Adventure Stories Research Articles

The Contribution of English Reading Materials to Improving Students' English Performance in Lower Secondary Schools in the Shyira Sector of Nyabihu District, Rwanda

This research aimed to examine the relationship between the use of English reading materials and the improvement of students' English language performance in Lower Secondary Schools in the Shyira sector. Based on the Simple View of Reading (SVR) and the Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), the descriptive research design with a mixed approach was employed. Two selected schools were studied: one with a well-equipped library containing English reading materials and the other with a poorly equipped library lacking English reading materials. The study population consisted of 106 individuals, including 92 lower secondary students, 10 teachers, and 4 Deputy Head teacher in charge of studies /teachers, selected randomly from a population of 145. Primary data and secondary data were collected through questionnaires and interview guides. Quantitative data was analyzed descriptively by use of excel and the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) while qualitative data was subjected to thematic analysis. The findings reveal the use of various reading materials, such as newspapers, textbooks, handouts, dictionaries, expert opinions, poetry, online readings, and adventure stories in Lower Secondary Schools in the Shyira sector. It was observed that the lack of English reading materials and libraries in lower secondary schools leads to poor English performance among students. The study suggests strategies to improve learners' English skills, including promoting the use of English reading materials, fostering a culture of reading, and motivating students to utilize libraries. Additionally, teachers should serve as English role models and actively encourage reading to enhance students' motivation.

Linguistic profiling of text genres: adventure stories vs. textbooks

In this article we test the hypothesis that genre-inherent quantitative linguistic parameters can be reduced to a list of few provided with strictly defined ranges of value. The current research as part of a large project is aimed at contrastive analysis of textbooks on History and Social Studies, and adventure stories. Using RuLingva[1], we identified 18 genre variables, computed their frequencies and employed the Kruskal-Wallis H Test to evaluate the differences significance. The results suggest that the list of the most indicative parameters include sentence length, noun genitive case, future tense, ratio of verbs to nouns, provisionally called ‘narrativity’, and frequency. All the identified parameters have statistically significant differences and three of them (sentence length, genitive noun, and “narrativity”) are implemented in non-overlapping “genre-inherent” ranges of values attributed to (a) History and Social studies textbooks and (b) adventure stories. With the view that the target audience of adventure stories are not expected to demonstrate high levels of professional training but logical skills, we argue that the relatively stable readability of adventure stories, i.e. FKGL = 8-9, can also be attributed to the genre-inherent characteristics. Our results certify that incorporating text complexity indices improve the classification performance of genre quantitative analysis. We also offer our views on linguistic and statistical aspects of the proposed approach for future studies. Further research is needed to see how the same parameters are exploited in texts of other genres and subject domains.

Unearthing the art of storytelling: A closer look at Sir Arther Canon Doyle’s B24

Narratives play a crucial role in our understanding of the world, identity formation, empathy building and imparting moral lessons. The purpose of the study is to evaluate how Doyle uses Labov's model focusing on the narrative's elements. The intricacy of the story is revealed by the qualitative methodology which highlights Doyle's skill for writing captivating stories with vivid settings and multifaceted characters such as lady Mannering and even minor characters like the innkeeper. This study analyzes the structural and linguistic elements in Doyle’s “B24” using Labov’s sociolinguistic model. The central conflict revolves around the burglar's struggles and lady Mannering’s quest for freedom but the resolution remains uncertain, reflecting the complexities of truth and deception. Doyle uses narrative devices, literary techniques, grammatical elements and precise language to convey a moral lesson about trusting strangers and the importance of caution. These elements contribute to constructing a compelling narrative that captivates readers and heightens suspense. Future research could include a comparative analysis of Doyle’s works from the same era exploring the impact of structural and linguistic differences on reader interpretation, investigating the function of narratives and comparing narrative elements across different adventure stories. Labov’s model could also be applied to analyzing narrative poems and short films. This study is pertinent for people in the field of literature, teachers and authors who aim to improve their understanding of narrative techniques.

