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“The Turnip.” The magic egg and other tales from Ukraine, Barbara J. Suwyn, Englewood, Colo. : Libraries Unlimited, 1997, pp. 41-43.

The Turnip

Tale Summary

Once there was a family made up of a grandpa, a grandma, a mama, a papa, a boy named Sasha, and a little girl named Lala. They all lived together, but were very poor, and one day grandma realized the only food in the house was a tiny black turnip seed. Grandpa said he would hoe the garden, mama said she would plant the seed, papa said he would water the seed, and Sasha said he would pull the weeds. Lala asked what she could do, and they all told her that she would think of something. The turnip grew and by the end of the summer it was huge and ready to harvest. Grandpa couldn't pull it out so Grandma grabbed hold of his waist, and Papa took hold of grandma’s apron strings, and mama held papa by his belt, and Sasha held mama by her skirt, and Lala held Sasha by the hand, and a kitty cat held Lala by her boot, and a mouse held the kitty cat by his tail, and they all tugged. Everyone fell on top of each other and laughed before carrying the turnip back to the house to cook in a big pot. It smelled very good, and Lala dipped a spoon in and took a taste. She proclaimed that now she knew what to do, and filled her plate with turnip and ate it all up.

Fairy Tale Title

The Turnip

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Barbara J. Suwyn

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

Barbara J. Suwyn

Common Tale Type

Tale Classification

Page Range of Tale

pp. 41-43

Full Citation of Tale

“The Turnip.” The magic egg and other tales from Ukraine, Barbara J. Suwyn, Englewood, Colo. : Libraries Unlimited, 1997, pp. 41-43.

Original Source of the Tale

Tale Notes

Research and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2023

Book Title

The magic egg and other tales from Ukraine

Book Author/Editor(s)

Barbara J. Suwyn

Illustrator(s)

Barbara J. Suwyn

Publisher

Libraries Unlimited

Date Published

1997

Decade Published

1990-1999

Publisher City

Englewood

Publisher Country

United States

Language

English

Rights

Copyright not evaluated

Digital Copy

Book Notes

A historical overview and an introduction to Ukrainian folk literature are followed by 33 traditional tales-humorous animal tales, instructive fables, how and why stories, heroic legends, and even spooky tales.