The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship Throughout the Years

"The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship" was a Russian folktale that originated from "Old Peter's Russian Tales" and it has been translated into several versions of the beloved tale. Here are some of the different translations being done to the original folktale:

The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship: written by Arthur Ransome along with illustrations by Uri Shulevitz (1968)

These illustrations have Uri Shulevitz's signature simplistic style as while there are no background colorings for the skies, the characters and the buildings are drawn realistically and the flying ship is a brilliant old-fashioned styled contraption that fits well with this type of tale.

The Fool and the Flying Ship: written by Eric Metaxas along with illustrations by Henrik Drescher (1991)

These illustrations are probably the most bizarre and creative out of all versions of this Russian folktale.  Henrik Drescher's signature style shows strongly here as the characters all have noodle-like appearances and bizarre contraptions attached to their bodies.  The titular fool also resembles a deranged version of Pinocchio!

The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship: by Christopher Denise (1994)

 

These illustrations are probably the most beautiful and realistic out of all versions of this classic Russian folktale!  Christopher Denise's illustrations greatly capture the beauty and serenity of the wilderness and using various animals as the main characters was a nice treat!