Mythology and Folklore Blog

Stealing from the Sun (Black Running Shoes from MaxPixel ) Trevor had been traveling for months. He had graduated from college and was taking a year off to just see the world. On a mountain hike, Trevor got incredibly lost. He'd been walking for days and had run out of water completely. Finally, he saw a strange looking cabin in the distance. It was a bright yellow color with orange trim. Knocking on the door, Trevor hoped against hope there would be someone inside who would let him spend the night.  "Hello? Is anyone home?" asked Trevor. The door swung open to reveal an ancient looking old man dressed in clothes to match his colorful home.  "How can I help you, young man?" asked the old man. "I was wondering if you had some food and water. Maybe a place to stay for a night. I've been walking, lost, for days and have run out of food and water," explained Trevor. "Of course, of course, come in," the old man replied...

Why Cats and Dogs aren't Friends (Cat and Dog Fighting from Wikipedia Commons ) There once was a man and a wife who lived in a village. They weren’t rich but they weren’t poor either. One day, foolishly, they decided to sell a valuable gold ring to increase their riches. Unbeknownst to them, the gold ring was magic and ensured that its owner would always be of comfortable wealth. After selling the gold ring they quickly became very poor. They were so poor that they were unable to provide filling meals to their pets: a dog named Rigby and a cat named Holly. “We’re starving Rigby. It’s been months since we’ve had a filling meal,” complained Holly. “I know. If only we could get the gold ring back. Things would be better,” replied Rigby. “I know!” exclaimed Holly. “We could get the ring back. The new owner lives just across the river.” “You know they keep the gold ring locked in a chest. How would we ever get it back?” Rigby questioned. “I’ll catch a mous...

The Ferret Gets His Karma (The Ferret Wikipedia Commons ) There once was a ferret who was married to a fox. The two were happy together and had a son that they named Austin. Despite their happiness, the two did not have enough food to provide for their small family.   Ferrets and foxes are well known for their cleverness and their magical abilities. Deciding to use these gifts, the ferret and fox hatched a plan to provide for their family. The fox would magic herself into a woman and sell the ferret to a merchant for its coat. The ferret would pretend to be dead and then escape once the merchant had handed over the money. The fox turned herself into an old woman and went into town. She sold the ferret and took the money to buy plenty of fruit and food for the family before returning home. The ferret played dead until the merchant set him down and then sprinted away back to his family in the forest. For a while the family was happy and all was well. As time went...

Tornado, Blizzard, and Rain Go to Dinner (The Sky on a Clear Day from Wikipedia Commons ) Three sisters, Tornado, Blizzard, and Rain, went to dinner with their aunt the Moon. The Moon had prepared a fantastic feast with the greatest delicacies in the universe. Tornado and Blizzard, the younger sisters, were so entranced by the feast they scarfed down all the food as it came. Rain was older and wiser than her sisters and as the meal went on she thought of their mother, Sun. With each course, Rain tucked some of the meal into her purse to bring home to Sun.  After dinner, the three sisters returned home to their mother. The Sun greeted each of her daughters pleasantly and asked how dinner had gone. The daughters began to enthusiastically describe the wonderful meal.  Turning to Tornado, Sun asked her, "Did you bring me anything from the feast?" Tornado responded, "No Mother I ate every single morsel?" Upset, Sun replied, "For your selfish...

The Poor CEO (Andrew Carlson the CEO from Wikipedia Commons ) "Where are the rest of the files? You know this meeting is important. Are all of you incompetent?" raged Mr. Carlson.  Andrew Carlson was the CEO of one of the largest real estate agencies in San Francisco and was famed for his temper. This morning was particularly bad as Andrew's company had an important meeting with the owner of one of the largest privately owned parcels of land. He had been on a rampage, insulting all of his employees and firing one poor girl who came in ten minutes late.  As Andrew walked into the boardroom to meet the owner he saw a frail-looking old man. Perfect, he thought, it will be easy to get the land if this old man is the only owner. He didn't even bring a lawyer. As he sat down and greeted the old man he noticed an odd expression on the man's face. Before the meeting could even start the old man stood up and closed all the blinds and locked the doors.  ...

There once was a village on the edge of a large kingdom. In this village lived the beautiful and clever daughter of a poor farmer and his wife. In this kingdom, there also lived a king renowned for his riches and power. One day the king came to the village to collect taxes where he caught sight of the girl. Struck by her beauty, he went to her parents and demanded her hand in marriage. While her parents did not want to force their daughter into a marriage, they did not wish to enrage such a powerful king. They went to their daughter and informed her of the king’s demands. The girl asked to speak to the king herself. The next day the king met the girl at her home. Once again struck by her beauty, the king demanded, “Be my bride.” The girl responded, “My lord, I am but the daughter of a lowly farmer, I am not worthy of being your bride. My parents do not have any money to their name.” The king was so in love with her beauty he granted her all the jewels in the castle treasury. The next d...