Category Archives: Tales /märchen

Stories which are not regarded as possibly true.

Punyakoti the Cow and Arbhuta the Tiger

Informant: RS

Ethnicity: Indian

Primary Language: Konkani

Age: 53

Text: [RS] Once upon a time, in a small village in India, there lived a cow named Punyakoti, who was the gentlest and wisest of all the cows. Every day, she would peacefully graze with her herd, until one day Arbhuta the tiger came along. He hid behind a rock until he was able to pounce, catching Punyakoti. Punyakoti begged Arbhuta to allow her to return home to say goodbye to her calf, promising that she would come back and offer herself to be eaten after she had done so. Arbhuta, moved by her pleas, let her go home. Punyakoti dutifully went to say goodbye to the calf, who tearfully begged her not to go. However, Punyakoti said she had made a promise, and so she returned to the tiger to be eaten. Arbhuta was so surprised that she stuck to her word, that he decided he would rather die of hunger than kill such a pure and honest being. After that, Punyakoti joyfully returned home to her calf, and Arbhuta never bothered the herd again.

Context: [RS] This is a popular tale amongst Konkani children. When I was little, my uncle used to tell me and my siblings about Punyakoti all the time, and our parents would remind us of the tale when we got in trouble for lying to them. It used to be one of my favorite stories! 

Analysis: The tale of Punyakoti is a folk narrative meant to serve as a moral compass for children, teaching them the importance of honesty and honoring commitments. Punyakoti represents honesty and selflessness, determined to fulfill her promise even though it will cost her her life; on the other hand, Arbhuta is transformed by Punyakoti’s values. Through the story, children are taught that honesty is always rewarded, and that it is never too late to find redemption through virtue. This reflects common themes within Indian culture and folk narratives, stemming from Dharmic philosophies within Hinduism, which often favor honesty, generosity, compassion, etc as part of the karmic cycle. These overarching moral guidelines within the community trickle down into these folk tales to be made palatable to children, instilling in them the values of the community.

Russian Fairy Tale – The Frog Bride

The fairy tale told is a Russian version of the Frog Bride story. To briefly summarize, two sons of a man go find a bride through a process of shooting a bow and arrow, and the older son brings back a daughter of a rich man while the younger son brings back a frog. The father then proposes three challenges that each bride must face – baking a magnificent loaf of bread, weaving a beautiful tapestry, and presenting themselves to the father of the sons at a party. The younger son is worried about the frog bride, but the frog bride ends up completing the first two tasks fantastically while her groom is asleep. Every night, she takes off her frog skin and becomes a beautiful woman, and completes the tasks. Before the final task, the party, she asks her groom to go away and meet her at the party. Rather than completely leaving, the son instead spies on his bride, and sees that she takes off her frog skin to become a woman. While they are at the party, the son sneaks away and burns the frog skin, unknowingly continuing his bride’s frog curse that would’ve gone away on its own had he not interfered directly. The more detailed telling can be found below: 

