So, You Think You Know Fairy Tales

The Three Sisters

2021-09-30T18:30:00.001-04:00

To be fair, a crystal tunnel would be really pretty.

Salutations, reader! Our story this week is The Three Sisters. This version comes from a book by Giambattista Basile. Click the link above to read the story and continue with me below to analyze it.

Now, this story starts off pretty typically for fairy tales. We have one good sister and two wicked ones. I've even seen the "throw powder in a fire to call someone" before, but the prince getting cut to ribbons by the crystal tunnel was new to me. That had to hurt! It also makes me wonder how dark the tunnel was. I suppose if you left torches burning down there, they wouldn't catch anything else on fire, but they would go out eventually. And it would be hard to hold a candle if you're running. Poor prince.

I'm pretty impressed with the prince, at least compared to princes in other stories. He doesn't immediately proclaim his love for the woman who heals him. He stays loyal to his wife. Some other princes could take notes. Although, it's a little weird that he married someone and was okay with keeping that secret from his in-laws. And apparently his father. So, I'm not entirely a fan of the prince, but he's pretty decent, compared to some of the other princes I've seen.

The heroine, Nella, is intense! I'm impressed with her gumption. She hears that her husband is dying, so she sneaks out of the house to see him one last time. Romantic and sweet, I'm on board with that. With the laws of fairy tales, she overhears an ogre talking about the one thing that will cure her husband. Which is part of the ogre and his wife. And we don't see any hesitation from Nella. Once she hears this, she waits a bit, she makes a plan to murder the ogres and cut them up. We see her cry when she hears that only one thing can save her husband from dying. We don't see any kind of hesitation or doubt about what she's going to do once she learns what that is.

I also noticed that the text says she went straight from the ogres' cottage to the palace. I hope she washed the blood off of herself first.

We also need to discuss her sisters. I get that nothing turns out right for them, and that they're jealous of anything Nella has, but did they know what they were doing when they broke that crystal tunnel? Sure, they knew the prince would get hurt, but did they know he'd probably die from it? Or is this just another example of something they did turning out wrong for them? Especially since they got put in an oven for it! I have to wonder how the prince knew that it was them who did it, but he was right, so I guess it was a good reason. At least nothing happened to their mother.

I do find it interesting that the sisters, who potentially weren't trying to kill the prince get murdered, but Nella, who murdered two ogres in cold blood, gets rewarded. I guess it's just one more thing that turned out right for Nella, but not for her sisters.

The moral of the story is that if you're going to potentially cause someone else to die, you should be prepared for them to be angry at you. Alternatively, don't act out of jealousy and spite, or you might regret the outcome.

Have a different moral? Wondering if these girls had a father? Or why Nella and the prince were keeping their marriage a secret? Comment below! Also feel free to suggest any fairy tales you'd like to see me talk about.

The Quill-Work Girl and Her Seven Brothers

2021-08-12T18:30:00.007-04:00

They say to reach for the stars, but what about becoming one?

Salutations, readers! Today's legend comes to us from the Cheyenne people. The Quill-Work Girl and Her Seven Brothers is a story about how things came to be. It's a good story, and it's a nice change of pace because it's not about love. Click the link above to read the story and continue with me below to analyze it.

It's interesting to me that no one seems to look too closely at how the girl knew about these seven boys and that she wanted to be their sister. Not only did she know about them, but the youngest knew about her too. I suppose the girl would have become a wise woman in time, if she'd stayed on earth. But what is this mysterious force that drew them together? She knew exactly what size they were to make them clothes. And she knew where they lived well enough to travel there by herself. The story could have been simpler if she had been their sister from birth, but the storytellers who passed this legend down felt it was important that she came from outside. It's interesting.

We also need to talk about this girl's mother. She didn't know why her daughter was making all of these clothes, but she kept her peace until her daughter spoke to her about it first. Her mother also didn't try to talk her out of any of it: making the clothes, traveling to an unknown place, and taking the boys there for her brothers. The mom had to know it was possible she'd never see her daughter again. But she didn't try to stop her daughter, she just went part of the way with her. Perhaps her mother was a wise woman and understood what her daughter was going through, even if she didn't know the details.

Many Native American legends have seven of things, like European stories tend to have three. So it's not surprising to me that there were seven brothers. Nor that the youngest was the one who had the special gift of "no touch". What did surprise me was that none of the brothers tried to marry this girl who wanted to be their sister. All of them immediately opened their home to her and agreed that she could be their sister. It's actually very sweet.

I was also impressed with how they refused to give her up to the buffalo nation, although not surprised. What did confuse me a little was why the buffalo nation wanted her so badly. Was it because of her skill at quill-work? Was it another reason? Perhaps it was fated that the buffalo nation would try to kidnap her and that's why some force decided that she needed to find these brothers and join them as their sister. You would think that since they were such great hunters that they would protect her that way, but really it was only the magic of the youngest brother that kept them all safe.

There's something to that. Violence is woven throughout this story. The brothers are all accomplished hunters. The buffalo nation threatens to kill the brothers, so they can drag the girl away. But the girl and the youngest brother, who are truly the main characters, don't engage in violence. The youngest brother doesn't go hunting. The girl makes beautiful clothes, cooks, and keeps house. And it is the youngest brother who saves the girl, not by violence, but by peacefully removing them from the buffalo's reach.

I hope it wasn't a harsh punishment for them, turning into stars and never returning to the ground again. I suppose the girl could look in on her parents from afar and see how they were doing. Maybe the brothers didn't have many other friends. They certainly didn't seem to live in a village. Or, maybe they got to hang out with the other constellations. That's what I'm going to think.

The moral of this story is: if you have a strange urge to adopt more family, go for it. Alternatively, if a group of buffalo is demanding that you go with them, it's best to have someone with magic on your side.

Have a different moral? Wondering why the buffalo never asked if the girl would visit instead of trying to kidnap her? Have a different story you'd like me to talk about? Comment below!

Music in the Darkness

2021-07-15T18:30:00.001-04:00

Mbiras as pretty cool-looking. And portable.

Hello, reader. When I was writing this story, since it's a Greek myth, I thought it apt to write it about two men in love. It wasn't until I was most of the way through that I remembered the trope of "bury your gays", and well, we all know this story is a tragedy. So, my apologies for the trope. The next fairy tale won't be a tragedy.

Spyros had always said that his boyfriend was the best musician he'd ever heard. So it wasn't too surprising when Michalis proposed to him with music. Spyros said yes, of course. They had a spring wedding, full of love and flowers.

The only cloud over the day was one of Spyros' exes who called and left a voicemail. Spyros had broken up with him years ago, but it seemed that Kostas still hadn't gotten over him. In the voicemail, Kostas said that he couldn't forgive Spyros for getting married to someone else. When he listened to it later, it scared Spyros, but he already had a restraining order against Kostas. That would be enough, right?

Spyros waited a day before he told Michalis about the voicemail. He didn't want to ruin the glow of just being married with something like this, but he had to tell him.

"We're going on our honeymoon in a few days," Michalis said. "He won't be able to find us. And by the time we get back, he'll probably have forgotten. And remember, we have that security system too. If anything happens, the police can be here in minutes."

Spyros nodded and smiled, feeling relieved.

They took a honeymoon to Greece and saw a cave where legend said that Persephone came out of the underworld each year, bringing spring with her. Apparently it was the only way in or out of the underworld. Never mind that lots of people went exploring in the cave and never found the underworld. Spyros liked the myth and mystery of it. Michalis thought it was a cool historical site.

The next day, they went on a hike through some Greek wilderness. Michalis hadn't brought his guitar on the flight, but he had an mbira with him and he played a few tunes as they walked. The mellow tones of the metal floated the rattling of the instrument in a peaceful way. Spyros couldn't help but smile, even as he was sweating.

Then, up ahead, Spyros saw Kostas. Spyros grabbed Michalis' arm and he stopped playing, but Kostas had already seen them. Kostas came running toward them and Spyros screamed, "Run!"

The two of them flew over the ground, until Spyros suddenly stopped. Michalis skidded to a halt and turned around. Spyros was grabbing his ankle. Michalis saw the snake nearby and froze. Was that a venomous snake? There wasn't time to find out. Michalis grabbed the snake behind its head and threw it at Kostas. Then Michalis picked up Spyros and ran with him as far as he could.

They made it back to town, but neither of them could describe the snake well, and when they were able to figure out what kind it was, it was so rare that it was hard to get the antivenom.

"I didn't expect to be reaching 'in sickness and in health so quickly'," Spyros joked from his hospital bed.

Michalis grabbed his hand and said nothing. What was there to say?

The venom glided through Spyros' body and killed him before they had a chance to save him. For three days, Michalis was inconsolable. Then he remembered the cave that led to the underworld.

Maybe it could work for him. It was the only thing he could do.

So Michalis brought his mbira to keep him company as he walked. He walked into the cave and played. He played his heartbreak and his need to find his husband. He played and played until the rocks moved out of his way and he went down a strange slope. The colors didn't seem right, what little he could see in the dark. But he kept walking. Down and down.

Finally, Michalis reached an underground river. A huge, three headed dog charged him. But Michalis had been playing this whole time, and he couldn't stop, even in fright. He started singing, something he'd written for Spyros. The dog slowed and stopped. He laid down in front of Michalis.

A boat came across the river toward him. "Please," Michalis said, "please, I need to find my husband."

"You're not dead," the person in the boat pointed out.

"I know," Michalis said. "But please. He was taken too soon. This isn't right."

The person in the boat said nothing. So Michalis began to play again.

And the person in the boat let him in and took him across the water. Michalis found a human-shaped person waiting for him on the other side. He was sitting on a throne. It was hard to look at him directly. He seemed to be darkness, but the kind of darkness that's lit with an internal glow. Next to him was a dazzling woman-shaped person who gave off light and wore flowers in her hair.

Michalis swallowed. He was in front of Hades and Persephone.

Before his nerve could give out, Michalis began playing. He told of his love for his husband. How happy they had been together. And how cruelly Spyros had been taken from him. Michalis asked for mercy, this one time, to bring his husband back to him. He begged. And Michalis could see Hades soften.

Persephone put a hand on Hades' arm. "Just this once," she said, her voice thundering through Michalis.

Hades didn't move. Then he nodded. "Very well, but listen well, musician. You may lead your love out of the underworld, but he must go behind you. And if you turn around before you're both out of the underworld, he comes back here, and you must stay there until you die. Agreed?"

Michalis was ecstatic. This was more than he had hoped for. All he had to do was walk with his husband behind him and not turn around? This was an easy test.

"Agreed," Michalis said.

Spyros walked out from behind a column, weeping. The two embraced, holding each other tightly.

"Time to go," Hades said, his voice reverberating. "Don't turn around, Michalis."

Hades' voice was almost too powerful. Michalis shut his eyes. When he opened them, he found himself on the other side of the river, facing the tunnel he'd come through. He almost turned around, but checked himself. "You back there?" Michalis asked.

"He's back there," the person in the boat said. "Now go."

Michalis nodded and began walking. He played as he walked. He sang of love renewed, of his joy at holding his husband in his arms again. He sang and sang, but Spyros didn't sing along once. He was still back there, right?

Michalis sang some more. He kept walking. Spyros wasn't making any sound behind him, not even a footfall. Michalis began to get uneasy. Maybe it had been too easy. Maybe the gods had sent him away empty handed and were closing up the way behind him. But he couldn't look back. He had to keep going. He had to believe that Spyros was behind him.

Then, ahead, Michalis saw a light getting brighter. They were almost there. He played louder, hoping that Spyros would join in, but he was still silent. Finally, Michalis stepped into the sunlight. They'd done it! He turned around and saw Spyros looking stricken behind him, still in the cave.

"I love you," Spyros said. "Goodbye."

And then he was gone.

Michalis stood in silent shock for several minutes. Then he began playing again, plucking until his thumbs bled, singing until his voice broke, but the rock didn't open for him again. He couldn't go back. Michalis sat and cried until a tour group found him.

Orpheus and Eurydice

2021-07-08T18:30:00.005-04:00

Don't turn around!

Hello, readers. Awhile back, I discovered Hadestown, which is a musical based on the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Since I can't stop listening to the music, I thought I'd take a look at the myth that inspired the musical. Click on the link above to read the story, and continue with me below to think about it.

There are several different versions of this myth. I'd never read one before that includes Aristaeus, although it makes more sense that Eurydice was actively running from someone when she got bit by that snake. Otherwise, she's just incredibly careless. You'd think a nymph would be more aware of her surroundings if she wasn't running scared.

This story is really a tragedy twice. We have the first tragedy of Eurydice slipping out of Orpheus' hand, literally, when she gets bitten by a snake and dies in the woods. Then the second tragedy is when Eurydice slips out of Orpheus' hands, metaphorically, when he turns around too soon and she has to go back to the underworld.

But how amazing that Orpheus was able to try. No one would have thought he'd be able to make it to the underworld, let alone get Hades to agree to let Eurydice go. But he does.

It's a shame that Eurydice doesn't get much agency in this story. We're told that she was madly in love with Orpheus, so we can assume that she chose to marry him just as much as he chose to marry her, but after that, we don't know of anything that she chose to do. I assume that she was glad for Orpheus to lead her out of the underworld. I do wonder what her reaction was when he turned around. We don't hear in the story whether she forgave him immediately, or if she was angry that he messed it up. Or any other response. There are a lot of possibilities when you're in such an intense situation.

We also don't know what happens to Aristaeus after he planned on killing Orpheus and inadvertently killed Eurydice. It's a nice irony that he killed the wrong person so he wasn't able to be with Eurydice like he wanted. But it's unfortunate that Eurydice and Orpheus had to deal with the consequences of his actions.

The moral of this story is: don't try to murder someone's significant other and expect them to be with you afterwards. Alternatively, if a god gives you a task in order to win your heart's desire, be absolutely sure that you've done it before you celebrate.

Have a different moral? Wondering what Orpheus did after he failed at saving Eurydice? (Although some versions do tell you what happened to him, and it was also sad.) Have another story you want me to talk about? Comment below!

Like Water in the Desert

2021-07-01T18:30:00.025-04:00

Seems legit.

