Ancient Stories for Modern Times: 50 Short Wisdom Tales for All Ages
304Ancient Stories for Modern Times: 50 Short Wisdom Tales for All Ages
304(Spiral Bound)
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Overview
These lively and engaging stories from around the world star a panoply of colorful characters. Their adventures and conundrums illustrate our relationships to the natural world and to one another and present a rich array of principles to live by. The stories explore a broad range of themes, including authenticity, forgiveness, generosity, death, faith, hope, and many more. Some funny, others poignant—all of the tales draw listeners in and allow them to develop their own personal interpretation. Each story is accompanied by a brief description to help users select one suitable for their occasion and reflective questions to provide food for thought or spark a conversation. Story maps help tellers quickly learn the tales and facilitate powerful oral storytelling. A comprehensive index of themes and Unitarian Universalist Principles rounds out this comprehensive folktale resource.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781558967793 |
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Publisher: | Unitarian Universalist Association |
Publication date: | 12/01/2016 |
Pages: | 304 |
Product dimensions: | 8.30(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.70(d) |
Age Range: | 5 - 18 Years |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Introduction
“I could never be a storyteller,” declared a friend. Within the next half hour she blurted, “guess what happened?” and then riveted me with a tale full of tension, foreshadowing, and pregnant pause. I couldn’t help but tease her—I tease everyone who claims not to be a storyteller. according to evolutionary psychologists and literary Darwinists, our brains are hardwired to think in terms of stories. it’s only within the last few hundred years that a majority of people are able to read, but no training is required for us to learn to tell a story. Storytelling is so instinctive to us that we barely real-ize we are doing it or that, as we do it, we are organizing our thoughts and making meaning of our experiences. We are naturally compelled to tell stories because they bring pleasure, share knowledge, and offer advice. through stories we preserve and transmit our memories, our values, and our cultures. this book is an opportunity for me to share my love of learning through story and to help you harness the power of storytelling to touch people’s lives.
A study conducted at Stanford Universitysuggests that a story is twenty- two times more memorable than fact. imagery and twists of plot keep our minds active and engaged. even more than the mind, stories engage the heart and the spirit, and the old adage that “one story leads to another” is a good description of the source of a story’s power. images and feelings that a story evokes in us help us to recall our own similar stories, and so we internalize its messages, each in our own unique way. We develop empathy because we recognize our own experiences, dreams, strengths, and foibles in other people’s stories. When stories expose us to different ways of being, we become more flexible and creative in our responses to the world around us and can be inspired to change and grow. Because their characters often solve challenges through their creativity and discernment, folktales model important lateral or critical thinking skills. in all these ways and more, stories are excellent teachers
Storytelling Is a Unique Experience
While I credit my mesmerizing storyteller father for having ingrained the art of the oral tale in me, I was reserved as a young adult. it was not until I was required to make public presentations as a park naturalist that I began storytelling—almost by accident. I quickly overcame my nervousness because people were captivated by the stories and seemed only secondarily aware of me. I continue to feel that when a story is told, it’s as if the story perches in the space between the audience and the teller, and that in our shared experience, we are present in the moment. Quite literally, an oral story is a presentation, or the gift of presence. the direct relationship between the teller and the audience makes the experience special; storytelling feels personal and intimate even when hundreds of people are listening. the story comes alive especially because there is no paper, text, or image to mediate the story or lock it into one form. the audience constantly gives feedback (usually non-verbal) and the story changes, if only just a little. at the same time, the changing story changes the storyteller. Personal stories are a wonderful gift and an excellent means of reflecting on our lives, but that is not the focus of this book. instead, I offer a multicultural cross section of folktale, mythology, and legend to ponder and share. all of these stories have been retold thousands of times over—each time a little differently.