“So two brothers – the father is saying “I’m getting older, so I’m going to leave you the house, but I want you two to bring me a bride first. Each of you get a bow and arrow, and shoot the arrow into any direction. You go and find the arrow, and whichever house it hits, you’re going to marry the girl. Bring me the girl, and I’ll check her out. The older brother shoots the arrow and gets the girl who has a rich dad. The other brother shoots the arrow, and finds that it’s in the middle of the woods in a swamp. When he walks up to find the arrow, he finds a frog sitting on a lily pad who has an arrow. He has no choice but to take the frog and bring it to the dad. She [the frog], of course, is fully aware and speaks perfect Russian. He’s completely mortified and embarrassed, he’s afraid that everyone is going to laugh at him. So anyways, the father says great! You got the girls! There are certain tasks that the ladies have to do to prove themselves. The younger son comes back and is very upset, and the frog asks what’s wrong. He says the first task is you have to perform – you have to bake the bread. Not just any bread, it has to be an amazing, fabulous creation. And she says don’t you worry, go to bed, in the morning it’s going to be alright. And so, she goes and she changes out of her frog skin into this beautiful girl, and takes the skin and hides it in a little box and puts it away. She bakes this beautiful piece of bread – almost like a castle out of the bread. The next morning, he wakes up – here she is again as a little frog – and then there’s this huge beautiful bread creation. So he goes to the father; the other brother’s girl bakes this like whatever flour bread, and she’s upset. The father is like “this is not even the bread.” And the younger brother brings this other huge loaf of bread that is amazing and beautiful and tastes great. And of course the father is impressed, and the boy is happy. And then the father is like, okay there’s a second thing that your girl has to do. She has to make a rug – create a tapestry. And so the boy comes back home, very upset and concerned that she won’t be up to the task, and of course the same thing – she says don’t worry, go to sleep. It will be alright. So of course the same thing happens, she puts the skin away in a little box and hides it away, creates this beautiful tapestry with a scenery of a castle… blah blah blah. Next morning, he wakes up, there’s this gorgeous tapestry. He’s so surprised, and takes it to his dad. Of course the other girl does not even compare, and the father is like whatever – loser… And so the youngest brother’s bride of course wins again. The father says that the third and final task that I need you to do is – I want to meet your ladies. So I’m going to throw a big celebration and party tomorrow, and you have to present your girls. And so they have to prepare their best dress, their best appearance. And he goes home to his froggy and he says “I don’t know what to do – Dad wants you to appear tomorrow at the party. And I don’t know, it’s going to be embarrassing.” and of course she says, you know, “Don’t worry, go to bed and we’ll see, everything is going to be okay.” The following morning, she goes to the party, she sends him off. She goes on her own, and drops her skin, and puts it in a little box. Meanwhile, the younger son is spying on her, trying to see what she’s going to do. So he sees her hide her skin in the box. The son goes ahead to the party, the frog shows up to the party as a gorgeous girl, in a beautiful dress, and everybody is so surprised and so amazed. And of course he himself is very impressed. And so they started dancing, and the father says show us your best dance – present yourself. So the music starts, and they’re all eating and drinking, and the guy watches her and the other bride watches her intently to see what she does to copy her. The woman eats her chicken legs, and instead of throwing it out she puts it in one sleeve, and drinks a little bit of wine and instead of leaving it she pours it into her other sleeve. So then she gets up and starts dancing and she waves one arm, and instead of wine, there spills a beautiful blue lake in front of everybody, and she waves the other and there’s beautiful swans that start swimming in the lake. The other girl tries to do the same thing and starts dancing to do the same thing, and of course she waves her arm and splashes the red wine and chicken bones in everyone’s faces. Meanwhile, the youngest brother thinks – if I don’t do something about the skin, she’s going to turn back into a frog tomorrow, and I don’t want that to happen. So while the girl is entertaining the party, he sneaks away and throws the skin into the fire. Then, as she comes back from the party, she’s disappointed and devastated and she says “I can’t believe you’ve done that, you didn’t trust me.” And she basically tells him that somebody put a curse on her, and she only had a few more hours left of the curse, and if he hadn’t burned the skin, she would’ve stayed as a proper girl. And so he messed it up, and now she has to come back to whoever that evil person was and continue the curse. And of course he’s devastated, and his dad is like “what happened to your woman” and he says “I don’t know! I messed up.”

At this point, the teller stated that the rest of the story was quite blurry to her, and that she could only recall a vague sequence of quests that the prince had to go through in order to rescue his bride from the curse. She explains that the latter half of the tale is essentially demonstrating that the man has to go through suffering and challenges for his mistake that cost his bride. 

Context: The story was told to me through a phone call from a friend’s mother after I had asked said friend for any folk stories that she knew of, and she had offered to call her mom for stories that she potentially would know of. The teller notes that this story is a well known old Russian folk tale that she couldn’t attribute to any particular author, though she notes that multiple adaptations like animations and movies have been made of the tale. 

