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Fables and Fairy Tales
Fables and Fairy Tales is the first generally available translation of many of Leo Tolstoy’s shorter and lesser-known works. With beautiful simplicity, the author brings his great themes of purgation and social justice to the succinct medium of the timeless fantasy — themes which are more diffuse and implicit in his novels. Simplicity of character and hard physical labor lead to spiritual reward for the kings, hermits, imps and talking animals, peasants and fools of these parables — whereas wit and cleverness are conditions for their imminent downfall. “His art is so full and broad and true that he seems able to do for his own time and country what Shakespeare ... did for his.” — Havelock Ellis.
“Tolstoy perceived the dawning of a time when ... the leading, illuminating and decisive spirit which is to unify and serve society must supercede the objective genius, and the ethical and intelligent rise above the irresponsibly lovely ...” — Thomas Mann
“Tolstoy perceived the dawning of a time when ... the leading, illuminating and decisive spirit which is to unify and serve society must supercede the objective genius, and the ethical and intelligent rise above the irresponsibly lovely ...” — Thomas Mann
141 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1886
14 people are currently reading
458 people want to read
About the author
Leo Tolstoy
8,108 books28.8k followersLev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Николаевич Толстой; most appropriately used Liev Tolstoy; commonly Leo Tolstoy in Anglophone countries) was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist fiction. Many consider Tolstoy to have been one of the world's greatest novelists. Tolstoy is equally known for his complicated and paradoxical persona and for his extreme moralistic and ascetic views, which he adopted after a moral crisis and spiritual awakening in the 1870s, after which he also became noted as a moral thinker and social reformer.
His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and anarcho-pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and anarcho-pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
July 23, 2019
تولستوی برای کودکان هم می نویسد,نکته ای که در همه ی داستان هایش مشهود پیام اخلاقی سفت و سخت آن است که بی پرده و حتی خشن مطرح می شود..روسیه سرزمین سختی ها و دشواری هاست..کودکانش هم از اغاز از این قاعده مستثنی نیستند...
February 12, 2024
This collection of short stories and parables has fallen into utter obscurity, despite being written by Tolstoy, of all people. These were written in the period of time after his conversion to Russian Orthodox Christianity. Tolstoy set out to rewrite a collection of Russian folk stories and parables from a Christian worldview. The Christian worldview does come out, although in a subtle way.
Many of the stories are very short, only a few lines. Some of them reminded me of Aesop’s fables or fairy tales. I enjoyed how pithy and concise they were. It also revealed an interesting Russian worldview. Tolstoy is just brilliant; I haven’t read a bad thing by him yet.
Many of the stories are very short, only a few lines. Some of them reminded me of Aesop’s fables or fairy tales. I enjoyed how pithy and concise they were. It also revealed an interesting Russian worldview. Tolstoy is just brilliant; I haven’t read a bad thing by him yet.
December 13, 2022
Hôm rồi mình vào thư viện trường tình cờ đi qua khu vực sách của các tác giả Nga, thấy bên cạnh mấy cuốn đồ sộ Chiến tranh và Hoà Bình, Anna Karenina, có một cuốn bé xíu tên là Fables & Fairy Tales (Truyện ngụ ngôn và cổ tích) của Leo Tolstoy có vẻ xinh xinh nên mượn về đọc. Hầu hết các truyện trong ngày đều rất ngắn, chỉ khoảng một vài trăm chữ, đúng phong cách truyện ngụ ngôn, duyên dáng, thú vị, đơn giản ở mức trẻ con cũng hiểu được, mà vẫn sâu sắc đủ để người lớn vẫn thích thú.
