Celebrating the Country of Germany

Aschenbroedel (Cinderella)
Hermann Vogel, 1900

"We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color."  Maya Angelou

This is the fourth in my series, highlighting the rich diversity of folktales, fairy tales, legends, and myths from around the world. I hope it will make it easier for you to find new and unique tales to add to your repertoire, and in the process, learn more about our global neighbors.

There are 16 Federal States that make up the Republic of Germany. I encourage you to conduct further research on the specific region and/or culture behind the stories. I also offer some curriculum and crafts resources, with articles for additional reading on the beautiful country of Germany.

At the end of this blog, you will find links to my previous journeys to the continent of Africa, and the countries of India and Turkey. While we may not be able to travel safely just yet we can still explore the world with our imaginations! I hope you find something useful and fun to add to your storytelling work or classroom.

STORIES

Cat and Mouse in Partnership
http://tinyurl.com/c8uzndv

Gaffer Death
http://tinyurl.com/ot437wm

The Golden Goose
https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/68/fairy-tales-and-other-traditional-stories/5085/the-golden-goose/

The Kind Stepdaughter and the Frog
http://tinyurl.com/mawshhe

The Little Farmer
https://tinyurl.com/yckuo8zf

Mother Holle
http://tinyurl.com/be7fejr

The Old Grandfather and His Grandson
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm078.html

The Pied Piper of Hamelin
https://tinyurl.com/yxy3z52o 

Poverty and Humility Lead to Heaven
https://www.grimmstories.com/en/grimm_fairy-tales/poverty_and_humility_lead_to_heaven

The Three Dogs 
http://tinyurl.com/qbxjnmj

The Winter Ross
http://tinyurl.com/ybgk8j4y 

COLLECTIONS

Bechstein Fairy Tales – You may download this public domain book in several formats, you may also read it online. When you open your selected format, it will appear in German. If you do not read German select ‘translate to English’ in the upper right-hand corner, select ‘translate to English.’
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63465

Fairy Tales from the German Forests by Frau Arndt – Meet the Witch’s Granddaughter, visit Nixey Lake, but beware of the Dragon’s Tail in this public domain book filled with ten delightful tales.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/30834/30834-h/30834-h.htm

Folk-Lore and Legends by Charles Tibbets, 1892
https://fairytalez.com/author/folk-lore-and-legends-german/

Folk-lore and Legends of Germany by Anonymous, 1892. Water-sprites, dancers, elves, and more are found between the virtual covers of this book.
http://tinyurl.com/zrgykdm

German Folktales and Legends – Thirty-three stories await.
http://oaks.nvg.org/german-tales.html

The Grimm Brothers’ Children’s and Household Tales compiled and translated by D. L. Ashliman. The collection offers 210 stories, most with direct links to the stories themselves, along with the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Type, which can be helpful to storytellers.
https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimmtales.html This is another site that offers links to all the stories from the book. https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/

CRAFTS

DLTK-kids.com – Crafts connected to the Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales, coloring pages, jig saw puzzles, origami, and lots more fun to delight the children at home or in the classroom.
https://www.dltk-kids.com/World/germany/index.htm

CURRICULUM

Home School Den – German curriculum for kids. Lots to unpack her with useful additions for the classroom.
http://homeschoolden.com/2015/08/21/german-curriculum-for-kids/

Teacher Planet: Germany – This site offers worksheets, activities, lesson plans and more.
https://www.teacherplanet.com/content/germany

SOMETHING EXTRA

Seven Myths and Legends You’ll Only Hear in Germany – While the full stories are not in the article there is background information to help with further research.
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/germany/articles/7-myths-and-legends-youll-only-hear-in-germany/

13 Twisted Tales By the Brothers Grimm
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/germany/articles/13-intriguing-fairy-tales-by-the-brothers-grimm/

JSTOR: The Fairytale Language of the Brothers Grimm - How the Brothers Grimm went hunting for fairytales, accidentally changed the course of historical linguistics, and kickstarted a new field of scholarship in folklore.
https://daily.jstor.org/the-fairytale-language-of-the-brothers-grimm/

National Endowment of the Humanities: How the Brothers Grimm Saved the Fairy-Tale
https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2015/marchapril/feature/how-the-grimm-brothers-saved-the-fairy-tale

ADDITIONAL CULTURAL RESOURCES

Celebrating the Continent of Africa
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2021/01/celebrating-continent-of-africa.html

Celebrating the Country of India
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2021/01/celebrate-country-of-india.html

Celebrating the Country of Turkey
https://karenchace.blogspot.com/2017/11/celebrating-country-of-turkey.html

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.

