Old Mother Frost

Seconds before the tar was dumped all over that girl.

This week's story comes to us from Eastern Europe. Old Mother Frost is a story about two sisters and, of course, Old Mother Frost.

The stepsister is, of course, the good, hardworking sister. However, she has her problems too. She lets herself be bullied and doesn't say anything about it. She's treated terribly at home, but after she leaves, this girl gets home sick. I'm a little confused and worried about her. She had a good situation with Old Mother Frost, but she wanted to leave anyway. I understand that a girl alone didn't typically have options, but this girl did and she chose to go back to the abuse.

Old Mother Frost is a bit of a puzzle in herself. She seems to be able to do her own work, but drops it without question to let someone else do it. I'm not faulting her for that. However, I wonder why she's testing those girls and how many girls she's tested. If she gave all of the good ones bags of gold, it would seriously mess up the economy, so I'm assuming she doesn't do that every time, or they're small bags of gold. Is that her way of making a difference? She puts snow on the world every day, and winnows out the industrious from the lazy. Old Mother Frost has a lot going on, and I honestly want to know more about her than the good or lazy girls. Reader, let me know if you see more stories about Old Mother Frost.

The moral of this story is either to be incredibly hardworking, especially if you're working for a stranger, or not to let magical old women pour anything on you. Because that tar will not wash out.

What do you think? What moral would you give this story? Comment below, and let me know if there's any stories you'd like to see.

Anansi and Brother Death

It's Anansi. Just hanging out.

By request, this week, we are looking at a story about Anansi. Anansi is a character in West African and Caribbean folktales. He is also a spider. (I'm sorry for those of you who are freaked out by spiders. Maybe go back and reread last week's tale instead.) This version of the story seems to come from Jamaica. Anasi and Brother Death is a story about how lazy Death is. Read the story and turn it on its head with me below.

When the story opens, we have Anansi walking for a long time and in need of some water. When he meets a silent and apparently deaf old man, Anasi walks into his house and takes whatever he wants. The old man doesn't stop him, so Anasi feels like he can come back again and do the same thing. Not once does the old man, Death, move or say anything to stop him. On the third day, Anansi brings his oldest daughter and decides that she will be Death's wife as repayment. A person/spider as repayment for three large meals doesn't seem like a fair trade, but I've never liked the idea of trading people for things. Even after Anansi presents Death with a bride, Death still doesn't say or do anything. Is it that hard to say you're not interested? Apparently it was easier for Death to kill her and eat her than to tell her father that he didn't want her.

I can't understand Death's motivation, but I suppose that if he made a meal out of Anansi's daughter and another meal out of Anansi, then he would have made up two of the meals he lost. These must be very large spiders, or Death is very small. In either case, it's good to know that Death can't climb or throw things. Although, on the off chance that he's improved in these two areas, you might not want to stake your bid on immortality just by staying up somewhere high. I was intrigued that the vision of Death was so limited. He had trouble talking and he can't throw things or climb. I wonder what else this version of Death can't do. Are there more ways to cheat Death than just a chess? That will probably have to be an ongoing topic of discussion. At least in Anansi's case, running and building webs are good enough.

The moral of this story is either: don't take things from people without asking, or if you're going to steal from Death, don't try to marry one of your children to him.

The Loyal Sweetheart

No, not this kind of blue flower.

By request, this week's tale comes from the Native Americans. I selected a story from the Passamaquoddy tribe, specifically. The story is called The Loyal Sweetheart and the title is very descriptive. Read the story at the link above, and then analyze it with me below.

In a story with a title like this, we almost have to have a beautiful woman who doesn't want to marry anyone except the man who doesn't feel he's got a reason to think they can marry. That's a pretty standard beginning. However, one of the first things that caught my attention about this story was actually the love song. Often, characters will use a love song to convey their feelings to that special person, but very rarely do I see the lyrics written out. The imagery in the love song actually works perfectly with the story, which must have been planned. The women are taken hostage in the autumn and are held for weeks, which of course takes them into winter. The spring was the warriors coming to rescue the women, and then Blue Flower and her warrior could be together again. The spring was probably only metaphorical at this point, instead of the actual season, but it's close enough to work with the song.

I was also surprised at the threatened violence in this story. Blue Flower could have been burned at the stake for not wanting to marry any of the men who kidnapped her. Obviously she wouldn't have wanted to marry them, but refusing even with the threat of death is very brave. The chief convinced his warriors to give her more time, which ended up saving their lives. It's only because they didn't do the things they threatened to do to Blue Flower that she convinced her warrior not to torture them. She is brave, stubborn, and merciful. I do love finding heroines like this.

As far as a moral for this story, it's either got to be: treat people well, because you never know when your places with change, or be true to your heart. That's when the heavens will part and show the world what you believe in. ...or maybe that's a pop song.

What would you put as the moral for this story? Comment below!

Do you have a story, character, or part of the world you want me to cover? Comment below for that as well.