Category Archives: Tales /märchen

Stories which are not regarded as possibly true.

Tale — Where is my Big Toe?

CONTEXT:

K is a freshman at USC. I asked him if there were any stories he exchanged around a campfire. In America, scary stories are often exchanged around campfires and amongst children. Some of them tend to be nonsensical, with seemingly random and almost humorish roots. Still, these stories don’t fail to be passed around.

TEXT:

K: There was a small family in a barnyard – the son of that family decided to go out into the fields to gather food when he saw a toe buried in the ground, like a big toe. He decided to, he wanted to get the toe – I don’t know why, but he wanted to get the toe to serve it up for food. So, he reached down to get the toe and he pulled, and it was really stuck in there for some reason and he pulled with all his might and he was able to get the toe. And later, he showed it to his mom and she decided that she’ll cook it up with the stew. So she does that, and later on they’re eating the stew, and they cut up the toe. And they each eat part of it, I guess. Later that night, while they’re sleeping, the boy wakes up to hear a voice that goes in a very gruff and slow voice, “WHERE IS MY BIG TOE?” And he could hear that phrase over and over as it gets louder and closer, and with nothing to do, he just hides under his blankets, hoping it’ll go away. That didn’t happen. So the figure enters the room asking where his big toe is to the little boy, and then he grabs the little boy by the ankle and drags him outside, and takes him back into the earth where he found that toe to begin with, and he was never heard from again. That story gave me mixed feelings. Like why would you go ahead and take a random toe, like I’m going to grab this toe and go on with my day. 

Me: Where did you hear the story?

K: I heard it from a friend in middle school. It was a good story, but definitely gave me nightmares. 

ANALYSIS:

When it comes to scary stories, and especially this particular story, it’s hard to say where it comes from. It likely originates in person-to-person narrative, and yet, amongst children, there is a popular book series known as “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.” From my distant childhood memory, that was a story in the text. Another instance of a recorded story was the one about the Mexican pet – the dog that turned out to be a rat with rabies. In these cases, stories like this have become so immensely popular that they have become canonized – decreasing their multiplicity and variation. And despite this, these stories still manage to be exchanged even outside of the purchase of these children’s books. The story’s ability to still retain some of its folkloric nature post-canonization speaks to the strength of both the story and the cultures that continue to retell it. 

La Befana

Nationality: Italian American
Age: 76
Occupation: Retired schoolteacher
Residence: Westfield, NJ
Performance Date: April 3, 2023
Primary Language: English
Language: Italian

[A]: My father spent most of his youth in a small town in the Campania region of Italy…I believe he was 13 when he came to America with his parents. It was so sad…they came here at a time where immigrants were treated very poorly for having accents and…or speaking a different language, so he had lost a lot of his Italian traditions by the time he was married and starting his own family. One of the things that he made sure carried over to our new generation though was the story of La Befana…let’s see if I remember it correctly…in a lot of parts of Italy the big gift exchange happens on January 6th instead of Christmas day…I remember distinctly because I always got more presents the day after my birthday…and the night of January 5th kids would hang their socks or stockings along the chimney in hopes that La Befana (the witch) would come in the night and fill them with candy and all other sorts of treats. If you had been bad that year, supposedly, La Befana left you a hard black candy called carbone (coal) —a lot like what Santa does! I don’t know how much I remember about her background or why she would do this…but I think she was considered a sort of…add-on to the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. If I remember correctly, she lived near Bethlehem and on the night Jesus was born the Three Magi stopped to ask her for directions to the town and for food and shelter. She helped them but before she sent them on their way they invited her to come with them but she…I believe politely declined and so they went on their way. But that night she was awoken by this incredible bright light that she took as a sign to go find the Magi and baby Jesus…I don’t remember what happened in between but she couldn’t find them and the story goes that every year on January 5th she flies all around, still looking for baby Jesus and she drops treats off for sleeping children…something about hoping baby Jesus is with them or safe or something like that. When I was younger I remember my father buying small broomsticks and leaving them outside our doors to try to keep the magic alive…I guess it worked! I can’t believe I didn’t do that for the boys…frankly it’s been many years since I thought about that story.