 

The Bear Essentials: Folktales of Polar Bears and Their Cousins

White-Bear King Valemon
Theodor Kittelson, 1857-1914

February 27 is Polar Bear Day and folktales from Iceland to Norway, Russia and Germany, folktales, fairy tales, myths and legends stories of polar bears and their cousins abound.  I offer some stories, curriculum, information, crafts and more about these beautiful, majestic animals.

SOME POLAR BEAR FACTS

* At birth, polar bear cubs are 12 to 14 inches long and weigh around one pound.

* Polar bears, also known as Maritime Bears, are the largest land carnivores in the world.

* Polar bears are marine mammals, and spend much of their time on Arctic sea ice. 

* Polar bears are strong swimmers, and individual have been seen in open Arctic waters as far as 200 miles from land. Their front feet are large, flat and  oar-like, making them excellent swimmers.

* The World Conservation Union estimates that there are between 20,000-25,000 polar in the world.

The above information was found at: http://www.defenders.org/polar-bear/basic-facts .

STORIES

Audun and the Bear – Iceland

https://www.storiestogrowby.org/story/audun-the-bear/   

The Bear – From The Grey Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

http://www.classicreader.com/book/2190/23/

Bearskin – Germany
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm101.html

The Bear and the Fox - Norway

https://norwegianfolktales.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-bear-and-fox.html 

The Bear Trainer and His Cat
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type1161.html

East of the Sun, West of the Moon - Norway

http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/norway034.html

The Fisherman and the Bear – Maine, USA

http://www.americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/10/the_fisherman_and_the_bear.html

King of the Polar Bears by L. Frank Baum

https://americanliterature.com/author/l-frank-baum/short-story/the-king-of-the-polar-bears

King Valemon, the White Bear - Norway

https://thornews.com/2013/03/20/norwegian-fairy-tales-white-bear-king-valemon/

The Magic Bear – Native American/Inuit

http://learningtogive.org/materials/folktales/MagicBear.asp

Masha and the Bear – Russia
http://russian-crafts.com/russian-folk-tales/masha-bear-tale.html

The Story of the Three Bears - England

http://www.authorama.com/english-fairy-tales-20.html

The Willow Wren and the Bear - Germany

http://www.authorama.com/grimms-fairy-tales-11.html

The Woman and Her Bear – Inuit
http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TheWomanAndHerBear-Eskimo.html

The Woman Who Had A Bear As A Foster Son - Inuit

http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/inu/eft/eft10.htm

Why the Bear is Stumpy Tailed - Norway

http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/10/the_fisherman_and_the_bear.html

BOOKS

The Children’s Book Review – Kids Winter Books: Snow Mitten, Polar Bears and Other Artic Animals

http://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/weblog/2010/01/kids-winter-books-snow-mittens-polar-bears-and-other-artic-animals.html

CURRICULUM                                                

10 Polar Bear Facts: PreK and K

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/pre-k-and-k-lesson-plans/58147-polar-bear-facts-lesson-plan/

Education World – Why Polar Bears Are White. Science and Art for grades K – 2.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/00-1/lesson0002.shtml

National Parks Service – Bear Essentials – Lesson plans using the folktale, Why the Bear Is Stumpy Tailed

https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/teachers/lessonplans/Bear-Essentials-4th-Grade-Post-visit%20activity%202.pdf

Polar Bear International – A variety of information on polar bears, including scientific studies habitats and more.
https://polarbearsinternational.org/

CRAFTS

DLTK-Kids - Polar Bear Crafts and Activities

http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/polar-bears.htm

Theme Station – Polar bear art, activities, games, recipies and more.
http://www.preschoolexpress.com/theme-station12/polar-bears-january.shtml

Twiggle Magazine - Polar Bear Puppet
http://twigglemagazine.com/January-activities/polar-bear-craft.html

SOMETHING EXTRA

Bars and Hibernation: Fun for the Little Ones – Fingerplays, songs and more.

https://karenchace.blogspot.com/2015/11/bears-and-hibernation-fun-for-little.html

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 2015 ©

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.

Celebrate the Year of the Snake: 2013/2025

The Queen of Snakes
from The Olive Fairy Tale Book
by Andrew Lang, 1907
Illustration by Henry Justice Ford

The Chinese New Year begins on February 10 and ends on February 24 and 2013 is the Year of the Snake.

