Originally published in 1912, and reprinted in this 1946 edition, Post Wheeler's Russian Wonder Tales contains sixteen stories from the Russian folk tradition, together with twelve color plates from the famed folk artist, Ivan Bilibin. Readers expecting anything like the illustrated Pushkin editions, put out by Goznak (or Moscow's Progress Publishers), and profusely illustrated with Bilibin's art, will be somewhat disappointed, as this volume is mostly text, with a plate every now and again.

Still, this retelling, for all its archaic language, has a charm of its own, and Russian folklore enthusiasts will no doubt enjoy Wheeler's adaptations, which often run along very familiar lines, only to depart from them, every once in a while. Included here are:

The Language of the Birds, in which a wealthy merchant's two sons, one boastful and dishonest, the other humble and compassionate, set out to prove themselves, with the predictable results. While Vasilii squanders his father's money, Ivan learns the language of the birds, a skill that stands him in good stead through many adventures, and which eventually wins him the hand of the Tsar's daughter. Rafe Martin has also adapted this tale, in his picture book, The Language of Birds, and I understand that he credits Post Wheeler in his source materials.

Tsar Saltan, in which the eponymous Tsar marries the youngest of three sisters, who claims that she will bear him seven hero-sons, all with golden legs and silver arms. But when the jealous sisters interfere, and Tsar Saltan comes to believe that she has borne him kittens, puppies, and a log (!), he loses both his wife and sons, and only regains them when he visits the far-off island where they have come to live. This is another tale that has been told many times, most recently in The Tale of Tsar Saltan, illustrated by Gennady Spirin.

Vasilissa the Beautiful, in which a spiteful step-mother and step-sisters dispatch the heroine to the forest hut of the powerful witch, Baba Yaga, ostensibly to fetch a light. Aided by the enchanted doll left to her by her dead mother, Vasilissa manages to perform Baba Yaga's impossible tasks, eventually returning in triumph to her step-family. Naturally, a marriage to the Tsar is not long to follow...

The Little Humpbacked Horse, in which a peasant's son becomes the master of the Tsar's stable after his midnight ride with an enchanted white mare wins him two beautiful stallions, and a funny little humpbacked horse. When jealous courtiers make trouble, inciting the Tsar to send Ivan on impossible tasks, the little horse aids him in gaining the Pig with the Golden Bristles and Silver Tusks, the Mare with Seven Manes, and the beautiful Girl-Tsar.

Tsar-Morskoi the Sea Ruler, in which Tsar Gurvin, resentful that God had not granted him a child, is less than generous with a wounded eagle, and consequently finds himself at the mercy of Tsar-Morskoi, the ruler of the sea. Promising him whatever new treasure may have appeared in his castle in his absence, Tsar Gurvin hurries home, only to discover with horror that he has bargained away his long-awaited son. It falls to the Tsarevitch, when he is grown, to extricate himself from the clutches of Tsar-Morskoi, winning his daughter, the lovely Tsarevna Anna, in the process...

Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf, in which the three sons of Tsar Vyslav set out on a quest to find the Fire Bird who has been stealing their father's golden apples. Predictably, it is the youngest, the Tsarevitch Ivan, who manages - with the help of the magical Gray Wolf - not only to bring back the Fire Bird, but also the Horse with the Golden Mane, and Helena the Beautiful. As always, when reading this tale, I was struck by the fact that Ivan doesn't seem to know how to follow directions. I'm not sure why the Gray Wolf puts up with it...

Maria Morevna, in which Tsarevitch Alexei wins the love of the beautiful warrior and Tsar's daughter, Maria Morevna, only to lose her when he fails to obey her instructions, and sets loose Koshchei the Wizard. Now, with the help of his three brothers-in-law - the hawk, the eagle and the crow - and a stallion won from the evil witch Baba Yaga, Alexei must win back his wife. I've always enjoyed this story, with its fierce woman warrior, and its reversal of the more common gender roles. After all, it is usually a woman whose curiosity brings about disaster. This tale is reminiscent of the Lithuanian The Sun Princess and Her Deliverer...

Martin the Peasant's Son, in which a peasant is rewarded for saving the daughter of the Snake-Tsar with a magical ring, and eventually marries the daughter of his own Tsar. When his new wife, mortified at having been married to a peasant, betrays him, it is Martin's faithful animal companions - Jourka the Dog and Vaska the Cat - who come to his rescue...

The Mountain of White Sand, in which the youngest son of a merchant, believed by his family to be an idiot, makes a fortune for himself when he carries a ship full of fine, pure salt to a tsardom that has never tasted it. Ivan eventually marries the Tsar's daughter, but not before his jealous older brothers interfere. The theme of three brothers, the youngest of whom defies his family's low expectations, and turns out to be the hero, seems a very common one in Russian folklore...

The Feather of Finist the Falcon, which combines elements of The Little Scarlet Flower (the Russian Beauty and the Beast) with Cupid and Psyche, producing a quest-type tale in which the heroine must wear out three sets of iron shoes, three iron staves, and three loaves of stone, while searching for her lost love...

The Frog-Tsarevna, in which Tsarevitch Ivan finds himself married to a frog, who turns out to be Vasilissa the Wise, and must seek her in the thirtieth tsardom, "in the empire which lies under the sun," after he hastily burns her frog-skin, and she disappears. The tale of the The Frog Princess has been retold many times, and is available in picture-book format, with full illustrations by Bilibin...

Schmat-Razum, in which Taraban, the Tsar's archer, is dispatched on a seemingly hopeless errand by his ruler, who wants Taraban's beautiful wife for himself. But the Tsar's clever trick is his own undoing, for Taraban returns in triumph, and uses the services of Schmat-Razum, the invisible servant he was sent to fetch, to oppose the Tsar. Folktale readers will undoubtedly recognize in this tale a variant of that found in Diane Wolkstein's Oom Razoom...

The Twin Brothers, in which two brothers, Tsarevitch Ivan and Tsarevitch Dimitri, together with their magical horses, Sivka and Burka, set out to find the beautiful Tsarevna of whom their father has dreamt. It is Ivan who eventually wins the love of the beautiful warrior-Tsarevna Nastasia, and Dimitri that of the Tsarevna Morkovya, rescued from a sea-serpent. This one reminded me a bit of Marie Morevna. The presence of the woman-warrior figure in these tales makes me wonder if such things were not unheard of, amongst the Slavic tribes of prehistory. I know other Eurasian peoples had women warriors...

Little Bear's Son, in which Ivashko Medvedko, a young man raised first by a bear, and then by a childless peasant couple, sets out to find his way in the world, eventually falling in with three giants: Usynia (Mustache-man), Gorynia (Hill-man), and Dubynia (Oak-man). When the four companions find themselves targeted by a Baba Yaga, it is only Ivashko who dares to pursue her to her underground stronghold...

Vasilii the Unlucky, in which a miserly merchant, Marko the Rich, sets out to rid himself of the boy-child Vasilii, when he learns that it has been foretold that all his wealth will pass to him. Needless to say, none of his many stratagems make any difference..

And finally, Tsarevitch Petr and the Wizard, in which young Petr sets out to rescue his mother, kidnapped by Koshchei the Wizard, finding a lovely brides for himself and his two brothers in the process.. ( )