Showing posts with label zzz Summer Stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label zzz Summer Stories. Show all posts

Lang's Fairy Tales: The Yellow Dwarf

Here is the short version of The Yellow Dwarf:

~ ~ ~

Many suitors loved Princess Bellissima, but she rejected them all. The queen consulted the Fairy of the Desert, but she fell victim to the evil witch's power and promised Bellissima to the Yellow Dwarf, the witch's ally. Bellissima, not knowing this, also consulted the witch, encountered the dwarf, and learned she was to marry him. Hoping to escape this terrible fate, Bellissima agreed to marry the King of the Gold Mines. He was overjoyed, and Bellissima fell truly in love with him. The witch and dwarf came to the wedding and, in a violent confrontation, the dwarf kidnapped Bellissima.

The witch then disguised herself as a beautiful woman and tried to seduce the king. He saw through the disguise (the witch still had griffin's feet), but he flew away with her, hoping to rescue Bellissima. From the sky he saw Bellissima imprisoned by the dwarf; Bellissima, meanwhile, saw the king with a beautiful woman and thought herself betrayed.

The king lived with the witch by the seashore until a mermaid helped him to escape, leaving a corpse made of seaweed in his place. She took him to the dwarf's castle and gave him a sword, warning him to never let it fall from his hand. Meanwhile, the witch was fooled by the seaweed corpse and mourned her dead lover.

The king killed the monsters and nymphs guarding the dwarf's castle and found Bellissima. After he explained about the witch's disguise, they pledged their love anew. At that moment, the king dropped the sword and the Yellow Dwarf discovered them, threatening to kill the king unless Bellissima married him. Bellissima said she would rather die, so the dwarf killed the king and Bellissima instantly died of grief. The mermaid turned the unhappy lovers into two palm trees with interlacing branches.

~ ~ ~

You can read the long version of the fairy tale at Wikisource - and the story really is long: 7800 words! The author is Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy, a 17th-century French author of literary fairy tales of which this is one of the best in my opinion. You can read more about Madame d'Aulnoy at Wikipedia. I have had to leave out all the charming details in the summary, but you have the plot and all the characters here in the summary, including the most unhappy ending! Since one of my favorite fairy tale themes is that of disguises and imitations, I really liked the imitation king made of magical seaweed:
"We must not waste time in talking," said she. "Come with me and I will carry you to the Castle of Steel, and we will leave upon this shore a figure so like you that even the Fairy herself will be deceived by it." So saying, she quickly collected a bundle of sea-weed, and, blowing it three times, she said, "My friendly seaweeds, I order you to stay here stretched upon the sand until the Fairy of the Desert comes to take you away." And at once the seaweeds became like the King, who stood looking at them in great astonishment, for they were even dressed in a coat like his, but they lay there pale and still as the King himself might have lain if one of the great waves had overtaken him and thrown him senseless upon the shore. And then the Mermaid caught up the King, and away they swam joyfully together.

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Lang's Fairy Tales: East of the Sun and West of the Moon

Here is the short version of East of the Sun and West of the Moon:

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A poor man had a beautiful daughter.  A white bear knocked at his door one night and said, "Give me you daughter, and I will make you rich." The man agreed, and the bear took her away to his castle. The bear's servants cared for her by day, and at night a man came to her bed, but she could not see him in the dark. 

Once when the bear let her visit her family, her mother gave her a candle. That night, she lit the candle and saw that the man in her bed was a handsome prince! The wax dripping on his shirt awoke him and he cried, "My troll stepmother bewitched me to be a bear by day and hidden by night for a year. Because of your curiosity, I must now go to her castle, east of the sun and west of the moon, and marry her ugly daughter!"

The prince then disappeared, so she set off to find him. Some old women gave her a golden apple, a golden carding-comb, and a golden spinning-wheel, and the North Wind carried her to the distant castle. She bribed the troll's daughter with the golden objects to visit her prince at night, but he was fast asleep each time. Learning of her visits from the troll's human prisoners, he contrived to stay awake. "I will demand that my bride-to-be wash the wax from my shirt," he said. The troll's daughter could not wash out the wax, nor could her mother. None of the trolls could! So the prince summoned his beloved and she washed the shirt. "I will marry you!" he exclaimed, and the enraged trolls burst into pieces. The prince and his bride rescued the humans, took all the treasure, and so lived happily ever after.