“Ancient Chinese wisdom says a Snake in the house is a good omen because it means your family will not starve. This could be taken metaphorically to mean that a Snake could never have a problem with his family starving because he is such a great mediator, making him good at business. Or it could mean that a Snake would be willing to sacrifice his possessions, something the Snake has a lot of, in order to pay for his family’s food.

Any way it is interpreted is representative of the Snake’s character and is a measure of the value he puts on his material wealth. The Snake is keen and cunning, quite intelligent and wise.”

For more information on this sign visit https://71rhs.weebly.com/snakes-in-the-house.html

Here are some stories to get your storytelling juices flowing, or in this case, slithering!

SSSSSSSSTORIES

The Ape, the Snake and the Lion - Africa
https://www.worldoftales.com/African_folktales/African_Folktale_44.html#gsc.tab=0

The Baby Mouse and the Snake – Africa
https://anikefoundation.org/african-folktales/the-baby-mouse-and-the-baby-snake

The Fairy Tale of the Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA022/English/APC1925/GA022_c04.html    

The Girl and the Snake – Sweden
http://tinyurl.com/dxcw5n8

The King of the Snakes and Other Folk-lore Stories from Uganda
http://tinyurl.com/c7nkznm

The Legend of the White Snake - China
https://pages.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/chin/chtales/story010.html 

The Physician’s Son and the King of the Snakes -Tanzania
https://www.worldoftales.com/African_folktales/African_Folktale_48.html#gsc.tab=0

Rabbit Plays Tug-O-War – Native American
http://tinyurl.com/btxxdzm

The Rainbow Serpent - Australia

http://tinyurl.com/arv2cb6

The Snake and the King’s Daughter – Albania |http://www.albanianliterature.net/folktales/tale_13.html

Snake and Serpent Husbands in Folktales – D.L. Ashliman

http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/snake.html

The Snake, the Farmer, and the Heron – Nigeria
https://wordandsorcery.com/the-snake-the-farmer-and-the-heron-fable/

The Snake with the Big Feet – Native American

https://indigenouspeople.net/bigfeet.htm 

The Snake with Five Heads – Native American 
https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=read&author=mcpherson&book=native&story=five

The Snake-Prince Sleepy-Head – Persia 
https://chestofbooks.com/fairy-tale/Persian/VI-The-Story-Of-The-Snake-Prince-Sleepy-Head.html

The Snakes Bride – Bhutan
http://tinyurl.com/dxzc3xf

The Three Snake Leaves - Grimm
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/013.txt

The White Man and the Snake – South Africa
http://tinyurl.com/dyqy9fs

The White Snake – Germany/Grimm
http://www.authorama.com/grimms-fairy-tales-36.html

Why Frog and Snake Never Play Together - Africa
http://tinyurl.com/d9hzpnk

Why Mongoose Kills Snakes - Africa
http://tinyurl.com/bolyrnz

BOOKS

Kidzone.com

http://www.kidzone.ws/lw/snakes/activities-books.htm

Picture books about snakes - Tales From the Children's Library
https://talesfromthechildrenslibrary.wordpress.com/2021/11/28/picture-books-about-snakes/

 

CRAFTS

These two sites offer fun snake crafts, coloring pages, activities and more.

DLTK.com
http://dltk-holidays.com/china/index-snake.htm

Enchantedlearning.com
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/chinesenewyear/

CURRICULUM

A Snake Study Unit for Elementary Age Children  
https://wearethehawleys.com/a-snake-unit-study-for-elementary-aged-children/

Mama’s Happy Hive – Montessori Inspired Snake Unit
https://www.mamashappyhive.com/montessori-inspired-snake-unit/

Science Trek – Lots of resources for educators.
https://sciencetrek.org/topics/snakes/resources

 

GAME

Snow Snakes – An Ojibwe game for grades 2-8.
http://intersectingart.umn.edu/?lesson/22

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 2012 ©

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.

Escaping the Troll

Grimm's Fairy Tales,
1812 Edition's cover

Her Story, Your Story, Our Story:
An Afternoon with Women Who Have Escaped the Troll

by Regina Ress 

This article was previously published in the LANES Museletter, 2012.
           

"What message do you want to send to other women who’ve been captured by a “Troll?"“
"Love yourself enough to leave.”
"Anything else?"
"Don’t settle for less.”

Storytelling is not just kid stuff. We, the storytelling community, know this. Indeed, we know that “kid stuff” can be….and should be…meaningful at its core. Life long learning begins with those bedside stories of survival, of  compassion, of what life holds, offers, and teaches.  And for those whose stories takes some bad turns, stories and storytelling can help them find our way out of the woods and home.

