FOLKLORE, MYTHS, AND

LEGENDS FROM AROUND THE

WORLD.EDF 2085

By: Alison Toro, Faith Elsen and Megan

In a country as large and diverse as the United States of America, it is important for teachers to have a basic understanding of their students and the cultures they come from.

CULTURES In this presentation we will look at

different cultures from around the world and give short descriptions of some of the myths and legends from these cultures.

STORYTELLING Storytelling traditions vary all over the

world, yet have many things in common. This section is an attempt to gather information on customs of the oral tradition world-wide. Many people today are rediscovering the pleasures of telling stories, after their culture has lost most of its traditional storytelling, yet cannot easily find out much about the countless millennia of oral traditions with all their wisdom and techniques.

CHINA/ JAPAN The Magic Moneybag (This is a story taken in the Ming

Dynasty; it’s a tale about humans and their relations to the cosmos)

Long, long ago there was a young couple who lived in a small thatched hut in a gully. They were so poor that every day they had to cut two bundles of firewood and carry them to market on their backs. One day, the young couple came back from the mountain carrying the firewood. They put one bundle in the courtyard and planned to sell it at the market the next day to buy rice. The other bundle they kept in the kitchen for their own use. When they woke up the following morning, the bundle in the courtyard had mysteriously disappeared. There was nothing to do but to sell the bundle which they had kept for themselves. That same day, they cut another two bundles of firewood as usual.

MAGIC MONEYBAG CONT. They put one bundle in the courtyard for market and kept the

other bundle for their own use. But the following morning, the bundle in the courtyard had vanished again. The same thing happened on the third and fourth day as well, and the husband began to think there was something strange going on. On the fifth day, he made a hollow in the bundle of firewood in the courtyard and hid himself inside it. From the outside it looked just the same as before. At midnight an enormous rope descended from the sky, attached itself to the bundle and lifted it up into the sky, with the woodcutter still inside it. On his arrival in heaven, he saw a kindly looking, white-haired old man coming in his direction. The old man untied the bundle and when he found the man inside it, he asked, "Other people only cut one bundle of firewood a day. Why do you cut two?” The woodcutter made a bow and replied, "We are penniless. That's why my wife and I cut two bundles of firewood a day. One bundle is for our own use and the other we carry to the market. With it we can buy rice to make porridge.”

MAGIC MONEYBAG CONT. The old man chuckled and said to the woodcutter in a warmhearted tone of

voice, "I've known for a long time that you are a decent couple and lead a frugal and hardworking life. I shall give you a piece of treasure. Take it back with you and it will provide you with your livelihood.” As soon as he had finished speaking, there came seven fairies who led the young man into a magnificent palace. Its golden eaves and gleaming roof tiles shone so brightly that the moment he entered, he could no longer open his eyes. Inside the palace there were many kinds of rare objects on display that he had never seen before. Moneybags of all shapes and sizes hung in one room. The fairies asked him, "Which one do you like best? Choose whichever you please, and take it home.” The woodcutter was beside himself with joy, "I'd like that moneybag, the one full of precious things. Give me that round, bulging one." He chose the biggest one and took it down. Just at this moment, the white-haired old man came in and, with a stern expression on his face, said to the young man, "You cannot take that one. I'll give you an empty one. Every day you can take one tael of silver out of it, and no more." The woodcutter reluctantly agreed. He took the empty moneybag and, clinging onto the enormous rope, he was lowered to the ground. Once home, he gave the moneybag to his wife and told her the whole story. She was most excited. In the daytime they went as usual to cut firewood. But from then on, whenever they returned home after dark, they would close the door and open the moneybag. Instantly, a lump of silver would roll jingling out.

MAGIC MONEYBAG CONT. When they weighed it on the palm of their hand, they found it to be exactly one tael.

Every day one tael of silver and no more came rolling out of the bag. The wife saved them up one by one. Time went slowly by. One day the husband suggested, "Let's buy an ox.” The wife didn't agree. A few days later, the husband suggested again, "How about buying a few acres of land?” His wife didn't agree with that either. A few more days elapsed, and the wife herself proposed, "Let's build a little thatched cottage.” The husband was itching to spend all the money they had saved and said, "Since we have so much money in hand, why don't we build a big brick house?” The wife could not dissuade her husband and reluctantly went along with his idea. The husband spent the money on bricks, tiles and timber and on hiring carpenters and masons. From that time on, neither of them went into the mountain to cut firewood any more. The day came when their pile of silver was almost exhausted, but the new house was still unfinished. It had long been in the back of the husband's mind to ask the moneybag to produce more silver. So without his wife's knowledge, he opened the bag for a second time that day. Instantly, another lump of snow-white silver rolled jingling out of the bag onto the ground. He opened it a third time and received a third lump. He thought to himself, "If I go on like this, I can get the house finished in no time!" He quite forgot the old man's warning. But when he opened the bag for the fourth time, it was absolutely empty. This time not a scrap of silver came out of it. It was just an old cloth bag. When he turned to look at his unfinished brick house, that was gone as well. There before him was his old thatched hut. The woodcutter felt very sad. His wife came over and consoled him, "We can't depend on the magic moneybag from heaven. Let's go back to the mountain to cut firewood as we did before. That's a more dependable way of earning a living.” From that day on, the young couple once again went up to the mountain to cut firewood and led their old, hardworking life.