Điều mình ấn tượng là một số tư tưởng của Leo Tolstoy khá hiện đại, khai thác được sự mâu thuẫn của con người, làm nổi bật các đặc tính của xã hội theo cách nhìn không hẳn là cliché như các truyện ngụ ngôn khác. Đặc biệt mấy truyện cuối trong quyển này là những truyện dài hơn một chút, lại mang hơi hướng Phật giáo, khiến mình liên tưởng tới Siddhartha của Herman Hesse hay triết lý của thầy Thích Nhất Hạnh. Tính tương tức “inter-being”, tính đồng nhất của con người trong vũ trụ “Life is one in everything, and within yourself you manifest but a portion of this one life. […] For life there is neither time no space; the life of a moment in the life of thousands of years your life, in the lives of all creatures seen and unseen, is one”; tính quý giá của giây phút hiện tại và sự có mặt (being present) được Tolstoy đưa vào trong những câu chuyện cực ngắn một cách nhẹ nhàng, thông minh, dễ tiếp cận.
Mình chưa đọc các tác phẩm khác của Leo Tolstoy (thực ra đã từng đọc Anna Karenina được 30% nhưng sau đó không theo kịp tuyến nhân vật với tên giống giống nhau nên tạm thời DNF), nhưng mình luôn nghĩ ông là tiểu thuyết gia viết những cuốn truyện đồ sộ vĩ đại lớn lao. Không ngờ ông cũng viết những truyện ngụ ngôn bé bé, vừa lòng bàn tay với văn phong dung dị, hóm hỉnh như thế này. Mình thấy đây là một tác phẩm rất đáng có trong tủ sách của mỗi nhà!
Delightful read!
Điều mình ấn tượng là một số tư tưởng của Leo Tolstoy khá hiện đại, khai thác được sự mâu thuẫn của con người, làm nổi bật các đặc tính của xã hội theo cách nhìn không hẳn là cliché như các truyện ngụ ngôn khác. Đặc biệt mấy truyện cuối trong quyển này là những truyện dài hơn một chút, lại mang hơi hướng Phật giáo, khiến mình liên tưởng tới Siddhartha của Herman Hesse hay triết lý của thầy Thích Nhất Hạnh. Tính tương tức “inter-being”, tính đồng nhất của con người trong vũ trụ “Life is one in everything, and within yourself you manifest but a portion of this one life. […] For life there is neither time no space; the life of a moment in the life of thousands of years your life, in the lives of all creatures seen and unseen, is one”; tính quý giá của giây phút hiện tại và sự có mặt (being present) được Tolstoy đưa vào trong những câu chuyện cực ngắn một cách nhẹ nhàng, thông minh, dễ tiếp cận.
Mình chưa đọc các tác phẩm khác của Leo Tolstoy (thực ra đã từng đọc Anna Karenina được 30% nhưng sau đó không theo kịp tuyến nhân vật với tên giống giống nhau nên tạm thời DNF), nhưng mình luôn nghĩ ông là tiểu thuyết gia viết những cuốn truyện đồ sộ vĩ đại lớn lao. Không ngờ ông cũng viết những truyện ngụ ngôn bé bé, vừa lòng bàn tay với văn phong dung dị, hóm hỉnh như thế này. Mình thấy đây là một tác phẩm rất đáng có trong tủ sách của mỗi nhà!
Delightful read!
December 15, 2017
A selection of fanciful but instructional short works collected or written by the famous Russian author.
