Hungarian Heritage Review, 1988 (17. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1988-04-01 / 4. szám
ÍEI]f ^olklorr nf JHungarjj axe and hit the bear right in the head. And that’ll be the end of him.” The poor man thanked the fox for his advice and did as he was told. Everything happened the way the fox said it would. The bear was killed, and the poor man was free once more. “Didn’t I tell you it would work?” asked the fox. “Remember, it’s always better to use your brain than your brawn! I’ll have to leave now, but I’ll be back tomorrow to pick up the nine hens and the rooster. They better be fat, or else! And you better be home, or you’ll be sorry!” The poor man then threw the dead bear on his wagon and took it home. He was very happy. He ate a big supper, had a good sleep, and lost all his fears. He had learned from the fox that “it’s always better to use your brain than your brawn.” The poor man was hardly out of his bed the next morning when the fox appeared. He knocked on the poor man’s door and asked for the nine hens and the rooster. “Just a minute, pal,” shouted the poor man through the door. “I’ll have to get dressed first.” He dressed himself quickly, but instead of opening the door, he stood in the middle of the room and began to bark like a hound. Upon hearing this, the fox shouted, “Hey, you! What’s that I hear inside? I hope it’s not a hound!” “But it is a hound!" hollered the poor man. “There are really two of them. They slept under my bed. Only the devil knows how they got there. Now they seem to have gotten your scent and want to rush out. I can hardly keep them back.” “Please hold them back until I can get away,” pleaded the fox. “I don’t even care if you keep the hens and the rooster!" By the time the poor man opened the door the fox was nowhere in sight. He roared with laughter. Unless he died in the meantime, he may still be laughing today.D Additional Reading Since the 1850s and 1860s, when György Gaál (1783-1855), Count János Mailáth (1786-1855), János Kriza (1811-1875), János Erdélyi (1814-1868), László Merényi (1837-1907), and László Arany (1844-1898) published the first significant collections of Hungarian folktales, such collections have appeared on dozens of occasions in many scores of volumes. Most of the well-known tales appeared in several versions, depending on the memory of specific peasant narrators and the skill of the collectors. The translations appearing in this article are our own, and each is based on several versions of the same folktale. More recently, a collection of Hungarian folktales has also appeared in English, based largely on a more extensive Hungarian work by the noted poet Gyula Illyés (1902-1983). At the same time, English translations of some related scholarly studies on Hungarian folktales and folk beliefs also appeared. These few abbreviated English versions naturally cannot take the place of the many original Hungarian collections and scholarly studies, but at least they offer a glimpse into the fascinating world of Magyar folklore. Some of the most recent and most readily available among these English-language works are: Folk Tales of Hungary, ed. by Linda Dégh, and trans. by Judit Halász, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1965. Tekla Dömötör, Hungarian Folk Beliefs, Corvina Press, Budapest, 1981.------, Hungarian Folk Customs, Corvina Press, Budapest, 1972. Károly Gink and Ivor Sándor Kiss, Folk Art and Folk Artists in Hungary, Corvina Press, Budapest, 1968. Once Upon a Time: Forty Hungarian Folk-Tales, ed. by Gyula Illyés, Corvina Press, Budapest, 1964. Péter Komis, Heaven's Bridegroom: Hungarian Folk Customs, introduced by Sándor Csoóri, Corvina Press, Budapest, 1975. The best recent synthesis of Hungarian folklore is by Iván Balassa and Gyula Ortutay: Magyar néprajz (Hungarian Folklore), Corvina Kiadó, Budapest, 1979, which also has an excellent section on Hungarian folktales. This work was of much help to us, and some of the quotations also come from there. Also significant is the recent five-volume Magyar Néprajzi Lexikon (Hungarian Folklore Encyclopedia), edited by Gyula Ortutay, Akadémiai Kaidé, Budapest, 1977-1982, which we also used with considerable profit. The survival of ancient Hungarian shamanism as late as the middle of the thirteenth century (that is, 250 years after official Christianization) is treated only in some Hungarian-language monographs. The pioneer work among these is Jenő M. Fehér's, Középkori magyar inkvizíció (Medieval Hungarian Inquisition), Transylvania Könyvkiadó, Buenos Aires, 1968. Agnes Huszar Vardy, associate professor of comparative literature at Robert Morris College, also teaches Hungarian language and culture at the University of Pittsburgh. Steven Bela Vardy, her husband, is department chairman and professor of history at Duquesne University and adjunct professor of East European history at the University of Pittsburgh. APRIL 1988 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW 21
