World-creation sakme
How the Earth Came to Be
An etiological sakme about Dievas, the speck of mud Velnias brings from the bottom, and a small island that expands into the earth while Velnias drags the sleeping Dievas.
Read →Mythological tales
Tales about velnias, the devil
Velnias appears in accounts of creation, work, encounters and pursuit by Perkūnas. These are belief narratives; longer fool-devil fairy tales remain in the tales collection.
Mythological sakme
Perkūnas’ Gift
A sakme about a hunter who helps Perkūnas shoot Velnias and receives a magically loaded gun whose power disappears when he boasts.
Read →Mythological sakme
Velnias Under the Turf
A sakme about Velnias asking Perkūnas where he might hide, and finally finding the one place under a strip of turf turned back on itself.
Read →Mythological sakme
He Will Strike Me, but Kill You
A short sakme about a man who finds Velnias hiding under an eave during a storm, and a strike from Perkūnas kills the man rather than the one who was hiding.
Read →Mythological sakme
The Rescued Velnias
A sakme about Velnias arriving at an old couple’s home during a thunderstorm, asking to be hidden in a bottle with a rowan stopper, and rewarding the people who helped him.
Read →Mythological legend
An Exchange with Perkūnas
A hunter trades his gun for Perkūnas’s small weapon, subject to one prohibition. Three prosperous years end when curiosity brings extraordinary destruction.
Read →Mythological legend
Baubut, Come to the Wedding
A mysterious gentleman pays for a poor young man’s wedding in return for an invitation. An unexpected musician’s name keeps the unwanted guest away.
Read →Mythological legend
Perkūnas and the Devil Disguised as a Cat
Two harvest workers hurry home through a storm. A black cat jumps into a folded skirt, and an overseer notices their dangerous passenger.
Read →Mythological legend
Perkūnas and the Sleeping Devil
On a warm day a ploughman meets a stranger in a white fur coat. Asked to wake him before a storm, he later finds a very different creature asleep.
Read →Mythological legend
The Captured Devil
A devil caught at a manor performs the hardest work. During an emergency, the housekeeper’s impatient command accidentally sets it free.
Read →Mythological legend
The Clever Herd Girl
A girl wagers that she can bring a pole from a haunted barn. She tricks the devils by suggesting that her task will take many more trips.
Read →Mythological legend
The Devil and the Roofer
A devil waits beside a roofer driving the last nail into a church roof. The craftsman escapes by saying something different from what he intends.
Read →Mythological legend
The Musician at the Devils’ Feast
A gentleman hires a lost musician for a feast. Ointment on one eye reveals a marsh instead of a manor, but the strange gift of sight does not last.
Read →Etiological legend
The Peacock’s Feathers
The devil decides to paint a peacock and a peahen. He finishes the male’s splendid plumage, but never gets to paint the female.
Read →Mythological legend
The Suit without Seams
A lord demands an impossible seamless suit from a tailor. A devil makes it possible, but the fine garment holds together only while its helper stays.
Read →Etiological legend
Why Alder Wood Is Red
A devil chased by a dog tries to escape into a tree. Blood from a bite leaves the alder with red wood.
Read →Mythological legend
Why Perkūnas and the Devil Quarrel
One stolen stone starts the endless quarrel between Perkūnas and the devil. This short legend explains why the devil keeps looking for new hiding places.
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