with Katie Crackernuts is charity, mercy, humility, and selflessness.

The heroine not only saves herself, but she saves those who are entrusted to her. Who needs a prince, right?? Katie didn’t have to leave home to take care of her cursed sister, but she did. She didn’t have to agree to help the sick prince, but she did. Belle didn’t have to sacrifice herself in her father’s place in that unreasonable pact, but she did. She could have been disagreeable, rude, and throwing herself a pity party the entire time she was captive in the Beast’s castle, but instead she did her best to keep her spirits up and not hate her captor. (Readers: don’t come at me with the whole “Stockholm Syndrome” comment trying to be witty; it’s an old joke that was never funny in the first place.) Katie also tried hard to make the best of an awful situation, and she was never resentful to Anne or put her on a guilt trip. I was inspired by the important values and virtues portrayed by these two heroines.

The Legend of the Selkie

You asked for ‘cute’ stories, but this last one is anything but cute. The Celtic legend of the Selkie is heartbreaking, and there is hardly ever a happy ending. I heard briefly about it as a kid, but never found a published story to read. The oral tradition of the tale goes back to the 13th Century, but it didn’t make it into many books. Then the movie The Secret of Roan Inish came out in 1995. I was 15 at the time and didn’t have my driver’s license yet, so I begged a family member to bring me to the only theater in the entire state that was showing this independent film, over an hour away. It was magical. I bought the DVD as soon as it was available. It was the only thing I could find at that time (remember, the internet wasn’t really used for entertainment in 1995 like it is now) that displayed the Selkie myth, which is:

There are some special seals in the sea who can shed their seal-skin and turn themselves into human women. They are beautiful, quiet, and hard-working. And therefore they are much sought-after as wives by the lonely fishermen of the islands. The legend says that if you find a Selkie in her human form and take her seal-skin away from her, she is yours for the rest of your life. You can imagine the life of servitude that awaits the poor woman! She is usually desperate to turn the house inside out looking for her seal skin and return to the sea, or if she doesn’t find it she will murder her husband.

Fascinating!

Oof, okay. That post went on really long. Sorry. When I start to talk about fairy tales and folklore, I have a difficult time keeping it short, lol. And I didn't even get into the Greek myths! Yikes.

#fairy tales #storytelling #folklore #legends #myths #folktales #Katie Crackernuts #Kate Crackernuts #Selkie #Beauty and the Beast #The Twelve Dancing Princesses #Twelve Dancing Princesses #The Bear in the Forest Hut #Irish legend #Slavic stories #Finn MacCool #Fionn mac Cumhaill #Charles Perrault #Aaarne-Thompson-Uther index #ATU Index #Andrew Lange #Brothers Grimm #Grimms Fairy Tales #Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve #my asks #Celtic folklore

[jojaydoodles]

Original illustrations are the killer of my blog's engagement, but I didn't train drawing for 35 years to draw nothing but fanart. This is probably the most Slavic piece I ever made.

----

buy me coffe > ko-fi buy prints and stickers > redbubble

#original character #original manga #original art #original story #slavic #slavic girl #slavic folklore #manga #art #digital art #illustration #artwork #myart:original #medibang

[snowpus]

#me #slavic girls #adidas #cyka blyat #apple watch #short story

[lynxxpaw]

.::Green Eyes::.

#did you guys know that cotl leshy and inscryption leshy have been curing my slavic trauma related to this man #now you know. shoutout to my parents who kept scaring me with stories about this guy haha anyway #cotl #cotl leshy #cult of the lamb #cult of the lamb leshy #cotl bishop

[vermutandherring]

Setting to my next little story~

I miss the warm holiday evenings, when we wore something from national clothes, sat down to dinner on Christmas Eve and watched films based on the Christmas motifs of Gogol's stories. I miss the taste of mom's kutia (ritual dish) and the one that my aunt brought to taste the next day. It seems that there was even more snow back in the days. Today there is nothing. No holiday, no kutia, no family evenings. Only the wailing of air raid sirens, news about the deaths of compatriots and fear for the lives of loved ones.

Custom content by @lilis-palace @kerriganhouse @syboubou @pinkbox-anye @simverses and others~

#sims #the sims 4 #sims 4 #ts4 #simblr #sims 4 historical #ts4 historical #sims 4 story #ts4 story #ukrainian culture #slavic folklore #slavic tradition

[regular-gnome]

do the archivists speak dutch?? lmao. now im curious how their names would translate

Iiiits more that I speak dutch and gave the twins nicknames not really expecting anyone to ask about them:P and found it funny to consider they would rather make nicknames from numbers than decide on individual name

But as for the translation of the titles, Dutch and English are from the same language family, so they sound pretty similar, with only really two names being different. Anatomist would translate to Anatoom and Wayfarer to Reiziger; Architect and Curator are the same in both languages. In the ofical translation of the series, the name for Collector wasn't changed, anddd with all my love for Dutch, I think its better than Verzamelaar

On how everyone experiences languages, my take is that on the Isles, there is a variation of some common language with different dialects between islands that can be understood universally. With societies divided by the sea, it's a great environment for the language to differentiate, but there are Titans that are able to walk between them and communicate with, and since they are a very important part of the cultures, the language would reflect that. After the titans were gone gaps were closed by sea voyage. At least, that's how I would explain why witches from the Boiling Isles and Titan Trapper Island understood each other. Titans have their own language too, which is separate from the common tongue, but they only use it among themselves.