I am currently helping to launch a non-profit organization, Healing Voices-Personal Stories, whose mission is to bring awareness to women striving to overcome abuse through the distribution of film and video. Having worked with women in several correctional facilities, I am keenly aware that women who end up in jail generally have a history of abuse. Bad stories; bad endings.

But do all bad stories have to have bad endings? Is there a way to learn and grow a new story?

Last June, I spent time with a group of women in a “resettlement” program. These are formerly incarcerated women who have come through abuse and who are actively in the process of changing and reclaiming their lives. The women are part of a support group that meets once a week at the Community Partners in Action Resettlement Program in Hartford,Connecticut.  I brought fresh strawberries from my friend’s spring garden, an old European fairy tale, and some questions. 

The story I brought to Hartford last spring was one of the Grimm’s Tales. It describes the trials of a Princess who falls through the crack in a glass mountain and is forced to be the house drudge of the long-bearded Old Rink Rank. She loses all sense of herself, even forgetting her own name. This young woman is eventually rescued, not by a prince, but by her own efforts. When she hits rock bottom, something shifts in her psyche and she finds her own way back up to the light.

I told Old Rink Rank, adding my own voice,  asking a question or two within the telling, but not changing the original Grimm version. It is a spare story. It is a very clear story.

The women in our group listened with great attention, nodding at times, often uttering a chorus of “uh-huhs” at recognizable moments in this story of abuse and redemption. After the telling, in response to my questions as well as their own, they fleshed out their understanding…and mine as well…of this classic tale. Our discussion was lively, filled with recognition and gritty wisdom.  The women very much took control of the conversation, finding questions and answers themselves, often engaging in a kind of debate over issues raised in the story.  We looked at how easy it is to fall through the cracks, losing ourselves to the “trolls” ever waiting to use us for their own purposes. The story does not tell us how and why the Princess turns her situation around. But these women knew:

“All that hard work gave her strength.”

 “When you hit rock bottom, when you are fed up, that’s when you make the changes.”

We also discussed two possible endings.  The Princess, having trapped the old man by his long beard, sets him free once she has returned to the world.  In the Grimm version, her father, the King, has him killed. We looked at the justice of this.  Then we looked at a more forgiving model, the possibility of not taking revenge. A different kind of justice.

As our time was quite short, we did not get in to our own personal stories. However,  it was clear that all of us, group members, case workers, and I, recognized aspects of our own lives in this timeless tale. And working with it in this way helped us all clarify and enlarge our understanding   of our lives.

Two of the women commented to me on their way out that they never understood that “those old stories actually meant something.” Ah!   This storyteller quoted a favorite adage in the storytelling world: The stories are not good because they are old; they are old because they are good.

And they do, they most definitely do “mean something.”



Regina Ress is an award winning storyteller, actor, writer and educator who has performed and taught for over forty years from Broadway to Brazil in English and Spanish in a wide variety of settings from grade schools to senior centers, from homeless shelters and prisons to Lincoln Center and the White House. Performances range from delightful folk tales to some of the world’s great mythologies. She also tells original stories about New York City, 9/11, and Love.

Regina is Storytelling Adjunct for New York University’s Programs in Educational Theatre and Multilingual/Multicultural Studies and produces the storytelling series at the historic Provincetown Playhouse in NYC. In 2003 she was awarded the Oracle for Leadership and Service by the National Storytelling Network.  www.reginaress.com


Regina Ress is a guest blogger for Karen Chace and Catch the Storybug blog. All rights to this article belong to Regina. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without the expressed written permission of Regina Ress. If you would like to be a Guest Blogger email Karen at storybug@aol.com with "Guest Blogger" in the subject heading .

Wisdom, Wit and Wonder - Fabulous Fairy Tales!

The Frog Prince and Other Stories
by Walter Crane, 1874

“Deeper meaning resides in the fairy tales told to me in my childhood than in the truth that is taught by life.”
~ Friedrich von Schiller

Recently, my colleagues and I have been discussing the lasting importance of fairytales amidst the plethora of personal stories on festival stages and  at story slams. Don't misunderstand me, I love a well-told personal tale; I have taken part in story slams and strongly support my local organization, massmouth.org. The current popularity of that genre offers the wonderful benefit of introducing a younger audience to the art of oral tradition. However, more than ever it seems as if the old tales are being relegated back to the nursery and adults assume fairy tales are for children.