Salutations, friends! The approach for this retelling of The Perfidious Vizier came to me right away, but there were a few details I had to figure out. One of those details involves an unexpected cameo from some of my characters in A Tale of Two Tricksters. To be clear, I wasn't expecting them, but once I thought of it, there was no going back. Also, for those of you who like names, I took some special care choosing the names of the characters in this story. Enjoy!

Noel was well and truly lost. She'd gone out to the desert to hike with a group of friends. She was saving up for some expensive surgery, but hiking was free and something fun to do with everyone on a weekend. Noel stuck with her friends, like you were supposed to, but she saw something in the distance she wanted to check out. And by the time she realized she couldn't see her friends anymore, it was too late. She hadn't been getting cell signal for awhile, but she kept checking periodically anyway as she tried to make her way back.

After awhile, she wasn't sure how long, Noel saw something in the distance. Was it an old-fashioned pump? She still had a little water, but it was dwindling fast. So, picking up her pace, Noel came to the pump.

With little else to do, Noel started pumping. It took awhile, but water began coming out. At first, it was dirty, but soon it ran clear. Clear and refreshing. But there was always the possibility the water was tainted somehow. Noel sat down next to the pump. At least she'd be easier to find by a landmark like this. Hopefully.

Noel took a picture of herself. If she happened to get enough cell signal for that picture to backup to the cloud, maybe someone could see it and find her. It was a stretch, but it maybe it would happen. Noel tried to slow her breathing and meditate while she waited. It was better than panicking, anyway.

Eventually, as she knew she would, Noel ran out of water. The sun was beginning to set, and it was already getting colder. Noel shivered a little and looked at the pump again. The water had looked so clear.

In a fatalistic action, Noel decided she'd rather die of something else besides thirst. She put her water bottle down and pumped some clear water into it. Before she could think about it too much, Noel drank some.

All at once, she began to feel different. Her body was buzzing. "Maybe the water was poisoned!" Noel thought as she crumpled to the ground. It felt like her insides were shifting. For a moment, everything hurt. Then, the pain went away completely. She felt just like she had before. Except different.

Noel looked down at herself. Her shirt bulged in the front in an unfamiliar way. Just as she was beginning to put the pieces together, two people appeared next to her.

"Sorry, what does this water do again?"

"I told you. It changes whoever drinks from it into a woman. No one's found it in a long time, so everyone's pretty worried about it."

Noel jumped. "Who are you?"

There were two teenage girls standing near her. But they seemed on the older end of being teenagers. Maybe they were college students. They both had black hair, although one wore it long and the other wore it short, and neither one looked like she was dressed for a hike. How had they gotten here?

"I'm Ju-"

Her friend with the short hair elbowed her. "We don't need to share our names. Look, somehow, you found this water pump that's incredibly old, and drank from it. Maybe not the best idea. There's a reason it was abandoned. And now it's changed you into a woman. So we're here to change you back."

"Change me back?" Noel was reeling. She looked down at herself again. Was this what it felt like? To be at home in your own body? Noel couldn't help but grin. "Why would I want to change back? This just saved me a fortune!"

The two girls looked at each other. "Are you trans?" the one with long hair asked her.

"Yes," Noel replied, wondering what their reaction would be.

The one with the short hair threw up her hands. "See? It's fine. She's happy this happened to her!"

Noel crinkled her forehead. The girl was right, but the way she said it sounded like the beginning of an argument.

"Okay, but what are we going to do? We can't just leave her thinking magic is real."

"And what are we supposed to do instead? I'm not changing her into something she doesn't want to be."

Noel had started edging away from them.

"Just make her forget."

"And what? Make her think that aliens did this to her?"

The girl with the long her looked thoughtful for a moment, and Noel began to get worried. Maybe she was seeing things. The water had done something to her and all of this was a hallucination. Still, she'd feel better if she got away from these two.

"Wait. I've got it." The girl with the long hair turned to look at Noel, although she reached out to grab the other girl's hand. "I wish that she would forget that we were here and forget exactly how this happened to her, and be returned safely to her friends right now."

The girl with the short hair sighed, and Noel could feel something happening to her. She turned to run, but everything around her disappeared.

When everything reappeared, Noel was at the trailhead where she'd started with her friends. There were a few stragglers around and Noel headed to the parking lot. Something weird had happened to her out there. She felt different. And she couldn't remember how she had gotten back here.

"Noel!"

She looked up at the sound of her name. Her friend Tasnim was coming towards her.

"Where did you go? We looked everywhere! They're out searching for you!"

"I don't really remember," Noel said. Was it weird that her memories were fuzzy? She'd found some water. Maybe that was why. She shouldn't have drunk it.

"Noel?" Tasnim paused. "Did you get boobs?"

Noel looked down at herself and gasped. "I did! This is great!"

"How did it happen?" Tasnim asked.

Noel wracked her memory and slowly held up her water bottle. "I think it's something to do with this. I can't really remember though."

Tasnim gave her a worried look. "Come on. We'd better have a doctor look you over. And I've got to call off the search. I'm so glad you're safe!"

"Me too," Noel said, following her friend. She wasn't sure what exactly had happened out there, but at least she was safe now.

The Perfidious Vizier

2021-06-10T18:30:00.002-04:00

If I was traveling here and someone brought me to a well, I wouldn't ask too many questions either.

Salutations, dear reader. This time our fairy tale comes to us from the Middle East. The Perfidious Vizier is a story about transformation and help from an unexpected quarter. Click the link above to read it and continue below to analyze it with me.

So we have yet another story of women being given in marriage like they're objects. We don't hear a peep from the lady in question during this entire story, so we have no idea if she would have preferred either prince, or anything about her. Typical. So, I guess we won't try to analyze her character.

Moving right along, we have the price who was supposed to marry the princess. It's a little inconvenient that the main characters don't have names, since we have two princes. I guess we'll just call the evil one the cousin. So, the good prince sets out on a journey with his father's advisor and 1,000 horsemen. We actually don't know much about this prince either. Does he want to marry this princess? Is he actually a good person, or do we just have to assume he's good because he's the main character?

The main character does seem to be a tad dramatic. After he's turned into a woman, he decides to stay in that spot in the desert until he's either changed back or he dies. That's quite the ultimatum, especially since he won't eat or drink. However, we do have to consider the time and place this happens in. Maybe there would be problems for him if he went home and was suddenly a woman. The prince had no problem with the vizier going home to tell the king about this transformation, so he doesn't care if his father knows, but there might be other problems.

(As a side note, despite the prince's gender swap, I'll continue to refer to him as a him because it seems pretty clear that he didn't want to be a woman. And the story continues to refer to him as a man as well. Probably to cut down on confusion since no one has a name and there was already a princess.)

I'm curious about how the vizier came to know about this spring, since he's apparently the only human who does. Did a jinn tell him? And if so, why? Additionally, did anyone else drink from the well? Are some of the prince's soldiers now women? It would be pretty funny if there was already a female soldier hiding her gender who drank from the well and now everyone just expected her to be a woman. But, I digress.

The prince runs off with the first rich looking man who shows up and feels sorry for him. Never mind that this is a Jinn. But he appears to not be tricky like many other djinns in stories, so I suppose it's okay. The human prince also accepts everything the Jinn prince says without question. In this case, it works out really well for him, but it could have been really bad. Like how the prince trusted the vizier without question. Although, of the two, he should have been able to trust the vizier and not necessarily the prince of the Jinn.

I confess that I had to look up what an ’Efreet was, but now I understand why the prince was afraid of him at first. Apparently, the 'Efreet are demons of the underworld. I wouldn't want to ride on one of their shoulders either. But the Jinn prince tells him to, so the human prince does, and makes to to his future father-in-law's house unharmed. The human prince and his fiancee get married and eventually go back to the prince's kingdom.

We find out that the cousin died of jealousy and envy. But what happened to the vizier? I would assume he already got his payment from the cousin. So, did he leave the kingdom where he'd been an advisor with all of his money? Or maybe get a seat at the court of the cousin? Because it's not like the vizier could stay where he had been after he betrayed the prince like that. Someone would figure out it wasn't an accident eventually, and I'm assuming there would be a reckoning. But that's outside of the scope of the story, so we can only wonder.

The moral of this story is, if you're traveling with someone, make sure they drink first out of any wells that you're suspicious of. Alternatively, if you do manage to have something drastically change about your appearance, stay where you are and hopefully a magic prince will come fix it for you.

Have a different moral? Curious about why the only things that got names were the dark land they journeyed to, the 'Efreet, and the two wells? Have a story you want me to talk about? Comment below!

Violet and Her Rude Sister

2021-05-20T18:30:00.001-04:00

Salutations, readers. I decided to put "Pigling and Her Proud Sister" into the terms of high school. It seemed about right, since there's so much pettiness in this story. Although most of it comes from the stepmother who really should have grown out of that. Enjoy!

Sometimes, your makeup is a magic.

Violet had hoped that when her father got married again that the house would be more welcoming. He'd been gone a lot lately, and Violet assumed that had been because he's been seeing Beatrice. But even when he was home, it wasn't more welcoming.

He kept forgetting that Violet was his daughter and not his son. And Beatrice and her daughter, Elina, seemed to follow his lead. It didn't matter that Violet never responded to the wrong name, they kept using it anyway.

Violet had been doing more work cleaning up around the house because her father was gone so much. She had thought that would change when he was home more, but that was another thing she was wrong about. It seemed that no one else in the house knew how to use the dishwasher or vacuum. And if Violet didn't clean up, she had to live in filth, and they accused her of being lazy.

Violet began to spend more time out of the house. She told them she was at clubs after school, but she just stayed in the library, counting down the days until graduation. When the spring dance was getting close, Violet planned on going with some of her friends. She didn't have as big of plans as Elina did, but she was still planning on going. Violet had mentioned that she was going to the dance, but when she was starting to get ready, Beatrice appeared in her doorway.

"What are you doing?" Beatrice asked.

"Getting ready for the dance," Violet said. "I'm meeting up with my friends in about half an hour."

"Absolutely not," Beatrice said. "You need to finish your chores first. This house is filthy!" Then she flounced away.

Violet tried appealing to her father, but that didn't do anything. He just agreed with whatever Beatrice said. So, about the time Violet was supposed to leave, the rest of them left to get pictures of Elina and her date in a park somewhere. Hot tears fell down Violet's eyes as she cleaned. She could clean the house, but she'd miss dinner with her friends, and that would be half the fun.

Someone was knocking at the door. Violet opened it and saw no one. Then she looked down and saw what looked like tiny people walking into the house.

"Can I help you?" Violet asked.

"We're here to clean," one of them said.

"Go get pretty," another said.

Violet stared around her. If this was real, it had to be magic. She should watch them. But as she watched, Violet saw they were taking more care dusting and cleaning that she did. It had to be magic, and the good kind. Shaking her head, Violet went into her room and got ready for the dance.

By the time she'd finished primping, all of the magical creatures had gone. "Thank you," Violet said to the empty room. The house was spotless. Violet grinned and twirled. She'd make it in time for dinner after all. She texted her friends the good news as she headed out the door.

Violet probably should have expected something similar when prom came around. But she didn't. It was her senior year. This was her last prom and she wanted to make those memories with her friends. But when she started getting ready, her stepmother told her the lawn needed to be mowed first.

They had a big yard, so it would take over an hour to mow it and then she'd have to shower afterwards. That was on top of all the time it would take to get ready for prom after that. Again, her father was less than no help. Violet was already wearing her dress and had started doing her hair, so she just waited until the rest of them left to take pictures of Eline in her dress with a different date. It was Eline's junior year, so she'd have another chance at all of this. Violet wouldn't.

Trying not to cry, Violet wheeled the lawn mower out of the garage and opened the gate to the backyard. However, when she did, cows started walking out of it. They were coming from the gate itself, some going into the backyard and some nudging past Violet to go into the front yard. It was impossible. And yet it was happening.

As Violet watched, the cows started eating the grass. And they managed to eat it perfectly evenly. In no time at all, the lawn was cut beautifully. Violet stared open-mouthed as the cows went back towards the gate, from both sides, and disappeared.

Finally, there was one cow left. It nudged her. Violet patted the cow carefully and scritched under its chin for a moment. The cow sighed in bliss before straightening up and walking into the gate. When Violet looked in her hand, she saw what looked like makeup, although there was no branding on it.

Violet looked at it for a moment, debating on whether or not to use it. Then again, this would be a long game for some magic creature to hurt her. Once Violet was done with her hair, she decided to go ahead and use the makeup.

It looked beautiful on her, just the shade she wanted. And Violet found that no matter how hot the dance floor got, her makeup didn't budge. She had a great time and when she came home that night, her makeup came off almost as soon as she used makeup remover on it.

Violet ended up with a full ride scholarship to the college she wanted. One of the biggest perks of that school was that it was away from her hometown. When she got the letter, Violet's father ended up reading it too.

"That's great," he said, smiling a little. "A full ride. That's wonderful."

Violet would have liked this approval earlier, but she would take it. It was only because of this approval that her father said they all had to help Violet move in. She had thought she'd have to cram whatever she could into a few suitcases, but they were all going to drive down there and help her move. She could bring everything she wanted.

Violet kept her makeup a secret, not that that was hard to do. None of the rest of her family had taken pictures of her before prom, and she didn't have much reason to wear that makeup afterwards. It wasn't until Eline started bothering Violet while she was packing that anyone else saw it. It was the day before they were supposed to leave, and Violet was hoping that would help her patience. It didn't.

"What kind of garbage makeup is this?" Eline demanded. "There's no label on it!"

"That's mine!" Violet said, trying to grab it.

"Why would a boy need makeup?" Eline taunted.

"I'm not a boy," Violet said, although she knew it fell on deaf ears.

Eline opened the lipstick and tried to put some of it on her lips. Then she jumped back like she'd been shocked and dropped the lipstick.

"That was a mean trick! I'm telling Mother!" Eline said, leaving the room with her hand on her lips.

Violet bent down and picked up the lipstick. It looked normal to her. And, after interrogation from Beatrice later, it looked normal to Beatrice as well. Violet even put some on to demonstrate that there wasn't anything sharp concealed in her lipstick. Why she would have put a needle in there was beyond Violet's ability to explain.