Adventure and contingency in literary theory

The relation between adventure and contingency is an ambivalent one. This ambivalence can be described by using a distinction of two aspects already tied together in âventiure (as a French foreign word in German), distinguished by Jacob Grimm as “begebenheit” versus “erzählte geschichte selbst,” rendered as ‘type of event’ versus ‘narrative pattern’ in the terminology of the Munich research group Philology of Adventure. On the one hand, it seems obvious that for an adventure, as a type of event, a contingent element is a crucial precondition. An adventurous agent must willingly expose himself to this contingent event and interpret it as a ‘Chance’ (using a French foreign word in German, again), i.e. as opportunity to gain by risking, be it simply capital—as in the economic usage of the word, from English ‘Merchant Adventurers’ to contemporary ‘Venture Capital’—, or be it fame or prestige—as in Medieval and Early Modern adventure epics and novels. On the other hand, adventure, as a narrative pattern, tends to reduce contingencies in order to ‘make sense’. Even if adventure tales tolerate and actually support episodic structures, these episodes must, after all, be motivated and integrated into a plot. In other words: Writing an adventure story always already implies to tame (or perhaps rather frame) the very contingency it is based on. Adventure stories are therefore typical cases of “eliminat[ing] the contingent part of the literary phenomena it deals with” (Duprat and Jordan, introduction to the present special issue). This tension is, however, rarely acknowledged in the history of literary theory—here taken in the longue durée, starting with Early Modern poetics. The present essay discusses some steps from the history of relevant theories, with a particular emphasis on Giorgio Agamben's recent eulogy of adventure.

1920년대 조선야소교서회의 교양서적 번역이 기행문학에 미친 영향

This paper examines the trends and meanings of translation and publication of cultural books by the JoseonYasogyoseohoi(The Christian Literature Society of Korea) during the Japanese colonial period, and Ann Judson Sajeok(Ann Judson), Yurakhwangdogi(The Swiss Family Robinson) and GeurusoPhyorugi(Robinson Crusoe), which are adventure stories for missionary purposes. The goal is to identify the internal structure of and its influence on the development of travel literature. 
 As a personal biography of a great man, Ann Judson and the drift novels Yurakhwangdogi and GeurusoPhyorugi, although their genres are different, have something in common in terms of travel experience, drifting, and cross-cultural contact. This means that these works contributed greatly to the development of Korean travel literature, but there are certain differences in the internal structure of the works depending on the differences in genre. Due to the nature of biographies of great people, Ann Judson has a relatively simple narrative structure in which the flow of time and movement through space are relatively simple. In comparison, other two drifted novels are works that appropriately embody the motif of ‘travel → drifting → settlement → return’, and are works that appropriately reproduce the chronotope as a space-time complex at the level of travel literature. In particular, the illustrations used in Geuruso are pictures that specifically express the time and space signified within the text, and become noteworthy elements in relation to the restructuring of space and time in travel literature. In this way, adventure stories for missionary purposes can be said to be important works in terms of the development of travel literature, even if Bible translations remain or cultural prejudices based on civilizational discourse are inherent.

Character Creating Process and Meaning of 'GWK' FFI 2015 Animation as Preservation of Balinese Mythology

The GWK (Garuda Wisnu Kencana) animation tells the story of the adventures of a magical boy named Garuda in obtaining Tirta Amerta (water of life) belonging to Lord Vishnu to free his mother who is held hostage by a magical grandmother named Kadru, the animation that can be watched at GWK Bali Cultural Park won the Citra trophy in the animation category in 2015. The purpose of this research is to explain: 1. The process of GWK character creation, 2. The meaning of the animated character characterized by Balinese mythology. The results showed that the process of creating Garuda Wisnu Kencana animation consisted of several stages which were quite a long process, starting from pre-production, production to post-production and screening until now as in 2023 at GWK cultural park, Uluwatu, Bali. The type of work is 3D animation with a duration of 34 minutes, telling the story of the little Garuda adventure in getting tirta amerta (water of life) belonging to Lord Vishnu to free his mother from the hostage taken by the witch Kadru. The meaning that can be explained from this creation is the meaning of creativity, the meaning of preservation, the meaning of national identity. The finding of this research is that the production process of Garuda Wisnu Kencana animation consists of several stages that are quite long, starting from pre-production. The conclusion of this research is that the process of creating GWK requires collaborative work with high standards and can be a promotion and preservation of Balinese culture.
 Keywords: best animation; FFI; 2015; GWK; character; balinese; mythology.