Book Review: Fables and Fairy Tales by Leo Tolstoy is a bit of an oddity, but a good oddity,a fun oddity. These are indeed fables and fairy tales, mostly aimed at children, all embodying a moral lesson. Unlike Aesop, Tolstoy doesn't include an actual moral at the end, leaving that for the reader to decipher. Since many of these pieces were included in primers to help students learn to read, the moral should be relatively simple, but a good number of these contain ideas worth pondering. A piece of advice in the middle of one tale is: "tell your sons that the elder will receive the entire inheritance, and the younger will receive nothing; then they will be equal." Of course, the younger son ends up better off than the older. But "The Snake" has a disturbingly nihilist and violent conclusion, surely baffling or upsetting to children. In another, a hungry peasant eats roll after roll, and after finally eating a single pretzel is no longer hungry -- he realizes he should've eaten the pretzel first! Who says Tolstoy has no sense of humor? While all these stories were new to me, most seemed familiar. For example, Tolstoy uses the metaphor of many birds caught in a net for the adage, "if we do not hang together we will surely hang separately." In another, two hedgehogs find a way to duplicate the success of the tortoise with the hare. All in all, these Fables and Fairy Tales express Tolstoy's philosophy of doing good no matter the cost, which can be difficult for those who concern themselves with superficial notions of fairness or what seems right and wrong. In a longer piece we learn: "For life there is neither time nor space. The life of a moment and the life of thousands of years, your life and the lives of all creatures, seen and unseen, is one." This is for children? Finally, in "The Three Questions," the answers are: the most important time is now, the most important person is the one you're with, and the most important act is to do good to that person. This is a sweet book, but also a deeply human one, and the translation is excellent. Fables and Fairy Tales may be the shortest of Tolstoy's works, and at 130 some pages will be certainly the easiest way to honestly claim that you've read Tolstoy. [4★]
Book Review: Fables and Fairy Tales by Leo Tolstoy is a bit of an oddity, but a good oddity,a fun oddity. These are indeed fables and fairy tales, mostly aimed at children, all embodying a moral lesson. Unlike Aesop, Tolstoy doesn't include an actual moral at the end, leaving that for the reader to decipher. Since many of these pieces were included in primers to help students learn to read, the moral should be relatively simple, but a good number of these contain ideas worth pondering. A piece of advice in the middle of one tale is: "tell your sons that the elder will receive the entire inheritance, and the younger will receive nothing; then they will be equal." Of course, the younger son ends up better off than the older. But "The Snake" has a disturbingly nihilist and violent conclusion, surely baffling or upsetting to children. In another, a hungry peasant eats roll after roll, and after finally eating a single pretzel is no longer hungry -- he realizes he should've eaten the pretzel first! Who says Tolstoy has no sense of humor? While all these stories were new to me, most seemed familiar. For example, Tolstoy uses the metaphor of many birds caught in a net for the adage, "if we do not hang together we will surely hang separately." In another, two hedgehogs find a way to duplicate the success of the tortoise with the hare. All in all, these Fables and Fairy Tales express Tolstoy's philosophy of doing good no matter the cost, which can be difficult for those who concern themselves with superficial notions of fairness or what seems right and wrong. In a longer piece we learn: "For life there is neither time nor space. The life of a moment and the life of thousands of years, your life and the lives of all creatures, seen and unseen, is one." This is for children? Finally, in "The Three Questions," the answers are: the most important time is now, the most important person is the one you're with, and the most important act is to do good to that person. This is a sweet book, but also a deeply human one, and the translation is excellent. Fables and Fairy Tales may be the shortest of Tolstoy's works, and at 130 some pages will be certainly the easiest way to honestly claim that you've read Tolstoy. [4★]
May 16, 2008
I am listing each of the stories for future reference. Each one was fascinating, inspiring, and challenging.
What Men Live By; How Much Land Does a Man Need?; The Three Hermits; Where Love Is, God is; Two Old Men; God Sees the Truth, But Waits; The Godson; Master and Men.
What Men Live By; How Much Land Does a Man Need?; The Three Hermits; Where Love Is, God is; Two Old Men; God Sees the Truth, But Waits; The Godson; Master and Men.
February 18, 2018
I found this book in my grandfather's library. The first story I read made no sense, the second didn't either but there was something compelling me to keep at it. These are stories hidden with lessons you learn as a child. Still, there is something about the simplicity and whimsy of his writing that I can't explain. So for a while, I was transported back to a child-like state laughing at stories that suddenly started to make sense.
September 30, 2019
Some great tales. You can see the same ideas and themes that run through Tolstoy's other writings. A good addition to a general understanding of the author.
August 31, 2021
Simply delightful. Some were short, and the last few were very long. But I got a kick out of all of them.
October 24, 2023
I found this amusing but slightly baffling up until the halfway mark, where Tolstoy's collection of otherwise sparsely-written moralistic tales is interrupted by "Esarhaddon, King of Assyria" and "The Three Questions," two (for me) profound and moving pieces that I simply could not shake, even while reading through the rest of the anthology. "For life there is neither time nor space. The life of a moment and the life of thousands of years, your life and the lives of all creatures seen and unseen, is one."