About Folktales
“Wait a minute,” says my friend. “I’m not about to start telling folktales. I couldn’t do that. I only tell stories about things i know. that’s my limit.” I begin to tease her again. “What about Hansel and Gretel?” She blushes. like the rest of us, my friend has heard folktales of one kind or another, if not through oral telling then through books and movies. We all know the genre and the cadence of these stories. When we hear “once upon a time” or “long ago and far away,” we are cued to listen. there’s a kind of comfort in entering into this world of story, and although they may seem far removed from the realities of everyday life, their fictional and sometimes fantastical nature can provide a safe means of exploring difficult questions. the ogre or the good fairy portrayed in a story may not be so different from a friend, a neighbor, even ourselves. But because the stories are from another time and place, we are not affronted by their message; we take only what we want or are able to take from the story. most importantly, we like the stories! With their colorful characters and imaginative plots, they have universal appeal and are perfect for multi-generational audiences. in my thirty years of storytelling, I’ve noticed that with an in-person storyteller making eye contact, children do not necessarily have to understand everything, especially if there is a refrain or action they can repeat. on the other hand, even the “youngest” story can be enjoyed by adults if it has a meaningful message to convey. in fact, most folktales were originally told to adults. folktales and legends are different than personal stories, and yet they are similar in the way they can prompt us to reflect on our lives. they are the stories that have stood the test of time, and the most powerful ones are called “wisdom tales.” many are derivatives of ancient mythologies—the stories of the gods and giants retold in the human realm, sometimes with a little magic thrown into the mix. they touch upon universal themes of human pathos, offering us a tool for considering how to best lead our lives.
The Wisdom Tale
I was reminded of the value of the wisdom tale in a very personal way in 2004, when I attended the National Storytelling Network annual conference. during a conversation with another storyteller, I related a personal struggle involving my in-laws. my listener responded, “You’re reminding me of ‘grandfather’s Wooden Bowl.’ ” my heart beat in time to her words as she told me the tale. though the details were nothing like my experience, the story confirmed for me that the decision I made was the right one. the experience triggered memories of another storytelling conference I’d attended several years earlier, where an Okanagan teller shared some of her people’s traditional tales and emphatically stated that these stories, though they may be full of exaggeration or comedy, are not just stories, they are teachings. She went on to tell us that, when she was acting stubbornly or selfishly as a little girl, her grandmother would say, “Now you are being like coyote in such and such a story.” the process of hearing stories and reflecting on them taught her values and ethics. and her elders used these stories as a gentle way to nudge her into changing her behavior when it was out of line. together these experiences struck me deeply. I wanted to lead a “storied” life. I wanted to be able to recognize myself in folktales so that I could also gently remind myself to extend kindness, like Pheasant in “Birds find friendship,” or to be generous, like the mother-in-law in “Polite Peculiarities.” I longed for a body of teaching stories that I could turn to that would guide me in becoming my best self with humor and grace. the problem for those of us who’ve grown up in Western secular culture, in families of multiple cultural origins, is that we don’t have a single resource to draw from. in fact, there are an endless and almost dizzying number of possibilities. I have found inspiration in some of these wonderful story collections; several of my favorite titles are listed in the sources, and many of the stories that I’ve learned from and tell are in these books.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Elisa Davy PearmainIntroduction
Tips for Telling
PART ONE: Living with the Natural World
Children of Darkness
The Voice of the Great Spirit
The Priest in Paradise
The Noble Deer
The Man from Aluk
Baldy
To Whom Does the Land Belong
PART TWO: Living with Ourselves
The Hole Boy
Vasilisa the Brave
Crow and Partridge
The Happy Man's Shirt
Granny’s Ride
Trustworthy Traveler
PART THREE: Living with One Another
Ivarr’s Tale
The Meat of the Tongue
The Elephant and the Dog
Birds Learn about Friendship
Polite Peculiarities
The Sign of the Tassel
Kassa, the Strong One
PART FOUR: Practicing Generosity
The Magic Spring
A Gift for Grandfather
Ukko’s Bread
Primroses for Gold
Generosity Bends the Road
The Drum
PART FIVE: Seeking Justice
The Gentleman and the Thief
The Jug on the Rock
Strength in Unity
Sister Goose and the Foxes
Brother Fox and the Geese
Two Pebbles
The Bell of Justice
The Fifty Dollar Bill
PART SIX: Developing Perspective
The Magnificent Red Bud Tree
Crow and Pitcher
One Thousand Ideas, One Idea
The Monkey Who Asked for Misery
PART SEVEN: Accepting Change
The Shining Jewel
Grandfather and Grandson
Donald of the Burdens
Capturing Spring
A Pig's Life
PART EIGHT: Seeking Peace and Finding Hope
The Almond Tree
Cooking Together, Trinidad Style
Hannah and the Wind
The Night Bird
Milk and Sugar
The Blind Man and the Hunter
Pandora’s Gift
Sources
Thematic Index
Principle Index