Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook: unitnotype

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Myth-Folklore Unit: Aesop's Fables (Jacobs)

Overview. The fables you will read here come from The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs, who was one of the great folklorists of the nineteenth century. I have included all of the fables found in this book, re-arranging them according to the main characters, and I have also added illustrations from Walter Crane's Baby's Own Aesop. Crane's illustrations come with limericks by W. J. Linton, so you will sometimes have two versions of a given fable: the prose version in Jacobs and the short limerick by Linton. I hope you will enjoy the Crane illustrations! Of the many illustrated books of Aesop's fables, Crane's book is my personal favorite; if you look at the Crane illustrations closely, you will find all kinds of great details that might, in turn, be useful when you write an Aesop's fable of your own.

Language. The language used here is quite contemporary. There is some poetry included just for fun — and the poetry takes the form of limericks, not intimidating at all. You might even try writing some limericks for the fables that do not have the versions in verse!

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Aesop's Fables. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Choosing Between Units. As you will see, there are two Aesop units available in the Classical module: this unit by Jacobs with illustrations by Crane, and the unit with Aesop's fables illustrated by Milo Winter. If you are really into Aesop's fables, you can do both units if you want; there is not any overlap between the actual fables in the unit. The Jacobs unit contains all the fables in Jacobs' book, and I removed all the fables in the Winter unit that are found in Jacobs. So, if you choose to do both of these Aesop units, you will be a real Aesop expert! If you are going to do Aesop for just one week, the most important difference between the two units is that the Jacobs unit does not have a free audiobook version, but the Winter unit does.

Connecting Units. The fables of Aesop have been both popular and influential for over 200 years! In addition to the two Aesop units in the Classical module, you will find a unit of Aesop's Fables in English Poetry and Prose in the British Isles modules, and the Fables of the French Poet La Fontaine in the European module. In addition, there are close connections between Aesop's fables and the "jataka tales" of the Buddhist tradition, and you will find two jataka units in the India module: Babbitt's Jataka Tales and Shedlock's Jataka Tales.

Read More. When you finish this unit, you will have read all of the fables in the book by Jacobs! In addition to the fables themselves, he has some fascinating comparative notes in the back of the book, plus a very informative preface and introduction. You can find those additional portions of the Jacobs book online at Internet Archive and other sources; here is a direct link to his Short History of the Aesopic Fable, and here is a link to the Notes.

Additional Resources. There is an Aesop Index page for all the fables in the various Aesop units in this course, and you can use this link to see the four different Aesop units listed on a single page. If you would like to see all 600 of the fables that are part of the Greek and Roman Aesop tradition, you can find a listing at Aesopica.net. For an overview of the history of Aesop's fables, see Wikipedia.

READING A

READING B

Myth-Folklore Unit: Aesop for Children (Winter)

Overview. The story source for this unit is The Aesop for Children, a collection of Aesop's fables with artwork by Milo Winter, a well known book illustrator; the name of the English translator remains a mystery; I have not been able to find out just who prepared the English versions of the fables that appear in this book, although they are very nicely done! While most of the fables contained in this unit come from the Greek and Roman tradition, there are also some fables here that the French fabulist La Fontaine borrowed from India and blended with the Aesopic tradition, such as the story of the tortoise who went flying his friends the ducks or the story of the monkey who became the proverbial "cat's paw." This reading unit also has an audio recording available from LibriVox (the other Aesop unit does not have audio available).

Language. The language used here is very contemporary and intended for a young audience. It should not cause you any trouble at all.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Aesop for Children. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit does not have notes on every page yet, so please feel free to ask questions if something is not clear — and your questions will help me write better notes, too! You can ask your question by leaving a comment, just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Choosing Between Units. As you will see, there are two Aesop units available in the Classical module: this unit with illustrations by Milo Winter and the unit with Aesop's fables by Joseph Jacobs with the illustrations by Walter Crane. If you are really into Aesop's fables, you can do both units if you want; there is not any overlap between the actual fables in the unit! To create this unit, I took the Milo Winters book and simply removed all the fables that appear in Jacobs. So, if you do them both, you will be a real Aesop expert! If you are going to do Aesop for just one week, the most important difference between the two units is that the Jacobs unit does not have a free audiobook version, but this unit does have a free audiobook version available.

