Clever Manka

Intro:
I must say, I have been taken with this story ever since the first time I heard J. tell it in storytelling class. I became even more enthralled every time I heard it repeated (like at the Storytelling Festival). First of all, I like clever stories. Add a woman as the protagonist and I'm all ears.

Synopsis:
This story is about a woman whose cleverness wins not only the heart of very wise king, but eventually his deep rooted respect. Manka gets "noticed" by the king when she first solves a riddle for her father presented by the king. Curious, the king wants to meet her but first tests her with more riddles, all of which she passes with incredible originality. Finally, they do marry, but the king has only one request.- That Manka never interfere with his judging on matters that people bring before him because on that day he will surely send her home. Then one day a problem arises and someone needs Manka's help. She can't resist using her wisdom to help the person out but then the king finds out...

Clever Manka (Czechoslovakia)." West Chester University's - On-line Web Courses. Web. 24 April 2011. http://courses.wcupa.edu/johnson/tales/MANKA.HTM

Cole, Joanna, and Jill K. Schwarz. Best-loved Folktales of the World. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday, 1982.

Fear, Sharon, and Mary King. Clever Manka. Glenview, Ill: Scott Foresman, 2005.

Hill, Mary B, and Gwenda Koczar. Clever Manka: A Folktale from Czechoslovakia. Lakewood, Colo: Bookmakers Guild, 1990.

Minard, Rosemary, and Suzanna Klein. Womenfolk and Fairy Tales. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975.


I would use this story for middle school or high school and up. I think it's a clever ESL story (because you have things such as her arriving neither by day, nor by night). It also would be a good story to do "story completion" with. There are many points where we could pause and have different outcomes that students could craft themselves.