Traveling Tales From Around the World

Desert Travelers by 
Frederic Arthur Bridgman
1847-1928

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller. - Ibn Battuta

We’ve all been homebound for far too long. Now that the world is slowly opening again, I thought I would offer some stories about travelers and traveling. Some tales will take you walking, riding, sailing or whisk you away to magical lands.

In addition to the stories, you will also find links to books, crafts,  curriculum, another one of my blogs I wrote in 2020, Armchair Entertainment: From Aquariums to Zoos, along with a few extra treats. This is by no means an exhaustive list but a sprinkling of wanderlust.

Whether you decide to travel by land, sea, or air this year why not take these travel Gods and Goddesses to aide you on your journey. 

• Abeona and Adiona -  Abeona is the goddess for outward journeys and safe passage, while Adiona protects travellers on their way back home.
• Baalshamin and Barasim - ‘Lord of the Heavens’ in parts of the Middle East and North Africa, he was called on by the ancient Semitic people, particularly in ancient Syria and Canaan…travellers sought after him to provide good weather and clear skies for their voyage.
• Khonsu or Khons - T­he Egyptian god of the moon, Khonsu was—quite literally—the traveller or the wanderer. Son of Amon and Mut, Khons was depicted as a young man who travelled across the night sky. Sometimes referred to as the Pathfinder and the Defender, he watched over travellers at night, protected wild animals, and aided with healing.
• Hermes and Mercury -The Greek Hermes and Roman Mercury was the son of Zeus or Jupiter. In Greek mythology, he was the god of trade, wealth, luck, fertility, animal husbandry, sleep, language, thieves, and travel. This messenger god is also seen as the god of roads and doorways, and the protector of travellers…In Roman mythology, he’s the patron deity of travel.
• Chammo Lam Lha - The Tibetan goddess of travel and the protector of travellers, this young goddess is depicted riding on the back of a golden bee as the protector. 

The above information is from the following site: https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/explore/story/70440/five-gods-of-travel-from-mythologies-around-the-world . Stop by for more interesting facts.

STORIES

A Donkey to Market - Cambodia
https://storiestogrowby.org/story/donkey-to-market/

The Bremen Town Musicians - Germany - You will find many variants of this tale at the link.
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0130.html 

The Enchanted Horse – Arab
https://www.worldoftales.com/Asian_folktales/Arab_folktale_33.html#gsc.tab=0

The Frog Goes Traveling - Russia
https://hague6185.wordpress.com/2014/06/06/russian-fairy-tale-the-frog-goes-traveling/

The Gnomes Road - Germany
https://worldfolklore.net/index.php/2020/05/26/the-gnomes-road/ 

Going A-Traveling  - Germany
https://fairytalez.com/going-a-traveling/

The Goose Girl – Germany
https://germanstories.vcu.edu/grimm/gans_e.html

How Jack Went to Seek His Fortune – United States
https://americanliterature.com/childrens-stories/how-jack-went-out-to-seek-his-fortune

The Lady of Stavoren - Netherlands
http://www.aaronshep.com/stories/017.html

The Legend of Stingy Jack - Ireland
https://oldsoulartisan.com/blogs/library/the-legend-of-stingy-jack

The Man Who Became Rich Through a Dream - Variants from many cultures at the link.
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type1645.html 

The Man Who Went to Seek His Fate - India
https://archive.org/details/indianfairytales00stok/page/62/mode/2up?view=theater

Mercury and a Traveler - Aesop
https://fablesofaesop.com/mercury-and-a-traveller.html

The Peddlar of Swaffham - England
https://www.worldoftales.com/European_folktales/English_folktale_63.html#gsc.tab=0

The Satyr and the Traveler - Aesop
http://aesopsbooks.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-satyr-and-traveler.html

The Three Feathers – Grimm/Germany
https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm063.html

Tír Na nÓg - The legend of Oisín, Niamh and land of eternal youth - Ireland
https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/tir-na-nog-legend-eternal-youth