Connecting Units. The fables of Aesop have been both popular and influential for over 200 years! In addition to the two Aesop units in the Classical module, you will find a unit of Aesop's Fables in English Poetry and Prose in the British Isles modules, and the Fables of the French Poet La Fontaine in the European module. In addition, there are close connections between Aesop's fables and the "jataka tales" of the Buddhist tradition, and there are two jataka units in the India module: Babbitt's Jataka Tales and Shedlock's Jataka Tales.

Read More. If you enjoyed the stories selected for this unit, you might enjoy reading the whole book, which is freely available online in many convenient formats include an online book view at Hathi Trust (includes pictures) and a free Kindle ebook (fables only; no pictures).

Additional Resources. There is an Aesop Index page for all the fables in the various Aesop units in this course, and you can use this link to see the four different Aesop units listed on a single page. If you would like to see all 600 of the fables that are part of the Greek and Roman Aesop tradition, you can find a listing at Aesopica.net. For an overview of the history of Aesop's fables, see Wikipedia.

There is really no rhyme or reason to the arrangement of the fables in this book, but I have not rearranged them into related groups since that would make it impossible to link to the audio files. The LibriVox recordings are done in sets of four. In some cases, all four of those fables are part of the reading unit, but in other cases you will see that only some of the fables are included from a given audio file:

Free audiobook available!

READING A

READING B

Myth-Folklore Unit: Homer's Iliad (retold by A. J. Church)

Overview. This unit is based on Homer's Iliad, an epic poem about the Trojan War which focuses on the conflict between the Greek hero Achilles and the Trojan hero Hector (so, no Trojan Horse — the fall of Troy is a story we know from sources other than Homer). The reading is taken from a prose version The Iliad by Alfred J. Church, and there is also a free LibriVox audiobook version if you would like to have the story read to you. The unit consists of approximately half of Church's book, focusing on the opposing heroes Achilles, champion of the Greeks, and Hector, prince of Troy. The story begins with the great quarrel between Achilles and the leader of the Greek armies, King Agamemnon, brother of King Menelaus, Helen's unlucky husband. The angry Achilles declares that he will no longer join in the battle, and this refusal to fight will have tragic consequences worse than anything Achilles could have imagined.

Language. This is a retelling of Homer, not a translation, so the language should not be a problem.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Homer's Iliad. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit does not have notes on every page yet, so please feel free to ask questions if something is not clear — and your questions will help me write better notes, too! You can ask your question by leaving a comment, just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Connecting Units. The two Homeric epics — The Iliad and The Odyssey — begin the theme of epics that you can explore in other reading units this semester. If you are interested in epic and want to read both Iliad and Odyssey for Weeks 2 and 3, that's great; make sure you read the Iliad first if you want to read both (The Iliad comes first in terms of the order of events). If you want to look at epics in later weeks of this semester, keep an eye out for: Sindbad in Week 4 (not an epic, but it was influenced by The Odyssey), The Ramayana in Week 5, The Monkey King in Week 6, Hiawatha in Week 9, Beowulf in Week 11, The Faerie Queene in Week 12, Dante's Inferno in Week 13, and The Kalevala in Week 14.

Read More. In this unit, you read only the part of Church's book which is focused on Achilles. If you want to read the whole book, you can find it online in various formats: The Iliad, retold by Alfred J. Church. For a quick glance at the table of contents, see the online book presented at Baldwin Project.

Additional Resources. Wikipedia has good background information about the Homeric epics in general, The Iliad in particular, and also on the larger story of the Trojan War (The Iliad covers only a very small part of the whole story of the war). For learning more about the Greek gods and goddess, Theoi.com is an excellent resource.

Free audiobook available!

READING A

READING B

(book illustration)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Homer's Odyssey

Overview. The readings for this unit come from Homer's Odyssey, as translated into English by Tony Kline. The selections come from Books 9, 10, 11, and 12 of the poem, focusing on the monsters and other dangers that Odysseus faced on his journey home from the Trojan War. Odysseus began his journey with twelve ships; as Odysseus begins his narration here, he has only one ship left, having lost his other ships and many of his companions along the way. By the end of the story, you will see that Odysseus washes up all alone on the island of Phaeacia, the only one to have survived Polyphemus the Cyclops, Circe the witch, the ghosts of the underworld, the Sirens, and the double peril of Scylla and Charybdis.

