"With accuracy, wit, and intelligence, this remarkable new translation of The Golden Ass breathes new life into Apuleius's classic work. Sarah Ruden, a lyric poet as well as a highly respected translator, skillfully duplicates the verbal high jinks of Apuleius's ever-popular novel. It tells the story of Lucius, a curious and silly young man, who is turned into a donkey when he meddles with witchcraft. Doomed to wander from region to region and mistreated...

Wide-ranging, representative sampling of myths and legends collected from a diversity of tribes contains nearly 100 stories of heroes, journeys to the other world, animal wives and husbands, tales borrowed from the Europeans, and even biblical subjects. Includes "The Woman Who Fell from the Sky" (Seneca), "The Star Husband" (Ojibwa), "The Bear-Woman" (Blackfoot), "Cinderella" (Zuñi), "Making the Princess Laugh" (Micmac), "Crossing the Red Sea" (Cheyenne),...