Myth and Folklore

Lazy Heinz This story immediately caught my eye because of the name: Lazy Heinz.  Heinz is a ketchup company so maybe that could be something to include if one was to rewrite this story. Lazy Heinz is, as his name proclaims, lazy.  He doesn't want to drive out his own goat, so he marries Fat Trina.  Eventually, she suggests that they both shouldn't "waste their youth" driving goats into the pasture.  He agrees and they trade the two goats for a beehive.  The bees make honey, but soon Lazy Heinz thinks that Fat Trina is eating all the honey and suggests that the get young geese instead.  Fat Trina says that returns their first problem, of having to drive out their beasts into the field.  Lazy Heinz says that the boy (I guess their child) will do it, but is then overcome with worry that a child would not obey.  Fat Trina says she will beat the child if he doesn't do as she says, and attempts to demonstrate by knocking...

The Elves This has got to be one of my favorite cute little stories.  It is precious and feels like a good story about the kindness of humanity.  The Elves themselves are precious little creatures, helping the Cobbler by finishing his shoes so that he is able to make a profitable income.  I really enjoy how, to repay the Elves, the wife and husband make them clothes and shoes.  It is a simple gesture, but it gives the Elves such joy and ability to continue on instead of continuing as Cobblers. Here's a cute video of the Elves and their story with the Cobbler: The Elves and the Shoemaker . This one differs slightly, but it still contains the same idea.  This story was fun and cute to read.  I really enjoyed it, especially the goodness in the hearts of the characters.  It is different from the other Grimm Brothers' stories that I have read or heard about, so it is interesting to see this included in their unit.  The Elves are my fa...

The Singing Bone from the Grimm Brothers' Unit There is a boar tearing everything up and terrorizing people.  The King eventually gets so fed up that he declares whoever can kill the boar may marry his only daughter.  Two sons hear this news and decide to enter the contest.  The two brothers are very different: one enters for pride and the other is simply kind. The younger (the nice one) manages to get help from a dwarf and kills the boar.  When the older brother sees this, he is instantly jealous and plots.  He kills the younger and takes the booty, and ends up marrying the king's daughter.  However, this is not the last of the youngest. Many years later, a shepherd finds a snow-white bone and makes it as a mouthpiece for his horn.  To his surprise, the bone sings how his brother killed him for the boar.  The shepherd then shares this with the king, and the evil brother cannot deny his sins after the youngest's skelet...

The Story of Crivoliu Crivoliu is born from an incestuous relationship between a brother and a sister who lost their parents.  On his back, his father made a cross and wrote: "Crivoliu, who is baptized, son of a brother and sister." This story really reminds me of the Greek tale about Perseus whose mother and he were thrown into a box when Zeus impregnated her.   They were also sent to the sea and found by a fisherman.  Crivoliu is also found by a fisherman and is raised by their family.  The brothers' jealousy also reminded me of Joseph from the bible, AKA King of Dreams. In the story, Crivoliu becomes the Pope even though he is a child born of sin.  I thought this was interesting because of how much importance is placed on penance - it wasn't even a sin he committed, but because he repented and prayed, he as considered holy enough to become the Pope.  The Cardinals had been searching for a long time before they found him, so when...

Zelinda and the Monster This story is a lot like Beauty and the Beast that is so popular, except for the addition of "Belle" or Zelinda's sisters, Rosina and Marietta.  Her sisters of jealous of her beauty and kindness, and she is definitely her father's favorite. The beast has "the figure of a dragon" and of course is furious when the father "steals" a rose and "destroys" his precious rose bush.  This leads to the part where Zelinda ends up a prisoner in the castle.  The beast doesn't really learn any sort of lesson in this version.  The only stipulating is that a beautiful woman must agree to be his wife - she doesn't necessarily have to love him or does he have to learn to love. It's a lovely tale, but I think it would be fun to add in some different twists.  Perhaps if Zelinda was a boy, Zed, and he had two brothers that envy him through their (still) father adores the youngest boy.  And the beast is a princess...

