67 Tales from Poland Paperback – February 23, 2017

I’d like to elaborate on 4 points here.1.The book contains 52 Polish folk tales that have not been previously translated. That is, you can't read them anywhere else. Besides, the translation in this most recent edition is very representative of the authentic style of Polish fairy tales.Only 3 compilations of Polish folk fairy tales have appeared before:I.Polish Fairy Tales, published in 1920, authored by A. J. Glinski (1817—1866) and translated by Maude A. Shurst Biggs. This consisted of 7 tales: 1. The Frog Princess; 2. Princess Miranda and Prince Hero; 3. The Eagles; 4. The Whirlwind; 5. The Good Ferryman and the Water Nymphs; 6. The Princess of the Brazen Mountain; 7. The Bear in the Forest Hut.II. The Glass Mountain and other Polish Tales, published in 1925, translated by Elsie Byrde (1909 - 1978). This one contained 6 tales: 1.The Old Man's Son, 2.About Prince Surprise,3.The Prince and the Foundling, 4.The Glass Mountain 5.Bogdynek 6.About Jan the Prince.III. The Polish fairy book, published in 1925, translated by Elsie Byrde Byrde (1909 - 1978). This consisted of 23 tales: 1.About Prince Surprise, 2. The Old Man's Son, 3. About Jan the Prince, 4.Bogdynek, 5.The Prince and the Foundling, 6. Krencipal and Krencipalka, 7.The Golden Lynx, 8. The Magic Fife, 9.The Wanderer Who Had Forgotten Who He Was, 10.About the Hedgehog, Who Became a Prince, 11.The Sheepskin Coat, 12.Lie-A-Stove, 13.The Enchanted Doughnuts, 14.Saturday Mountain, 15. The Wise Simpleton, 16.The Flight, 17.The Glass Mountain, 18.The Three Sisters, 19.About the Black Crow, 20.The Giant Twins, 21.The Dragon Prince, 22.Goldenhari and Goldenhand, 23.The Frog Princess.As you can see, the old books of 1920 and 1925 contained few stories. Besides, they’ve been reprinted a thousand times and are available on the web.This book contains as many as 52(!) NEW translations of Polish folk tales, which have never appeared in other books. My professors at university told me this is the first translation of Polish folk fairy tales since 1926.2.It also contains 2016 translations of 2 works by Reymont and Sienkiewicz, which have never been published before, complete with classical translations of Polish literature.Sienkiewicz wrote unparalleled books. I really love these quotes:-Society rests on roguery, and life itself is self-deception.-In your heaven may there be no clouds, or, if some there be, may they have the color and the odor of roses-Happiness is always there where a man sees it. May Flora strew flowers under thy feet for long years.I also appreciate Bolesław Prus, whose works are also included in the book. More quotes for you to admire:-Don’t think about happiness. If it doesn’t come, there’s no disappointment; if it does come, it’s a surprise.-Folly is as great as the sea, it will compass anything.3. The layout is perfect, very easy to read. I loved the artwork too.I believe the book has several editions. Apart from the good translation, this one has wonderful design.The cover is a real masterpiece; you can feel how charming Polish countryside is, but this is not really important to me as I rather focus on the story.4. There’s an old Polish proverb, “A guest in one’s home is God in one’s home,” which means any guest is a divine blessing.Polish people are hospitable by nature. They never fail to make sure that nobody is hungry or lonely at Christmas. This book by the most talented Polish authors is a hospitable invitation for a journey through the stories.Polish history is both tragic and spectacular, and so is the literature. The fact gives more value to this highly professional English translation.I believe this book is the best translation of Polish literature published in the recent 20 years.P.S. One of the best compilations of Polish fairy tales i've ever encountered. Bought this for my daughter and she said, "If I could give it seven stars I would!". I love how these tales are so varied from the Disney stories. Glad I got this.

You know what children are like. They never remember what we tell them and never forget what you do, nor do they forget what they read in a nice book. They say love doesn’t need any declarations; what it needs is action. I think it’s very true.When an India, I heard a really fascinating story about these fairy tales. Could you guess that some of the fairy tales are quite popular as far away as in India, where people still tell them to their children? Let me explain what makes this book unique and truly wonderful.About 5,000 Polish kids were taken to India during World War II. They all had lost their parents to the war. An Indian prince, along with other Indian princes, brought them to their country to raise them in their homes and give them education. Many found foster families after the war ended. It was these very fairy tales that the kids would read to each other at bedtime just, you know, to stay strong. Even now, many locals remember “About a Rich Gentleman” and “Three Lamps” because they heard children tell them. Can you imagine it? From Poland to India, from the 1940s to the 2020s!As I was staying in Balachadi, Indians who had memories of this Indian prince asked me if I could give the book to the local library in memory of the Polish children who had to go all the way to India to escape from the brutal war.On my way back to the airport, I told the Indian taxi driver about the Polish children and their fairy tales. As we were driving in the mountains, I saw a really steep cliff opening right into an abyss just beside the road that wasn’t even fenced. “Aren’t you afraid of driving here?” I asked the drive. He stopped the car at the very edge of the cliff and offered me to come out and take some pictures. I looked down to see at least a dozen buses and cars that had fallen into the abyss. The driver then said, “These people were careless. They didn’t read those fairy tales you mention that teach children to always take care. You know, I think the tales are very much like a fence that only exists in your mind to protect you”.The stories survived Word War II, helping children survive it as well, saving little orphans far away from home.To me, this is a wonderful, magical book.P.S.: By the way, I found the editing work was done well. The stories are cute, but the editing is wonderful. The footnotes are thoughtful, brief, and unobtrusive. The editing is accurate, the book is handsomely designed, the printing is exquisite, and the finished product is poetic and understandable (thank you for your wise and thoughtful editing, your editing is clever). The tales are wonderful, the editing is thoughtful: a lovely mix of classic and contemporary; old favorites and new discoveries.