"The Gigantic Turnip" or "The Enormous Turnip" (russian: Репка, ', , literally "small turnip";
ATU 2044, ‘Pulling up the turnip') is a
cumulative Russian fairy tale
A Russian fairy tale or folktale (russian: ска́зка; ''skazka''; "story"; plural russian: ска́зки , translit = skazki) is a fairy tale from Russia.
Various sub-genres of ''skazka'' exist. A ''volshebnaya skazka'' олше́бн ...
, collected in Arkhangelsk Governorate and published in 1863 by folklore researcher Alexander Afanasyev in his collection ''Russian Fairy Tales'' (tale number 89).
The story has been rewritten and adapted numerous times into other languages (e.g. into Ukrainian by Ivan Franko; into Polish by
Julian Tuwim
Julian Tuwim (13 September 1894 – 27 December 1953), known also under the pseudonym "Oldlen" as a lyricist, was a Polish poet, born in Łódź, then part of the Russian Partition. He was educated in Łódź and in Warsaw where he studied la ...
; into Bulgarian by
Ran Bosilek
Ran Bosilek ( bg, Ран Босилек) (26 September 1886 in Gabrovo – 8 October 1958 in Sofia), born Gencho Stanchev Negentsov ( bg, Генчо Станчев Негенцов), was a Bulgarian author of children's books. Three years befo ...
).
Plot
It is a
chain tale
In a cumulative tale, sometimes also called a chain tale, action or dialogue repeats and builds up in some way as the tale progresses. With only the sparest of plots, these tales often depend upon repetition and rhythm for their effect, and can r ...
, in which a grandfather plants a
turnip
The turnip or white turnip (''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word ''turnip'' is a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and ' ...
, which grows so large that he cannot pull it up himself. He asks the grandmother for help, and they together still cannot pull it up. Successively their granddaughter and pets are recruited to help, until they finally pull the turnip up together. The specific ordering and set of people and animals varies. However, in the popular Russian version (based on the 1864 adaptation of
Konstantin Ushinsky
Konstantin Dmitrievich Ushinsky (russian: Константи́н Дми́триевич Уши́нский; uk, Костянти́н Дмитро́вич Уши́нський, translit=Kostiantyn Dmytrovych Ushynskyi) ( – ) was a Russian t ...
) their order is quite fixed, with rhythm and rhyme: it is the grandfather (''dedka''), the grandmother (''babka''), the granddaughter (''vnuchka''), the female-dog (''zhuchka''
[ The original version had the word "suchka" (bitch), but kid versions replace that with "zhuchka", due to the original word having a negative meaning much like in English.]), the female-cat (''koshka'') and finally only with the help of the female-mouse (''myshka'') can the giant turnip (''repka'') be pulled up.
Derivative works
Several version for children have been penned, including by
Konstantin Ushinsky
Konstantin Dmitrievich Ushinsky (russian: Константи́н Дми́триевич Уши́нский; uk, Костянти́н Дмитро́вич Уши́нський, translit=Kostiantyn Dmytrovych Ushynskyi) ( – ) was a Russian t ...
(1864),
Vladimir Dal
Vladimir Ivanovich Dal ( rus, Влади́мир Ива́нович Даль, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr ɨˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈdalʲ; November 22, 1801 – October 4, 1872) was a noted Russian-language lexicographer, polyglot, Turkologist, and founding me ...
(1870), and
Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy
Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy (russian: link= no, Алексей Николаевич Толстой; – 23 February 1945) was a Russian writer who wrote in many genres but specialized in science fiction and historical novels.
Despite having ...
(1940).
The fairy tale has had multiple treatments in English. One of the unfinished projects of award-winning illustrator
Ezra Jack Keats
Ezra Jack Keats (né Jacob Ezra Katz; March 11, 1916 – May 6, 1983) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He won the 1963 Caldecott Medal for illustrating '' The Snowy Day'', which he also wrote. Keats wrote '' A Letter ...
was a version of "The Giant Turnip"; artwork for the book was published in the 2002 collection ''
Keats's Neighborhood: An Ezra Jack Keats Treasury''.
See also
*
The Little Red Hen
''The Little Red Hen'' is an American fable first collected by Mary Mapes Dodge in '' St. Nicholas Magazine'' in 1874. The story is meant to teach children the importance of hard work and personal initiative.
The story
A hen living on a farm fi ...
*
The Turnip
"The Turnip" (German: ''die Rübe'') is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 146).
It is of Aarne-Thompson type 1960D ("The Giant Vegetable") and of type 1689A ("Two Presents for the King"), with an ...
References
;Notes
;Footnotes
External links
*
The Giant Turnip A translation of the Russian fairy tale.
The Enormous Turnip (Retold by Irene Yates)
Fairy tales collected by Alexander Afanasyev
Fictional plants
Russian folklore
ATU 2000-2199
{{Child-lit-stub