Georgian Folk Tales - free ebook by Marjory Scott Wardrop

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Georgian Folk Tales

Marjory Scott Wardrop

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42 chapters

PREFACE

PREFACE

As the first attempt to translate into English any part of the varied and interesting secular literature of the Georgian people, this little book may perhaps claim some attention from the public. A volume of sermons by Bishop Gabriel of Kutaïs was published by the Rev. S. C. Malan in 1867, but, with this single exception, I do not know of any other work in the Iberian tongue which has been offered to English readers. The state of comparative neglect into which Oriental studies in general have fa

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I GEORGIAN FOLK TALES

I GEORGIAN FOLK TALES

Once upon a time there was a poor peasant who had one son. And it came to pass that his wife said to him: ‘He should learn some trade, for when he is separated from thee, what will he do if he is left ignorant like thee?’ The wife importuned him; she gave him no rest. So the peasant took his child, and went to seek a master for him. On the way they were thirsty. He saw a rivulet, drank eagerly till his thirst was quenched, and when he lifted up his head he cried out: ‘Ah! how good thou art!’ 1 O

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GEORGIAN FOLK TALES I Master and Pupil (or the Devil Outwitted)

GEORGIAN FOLK TALES I Master and Pupil (or the Devil Outwitted)

1 In Georgian: Vakh ra cargi kharo! 2 Cf. Lady Charlotte Guest’s Mabinogion (1877), p. 472. Taliesin. Once upon a time there was a peasant who had three daughters. This man’s wife was dead, so he took to himself another. The stepmother hated the girls like the plague. Every day she bothered her husband, saying: ‘Take away these daughters of thine, and get rid of them.’ Sometimes she yielded to their father’s entreaties, sometimes she gave way to her dislike. At last she could bear it no longer:

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II The Three Sisters and their Stepmother

II The Three Sisters and their Stepmother

Some time passed, and the youngest sister was with child. At that time the king’s enemy came against him, and he prepared to go forth to battle. Before he set out he left this message: ‘If my wife bears a son, let a sword be suspended over the door; if she bears a daughter, let a spinning-wheel be hung up.’ Shortly after this his wife went to bed. Her sisters would allow no one to enter the bed-room; they tended her and nursed her themselves. The king’s wife brought forth a golden-haired boy. He

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III The Good-for-nothing

III The Good-for-nothing

He went on again until he met a man with a piece of felt, who said: ‘Brother, give me something to eat.’ The good-for-nothing man took out his wishing-stone, wished, and immediately a delicious repast appeared. When he had eaten all he wanted, the man said: ‘Come, I will give thee my felt in exchange for this stone.’ ‘What is the use of thy felt?’ inquired the good-for-nothing. ‘If a man’s head is cut off, one only has to take a piece of this felt and apply it; his head will stick on again, and

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IV The Frog’s Skin

IV The Frog’s Skin

In a very short time the whole country-side knew that the man who had a frog now possessed in its place a lovely woman, who had come to him from heaven. The lord of the country heard of this, and wished to take her from him. He called the beautiful woman’s husband to him and said: ‘Sow a barnful of wheat in a day, or give me thy wife.’ When he had spoken thus, the man was obliged to consent, and he went home melancholy. When he went in he told his wife what had taken place. She reproached him, s

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V Fate

V Fate

He went home to his father, and complained of the evil fate written for him. His father was very indignant at this, but hid his anger, and comforted his son. Some time passed. One day the prince went out to hunt. He saw in a lonely wood a beautiful palace, and, in the palace, a maiden fair as the sun. The prince could have gazed for ever on her beauty. He looked a long time, then looking from a distance would not satisfy him. He spurred his horse, and when he came near he was even more struck wi

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VI Ghvthisavari (I am of God)

VI Ghvthisavari (I am of God)

The next day he went to hunt again. He shot an arrow and killed a goat, he shot another, and killed a stag; he drew his bow a third time, and his arrow stuck in a devis’ house. In this house there were five brothers, devis —one two-headed, one three-headed, one five-headed, one nine-headed, and one ten-headed—and their mother, who had only one head. They saw an arrow suddenly fall down and stick in the fire. They all jumped up and pulled the arrow to draw it out, but they were not able to move i