GREED NEVER PAYS This story

honors the thought of be happy for what you have

THE BADGER AND THE MAGIC FAN Long ago in Japan, there were three children with a very special fan. But these

children were no ordinary children. They were Tengu children, goblins of Japan,and as all Tengus did, they had very long noses. When they waved the fan over their noses, their noses would either shrink or grow longer than they already were. Now although the children didn't know it, the whole time they were fanning away, they were being watched. Watched by a sly badger. Badgers in Japan can turn themselves into anything they want. And when the badger saw what fun the children were having with the magic fan, he decided to take it for himself. So the badger transformed himself into a girl with a plate of bean-jam buns,which all children in Japan are fond of. Thinking nothing of it, they dropped the fan and happily ate a bun. But there were three children and four buns. So the tricky badger suggested that the children close their eyes and hold their breath. Whoever could hold their breath with their eyes closed the longest would get the last bean-jam bun. The children thought this was a fair idea, so they each took a deep breath and closed their eyes.

The second the eyes of all three children were closed, the badger hurried over to the fan, picked it up and ran out of the house, set to have his own kind of fun.

The badger came across a temple with a beautiful girl sitting inside. The girl was the daughter of the richest man in Japan. The badger waved his fan over the girl's petite nose until it grew very long. Then he ran away. The father was devastated! His beautiful daughter now looked like a dreadful tengu. The father called upon the doctors of Japan. They thought that if the princess ate thistledown, sea urchins and cabbage, it would cure her nose. So the princess ate thistledown, sea urchins and cabbage. She ate them until she could eat no more. But it didn't affect her nose at all. The father called on a witch. The witch suggested that the girl sprinkle pepper on her nose and then she could sneeze it back to normal size. The girl sprinkled pepper all over her nose and she sneezed. She sneezed and sneezed and sneezed. But nothing happened to her nose.The father yelled and sprinkled pepper on the witch. And she left, sneezing.The father sent for the thinkers of Japan. They thought that if she tied her nose in knots or bows it would look smaller. The father was in the depths of despair.

THE MORALE OF THE STORY IS: TAKE WHAT YOU DESERVE AND ONLY WHAT YOU DESERVE

. Out of desperation he said,"I will give my daughter and half my fortune to anyone who can shrink my daughter's nose." The badger stalked into the room and introduced himself as a nose shrinker. And with a few quick waves of the fan, the girl's nose was small again. The wedding festivities were held immediately. The badger couldn't believe his luck! A beautiful wife that also happened to be rich. When he was snoring soundly, the tengu children crept in and took their fan. They waved it over the badger's nose until the nose grew through the clouds. Two workers were building a bridge in heaven. When they saw the badger's nose stop growing beside them, they decided it was the perfect pole for their bridge and hoisted it up. And that sneaky badger was never seen again.

IRAN

A BRIEF HISTORY OF IRANایران اسالمی جمهوری

Officially called the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Iran is one of the world’s oldest civilizations.

The capital is Tehran. Iran founded algebra, alcohol, and is

home to one of the world’s oldest flags.

PERSIAN MYTHOLOGYسیمرغSimurgh

Prevalent in many Persian stories.

A mythological “Bird” like creature

Head of a dog, claws of a lion, and peacock tail.

Large enough to carry an elephant.

PERSIAN LEGENDS

شیرین و خسروKhosrow and Shirin A tragic romance Extremely prevelent

in Persian art, writings, and poetry.

Similar to the West’s Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

KHOSROW AND SHIRIN

Khosrow was a wood cutter who loved a pricess named Shirin.

The Shah found out of their love and designed a task to win Shirin’s hand that no man could ever accomplish.

Khosrow almost finished the task until he heard that his beloved Shirin died.

KHOSROW AND SHIRINKhosrow, not

knowing that this was a lie, killed himself.

When Shirin heard of Khosrow’s death, she too killed herself to be forever with him in heaven.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIvX0yh9m1Q

IN THE CLASSROOM In many US

classrooms, teachers only relate the curriculum to Western stories and tails.

The reality is many students come from different backgrounds and may not be familiar with these stories.

IN THE CLASSROOMThus, teachers

should expand their knowledge and know their students culture.

This allows for the student to better relate the subject material being taught, no matter what the curriculum.

