November 9. Story of the Day: Bedbug.

This song comes from Negro Folk Rhymes by Thomas Talley.

It's a fun list of bugs, not exactly a chain tale, but definitely a fun list!

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BEDBUG

De June-bug's got de golden wing,
De Lightning-bug de flame;
De Bedbug's got no wing at all,
But he gits dar jes de same.

De Punkin-bug's got a punkin smell,
De Squash-bug smells de wust;
But de puffume of dat ole Bedbug,
It's enough to make you bust.

Wen dat Bedbug come down to my house,
I wants my walkin' cane.
Go git a pot an' scald 'im hot!
Good-by, Miss Lize Jane!

(bedbug)

November 5. Story of the Day: The Sprightly Tailor

This is from Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, with illustrations by john Batten.

This is one of those stories with a series of body parts!

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 THE SPRIGHTLY TAILOR

A sprightly tailor was employed by the great Macdonald, in his castle at Saddell, in order to make the laird a pair of trews, used in olden time. And trews being the vest and breeches united in one piece, and ornamented with fringes, were very comfortable, and suitable to be worn in walking or dancing. And Macdonald had said to the tailor, that if he would make the trews by night in the church, he would get a handsome reward. For it was thought that the old ruined church was haunted, and that fearsome things were to be seen there at night.

The tailor was well aware of this; but he was a sprightly man, and when the laird dared him to make the trews by night in the church, the tailor was not to be daunted, but took it in hand to gain the prize. So, when night came, away he went up the glen, about half a mile distance from the castle, till he came to the old church. Then he chose him a nice gravestone for a seat and he lighted his candle, and put on his thimble, and set to work at the trews plying his needle nimbly, and thinking about the hire that the laird would have to give him.

For some time he got on pretty well, until he felt the floor all of a tremble under his feet; and looking about him, but keeping his fingers at work, he saw the appearance of a great human head rising up through the stone pavement of the church. And when the head had risen above the surface, there came from it a great, great voice. And the voice said: " Do you see this great head of mine?"

"I see that, but I'll sew this!" replied the sprightly tailor; and he stitched away at the trews.

Then the head rose higher up through the pavement, until its neck appeared. And when its neck was shown, the thundering voice came again and said: "Do you see this great neck of mine?"

"I see that, but I'll sew this!" said the sprightly tailor and he stitched away at his trews.

Then the head and neck rose higher still, until the great shoulders and chest were shown above the ground. And again the mighty voice thundered: "Do you see this great chest of mine?"

And again the sprightly tailor replied: "I see that, but I'll sew this!" and stitched away at his trews.

And still it kept rising through the pavement, until it shook a great pair of arms in the tailor's face, and said Do you see these great arms of mine?"

"I see those, but I'll sew this! " answered the tailor; and he stitched hard at his trews, for he knew that he had no time to lose.

The sprightly tailor was taking the long stitches, when he saw it gradually rising and rising through the floor, until it lifted out a great leg, and stamping with it upon the pavement, said in a roaring voice "Do you see this great leg of mine?"

"Aye, aye: I see that, but I'll sew this!" cried the tailor; and his fingers flew with the needle, and he took such long stitches, that he was just come to the end of the trews, when it was taking up its other leg. But before it could pull it out of the pavement, the sprightly tailor had finished his task; and, blowing out his candle, and springing from off his gravestone, he buckled up, and ran out of the church with the trews under his arm. Then the fearsome thing gave a loud roar, and stamped with both his feet upon the pavement, and out of the church he went after the sprightly tailor.

Down the glen they ran, faster than the stream when the flood rides it; but the tailor had got the start and a nimble pair of legs, and he did not choose to lose the laird's reward. And though the thing roared to him to stop, yet the sprightly tailor was not the man to be beholden to a monster. So he held his trews tight, and let no darkness grow under his feet, until he had reached Saddell Castle. He had no sooner got inside the gate, and shut it, than the apparition came up to it; and, enraged at losing his prize, struck the wall above the gate, and left there the mark of his five great fingers. Ye may see them plainly to this day, if ye'll only peer close enough.

But the sprightly tailor gained his reward: for Macdonald paid him handsomely for the trews, and never discovered that a few of the stitches were somewhat long.

NOTES

Source.—Notes and Queries for December 21, 1861, to which it was communicated by "Cuthbert Bede," the author of Verdant Green, who collected it in Cantyre.