~ ~ ~

You can read the long version of the fairy tale at Wikisource (the original story is appx. 4300 words long, with lots of detail about the heroine's visits to the three old women and also about the requests she makes to the different winds until the North Wind finally agrees to help her).  The story is from the famous collection of Norwegian fairy tales by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, and there is a detailed Wikipedia article about this particular story, which has many similarities to the classical fairy tale of Cupid and Psyche. My favorite part of this story is just like the scene in the story of Psyche, when she awakens her sleeping lover by accident and so learns the truth of her situation:
She got up and kindled a light, lit her candle, let her light shine on him, and saw him, and he was the handsomest prince that eyes had ever beheld, and she loved him so much that it seemed to her that she must die if she did not kiss him that very moment. So she did kiss him; but while she was doing it she let three drops of hot tallow fall upon his shirt, and he awoke. "What have you done now?" said he; "you have brought misery on both of us. If you had but held out for the space of one year I should have been free. I have a step-mother who has bewitched me so that I am a white bear by day and a man by night; but now all is at an end between you and me, and I must leave you, and go to her. She lives in a castle which lies east of the sun and west of the moon, and there too is a princess with a nose which is three ells long, and she now is the one whom I must marry."




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Lang's Fairy Tales: Prince Hyacinth

Here is the short version of Prince Hyacinth and the Dear Little Princess:

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A king fell in love with an enchanted princess. A fairy told him that treading on the tail of the princess's cat would break the spell. The king thus broke the spell, but the angry cat, a wizard in disguise, foretold that his son would only be happy when he learned that his nose was too long. Worried, the king told no one of this bizarre curse.

Shortly after the wedding, the king died, but his wife did give birth to a son, Hyacinth, who had an enormous nose. The queen spoiled him, as did the courtiers, so that Hyacinth believed large noses were beautiful and small noses ugly. When he grew up, he chose a lovely princess as his bride, being willing to overlook her small nose as she was beautiful in every other way.

Just when Prince Hyacinth was about to kiss his bride, however, the wizard reappeared and kidnapped her. Devastated, the prince rode out to rescue her. He found a cavern inhabited by an old woman, the same fairy who had helped his father. The fairy made fun of Hyacinth's enormous nose, which angered the prince. Enraged, he rode away, but everywhere he went, people made fun of his enormous nose.

The fairy, meanwhile, rescued the beautiful princess and placed her in a crystal palace. Prince Hyacinth came to the palace and saw her inside the palace. The princess stretched out her hand through a window for him to kiss, but his large nose got in the way. "My nose really is too long," he thought. At that moment, the palace vanished, the prince was reunited with his princess, and his nose became a normal size. The prince had learned to value honesty over vanity, and he and his princess lived happily ever after.

~ ~ ~

You can read the long version of the fairy tale at Wikisource (the original story is appx. 2500 words long). The story is by the 18th-century French author Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, who also wrote a very famous version of Beauty and the Beast. I really like the moment when the cat turns into a wizard, but the best part of this story is surely the social satire; it's a very humorous fairy tale. Here is the part about how the prince was raised:
The Prince was brought up with great care; and, as soon as he could speak, they told him all sorts of dreadful stories about people who had short noses. No one was allowed to come near him whose nose did not more or less resemble his own, and the courtiers, to get into favor with the Queen, took to pulling their babies' noses several times every day to make them grow long. But, do what they would, they were nothing by comparison with the Prince's. 
When he grew sensible he learned history; and whenever any great prince or beautiful princess was spoken of, his teachers took care to tell him that they had long noses. 
His room was hung with pictures, all of people with very large noses; and the Prince grew up so convinced that a long nose was a great beauty, that he would not on any account have had his own a single inch shorter!





