Parallel Folktales: Three Magic Gifts

The Magic Tray

 (Vietnam)

Once upon a time there was a poor man who made his living selling wood at the local market. One day the poor man went into the forest to gather some wood when he came upon a beautiful tree that would provide highly marketable wood. As he swung his axe to chop the tree a spirit came out and begged him to spare the tree.

The poor man explained “I am sorry, but if I do not cut down this tree I will not be able to provide food for my family. I have no other talents or means of producing an income.”

“If you will agree to spare this tree, which is my home, I will give you a gift so wonderful that you will never need to worry about food again,” replied the spirit.

The poor man eagerly agreed and the spirit produced a wooden tray.

“Strike this tray three times and it will produce as much food as you need” the spirit instructed. “But, be sure to go straight home and tell no one of this magic gift.”

So the poor man headed for home, but it was a long journey so he decided to stop at an inn for the night. When he was there he grew hungry so he tapped the tray three times and instantly the tray produced a very fine meal. Though the poor man did not know it, the innkeeper had seen this and wanted the tray for his own use. So while the poor man slept, the innkeeper stole the tray and replaced it with an ordinary tray.

The next day, the poor man woke up, packed his tray and returned home. When he arrived he was so excited that he gathered his family around to see the marvelous wooden tray that would feed them for the rest of their lives. But when he struck the tray three times nothing happened.

The man returned to the forest in a rage. He began to swing his axe at the tree when the spirit appeared and questioned him.

“Why are you attempting to destroy this tree? Weren’t you satisfied with the gift I gave you?”

“That gift only worked one time for me, now it behaves as an ordinary wooden tray,” replied the poor man.

“That should not be! But as I can do nothing about that now, I will give you a second gift if you promise to spare this tree.”

The poor man agreed, and the spirit produced a fine looking horse.

“Strike this horse two times and instead of manure you will find gold. But, go straight home and do not tell a soul about this magical gift” the spirit warned.

The poor man was very excited about this and left for home. However, again it was a long way to travel and the man was so tired that he decided to room again at the same inn as the night before.

The innkeeper recognized him from the previous night and suspected that he might have more curious and valuable magical items so he welcomed him in and fed him. Before turning in for the night, the innkeeper inquired about the horse and where the poor man intended to board him for it would cost extra to stable it for the night.

“I only hope that this will not be too much of a financial burden for you” said the innkeeper.

“Oh, I am not worried about that, this horse shits gold!” boasted the poor man. He struck the horse two times and the innkeeper marveled to see that it produced plenty of money to board it for the night.

The innkeeper crept to the stable while the poor man slept and replaced the magic horse with a regular horse and in the morning the poor man got up, packed up the horse and returned home. He was excited to show his family so he gathered them all together, but when he struck the horse it produced a pile of manure. Outraged, the man stormed off into the forest and swung his axe at the tree again.

“Oh it’s you again! Why are you trying to cut down my tree? Didn’t we have an agreement?” asked the spirit.

“This time was no different than before – I struck the horse two times as you instructed and it produced gold, but when I got home it was full of shit!” the poor man exclaimed.

“Ah, I see now. I warned you to go straight home, but you didn’t heed my advice. This time I will give you a gift that will return the other lost gifts to you.”

And the spirit produced a bronze tube.

“Strike this tube to the ground once and you will find that thieves and liars will be at your mercy.”

So the poor man took the tube and headed for home. On his way he got tired and decided to room at the same inn as the previous two nights. The innkeeper was curiously glad to see him and the poor man grew suspicious because he noticed that there was a table full of food in the inn and the inn itself was extravagantly decorated. So the poor man struck the tube to the ground and instantly the innkeeper fell to his back paralyzed.

“I want my stuff back. Tell me where to get my tray and my horse or I’ll beat you to death in front of all these people with this tube!”

The innkeeper told him and the poor man returned home with his magic tray and his horse. And he keeps the bronze tube hung over the mantle as a reminder to all those who know him not to steal.

