Reading Notes: More Celtic Fairy Tales, Part B

More Celtic Fairy Tales

(Ploughed field, Dundonald from geograph.)

The Farmer of Liddlesdale:
- I wonder why it was necessary to include that is wife and child died, is this to make us relate to him and create sympathy for him?
- "Only has much of the corn when it shall be dry as I can carry with me in one burden-withe." This is going to come back to haunt the Farmer.
- So the ploughman must be supernatural or something else that's NOT human, which means he'll most likely have super strength.
- "Then the corn spread over the field, and the ploughman went away in a white mist in the skies, and was seen no more." - I called it!

The Legend of Knockgrafton: Part I and II
- Envy is much a theme in Celtic stories, but I none of them really mention karma against those he who wronged the protagonist.
- NEVERMIND
- We immediately have sympathy for Lusmore, and know he is a kind soul.
- Singing within the moat, what an interesting description...
- ".. it was determined to bring the mortal among them whose musical skill so far exceeded theirs and little Lusmore was conveyed into their company with the eddying speed of a whirlwind." I am pleasantly surprised the fairies enjoyed Lusmore's singing - usually, if someone is better at an activity or has better luck then envy and hatred is thrust upon them. I like this twist!
- I find it funny how realistic it is that no one recognized Lusmore without his hump which reveals how shallow they are.
- "...up came an old woman to him, and asked him if he could direct her to Cappagh. 'I need give you no directions, my good woman,' said Lushmore, ' for this is Cappagh. And whom may you want here?'" I was so worried that he had done something to anger the fairies and they would cripple him again.
- I am also surprised and not, that Lusmore told his secret about the fairies.
- Usually when people tell others where they have been (supernaturally) then they are punished.
- "..who was peevish and cunning creature from his birth..." This is not going to go well for Jack Madden, I can already tell.
- Jack did not have much patience and got his 'reward' for badly interrupting the fairy music.

Elidore:
- I do not understand the reasoning behind mentioning his mother is a widow? Is this implying that the reason Elidore is such a fool is because he doesn't have a father figure in his life? That's ridiculous.
- "...Only this there curious about it, that the sun never shone and clouds were always over the sky, so that neither sun was seen by day, nor moon and stars at night." This is curious and there is no exclamation about why this is or am I missing it?
- They are Hobbits!
- I am surprised he is getting the best of both worlds, but I am sure it will not last long.
- Apparently, the yellow balls are very special to the Little Men.
- "... and though he searched again and again in the years to come, he could not get back to that fair country." This reminds me of Narnia.
- I am not sure I understand the ending.

How Cormac Mac Art went to Faery:
- "Cormac, so of Art, son of Conn of the Hundred Battle" Reminds me the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings with titles
- Nine apples of red creates the illusion of the forbidden fruit for me.
- I don't understand why Cormac did not ask what the youth wanted in return before agreeing to the trade.
- Dark magical mist sounds likes he is entering a different world.
- I actually thought the heads were actual human heads, so I laughed when I realized it was metaphorical.
- "There is meat; cook it for yourself." Cormac is a king! I did not expect that to happen, but this does confirm that he is not in a human world.
- They tell truths that should not be true, so they have to have magic in them or have magical cattle.
- I figured the events he saw before coming into the house were significant for a reason: they were lessons.
- So why did Manannan take away his family only to give them back? Was it to teach him a lesson? The tale never indicated why he would need a lesson..?

The Ridere of Riddles: Part I and II
- "Then it struck the queen that it was not her son who would come into the kingdom, and she set it before her that she would poison the eldest son." This is typical...
- I am very surprised no one told the guard or the King that the queen was wanting to poison his eldest. I mean the Cook would have been rewarded most likely if he had told the king the truth instead of following the queen.
- I am really surprised that they need more proof that this poison, is actually poison that they poison both their horses? Stupid.
- Their riddle is more of a trick question and that's why the King could not figure it out.
- How does someone have a wedding that lasts 366 days? That's a bit excessive.
- I was confused when the brothers started fighting, but then of course! They don't recognize each other somehow...? How? This story is full of plot holes.
- Wait, how did he get 12 sons?

More Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1895).

Reading Notes: More Celtic Fairy Tales, Part A

More Celtic Fairy Tales

(The Children of Lîr, A Book of Myths.jpg from Wikimedia Commons.)

