I thought it might be fun this month to re-post some of my most popular fairy tale posts. This past year, my post about Momotaro, the Peach Boy from 2010 got the second most views of any of my fairy tales.
This is actually one of Japan's best-known folktales, although I had never heard of it before. The story is available on-line here, but I read a copy I borrowed from the library which seems to be a fairly faithful retelling.
An old man and his wife are sad and lonely because they have no children. One day, while washing clothes in the stream the woman finds giant peach which she takes home as a treat for her husband. Before they can cut it open, it bursts and a baby boy pops out, an answer to their prayers. They name the child Momotaro, which means Peach Boy.
The boy grows up big, strong and brave. When he is a teenager, he decides to...
I thought it might be fun this month to re-post some of my most popular fairy tale posts. The post on Perrault's "Little Red Riding" from 2010 has the most all time view of any of my posts.
Perrault's version of "Little Red Riding Hood" was first printed in 1697, and varies a little from the more familiar Grimm's version, told in the 19th century.
Little Red Riding Hood, a "little country girl, the prettiest ever seen," was given her nickname because of the red hood that her grandmother had made. Notice that the cloak is red, a vibrant color often associated with sexuality and with blood.
Anyway, one day Red Riding Hood is sent by her mother to her grandmother's house in the next village with a cake and some butter, since her grandmother has been feeling ill. Along the way, she meets the wolf who wants to eat her but comes up with a better plan. He asks her where she...
I don't really have a story for today, more of a tradition to bring luck for the New Year.
Hogmanay is the Scottish New Year's Eve celebration. The origins of Hogmanay are unclear, but may be derived from Norse and Gaelic observances. Customs vary throughout Scotland, and usually include gift-giving and visiting the homes of friends and neighbours.
The "First Footing" is a tradition celebrated on Hogmanay, a Scottish New Year's celebration. It is supposed to bring luck and prosperity to the household for the new year. Traditionally, the "luckiest" person to enter a house in the new year is a tall, dark-haired man. Definitely do not allow it to be someone with red hair. The First Foot should bring small gifts with him that represent the wishes for the new year, a piece of coal for a warm hearth, bread and salt for all in the house to be fed adequately, and a coin for financial prosperity, and a drink (commonly whiskey) to represent good...
Tracy at Pen and Paper shared this poem the other day. It's a re-working of "Twas the Night Before Christmas," probably written by C.C. Williford, a radio presenter during the 1930's.
Twas the Night Before Yuletide
Twas the night before Yuletide and all through the glen
Not a creature was stirring, not a fox, not a hen.
A mantle of snow shone brightly that night
As it lay on the ground, reflecting moonlight.
The faeries were nestled all snug in their trees,
Unmindful of flurries and a chilly north breeze.
The elves and the gnomes were down in their burrows,
Sleeping like babes in their soft earthen furrows.
When low! The earth moved with a thunderous quake,
Causing chairs to fall over and dishes to break.
The Little Folk scrambled to get on their feet
Then raced to the river where they usually meet.
“What happened?” they wondered, they questioned, they probed,
As they shivered in night clothes, some bare-armed, some robed.
“What caused the earth’s shudder? What caused her to shiver?”
They all spoke at once as they...
"Yuletide Spectres" may take place at Christmas, but it's downright creeepy. It comes from Sweden and I found it on-line at The Gold Scales.
Once upon on a time (I love that beginning), there lived two peasants on a homestead called Vaderas. In those days the roads were good, and the women were in the habit of riding when they wanted to go to church. One Christmas the two women agreed that they would ride to Christmas night mass, and whichever one of them woke up at the right time was to call for the other.
It was about midnight when one of the women thought she heard a voice from the window, calling, "I am going to set out now." She got up hurriedly and dressed herself, so that she might be able to ride with the other woman; but since there was no time to eat, she took a piece of bread from the table along with her. In those...
I've got another wintry story today from AmericanFolklore.net. It's about a not very nice trapper from Canada.
The trapper who roamed the wilds of Labrador on a sleigh pulled by eight pure white Huskies. He was tall and dressed in layer upon layer of animal skins.
The trapper was a cruel man, and the people in the local towns did not like him, though they tolerated his company when he came to town because of the rich animal skins he brought with him. When he came to a town, the trapper would sell his skins and then drink away his money at the local tavern. He assaulted the local women, picked fights with the townsmen, and tried to sell alcohol to the natives. After a few days of such behavior, the constable would toss the trapper out of town. Then the trapper would resume his roaming and trapping until he came to another town.
No one knows exactly how the trapper met his...