Fables, Fairies & Folklore
This is a chronicle of the magical side of The Rock, told in vivid prose that will engage the attentions of readers both young and old. Fables, Fairies & Folklore of Newfoundland includes tales such as Big Black Bull of Hollow Tree, The Harbour Grace Prophecy, The Thing From the Sea and The Fairy Captive.
The Golem
The Golem, a creature made of clay and brought to life by Rabbi Leyb of Prague in the sixteenth century, has provided an enticing subject for fiction writers since the legend began. In some works, Rabbi Leyb gives birth to the Golem to help the Jews with the overbearing burden of their work. In others, the Golem is the protector of the Jews, keeping watch during the nights before Passover to make sure that a Gentile does not plant evidence for a blood libel in a Jewish home. But the powerful Golem can also lose control and have to be destroyed. Joachim Neugroschel has brought together some of the best work featuring the Golem, including H. Leivick's masterful blank verse play; Yudl Rosenberg's "pamphlet" full of Golem tales; and stories by S. Bastomski, Dovid Frishman, and Y. L. Peretz, which he translates fluidly from the Yiddish.
The Alchemist
AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER - OVER 120 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE - PUBLISHED IN 89 LANGUAGES - MUST-HAVE STUNNING GIFT EDITION WITH ONE-OF-A-KIND COVER "Teaches us about dreams, destiny, and the reason we are all here."--Oprah Daily, "Best Self-Help Books of a Generation"A gorgeous gift edition for every literary lover's collection, featuring an enchanting ribbon marker, slipcase, colored endpapers, and a distinct, rare jacket -Discover the true power of trusting your intuition, honoring your instincts, and tapping into your innate inner wisdomCombining magic, mysticism, wisdom, and wonder into an inspiring tale of self-discovery and spiritual healing, this allegorical novel, The Alchemist, has become a modern classic, moving millions across the globe and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations. Helping them find inner peace, strength, gratitude, and a deeper, divine connection with themselves and the world around them.This philosophical fiction story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and soul-stirring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried near the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself a king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles in his path. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery that the most valuable treasures are those found within.Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts. No matter where you are in life's spiritual journey, allow this profound fable to awaken you to the beauty of the present and the hope of the future, and what it truly means to be human and at peace.Year after year, across generations, Paulo Coelho's profound and enduring work remains fresh and vital for readers today. These pages, featuring lovely distinct touches only featured in this stunning package, beam with the message that if we trust in ourselves and our inner strength and wisdom, we can navigate all of life's complexities with grace and resilience. If you love this classic, this edition is a must have. Discover your dreams and your truth with The Alchemist."We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity."--Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist"It changed my whole life. I realized all of the people who had conspired to get me to this place." --Pharrell Williams, musician and songwriterThis timeless parable is more than a story--it's a map for discovering your own unique purpose and the courage to follow it.A Prophetic Dream: Follow Santiago, a young shepherd boy who journeys from the fields of Spain to the deserts of Egypt in pursuit of a treasure he has only dreamed of.The Language of Omens: Learn to read the signs the universe leaves for you, from a mysterious king to a wise alchemist who guides Santiago on his path.A Journey of Self-Discovery: What begins as a search for worldly riches becomes an inner quest to understand the heart, overcome fear, and find the greatest treasures within.Your Personal Legend: A profound and inspiring fable about having the courage to follow your own unique destiny, no matter the obstacles.
Aboriginal Myths
Aboriginal Myths: Tales of the Dreamtime gives a fascinating glimpse of the wild and entertaining deeds of the mythic beings populating Aboriginal spiritual life. From acts of creation and the deeds of the Great Spirit, to totemic ancestors and tales explaining natural phenomena, this delightful collection of stories paints a picture of the mystical bond that exists between Aboriginal people, the environment and the spirit life of the Dreamtime.