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Lang's Fairy Tales: The Bronze Ring

Here is the short version of The Bronze Ring:

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A poor gardener's son loved a princess, and she loved him. The prime minister's son, however, wanted to marry the princess. The king sent the rivals to a faraway kingdom and decreed that the first to return would marry the princess.

The faraway kingdom was ruled by a very old king. With a witch's help, the gardener's son restored the king's youthful vigor and won a magical bronze ring. With the ring, he created a golden ship.

His rival, meanwhile, had lost his ship. The gardener's son gave his rival a new ship, but he branded his back with the bronze ring.

The rival returned home first and claimed the princess's hand in marriage. When the gardener's son arrived in his golden ship, the rival denied they had ever met, but the sign of the ring on his back revealed the truth. The princess recognized the gardener's son and married him gladly.

All was well until an evil magician managed to steal the bronze ring when the gardener's son was away on a journey. The magician used the ring to replace the golden ship with a crumbling wreck and to turn the cargo into cats.

In this ship the gardener's son barely managed to reach an island, and the island was full of mice. The cats began to devour the mice, so the queen of the mice offered to retrieve the bronze ring. She sent three mice to steal the ring from the magician, but coming back they dropped the ring in the ocean. A fish swallowed the ring, but the mice luckily caught the fish and recovered the ring.

Again in possession of the ring, the gardener's son restored his golden ship and sailed back home. He then killed the magician and lived with the princess happily ever after.


~ ~ ~

You can read the long version of the fairy tale at Wikisource (the original story is appx. 3500 words long). I really like this story; it clearly has much in common with the story of Aladdin (especially the second half of the story), but it has some charming episodes that make it even better than Aladdin, in my opinion anyway. Lang's source was Carnoy's Traditions Populaires de l'Asie Mineure. My favorite part is definitely when the three mice go to retrieve the ring. Here is that part of the story as told by Andrew Lang:
"What is to be done?" said the Queen. "How can we find this bronze ring?" She held a new council, calling in mice from every quarter of the globe, but nobody knew where the bronze ring was. Suddenly three mice arrived from a very distant country. One was blind, the second lame, and the third had her ears cropped. 
"Ho, ho, ho!" said the new-comers. "We come from a far distant country." 
"Do you know where the bronze ring is which the genii obey?" 
"Ho, ho, ho! we know; an old sorcerer has taken possession of it, and now he keeps it in his pocket by day and in his mouth by night." 
"Go and take it from him, and come back as soon as possible." 
So the three mice made themselves a boat and set sail for the magician's country. When they reached the capital they landed and ran to the palace, leaving only the blind mouse on the shore to take care of the boat. Then they waited till it was night. The wicked old man lay down in bed and put the bronze ring into his mouth, and very soon he was asleep. 
"Now, what shall we do?" said the two little animals to each other. 
The mouse with the cropped ears found a lamp full of oil and a bottle full of pepper. So she dipped her tail first in the oil and then in the pepper, and held it to the sorcerer's nose. 
"Atisha! atisha!" sneezed the old man, but he did not wake, and the shock made the bronze ring jump out of his mouth. Quick as thought the lame mouse snatched up the precious talisman and carried it off to the boat. 
Imagine the despair of the magician when he awoke and the bronze ring was nowhere to be found! 
But by that time our three mice had set sail with their prize. A favoring breeze was carrying them toward the island where the queen of the mice was awaiting them. Naturally they began to talk about the bronze ring. 
"Which of us deserves the most credit?" they cried all at once. 
"I do," said the blind mouse, "for without my watchfulness our boat would have drifted away to the open sea." 
"No, indeed," cried the mouse with the cropped ears; "the credit is mine. Did I not cause the ring to jump out of the man's mouth?" 
"No, it is mine," cried the lame one, "for I ran off with the ring." 
And from high words they soon came to blows, and, alas! when the quarrel was fiercest the bronze ring fell into the sea. 
"How are we to face our queen," said the three mice "when by our folly we have lost the talisman and condemned our people to be utterly exterminated? We cannot go back to our country; let us land on this desert island and there end our miserable lives." No sooner said than done. The boat reached the island, and the mice landed. 
The blind mouse was speedily deserted by her two sisters, who went off to hunt flies, but as she wandered sadly along the shore she found a dead fish, and was eating it, when she felt something very hard. At her cries the other two mice ran up. 
"It is the bronze ring! It is the talisman!" they cried joyfully, and, getting into their boat again, they soon reached the mouse island. 









