Category Archives: Tales /märchen

Stories which are not regarded as possibly true.

Russian Folk Tale about a Chicken with Golden Eggs

Nationality: Former Soviet Union/Ukranian/Russian
Age: 69
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/10/18
Primary Language: Russian
Language: Ukranian

Main Piece: Russian Folk Tale

Original:

Однажды жили-били дед и бабушка, и у них была курица по имени Ряба. Курочка Ряба однажды снесла золотое яйцо. Бабушка попыталась сломать его кастрюлькой, но потерпела неудачу. Дедушка пытался сломать его молотком, но не смог. Затем пробежала мышь, ударила яйцо хвостом, и яйцо упало на пол и разбилось. Бабушка и дедушка плакали и плакали, а затем сказала Курочка Pяба. «Не волнуйся, я снесу столько золотых яиц, сколько захотите». И жили они долго и счастливо.

 

Phonetic:

Odnazhdy zhili-bili ded i babushka, i u nikh byla kuritsa po imeni Ryaba. Kurochka Ryaba odnazhdy snesla zolotoye yaytso. Babushka popytalas’ slomat’ yego kastryul’koy, no poterpela neudachu. Dedushka pytalsya slomat’ yego molotkom, no ne smog. Zatem probezhala mysh’, udarila yaytso khvostom, i yaytso upalo na pol i razbilos’. Babushka i dedushka plakali i plakali, a zatem skazala Kurochka Pyaba. «Ne volnuysya, ya snesu stol’ko zolotykh yaits, skol’ko zakhotite». I zhili oni dolgo i schastlivo.

Translation:

Once there lived a grandfather and grandmother, and they had a chicken named Ryaba. Ryaba the Chicken once laid a golden egg. Grandmother tried to break it with a saucepan, but failed. Grandfather tried to break it with a hammer, but could not. Then the mouse ran, hit the egg with its tail, and the egg fell to the floor and broke. Grandmother and grandfather cried and cried, and then Ryaba the Chicken said: “Do not worry, I’ll lay as many golden eggs as you want.” And they lived happily ever after.

 

Background Information:

  • Why does informant know this piece?

This was told to her by her mother.

  • Where did they learn this piece?

The Soviet Union

  • What does it mean to them?

It’s a simple children’s tale that doesn’t make much sense but is fun to tell because it is short.

 

Context:

This is usually performed for children in order to distract them or get them to go to sleep.

 

Personal Thoughts:

This is a very simple and common Russian folktale. It is also makes no logical sense that the grandparents would cry if the egg was broken since they were trying to break it in the first place. It seems that after a lot of retellings of this folk tale some of the information got lost.

Take a Bath, Turn into a Witch

Nationality: Former Soviet Union/Ukranian/Russian
Age: 46
Occupation: Interior Designer
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/9/18
Primary Language: Russian
Language: Ukranian, English

Main Piece:

When I was little girl, maybe five or six, I always liked to take long bath. My fingers would get all wrinkled and shrunken, and this annoyed my mother. She told me that if my skiw wrinkled too much, that I would turn into Baba Yaga [note: Baba Yaga is a witch-like common character in Russian folklore] and start eating children. This scared me a lot, so I only took only very quick baths afterward. I now know it was to scare me away from taking too long baths. It seems so silly to me now that I was afraid of turning into Baba Yaga (laughs). Children will believe anything especially if it is scary.

Background Information:

  • Why does informant know this piece?

It was told to her by her mother.

  • Where did they learn this piece?

Soviet Union

  • What does it mean to them?

This was a cautionary tale of what happens when you shower for too long.

Context:

This is told to children to scare them from wasting water and taking baths for too long.

Personal Thoughts:

Parents often tell weird stories to children to keep them from wasting food, water, or time. This is a cautionary tale about what happens if you waste water and bath time. This was probably used to save money and prevent the child from staying in the bathroom for too long and not letting other people take their turn.

The Ghost of the Mauna Kea Hotel

Nationality: American
Age: 74
Occupation: Homemaker
Residence: Seattle, WA
Performance Date: March 15, 2018
Primary Language: English

THE STORY

The Mauna Kea ghost was in the area long before I ever went there. I first came to the hotel for my honeymoon in August of 1965, shortly after the hotel opened. That’s when I learned of the ghost. The Mauna Kea ghost was a beautiful woman. She was a native Hawaiian who fell in love with a white rancher who came to the island later in his life. They were so in love that they were destined to be married! Their families did not allow this, though, because of their different races. Her broken heart caused her much sadness, and she decided to drown herself in the ocean. Her last steps on Earth were on the very beach that the hotel now stands on.

People now say that they see the ghost at the hotel! My foolish husband doesn’t believe in ghosts, but even he heard her one time when he was alone in the bar area. That’s where she likes to be the most. She appears to men who have had too much to drink at the bar. She also likes to get in the elevator with guests. I once heard of a man at the hotel who saw a woman when he entered the elevator. Then, in the middle of the ride, she walked straight through the closed doors! I’ve never seen her myself, but I have been to Mauna Kea enough times to know that she is there.