Mr. Fox Lady Mary: * young and fair (beautiful) * two brothers * countless lovers Of Lady Mary's countless lovers, Mr. Fox stood out the most. Mr. Fox: * brave * gallant * meet Lady Mary at her father's country house * "surely rich" --- has a castle Lady Mary only cared for him out of all her lovers, so it was decided they would wed.  They go to live in his castle, but Lady Mary is unsettled when she gets there. Written on the gate is "be bold, be bold," a rather encouraging statement that could be mistaken for some family motto.  Yet, written over the doorway is a warning: "be bold, be bold, but not too bold."  Then, above the door to a room, is written: "Be bold, be bold, but not too bold, lest that your heart's blood should run cold." Lady Mary is, of course, horrified to find skeletons and mangled bodies in that room.  She runs, but Mr. Fox returns carrying the body of a beautiful young maide...

The Rose-Tree This story was more morbid than I was expecting, as both the little girl and her (although evil) step-mother die.  I really liked the close bond between the brother and sister, as they shared a father but had different mothers.  Family is very important to me, so it was interesting and intriguing to see the importance of family/familial friendships reflected in the fairy tale. After the little girl's death, her brother buries her under a rose-tree.  Then in the spring, after her brother's tears have watered the tree, she reemerges as a beautiful white bird.  I think this metamorphosis is really compelling, because of all the symbolism involved in her human and bird form.  Firstly, when she is a little girl, she has lips like cherries and her skin is white as milk.  This resonates the idea of fairytales like Snow White/Sleeping Beauty with the innocent/virtuous maiden.  She has long hair that also emphasizes purity and beauty...

Beowulf This time I chose both Grendel Attacks Firstly, this is the first time Grendel is really really seen in all his monstrous glory.  My favorite part of the beginning is how the fog closes back up behind him, making "a sucking sound."  The imagery there is fantastic and I really want to use it in my own retelling if possible.  When Grendel arrives at Herot he casts a spell that makes those already asleep sleep deeper.  Which is a nice sentiment if he hadn't then eaten a bunch of people. Beowulf finally sees Grendel, which will have a different tone in my version, but here is what the original describes: " And now, at last, Beowulf saw what manner of thing this Grendel was. His legs were like the trunks of trees, and they were covered with a kind of gray dry scale that made a noise like paper as the fiend moved this way and that. The body of the beast was shaped like that of a man, but such a man as no mortal eyes had ever before beheld, and the...

For the twelveth week, I chose the Beowulf unit.  I really loved the story of Grendel by John Gardener so Beowulf is also really interesting to me.  I've never actually read the story of Beowulf , which is what Grendel is based on, so it's nice to be able to look into his ballads/stories. The Wanderer's Song is really awesome.  It starts off with this little bit of imagery that I feel has a whole lot of symbolism: "...there was no sound in the whole length of the vast hall save the spluttering of the flares upon the walls and the snarling of two dogs over a chunk of meat on the earthen floor." First of all, the King Hygelac makes an entire hall of people go silent with a gesture - which gives him the characteristic of not only having a powerful role but being a powerful ruler.  The two dogs fighting over the meat also stuck out to me, because it seems to represent the struggle between Beowulf and Grendel. The minstrel's description begins him as ...

The BullFrog Lover There are three different versions mentioned in this story.  I like the one about the young girl who would go to sing at the river everyday.  She would hear a song about a bullfrog would marry her so when one appeared and transformed into a man she consented when he asked to marry her.  But there is a second part that is quite humorous in my opinion. He was really a tadpole who could take the shape of a human man, but he kept his tadpole mouth.  So he refused to eat and hide his face so they wouldn't see.  At last, his wife turned him around and the family saw his tadpole mouth.  The story says they ridiculed him so much that he left the house forever. I'm kind've curious as to how this tadpole was able to become human, and why couldn't he transform all the way?  It would be interesting to explore this, telling his origins and reasons why he chose this particular girl.  I'm not sure how much importance bullfrogs ...