The next morning, Violet put on her makeup before leaving the house. It made her feel powerful, and it seemed like a nice way to say goodbye to the house and the creatures who'd helped her in it. As they headed toward Violet's college, with Eline sulking because of her swollen lips, Violet reflected that there were good times ahead for her at last.

Pigling and Her Proud Sister

2021-05-13T18:30:00.001-04:00


They're here to help with that rice.

Hello, reader. This week's story, Pigling and Her Proud Sister, comes to us from Korea. It reminds me of Cinderella, but there are definitely some differences. For one thing, it doesn't focus around a shoe. Read the story at the link above and continue with me below to analyze it.

Firstly, it really struck me how the story referred to the main character with a different name depending on how the people around her referred to her. When her mean step family called her Pigling, the story did too. But when she was actually wanted by someone, he called her by her actual name, Ewa, and the story did too. Names are important. In a longer story, we could have had the narrator call her by her name and then the step family call her the wrong name, but in this condensed format, I guess this was the solution.

Now, there are definitely some issues with a man picking up a bride because she's pretty and then taking her far away from her family to live. At least from my perspective and the culture I live in. But it worked out well for Ewa, I suppose. She's actually treasured in her new home, and she's far away from her old home with the family that didn't love her. I can't imagine having a father so vain he demanded that I spend hours making his clothes pristine and that he didn't care about anything else. I feel like there's some social commentary in there since he's a magistrate, but I don't know enough about the culture or the time to really get it.

One interesting thing about this story is that we don't get a reason for the animals to help her like this. How do those birds know about her problem? And why do they choose to fly in and husk the rice for her? I mean, it's great that they did, don't get me wrong. She even has an imp helping her out! I would think that we're supposed to assume all of these creatures help Ewa because she's such a nice person, but I wonder if there isn't something magic about her. But the story gives us nothing, so just about any reason could be legit.

The turnabout on the stepsister is classic. Ewa didn't do anything specific to get that cow to help her, so her stepsister has nothing to go on to get the cow to take her to that delicious fruit. I suppose she could have stopped following the cow when it got swampy, but she was too stubborn. Interesting how Ewa's stubbornness in being kind and finishing her chores is celebrated, but her stepsister's stubbornness in trying to find some delicacies is punished. Context is everything.

I have to say, I was surprised that Ewa had such gorgeous things to wear to her wedding. Her family treated her like dirt until then, but I suppose they were proud of the man she was marrying, so they wanted her to look her best. The story does tell us that her father suddenly cared about her now that she was getting married. I'm almost certain that resonates in a huge way in that culture, but, again, I don't know enough about that time and place to really analyze it.

I have a hard time with morals in stories like these. Because there is definitely strength in bearing such cruel things in life and coming out of it still being kind. However, that's not to say that you can or should expect people in these circumstances to be nice. They have every reason not to be. So I suppose the moral is if animals appear to help you with your work, you know you're doing something right.

Have a different moral? Wondering if the animals had anything to do with that man deciding to marry Ewa? Have a different story you want me to talk about? Comment below!

The Deal

2021-04-29T18:30:00.002-04:00

Hello again, readers. With this retelling, I struggled a little with how to turn literal poison into something I could put into a modern day context, especially since I didn't want to talk about violence. When I'm in doubt, I always seem to end up with metaphors but, once again, I think it worked. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

The importance of a ball of paper cannot be underestimated.

Devin could cut with his words. It was brutal to watch, but the power he carried because of it was unmistakable. Even if he used his poisoned words on his superiors, he seemed to get promoted anyway. They said they liked someone who "told it like it was". Privately, Ru thought that just meant that Devin was a jerk. There were different ways to say the same things that didn't leave the same kind of destruction behind. But Devin seemed to enjoy it.

It was getting pretty bad. The higher Devin went up the food chain at work, or the more powerful friends he made, the more he seemed to use his poisoned words. Ru and their coworkers talked about it, but what could they do? Anyone who spoke against Devin was just a new target for him and the managers who cared didn't have anything useful to say or do to stop him. If they wanted to stop the polluting of the office atmosphere, they'd have to do it themselves.

Ru watched as a few of their coworkers tried to stand up to Devin. Every time, they were smacked down. A few of the more aggressive ones were even put on notice. It wouldn't be brute force that would overcome this. Ru decided to keep an eye on Devin. Maybe they would find out something helpful from watching him. But Ru didn't find out anything interesting until one morning when they dropped their cell phone in the parking lot.

They bent down to pick it up when they heard someone speaking in the car next to them. It was Devin. He was speaking with unusually clear diction, although Ru couldn't understand the language. Ru slowly raised their head up so they could look at Devin. He was reading from a small notebook. When Devin closed the book, a light erupted from it and enveloped Devin. Devin shifted a little in his seat and breathed in deeply. Then he got out of the car. Ru ducked back down and acted like they were just picking up their phone.

The more Ru watched, the more they realized that Devin never let that little notebook out of his sight. Ru had never been one to believe in magic, but what other explanation was there? They began to plan on how to take the notebook away from Devin. Fortunately for them, Devin liked to bet on things. He'd toss in a few dollars to bet on whatever sports tournament was going on, even when there was a casual challenge in the office, Devin would often bet something on who he thought would win.

Ru's opportunity came when Jacqueline and Ashok were in a friendly competition about who could get a ball of paper into the garbage can from furthest away. Ru pretended not to be watching, but they were. "I bet that Ashok will win," Devin said.

Everyone laughed and smiled. "I'll take that bet," Ru said.

"Really?" Devin asked.

"Sure," Ru said with a shrug. "I bet that Jacqueline can get some paper into the wastebasket from farther away than Ashok. My only condition is that Ashok throws first." Jacqueline was one of Ru's friends. So when she looked at them, Ru winked, and Jacqueline grinned. She knew there was some trickery afoot.

"What are we betting?" Devin asked.

"Winner's choice," Ru said, offhandedly.

"You might have to pay for my lunch for a week," Devin warned.

"That's fine," Ru said. "Jacqueline can do it." Ru looked at Ashok. "But I don't have too much time before my next meeting. How about you start about as far back as you think you can throw it?"

"Sure," Ashok said. He stepped back a few paces, looked at the garbage can, and took a half step forward. Then he threw the paper. It bounced on the rim, but it landed inside the garbage can.

"Nice!" Devin said. "I'm already thinking about what I want for lunch."

"Go ahead, Jacqueline," Ru said.

Jacqueline stood next to Ashok to make sure she was far back enough, shifted her stance a little, and threw the paper ball. It landed in the garbage can.

It was back on Ashok. He stepped back a little.

"A little farther than that," Ru said. "There has to be a difference."

"All right," Ashok said, stepping back a bit more. He threw the paper. It sailed through the air and landed just short of the garbage can.

Jacqueline stood next to Ashok and looked at Ru. Grinning, Ru said, "I just wanted to make sure we had the details of the bet right. I'm betting that Jacqueline can get some paper into the wastebasket from farther away than Ashok. And the reward is winner's choice."

"That's right," Devin said, "not that it matters for you. I'm going to have some great lunch this week."

Ru looked over at Jacqueline. "So, how are you going to get that paper in the garbage can?"

"Ru, can you throw this away for me?" she asked.

Grinning, Ru took the paper from Jacqueline, walked it over to the garbage can and threw it away. They turned and looked at Devin.

"That's cheating!" Devin said.

"No it's not," Ru replied. "She just had to get it in the garbage can from farther away. She's standing back there, so she's farther away than Ashok was when he made it in. And she got the paper in the wastebasket."

The crowd was on Ru's side, some of them just because the alternative was Devin's side.

"Fine," Devin said, rolling his eyes. "What do you want?"

"I want that little notebook in your breast pocket," Ru said. "It reminds me of one my father had."

"You can't have that," Devin said. "Pick something else."

"It's winner's choice," Ru said, "and that's my choice. Much easier on you than buying me lunch for a week."

"Well, you're not getting it," Devin said.

"Come on, Devin," Ashok said. "You lost your bet, man. Give Ru what they asked for. It's not a big deal. I can get you another notebook."

Devin bit back whatever he was about to say. He looked around. Everyone was looking at him expectantly. "Fine," he said with a sigh. He pulled the notebook out and tossed it at Ru. Ru managed to catch it.

"Thanks," they said. Then they put it in their pocket, like it wasn't a big deal. Fortunately, they weren't lying about that meeting, so Ru had an excuse to get out of there after that. Devin was in a bad mood the rest of the day. When Ru got home, they found out why. They were right; it was a magic notebook.

Given the page that it opened to naturally, and the pronunciation guide all over it, Devin had been using the spell to make himself protected. That was why he could say such terrible things and get away with it. He'd been using magic to stop any consequences from coming his way. Well, if it was good enough for Devin, it was good enough for Ru. Ru smiled. It would be nice to see what they could accomplish at work if they had this kind of protection.

Mungoongarlee the Iguana and Ouyouboolooey the Black Snake

2021-04-22T18:30:00.001-04:00

So majestic, even if he's not venomous.

This fairy tale comes to us from Australia. Mungoongarlee the Iguana and Ouyouboolooey the Black Snake is a story of cunning and an explanation for why iguanas and snakes are they way they are. Some creation myths are light on the plot, but this one isn't. Click the link above to read it and continue below to analyze it with me.

I have to point out that none of this would have happened if Mungoongarlee had kept his appetite in check. It was only because he was killing so many people that the remaining people and creatures called a meeting to try to kill him. They introduce an interesting idea pretty early: they can't kill Mungoongarlee because he's too powerful. His violence is too much to be overcome with more violence. Maybe that's why trickster stories appeal to me. There's more than one way to stop someone from violence, after all.

It's surprising to me that no one besides Ouyouboolooey thought to try tricking Mungoongarlee. To me, that seems to be the next logical step. But maybe that's because I read so many fairy tales. I do like how Ouyouboolooey tricked Mungoongarlee by basically telling him the truth. The tribes didn't have a plan to kill him yet, but they were certainly working on one. Tricksters will usually twist the truth at least a little bit to meet their own ends, but this was almost entirely the truth, which is probably why Mungoongarlee believed it.

I also want to talk about how Ouyouboolooey almost killed Mungoongarlee, but only decided not to so he could have the poison instead. That's a big part of why I call Ouyouboolooey a trickster: he used trickery to get what was best for him. It seems like he was smart enough not to kill off too many people, either, since there's no follow up in the story about the tribes trying to kill him. I also understand that this is an origin story about why black snakes are venomous, but I like that it makes sense within the context of the story as well.

The moral of this story is not to trust the one thing you can't replace in someone else's hands...or mouth. Because you might not get it back from them. Alternatively, understand that there must be a balance in the way we interact with everyone around us, or there will be consequences.

Have a different moral? Wondering why the iguanas never shared the antidote plant with everyone else? Have a different story you want me to talk about? Comment below!

The Magic Feather

2021-04-15T18:30:00.002-04:00

Hello, readers. I was a little stuck on how to turn this fairy tale into a modern story. I decided that the original story went on for too many days, so I squished the time frame down. Let me know what you think!

Crow or human? Who can say?

It wasn't anyone's fault, really. Gerlinde and Klara had peered into the room they'd been told not to look in to make sure their sister, Ada, was okay. She was, but the crow she'd gone into the room with was now a man named Benno. However, since the sisters had peeked, he was back to being a crow. And Ada had to go into the city and help someone. At least Benno's driver had taken the sisters away from the house in the forest and into the city, where Ada got out alone.

Ada wasn't sure how she was supposed to do this, besides without help, so she just started walking. Hopefully someone would ask her to hold a door open for them or something and she could see Benno again as a human.

"I quit!" someone was walking out of the back of a restaurant and they looked very angry.

"We've got to get ready for the dinner rush!" someone was following them. Ada slowed down. She didn't want to get caught in this.

"Too bad! You said anyone off the street would be better than me, so go get someone else to help! Anyone!" The yeller stormed away and the follower stared after them.

Then the follower turned and saw Ada. Something weird happened to his eyes, Ada wasn't quite sure what. Then he was looking at her. "You. Please, I need your help. Come in and help us make the best dinner we ever have."

Well. She'd been waiting for someone to ask for her help. Never mind that restaurants had a hiring process and there were laws about how someone could work in the kitchen. Ada had volunteered at a soup kitchen a few times, so she knew the safety standards. Although, she'd quickly been moved to a job that had nothing to do with food. This wouldn't be easy.

"All right," Ada said, somewhat against her better judgement. She put her hair in a ponytail as she followed the man, Victor, into the back of the restaurant.

He quickly put her to work chopping vegetables. Ada did better than she expected with this. It was when he asked her to actually start cooking that the problems started. She was getting stares from other people in the kitchen, especially when Victor looked at the potatoes she'd been boiling and exploded.

"How are some of these still raw and others overcooked? That shouldn't even be possible! Fran! Fix this!"

Fran came over and gently moved Ada out of the way. Ada headed outside crying. It wasn't just the cooking. She had to help them do this or Benno's spell would never be broken. Benno came flying down from the sky and landed on the picnic table in front of her. She would recognize him anywhere, even though he looked like a bird.

"What can I do?" she asked him. "I know something happened for Victor to give me a chance like this, but I can't cook.

"Oh." Benno considered. "Pull out one of my feathers."

"What?"

"Go on." He extended a wing.

Slowly, Ada reached out and grabbed one of his feathers. Benno pulled his wing away quickly, and the feather stayed in Ada's fingers.

"I know you like to write. Try writing out what you want with my feather."

Ada stared at him for a moment. "Well, I suppose I can't argue with a human-turned-crow that his feather might not be magical."

"That's the spirit," Benno replied.

Ada had brought some water out with her, she dipped the feather in the water and began writing on the table. She wrote out a list of all the dishes she'd seen them preparing in the kitchen and specified that each was to be perfectly done.

When she was done writing, Ada sat back and sighed. Maybe just visualizing what they were supposed to look like would help. Then the table in front of her was full of food. Ada jumped back.

"It worked!" she said.