Parallels.—Miss Dempster gives the same story in her Sutherland Collection, No. vii. (referred to by Campbell in his Gaelic list, at end of vol. iv.); Mrs. John Faed, I am informed by a friend, knows the Gaelic version, as told by her nurse in her youth. Chambers' "Strange Visitor," Pop. Rhymes of Scotland, 64, of which I gave an Anglicised version in my English Fairy Tales, No. xxxii., is clearly a variant.

Remarks.—The Macdonald of Saddell Castle was a very great man indeed. Once, when dining with the Lord-Lieutenant, an apology was made to him for placing him so far away from the head of the table. "Where the Macdonald sits," was the proud response, "there is the head of the table"

October 20. Story of the Day: The Old Witch

This story comes from More English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, illustrated by John Batten.

I have not found the ATU type for this story yet, but you will recognize familiar motifs here, as the one sister acts kindly and earns a series of helpers, while her other sister does just the opposite.

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THE OLD WITCH

ONCE upon a time there were two girls who lived with their mother and father. Their father had no work, and the girls wanted to go away and seek their fortunes.

Now one girl wanted to go to service, and her mother said she might if she could find a place. So she started for the town. Well, she went all about the town, but no one wanted a girl like her.

So she went on farther into the country, and she came to the place where there was an oven where there was lots of bread baking. And the bread said, 'Little girl, little girl, take us out, take us out. We have been baking seven years, and no one has come to take us out.' So the girl took out the bread, laid it on the ground and went on her way.

Then she met a cow, and the cow said, 'Little girl, little girl, milk me, milk me! Seven years have I been waiting, and no one has come to milk me.' The girl milked the cow into the pails that stood by. As she was thirsty she drank some, and left the rest in the pails by the cow.

Then she went on a little farther, and came to an apple-tree, so loaded with fruit that its branches were breaking down, and the tree said, 'Little girl, little girl, help me shake my fruit. My branches are breaking, it is so heavy.'

And the girl said, 'Of course I will, you poor tree.' So she shook the fruit all off, propped up the branches, and left the fruit on the ground under the tree.

Then she went on again till she came to a house. Now in this house there lived a witch, and this witch took girls into her house as servants. And when she heard that this girl had left her home to seek service, she said that she would try her, and give her good wages. The witch told the girl what work she was to do. 'You must keep the house clean and tidy, sweep the floor and the fireplace; but there is one thing you must never do. You must never look up the chimney, or something bad will befall you.'

So the girl promised to do as she was told, but one morning as she was cleaning, and the witch was out, she forgot what the witch said, and looked up the chimney. When she did this a great bag of money fell down in her lap. This happened again and again. So the girl started to go off home.

When she had gone some way she heard the witch coming after her. So she ran to the apple-tree and cried:
'Apple-tree, apple-tree, hide me,
So the old witch can't find me;
If she does she'll pick my bones,
And bury me under the marble stones.'

So the apple-tree hid her. When the witch came up she said:
'Tree of mine, tree of mine,
Have you seen a girl
With a willy-willy wag, and a long-tailed bag,
Who's stole my money, all I had?'

And the apple-tree said, 'No, mother; not for seven year.'

When the witch had gone down another way, the girl went on again, and just as she got to the cow heard the witch coming after her again, so she ran to the cow and cried:
'Cow, cow, hide me,
So the old witch can't find me;
If she does she'll pick my bones,
And bury me under the marble stones.'

So the cow hid her.

When the old witch came up, she looked about and said to the cow:
'Cow of mine, cow of mine,
Have you seen a girl
With a willy-willy wag, and a long-tailed bag,
Who's stole my money, all I had?'

And the cow said, 'No, mother, not for seven year.'

When the witch had gone off another way, the little girl went on again, and when she was near the oven she heard the witch coming after her again, so she ran to the oven and cried:
'Oven, oven, hide me,
So the old witch can't find me;
If she does she'll pick my bones,
And bury me under the marble stones.'

And the oven said, 'I've no room, ask the baker,' and the baker hid her behind the oven.

When the witch came up she looked here and there and everywhere, and then said to the baker:
'Man of mine, man of mine,
Have you seen a girl,
With a willy-willy wag, and a long-tailed bag,
Who's stole my money, all I had?'

So the baker said, 'Look in the oven.' The old witch went to look, and the oven said, 'Get in and look in the furthest corner.' The witch did so, and when she was inside the oven shut her door, and the witch was kept there for a very long time.

The girl then went off again, and reached her home with her money bags, married a rich man, and lived happy ever afterwards.

The other sister then thought she would go and do the same. And she went the same way. But when she reached the oven, and the bread said, 'Little girl, little girl, take us out. Seven years have we been baking, and no one has come to take us out', the girl said, 'No, I don't want to burn my fingers.'

