The book captures a Belgium that existed before the Great War tore it apart. Written in 1919 but drawing on late 19th-century folklore, these tales preserve a nation's mythic heritage at the moment it was being rebuilt. The collection centers on Emile, a young man from the Ardennes who tends his father's horses, especially the beloved colt Baldwin, as he faces the reality of joining the fight. Alongside these grounded narratives run magical stories, including the haunting tale of sisters transformed into swans. The fairy tales here are not escapes from reality but responses to it, offering the wonder while acknowledging that the world is changing forever.
