The Golden Valley is a Sicilian story, taken from Ruth Manning-Sanders’ collection A Book of Monsters. One royal family locates the natural phenomenon of their dreams: a whole valley of gold. This is a story of a king and queen who are wonderful parents, three brothers who love each other, and a monster who loves a golden architectural flair. Sometimes gold is just pretty, and a monster can become the best friend you’ve ever had.

‘Gretel in Darkness’ is a 1975 poem by Louise Glück exploring trauma. The poem is a dramatic monologue spoken by Gretel, the little girl from the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel. In the poem, Gretel directly addresses the readers/listeners and Hansel, and offers her intimate thoughts reflecting on how she is haunted psychologically by the memory of the witch she killed, in order to save herself and her brother Hansel.

The Ebony Horse is a story from the Arabian Nights, also known as the One Thousand and One Nights. The tale borders on being ‘science fiction’ before the genre existed. It sees a cunning inventor design an ebony horse which is capable of flying. A prince uses the horse to travel to other lands, where he falls in love with a princess. It is an entertaining tale, full of adventure and love and danger and suspense.

The Red Pearls is a Chinese Fairytale with a familiar set-up of love, magic, and immortality but takes a delightfully unexpected approach. It is a story of Liu Hai and Ninth Sister and how they have each other’s back and support each other. There’s a golden toad to stir things up but tune in to find out who’s side the godly magic is on.

The Lion, the Tiger, and the Eagle is a Greek fairy tale from the Ruth Manning-Sanders collection Damian and the Dragon. It is a story of three brothers and three sisters and how their father’s dying words chooses their marital destiny.

The Lass Who Went Out at the Cry of Dawn is a story from Sorche Nic Leodhas’ collection of Scottish folk lore, Thistle and Thyme. This is a story of a girl who goes on an adventure to rescue her sister with an unconventional weapon, thanks to her farsighted parents.

Not many frogs can claim the resourcefulness of this African fairy tale’s titular character, Mainu. He helps Kiman throughout the story, from making journeys between heaven and earth, impressing lord Sun and lady Moon, to coming up with a trick to get Mainu married to the girl he is in love with, and all this without expecting anything in return.

Three Heads in the Well (or The King of Colchester’s Daughters) is a tale hundreds of years old. Listen to what happens when two daughters of the king are rewarded or punished by the fairy heads in the well.

The Hare’s Liver is a folk tale from Korea, in honor of the Chinese New Year (Year of the Rabbit). It tells the story of an ailing Dragon King who is told he can recover his health only through eating a hare’s liver. He sends Turtle to get a hare from dry land. Remarkably, Turtle successfully returns with Hare, but can the Hare escape through his sharp wits?

Martin and the Lions is taken from Ruth Manning-Sanders’ 1988 collection A Cauldron of Witches. The story has a nasty witch and a conscientious hero, Martin. The story has elements of animal cruelty and progresses with how Martin manages to free the lions from the witch’s curse.

“The White Snake” begins with a king who eats a bite of the white snake every evening, and rules his kingdom with such power, it seems he knows what will happen in it before anyone possibly could. He’s our only glimpse into the larger implications of the power of the white snake—once the king’s servant discovers the secret, the story becomes all about the servant’s use of this power to gain wealth, stature, and a wife who is resistant to him, that it takes three tests before she gives in and marries him.

The Three Snake-Leaves is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale about a young man who marries a princess. When she dies he is buried alive with her. Using folk medicine troupe in the story, while in the tomb he brings her back to life with three snake-leaves. She comes to life but is not the same, she betrays him with another man and that betrayal leads to her possibly ultimate death.

‘A Bought Dream’ is an interesting story where it seems like someone threw half a dozen fairy tale elements into a blender just to see what would happen, making it a perfect story to start the year with. It is a story of Sarsembai and a dream he has for his life. He goes through a journey to realize if his dream has come true and if he earns a happy ending for himself and his village too.

The story of Snow Queen, Gerda, and Kai is perfect for this cold winter. After tiny fragments of a magic mirror become lodged in one of Kai’s eyes and his heart, his personality begins to change and he starts to turn cold. It then becomes easy for the Snow Queen to abduct the boy. Kai is carried off to the Snow Queen's faraway palace. Join Gerda on a dangerous and whimsical quest to save her best friend before he is trapped forever in the Snow Queen’s palace.

In a holiday-themed episode this is an Icelandic legend of Jólakötturinn, aka “Yule Cat”. This monstrous feline stalks the entire country looking for those who aren’t wearing new clothes on Christmas Eve. Upon finding such a poor soul, the Yule Cat spares no mercy and eats the human before resuming the hunt for others. To find out more, let’s take a look at Icelandic mythology, the importance of oral storytelling, and wool production.

A baker was well known for his honesty as well as for his fine Saint Nicholas cookies. He always gave his customers exactly what they paid for — not more, and not less. So, how could he agree with a mysterious old woman on Saint Nicholas Day when she insists that a dozen is thirteen? The woman’s curse puts an end to the baker’s business, and he believes it would take Saint Nicholas to help him. But if he receives that help, will it be exactly what he imagined? Find out in this inspiring legend from Dutch colonial New York about the birth of an honored American custom.

Little Mukra is an Arabic fairytale about an unlikely hero, a dwarf, whose enemy is not a vengeful sorceress or dastardly king, but the widespread bigotry of ordinary people. With the help of one-woman animal welfare league, a dog, and some magic he finds his purpose.

