Yiddish Folktales

Table Of Contents

Introduction  •  xix
 
PART ONE: Naked Truths and Resplendent Parables: Allegorical Tales
1. Naked Truth and Resplendent Parable  •  7
2. A Bit of Herring, a Pinch of Salt, and a Morsel of Bread  •  8
3. Things Can Always Get Worse  •  9
4. The Luck That Snored  •  10
5. The Fever and the Flea  •  12
6. Why Dogs Chase Cats and Cats Chase Mice  •  14
7. Wisdom or Luck?  •  15
8. Pleasing All the World  •  19
9. Poverty Grows and Grows  •  20
10. The Sacrifice of Isaac and the Caretaker of Brisk  •  21
11. The Treasure at Home  •  23
12. A Fable of a Bird and Her Chicks  •  24
13. Letting In the Light  •  25
14. Bad Luck  •  26
 
PART TWO: A Rooster and a Hen, Let the Story Begin: Children’s Tales
15. The Pain in the Neck: A Nonsense Tale  •  35
16. The Six-Pointed Homentash: A Purim Take  •  36
17. A Tale of Two Brothers  •  37
18. Stones and Bones Rattle in My Belly  •  44
19. Sóre-Kháne at the Tip of the Church Tower  •  45
20. Little Bean  •  47
21. A Topsy-Turvy Tale  •  50
22. Clever Khashinke and Foolish Banshinke  •  51
23. The Granny Bear  •  53
24. Moyshele and Sheyndele  •  54
25. Next Time That’s What I’ll Say  •  57
26. The Naughty Little Girl  •  60
 
PART THREE: Magic Rings, Feathers of Gold, Mountains of Glass: Wonder Tales
27. Hangs the Moon on My Palace Roof  •  69
28. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice  •  73
29. The Beggar King and the Melamed  •  77
30. Of Nettles and Roses  •  79
31. The Demon and Sosye  •  83
32. How Much Do You Love Me?  •  85
33. The Master Thief  •  89
34. The Orphaned Boys  •  93
35. Two Brothers Who Went to the Devil  •  98
36. The Snake Bridegroom  •  101
37. The Princess and Vanke, the Shoemaker’s Son  •  105
38. The Foolish Youth and Elijah the Prophet  •  107
39. The King’s Lost Daughter  •  112
40. The Magic Fish and the Wishing Ring  •  115
41. The Hunchbacks and the Dancing Demons  •  120
42. The Princess of the Third Pumpkin  •  122
43. The Orphan Boy Who Won the Bride  •  126
44. Forty Hares and a Princess  •  130
45. The Merchant’s Son and the Demons  •  125
46. The Ram, the Basket, and the Stick  •  140
47. The Golden Feather  •  142
 
PART FOUR: Justice, Faith, and Everyday Morals: Pious Tales
48. The Tale of the Stingy Woman  •  155
49. The Wheat Poured In at the Door  •  157
50. In Heaven and Hell  •  158
51. The Miracle of the Tree  •  160
52. The Poor Man’s Ruble  •  161
53. Blood and Water  •  162
54. A Letter to God  •  163
55. The Seven Good Years  •  167
56. Set a Trap for Another  •  168
57. A Succos Tale  •  170
58. Only Eleven Little Fish  •  172
59. A Passover Take  •  173
60. A Shocking Tale of a Viceroy  •  176
61. The Leper Boy and Elijah the Prophet  •  182
62. The Trustees  •  185
63. A Tragic Tale  •  186
64. Upon Me  •  189
65. The Ballad of the Faithful Wife  •  190
66. The Iron Chest  •  192
67. Water Wouldn’t Hurt  •  195
68. The Unlearned Villager  •  195
69. Holding On to One-Quarter of My World  •  196
70. The Poor Rabbi and His Three Daughters  •  198
 
PART FIVE: Nitwits, Wits, and Pranksters: Humorous Tales
71. The Clever Girl: A Riddle Tale  •  207
72. Then Where’s the Cat?  •  210
73. The Best for My Wife  •  211
74. The Coat of Patches  •  211
75. The Bishop and Moshke: Another Riddle Tale  •  214
76. Good Manners and Foolish Khushim  •  216
77. Khushim and His Bride  •  218
78. The Tale of a Leaf from the Tree of Knowledge  •  219
79. Reb Hershele and the Goose Leg  •  221
80. Hershele Ostropolyer and the Sabbath Caftan  •  222
81. Why Khelmites Are Fools  •  222
82. The Angel Spills the Jar of Fools  •  223
83. A Shoyfer in Khelm  •  223
84. The Hill Pushed Away  •  224
85. How Khelmites Lighted Up the Night  •  225
86. The Melamed’s Trunk  •  226
87. The Rolling Stone  •  227
88. A Cat in Khelm  •  227
89. Khelmites Who Refused to Tread on Snow  •  228
90. The Sundial  •  228
91. A Khelm Compromised  •  229
92. A Bridge in Khelm  •  229
93. Sowing Salt  •  230
94. Two Cows for a Melody  •  231
95. Froyim Greydinger, the Magic Stick, and the Pot of Soup  •  233
96. What Makes Tea Sweet: An Exercise in Logic  •  235
97. The Visitor from the World Beyond  •  235
98. The Ten Women  •  237
99. The Congregation Loves Jam  •  239
100. Motke Khabad Needs a Place to Live  •  239
101. Why the Head Turns Gray before the Beard  •  240
102. The Love Potion  •  243
103. Skotsl Kunt: Skotsl’s Here  •  246
104. The Clever Little Tailor  •  247
105. Two Tunes for Three Hundred Rubles  •  250
106. Some True Miracles of God  •  254
 