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VII The Serpent and the Peasant

VII The Serpent and the Peasant

Some time passed, and the king again saw a vision. In this vision a slain sheep was hanging from the roof. The king sent a man quickly for the peasant. The peasant was now very much afraid. And he said: ‘How can I approach the king?’ Formerly the serpent had taught him, but now it could no longer do this; for its goodness he had wounded it with the sword. Nevertheless, he went by that footpath. When he came to the place where the serpent had been, he cried out: ‘O serpent, come here one moment,

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VIII Gulambara and Sulambara

VIII Gulambara and Sulambara

Several days slipped by. The prince stayed in all day, and his brother brought the food and drink. At last the prince said to himself: ‘This is shameful! My adopted brother goes out and brings in food and drink. Why do I not do something? What an idle fellow I am! I will go and do something!’ And so it happened that one day the king’s son went into the town; he wandered here and there, and in one place saw his brother, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, at his feet was stretched a pocke

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IX The Two Brothers

IX The Two Brothers

He arrived, and saw that the story was true. There was the mouse with the money spread out. He stole up noiselessly, and, taking twigs in his hand, he struck the mouse until he had killed it, and then gathered up the money. Then he went to the waterless town, rolled away the stone, and behold! streams of water flowed forth. He received a reward for this, and set out for the kingdom of which the jackal had spoken. He arrived, and enquired of the king: ‘What wilt thou give me if I cure thy daughte

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X The Prince

X The Prince

Now this old witch had a habit of sleeping for seven days and nights, and it was impossible to rouse her. When her daughters saw the prince they admired him very much, and said: ‘It is a shame that so handsome a boy should be destroyed! Come, our mother shall not have him to eat; we must help him to escape in some way.’ ‘We will!’ cried the sisters; and they thought of a plan of escape. The eldest sister gave him her comb, and said: ‘When my mother overtakes thee, throw this behind thee and hast

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XI Conkiajgharuna1

XI Conkiajgharuna1

So Conkiajgharuna stayed at home while her stepsister drove out the cow. Once more the cow ran on to the roof. The girl pursued it, and her spindle fell down. She looked in, and, seeing the devi woman, called out: ‘Dog of an old woman! here! come and give me my spindle!’ The old woman replied: ‘I am not able, child, come and take it thyself.’ When the girl came near, the old woman said: ‘Come, child, and look at my head.’ The girl came and looked at her head, and cried out: ‘Ugh! what a horrid h

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XII Asphurtzela1

XII Asphurtzela1

The three brothers came at last to the devi ’s house. There they saw water, but they could not cross it by any means. They threw in stones, and stepped over in this way. Then the girl saw that they were her brothers; she came down and embraced them. When the devi ’s mother learnt who they were, she took them in, gave them food, and then hid them, saying: ‘If my son comes home and sees you he will eat you.’ Then the hundred-headed devi came, no one knows whence. On one shoulder he had firewood, a

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XIII The Shepherd and the Child of Fortune

XIII The Shepherd and the Child of Fortune

Some time passed. Once the princess asked the shepherd, saying: ‘How has it happened that an illustrious princess like me has married a simple shepherd?’ Her husband replied: ‘Heat the spit and put it on the sole of the boy’s foot to see if he is asleep. If he is, then I will tell thee all.’ The child heard this conversation, and wished in his heart: ‘O God! may my foot be hardened, so that I cannot feel anything.’ The woman heated the spit, put it on the sole of the boy’s foot, but he did not m

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XIV The Two Thieves

XIV The Two Thieves

The thieves knew nothing of this. When night came again, they returned to steal. The Little Thief said: ‘Yesterday I went into the treasury, to-day it is thy turn, I will watch for thee.’ The Big Thief consented. He went into the treasury, and suddenly was caught fast. The Little Thief pulled hard, but his companion could not get away; nothing but his head was visible; he was up to the neck in pitch. When day dawned, the Little Thief saw that nothing could be done, so he took his dagger and cut