The Return of the Light
The winter solstice, the day the "sun stands still," marks the longest night and the shortest day of the year, and it comes either on December 20th or 21st. Celebrations honoring the winter solstice as a moment of transition and renewal date back thousands of years and occur among many peoples on every continent. The Return of the Light makes an ideal companion for everyone who carries on this tradition, no matter what their faith. Storyteller Carolyn McVickar Edwards retells twelve traditional tales--from North America, China, Scandinavia, India, Africa, South America, Europe, and Polynesia--that honor this magical moment. These are stories that will renew our wonder of the miracle of rebirth and the power of transition from darkness into light.
Indian Why Stories
Old-man, or Napa, as he was called by the Blackfeet, is an extraordinary character in Indian stories. Both powerful and fallible, he appears in different guises: god or creator, fool, thief, clown. The world he made is marvelous but filled with mistakes. As a result, tensions between the haves and have-nots explode with cosmic consequences in Indian Why Stories. Elders of the Blackfeet, Cree, and Chippewa (Ojibwa) people shared these wonderful tales with Frank B. Linderman in the late nineteenth century and early years of the twentieth century. War Eagle (the fictional name of Linderman's friend and Chippewa medicine man Pah-nah-to, or Full-of-dew), tells these stories to attentive youngsters after the first frost in the fall. He speaks of animal people, including a deer and an antelope in a footrace, a dancing fox who convulses a buffalo with laughter, a white beaver and ghost people, a huge snake in love with the moon, a sparrow hawk of conscience, and many others. These sparkling tales reveal a reverence for life, honesty, and the unity of creation.This expanded edition features thirteen previously unpublished verse stories along with an introduction to those stories by Sarah Waller Hatfield, granddaughter of Linderman.
Mary Thresher
Mary Thresher is nine years old when the story begins. She was adopted as a baby by her new Indian parents. They are wealthy, but live simply and allow Mary to have freedom in what she wants to think and do. She began dabbling in witchcraft when she was still only nine years old. One of her friends gave her a parrot that was possessed with the spirit of an old sea captain. The parrot's name was Joque. He told Mary and her friends all about his life and the many women he had known. Mary located witchcraft books on the internet and studied them. She and her friends learned how to call up magical animals to be their pets. Mary's father decided that it would be good for Mary to learn about the Indian Gods and medicine. He took her to her grandfather, Cloud of Thunder, who was a medicine man. He trained her as a medicine woman. Mary talked to the many Gods that were in the desert. Finally after about a year of training, she went to the Jade Goddess who lived in a cave on a nearby mountain. The Jade Goddess gave her power to see the future. She also warned Mary about what might be waiting for her in her after life, if she wasn't willing to kill enough people. The Jade Goddess told Mary that her father had also accepted the gift of seeing the future. He had turned away from the Jade Goddess after he made his millions of dollars. Mary took training from the High One, a man who was an apprentice to the Jade Goddess. He taught her to make poisons and how to administer them. He also turned her into a beautiful twenty-one year old woman so that she could follow her dream of winning at roulette in Las Vegas. He went with her and helped her win millions of dollars. After winning the money, the Jade Goddess helped Mary to team up with a wealthy young couple named, Bob Ellis and Ellen Morris. They were convinced by Mary to join with her in treasure hunting instead of doing so much fishing. Bob bought two forty foot boats from a salesman in New Buffalo named Bill Phillips. Mary liked him so much that she married him the next day. Later in the story Bob and Ellen would get married in Jamaica. Most of the book is about the adventures the characters go through during their quest for sunken treasures. There is plenty of romance in the action packed story that includes a spiritual war between good and evil. This is a book that you will remember for a long time.
West African Folk Tales
Folk tales around the world, observes the author, often contain similar narratives, providing, perhaps, yet another example of the universal brotherhood of man. This volume of West African folk tales includes a number of such tales, among them, "The Cricket and the Toad," "The Greedy Hare," "The Tortoise and His Broken Shell," "The Story of a Farmer and Four Hyenas," "The Man with Seven Dogs," and "The Boy in the Drum." Animals, both natural and magical, play large roles in these stories. Collected by the author over the years from West Africans of all ages, these charming tales will not only delight folklore enthusiasts but will also appeal to anyone fascinated by African cultures. Parents and teachers in search of cross-cultural material for children will also find this volume a wonderful resource.
