![]() ![]() Johnny’s mother begs the king to spare her son’s life, and the king relents, swearing Johnny to secrecy under pain of death. They find one named Johnny Gruagach and bring him back to the castle in ropes. Soon, all the barbers in the land have gone into hiding and soldiers are sent out to find one to cut the king’s overgrown hair. The king is so ashamed of his secret that he wears a special crown to cover them and kills every barber who cuts his hair. This Irish folktale is about King Labhraidh Loingseach (good luck pronouncing that one correctly) who was unfortunate enough to be born with horse’s ears. This story can be found in Fearless Girls, Wise Women, & Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the Worldby Kathleen Ragan. She curses the first man’s crops and blesses the second. When she is turned away, she visits the neighboring house, where she is received warmly and given much food. In it, Pele, the goddess of fire, disguises herself as an old hag and stops at a rich man’s house to ask for refreshment. This Hawaiian myth has a similar theme to myths told in other cultures. This tale can be found in The Moon Maiden and Other Asian Folktalesby Hua Long. Instead of falling prey to the serpent like all the girls before her, Li Chi kills it and is made queen of the state for her badassery. Her parents are against the idea, but she sneaks off anyways with a sword and snake-hunting dog in tow. The villagers offer up the daughter of a slave or criminal for nine years, but in the tenth year a young girl named Li Chi volunteers to be the serpent’s annual human snack. In this ancient Chinese mash-up of The Hunger Gamesand The Chamber of Secrets, a huge serpent lives in the mountains and terrorizes villagers by demanding a tween girl as a sacrifice every year. This tale can be found in Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales. He kills the wolf, freeing Amina’s human form once again. The morning after the last dance the wazir emerges from his sick room to find Amina in wolf form once again and he recognizes her immediately. This goes on for two more nights, but each night the wazir is not at the dance. After the dance she morphs back into a wolf and returns to the wazir’s house. At sundown she remembers the spell and turns herself back into a woman just in time for a dance at the home of the wazir’s brother where she hopes to see the wazir, but he is ill and unable to attend. ![]() She is captured by hunters and brought to the wazir’s house, but he is indisposed and does not see her. When she does, Amina is turned into a wolf, but she forgets the spell that will return her to human form. The wazir gives Amina a wolf’s pelt and a magic ring, telling her to wear the pelt, rub the ring, and recite an incantation the next time the sultan comes around. The sultan wants to marry her, but Amina is in love with a handsome young wazir, so when the sultan comes to take her away she stalls him until she can consult with the wazir about what to do. “The Wolf Queen” is a South African story from the Malay-Indian provenance about a beautiful young woodcutter’s daughter named Amina who attracts the unwanted attentions of a creepy old sultan. As a follow-up to that, here are six more amazing stories from indigenous cultures around the world. ![]() A few weeks ago I wrote about 6 Folktales from 6 Continents that you should read to your kids. ![]()
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