A Journey Through Stories: Mythology and Folklore

Vampire by FriedC. Web source: Wikimedia Commons.  A long time ago, there was an old woman who was a widow. She had a beautiful daughter named Zelda. The old woman taught her daughter that the most import thing is to marry a man who can cook so that she would never go hungry. Years later, a handsome many named Henry fell in love with Zelda. Once he finally worked up the courage, he asked Zelda's mother for permission to marry her daughter. The old woman said that she would give her blessing if and only if Henry could prove that he could prepare a wonderful meal for all of them. "I can do it. No problem at all," Henry answered nervously. He left for a long time, and finally came back with a burnt and barely edible vegetable casserole. "It's...umm really good," Zelda said, trying her best to not let her face give away how awful the food was. "This is terrible. It's the worst food I've ever eaten!" the old woman exclaimed. H...

Owl illustration by David Scheirer. Web source: Creative Commons.  The Owl Gets Married There once was a widow who had a daughter. The widow always reminded her daughter that it was going to be very important for her to marry someone who is good at hunting and can provide for her. The girl promised that she would would find a man like this. -  I am all about having help in life, but it makes me a little sad to think that this was all that the girl thought was important. Eventually a man asks for the girls hand in marriage, but the widow says that  she will only give her blessing to someone who is a good hunter, to which the man responded that he was. He made his plan to go hunt, but when he woke up the next day, he decided to fish instead. The man only caught three small fish that day, so it was pretty unsuccessful. He continues to try to hunt and fight food, but continues to fail. So the girl follows the man to see what is going on, and he turning into...

Otters by jharding534. Web source: Creative Commons.  The Rabbit Goes Duck Hunting  There was a very proud Rabbit. He boasted and claimed that he could do anything that anyone else could do. He was very good into talking all of the other animals into believing him. One time Rabbit claimed he could swim and do everything like Otter, while tricking Otter in the process. One day the Otter was talking about how he ate ducks. The Rabbit said that he ate ducks too. Otter doesn't believe Rabbit, so asks him to prove it. Otter gets a duck first. Rabbit tries to fashion a noose to catch one of the ducks, but has a hard time keeping a hold of it. He fell into a hollow stump and was stuck in there for several say; He even had to eat his own fur. The Rabbit hears some children nearby and starts singing in the hopes that they will help him to escape. The children's father comes out and starts cutting the stump and the Rabbit almost taunts them, saying that he is so pret...