Edited by
Howard Canaan
Joel N. Feimer
Mercy College
Tales of Wonder from Many Lands
Table of Contents
Instructors’ Preface to the Third Edition .......................................... vii
Introduction ....................................................................................... ix
Part I
Fables
Aesop’s Fables .................................................................................. 3
Androcles and the Lion ....................................................................... 3
The Ant and the Grasshopper ............................................................ 5
The Crow and the Pitcher .................................................................. 6
The Frogs and the Well ....................................................................... 7
Mercury and the Woodman ................................................................ 8
The Milkmaid and Her Pail ................................................................ 9
The North Wind and the Sun ........................................................... 10
The Old Man and Death .................................................................. 11
The Fox and the Grapes ................................................................... 12
The Fox and the Crow ...................................................................... 13
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse ...................................... 14
Other Fables .................................................................................... 15
The City Mouse and the Country Mouse ......................................... 15
Chanticleer and Renard the Fox ...................................................... 17
Chanticleer and the Barnyard Rooster ............................................ 19
The Foolish Lion and the Clever Rabbit .......................................... 21
The Marsh Crow and the City Crow ............................................... 23
Coyote Fights a Lump of Pitch ......................................................... 24
Part II
Folktales
The King’s Favorite ........................................................................... 67
The Lost Horse .................................................................................. 68
Muddy Road ...................................................................................... 69
iii
Table of Contents
Urashima the Fisherman .................................................................. 70
It Could Always Be Worse ................................................................. 73
Wisdom or Luck? ............................................................................... 75
The Ruined Man Who Became Rich Again Through a Dream .... 78
The Tinker and the Ghost ................................................................ 80
Godfather Death ............................................................................... 85
The Man Who Had No Story .......................................................... 89
The Warrior Maiden ......................................................................... 93
Pig’s Long Nose and Greedy Mouth ................................................. 96
The Black Cloth ................................................................................ 98
All God’s Chillen Had Wings .......................................................... 102
Women ............................................................................................ 105
The Bedouin’s Gazelle ..................................................................... 107
The Hadja Visits Halil .................................................................... 109
East of the Sun, West of the Moon ................................................ 112
The Price of Jasmines and Lilies ..................................................... 119
Part III
Fairy Tales
The Grimm Brothers ...................................................................... 171
iv
The Fisherman and His Wife .......................................................... 171
The Frog Prince .............................................................................. 178
The Golden Bird ............................................................................. 182
Hansel and Gretel ........................................................................... 189
Little Red Riding Hood .................................................................. 196
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ................................................ 200
Mother Hulda ................................................................................. 209
Cinderella ........................................................................................ 212
Rapunzel ......................................................................................... 219
The Robber Bridegroom ................................................................. 223
Rumpelstiltskin ................................................................................ 227
The Sleeping Beauty ....................................................................... 230
Brother Frolick ................................................................................ 233
Tales of Wonder from Many Lands
Hans Christian Andersen ...................................................................... 242
The Wicked Prince .......................................................................... 242
The Princess and the Pea ................................................................ 245
Part IV
Analogues
The Bird of the Golden Feather ..................................................... 291
The Algonquin Cinderella .............................................................. 300
Demane and Demazana ................................................................. 304
Bella Venezia ................................................................................... 307
The Magic Orange Tree ................................................................. 312
Death and the Doctor ..................................................................... 316
Part V
Myths
Creation and Origin Myths ............................................................ 339
The Genesis Creation Story ............................................................ 339
Adam, Eve, and the Serpent ........................................................... 344
The Tower of Babel ........................................................................ 347
Greek Creation Story ...................................................................... 349
