Slow and Steady: Stor e Telling January February 2011

Tortoise and Hare
from Children's Illustrations, 1880

I have penned the Stor E Telling column since January of 2002 and the articles from 2002-2006 are the publications page of my website found here http://tinyurl.com/llnn47y . I will be adding the columns from 2007 to 2012 to that page as well. However, I am in the process of checking what link URL's have changed or are now defunct. It is a time consuming process so I am taking the “slow and steady” approach via Aesop and will post the individual columns on my blog for now.

I will not be adding current columns until the following year, so if you want immediate access to the newest websites, consider becoming a member of the National Storytelling Network.

Please feel free to comment on the blog and let me know if you find this useful.

JANUARY FEBRUARY 2011

This issue focuses on storytelling and music, a wonderful combination. I offer you some sites to help you hit all the right notes!

American Ballads and Songs – This book will be helpful to tellers and ballad singers. This book, published in 1922, is available as a free download

o   English and Scottish Ballads in America
o   Other Imported Ballads and Songs
o   Native Ballads and Songs
o   Ballads of: Criminals and Outlaws
o   Western Ballads and Songs
o   Miscellaneous Ballads and Songs
o   Dialogue, Nursery and Game Songs
http://tinyurl.com/2fhwvze

Contemplations from the Marianis Trench – Hundreds of ballads and folk songs from England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and America. Also lyrics, background information and midi files so you can revel in the music while you surf.

http://www.contemplator.com/

Songs for Teaching - A great site to find songs for your stories that tie into curriculum guidelines. There are Teacher Tips, Lesson Plans and Guidelines for using music in the classroom including songs about everyday life, diversity and family. This is the place to be to put a smile on your face and a song in your heart!
http://www.songsforteaching.com/

Story-Lovers.com – As always, Jackie Baldwin has just what we need. Here is the link to the Books, Music and Stories page on her site; a triple treat!
http://tinyurl.com/25l7jed

Texas State Library and Archives Commission - Traditional songs, rhymes, fingerplays and games in Spanish and English.

http://tinyurl.com/3dbu7v

Tell Me A Story – From the King County Library System, librarians share their songs and fingerplays, some are accompanied by video.
http://tinyurl.com/35gtu3r

January 5, 2011 is National Bird Day. I offer some stories and information to help your imagination’s soar!

Birds As Symbol: A Flight Through Folktale and Poetry – Interesting paper focusing on how “birds are used symbolically to represent spirits or souls in folklore of various countries.”

http://tinyurl.com/33748ae

Bird Stories from Around the World - Fourteen tales I have collected through the years.

http://tinyurl.com/2cpab2j

The Chinese New Year begins on February 3 and 2011 is The Year of the Rabbit; some tales to add to your repertoire.

A Rabbit Story – Tibet 

http://www.sacred-texts.com/asia/tft/tft38.htm

Brer Rabbit and Tar Baby - USA

http://tinyurl.com/2fssknu

The Dance for Water or Rabbit’s Triumph – South Africa 

http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/saft/sft20.htm

The Foolish Lion and the Clever Rabbit

http://tinyurl.com/2vv9nkt

Rabbit and Fox– Native American

http://tinyurl.com/29g29hq

The Rabbit and the Coyote - Mayan
http://tinyurl.com/ybn7he6

Rabbit Shots the Sun – Native American

http://tinyurl.com/36u3ukl

The Rabbit Throws Out His Sandal - Mayan

http://tinyurl.com/2uuzrqc
 

The Smiling Rabbit - Mexico

http://www.eagleservices.ca/1stlorette/Html/MexicoWeb/FolkTales.pdf

Storybug.net – Two previous posts on my blog about the Chinese NewYear in 2008 and 2009. While the stories are not about rabbit you will find information about the celebration that may be useful.

http://tinyurl.com/yfqejbk
http://tinyurl.com/ylxdd5l

Many of us will be “wearing the green” soon in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day so here’s a head start on finding some of the fairy folk!

Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, 1892.

http://tinyurl.com/332obbr

The Fireside Stories of Ireland by Patrick Kennedy, 1870.

https://archive.org/details/firesidestories00kenngoog

Folk-Lore and Legends: Legends, Myths and Fairy Tales by Cathryn Wallace, 1910. http://tinyurl.com/ohozrbr

And if you missed any of the previous “Slow and Steady…” blog posts here are the links to the series so far.