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Greek: Deucalion and Pyrrha

In ancient times, Deucalion was a king of Greece. His father was Prometheus, the god who had given the gift of fire to mankind.

Although Deucalion was a virtuous king, there were many wicked people in the world, and they had committed many crimes. The king of the gods, Zeus, became angry and decided to cleanse the world with a great flood. Prometheus, however, warned Deucalion in advance. Deucalion built a box which would float upon the waters so that he and his wife, Pyrrha, could survive.

Things happened just as Prometheus had predicted. Rain began to pour from the sky, and it rained for nine days straight. Then, at last, the rain stopped, and the waters began to recede. Finally, the floating box came to rest on top of a mountain. Deucalion and Pyrrha emerged from the box and looked around, but they saw no one else. They were the only two humans left in the world.

"O gods," cried Deucalion, "please help us! My wife and I are both old and unable to bear children. Tell us how to bring the human race back to life again on the earth!"

A divine oracle gave these instructions: "Throw the bones of your mother over your shoulders."

At first, Deucalion was puzzled. Pyrrha, however, realized what the oracle meant. "Husband," she said, "the mother is Gaia, earth, the mother of us all, and her bones are the stones. We must gather stones and throw them over our shoulders."

Deucalion recognized the wisdom in Pyrha's words and did as she said. The stones thrown by Deucalion turned into boys, and Pyrrha's stones turned into girls. Thanks to the pious deeds of this old couple, the human race was brought back to life once again upon the earth.

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Greek Myth: The Phoenix

The phoenix is a bird that lives for hundreds of years, and it is also very rare; according to some, there can be only one phoenix in the whole world at any given time. The phoenix's wings are golden-red in color and shine so brightly that they seem to glow like the sun's rays. Few people ever get a chance to see the phoenix, however, because it lives in the remote deserts of Arabia, feeding on frankincense, along with cinnamon, cardamon, and other exotic spices.

When the phoenix realizes that its long life is coming to an end, it builds a nest in the top of a tall palm tree. Then, inside the nest, it builds a pyre of twigs and wood. After this work is finished, the old phoenix settles down on top of the pyre. The natural heat of the phoenix's body causes the wood to catch fire but, by some miracle, the nest itself doesn't burn. With its last bit of strength, the phoenix flaps its immense wings, fanning the flames to rise higher and higher. The fire's heat finally consumes the phoenix's body, burning it to ashes.

Next, after the fire dies down and the grows cold, a worm comes wriggling out from the ashes. On the second day, the worm turns into a chick and, by the third day, there is a full-grown phoenix in the nest. The phoenix then flies to Heliopolis, the city of the sun god, carrying the nest in its beak. The grateful phoenix deposits the nest, which was both its grave and its cradle, as an offering in the sun god's temple. Having thus thanked the god, it's time for the phoenix to return to Arabia once again, continuing the eternal cycle of its solitary birth and death.
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Greek Myth: Andromeda and Perseus

An ancient story tells us that there was once a king of Ethiopia named Cepheus whose wife was named Cassiopeia. Queen Cassiopeia was very beautiful, and she boasted that she was even more beautiful than the goddesses of the sea. Poseidon, who was the god of the sea, grew very angry at this and decided to punish the Ethiopians, so he sent a sea monster to attack them. The sea monster destroyed any ship that it found, large or small, devouring the ship's crew and passengers.

The people of the kingdom were terrified and begged their king to save them. "King Cepheus," they cried, "you must offer up a sacrifice to appease the monster!" Desperate, the king cast lots in order to divine the will of the gods, and the chosen victim was his own daughter, Andromeda. Sadly, King Cepheus took Andromeda and chained her to a rock by the shore of the sea as a sacrifice for the monster.