Bantu Creation Story ...................................................................... 352
Quiche-Mayan Creation Story ....................................................... 354
The Beginning of a World .............................................................. 356
The Warau People Discover the Earth ........................................... 358
How the Leopard Got Its Spots ...................................................... 362
Dear Hunter and White Corn Maiden .......................................... 363
Sedna ............................................................................................... 366
How Odin Lost His Eye .................................................................. 369
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Table of Contents
Greek and Roman Myths .............................................................. 372
Prometheus and Pandora ................................................................ 372
Apollo and Daphne ......................................................................... 376
Actaeon ........................................................................................... 379
Pyramus and Thisbe ........................................................................ 383
Orpheus and Eurydice ..................................................................... 386
Pygmalion ........................................................................................ 389
Arachne ........................................................................................... 393
Part VI
Modern Stories and Poems
Swaddling Clothes Yukio Mishima ...................................................... 445
The Veldt Ray Bradbury ...................................................................... 452
The Rule of Names Ursula LeGuin ..................................................... 470
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Gabriel Garcia Marquez ..... 481
A Poison Tree William Blake ............................................................... 489
La Belle Dame Sans Merci John Keats .............................................. 491
Prayer for the Great Family Gary Snyder ........................................... 493
Part VII
Essays
The Child’s Need for Magic Bruno Bettelheim.................................... 515
Rapunzel Max Luthi ........................................................................... 525
Fairy Tales as Myth Jack Zipes ........................................................... 535
Glossaryof Literary Terms
......................................................................................................... 559
Bibliography
vi
......................................................................................................... 563
PART
I
FABLES
T
he sources of wonder in fables may not be noticeable at first. Fables
deal with the everyday concerns of ordinary life. A milkmaid daydreams
about a desirable future and forgets about the immediate concerns of
the present. A grasshopper who has played when he should have worked is
searching for his next meal in the wintertime of want. A woodman grieves
over the loss of the source of his livelihood, his axe.
Yet fables clearly aren’t strictly realistic. Their characters are most often
animals or other nonhuman figures that talk. There is a kind of magic in the
ability of animals to think as humans do and to mirror positive and negative
types of human behavior. Also, fables sometimes present gods and personified
natural forces interacting with human beings in ways similar to those found
in myths, folktales, and fairy tales. The god Mercury comes to the aid of the
grieving Woodman who has lost his axe. The figure of Death suddenly appears
before the Old Man and threatens to answer his wish. The North Wind and
the Sun interfere with a human traveler to settle their argument over who is
the more powerful. Thus language exhibits some of its spell-casting power as
supernatural figures help, judge, and toy with humans as they do in myths,
folk tales, fairy tales, and other kinds of literature.
Fables share certain general qualities. They are usually short and easy to
understand, with simple language, characters, and plots. Every fable has a
point or “moral” embedded in its narrative. Many also have morals tacked on
at the end. These morals, which were added only long after Aesop’s time
sometimes conflict with the lesson woven into the story. It can be interesting
to examine both the lesson in the fable and the tacked-on moral and think
about how they interact. An essential feature of the fable is that its wisdom
and its ethical concerns are usually practical. In “Mercury and the Woodman,”
for instance, honesty is important to Mercury, but Mercury’s gift of gold and
a silver axe is useless to the Woodman he needs an iron or steel axe, not a gold
or a silver one, to do his work. Also, fables often have a two-part (bipartite)
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Part I
Fables
structure built around some kind of contrast. “The Ant and the Grasshopper,”
for instance, sets up a basic contrast between the lazy, fun-loving Grasshopper
and the hard-working Ant. Finally, fables contain a great deal of humor. Lessons
are taught with laughter as well as pathos. The Milkmaid’s lack of attention to
her duty is exhibited by a toss of her head that spills the milk. The point is
made humorously: pay attention. Death’s response to the Old Man’s summons
is wryly funny, and the Old Man’s reaction is clearly comic.
No one knows when fables were first composed, but they may have
been among the earliest kinds of literature in which human beings expressed
their hopes and concerns about life. Aesop (ca. 620-560 B.C.) was not the first
to advise his audience by entertaining them with short narratives, but his
name has come to stand for what a fable is. Works as different as the Gospels,
the plays of Shakespeare, and the dramas and novels of modern Ireland contain
references to Aesop’s fables. Other examples of fables come from India. They
appear in a collection of five books called The Panchatantra (collected ca. 200
B. C.) the origins of which are even more obscure than those of Aesop. They
are attributed to the sage Bidpai or Pilpay and were supposed to have been
used to instill wisdom in the ruler that he served. They were translated first
into Persian, then Arabic and finally Latin during the progress of the Middle
Ages. There is a second source of animal stories from India called The Jatakas.
