Let's Talk Mythology and Folklore

How the initial character can go from "something hit my head" to "the sky is falling" is a mystery to me. Still, the story was interesting and the fox was clever in its taking advantage of the other animals' stupidity. Why did the other animals go along with Henny-Penny in the first place? Were they all so easily convinced that the sky was falling? Molly Whuppie is fearless. And does the King not feel any trepidation about sending someone back into the lair of a giant over and over? Is this story the origin of the "Fee Fi Fo Fum"? Mr. Fox certainly got what was coming to him. Though it seems that his downfall was more due to mere coincidence than any noble action on the part of anyone else. I do like how quick her brothers and friends were to kill Mr. Fox when they saw the danger. I would have thought that Mr. Fox would have caught on a little quicker and perhaps have tried to make an escape.  Wow I didn't think the gingerbread sto

The bad deeds in this first story are so casual and wildly spin out of control. One could argue that the daughter is at least partially responsible for her own predicament. The King seems especially casual about the whole "I'll cut off your head" bit. So the girl successfully uses Tom Tit Tot to produce the skeins But then she says his name to avoid becoming his. But she never sees him again? So how will she survive the next year? This could make a fun sort of epilogue story. This second story is undeniably dark.  Though I like the idea of the daughter reincarnated in the bird. Maybe a less dark rewrite? The third story I did not think would actually work out in the end. I thought for sure it would just get more and more convoluted until the old woman just ended up giving up or something. Though it was interesting seeing the relationship between all the objects and animals that the old woman talks to. I think the moral here could be: It's som

"We have a problem." Raven looked up to see Man approaching him from across the sandy beach. Raven had been relaxing, content after the creation of so many beings. But here came Man, apparently with a problem. How can there be a problem?  Thought Raven.  I only just created life on this planet. It should all be perfect. At least for now. Man sat down beside Raven and sighed deeply.  "I'm sorry to say this Raven, but there is an issue with one of your creations," he said. "An issue? How could this be? I made everything perfectly!" Raven replied. "Yes," Man responded. "All of the creatures that you intentionally created are perfect. But..." Raven immediately grasped his meaning. Of all of his creations, only one had been accidental. "My friend," Raven said. "What misfortune befalls you? What issue has reared its head to afflict mankind?" "Come," said Man. "Fo

Could a doll see through the fabric of reality? Wasn't there a movie not too long ago that had a little something to do with not marrying someone when you first meet them? So they say that Bear's heart is "between his eyes" and that striking him there will kill him. I wonder if they're, in some way, referring to the brain. The whole pulling a women in two thing is sort of gruesome. But it's an interesting explanation for regional specialties. And the idea of a doll coming to life speaks to horror stories to me. But this story has a really interesting idea in that Doll looks through the torn fabric of the sky and sees another Earth just like that one. Kind of seems like an early idea of multiple realities. The idea that eating food in the afterlife means that you are stuck there is one explored in Greek/Roman mythology too with the story of Persephone and the pomegranate.  Also, creepy idea of returned spirits being invisible but physically presen

And become human... I've always been a fan of these stories where it's not just an animal personified as a man, but where there is an actual transformation back and forth. The fact that the story says that Raven pulls his beak up and down like taking off or putting on a mask is really cool. In this first story, Raven is really a helpful person and a seemingly benevolent creator of so many things. He takes the time to tell Human about all of the animals that he is creating and what each of them is good for. I find the fact that flies and mosquitoes were made to make the Earth more "cheerful" woefully ironic. A-mi-kuk. Can't have a good story by the ocean without a good sea monster. I'm really curious about the variations that Raven mentions that I can't seem to find a good real life companion for. Such as the sea fox or the dog walrus. Reindeer with sharp, dog-like, teeth with an appetite for human flesh? Sounds like a good horror story to me. S

I'll be the first to say that I've lived a privileged life. This is not me trying to brag or even to be self-effacing or humble or anything like that. It's just the truth. My parents are both physicians and that's really meant that life growing up for my sister and I was really...easy. That being said, the main focus of this story has everything to do with the amazing opportunities afforded to me by my family's money. I accept that. But it still leads to some fun stories. My family loves to travel. Sometimes I think that my parents only suffer through their jobs in the medical field just so that they can continue traveling whenever they get the chance. They take several trips every year to various spots around the globe. My sister and I, restrained by our mutual need to attend school during the school year, did not get to share in these adventures that my parents took quite as often. But even with this limitation, we probably traveled more around the country and a

But maybe he prefers it that way... I like that all we learn about Duck from this first story is that she was: Created Small She died almost immediately because she got some mud in her beak. An interesting origin story for El Capitan.  I wonder why the boulder was growing in the first place. Why did the boys sleep so long? Could these be things to explain in a retelling? So the boys turned into agave? For....no reason? Could explain this in a retelling. Interesting story with the father testing them so much. So the next story has a youth become a god. He learns dances and songs from around the world? And takes them back to his people to teach them. They wear masks during the dances to represent the other gods that danced with the youth. I feel like the Raven and Macaw story is an explanation of why different some parts of the world have four seasons and why some only have two (wet and dry). The Raven people stay in the north and have to toil to grow crops a

Some cultures seem to have an origin story for fire that involves it being stolen from elsewhere. i.e. coyote steals it from "somewhere in the west" Prometheus steals it from the gods They also include a flood story that seems to eliminate everyone but just a few people. Is this indicative of a similar series of floods that may have actually killed many people a long time ago? The sun made of ice. What an interesting concept. Now a great fire instead of a great flood. Also, that guy was a real jerk. Couldn't get the girls so he decides to literally light the entire world on fire. It seems like there are three major creation animals in most of these myths: Coyote Spider Eagle Interesting explanation for why the moon is not as bright The reeds were wet and did not burn so well What if it was explained as just being smaller? ...were there lions in North America? Apparently, sort of? They lived until like 11,000 years ago. Still not sure wh

Asleep. I've been asleep for so long. Years? Decades? Centuries? I cannot tell. What else can I do trapped beneath a mountain? I sleep. And I dream. I dream of my life before this imprisonment. I dream of the day that I emerged from a stone, high atop the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits. I dream of the simple life that I had among my ape brethren. Of the days of joy before they made me their king. I remember the day that I became the King of the Monkeys. I remember the great waterfall and the secret cavern behind it. I wish I knew back then where my ambition would lead me. Most often I dream about immortality. I dream of the fateful day when I decided that I would not be constrained by the mortality of a living being. I remember it clearly. Too clearly. It always brings me pain. I remember how, on that day, I witnessed the deaths of my friends for the first time. I saw the pain and misery on their families' faces. That day I made a vow to become imm