The Fate of the Children of Lir: Part I, II and III
- He threw a temper tantrum.
- Dearg thought of a great way to combine the houses, plus ensure peace in the kingdom they had fought for.
- I was a little surprised Lir picked the oldest daughter, but their exact ages were never mentioned, so this girl could have been young anyway.
- And she died...
- I was getting the evil-stepmother vibe from Oifa, however, I was a little irked that 'her womanhood and her weakness prevented her...' Not that I wanted her to kill the children, but I did after the narrator decided she could not do something because of her gender. 
- I was also getting the swan princess vibe when she turned them into swans.
- "This she said because repentance seized her for the evil she had done." 
- I wondered why the children did not follow him back to his home or to the 'trial' they gave Oifa.
- I wonder what the significance is of how Fingula held her siblings, I wonder if it is a culture thing.
- Did the children not go to their father because they were cursed to stay on the lakes and rivers of the Erin? So they couldn't live anywhere else besides the water of Erin? Hmm.
- "...found all desolate and empty, with nothing but unroofed green rafts and forests of nettles-no house, no fire, no dwelling-place." This provides a nice picture!
- OH! They did not stay young, I was not expecting that ending. Not quite the Swan Princess ending I was expecting, but still entertaining. I wonder how Oifa saw the entire thing, I think it would be interesting to see her point of view.

The Vision of MacConglinney: Part I and II:
- In the beginning, I thought he was in it because it would ruin the kingdom. I was a little shocked when he wanted profit for helping King Cathal, but at the same time I wasn't too surprised.
- He is very smart and manipulative... I can't decide if I like this character or not. 
- Such a descriptive vision, it made me hungry reading it. 
- "The lawless beast that dwelt within the king, came forth until it was licking its lips outside its head." Oh, this gave me chills!
- Very smart, but I have decided I do not like MacConglinney 

Dream of Owen O'Mulready:
- I did not except him to be in the dream until Owen was told to go to America and send a letter. Because why would he give him a letter to send in the middle of the night? Why send him when they probably have a postal system in place?
- Plus the cow-boy was a bit interesting. I do not know if this is to be taken in the literally sense or that is what the boy's title is as a cow herder - I first took it literally because I assumed it was a dream and dreams are a bit wonky sometimes. 
- Flying on a crane is something I would like to include in my stories.
- I laughed when I read the last sentence: ' Owen came down off the rock and washed himself and from that out there was no envy on him ever to have a  dream again.' 

The Story of the McAndrew Family:
- I honestly did not enjoy this story, it just wasn't entertaining. I know this teaches a lesson (many in fact), but I just didn't enjoy it. 
- I was also surprised the people manipulated the brothers out of their wealth (besides their wives).

More Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1895). 

Reading Notes: Eskimo Folk Tales, Part A

Eskimo Folk-Tales

(Polar Bear from Wikimedia Commons.)

The Coming of Men, A Long, Long While Ago:

- The ancestors could not read or write, so they told stories (memorization), this could be 'magic'; the power of words 

- "Old women do not waste their words idly, and we believe what they say. Old age does not lie."

- "Hok - hok - hok!" Commanding dogs to come forth

- They lived in the dark.

- A FLOOD

- water was flammable, interesting - IDEA for STORY

- "Two old women began to speak thus: ' Better to be without day, if thus we may be without death,' said one."

- I WAS RIGHT - WORDS HAVE POWER

- Dead men become stars in the sky

Nukúnguasik, Who Escaped from the Tupilak:

- Wait, what is a Tupilak?

- "...nibbling at the body of the dead man."

The Woman Who Had a Bear as a Foster-Son:

- OLD WOMAN AND A BEAR, I love it already

- She spoke to it as a human and it gained the mindset of a human

- I liked this story. It was very heart warming.

Qalagánguasê, Wha Passed to the Land of Ghosts:

- Seaweed is not good for you, you'll definitely die if you eat it.

- Ghosts walk among the living, though they do not interact with the living. 

- Why did they mention he turned into a woman when he turned into a ghost?

Isigâligârssik:

- "This girl would like to have you."

- What does this wizard have against him?

- Yay, a happy ending.

The Insects that Wooed a Wifeless Man:

- A different type of people

- I'm a little confused on this story.

- I just imagine this grown man talking to these tiny insects

Makíte:

- this reminds me of Hansel and Gretel 

Atungait, Who Went A-Wandering:

- Kissing! Eskimo kisses!

- Interesting

- I was surprised he did not kill the man, but I admire that he did not kill him because he spoke to truth.

The Giant Dog:

- Clifford the big red dog, haha

- MMMMM, a story idea!

Eskimo Folk Tales by Knud Rasmussen with illustrations by native Eskimo artists (1921). 

Storytelling Week 9: Gaho

Gaho

(Addie Billie wearing traditional Seminole beads and patch work from Web Source.)

The old woman was crinkled and impossibly fragile. Her skin loose and folds so deep and pronounced the old man had a hard time imagining what she looked like as a young woman. The fire, spitting and crackling, deepened the shadows on her face and cast an eerie orange and gold hue to the woman.

Old Mother, she was called by his people. Gaho. But she birthed no sons or daughters.

