Myth and Folklore

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...