So she went on till she met the cow, and the cow said, 'Little girl, little girl, milk me, milk me, do. Seven years have I been waiting, and no one has come to milk me.' But the girl said, 'No, I can't milk you, I'm in a hurry,' and went on faster.

Then she came to the apple-tree, and the apple-tree asked her to help shake the fruit. 'No, I can't; another day p'raps I may,' and went on till she came to the witch's house.

Well, it happened to her just the same as to the other girl -- she forgot what she was told, and, one day when the witch was out, looked up the chimney, and down fell a bag of money.

Well, she thought she would be off at once. When she reached the apple-tree, she heard the witch coming after her, and she cried:
'Apple-tree, apple-tree, hide me,
So the old witch can't find me;
If she does she'll pick my bones,
And bury me under the marble stones.'

But the tree didn't answer, and she ran on further. Presently the witch came up and said:
'Tree of mine, tree of mine,
Have you seen a girl,
With a willy-willy wag, and a long-tailed bag,
Who's stole my money, all I had?'

The tree said, 'Yes, mother; she's gone down that way.'

So the old witch went after her and caught her; she took all the money away from her, beat her, and sent her off home just as she was.

NOTES

SOURCE Collected by Mrs Gomme at Deptford.

PARALLELS I have a dim memory of hearing a similar tale in Australia in 1860. It is clearly parallel with the Grimms' Frau Holle, where the good girl is rewarded and the bad punished in a similar way. Perrault's Toads and Diamonds is of the same genus.

October 19. Story of the Day: All Gone

This is from The songs and music of Friedrich Froebel's Mother play (Mutter und kose lieder), edited by Susan Blow. This poem is by Emily Huntington Miller.

It is an example of a series of body parts used as the basis for a story/song.

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ALL GONE

All gone! the supper's gone!
Wliite bread and milk so sweet,
For baby dear to eat.

All gone! the supper's gone!
Where did baby's supper go?
Tongue, you had a share, I know.
Little mouth, with open lips.
Through your rosy gate it slips.
Little throat, you know full well
Where it went, if you would tell.

Little hands, grow strong;
Little legs, grow long;
Little cheeks, grow red:
You have all been fed.

(illustration from the book)

October 17. Story of the Day: The Refrigerator

I could not resist including this wonderful bit of "Internet lore" here as part of the project. Especially if you have never seen this particular elephant-in-the-refrigerator joke before, you are in for a treat. And Wikipedia even has an article about elephant jokes for more amusement, including more elephants-in-the-refrigerator.

No, it's not a chain tale. But I'm not going to anything more about its "chain-like" quality lest I give too much away.

You will find many versions online, but they all go more or less something like the paraphrase that I have provided below in my own words.

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THE REFRIGERATOR

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and then close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.

(Playbuzz)

~ ~ ~

2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?

Did you say, Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator?

Wrong Answer. The refrigerator has a giraffe in it already.

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.

~ ~ ~

3. The lion is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend.... except one. Which animal does not attend?

Correct Answer: The elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory.

~ ~ ~

Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.

4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?

Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

October 15. Story of the Day: Animal Attire

This cute little rhyme is from Negro Folk Rhymes by Thomas Talley. This is one of those fun animal lists! I didn't find it in Roud, so now I'm curious if I can find other versions of this elsewhere, maybe even a fuller version.

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ANIMAL ATTIRE

(photo by torange)

Dat Coon, he w'ar a undershirt;
Dat 'Possum w'ar a gown.
Br'er Rabbit, he w'ar a overcoat
Wid buttons up an' down.

Mistah Gobbler's got beads 'roun' 'is nec'.
Mistah Pattridge's got a collar, Hun!
Mistah Peacock, a fedder on his head!
But dese don't stop no gun.

October 10. Story of the Day: Hedley Kow

From More English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, illustrated by John Batten. This folktale has an entry at Wikipedia. A "kow" (also known as a wirrikow or worrycow) is not the dairy animal; this is a kind of mischievous elf or hobgoblin.

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THE HEDLEY KOW

There was once an old woman, who earned a poor living by going errands and suchlike, for the farmers' wives round about the village where she lived. It wasn't much she earned by it; but with a plate of meat at one house, and a cup of tea at another, she made shift to get on somehow, and always looked as cheerful as if she hadn't a want in the world.

Well, one summer evening as she was trotting away homewards, she came upon a big black pot lying at the side of the road.

'Now that,' said she, stopping to look at it, 'would be just the very thing for me if I had anything to put into it! But who can have left it here?' and she looked round about, as if the person it belonged to must be not far off. But she could see no one.

'Maybe it'll have a hole in it,' she said thoughtfully -- 'Ay, that'll be how they've left it lying, hinny. But then it'd do fine to put a flower in for the window; I'm thinking I'll just take it home, anyways.' And she bent her stiff old back, and lifted the lid to look inside.

'Mercy me!' she cried, and jumped back to the other side of the road; 'if it isn't brim full o' gold pieces!!'

For a while she could do nothing but walk round and round her treasure, admiring the yellow gold and wondering at her good luck, and saying to herself about every two minutes, 'Well, I do be feeling rich and grand!' But presently she began to think how she could best take it home with her; and she couldn't see any other way than by fastening one end of her shawl to it, and so dragging it after her along the road.

'It'll certainly be soon dark,' she said to herself, 'and folk'll not see what I'm bringing home with me, and so I'll have all the night to myself to think what I'll do with it. I could buy a grand house and all, and live like the Queen herself, and not do a stroke of work all day, but just sit by the fire with a cup of tea; or maybe I'll give it to the priest to keep for me, and get a piece as I'm wanting; or maybe I'll just bury it in a hole at the garden-foot, and put a bit on the chimney, between the chiney teapot and the spoons -- for ornament like. Ah! I feel so grand, I don't know myself rightly!'

And by this time being already rather tired with dragging such a heavy weight after her, she stopped to rest for a minute, turning to make sure that the treasure was safe.

But when she looked at it, it wasn't a pot of gold at all, but a great lump of shining silver!

She stared at it, and rubbed her eyes and stared at it again; but she couldn't make it look like anything but a great lump of silver. 'I'd have sworn it was a pot of gold,' she said at last, 'but I reckon I must have been dreaming. Ay, now, that's a change for the better; it'll be far less trouble to look after, and none so easy stolen; yon gold pieces would have been a sight of bother to keep 'em safe. Ay, I'm well quit of them; and with my bonny lump I'm as rich as rich -- !'

And she set off homewards again, cheerfully planning all the grand things she was going to do with her money. It wasn't very long, however, before she got tired again and stopped once more to rest for a minute or two.

Again she turned to look at her treasure, and as soon as she set eyes on it she cried out in astonishment. 'Oh, my!' said she; 'now it's a lump o' iron! Well, that beats all; and it's just real convenient! I can sell it as easy as easy, and get a lot o' penny pieces for it. Ay, hinny, an' it's much handier than a lot o' yer gold and silver as'd have kept me from sleeping o' nights thinking the neighbours were robbing me -- an' it's a real good thing to have by you in a house, ye niver can tell what ye mightn't use it for, an' it'll sell -- aye, for a real lot. Rich? I'll be just rolling!'

And on she trotted again chuckling to herself on her good luck, till presently she glanced over her shoulder, 'just to make sure it was there still', as she said to herself.

'Eh, my!' she cried as soon as she saw it; 'if it hasn't gone and turned itself into a great stone this time! Now, how could it have known that I was just terrible wanting something to hold my door open with? Ay, if that isn't a good change! Hinny, it's a fine thing to have such good luck.'

And, all in a hurry to see how the stone would look in its corner by her door, she trotted off down the hill, and stopped at the foot, beside her own little gate.

When she had unlatched it, she turned to unfasten her shawl from the stone, which this time seemed to lie unchanged and peaceably on the path beside her. There was still plenty of light, and she could see the stone quite plainly as she bent her stiff back over it, to untie the shawl end; when, all of a sudden, it seemed to give a jump and a squeal, and grew in a moment as big as a great horse; then it threw down four lanky legs, and shook out two long ears, flourished a tail, and went off kicking its feet into the air and laughing like a naughty mocking boy.

The old woman stared after it, till it was fairly out of sight.

'Well!' she said at last, 'I do be the luckiest body hereabouts! Fancy me seeing the Hedley Kow all to myself, and making so free with it, too! I can tell you, I do feel that GRAND --'

And she went into her cottage, and sat down by the fire to think over her good luck.

NOTES

SOURCE Told to Mrs Balfour by Mrs M. of S. Northumberland. Mrs M.'s mother told the tale as having happened to a person she had known when young: she had herself seen the Hedley Kow twice, once as a donkey and once as a wisp of straw. 'Kow' must not be confounded with the more prosaic animal with a 'C'.