I choose The Moon and the Thunders  for Week 11.  It starts off by introducing the two characters: The Sun - who lives in the East - and her brother, the Moon, who lives in the West.  He is also her lover, but she did not know his identity until later.  He comes only when the moon is dark - should've been a hint if you ask me - but the Sun doesn't know who her mysterious lover is.  So one night she rubs cinders on his face, blaming the cold, and the next night sure enough her brother has spots on his face. Since then he tries to keep away from the sun, and when he has to be close, he makes himself so thin so as to not be as seen.  He is ashamed. There is a lot more in the story, but I wanted to focus on this "love" story.  It really striked me as odd because it didn't seem like most Native American tribes would want to even put the idea of incest into their children's heads.  But I suppose in the end it is mainly telling you it is shamefu...

How Bluebird and Coyote Got Their Colors The Bluebird sings a song for four mornings as he bathes himself in the lake where "no river flowed in or out."  The bluebird is characterized as wise because he knows of this special lake, although he is an ugly color at the beginning.  Singing his magic song each morning, he exits the third day in just his skin before on the fourth morning he exits the lake with brilliant blue feathers. Then we have Coyote, who is trickster and representing the wrongness of vanity in the story.  He is, as tricksters often are, used to illustrate a lesson.  After he watches the blue bird he asks him how Coyote might also become blue - he was at the time a bright green. The Bluebird does tell him and Coyote does manage to turn himself blue.  But he is so vain and proud to show it off that he does not pay attention to where he is going.  Unfortunately, he trips and rolls down a hill and is covered in dusty dirt.  That ...

I choose Spider's Creation from Southwest and California legends this week.  The story details the creation of the universe by the spider, Sussistinnako.  In the lower world, he is the only being all around.  Then, he goes on to create the other creatures and people.  The first he creates are the two mothers. I think it would be interesting to explore Sussistinnako as a individual as opposed to a creator or powerful being.  My first question is if he was lonely, and if that is why he decided to create other beings?  So he would not be lonely?  Or was it a quest for power?  For peoples he could subjugate and be stronger than? Image from EvolveConsciousness The story forgets him after he divides the world, but I would really like to make my story revolve around Sussistinnako and his emotions.  I want to explore the feelings of loneliness while also tying in solipism if I can.  I think that idea really applies to this stor...

How The Spider Won and Lost Nzambi's Daughter This story has the same element of the trickster that I saw in How Gazelle Got Married from Reading Notes: Congo Unit, Part A .  It is interesting to see this kind of repetition in stories that both contain the quest to obtain a certain bride.  It is a cool trend that seems to be important to most of the Congo stories, and I think it definitely has interesting possibilities.  I have two ideas on how I might change this story, adapt it into my own thoughts words. This kind of story would probably not be very popular if it was written in today's cultural climate, but I think it would be interesting to put a modern spin on this type of story. I would rather have the bride herself making the demands, although perhaps her mother/father/parents consult in the object need/task completed in order to marry their daughter. Another cool idea would be to switch the role of parent and groom-to-be. Instead of offering their daughte...

How Nsassi (gazelle) Got Married Nenpetro had two wives who each had a beautiful daughter.  They named them Lunga and Lenga.  Instead of having a man give presents in exchange for their hands in marriage, he would have to guess their names.  First the antelope tries to marry them but he cannot guess their names. Then Nsassi comes with his dog to visit them.  He leaves after being told the conditions of marriage to the daughters, frustrated with how he could ever find out their names.  He forgot his dog at Nenpetro's place, and the dog stays for a while.  He overhears Nenpetro call for his two daughters and thus learns their names.  After some trails where they all keep forgetting the names of the girls, the dog eventually is able to tell Nsassi.  Nsassi is able to marry the two girls as he calls them each by their name. It all seemed to me like the dog and Nsassi were tricksters.  It felt like the Rumpelstiltskin story to me,...

