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ALTHOUGH Esthonia is not so distinctly a lake-country as Finland,1 which is often called “The Land of Ten Thousand Lakes,” yet it is a low swampy country, with many small lakes besides the great Lake Peipus, on the south-east, and lake stories of various kinds are numerous in Esthonian tales.
Jannsen relates that Lake Korküll or Oiso, in the district of Fellin in Livonia, stands on the site of a castle, the lord of which insisted on marrying his sister. He bribed a priest to perform the ceremony, but the castle sank into the ground with all present, and a lake arose in its stead.
We add a selection of Esthonian lake-stories.
1 Finland itself means Fenland, and is only a translation of the native name Suomi.