PARALLELS There is a short reference to the Hedley Kow in Henderson, l.c., first edition, pp. 234 -- 5. Our story is shortly referred to thus: 'He would present himself to some old dame gathering sticks, in the form of a truss of straw, which she would be sure to take up and carry away. Then it would become so heavy that she would have to lay her burden down, on which the straw would become "quick", rise upright and shuffle away before her, till at last it vanished from her sight with a laugh and shout.' Some of Robin Goodfellow's pranks are similar to those of the Hedley Kow. The old woman's content with the changes is similar to that of 'Mr Vinegar'. An ascending scale of changes has been studied by Prof. Crane, Italian Popular Tales, p. 373.

October 8. Story of the Day: Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

This is a popular modern American folksong; the lyrics below are from Wikipedia.

It is cataloged as TMI Z49.14. The little old lady who swallowed a fly. See also Roud 9375.

I remember singing this song when I was little! Here is a version by Burl Ives:

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There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a spider;
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her!
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a bird;
How absurd to swallow a bird!
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider;
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her!
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a cat;
Imagine that! She swallowed a cat!
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider;
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her!
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady that swallowed a dog;
What a hog, to swallow a dog!
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider;
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her!
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a goat;
She just opened her throat and swallowed a goat!
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider;
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her!
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a cow;
I don't know how she swallowed a cow!
She swallowed the cow to catch the goat,
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider;
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her!
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a horse;
...She died, of course!

(book cover by Nadine Westcott)

September 21. Story of the Day: Budget

This little story comes from Negro Folk Rhymes by Thomas Talley. There is not much to the list in the form reported here, but it is clearly expandable to every season, every holiday, etc.

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A BUDGET

If I lives to see nex' Spring

I'se gwineter buy my wife a big gold ring.

If I lives to see nex' Fall,

I'se gwinter buy my wife a waterfall.

"When Christmas comes?" You cunnin' elf!

I'se gwineter spen' my money on myself.

(19th-century Santa)

September 10. Story of the Day: Farmer and His Dogs

This is from Aesop's Fables by V. S. Vernon Jones. Although it is not a chain tale, you will see that it features a very ominous series of animals who are eaten, one by one.

You can see more English versions of the fable here.

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THE FARMER AND HIS DOGS

(Osius Aesop)

A Farmer was snowed up in his farmstead by a severe storm, and was unable to go out and procure provisions for himself and his family.

So he first killed his sheep and used them for food.

Then, as the storm still continued, he killed his goats.

And, last of all, as the weather showed no signs of improving, he was compelled to kill his oxen and eat them.

When his Dogs saw the various animals being killed and eaten in turn, they said to one another, "We had better get out of this or we shall be the next to go!"

September 5. Story of the Day: Morning Sunrise

From West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair.

I do not have a tale type for this one, but it features a very elegant series of would-be husbands.

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MORNING SUNRISE

(photo by stormsignal)

A man in one of the villages had a very beautiful daughter. She was so lovely that people called her "Morning Sunrise." Every young man who saw her wanted to marry her. Three, in particular, were very anxious to have her for their wife. Her father found it difficult to decide among them. He determined to find out by a trick which of the three was most worthy of her.

He bade her lie down on her bed as if she were dead. He then sent the report of her death to each of the three lovers, asking them to come and help him with her funeral.

The messenger came first to "Wise Man." When he heard the message, he exclaimed, "What can this man mean? The girl is not my wife. I certainly will not pay any money for her funeral."

The messenger came next to the second man. His name was "Wit." The latter at once said, "Oh dear, no! I shall not pay any money for her funeral expenses. Her father did not even let me know she was ill." So he refused to go.

"Thinker," the third young man—when he received the message—at once got ready to start. "Certainly I must go and mourn for Morning Sunrise," said he. "Had she lived, surely she would have been my wife." So he took money with him and set out for her home.

When he reached it her father called out, "Morning Sunrise, Morning Sunrise. Come here. This is your true husband."

That very day the betrothal took place, and soon after the wedding followed. "Thinker" and his beautiful wife lived very happily together.

September 2. Story of the Day: The Hungry Elephant

This story comes from Indian Fables and Folklore by Shovona Devi. It is no a chain story, but it features a fun series of foodstuffs.

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THE HUNGRY ELEPHANT

The elephant is a sagacious beast, cautiously feeling his ground before putting his feet forward. There is reason enough for representing Ganesha, the Hindu God of Wisdom, with an elephant's head.