Disney Setting and Changing Gender Stereotypes

Disney has been enthralling audiences of all ages with its timeless stories of adventure, love, and bravery for almost a century. However, a vast tapestry of societal impact is hidden below the outermost layer of its animated masterpieces. Disney has a narrative power that goes much beyond simple pleasure; it has the extraordinary capacity to influence, mirror, and even subvert cultural standards. Disney's contribution to the establishment and subsequent modification of gender norms is among the influence's most noteworthy features. This study aims to investigate the complex relationship that has developed between gender stereotypes and Disney's storytelling, both in the studio's products and in the larger cultural context. This paper seeks to further this continuing discussion by examining the ways that Disney's narrative has both upheld and challenged conventional gender stereotypes. This study will examine how gender roles are portrayed, Disney characters' agency, and messages about gender equality are communicated through a thorough examination of a few Disney classics and recent releases. Examining Disney's attempts to portray a broader range of identities and expressions of gender is also crucial, as the company increasingly recognizes the value of inclusivity and diversity in its narrative. This study will examine how Disney handles the challenging terrain of gender portrayal in the twenty-first century and how much these representations affect the opinions of its worldwide viewership.

Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights: Exploring Children and Myths as the Intrinsic Formulation in an Adventure Story

This study investigates a novel entitled Northern Lights (1995), authored by Philip Pullman as a fantasy fiction in the context of popular literature. The aim of this study is to reveal the significance of children and myth characters as the formula and the intrinsic formulation of this novel as an adventure story. As a textual study, this study uses a narrative analysis method that can help to explore the intrinsic elements of prose fiction. The relevant data collected and analyzed in this study are narrations or dialogues that refer to particular acts and speech of characters, settings of place, theme, and plot in the novel. All data are analyzed to disclose the conception of children and myths used as the basic formula of this novel. At the end of the analysis, the investigation reveals the significance of children and myth characters in this novel. They are seemingly used to attract readers’ interest and concern in transcending their imagination boundaries in their daily lives. Besides, this study can also explicate how they are intrinsically formulated in an adventure story.

Winter Wonderlands: Outdoor Adventure and the Reinvention of Christmas, 1870–1900

ABSTRACT For many Americans, Christmas became inextricably linked to a celebration of the outdoor life in the latter decades of the nineteenth century. Earlier generations of genteel folk in New York had taken the festival indoors, setting a fashion for many of the customs recognised to this day, and shaping a celebration of family and piety, home and consumption. But Christmas did not stay indoors forever. Appealing to a growing, broad middle-class interest in outdoor sports during the Gilded Age of the 1870s-1890s, a proliferating range of magazines shaped new ideas about leisure and recreation, and in festive special issues, about Christmas too. Sitting by the fire in dark and chilly December, readers of magazines like Forest and Stream or Outing could find encouragement to enjoy an active, outdoor Christmas Day, to venture into the winter landscape on skate or sled perhaps, or equally to lose themselves in stories of sport and adventure that could take them on imagined escapes, to the icy forests and mountains of the North, to sunny Florida and California, or to faraway lands, overseas. In these ways outdoor-sports magazines brought to mind wonderlands of thrill and enchantment. In the process, they reimagined Christmas for the twentieth century and the age of individualism and play, leisure and consumption.

Dungan Folktales and Legends transed. by Kenneth J. Yin (review)

