Myths and Folklore Blog

Bibliography: "The Three Spinsters" from Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm  translated by Lucy Crane. Story Source . Notes I like this story, it has Rumpelstiltskin vibes but the girl actually keeps her word which is nice and sure, she was lazy, but that can easily be rewritten as her just not knowing how to use a spinning wheel the spinsters are mvps and also probably fairies  because come on that's some fairy nonsense  hehehehe wingmen  (Image Information: The Three Spinsters illustration by Robert Bell (1912); Wikimedia Commons ) -A.

Bibliography: "Aschenputtel" from Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm translated by Lucy Crane. Story Source . Notes the hazel tree is a strange detail that honestly makes Aschenputtel seem like a witch and I love it every single prince in these stories is faceblind and we love to see it why do the birds do her bidding? are they agents of the tree? Is the tree her mother? This story has so many questions that I will probably ignore when I retell it. (Image Information: Aschenputtel fountain; Wikimedia Commons ) -A.

Bibliography: "Catskin" from More English Fairy Tales  by Joseph Jacobs. Source .  Notes: A classic story type really wish the "ugly" coat wasn't catskin.  the three dresses are fun as are the clues she uses with the prince this could combine with a whole bunch of Cinderella-type stories (Image Information: Catskin by Arthur Rackham from Pixabay ) -A.

Bibliography: "The Pied Piper" from More English Fairy Tales  by Joseph Jacobs. Source . Notes: I love this story so much The pied piper is such a good sympathetic villain I kind of loved this ending where the piper does not return the children This story could fit Arthur quite well, although the ending where he returns the children fits him better I'll have to think on it more, but it definitely fits Arthur well. It would play nicely with the Tattercoats story (Image Information: Pied Piper Mannequin; Wikimedia Commons ) -A. 

Bibliography: "The End of Arthur" from King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang. Story Source . Notes:  is this where it ties into the myth that King Arthur will return in Britain's greatest time of need? What happens to him after the water ladies appear? did the Lady of the Lake ever get that favor from him? maybe he has an adventure there some versions of the Wild Hunt say that King Arthur leads it perhaps as a favor to the Lady of the Lake? (Image Information: King Arthur; Wikimedia Commons )

Bibliography: "The Sword Excalibur" from King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table  by Andrew Lang. Story Source . Notes: I get a lot of fair folk vibes from the Lady of the Lake Especially with the whole "unknown favor in exchange for a magic item" thing It is very pagan  I wonder what favor she asks of him? It could be a story idea Or I could retell it in an even more pagan way really lean into it (Image Information: Lancelot Speed (1860-1931), "The Lady of the Lake"; Flickr .)

Bibliography: "The Ghost Land" from Myths and Legends of Alaska  edited by Katharine Berry Judson. Source . Notes: underworld myths are always interesting this one gives me Eurydice vibes, but with a happy ending that could be an interesting mashup  I could even make it about my own characters featuring a raven god of death  (Image Information: Orpheus and Eurydice; Wikimedia Commons ) -A.

Bibliography: "Raven's Feast" from Myths and Legends of Alaska edited by Katharine Berry Judson. Source . Notes: I like the idea of this one, as an explanation for hospitality rituals. It reminds me of myths about the gods appearing in disguise, to test mortals' hospitality. Hospitality is a constant seen in all faiths in some form. Raven seems to be a deity of sorts in these myths. I might write about my campaign. It has a raven deity, a god of death, whom I base on my own experiences with a similar deity. I tend to use the idea of a raven mask so this could work well I think. (Image Information: Hamatsa Raven Mask; Wikimedia Commons ) -A.

Bibliography:  "The Bullfrog Lover" from Myths of the Cherokee  by James Mooney. Source . Notes how rude of them, frog mouth guy sounds nice like, you don't have to kiss him this one needs a happy ending let Kanuna and the nice girl marry maybe they could elope frogs are cute, why would you be mean to them? (Image Information: Bullfrog from Wikimedia Commons ) -A.

  Bibliography: "The Deer and the Rabbit" from Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney. Source . Notes Oh wow, a deer with no antlers and sharp teeth, how weir-  (Image Information: Chinese Water Deer by Nick Goodrum on Flickr ) Oh... Oh deer -A.

Bibliography: "The Ungrateful Man" from West African Folktales  by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair. Story Source .  Notes This was an enjoyable story, but I wish the leopard could have contributed more. The rat gave him wealth and the serpent gave him antidote, but the leopard only gave him meat for a few weeks. Still better than the man, but still. Also did the man have to die for the antidote? It doesn't say it needs blood straight from his aorta, why jump to decapitation before you have proof? It feels out of order. Other than that I don't think I'll change much. Maybe I'll read the other versions for inspiration (Image Information: Leopard Rat Snake; Wikimedia Commons .) Hehe, get it? A leopard rat snake, like the three animals combined. -A.

Bibliography: "How We Got the Name "Spider Tales"" from West African Folktales  by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair. Story Source . Notes: This one already has a way I can think of to retell it You see, "spider tales" are not a thing here But fairy tales are And there happens to be a semi-well known fairy trickster who would work as a stand-in for Anansi Robin Goodfellow - Puck  The animals could be kept the same I think, though maybe the tiger might have to be changed to better fit the sort of western Europe setting fairies are usually associated with. (Image Information: Robin Goodfellow Trading Card, by rosefirerising on Flickr .)