April 4, 2019
Short little stories with powerful lessons behind them. A great read
December 9, 2021
Recenzie – “Povestiri” de Lev Tolstoi
“Povestiri”, Editura Tineretului este o serie de povestiri scrisă de unul dintre cei mai cunoscuți scriitori din lume, Lev Tolstoi. Cartea conține următoarele opere: “Povestiri”, “Creanga de Alun”, “Câinele lui Iacob”, “Cum a Fost Prins Ursul”, “Păsărica”, “Cei Trei Urși”, “Filipok”, “Povestea unui Băiețel Care n-a Fost Luat la Oraș”, “Bunicul cel Bătrân și Nepoțelul”, “Pisoiul”, “Cum a Urnit Mujicul un Pietroi”, “Ursul în Căruță”, “Cum s-a Dat Hoțul în Vileag”, “Leul și Cățelușa”, “Ariciul și Iepurele”, “Vrabia și Rândunelele”, “Broasca Țestoasă”, “Bâtlanul, Peștii și Racul”, “Mălinul”, “Corbul și Puii Lui”, “Vaca” și “Rechinul”.
Cititorii vor învăța lecții importante ca: importanța de a spune adevărul, greșeala recunoscută este pe jumătate iertată, precauția, lupul îmbrăcat în piele de oaie, lucrurile nu sunt ceea ce par, naivitatea, consecințele neascultării de părinți, iresponsabilității, cruzimii față de animale, explorării unor teritorii necunoscute și a deciziilor greșite, sacrificul, dorința de a învăța lucruri noi, curiozitatea, poartă-te cu alții așa cum ai dori să se poarte și alții cu tine, responsabilitatea, istețimea, prietenia etc.
Anumite povești reflectă confruntările omului cu natura, așa cum se poate observa în: “Cum a Fost Prins Ursul” și “Rechinul”. Plantele și animalele au fost mereu folosite în fabule și povești pentru a reprezenta diferite trăsăsturi și defecte ale oamenilor. Un exemplu este mălinul din povestea cu același titlu care este imaginea generozității. Personajul principal ajunge să regrete că l-a tăiat, aducându-și aminte de mireasma florilor lui primăvara și de frumusețea acestuia în celelalte anotimpuri. Peștii din „Bâtlanul, Peștii și Racul” reprezintă naivitatea întrucât aceștia se lasă păcăliți de bâtlanul bătrân că vor fi mutați într-o casă nouă, când în realitate pasărea șireată nu vrea decât să-i mănânce.
Alături de Esop, Frații Grimm, Charles Perrault, Robert Southey, Paul Heins, K. M. Jenkins, Stephanie Ayers, Mihai Eminescu, Ion Creangă, Ioan Slavici, Mihail Sadoveanu, Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea, Petre Ispirescu, Nicolae Filimon, Alexandru Vasiliu, Ion Pop-Reteganul, Petre Crăciun, Sînziana Popescu și mulți alții, Lev Tolstoi rămâne nemuritor prin operele lui.
Recomand această carte cititorilor 7+.
Review for „Tales” by Leo Tolstoy
„Tales”, the „Tineretului” Publishing House is a series of stories written by one of the most renowned writers in the world, Leo Tolstoy. The book contains the following works: “Tales”, “The Branch of the Hazel Tree”, “Jacob’s Dog”, “How Was the Bear Caught?”, “The Little Bird”, “The Three Bears”, “Little Philip”, “The Tale of a Boy Who Never Went to Town”, “The Old Grandpa and the Grandson”, “The Kitten”, “How the Peasant Got the Boulder Out of the Way”, “The Bear in the Cart”, “How the Thief Revealed Himself”, “The Lion and the She-Dog”, “The Hedgehog and the Hare”, “The Sparrow and the Swallows”, “The Turtle”, “The Grey Heron, the Fish and the Lobster”, “The Mayday Tree”, “The Raven and His Chicks”, “The Cow” and “The Shark”.
The readers will learn important lessons such as: the importance of telling the truth, a fault confessed is half redressed, caution, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, things aren’t what they seem, naivety, the consequences of disobedience, irresponsibility, animal cruelty, exploring unknown territories and bad decisions, sacrifice, the desire to learn new things, curiosity, do as you would be done by, responsibility, cleverness, friendship etc.
