 |
| The black dwarf and the merchant and son (Wikipedia) |
Note: Magic almost never delivers on its "promise"; it seems there's always a catch, as in this story. Still, an honest person can come out all right in the end!
Get Ready: What qualities must a folk-hero have to come out on top in the end?
 |
| Castle Chojnik ("Hoynik"), the original of Kynast Castle (Wikipedia) |
Note: This is a story of cruelty--and revenge, a warning to all who would trifle with the hearts of others.
Get Ready: How much should a person put up with in order to win the one they love?
 |
| Abelard and Heloise surprised by Master Fulbert (Wikipedia) |
Note: This may be the weirdest love story you've ever heard--and it really happened!
Get Ready: What do you think is a fitting punishment for a man who marries a woman against her parents' or guardians' wishes?
 |
| Lady Charlotte Guest (Wikimedia) |
Note: One person--and a 19th-century woman at that!--is responsible or bringing us some of the earliest prose stories about King Arthur written down in what is now Great Britain.
Get Ready: How many languages do you speak? Do you wish to learn any more? Why or why not?
 |
| (Wikimedia) |
Note: Some people think that the giver in this song gave only one partridge in a pair tree. But it was twelve!
Get Ready: Do you know a formula for adding tetrahedral numbers? Look at this.
 |
| "He took the little Creature in his Hand." (Wikisource) |
Note: Japanese literature is filled with old childless couples who find wonderful babies and grow rich as a result of their kindness. This is a good one.
Get Ready: Do you think generosity should be its own reward, or should people expect monetary return for their good deeds?
 |
| Scheherazade and Shahryar by Ferdinand Keller, 1880 (Wikipedia) |
Note: This amazing collection is like a library unto itself; some tales are familiar, but there are lots of hidden gems waiting to be discovered!
Get Ready: Do you like stories with lots of magic--genies and other spirits and so on? Why or why not?
 |
| Nimue and Merlin (detail) (Wikimedia) |
Note: Even the wisest of wizards can be a fool for love. Case in point: the humbling of Merlin.
Get Ready: Why do you think folk stories are told with so many variations?
 |
| Virgil in a basket. (In another legend, the poet was enamored of the Emperor's daughter. She didn't love him, so she tricked him into getting into a basket to be pulled up to her room. She then left him hanging halfway up as an object of public ridicule.) (Wikimedia) |
Note: Virgil represents here the power of kindness--and Luigi, the power of love. This is one of 50 stories about Virgil collected by Charles Godfrey Leland in the 19th century, but dating back to the Middle Ages.
Get Ready: Do you think ancients "curses" can ever be broken?
 |
| Tristan and Isolde by John Duncan (1912) (Wikipedia) |
Note: This is one of the great love stories of all time, with traces of Guinevere and Lancelot--and Romeo and Juliet.
Get Ready: Can we ever blame our actions on an external influence (like a "love potion"), or ought we to take responsibility for everything we do?
 |
| Halley's Comet in the Bayeux Tapestry (Wikipedia) |
Note: The most important date in English history--1066, the year a French count took England as his own--is commemorated in this stunning work of art.
Get Ready: What can art teach us about history? Can it be trusted?
 |
| Saint Francis and a Wolf (Wikimedia) |
Note: No Christian saint has captured the world's heart like Francis of Assisi. Here are two early legends of the saint's connection to "God's creation."
Get Ready: In most Christian stories, how important is the natural world to the "spiritual interests" of the believer? Why do you think Francis was different?
 |
| Loki with a fishing net on an 18th-century Icelandic manuscript (Wikipedia) |
Note: The Loki we see in the Marvel movies is nothing like the traditional figure--but his impetuous behavior is still a problem!
Get Ready: What is the value of a person's life?
 |
| A Green Man disgorging foliage (Wikipedia) |
Note: This charming legend personifies nature and gives an ancient basis to the modern push for ecological awareness.
Get Ready: Do you think it's important to be "good stewards" of the earth and its occupants? Why or why not?
 |
| Rhiannon as Pwyll first saw her (Wikipedia) |
Note: The Welsh myths found in The Mabinogion contain many wonderful stories. This is one of my favorites.
Get Ready: If a friend asks you for a favor, would you say "yes" without knowing what the favor was? What would you do for a stranger?
 |
| The Shahmaran (Wikimedia) |
Note: I am always delighted to find a story well-known in another culture but almost unknown in mine. Shahmaran, buried deep in the 1001 Nights, is just such a story.
Get Ready: Is it okay for a good person to lie if she or he knows it will lead to a good result?
 |
| The Prince meets Snow White (Wikipedia) |
Note: Who doesn't know the story of Little Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs? Still, it's always good to look back at the details to see what "really" happened.
Get Ready: What lengths will people go to in order to maintain their position at the top--best, smartest, most beautiful, etc.?
 |
| The Bremen Town Musicians (Wikimedia) |
Note: The amusing tale of how four animals built a life together after getting rid of some bandits.
Get Ready: What do you think should be done with "senior" animals who are no longer useful?
 |
| A scene from the Noh play Hagoromo (Wikipedia) |
Note: This charming story blurs the boundaries between heaven and earth as a fisherman gets an angel to dance for him before recovering her robe of feathers.
Get Ready: What might you do if you encountered a real fairy or angel?
 |
| Issun Boshi paddles himself in a bowl (Wikimedia) |
Note: The charming story of "Issun Boshi" proves that size really doesn't matter!
Get Ready: What do you think is the most important virtue a person can have?
_(14596040220).jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
_Tristan_%26_Isolde.jpg){kind=link}
_(14781913091).jpg){kind=link}