“Gifts of the North Wind”

 (Norway)

*This is one version of the story, another may be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rcgzQpsWYs

Long ago in Norway a little boy lived with his invalid mother. They were very poor and in the winter, where it stays dark and bitter cold, the only thing they could afford to eat was bread. Every day the little boy would go to the shed and get just enough grain to make one loaf of bread. One morning when he was returning to the house with a bowl full of grain the aggressive North Wind blew so hard it knocked the bowl out of the boys hands and all of the grain was blown away. The boy returned to the shed for another portion and again the North Wind blew it from his hands. This made the boy nervous, because he knew that they did not have any grain to spare. This time, he resolved to be more careful. But as he was traveling back to the house holding extra tight to the bowl in his hands, the North Wind blew again and this time, instead of knocking the bowl from his hands a large clump of snow blew out of one of the trees and landed on the boy so that he dropped the grain.

The boy was angry, and having some fierce Viking blood in him, he decided to go to the cave where they say the North Wind lives to ask for his grain back. So he climbed up the mountain and arrived at the cave of the North Wind. When he entered the cave, the North Wind was very excited to see him – because nobody ever goes to visit the North Wind. But the boy was on a mission and firmly told the North Wind that he was not there for a friendly visit and demanded that the North Wind give him his grain back.

“Sadly, there is nothing I can do about that. Instead, take this table cloth. Spread it out and say ‘Table cloth, I would like a meal fit for a king’ and you will find it covered in delicious food whenever you wish,” said the North Wind.

So the boy took the table cloth and set off for home. But he grew tired after such a long journey so he decided to spend the night at the first house he came to. An old woman answered his knock and let him in. She gave him a room for the night, but the boy was very hungry so when he got to his room he spread the table cloth out and said the magic words “table cloth, I would like a meal fit for a king.” Instantly the table cloth produced an enormous feast. But the old woman had seen this exchange and wanted the table cloth. So, when the boy was sleeping, she snuck into his room and replaced it with an ordinary table cloth.

The next day the boy packed his things and journeyed home where he was anxious to show his mother the gift that the North Wind had given him. However, when he spread the table cloth out and muttered the magic words, nothing happened. Angrily the boy stormed back up the mountain and into the cave of the North Wind. He bitterly complained about the table cloth not working. The North Wind found this peculiar but gave the boy a second gift – a sheep that produced gold when asked.

The boy ventured home again, but grew tired at the same spot and decided to stay again with the kind old woman. This time she was happy to see the boy and asked him about his new sheep. The boy showed her what the sheep could do and the woman was astonished. So while the boy slept, she replaced his sheep with a regular sheep. The boy returned home the following day not knowing that his sheep had been replaced. When he tried to show his mother the magic sheep it did nothing, so the boy returned to the cave of the North Wind.

“Why have you returned?” asked the North Wind.

“That sheep that you gave me only worked once. Now it is just a normal sheep!” replied the boy.

“This shouldn’t have happened. Have you been going straight home or did you stop anywhere on your journey?” the North wind questioned.

The boy told the North Wind that he had indeed stopped at the same house the past two nights. The North Wind then ascertained why the gifts had stopped working and gave the boy one last gift – a magic stick.

“If you encounter any enemies, this stick will beat them if you ask it to” said the North Wind.

So the boy took the stick and stopped again at the old woman’s house. She greeted him and invited him in to stay the night. The boy lay awake at night wondering why the woman – a stranger – had been so kind to him, and excited to see him. He noticed that the gifts stopped working after he spent the night at her house and began to suspect her, when he heard her creeping outside his door. The boy pretended to sleep. The old woman entered the room and exchanged the magic stick for another. But as soon as she turned to leave the boy cried out “stick, beat this thief!” And the stick began to pummel the old woman until she promised to return his table cloth and his sheep. The boy brought all three treasures home to his mother and the two lived happily ever after.

Another common theme in folktale is the story of three magic gifts – typically a poor person down on their luck is attempting to provide a meal for the family when something happens – sometimes they stumble upon someone magical, sometimes they are the aggressors and a magical being is at their mercy, sometimes they have been the unintentional victim of a magical being – and a magical gift is offered. The first gift is stolen so they return and get another; the second gift is stolen so they return to get another and the third gift helps them retrieve the former two. This story can be found all over – from Vietnam, to Norway, Italy (“The Ass that Lays Money”), Germany (“Table be set”) and my favorite from Ireland “Tim O’Toole and the Wee Folk” (a folktale retold from an older version, by Gerald McDermot – who, incidentally, is an amazing source for children’s folktales. http://www.amazon.com/Tim-OToole-Folk-Picture-Puffins/dp/0140506756)

Parallel myths: Royal barbers tell secrets to trees

The King with the Horse's Ears

(Ireland)

Long ago there lived a king named Lora Lonshach who only had his hair cut once a year. Nobody knew the reason, but the whole kingdom was suspicious because after each haircut the barber was killed. Eventually, barbers stopped volunteering to cut the King’s hair, so he sent out a royal decree proclaiming that a barber would be selected by lottery each year and that if he should refuse, his house would be burned down and his family killed.

