Queen - a female monarch
In not every country is the female ruler a "queen." Throughout history, and today, women monarchs have gone by a variety of titles: Empress, Sultana, Pharaoh, Tsaritsa. Since I skipped my Thursday's Tale yesterday, I thought I'd highlight one today, and queens are often found in folktales and fairy tales. Usually, they're evil though, rarely good and kind, so I did a little, quick hunt and found this little story from Russia, "The Tsaritsa Harpist," where the queen is actually the heroine of the tale. The queen is the story is, obviously, a Tsaritsa.
A Tsar and Tsaritsa lived happily in their kingdom, but the Tsar decided to go to the Holy Land, where the Accursed King was ruling. The King captured the Tsar and held him in the dungeon in chains at night and forced him to plough during the days. The Tsar sent a message to the Tsaritsa to sell all his possessions and come ransom him.
The Tsaritsa thought that if she went...
"Jack and the Beanstalk" is one of the classic, well-known fairy tales. The version I read is from Joseph Jacobs' English Fairy Tales, first published in 1890.
Jack is a young lad living with his widowed mother. Their only means of income is a cow whose milk they sell at market. When this cow stops giving milk one morning, Jack is sent to the market to sell it. On the way to the market he meets a funny-looking old man who knows his name and offers to give him "magic" beans in exchange for the cow. We never find out who this man was or how he knows Jack.
Jack takes the beans in exchange for the cow but when he arrives home without money, his mother becomes furious and throws the beans out the window. She hits Jack and sends him to bed without supper. He is treated here like a child rather than a young man. "Jack" is a typical fairy tale name. Generally, Jack is...
Diamonds have enchanted people for centuries. They are symbols of love, excellence and purity. They may be used to represent power, strength, brilliance and are of unparalleled beauty. It would be quite a treasure to have as many diamonds and jewels as you could imagine. But what if they fell from your mouth whenever you spoke?
In Charles Perrault's "Diamonds and Toads" that's exactly the gift a young woman is given. She is the younger daughter of a widow. Of the two girls, she is of course the nicer, more beautiful one, but the mother's favorite is the older sister. The mother makes the younger one work all the time, including going twice a day to a fountain over a mile away to draw water. One day while at the well, she meets a poor woman who begs for a drink of water. The young woman kindly agrees and holds up the pitcher for the woman to drink from. We're not surprised when the...
"The Boy and the Pooka" is a story in The King with Horse's Ears and Other Irish Folktales retold by Batt Burns and illustrated by Igor Oleynikov, 2009. Burns is a professional storyteller who divides his time between the US and Ireland. In this collection, he retells the folktales he grew up listening to his grandfather tell.
In "The Boy and the Pooka" all the residents of a valley near Kenmare Bay are afraid of a monstrous dog, the pooka, who has been roaming the area as long as any can remember. Parents warn their children to behave, lest the Black Pooka take him away. The valley storyteller, Old Jamesie, tells everyone that if they leave te pooka alone they don't need to be afraid of him, but that doesn't change anyone's opinion.
Conor, Old Jamesie's grandson, comes to spend a school break in the valley. He brings his brand new bicycle with him, but when he is sent to the store...
Today's tale is adapted from "Simon and Margaret" in West Irish Folk-Tales and Romances, collected by William Larmine and published in 1893. The version I read is Brave Margaret by Robert D. San Souce, illustrated by Sally Wern Comport.
Margaret is an amazing heroine, a nice contrast to all the princesses out there who need rescuing. She lives alone in western Ireland and is quite content. She was hard-working and wise, but yearned to know what lay beyond the sea or behind the cliffs. One day, a handsome prince, Simon, stops at her cottage and explains that he and his men are on a voyage but need meat to continue. she agrees to give him her cattle as long as he takes her along too. She's looking forward to the adventure and has also fallen a little in love with Simon.He agrees, and reluctantly lets her join the crew.
At sea, a sea serpent threatens the boat, saying they must give her the red woman. Simon refuses of...
Fair, Brown & Trembling retold by Jude Daly is a traditional Irish fairytale, similar to Cinderella. It's a wonderful change-up from the usual fairy tales and would be a nice read-aloud around St. Patrick's Day.
Three sisters, Fair, Brown, and Trembling, and their father live in a castle high in the hills of Ireland. Terrible names for daughters, don't you think? Their mother had died. Since Trembling was the most beautiful, her older sisters made her stay at home instead of going to church on Sundays, for fear that she would marry before them. One sunday morning, the henwife told Trembling she should go to church; when she objected that she had no suitable dress, the henwife put on her"cloak of darkness" and gae her a lily-white gown and shamrock-green shoes. Outside a horse was waiting for Trembling. The henwife told Trembling not to go inside the church door and to return home as fast as she can immediately after the service. That "cloak of darkness" is interesting. Is it a trademark...
