China - Ma Lien and the Magic Brush
Ma Lien is a young boy whose greatest dream is to be an artist. He works very hard to achieve
this dream even though he does not own a paintbrush.
One night, an old wizard appears to Ma Lien and says that he has earned a brush. He tells Ma
Lien to use this brush wisely because it has great power.
Ma Lien uses the brush to paint a rooster. When he paints the last feather, the rooster comes
alive and flies off. Ma Lien realizes why the old wizard said that the brush has great power and
promises to use the brush wisely.
Ma Lien uses his brush to help other people.
When a mandarin discovers the magic brush, he commands Ma Lien to paint a pile of silver coins
for him. Ma Lien refuses and is thrown into a dungeon.
Ma Lien finds out that the other men in the dungeon were imprisoned because the mandarin
wanted their lands. He uses his magic brush to help him and his men escape (he paints a door
and a horse)
Ma Lien continues to use his magic brush to help people.
The mandarin finds Ma Lien and takes away his brush. He orders the court painter to paint a tree
with leaves of gold. But, the painting of the tree does not come to life. When the mandarin
realizes that only Ma Lien can paint pictures that become real, he tells the boy that he will give
him his freedom if he paints a mountain of gold.
Ma Lien paints a mountain of gold but also paints a wide sea. After he paints a ship, the
mandarin and his men hurry aboard. He tells Ma Lien to give him wind to speed the ship along.
Ma Lien paints a wind cloud and then continues to paint storm clouds. The ship sinks and the
mandarin is drowned.
Ma Lien goes back to his simple life and is always ready to help everyone in need.
Sample Questions
How would you describe Ma Lien?
Why can only Ma Lien paint pictures that come alive?
If you had a magic brush, what would you paint? Why?
Japan - The Princess and the Herd Boy
A long time ago, the King of the Sky was very busy making stars to hang in the heavens at night.
He had a very beautiful daughter who was called the Weaving Princess because she wove the
cloth that we now call clouds, fogs and mist.
One day, the King noticed that the Weaving Princess was becoming pale. He told her to take a
holiday and play among all the stars all day long. Then, he told her to hurry back because he
needed more mist and fog and clouds.
The Weaving Princess was very happy to have a holiday. She ran to a stream called the Milky
Way that flowed through the sky. In the middle of the stream, she met a handsome boy who was
washing a cow.
The boy invited the princess to go over to his house on the other side of the Milky Way. They
played wonderful games and had so much fun that the princess forgot to go home to help her
father.
When the King finally fetched his daughter, he was very mad. He told her that she could never
have another holiday and that she had to weave all the time. Then, the King poured more and
more star water into the Milky Way until it became a deep river. There was no way now for the
princess and the herd boy to get across to each other.
The princess went home and sat in front of her loom. But, she was so sad that she could not
weave anything. The sky became emptier and emptier.
Finally, the King said that if she started weaving again and worked hard, he would let her go and
play with the herd boy one day each year.
The princess was very happy and she went right back to work.
The King fulfills his promise each year. On the seventh night of the seventh month, he sends a
flock of birds to the Milky Way. With their wings, the birds make a bridge across the Milky Way.
The princess and the herd boy play together for one whole night and one whole day.
This is the reason why Japanese children celebrate Tanabata-sama or "the Seventh Night of the
Seventh Month". During this time, Japanese children decorate bamboo branches with bright
pieces of paper to remind the King of the Sky about keeping his promise.
Sample Questions
What was the job of the Weaving Princess? Why was her job important?
What did the King of Sky do when he got mad at the Weaving Princess?
Japanese children often write wishes on bright pieces of paper during the Tanabata-sama. What
wishes would you write?
United States - The Baker's Dozen
Van Amsterdam is a baker. When he creates a St. Nicholas cookie, people come from miles
around to buy these cookies. He grows richer and more famous because of these cookies.
One night, as he is busy counting his money, he thinks that he should use less butter, honey and
eggs so that he can make even more money. Anyway, no one will ever know. And no one does
notice when he starts using less of his fine ingredients.
One day, an old woman comes to his shop and asks to purchase one dozen of his St. Nicholas
cookies. The old woman counts the cookies and insists that a dozen means thirteen and not
twelve. She says he is a greedy man.
Van Amsterdam gets mad and tells the woman to leave his store. The woman says that he will
be sorry.
The next morning, Van Amsterdam is shocked to discover that his bread is salty, his pies are sour
and his cookies are hard. Soon, people stop coming to his store and Van Amsterdam stops
baking.
One day near Christmas, he has nothing to sell but a small pile of St. Nicholas cookies. He hears
a voice coming from one of the St. Nicholas cookies saying "You'll never be rich because you're
greedy."
At that moment, the same old woman enters his store and asks to buy a dozen St. Nicholas
cookies. Van Amsterdam fills a bag with 12 cookies and then adds one more. The old woman
thanks him.
The people in the town soon hear that a dozen means thirteen in Van Amsterdam's shop. They
start buying from his shop again. Van Amsterdam puts an extra measure into everything he
makes.
When other bakers notice how well Van Amsterdam is doing, they start giving thirteen pieces
when people ask for a dozen. And this is why, in many a bakery store, a dozen now means
twelve and then one more.
Sample Questions
Why did the old woman get mad at Van Amsterdam?
What lesson did Van Amsterdam learn from his experience with the old woman?
Can you think of ways that you can be kind and generous in your own life?
Spain - The Magic Mirror
Please see attached story. We don't have a book for this. So, I was thinking it would be nice to
bring a mirror and have some volunteers act it out and get the kids involved :)
Sample Questions
Why were the women afraid to look in the mirror?
Would you be afraid to look in the mirror?
What lessons did you learn from this story?