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XV The Fox and the King’s Son

XV The Fox and the King’s Son

Some time passed. The fox saw that even yet there was meat to spare. He went out and sought until he found an eagle, which he brought home. He commanded the eagle to attend to the horse, sent the bear for grass, and the wolf for wood to burn, while he saw to household affairs. Thus each had his business to do. When the master returned, the eagle flew out to tend the horse. The prince was about to shoot him, when the fox cried out: ‘Do not kill him, he is a friend!’ The prince did not kill him, b

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XVI The King and the Apple1

XVI The King and the Apple1

But the apple began to speak, and told the following tale to the boy:—‘A certain man was travelling with his wife and brother, when night fell, and they had no food. The woman’s brother-in-law went into a neighbouring village to buy bread; on the way he met brigands, who robbed him and cut off his head. When his brother did not return, the man went to look for him; he met the same fate. The next day the unhappy woman went to seek them, and there she saw her husband and brother-in-law lying in on

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MINGRELIAN TALES1 I The Three Precepts

MINGRELIAN TALES1 I The Three Precepts

1 Mingrelskie etyudy. Pervyi vypusk. Mingrelskie teksty s perevodom i obyasneniyami, sobr. i izd. Al. Tsagareli. S. Pbg. 1880. 2 The Mingrelian Tales usually begin thus; sometimes the formula used is: ‘there was, there was, there was, and nothing there was, but nevertheless there was.’ 3 When a Mingrelian undertakes a journey, he turns to the right several times before his door and then sets out. This is held to be a favourable omen. 4 The usual salutation in Georgia. 5 The word Khvitho in Mingr

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II Kazha-ndii

II Kazha-ndii

Then he went in, saluted the maidens, and gave each of them a ring—to the youngest for himself, to the others for his brothers. The youth went out, thrust his sword into a stone, and left it there, took fire with him, and went back. When he had crossed the river, he cried to the cock: ‘Now crow!’ Then he went to his father’s grave. Till dawn he stayed there, and then he went home. The beautiful maidens told the king what had happened. The king ordered all his subjects to be summoned, and asked:

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III The Story of Geria, the Poor Man’s Son

III The Story of Geria, the Poor Man’s Son

Geria went, kicked the kettle, turned it over three times, and left it upside down, then he went to the maiden, broke all the locks, and came to the room where she was. She was astonished, but the youth’s bravery pleased her, and, to make a long story short, she promised to marry him. The youth went out merrily to the place where he had left his horse. There he quietly spent the night, and next morning the horse said: ‘The demis have now gone out to the meadow; when they saw the kettle turned ov

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IV The Prince who befriended the Beasts

IV The Prince who befriended the Beasts

The youth went on his way, and, when he was out of the wood, came to a town. In this town he found a castle of crystal, in the courtyard of which he saw a great number of young men, some dying and some dead. He asked the meaning of this, and was told: ‘The king of this land has a daughter, a maiden queen; she has made a proclamation that she will wed him that can hide himself from her; but no man can hide himself from her, and all these men has she slain, for he that cannot hide himself from her

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V The Cunning Old Man and the Demi

V The Cunning Old Man and the Demi

1 A variant substitutes a cheese for an egg. 2 ? Finch. 3 Another Mingrelian version of this story tells that the demi took the old man home, and left him his house, wife and children. As he was going away, the jackal met him, and asked whither he was going. The demi replied that the old man had almost killed him, and he was going to hide himself. The jackal told him to go home, and have no fear of the old man, for it would choke him. The demi tied the jackal to himself, with a stout rope, and w

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VI Sanartia

VI Sanartia

When he was preparing to sleep, Ocho-Kochi came to him and wished to kill him, but Sanartia was very strong, he seized Ocho-Kochi, threw him on the ground, and beat him with all his might. When he had thrashed him soundly, he said to him: ‘Go and stand at the gate as watchman.’ So he went and watched till dawn. In the morning, the king, the maiden’s father, sent his vizier, saying: ‘Find out what the prince and Ocho-Kochi are doing.’ When the vizier came to the door, Ocho-Kochi called out from t