A is a 76 year old woman who’s spent her entire life in a suburb in northern New Jersey. Both of her parents come from an Italian background, and her father specifically lived in the south of Italy until he was roughly 13.

A is a family member, and I was on the phone with her thanking her for sending me an Easter card when I realized I had the perfect opportunity to ask her if she could think of any stories that would help me with my project. She didn’t totally understand what I was asking at first, so I told her about some of the other pieces I had collected already and when I mentioned ghost stories and monsters she pretty quickly remembered the story of La Befana. She told the story with a kind of reverence and nostalgia that you only feel from someone like an older relative when they recall a magical story from their youth, and I could tell she was so very happy to remember that small piece of her father that she’s lived without for the past 30 or so years.

One of the things that sticks out most to me from hearing this story from A is the power that folklore has. A hadn’t thought about this story since she was a young girl, and although she would likely argue the point, she remembers it extremely well. This tale about a witch from thousands of years ago traveled across the ocean in the early 20th century with a little boy who managed to practically tell it across generations, and now I’ll likely remember the story for years and years to come.

La Befana serves as a sort of Santa-like figure to children, but can also be interpreted as a piece of religious folklore. The story of the birth of Jesus Christ and the 3 wise men is relatively fundamental to most forms of Christianity, but I’d never heard the addition of La Befana before and likely won’t hear it outside of the context of Italian culture. It struck me as both odd and interested that La Befana is affiliated with the story of the birth of Jesus because although I’ve never had much religious education, from what I understand about Christianity, witches and witchcraft is frowned upon; yet, nothing about what A told me frames La Befana in a negative light. She actually seems like a very positive character, as she gave food and shelter to weary travelers.

Johnny Verbeck

Text: Once I knew a Dutchman, his name was Johnny Verbeck. He used to deal in sausages and sauerkraut and spec. He made the finest sausages that ever you have seen, and one day he invented a machine.

Oh Mr. Mr. Johnny Verbeck how could you be so mean? I told you you’d be sorry for inventing that machine.

Now all the neighbors’ cats and dogs will never more be seen. They’ll all be ground like sausages in Johnny  VerBecks machine. 

Once a little fat boy came walking in the store he bought a pound of sausages and set them on the floor. The boy  began to whistle, he whistled up a tune, and soon the little sausages were dancing around the room. 

Oh Mr. Mr. Johnny Verbeck how could you be so mean? I told her you’d be sorry for inventing that machine. Now all the neighbors’ cats and dogs will never more be seen. They’ll all be ground like sausages in Johnny Verbeck’s machine.

Once the darn thing busted, the blame thing wouldn’t go, so Johnny Verbeck he jumped inside to see what made it slow. His wife was having a nightmare and while walking in her sleep, she gave the crank a hell-of-a yank and Johnny Verbeck was meat.

Oh Mr. Mr. Johnny Verbeck how could you be so mean? I told you you’d be sorry for inventing that machine. Now all the neighbors’ cats and dogs will never more be seen. They’ll all be ground like Johnny Verbeck in Johnny Verbeck’s machine. Bang!

Context: The informant grew up in Las Vegas, NV and learned this song from his mom and dad as a little boy. He fondly remembers that his parents only sang it to him when he was on the chairlift with them while skiing as a young boy. Because of the somewhat scary nature of the song, he thinks his parents used it to distract him from the ski lift, which was scary to him as a child because of the heights and speed of it. He believes that the song is meant to warn kids about the dangers of technology.