2007

January February 2007
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/06/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e.html
March April 2007
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/06/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_30.html
May June 2007
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/07/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e.html
July August 2007
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/07/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_15.html
September October 2007
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/07/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_20.html
November December 2007
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/07/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_29.html

2008

January February 2008
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/08/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e.html
March April 2008
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/08/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_11.html
May June 2008
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/08/slow-and-steady-wins-race-may-june-2008.html
Summer 2008
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/08/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_25.html
Fall 2008
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/09/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e.html

 

2009 

January February 2009
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/09/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_10.html
May June 2009
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/09/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_14.html
July August 2009
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/09/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_21.html
September October 2009
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/09/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_29.html
November December 2009
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/10/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e.html

 

2010

January February 2010
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/10/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_13.html

April May 2010
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/10/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_28.html
July August 2010
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/11/slow-and-steady-stor-e-telling-july.html
September October 2010
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/11/slow-and-steady-stor-e-telling.html
November December 2010
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/11/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e.html

 

Karen Chace 2013 ©

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 Four Friends - A Bhutan Folktale

The Four Harmonious Friends
by Ella Brewer

Last week my niece Hayley called to read me a story she wrote. She initially read this story in a folktale book and loved it so much she wrote her own adaptation, just like storytellers do with the tales they love.

Hayley will be entering the second grade in September. She has been exposed to storytelling since she was in kindergarten as she attends the same school where I have directed a storytelling troupe for ten years. Her older brother Brad was part of the troupe for two years so she is very excited about becoming a storyteller herself.

I promised Hayley I would post her version on my blog so my colleagues could delight in her work. I have also added a link to a longer version of the story and some additional websites to whet your storytelling appetites. If you have a moment, please leave a note for Hayley in the comment section at the bottom of the blog. I know she will be delighted to hear your words of encouragement.

The Four Friends
by Hayley

One day a peacock planted a little seed. Along came a rabbit. She asked, “Can I help?”
“Yes”, said the peacock. So the rabbit and watered the seed.

Along came a monkey. He asked, “Can I help?”
“Yes,” said the rabbit. “Please feed the seed.”

 Along came an elephant. She asked, “Can I help?”
“Yes,” said the monkey. “Please watch the seed.”

So the elephant watched the seed. A little plant grew into a big tree. Big red apples grew on the tree. “I cannot reach the apples ,” cried the elephant.

“I can help,” said the monkey. He jumped onto the elephants back. “I cannot reach the apples,” cried the monkey.
“I can help,” said the rabbit. She jumped on monkeys back. “I cannot reach the apples.”

“I can help,” said the peacock. He jumped onto the rabbits back.” Now we can all have apples!”

You may read a much longer version of the story, The Four Hamonious Friends, from the Jataka Tales at this link:
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=40,1531,0,0,1,0

It is said that wherever a picture of the Four Harmonious Friends is displayed, the ten virtues will increase, the minds of all will become harmonious, and many auspicious events will occur.

The animals are representations of Lord Buddha himself and his close advocates: the bird is Buddha himself, the rabbit is Sheribu (Shari Putra), the monkey Mou-Gelgi-Bu (Mugyalyana), and the elephant Kingau (Ananda). The painting teaches most of the Bhutanese values of etiquette like respect for elders, cooperation, and generosity.  http://www.bhutantravelportal.com/miscellaneous/four_friends.php

ADDITIONAL STORIES

Jataka Tales -  Collected by Ellen C. Babbitt, 1912.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/jt/index.htm

More Jataka Tales Collected by Ellen C. Babbitt, 1922.

http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php3?author=babbitt&book=morejataka&story=_contents

The Jataka Tales – Twelve Tales Collected by D. L. Ashliman
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/jataka.html


* The artwork at the top left of the blog is the original work of Ella Brewer of New Zealand. She graciously granted me permission to use it in this post. Please take a moment to visit her site and view her other beautiful pieces of art. http://www.pureview.co.nz

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.

