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| A phoenix in a medieval bestiary (Wikipedia) |
Note: In the history of science, many imaginary animals were once thought to be real (though some were just literary inventions). Let's meet a few.
Get Ready: Can you name any imaginary animals that people once believed in?
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| Illustration from The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1888) by Kate Greenaway (Wikimedia) |
Note: A town's leaders refuse to pay a debt--and as a result pay the ultimate price.
Get Ready: How important is it for one to keep one's word in large matters? In small matters?
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| Childe Rowland faces the Elf King (Wikipedia) |
Note: References to this story appear widely, from Shakespeare's King Lear to Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Alan Garner's Elidor is also based on it. It has become one of my favorite stories.
Get Ready: Can you think of any stories in which the third child seems to have some special powers?
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| Fairy - Elf - Dwarves - Gnome (Wikipedia) |
Note: Most cultures have stories about magical little people who interact with humans, sometimes to help and sometimes not. Here are some who are popular in Europe.
Get Ready: Do you feel the "wee folk"--fairies, elves, and such--have personalities that are more positive or negative?
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| "The Badger said, 'Now then, follow me!'" (l to r, Rat, Mole, Toad, and Badger) (Wikipedia) |
Note: Read the adventures of four animal friends who enjoy "messing about in boats"--when they're not trying to get their friend Mr. Toad out the predicaments he keeps getting himself into!
Get Ready: What can you do with a friend who is "too much," always getting himself (and sometimes others) in trouble?
