The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
Encyclopedia
The Flying Ship or The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship is a Russian fairy tale
. Andrew Lang
included it in The Yellow Fairy Book and Arthur Ransome
in Old Peter's Russian Tales.
Uri Shulevitz
illustrated a version of Ransome's tale, The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
, for which he won the Caldecott Medal
in 1969. Also, a made-for-tv stop motion
-animated film with the same name was released in the UK in 1990. It aired as part of WGBH
's children's series, Long Ago and Far Away
. Rabbit Ears Productions has also made an audiotape version, featuring Robin Williams
, which was released on Showtime in 1991. It aired as part of Rabbit Ears's We All Have Tales series. In addition, Terry Gilliam
's 1988 film The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
contains several elements inspired by this story, particularly the opening sequence set at the court of the Grand Turk.
was a fool. One day, the Tsar
declared that whoever made him a ship that could sail through the air would marry his daughter. The older two set out, with everything their parents could give them; then the youngest set out as well, despite their ridicule and being given less fine food. He met a little man and, when the man asked to share, he hesitated only because it was not fit. But when he opened it, the food had become fine.
The man told him how to strike a tree with an axe; then, he was not to look at it but fall to his knees. When he was lifted up, he would find the tree had been turned into a boat, and could fly it to the Tsar's palace, but he should give anyone who asked a lift. He obeyed.
On the way, he met and gave a lift to a man who was listening to everything in the world, a man who hopped on one leg so that he would not reach the end of the world in one bound, a man who could shoot a bird at a hundred miles, a man who needed a great basket of bread for his breakfast, a man whose thirst could not be sated by a lake, a man with a bundle of wood that would become soldiers, and a man with straw that would make everything cold.
At the Tsar's place, the Tsar did not want to marry the princess to a peasant. He decided to send him to the end of the world to get healing water, before the Tsar finished his dinner. But the man who could hear heard him and told the youngest son, who lamented his fate. The fleet-footed man went after it. He fell asleep by the spring, and the huntsman shot the tree he was leaning against to wake him up, and he brought back the water in time. The Tsar then ordered him to eat twelve oxen and twelve tons of bread, but the glutton ate them all. The Tsar then ordered him to drink forty casks of wine, with forty gallons each, but the thirsty man drank them all.
The Tsar said that the betrothal would be announced after the youngest son bathed, and went to have him stifled in the bath by heat. The straw cooled it, saving him.
The King demanded that he present him with an army on the spot, and with the wood, the youngest son had it and threatened to attack if the Tsar did not agree. The Tsar had him dressed in fine clothing, and the princess fell in love with him on sight. They were married, and even the glutton and the thirsty man had enough to eat and drink at the feast.
.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
. Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
included it in The Yellow Fairy Book and Arthur Ransome
Arthur Ransome
Arthur Michell Ransome was an English author and journalist, best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. These tell of school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. Many of the books involve sailing; other common subjects...
in Old Peter's Russian Tales.
Uri Shulevitz
Uri Shulevitz
Uri Shulevitz is an American author and illustrator. He won the Caldecott Medal in 1969 for his illustration of The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship. He created his first picture book, The Moon in My Room, in 1963. Shulevitz lives in New York City.-Biography:Uri Shulevitz was born in Warsaw,...
illustrated a version of Ransome's tale, The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship (book)
This is an article for the 1968 children's picture book. For the Russian folk tale, please see The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship.The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship is a retelling of a Russian fairy tale illustrated by Uri Shulevitz. It is based on Arthur Ransome's version of the...
, for which he won the Caldecott Medal
Caldecott Medal
The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children , a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. The award was named in honor of nineteenth-century English...
in 1969. Also, a made-for-tv stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
-animated film with the same name was released in the UK in 1990. It aired as part of WGBH
WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
's children's series, Long Ago and Far Away
Long Ago and Far Away (TV Series)
Long Ago and Far Away is a TV series that aired on PBS Television from 1989 to 1993. It was created by WGBH, a public television broadcast service located in Boston, Massachusetts...