Kate Cracketnuts is an English story taken from Angela Carter’s Book of Fairy Tales and the premise is familiar: a king with a beautiful daughter called Anna marries a queen with a comparatively plain one called Kate. Guess who interprets the genetic lottery as a personal insult! Here’s a clue – it’s not Kate. Instead she rescues her beautiful sister from an evil enchantment and a prince from a wasting sickness caused by dancing nightly with the fairies.

In this Thanksgiving “decolonizing our dinner” story, meet the sustainer of Indigenous cultures for centuries and one of the original examples of regenerative farming, The Three Sisters. The Three Sisters (corn, squash, and beans) planted or eaten together create an ideal environment for success, and hold a strong spiritual and cultural connection to the history of Indigenous people. Many Native American legends have been woven around the "Three Sisters" - sisters who would never be apart from one another - sisters who should be planted together, eaten together, and celebrated together.

Opossums, awe-Inspiring but often underappreciated, are marsupials with many fascinating attributes and superheroes when it comes to cleaning up around your property. Opossum is a loanword from Powhatan, an Indigenous language from what is now the Virginia area. Additionally, a number of Indigenous tribes had origin stories of the opossum, which speaks to its range throughout what is now the United States and Canada. This Northern Cherokee Nation story explains why the opossum’s tail is bare.

November is Native American Heritage Month in the US so here is a fascinating Native American story. Crow Brings the Daylight is a folktale of the Inuit people tells the the story of crow who brought daylight to the remote and dark Arctic region. How did the crow manage to pull off this amazing feat? Find out in this episode.

This is a Halloween special and what’s more halloweeny than a witch and a cat. This German story is from A Book of Cats and Creatures, called Katchen the Cat. The witch in this fairy tale is a genuinely nasty piece of work, a cannibalistic opportunist who exploits anyone and everyone she meets. She’s a good villain, and our cat, Katchen – who is a better strategist, playacting subservience while she squirrels away spells – is a delightful heroine.

Today’s story is from South-East Africa called Moti-katika and the Water Witch. As the title suggests it is a story of Moti-katika and the water witch, but it is also a story of a mother who is underestimated by the witch from the moment they meet but never for one minute plans to give up on her clever and kind son, Moti-katika.

October is spooky season and is the season of witches. This story is from Papua New Guinea, called Tow-how and the Witch. It is a story of Tow-how, his magic disc, and his adventurous exploration of an island where a scary witch lives. Nobody ever goes to that island, if they do they never come back. Will Tow-how be able to come back unscathed or will the witch get better of him?

This is a fairy tale that is completely new to me, a Swedish story from the 1988 Ruth Manning-Sanders collection A Cauldron of Witches. It is a story of Jock and his friend troll, with whose help Jock end up being rich and married to a princess.

The Donkey Lettuce is a German fairy tale from the 1981 collection A Book of Witches by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is a story of a hunter who has magical possessions he got from killing a bird and a witch who pushes her daughter to extract the magical possessions from the hunter but end up being a victim to hunter’s revenge.

This week’s story comes from Thistle & Thyme: Tales & Legends from Scotland by Sorche Nic Leodhas. This is a story of a beekeeper who lives alone in a cottage on the moor with his bees. He took care of a blue-eyed hare only to discover that reality was different from his expectations.

The Four Clever Brothers is a story of four skilled brothers, a stolen princess, and an angry dragon. The brothers set out to learn their crafts in the big wide world and return home as skilled men: a thief, an astronomer, a hunter, and a tailor. The brothers’ are then put to the ultimate test when the princess is stolen away from the kingdom by an angry dragon. Do they have the skills to save her?

The Red Shoes is a story of a young girl who puts on a pair of red shoes that will not allow her to stop dancing; she must dance and dance, in a grotesque mockery of happiness. It is written by Hans Christian Andersen, and is a depressing story which vilifies and punishes the little girl who committed the heinous crime of wanting to look pretty.

Jorinde and Joringel is a German fairy tale. The plot is set in motion when they accidentally stray onto the property of a witch, who punishes them for trespassing. The witch punishes Jorinde by turning her into a bird and keeping her caged in her castle and Joringel by casting a spell on him that freezes him temporarily. Joringel when released from the spell is greatly saddened by the loss of his sweetheart but after some time, has a dream in which he learns how he can make Jorinde human again.

The Goblins at the Bath House is an Estonian fairy tale, taken from Ruth Manning-Sanders’ A Book of Ghosts and Goblins. It is a story of what a clever girl does when encountered by a group of goblins who want to kidnap her for an impromptu wedding.

The Seven Leavenings is a Palestinian story and is taken from Angela Carter’s Book of Fairy Tales. The story is about an old woman who is a baker, a strategist, and likes to travel. While baking some freaky bread, she travels and tries to resolve domestic disputes.

The Tinderbox is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a soldier who acquires a magic tinderbox capable of summoning three powerful dogs to do his bidding. Sometimes the heroes of fairy tales are not people you would want to know.

This folktale from Arunachal Pradesh’s (India) Mishmi tribe speaks about the origin of weaving, how the art of weaving was shared from the first weaver to the other tribes, and weaving becoming a work of God within the tribes. The god Matai taught the art of weaving to one girl, Hambrumai, who used nature as inspiration and guide for her designs.

