Reading Notes: Myth-Folklore Anthology
The Man in the Moon by W.A. Briggs link
The blacksmith pushed the wise man to his limit-which I initially thought was nonexistent since he transformed him into anything he wished to be: stone on the mountain, stone-cutter, sun, and finally, the moon. And ever since, the ungrateful man has been on the moon.
The Hare that Was not Afraid to Die by Marie L. Shedlock link
The Hare that Was not Afraid to Die by Marie L. Shedlock link
This reading tells the story of the Buddha born as a hare, who sacrificed his own flesh when told of the assignment of Holy Day: no lives can be taken and you must feed the beggars. Hare's actions was to be self-sacrificed to please the Brahmin. Surprisingly, when the hare was thrown into the fire, the flames were "icy cold" and the Brahmin (Sakka) revealed he was there to put his virtue to test.
This is the Japanese story of the god of the seas and storms, Susanoo, and his opponent, Orochi, the eight-forked serpent.
Supernatural: A Teton Ghost Story by Katharine Berry Judson link
I was anticipating the woman in the beginning of the plot to actually be distressed, but we later find out this woman is the ghost! I am not too fond of this story (hence the short notes) because the language was at times, difficult to comprehend.
Pygmalion by Tony Kline link
What a beautiful story! The motive behind Pygmalion's ivory statue, which builds the plot, is centered on the fact that he saw the daughters of Propoetus waste away from grief or marriage failings. Pygmalion thought he wouldn't have to face this if he never got married. Instead, he carves the girl of his dreams into a statue and ends up falling in love. He prays to the gods that the statue is transformed to a real-life woman.
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| The famous love story of Pygmalion and his ivory statue. Source: Wikimedia Commons |
The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal by Joseph Jacobs link
A tiger is trapped in a cage, pleading to be let out. The Brahman ends up letting him out but then the tiger threatens to eat him. It's interesting how the tiger grants the Brahman three things to question his fate. He first chooses a papal-tree, a road, and a jackal. The best part of this story is the ending: the jackal outwits the tiger and locks him back in the cage.
The Lion's Share
The plot of this story is focused to reflect a greedy lion: one that will not share prey captured fair and square by the Fox, Jackal and Wolf. His reasoning for keeping the meal all to himself is that he is the King of Beasts.
Androcles and the Lion
The moral of this story is just so admirable: "gratitude is the sign of noble souls." The lion remembered how the slave cared for him and saw him as a friend, so the slave was not eaten by him since he was recognized by the lion as a friend.
The Lion and the Statue
This was a story with a surprising ending and almost humorous in some ways! A man and lion disagreed on who each thought was stronger. The man contended he was stronger and showed him a statue of Hercules overcoming a lion. Then, the lion revealed this meant nothing since the statue was made by a man.
The Lion in Love
Just like the title, the lion is in love with a maiden but they refused his proposal unless he trimmed his teeth and claws (kind of a lion's greatest possessions). In the end, they still refused his proposal and the lion was the loser! This really speaks the truth for the quote, "love can tame the wildest".
The story begins with a mother going to the marker. She asks her three daughters what they want from the market and the third daughter says she wants three roses. Interestingly, the mother gets the roses but in exchange the basilisk wants the daughter to marry.
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