Reviewed by: Dungan Folktales and Legends transed. by Kenneth J. Yin Rostislav Berezkin Dungan Folktales and Legends. Translated and edited by Kenneth J. Yin. New York: Peter Lang, 2021. xviii + 426 pp. Cloth $113.25. Electronic $111.60. Dungan Folktales and Legends is an anthology, translated by Kenneth J. Yin from the Russian edition of 1977. The Dungans have a very complex cultural background, as they are Chinese-speaking Muslims (speaking northwestern dialects, close to Mandarin) who originally lived in Gansu and Shaanxi provinces and fled to Russian Central Asia after the failure of the Dungan Revolt (1862–1877) against the Qing Dynasty. Recognized as a separate ethnic group of Central Asia, the exact history of the Dungan's formation in the premodern period still remains not completely clear. There are several theories of their origins (including the origins of the "Dungan" name [Donggan in Pinyin], commonly used in Russian and several other languages).1 Now the Dungans live in Kyrgyzstan, southern Kazakhstan, and the northeastern area of Uzbekistan (formerly republics of the Soviet Union). This volume is the most comprehensive anthology of Dungan folk narratives, available now in English for the first time, and features masterly translations of the most outstanding and characteristic oral narratives collected in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in the mid-twentieth century. The original Russian collection was compiled by the famous Russian sinologist Boris L. Riftin (1932–2012) and two Dungan scholars: Makhmud A. Khasanov and Ilʹias I. Iusupov.2 Riftin started to collect Dungan tales in the 1950s, when he traveled to Kyrgyzstan and worked there at the Dungan collective farm in Milyanfan to study the language and folklore of this people, related to his interest in spoken Chinese and Chinese folk literature in general. It was not the first folkloric expedition of Russian sinologists to the Dungans. The work on collection and studies of Dungan folklore by Russian scholars started around the turn of the twentieth century, during the imperial period, as noted in the preface to this collection of tales.3 The present collection contains seventy-eight folk stories divided into three parts: (1) wonder tales and animal tales; (2) novel-type tales, folk anecdotes, and adventure stories; and (3) legends, historical tales, and narratives. The preface introduces the major special features and cultural status of the Dungan tales. The volume also has several appendixes, a glossary, an index, the original notes to the texts in the Russian translation, and translator's notes aimed at an English-reading audience. [End Page 95] In the past, folk narratives played an extremely important role in Dungan culture, as most Dungans were illiterate: They usually did not study Chinese characters, but did speak a variety of Chinese. Stories were transmitted primarily in the oral mode, though some of them had written antecedents in Chinese literature.4 While living in Central Asia, the Dungans were exposed to the rich folklore of their neighbors and that resulted in their borrowing of numerous tale motifs. The influence of the historical reality of the Russian Empire is also discernible in several tales, for example, the common mention of contemporary Russian currency. The reader of the Dungan tales will be impressed by the fascinating amalgamation of Central Asian and Muslim elements with a variety of subjects and figures derived from Chinese folklore and vernacular narratives. Peri and devs, originating in Iranian and other Middle Eastern tales, appear in these texts along with dragons, magic foxes, diviners, and immortal-magicians typical of Chinese folklore and the vernacular narrative literature of the late imperial period. Many of these subjects also are present in Chinese folklore collected in the modern period. Several subjects of the tales included in this volume were obviously derived from Chinese dramas and novels, such as "Zhon Yu Boils the Sea" (based on the drama of the thirteenth century "Young Zhang Boils the Sea" 張生煮海; Li Haogu's 李好古 version is extant) and "Snake Girl" (similar to the story of the White Snake in Feng Menglong's 馮夢龍 [1571–1646] early seventeenth-century vernacular short story "Madam White Forever Confined under Thunder Peak Pagoda" [Bai niangzi yong zhen Leifeng ta 白娘子永鎮雷峰塔]). These, of course, underwent significant transformation through oral transmission. At the same...

The Romance of Commerce: <em>Rob Roy</em>, 1817–1818

Scott’s Waverley novels often turn on an opposition between romance—the realm of the unexpected, marvellous and heroic—and real life—the often disappointing realm of the mundane and factual. However, Rob Roy, offers readers no alternative to romance. Instead it is made up of different kinds of romance—namely the gothic and the adventure story or imperial romance. Scott maps the genre of the gothic onto Northumberland, where the remnants of feudalism still prevail, and wealth consists in landed property transmitted across generations. The adventure story, by contrast, links the Scottish Highlands with southern metropolitan Britain through a system of speculation and credit. Rob Roy reflects on Scott’s imbrication in these two systems at the time of the novel’s writing—a period of economic depression and rural depopulation—as he sold metropolitan readers another romanticized image of the Highlands in order to shore up his own landed property.

“State of happiness”? Petroreligion and petromelancholia in Norway

ABSTRACTThis article discusses the intersection between the symbol systems of petroculture and religion in development of the Norwegian oil age. The public TV series State of Happiness (2018‐now) dramatizes Norway's adventure with oil and gas, beginning in 1969. Drawing parallels to Darren Dochuk's work on the mutual construction of petroculture and American religion in Anointed with Oil, this essay argues that State of Happiness retells the story of Norway's adventure with oil framed by some in terms of salvation, as a blessing and as the arrival of a better, messianic age. The characters in the series negotiate their religious commitments with the enchantments of the emerging petroculture in the Stavanger region, engaging the themes of Advent, Christmas, Baptism, and Trinity.