Achilles
Born of god and king and hidden as a girl until Odysseus discovers him, Achilles becomes the Greeks' greatest warrior at Troy. Into his story comes a cast of fascinating characters--among them Hector, Helen, Penthiselaia the Amazon Queen, and the centaur Chiron; and finally John Keats, whose writings form the basis of a meditation on the nature of identity and shared experience. Achilles is an affirmation of the story's enduring power to reach across centuries and cultures to the core of our imagination.
A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore
In A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore, editor Harold Courlander brings together an extensive and unique collection of tales, recollections, epics, traditions, beliefs, myths, historical chronicles, and songs from the numerous Negro cultures of the New World. Courlander explores the unwritten traditions and literature of the Spanish, French, and English-speaking islands of the Caribbean, the areas of Central and South America inhabited by people of African descent, the black communities of the United States, and many others. With a focus on the interconnectedness of cultural inheritances throughout the Afro-American region as well as the local divergences, this remarkable collection demonstrates the powerful cultural influence of Africa on this side of the Atlantic. A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore is a must-read for anyone interested in this exciting aspect of America's cultural history. Illustrated with photographs and drawings throughout, this classic collection is now beautifully repackaged. "This is the most important collection of Afro-American folklore compiled."--Ralph Ellison
Japanese Tales
Two hundred and twenty tales from medieval Japan--tales that welcome us into a fabulous faraway world populated by saints, scoundrels, ghosts, magical healers, and a vast assortment of deities and demons. Stories of miracles, visions of hell, jokes, fables, and legends, these tales reflect the Japanese civilization. They ably balance the lyrical and the dramatic, the ribald and the profound, offering a window into a long-vanished culture. With black-and-white illustrations throughoutPart of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library
Our Voices
Storytelling is a precious, vibrant tradition among the Native peoples of the Far North. Collected here for the first time are stories from the communities of interior Alaska and the Yukon Territory. These are the tales the people tell about themselves, their communities, and the world they inhabit. Our Voices showcases twenty storytellers and writers who represent a full range of Athabaskan and related languages of Alaska and the Yukon. Both men and women recount popular tales of ancient times that describe the origins of social institutions and cultural values, as well as meaningful, sometimes intimate stories about their own lives and families or the history of their people. As representatives of an art transmitted through countless generations and now practiced with renewed interest and vigor by people reclaiming their cultural heritage, these narratives create a broad, brightly colored, richly detailed picture of the world of the Far North, present and past.
Tails from the Bark Side
America's premier dog trainers for the past 25 years--and authors of Good Owners, Great Dogs--present a heartwarming, humorous, and touching collection of true tales of remarkable canines. Illustrations throughout.
Ghost Stories of Texas
Along with its Wild West spirit, geographical diversity, dramatic history and sheer size, Texas contains a wealth of spine-tingling stories of the supernatural. Enjoy tales of Texas hauntings from the Alamo, Big Bend National Park, Dallas, Fort Worth, Laredo, Galveston, Corpus Christi and more.
Rebellion
From Joseph Roth, an allegorical yet decidedly modern novelist, comes this story of postwar disillusion, the limits of faith, and "personal fate as governed by the blind, casual workings of a machine controlled by no one and for which no one is responsible" (The New York Times). When Andreas Pum returns from World War I, he has lost a leg but gained a medal. But unlike his fellow sufferers, Pum maintains his unswerving faith in God, Government, and Authority. Ironically, after a dispute, Pum is imprisoned as a rebel, and all that he believed in is now thrown into upheaval. Moving along at a breakneck clip, Rebellion captures the cynicism and upheavals of a postwar society. Its jazz-like cadences mix with social commentary to create a wise parable about justice and society.
A Cartoon History of Texas
Using an easy-to-read and entertaining method, cartoons give a basic overview of Texas history from dinosaurs to the military leaders in the Second World War. Section one includes early Indians and Spaniards, filibusters, and empresarios.
