Category: Albanian Folktales

Once upon a time there was a shepherd who tended a flock of sheep. He was bothered day after day by a bear who would come along and steal five or six of his sheep. One day, a dervish came by. The shepherd greeted him and told him his tale of woe about the thievish…

Once upon a time there was an old woman who had no children and owned nothing but the little cottage she lived in. Every day, she would go into the forest to gather firewood. One day a little snake slithered into her bundle of wood. Not noticing it, the old woman heaved the wood over…

Once upon a time there was a king who had three sons. The only thing the king cared about was praying at the mosque. So he had a beautiful mosque built and when the workers had finished it, he went there to pray. While he was praying, a dervish entered and said to him, “The…

Once upon a time there was an old man and an old woman who owned nothing but a cat and a rooster. One day they got into a terrible argument and shouted at one another so furiously that they decided to separate forever. The old couple divided everything they had and the woman got the…

Once upon a time there was a man and a women to whom God had given no children. One evening the man was returning from the fields with his team of oxen when he met a dervish who was leaning against the wall of his house. The dervish asked the man to invite him in…

Once upon a time there was a widow who had two sons. The older of the two was a pasha in Baghdad. When the younger son grew up, people said to him, “Aren’t you lucky to have a brother who is Pasha in Baghdad?” The youth replied that he had no brother. “Oh yes you…

Once upon a time there was an old woman with one son who was a fool. The mother was very poor and spun yarn for a living. One day her son said, “Mother, I am going out now to sell the yarn.” “All right, my son, see that you sell it quickly and bring back…

Once upon a time there were a king and a queen who had one son. One day the youth went hunting with the son of the Grand Vizier. In the course of the hunt, they killed a magpie and a drop of its blood fell onto the snow which had fallen heavily that winter. At…

Once upon a time there were three sisters, the youngest of whom was prettier than the other two. Her name was Fatima. One day the sisters asked the sun, “Dear sun, which of us is the prettiest?” “Fatima,” the sun replied. The next day, the two sisters rubbed dirt into Fatima’s face and asked the…

Once upon a time there was a poor man who had one son. One day the son found a snake almost frozen to death and took it home with him. When the little snake had recovered in the warmth of the house, it said to the boy, “I cannot repay you for what you have…