Elizabeth DiSalvatore - Myth-Folklore

One day there lived a lonely fox. He had quite a nice den, but he spent most his days out in the woods hunting. While he preferred to hunt alone, he did get awfully lonely in the evenings. His days were long, with no one to talk to when he returned to his den after a long day of hunting. He became very depressed by his loneliness. His den became a disaster because he had no motivation to clean. Every night before he went to sleep he would pray for someone to spend his life. Someone who would help him do the chores and someone to tell about his day when he came home from hunting. A few weeks of his wishing past. He started to notice that when he got home from hunting, some things were cleaned and put where they belonged. There were no visible signs that someone had been there. Nothing was stolen, so he was not too worried, but wondered who was coming in while he was gone to clean. He decided that he would pretend to leave to go hunt, then sneak back in to see who or what was sneaking ...

It was a time when men were plentiful and the plain's creatures grew abundantly. However, the leader of the Plains Tribe, Eagle, was oppressing many people of the nearby Mountain tribe. The Mountain tribe were good people, who listened and worshiped the Raven, unlike the majority of the Plain's people. The Raven heard of this enslavement and was angered. He went to Eagle's oldest son, Arrow, and said, "You must convince your father to let the people of the mountains leave his reign. He will refuse, so I will bring down my fist on the Plains people. Then I will rescue the mountain people, and all will know I am the creator and true leader." Arrow did as the Raven commanded of him. Eagle's heart was hardened and he refused to listen to the Raven's threats. Then the Raven appeared to Arrow, "Your father's heart is stubborn and he is refusing to let the mountain people go. So go to him and tomorrow and watch him as he witnesses my first curse on the...

Authors Note: This week I read tons of  Nigerian Folk Tales . Most of these stories came from  Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria  by Elphinstone Dayrell. I found these stories to be very engaging, for most of them provided and explanation of why something is the way it is today, like thunder and lighting for example. I would like to write my own folk tale to explain something, using the models of several Nigerian folk tales. I did some research and found a page called  Gateway Africa .  African folk tales usually have a moral point to them or are used to educate, entertain, or explain an animal behavior. In animal tales, a certain animal would always have the same character role in each story as to limit confusion. For example, the Hare is always the trickster, while the Hyena was always being tricked by the Hare. I decided to write a story explaining how the hyena got its laugh. Long ago in the Sahara Desert lived a family of royal hippos. These hippos live...

Source: Pixabay   This week I read tons of Nigerian Folk Tales . Most of these stories came from Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell. I found these stories to be very engaging, for most of them provided and explanation of why something is the way it is today, like thunder and lighting for example. I would like to write my own folk tale to explain something, using the models of several Nigerian folk tales. To learn more about African folk tales, I did some research and found a page called Gateway Africa . African folk tales usually have a moral point to them or are used to educate, entertain, or explain an animal behavior. Culture and religion is very intertwined in African culture. Stories reflect a cultural identity and storytelling is used to restore pride in a community. Different ethnic groups have different ceremonies for storytelling, which creates a filling of belonging. Folktales have been a way to help explain the environment to children. In an...

Author's Note: This story comes from a Bengali folktale. Ghost are so prevalent in Bengali culture, that there are several types of ghosts that are responsible for different actions. It is believed that the spirits of people who could not find peace in the afterlife or died of unnatural deaths such as murder, suicide, or accident, remained on Earth.  In  The Story of the Brahmadaitya   by Rev. Lal Behari, a ghost is indeed a main character.  In this particular story, the "Brahmadaitya" is a ghost of a Brahman who dies unmarried. From my research, I discovered that a Braymadaitya is one of the most popular kind of ghost in Bengal and are believed to be benevolent. In this story, a poor Brahman befriends a Brahmadaitya who helps the Brahman become prosperous and in the end the Brahmadaitya's duties are accomplished and he ascends into the heavens, and everyone lives happily ever after. This story ends the same way many of the Bengali Folktales do, with the ...

Animals All Aboard Source: Cobble Hill  Bibliography: Genesis CH. 5-11, Kings James bible Author's Note: I took the biblical story of Noah's Ark and wrote it from the animal's point of view. In the original story, God is unhappy with humanity and comes to Noah who is favorable. God gives Noah detailed instructions on how to build an Ark and He makes a covenant with Noah. Noah obeys God, and himself, his wife, the rest of his family board the ark, and a male and female of every pure creature on early board the ark. It rains for 40 days and 40 nights, and every living creature on early who isn't on the boat perishes. The flood last 150 days, then the ark is docked until the Lord summons them all off the ark. God then promises never to destroy the earth again. He reminds Noah of his domain over the animals, and instructs all living creatures to be fruitful and multiply. I decided to write this story from the animal's point of view.  Animals All Aboard  One ...

The Fall of Man  by Michelangelo - Source: Wiki Images And I thought, "I shall depict both scenarios in my painting. One of temptation and one of protection." So I painted a tree as the focal point. The branches would represent good and evil. On the left I painted a serpent man, calling out to Eve, tempting her to join him in the knowledge of good and evil. On the right I painted an angel, guarding Adam and Eve from the tree. I debated placing a sword in her hand, for most angels are not thought of with a sword, but in the end decide it was appropriate. I gave her a soft face, one that a loving mother would give a son after he made a mistake. Now I need to paint Adam and Eve on each side. In the light I painted Adam first. To keep in context of the story, he would need to be naked, but not ashamed of his appearance. I painted the sword the angel was holding up to Adam's next. Adam's face showed a look of remorse as his head turned away from the tree. I pain...

The Shark, the Sting Ray, and the Manatee Once upon a time, a shark was caught in a fishing net. The greedy shark belly rolled and belly rolled but only seemed to make his situation worse. In despair, he let out a large sigh knowing that he indeed was stuck. A charming Sting Ray came swimming by. "Sting Ray, help me out of this net would ya?" yelled the Shark. "Why would I do that?" the Sting Ray yelled in response. "You always bully people of my kind and act as though you own these waters." "Oh dear, I am so sorry you feel that way. I promise I do not mean to come off that way. If you help me out, I promise I will be more kind and leave all of you and your buddies alone for as lone as I live!" the Shark pleaded. The gluttonous shark wailed and besought help from the Sting Ray. The charismatic Sting Ray was too easy to win over. Once the Shark said that he would be more kind and leave him and his buddies alone, the Sting Ray foolishly be...