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VII The Shepherd Judge

VII The Shepherd Judge

There was once a priest who had three sons. On the day of his death, the priest said to his sons: ‘When I die, let each of you read the psalter over me for one night.’ But the elder sons did not do as their father had bidden them, only the youngest read the psalter over him. That night his father appeared, and gave him a horse. Next night he again read the psalter over his father in his brothers’ place. His father again appeared, and gave him another horse, which he resolved to give to his young

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VIII The Priest’s youngest Son

VIII The Priest’s youngest Son

1. Turn to the right, or turn to the left, ’Twill all be one in the end. 1 2. The rat that came from outside, Drove out the house-born rat. 3. Fight for the outlying village, If thou wantest the one nearer home. 4. Wish thy neighbour to have an ox, And God will send it to thee. 5. The wolf was abused as wolfish, While the jackal ate up the flock. 6. The hen scratched and scratched till she dug up a knife, With which her own throat was afterwards cut. 7. The road runs where an old road ran, The r

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Mingrelian Proverbs

Mingrelian Proverbs

11. Who ever heard of a fish being prized As long as it stayed in the stream? 12. They shot at the ripe—but the green fruit fell. 13. Leave a good deed on a stone by the way, Thou’lt find it again after many a day ( i.e. Cast thy bread on the waters). 14. I say it—but whether it happen or no ’Tis nothing to do with me. 15. Eat and drink up whatever is thine, But cross thyself over all that’s mine. 16. Who slew me?—My brother. Who brought me back to life?—My brother. 17. The well-doer receives no

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GURIAN FOLK TALES I The Strong Man and the Dwarf

GURIAN FOLK TALES I The Strong Man and the Dwarf

In the midst of the stream, the strong man, with the dwarf on his shoulders, suddenly stopped and said: ‘I have heard that strong people are heavy, but I do not feel you on my shoulders. Tell me how this is, for God’s sake.’ ‘Since we have become brothers,’ replied the dwarf, ‘I have no right to press with all my weight upon you, and did I not support myself by holding on to the sky with one hand, you could never carry me.’ But the strong man, wishing to test his strength, asked the dwarf to dro

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II The Grasshopper and the Ant1

II The Grasshopper and the Ant1

The jays answered: ‘The kites pursue us; go and drive them off.’ The grasshopper ran to the kites, and said: ‘Kites! leave the jays, and the jays will leave the oak, the oak will give me acorns, the acorns I give to the sow, the sow gives me a bristle, and with the bristle I save my drowning comrade.’ The kites answered: ‘We are hungry; bring us chickens.’ The grasshopper ran to the hen, and said: ‘Hen, give me chickens. The chickens I shall give to the kites, the kites leave the jays, the jays

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III The Countryman and the Merchant

III The Countryman and the Merchant

Some of the birds settled in the cottage, some in the barn, some in the stable, some in the yard, and the rest, for which there was no room, remained in serried ranks in the air. Then the wife shut the doors, and, with her husband, set about killing the birds; only those that were outside escaped. In the evening, there came a merchant, and asked to be allowed to spend the night in the cottage. At supper, the merchant saw a great abundance of game of all kinds, and asked the countryman how such l

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IV The King and the Sage

IV The King and the Sage

1 The Mullah Nasr-Eddin is the hero of hundreds of witty tales. A French translation of some of them (from the Turkish) was published, by Decourdemanche, in 1878. A certain king had a son, and sent him out to be nursed by a smith’s wife. This crafty woman put the king’s child in a common cradle, and her own son in the gorgeous royal cradle. Some years afterwards, the king took the changeling to court, and brought his foster-brother with him. One fine day, the king set out for his favourite fores

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V The King’s Son

V The King’s Son

Shah Ali desired to see the hungriest man in his kingdom, and find out how much of the daintiest food such a man could eat at a meal. So he let it be known that on a certain day he would dine with his courtiers in the open air, in front of the palace. At the appointed hour, tables were laid and dinner was served, in the presence of a vast crowd. After the first course, the shah mounted a daïs, and said: ‘My loyal subjects! you see what a splendid dinner I have. I should like to share it with tho