Meanwhile, a young man named Perseus happened to be flying by through the sky. Yes, flying by! Perseus was a favorite of the gods, and Hermes himself had loaned Perseus his winged sandals. From high in the air, Perseus saw the beautiful woman chained to a rock, with the monster swimming quickly towards her, its mouth gaping open. Perseus immediately swooped down and engaged the monster in battle. After a fierce struggle, Perseus slew the monster and rescued Andromeda from the rock. The grateful king told Perseus he could have any reward that he wanted, and Perseus asked if he might marry Andromeda. Andromeda agreed, and the two of them lived happily ever after.

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Greek Myth: Oedipus and the Sphinx

According to ancient Greek legends, the Sphinx was a creature with the body of a lion, the head of a woman, the wings of an eagle, and the tail of a serpent. She perched high up on a rocky cliff alongside the road leading to the city of Thebes, asking a riddle of anyone who dared come near her. When they could not answer the riddle, she killed and ate them.

The people of Thebes wanted very much for someone to destroy the Sphinx, but there was no one who could answer the riddle. "If only someone could defeat the Sphinx," the people proclaimed, "we would make him king of our city!" Finally, a wandering stranger came to Thebes. His name was Oedipus. He was a bold and fearless man, and he was also very clever. When he heard about this challenge, he decided that he would visit the Sphinx and test his luck.

When the Sphinx saw Oedipus approaching, she shrieked, "Halt, human, and answer my riddle!" Oedipus said nothing in reply, waiting for her to continue. "What creature has one voice," the Sphinx then asked, "but walks on four feet in the morning, on two feet in the afternoon, and on three feet in the evening?"

At first, Oedipus was baffled, but then he saw through the tricky words of the riddle. "Man is the answer!" he replied. "He crawls on all fours when he is a baby, then he walks on two feet when he grows up, and finally he uses a cane as his third foot in his old age." When she heard the correct answer, the Sphinx screamed in outrage and leaped from her high rock, plunging to her death in the sea below. Rejoicing, the people of Thebes proclaimed Oedipus as their new king.
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Greek Myth: Odysseus and the Sirens

The Sirens were weird creatures, half-bird and half-woman, and their song had an irresistible power. When ships sailed past the island where the Sirens lived, the sound of the Sirens' song would lure the sailors towards the rocky shore. This song was beautiful but deadly. Hypnotized by the music, sailors would lose control of the ship as they approached the rocks. Over the years, the island was surrounded by shipwrecks and its beaches were littered with the bones of dead sailors.

The hero Odysseus was very curious about the Sirens' song and wanted to hear it for himself. He used an ingenious trick in order to be able to listen to the singing of the Sirens and survive. As his ship approached the Sirens' island, he ordered all his men to plug their ears with wax so that they could not hear the singing. Odysseus, however, did not put wax into his ears, but he was afraid that the irresistible power of the song would make him want to jump overboard and swim to the island. To prevent this possibility, he had his men tie him tightly to the mast of the ship. "Men," he said, "no matter what happens, you must not untie me until we have sailed safely past the island!" In this way, Odysseus was the only person ever to have listened to the song of Sirens without losing his life.

We still use the phrase "siren song" in English to refer to some beautiful but dangerous temptation. We also use the word "siren" to refer to the loud warning sound of an alarm. So, the next time you hear the siren of a fire truck or an ambulance, think about the ancient Sirens of Greek mythology; that is where the word "siren" comes from!
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Greek Legend: Alexander and the Pirate

The English word pirate is derived from the Greek word πειρατής (peirates), which meant a robber, especially a robber at sea. In ancient times, pirates sailed the Mediterranean, and many stories were told about those pirates. There is a famous legend about the god Dionysus and some pirates, for example, and there is also a famous story about Alexander the Great and a pirate named Diomedes.

Diomedes, so the story tells us, was a notorious pirate who had finally been captured and brought before the emperor for sentencing. Because of the pirate's many criminal deeds, everyone expected that Alexander would sentence the pirate to death.  Before he passed judgment, however, Alexander decided to interview the pirate.