The first victim of this new law was a boy who lived with his elderly mother. The kings officials set out to retrieve him and took him away before anyone could really object (not that there was much that could be done about it anyhow). When the boys mother returned to the shop and saw that her son had been taken, she was beside herself with grief and went at once to see the king to beg for mercy.

When she arrived at the castle, the guards brought her before the king wailing and pleading. The king ordered her to be calm on penalty of death and the woman told the king her sad tale of being widow and crippled and how her son was the only means of financial security she had. She begged the king to spare his life.

The king felt pity for her and made her promise on her life that her son would keep a secret after giving the king his hair cut. The woman agreed and left feeling lighthearted for she knew that her son would soon return. On the day of the haircut the king made the son pledge on his life that he would keep the secret about why the king only had one haircut every year and why so many barbers before had been killed. The boy agreed, and was then instructed to remove the Kings rather odd crown. When he did he saw that the king had two long ears that stood straight up and were covered with hair just like a horse’s ears. The boy thought this was very funny, but managed to keep a straight face through the entire haircut. When he was finished, the king approved of the haircut and made the boy his official barber.

When the boy returned home he was the talk of the town. 

Everyone was surprised and relieved to see him home and when they heard that there would be no more murdered barbers they became quite curious about why the boy was spared. The secret ate away at the boy until he could almost bear it no more. One afternoon he shut the shop early, closed the doors, boarded up the windows and began to confide in his mother. His mother stopped him abruptly fearing that somehow they would be discovered. Instead, she instructed the boy to go deep into the forest and tell one of the trees the secret. The boy found this a suitable solution to his problem and did just that. Once he came to an old tree he made a small cut in the trunk and whispered the words “Da Chluais Chapail ar Labhhradth Loingseach” which means “two ears of a horse has Lora Lonshach.” He felt instantly relieved and went home knowing that nobody would discover his secret.

Time passed, and the kings annual haircut was near. So the boy left for the castle until the appointed day. As he was there the king gave a great feast and invited skilled musicians to play for the court. The day before the feast, the harpist noticed a crack in his harp and resolved to make a new one before his performance. So he set off into the forest to find a good piece of wood to make a new harp out of. After walking a ways he came to the same tree that the boy had told his secret to and not knowing about the tree or its secret, he decided it would make a good harp. So he cut the tree down and fashioned a new harp with it. The next day at the feast he was summoned to play his part and when he plucked the strings they sang “Da Chluais Chapail ar Labhhradth Loingseach.” The boy looked aghast, and the king began to lose his color. Everyone else found it uproariously funny and began to laugh. They had such a good time of it that the king was soon persuaded to remove his crown and reveal the truth – that he did indeed have two ears like a horse.

The Barber's Secret

(India)

There was a very good king in Konkan who seemed to have everything – wealth, health, good friends a lovely wife and one very peculiar talent. This king had exceptional hearing and nothing escaped him. He could even hear  a mosquito across the room or a pin drop in the next. Everyone wanted to know his secret.

One day as his barber was giving him a haircut he noticed something unusual under his long hair. While he was shaving his beard he saw that the king had very strange ears. He thought and thought about where he had seen ears like that before and was so lost in thought that he had unintentionally stopped shaving the king. When the king asked him why he stopped the barber apologized and started shaving him once again, but soon became lost in his thoughts once more. The king grew angry but the barber could hardly tell he was so busy trying to figure out where he had seen ears like this before. Just as the king was beginning to shout the barber realized and began to laugh. The king demanded to know what he found so amusing and the barber blurted out that he had ears like a donkey!