A woman gets a daughter, Uletka, by striking a deal with the Sun, to return the child back when she is twelve years old. Sun takes the girl back but after realizing how unhappy the girl is decides to send her back to her mother. But, there is a brave hare, a witch who wants to feed her family, and an intense chase on Uletka’s way back home.

The Witch and the Sister of the Sun is taken from Alexander Afanasyev’s Russian Fairy Folk Tales. Fleeing from an evil witch, Ivan Tsarevitch gallops towards the Sun’s sister for safety. It’s a long journey and on the way he seeks shelter from two seamstresses, and two great giants called Vertogór and Vertodúb. However, it turns out that they will all be dead soon. Only the Sun’s sister can keep Ivan Tsarevitch safe.

The Palace of the Seven Little Hills is a story of breaking curses after curses. It is almost like a duel between the two women in their separate towers, each appearing to be so passive, yet in conflict as much as if they were fighting it out with broadswords. The story doesn’t follow the usual fairytale recipe of a quite or absent father, but instead shows a normal-esque family who supports each other.

This story is from Sudan and is taken from Ruth Manning Sanders’ 1973 collection, A Book of Sorcerers and Spells. It is a story of abuse of power vs standing your ground. A sorcerer, who cannot take no for an answer from a girl he fancies, changes her into a bear and the guy she intends to marry into a lion so they cannot be together. Although, his inability to accept no as an answer is what eventually brings about his destruction.

This is a Scottish fairy tale with a protagonist, who is a master baker, a woman so talented that every event of significance for miles around is considered incomplete without one of her cakes. Her cooking draws the attention of the local Fairy Folk, who want to kidnap her and keep her as their personal baker. Her cleverness is how she escapes, but her kindness brings a different reward. Her arrangement keeps both sides very happy. Here’s to cake and cleverness and her choice!

Florinda is a Chilean Fairytale and is notable for its freewheeling approach to gender and sexuality, which lends itself to many interpretations of the main characters, their identities, and relationships. The original motivation for Florinda adopting a masculine identity is to escape her father’s incestuous interest in her. Once she is safely free of her father’s sphere of influence, however, the story shifts to a love story between two women.

The Happy Prince is a story by Oscar Wilde. It is a timeless tale about friendship, compassion, and the transforming power of selfless love. The Happy Prince is a statue covered with gold and many fine jewels and sits overlooking the city. One day a swallow bird seeks shelter under the statue and discovers the prince is not happy, but sad. The Prince and the Swallow develop a true friendship built on love and sacrifice, but that sacrifice takes its toll. However, in another life of heavenly light and warmth, The Happy Prince and the Little Swallow are forever united.

This is a Juneteenth special episode. The story, ‘The People Could Fly’ is taken from Virginia Hamilton’s The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales, an anthology of stories originally told by African slaves and retold by generations of black American storytellers. This story is rooted in one of the ugliest events of human history. I warn you, it’s not easy to hear.   It is a fantasy tale that tells of how some enslaved Africans had wings and could fly. In order for them to escape the abuses of slavery, they began to sing magic words and their bodies lift into the sky as they fly away to freedom. It is all about the dream of freedom. For the Africans who were captured into slavery and brought to America, there was little reason for hope, but through folk tales like this one, they were able to at least imagine a day when they could become free.

This week’s story, like many of Hans Christian Andersen’s other works, is not subtle about its moral messages. ‘The Garden of Paradise’ is religious in tone and is more of a fable. There’s a formidable mother, her four sons,  fairy, the garden of paradise, and a prince who we know from the moment he was given a warning he won’t listen.

This English story is taken from the 1981 reprint of Ruth Manning Sanders’ A Book of Witches. It is a story of two thieving sisters, but one escaping the punishment because of her helpful nature. First sister seeks out employment and ends up with a lot of gold. While, the witch is just a rich old lady who gets some form of justice on an opportunistic ex-employee.

The Legend of Black Mountain is Australian Aboriginal story, taken from Jean A. Ellis’ collection This is the Dreaming, is strictly speaking more legend than fairy tale but contains all the familiar ingredients. Black Mountain is actually a real place in northern Queensland. Two strong brothers build a tower with black boulders to win the girl they fancy. It’s interesting to note, though, that while most legends and fairy tales reward the hyperbolic displays of their heroes, in this story it’s what leads to their eventual destruction.

This week’s fairy tale is a Scottish story about a collective effort of good people to save the princess instead of one person doing it all. This is a story of unexpected complications. Even the best laid plans laid by knights and wicked kings can sometimes go spectacularly wrong. There is a princess is abducted by a wicked king, someone gets the intel, someone whisks her away from the castle, and someone comes up with the plan to get her back. It was a group effort and in the end team work wins.

‘My Lady Sea’ is an ugly piece of folklore that pushes its female characters into an impossible position between a raging psychotic for a father and a bridegroom who uses tantrums to get whatever he wants. The father tries to control his daughters who in real are dolls and the prince pursues them for marriage. But in the need to control the dolls they both forget the dolls aren’t living. Both men are rewarded for their abysmal behavior. But let alone current real life, not even a character from ancient folklore should get away with something like that.

Mothers in the world of fairy tales are often considered to be an endangered species. This Mother’s Day special is a Scottish story of a mother’s determination, her courage, and endurance to reunite with her baby.   For mothers it isn’t easy to have adventures of your own when there’s children to look after but what makes the mother in our story magnificent is how she rises to the occasion anyway. The young mother won her baby back from a whole court of fairies had the odds stacked against her in so many different ways. It is worth looking for incredible mothers in stories; in searching, we find treasures.