Analysis: This tale is a telling of the classic Frog Bride/Animal Bride fairy tale, which is ATU 402. The latter half of the story that the teller is unclear on is also an iteration of ATU 400, the quest for the lost wife. While the tale is told in a more casual context, there is still the appearance of some classical traditions in the telling of folk narratives. For example, this telling of the tale notably features repetition, with the teller repeating how the frog bride tucks away her skin in a box for each night, and the repetition of how the frog bride comforts her husband. The telling of the story also notably features the Law of Three’s, in how the frog bride must overcome three challenges in order to prove herself to her groom’s father. Part of the reason that the teller may not have been able to remember the latter half of the full story is that, in adding the quest for the lost bride, the tale breaks its adherence to traditional structures of folklore and creates a clear first and second half. 

In replacement for the second half of the tale, the teller instead offered an animated adaptation of the tale, provided at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhvycdfXpXY. At the time of this writing, I have yet to take a proper look at the film. However, this moment does point to how modern media and the Internet allows for individuals to “check” their folk knowledge against other instances of a particular form of folklore – a sort of modern iteration of Walter Anderson’s “Law of Self Correction.”

Soarin’ Around the World, with ghosts

Age: 19
Performance Date: 3/31/2024

Text:

“So apparently there is a ghost in the A theater of Soarin’ Around the World at Epcot. Some people say that they have seeing a man walking around inside the theater or making noise inside the theater like voices and whispering when they’re sitting in tower alone or when they have closed the theater. Oh and “tower” is a position for cast members at Soarin’ where they sit alone and watch cameras in the dark and frequently after people say that they have had an experience with said ghost the attraction has some sort of malfunction or downtime. I don’t know exactly where it came from but some people say it’s from somebody who used to work at the ride that passed away. When I have been there in the past after a long shift and I’m closing, sometimes it feels like I’m not alone even though I am, and I get a sort of vibe or energy change in the empty theater as I’m checking it to shut it down. Some people say they’ve seen things move or heard things fall and never found whatever the noise came from, but I haven’t experienced that, just gotten a weird vibe or sometimes think I hear someone say something but no one is there. In the end I don’t really think anything of it though, it’s just a lot of hours of work and people’s stories that make you imagine things that aren’t really happening.”

Context:

A is a friend of mine who worked at Disney World’s Soarin’ Around the World for a few years in the past, they are currently 20 and a student in Florida. He says that he originally heard it from fellow cast members there at the ride, and figured it was just a way to scare the newbies, and thinks it is just his brain getting to him after a long shift. A does not believe in ghosts, and says he has never had a “real” supernatural experience.

Analysis:

A’s story of the ghost in the Soarin’ Around the World theater embodies themes of folklore, skepticism, community, and resilience. It reflects the ways in which humans create and share stories to make sense of the unknown, while also highlighting the importance of critical thinking and rationality in navigating the complexities of the modern world. The tale of the ghost haunting the theater reflects a common cultural phenomenon found in many societies – the creation of urban legends and ghost stories. These stories often emerge from a combination of shared experiences, hearsay, and the desire to add mystery and excitement to mundane surroundings. The sharing of ghost stories among cast members at the ride suggests a sense of community and camaraderie within the workplace. These stories serve as a form of entertainment and bonding, especially for those who work long hours in sometimes monotonous or stressful environments. Despite the prevalence of ghost stories, A expresses a rational and skeptical attitude towards the existence of supernatural phenomena. This skepticism reflects a broader cultural trend towards secularism and scientific thinking, where individuals are encouraged to question and analyze their beliefs in the absence of empirical evidence.

Led by Spirits, Dreamscape Exploring

Age: 19
Performance Date: 3/31/2024

Text:

“So basically, after my brother passed away, his boyfriend had a dream probably a few weeks after he passed, where my brother walked with him around our high school. The thing is, he had never been to our high school before. The next day after he had the dream he described what he had seen in the dream to some of my brother’s other friends and they said what he described matched perfectly.”