The king was very upset, but as he was a good natured king he kindly acknowledged that he too had noticed them growing lately. He then instructed the barber to keep his secret or else he would lose his head. The barber agreed, finished the hair cut and left for home. He was still having a hard time composing himself so he took the back way home to avoid running into anyone that might steal the secret from him. When he got home his mother met him at the door. He couldn’t help but laugh when he saw her and she wondered at him. When his wife came out he was bent over laughing. She asked him what was so funny but he would not reveal the secret. She got angry and spit at him and he began to cry. His wife thought he had gone crazy and walked back into the house. He was able to regain his composure when people left him alone, but as soon as he saw another person he would begin to laugh all over again.

He locked himself away in his bathhouse thinking that a good soak would relax him and make him forget about the kings foolish looking ears. But his mother noticed he was missing and went to look for him. When he saw his mother he started laughing again and she led him to the kitchen. He hurt from laughing and wanted very badly to stop. His mother asked him what was wrong and he told her that he was not allowed to tell on kings orders. His mother was wise and knew that if he could only confess the secret it would be off his chest and he could go on with the rest of his life so she told him to go into the woods and talk to the trees.

So he traveled deep into the jungle and found a great tree. He whispered into the tree “oh tree, I must confess, but you must promise to keep my secret. The ears of the king are the ears of a donkey, please keep my secret and relieve me of my burden.” He sang it over and over to the tree until he felt relieved and then he went home.

Shortly after this, a musician was in need of a new drum. He went to the woods to look for a decent tree and found the same tree that the barber had told his secret to. He decided it would make a fine drum so he cut it down and hollowed the frame for a drum with it. He then brought it to the king’s court to perform his music.

When it was his turn to play, he sat before the king and delicately played the drum. But to everyone's astonishment, the drum sounded as if it were singing. It sang "the ears of the king are the ears of a donkey" over and over. Everyone could hear the words clearly and they looked at the king in surprise. Now they knew the reason for his special skill.

Folktales were created to be shared orally. They served the function of providing a common ethos as well as of making valuable business connections. These two folktales are clearly derived from the same source. Some may be reminded of the story of King Midas from Greek Mythology. King Midas was sort of full of himself and was frequently getting into trouble with various deities. One day after conquering a plot of land he’s out surveying it and sees Apollo playing his harp with all of the birds chirping in. Midas has no appreciation for nature and has no ear for music, but at once begins to criticize Apollo’s musical abilities. Though he should have known better (for he had gotten in trouble with Bacchus once already), he continued to berate Apollo until finally he could take no more. Apollo gave him the ears of a donkey so that he could “fully appreciate” his music. 

Crossing a River, Losing a Self

A Folktale from India

A guru and his disciples (all fools) were making their way across the countryside on a pilgrimage when they came to the banks of a wide river. The guru recognized the river at once as a renown, treacherous river that had claimed many lives and warned his disciples that they should never cross a river while it was awake. He instructed one of them to check to see if it was asleep by taking one of the logs from the fire and touching it to the water. Upon doing this, the river hissed and smoked which the guru explained must mean that it was awake. 

They decided to wait until the river was asleep. In the mean time they gathered around the fire and while they were resting one of the disciples revealed that his own grandfather had been a victim of the cruel river. 

"My grandfather was a merchant who once crossed this river with a load of salt. When he got to the other side he discovered that this horrible river had eaten all of the salt while the bags were tightly stitched and there were no holes to be found in the bags! We therefore cannot trust this river. I'm glad we decided to set up camp so far from its banks."

When they awoke in the morning, the guru instructed one of the disciples to test the water again. He took the same log and stuck it into the river, but this time there was no hissing sound or smoke so the guru declared it safe to cross. When they reached the other side they began to rejoice that they had safely crossed. But the suspicious disciple - the one who had told the story of the river's treachery - put an end to their revelry. 

"Let us be sure we have all crossed safely. I believe there were thirteen of us before, if we count ourselves and find that there are still thirteen we may continue to enjoy our good fortune."

The guru thought this a wise idea, so he counted all of his disciples (forgetting to include himself). When he reached twelve at the end of the line, the group became upset for they could not remember who they had lost on the way. So they decided to count again, but with the same results. As they were lamenting the lost friend they could not remember, a woman passed by to cross the river. 

"Please don't cross, the river is in a terrible mood today - see it has gobbled up one of our dear friends! We were once a group of thirteen, but now as you can plainly see, we are only twelve. We fear that if you continue you will come to the same fate as our fallen colleague!"