Some stories reflect man’s encounter with nature like “How Was the Bear Caught?” and “The Shark” for example. Plants and animals were often used in fables and stories to represent different traits and flaws of men. An example is the Mayday tree from the story of the same name is the image of generosity. The main character is feeling remorse after he cut it later on, remembering the beautiful fragrance of its flowers in springtime and the tree’s beauty during the other seasons. The fish from “The Grey Heron, the Fish and the Lobster” represent naivety since they let themselves be tricked by the old heron into believing that they will be moved to a new home when in reality, the sly bird only wants to eat them.
Together with Aesop, the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, Robert Southey, Paul Heins, K. M. Jenkins, Stephanie Ayers, Mihai Eminescu, Ion Creangă, Ioan Slavici, Mihail Sadoveanu, Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea, Petre Ispirescu, Nicolae Filimon, Alexandru Vasiliu, Ion Pop-Reteganul, Petre Crăciun, Sînziana Popescu and many others, Leo Tolstoy remains immortal through his literary works.
I recommend this book to readers 7+.
“Povestiri”, Editura Tineretului este o serie de povestiri scrisă de unul dintre cei mai cunoscuți scriitori din lume, Lev Tolstoi. Cartea conține următoarele opere: “Povestiri”, “Creanga de Alun”, “Câinele lui Iacob”, “Cum a Fost Prins Ursul”, “Păsărica”, “Cei Trei Urși”, “Filipok”, “Povestea unui Băiețel Care n-a Fost Luat la Oraș”, “Bunicul cel Bătrân și Nepoțelul”, “Pisoiul”, “Cum a Urnit Mujicul un Pietroi”, “Ursul în Căruță”, “Cum s-a Dat Hoțul în Vileag”, “Leul și Cățelușa”, “Ariciul și Iepurele”, “Vrabia și Rândunelele”, “Broasca Țestoasă”, “Bâtlanul, Peștii și Racul”, “Mălinul”, “Corbul și Puii Lui”, “Vaca” și “Rechinul”.
Cititorii vor învăța lecții importante ca: importanța de a spune adevărul, greșeala recunoscută este pe jumătate iertată, precauția, lupul îmbrăcat în piele de oaie, lucrurile nu sunt ceea ce par, naivitatea, consecințele neascultării de părinți, iresponsabilității, cruzimii față de animale, explorării unor teritorii necunoscute și a deciziilor greșite, sacrificul, dorința de a învăța lucruri noi, curiozitatea, poartă-te cu alții așa cum ai dori să se poarte și alții cu tine, responsabilitatea, istețimea, prietenia etc.
Anumite povești reflectă confruntările omului cu natura, așa cum se poate observa în: “Cum a Fost Prins Ursul” și “Rechinul”. Plantele și animalele au fost mereu folosite în fabule și povești pentru a reprezenta diferite trăsăsturi și defecte ale oamenilor. Un exemplu este mălinul din povestea cu același titlu care este imaginea generozității. Personajul principal ajunge să regrete că l-a tăiat, aducându-și aminte de mireasma florilor lui primăvara și de frumusețea acestuia în celelalte anotimpuri. Peștii din „Bâtlanul, Peștii și Racul” reprezintă naivitatea întrucât aceștia se lasă păcăliți de bâtlanul bătrân că vor fi mutați într-o casă nouă, când în realitate pasărea șireată nu vrea decât să-i mănânce.
Alături de Esop, Frații Grimm, Charles Perrault, Robert Southey, Paul Heins, K. M. Jenkins, Stephanie Ayers, Mihai Eminescu, Ion Creangă, Ioan Slavici, Mihail Sadoveanu, Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea, Petre Ispirescu, Nicolae Filimon, Alexandru Vasiliu, Ion Pop-Reteganul, Petre Crăciun, Sînziana Popescu și mulți alții, Lev Tolstoi rămâne nemuritor prin operele lui.
Recomand această carte cititorilor 7+.