"I guess it did," Benno replied with a smile. "Now, go let them know about all of this."

"Thank you," Ada used the back of one finger to gently stroke Benno's chest.

"You're welcome," Benno said in a choked voice. Then, he flew away.

Ada didn't have anywhere to put the feather, so she stuck it in her hair. She knew it was clean and hopefully everyone else would assume it was fake.

She went into the kitchen and convinced Fran to come out with her. When Fran saw the table, her eyes went wide. "Mein Gott," she said. She and Ada took the first load of food in, and others came out to help with the rest. It wasn't enough to handle the whole dinner rush, but it would get them back on track after having to wait for Ada.

"Where did you get this from?" Victor asked her.

"Um."

"Never mind. I don't want to know which competitor we're stealing from. We were in a jam and you really helped us out, Ada."

"Thank you," she said. "Just trying to do my part."

That night, as they started to run out of food, Ada snuck away to the pantry and used Benno's feather to write a list of what they needed. The food always appeared, although Ada noticed that the ingredients were coming from the pantry. Oh well. At least their inventory would match.

Arno, another cook, watched her come out from the pantry with several desserts balanced on a tray. "How are you doing that?" he asked her.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "I just found some extra in there."

"Sure you did. Witchy woman," he winked at her. "I'd sure like to see what other spells you have."

Ada lowered her eyes and walked away. She hoped he would leave her alone.

A few hours later, they were running low on sides. Again, Ada slipped into the pantry and she wrote down what they needed with Benno's feather and some water. The food appeared in front of her.

Arno swore in German behind her. Ada froze and looked at him.

"How did you do that?" he demanded.

Ada backed up and put more water on the feather. Her mind racing, she wrote out that she wanted Arno to wash dishes until he forgot about her.

"What?" he asked as he suddenly left the pantry. Ada listened and she could hear dishes clattering and the industrial dishwasher sliding down and starting up. She exhaled. Just one night. She'd agreed to help them make the best dinner ever. She just had to get through one night.

Ada looked down at where she'd written what she wanted Arno to do. It wouldn't be fair to leave him here past his shift and they couldn't close if he didn't leave. She sighed and added on underneath "or until closing time."

Then she stuck the feather back in her hair and brought the sides out of the pantry to go with the main courses that needed them.

It was a long night. Ada had never worked in a kitchen before, so she'd never appreciated how stressful it could be. Especially when everyone was starting to think she was either an amazing cook or really good at finding lost things. Ada just took the compliments and moved on. It wasn't like anyone had time to waste anyway.

Finally, the night ended and the restaurant closed. All that was left was the cleaning up, but there wasn't much of that left to do because Arno had been cleaning things for hours.

"Come back in the morning and I'll make sure you get paid," Victor told Ada.

"Thanks," she said. She wasn't really sure if she could accept payment for this. Maybe the spell wouldn't break. Anyway, she didn't want anyone here to know who she was. She wasn't planning on coming back here again.

Ada left the restaurant and opened a ride service app on her phone. This was a decent part of town, so she felt okay waiting for a ride to come pick her up. Ada felt someone behind her and turned.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Arno demanded.

Ada flinched, her hand going to the feather.

"That's it, isn't it? The feather! Give it to me."

Slowly, Ada pulled the feather out of her hair. She couldn't give it to Arno. Who knew what he would do with it? Ada wasn't even sure she should have it anymore.

"Hand it over!" Arno snapped.

Ada quickly stuck the end of the feather in her mouth and wrote on the wall. "Arno runs away."

"What?" Arno asked. His feet were moving and it looked like a surprise to the rest of him. He took off running, yelling, but his yells got quieter.

Ada stuck the feather back in her mouth and added, "and he never saw Ada again." Hopefully that would be the last of him.

Ada stuck the feather back in her hair and that's when her ride got there.

Ada rode home in silence, but she didn't go into her home right away. Her sisters, she was sure would want to know what happened, but she wasn't quite ready to face them yet.

Benno flew down and landed in front of her. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't think anyone would threaten you over my gift."

"It's okay," Ada said. "I didn't think so either, but I took care of him. He won't see me ever again." Ada let go of a breath. "Thank you for loaning this to me, but I only took it to break your spell, and it looks like I didn't even do that. So, I'd better give it back to you. Maybe someone else can use this better than I did."

"Are you sure?" Benno asked. "I want you to have it. That way my enchantment can be useful to someone."

"I don't need a gift like this," Ada said. "I just want more time to talk with you. Maybe we'll find another way to break your spell."

"If that's how you feel," Benno said, opening his wing.

Not really knowing what she was doing, Ada put the feather back where she'd pulled it from before. When she took her hand away, it stayed in place. She had a moment to smile at Benno before a mist surrounded him. It grew taller and wider.

Ada stepped back. What was going on now?

But, as soon as it appeared, the mist swept away. There was a man standing there. The man she'd seen earlier today in his house.

"Benno!" Ada cried.

Benno looked down at himself and smiled at her. "I guess the witch told me the wrong thing to break the curse!" he said. "But you broke it anyway! Thank you!"

Ada hugged him tight. After a long moment, she let go. "Come inside. We have to tell my sisters!"

"Lead the way," Benno replied with a smile.

The Girl and the Enchanted Quill

2021-03-25T18:30:00.001-04:00

You never know when a crow is royalty.

Salutations, readers! This week, we look at a Bavarian folk tale, The Girl and the Enchanted Quill. I have to admit, I'm a huge fan of this story. It combines a few tropes, but it reads like something new. Click the link above to read it and continue below to analyze it with me.

It's possible that one of the reasons I like this story so much is because the female lead likes to read fairy tales and write. But it's also refreshing that when she needed "domestic" tasks, she couldn't do them well. So many heroines can cook the most amazing food. It's nice to see one that can't. Instead, she gets some help in the form of a quill. It kills me that apparently the crow didn't know that his quill could be magic. Although, since he was under a spell, it makes sense that his feathers could have magic on them. At least to me.

There are a few tropes in this story. We have a man in a family indebted to someone not human who wants a wife. The youngest sister is the one who agrees to marry him. The older sister(s) do their best to mess it up (although in this story it seems to be unintentional). The youngest sister has to go on a quest to free her fiance. There's a magical item that helps the protagonist with three difficult people (although the last one was a crowd of people). And the curse was broken when the youngest daughter proved herself. It kind of reminds me of The Black Bull of Norroway, actually.

That being said, the way all of these tropes are combined is pretty neat. It's not often the older sisters' curiosity has consequences. It's usually the curiosity they awaken in the youngest sister. Especially when it comes to looking at the male lead when they're not supposed to. And the magic item being something you can write with is pretty unique. Usually when you get your wishes granted, you have to say them out loud. But this heroine likes to write, so she gets to write.

It's also nice that, although she goes to serve in a king's castle, she doesn't marry him. She marries a prince who, I assume, is completely unrelated to that king. For all the king knows, his cook who suddenly became very good at her job, just left after some of his men went crazy.

We do need to talk about those "suitors". I don't consider them actual suitors because the heroine clearly didn't think they'd care about what she wanted. Otherwise she wouldn't have enchanted them to do something until they decided to leave her alone. What a great use of her magic. They could stop that action as soon as they stopped wanting to bother her. ...can I have a quill like that?

Anyway, it's obnoxious that all of these men keep trying to, well, woo her? Against her will? Bother her? I can't emphasize enough that they were going out of their way to bother her and she was doing what she could to stop them without hurting them. But they decided to beat her up and take away her quill. That's the other reason I can't call these men suitors in good faith. Clearly, they didn't actually care about her at all. So, since they wanted to whip her, she enchanted them to whip each other instead until they were too tired to think about her. Seems pretty legit to me.

Even after all of this, she's still willing to give up the quill so the crow can give it to someone else. She hadn't completed her task or broken his spell. And without the quill, she couldn't be a good cook. But she was willing to give him back his quill anyway. Fortunately, that was what it took to break the spell. Maybe her task wasn't to cook for the king, but to knock some sense into the men in that castle. Or for her to value others over herself by giving the quill back. Maybe her duties were fulfilled because she was able to serve the king an amazing meal? Hard to say.

The only thing I wish this story had done a little differently was to follow up on the sisters. They couldn't break the crow's curse, but did they try to help their sister find work, even behind the scenes? Did the youngest come home afterwards to tell them that she was okay? Did the sisters just go back home and go about their lives? I want to know. But I suppose that's what my modern version of the story is for.

The moral of this story is to use your cleverness to get you out of trouble. Alternatively, if your sisters are told not to snoop, make sure they can't so you don't get into trouble in the first place.

Have a different moral? Wondering where the parents of these sisters and their brother is? Have a story you want me to talk about? Comment below! And don't forget to subscribe if you like what you're reading.

Maps

2021-03-18T18:30:00.001-04:00

Hello, reader! This story got away from me a bit, but since the story it's based on is so long, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I made a few changes to the quests to fit our modern world. I don't know about you, but I'd be annoyed if someone brought me a cow. I don't have the space or time to take care of one, no matter how beautiful it is.

This is another one of Lizzy's stories. It's fun to discover her character and her family like this. I'll just have to be careful that I don't contradict myself with the timeline.

Be careful. Maps don't always take you where you want to go.

So, the thing about living in a magical family is that sometimes, your flippant remarks have consequences. I've never started a sentence with "I wish" unless I think about what I'm about to say very carefully. But, when I was young enough to think that kissing was gross, I said I didn't want to date boys and, when pressed, said that maybe if a boy had seven mothers that would be enough to make him okay. It wasn't until I was 14 that my grandmother told me that I'd made a prophesy.

Of course, I laughed and assumed she was joking. Well. A few years passed and I realized I was still single. Not for lack of trying, but I wasn't interested in most of the guys around anyway, and when I was it never went anywhere. There's nothing as annoying as self-fulfilling prophesies, so I tried to just ignore it. Several of my friends didn't date anyone in high school either and it wasn't really a big deal.

Then I got to college and I met Damien. There was something about him that gave me a big, goofy grin when I thought about him. My friends mentioned that I talked about him a lot and I hoped that maybe I'd beaten my prophecy after all. Because, when I texted Damien and asked if he wanted to get coffee, he said yes.

It was a great date. We had a lot to talk about and it was a nice night, so after our coffee was a memory, we left the coffee shop and took a walk around campus. The theater had a big flight of stairs out front with no one around, so we ended up walking about halfway up and sitting down.

I had just told Damien a little bit about my family, editing out the magical parts, and I asked him about his family.

"Well, I have two moms," he said.

I nodded. "Do you call one of them "mom" and one "momma" or something to tell them apart?"

Damien smiled. "Mom and Ma, actually, but yes. There's four of us. My two moms and my brother and I."

"Cool. How old is your brother?"

"He's a few years older. He graduated college last year. And he's gotten on this big genealogy kick."

"Oh yeah?" I asked. Apparently family was a good topic.

"Yeah. He's been tracing our biological family tree. Our moms adopted us out of foster care when we were little, and he's had some trouble tracking down our birth family."

I started to wonder how many moms that brought us to. As it turned out, Damien had Mom, Ma, a foster mom, a birth mom, a youth minister (who was like his mom and came to graduation), his best friend's mom (who had let him spend a lot of time with them starting in elementary school), and he had found a church group in college that had a great pastor who was like a mom to him here.

Seven mothers.

Apparently, I was a seer.

The really annoying thing was that I really did like him, and he really seemed to like me. So while part of me wanted to stop dating him to spite that stupid prophecy I apparently made, I really didn't want to. So, we kept seeing each other.

I was glad I could be there for him when Damien's mom got sick. That wasn't the way I wanted to meet his moms, but I met them both in a hospital room.

What was even weirder was that there was an aura of magic around his mom. Despite my pleas, Grandma Hazel had never taught me magic, so I couldn't do anything about it, but I could see it. I hoped it was something that the doctors could cure. Not all magical illnesses needed to be cured with magic. All the same, I decided I'd give it a week before I called my grandma and asked her for her advice.

Shortly after meeting his moms, Damien told me he met his ma's ex. Damien was going to college in the same town he'd lived in all his life, so I suppose that wasn't too unusual. What was unusual was that the ex, Cyril, had told Damien where to find the cure for his mom's illness. And that Damien believed him.

Damien showed me a map that fairly oozed with magic. Great. So, unless Damien's mom had pissed off two people with magic, her wife's ex had cast a spell on her. Typical.

I might not be able to cast spells, but I knew how to counter several. It looked like there was just a misdirection spell on this map. It was supposed to lead Damien where he needed to go and then he could exchange the map for a cure. With the misdirection spell, it would lead him where he needed to not go. A pretty simple spell reversal, but not one I liked. Damien left the map on the table when he went to the bathroom.

I had a choice. I could remove the spell and send him on his way, or I could offer up my grandma's services to remove the magical illness with no strings attached. It actually wasn't an easy decision.

Clearly, Cyril wanted to hurt Damien's mom. It might not be a good idea to tip my hand too early. If he thought Damien had magic, or had an ally who did, this could get messy quickly. Besides that, my grandma had told me we had to keep the magic in our family secret. People liked the idea of folks who could use magic, but you only had to look back a few hundred years to see what the fear of witches could do.

I sighed and headed to the kitchen. At least Damien lived in an apartment so he had a kitchen. I rummaged around in the cabinets for a little bit before I found the salt. I brought it back to the table and poured some out on the map. The misdirection spell tried to stick to the map, but the cleansing power of the salt was too strong. The spell shriveled and died. I picked up the map and carried it carefully to the kitchen where I could dump the salt in the trash. It wouldn't be safe for eating now.

I had just finished shaking off the map when Damien walked out of the bathroom.

"I'm just trying to get some better light on this," I said, holding the map up to the light. "Maybe there's a watermark or something."

Damien chuckled. "Is there?"

I looked at it. "Nope." I brought the map back down. "Let me come with you. Two people is safer than one, right?"

"Lizzy, I can't really be sure what I'll find when I follow this map."

"All the more reason to take me with."

"It might just be a joke and take me to a bad part of town. I don't want you to get caught up in anything."

"I don't want you getting caught up in anything," I replied.