This Indian fairy tale begins when a ship encounters a storm at sea and promptly disintegrates. All hands on board are lost save for one young sailor, who meets a mermaid queen. He becomes her king and they are very happy together, but after some time they separate. This fairy tale is unusual in recognizing that some relationships can be impermanent without either party being evil. The narrative does not condemn the sailor, and more importantly, it does not condemn the mermaid.

This is a story of wronged lovers, a Chinese fairy tale taken from the 1974 reprint of Ruth Manning-Sanders’ A Book of Charms and Changelings. This is a story of Chien-Nang, who is torn between her father and the love of her life. She figures out a way to be with both but  will we find out who is real and who is the changeling?

This is a German story of Mannikin Spanalong and although has elements of curse sorcery, overall it is pretty simple and straightforward which makes it all the more unique. It begins with a motivated young woman who sets off to find work and in process helps Mannikin Spanalong through his curse. She is rewarded in return. The reward however, is not marriage which is very rare to find in a fairy tale about a helpful woman and a cursed man. They both get to live their life their own way, and if they ever have their respective weddings this story doesn’t care.

Today’s story is a traditional Zulu story about Cheetahs. If you notice it looks like Cheetah’s face has tear marks and this story tells us why. Kwasuka sukela, which means once upon a time in Zulu, a lazy and wicked hunter wished he could have the meat without the work (hunting) and steals cheetah cubs to do his work for him. The mother cheetah cries until her tears make dark stains down her cheeks. Today the cheetah wears the tear stains on their face as a reminder to the hunters that it is not honorable to hunt in any other way than that which is traditional.   Scientists warn that at the rate cheetahs are disappearing, they could be lost forever. Cheetahs face a number of threats, including massive habitat loss, retaliation killings by humans, and trafficking for the illegal pet trade. The last thing they need is to be shot for fun by a trophy hunter. Hope a cheetah mother doesn’t have to cry again for her cubs’ future.

Rake up is a Danish fairy tale and is a story of a mermaid and her cows. It has elements of xenophobic attitudes, greed, and obviously a happy ending. Given how often fairy tales portray the other – be that minority groups, non-humans or just non-pretty people – as evil or at the least untrustworthy, it’s rather wonderful to encounter a story in which such attitudes are so roundly criticized.

Black, Red, and Gold is a Spanish fairy tale, and begins with the very familiar theme of the desperate childless couple and their kindness is rewarded by a daughter and a son. It has kidnapping by pirates, adoption into wealth and misery, the terrible choice between love and duty! Only it isn’t the traditional love story, it has friendship and family love instead.

Holi is a Hindu festival, also known as the "Festival of Love", the "Festival of Colors", and the "Festival of Spring". The festival celebrates the eternal and divine love of Radha Krishna. It celebrates the spring season and also signifies the triumph of good over evil. Here is the story of how Holi got its name and the legend of Radha and Krishna.

This Norwegian fairy tale is the story of Tatterhood. It is a story about sisters, beautiful Berenice and the hideous Tatterhood. When some witches replaces Berenice's head with a calf's head, the brave Tatterhood starts the adventure to get her sister's head back. Surprisingly the story refuses to pit beauty and ugliness against each other as metaphors for good and evil. It celebrates strength, family, perception, and magic!

For Women’s History Month, this is a story of Lilith, the first woman ever created. Belonging to Jewish mythology, the perception of Lilith is complex and polarizing. Lilith was the first woman ever created alongside Adam. She was unfairly demonized because she refused to submit to Adam and called him out on inequalities. Her story is one of deep hardship, and even consequential evil, rooted in her refusal to submit to a man. With the fight for freedom from gender roles in the 1960s, Lilith became a feminist icon representing rebellion and liberation.

This Australian Aboriginal legend, from Collins Dove’s 1994 collection, This Is the Dreaming, is a cautionary fable about what happens when humans forget to treat other living creature with respect and kindness. The kids mistreat and torture a new bird they see, who is actually sent by god Wandjina to help humans.  The story has a strong message against animal cruelty. It is, admittedly, more mythology than fairytale, but it shows the same compassion towards what is different and what is helpless. Be it from a fairy, or a god, the message is the same: kindness matters.

This Tajik fairytale is from Sergei Palastrov’s 1986 collection of retellings Folk Tales from the Soviet Union, and begins with that commonest of themes, the royal father who’s desperate to get his daughter married off. She is equally determined not to marry until she’s good and ready. An old fortune teller tells the padishah’s that his daughter will marry a slave.  The padishah isn’t happy about that and sends the slave off on a fool’s quest into the world, never to come back. It’s a story where a pair of fairytale characters, princess and the young slave, steadily refute tradition and do what they truly want to do.

For Valentine’s Day enjoyment, here is a fairy tale about forbidden love, The Gay Goshawk. It is a love story between an English lady and a Scottish Lord. They figure out a clever way to be together against her family’s approval, with the help of a goshawk. It takes a true lady to deliver such a stinging ‘screw you!’ to the people who failed her. It’s interesting to see a father’s failure actually addressed for once, instead of being piled entirely onto the nearest stepmother. The Gay Goshawk is taken from Sorche Nic Leodhas’s collection Thistle and Thyme, which is full of young women figuring out how to get past stupid obstacles, but the sheer cunning of this Romeo and Juliet inversion is very hard to beat.

Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is celebrated at the second new moon following the Winter Solstice. This festival marks the end of winter and the beginning of a long-awaited spring! This episode is the Chinese legend behind this day and is a story of a ferocious monster named “Nian”. According to the story, Chinese New Year's Day is also called "Guo Nian" (过年) in Chinese, Guo can mean 'celebrate (a new) year' or 'overcome Nian'. The character 年 (Nián) could mean a 'year' or 'the monster Nian'.    According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2022 is the Year of the Tiger and tigers are known for their courage and ambition, but they’re also extremely generous with a drive to help others. Let’s hope the Year of the Tiger will be better than 2020 the Year of the Rat and 2021 the Year of the Ox.

This week’s story is an Italian fairy tale from the 1982 Ruth Manning-Sanders collection A Book of Heroes and Heroines about Filo d’Oro and Lionella. With ogre curse and fairy magic thrown in it makes for an interesting story and shows that in a world of ogres and fairies, when you get your shot at happiness you seize it with both hands and just hope for the best.

Astrology is looking for answers, signs, and predictions in the movements of the celestial bodies, and has a long history of humans looking up at the stars to plan their lives. It’s January which means it’s the month of Capricorn and Aquarius. The ancient greek zodiac sign of Capricorn, represented as a sea-goat is December 22 – January 19 and Aquarius, represented by water-bearer, is January 21 – February 19.    There is often more than one story behind the symbols of the star signs, so this episode covers one of those for each, Capricorn and Aquarius. The ancient Greek myth behind the zodiac sign of Capricorn is the myth of the sea-goat, Pricus and the ancient Greek myth behind the zodiac sign of Aquarius is the myth of Zeus and Ganymede.   Even though the stars are just one of the many things in the natural world that human beings have turned to for answers over the years, the reason people keep turning to the sky is our tendency for “self-selection”, the search for interpretations that match what we already hope to be true.

Today's story is The Nightingale. It is a beautiful tale about friendship and realness by Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows an emperor who prefers the tinkling of a bejeweled mechanical bird to the song of a real nightingale. When the Emperor is near death, the nightingale's song restores his health.   The theme of the tale is real and artificial, the role of a true creator and art in the life of a person. We also learn that true friends let each other be themselves. The emperor eventually learns that his friendship with the nightingale worked better when they each had freedom to be themselves. Although The Nightingale was written 179 years ago, this life-giving friendship rings more true than ever in today’s society where we talk about the value of real art and friendships being measured by ‘likes’ and how many people respond to our posts. It’s time to ask ourselves the tough question regarding the friendships we have – are they life-giving friendships?

Today’s story is a Norse myth, The Lay of Thrym from the Poetic Edda. Thor’s hammer, Mjöllnir is stolen by Thrym, the lord of giants, who demanded that the only way Thor could get his hammer was if he could marry the goddess Freyja. When she refuses, the gods come up with a plan which will require Loki’s tact and resourcefulness to get Mjöllnir back.   The story has interesting themes around choice when Freyja refuses, gender norms, stereotypical behavior expected from men and women reinforcing the binary in gender and that one is better than the other. It also touches on societal expectations of toxic masculinity and gender hierarchy with being masculine perceived as superior and feminine as weak/degrading irrespective of the gender one identify with.

The Little Match Girl is a story of a little girl looking for love and warmth on freezing New Year’s eve. Each time she lights a match she has visions of the lovely things she desires and needs, while being a victim of cold weather as well as the cold hearts. The story reminds us that we all wish for things during the holidays, but for those that have nothing it is more of an actuality. It is also an indictment of the evils of rampant capitalism that disregards community and kindness. So forget the New Year’s resolutions of joining the gym and finishing that novel, and instead, reimagine the Little Match Girl where all her match visions are of burning down capitalism.

We have so many traditions around Christmas and while we may never know exactly where our favorite holiday traditions actually come from, it’s incredible to see the amazing stories from across the world and the lessons they all impress upon us. For today’s episode I have a story about a Christmas tree and a bonus story on Christmas tree decoration. The first story is about the fir tree who wants to grow up to be a Christmas tree, while not realizing that what’s coming after Christmas is over isn’t very happy for him teaches us to live in the present. An important thought on how to make an informed and environment-friendly choice for buying Christmas trees also comes up.   The second story is the origin of tinsel to decorate the Christmas tree, which not only teaches that our hard work will be rewarded, but also shows us to love all the things in life – big and small. These tales talks about mindfulness, patience, perseverance, and gratitude, that are important not just at Christmas time, but all year round

Today’s story is an Icelandic folktale, a story about obsession, even stronger than death, Djákninn á Myrká (The Deacon of Dark River). It is a story of Deacon and his girlfriend, Guðrún. When Deacon dies his obsession and longing to stay together forever with Guðrún makes him harm her, but she escapes and saves herself. The important lesson from the story is that one can get out of a situation or relationship when it turns toxic or harms them.   The theme is extrapolated to domestic violence situation with Rosalba Diaz, Education & Outreach Coordinator at A Safe Place (domestic violence and human trafficking shelter). We talk about what is domestic violence, types, the cycle of violence, signs, intersectionality, and action steps (for ourselves if we are in DV situation or for others if they need help).