(Ganesha)

Here is a story from an old novel to show how an elephant can use both sense and strength:

Once a crafty old elephant named Futtehgurrh, the Fort-Winner, felt extremely hungry and, breaking loose from his shackles, wandered into a bazar stocked with grain. As soon as the grain-sellers saw him coming they shut up their shops and ran away. One had only time enough to put up the shutters before the elephant came and stood in front of his shop. 

“Ho there! I want some rice,” cried out the elephant. 

“No rice,” said a voice from within. 

“Flour then,” said the elephant. 

“No flour,” was the reply. 

“Ghee then,” said the elephant, again. 

“No ghee,” responded the shopkeeper. 

“Very well, molasses,” cried the elephant, angrily. 

“No molasses,” answered the shopkeeper with a hearty laugh, as if it were a good joke. 

“I’ll find out the truth for myself then,” said the elephant, with a snort. The angry animal butted at the shutters with its full force, and crash! They went to pieces in an instant, and the shopkeeper was discovered in the midst of plenty, tumbling affrighted over his baskets of grain, 

“Oh mercy! mercy ” he cried. “Here is rice ... flour ... ghee... and molasses, O good Futtehgurrh! Take what you will!” 

And Futtehgurrh had such a feast off them as he had never had before in his life.

September 1. Story of the Day: The Fingers

This is a fun rhyme from The songs and music of Friedrich Froebel's Mother play (Mutter und kose lieder), edited by Susan Blow. The words of the English version are by Laura E. Richards.

This little rhyme is an example of series-of-body-parts.

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NAMING THE FINGERS

This is little Tommy Thumb,
Round and smooth as any plum.

This is busy Peter Pointer ;
Surely he's a double- jointer.

This is mighty Toby Tall ;
He's the biggest one of all.

This is dainty Reuben Ring;
He's too fine for anything.

And this little wee one, maybe,
Is the pretty Finger-baby.

All the five we've counted now.
Busy fingers in a row.
Every finger knows the way
How to work and how to play;
Yet together work they best.
Each one helping all the rest.

(illustration from the book)

August 27. Story of the Day: God Made Man.

This is a little rhyme about God's creation that I found in English Folk-Rhymes by G. F. Northall.

This is Roud 11065.

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GOD MADE MAN

God made man, man made money;
God made bees, the bees made honey:

God made a little man to plough and to sow,
God made a boy to keep away the crow;

God made a woman to brew and bake;
God made a little maid to eat a plum cake.

(plum cake)

August 7. Story of the Day: Timbuctoo

This is a chain-game, rather than a story, and it comes from Games, Riddles, and Rhymes by A. L. Hately.

These types of games do not have an ATU tale type, but you can see that they follow the cumulative pattern. For a similar type of memory game, with information about the kinds of "forfeits" people might demand, see The Gaping, Wide-mouthed, Waddling Frog.

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THE CITY OF TIMBUCTOO 

(caravan en route to Timbuktu)

All the players arrange themselves in a row seated except one who represents a Traveller from the great African city of Timbuctoo and, taking a stick in his hand, goes from player to player saying the following words. These must be accurately repeated by each person. Whoever laughs while repeating them or makes a mistake pays a forfeit.

The Traveller begins with the first player. He says In the city of Timbuctoo.

The first person in the row repeats these words and the Traveller then goes to the second the third the fourth and so on until everybody has had his or her turn.

He then begins at the head of the row again: In the city of Timbuctoo I saw a street.

The third time he says: In the city of Timbuctoo I saw a street and in that street I saw a house. These words have to be repeated by every player in the same manner as before and forfeits are to be strictly exacted.

The game may be continued as long as the Traveller chooses and of course with each addition to the sentence he makes up, it gets more difficult as the players forget the proper words.

Perhaps the following sentence will be found long enough:

In the city of Timbuctoo.

In the city of Timbuctoo I saw a street.

In the city of Timbuctoo I saw a street and in that street I saw a house.

In the city of Timbuctoo I saw a street and in that street I saw a house and in that house I saw a chamber.

In the city of Timbuctoo I saw a street and in that street I saw a house and in that house I saw a chamber and in that chamber I saw a gold and silver bird cage.

In the city of Timbuctoo I saw a street and in that street I saw a house and in that house I saw a chamber and in that chamber I saw a gold and silver bird cage and in that gold and silver birdcage I saw a magnificent purple and yellow Bengal cockatoo.

In the city of Timbuctoo I saw a street and in that street I saw a house and in that house I saw a chamber and in that chamber I saw a gold and silver bird cage and in that gold and silver birdcage I saw a magnificent purple and yellow Bengal cockatoo and in the beak of that magnificent purple and yellow Bengal cockatoo I saw a ring made of emeralds, pearls, diamonds, and rubies.

