Acknowledgments ix
Béla Balázs, the Homeless Wanderer, or, The Man Who
Sought to Become One with the World 1
A Note on the Mysterious Illustrator Mariette Lydis 58
THE CLOAK OF DREAMS
Chapter 1: The Cloak of Dreams 65
Der Mantel der Träume
Chapter 2: Li-Tai-Pe and the Thief 70
Li-Tai-Pe und der Dieb
Chapter 3: The Parasols 74
Die Sonnenschirme
Chapter 4: The Clumsy God 80
Der ungeschickte Gott
Chapter 5: The Opium Smokers 86
Die Opiumraucher
Chapter 6: The Flea 90
Der Floh
Chapter 7: The Old Child 95
Das alte Kind
Chapter 8: The Robbers of Divine Power 104
Die Gottesräuber
Chapter 9: Li-Tai-Pe and Springtime 109
Li-Tai-Pe und der Frühling
Chapter 10: The Ancestors 114
Die Ahnen
Chapter 11: The Moon Fish 119
Der Mondfisch
Chapter 12: The Friends 123
Die Freunde
Chapter 13: The Revenge of the Chestnut Tree 133
Die Rache des Kastanienbaumes
Chapter 14: Tearful Gaze 139
Tränenblick
Chapter 15: The Clay Child 145
Das Lehmkind
Chapter 16: The Victor 150
Der Sieger
Appendix A: A Beautiful Book by Thomas Mann 155
Appendix B: The Book of Wan Hu-Chen by Béla Balázs 159
Bibliography 173

Intriguing fairy tales by the librettist of Béla Bartók's opera Bluebeard's Castle
A man is changed into a flea and must bring his future parents together in order to become human again. A woman convinces a river god to cure her sick son, but the remedy has mixed consequences. A young man must choose whether to be close to his wife's soul or body. And two deaf mutes transcend their physical existence in the garden of dreams. Strange and fantastical, these fairy tales of Béla Balázs (1884-1949), Hungarian writer, film critic, and famous librettist of Bluebeard's Castle, reflect his profound interest in friendship, alienation, and Taoist philosophy. Translated and introduced by Jack Zipes, one of the world's leading authorities on fairy tales, The Cloak of Dreams brings together sixteen of Balázs's unique and haunting stories.
Written in 1921, these fairy tales were originally published with twenty images drawn in the Chinese style by painter Mariette Lydis, and this new edition includes a selection of Lydis's brilliant illustrations. Together, the tales and pictures accentuate the motifs and themes that run throughout Balázs's work: wandering protagonists, mysterious woods and mountains, solitude, and magical transformation. His fairy tales express our deepest desires and the hope that, even in the midst of tragedy, we can transcend our difficulties and forge our own destinies.
Unusual, wondrous fairy tales that examine the world's cruelties and twists of fate, The Cloak of Dreams will entertain, startle, and intrigue.

Jack Zipes is the translator of The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, the editor of The Great Fairy Tale Tradition, and the author of Why Fairy Tales Stick, among many other books. He is professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota.