WokeTales - Woke Folktales

The Golden Valley is a Sicilian story, taken from Ruth Manning-Sanders' collection A Book of Monsters. One royal family locates the natural phenomenon of their dreams: a whole valley of gold. This is a story of a king and queen who are wonderful parents, three brothers who love each other, and a monster who loves a golden architectural flair. Sometimes gold is just pretty, and a monster can become the best friend you've ever had.

‘Gretel in Darkness' is a 1975 poem by Louise Glück exploring trauma. The poem is a dramatic monologue spoken by Gretel, the little girl from the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel. In the poem, Gretel directly addresses the readers/listeners and Hansel, and offers her intimate thoughts reflecting on how she is haunted psychologically by the memory of the witch she killed, in order to save herself and her brother Hansel.

The Ebony Horse is a story from the Arabian Nights, also known as the One Thousand and One Nights. The tale borders on being ‘science fiction' before the genre existed. It sees a cunning inventor design an ebony horse which is capable of flying. A prince uses the horse to travel to other lands, where he falls in love with a princess. It is an entertaining tale, full of adventure and love and danger and suspense.

The Red Pearls is a Chinese Fairytale with a familiar set-up of love, magic, and immortality but takes a delightfully unexpected approach. It is a story of Liu Hai and Ninth Sister and how they have each other's back and support each other. There's a golden toad to stir things up but tune in to find out who's side the godly magic is on. 

The Lion, the Tiger, and the Eagle is a Greek fairy tale from the Ruth Manning-Sanders collection Damian and the Dragon. It is a story of three brothers and three sisters and how their father's dying words chooses their marital destiny. 

The Lass Who Went Out at the Cry of Dawn is a story from Sorche Nic Leodhas' collection of Scottish folk lore, Thistle and Thyme. This is a story of a girl who goes on an adventure to rescue her sister with an unconventional weapon, thanks to her farsighted parents.

Not many frogs can claim the resourcefulness of this African fairy tale's titular character, Mainu. He helps Kiman throughout the story, from making journeys between heaven and earth, impressing lord Sun and lady Moon, to coming up with a trick to get Mainu married to the girl he is in love with, and all this without expecting anything in return.

Three Heads in the Well (or The King of Colchester's Daughters) is a tale hundreds of years old. Listen to what happens when two daughters of the king are rewarded or punished by the fairy heads in the well. 

The Hare's Liver is a folk tale from Korea, in honor of the Chinese New Year (Year of the Rabbit). It tells the story of an ailing Dragon King who is told he can recover his health only through eating a hare's liver. He sends Turtle to get a hare from dry land. Remarkably, Turtle successfully returns with Hare, but can the Hare escape through his sharp wits?

Martin and the Lions is taken from Ruth Manning-Sanders' 1988 collection A Cauldron of Witches. The story has a nasty witch and a conscientious hero, Martin. The story has elements of animal cruelty and progresses with how Martin manages to free the lions from the witch's curse. 

“The White Snake” begins with a king who eats a bite of the white snake every evening, and rules his kingdom with such power, it seems he knows what will happen in it before anyone possibly could. He's our only glimpse into the larger implications of the power of the white snake—once the king's servant discovers the secret, the story becomes all about the servant's use of this power to gain wealth, stature, and a wife who is resistant to him, that it takes three tests before she gives in and marries him.

The Three Snake-Leaves is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale about a young man who marries a princess. When she dies he is buried alive with her. Using folk medicine troupe in the story, while in the tomb he brings her back to life with three snake-leaves. She comes to life but is not the same, she betrays him with another man and that betrayal leads to her possibly ultimate death.

‘A Bought Dream' is an interesting story where it seems like someone threw half a dozen fairy tale elements into a blender just to see what would happen, making it a perfect story to start the year with. It is a story of Sarsembai and a dream he has for his life. He goes through a journey to realize if his dream has come true and if he earns a happy ending for himself and his village too.

The story of Snow Queen, Gerda, and Kai is perfect for this cold winter. After tiny fragments of a magic mirror become lodged in one of Kai's eyes and his heart, his personality begins to change and he starts to turn cold. It then becomes easy for the Snow Queen to abduct the boy. Kai is carried off to the Snow Queen's faraway palace. Join Gerda on a dangerous and whimsical quest to save her best friend before he is trapped forever in the Snow Queen's palace.

In a holiday-themed episode this is an Icelandic legend of Jólakötturinn, aka “Yule Cat”. This monstrous feline stalks the entire country looking for those who aren't wearing new clothes on Christmas Eve. Upon finding such a poor soul, the Yule Cat spares no mercy and eats the human before resuming the hunt for others. To find out more, let's take a look at Icelandic mythology, the importance of oral storytelling, and wool production.

A baker was well known for his honesty as well as for his fine Saint Nicholas cookies. He always gave his customers exactly what they paid for — not more, and not less. So, how could he agree with a mysterious old woman on Saint Nicholas Day when she insists that a dozen is thirteen? The woman's curse puts an end to the baker's business, and he believes it would take Saint Nicholas to help him. But if he receives that help, will it be exactly what he imagined? Find out in this inspiring legend from Dutch colonial New York about the birth of an honored American custom.

Little Mukra is an Arabic fairytale about an unlikely hero, a dwarf, whose enemy is not a vengeful sorceress or dastardly king, but the widespread bigotry of ordinary people. With the help of one-woman animal welfare league, a dog, and some magic he finds his purpose.

Kate Cracketnuts is an English story taken from Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales and the premise is familiar: a king with a beautiful daughter called Anna marries a queen with a comparatively plain one called Kate. Guess who interprets the genetic lottery as a personal insult! Here's a clue – it's not Kate. Instead she rescues her beautiful sister from an evil enchantment and a prince from a wasting sickness caused by dancing nightly with the fairies. 

In this Thanksgiving “decolonizing our dinner” story, meet the sustainer of Indigenous cultures for centuries and one of the original examples of regenerative farming, The Three Sisters. The Three Sisters (corn, squash, and beans) planted or eaten together create an ideal environment for success, and hold a strong spiritual and cultural connection to the history of Indigenous people. Many Native American legends have been woven around the "Three Sisters" - sisters who would never be apart from one another - sisters who should be planted together, eaten together, and celebrated together. 

Opossums, awe-Inspiring but often underappreciated, are marsupials with many fascinating attributes and superheroes when it comes to cleaning up around your property. Opossum is a loanword from Powhatan, an Indigenous language from what is now the Virginia area. Additionally, a number of Indigenous tribes had origin stories of the opossum, which speaks to its range throughout what is now the United States and Canada. This Northern Cherokee Nation story explains why the opossum's tail is bare.

November is Native American Heritage Month in the US so here is a fascinating Native American story. Crow Brings the Daylight is a folktale of the Inuit people tells the the story of crow who brought daylight to the remote and dark Arctic region. How did the crow manage to pull off this amazing feat? Find out in this episode.

This is a Halloween special and what's more halloweeny than a witch and a cat. This German story is from A Book of Cats and Creatures, called Katchen the Cat. The witch in this fairy tale is a genuinely nasty piece of work, a cannibalistic opportunist who exploits anyone and everyone she meets. She's a good villain, and our cat, Katchen – who is a better strategist, playacting subservience while she squirrels away spells – is a delightful heroine.

Today's story is from South-East Africa called Moti-katika and the Water Witch. As the title suggests it is a story of Moti-katika and the water witch, but it is also a story of a mother who is underestimated by the witch from the moment they meet but never for one minute plans to give up on her clever and kind son, Moti-katika.

October is spooky season and is the season of witches. This story is from Papua New Guinea, called Tow-how and the Witch. It is a story of Tow-how, his magic disc, and his adventurous exploration of an island where a scary witch lives. Nobody ever goes to that island, if they do they never come back. Will Tow-how be able to come back unscathed or will the witch get better of him?

This is a fairy tale that is completely new to me, a Swedish story from the 1988 Ruth Manning-Sanders collection A Cauldron of Witches. It is a story of Jock and his friend troll, with whose help Jock end up being rich and married to a princess.

The Donkey Lettuce is a German fairy tale from the 1981 collection A Book of Witches by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is a story of a hunter who has magical possessions he got from killing a bird and a witch who pushes her daughter to extract the magical possessions from the hunter but end up being a victim to hunter's revenge.

This week's story comes from Thistle & Thyme: Tales & Legends from Scotland by Sorche Nic Leodhas. This is a story of a beekeeper who lives alone in a cottage on the moor with his bees. He took care of a blue-eyed hare only to discover that reality was different from his expectations.

The Four Clever Brothers is a story of four skilled brothers, a stolen princess, and an angry dragon. The brothers set out to learn their crafts in the big wide world and return home as skilled men: a thief, an astronomer, a hunter, and a tailor. The brothers' are then put to the ultimate test when the princess is stolen away from the kingdom by an angry dragon. Do they have the skills to save her?

The Red Shoes is a story of a young girl who puts on a pair of red shoes that will not allow her to stop dancing; she must dance and dance, in a grotesque mockery of happiness. It is written by Hans Christian Andersen, and is a depressing story which vilifies and punishes the little girl who committed the heinous crime of wanting to look pretty.

Jorinde and Joringel is a German fairy tale. The plot is set in motion when they accidentally stray onto the property of a witch, who punishes them for trespassing. The witch punishes Jorinde by turning her into a bird and keeping her caged in her castle and Joringel by casting a spell on him that freezes him temporarily. Joringel when released from the spell is greatly saddened by the loss of his sweetheart but after some time, has a dream in which he learns how he can make Jorinde human again.

The Goblins at the Bath House is an Estonian fairy tale, taken from Ruth Manning-Sanders' A Book of Ghosts and Goblins. It is a story of what a clever girl does when encountered by a group of goblins who want to kidnap her for an impromptu wedding.

The Seven Leavenings is a Palestinian story and is taken from Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales. The story is about an old woman who is a baker, a strategist, and likes to travel. While baking some freaky bread, she travels and tries to resolve domestic disputes.

The Tinderbox is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a soldier who acquires a magic tinderbox capable of summoning three powerful dogs to do his bidding. Sometimes the heroes of fairy tales are not people you would want to know.

This folktale from Arunachal Pradesh's (India) Mishmi tribe speaks about the origin of weaving, how the art of weaving was shared from the first weaver to the other tribes, and weaving becoming a work of God within the tribes. The god Matai taught the art of weaving to one girl, Hambrumai, who used nature as inspiration and guide for her designs.

A woman gets a daughter, Uletka, by striking a deal with the Sun, to return the child back when she is twelve years old. Sun takes the girl back but after realizing how unhappy the girl is decides to send her back to her mother. But, there is a brave hare, a witch who wants to feed her family, and an intense chase on Uletka's way back home. 

The Witch and the Sister of the Sun is taken from Alexander Afanasyev's Russian Fairy Folk Tales. Fleeing from an evil witch, Ivan Tsarevitch gallops towards the Sun's sister for safety. It's a long journey and on the way he seeks shelter from two seamstresses, and two great giants called Vertogór and Vertodúb. However, it turns out that they will all be dead soon. Only the Sun's sister can keep Ivan Tsarevitch safe.

The Palace of the Seven Little Hills is a story of breaking curses after curses. It is almost like a duel between the two women in their separate towers, each appearing to be so passive, yet in conflict as much as if they were fighting it out with broadswords. The story doesn't follow the usual fairytale recipe of a quite or absent father, but instead shows a normal-esque family who supports each other.

This story is from Sudan and is taken from Ruth Manning Sanders' 1973 collection, A Book of Sorcerers and Spells. It is a story of abuse of power vs standing your ground. A sorcerer, who cannot take no for an answer from a girl he fancies, changes her into a bear and the guy she intends to marry into a lion so they cannot be together. Although, his inability to accept no as an answer is what eventually brings about his destruction.

This is a Scottish fairy tale with a protagonist, who is a master baker, a woman so talented that every event of significance for miles around is considered incomplete without one of her cakes. Her cooking draws the attention of the local Fairy Folk, who want to kidnap her and keep her as their personal baker. Her cleverness is how she escapes, but her kindness brings a different reward. Her arrangement keeps both sides very happy. Here's to cake and cleverness and her choice!

Florinda is a Chilean Fairytale and is notable for its freewheeling approach to gender and sexuality, which lends itself to many interpretations of the main characters, their identities, and relationships. The original motivation for Florinda adopting a masculine identity is to escape her father's incestuous interest in her. Once she is safely free of her father's sphere of influence, however, the story shifts to a love story between two women.