Language. This is a modern English prose translation of Homer's epic poem. That means it might pose some difficulties, but not too many, and it also should give you a sense of Homer's distinctive style as poet.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Homer's Odyssey. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit does not have notes on every page yet, so please feel free to ask questions if something is not clear — and your questions will help me write better notes, too! You can ask your question by leaving a comment, just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Connecting Units. The two Homeric epics — The Iliad and The Odyssey — begin the theme of epics that you can explore in other reading units this semester. If you are interested in epic and want to read both Iliad and Odyssey for Weeks 2 and 3, that's great; make sure you read the Iliad first if you want to read both (The Iliad comes first in terms of the order of events). If you want to look at epics in later weeks of this semester, keep an eye out for: Sindbad in Week 4 (not an epic, but it was influenced by The Odyssey), The Ramayana in Week 5, The Monkey King in Week 6, Hiawatha in Week 9, Beowulf in Week 11, The Faerie Queene in Week 12, Dante's Inferno in Week 13, and The Kalevala in Week 14.

Read More. In this unit, you read only a small part of Homer's Odyssey. If you want to read Tony Kline's complete translation of this epic, you can find it online at his website: Homer's Odyssey.

Additional Resources. Wikipedia has good background information about the Homeric epics in general, and about The Odyssey in particular. For learning more about the Greek gods and goddess, Theoi.com is an excellent resource.

READING A

READING B

(Odysseus and the Sirens)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Ovid's Metamorphoses (Books 1-4)

Overview. The readings for this unit come from Ovid's Metamorphoses, as translated into English by Tony Kline. This epic poem is one of our most important sources for Greek mythology. The title — Metamorphoses — refers to the unifying theme of the whole poem: the stories are myths of changing shapes, of trans-formation (meta-morphoses). In these selections from Books 1-4 of the poem, you will read about the great flood that destroyed the world, with Deucalion and Pyrrha as the only survivors. There are stories of Zeus's disastrous love affairs with Io, Callisto, and Semele, along with the tragic love stories of Pyamus and Thisbe and of Echo and Narcissus. You will also read the story of poor Phaethon, mortal offspring of the divine Sun, who wanted to drive his father's fiery chariot across the sky.

Language. This is a modern English prose translation of Ovid's epic poem. That means the language might pose some difficulties, but not too many. Just remember that you are reading a poem intended for a sophisticated literary audience in ancient Rome; you were not Ovid's intended audience! :-)

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Ovid's Metamorphoses I. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit has notes from me on each page, but please feel free to ask questions, too! You can leave comments here just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Choosing Between Units. There are three different units with myths from Ovid's Metamorphoses as follows: Metamorphoses I, Metamorphoses II, Metamorphoses III. They can be read independently and in any order, so take a look at each one and see the myths listed in the Table of Contents for each unit that might grab your attention. And if you want to give yourself a crash course in Greek mythology, you can choose two of the three units, reading Ovid for both Week 2 and Week 3!

Read More. In this unit, you read only a small part of Ovid's Metamorphoses. If you want to read Tony Kline's complete translation, you can find it online at his website: Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Additional Resources. Wikipedia has good background information about Ovid's life, and also about The Metamorphoses. For learning more about the Greek gods and goddess, Theoi.com is an excellent resource.

READING A

READING B

(Phaethon by Gustave Moreau)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Ovid's Metamorphoses (Books 5-7)

Overview. This unit contains myths from Books 5-7 of Ovid's epic Metamorphoses, as translated into English by Tony Kline. Almost all of the stories in this selection focus on female characters: the goddess Ceres and her daughter Persephone, the mortal women Niobe and Arachne who are doomed by their pride, the tragic story of Procne and her sister Philomela, and finally the epic adventures of Medea and her awesome (and terrifying!) magical powers.

Language. This is a modern English prose translation of Ovid's epic poem. That means the language might pose some difficulties, but not too many. Just remember that you are reading a poem intended for a sophisticated literary audience in ancient Rome; you were not Ovid's intended audience! :-)

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Ovid's Metamorphoses II. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit does not have notes on every page yet, so please feel free to ask questions if something is not clear — and your questions will help me write better notes, too! You can ask your question by leaving a comment, just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Choosing Between Units. There are three different units with myths from Ovid's Metamorphoses as follows: Metamorphoses I, Metamorphoses II, Metamorphoses III. They can be read independently and in any order, so take a look at each one and see the myths listed in the Table of Contents for each unit that might grab your attention. And if you want to give yourself a crash course in Greek mythology, you can choose two of the three units, reading Ovid for both Week 2 and Week 3!