PART SIX: Sages, Tsadikim, and Villains: Legends
107. Sabbath in Paradise  •  265
108. The Baal Shem Tov and the Herdsman  •  267
109. Yisroel, the Child Rebbe  •  270
110. The Disciple Who Went Astray  •  271
111. The Rebbe’s Melody  •  272
112. Don’t Go into the Mud in the First Place  •  275
113. The Missed Moment of Redemption  •  276
114. The Mekarev Rebbe Gets Even with a Stingy Woman  •  277
115. The Happy Pair and the Baal Shem Tov  •  279
116. The Fleet-Footed Tomeshef Rebbe  •  282
117. The Right Order Is Important  •  283
118. Reb Khaim Urbakh Rocks a Cradle on Yom Kippur  •  284
119. Rain and the Rebbe of Stolin  •  284
120. The Miracle of the Dry Well  •  285
121. The Reincarnation of Queen Esther  •  286
122. The Penitent and the Rebbe of Tshekhenove  •  289
123. The Boy Who Put Two Socks on One Foot  •  290
124. The Power of the Mourner’s Prayer  •  291
125. The Curious Disciple  •  293
126. A Common Piece of Earth  •  293
127. Reb Malkiel and the 702 Candles  •  294
128. A Modern Miracle  •  296
129. How Judah Halevi Entered Heaven Alive  •  298
130. Rabbi Joshua and the Emperor of Rome  •  299
131. A Wonderful Legend of a Cave  •  300
132. Waiting for the Messiah  •  301
133. The Torah of My Servant Moses  •  303
134. Rabbi Jonathan and the Minister: A Disputation  •  304
135. He Has Only One Weakness  •  306
136. The Rabbi Shows Respect for His Shoemaker  •  306
137. Evening the Score  •  307
138. Reb Leybele of Mir Goes to the Marketplace  •  309
139. Napoleon the First and the Jewish Officer  •  312
140. Napoleon in Vilna  •  313
141. Nafol tipol: Napoleon, You Will Fall  •  313
142. The Cantonist’s Mother and Nicholas the First  •  315
143. Czar Nicholas Decrees the Burning of the Talmud  •  320
144. Emperor Franz Josef and the Innkeeper’s Infant  •  320
145. The Poor Man and Rothschild  •  321
146. Rothschild’s Shoes  •  322
147. Rothschild’s End  •  322
 
PART SEVEN: Elves and Dibbuks, Ghosts, and Golems: Supernatural Tales
148. The Shoemaker and the Shretelekh  •  329
149. The Synagogue, the Church, and the Town Hall  •  330
150. The Transmigrating Soul  •  331
151. Who’s Milking the Cows?  •  333
152. The Passover Elf Helps Great-Grandmother  •  334
153. The Old Shul in Motele  •  334
154. The Blacksmith and the Horses with Human Hands  •  336
155. The Mysterious Gold Chain  •  337
156. The Unquiet Grave  •  338
157. The Large Stone Synagogue of Berditshev  •  339
158. The Golem of Vilna  •  340
159. The Ball Shem Tov and the Gilgl  •  342
160. The Shretele That Took a Little Nap  •  343
161. The Lost Hat and the Pile of Gold  •  344
162. The Miracle of the Beer Keg  •  345
163. How Doves Saved a Synagogue from Fire  •  346
164. The Calf That Turned to Gold  •  346
165. A Cave That Leads to the Land of Israel  •  347
166. Late-Night Spooks  •  348
167. The Demon Sheep  •  348
168. The Dibbuk Melody of Tolne  •  349
169. The Missing Bridegroom  •  352
170. Two Hrubeshoyv Legends  •  353
171. Why the Rebbe’s Pipe Must Be Kept Lighted  •  354
172. Luckily, the Rooster Crowed Late  •  355
173. Neither Eat not Drink What a Demon Offers  •  356
174. A Balshem Drives Out a Dibbuk  •  357
175. Lantekh, the Bridge Hobgoblin  •  359
176. The Demon and the Willow Twigs  •  359
177. The Sleepy Tailor and the Zmore  •  360
178. The Last Dibbuk  •  361
 
Glossary  •  369
Annotations to the Tales  •  379
Notes  •  403
Bibliography  •  407