"What could possibly give you the right to sail the seas, taking by force things that do not belong to you?" Alexander asked the pirate.

Diomedes boldly replied with some questions of his own. "O Emperor," he said, "what could possibly give you the right to travel the whole world, taking by force things that do not belong to you? What gave you the right to occupy the land of Egypt? Who made you king of Persia? By what authority did you invade the land of India?

Alexander stared at the man in amazement, and Diomedes went on speaking. "Because I use only my own boat," he said, "I am called a pirate. You, however, use your army and your navy, and so you are proclaimed an emperor. If you ask me who is the greater criminal, I cannot say. I do know, however, that if I had such weapons at my disposal, I would be an emperor too."

Alexander was so impressed by this reply that instead of punishing the pirate, he let him go, praising him for his boldness and insight.
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Greek Legend: The Gordian Knot

In ancient times there was a kingdom named Phrygia in what is now modern-day Turkey. The king of Phrygia had died without a successor, so the people went to the oracle of the gods and asked for advice. The oracle declared that the next man who entered the city driving an ox-cart should be made king, and when Gordias, a peasant, drove his ox-cart into the city, the people of Phrygia chose him as their king. To show his gratitude to the gods, Gordias placed the ox-cart in a temple, tying it to a pillar in the temple with a complicated knot. The city was renamed Gordium in honor of the king.

Over the years, many stories were told about the ox-cart and the "Gordian knot" that tied it to the temple's pillar. It was believed that the man who could undo the knot would rule all of the lands to the east. Many men came to the temple in Gordium and attempted to untie the knot, but they were baffled. Over time, the knot had grown tighter and tighter, and it appeared that there was no man on earth who could undo the knot.

When Alexander the Great learned about the legend, he went to Gordium and entered the temple. He stood and stared at the knot, examining it from every possible angle. Then, all of a sudden, he drew forth his sword . . . and cut right through the knot! Thus, with a single stroke of his sword, Alexander undid the knot that had baffled all others before him. Hen then went on to conquer many lands to the east, just as the prophecy foretold: Persia (modern Iran), Bactria (modern Afghanistan), and India, eventually extending his kingdom all the way east to the Indus River in modern Pakistan.
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Greek Legend: Diogenes the Cynic Philosopher

Diogenes was a Greek philosopher who lived in the fourth century B.C.E. He is one of the most famous Cynic philosophers, so he is often called "Diogenes the Cynic." The Cynics were philosophers who rejected worldly wealth and power, preferring instead to lead a simple life without the burden of material possessions. There are many legends about how Diogenes put his philosophical theory into practice.

One story, for example, tells us that Diogenes was walking along one day, carrying all his possessions with him as usual, when he happened to see a child who was drinking from a stream of water. The child scooped up the water with his hands and drank it happily. "This child is far more wise than I am!" Diogenes exclaimed, and he then threw away the drinking cup he had been carrying with him. "Why should I burden myself with this drinking cup, when it is a simple matter to use my hands instead?"

Another story tells us about an encounter between Diogenes and Alexander the Great. Alexander had heard about Diogenes and was impressed by his wisdom. "I should like to give this man a reward," Alexander declared. "Where can I find him?" Alexander's advisers explained that Diogenes did not have a home; instead, he lived in a barrel by the side of the road.

Alexander went to the place and found Diogenes lying beside the barrel, enjoying the warmth of the sun. "Diogenes," Alexander proclaimed, "I have heard of your great wisdom and I would like to reward you. Ask of me anything that you want!"

Diogenes replied, "I want nothing except to enjoy the sunshine, so please just stand aside; you are blocking the light."

Upon hearing this reply, Alexander was even more impressed than before. "If I had not been born Alexander," he remarked, "I would gladly be Diogenes."

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Greek Legend: Alexander and Bucephalus

Have you heard of Alexander the Great's horse? He was very big and strong, and that is why he was given the name Bucephalus, Ox-Head (Bu-cephalus). His head was as big as the head of an ox!

