Published by Moscow-based Malysh Publishers in 1981, this picture-book collection presents eleven folktale from Ukraine, each retold by a different storyteller, and all translated by the prolific Irina Zheleznova. One of a number of English-language publications I own, from the former Soviet Union - printed for export? for tourists? I honestly am not sure - it contains tales both familiar and unfamiliar, including:

The titular The Wheat Stalk, retold by S. Mogilevskaya, in which two lazy mice, Hurry and Scurry, let the cock Silver Throat do all the work of making pies - threshing the wheat stalk he finds, having it ground into flour, and baking the pies - and find that he intends to do all the eating as well! An interesting variant on the classic tale of The Little Red Hen, which had me wondering if the alliterative names I often see in Zheleznova's translations come from the original stories, or from her translation of them.

How a Fox Helped a Cat Buy a Pair of Boots, retold by G. Petnikov, in which a cat is initially taken in by a cunning fox, who threatens to kill him, unless he helps the fox buy a pair of boots. The fortuitous arrival on the scene of the dog Brysko helps set all to rights, however.

The very brief (single page) The Lamb and the Wolf, also retold by G. Petnikov, in which a sly lamb outwits the wolf who intends to eat her, convincing him that he needs to "clean his paws" in a nearby trap.

The Little Straw Bull, a third story retold by G. Petnikov, in which an Old Man and Old Woman find themselves the happy recipients of many blessings, when their tar-covered straw bull "captures" a number of animals - a bear, a wolf, a fox, and a rabbit - each of which bargains for his freedom by promising certain gifts in return. This tale can also be found by itself, in the picture-book The Little Straw Bull, which happens also to be translated by Zheleznova.

The Singing Wolf and the Singing Fox, retold by L. Gribova, in which two canid friends present themselves at the house of an elderly couple, singing the same song - "What a fine house this with its roof of straw, / One more fine and rich we never saw" - and receiving as a reward a different animal each time; until finally, the Old Man becoming fed up (and dismayed at the loss of all his livestock), they find themselves being "given" Levontovich the dog.

Sir Cat-O-Puss, retold by E. Blaginina, in which an abandoned old house-cat finds himself married to Little Sister Fox, and, through a series of accidents and misunderstandings, has Bear, Wolf, Boar and Rabbit convinced that he is a very fierce creature indeed! This story has also been retold by famed Russian translator Richard Pevear, in the picture-book Mister Cat-and-a-Half.

The Polecat, retold by E. Blaginina, in which a chicken-thieving polecat finds himself getting a thorough beating (and a terrible scare) when the Old Man from whom he has been stealing - aided by a pumpkin peel, a strip of bast, a stick, an acorn, and a crayfish - pays him a visit.

The classic (and well-known) tale of The Mitten, also retold by E. Blaginina, in which a series of woodland creatures, all with alliterative names - Crunch-Munch the Mouse, Hop-Stop the Frog, Fleet-Feet the Rabbit, Smily-Wily the Fox - take up residence in a lost mitten. This story has been told many times, although this particular version, with these particular animal names, can also be found in Zheleznova's The Old Man's Mitten. Other adaptations include Jan Brett's The Mitten, Alvin Tresselt's The Mitten: An Old Ukrainian Folktale, the recent Aylesworth/McClintock The Mitten, and Tom Botting's mitten-shaped The Mitten: A Ukrainian Fairy-Tale, published (as was this volume) by Moscow-based Malysh.

The Fox, the Pumpkin Shell, the Fiddle, and the Trap, retold by G. Petnikov, in which a fox "drowns" both a pumpkin shell and a fiddle, because she doesn't approve of the sounds they make, only to find that she becomes caught in a different kind of trap. This one was... odd - I'm not sure I really understood it.

The Bun, the Bull, the Fox and the Wolf, retold by G. Petnikov, in which a little round bun runs away from the Old Woman who made him, is gobbled down by Sister Fox, whose wood-carrying sleigh is then broken by Brother Wolf. This oddly disjointed selection seems like an amalgam of a number of different tales, joining together The Little Round Bun and Sister Fox and Brother Wolf, both of which can be found in Dnipro Publishers' 1985 collection, Ukrainian Folk Tales, translated by (who else?) Irina Zheleznova.

And finally, Serko, retold by G. Petnikov, in which an older dog is abandoned by his human master, only to be rescued by a wolf, who concocts a plan (involving a fake attack on the baby of the house) to get the dog back into his human's good graces. This story can also be found in Eric Kimmel's Sirko and the Wolf: A Ukrainian Tale.

All in all, an enjoyable collection, despite the fact that Y. Rachov's illustrations did not greatly appeal to me. Anyone interested in the Ukrainian folk tradition will appreciate this collection, although its high picture-to-text ratio make it more appropriate for younger readers, I think. ( )