Damien stepped forward and hugged me and I hugged him back. He squeezed me tight and then stepped back. "It'll be fine," he said. "I'll call you when I get there, all right?"

It's not like I could make him take me along. "All right."

I thought about following him. I really did, but if he found me following him, he would get mad. Besides, now that the spell had been taken off of it, the map was what it appeared to be, and it should lead him where he needed to go. And what creature wouldn't exchange a map that took you where you needed to go for a cure for some human ailment?

Still. While Damien was gone, I paced in my room. I had to pace in there so my roommates wouldn't see. This wasn't something I really wanted to explain to them.

I almost jumped when my phone started ringing.

"It worked," Damien said. "The map took me to this part of the park I've never seen before and right up to this old woman. She said she'd trade me the map for a cure for Mom. I'm going over to the hospital now to see if it works."

"I'm glad you're safe," I told him. "I hope it does."

"I'll call you when I'm done. I'm going to run to the hospital."

"OK."

I sat down on my bed. He was safe. And the map should have done what it was enchanted to do, so the cure should work. Either way, I realized I needed to call Grandma Hazel. Once Cyril saw his plan had backfired, he'd probably come up with something more elaborate.

The cure did work. Damien's mom came home for the hospital a few days later. Grandma Hazel was glad to hear that. "But I think you're right that he'll try again," she said over the phone. "When your parents come to visit, I'll have them bring you a few things."

"You aren't coming?"

"Not unless you need me. But I'll give you some things to put up wards in their house and Damien's apartment. That will do a lot to keep them safe and shouldn't draw Cyril's attention."

"I hope so."

After my parents visited, it wasn't too hard to put up the protections in Damien's apartment. And it was easy to get myself invited to his moms' house and put up the rest. The best part about these wards was that once you put them in place, your eye just slid over them and it was very hard to notice them. So none of them would wonder about the little tree figurines that appeared in their home because they wouldn't notice them.

I hoped that was the last we'd hear from Cyril, but I was wrong.

About a month later, Damien called me up. Cyril had given him another map. Since the last one had worked so well, Damien thought this one would too. Since I hadn't explained everything I could about magic last time, I couldn't go into detail this time. There was a possibility that Cyril hadn't put the magical illness on Damien's mom. Maybe he was just giving Damien bad maps.

But when I saw the second map, I knew that wasn't true. This map didn't just have a misdirection spell on it. It was enchanted to bring Damien to a very specific place. It was sort of like "the bad part of town" except for magical creatures. Not all magical creatures were as nice as that "old woman" Damien had met in the forest. The map lead him to the industrial part of town, near the railroad tracks. All kinds of nasty things liked to live in those places.

Fortunately, Grandma Hazel had passed along more than just those wards. I got Damien to bring the map by my house and we were looking at it in my room.

"Can you grab me a snack?" I asked him. "I'm starving."

"Sure," he said. It was a little odd that I would send him to the kitchen to get me something, but he'd been over enough times to know where everything was. I just hoped he didn't rush.

As soon as he left my room, I pulled out a small bag from Grandma Hazel. She'd thought Cyril would use a map like this, so she gave me a pre-made reversal spell. I laid the map on the floor. I pulled out a stub of a candle and what looked like potpourri from the bag. I lit the candle and set it on the map. Then I scattered the dried plants in a circle around it. "Reverse your true nature," I said to the map. I picked up the candle and carefully let two drops of wax drop from it onto the map. The map began to smoke and I put another drop of candle wax on it.

"Lizzy?" Damien asked from the doorway. "What are you doing?"

I blew out the candle. "I remembered this candle I had that smells really good so I thought I'd light it and see what you thought."

"What's all the smoke?" Damien asked. "You're going to set off the fire alarm."

"Crap." I had forgotten about that. "Close the door."

Damien stepped inside and I opened the window. The smoke dissipated. Fortunately, all of the dried stuff had been used up in the spell, so I didn't have to explain that.

"My map!" Damien said. "Lizzy, you could have burned it."

"I'm sorry. I forgot it was there." I hated lying to him. Maybe after this I'd talk to Grandma Hazel about when I could tell Damien about magic. A less emotional time would be better for sure.

Damien looked the map over. "Well, it seems to be okay."

"Great. Sorry about that."

"It's all right," Damien said. "Here. I grabbed you a granola bar."

"Thanks," I said. I was hungry now. It almost felt like I'd worked to make that spell happen. But since it was pre-made I guess that made sense.

Damien left a bit later and headed out on his quest. This time I did try to follow him, but I only made it as far as the creek in the forest. When he stepped across it, he disappeared. I sighed. The map had taken him somewhere you couldn't get to normally. I was pretty sure my spell on it had worked. At least the little forest was clean and so was the creek. That was usually a sign that happier magical creatures would be around.

I was on my way home when Damien called me.

"I went where the map said and I traded it for a food basket that will never empty. I've never seen anything like it!"

"I guess now you won't run out of food," I joked.

"I can't tell it what to make," he said. "So I won't know what I'm getting until I open it. But still."

"Still, that's amazing." Were we past the point where I had to pretend to be shocked about magic? I wasn't sure. Damien had seemed to believe in it pretty quickly, so maybe it was okay if I did too.

"I know!"

The third map Cyril sent was the worst. When Damien brought it into my apartment, I wanted to tell him to leave immediately. It had a terrible energy to it. When all else failed, Grandma Hazel had given me something to make Damien forget the map, a little elephant figurine that I would touch to Damien and then put on the map. Once I did that, he forgot about it completely. I had to cut his visit short, though. I did not like having that map in my apartment.

I called Grandma Hazel right away.

"Another map?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said. "This one is bad. I don't know what to do with it."

"I'll come for a visit this weekend," Grandma Hazel promised.

That still left me with two days. One of my roommates had some crystals out to cleanse the apartment. I put one on top of the map, and it helped a little.

Grandma Hazel is a formidable woman. So when she came into my apartment that weekend, suddenly my roommates understood why we'd been cleaning. Both of my roommates remembered they had somewhere else to be, which was helpful for what we needed to do, but also kind of amusing.

Once they left, Grandma Hazel took a long look at the map. "I'll cleanse that crystal for you too when I'm done," she said. Then she looked some more, and sighed. "It'll be easier just to destroy this map. Then we'll need to talk to Cyril."

"All right. I'll just tell Damien the map got lost." I swallowed. "Grandma, when can I tell him about magic?"

"On your wedding night," she said distractedly. She was moving her hands and making signs over the map.

I decided that she was joking, but I stayed quiet.

Grandma Hazel said a few words and the map erupted in flame.

I yelped and raced for the smoke detector. Fortunately, I was able to pull out the battery before it went off.

"Fire is for cleansing," Grandma Hazel explained calmly, like there wasn't a huge fire on my table. "Don't worry, it won't hurt the table," she assured me.

"That's good," I said. "Could you warn me next time?"

"Only if you don't distract me," she returned.

She had a point. "Fine. I'm sorry. But did you mean what you said?"

"I always mean what I say. Burden of age." The fire went out. Grandma Hazel picked up the elephant figurine and put it in a special bag. Its magic was canceled in there.

"What are we going to do to Cyril?" I asked Grandma Hazel.

"You said he was Damien's ma's ex?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Seems to me like he wants to get her back," she said.

"This is literally the worst way to try," I replied.

Grandma Hazel shrugged. "Still, let's see what we can do with that. Could you call her, please?"

"Call her?"

"Yes, dear. I think it's time she and Cyril had a chat."

I didn't have her number, but I was able to get it from Damien and she agreed to come meet with me at a nearby park.

"How will this help?" I asked Grandma Hazel.

"Patience," she said. She sat down at the kitchen table and drew a pattern in some of the ash that was left.

"Cyril?" Grandma Hazel croaked.

"Yes?" It was weird to hear a man's voice coming from my table, but I supposed this was just a magical phone call.

"Come to Woodford Park to see your beloved once again."

"Yes!" Cyril yelled.

Grandma Hazel cut the connection.

"Why did he believe you so easily?" I asked.

"I appeared to him as a demon," she said, shrugging. "Now let's get going."

We made it to the park in good time and met up with Damien's ma.

"Lakshmi?" Grandma Hazel asked as we walked towards her.

"Yes?" she asked, looking between me and Grandma Hazel.

"I'm Lizzy's grandma, Hazel. It's nice to meet you dear."

"It's nice to meet you too," Lakshmi said, still puzzled.

"Your ex, Cyril, has been stirring up some trouble," Grandma Hazel said.

"Again?" Lakshmi asked with a sigh.

Grandma Hazel nodded.

"Again?" I asked.

"I've tried to get him arrested, but he won't leave me alone," Lakshmi said. "It doesn't matter that I've moved on. He hasn't. I haven't heard anything from him in a few years, so I was hoping he had forgotten me."

"He was probably using that time to learn magic," Grandma Hazel replied.

I stared at her. I couldn't tell Damien about magic until I married him, but she could casually tell his ma about it?

Lakshmi sighed. "Not again."

"What?!" I was completely out of my depth.

"One witch to another," Grandma Hazel said to her, "it's okay to use magic on someone like him."

"I suppose I've got to," Lakshmi said, resigned. "I was really trying not to since it's dark magic, but if I must."

"He's on his way here now," Grandma Hazel said

"Good," Lakshmi replied, straightening her shoulders.

A car pulled up in the parking lot and a man got out. I don't know what I'd been expecting Cyril to look like, but he looked ordinary. Just like any person you might walk by on the street.

"It worked!" he yelled, running toward us. "Lakshmi! You've come to your senses!"

"Yes," she replied, holding out her hand. He must not have noticed that she wasn't smiling, because he immediately took her hand.

Lakshmi's grip increased and she closed her eyes. She was working magic without any preparation or words. I was impressed.

Cyril struggled against her grip, but gradually, he grew calmer.

"Cyril?" Lakshmi asked.

"Yes?" he replied, his voice dreamlike.

"Your Lakshmi is gone. She changed and you don't need her anymore. Let someone else have her."

"Yes," he agreed, peacefully. "She isn't the same as she used to be. Someone else can have her."

"You've moved on," Lakshmi said.

"I've moved on," he repeated.

"Now go to sleep," Lakshmi said.

Cyril yawned and laid down in the grass. Lakshmi let go of his hand and it dropped to the ground next to him.

"Couldn't you have made him start to do good things?" I asked, curious. "Make him turn his life around?"

"Not with a spell that hasty," she said. "I'd need a lot of preparation and time to make him change so completely. For now, this will do." She sighed.

"I'll be taking us out to lunch now," Grandma Hazel said. "My treat."

"Thank you," Lakshmi said. "It's so draining."

As we walked back to the car, I had to ask, "Lakshmi, does Damien know about magic?"

"No," she said. "I haven't practiced in years. Why, have you told him?" She was suddenly very fierce.

"No ma'am," I replied.

"Good," Lakshmi said, relaxing again. "It's a complicated subject and I was hoping he wouldn't need to know. But it looks like we'll need to have that talk after all."

"Lizzy did prophecy that she would date him," Grandma Hazel said, getting in the car.

"Really?" Lakshmi asked, turning around to look at me.

I sighed. "Can we just go, grandma?"

Grandma Hazel laughed. "Of course, dear. And I'll be happy to tell that story for you."

Like I said, living in a magic family can be weird, but grandmas will always take the chance to brag about something you've done.

The Son of Seven Queens

2021-03-04T18:30:00.001-05:00

Imagine you and your husband's six other wives raising a son together.

Salutations, dear reader, and happy Women's History Month! This week's fairy tale comes to us from India. The Son of Seven Queens is a story about a boy and the tremendous influence the women around him had on his life. Click the link above to read the story, and continue below to analyze it with me.

I know this fairy tale is a bit long as it is, but I wish the seven queens were given more personality. They have such an influence on this story, but they're treated as one unit. It seems the only reason that we're told there are seven of them is just the setup for their son to marry a princess later.

All of the women in this story have some magic in them. The seven queens were able to see that if the king went hunting in the North, there would be problems. The princess was able to see right away that our hero was the son of seven mothers. And, of course, the white hind and her mother have magic because they're both witches.

Despite the fact that the main character of this story is a man, he's mostly a messenger for the women in the story. The white hind queen sends a message to her mother to kill him. The princess intercepts it and changes it. When the witch mother gets the message, she does what she thinks her daughter is telling her to do. Having the message changed to have the opposite meaning is a fun trope in fairy tales, but I like it best when it's good people having good things happen to them as a result of the change.

The princess is the crux of the whole story. If not for her, the prince would have died on his first visit to the witch mother and it would have been a much shorter story, with a much more sad outcome for most of the characters. However, the princess chose her future husband and was able to protect him and help him get everything he was promised. The story says she's learned and clever, and I have to agree.

It's also good that the prince, her future husband, cared enough to check in on her and have the message changed each time. I wonder if she ever told him about that. He certainly knew when she revealed who he was to the king at the end! What an excellent way to break the king's enchantment. Not by attacking the white hind queen who put the enchantment on him, but by releasing its hold on him.

The seven queens have a rough story. Not only is their warning forgotten, but then they're thrown in prison with their eyes taken out. Ouch! They live blind for years because the king was enchanted. I suppose there's a nice foil there. The king didn't listen well to his wives and he and they were all punished for it. The prince did listen to his future wife, and he and his mothers were rewarded for it. At least the queens were able to use their eyes again when they got them back.

All of the action in this story is dependent on women, beginning after the king forgot his wives' warning about going hunting in the North. He made the decision to go hunting, but everything else in this story is women making decisions and changing things. And because of the clever and kind princess, things go well for our hero and his mothers. Women are the change-makers in this story; it's just a question of whether they use that power to help those around them, like the seven queens did when they all decided to raise the prince together, or if they want to spite others, like the white hind declaring that the price of her hand in marriage was the eyes of the king's current wives.

The moral of this story is that it's far better to use your power to help those around you than to only have others use their power on you. Alternatively, if seven important women in your life tell you not to do something, don't do it.

Wondering if the youngest queen ever got her other eye back? Curious if the princess taught her husband to read? Have a different moral? Comment below! And don't forget to subscribe if you like what you read.