Bibliography: "The Destiny of Sun Wu Kung" from "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" in The Chinese Fairy Book  translated by Frederick H. Martens. Source .  Notes: The Buddha is always a good time Who doesn't enjoy a cameo from the Buddha? The answer to that is probably Christians Or Hindus Depending on when and where and who you ask But the Buddha seems like a fun guy; ascending to deific status and all that What I'm saying is I would enjoy writing the Buddha interacting with the Monkey King. The proud and defiant Sun Wu Kong finally meeting someone he couldn't best. (Image Information: Sun Wu Kang and Buddha by Bi Heng; Wikimedia Commons ) -A.

Bibliography: "The Nether World" from "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" in The Chinese Fairy Book  translated by Frederick H. Martens. Source .  Notes: Even though this story is likely older than most of the underworld stories I have heard before, it feels like it is subverting the tropes of a hero journeying into the underworld. Sun Wu Kung is brought there and then immediately escapes and erases the names of the monkeys of the mountains maybe if I retell this one I will change a little make this Sun Wu Kung's idea like, his monkey subjects also want immortality, but they cannot learn it like Sun Wu Kong can so Sun Wu Kong goes to the underworld to erase their names maybe he fights a demon while there as well (Image Information: Sun Wu Kong Lantern Display by Choo Yut Shing at Flickr ) -A.

Bibliography: "The Elephant and the Ants" from Folklore of the Santal Parganas by Cecil Henry Bompas. Story Source . Notes:  You know, this reminds me of a version of the tortoise and the hare where the tortoise actually cheats and gets his relatives to stand at different points in the race so that hare thinks he's actually running faster than hare. This one is so short there really isn't much that I can think to change. Might just try for a pure retelling if I go with this one. Part B was not as interesting as Part A. It was mostly just Jackal being rude with very little comeuppance. This is how humans used to hunt you know; they would keep walking toward something until it died of exhaustion. That is our thing: we learn and we endure. That's what college has felt like lately, just learning and enduring. (Image Information: Elephant; Wikimedia Commons ) -A.

Bibliography: "The Killing of the Tiger" from Folklore of the Santal Parganas by Cecil Henry Bompas. Story Source . Notes: Something about the endings of these stories feel so unsatisfying. Why bother tricking the tiger if the tiger is going to die anyway? The looking glass trick could be adapted as a phone, but that brings up more questions. Plus I'm not keen on taking this from its original context more than I have to.  That is the problem of adapting folklore isn't it? How much do you add for a new audience while still keeping the spirit of the story. Although this story does not have much that could not be translated to any setting. For example, a wolf for a more western telling.  A mountain lion or a bear could work as well. Maybe the main character could be an animal as well, a trickster. Instead of half a kingdom, maybe something else? something related to a trickster animal. (Image Information: Standing White Tiger; Wikimedia Commons ) -A.

  Bibliography: "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp" Arabian Nights  by Andrew Lang. Story Source . Notes "My boy likes to play, guess I'll die," Aladdin's father, apparently. oh never mind, I guess he is an adult and also lazy? It is kind of vague. so that is a lot to retell could cut some from the beginning, skip right to Aladdin going to the cave could also cut the evil magician's younger brother, since that does not really add much besides making the genie leave I guess the vizier and his also does not add much to the story honestly the story this week will probably be the one I found in part A (Image Information: Oil Lamp: Wikimedia Commons ) -A.

  Bibliography: "King of the Black Isles" from Arabian Nights  by Andrew Lang. Story Source. Notes There's a few things I would change in this story. I don't really like the fact that the prince we are supposed to sympathize had a slave and mortally injured him. That is pretty messed up. also the wife being his cousin is a big yikes like, I don't think she should die for wanting to save her lover and get revenge on the man that hurt him. so, either I should change the protagonist, or the antagonist  Oh, what if the enchantress is keeping the prince's consort under a spell to keep him asleep maybe she was in love with him, but he was in love with the prince so she cursed them both that's a much better story (Image Information: Dr. Seuss fish; from Pixy ) -A.

  Notes Pygmalion is another interesting one and I get that the gods turned Galatea into a human but what if she were kept a statue? did Pygmalion make a proportional person, or was she made like Michelangelo's David, meant to look proportional based on perspective? what if her eyes were still like stone? solid gray-white eyes whose gaze would terrify I like to think Pygmalion would still love her, after getting over the initial horror like if Victor Frankenstein was not a coward I once made a squash plant like that. Its leaves were green with splotches of white, and it climbed the garden fence like a vine. She bore female flowers and I named her Lilith. Her fruit had two skins, yellow over green, and was especially vulnerable to the elements in spite of this, for both skins were delicate. Thus they had to be harvested quickly, and were relatively small. The seeds were half-formed, so it would have been impossible for her to bear a child plant. I must admit she frightened me at fir...

  Notes Icarus is one in need of a happy ending I think. As a child I had a huge book full of children's stories. One of those big fancy hardcovers with the pages golden around the edges. It had a retelling of this story, but from Icarus's point of view. I remember he had marveled at the sun after being in the tower for so long. I remember him describing how warm it was on his back, how he wanted to get closer to that warmth. I have no idea what possessed whoever wrote that to just make it so much sadder. "drawn by desire for the heavens" Icarus, trust me, dating Apollo never goes well. didn't even get a flower named after him for his trouble, just a sea and an island. I think Icarus should get to have nice things like Apollo, and his sun chariot Or Helios, those two kind of got blended together  (Daedalus and Icarus by Antonio Canova: Wikimedia Commons ) Bibliography: "Daedalus and Icarus" from Ovid's Metamorphoses translated by Tony Kline. Story So...