  | CHAPTER I. | | | INTRODUCTORY. | | | PAGE. | | The Folk-tale in general, and the Skazka in particular—Relation of Russian Popular Tales to Russian Life—Stories about Courtship, Death, Burial and Wailings for the Dead—Warnings against Drink, Jokes about Women, Tales of Simpletons—A rhymed Skazka and a Legend | 15 | | CHAPTER II. | | | MYTHOLOGICAL. | | | Principal Incarnations of Evil. | | | On the “Mythical Skazkas”—Male embodiments of Evil: 1. The Snake as the Stealer of Daylight; 2. Norka the Beast, Lord of the Lower World; 3. Koshchei the Deathless, The Stealer of Fair Princesses—his connexion with Punchkin and “the Giant who had no Heart in his Body”—Excursus on Bluebeard’s Chamber; 4. The Water King or Subaqueous Demon—Female Embodiments of Evil: 1. The Baba Yaga or Hag, and 2. The Witch, feminine counterparts of the Snake | 75 | | CHAPTER III. | | | MYTHOLOGICAL. | | | Miscellaneous Impersonations. | | | One-eyed Likho, a story of the Polyphemus Cycle—Woe, the Poor Man’s Companion—Friday, Wednesday, and Sunday personified as Female Spirits—The LÉshy or Wood-Demon—Legends about Rivers—Frost as a Wooer of Maidens—The Whirlwind personified as a species of Snake or Demon—Morfei and Oh, two supernatural beings | 186 | | CHAPTER IV. | | | MAGIC AND WITCHCRAFT. | | | The Waters of Life and Death, and of Strength and Weakness—Aid given to Children by Dead Parents—Magic Horses, Fish, &c.—Stories about Brides won by a Leap, &c.—Stories about Wizards and Witches—The Headless Princess—Midnight Watchings over Corpses—The Fire Bird, its connexion with the Golden Bird and the Phoenix | 237 | | CHAPTER V. | | | GHOST STORIES. | | | Slavonic Ideas about the Dead—On Heaven and Hell—On the Jack and the Beanstalk Story—Harmless Ghosts—The Rip van Winkle Story—the attachment of Ghosts to their Shrouds and Coffin-Lids—Murderous Ghosts—Stories about Vampires—on the name Vampire, and the belief in Vampirism | 295 | | CHAPTER VI. | | | LEGENDS. | | | 1. Saints, &c. | | | Legends connected with the Dog, the Izba, the Creation of Man, the Rye, the Snake, Ox, Sole, &c.; with Birds, the Peewit, Sparrow, Swallow, &c.—Legends about SS. Nicholas, Andrew, George, Kasian, &c. | 329 | | 2. Demons, &c. | | | Part played by Demons in the Skazkas—On “Hasty Words,” and Parental Curses; their power to subject persons to demoniacal possession—The dulness of Demons; Stories about Tricks played upon them—Their Gratitude to those who treat them with Kindness and their General Behavior—Various Legends about Devils—Moral Tale of the Gossip’s Bedstead | 361 |
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