Sardinian Folk Tales

In the Sardinian language, legends, folk and fairy tales are indicated with the expression Contos de foghile and Contus de forredda (stories by the fire-place). Cherished for centuries in the culture of the Sardinians and transmitted exclusively by story-telling, this book is born with this precise objective: get people, both adults and children, in close contact to Sardinia's most famous folk and fairy tales, which come from its nature and scenarios, and from the historical and social changes that have marked it, including the linguistic and cultural contacts Sardinians have engaged in with other populations in the Mediterranean, from prehistory to the present. These are, in other words, stories that have similarities with European, Asian and African fables, but at the same time have peculiarities so strong they would not exist in any other place, if not for the Island, such as the Janas, the Launeddas and the Nuraghes. Sardinian oral tradition has preserved the local versions of some of the most famous and widespread fables in the world, but adding such substantial differences to render them absolutely extraordinary. Among these we also find Snow White and Cinderella. As in all fables, where wonder and fantasy are blended one into the other, in this collection we have appearances of Kings and Prince Charmings, witches and step-sisters, intelligent servants, witty courtiers and clever women, and of course talking animals and mermaids with magical powers worthy of the One Thousand and One Nights; and we can even find Demons and Devils, with an intact flavor of Inquisition and Spaniardesque.