Context:

L is a 19 year old student, from Redwood City, CA, but at the time of the story lived in Saratoga. Her brother passed while they were in high school, and she told me this story about his boyfriend who experienced something inexplicable. She heard the story about his dream from her mother who had been told it originally by the boyfriend.

Analysis:

L’s story delves into themes of grief, connection, and the mysterious nature of dreams, while also touching upon cultural and personal beliefs regarding the afterlife and the power of spiritual connections. it centers around the loss of L’s brother, highlighting the profound impact of death on individuals and families. It underscores the enduring bond between siblings and the ongoing process of coping with grief even after the loved one has passed away. The boyfriend’s dream, in which he is accompanied by L’s brother around the high school they both attended, suggests a belief in the possibility of spiritual visitations from deceased loved ones. This reflects broader cultural and personal beliefs in an afterlife or continued existence beyond physical death. The inexplicable nature of the boyfriend’s dream raises questions about the boundaries between reality and the subconscious mind. It prompts contemplation on the mysterious aspects of human experience and the potential for spiritual encounters that defy rational explanation.

The Girls Bathroom, Home of Bloody Mary

Age: 19
Performance Date: 3/31/2024

Text:

“So when I was in 1st grade I hung out with this group of girls, and the main, like, ring leader girl always told us that um, that Bloody Mary lived in the girls bathroom and it was like a ghost that would put bloody hand prints on the wall and you could like summon her or whatever, and there was like these hand prints, they were probably just mud or whatever or paint or something but they like looked like dried blood like against the wall near the bathroom walls of one of the nearby buildings so everyone was like OMG bloody mary lives there and the ring leader girl was like OK so like why don’t we go in there and try some bloody Mary stuff. We’re like OK why not, so it’s during school hours it’s like lunch or something lunch recess we go in there and so we go in there right and I remember there being like twine on the floor like random pieces of like twine or sticks, I don’t know, but like for some reason we danced around them but I don’t think we put them there, I don’t know, but we all held hands and we danced in a circle and she said if we say bloody Mary three times like she’ll be here like OK so we do that and then we all get super scared once we’re done chanting. I mean nothing happens but once we’re done chanting we’re like Oh my gosh and we all run out of the bathroom right, so I’m pretty much last out of the bathroom and I run out the door and I’m stuck on something like caught on the door and the thing with the door is it’s a push door so it doesn’t have handles. It doesn’t have like a knob just kind of like push either way um and I’m totally, yeah, stuck on the door there’s someone like holding me, it felt like someone was holding me just for a split second there. Then I, you know, I could go and then I ran and I was scared and whatever but it’s like I was like held there for a second and I was like well I wasn’t caught or anything because there’s no knob on the door to like catch me so I don’t know maybe the spirits were mad at me and they’re holding me but yeah”

Context:

V is a 19 year old student from Orinda, CA, and she told me a story from when she was in elementary school. She believes in ghosts and spirits and explained that she always has believed in them. She believes in them because she says she “has no reason not to” and has had various experiences like that or known people who have experienced similar things with the supernatural.

Analysis:

While V says that she believes in ghosts and spirits, and pretty much always has, I think this is in part due to having experiences like these starting from an early age. Childhood is a huge part of developing beliefs in one’s life, and especially if they experience things themselves rather than just hearing about them. I think that this story/experience of the supernatural has had an impact on V’s belief in ghosts and spirits, as she does believe that some force was holding her there in that bathroom. I also think that Bloody Mary is an interesting gateway into believing in ghosts, as many young women, or just young people in general have been told the story of Bloody Mary at some point in their life. What I find most interesting, however, is that her story is extremely similar to one of my own. While I didn’t experience anything actually happening with a spirit, it was a common belief in my elementary school that one of the girls bathrooms was haunted by Bloody Mary, and for that reason girls were afraid to use that bathroom. I find it interesting as I grew up in Virginia, without internet or a way to have heard of it from across the globe, yet at the same time in California, other girls were having the same experience.