Emelian the Fool by Thomas James Wise

The tale of "Emelian", of which we give here a version, is highly popular amongst the peasantry of Russia, and is told by them at their merry-makings from the upper shores of the Gulf of Finland to the Ural Mountains. It bears some resemblance to the tale of "Aladdin", the pike playing in the Russian story much the same part as the lamp in the Arabian one, and it is by no means impossible that both tales are derived from the same myth.

But from whatever source the story of "Emelian" may have sprung, the manner in which it is wrought is essentially Russian, and from it, as here rendered, the English reader may form a better idea of the way of life, and the feelings of the Russian mujiks, or peasantry, than from a dozen common books of travels in Russia.