Someone Named Habogi

Greetings, readers! This week, I wrote a modern version of Habogi. It's pretty far from the original tale this time, but it takes a look at what I think happened behind the scenes of the story we looked at yesterday.

Never underestimate the power of a simple candle.

Habogi

Who wouldn't want to own a beautiful horse?

Salutations, readers! This week, we trundle up to Iceland for one of their fairy tales. Specifically, Habogi. This story is mysterious and a little strange. I love it. Check it out through the link above and read below to analyze it with me.

The story starts out in the usual way. There are three sisters and the youngest is the most beautiful, while the older two are rude and mean-spirited. When it comes time for them to marry, their father asks what they want their future husband's name to be. It seems a little strange to me, but I guess it was normal for them because the ladies answer right away. There might be something to their answers. The older two ladies named very common names, but the youngest found herself saying a name she'd never heard before. While the three of them did end up marrying men with those names, it almost seems like the youngest was looking for someone unique. Someone specific, even though she hadn't met him. Whatever else is true about this, it reminded me of The Importance of Being Earnest (which is a hilarious play, by the way).

Relief

Hello, reader. This week is my modern version of Fortune and the Wood Cutter. No magic this week, just human guilt creating miracles.

Sometimes, you just need a lot of pillows.

Fortune and the Wood Cutter

Don't push yourself until you're this overworked.

Greetings, reader! As some of you may have noticed, in When the Moon Catches Your Eye, I reference Luke and the Velvet Tango Lounge, which are both from my novel. The more eagle-eyed of you may have noticed there are a handful of other stories on this blog that also reference my novel. If you haven't noticed, go on a treasure hunt and find which of my modern fairy tales reference A Tale of Two Tricksters.

All of that aside, let's take a look at the fairy tale for this week. Fortune and the Wood Cutter is a funny story from somewhere in the Middle East. Unfortunately, my source couldn't be more exact than that. Click the link and check out the story, then continue with me below to analyze it.

I have to admit, the ending of this story threw me off. I thought that the wood cutter would be punished for his laziness. Although, thinking about it more clearly, he doesn't seem to be lazy, but a man pushed past his limit. Either way, many stories with this kind of setup have a lesson at the end about hard work. Well, this man has worked hard for years and is not any better off than when he started. It was only because he just couldn't take it anymore that his luck changed.

In some sense, it's the perfect crime for the wood cutter, especially since he doesn't know it was a crime. The sultan may notice his money is missing, if he ever bothers to try to dig it up, but he would have a hard time finding who stole it. The man who took it didn't profit off of it, and the man who ended up with it doesn't know it was stolen. Maybe he and his wife tried to find the man who borrowed the mules, but that man couldn't have admitted to stealing the money. He would have had to deny everything and leave it to the wood cutter and his wife.

In looking at these stories from a modern, jaded perspective it's kind of refreshing to see people were just as jaded back then. It's  sad that we've always been jaded, but refreshing to see not everyone was an optimist all the time. There have always been people who tried as hard as they could but never got anywhere. In this story, the wood cutter gets a happy ending because he breaks the cycle and fortune smiles on him.

It was only because the wood cutter stopped pushing himself past his breaking point that this good thing could happen to him. Otherwise the thief would have borrowed someone else's mules, and maybe the delay would have stopped him from seeing the soldiers. Then the thief would have kept his ill-gotten gains and perhaps been found out and punished for it. I wonder what the thief thought after he saw how prosperous the wood cutter suddenly became. Maybe he laughed or maybe he tried to pull off an even more elaborate scheme. I almost wish this story was longer, but because it isn't we can more easily assume the wood cutter and his wife lived happily afterward.

The moral of this story is that you shouldn't push yourself until you can't take it anymore. Alternatively, if you let someone borrow your mules, don't go with them and you may end up with what they wanted to steal.

