"Folktales have the ability to live long and deep. These ones, beautifully refashioned by Jon Sweeney, make you think beyond the Christian references Tolstoy craved for himself and his readers. They can be easily 'converted' for all faiths. They are readable, tellable, lovely, to be relished and repeated." —Marilyn Price, Jewish storyteller You've met the characters in these stories before. We meet them in folktales from all around the world. There is the simple, wise old man who understands far more than he knows; the pompous religious expert who discovers his folly before it's too late; nosey neighbors and petty relatives; and a fight between good and evil in which, by story's end, good and evil almost seem to switch places. These classic tales, made popular a century ago by Leo Tolstoy, are retold here for a new generation, beautifully illustrated in this gorgeous book designed for reading out loud, reading over and over again, and giving to friends.