READING A

READING B

(Medea, by Evelyn de Morgan)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Ovid's Metamorphoses (Books 8-10)

Overview. The readings for this unit come Ovid's Metamorphoses, as translated into English by Tony Kline. These particular stories comes from Books 8-10 of Ovid's epic poem, and you will probably recognize some of the more famous myths here, such as the story of Daedalus and his son Icarus, or the tragic love story of Orpheus and Eurydice. There are also the legends of the birth and the death of the great hero Hercules, along with more love stories, both happy and sad, and even horrifying, as in the incestuous love story of Myrrha and Cinyras.

Language. This is a modern English prose translation of Ovid's epic poem. That means the language might pose some difficulties, but not too many. Just remember that you are reading a poem intended for a sophisticated literary audience in ancient Rome; you were not Ovid's intended audience! :-)

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Ovid's Metamorphoses III. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit does not have notes on every page yet, so please feel free to ask questions if something is not clear — and your questions will help me write better notes, too! You can ask your question by leaving a comment, just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Choosing Between Units. There are three different units with myths from Ovid's Metamorphoses as follows: Metamorphoses I, Metamorphoses II, Metamorphoses III. They can be read independently and in any order, so take a look at each one and see the myths listed in the Table of Contents for each unit that might grab your attention. And if you want to give yourself a crash course in Greek mythology, you can choose two of the three units, reading Ovid for both Week 2 and Week 3!

READING A

READING B

(Daedalus and Icarus)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche

Overview. For this unit, you will read the love story of "Cupid and Psyche," an elaborate fairy tale contained within an ancient Roman novel, The Golden Ass, written by Apuleius and translated here into English by Tony Kline. The story of "Cupid and Psyche" is very similar to the story of "Beauty and the Beast," with the role of Beauty played by the lovely Psyche and the role of the Beast played by the god of love himself, Cupid. If you are a fan of fairy tales, I am sure you will enjoy this story: Psyche is definitely a contender for the title of "greatest fairy-tale princess of all time," even if Walt Disney has yet to make her into a cartoon film star. For those of you are who are C.S. Lewis fans, you might be familiar with C.S. Lewis's book Till We Have Faces which is a novel-length adaptation of the Psyche story, re-told from the point of view of Psyche's sister.

Language. This is a modern English prose translation of Apuleius's ancient Latin novel. That means the language might pose some difficulties, but not too many. Just remember that you are reading a novel intended for a sophisticated literary audience in ancient Rome; you were not Apuleius's intended audience! :-)

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Cupid and Psyche. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit has notes from me on each page, but please feel free to ask questions, too! You can leave comments here just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Read More. In this unit, you read only part of the ancient novel by Apuleius. If you want to read the whole novel as translated by Tony Kline, you can find it at his website: Apuleius - The Golden Ass. You can also read a detailed plot summary at Wikipedia.

Additional Resources. Wikipedia has good background information about Apuleius's life, and also about The Golden Ass. For learning more about the Greek gods and goddess, Theoi.com is an excellent resource.

READING A

READING B

(Cupid and Psyche, photo by M. Simoncini)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Bible Women

Overview. This unit focuses on the stories of Bible women in both the Hebrew Bible and also in the Christian New Testament. The first cycle of stories is about women associated with the Jewish patriarchs of the Book of Genesis: Adam and Eve; Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar; Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob, Rachel, and Leah; and also Joseph and Potiphar's wife. The next series of stories is about remarkable women from later books of the Hebrew Bible: Jephthah's daughter, Delilah, Hannah (mother of Samuel), the witch of Endor, Bathsheba, and Esther. I've also included the famous story of Susanna as told in the apocryphal chapters of the Book of Daniel. Then, the final stories come from the New Testament Gospels, with accounts of Mary, Elizabeth, Anna, Herodias, Martha, and her sister Mary. Some of these stories are very well known, others less so, but when taken all together they show you the great range of roles that women play in the Bible's stories.

Language. The stories here come from the King James Version of the Bible. So, if you find the King James Bible hard to read, this is not a good unit to pick. Because the stories of these women are often scattered in pieces throughout a given chapter of the Bible which I have pulled together in a continuous narrative here, it would not be easy to follow along using a different translation.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Bible Women. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit has notes from me on each page, but please feel free to ask questions, too! You can leave comments here just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Connecting Units. If you are interested in Bible topics, I strongly recommend the Folklore of the Holy Land unit coming up in the Middle East module, which features Jewish, Christian and Islamic folklore, centered on the city of Jerusalem.