Have a different moral? Wish you could get a windfall like this? Have a story you want me to analyze? Comment below! And if you like this blog, don't forget to subscribe.

When the Moon Catches Your Eye

Hello, readers! To those of you in the US, happy Fourth of July! To everyone else, happy Thursday. This week is my modern version of Sidapa and Bulan. I think it turned out pretty well. I guess I should always write from the perspective of a god of the dead.

Isn't he beautiful?

Although I may be king of the land of the dead, from time to time it weighs on me. So, I make the journey to the land of mortals. I've made enough of these journeys that I can change my appearance to blend in with them. Yet, there is always something that will give me away, and the more perceptive mortals find themselves avoiding me without even knowing why. It's a lonely vacation.

I find myself drawn to the spaces where mortals alter their reality. Movie theaters, plays, night clubs, 24 hour stores in the early hours of the morning, all of these places are just a little changed because of the mortals that gather there. Tonight, I was at a club. Occasionally, someone would pull me onto the dance floor, but after awhile they would fade back into the crowd and leave me alone again. I couldn't blame them. No mortal wants to be faced with their mortality, particularly not on a night when they feel so young and immortal.

It was just after another young woman had left me dancing alone that I saw him. At first glance, he looked barely old enough to be in this club, but from his eyes I could tell he had seen more than these mortals could ever dream of. I confess my breath caught in my throat. I hadn't expected to see another god and certainly not one as beautiful as him. "One as beautiful as him deserves all the praise mortals could heap on him," I whispered to myself.

Immediately, he turned to look at me. I cursed myself for not thinking he could hear me. Tentatively, I smiled at him. He smiled back and then began to move through the crowd. I sighed and tried to shake off the thought of him. Even though we were both gods, he could have any mortal in this club he wanted. Few chose to pass them up to be with someone like me. Even the gods don't like to think about death, you see.

I was shocked to find him next to me, smiling up at me coyly. "Join me in a dance?" he asked.

I recovered quickly. "Of course," I managed. He pulled me onto the dance floor and we soon had a circle of empty space around us. One thing I know how to do is dance, but this glowing god blew me out of the water. While we danced, I recognized him as the moon god. And I understood why his dances tended to take him in circles around me. And why he would dance with me at all. After all, the moon dies every month, but always comes back.

Eventually, without a word spoken, we both agreed to leave the club and retreat to the nicest hotel in town, such as it was. However, that night neither of us were concerned with the interior decorating of that room. I must admit I don't remember what it looked like, except to remember what his glowing light looked like moving over the walls.

We met often after that. Although I was still king of the underworld, he brought out a tenderness in me I thought had long ago been worn away. As for him, he confessed that he was more comfortable with me than he'd been with anyone else. I accepted him as he was and didn't expect more from him simply because he was beautiful. And he didn't expect less from me because I was not.

We had been meeting in a small college town, but I had begun to feel that something was wrong with that town. Something creeping and deliberate. I rarely meddle with these things, so when we were scheduled to meet that sultry summer night, I planned on suggesting meeting in a new town to my lover. I walked into the bar we were to meet at, a cozy underground bar with a jazz band. The Velvet Tango Lounge. As soon as I stepped through the door, I knew this was the center of that creeping maleficence. I searched the small room quickly for my lover and found him sitting at the bar in conversation with another man.

I am not jealous, I have too much trust in my relationships for that, but the depth of wrongness I sensed coming from this new man had me stop and reconsider. Was I sensing that this man was the actor behind this foreboding feeling, or was it simply that I didn't like the way he was looking at my lover? I composed myself and headed over to them.

"There you are," my lover said, his smile for me glowing as it always did. I released a bit of tension. Whatever else happened, I had no cause to be jealous.

"You must be Sidapa," the newcomer said. "My name is Luke." He held out his hand, expecting me to shake it.

I turned to my lover. As a practice, neither of us used those names these days. I could tell Luke was more than a mortal, but I did not appreciate my name falling from his lips. "You two seemed deep in discussion," I noted, draping an arm around my lover's shoulders. "What was it about?"

