Augusta Baker (1911–1998)

Pioneering African-American storyteller and children's librarian Augusta Baker, whose first folktale collection, The Talking Tree and other Stories: Fairy Tales from 15 Lands, was published in 1955, revisited the genre in her 1960 anthology, The Golden Lynx and Other Tales. Here are sixteen tales from seven countries, apparently taken from earlier publications. With the exception of two tales from India, all the stories are of European origin, a selection I find just as puzzling - in light of Baker's work to promote positive images of African-Americans in children's literature - as I did with her first book. Leaving that issue aside, I did enjoy those tales which were presented, among them:

The King's Hares, in which the third and youngest son of a poor man succeeds - with the help of a magical whistle given him by old woman he aids - in herding the king's hares, winning the hand of the princess in the process. This classic Norwegian tale can be found in Asbjørnsen and Moe's nineteenth-century collection. I myself last encountered it in the D'Aulaire's delightful adaptation of same, East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

Kari Woodencoat, a second Norwegian tale, in which a princess is driven from her home by a jealous stepmother, but wins the love of the prince in whose castle she finds work, with the help of a magical bull. Another story from the Asbjørnsen and Moe collection, I have also seen this tale translated as Katie Woodencloak and Kari Woodenskirt.

The Princess with the Twelve Pair of Golden Shoes, an interesting Danish variant of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, in which one princess wears out twelve pairs of shoes a night, rather than twelve princesses wearing out one pair each.

Trillevip, a second tale from Denmark, in which a young woman on the island of Funen finds herself caught in a trap of her own making, when her careless words are overheard, and interpreted to mean that she is able spin twenty spindles of yarn a night. There are clear parallels here to the tale of Rumpelstiltskin, although the concluding scenes also bear a resemblance to the Norwegian story of The Three Aunts.

Queen Crane, a Swedish tale in which a magical crane aids a poor young boy known as "Sheep-Peter," helping him to become the king's champion, and win the hand of the princess.

The Rooster, the Hand Mill and the Swarm of Hornets, a second selection from Sweden, in which a peasant sells his pig to the devil, receiving three extraordinary gifts as payment.

The Jackal, the Barber and the Brahmin Who Had Seven Daughters, an Indian tale in which a trickster jackal (really a rajah in disguise) spends the first half of the story playing pranks on his former companion, the Barber, and the second half married to a Brahmin's daughter, providing for his father-in-law and his family with three magical gifts. This was an entertaining story, although it felt very much like two separate narratives cobbled together. I can see why Baker placed it directly after The Rooster, the Hand Mill and the Swarm of Hornets, as the second half bears a distinct resemblance to the Swedish tale.

The Blind Man and the Deaf Man, an Indian tale in which the titular blind and deaf man go into a partnership, confronting and then accidentally defeating a group of rakshasas (demons), before finding themselves "cured" of their respective disabilities, when they themselves get into a fight.

Ti-Tiriti-Ti, an Italian tale concerning a king who spends twenty-one years exposed to the elements in order to win a strange peasant's beautiful daughter, only to discover that the peasant is none other than the great magician, Sabino.

The Adventures of Bona and Nello, an Italian tale which starts out like Hansel and Gretel, with two young children being abandoned in the forest by their father, and ends up like the Russian tale of Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka, with the brother being transformed into a sheep, rather than goat.

Rags-and-Tatters, a third Italian tale, in which the Princess Julietta must marry a poor beggar-man, in order to fulfill her father's dying request, and - through the power of love - eventually frees him from an enchantment, and reveals his true princely identity.

The Hedgehog Who Became a Prince, a Polish tale in which a hedgehog aids a king, in return for a promise that he may wed the king's daughter. This selection reminded me of the Latvian tale of The Hedgehog Boy, although I think I have also seen it in various collections of Polish folklore.

The Golden Lynx, in which a prince is aided in the completion of various impossible tasks by the magical golden lynx that he accidentally released, leading to his own banishment by his father. This Polish selection features motifs that can also be found in tales such as Chestnut-Grey.