Menachem Kaiser. Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure

Menachem Kaiser. <i>Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure</i>

Gamified environment supported by augmented reality for improving communicative competencies in students with ASD: design and validation

The objective of this study was to design and validate an Augmented Gamified Environment (AGE) for improving communicative skills in students with ASD. The study used a mixed methodology: a) qualitative, focused on a single case to describe the AGE design process. The environment uses a pirate adventure story which includes gamified activities supported by augmented reality. It promotes immersive learning through activities that encourage social, linguistic, and cognitive skills linked to symbolic play; and b) quantitative, based on the Delphi method in which experts (N=12) evaluated the environment using 14 indicators in four dimensions: adaptability to the pace of learning, suitability of the base and code for presenting the content, didactic potential for developing competence, and the suitability of the gamification process for students with ASD. The expert assessment helped to improve the adaptability, flexibility, and functionality of the AGE, which incorporated versatile and augmented reality activities and applications to provide the student with playful linguistic and socio-emotional development in an immersive environment.

The Anglo-Boer War as Perceived by Children and Adolescents in the Russian Empire

Peculiarities and factors of shaping of the emotional attitudes of Russian children and adolescents to the Anglo-Boer War of 1899–1902 have not yet attracted the attention of researchers. However, the armed conflict in distant South Africa left a deep impression on children and teenagers in the Russian Empire, which was not been erased decades later. Prerequisites for the interest of young Russians in the Anglo-Boer War were that for many of them the remote South Africa was familiar. Thanks to adventure novels, they had an idea about this region, albeit a romanticized one. For Russian schoolchildren, the increased attention of their adult compatriots to the events in southern Africa testified to the importance of this military conflict. Inspired by the example of adults, they closely followed the course of hostilities and made donations to the Boer cause. Knowing that some of the Boer commandos included teenagers, young inhabitants of the Russian Empire dreamed of going to South Africa to help the defenders of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The realities of a large-scale and cruel war did not displace the former romantic ideas in the minds of schoolchildren. The war only led to the emergence of other adventure stories based on South African material, which spread through popular culture, including literature and periodicals for children and adolescents.

And Finally: Matters of Life and Death

And Finally: Matters of Life and Death

J. R. R. Tolkien on Homes and Havens

J. R. R. Tolkien on Homes and Havens Christopher Toner (bio) Key Words Lord of the Rings, Tolkien, Hobbit, Homes, Havens, Roger Scruton remarks that a recurrent theme in literature is that of “the journey from the home we start from, to the home we start.”1 While J. R. R. Tolkien is known for writing adventure stories, I wish to argue that his books are also stories of home, just as much (or almost as much) as the novels of, say, Jane Austen. The sub-title of The Hobbit (and the title of Bilbo’s memoirs2) is There and Back Again: the beginning and end of his journey are his home, Bag-End. The same is true of The Lord of the Rings, in which the last words belong to Samwise, who, having definitely been “there,” concludes, “I’m back.” The hobbits leave the Shire, the home they start from, as grown children, and return as men;3 they return to the home they start from, but now ready to start it, to appreciate it properly, to scour it, shape it, to make it their home, and to make it be as a home should. And Tolkien has a great deal to tell us about how a home should be. In what follows, I will indicate how important home is in Tolkien’s work, and show that, while he allows for (insists upon) a great diversity in terms of what makes for a good home, he thinks of it as always comprising the elements of security, comfort, and culture. Finally, I will offer some brief reflections on how his ideas are relevant to our current political situation. [End Page 126] I. Homelessness While most of us are born into a home of some sort, Tolkien thinks there is a deep sense in which we all begin homeless. In The Silmaril-lion, both elves and humans first appear as wanderers. The elves, awakening and seeing first the stars and hearing first the sound of flowing water, “walked the Earth in wonder; and they began to make speech and give names to all things they perceived.”4 And although Tolkien alludes to their “first home” in the east, they lived in fear there, hunted by the servants of Morgoth, and they were called by the Valar to travel to the west and over the sea. Many answered the call, and settled in the region of Valinor that came to be called Eldamar—Elvenhome. Most of The Silmarillion follows the history of the Noldor, who defy the Valar and return to Middle Earth in pursuit of the Silmarils stolen by Morgoth. This act of disobedience, compounded by the Kinslaying, meant that “the Blessed Realm was shut against the Noldor” (S, 102), who are thus frequently referred to as “exiles,” once again homeless. As for humans, “At the first rising of the Sun the Younger Children of Ilúvatar awoke . . . but the Sun first arose in the West, and the opening eyes of Men were turned toward it, and their feet as they wandered over the Earth for the most part strayed that way” (S, 103). In The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings the themes of exile and yearning for home are explored in the context of the lives of individuals. In both stories the main protagonists are swept by world events from their homes. Although Bilbo’s latent—Tookish—spirit of adventure had been stirred by the tales of the dwarves, just days into the journey east he tells himself, “‘I wish I was at home in my nice hole by the fire, with the kettle just beginning to sing.’ It was not the last time he wished that.”5 And after the Battle of Five Armies, his wish to be at home is expressed more seriously: “He was now weary of his adventure. He was aching in his bones for the homeward journey” (H, 259). When Frodo realizes that he must leave the Shire, he tells Gandalf, “I feel very small, and very uprooted, and well—desperate” (LOTR, 62). On the journey from Bree to Rivendell, Frodo and his companions [End Page 127] “stood for a...