When Alexander was thirteen years old, a horse-trader brought Bucephalus to the court of Alexander's father, King Philip. King Philip was impressed by the horse, but he feared no one could tame him. Each time someone tried to mount the horse, Bucephalus went wild and threw the rider from his back. King Philip was ready to send Bucephalus away when young Alexander spoke up.

"Father, let me try!" he said. "I am sure I will be able to ride him."

Philip was impressed by his son's determination. "Go ahead and try, my son," he replied.

Alexander approached the horse slowly and turned him to face the sun. He then slowly removed his cloak and laid it upon the ground. Then, to everyone's amazement, the horse allowed Alexander to ride him without protest. When Alexander dismounted, he again took care to make sure Bucephalus was facing into the sun.

His father then exclaimed, "Well done, my son! The horse shall be yours! But how did you manage to tame this wild creature?"

"I could see that the horse was terrified of his own shadow," Alexander replied, "so I pointed him towards the sun, and I also removed my cloak so it would not flutter in the breeze. I knew that if I could take away his fears, I would be able to ride him!"

Bucephalus and Alexander rode together in many triumphant battles, and when Bucephalus died, Alexander buried him with great honors on the bank of the Hydaspes River in what is now Pakistan.
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Aesop's Fable 70: The Oak Tree and the Reed

There was once an oak tree growing beside a river, and there was also a reed growing beside that same river. The oak tree was very proud and boastful, while the reed was very modest. Even when the oak tree insulted the little reed, the reed remained cheerful, refusing to argue with the sturdy tree.

"You are such a puny and small plant," the oak tree said to the reed. "Just look at how tall I am and how hard my trunk and branches are! You, on the other hand, are tiny, weak, and worthless." The reed simply smiled at the oak tree but said nothing in reply.

Then one day the sky grew dark with thunderclouds. Rain began to pour down from the sky and mighty winds began to blow. The reed was able to bend and sway in the wind, but the oak tree was torn up by the roots and fell to the ground. In the end, it was the reed, not the oak, who survived.

The moral of the story is that it is better to be flexible like the reed instead of rigid like the oak tree.

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Jataka: The Rabbit in the Moon

There was once a rabbit who had three friends: a monkey, a jackal, and an otter. For a special holiday, the four animals decided that they would all honor the gods by feeding the poor and performing other acts of charity. When the holiday arrived, the otter found some fish and the jackal found a pot of milk. The monkey, meanwhile, collected some mangoes and suggested that they give the fish, milk, and mangoes to a hungry beggar as an act of charity.

The rabbit, on the other hand, had nothing but grass to offer. He did not think that grass would be enough to satisfy a hungry beggar, so he decided that he would offer up his own body as food.

When the god Indra heard about this, he was amazed by the rabbit's devotion. He came down to earth, disguised as a beggar, and asked the rabbit for food. The rabbit was delighted by this request and asked the beggar to build a fire where the rabbit could roast himself as a holy offering. Indra built a fire and the rabbit shook his fur carefully to make sure there were no insects hiding there; he did not want for a flea or any other insect to have to die in the fire with him.

Then, without hesitation, the rabbit jumped into the fire, but the fire did not burn him! Indra revealed himself to the rabbit and praised his dedication. "Dear rabbit," the god said, "you have shown that you are the most devoted of all animals, and I will honor you by placing you in the moon."

That is why, if you look closely, you can see a "rabbit in the moon," a sign that honors the rabbit for all eternity.
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Aesop's Fable 117: The Camel and Zeus

Once upon a time, very long ago, the camel used to have beautiful long ears. Instead of ears, though, the camel wanted to have horns like a bull. "The bulls are so lucky to have horns on their head that protect them from their enemies!" said the camel. "I wish that I had horns on my head like a bull."

The camel wanted horns so badly that he climbed all the way up Mount Olympus in order to ask Zeus, king of the gods, to grant his wish. "O Zeus," said the camel, "please give me horns on my head like a bull!"

