Lindu, Queen of the Birds Estonia Lindu was queen of the birds – daughter of the Sky. She lived far off on an island in the Baltic where she and multitudes of birds whispered secrets to one another. Each spring Lindu would sing them home, guiding their passage north from the far reaches of…
Jack and the Dancing Trees Scotland A while back now, there was a lad, Jack. A good-hearted lad, he lived with his mother in a wee run-down cottage, not much more than a hovel really. It wasn’t for fecklessness or lack of effort that they lived in a hovel, for they both worked hard…
Saint Brigid and the Wolf Celtic Christianity – Ireland Hundreds of years ago, a saint named Brigid built a small hut under a huge oak tree in a place that came to be known as Kildare, in honour of that tree. When she first moved into her home under that oak, it was a…
Iya Yankton Sioux People – USA and Canada From the tall grass came the voice of a crying babe. The hunstmen who were passing nigh heard and halted. The tallest one among them hastened toward the high grass with long, cautious strides. He waded through the growth of green with just a head…
The Legend of the Serpent of Water Hñahñu People – Mexico There on the mountain called R’anxu on the northern rim of the Mezquital Valley lived an enormous snake. It was called K’enthe (the serpent of water) because it was said to bring to the region. About three hundred years ago it was seen…
How Kyldysin Became a God Udmurt People – Russia Inmar, the Creator God, needed help to guide the peasants with their harvests. So he ensured that Kyldysin remain immortal. As a result, Kyldysin no longer changed with the passing of time, no longer dried up and aged, but remained permanently healthy, regaining and retaining…
The Cracked Pot China, Morocco, India, Zen Buddhism In the mountains of Mongolia there once lived an old woman in a yurt. She lived all by herself and did not own much. Inside the yurt there was a simple bedstead, a table with a vase, and in the vase there were fresh flowers. There…
The Coin Ethiopia An old teacher sat under the branches of an enormous baobab tree and looked out at the faces of the children in front of him. He gently stroked his white beard and then he spoke. ‘Children,’ he said. ‘Look around you. The sky is blue. The sun shines daily, but our…
The Age of the Human Being Isan (Thai-Lao) People – Thailand Long, long ago, Phya Thaen, god of the heavens and creator, sent all creatures down to the Earth. As they were only passing through, he told them how many years they could live in the material world. But it so happened that, when…
The Legend of Ali and the Fairy Maidens Gaoshan People – Taiwan Island, China Long, long ago, on the island of Taiwan, there was a mountain called Tushan, which means Bald Mountain. It got this name because it rose up in the middle of the island like a bald head. It had no trees…