These are centered on the figure of Buddha, the sixth century founder of
Buddhism. However, these fables were not collected until the fourth century
A. D. These different traditions of fables share common elements, such as
structure, and blendings of animal, human and divine protagonists. They also
exhibit a wry humor in presenting their lessons. The Eastern fables seem to
have more interest in community and self-sacrifice to a higher good than is
often found in those attributed to Aesop. In the final analysis they derive their
ability to entertain from common interests.
Audiences in both the Middle Ages and the seventeenth century also
loved fables, as the works of Marie de France (ca. 1165) and Jean de la Fontaine
(1621-1695) show. Peoples from every age, as well as geographic area have
delighted in creating and using this homely genre. The durability of the fable’s
popularity is evidence of its power to teach by entertaining. The fable is a
natural way for human beings to learn practical but important lessons about
how to live in the world and with others, one of the most important of which
may be that learning itself is an enduring source of delight.
For a more complete discussion of the fable tradition see Stith Thompson
The Folktale (1946: 217-228).
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Tales of Wonder from Many Lands
Aesop’s Fables
Aesop (c.620-560 B.C.) was, according to tradition, a slave, perhaps of African
descent. Little is known of Aesop’s life, and some scholars have doubted that he ever
existed at all. For two thousand years, however, his name has been associated with
the collection of stories known as Aesop’s Fables.
Androcles and the Lion
A slave named Androcles once escaped from
his master and fled to the forest. As he was
wandering about there he came upon a Lion
lying down moaning and groaning. At first he
turned to flee, but finding that the Lion did
not pursue him, he turned back and went up
to him. As he came near, the Lion put out his
paw, which was all swollen and bleeding, and
Androcles found that a huge thorn had got into
it, and was causing all the pain. He pulled out
the thorn and bound up the paw of the Lion,
who was soon able to rise and lick the hand of
Androcles like a dog. Then the Lion took
Androcles to his cave, and every day used to
bring him meat on which to live. But shortly
afterwards both Androcles and the Lion were
captured, and the slave was sentenced to be
thrown to the Lion, after the latter had been
kept without food for several days. The
Emperor and all his Court came to see the
spectacle, and Androcles was led out into the middle of the arena. Soon the
Lion was let loose from his den, and rushed bounding and roaring towards
his victim. But as soon as he came near to Androcles he recognized his friend,
and fawned upon him, and licked his hands like a friendly dog. The Emperor,
surprised at this, summoned Androcles to him, who told him the whole story.
Whereupon the slave was pardoned and freed, and the Lion let loose to his
native forest.
Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.
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Part I
Fables
Vocabular y:
4
1.
pursue (v.) - to follow in order to overtake.
2.
spectacle (n.) - an impressive public show or display.
3.
arena (n.) - an area used for sports or entertainment surrounded by
seats for spectators.
4.
fawn (v.) - to show fondness by wagging the tail or licking one’s hand.
5.
noble (adj.) - of an exalted moral character or excellence.
Tales of Wonder from Many Lands
The Ant and the Grasshopper
On a field one summer’s day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and
singing to its heart’s content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil a
kernel of corn he was taking to the nest.
“Why not come and chat with me,”
said the Grasshopper, “instead of toiling and
moiling in that way?”
”I am helping to lay up food for the
winter,” said the Ant, “and recommend you
to do the same.”
“Why bother about winter?” said the
Grasshopper; “we have got plenty of food at
present.” But the Ant went on its way and
continued its toil. When the winter came the
Grasshopper had no food, and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the
ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected
in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew:
It is best to prepare for the days of necessity
Vocabulary:
1.
chirp (v.) - to make a short sharp sound, like small birds or insects.
2.
toil (n.) - hard, continuous, or exhausting work: (v.) - to engage in
hard work.
3.
kernel (n.) - a whole seed grain, as of wheat or corn.
4.
moil (v.) - to work hard, to toil.
5.
necessity (n.) - an unavoidable and essential need.
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Part I
Fables
The Crow and the Pitcher
A Crow, half-dead with thirst, came upon a Pitcher which had once been full
of water; but when the Crow put its beak into the mouth of the Pitcher he
found that only very little water was left in it, and that he could not reach far
enough down to get at it. He tried, and he tried, but at last had to give up in
despair. Then a thought came to him, and he took a pebble and dropped it
into the Pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped it into the Pitcher.