I Love to Sing

2021-02-25T19:48:00.003-05:00

This week, I wrote a modern version of Queen of the Crows. I'm stepping out of what I normally write, so feel free to let me know if I didn't characterize something or someone quite right.

As a note, in the US, there is ASL (American Sign Language), but there is also BASL (Black American Sign Language). It's likely that Kisha would have started out learning ASL and picked up BASL from Tyrese.

Maybe a deaf person can be a singer's favorite person.

Kisha loved to sing. She sang all the time. Most people told her to stop, but not Tyrese. Tyrese never told her to shut up. Of course, he was deaf, so Kisha didn't expect him to.

When they first started kindergarten, the kids were all a little afraid of Tyrese. They wanted to know why he couldn't hear and how they could talk to him when they couldn't really read yet. Their teacher told them about sign language. Kisha went home that night and watched a few videos about learning sign language. It was something new and cool. A few of the other kids learned some signs as well and soon they were signing across the room to each other.

As they moved through grades, not as many of the other kids wanted to learn something else, but Kisha kept learning more BASL. Talking to Tyrese was fun, and he would always let her sing when they were on the playground. It was a little weird that no one knew where Tyrese lived or had been to his house, but he was also the only deaf student, so that mystery just joined the rest.

The years passed, and they weren't in school anymore. Kisha had a job working retail, singing quietly to herself while she folded clothes. She'd gotten pretty good at singing over the years. Now people wanted to hear her sing, which was nice. But there was something about the way she could sing in front of Tyrese that she missed. She could try new things and fail and he would just ask her about the words of the song. She'd asked him once if he thought she was weird. He just smiled and told her that he was weird, so he couldn't judge. That made her laugh and forget whatever she had been worried about.

One day, while she was working, Tyrese walked in. He had grown up, but it was unmistakably him. Kisha walked over to him and started signing, asking him how he was and what he was up to these days. Tyrese told her that he had gotten a good job taking over the family business and it was going well, but he needed some more business clothes. Kisha decided that she was going to be his personal shopper. Her manager always liked when they helped customers, so she could probably get away with it. Kisha helped him pick out the sharpest clothes, many of which she found on the discount rack. Why pay full price when they same thing was being sold at a discount? But when Kisha tried to help him narrow down his choices, Tyrese said he'd take it all. Kisha hadn't expected that. She reminded herself that clearly Tyrese was a lot better off than she was. Then he started handing her cash.

"What's this for?" she asked.

"For helping me," Tyrese said. "Now I want to help you."

Kisha looked at the money dubiously. That wasn't why she'd done this. And she didn't want him to think it was. But he reached out and put it in her hand and she automatically grabbed it.

"Thank you," Tyrese said to her with a smile. Then he headed to the registers to check out.

Later that night, once she was in her room, Kisha pulled out the money Tyrese had given her and counted it. He must be doing really well to buy all those clothes and give her this much!

Tucked within the bills was a note. It had a phone number on it and said, "Text me."

Without really thinking about it, Kisha pulled out her phone and opened up a new text. "It was good to see you today." She stared at it. Was that really what she wanted to text?

Someone knocked on her door. "Kisha, we're ordering pizza. Do you want in?"

"Yes!" Kisha yelled back. She would rather split a delivery with her roommates than eat another freezer meal tonight. She looked down at her phone and saw she'd sent the text. Oh well. She didn't get a reply until after she was eating pizza.

It said, "It was good to see you today too. Are you still singing? :)"

Kisha smiled as she texted him back.

"Ooh. Who are you texting?" Iesha asked.

"Some rich hot guy who's desperately in love with me," Kisha joked.

Her roommates all scoffed or rolled their eyes. Kisha laughed.

"I'm kidding. It's Tyrese from school. I saw him at work today."

"Oh, so he is in love with you," Shay said with a laugh.

"What?"

"Girl, you didn't notice how he spent all his time with you? And now he's back here and he finds you right away?" Shay elaborated. "He's got it bad. Still."

Kisha blushed. "Well, why shouldn't he? I mean, look at all this this!" She gestured up and down her body. Her roommates laughed and agreed.

As time went on, Kisha couldn't help but notice that she had it bad for him too. She was always excited to text with Tyrese and when they met up for dinner, she always had a great time. Her roommates kept asking when she was going to bring him home after a date. And it wasn't for lack of trying, but he always had to go back to his house.

One night, Kisha, sick of this, asked him. "Okay, if you can't come to my place, can I go to yours?" He never talked about where he lived, which is why she didn't ask before, but this was crazy.

Tyrese looked at her for a moment. "You want me to take you away from all of this?" he asked.

Kisha laughed. "Sure. I just need to be back for work tomorrow afternoon."

Tyrese nodded and held her hand. He started walking and Kisha followed. She couldn't talk to him as well since he was holding her hand. She wondered if that was on purpose.

Tyrese stopped and looked around. No one was looking at them. Kisha was confused. If he tried anything she didn't like, he had to know what she would do. Then, their feet were lifting off the ground. They were rising.

Kisha cursed, surprised. Tyrese chuckled.

He signed to her one-handed. "Sorry. I should have warned you."

"Yes you should have!" she snapped at him, counting on him to read her lips. She didn't have the space to show her anger in sign.

"Sorry." Tyrese signed again. They rose higher and higher until, suddenly, they weren't above Earth anymore.

Their feet came to rest on a lawn outside of a huge house. Tyrese let go of her hand. "You know how no one ever came to my house in school?"

"Yes," Kisha signed back.

"That's because I live here." Tyrese gestured to the mansion behind them.

Kisha looked at it and gulped. Where were they? She had the feeling they weren't in her world anymore.

"I can take you home," Tyrese told her.

Kisha shook her head. "No. Now that we're here, I'm going to see your house."

"And meet my parents," Tyrese signed as a woman walked out the front door.

Why not. She was already here. There was some kind of magic going on, but Kisha trusted Tyrese and she trusted herself to not take any shit. Besides, it would be nice to meet his parents. Kisha nodded and walked forward, a smile on her face.

Queen of the Crows

2021-02-18T18:30:00.001-05:00

He could be a king.

Hello again, readers. This week, we'll be looking at Queen of the Crows, a story from the Caribbean. It shows the importance of forging relationships over time. And having a strong scalp. Read the story at the link above and read below to analyze it with me.

So I like to think that Toewi and Kroemoe managed to fall in love, even though he didn't speak to her. I do wonder why he didn't speak to her. We see that when he finally did, he took her away with him, so maybe he knew that he'd have to take her with him when he finally spoke to her? It could have been something else, though. Magical rules aren't always straightforward.

We know very little about Toewi, besides the fact that she had a beautiful singing voice and that she wanted to marry a handsome prince. So, it's probably a fair bet that she wasn't interested in marrying anyone on her island. I wonder if her family was around. We don't see them in the story, and she was sitting in her house alone working on her loom when she first saw Kroemoe. Fairy tales are almost always light on the details, but I always wonder about them.

Let's take a look at Kroemoe. I would guess that he originally started hanging around Toewi because of her beautiful singing voice. Since she didn't think he was real, he could have gotten away with just listening to her sing. But he didn't. One day, he carried her bucket of water. Confirming to her that he's real changes their relationship, and I'm sure she talked to him more deliberately after that. He kept coming back, so whether she talked to him or not, we know he liked being with her. And she kept singing, which summoned him, so she probably liked to be with him too.

A lot of these stories of men who take women away to be their wives have very little time for the two of them to start a relationship, but this story doesn't fall into that trap. It doesn't say how long they've been seeing each other, but it's implied to be several times. Definitely at least enough for both of them to know how they feel about being around the other one. So, maybe it was a good thing that Toewi threw that rock at the crows. It led to Kroemoe revealing himself to her and, presumably, taking her away to a happily ever after. Never thought I'd say it was a good thing to throw a rock at animals like that.

I wonder what the other crows thought about Toewi. Maybe they were checking her out as well, to make sure she was good enough for their king. It's kind of funny that we see more of his, possible, friends than we do hers. We know there are other villagers, but all we know about them is their feelings about crows. And that someone either saw her taken away, or learned the story later.

The moral of this story is that if you dream about something long enough, it may come true. Alternatively, if you're hanging out with the king of the crows, make sure you've got something he can grab to take you away to his palace. I'm going to assume he used magic to be able to carry her away by her hair without hurting her.

Have a different moral? Enjoyed the story? Wondering if you can summon a warrior prince just by singing? Comment below! And if you like what you read, don't forget to subscribe.

The Helpers

2021-02-04T18:30:00.011-05:00

Hello, reader. This week, I wrote a modern fairy tale based on Hans Christian Andersen's Snow Queen. I hadn't expected to start writing about the Lapland Woman and the Finland Woman, but that's what happened. I guess I'm too old to identify with the children protagonists anymore. Enjoy!

Sometimes the kindest people live in the most desolate places.

When people are in trouble, they come to me. I've made my home in the coldest reaches of this land, where cell signal doesn't reach and the wifi is spotty, but some still find their way to my house. It's not that I don't like helping people. On the contrary. But the years have not been kind to me, and I can't do everything I once could. Getting involved too much in other people's adventures is draining in more ways than one initially realizes.

When a little girl on a reindeer ran to my house one day, I knew it was something serious. For one thing, parents no longer let their children leave on epic quests, so for this child to be so far away from anyone's house, I knew it had to be serious. I met her at the door and brought her inside.

"May I come in too?" the reindeer asked.

I stepped back in surprise. It had been many years since a quest with a talking animal had arrived at my door. This was serious. "Of course," I replied.

The reindeer did its best to shake off the snow before it came in and stamped off all the snow it could on the doormat. It was more polite than some of the human guests I've had.

"Where are your parents?" I asked the little girl. Because in times like these, that's the question you must begin with.

"They're back home," she said, unzipping her coat. "Do you have hot chocolate?"

I always did. Even if I hadn't bought any, it was simple enough to conjure some for this little girl. "Do you want me to call them for you?"

"No. I have to save my friend."

One of those quests. I gave the reindeer some ice, got the little girl her hot chocolate, and settled in with my tea.

The girl's name was Asia and she'd been on a quest to save her friend, Darius, from a mysterious woman who had taken him from their city. Asia didn't seem surprised by the magical help she'd received on her quest, just grateful for it. I wondered if she was too tired to think about that, or if the quest itself was taking too much of her attention. So many times in this era, adventurers didn't think through how odd their journeys were until they were home and able to convince themselves it didn't happen that way.

As Asia talked, I realized she fell neatly into the type of quest where it is her goodness that saves her friend. She didn't need anything from me, just somewhere to stay. It was easy enough to see what would work when you've been helping people for hundreds of years. One part of Asia's story did catch my attention. "I'm sorry dear, what was the name of that old woman who tried to keep you at her house?"

The girl scrunched her face. "Granny Hedwig," she remembered.

I nodded. Not all of us continued to help those on a quest. After so many years seeing these kind people blow through our lives, some of us tried to keep them. I would need to pay Hedwig a visit after I sent this girl on her way. Sometimes, we could be talked back from the edge before we became the monsters we'd been fighting for so long. I returned my attention to Asia's story.

When she was done, I asked, "So you're looking for Darius to bring him home?" I wanted to be sure I hadn't missed anything important.

Asia nodded. "He started to get mean before he left, but I can't just let some woman snatch him up."

Definitely a good-hearted heroine. "You can stay here tonight, since it's night time anyway. Tomorrow, I'll send you to my sister and she can tell you how to get to him."

"Really?" Asia perked up. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome," I told her. "Now, there's only a little left to do to make dinner, but would you like to help me?"

"Sure," Asia said, "but I don't know much about cooking."

It turned out that Asia was a quick learner and we got dinner on the table pretty quickly. Fortunately, I already had something her reindeer could eat, so I didn't have to conjure anything for him. I tried not to use magic unless I needed to. My dishes had already been enchanted to give strength and clarity of mind to all who ate off of them, so at least I was still able to give Asia more than she asked for.

I set her and her reindeer up in the guest room soon after dinner, and she was asleep quickly. Poor child. No one should have to go on these quests. Asia might only be trying to get her friend back, but if someone didn't take care of that icy sorceress soon, I might have to do it myself.

I picked up my landline and called my sister.

"Hello?" she asked.

"I've got another adventurer coming your way tomorrow," I told her. "A little girl, pure of heart, who's trying to rescue her friend."

My sister grunted in acknowledgement. "Heading toward the ice sorceress?"

"Yup."

My sister sighed. "This little girl isn't going to take care of the problem, is she?"

"Would you expect her to be a killer?"

"No. Not one like her. Fine. I'll help her tomorrow, but the next person through her better take care of that sorceress."

"Or we'll have to," I finished.

My sister grunted again.

"Good night," I told her.

"'Night," she replied.

There were times my sister was downright talkative, but this clearly wasn't one of them. I settled down in front of the fire to repair an enchanted sled that had made its way to me. It wouldn't be ready by tomorrow, but someone would need it eventually.

The next day, Asia was up just after I was. Her reindeer followed soon after, and headed into the yard. We ate a quick breakfast, and I gave Asia directions to my sister's house. "Take heart," I told her, "your quest is almost done."

Asia gave me a watery smile. "I hope so. I want to bring Darius home."

I watched the reindeer carry her away for awhile before turning back to my home. It would probably be awhile before I had another adventurer come through, and the moon was right to go out and gather supplies tonight. I set my coat, gloves, and other winter gear near the fire and whispered a soft spell that over the course of the day would put the heat of the fire into them. I was getting too old to go traipsing across the snow without some way of keeping warm. But while I kept myself busy around my house, I waited for my sister's call to tell me that Asia had gotten Darius back. I hoped he was able to break his spell so he could be nice again before they went home.

The Snow Queen, Parts 5, 6, and 7

2021-01-28T18:30:00.001-05:00

Winter is beautiful, but so cold.

Salutations, readers. This week, we'll finish up the story of The Snow Queen with parts 5, 6, and 7. This is the longest story we've looked at together, so I applaud you for making it all the way through. If you haven't read the previous parts, or if you don't remember them, the entire story is at the link above. Give it a read and come back to analyze it with me.

