Audiobook · read by volunteers
Key of Gold: 23 Czech Folk Tales
Joseph Baudis (1883–1933)
Read by Maria Celano, Brian Knapp, Jessica Orlando, Peter Yearsley, Christiane Levesque, Maddie, Alys AtteWater, featherheadfop, Elizabeth Palmer · 24 chapters · 3 h 40
About the book
Twenty-three tales from the Czech lands, and not one of them is quite what you expect. Key of Gold gathers Czech folk stories in which a soldier deals with the devil, witches gather at a crossroads, an enchanted princess appears and a man comes face to face with his own misery. Some will remind you of the fairy tales you grew up with, bent into odd and ironic shapes; others belong to a stranger country where justice arrives sideways and happy endings carry a wink. The tone is dry, wry and often irreverent, and it is aimed at grown-ups who love fairy tales enough to enjoy teasing them. Nine readers share the telling across almost four hours, each bringing a different voice to the mills, forests and castles of the stories. Come for the enchanted princess and the clever animals, and stay for the sly humour underneath.
Introduction
Joseph Baudiš lived from 1883 to 1933, and Key of Gold is the English-language collection of Czech folk tales that carries his name. It was published in 1922, a few years after the creation of an independent Czechoslovakia, at a time when Czech culture was proudly rediscovering its own storytelling traditions. The tales themselves come from the oral heritage of the Czech lands, where peasants, soldiers, shepherds and millers have shaped the same plots for generations.
What sets this anthology apart from the more familiar Grimm or Perrault volumes is its flavour. The stories mix moral lessons with quirkiness and sarcasm, and several of them play with themes you may recognise, such as the brave little tailor or the beast who becomes a husband. Yet the endings often refuse to follow the pattern. The Twelve Months, Silly Jura, The Waternick or The Haunted Mill each bring their own mood, from tenderness to cheerful menace.
The recording runs to twenty-four short chapters, an introduction followed by the tales, with a total listening time of about three and three-quarter hours. Nine LibriVox volunteers read them, so the voices change from story to story. A note of caution: one tale ends with language that reflects the attitudes of its time and may offend some listeners today. For lovers of folklore, this is a rewarding, unusual and often funny discovery. Since the tales are independent, you can sample them in any order, taking one on a short walk or several in a row on a winter evening, and the varied cast of readers keeps the collection fresh from beginning to end.
Public domain
Joseph Baudis died in 1933: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text