Zeus was not impressed by the camel's request. "You have beautiful long ears," Zeus said to the camel. "Isn't that enough for you?"

"But I want horns," protested the camel.

"You greedy creature!" Zeus replied. "Instead of giving you horns, I am going to crop your ears." So he did, and that is why today the camel has no horns upon his head, and his ears are short, not long.

The moral of the story is that you should appreciate your good qualities instead of comparing yourself to others.

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Nasreddin: The Melon and the Mulberry

One summer evening, Nasreddin was sitting in his garden. He was feeling very philosophical, reflecting on the grandeur of nature and the mysteries of the universe. As he pondered these great thoughts, he saw a large and beautiful melon growing on a melon vine lying upon the ground. "What a fine fruit that melon is!" he exclaimed.

Then Nasreddin looked up at the mulberry tree in whose shade he was sitting. He saw how small the mulberries were and remarked, "The melon is so large, but the mulberries are so tiny. How much better it would be if the mulberries grew as large as a melon!"

Just at that moment, a mulberry happened to fall on Nasreddin's head, and the unexpected event caused him to experience a profound revelation. "Ah," he exclaimed, "now I understand why the melon is the size of a melon and a mulberry is the size of a mulberry. If a mulberry as big as a melon had fallen on my head, it no doubt would have killed me. How wondrous are the ways of nature indeed, so that everything is just as it should be!"
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Nasreddin: The Camel Knows

One day Nasreddin  borrowed a camel in order to ride to the next village. The camel's owner warned him that he needed to be careful because the camel was somewhat skittish.

"Have no fear," replied Nasreddin confidently. "I am one of the world's greatest experts when it comes to riding a camel. All will be well!" Nasreddin was embarrassed to admit that he had never ridden a camel in his life.

Things went fine at first, and Nasreddin was enjoying himself very much. "What a fine creature this camel is," he exclaimed, "and what an excellent rider I am!"

All of a sudden, however, a snake in the road frightened the camel, causing the camel to start running away at a full gallop. Someone saw Nasreddin racing by and called out to him, "Nasreddin, where are you going in such a hurry?"

"I haven't the slightest idea," Nasreddin shouted in replied. "You had better ask the camel!"
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Nasreddin: A Soldier's Glory

One afternoon, Nasreddin visited the local teahouse and found it crowded with people listening to the stories of some soldiers who had just returned from the war. Nasreddin also listened eagerly to the soldiers' tales of glory and valor.

"Standing in the front lines," one soldier boasted, "I used my bow and arrow to slay ten of the enemy in just as many minutes."

"With my scimitar," another soldier boasted, "I slew over twenty of the enemy in less than hour."

"Ah," Nasreddin sighed, "that makes me remember my days as a soldier."

Everyone turned to look at him in surprise since they thought of Nasreddin as a rather cowardly fellow. "Tell us more, Nasreddin," they prompted.

"Well," he said, "there was the time I severed the leg of an enemy soldier, cutting it clean through with my sword."

The captain of the soldiers remarked, "Surely, my good man, it would have been even more glorious to have cut off his head!"

"That was not an option," Nasreddin replied, "since someone else had done that already."








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Nasreddin: Who's to Blame?

Nasreddin and his wife were visiting friends one day and came home late in the evening. When they reached their house, they saw that they had been robbed! The thieves had carried away everything that could be carried away.

Nasreddin's wife sobbed and scolded him. "It is all your fault," she wailed, "because you didn't make sure the house was locked before we left."

The neighbors heard her sobbing and came outside. "Yes, Nasreddin," they said, "it is all your fault! You should have replaced the locks on your doors and windows years ago. We warned you this would happen!"

Complete strangers walking by heard the commotion and added their opinions. "It is all your fault, sir," they said, "not to have employed a watchman."

Nasreddin's wife was now ready to take up the refrain again. "It is all your fault," she began, "because . . ."

"STOP!" Nasreddin shouted, interrupting his wife's accusing words. "Surely I am not the only one who is to blame!"

"Then who is to blame?" the crowd of people demanded.

"What about the thieves?" Nasreddin replied.

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