The Story of the Flying Ship

“For it happened that the Tzar of that country sent out messengers along the highroads and the rivers, even to huts in the forest like ours, to say that he would give his daughter, the Princess, in marriage to any one who could bring him a flying ship—ay, a ship with wings, that should sail this way and that through the blue sky, like a ship sailing on the sea.”

-Arthur Ransome, “The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship” in Old Peter’s Russian Tales, 1916.

This old story tells the tale of a young man who in all outward appearances is nothing but a fool. While his two brothers are encouraged to find this flying ship and are given rich provisions and ample support from their parents, the fool is laughed at and sent on his way with nothing but a stale loaf of black bread. On the road the fool comes across an old, frail man with whom he shares the only morsel of food in his satchel. Like other mysterious fairy land elders, the old man then imparts wisdom on the young:

“Off with you into the forest. Go up to the first big tree you see. Make the sacred sign of the cross three times before it. Strike it a blow with your hatchet. Fall backwards on the ground, and lie there, full length on your back, until somebody wakes you up. Then you will find the ship made, all ready to fly.”

Needless to say this advice proves true. Moreover, because of his trusting, nonjudgmental nature (and after a few more adventures involving leaps of faith) the fool wins the hand and heart of the princess, turning out to be not much of a fool after all.

Ever since reading “The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship” I have been drawn to it. Maybe it’s that I feel entering graduate school in the liberal arts is similar to hitting a tree and falling to the ground with nothing to do but pray my career will one day actually be a career. Or maybe it’s that flying ships are cool (which they are). Largely though, it is because the journey involves trusting ones decisions and taking those leaps of faith into the unknown with very little assurance of what is to come, regardless of outcomes predicted by conventional logic. It is a comforting story on a personal level. It is also the first story that came to mind when I made the decision to pursue an MA in Public History at Temple, or more accurately, immediately before said decision was made.

Decision process being over the concept of the flying ship- an impossible vehicle in which one must have faith for the purpose of reaching a seemingly unattainable goal- remains pertinent. I tend to view the study of the past as a journey on the mythical flying ship. Due to the underdevelopment of time machine technology we are responsible for interpreting history from whatever materials exist. We are responsible for choosing what materials to use and how trustworthy those materials are. We are also responsible for understanding to the best of our abilities the effects of said interpretations on society today. All of these things involve making decisions and a large amount of faith. I only hope that I will learn something along the way.

The version of “The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship” I have quoted was published in 1916 in Arthur Ransome’s folk tale collection Old Peter’s Russian Tales, which was also the text used in the Uri Shulevitz illustrated 1969 Caldecott winning picture book of the same name. The first English version of the story was published as “The Flying Ship” in The Yellow Fairy Book edited by Andrew Lang in 1894. (Yay! Project Gutenberg) According to these source the tale comes from Russia in the loosest geographical sense.