August 4. Story of the Day: A Flower-Maiden

This is a story from India, specifically from the region of Assam in northeast India; it comes from Folk Tales of Assam by Jnanadabhiram Borooah.

I don't have a tale type for this story, but there are similar stories that offer a chain of blame. This particular chain goes through a whole series of interconnected characters until it ends with... a frog.

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FLOWER-MAIDEN AND FLOWER PLANT

(woman in Puducherry)

Once upon a time there was a malinee or flower-maiden (gardener), and she planted a flower-plant with great care. Though she used to look after it with great care, yet it would not flower. She, therefore, asked it one day, "Plant, Plant, why do you not flower?"

The plant replied, "If I am to flower, why then does the cow eat my forepart?"

The malinee thereupon approached the cow and asked, "Cow, Cow, why is it that you eat the forepart of the plant?"

Cow: "Why doesn't the cowherd look after me, and why should not I then eat?"

Malinee: "Cowherd, Cowherd, why don't you mind the cow!"

Cowherd: "The cook does not give me rice; why should I then mind the cow?"

Malinee: "Cook, Cook, why do you not give rice?"

Cook: "Why does not the faggot-seller give faggots? How else could I give rice?"

Malinee: "Faggot-seller, Faggot-seller, why don't you give faggots?"

Faggot-seller: "The blacksmith does not give me an axe; how could I then give?"

Malinee: "Blacksmith, Blacksmith, why do you not give an axe?"

Blacksmith: "The cinders-seller does not give me any cinders; how could I give an axe?"

Malinee: "Cinders-seller, Cinders-seller, why do you not give cinders?"

Cinders-seller: "If I am to give cinders, why does the cloud shower rain?"

Malinee: "Cloud, Cloud, why do you shower rain?"

Cloud: "Why does then the frog croak?"

Malinee: "Frog, Frog, why do you croak?"

Frog: "Why should I give up the practice of my ancestors?"

July 30. Story of the Day: Kasanke the Little Red Bird

I'm back from a week at the InstructureCon conference; if any of you out there are CanvasLMS users (my school is!), I've got an open Canvas course with these chain tales here: StoryLab. And now that all the InstCon excitement is over, here is a new story of the day: this one comes from The King of the Snakes and other Folklore Stories from Uganda by Rosetta Baskerville (Mrs. George Baskerville).

I do not have a tale type for this story, but you will see it features a series of animal helpers (antelope, buffalo, elephant, kasanke), only one of whom succeeds in the end: kasanke, the little red bird. I've tried to find out just what species of bird this is, but I have not had any luck; if anyone has any clues about that, let me know!

Looking for more stories? Click here for previous Stories-of-the-Day.

THE STORY OF KASANKE THE LITTLE RED BIRD

Once upon a time a lioness and a cow were great friends, and they lived together in a house which they built for themselves. The lioness had a cub and the cow had a calf, and these two grew up together and played together every day. The lion cub was a gentle, well-mannered little creature, but the calf was a disobedient, unruly child, and gave great trouble to his mother.

Near the house was a well of fresh water, clear and sweet, and every day the calf played near the well and stirred up the mud, and every day he was punished for doing so. One day the gentle lion cub tried to stop him, and this made him so angry that he pushed the cub into the well and he was drowned. When the calf saw what he had done he was frightened, and ran to find his mother and tell her about it.

The cow was very frightened, too, and she said: "We must both run away, for the lioness will kill us."

So they ran to an antelope who lived near by, and the antelope said: "I will protect you. Am I afraid of a lioness? If she comes here I will drive her away with my horns."

When the lioness got home she found the house empty and no one in the garden, so, as she was very tired, she went to the well to drink, and there she found the body of her cub. Then she understood that the cow and the calf had run away because they were afraid, and she was very angry and determined to find them and kill them.

(lioness)

First she went to the antelope's house roaring all the way, and when the antelope heard her she forgot her horns and said to the cow: "Run away; if the lioness finds you here she will kill us all."

So the cow and her calf ran on, and they came to the buffalo's house. "I will defend you," said the buffalo. "If the lioness comes here I will trample her with my hoofs."

The lioness came along the road roaring with rage, and when the buffalo heard her he forgot his hoofs and said to the cow: "Run away quickly; if the lioness finds you here she will kill us all."

Then the cow and her calf ran on and came to the elephant's house, and the elephant said: "I will protect you. Am I afraid of a lioness? I will wind my trunk round her and throw her up in the air, and all her bones will break."