Handsome King of the Apes Bibliography: "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" in The Chinese Fairy Book , ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921). Handsome King of the Apes immediately reminded me of Disney's Tangled with its introduction of "FAR, far away to the East... and on this mountain, there is a high rock."  The introductions are really similar, which I thought was pretty cool. This "high rock" is also pretty magical, like the golden flower, as it absorbs all the powers of heaven, earth, the sun, and the moon.  With all this power hidden inside it, the rock has gained some pretty awesome supernatural gifts.  It hatches a stone egg, which hatches a stone ape. The ape, once freed of its stone, is pretty wicked.  "Two streams of golden radiance" come beaming out of his eyes.  It initially scares the Lord of the Heavens, but the two gods - Thousandmile-Eye and Fine-Ear - reassure him that it is only the stone ape who...

The Tale of King Rhampsinitus The king decides to build a tower to hold all of his riches.  However, one of the builders put in a secret brick which could be taken out from the outside.  He grew ill and told his two sons of the secret brick.  The two brothers set forth to rob the king of his treasures.  The king was bewildered, for his guards were always vigiliant and they had even begun to set traps for the theives but alas, the treasury continued to be empty! Until one night, one of the brother's was caught.  To avoid being recognized and thus incuring the death of the other brother, he asked for his head to be cut off and taken to their mother.  The last brother did as he was asked, though it was with a heavy heart. The king was even more astounded to find the headless corpse in the tower.  He put the body on display, but the brother managed to trick the guards into drinking.  Once they were drunk, the brother stole the body back....

I choose King of the Dead, which tells the story of Osiris becoming the Judge and King of the dead as well as the origin of the mummy form of the Egyptian god. Osiris was murdered and usurped by Set.  The son of Osiris and Iris, Horus, was actually the rightful king so he raised an army against Set.  They fought and fought through all kinds of battles until Set was driven from the kingdom. Both Set and Horus are healed by the god Thoth, and Osiris returns to be crowned again.  But everyone agrees it is Horus' right to the throne. The story also says that there is another version, in which it ascribes the mummification to Osiris.  His body was in fragments, but Iris - his wife - and Nepthys are incredibly upset.  Their cries are heard by Ra, who is understanding.  He has Anubis, Thoth, and Horus come down from Heaven and reunite the pieces of Osiris before they wrap him in linen cloth.  This is the origin of Osiris as a mummy. Iris flies ab...

The Three Lovers who brought the Dead Girl to Life.   Whose wife should she be? This story comes from Twenty-Two Goblins , translated by Arthur W. Ryder, with illustrations by Perham W. Nahl. In this story, there are essentially seven characters: two as the storyteller and audience as well as the five characters in the goblin’s story. There is the father of Coral, who is extremely beautiful.   Her three suitors feast on her prettiness “like the birds who live on moonbeams.” The three suitors are devastated when Cora just up and dies in some random twist of fate.   They all take three different routes in life: one stays with her ashes, one goes to dip her bones in the Ganges, and the other becomes a monk and wonders the countries. The monk stumbles upon the house of a man who lives with his family.   After witnessing the man’s magic spell that he used to bring his troublesome child back to life, the monk decides to take the book and use it to brin...

From Aesop's Fables unit I choose stories about humans and Gods.  I choose The Man and the Satyr as well as Hot and Cold .  The first fable is in The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs and the second is from The Baby's Own Aesop by W. J. Linton and illustrated by Walter Crane. Image from Fables of Aesop The Man and the Satyr (Jacobs 56) A Man loses his way and a Satyr finds him.   Man blows on his hands to warm them but then blows on his porridge to cool them. The Satyr is like what?   You’re weird and gotta be bad news if you can blow both hot and cold. Hot and Cold (Crane 44) It is such a cute little rhyme and really just   echoes the story of the man and the satyr. Brainstorming: Satyr squinted his eyes when Man blew on his hands.   The flesh was pink and his bones were shivering all throughout the body connected to those hands. “What are you doing?” Man smiled.   It was soft as if he had been waiting for Satyr to ask. “I...