The Classic of Mountains and Seas
This major source of Chinese mythology (third century BC to second century AD) contains a treasure trove of rare data and colorful fiction about the mythical figures, rituals, medicine, natural history, and ethnic peoples of the ancient world. The Classic of Mountains and Seas explores 204 mythical figures such as the gods Foremost, Fond Care, and Yellow, and goddesses Queen Mother of the West and Girl Lovely, as well as many other figures unknown outside this text. This eclectic Classic also contains crucial information on early medicine (with cures for impotence and infertility), omens to avert catastrophe, and rites of sacrifice, and familiar and unidentified plants and animals. It offers a guided tour of the known world in antiquity, moving outwards from the famous mountains of central China to the lands "beyond the seas." Translated with an introduction and notes by Anne Birrell.
Ugly Duckling
A gorgeous, Caldecott Honor-winning version of the classic storyFor over one hundred years The Ugly Duckling has been a childhood favorite, and Jerry Pinkney's spectacular adaptation brings it triumphantly to new generations of readers.With keen emotion and fresh vision, the acclaimed artist captures the essence of the tale's timeless appeal: The journey of the awkward little bird--marching bravely through hecklers, hunters, and cruel seasons--is an unforgettable survival story; this blooming into a graceful swan is a reminder of the patience often necessary to discover true happiness. Splendid watercolors set in the lush countryside bring the drama to life in this hardcover picture book.Jerry Pinkney was "widely acclaimed for his picture books honoring his Black heritage as well as for his richly detailed works reimagining well-loved fairy and folktales," noted Publishers Weekly. His version of The Lion & the Mouse by Aesop was awarded the Caldecott Medal, and his books also received five Caldecott Honor citations. He was recognized with two lifetime achievement awards: the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (now known as the Children's Literature Legacy Award) and the Coretta Scott King Virginia Hamilton Award.
Indaba, My Children
A definitive compendium of African myth and folktale, retold in rich, vibrant prose, Indaba, My Children is a stunning literary and ethnographic achievement.As a young man, Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, a Zulu from the South African province of Natal, was determined to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and become a tribal historian in order to keep the rich oral tradition of his culture alive. In this book, begun in response to the injustices against Africans and their culture, he sets these legends down in writing. He begins with the creation myth, when Ninavanhu-Ma, the Great Mother, created the human race. From there, an epic unfolds, an intricate and vivid cultural tapestry populated by gods and mortals, cattle herders and supreme kings, witch doctors, lovers, grave diggers, warriors, and handmaidens. The story continues all the way up to the colonial era, when a Portuguese Kapitanoh and his crew arrive on the African shore. Indaba, My Children is a classic and indispensable resource for anyone interested in the cultural life of Africa and the human experience as it is filtered into myth.
American Indian Trickster Tales
Of all the characters in myths and legends told around the world, it's the wily trickster who provides the real spark in the action, causing trouble wherever he goes. This figure shows up time and again in Native American folklore, where he takes many forms, from the irascible Coyote of the Southwest, to Iktomi, the amorphous spider man of the Lakota tribe. This dazzling collection of American Indian trickster tales, compiled by an eminent anthropologist and a master storyteller, serves as the perfect companion to their previous masterwork, American Indian Myths and Legends.American Indian Trickster Tales includes more than one hundred stories from sixty tribes--many recorded from living storytellers--which are illustrated with lively and evocative drawings. These entertaining tales can be read aloud and enjoyed by readers of any age, and will entrance folklorists, anthropologists, lovers of Native American literature, and fans of both Joseph Campbell and the Brothers Grimm.
