Category Archives: Tales /märchen

Stories which are not regarded as possibly true.

“Noah Body” (Tale)

“My dad would tell me [ever since I was young] about this guy who was kidnapped by a huge cyclops. – He’s super scared and wants to make his escape but the cyclopes won’t let him go, so what happens is that he begins to befriend the cyclops, until the cyclops asks him for his name, and he answers “Noah Body”. He then goes and attacks [the cyclops] by stabbing him in the eye- but when the cyclops in in pain and runs to tell another cyclops what the man did and says ‘Noah Body hit me! Noah Body hit me!’ the other cyclops is slow to react asking ‘What do you mean nobody hit you? What’re you talking about?’ and the man was able to make his escape.”

This story was told to my informant by her father repeatedly in her youth. At the time, she considered it as something that entertained her, but as she grew into the story she realized, “It was about cunning and wit – my dad tried to use it as a lesson on being smart and how to cleverly get yourself out of situations.”

Her father would recite this colorful story to encourage her and her siblings to be consistently clever, so they may more easily navigate their way out of issues that arise.

What interests me as well is the sheer absurdity and nodes of violence in the story, especially as a mode to inform children of life lessons. Many children’s tales are outlandish or horrific in nature in order to be more captivating for their audience, like many iterations of Snow White, or Little Red Riding Hood. If children are more entertained or frightened by a story, the more likely the intention will stick with them.

Rumors of a Mexican Village

In the small village from where my parents are from (in rural Zacatecas, Mexico), on the foot of the biggest hill in the area lies a secret, well hidden entrance to a tunnel leading deep inside where it is said to lead to a stolen treasure dating back to the Mexican Revolution. The inside of the hill is so dark not even a lamp helps navigate through it. A river also runs through the inside of the hill which supposedly leads to said treasure. Some people have allegedly ventured inside to try and retrieve it, tying ropes around their waist from the entrance so as to not get lost. No one has been able to find this mysterious treasure. 

This is a very popular tale told around amongst the community from where my parents come from and it tends to jumps back and forth between a simple tale of fiction and a probable rumor depending on who is telling the story.

The way I’ve heard this story be told sounds to me like things parents would tell their children similar to that of a legendary tale of lost treasure, a common theme in children’s stories that circulate around the families of this ranch including my own.

Horror Story of an Old Woman

An old woman’s daughter became pregnant out of wedlock and when the child was born, the old woman dipped her daughter’s newborn into boiling water. Sometime later, the old woman became paralyzed and could only move her eyes. The day she died, it was foggy and dark and animals would bark and make noise. As the woman was about to die, the window opened and a chicken came in. She wanted it to go away and her son began to shoot at the chicken. As the shot hit the chicken, the woman died.

These kinds of gory stories about death were popular to tell according to my mom, especially since they involved some kind of karmic element and gruesome end to the villain of the story.

The story was a bit confusing to me and it sounds as if the old woman became the chicken itself but I’m confused as to why and what that had to do with the old woman killing her infant grandson. Definitely freaked me out a little.

Moral Lesson of a Stubborn Old Man

A rich man had many employees working for him at his ranch. One day, one of his cows died and the rich man asked his workers to remove its hide to make a leather coat. The workers refused saying that it was infected with disease and the workers feared contracting whatever killed the cow. The rich man decided to remove the hide on his own out of stubbornness.  He worked on removing the hide from night till dawn and by morning light, the man fell sick and died shortly thereafter. 

This story came from an uncle of my dad’s who told him this story in his youth. My dad’s uncle said it was a true story from a nearby rancher who did die in similar circumstances.

I guess this was a story to teach those who heard it not being so stubborn. I see this story in the same light as similar stories I’ve heard from my dad regarding people’s negative qualities leading them to their downfall.

The Pineapple Story

Text: The Pineapple Story (Filipino Myth)

Context: My informant told me that the story is of a mother and daughter living together. The daughter Pina was very lazy. One day, the mom was busy doing work outside their house. She asked Pina to cook lunch for both of them. When Pina went to do so, she had to ask her mother where things were. every time she needed something, she didn’t know where it was in their own kitchen. After that, the mother became annoyed and wished her daughter had a lot of eyes like a pineapple. That way, her daughter would at least know where everything is. The next day, the mother noticed a pineapple had grown outside their house. She also noticed her daughter was missing. Then she remembered what she said and realized the pineapple was her daughter.

She interprets this story as a lesson to be more hardworking, and to be less lazy because it is important to contribute to helping your family. This story is something that she’s told to her own children and has heard it from her own family. 

Analysis: 

This Filipino folklore is a tale and myth. As it is a story that does not really get questioned, because a girl did not really turn into a pineapple. But it is also a myth because it gives an easier reason to understand that children should respect their parents and their elders. 

It is a family story with a lesson and a punishment. With the context provided by my informant, it does not seem to be something to believe that pineapples really come from a mother wishing that her daughter would become a fruit. But rather as a tale to respect your elders and to work harder. The daughter was very lazy and disrespectful to her mother. And as a result she was cursed, or in other words it was her punishment. Filipino culture and Asian cultures in general tend to have a heavy focus on respecting their elders. There are a lot of customs and polite actions and mannerisms in place for the young to pay respects to the previous generations.