"Luke wants to change the world." My lover said this in even tones, but from his eyes, I could tell he was excited by what Luke had been telling him. No doubt Luke expected to pull my lover into his schemes. He would be disappointed.

Luke laughed easily. "Oh, Bulan. Your youth betrays you. The world has been changed so many times already. No, I wish to do something grander and make it better."

My grip tightened around Bulan's shoulders. "And you would like his assistance, no doubt."

"I ask for whatever help is given," Luke said, spreading his hands wide with a winning smile.

"I hate con men," I told him bluntly, "and I do not get along well with tricksters. Have you told him what price this change will cost?"

Luke laughed easily. "Every change has a price." His eyes glinted at me.

"Don't you want to hear more about it?" Bulan asked me, his face turning up toward mine.

I resisted the urge to kiss his forehead. "The more you listen to a snake like him, the tighter his coils wrap around you. You see that he is more than what he appears to be, but can you see what else he is hiding about himself?" Sometimes I must remind myself that although we are of a similar age, I am familiar with every trick mankind has thought to pull, but sweet Bulan only looked down on mankind from above and is not familiar with such cunning.

Bulan looked at Luke for a moment.

Luke gave him a dazzling smile. "Your cautious companion is correct. I am more than I appear to be. As are you." He reached out toward Bulan. Bulan flinched away from him and turned to me.

"You may have a silver tongue when you choose, but it is forked," I said to Luke. "Would you like to leave?" I asked Bulan.

Bulan stood and grabbed my hand.

"So long, Luke. Pray we do not meet again."

Luke shrugged. "Never is a long time," he said, sliding back into a laid-back manner. "Perhaps we may meet again as friends."

I decided not to respond and instead left with Bulan.

Once we were outside, Bulan shivered and looked up at me. "I have been ignoring a bad feeling about this town," he admitted to me. "Perhaps it is time we move on."

"I couldn't agree more," I said. I leaned down to kiss him, and then we vanished together into the night.

Sidapa and Bulan

We've only got one moon now, but he's still beautiful.

Hello, reader! It's the last Thursday of Pride month, and I had a doozy of a time trying to find another story. As we all know, there are plenty of gay stories from the Ancient Greeks, but I didn't want this to be a month of Ancient Greek stories, so I had to look a little farther afield. The story of Sidapa and Bulan comes from the Philippines. I wasn't able to find the story of this without some commentary. If you only want the story from the link above, skip down five paragraphs. If you don't mind spoilers, you can start from the top of the page. However much of the link above you choose to read, once you're done with that continue with me below to analyze this story.

We like to say opposites attract, and there's definitely plenty of opposites in this story. Sidapa is tall, dark, and kind of scary. Bulan is small, beautiful and nonthreatening. But they fell in love anyway. Some of the other versions I saw talked about said that Sidapa fell in love with Bulan specifically, not the other moons. It certainly is more romantic if he fell in love with a particular god and not just a crowd of them.

Although this story is shorter than I would like, I do appreciate that we see more than the initial attraction of Sidapa to Bulan. Sidapa does all these things to convince Bulan to come down and talk with him and the two fall in love. We know it's not just a brief thing because later when the serpent Bakunawa tried to swallow all of the moons, Sadapa protected Bulan. This also gives us a nice parallel. Bakunawa wanted the moons and decided to kidnap them so no one else could have them. Sadapa actually cared about Bulan and didn't try to limit his freedom. You know, what a healthy relationship is like.

The moral of this story is if you are beautiful and nonthreatening, then it's helpful if your honey can protect you from a giant serpent. Alternatively, don't be a giant serpent trying to kidnap pretty people or gods. It's rude.

Wish this story was longer? Have a different moral? Have a different story you want me to talk about? Comment below!

