The Czech people trace their roots through medieval Bohemia and further back to the ancient Western Slavs before the start of the Viking Age. Their lively stories are parables and moral fables, rich with satire and the weave of determination in the face of grim reality. With a new introduction this new collection brings you classic tales including `The Three Roses`, `The Witch and the Horseshoes`, `The Haunted Mill` and `The Soldier and the Devil`. Such stories cling to the fantasy that all will come well in the end and that justice will be well served by truth, common threads in the proud folklore of the Slavic peoples throughout the world.