‘Into the saddle then I sprung, this tale
to tell to old and young.’
Starting typically with ‘Once upon a time,
something happened. If it hadn't
happened, it wouldn't be told,’ this collection of 18 Romanian fairy stories
was compiled by Mite Kremnitz (1852-1916).
German-born Marie Charlotte von Bardeleben Kremnitz was a friend of
Queen Elizabeth of Romania, who wrote as Carmen Sylva, and they collaborated on
a number of literary productions. Kremnitz’s
Rumänische Märchen, Roumanian Fairy Tales, was published in
Leipzig in 1882, and in an English translation in 1885. Kremnitz did not do any field work to collect
the stories, which are drawn from Romanian authors.
The 18 stories are: ‘Stan Bolovan’, ‘The Wonderful
Bird’, ‘The Twins with the Golden Star’, ‘Youth Without Age and Life without Death’.
‘The Little Purse with Two Half-Pennies’, ‘Mogarzea and His Son’,’ Cunning
Ileane’, ‘The Princess and the Fisherman’, ‘Little Wild-Rose’, ‘The Voice of Death’,
‘The Old Woman and the Old Man’, ‘The Pea Emperor’, ‘The Morning Star and the Evening
Star’, ‘The Two Step-Sisters’, ‘The Poor Boy, Mother's Darling Jack’,
‘Tellerchen’ and ‘The Fairy Aurora’. Several
were also published, in different translations, by Andrew Lang in his series of
colour-coded fairy books, and some have been included in other
collections.
They comprise the usual elements of fairy
stories: the upright hero, often the monarch’s youngest son or a lad of lowly
birth, setting out on quests, having adventures, doing valiant deeds, facing
ordeals and overcoming evil, perhaps marrying a king’s daughter and inheriting
the kingdom. There are castles, dragons,
fairies, enchantments, witches, virtuous daughters, wicked step-mothers and
lazy step-sisters; humble folk attempting to get rich, and people of all
classes hoping to remedy childlessness.
It is a universe where virtue is rewarded and injustice punished, even
if there are many bumps along the way.
Offsetting the fantastical elements are
occasional assurances the account is true.
‘I was present at these events, and now tell them to those who listen,’
‘Whoever knows anything more may continue his story,’ and of course ‘If it
hadn't happened, it wouldn't be told.’ Regularly
there are variations on ‘if they have not died, they may be alive now.’ And perhaps in some dimension they are still
alive: the tales certainly are alive, in that they have a timelessness which
keeps them fresh.
In a satisfying compilation, the one story
which sticks out because of its complexity and length is the final one, ‘The Fairy
Aurora’. This is not a traditional tale
but was written by Ioan Slavici (who contributed a number of stories to the
book, including the opening ‘Stan Bolovan’) and published in 1872. He claimed he had heard oral versions, but its
literary feel jars when contrasted with the others’ simplicity of style. He wrote ‘The Poor Boy’ specifically for the
book, though again he said he set it down ‘just as it was related to him by the
peasants.’ It seems unlikely no
polishing went on, rather like those domesticated ‘folk songs’ sung by a
baritone accompanied on the piano.
