- Origin
- Ukrain
- Source
- Ivanko and the Dragon: An old Ukrainian Folk Tale
- from the original collection
of Ivan Rudchenko
- translated by Marie Halun Bloch
- illustrations by Yaroslava
- Atheneum: New York, 1969
- The Story
- Ivanko is a boy who once has been a sapling. The old woman
who he calls mother brings him dinner while he is out fishing for the
family in his little golden boat with a little silver oar. It so happens
that the she-dragon, after many failed attempts, asks the smith to forge
her the voice sweet as that of Ivanko's mother's and in this way kidnaps
Ivanko. With wits Ivanko escapes the fate of being cooked in
the she-dragon's oven and with the help of a gosling, he is transported
back to reunite with his parents.
- Comments
- There is no textual description of the she-dragon except that her
voice is coarse. In the illustrations, this dragon is gray in color,
with ridged back and a long tail. Her claws are sharp and her tongue is
forked. She wears traditional, colorful costumes. The sequence where
the servant dragon Olenka is tricked by Ivanko into sitting on the shovel
herself is especially amusing and lends itself to an entertaining
participatory storytelling piece.
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Introduction/Index