Living Stories of the Cherokee
This remarkable book, the first major new collection of Cherokee stories published in nearly a hundred years, presents seventy-two traditional and contemporary tales from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina. It features stories told by Davey Arch, Robert Bushyhead, Edna Chekelelee, Marie Junaluska, Kathi Smith Littlejohn, and Freeman Owle -- six Cherokee storytellers who learned their art and their stories from family and community.The tales gathered here include animal stories, creation myths, legends, and ghost stories as well as family tales and stories about such events in Cherokee history as the Trail of Tears. Taken together, they demonstrate that storytelling is a living, vital tradition. As new stories are added and old stories are changed or forgotten, Cherokee storytelling grows and evolves.In an introductory essay, Barbara Duncan writes about the Cherokee storytelling tradition and explains the "oral poetics" style in which the stories are presented. This format effectively conveys the rhythmic, oral quality of the living storytelling tradition, allowing the reader to "hear" the voice of the storyteller.
Yiddish Folktales
Filled with princesses and witches, dybbuks and wonder-working rebbes, the two hundred tales that make up this delightful compendium were gathered during the 1920s and 1930s by ethnographers in the small towns and villages of Eastern Europe. Collected from people of all walks of life, they include parables and allegories about life, luck, and wisdom; tales of magic and wonder; poignant encounters between rabbis and their disciples; and stories whose only purpose is to entertain. Long after the culture that produced them tragically disappeared, these enchanting Yiddish folktales continue to work their magic today. With black-and-white illustrations throughoutPart of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library
Fairy Tales and Fables from Weimer Days
This text brings together the personal, communal, and national political strands that interweave through the author's work from its beginnings and defines his place as a contemporary artist, activist, and gay man.
Hansel and Gretel
Beloved author James Marshall--creator of George and Martha--puts a hilarious twist on a classic tale in his retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Abandoned in the woods, what will Hansel and Gretel - so innocent, so vulnerable, so deliciously plump - do when they come face-to-face with a dastardly, ugly, over-dressed witch?
Favorite Folktales from Around the World
From Africa, Burma, and Czechoslovakia to Turkey, Vietnam, and Wales here are more than 150 of the world's best-loved folktales from more than forty countries and cultures. These tales of wonder and transformation, of heroes and heroines, of love lost and won, of ogres and trolls, stories both jocular and cautionary and legends of pure enchantment will delight readers and storytellers of all ages. With black-and-white drawings throughoutPart of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library
Outer Banks Tales to Remember
Nearly every time he visits the Outer Banks, the author hears a new tale or another version of an old one and gets "that itch" to write it down for everyone to enjoy. That itch produced the seventeen stories in this fourth volume. There are tales of Indians and trappers, ghosts and firebirds, sea horses and sand dollars, romance and heartache. Some of the stories tell of eerie and frightening events. Some chronicle the history of the coast and its early inhabitants. Others tease us with the promise of love and happiness, only to end in tragedy and despair. Still others explain the strange habits and appearances of local flora and fauna in ways far more intriguing than the scientists do.
Best-Loved Folktales of the World
This collection of over two hundred folk and fairy tales from all over the world is the only edition that encompasses all cultures. Arranged geographically by region--West and East Europe, British Isles, Scandinavia, and Northern Europe, Middle East, Asia, the Pacific, Africa, North America, the Carribean and West Indies, and Central and South America--and lovingly selected from the personal favorites of folklorists and writers, this book is a major anthology in its field.Gathered together in this wide-ranging collection are familiar classics like "Snow-White" and "Sleeping Beauty," and stories that equal them from all major cultures. Together they offer magic, adventure, laughter, reflection, vivid images, and a throng of colorful characters. More important, they offer insight into the oral traditions of different cultures and deal with universal human dilemmas that span differences of age, culture, and geography. Animal fables, proverbs, ghost stories, funny tales, and tales of enchantment provide a unique reading experience for all ages.A category index groups the tales by plot and character, e.g., humorous, supernatural, and "pourquoi" tales, married couples, enchanted sweethearts, etc. Like all great literature, these tales can be read with fascination on many levels, making Best-Loved Folktales of the World a classic and enduring collection.