Her presence preoccupied the mountain cave above his village for many moons – too many moons to count. If there had been stories of her youth and beauty, then those stories died with his ancestors.

Although, there are stories of her kindness as well as her wrath - he depended on those stories depicting her kindness for he had grown old with no wife, no children, no wealth, no peace, and a wasted youth.

The fire illuminated only the spinster and the old man. He waited impatiently for her to speak for if you spoke before her, she would disappear into the smoke - or that is what the story told him.

Her eyelids were heavy with age and they dropped so low he could not tell if her eyes were open or not, but her bony hand gripped a stick to prod the fire to life. Sparks of embers shot up into the night air and he watched them float. When he looked back at the woman, her blind eyes were staring right at him.

His breath rattled in his old lungs, his tired heart stumbled, and he thought he would die if her milky eyes continued to burn his soul.

She finally ceased staring at him when she murmured with a cracked voice, “You come to ask for five wishes.”

“Yes, Gaho. Please grant me such wishes. For I was not born in wealth, and so, I wasted my youth in war as a general. I did not take a wife for none wanted me and I was never blessed with children of my blood.”

Her white eyes did not stray back to his form, but she huffed. The sound of old bones rattling as she breathed and moved.

“Rules must be followed. Five wishes deserve five dances and songs must be performed every moon month until you are ready to pass over.”

His heart wanted to beat out of his chest as he imagined himself living a life he would not waste.

Suddenly, a bony hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward the fire. He could smell his skin burn and blister. He opened his mouth to scream at the old woman and watched as her milky eyes brightened and then darkened again. Trapped in her gaze, he did not realize when the wrinkles melted away into firm and strong skin, when skimpy muscle turned big and brawny, his gray hair shed to reveal thick, black hair or his threadbare clothes to tighten and become strong leather.

He wept with appreciation and hope.

He left her mountain and went over the dances and songs in his mind until he returned to his village.

Peace came immediately to the village. He danced and sang for his five wishes when the moon month passed.

Wealth came in the form of crops and a leadership role a month. He danced and sang for his five wishes when the moon month passed.

His wife came into his life five days later. He danced and sang for his five wishes when the moon month passed.

Finally, his first child arrived after many moons of dancing and singing, and many more children arrived later.

He danced and sang every moon month.

His youthful appearance was later realized to be everlasting as his wife grew old and he did not, and his frustration and sorrow grew as his wife died and his first child soon after her.

He took many wives and had more children. The same ending happened. They grew old and died while he remained young.

It was not long before his frustration turned to action and he looked to war as his answer.

He danced and sang every moon month.

He won many battles and lost many men, but he continued to go to war. He found a certain comfort in its familiarity: the way the sword easily slipped into a man’s flimsy skin, the crush of the hard bone against his mallet and the spray of burning blood across his face.

He danced and sang every moon month.

Years passed until there were no more wives to tend to him and no more children carried his bloodline.

He danced and sang every moon month.

Until he was the old man again in everything but appearance.

He walked up the mountain and into Gaho’s home. He looked up with a tired body and mind and watched as the old woman stood from behind her fire - more fluidly than a woman of her age should, and walked toward him.

He was surprised yet not when her age slipped from her with every step she took.

When she came to stand in front of him, she watched him with clear brown eyes with thick, black hair nearly to her knees. Her regalia new and beautiful.

“Are you ready to pass?” She whispered quietly, her voice soft and gentle.

Listening to her voice made him compliant, lulling him to relax. He welcomed it and nodded his head once.

She nodded her head in answer and took his young, firm hands in her own.

The young man before her slowly morphed into the old man who came into this cave long ago.

He smiled at her and he finally closed his eyes to pass over.

Author's Note: I read the Pacific Northwest Native American unit this week. My story is a combination of theme's of the stories I read this week: How Silver-Fox Created the World, How the Beaver Stole Fire, How Dog Stole Fire and The Story of Ashish. I took many themes from the stories except for the inclusion of animals. The number five was a repetitive number in all the stories whether they were five trees or five roasts on the fire. I decided to take the use of the number five and include it in my story. There are five wishes in the story and I think they are realistic wishes for nearly any culture: youth, wealth, peace, wife and children. Fire is also a theme in the stories, so I used fire to transform the man into his younger version. In the stories, fire did not really behave like fire should. Animals touched fire without being burned. I thought my twist on the fire was interesting and I like how it transformed him as well.

Gaho means mother in Hopi, and I wanted to include the name simply because I like how it sounds. This also creates the assumption that Gaho has been around for a long time and is also the only name I provided. Even though the man is the protagonist in the story, he is only a blink of time in Gaho’s lifetime. The implication that this scenario has happened before is there, and if it is not obvious enough I will try and figure out how I can make that easier to read.

 Myths and Legends of the Pacific Northwest by Katharine Berry Judson (1910).