WHAT IS THIS STORY?

"The Fool and the Flying Ship" is a story that is apart of the Rabbit Ears We All Have Tales series and it came out in 1991. It was based off the Russian folktale "The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship" that was collected in Arthur Ransome's Old Peter's Russian Tales in 1916.

This version of the famous folktale was narrated by the late Robin Williams and also had music that was performed by the Klezmer Conservatory Band, along with artwork by Henrik Drescher and it was written by Eric Metaxas.

The story is about a young man who is considered a fool by everyone around him, especially by his own family. One day, the Tsar of Russia proclaimed that whosoever build him a flying ship will marry his daughter the princess. The fool heard about this and he decided to go off on this journey, despite the fact that his parents didn't give him that much food in comparison to his two brothers. Along the way, the Fool meets up with an old man, who he shares his food with and after the Fool took a nap, he wakes up to find a flying ship. So, the fool decided to take the ship and along the way, he meets up with several passengers, which includes a man who can run really fast, a sharpshooter who can shoot from long distances, a man who can hear around the world, a man who can eat a lot of food and a weakling of a man who can actually transform into a stronger version of himself. Once the Fool and his companions make it to the Tsar's palace, the Tsar finds out that they are peasants and he's reluctant to marry his daughter off to the Fool. So, his servant told the Tsar to give the Fool and his companions several difficult tasks before the Fool can marry the Princess and so, the Fool and his companions set out to complete the Tsar's difficult tasks.

INTRODUCING THE MAIN CHARACTERS!

(In order of appearance)

The Fool is the main character of this story and he is the one who ended up getting a flying ship and getting companions along the way. He is often shown as being a goofy character who has an appearance that's similar to Pinocchio and seem to be calm in most of the situations that he's in.

The Tsar of Russia is the ruler of Russia and he is the one who made the proclamation across the land about whosoever build him a flying ship will win the hand of his daughter, the Princess. When the Tsar discovers that the Fool was just a peasant, he immediately tries to set up impossible tasks for the Fool to complete before he can marry the princess.

The Eater is the first companion that the Fool meets up with and he has a special ability of being able to eat everything twice his weight. He completes the Tsar's first task of eating over 1,000 loaves of bread.

The Hearer is the second companion that the Fool meets up with and he has the ability to hear things from across the world. Throughout the story, he is able to alert the Fool and the others about what is going on with the companions who took on the Tsar's tasks by hearing them across the world.

The Runner is the third companion that the Fool meets up with and he has the special ability to run very fast. He ends up taking the task of getting a piece of the Equator from the other side of the world.

The Sharpshooter is the fourth companion that the Fool meets up with and he has the special ability to shoot at things from a far distance. He was the one who shoots at the flea that was sleeping on the Runner's head in order to wake up the Runner.

The Puffer is the last companion that the Fool meets up with and he has the ability to transform into a stronger version of himself. He uses his strong form to pull apart the land when the Tsar wanted penguins to be brought to him.

The Princess is the Tsar's daughter and the Tsar wanted to give her hand in marriage to whosoever bring him a flying ship. Even the Princess doesn't want to marry the Fool.

The servant serves the Tsar and he is the one who comes up with the tasks for the Fool and his companions to fulfill.