Trickster Tales - Skipping Across the Continents



The trickster figure Reynard the Fox 
by Michel Rodance, 1869

April, the month for tricksters, jokers and fools is just a few hours away. Here in Massachusetts, it seems the tricksters are getting an early start because snow is predicted for tomorrow! But we are a hardy bunch in New England, and we won’t let a few snowflakes spoil our fun.

As with all stories trickster tales travel from culture to culture, shape shifting as they skip across the continents. The trickster might be a fox in Japan, mouse deer in Asia, a coyote or raven among the Native Americans, or a spider in West Africa just to name a few.

“As their name suggests, tricksters love to play tricks on other gods (and sometimes on humans and animals). But perhaps the best definition of a trickster is the one given by Lewis Hyde: "trickster is a boundary-crosser.” By that, he means that the trickster crosses both physical and social boundaries-- the trickster is often a traveller, and he often breaks societal rules… The trickster often changes shape (turning into an animal, for example) to cross between worlds. In his role as boundary-crosser, the trickster sometimes becomes the messenger of the gods…John Lame Deer said, tricksters "are sacred [because] we Indians also need their laughter to survive.” http://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/Tricksters.htm

So here’s to the tricksters, whether fox, raven or mouse, who have added so many stories and laughter to our lives!

STORIES

Br’er Rabbit
http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/brer-rabbit/

Jamaica Anansi Stories
http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/jas/index.htm

The Monkey’s Heart

http://fairy-tales.parnas.info/en/africa/tales-and-stories/monkeys-heart.html

Native American Tricksters of Myth and Legend
http://www.native-languages.org/trickster.htm

Trickster Wives and Maids
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type1741.html

The Trickster: The Hlakanyana and Huveane – Bantu Folktales
http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/mlb/mlb13.htm

The Trickster Tricked
http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/07/the_trickster_tricked.html

Tricksters From Around the World 
https://childrensbooks.web.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Trickster-Tales.pdf 

Fools, Tricksters, Festivals and Spring – My blog post from April 2009 with some additional links for trickster tales.
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2009/04/fools-tricksters-festivals-and-spring.html

ARTICLES

African and Native American Trickster Folktales by Jennifer Smith 
https://www.stepbystep.com/African-and-Native-American-Trickster-Folktales-134237/

Around the World with Tricksters – Short article with a helpful bibliography at the end. https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=around-the-world-with-tricksters 

BOOKS

Fools and Tricksters – Bibliography by Carol Hurst
http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/fools.html

Folktales of Joha, Jewish Trickster by Matilda Koén-Sarano
http://tinyurl.com/5uawds6

Trickster Tales from Around the World – A selection of children’s books focusing on trickster tales.
http://kidworldcitizen.org/2014/01/17/trickster-tales-around-world/

Trickster Tales by Josepha Sherman
http://tinyurl.com/6afxe69

Takoma Park Library – Wonderful bibliography of Trickster Tales, including Raven, Coyote, Anansi and more.
http://www.takomapark.info/library/children/archives/000340.html 

CURRICULUM

Aesop and Ananse – Animal Fables and Trickster Tales
http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/aesop-and-ananse-animal-fables-and-trickster-tales

Fable and Trickster Tales From Around the World
http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/fables-and-trickster-tales-around-world

The Trickster Around the World 
Original link no longer valid but you may still access the information via the Wayback Machine here: https://web.archive.org/web/20120209202122/http://www.duke.edu/web/pfs/lessons/newlacurriculum/fictionquestions/Anansi%20Hat%20Dance.pdf

CRAFTS

Rabbit Paper Bag Puppet
http://www.first-school.ws/activities/crafts/animals/wild/bagrabbit.htm

Raven the Trickster
http://www.crayola.com/lesson-plans/raven-the-trickster-puppet-tales-lesson-plan/

Spider Windsock
http://www.first-school.ws/activities/crafts/animals/insects/spider-windsock-halloween.htm

In my work with the Massachusetts Humanities Council FAIR program one book we shared last year was Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock. I designed the word search below as a take away for the children. Feel free to copy and paste into a word document and use it in your work. If the copy and paste does not work properly email me at storybug@aol.com and I will send it along as an attachment.

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.

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 2011 ©