Read More. In this unit, you read only about a few of the many women whose stories are found in the Bible. If you want to read more, here is a very long list of Bible women, with links to the Wikipedia articles about them, which in turn provide Bible citations and other references. It's a great topic to explore!

Free audiobook available!

READING A

READING B

(Rebecca at the Well, by Murillo)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Gospel of Mark

Overview. In this unit, you will read to get the Gospel of Mark in its entirety, examining an account of the life of Jesus that begins with his encounter with John the Baptist and ends with the crucifixion and resurrection. While the Gospel of Mark comes second in the traditional arrangement of Biblical books, most scholars agree that it is the first of the gospel narratives to have taken shape in the written form in which we know it. Each of the Gospel narratives has a special character of its own, and the Gospel of Mark is notable for its emphasis on Jesus's deeds as a healer, an exorcist, and a worker of miracles, what the Greeks would have called a "thaumaturge," a wonder-worker. As you will see, I have removed the traditional separation of the Bible story into separate verses (which were not part of the original Greek text), so even if you are familiar with this gospel, I hope you will have a new reading experience as you consider the text in the context of this class.

Language. The translation used here is the King James Version, but you could easily choose to read this in the translation of your choice since the reading consists of the entire Gospel of Mark; nothing has been omitted because the length of this gospel is around 15,000 words, exactly the right length for the reading units in this class. So, if you have a different Bible translation that you prefer to read, feel free to do that!

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Gospel of Mark. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit does not have notes on every page yet, so please feel free to ask questions if something is not clear — and your questions will help me write better notes, too! You can ask your question by leaving a comment, just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Connecting Units. If you are interested in these topics, I strongly recommend the Folklore of the Holy Land unit coming up in the Middle East module, which features Jewish, Christian and Islamic folklore, centered on the city of Jerusalem. You might find it intriguing to compare the Life of the Buddha that is coming up in the India module.

Read More. In this unit, you read only the Gospel of Mark, but of course there are three other Gospels, each quite distinct and different from the other.

Additional Resources. For a commentary on Mark, I can highly recommend the very user-friendly Red Letter edition; it's one of those books you can find super-cheap at Amazon: Gospel of Mark Red Letter Edition.

Free audiobook available!

READING A:

READING B:

(6th-century icon)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Women Saints of the Golden Legend

Overview. This unit contains stories from the Aurea Legenda, The Golden Legend, a monumental collection of lives of the saints from the late Middle Ages. The version you will be reading here is a slightly modernized rendering of the English translation published in 1483, making it one of the earliest books to be printed in the English language. I have focused on legends of women saints, arranged according to their holiday in the calendar of saints, starting with Saint Juliana, who is celebrated on February 16 and ending with Saint Eugenia, whose holiday comes on Christmas Day, December 25. You will find stories of martyrs here, along with miracle-working saints, and even several women who lived their lives disguised as men. There is also an amazing story about Saint Martha, who traveled with her sister Mary Magdalene to France after the death of Jesus and gained fame as a dragon-slayer!

Language. Although the language used here has been modernized from the original 15th-century translation, it is still very archaic in style (even more so than the King James Version of the Bible). So, make sure you take a look at a couple of the stories to see what you think of the language. For any of you who are English majors or if you have studied a foreign language, I think you will find this to be a great language adventure, but you should definitely take a look first to see what you think!

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Women Saints. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit has notes from me on each page, but please feel free to ask questions, too! You can leave comments here just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Connecting Units. If you enjoy reading about these Women Saints, you might want to read Dante's Inferno coming up in the European module at the end of the semester; Dante provides yet another profound perspective on Christianity in the Middle Ages.

Read More. In this unit, you read only a tiny part of the Golden Legend. There are many more saints whose lives you can find there, including many men of course, along with yet more women. If you want to read the whole book, you can find it online in various formats: Voragine's Golden Legend.

Additional Resources. You can also find abundant information about the saints at the Wikipedia Saints Portal.

