- Genre
- Endless tale
- Source status
- variant tradition
- Motifs
- peeling potatoes, story within a story, repetition
The tale: an editorial retelling
An old man and an old woman sat together peeling potatoes. Evening came, and they began a tale: “An old man and an old woman sat together peeling potatoes. Evening came, and they began a tale…”
“An old man and an old woman sat together peeling potatoes. Evening came, and they began a tale…”
About this version
The narrative folds back into itself: its characters begin the very tale we are hearing. This differs from a storyteller simply announcing that the story will start again.
M. Stonys recorded the version around Plungė in 1935. Its archive reference is LTR 542(5); it is tale 298 in volume IV of Lietuvių tautosaka. The Lithuanian verse-like lines are rendered here as prose.
Telling and discussing the tale
Pause briefly and soften your voice before the couple begins its story. Ask a listener to identify where the tale within the tale starts. No extra resolution needs to be invented.