Kral Bair : Legends and Tales from the Vratsa Region / Comp. Kalina Todorova, Blaga Atanasova; Illus. Todor Vakov. – Vratsa: ET Todorov - V, 2000. - 219 p.: ill. - (Native Land Series).
Seventy seven Bulgarian legends and tales, carrying through the centuries the wisdom, the sense of beauty, goodness, valor and honor, preserving the unbreakable national spirit of the ancestors.
The first part of the collection brings together folklore texts, divided into several sections:
"Radan Voyvoda" – tales and legends about historical events and figures. Folk narratives about the dramatic events before the fall of Vratitsa under Ottoman rule, the years of oppression, and tragic moments in the lives of brave men and women who defended honor, family, and faith.
In "Kral Bair" are included tales and legends about peaks, rocks, stones, fields, valleys, and trees; the origin of the names of the most famous and popular natural landmarks in the Vratsa region – "Kral Bair", "Danforov Gorun", "Krali Marko’s Cliffs", and others.
The third section – "The Spring of Tears" includes legends and tales about springs, pools, rivers, lakes, and wells; about the pride of Vratsa – the “Skaklya” waterfall.
Legends about bridges, fortresses, churches, and monasteries are combined with those about settlements and localities in the fourth part – "The Seven Migrations". The final part – "Dragon’s Bride" – contains legends and stories about mythical creatures – dragons, nymphs, and werewolves. It also includes stories about the household guardian spirit, diseases, and their personifications – the Plague and Smallpox.
The second part of the collection is bibliographic. It presents, according to a specific scheme, bibliographic descriptions of legends and tales published in local and national periodicals. To assist readers, it includes a name and geographical index, as well as a glossary of rare, archaic, and dialect words.
The collection is dedicated to the 45th anniversary of the “Hristo Botev” Library.