What is going on with that robber girl? At the end of the story, Gerda is happy to see her, but I wouldn't be. The robber girl threatened to kill Gerda twice. Maybe that's just how the robber girl talks, but it would worry me. Especially since she sleeps with that big knife. Anyway, I suppose the robber girl was decent. She did let Gerda and the reindeer go so Gerda could go find Kay. But she's definitely not a safe ally to have around.

I'm intrigued by the Lapland woman and the Finland woman. Clearly, they know each other well. I feel like in other stories like this, they would be sisters, but we're never told how they know each other. But they are both women of power. And we see that Gerda is also a woman of power. Like I've been pointing out, the Finland woman saw that everyone around Gerda was driven to help her. Although the Finland woman had magic at her command, there was nothing more powerful than she could give to Gerda than Gerda's purity and innocence of heart. I feel like that's a power that often gets undervalued.

Sure, Gerda's had some trouble on her journey, but everyone has seen that she's good and they want to make her happy. Even when that old woman who kidnapped her in the beginning of Gerda's journey just wanted Gerda to stay with her. When Gerda remembered who she was and what she was doing, it was easy enough for her to run away and to the next creature who would help her. And the old woman never came after her to get Gerda back. There is a power in kindness that is easy to overlook because we see it as something easy that everyone can do, but not everyone does. We see it in how Gerda asks about the crows, the princess and the prince when she sees the robber girl again, and how Gerda welcomes the robber girl, even though she did steal from Gerda. And, most of all, we see it in Gerda's entire journey to help Kay. She could have stopped looking for him, but she never did. And that is why she was able to help him when, arguably, no one else could have.

This innocence and purity of heart is more powerful than the Snow Queen could ever be, and that is what Hans Christian Andersen wants his readers to remember. Even when Kay lost himself and forgot who he was, Gerda kept looking for him, and didn't forget completely, even after a spell had been cast on her. I started looking at this story now because it's a good winter story (and it ends with spring, as every good winter story should), but it's more timely than I realized. Who knew a story from 1845 could still be teaching us things in 2021?

The moral of this story is, if you get mixed up in some bad things, make sure you have a good friend who will fight to get you back. Alternatively, if you're offered the world and a pair of skates, sometimes it's better to take your own corner of the world instead.

...but really. The whole world and a new pair of skates? Wouldn't skates be included in "the whole world"?

Have a different moral? Intrigued by the overwhelming number of strong women in this story? Wondering what Kay and Gerda's parents/grandparents thought when they finally came home? Comment below! And don't forget to subscribe if you like what you're reading.

The Snow Queen, Parts 3 and 4

2021-01-21T18:30:00.001-05:00

Even beautiful flowers can be part of a prison.

Hello again friends. I'm changing up my usual rhythm for this story. We'll be looking at Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen every week until it's done. Then I'll write a modern version of it. Otherwise, I'd be writing stories that didn't finish. So, if you read stories 1 and 2 last week, go ahead and scroll down to stories 3 and 4 and give them a read.

So, apparently that old woman who kidnapped Gerda wasn't a bad woman? Or maybe her powers just weren't strong enough to make her a wicked witch? I'm not sure quite what Andersen meant by all of that. And the old woman isn't really in the story after she enchants Gerda to forget about her quest and family. So, I hope the old woman enjoyed having a sweet kiddo in the house because we don't see much about how they live while Gerda is there.

The Snow Queen who kidnapped Kay and the old woman who kidnapped Gerda are good foils for each other, though. Kay is trapped in winter while Gerda is trapped in spring. There's even a difference in how they both ended up there. Gerda came to the old woman, however unwittingly, and Kay was dragged away. I do appreciate that part. (And Gerda was able to rescue herself, while it seems that Kay isn't.)

I have to admit, though, I got a little impatient with the flowers' stories. Poor Gerda was just asking if they had seen her friend and they're telling her about dead people and a super clean girl, and all sorts of things. I'm sure there's a deeper meaning to those stories as well, maybe something about how people can be self-centered and not helpful. The flowers just wanted to tell their own stories, after all. They didn't want to help Gerda with hers as it unfolded.

One of the reasons that I keep calling these stories fairy tales, even though they aren't oral traditions like most of the others, is because of the themes in them. Gerda is a good, sweet little girl, so everyone helps her. The crow that finds her is able to talk to her and helps her. Even when Gerda breaks into the palace and wakes up a random man, he and his wife still want to help her. He even gives Gerda his bed to sleep in after she wakes him up. I don't think I would be that generous to someone who'd woken me up, especially if they were a stranger.

We also need to talk about the crows. How does one become a tame crow in a castle? And how does that tame crow become engaged to a wild crow? I'm interested in their story. If anyone writes a spin off, let me know. Or I might write that one of these days. However the crows ended up in that situation, it's great for them that they helped out Gerda. Because of that, they both get appointments at court, and all the food they can eat. I'm not sure what position a crow would have, but I suppose if they can fly and speak to humans, they could be incredibly useful.

In the overall story, Gerda begins her journey to finding Kay and that's really all that happens. But Andersen put so much detail into her journey. We learn so much about this world. And I do appreciate that Kay got himself kidnapped and it's up to Gerda to find him and bring him home. Never mind that she was also kidnapped and later given the option to live in a beautiful palace. Gerda may be a sweet and kind little girl, but she's also powerful and determined. She may be becoming my new role model.

The moral of these stories is that if you're good, you'll get good outcomes, no matter what circumstances you find yourself in. Alternatively, if you're going to ask a river to find your friend, take its first answer as the real answer and don't climb into a boat with no oars to ask again.

Have a different moral? Want to talk about the flowers' stories? Wondering if Gerda's grandma has given up on seeing her again? Comment below! And don't forget to subscribe if you like what you're reading.

The Snow Queen, Parts 1 and 2

2021-01-14T18:30:00.001-05:00

Beautiful, but cold as ice

Hello friends! For those of us in the Northern hemisphere, we're deep into winter, so this story is pretty apt. For those in the Southern hemisphere, I suppose you can remember winter as you're deep into summer.

I've wanted to talk about Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen for quite awhile. The only reason I haven't is because it's so long. It's not a novel, but it's much longer than the short stories I usually choose for this blog. However, I was looking at fairy tales online the other day, as you do, when I found that some places have this story split into seven different stories, which are much more manageable. So, I hope you like Hans Christian Andersen's writing, because we'll be looking at The Snow Queen for the next several weeks. Today, we'll look at the first and second stories because the first one is so short. In future weeks, it will probably just be one story at a time. So, go ahead and read stories one and two at the link above, then join me below to analyze them.

The concept in the first story is really interesting to me. People could get into a whole lot of trouble by looking at things thought a mirror that distorted everything good and magnified everything bad. I'm really intrigued by someone who used some of that glass for glasses on their face. If their vision was really bad, they'd have their glasses on all the time and they'd be convinced that everyone and everything around them was terrible. What a life. Hopefully, they'd get new glasses and see things as they were again.

I also like this as a prologue because it gives us an interesting idea, the mirror that distorts good and bad things, and give us a hint about what is going to happen with it in this story. That is, people getting pieces of it stuck in them. It also gives us a good explanation for why Kay changes so much. While it's true that people can get more surly when they become teenagers, it's a much bigger change to have pieces of this mirror get stuck in your eye and heart. We also don't know how old Kay is, so we might not expect the teenage surliness to hit him yet.

Unfortunately for him, I think that piece of the mirror in his heart is why the Snow Queen chose him. We see that after she kisses him, he forgets things, but I'm assuming her kisses are only that effective because his heart is already turned to ice. Once she's done with him, he isn't worried about leaving his life, friends, and family behind. He's just interested in this beautiful woman next to him.

I also feel badly for Gerda. Her best friend changed seemingly overnight into someone much meaner. From what we've seen of the two of them before, they are incredibly good. The kind of good children that you only find in fairy tales. It's almost worse that other people are saying he's so clever for his imitations. Gerda was probably upset about the imitations and all the other mean things that Kay was doing, but it would be hard to complain about that to someone who thought it was a good thing. I'm kind of impressed that Gerda stayed friends with him, but maybe there were times she thought he was funny too.

The second story leaves off right after Kay disappears. We'll see how Gerda reacts to his disappearance in the next story.

The moral of these stories is either: don't be mean and make a mirror that distorts everything, or somehow avoid getting any pieces of it in your eye or your heart.

Have a different moral? Like this format? Wondering if the Snow Queen was the reason Kay got the pieces of that mirror in his eye and his heart? Comment below! And don't forget to subscribe if you like what you're reading.

The Runner

2020-12-17T18:30:00.002-05:00

Hello, readers! I'm very proud to say that I won NaNoWriMo again this year! Yes, I wrote 50,000 words in 30 days, or, to be more accurate, 51,112 words in 29 days, but who's counting? It's cool because when I write fantasy stories now, I'm more aware of stories and creatures from other cultures that I learned about because I write this blog. And when you like to rewrite fairy tales and folk tales like I do, that comes in handy.

In any case, it's December, which means that I'm right on track for rewriting a story about a gingerbread man. Although, this might not be a bright and happy tale, since in the original everyone wants to eat him. On the other hand, it's another story involving Lizzy. This time with some of her friends in high school instead of her magical family.

Sometimes, running is the answer.

Dale was a runner. Not that he ran track and field, or anything. His solution was just to run. Missing homework? Run. Awkward conversation? Run. Passed his driving test, but got too emotional about it? Run.

I didn't say he only ran from problems.

Dale and I didn't have much to do with each other. We had classes together, but he had his friends and I had mine. So, he was the last person I expected to walk in to the coven meeting. Most of the girls in this coven actually were witches. I'd never really been able to use magic, but I thought it was cool. Since my grandma never did any real magic for me, I thought I'd see what spells girls my age got into. This time, they wanted to open a door into another dimension.

I thought that was a little above them, but I didn't say a word. It would just make them mad and then I'd have to explain how I knew about opening a door into another dimension, and I didn't want to have that conversation. I didn't know much about it, really. I'd just casually asked Grandma Hazel about it once when I saw something about it on TV. Her eyes had gone faraway and she'd warned me not to mess with them. But I figured these girls wouldn't be able to do it anyway, so there was no need to stop them.

So, Dale walked in to the chemistry lab, backpack in hand, and startled them right when they were casting the spell. Uma jumped, scuffing the chalk line they'd put on the floor. Apparently she scuffed it just right because the door behind Dale slammed shut. We all looked at each other for a moment.

"Dale, wait!" I yelled, but it was too late. He was a runner. He had already turned around, opened the door, and ran through it.

For a moment, we all looked through at the landscape on the other side. It was odd. It was like a forest, but all of the trees were made out of gingerbread with frosting leaves. There was a cheerful path between the trees, made of giant Smarties. Dale just kept running. Well, there went our evening.

"Uma, Monica, and Yasmin, come with me. And don't eat anything!" I said, heading toward the door.

"Who made you the boss?" Marge whined.

I turned my "I don't have time for your crap" look on her. I perfected it on my brothers. She backed down right away. Good.

"The rest of you, stay here. Once we get back, we need to close the door, but not until then, all right?" If they stranded us here, I was going to be so mad.

They nodded and I ran after Dale with the three cleverest girls in the coven. Uma and Monica both had magic, and Yasmin and I both seemed to understand it, so I was hopeful we'd be done with this quickly.

The only problem was that Dale was much better at running than any of us. He should be from all the practice he got at it. Still. I looked over at Monica. "What do you think about casting a spell on us to run faster?"

"Or on Dale to run slower?" Yasmin asked. She had a good point.

"I think it'd be easier to cast on us," Monica said, between breaths. "I can't see Dale anymore."

It was true. He was out of sight. I hope he stayed on the path. At least then we could find him. "Do you need to stop to cast the spell?" I asked.

Monica shook her head, already mumbling.

Soon afterwards, I could feel my strides taking me a further distance, and my breathing actually slowing down.

"It won't last forever," Monica said, talking more easily. "But we should be able to catch up to Dale now."

I nodded and we all focused on the path ahead. Sure enough, we could see Dale, and we were gaining on him. A bird flew across the path. Its body was made of a gumdrop and it had rock candy for wings. I wondered how it flew.

"A bird," Uma said. "I wonder what else lives here."

"I hope we don't find out," I said. So far, it seemed that nothing malicious had noticed us. Maybe there wasn't anything that wanted to harm us here, but I didn't want to find out.

Up ahead, I saw Dale stop. Was there something coming out of the trees? It looked like the trees, but as we got closer, I could see it was person-shaped. A living gingerbread man. They were talking, but I couldn't hear what they were saying over the sound of us running on the path. Then, I saw Dale pale, turn, and start running. At least this time he was running toward us.

"He wants to eat me!" Dale yelled.

"Come back here!" the gingerbread man yelled. "You look delicious."

Well. That was unexpected. Monica, Uma, Yasmin and I all did quick turns and started running back the way we'd come. Monica's spell was still going strong, but now we also had fear fueling us. Still, Dale was catching up to us. I guess he was more afraid of the gingerbread man than he'd been of us.

The gingerbread man behind us yelled, "Run as fast as you can! I'll still catch you. I'm the gingerbread man!"

Did that mean there was only one like him? I hoped so. The door was getting closer. It was still open to the chemistry lab. The girls inside just looked confused. I guess they couldn't tell what was chasing us.

Dale made it through first, collapsing on the floor, but thankfully missing the chalk marks we'd put down earlier. Monica made it through next, with Uma right behind her. I made it in next and by the time I turned around, Yasmin had ran through the door as well. I slammed the door shut and locked it.

"Undo the spell!" I yelled.

Quickly, Marge wiped through the chalk drawings, opening up all the circles they'd drawn. I felt it when the spell disappeared. A change in air pressure or something. I sagged in relief. Then I unlocked the door and pulled it open.

"No!" Dale yelled, but it was just the chemistry classroom on the other side.

He looked at the classroom, then back at us.

I opened my mouth to try to explain, but I couldn't think of anything to say.

Dale just nodded slowly. "Next time I'll knock," he said. He picked up his backpack and left. I guess he was too tired to run this time.

