Mythology and Folklore Blog

Dreams: photo source  Drabble: 100 words Dreams In class, I looked at him across the room and threw a crumpled up piece of paper at him with my handwriting in it. He opened it and smiled.  I woke up.  I chased after him but once I touched his back, he disappeared.  I woke up.  I could hear his voice but he was nowhere to be found. I was in darkness.  I woke up.  Why do I keep having dreams about this boy I do not know? Is he merely a memory so strong I can not seem to get rid of, or does it mean something more?  Six-word Story:  Waking up  Heartbreakingly, it was only a dream.  Author's note: These stories are about dreams, and how they might have a hidden meaning to them. Sometimes we have nightmares that we never want to think of again, but sometimes we have dreams where we wish they were our reality. 

The Three Little Pigs and the Wolf: Source Once upon a time there lived three little pigs in a neighborhood with three houses made of straw, furze, and bricks. They lived very peacefully until they learned of the big, bad wolf who just moved into their town. The three little pigs decided that until he left, they would stay in their houses and not come out. "Don't worry friends, I have a great plan to get rid of this wolf." the pig who lived in the brick house said.  The next day, the wolf came to the first pig's house, which was made out of straw. He knocked on the door and said "Little pig, little pig, let me come in." The pig was very frightened, but stayed strong and said "Not by the hair of my chiny chin chin." The wolf then said "'Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in." So he huffed, and he puffed, and he blew his house in. The pig squealed and ran as fast as he could to the pig who lived in the h...

The Three Little Pigs: Source  I have heard the story of the three little pigs so many times throughout my life. In fact, we did a lesson not too long ago with the children at my job at an after school program about the three little pigs. I have always heard the phrase in the story "Not by the hair on my chiny chin chin" and was surprised to learn that this was said because the story was originally supposed to be about goats who turned into pigs! Even though I have heard the story so many times, I seem to have forgotten how the story ended. The wolf came and blew down the first two pigs houses since they were built out of straw and a bundle of furze, and then ate them up. The third pig had a house built of brick, and therefore the wolf was not able to blow the house down. The wolf tried to trick the pig into getting out of his house 3 times, and each time the pig went earlier than he should he would meet the wolf. The wolf was very angry about this and decided to go into the ...

Giulio Romano, wall painting of the Olympian gods , courtesy Palazzo del Te in Mantua For this week's storylab, I watched the three crash course videos over mythology. Before taking this class, I knew very little about mythology and folklore. Watching the videos helped me to learn more about it in depth. I've learned that mythology is open to so many different interpretations. They could be myths of historical fact, fictions, misunderstandings, and so much more. Mythology has been talked about for hundreds of years, and the one thing the video mentioned that was clear is that mythology is an  interpretation. Mythology stories are not considered facts because their meanings cannot be confirmed by a piece of evidence. Mythology is a "systematic study of myths". It was very interesting learning about theories of mythology and the hero's journey and the monomyth. Being a psychology major, I thought it was really interesting how psychologists were looking at myths for ...

The Tea Party: Source  This story really brings out Alice's personality. When Alice approaches the table, the mad hatter and the hare tell her that there is no room for her, even though there is. She ignores them and sits at the table. The Hatter is very rude to Alice, but she has witty remarks to his statements. The Hatter told Alice riddles and said other things that Alice said sounded like English, but still made no sense. This story shows how Alice is very curious and witty, something that the Hatter might not like so much.  Story source:  Alice's Adventures in Wonderland  by Lewis Carroll (1865).

Alice going down the Rabbit Hole: Source Alice in Wonderland was never a movie I would really watch when I was younger. For some reason, I remember being scared of it! In this story, Alice in the beginning is very bored and kind of lazy, debating on what to do with her time. All of the sudden she hears a rabbit talk to himself saying that he was going t be late. Alice could not believe her eyes when she saw him take a pocket watch out of his pocket. Alice chased the rabbit until he fell into a hole, and without thinking, she went down the hole herself. It seemed like she was falling forever and would never come to an end. She thought to herself how she would act and what she would say as soon as she landed.  Story source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865).

The evil stepmother from Disney's Cinderella My mother died 10 years ago, and my father got married to the most evil person I have ever met. At first, I was so happy that he would no longer be alone and that he was in love again, but she treats me so poorly. She sent me to get berries in the snow the other day, well aware that there would be no berries in season. On my journey to find berries, I came across a house with relatives I had no idea about. They were so welcoming and caring. They gave me everything I needed and more. I received new clothes, food, and they told me berries would be on top of the roof under the snow. To my surprise, fresh strawberries were under the snow and I was so happy I could bring them to my stepmother. Weirdly enough, my relative told me to spit on the floor. When I did this, I spit out a piece of gold! I thanked my relatives and went back home.  My stepmother was more than surprised when she found me in new clothes, with berries, and with a new gift...

Cinderella and her stepmother. Source The True Bride reminds me of Cinderella, where the stepmother treats the step daughter very poorly. In this story, the stepmother asks the stepdaughter to bring berries, even though it is snowing outside and they are not in season. The stepdaughter comes across four men which are surprisingly her relatives. I am a little confused on whether they are her actual brothers or how they are related. These brothers give the step daughter nice clothes, the ability to spit gold, and berries from the rooftop. The stepmother becomes jealous and wonders how the stepdaughter was able to do this. She sends her own daughter to follow, and the daughter is very rude to these brothers. They give her the gift of spitting out bad smelling toe nails!  Story source:   Tales of the North American Indians  by Stith Thompson (1929)

St. Therese of Lisieux: Source For this assignment, I will be doing some research for the second story in my story book. My storybook is in a diary format, and this week I will be working on the diary St. Therese of Lisieux. These sources I have found will be really helpful for me in writing her diary.  Wikipedia   : Wikipedia has so much information about her life, illness, dedication to God and her family.  The Story of a Soul: St. Therese wrote an autobiography of her own when she was alive. It is called "The Story of a Soul" and has additional writings of sayings of hers included in the book. I actually own this book, so I will be looking at this for reference!  The Little Flower:   St. Therese has her own website! It is called littleflower.org. St. Therese loved flowers and saw herself as "the little flower of Jesus" and the name has stuck with her since.