Today's story, "The Strange Tale of Caribou and Moose," was told by Cyrus MacMillan in Canadian Wonder Tales, 1918. It gives us a little insight into why moose and caribou act as they do. You can read the story here.
Two widows lived side by side and each had a son, one boy was Caribou, the other Moose. One spring, the two boys decided to travel, to explore the woods and the far away mountains, so they set out, apparently without any consideration for the mothers, who never reappear in the story. The first evening they came to the camp of the Porcupines, who were kind and gave the boys food and new moccasins, and told which road to follow. They also warned them that there were giants ahead.
The boys continued on and came to the edge of the woods where the giants lived. There they met a woman who was half Indian, as her mother had been carried off by...
Today's tale, "The Frog and the Condor," is from Peru. I found it at storiestogrowby.com, retold by Elaine L. Lindy in 2006.
High in the Andes, a frog lived in a cool stream. The frog was sad because she was different from all the other frogs, her right leg was much longer than her left.
There was a cave near the stream where a condor lived. The condor had a girl held prisoner. He had plucked her from the hillside while she was watching sheep and forced her to beat vicuna skins into blankets for him and cook his meals.
The frog watched the condor and sometimes followed it back to its home, where the girl's wailing reminded the frog of her own sadness. One day she overheard the girl ask the condor if she could go down to the stream to wash her clothes. The condor finally agreed to let the girl go, as long as he could hear her beating her clothes on the rock....
I'm still thinking about Mermaids this week. Today's story, "The Mermaid of Zennor," was first retold by William Bottrell in Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall, Vol. 2, 1873. Zennor is a village in Cornwall, England. There, at St. Senara's church, is a 15th-century carved bench-end that depicts a mermaid, which was probably the inspiration for the tale. I'm relating the version of the story I like best. I read it here.
Long ago, a beautiful and richly dressed woman occasionally attended services at St. Senara's Church in Zennor, and sometimes at Morvah. The parishioners were enchanted by her beauty and her lovely singing voice. She had many would-be suitors, on of whom was Mathey Trewella. Mathey was handsome and had the best singing voice in the village. After services one day, he followed the mysterious lady toward the cliffs. Neither were ever seen at services again.
Years passed and eventually Mathey's disappearance faded in the village's memory. Until one Sunday a ship...
There are so many fairy tales and folktales out there that sometimes it's hard to pick one to feature every Thursday. Yes, there's always another Grimm, but I like to add variety. Today, I decided on a mermaid tale, and I have a reason. In the book I'm listening to now, Bad Wolf by Nele Neuhaus, one of the victims, a drowned girl whose identity is unknown, keeps being referred to as The Mermaid.
"Touched by Iron" is a sad Welsh tale that came up when I was searching for mermaid stories. It was retold by Wirt Sikes in British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends, and Traditions, 1880. You can read it here.
A farmer's son was watching the sheep on a foggy day when crossing a marshy meadow he saw a beautiful lady behind Coed farm was one foggy day looking after his father's sheep, when crossing a marshy meadow he saw a lovely lady. She had yellow hair, blue eyes...
The Grimm episode last week was titled "The Wild Hunt," and I mentioned to David and Amber that it's been a while since I read a Wild Hunt story. Today's story isn't really about "The Wild Hunt," but it's got a similar feel. "Dando and His Dogs" was told by Robert Hunt in Popular Romances of the West of England; or, The Drolls, Traditions, and Superstitions of Old Cornwall, 1865. I read it here.
Dando is a priest, a regular "jolly friar," who definitely enjoyed the good life, the best food and drink available. The people liked him though, since he was good-natured and freely forgave all of his parishioners, just as he freely forgave himself his own vices. As a man gets older, "he becomes more deeply dyed with the polluted waters through which he may have waded," and Dando certainly did, becoming more selfish and putting his own gratification above all else.
The priest was an excellent huntsman, chasing game far and wide,...
Today's story, "The Petrified Mansion," is from India, retold by Francis Bradley-Birt in Bengal Fairy Tales, 1920. It's a similar tale to the more familiar "Sleeping Beauty."
A prince sets out to see the world. He carries with him no valuables and has no servants in his company, it's just him and his sword. After a time, he comes to a grand mansion, which he enters (without permission, apparently). He is surprised to find all the people and animals in all the rooms are petrified, statues. He was frightened and on the verge of leaving, when he sees a beautiful young woman lying on a golden bed. To all appearances, she is dead. The prince was "enamored" by her beauty and sat staring at her. One day he notices a stick of gold near her pillow. He picked it up and was looking at it when it touched the young woman's forehead and she instantly came awake as did the rest of the household. Everyone in the mansions...