In doing a bit of research for this post I came across this wonderful quote:

"Once upon a time, back when animals spoke and rivers sang and every quest was worth going on, back when dragons still roared and maidens were beautiful and an honest young man with a good heart and a great deal of luck could always wind up with a princess and half the kingdom - back then, fairytales were for adults...." Neil Gaiman

It is my hope that one day telling fairytales will be as mainstream and hip as The Moth and its facsimilies around the country. So here is short list of antique books on line, filled with stories. In the new year I will research and post more; the possibilites are endless.

Fairytales contain the wisdom, wit and wonder of the ages. Give them a try and you just might be swept away by story!

A Book of Fairy Tales from Many Places

http://oaks.nvg.org/fairy-book.html

Andrew Lang’s Colored Fairy Tale Books – They’re all here from blue to violet!
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/lfb/index.htm

Armenian Fairy Tales - Sixteen interesting folktales from the ancient country of Armenia.http://www.armeniaemb.org/Kids/ArmenianFairyTales/index.htm

Beauty and the Beast by
Warwick Goble, 1923

Canadian Wonder Tales by Cyrus MacMillian
http://tinyurl.com/6un85nh

Celtic Fairy Tales
http://tinyurl.com/6o7ksrx

Czechoslovak Fairy Tales – Seventeen stories from the Baldwin Project.
http://tinyurl.com/87nv9hh

Fairy Tales by Howard Pyle, 1903.

http://tinyurl.com/6smvnr7

Fairy Tales from the Arabian Nights by E. Dixon, 1893.

http://www.wollamshram.ca/1001/Dixon/dixon01_main.htm

Fairy Tales from Many Lands by Katharine Pyle, 1911. The Evil One Who Married Three Sisters, The Seven Golden Pea Hens and other unique stories are found within.
http://www.archive.org/details/fairytalesfromma00pyle

Fairy Tales and Folktales of the Irish Peasantry - Edited by W. B. Yeats and published in 1888 the stories are here to enjoy, courtesy of Sacred Texts. Revel in tales of the Merrow, Changelings, Pookas, Fairies and Banshees, Saints, Priests, Giants and Devils, Kings, Queens, Earls and Robbers; Yeats covers them all!
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/yeats/fip/

Fairies at the Cradle
by Warwick Goble

Grimm’s Fairytales – 209 tales by the Brothers Grimm.

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/

Indian Fairytales by Joseph Jacobs, 1912. It offers twenty-nine tales from Eastern India and gorgeous illustrations to complement each story. http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/ift/index.htm

Japanese Fairy Tales by Teresa Peirce Williston, 1911

http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/jft2/index.htm  

Pepper and Salt – Literary Fairy Tales by Howard Pyle, 1885
http://tinyurl.com/7y6momu
      

Roumanian Fairy Tales and Legends by Mrs. E. B. Mawr, 1881.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/rft/

Russian Fairy Tales - The site shares twenty-one fairytales. Most offer both a short and long version, for those who want more details.
http://tinyurl.com/6blpls

Slovak National Fairy Tales - A Tribute to Pavol Dobšinský (Dobsinsky) -Interesting background information on the writer who created the largest collection of Slovak folktales. It also offers insight into the Slovak heritage and presents fourteen folktales.
http://www.geocities.com/slovaktales/index.htm

The Junior Classics (Volume One: Fairy and Wonder Tales) edited by William Patten.http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext02/1jrc110.txt

The Magic Ring and Other Oriental Fairy Tales by James Miller, 1861.
http://www.archive.org/details/magicringotheror00bobbiala

The Wonder Clock – Literary Fairy Tales by Howard Pyle, 1887.

http://tinyurl.com/7mswtce

There’s Magic in Fairy Tales – My blog celebrating the birthday of Harry Houdini from March of 2011. There are fairy tales filled with magic, crafts, curriculum and a fairy tale story stretch I wrote as well.
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2011/03/theres-magic-in-fairy-tales.html

Wonder Tales from Baltic Wizards by Frances Olcott, 1928.

http://tinyurl.com/7ck8x2v

If you missed the previous blog posts of public domain story collections go to:

• http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2011/05/public-domain-folktales-myths-legends.html
• http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2011/06/public-domain-ii-folktales-myths-and.html
• http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2011/09/public-domain-iii-folktales-fairy-tales.html
• http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2011/10/public-domain-iv-folktales-fairytales.html

Karen Chace 2011 ©

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.