This is a tribal story from Nagaland, India, highlighting the close relationship between man, god, and religion. It is a story of three brothers, Man, Cosmic spirit, and Tiger, and their right on nature and the Earth. Nagas revere tigers and leopards a lot and ultimately trace the ancestry of their own culture to a single man and a single tiger, with rituals and customs to keep peace between the two. It is a great story to talk about human entitlement on nature, endangered status of tigers, and private ownership of these beautiful cats.

Today’s story is a Hungarian folktale, Szusza. It’s a very cruel story with undertones of mental disability, domestic violence, and abuse, but somehow as a silly narrative. The narrative is about the “poor” husband who has to deal with his good for nothing wife, Szusza, who just can't do anything right and keeps making mistakes in everyday tasks and chores. The story doesn’t talk about Szusza’s perspective. The episode comes out before International Day of People with Disability, which recognizes visible and invisible disabilities. Some disabilities, like mental health disorders, chronic pain, and fatigue, are invisible – but that does not make them any less devastating to someone’s quality of life.

This Thanksgiving episode covers the story of a young Native Powhatan, Pocahontas and the arrival of English colonizers from the Virginia Company. Although the story romanticizes Pocahontas' encounter with John Smith and her legendary saving of his life, the true story of Pocahontas is tragic and dark. This story has historical inaccuracies and racial stereotypes. We also discuss the idea of “good native” and white savior being pushed in the story. With all the problems the story has, one positive message is that it encourages respecting and appreciating nature.

The story is set in feudal Japan around the year 1300, called, Tokoyo, the Samurai’s Daughter. It is a story of danger, love, sacrifice, and adventure in the Oki Islands. Tokoyo is an indefatigable, unstoppable force of justice. A loving and brave daughter sets on an adventure and puts her life in danger to save her father and while doing that saves so many other girls from sacrifice to the sea monster. Tokoyo is the sort of folktale character we don’t hear about very often. It isn’t that amazing heroines like this don’t exist; it’s that people don’t know about them or choose not to remember or celebrate them.

This week’s story is a Japanese fairy tale called Shippeitaro. The story begins by introducing us to a young samurai warrior, Chõshirõ, who has wealth, good looks, healthy parents, peaceful life, but missing is the adventure. His machismo seeks adventure and he finds himself saving a girl from sacrifice. The story has some anti-cat rhetoric thrown in but what is not thrown in the romance between Chõshirõ and the girl he saves. This is a good surprise for a fairy tale, but anyone who goes around killing cats is no hero of mine.

Diwali is one of India's biggest festivals and most important holidays of the year. Mythology and folklore go hand in hand and we often find different versions of mythological legends behind Diwali woven into the folklore. This is a story from the Hindu epic, Ramayan. The story has king, queen, getting exiled, a great battle between two mighty armies, and good triumphing over evil. It is a story of Ram, Sita, and Ravan. To celebrate Ram and Sita’s homecoming lamps are lit giving Diwali its name, row (avali) of clay lamps (deep) symbolizing the inner light that protects from spiritual darkness.

The traditions of Halloween originate from a blend of Samhain, the Celtic celebration marking the end of the summer harvest, and Christian traditions honoring saints and martyrs. Today, one of our most popular Halloween customs is pumpkin carving. This too has been around for many centuries, except that in Ireland, they used turnips and rutabagas. This old Irish tale explains the origin of the jack-o’-lantern and how the scary gourds got their name. It all goes back to one horrible man people called Stingy Jack, and this is his story.

This week’s story is a french fairytale called Ricky of the Tuft. It has elements of beauty and intelligence and how the combination of two is the ultimate way to be happy and fulfilled. It creates a monolith for both because beauty and intelligence are subjective. The prince is born clever and princess is born beautiful but in the end they both have both “qualities”. Reflecting point of the story is creating a community where we accept and celebrate ourselves and each other because the pressure of being perfect in real life and virtually on social media is not new and it’s no secret how harmful it is.

Sigurd the King's Son is an Icelandic fairytale from Ruth Manning-Sanders' anthology, A Book of Ogres and Trolls. This is an interesting story about a prince, step mother, trolls, and a princess. It subverts everything you think you know about fairy tales. The stepmother is a lovely woman who is wrongly accused, the monster (well, one of them) turns out to be a crazy aunt instead, and it’s the maiden in the tower who comes up with the escape plan – and as for Sigurd, what a wonderful hero! He’s stubborn, he’s resourceful, he’s happy for a princess he’s only just met to teach him how to row, and he’d really rather spend time with his stepmother than go off killing things with his father. Why do we not see more princes like this in folklore? Or maybe we just need to look harder.

This Macedonian fairy tale is taken from Ruth Manning-Sanders’ collection, A Book of Dragons, and is a story about Yanni. However, Yanni doesn’t really do much in the story, his bad ass lover, his “little sweetheart” saves the day, but can’t get a name! She needs a name and the story needs to be named after her. Tradition is made from what we choose to remember, so next time you read a fairy tale, remember this - The princess is not always waiting for rescue; sometimes, she battles dragons and Destiny itself. The prince is not always a hero. Sometimes, he’s the one who needs saving.

