Customer Reviews

The Glass Mountain: Twenty-Eight Ancient Polish Folktales and Fables

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Although this book is called "a retelling of traditional Polish tales," an American reader will find much that is new to him/her. The reader will find a story about an evil sorcerer who put a curse on a young man so that he was kept whirling in the sky--all the winds tortured him. He could see life on earth, could see his sweetheart on earth but could not go to her. When he finally promised the sorcerer to give up his betrothed so the sorcerer could have her, he was released--but he was a bony skeleton by now. Read how a witch helped him defeat the sorcerer. The title story, "The Glass Mountain," relates how a princess waited 7 long years at the top of a glass mountain for a hero to come rescue her. Many brave knights lost their lives trying to do just that, but it took a handsome young scholar to think out how he might climb the mountain (wildcat claws). He was almost defeated when he was saved by an eagle who tumbled him into an apple tree on top of the glass mountain. More--much more--happens in this story. Even the titles are interesting in this book of Polish folktales.

Book was recieved in very good time and was better then hoped for. Searching for Folktales that are rather uncommon, this book provides great ones.

This book contains both well-known Polish tales and less known but equally enjoyable. It also has beautiful illustrations, and the entire book is more mature than traditional fairy-tale collections. Highly recommended for readers of all ages, backgrounds, and interests.

"The Glass Mountain: Twenty-Eight Ancient Polish Folktales and Fables" is a charming book published by Hippocrene Books (1997). Some of the stories in this book are 1,000 years old, and are universal in all Western Slavic languages and cultures. Other stories in this volume go back to the Middle Ages. W. S. Kuniczak does a fantastic job retelling these stories, each attention grabbing and delightful.

The stories resemble fairy tales and although they are supposed to be traditional Polish stories, there is nothing obviously Polish about them. The stories often have princes, princesses, devils, and fools as characters. Two of the stories have dragons in them ("The Oak Plucker and Mountain Topper" and "The Glass Mountain"). Although the legend of the dragon near Krakow is the most well-known Polish dragon story, these two show that it was not the only one.

This book is a great collection of stories. There are also eight beautiful illustrations by Pat Bargielski in this volume. For adventures with witches and devils, princesses being saved, and justice meted out, this book is just what you have been looking for.