Review for „Tales” by Leo Tolstoy
„Tales”, the „Tineretului” Publishing House is a series of stories written by one of the most renowned writers in the world, Leo Tolstoy. The book contains the following works: “Tales”, “The Branch of the Hazel Tree”, “Jacob’s Dog”, “How Was the Bear Caught?”, “The Little Bird”, “The Three Bears”, “Little Philip”, “The Tale of a Boy Who Never Went to Town”, “The Old Grandpa and the Grandson”, “The Kitten”, “How the Peasant Got the Boulder Out of the Way”, “The Bear in the Cart”, “How the Thief Revealed Himself”, “The Lion and the She-Dog”, “The Hedgehog and the Hare”, “The Sparrow and the Swallows”, “The Turtle”, “The Grey Heron, the Fish and the Lobster”, “The Mayday Tree”, “The Raven and His Chicks”, “The Cow” and “The Shark”.
The readers will learn important lessons such as: the importance of telling the truth, a fault confessed is half redressed, caution, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, things aren’t what they seem, naivety, the consequences of disobedience, irresponsibility, animal cruelty, exploring unknown territories and bad decisions, sacrifice, the desire to learn new things, curiosity, do as you would be done by, responsibility, cleverness, friendship etc.
Some stories reflect man’s encounter with nature like “How Was the Bear Caught?” and “The Shark” for example. Plants and animals were often used in fables and stories to represent different traits and flaws of men. An example is the Mayday tree from the story of the same name is the image of generosity. The main character is feeling remorse after he cut it later on, remembering the beautiful fragrance of its flowers in springtime and the tree’s beauty during the other seasons. The fish from “The Grey Heron, the Fish and the Lobster” represent naivety since they let themselves be tricked by the old heron into believing that they will be moved to a new home when in reality, the sly bird only wants to eat them.
Together with Aesop, the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, Robert Southey, Paul Heins, K. M. Jenkins, Stephanie Ayers, Mihai Eminescu, Ion Creangă, Ioan Slavici, Mihail Sadoveanu, Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea, Petre Ispirescu, Nicolae Filimon, Alexandru Vasiliu, Ion Pop-Reteganul, Petre Crăciun, Sînziana Popescu and many others, Leo Tolstoy remains immortal through his literary works.
I recommend this book to readers 7+.
February 22, 2022
"Do you understand," the old man continued, "that Lailie is you, that the warriors you put to death also were you? And not only the warriors, but the animals you hunted and slew and afterwards devoured at your feasts, they too were you. You thought life dwelt in you alone, but I have drawn aside the veil of delusion, and you have seen that in doing evil to others you have done it to yourself as well. Life is one in everything, and within yourself you manifest but a portion of this one life. And only in that portion that is within you can you make life better or worse, magnify or diminish it. You can make life better within yourself only by destroying the barriers that divide your life from that of other beings, and by regarding others as yourself and loving them. To destroy the life that dwells in others is not within your power. The life that was in those you have slain as not been destroyed: it has merely vanished from before your eyes. You thought to prolong your own life and to shorten the lives of others, but you cannot do this. For life there is neither time nor space. The life of a moment and the life of thousands of years, your life and the lives of all creatures seen and unseen, is one. To destroy life, even to alter it, is impossible, for life alone exists. All else only seems to be."
December 1, 2018
These aren't really "Russian Legends," but Christian stories that happen to be written by a Russian (the majority of which take place in Russian. I give it a high rating because these are really good Christian stories, and carry within them lessons that even Christians today can learn.
And even if you yourself are not Christian, you can still enjoy them just fine.
And even if you yourself are not Christian, you can still enjoy them just fine.
July 27, 2018
Vilken underbar bok! Gillar fabler i allmänhet och dessa är lite galna på ett bra sätt. Jag tycker även att Jockum Nordströms kaotiska konst passar helt perfekt till dessa fabler. Skrattar glatt och hummar för mig själv när jag läser.
October 3, 2022
It's an interesting book consisting of very short fables and a few fairy tales. All of these stress kindness, hard manual labor, and common sense. I especially enjoyed the stories featuring demons and imps!
