Week 2 Reading B

Origin Stories: The Moon
    The Man in the Moon:    The blacksmith wasn't satisfied with his life as a blacksmith because it was hot work, so he asked the wise man to be a stone, so he became a stone.  Then he saw that he was then underneath the stone-cutter, so he was made a stone-cutter.  Then the work of a stone-cutter was too much for him, so he asked to be the sun.  But the sun was hotter than all his other forms, so he asked to be the moon instead.  He then asked to be the moon, because it seemed cool.  But the heat from the sun was even greater, so he asked to be a blacksmith again, but the wise man refused to turn him back, and so the blacksmith ended as the moon.
Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson

  The Hare That Was Not Afraid to Die:    Buddha was born as a hare.  He had three friends.  Buddha taught moral law to each of his three friends.  He said to give to the poor.  His three friends then went and got food and thought they were being virtuous.  The hare didn't have anything but offered his own flesh to beggars.  So Sakka, the King of Gods, put the hare to the test. He tested his 3 friends and they offered food.  He then tested hare, and the hare willingly gave his own body.
Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock

The Divine:  
    Heavenly Beings: Susanoo and Orochi
The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi:  Susanoo saw a chopstick in the river so he knew that there were people in the country above.  He went into the forest and found an old man, an aged crone, and a fair maiden.  The old man tells him that 8 of their daughters have been eaten by Orochi.  He decides to slay Orochi in return for the daughter in marriage.  He then slew Orochi with his sword and married the daughter
Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney

Supernatural: A Teton Ghost Story
    The Indian Who Wrestled with a Ghost:    A man was approaching a forest and heard an owl.  A woman came by and raised his feet three times as he laid down.  He woke the next day and thought it was a ghost.  He started a fire and heard someone sing.  The singer asked for food.  After the man finished smoking, he found the singer dead with only his bones.  The ghost asked the man to wrestle, and the man won and got horses. 
Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by Katharine Berry Judson

Metamorphosis: Pygmalion

    Pygmalion lived as a bachelor and carved a figure out of ivory.  He fell in love with his own art.  He treats his figure as if it were a real human woman.  On the day of Venus's festival, he went to the altar and asked to have a bride like his ivory girl.  Venus answered his prayer and the figure was made into a girl.  Pygmalion and the woman had a marriage and had a son, Paphos.  

Ovid's Metamorphoses, translated by Tony Kline

Tricksters: Tiger, Brahman, and Jackal
    A tiger was caught in a trap.  He asked a Brahman to release him, but the Brahman refused in fear that the tiger would eat him.  The tiger sobbed until the Brahman finally consented to open the trap.  Then, the tiger revealed that he was planning to eat the Brahman.  The Brahman begged for his life. The Brahman met a jackal.  The Jackal kept asking him to repeat his story, but couldn't comprehend.  They then went back to the cage.  The Jackal didn't understand anything, and the Tiger lost patience and went back into the cage to show how he was trapped, then the jackal shut the door quickly.
Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

Aesop's Fables: The Lion

    The Lion's Share:  The Lion went hunting with the Fox, Jackal, and wolf.  They hunted a Stag and wondered how to split it.  The Lion said to quarter it.  The Lion claimed that all four pieces were his.  The Fox stated that he will share the labor but not the spoil.

    Androcles and the Lion:    A slave, Androcles, fled to the forest.  He found a Lion that didn't pursue him.  There was a thorn in the Lion.  He took the thorn out, and the Lion took him to his cave and fed him meat.  Androcles was caught, and sentenced to be killed by the Lion.  They watched the Lion let loose, but the Lion instead licked Androcles hands.  The Emporer was surprised by this and let Androcles free.

    The Lion and the Statue:    A Man and Lion argued their strengths.  The man argued strength by intelligence.  He showed the Lion a statue of Hercules beating a Lion.  But the Lion claimed that it proves nothing because a man made that statue.

    The Lion in Love:    A Lion fell in love with a maiden and asked for marriage to her parents.  They feared the Lion and asked that he have his claws and teeth removed.  The Lion obliged and the parents were no longer scared of him and laughed at him. 

The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs

Fairy Tale: Beauty and the Basilisk

    The Three Roses:    There was a mother with three daughters.  She planned to go to the market and asked the daughters if they needed anything.  Two daughters demanded many things.  The last daughter didn't need anything but asked for three roses.  The mother then bought all she could, but when homeward, she lost her way.  She came across a palace, and found a garden of roses, and decided to get three for her daughter.  A Basilisk came down and demanded her daughter.  She went home to her daughter and told the daughter to go to the palace.  The daughter didn't mind and the basilisk told her to nurse him for three hours every day.  On the third day, the Basilisk brought a sword and asked the daughter to cut his head off.  Then a serpent came out of him and asked her to cut his head off again.  Then the serpent changed into a young man.  They then had a great wedding.

The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis

Pygmalion and his Ivory Statue painted by Jean-Baptiste Regnault