As for Archivists, they travel between a lot of places that don't really share a tonge or planet but still somehow communicate with mortal beings. My take on that is pretty generic: they have a magic that allows for it. In the encode-decode model of communication, it's like a spell that covers code and channel parts. The exact wording doesn't matter that much, the meaning is received. It's a bit like reading a book in another language or watching a show; sometimes you don't remember in which language it was or wording, but you still remember the information conveyed

For the comic format, language barriers don't play a very big role, mostly because everything takes place in a pretty small territory and because I write everything in English to avoid confusion:P

#If the story was written in polish there would be some sweet kaszubski and śląski incorporated #my brain just went with Titans speak something like Interslavic and diffrent islands are the slavic languages but do not take it to heartxD #ask #the owl house #titan trappers #toh titans #toh archivists

[mauzeart]

Perun and Dodola. I think they look good together. Their relationship is such that with her he's a lovely bunny and with others he's a fierce beast. Hmm. Love them))

#folk tales #slavic mythology #slavic #artist on tumblr #character design #digital art #comics #tales of lukomorye #character concept #slavic folklore #love story #lovestories #love #relationship #perun #dodola #graphic novel

[ftm-megamind]

i think david has the best scary stories. because he grew up in poland and has heard of like a hundred different slavic spirits and monsters and now he carries the legacy on because whenever he wants to persuade les by scaring him a little he says "eat the whole dinner or bebok will steal you" or "you can't go to the forest alone leszy will eat you" or "don't swim in the hudson river utopce will drown you and turn you into one of them." and also sometimes when he's at the lodging house for the night the littles just ask him for a scary story and he always provides (<- great narrator/storyteller david bonus)

#this is self projecting (as always) #because i remember my dad's old as fuck fairytale books with scary drawings of monsters #david goes above and beyond to entertain the littles with the legends he remembers and stories he improvises using existing slavic folklore #and on that aspect the littles love him even more than they love jack #and i will die on that hill #newsies #newsies 1992 #92sies #david jacobs #newsies david jacobs

[nikoisme]

@myblacknightworld

So! As with literally everything in slavic mythology, their myth also has a bunch of different versions and a lot of things are unknown. This is just the myth i learned about, so please keep in mind that details may vary!

Jarilo is the god of fertility, springtime, vegetation, all that jazz. Morana is the goddess of winter, death, rebirth and probably some other things. Both of them are the children of the god Perun (god of thunder, lighting, war, sky.. most likely the supreme god of the pantheon). On the night of his birth, Jarilo was taken by Veles, god of the underworld, livestock, wild animals, pastures... (important detail: Veles was Perun's enemy) and he raised him as his own in the underworld. When Jarilo grew up, he went back the the world above, and his return was followed by spring and vegetation growth. Soon, Morana and Jarilo fell in love, and their marriage brought bountiful harvest and fertility to the earth,, even peace between Veles and Perun. However, Jarilo was unfaithful to Morana, so she (or Perun, or their brothers) kills him. Without him, she grows into a terrifying, old and worn goddess of winter, frost, death - and she eventually dies at the end of the year. But, Jarilo's life is tied to the cycle of vegetation, he is reborn each year and brings spring back with him. And so the myth repeats itself over and over again.

Technically, they wouldn't change much because they keep being reborn - but maybe all that killing and coming back to life takes a toll on you, who knows.

#fun! #i had to try and remember my classes and i also researched a bit to string the myth. but i think i got the essence of it down #trying to look into slavic mythology (especially gods and their myths) is such a struggle. the little things we know are alive through #traditions rituals and stories. #and even THOSE are vastly different from place to place.

[podraje]

[me to me]: writing is your hobby. Hobbies should be fun. It's not your job. You can write whatever you like. You don't have to force yourself to do it. You are not useless If you don't feel like writing. You want to be an author, but you're not yet. You might as well get published after 30. It might not be the story. It might never become your job. It's okay. You should be having fun. Write as many things as you want. Have as many drafts of different stories, as you want. You already have one job, you don't need to fall under the pressure to capitalize off of everything you do. HOBBIES SHOULD BE FUN!!!