The Flight, a third Polish selection, in which a beautiful princess is kidnapped and held captive by a witch, but manages to escape with the aid of a kindly fairy, and the various magical aids she is given.

The Red-Etin, a Scots tale in which a young man frees his friends, as well as King Malcolm's daughter, from the terrible Red-Etin.

And finally, Thomas the Rhymer, that classic Scots tale in which Thomas of Ercildoune spends seven years in fairyland after kissing the Fairy Queen, returning to the world of mortals with the gifts of Truth, Prophecy and Poesie.… (mehr)

When The Talking Tree and other Stories was published in 1955, Augusta Baker had been the head of storytelling at the New York Public Library for two years. When she was appointed the Coordinator of Children's Services in 1961, she became the first African-American ever to hold an administrative position in that institution. Her work in researching and promoting children's literature that portrayed African-Americans in a positive light had national influence, as did her work with the American Library Association's Children's Services Division, and on various Newbery and Caldecott committees.

In light of this pioneering role in the world of children's literature and librarianship, I was eager to read her book, the first of two such international folkloric anthologies (the second being The Golden Lynx and Other Tales, published in 1960). I was somewhat surprised to find that none of the twenty-eight tales contained herein are African or African-American, a selection choice that had me wondering, in light of Baker's activism to promote positive literature about blacks, whether this was the result of her own editorial process, or one imposed upon her by her publishers. Of course there's nothing to say that an African-American must include tales with an African background, but the information that these stories were selected from those actually told at library story-hours suggests that the program was not yet as inclusive as it could have been.

Leaving this aside, I enjoyed the selections that were presented, although I found the text itself a little old-fashioned. This probably isn't so surprising, given the fact that many of the selections were taken from older collections. Here the reader will encounter:

The Talking Tree: an Italian tale in which a king, determined to have all the rarest and most beautiful things in his palace, sets out to find the Talking Tree, freeing the King of Spain's daughter in the process.

Vardiello: another Italian story, originally found in Giambattista Basile's Pentamerone, in which a prudent woman named Grannonia manages her half-wit son well enough that he does not give away their good fortune.

Cinderella: which is listed here as an English tale, although I have always considered it French, at least in this form.

Tom Tit Tot: an English variant on the well-known Rumpelstiltskin tale-type, in which a strange little man offers to weave five skeins of flax a night for the distressed queen, but asks a terrible price in return.

The Fairy Wife: a Welsh story in which a young farmer kidnaps a fairy maiden, eventually making her his wife, until an accident sends her back to her people.

Ned Puw's Farewell: an eerie tale, first recorded in The Welsh Fairy Book, in which a fiddler disappears into the terrible Tal Clegir Cave one night.

The Horned Woman: in which an Irish housewife defeats the twelve witches who occupy her house one night, with the help of the Spirit of the Well.

The Coming of Finn: in which Fionn mac Cumhall, one of the greatest heroes in Irish mythology, first appears at Tara, winning his rightful place by defeating the terrible wizard, Allen son of Midna.

The Seal Catcher and the Merman: a Scots tale in which a great seal hunter is confronted with the results of his work, when he is brought to the underwater lair of the seal-people. This is clearly a selkie tale, although that word is not used.

The Fox and the Wolf: a rather Aesopic fable set in Scotland, in which a fox uses deception to hoard an entire cask of butter, only to get his just deserts in the end.

The Lame Dog: a fascinating Swedish tale that is very similar, in its first half, to the Norwegian East of the Sun and West of the Moon, or the Greco-Roman Cupid and Psyche. Here a young princess weds a lame dog (rather than a white bear), and is taken to his fantastic palace, where her every desire is granted. But her curiosity about her husband leads to disaster, and soon she must seek for her lost love, facing three trials of loyalty.

