How the Phoenix Got Her Fine Plumage

Even now, the other birds are asking for food when they have none.

This week, I thought we'd pick a particular country in Asia to visit. Unfortunately, the website I found didn't break the stories down into countries, so we're somewhere in Asia for How the Phoenix Got Her Fine Plumage.

This story not only explains the way things are, it also comes with a moral. It's a two for one with a Phoenix. How can you lose?

This story brings out the importance of trusting your gut, even when people mock you for it. It is impressive that Phoenix stuck to her guns about their plentiful food someday running out. It also speaks to her character that Phoenix shared her food with everyone, even though they had made fun of her for storing it.

One of the features of this story that is missing from other tales like this is that the other birds actually gave something in exchange for Phoenix's generosity. Their feathers were really the only thing the birds had, and they all chose the most beautiful to give to Phoenix. I try to keep this in mind to get past how superficial their gift is. Nevertheless, Phoenix is the prettiest bird in the forest now.

If we're looking for an alternative moral to this story, I would say it's: trust your instincts and don't be a jerk if you're proven right.

Crow Brings the Daylight

He looks dependable.

This week's tale comes to us from Canada. Crow Brings the Daylight is a folktale about, you guessed it, Crow. It is also one of those folk tales that explains the natural world.

It is interesting to think about Crow bringing brightness. Never mind the logistics of flying a ball of daylight all the way up north. Crow was the one who brought light where there was darkness and drove away the shadows. He illuminated everything, bringing in the ability to see as well as changing the way the sky looked. I know the journey south tired him excessively, but Crow seemed able to fly right back home. I wonder why he didn't go get a second ball of daylight so that they could have sunlight all year long. I know that wouldn't explain the way it works in the Arctic Circle, but it is puzzling.

Also puzzling is that dropping the ball of daylight made it go everywhere and didn't make it lose its shine. The ball broke, and I was worried Crow had just wasted a trip. I had thought that Crow would have to fly high into the sky and put the daylight there like the sun. Shattering the ball of daylight is more feasible though, allowing the logic of balls made of daylight attached to a string.

I suppose the moral of this story is that if you need something done, don't let it deter you when someone says they're too old.