#bitch get this in your head #WRITE MORE #WRITE MORE CHAOTIC #START NEW STORY IF YOU WANT #im rewritting the first 6 chapters #and generally it has been fun #but i forgot my pills so today im team Annoyed by everything #i wanted to finish rewriting 3rd chapter this weekend #but I opened the doc of Alicja's pov and wanted to cry #I AM THE ONLY ONE PUSHING THIS PRESSURE ON MYSELF #LIFE WON'T STOP IF I DON'T PUBLISH BEFORE TURNING 30 #AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHG #writing #writers of tumblr #warmcore #cozycore #positive thinking #positivity #hobbies #hobby #dark academia #light academia #chaotic academia #slavic academia #adulthood #books #book worm #book wip #reminder #sun

[nekhcore]

tales from the sportsbook! context under the break

this person was a regular, in that he was barely of age but never had ID and kept coming in with minors. a sportsbook is a casino. you are not allowed to do that. i kicked him out whenever he wasn’t alone.

“kur ne me boli” is basically our “i do not give a singular fuck”. but you are also directly calling to the existence of your penis when you say it.

so i was kicking him out, he’s making all these excuses, as they do… and he looks super surprised when i say this and looks at my crotch?? like he makes a big dramatic show of looking at my dick and then being amused about it. like damn, what is your problem.

#art #ftm #trans #lgbt #oc art #trans man #transgender #comic #sportsbook stories #kladilnica #slavic #nekh draws #nekh is trans #jobs are weird #customer service is weird #balkans #kladilnici are also where you find the absolute worst our countries have to offer!!

[sideblague]

time for them to live happily ever after. The End

#dlsmp spoilers #double life smp #double life spoilers #YOU CAN TELL I DONT THINK ABOUT DOGS I AM SORRY. Pearls character story has such slavic vibes am i crazy #i’m still scared to tag even though it’s been a week.. #pearlescentmoon #draws

[jahodenka-angrestovka]

∗❀𓇣❁introducing you the south bohemian culture❁𓇣❀∗

ok so since noone really cares about south bohemian culture anymore, i'll to try to embrace it here on my blog, at least so that people know it exists. for the ones who don't know, Bohemia is an area in Czechia, that takes up most of the country. in czech, it is called 'Čechy'. now, you might notice the similarity between the words chechia and čechy - yes, my whole country is called after this part of it, even though it contains three regions: Bohemia (Čechy), Moravia (Morava) and Silesia (Slezsko). moravians and silesians take care of their culture pretty well in these trying times, but the bohemians, being the most influenced by the west culture, usually don't. so here's me, the tiniest person on tumblr, trying to do something about it! yay!! ❀first i'd like to say something about the name of this entire region. so according to an old, veery old myth, at first, all the slavic tribes lived in one place, 'v matičce Rusi' (in the mother of all, Russia). But the tribes and families started to lack space for their houses, animals and children, and thus two brothers, Čech and Lech, decided to go search for a new place for them. they went a long, long way, until they came to today's czechia, specifically to the mountain Říp (it actually exists). the forefather Čech climbed on the top of it, he looked around and saw, that they came in their promised land. it had beautiful mountains on the sides and fertile meadows in the middle, miles and miles of dark woods, and it was rich in milk and honey. and when he asked what it should be called, the slavs shouted in excitement that it should be called after the forefather himself. (i love this story a lot<3)

❀next post is going to be about the south bohemian region itself and it's parts! i'm planning on still posting art on this blog, but making it more representing of my slavic culture. i hope someone finds this interesting!

also sorry if i made any english mistakes :)

#slavic #rumour #old story #old rumour #slavic legend #slavic culture #čumblr #czechia #czech culture #bohemia #bohemian culture #south bohemia #obrozujeme #slavic representation #culture #history #slavic history #czech history #czech legend

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

NOT A COUNTRY RENOWNED FOR ITS DRAGONS -- SERPENTS IN SLAVIC FOLKLORE.

PIC INFO: Resolution at 1208x1803 -- Spotlight on an illustration from a book of Russian tales, c. 1916. The Russian story book, containing tales from the song-cycles of Kiev, Novgorod and other early sources. Richard Wilson, ed., artwork by Frank C. Pacé ill. London, UK: Macmillan.

Source: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Russian_story_book_1916_illustration_f108.jpg.

#Russian folklore #Russian Tales #Dragon #Slavic Culture #Slavic #Slavic folklore #Frank C. Pacé #Frank C. Pacé Art #Books #1916 #Russian Story Book #Illustration #Richard Wilson #Folklore #Song-Cycles #Kiev #Novgorod #Frank C. Pacé Artist #1910s #Russian #Vintage Illustration #Dragon Art #Dragons #Russian tales #Russia

[vermutandherring]

To be continued...

It's a bit late for Christmas stories, but hey, it's still winter ☃️❄️🌨️ I used a lot of CC so if you need something particular, don't be afraid to ask

#sims #the sims 4 #sims 4 #ts4 #simblr #sims 4 historical #ts4 historical #sims 4 story #ts4 story #ts4 christmas #ts4 folklore #slavic folklore #slavic mythology #slavic tradition #ukrainian culture #ukrainian traditions #vermutandherring

[pannamara]

Beginning of the summer season, you are in the village in an old house. Your grandma is in the kitchen cooking something tasty. Many, many days ahead...

#slavic #ilustrationart #digital ilustration #ilustration #village stories #uktaine #art #artwork #my art #digital painting