Then he took another pebble and
dropped that into the Pitcher. Then he
took another pebble and dropped that
into the Pitcher. Then he took another
pebble and dropped that into the Pitcher.
Then he took another pebble and
dropped that into the Pitcher. At last, at
last, he saw the water mount up near
him; and after casting in a few more
pebbles he was able to quench his thirst
and save his life.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Vocabular y:
6
1.
despair (n.) - loss of hope, hopelessness.
2.
mount (v.) - to rise or go to a higher level.
3.
cast (v.) - to throw, hurl, or fling.
4.
quench (v.) - to satisfy thirst, desire, or passions.
Tales of Wonder from Many Lands
The Frogs and the Well
Two Frogs lived together in a marsh. But one hot summer the marsh dried up,
and they left it to look for another place to live in: for frogs like damp places if
they can get them. By and by they came to a deep well, and one of them
looked down into it, and said to the other, “This
looks a nice cool place. Let us jump in and settle
here.” But the other, who had a wiser head on
his shoulders, replied, “Not so fast, my friend.
Supposing this well dried up like the marsh, how
should we get out again?”
Look before you leap.
Vocabulary:
1.
marsh (n.) - low wet land, often without trees and flooded.
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Part I
Fables
Mercury and the Woodman
A Woodman was felling a tree on the bank of a river, when his axe, glancing
off the trunk, flew out of his hands and fell into the water. As he stood by the
water’s edge lamenting his loss, Mercury appeared and asked him the reason
for his grief. On learning what had happened, out of pity for his distress,
Mercury dived into the river and, bringing
up a golden axe, asked him if that was the
one he had lost. The Woodman replied that
it was not, and Mercury then dived a
second time, and, bringing up a silver axe,
asked if that was his. “No, that is not mine
either,” said the Woodman. Once more
Mercury dived into the river, and brought
up the missing axe. The Woodman was
overjoyed at recovering his property, and
thanked his benefactor warmly; and the
latter was so pleased with his honesty that
he made him a present of the other two
axes. When the Woodman told the story
to his companions, one of these was filled
with envy of his good fortune and
determined to try his luck for himself. So
he went and began to fell a tree at the edge of the river, and presently contrived
to let his axe drop in to the water. Mercury appeared as before, and, on learning
that his axe had fallen in, he dived and brought up a golden axe, as he had
done on the previous occasion. Without waiting to be asked whether it was
his or not, the fellow cried, “That’s mine, that’s mine,” and stretched out his
hand eagerly for the prize: but Mercury was so disgusted at his dishonesty
that he not only declined to give him the golden axe, but also refused to recover
for him the one he had let fall into the stream.
Honesty is the best policy.
Vocabular y:
8
1.
fell (v.) - to cut down, to cause to fall.
2.
glance (v.) - to strike a surface at an angle and bounce off.
3.
lament (v.) - to feel or express sorrow, to regret.
4.
benefactor (n.) - a kindly helper.
5.
contrive (v.) - to plot or plan, often evil or treachery.
Tales of Wonder from Many Lands
The Milkmaid and Her Pail
A farmer’s daughter had been out to milk the cows, and
was returning to the dairy carrying her pail of milk upon
her head. As she walked along, she fell a-musing after this
fashion: “The milk in this pail will provide me with cream,
which I will make into butter and take to market to sell.
With the money I will buy a number of eggs, and these,
when hatched, will produce chickens, and by and by I shall
have quite a large poultry-yard. Then I shall sell some of my
fowls, and with the money which they will bring in I will
buy myself a new gown, which I shall wear when I go to the
fair; and all the young fellows will admire it, and come and
make love to me, but I shall toss my head and have nothing
to say to them.” Forgetting all about the pail, and suiting
the action to the word, she tossed her head. Down went the
pail, all the milk was spilled, and all her castles in the air
vanished in a moment!
Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.
Vocabulary:
1.
muse (v.) - to reflect or think in silence.
2.
fashion (n.) - a manner, way, or mode.
3.
fowl (n.) - a bird - in this case, a barnyard hen or rooster.
4.
suit (v.) - to make appropriate; to adapt one thing to another.
5.
hatch (v.) - to bring forth young from an egg.
9