Myths, legends and folk stories from the Baltic Lands
Fairy Tale | Lithuania | 
14 minute read
A Lithuanian fairy tale, this version was published in the Grey Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, in 1905.
Once upon a time, there was a king who had three sons. Now it happened that one day the three princes went out hunting in a large forest at some distance from their father’s palace, and the youngest prince lost his way, so his brothers had to return home without him.
Fairy Tale | Estonia | 9 minute read
An Estonian fairy tale, this version is from Tales of The Amber Sea, compiled and translated by Irina Zheleznova in 1974.
Once in times long past a woodcutter went to the forest to chop some wood. He came up to a birch-tree and waved his axe and the birch-tree spoke up in a human voice and said:
“Do not kill me, woodcutter! I am young and have many children. What will they do without me?”
Fairy Tale | Estonia | 26 minute read
An Estonian fairy tale, this version was published in the Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, in 1901.
Once upon a time the king of the Goldland lost himself in a forest, and try as he would he could not find the way out. As he was wandering down one path which had looked at first more hopeful than the rest he saw a man coming towards him.
‘What are you doing here, friend?’ asked the stranger; ‘darkness is falling fast, and soon the wild beasts will come from their lairs to seek for food.’
‘I have lost myself,’ answered the king, ‘and am trying to get home.’
Fairy Tale | Latvia | 6 minute read
A Latvian fairy tale, this version is from Tales of The Amber Sea, compiled and translated by Irina Zheleznova in 1974.
Once upon a time there lived a man and his son. One day it so happened that there was no bread left in the house, so the father gave the son a ruble to buy some. The son took the money and set off for the market.
He walked and he walked and what did he see but a peasant beating his dog so hard that it looked as if he meant to kill it.
Fairy Tale | Lithuania | 10 minute read
A Lithuanian tale, this version is taken from the 1938 anthology Wonder Tales from Baltic Wizards by Frances Jenkins Olcott.
In a certain village there was once a Land owner who had a wife. Though married long years, they had no child. Both of them grieved very much over this.
At last, however, the wife had a little son, whom she named Martin. The mother loved the child very much. He grew up to be so strong that no one could overcome him. When he was twenty years old, he felt a great longing to journey through the world, and begged his Father to have a smith make him a strong iron staff. Except for that, he did not want anything.