The Princess and the Glass Mountain: a Swedish tale in which a young man is aided by a magical wild man (a dwarf, perhaps?), in his quest to win a beautiful princess. This tale reminded me strongly of the Russian story of Chestnut-Grey, or the Norwegian The Maid on the Glass Mountain, found in Asbjørnsen and Moe's collection.

The Mill at the Bottom of the Sea: a Danish porquoi tale, also found in the work of Hans Christian Andersen, explaining how the sea became salt.

"To the Devil With the Money": another Danish tale, in which a very foolish man manages to lose all the money given to him by his three troll sons-in-law, eventually perishing through his imitation of their antics.

The Magic Apples: a Norwegian story in which a young man wins the hand of a reluctant princess, with the help of some unusual apples that cause horns to grow on the head of she that eats them.

East of the Sun and West of the Moon: that classic Norwegian tale in which a young girl is married to a white bear, until her curiosity causes her to lose him, precipitating an extraordinary quest to win him back.

The Blue Lake: an epic eleven-part fairy-tale from Spain, in which the evil sorcerer Rudizo, of the Palace of Pombal, causes suffering with his wicked enchantments, both to his own innocent niece and nephew, Natalia and Carlos, as well as to the residents of the nearby Castle of Floridel. When his plot to do away with the Count of Floridel and marry the Countess goes awry, Rudizo curses their innocent daughter Starlita, turning her into a mermaid in the Blue Lake. Can her four brothers - Augusto, Enrique, Federico, and Aurelio - win the aid of the Fairy Kindheart, and the suit they will need to rescue Starlita? This involved tale was one with which I was completely unfamiliar, and I wish that some source had been listed, as I would love to learn more about it.

The Parrot of Limo Verde: a Brazilian tale, in which a lovely princess loses her parrot-prince, as a result of jealous neighbors who booby-trap her window, and must seek for him, wearing out shoes of bronze. Similar in some respects to Cupid and Psyche and East of the Sun and West of the Moon, which also relate the tale of a search for a missing (supernatural) husband, this tale seems to be quite widespread in Latin America, as a very similar tale (Pajaro Verde/The Green Bird), can be found in the Mexican-American tradition.

The Green Sergeant: another Brazilian tale, concerning a young princess who escapes execution at the hands of her father's soldiers, and disguises herself as a man, becoming the "Green Sergeant" in the service of another king.

The Tale of the Balaton: a Hungarian tale explaining how the Lake of Balaton came to be, and why little stones in the shape of goat's hooves can be found on its shores.

The Miraculous Stag: which explains the genesis of the Magyar (Hungarian) and Hun peoples. This well-known story can also be found in Kate Seredy's Newbery Medal-winning novel, The White Stag.

Krencipal and Krencipalka: a Polish tale which tells of a poor brother and sister who gain everything they need, simply by seeking it. The conclusion of this story reminded me strongly of The Bremen Town Musicians, from the Brothers Grimm.

Lie-A-Stove: a second Polish tale, this one concerning a lazy young man who wins the hand of the princess, with the help of a magical wishing fish. Very similar to Russian tales such as The Fool and the Fish.

King Solomon's Carpet: a Jewish folktale involving the biblical king, and his travels around the world on a magic flying carpet. Through his interaction with the wind, an ant-queen, and a long-abandoned palace, Solomon learns of the pitfalls of vanity.

Chanina and the Angels: in which a poor man, longing to make a suitable gift to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, finds an abandoned piece of marble and works hard to make it a thing of beauty. But how is he to transport such a heavy gift to the Holy City?

The Brahmin, the Tiger and the Seven Judges: an Indian tale in which a Brahmin and a Tiger appeal to seven others for judgement, when the Brahmin releases the Tiger on the understanding that he (the Brahmin) will not be harmed, only to face imminent consumption.

The Valiant Chattee-Maker: another Indian tale, in which a poor chattee-maker unknowingly captures a tiger, leading to an extraordinary change in his circumstances.

And finally, How Molo Stole the Lovely Rose Red, a Chinese tale in which a master swordsman aids his young employer in stealing a beautiful young woman from a prince's court.… (mehr)