Apr 23, 2019

Saving the Snake is a Middle Eastern fable about trickery and gratitude and learning from mistakes. It's similar to a story from the Arabian Nights, as well as to our earlier story Anansi and the Story Box; it even has some similarities to the “Brer Rabbit” stories.

We come to you from the Bay Area city of Fremont,...

Mar 23, 2019

The Drum and the Tree is a Nigerian fable featuring talking lions and tortoises about the dangers of keeping the wrong secrets from the wrong people, and the problems that curiosity can cause. It's thematically similar to Bluebeard, Lohengrin and Pandora.

This month finds us is Nipomo, CA., having just driven...

Feb 16, 2019

How The Tiger Got Its Stripes is an "origin" story, a fable about bullying, and a trickster tale all rolled into one.

We're bringing it to you from Texas, having just driven across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama after having a great couple of weeks in Florida. We went snorkeling with manatees at Crystal River, took...

Jan 15, 2019

Hina and the Moon is a nature origin myth from what is now called Hawaii. It is one of many stories about Hina, who in some cases is a goddess and in others an ordinary woman. Sometimes she is married to Maui, and others not. Sometimes she goes to the moon, and other times she doesn't. We decided to have her take a trip...

Dec 19, 2018

How a Bundle of Straw Became a Fortune is the Japanese take on the “exchange” type of story, which we could also call the “pay it forward” type. In it, an individual does a good deed by giving away something, and receives a gift in return; this gift is then given to someone else who needs it, and the hero then...