. Rabbit Ears Productions has also made an audiotape version, featuring Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
, which was released on Showtime in 1991. It aired as part of Rabbit Ears's We All Have Tales series. In addition, Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
's 1988 film The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a 1988 British adventure comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam, starring John Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric Idle, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman, and Robin Williams.-Plot:...
contains several elements inspired by this story, particularly the opening sequence set at the court of the Grand Turk.
Synopsis
A couple had three sons, and the youngestYoungest son
The youngest son is a stock character in fairy tales, where he features as the hero. He is usually the third son, but sometimes there are more brothers, and sometimes he has only one; usually, they have no sisters....
was a fool. One day, the Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
declared that whoever made him a ship that could sail through the air would marry his daughter. The older two set out, with everything their parents could give them; then the youngest set out as well, despite their ridicule and being given less fine food. He met a little man and, when the man asked to share, he hesitated only because it was not fit. But when he opened it, the food had become fine.
The man told him how to strike a tree with an axe; then, he was not to look at it but fall to his knees. When he was lifted up, he would find the tree had been turned into a boat, and could fly it to the Tsar's palace, but he should give anyone who asked a lift. He obeyed.
On the way, he met and gave a lift to a man who was listening to everything in the world, a man who hopped on one leg so that he would not reach the end of the world in one bound, a man who could shoot a bird at a hundred miles, a man who needed a great basket of bread for his breakfast, a man whose thirst could not be sated by a lake, a man with a bundle of wood that would become soldiers, and a man with straw that would make everything cold.
At the Tsar's place, the Tsar did not want to marry the princess to a peasant. He decided to send him to the end of the world to get healing water, before the Tsar finished his dinner. But the man who could hear heard him and told the youngest son, who lamented his fate. The fleet-footed man went after it. He fell asleep by the spring, and the huntsman shot the tree he was leaning against to wake him up, and he brought back the water in time. The Tsar then ordered him to eat twelve oxen and twelve tons of bread, but the glutton ate them all. The Tsar then ordered him to drink forty casks of wine, with forty gallons each, but the thirsty man drank them all.
The Tsar said that the betrothal would be announced after the youngest son bathed, and went to have him stifled in the bath by heat. The straw cooled it, saving him.
The King demanded that he present him with an army on the spot, and with the wood, the youngest son had it and threatened to attack if the Tsar did not agree. The Tsar had him dressed in fine clothing, and the princess fell in love with him on sight. They were married, and even the glutton and the thirsty man had enough to eat and drink at the feast.
DVD release
The Fool Of The World And The Flying Ship was released on DVD in the UK in February 2010 by Revelation FilmsRevelation Films
Revelation Films is a British distributor of entertainment programmes on DVD.It was perhaps most well known as the company through which as of November 2006, the American anime company FUNimation Entertainment has launched its titles in the United Kingdom on region 2 DVD...
.
See also
- How the Hermit helped to win the King's DaughterHow the Hermit helped to win the King's DaughterHow the Hermit helped to win the King's Daughter is an Italian fairy tale, collected by Laura Gonzenbach in Sicilianische Märchen. Andrew Lang included it in The Pink Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
- Long, Broad and SharpsightLong, Broad and SharpsightLong, Broad and Sharpsight or Long, Broad, and Quickeye is a Bohemian fairy tale, collected by Louis Léger in Contes Populaires Slaves.Andrew Lang included it in The Grey Fairy Book.A. H...
- The King Of Lochlin's Three DaughtersThe King Of Lochlin's Three Daughters"The King of Lochlin's Three Daughters" is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in his Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as Neill Gillies, a fisherman near Inverary.-Synopsis:...
- The GriffinThe Griffin (fairy tale)The Griffin is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales.It is Aarne-Thompson type 610, Fruit to Cure the Princess; and type 461, Three Hairs from the Devil...
- List of animated feature films
- List of stop-motion films
- The Golden Goose
External links
- The Flying Ship Lang's version
- The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship Ransome's version
- The Fool and the Flying Ship Rabbit Ears's version
- The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship on Youtube, Part 1 (1990 Version)