Romanian Folk Tales: In English and Romanian

Please note – these are not “”politically correct”” tales. In the Queen of Fairies (in the original, The Fairy of Fairies) as also in The Enchanted Prince, the plain-spoken expression has in several places been somewhat toned down. In all these cases the translator has cravenly yielded to the fear of bruising the delicate susceptibilities of civilized folks, who, while not exactly more moral, are certainly more squeamish than the artless old-world peasant. The book contains 7 original Romanian Folk Tales, as published in 1870s by Petre Ispirescu, as well as their English translation. The English text of Romanian Folk Tales was taken verbatim from a 1925 manuscript, which was retold from the original tales published by Ispirescu in a series of installments in the late 19th century. In the introduction, J. B. Segall (University of Maine) painstakingly explained the purpose of the English translations of the tales, which were, “meant for general reading public, and not for the professional folklorist” and was, “not a literal rendering that is here offered…After all, there is no such thing as an absolutely faithful translation.” The purpose of this book was not to update the language to modern vernacular; but, rather, to preserve this antique text so that the timeless tales can be enjoyed by many. —- ISBN: 9781535350174