 

ANALYSIS

Context: The respondent first learned of this story in August of 1965 on her honeymoon at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii. The respondent has made several trips back to this location, and had learned of several additions to the story over the past few decades. One of these additions included a personal experience from her husband during their second trip to the resort. The story was collected over a lunch interview.

Respondent’s Beliefs: The respondent believed in the ghost of Mauna Kea, even though she had no personal experience with the ghost. She gave credence to all of the sightings of the ghost, and even interpreted an experience her husband had as a ghost sighting (despite the fact that her husband does not believe in ghosts himself).  The respondent was Roman Catholic, but did not reference religion when telling the story.

Motifs: This narrative is a classic example of a ghost of a suicidal lover. Many stories throughout history have featured lovers who are forbidden to be together by society, often leading to tragic deaths. Tragic deaths often lead to ghosts, and this story is no exception. The Mauna Kea ghost appears to haunt the hotel due to an unfulfilled life, which is consistent with many ghost narratives such as the Hispanic La Llorona legend. The ghost also haunts male guests the most, especially drunk men. Many ghost stories involve the consumption of alcohol, and from a skeptical perspective, intoxication can lead to increased hallucinations or misperceptions, increasing the chance of a person seeing a “ghost” that isn’t really there. This story differs from other common stories, though, in regards to the name of the ghost. Most ghosts that are based on real or legendary events have a name, or at least a nickname of some importance (such as “La Llorona”). This is not the case with this narrative, as the ghost is called by the name of the hotel with “ghost” appended to the end. The narrative tells a rather personal story of the ghost that is rather emotional, yet she does not have a name nor any other identity marker.

Little Boy at Little Rock

Nationality: Mexican-American
Age: 20
Occupation: Program Coordinator
Residence: Arkansas
Performance Date: 4/21/17
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

In Little Rock, Arkansas, there is a ghost story about a young boy who wanders very early in the morning through the streets and enters any home that he finds open. They say that the little boy is lost and looking for family members to be with. This story comes as a result of “ghost” encounters and “poltergeist” events happening at homes.You can get rid of the little boy “ghost” by placing small toys outside of your BACK door so the “ghost” is tricked into leaving the home.

–

Eloisa is a Michoacan born lady who has lived in Arkansas since she has been a little girl. She used to be really religious, but after being opened up to human rights, and mostly women rights, she has taken a step back and tried to analyze everything to decide on what she can really identify as part of her.

The Drop Bears of Camp Orkila

Nationality: American
Age: 24
Occupation: Musician
Residence: Seattle, WA
Performance Date: April 14, 2017
Primary Language: English
Artist's rendition of a drop bear

Artists rendition of a drop bear

The summer camp councilor describes the legend of the Drop Bears at Camp Orkila, a traditional overnight summer camp on Orcus Island, WA.

When I was in middle school I went to Camp Orkila three summers. And the second time I was there, we had this councilor called Jim who had me completely convinced that drop bears are real.

Drop bears are a dangerous cousin of the koala bear. Jim described them as looking like koalas except with razor-sharp teeth. They live in trees and at night they drop onto your head, knocking up unconscious. Then they eat you. And he wore this skate helmet at night for protection. He warned us not to leave the cabins at night without a flashlight and he said even with a flashlight we still might be eaten. 

The source explained that the story was that the bears had been brought to the island by the Seattle Zoo in the 1930s after the zoo couldn’t contain them. The helmet is what convinced the source that the councilor wasn’t lying. After all, why would he bring a helmet and wear it every night if the threat wasn’t real.

All the other boys in our cabin didn’t believe Jim at all. They knew he was B.S.ing them but I totally bought it and I was really convinced and I would argue with them about it.

Well long story short, last summer I was the lead Grey Wolves councilor at Orkila—councilor for boys aged ten to thirteen—and I brought my bicycle helmet and I told them all about drop bears.

Did they believe you?

[laughs] Well… they said that they did not but I know I scared some of them.

From internet research, it’s clear that drop bears are usually are typically an Australian story. Typically, Australians tell foreigners about drop bears as a prank. The drop bears at Camp Orkila function exactly the same way. The camp councilors and experienced campers are in on the joke and they try to trick newcomers. Because original camp councilor brought a helmet with him a prop, it’s possible that he heard about drop bears on the internet or elsewhere and planned to bring it to Camp Orikila. The camp is an ideal place to spread folklore of this kind because the campers are away from home in an unfamiliar place without access to cell service or the internet, making them much more likely to believe. As with other pranks, the drop bears story at Orkila can also serve as an initiation, or a mild hazing of newcomers.

https://australianmuseum.net.au/drop-bear