Reading the ‘wordless unease’ in Margaret Atwood’s ‘Death by Landscape’

This article examines the way Margaret Atwood’s short story ‘Death by Landscape’ (1991) engages with the representational strategies of Canada’s celebrated Group of Seven artists. I situate my reading of Atwood’s work first within aesthetics, focusing on her subtle problematization of the masculine ideology and wilderness aesthetic of the Group of Seven. I argue that Atwood unsettles the dominant, virulently male tradition of representation of the wilderness by uncovering an alternative female narrative through an ekphrastic engagement with the paintings. By doing so she not only dismantles the concept of wilderness both as a physical space that women have limited access to and as an imaginary construct; but at the same time she also reconfigures the structure and the content of wilderness stories, and in fact the concept of wilderness itself. Atwood offers a counter-discursive revision of the male adventure and maturation story by deconstructing and restructuring traditional narrative practices to render the female experience visible. This article hopes to show that Atwood expands the possibilities of the adventure story and wilderness writing and creates room for a female version of the maturation story with a fundamentally different aesthetic.

Élargir l’horizon des jeunes lecteurs : l’Afrique comme nouveau cadre du roman d’aventures pour la jeunesse en Allemagne à la fin du xixe siècle

Élargir l’horizon des jeunes lecteurs : l’Afrique comme nouveau cadre du roman d’aventures pour la jeunesse en Allemagne à la fin du xixe siècle

Сказочный сюжет как продукт литературно-фольклорного синтеза: казус AaTh 485А

The article discusses the plot, designated in the catalog of fairy tale types as “Borma Yaryzhka” (AaTh 485A): the hero is sent to the overseas kingdom, which is overrun by serpents, to obtain the royal regalia (~ to the city of Babylon for the crown); he fulfills his mission and returns; having three adventures on the way back (blinding the one-eyed ogre; escaping the sexual captivity of the ‘forest woman’; helping the lion in his fight with the enemy and then showing him the ‘power of hops’). It focuses on the literary sources of the plot frame (such as The Tale of the Babylonian Kingdom, The Parable of the City of Babylon, the Legend of Leo the Philosopher by Archbishop Anthony) and their origin; analyses the description of the hero’s adventures on his way back home and their genesis; discusses how this source material was assembled into a stable composition of an adventure tale. The conducted research leads us to the conclusion that The Tale of the Babylonian Kingdom is a Russian reworking of a Byzantine oral legend which over time absorbed a number of ‘wandering’ literary subplots. Their montage (unlikely to happen in the oral tradition) was probably modeled on the compositional patterns typical for books about the misadventures of returning heroes. Stories circulating in the tradition, which corresponded to a similar theme, provided the necessary materials. Thus, a long adventure story was created and later adapted by oral tradition. Analysis of its folkloric versions points to the previous existence of manuscript texts now lost, but their content can be partially restored from the available oral archives. Moreover, certain correspondences between the Russian adventure tale and the ones that come from geographically, historically and culturally distant parts (Latin, Arabic, Chinese), show that in the past there were some ‘intermediate links’ which connected them. Consequently, it is possible to hypothesize the existence of rich currents of manuscript texts, remotely connecting the whole ‘reader space’ of Eurasia and North Africa.