July 2, 2018
War and Peace, these stories are not.
June 16, 2019
2,5/5
Son cuentos escritos por Tolstoi... Yo con este autor no termino de conectar, por lo cual más de la mitad de los cuentos me resultaron aburridos
Son cuentos escritos por Tolstoi... Yo con este autor no termino de conectar, por lo cual más de la mitad de los cuentos me resultaron aburridos
July 26, 2021
It’s a beautiful book. But the fables are a bit strange. I did recognize some of the stories as they were quite common in my primary school textbooks.
October 10, 2021
What a delightful collection of fairy tales. Smart and moral and funny. The illustrations also added so much wonderful character.
May 2, 2024
New Bible
August 22, 2024
I love this book! Absolutely amazing!
August 1, 2025
wonderful fables and tales to uplift and remind us of what is important in life.
March 25, 2013
I found an old copy of this book in my parents' library and started reading it out of curiosity; apparently it belonged to my grandmother. I haven't read Tolstoy before and thought it might be a nice introduction to his work. I gather that some of these are original stories that he conceived, and others are imbued folk-legends told in his own style. All of them are in some way literal interpretations of New Testament philosophies, often told through the lives of peasants and their relation to humanity. Love seems to be the most common thread that runs throughout all the stories, but themes of selflessness, poverty, and forgiveness are also recurring, as is the exploration of imperfect man's developing relationship to a perfect God. While these parables teach simple and uplifting principles, they do not elude the intricacy and complexity that I have no doubt Tolstoy employs in his longer works for which he is more notorious. I appreciate this, because it adds an element of depth that I think will allow the influence of these stories to grow on me upon further repeated readings. I enjoyed the following thought-provoking proverb taken from the end of the story 'What Men Live By': "I understood that God does not wish men to live apart, and therefore he does not reveal to them what each one needs for himself; but he wishes them to live united, and therefore reveals to each of them what is necessary for all."
January 2, 2015
questa raccolta di racconti era nella mia libreria dai tempi del liceo e non ci avevo ancora dato un'occhiata (forse il mio istinto aveva già capito che non era pane per i miei denti XD).
I racconti soni un po' vari: ci sono alcune storie popolari russe, alcuni racconti originali di Tolstoy e altri ancora che sono "riadattamenti" di altri autori stranieri..
In comune hanno il fatto di essere un mezzo di propaganda per la riscoperta fede cristiana dell'autore (l'introduzione spiega benissimo tutte le premesse a questa raccolta e mi ha fatto avere un quadro chiaro e preciso del contesto in cui questa si colloca).
I racconti soni un po' vari: ci sono alcune storie popolari russe, alcuni racconti originali di Tolstoy e altri ancora che sono "riadattamenti" di altri autori stranieri..
In comune hanno il fatto di essere un mezzo di propaganda per la riscoperta fede cristiana dell'autore (l'introduzione spiega benissimo tutte le premesse a questa raccolta e mi ha fatto avere un quadro chiaro e preciso del contesto in cui questa si colloca).
September 18, 2013
My wife has tasked me with writing a children's book. I'm seeking inspiration wherever I think I might find it. This was an interesting choice, as the stories seem to have been conjured from whole cloth. Unique ideas abound, with nevertheless familiar trappings. There was much leaning on the subject of social justice and comeuppance, something probably very personal to the author. Enjoyed.
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January 8, 2013Pequeñas historias en un pequeño libro.
Es la primera... o primeras obras de Leon Tolstoi que leo. De hecho elegí este libro porque quería conocer al autor, su estilo.
Quisiera más adelante leer Ana Karenina y también guerra y paz.
Es la primera... o primeras obras de Leon Tolstoi que leo. De hecho elegí este libro porque quería conocer al autor, su estilo.
Quisiera más adelante leer Ana Karenina y también guerra y paz.
May 9, 2009
some of the most eloquent writing ever. his best work.
June 11, 2011
great lil book. one big Q: "two merchants" appears here as well as in aesop's fables... who should be credited as original teller?
October 20, 2012
My all-time favorite fable of his is "Three Questions." I love it's message.
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