The Travelers – India
https://mocomi.com/indian-folk-tales-the-travellers/

The Traveller’s Adventure - Arabic
https://www.worldoftales.com/Asian_folktales/Arab_folktale_53.html#gsc.tab=0

The Traveler’s Secret
https://storiestogrowby.org/story/travelers-secret/

The Traveling Musicians – Germany
http://www.authorama.com/grimms-fairy-tales-4.html

The Twelve Dancing Princesses - Germany
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/TwelDanc.shtml

Two Frogs from Japan- Japan
http://www.weingartdesign.com/TMaS/Stories/tmas1-TwoFrogs.html

The Two Travelers - Ethiopia
https://www.ethiopianenglishreaders.com/17-stories/beni-shangul-gumuz/21-the-two-travellers

Urashima Taro-The Fisher Lad – Japan
https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/72/japanese-fairy-tales/4881/the-story-of-urashima-taro-the-fisher-lad/

Who Calls – Canada/Cree Nation
https://worldfolklore.net/index.php/2020/08/28/who-calls/

BOOKS

10 Travel books That Will Inspire Your Children to Travel the World
https://discovercorps.com/blog/10-books-that-will-inspire-your-children-to-travel-the-world/

Best Travel Books and Fun Destination Guides for Kids
https://fullsuitcase.com/best-travel-books-kids/

Picture Books About Traveling
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/77369.Picture_Books_About_Traveling

CRAFTS

Everything Mom – The Best Travel Crafts for Kids
https://www.everythingmom.com/activities/51-travel-crafts

CURRICULUM

Exploring the World in Your Classroom: 45 Travel Themed Lesson Plans
https://www.fattiretours.com/45-travel-themed-lesson-plans

GAMES

Some activities require purchasing the game while others only involve your imagination, keen eyesight, or pen and paper.

12 Best Road Trip Games for Families
https://www.familyvacationcritic.com/best-road-trip-games-for-families/art/

45+ Brilliant Road Trip Games for Your Next Long Car Ride
https://365atlantatraveler.com/road-trip-games-2/

SOMETHING EXTRA

If you want to travel to some real-life fairytale locations look no further.

10 Famous Explorers Whose Discoveries Changed the World
https://www.biography.com/news/famous-explorers 

13 Stunning Real-Life Fairytale Destinations
https://www.jetsetter.com/magazine/fairytale-destinations/

A Modern Day Road Trip Through the Land of Grimm’s Fairytales  “Zigzagging over 360 miles from central Germany to the North Sea, with 55 possible stops, the German Fairy Tale Route traces the biographical and fictional world of Jacob and ­Wilhelm Grimm.”
https://medium.com/airbnbmag/grimm-brothers-road-trip-2cb82a18335c

Amazing Folktales from Different Countries - This pdf of stories was created by students who have traveled from different parts of the world to the USA. Each student contributed a story from their home country.
https://news.inverhills.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Amazing-Folktales-2016.pdf

If you prefer some arm chair entertainment, here is an older blog post I wrote during the pandemic when we could only travel in our imaginations.
Armchair Entertainment: From Aquariums to Zoos
https://karenchace.blogspot.com/2020/03/arm-chair-entertainment-from-aquariums.html

Walking Myths and Legends - From the National Trust in the United Kingdom these snippets of myths and legends were selected by their staff “to give you a sense of the folklore you can discover while enjoying the places we care for.” There is enough information to give you a good starting point on finding the complete stories.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/walking-myths-and-legends

I leave you with this traditional Irish blessing.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
May good luck be with you wherever you go,
and your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow.
May your days be many and your troubles be few,
May all God’s blessings descend upon you,
May peace be within you, May your heart be strong,
May you find what you’re seeking wherever you roam.
May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been
the foresight to know where you’re going
and the insight to know when you’re going too far.

 

 

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

 

Karen Chace 2021 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission, please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.