READING A:

READING B:

(Saint Martha and the Tarasque)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Saints and Animals

Overview. There are literally thousands of Christian saints, and the legends of the saints are an essential part of the Christian storytelling tradition. This unit, based on Abbie Farwell Brown's Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts, focuses on legends of the saints in which animals play a central role. You might be familiar with Saint Francis of Assisi, but the other stories you will read here are probably new to you. There is Kentigern, the patron saint of Glasgow, who was able to bring a beloved bird back to life, and Saint Ailbe (a.k.a. Saint Elvis), who was raised by wolves. Some of the stories are told in the form of ballads, like the Ballad of Saint Anthracta, a sort of fairytale princess who prefers instead to run with the wild things, or the Ballad of Saint Felix, whose life was saved by a kindly spider. These saints come from different time periods and different countries, but they all share a spiritual, even supernatural, connection to the animal kingdom.

Language. This is a modern retelling of the lives of the saints, so the language should give you any problems. Three of the stories are told as poetry, but if you read the poems out loud, you should not find them too difficult. In fact, you might even be inspired to write a story in verse yourself!

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Saints and Animals. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit does not have notes on every page yet, so please feel free to ask questions if something is not clear — and your questions will help me write better notes, too! You can ask your question by leaving a comment, just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Connecting Units. If you are interested in animal tales with a religious theme, I strongly recommend Babbitt's Jataka Tales coming up in the India module.

Read More. In this unit, you read only part of the book. If you want to read the whole book, you can find it online in various formats: Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts. For a quick glance at the table of contents, see the online book presented at the Baldwin Project.

Additional Resources. You can also find abundant information about the saints at the Wikipedia Saints Portal.

READING A:

READING B

(Saint Francis, 13th-century fresco)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Adam and Eve

Overview. This reading unit starts by reviewing the story of Adam and Eve as told in the Biblical book of Genesis, and then you will get to see how different storytellers over the centuries have filled in the gaps and also expanded on that story. In the stories from The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg, you will learn more about Adam and Eve's life in Paradise, including the fall of Satan and also the legend of Adam's first wife, Lilith. Then, in "The First Book of Adam and Eve" (a medieval Christian text, from The Forgotten Books of Eden anthology), you will read about the trials and tribulations that Adam and Eve faced when they left the Garden of Eden and entered into the "Cave of Treasures" which God prepared for them to alleviate their punishment.

Language. This unit consists of three very different types of material, so make sure you check out a few paragraphs from each section to see what you think. The Genesis pages come from the King James Version of the Bible (although you can choose to read a different Bible translation if you want). Next come the Jewish legends collected by Louis Ginzberg and retold in contemporary English; these should not pose any real problem. Finally, there is a modern English translation of the ancient Syriac Book of Adam and Eve.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Adam and Eve. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit does not have notes on every page yet, so please feel free to ask questions if something is not clear — and your questions will help me write better notes, too! You can ask your question by leaving a comment, just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Connecting Units. If you are interested in this topic, I strongly recommend the Folklore of the Holy Land unit coming up in the Middle East module, which features Jewish, Christian and Islamic folklore, centered on the city of Jerusalem.

Read More. In this unit, you read only part of Ginzberg's amazing (and enormous!) study of Jewish folklore and the Bible. If you want to read the whole book, you can find it online in various formats: The Legends of the Jews. There is also much more to read in the "Book of Adam and Eve," which you can read online as part of The Forgotten Books of Eden.

Additional Resources. You can find a good overview of extra-Biblical literature of all kinds at Wikipedia: Biblical Apocrypha.

Table of Contents:

Free audiobooks available:

Genesis - Ginzberg - Adam & Eve

READING A:

The Creation (Genesis)
The Fall (Genesis)
The Ideal Man (Ginzberg)
The Fall of Satan (Ginzberg)
Lilith (Ginzberg)
Eve (Ginzberg)
Paradise (Ginzberg)
The Fall of Man (Ginzberg)
The Punishment (Ginzberg)
The Punishment, cont. (Ginzberg)

READING B

Leaving the Garden (Book of Adam and Eve)
Entering the Cave of Treasures (Book of Adam and Eve)
They Die a First Time (Book of Adam and Eve)
The Beasts of the Creation (Book of Adam and Eve)
Want of Water and Light (Book of Adam and Eve)
The Darkness (Book of Adam and Eve)
The Sunrise and the Serpent (Book of Adam and Eve)
Suicide and Salvation (Book of Adam and Eve)
Worship and Blessing (Book of Adam and Eve)

(The Fall, by Michelangelo)

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