Flatlanders and Ridgerunners
Excerpt from Flatlanders and Ridgerunners: Out-Riddling the Judge Back in Prohibition my uncle made moonshine. His name was Moses Kenny and his whiskey--they called it "White Mule" was the best in the county. Well, the feds got after him and finally they arrested him. Took him to a federal judge down in Philadelphia. Now, the judge liked a good time and thought he'd have a little fun with this hick from the mountains. When Uncle came into court, he said, "are you the Moses who can make the sun dark?" Moses looked at him and said slowly, "Nope, your honor. But I am the Moses who can make the moon shine." The judge let him go.
Tales of the South Carolina Low Country
According to archivists at the Library of Congress, South Carolina is richer in folklore than any other state. After traveling almost every back road in several South Carolina counties, Nancy Rhyne wholeheartedly supports the claim. With her tape recorder in hand, the author interviewed dozens of Low Country people, finding that almost every person had a story to tell. She sought out everyone from millionaires to the humblest of coastal people. From their narratives she has fashioned a collection of stories steeped in the history and character of the Low Country. Some of the tales in this collection are humorous, some mysterious. Others are positively eerie. There are stories of killer hurricanes, bizarre voodoo practices and inexplicable happenings. Effortlessly, the author takes us from a gorgeous plantation estate of the 1850s to an overgrown and forbidding cemetery in 1979. And she never fails to keep our attention on this somewhat alien but fascinating world-a world peopled with witch doctors, ghosts, cruel overseers, slaves and world-famous personalities. Nancy Rhyne has taken scattered bits of folklore and oral narratives, combined these with her gift of storytelling, and created a wonderfully engaging book that will entertain readers for years to come.Nancy Rhyne has traveled all over the world and has collected coastal folklore on three continents, Greece, and the British Isles. But her first love is the South Carolina coast, and she has written dozens of articles and books about the area, its history, and its legends. While living in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, she taught a course on South Carolina folklore at Coastal Carolina College in Conway. She now lives in Ft. Myers, Florida.
Early Irish Myths and Sagas
First written down in the eighth century AD, these early Irish stories depict a far older world--part myth, part legend and part history. Rich with magic and achingly beautiful, they speak of a land of heroic battles, intense love and warrior ideals, in which the otherworld is explored and men mingle freely with the gods. From the vivid adventures of the great Celtic hero Cu Chulaind, to the stunning "Exile of the Sons of Uisliu"--a tale of treachery, honour and romance--these are masterpieces of passion and vitality, and form the foundation for the Irish literary tradition: a mythic legacy that was a powerful influence on the work of Yeats, Synge and Joyce. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Dichos
Sayings and proverbs are priceless verbal traditions for all to share. And everyone has a favorite. They are unique because in a few words, a deeply serious message can be woven. It is impossible to read proverbs and sayings without learning something important, and perhaps feeling that each one was written especially for you. The proverbs and sayings in this book cause a glow that makes you want to return to them again and again. Also included are rhymes (chiquillados), riddles (adivinanzas), beliefs (creencias) and a bibliography. The Spanish/English text is set in dictionary format for easy reading. A must for those interested in Spanish culture.
Hawaiian Mythology
Ku and Hina--man and woman--were the great ancestral gods of heaven and earth for the ancient Hawaiians. They were life's fruitfulness and all the generations of mankind, both those who are to come and those already born. The Hawaiian gods were like great chiefs from far lands who visited among the people, entering their daily lives sometimes as humans or animals, sometimes taking residence in a stone or wooden idol. As years passed, the families of gods grew and included the trickster Maui, who snared the sun, and fiery Pele of the volcano. Ancient Hawaiians lived by the animistic philosophy that assigned living souls to animals, trees, stones, stars, and clouds, as well as to humans. Religion and mythology were interwoven in Hawaiian culture; and local legends and genealogies were preserved in song, chant, and narrative. Martha Beckwith was the first scholar to chart a path through the hundreds of books, articles, and little-known manuscripts that recorded the oral narratives of the Hawaiian people. Her book has become a classic work of folklore and ethnology, and the definitive treatment of Hawaiian mythology. With an introduction by Katherine Luomala.