Sleeping Princesses Part 5 of 5

Hello, reader. It's the last installment of our story. I hope you enjoy it. If you haven't read part 1, start there. Otherwise, keep reading for the exciting conclusion.

               It had been days and even with all seven of the dwarves, they hadn’t been able to bring Snow back. The protections on the house repelled her, so they made a glass box to keep Snow in outside. Emil blamed himself. He should have been watching. He set himself up as the one to watch over Snow now. He studied the spell on her and tried to figure out how they could break it. He watched to see if anything changed after they tried.

               He hadn’t been to the mine in weeks when a procession made its way to their house. Warily, Emil rose to his feet, putting himself between Snow and the horsemen.

               When they drew closer, one man dismounted. “Ah, I see the stories are true!” he said, looking around Emil. “She is truly beautiful.”

               “You’ve had your look, now get out of here,” Emil growled.

               “Tut, tut. So little hospitality for a visiting prince.” The man grinned. “Shall we make an example of you?”

               “We’ve had plenty of your type around here,” Emil replied. “And I haven’t cared for any of them. Now get lost.”

               “But we’ve only just met. And I must try my luck with the sleeping princess.”

               “You won’t lay a hand on her,” Emil replied, picking up his axe.

               “How droll,” the prince replied. “Guards?”

               Emil had expected to be surrounded, but the guards tried to run him over with their horses. Emil fought back, injuring many good horses in the process, but there were too many. And yet more guards were picking up the box with Snow inside. Emil screamed, but wasn’t able to get to her. There were just too many guards and as the horses dashed around him, one of the horses kicked him in the head. Emil went down.

               Cautiously, a guard dismounted and checked. “He’s still breathing, your highness.”

               “Leave him,” the prince directed. “We have what we came for.” He brought his horse over toward where Snow slept in her glass box. “She truly is as beautiful as they say. A masterpiece.” He sighed and looked around briefly. “Move out.”

               And they all left.

~*~

               There was uneven footing in the woods and Snow was jostled in her box. The prince snapped at his guards to be careful with her, but there was only so much they could do. On one particularly bad step, Snow was knocked sideways and the piece of apple fell out of her mouth. Once the apple was removed, all of the magic the dwarves had been trying on her went to work at once. By the time they stopped for the night, Snow was conscious, but not sure where she was. She decided to pretend she was still asleep until she knew what was going on.

               She peeked through her eyelids and saw a fire playing over leaves and realized she was in a forest. She hoped it was the same forest the dwarves had been in.

               “Where do we venture to next, your highness?” a man asked.

               Snow caught herself before answering.

               “I hear there is another pretty maid in a spell just East of here,” a man replied. “Perhaps we shall secure her for ourselves as well.”

               The man guffawed and Snow’s spine turned to ice. He dared to talk about Aurora like that?

               “Did you want to try to break this one’s spell?” the first speaker asked.

               “Not yet,” the prince replied. “Let’s wait until we’re safely back at my castle.”

               “It’d be a shame if she took a look at you and ran away,” the first man replied with a laugh.

               “For shame, Lambert,” the prince replied jokingly, “I would be her true love. Why would she want to run from me?”

               “I can think of a few reasons,” Lambert replied with a snigger.

               Fortunately, the two of them moved away and Snow lay still, barely daring to breathe. These men thought they had her and that they could get Aurora? Never. Snow knew that no matter how angry she was, if she tried to fight them, she would only lose. So, she waited.

               Eventually, all of the noise quieted down. Then she started to hear snores. Snow was grateful that she didn’t feel sleepy at all. “How long as I out?” she wondered. But there were more important things to think about now. Slowly, Snow opened her eyes and looked around. There was no one around her. She put her hands up and opened the glass lid. Thankfully, it opened without a sound and Snow slipped out of it. She saw the horses and made her way over to them.