It’s official fall season. Though we have a modern scientific explanation for why leaves change color, let’s dive into this Iroquois legend about fall/autumn, Chasing the Great Bear. Apart from giving the red color to the leaves this story also tells the story behind Ursa Major constellation (The Big Dipper). This Native American story brings us a little closer to the wonders of the natural world. The constellation is visible year-round because the hunters are eternally chasing the bear. The next time you’re admiring the fall foliage or gazing at the stars, you can think back to this Native American story about fall and remember that the bear and the hunters are keeping you company in the sky. In the current world, individuals can help bears by supporting wildlife conservation and habitat protections like the Endangered Species Act.

This Amazon river legend is a story of Jací and Guarací. This is a legend about how the Amazon river was born because of the love between the Sun “Guarací” and the Moon “Jací”, and their separation.  The story has gender usage when personifying the Sun and Moon, with the modern/newer languages (Latin, Greek, French, Italian, and Portuguese) making Sun masculine and Moon feminine. Whereas in older languages of the same Indo-European family (e.g. Sanskrit, German and old Goidelic), Babylonian, and other dialects from the Middle East the Moon is masculine and the Sun feminine. Find out why this changed! The episode also talks about the terms Latin, Latinx, and Hispanic, and their usage.

Epic romantic stories can be found in every culture and are told in every language. This Aztec story is of Popocatepetl and Iztaccíhuatl – denied their love while they were living but destined to spend eternity together. Now, as two volcanoes that set the backdrop for Mexico City, Izta and Popo, as they are affectionately called, are a symbol of love everlasting. This legend is an excellent tale that shows another side of the Aztecs than is usually shown in history books. They weren’t just warriors, but also parents, sons, daughters, and sweethearts too.

Blood wishes, talking mirrors, and poisoned fruit: it’s all here in ‘Snow White’, one of the most enduringly popular and recognizable fairy tales in western literature. Tune in to hear the discussion of the Snow White story and comparison of the narrative and messages of the original story and the Disney’s version.    The story is based on societal beauty expectations from women and in turn associating vanity with women. Snow White is objectified and kissed without consent. Her only association with physical appearance and household duties perpetuates gender stereotypes. The story also equates fair skinned and beautiful together, which is eurocentric and is a problem now that this standard of beauty is normalized world wide and not everyone conforms to this. In the movie the mirror is the voice of a man, which helps to expand the meaning of the purpose of the mirror, which is to represent patriarchy. This image represents that it is man who creates the beauty standards of women.

This is a story where the weak and helpless defeat the strong and powerful. This does not happen in real life, but it does happen in folktales, as in this East African story of the maskini and the tajiri. In Kiswahili language, maskini means poor man and tajiri means rich man. In 1793 “Eat the Rich” was popularized by philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Over 200 years later, these words remain relevant and have inspired the global conversation on the ills of ‘the rich getting richer’ at the expense of the poor. They comments on money hoarders, like the tajiri in the story who gluttonously bathe in billions, a fraction of which could easily end world hunger.

This episode is a French folktale, Beauty and the Beast. Jeanne-Marie le Prince de Beaumont’s story emphasizes the nobility in Beauty’s act of self-sacrifice and her virtuous action making ‘Beauty and the Beast’ sort of a ‘handbook’ for young brides entering into arranged marriages with hideous older men, and if they were lucky, with a good kind heart underneath. Disney on the other hand romanticizes the abusive relationship Belle was in. Much of the relationship for the majority of the film is grounded in the power the Beast holds over Belle. Belle is unable to be seen as a fully developed woman because she is most important as a maternal figure to the men in her life, rather than as an independent woman or a peer. Her love of books is merely a plot device used to create romance between her and the Beast rather than a means by which she expands her intellect.   Episode also covers history of Stockholm Syndrome. Turns out, Stockholm syndrome is a misogynistic lie by sexist men in power with disgruntled egos. It comes from a bank robbery hostage situation in Stockholm, Sweden and was invented to discredit a woman victim of violence (Kristin Enmark) by a psychiatrist (Nils Bejerot) with an obvious conflict of interest, whose first instinct was to silence the woman questioning his authority.

This episode is an Afghan folktale, called What Melody is the Sweetest? The story talks about the most basic things can bring us the most happiness. The Afghans now have suffered generation after generation of not just continuous warfare but humanitarian crises, one after the other. Afghanistan deserves peace, it deserves to stand as tall as its mountains and it deserves to flourish into the beautiful country it has always meant to be. The children of Afghanistan deserve childhoods, they deserve to play with toys, they shouldn’t have to listen to the sounds of bombs when they fall asleep but instead sound of bedtime stories.

Black cats have been surrounded by myths and superstitions. Simultaneously revered, considered bad luck, considered good luck, feared, and beloved, black cats are the subject of folklore and stories that go back centuries and continue even today. This episode is Black Cat Appreciation Day (August 17) special and has myths and superstitions associated with black cats around the world (India, Egypt, Scotland, England, Japan, China, Norway, Italy, France, Belgium, Denmark). Episode covers the story from India of Shashti, a Hindu goddess, and her black cat and how in the middle ages in Europe black cats got associated with superstition and were persecuted and killed.

This episode is one of Haiti’s most popular folktales, the story of a young girl’s special friendship with a fish, story of Tezen, the fish. It is an incredible story which talks about the symbiotic relationship between nature and humans and that we need to respect nature. The girl understands and develops a relationship with the earth and is appreciated, recognized as a worthy girl, and rewarded. We also talk  about the prejudice against girls by dismissing or discounting their ideas and thoughts and prejudice against cultural differences, lifestyles, race, etc which can be passed down to generations just like folktales.