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VI Teeth and No-Teeth

VI Teeth and No-Teeth

A certain queen wished to have a palace built of the bones of all kinds of birds. The king ordered birds to be caught, and the building was begun. Bones of all kinds were brought and cleaned, and the walls were rising, but they could not find a hedge-sparrow, and, as the queen wanted all sorts of birds, a search was made for the missing one. At last the hedge-sparrow was found, and brought before the king, who asked where she had been. ‘Mighty monarch! I have been flying all over the kingdom cou

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VII The Queen’s Whim

VII The Queen’s Whim

A certain man died and left three sons. One was altogether a fool, another was fairly intelligent, and the third was rather clever. This being so, it was of course difficult for them to live together. In dividing the inheritance among them, the fool was cheated, and in regard to the cattle he was thus cozened: There were three entrances to the penfold, two open and one very narrow. The two clever brothers proposed to drive the beasts out of all three at once; those that issued from the small gap

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VIII The Fool’s good Fortune

VIII The Fool’s good Fortune

During a great storm at sea, a learned man heard the skipper giving his orders, but could not understand a word. When the danger was past, he asked the skipper in what language he had spoken. The sailor replied: ‘In my mother tongue, of course!’ The scholar expressed his regret that a man should have wasted half his life without learning to speak grammatically and intelligibly. A few hours later the storm arose again, and this time the ship sprang a leak and began to founder. Then the captain we

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IX Two Losses

IX Two Losses

A hunter killed in the mountains a stag, and began to skin it. He then hung the skin on a bush, and went down to a stream to wash the blood from his hands. When he came back, he found to his surprise that the dead stag had come to life, and was bounding away. When he had recovered from his astonishment, he chased the beast, but could not overtake it, and it was soon lost to sight. He met a wayfarer, briefly told him the story, and asked if he had ever seen a stag without a skin. ‘I have never se

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X The Story of Dervish

X The Story of Dervish

A certain man was wont to tell his son, while thrashing him, that he would never come to any good. The boy grew tired of these rebukes, and ran away from home. Ten years later he had risen to the rank of pasha, and was set over the very pashalik where his father lived. On his way to his post, the new pasha stopped at a place twenty miles off, and said to the Bashi-Bazouks of his guard: ‘Ride to such and such a village, seize so and so, and bring him to me.’ The Bashi-Bazouks arrived at night, dr

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XI The Father’s Prophecy

XI The Father’s Prophecy

There was once a wise man who loved solitude, and dwelt far away from other men, meditating on the vanities of the world. He spent nearly all his time in the open air, and he could easily do this, for he lived in a lovely southern land where there is no winter and but little rain. As he wandered once among the verdure of his garden, the sage stopped before an aged walnut tree covered with ripening nuts, and said: ‘Why is there such a strange want of symmetry in nature? Here, for instance, is a w

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XII The Hermit Philosopher

XII The Hermit Philosopher

The counsellor of an Arabian king once bethought himself that, though he had lived so many years, and knew so much, he had never yet found out how much the king valued his services, and to what extent his wife and friends really loved him. He decided to try them all at once, so he went to the palace and stole a goat of which the king was very fond, and of which he was the keeper. He then went home, told this secret to his wife, and in her presence ordered the cook to roast the goat. But afterwar

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XIII The King’s Counsellor1

XIII The King’s Counsellor1

A certain king was angry with one of his lords, and put him in prison; wishing to keep him there, he said he would only set him free if he could bring to the court a horse which was neither grey, nor black, brown nor bay, white nor roan, dun, chestnut, nor piebald—and, in short, the king enumerated every possible colour that a horse could be. The imprisoned lord promised to get such a horse if the king would set him free at once. As soon as he was at liberty, the lord asked the king to send a gr

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XIV A Witty Answer

XIV A Witty Answer

Related Open Library catalog page (for source): OL6907897M . Related Open Library catalog page (for work): OL148389W . Related WorldCat catalog page: 2153603 ....

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