Analysis: I believe that this tale, told in the form of a song, is commenting on two elements of society. Firstly, I believe it being used to warn kids about the dangers of technology. In the tale, Johnny Verbeck invents a machine that makes his work easier, however, it’s his very machine that was intended to be helpful, that turns out to be harmful and brings about his demise. I think this is meant to scare children into understanding the dangers that advancing technology may have. Secondly, I believe that this tale is commenting on the dangers of falling victim to the machine of society. I think it is suggesting that we, as humans, can fall into a sleep-like state, and continue to operate within the machine (without even realizing it) taking down the people that are, unfortunately, stuck inside of it as we do. 

“No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed!”

Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Diego, CA
Performance Date: 4/2/23
Primary Language: English

Text: Three little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said
“No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”Two little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said
“No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”One little monkey jumping on the bed
He fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said
“Put those monkeys right to bed!”

Context: PS grew up in Las Vegas, NV with an older brother and a twin sister. He remembers his mom and dad singing this song to him when it was time to go to bed. Often, he and his siblings would be jumping on the bed and take turns jumping off of the bed into their parents arms before eventually being sent to bed. He thinks it was a tactic his parents used to tire him and his siblings out before bed so that they would sleep better.

Analysis: I believe that this tale, told in song form, is used as a cautionary tale for children about the dangers of being rambunctious. Often, little kids have the urge to jump and play on their beds, which is potentially dangerous, and this song serves as a fun way of reminding children that foolish actions have repercussions (injury). I believe it is also used a way to wrangle and tire kids out so that they are more likely to sleep throughout the night.

La Brujita Tapita

Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/1/23
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Text: La brujita Tapita vivía en un cajón

Que no tenía puertas, ni ventanas no balcón.

La brujita Tapita vivía en un cajón

Con una gran escoba y un hermoso escobillón.

La brujita hacia brujerías

Abracadabra patas de cabra, abracadabra patas de cabra, 

punch pupunch pupunch pupunch pupunch.

Un día la brujita quiso desaparecer

Mirándose al espejo dijo 1, 2 y 3.

Y cuando abrió los ojos no se vio saben por qué?

Porque la distraída se miraba en la pared

La brujita hacia brujerías

Abracadabra patas de cabra abracadabra patas de cabra

Punch pupunch pupunch pupunch pupunch

Translation:

The little witch, Tapita, lived in a drawer

That had no doors, no windows, no balcony.

The little witch, Tapita,

lived in a drawer

with a big broom and a beautiful broom.

The little witch does her spells,

Abracadabra goat legs, abracadabra goat legs,

punch pupunch pupunch pupunch pupunch.

One day the witch wanted to disappear.

Looking in the mirror she said 1, 2 and 3,

and when she opened her eyes she didn’t see herself. Do you know why?

Because, distracted, she looked at herself on the wall.

The little witch does her spells,

Abracadabra goat legs, abracadabra goat legs,

Punch pupunch pupunch pupunch pupunch.

Context: The informant learned this song when she was young from her Aunt who lives in Bolivia, but the informant grew up in California. Spanish was her first language and English was her second language. She remembers singing this tale as a kid as a fun activity with her family, and believes it was used as a cautionary tale for little kids teaching them the dangers of magic and foolishness. 

Analysis:

I believe  that this tale, told in song form, is being used as a way to teach children not to be absentminded or foolish. I believe it is supposed to scare them into thinking that something bad will happen to them (i.e., their legs turning into goat’s legs) if they aren’t careful about what they do, and how they do it. 

However, I think that by putting it to a tune and making it rhyme makes it more appealing and easier for kids to digest — They are learning without even realizing they are learning.

This tale could also be addressing a social hierarchy, placing judgment on a lower, working class  people. Further, it is criticizing their homes (living in a small drawer swith no windows, no balcony, no doors—essentially suggesting an inability to exit this state). The only object mentioned is a broom, specifically a “beautiful broom”, again placing a strong value on the work this “little witch” (which is minimizing language in itself) will be doing. And, by suggesting the little witch lives in a drawer, there is the implication that someone else, beyond the little witch, has control over open and closing the drawer and accessing its contents whenever is necessary for them—the implication being that someone above the working class will always be able to access the “little witch” when it suits them.