Folk Tales by Leo Tolstoy

This collection of ten folk tales by Leo Tolstoy, published after Anna Karenina, reflects his educational concerns. Here, Tolstoy is not merely documenting the high society but is deeply engaged with the evangelical pains and the life of the common people, who he sees as the only path to salvation. He seeks to help them intellectually with "four reading books" and morally through these folk tales, believing he comprehended the gospel's message completely after his religious crisis. Regardless of the value of these tales or the reader's reaction, it's significant to introduce them to depict the profound tragedy experienced by the narrator. The gap between great literary works and these simple tales lies in the moral refinement they aim to impart—a gap caused by the religious crisis that troubled Tolstoy.