Aurore and AimeeFrance

A lady had two daughters. Both were beautiful; Aurore, the older, had a good character, but Aimée, the younger, was malevolent. When Aurore was sixteen and Aimée was twelve, the lady began to lose her looks. She moved to another city, sent Aurore to the country, and claimed that Aimée was only ten and that she had been fifteen when she had given birth to her. Fearing that someone would discover the deception, she sent Aurore to another country, but the person she sent with her abandoned Aurore in the forest. Aurore hunted for a way out and finally found a shepherdess's cottage. She lamented her fate and blamed God; the sheperdress urged that God permitted misfortune only for the benefit of the unfortunate person, and offered to act the part of her mother. After some discussion of the fashionable but often dull life Aurore had been living, the shepherdess pointed out that age would make it less pleasant, and that she herself could teach Aurore how to live without boredom. Aurore agreed, and the shepherdess set her to a life divided into prayer, work, reading, and walks; Aurore found this life very agreeable because it was not dull.One day, a prince, Ingénu, went hunting. He was a good prince, though his brother Fourbin, the king, was an evil king. He fell in love with and wooed Aurore, and she, properly, sent him to the shepherdess. He begged her to tell him whether it would make her unhappy if the shepherdess consented; she praised his virtue and said that a daughter can not be unhappy with a virtuous husband. The shepherdess did consent, knowing he would make Aurore a good husband, and he left, to return in three days. In that time, Aurore fell into a thicket while she was gathering the sheep, and her face was dreadfully scratched; she lamented this, the shepherdess reminded her that God doubtlessly meant it for good, and Aurore reflected that if Ingénu no longer wished to marry her because her looks were gone, he would not have made her happy.

Meanwhile, Ingénu told his brother of his bride, and Fourbin, angry that he would marry without his permission, threatened to marry Aurore himself if she were as beautiful as Ingénu claimed. He came with him, and on seeing Aurore's marred face, ordered Ingénu to marry her at once and forbade the couple to come to court. Ingénu was still willing to marry her; after Fourbin left, the shepherdess cured Aurore's injuries with a special water.Back at court, Fourbin ordered portraits of beautiful women brought to him. He was enchanted by one of Aurore's sister Aimée and married her.After a year, Aurore had a son, Beaujour. One day, he vanished, and Aurore lamented. The shepherdess reminded her that everything happened to her for her own good. The next day, Fourbin's soldiers came; they had been sent to kill the king's nephew. Not finding him, they put Ingénu, Aurore, and the shepherdess to sea in a boat. They sailed to a kingdom where the king was at war. Ingénu offered to fight for the king and killed the commander of his enemies, making the army flee. The king, who was childless, adopted Ingénu as his son. Four years later, Fourbin died of grief because of his wife's wickedness, and his people drove Aimée away and sent for Ingénu to be king. On the way there, they were shipwrecked; this time, Aurore held that it must have happened for the good, and on the land where they were shipwrecked, she found a woman with her son, Beaujour. The woman explained that she was the wife of a pirate, who had kidnapped the boy, but been shipwrecked. Ships came looking for their bodies, and bore back Ingénu, Aurore, and Beaujour back to their kingdom. Aurore never again complained of any misfortune, knowing misfortunes were often the cause of happiness.

Peux D’AneA king had a beautiful wife and a rich castle, including a marvelous donkey whose droppings were gold. One day his wife died, after making him promise not to marry except to a woman whose beauty and attributes equaled hers. The king grieved, but was, in time, persuaded to seek another wife. It became clear that the only woman who would fit the promise was his own daughter. She went to her fairy godmother. who advised her to make impossible demands as a condition of her consent: a dress the color of the sky, a dress the color of the moon, a dress as bright as the sun, and finally, the hide of his marvelous donkey. Such was the king's desire to marry her that he granted all of them. The fairy godmother gave her a marvelous chest to contain all she owned and told her that the donkeyskin would make an excellent disguise.

The princess fled and eventually found a royal farm where they let her work in the kitchen, despite her ugliness in the donkeyskin. On feast days, she would dress herself in the fine gowns her father had given her, and one such day, the prince came by her room and peeped through the keyhole. He fell in love at once, fell ill with his longing, and declared that nothing would cure him but a cake baked by Donkeyskin, and nothing they could say of what a dirty creature she was dissuaded him.When Donkeyskin baked the cake, a ring of hers fell in it. The prince found it and declared that he would marry only the woman whose finger it fit. Every other woman having failed, he insisted that Donkeyskin try, and it fit. When she had dressed herself in her fine gowns, his parents were reconciled with the match. Donkey-skin later found that her father had remarried to a beautiful widow and everyone lived happily ever after

SOURCESAlison

Faithhttp://www.irpedia.com/iran/history/

http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iran-iv-myths-and-legends

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIvX0yh9m1Q&feature=relmfu

Megan

Jessicahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkeyskin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurore_and_Aimée