I looked around at the rest of the coven.

"What happened out there?" Marge asked.

Yasmin started telling everyone about the gingerbread man. I thought that maybe there was a reason Grandma Hazel had never shown me magic like this.

The Gingerbread Man

2020-11-19T18:30:00.001-05:00

Remember, they're only tasty if they're not alive.

Hello readers! This week, we're looking at The Gingerbread Man, which seems to have been published first in America. If you're not familiar with the story, click on the link and check it out first. If you are, continue reading with me below.

It's always bothered me that the Gingerbread Man came to life. How did that happen? The old woman baked him in the same oven as her bread and that didn't come to life. Is it because he was person-shaped? Or because they gave him eyes and a mouth and such? It also bothers me that at the end of the story, they plan to make another Gingerbread Man and eat him. Hopefully that one doesn't come alive.

This is a pretty cruel story, actually, although it's usually presented as harmless fun. However he came to be, the Gingerbread Man is alive and does not want to be eaten. But when anyone sees him, human or animal, all they want is to eat him. That's pretty tragic for him.

Can we also talk about how the crowd of people and animals following the Gingerbread Man understand that the old woman made him? When she talks about making another one, they all wait around to see if they can catch him this time. They could ask if she'd make one for them, but I guess they prefer to steal one instead. We'll be generous and say that maybe it doesn't occur to them that they can ask her.

I have to wonder about the Gingerbread Man's lifespan if everyone didn't want to eat him. He seemed to be able to run for a long time without having any problems. Maybe he's sturdy enough to live for a long time if he's not eaten or dissolved in water. I suppose the first rainstorm would be a huge problem for him. There's just a lot to his existence and I'm curious about it. Are there other living Gingerbread Men or was he the only one? Sadly, I don't have anything approaching answers for any of these questions. But I suppose the great thing about fairy tales is that you can build on them and change them for your audience. Maybe someone told a version of this story where he got away and found others like him. I like to think so, anyway.

The moral of this story is if you're going to bake something person-shaped, be prepared for it to be alive. Alternatively, if you plan on baking any gingerbread men this holiday season, make sure they're not alive when you take them out of the oven.

Have a different moral? Still confused about how the Gingerbread Man learned to run and walk as soon as he gained life? Have a different story you want me to talk about? Comment below! And don't forget to subscribe to my email list.

Consequences

2020-11-05T18:30:00.010-05:00

Greetings, readers! This week, I've written a modern retelling of The Beautiful Dancer of Yedo. I ended up focusing on the dancing aspect of Sakura-ko's character, and I just couldn't forget about Silver Wave, possibly because she's the only other character who gets a name. My apologies to people in the industry if I've gotten some of the details wrong.

Also, as a side note, I'm attempting National Novel Writing Month again. Yes, I'm planning to write 50,000 words in the month of November. My novel, A Tale of Two Tricksters, came from a novel I wrote during a previous NaNoWriMo. Maybe the one I'm writing now will end up published as well.

Never underestimate a dancer's strength.

Ming was arguably the best dancer at the Sakura talent agency. She had danced in musicals, moonlighted in music videos, and had been a backup dancer for several singers in concert. She learned all these styles of dance, but she always added something extra to them. A flair no others could quite reach. Many men talked about her in videos online, but few actually sought her out. She declined them all, wary of such attention.

One young man, for he was so, so young, offered to marry her. He'd buy her a house with his daddy's money and she would want for nothing. In exchange, she would only dance for him. Ming turned him down, laughing and saying that she loved to dance and she would never want to stop. Men like him never knew the pain dancers put themselves through, so he believed her and left.

Another, older man, an executive in the talent agency, noticed her as well. He dropped hints and Ming carefully stepped around them. He was old enough to be her grandfather, and she teasingly implied it. Finally, one night he threw a party in her honor at his house. Very few knew he had recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness. He called for one of Ming's coworkers, Dakota, to pour the two of them some particularly special wine. Ming and Dakota gave each other a look.

Ming and the old man toasted to her success and drank. The old man gave her a crafty smile. "I may not have you in life, but I will have you in death. I'm dying, my dear, so I drank something to speed me on my way. And you've drunk it too."

"I'm not a fool, and neither is Dakota. She switched my drink," Ming said. "I only had wine." She pulled out her phone and called for an ambulance. The paramedics made good time out to the house. The party ended when the host was wheeled out in a gurney. But they were not in time to save him. He was dead before they got to the hospital.

When Ming heard the news, she couldn't help but cry.

"Don't cry for him," Dakota advised. "He was planning to take you with him, and your trouble may be just beginning."

Dakota proved to be right. Some guests at the party had heard the old man's speech and thought Ming had done something to make him believe they should die together. Ming was pulled into a trial where it was eventually ruled a suicide and attempted murder, but the damage to her reputation was done.

Now, everyone knew who she was, but no one wanted to hire her. Ming either got parts dancing far enough away from the camera that no one really saw her, or she was asked to do something that related to that fateful night. Those gigs almost always turned out to have the plot that she had killed him after all.

Ming began to hate the old man and the society that produced him. Dakota was her only friend left. When Ming stopped making as much money, they moved in together to save on rent. Ming loved to dance, but she hated it too. Now she couldn't find work as a dancer except for cheap gigs that barely paid enough. She couldn't make money dancing, even if she wanted to. Ming got a job in retail and found that there were worse things than rehearsal after a night out.

It was only in their apartment, when no one else was around, that Dakota and Ming would dance together. Routines that Dakota had learned, altered to fit their small space. Still, occasionally, customers would recognize Ming at work and ask her why she had killed the man who fell in love with her. Management was unimpressed with how Ming handled some of these customers.

One night, Ming was crying in the living room when Dakota came home. Dakota set everything down and cradled Ming on the couch, petting her hair. "I don't know what to do anymore," Ming said. "There's nothing for me here but you."

"Then let's run away together," Dakota said.

"What?" Ming wiped her eyes and looked at Dakota.

"Let's run away together. We'll go somewhere else. Another country, where they have different gossip. We can be anything we want to be there."

"As long as we're together," Ming said slowly.

"Yes," Dakota replied. "As long as we're together."

So, they disappeared from the town that had known Ming so well. Her presence faded until, in time, she was no more than an urban legend. And eventually, even that would be forgotten.

The Beautiful Dancer of Yedo

2020-10-29T18:30:00.001-04:00

That feeling when you're the heroine of a tragedy.

Hello, readers! This week's story comes from Japan. The Beautiful Dancer of Yedo is a sad story, but there's some beauty in it too. Read the story at the link above and analyze it with me below.

It's an interesting quirk of language that the narrator calls the three men in this story Sakura-ko's lovers. I wouldn't call the first two that, and only maybe the third, but I suppose they mean men who loved her. Although, I'm not sure they actually cared about her.

The first man wanted, essentially, to buy Sakura-ko. He wanted her, body and soul, in exchange for pretty clothes and servants. I'm not always sure of the culture behind these stories, so I'm glad she was able to tell him no, although I doubt she liked being a geisha that much. This first man wanted to possess her, possibly just to be another pretty thing in his house. So much for the first man loving her.

The second man wanted to die with her. I suppose that since he was old, he decided he didn't have much time left alive, so it would be better to die with a beautiful woman than live the time he had left. I'm so glad the other geisha, Silver Wave, knew what the old man planned and didn't let him kill Sakura-ko. If they had died together, I'm sure her spirit wouldn't have let his rest easily. So much for the second man loving her.

The third man is the one I could maybe see being in love, although even with him, I'm not convinced. He didn't want to buy her and he didn't want to die with her. He asked her to marry him. Again, I only know a bit about Japanese culture and I'm not sure when, exactly, this story takes place, but I don't think geishas often married lords, no matter how excellent at dancing the geishas were. This man lets himself shrivel away because of his emotions for her, but that still doesn't convince me this is love. What makes me think it might be love are Sakura-ko's actions. When she finds him in the street, she takes him to his house and takes care of him for three months.

She didn't have to do that. Even if Sakura-ko felt she needed to get him back to his house, she didn't need to stay there and take care of him. And she definitely didn't have to do it for three months! The story says that she was happy and I'm glad for her. I don't understand why she had to leave, but taking that at face value is part of what makes this story so tragically beautiful. Clearly, there was a reason. Maybe it was because she knew a lord couldn't marry a geisha? Whatever the reason, she leaves and they're both sad about it.

The postscript is what really makes me like this story, though. That nun who comes back and sees the young lord's son. That nun is clearly Sakura-ko. What else could a woman who was once a geisha do in that society besides become a nun? (Again, I don't know enough to be sure, but I believe her options would have been incredibly limited.) She still thinks it was better for the lord that they didn't stay together, even all that time later.

The circular nature of this story where, once again, Sakura-ko leaves a boy in that same house makes this whole story work. We see how Sakura-ko deals with other men pursuing her and how they handle her rejection, and then we see the differences in this third man. After she left the other two, Sakura-ko stayed in town, but after she left the young lord, she disappeared. He was different, and that difference draws us to the end of the story nicely.

The moral of this story is not to be a geisha in this time period. Alternatively, if you fall in love with someone you can't have, make sure you disappear completely, so neither of you can try the relationship again.

Have a different moral? Wondering if Sakura-ko or Silver Wave got in trouble with the law after that old man killed himself? Have a different story you'd like me to talk about? Comment below!

Just Breathe

2020-10-22T18:30:00.001-04:00

Salutations, reader. This is my modern retelling of The Legend of Knocksheogowna. We all have escapes during the craziness that is 2020. Some people's are just a little more literal than others.

If sunsets make you happy, watch a lot of them.

It's funny. People say they don't believe in magic, but no one will go near that oddly conical hill. Kids will dare each other to climb it, but even the bravest won't go there at night. Every so often, a tourist or hiker goes up there accidentally after the sun goes down. They're usually found in the morning, scared stiff. Usually literally. It really sucks for the guy who owns the hill, but what are you going to do?

Me, I stay away from it. I don't need to know what kind of craziness goes on there after night. The world's crazy enough these days. And it's not like I leave my house for much now. Not without a mask and six feet of distance between me and everyone else. But, I found one way to get myself out of the house was to go hiking and watch the sunset from the hills. It was soothing and breathing the fresh air with no one else around helped me relax.

One night, I underestimated how long it would take me to get back to my car after a hike, so I was scrabbling around in the dark. I managed to fall and mess up my ankle. I really didn't want to walk on it. Luckily, I'd found a good walking stick earlier in my hike, but that was no replacement for two good legs on this terrain.

In the distance, I saw a light. Hopefully that was someone who either had cell signal, or would drive me somewhere that had a signal. I hobbled toward it, not paying attention to much besides the light and where I was putting my feet and stick. It wasn't until I was nearly at the top that I realized I was on the magic hill. Once I realized that, the light went out.

I swore and tried to figure out if I could manage the climb down. But there was a rock nearby and I really needed a rest. I sat down and sighed. I figured an introduction couldn't hurt. "Hello," I said. "I'm sorry about intruding. I didn't mean to. Once I have a quick rest, I'll head back down the hill."

Silence.

Well, what did I expect, really? It occurred to me that I might have alerted whatever haunted this hill that I was here. Not a happy thought. Maybe it would appreciate that I wasn't planning to stay. I hoped so.

A light appeared in front of me and turned into a gigantic black cat. Well, apparently I had annoyed whatever lived here. "I'm sorry," I began, but I never got farther. The black cat began to change. It twisted and turned in ways that a thing shouldn't. My stomach turned with it and I realized I was breathing too fast.

Without thinking about it, I started counting and breathing. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. Repeat. It gave me something to focus on besides the shapeshifting taking place in front of me. I had been curious what happened up here, but now I realized why no one has been able to describe it well. It was horrendous, and I wouldn't want to tell people exactly what was happening even if I could.

After too many shapes, it settled on a white calf. It was really cute, like any baby animal. An unsettling change from what had come before. It looked at me with trusting eyes and began to walk closer. I didn't want it to get closer. It might eat me or something. I had to do something. Maybe I'd seen too many rodeos or read too many fairy tales, but when it got close enough, I jumped up and got on its back.

The calf did not like that. It began to buck and I looked down to see the ground far, far below us. It jumped or flew, I'm not sure which one. It took us several miles deeper into the woods before it finally landed and got me off its back.

"I see you're a human with some fire in you!" The calf spoke, somehow.

I couldn't respond. I was trying to remember my breathing again.

"You didn't even scream when I changed," the calf continued.

I managed a nod. Hold for seven, out for eight. In for four.

The cow smiled. It looked wrong on that face. "Very well then, my taciturn human. What do you want?"

A thousand things crowded my mind. Chiefly, to get away from here and be home safe. "The hill," I managed. "Why do you haunt it?"

The cow laughed. "Because my people live under it. Fairies always live under a hill. Didn't you know that?"

Fairies. My disbelief had been overworked since I saw that cat began to twist into a new shape. Why not fairies? "Is it nice?" I asked.

"Of course," the fairy sounded offended. Then a cunning look came into its cow eyes. Don't ask me how i knew this facial expression of a cow, but I knew that's what the fairy was feeling. "You could come look. See for yourself."

"Is it safe?"

"Is anything safe?" the cow countered.

So that was a no. Then again, it was probably amazing. That's the the stories said. And besides, this fairy could shapeshift into anything it wanted. Why would it live in a dump? And why would it protect a home it hated? I remembered something from those fairy tales about time passing differently on a fairy hill. One day could be decades in the human world. But it would be so nice to see others in person, even if they weren't human. To be able to hug a stranger. Breathe the same air as someone else without worry.

I had to word this carefully. "I would like your promise that you will let me visit your home, that no harm will come to me, and, when I ask, I will be returned to the human world."

The cow grinned. It wasn't threatening, but it didn't look quite right. "Agreed," it said. "Well? Hop on."

As I hopped on its back, the pain in my ankle went away. I hung on tightly as the cow jumped again. We went up and up, until we started angling down to the conical hill. Faster and faster. I shut my eyes tightly, until I could see light through my eyelids. I opened them, surprised to see what looked like daylight underground. And looking around, it was just as lovely as I'd imagined.