The woman saw at once that this was a band of idiots. She told them that she possessed a magic power that could bring their friend back from the river if they would follow her instructions. They eagerly agreed and she told them to go to the market, purchase a cartful of cow manure and lay it down in a line in front of them. They hurried off to do this and in no time had spread the manure into a line. 

"Now, all of you should kneel, close your eyes and stick your noses in the manure."

They did as she instructed and when they stood up she told them to count the dents they had made in the dung. Each of them scurried up to count and to their great surprise they found thirteen nose marks in the manure. They were greatly amazed and left singing praises to the wise woman who was able to save one of them from the terrible river. 

How Freya Gained Her Necklace and Lost Her Love

A Norse myth about the seasons. 

Long ago, when the wall around Asgard (the city of the gods) was not yet built, three Giant women came to live with the gods. Before their arrival the gods did not value gold, but once they saw the beautiful things the giant women were able to make from the gold, a shadow of foreboding fell over Asgard and greed crept into the hearts of the gods. At last, the three Giant women were banished from Asgard and the gods turned their thoughts from the hoarding of gold and focused instead on building their city. 

Time passed and Loki - who is both god and giant, the doer of good and evil - brought wonderful things into Asgard. Attempting to impress the gods, he had the dwarves make beautiful gifts - two of which caught the attention of the goddess Freya: a wig of gold for Sif (Thor's wife) and a boar that shed light from its golden bristles as it flew for Frey (Freya's brother). And as she pined for these things, Freya thought of the Giant women and the wonderful things they made out of gold. But her husband Odur, more than any of the gods, despised the Giant women and yearned for the days before greed entered the city. So Freya resolved to steal away and find them without her husbands consent - convinced that Odur would not discover her betrayal. 

One day Freya left their palace, leaving Odur playing with their little child Hnossa. She went down to Earth and consulted the Elves about where to find the Giant women. The Elves were afraid to tell her and sent her instead to the Dwarves in Svartheim. 

"We will show you the way if you stay with us here," said one of the Dwarves. 

"How long would you have me stay?" Freya asked them. 

"Until the cocks in Svartheim crow. We want to know what the company of one of the Vanir is like."

Freya agreed. The Dwarves all had their way with her despite her protestations. They reminded her of her promise to stay. Freya paid a heavy price of misery before she was brought to the Giant women. 

When they saw her, the first Giantess asked "What would you have from us?"

"Alas! Now that I have found you, I know that I should ask you for nought," Freya replied. 

The third Giantess held up a necklace of gold most curiously fashioned. 

"Oh! How bright it is! There is a shadow where you sit, women, but the necklace you hold makes brightness now. Oh, how I should joy to wear it!" said Freya. 

"It is the necklace Brisingamen, and it is yours to wear" they told her. 

They gave her the necklace and Freya returned to Asgard. When she looked upon her necklace, all misery went from her. It made her more lovely than any of the Vanir, and she was sure Odur would forgive her for the betrayal once he saw its beauty. 

When Freya entered the city, all of the goddesses envied her, but she did not stop to speak with any of them. She went straight home to beg Odur's forgiveness, but when she arrived and called to him there was no answer. Hnossa, her child, was playing alone on the floor and when she saw the necklace she began to cry. 

Freya searched for Odur but he was nowhere to be found. She sat full of sorrow until Frigga, wife of Odin the father of the gods, came to her. 

"You are waiting for Odur but he has gone from Asgard."

Freya said nothing, but gave Hnossa to Frigga and mounted her car that was drawn by two cats, and journeyed down from Asgard to the Earth to search for her husband. Year in and year out she searched the Earth for Odur. At last she returned across Bifrost, the rainbow bridge that connects the Earth to Asgard. There she found Heimdall - the god who guards the bridge and thus knows the whereabouts of all of the gods - and inquired about her husband. 

"Odur is in every place where the searcher has left; those who seek him will never find Odur," said Heimdall, the watcher for the gods. 

Freya was devastated, but then she saw Hnossa, who had grown up to be so lovely that she brought cheerfulness to all the gods. So Freya returned to Asgard. 

Freya continues to wear her bright necklace as a reminder of her betrayal and she will never stop searching for her husband.