               Moving carefully and quietly, Snow picked out a mount and untied him. She found a saddle and put it in place on top of him. The other horses whickered at her a little, but she managed to soothe them and Snow led her chosen horse away. She held her breath, but she had a better chance of escape if she was stealthy now and rode later. It seemed like it took forever, but Snow and the horse picked their way away from the camp headed toward what Snow believed was the East.

               Eventually, Snow turned around and realized she couldn’t see the camp any more. Sighing in relief, she managed to mount the horse and got it walking. It didn’t want to go very fast in the night since it couldn’t see and Snow didn’t want her only chance of escape to twist an ankle. But at least they were a little faster now.

               Slowly, the sun rose and the horse began to pick up the pace. By the time Snow could see clearly all around her, she was able to get the horse to trot directly toward the rising sun. They were heading East and Snow was going to see what happened to Aurora.

~*~

Everything began to look familiar, but it was still a shock when Snow pulled up in front of the giant hedge of thorns around Aurora’s castle. All she could see of the castle was the tallest tower.

               Snow dismounted and looked up, fear suddenly gripping her. How was she going to get in there, let alone save Aurora? She didn’t even know what she was up against. But it didn’t matter. Snow shook her head and squared her shoulders. She had to try. Snow walked forward and the hedge slid away, allowing her to pass. Tentatively, Snow stepped forward she turned around, but it had closed up behind her. Snow gulped. It seemed she was truly in this now.

               She walked forward, trying not to be scared by the size of the thorns moving near her face. They seemed to move away from her, but Snow didn’t want to try reaching out to them in case they decided to change their behavior.

               Eventually, Snow made it out of the thorns. She turned around, but there was no telling where she had come through. She turned back toward the castle and noticed the bodies in the courtyard. Heart in her mouth, Snow raced forward. The first person there was Gerta, a downstairs maid. Snow turned her over. Gerta was breathing, but her eyes were closed.

               “Wake up,” Snow said, shaking her a little. Gerta didn’t move.

               Snow set her back down gently. She looked at the other people in the courtyard and noticed that all of them were breathing as well. It was like everyone had just fallen asleep where they stood. Was this the curse the dwarves were talking about?

               Slowly, Snow made her way into the castle. She wasn’t sure where to look first, but if everyone was sleeping, maybe Aurora had still been in bed when the curse hit. It made as much sense as anything else, so Snow walked to Aurora’s room.

               She opened the door and saw Aurora laying in her bed. It looked like she was just sleeping too. Snow tiptoed over and said, “Aurora, wake up.” Nothing happened. Snow tried gently shaking her, but Aurora kept sleeping. Snow used to find Aurora’s little snore comforting, but now she would give anything to make it stop so Aurora would wake up. Snow shook her a little harder and began yelling Aurora’s name.

               Nothing worked. Aurora kept sleeping. Snow held Aurora to her and started crying. “What am I supposed to do?” Snow asked. “I’m here! Why can’t I save you?”

               She set Aurora back on her bed and stared down at her. “What am I supposed to do?” Snow asked, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Aurora’s ear. Snow stared at Aurora’s face. She wasn’t sure she could live a life without her. She’d bring a doctor in here, someone who would know how to fix this. There had to be a way to get back out.

               “I won’t give up,” Snow said. She looked around. There was no one here to see. She remembered what the dwarves had told her about breaking fairy spells. Tentatively, Snow leaned forward and kissed Aurora’s lips. “I promise I’ll fix this,” she whispered. She sat up.

               Aurora’s snoring stopped and she opened her eyes. “Snow?” she asked.

               “Aurora!” Snow pulled Aurora upright and kissed her, and to her surprise, Aurora kissed her back.

               They parted and Snow stared at Aurora. Slowly, Aurora started to smile and Snow did too.

               “How long have you waited to do that?” Aurora asked, a shy smile on her face.

               “Too long,” Snow replied. They kissed again and Aurora’s door opened.

               “Sweetheart, you’re all right!” Queen Emilia said. She and King Grant stopped in the doorway.