The Happy Prince is a story by Oscar Wilde. It is a timeless tale about friendship, compassion, and the transforming power of selfless love. The Happy Prince is a statue covered with gold and many fine jewels and sits overlooking the city. One day a swallow bird seeks shelter under the statue and discovers the prince is not happy, but sad. The Prince and the Swallow develop a true friendship built on love and sacrifice, but that sacrifice takes its toll. However, in another life of heavenly light and warmth, The Happy Prince and the Little Swallow are forever united.

This is a Juneteenth special episode. The story, ‘The People Could Fly' is taken from Virginia Hamilton's The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales, an anthology of stories originally told by African slaves and retold by generations of black American storytellers. This story is rooted in one of the ugliest events of human history. I warn you, it's not easy to hear.   It is a fantasy tale that tells of how some enslaved Africans had wings and could fly. In order for them to escape the abuses of slavery, they began to sing magic words and their bodies lift into the sky as they fly away to freedom. It is all about the dream of freedom. For the Africans who were captured into slavery and brought to America, there was little reason for hope, but through folk tales like this one, they were able to at least imagine a day when they could become free.

This week's story, like many of Hans Christian Andersen's other works, is not subtle about its moral messages. ‘The Garden of Paradise' is religious in tone and is more of a fable. There's a formidable mother, her four sons,  fairy, the garden of paradise, and a prince who we know from the moment he was given a warning he won't listen. 

This English story is taken from the 1981 reprint of Ruth Manning Sanders' A Book of Witches. It is a story of two thieving sisters, but one escaping the punishment because of her helpful nature. First sister seeks out employment and ends up with a lot of gold. While, the witch is just a rich old lady who gets some form of justice on an opportunistic ex-employee.

The Legend of Black Mountain is Australian Aboriginal story, taken from Jean A. Ellis' collection This is the Dreaming, is strictly speaking more legend than fairy tale but contains all the familiar ingredients. Black Mountain is actually a real place in northern Queensland. Two strong brothers build a tower with black boulders to win the girl they fancy. It's interesting to note, though, that while most legends and fairy tales reward the hyperbolic displays of their heroes, in this story it's what leads to their eventual destruction.

This week's fairy tale is a Scottish story about a collective effort of good people to save the princess instead of one person doing it all. This is a story of unexpected complications. Even the best laid plans laid by knights and wicked kings can sometimes go spectacularly wrong. There is a princess is abducted by a wicked king, someone gets the intel, someone whisks her away from the castle, and someone comes up with the plan to get her back. It was a group effort and in the end team work wins.

‘My Lady Sea' is an ugly piece of folklore that pushes its female characters into an impossible position between a raging psychotic for a father and a bridegroom who uses tantrums to get whatever he wants. The father tries to control his daughters who in real are dolls and the prince pursues them for marriage. But in the need to control the dolls they both forget the dolls aren't living. Both men are rewarded for their abysmal behavior. But let alone current real life, not even a character from ancient folklore should get away with something like that.

Mothers in the world of fairy tales are often considered to be an endangered species. This Mother's Day special is a Scottish story of a mother's determination, her courage, and endurance to reunite with her baby.   For mothers it isn't easy to have adventures of your own when there's children to look after but what makes the mother in our story magnificent is how she rises to the occasion anyway. The young mother won her baby back from a whole court of fairies had the odds stacked against her in so many different ways. It is worth looking for incredible mothers in stories; in searching, we find treasures.

This Indian fairy tale begins when a ship encounters a storm at sea and promptly disintegrates. All hands on board are lost save for one young sailor, who meets a mermaid queen. He becomes her king and they are very happy together, but after some time they separate. This fairy tale is unusual in recognizing that some relationships can be impermanent without either party being evil. The narrative does not condemn the sailor, and more importantly, it does not condemn the mermaid. 

This is a story of wronged lovers, a Chinese fairy tale taken from the 1974 reprint of Ruth Manning-Sanders' A Book of Charms and Changelings. This is a story of Chien-Nang, who is torn between her father and the love of her life. She figures out a way to be with both but  will we find out who is real and who is the changeling?

This is a German story of Mannikin Spanalong and although has elements of curse sorcery, overall it is pretty simple and straightforward which makes it all the more unique. It begins with a motivated young woman who sets off to find work and in process helps Mannikin Spanalong through his curse. She is rewarded in return. The reward however, is not marriage which is very rare to find in a fairy tale about a helpful woman and a cursed man. They both get to live their life their own way, and if they ever have their respective weddings this story doesn't care.