Folk Tales from Bohemia

Rating:
Summary: Devils abound in these tales.
Review: Originally published in 1923 by Houghton Mifflin Company, this group of folktales center on evil, and especially on devils. Since Bohemian peasants are very shrewd, they can time and again defeat the devils. One man fooled the devil so badly that he brought the man a bag of gold. His fellow devils convinced him to come back and wrestle with the peasant for it. The peasant had the devil wrestle with the peasant's "grandfather" --an old bear. When the other devils insisted their friend go back and try a race, the peasant had the devil race his "son"--a rabbit. Defeated once more, the devil resisted going back to earth again, but was talked into a whistling match in which the peasant again flummoxed him. The man got to keep the bag of gold. A woman peasant can defeat devils, too. One's reputation was that she treated her helpers so cruelly no one stayed with her more than a month. The devil married her, thinking she would treat him better. She didn't. He ran away, but just as he was about to conclude a very good deal he was told his wife was waiting for him. He chose to fly back to hell! There are nine stories in this collection. The book is especially attractive with its printing in red and black.

Rating:
Summary: Devils abound in these tales.
Review: Originally published in 1923 by Houghton Mifflin Company, this group of folktales center on evil, and especially on devils. Since Bohemian peasants are very shrewd, they can time and again defeat the devils. One man fooled the devil so badly that he brought the man a bag of gold. His fellow devils convinced him to come back and wrestle with the peasant for it. The peasant had the devil wrestle with the peasant's "grandfather" --an old bear. When the other devils insisted their friend go back and try a race, the peasant had the devil race his "son"--a rabbit. Defeated once more, the devil resisted going back to earth again, but was talked into a whistling match in which the peasant again flummoxed him. The man got to keep the bag of gold. A woman peasant can defeat devils, too. One's reputation was that she treated her helpers so cruelly no one stayed with her more than a month. The devil married her, thinking she would treat him better. She didn't. He ran away, but just as he was about to conclude a very good deal he was told his wife was waiting for him. He chose to fly back to hell! There are nine stories in this collection. The book is especially attractive with its printing in red and black.