               “Hello,” Snow said awkwardly. “Um.”

               “Only true love’s kiss could break the curse,” Queen Emilia said, looking at the two of them.

               “And it seems to have worked,” King Grant finished with a smile.

               Snow stared at them. “You’re…you’re okay with this?”

               “We’ve had a long time to get used to it, dear,” Queen Emilia replied with a smile.

               “Is that why you sent Snow away?” Aurora demanded.

               “We didn’t want her to get caught up in the curse,” King Grant explained, “but we thought that maybe…”

               “So, you knew about this curse and you never told us?” Snow asked.

               “We wanted to give Aurora a normal childhood,” Queen Emilia replied. “We can sort all of this out later. You broke the curse!”

               As much as Snow wanted to have it out with them, she looked back at Aurora and couldn’t help but be happy. Aurora squeezed her hand and smiled.

~*~

               As worried as Aurora had been about becoming engaged on her sixteenth birthday, she was impatient to become engaged to Snow. However, first Snow had to travel back to her kingdom and set a few things straight.

               Princess Aurora, King Grant, and Queen Emilia came with her, of course, but it was not their place to tamper with the justice of King Nicholas’ kingdom. Snow swept straight into King Nicholas’ throne room.

               “Snow!” Nicholas said, cutting off the noble who had been talking. “They told me you died!”

               “Not for lack of trying,” Snow said. “Your wife tried to kill me.”

               Queen Rebecca had jumped up from her throne as soon as Snow had come in, but she didn’t get far. Guards grabbed her and she turned to face Snow. “Why, dear. Why on Earth would I try to kill you?”

               “I’ve been thinking about that,” Snow replied, “and I know you’ve driven out anyone prettier than you in the castle, but that just seems so simple and petty. As much as I want to believe you’re only simple and petty. It has more to do with the crown, doesn’t it? If King Nicholas doesn’t marry anyone else, and I were to mysteriously die, you would rule the kingdom on your own, wouldn’t you? And your child would rule after you. This was all about power.”

               Queen Rebecca’s face twisted, her hands covering her belly protectively. “You stupid, selfish girl. I should have just cut off your head!”

               “I think that will do,” King Nicholas said, signaling to the guards. “Take this woman to the dungeon.”

               Queen Rebecca protested, but her yells soon dwindled away as the guards took her out of the throne room.

               “I should have done that a long time ago,” King Nicholas said, sighing and shaking his head.

               “I don’t know why you didn’t,” Snow snapped. Then she gathered herself. “Father, there’s one other thing I came to ask you.”

               “Name it! I’m so glad to have you back.”

               “I want your blessing for my marriage,” Snow said. Aurora walked up from the back of the room and held Snow’s hand.

               “To whom?” King Nicholas asked, looking at Snow.

               Snow swallowed. “To Princess Aurora.”

               King Nicholas stared at them. “Oh,” he managed. He looked beyond them to King Grant and Queen Emilia. “Do you two agree to this?”

               “We do, Your Majesty,” King Grant said.

               King Nicholas nodded. “Then, I agree as well. Blessings on you both.”

               Snow grinned and turned to Aurora. She couldn’t help kissing her.

               “Well,” King Nicholas said, “I suppose the only thing to do is start having their wedding dresses made.”

~*~

               The wedding took place a year later, as was customary. By that time, King Nicholas had restored diplomatic relations with the kingdom that Rebecca had come from. They had recently come through a civil war and Rebecca’s family was no longer on the throne. As the new king wrote to King Nicholas, he would be doing them a favor if they could execute Rebecca themselves. So it was that deep in the dungeons on the day of the wedding, Rebecca danced in red-hot iron shoes until she died.

               In the castle proper, the focus was entirely on the wedding. Snow invited all of the dwarves from the cabin and the fairy who had changed the curse to save Aurora’s life. The feasting went on for a week, if they are not feasting still.