The Olympic Games originated in ancient Greece as many as 3,000 years ago and were revived in the late 19th century. They have become the world’s preeminent sporting competition. This episode covers the most popular myth surrounding the origin of the Olympic Games. It is the story of Pelops, his wife Hippodameia, and her father, Oenomaus. Oenomaus' chariot race was one legendary origin of the Olympic Games. I also talk about the problems with horse carriages in cities and the racist and sexist implications of some of the Olympics rules and policies.

This episode's story is a Norwegian folktale, The Old Dame and her Hen, originally titled The Hen is Tripping in the Mountain. Norwegian mythology and folklore has many rural tales of trolls and their antics. It is a story about 3 sisters and a troll and how the youngest sister outwits the trolls and saves the day, and you can have a good story without having someone fall in love in the end. Physical looks have become a metaphor instead of a lived reality in fairytales, metaphor for moral virtues and positive traits for good looks and negatives traits for bad looks. It’s unfortunate that fairy tales draw a connection between beauty and virtue and create an association between beauty and good behavior that reader wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Today's episode has 2 stories, Princess and the Pea and an Indian precursor to this tale, a story in which three brothers vie for the title of the most fastidious called 3 Special Brahmins. Both stories are intended to be a mockery of those occupying a comfortable position in society and their oversensitivity. It's interesting to see how same or a similar story changes perspectives based on sex - men as fastidious and women as delicate, as Princess and the Pea has misogynistic themes of associating being delicate and sensitive with the princess and prince just "taking" her as his wife. Also the princess was a terrible house guest!

Today’s story is a Cuban folktale, Martina the Beautiful Cockroach. Although this old folktale relies on old traditions of courting suitors, the values that it conveys are timeless and remain important to this day. We talk about mutual respect, kindness, focus on internal values rather than external appearances, and being with someone based on the way they treat you all the time, not just the good times.

Today’s story is a Chinese mythology, tale of the Rabbit God, whose duty was to govern the affairs of men who desire men. People who had underground love affairs, secret agreements, and unattainable desires could visit the Rabbit God Temple. We talk about East Asian religion’s view on queerness, gender, and sexuality and if it has changed over time. We also touch on religions in South Asia and how western involvement and push of Christian beliefs in the past changed the landscape of homosexuality by criminalizing it.

This is Father’s Day special episode and the story is All for a Paisa (paisa is the smallest unit of Indian currency). It comes from northern India, from the book Folktales of Kashmir. It is folklore riddle story, which talks about different parenting styles between mothers and fathers and expectations parents have from their children. We also discuss mothers and fathers having defined roles with stereotypical mom/dad duties, if societal gender norms can inhibit fathers from having an emotional bond with kids, and if biology and genetics plays a role in the way humans father versus the way they mother.

This week’s episode comes before Juneteenth and I bring you a story of an 8 year old slave girl, Ida Adkin. This is a real story narrated by her when she was 79 years old in Slave Narrative - A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves prepared by The Federal Writers’ Project 1936-1938. Ida tells an incident from her life when she risked her life to save and help her masters from union soldiers. Her bravery, courage, and strength of character are evident in the story but we also talk about the psychological grooming she had which contributed to her unconditional submission and service towards her masters. We also discuss how bare minimum symbolic gestures are still performed to create a good image. Finally we talk about Juneteenth, it's history, and the loophole in 13th amendment which still permits slavery in prison system.

This week's story is The Little Mermaid, the original version by Hans Christian Andersen published in 1836. It is a love story between two people from very different worlds with a sad ending. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a human soul for the love of her life.  We also compare this version to Disney's The Little Mermaid movie version and discuss how the original version was a feminist tale of a little girl taking charge of her destiny while going after what she wants and making her life decisions. Disney's disappointing narrative gives power to men in the story and pits women against each other.

Pride Month Special! Today’s episode is a love story but a tragic one, one which succumbed to societal pressure and influence. The life of the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen, his emotional attachment and love for his friend Edvard Collin resembles that of his most famous fairy tale, "The Story of the Little Mermaid". In the fairy tale, written when Collin decided to get married, Andersen displays himself as the outsider who lost his prince to another, just like in his real life.

This week’s episode comes before the National Beef Burger Day which is May 28 so this story is about cows, lilies, human attachment to animals, but also our entitlement on other species. This story is How Water Lilies Began. It is a folktale from Wales and it tells how water lilies came to grow in a lake in the Welsh mountains. We talk about beef farming, vegetarianism, privilege around healthy diet, and emotional bond between humans and animals.

This week's story is a Bosnian folktale and we talk about power dynamics in a heterosexual couple. It is a story in which more importance is given to who should have the dominant role in the household than the actions.

For this week’s episode I bring you a story from Grimms' Fairy Tales, Eve's Unequal Children. It was originally published in 1857 in German and later translated to English. We talk about about how the story promotes and justifies social classes, generational wealth, and socio-economic inequality.

For the week of Cinco de Mayo and Mothers day weekend I bring you a story from Mexico about a mother who grieved her children and was condemned eternally to not rest in peace. We talk about societal expectations from mothers and how a story initially used to keep a check on children can perpetuate harmful messages.

Stories have so much power and so does whoever controls the narrative. It is time to dissect and analyze these stories at WokeTales (coming soon!)