But when he heard the lioness coming nearer and nearer, he swayed from side to side, first on one foot and then on the other, and he got so frightened that his trunk rolled up in a big curl, and he said to the cow: "Run away; if the lioness finds you here she will kill us."

The poor cow was exhausted, and she ran a little way and then fell down by the roadside. Just then Kasanke the Little Red Bird came by and pitied the poor tired cow, and the cow told her the story.

They could hear the lioness roaring in the distance, every moment coming nearer and nearer, but Kasanke was not afraid; she told the cow to hide in the bushes near the road, and she flew quickly to a banana garden and picked a large seed-pod which was dark red and shaped like a heart. Then she brought a bowl and milked the cow, and into the milk she squeezed some red juice till it looked like a bowl of blood.

By this time the lioness was very near, and Kasanke flew to meet her. "Why are you making such a noise?" she asked.

"Cheeky bird," said the lioness, "I will eat you!"

Kasanke pounced down on the head of the lioness and pecked her eye. The lioness roared with pain and beat the air with her paws, and Kasanke pecked the other eye, and then she threw the bowl of milk over the lioness and the seed-pod at her feet and said: "Look, I have killed you; your heart has fallen out and you will bleed to death!"

The lioness could not see very well, for her eyes hurt so much, but she was very frightened and ran away and did not stop till she reached her home.

Then the cow thanked Kasanke the Little Red Bird and said: "For ever and ever the cows will love you, and you may come in and out of the kraals as you like. Every kraal shall be your home."

And now, all through the country of Uganda, when the cows come into the kraal in the evening to be milked, Kasanke the Little Red Bird follows them, and the cowherds always pour a little milk on the ground before they fill the pails, and the cows turn their heads to see them do it, and are glad, for they know that the milk is for Kasanke the Little Red Bird, who had more courage than all the big animals when the lioness wanted to kill the cow many long years ago.

July 23. Story of the Day: Hare with Many Friends

This is from Joseph Jacobs' Aesop's Fables. This is a prose retelling of the poem by John Gay; I've included John Gay's poem below too.

Because this is not part of the traditional Greek or Latin Aesopic tradition, it does not have a Perry classification number, and I do not know if it has an ATU tale type number or not. In any case, it has a chain of animals as you will see: horse - bull - goat - ram - calf. The question of who your real friends are has been around since long before Facebook!

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THE HARE WITH MANY FRIENDS

(illustration by S. Howitt)

A Hare was very popular with the other beasts who all claimed to be her friends. But one day she heard the hounds approaching and hoped to escape them by the aid of her many Friends.

So, she went to the horse, and asked him to carry her away from the hounds on his back. But he declined, stating that he had important work to do for his master. He felt sure, he said, that all her other friends would come to her assistance.

She then applied to the bull, and hoped that he would repel the hounds with his horns. The bull replied: "I am very sorry, but I have an appointment with a lady; but I feel sure that our friend the goat will do what you want."

The goat, however, feared that his back might do her some harm if he took her upon it. The ram, he felt sure, was the proper friend to apply to.

So she went to the ram and told him the case. The ram replied: "Another time, my dear friend. I do not like to interfere on the present occasion, as hounds have been known to eat sheep as well as hares."

The Hare then applied, as a last hope, to the calf, who regretted that he was unable to help her, as he did not like to take the responsibility upon himself, as so many older persons than himself had declined the task.

By this time the hounds were quite near, and the Hare took to her heels and luckily escaped.

He that has many friends, has no friends.

HARE AND MANY FRIENDS

Friendship, as love, is but a name,
Save in a concentrated flame;
And thus, in friendships, who depend
On more than one, find not one friend.

A hare who, in a civil way,
Was not dissimilar to GAY,
Was well known never to offend,
And every creature was her friend.
As was her wont, at early dawn,
She issued to the dewy lawn;
When, from the wood and empty lair,
The cry of hounds fell on her ear.
She started at the frightful sounds,
And doubled to mislead the hounds;
Till, fainting with her beating heart,
She saw the horse, who fed apart.
'My friend, the hounds are on my track;
Oh, let me refuge on your back! '

The horse responded: 'Honest Puss,
It grieves me much to see you thus.
Be comforted-relief is near;
Behold, the bull is in the rear.'

Then she implored the stately bull,
His answer we relate in full:
'Madam, each beast alive can tell
How very much I wish you well;
But business presses in a heap,
I an appointment have to keep;
And now a lady's in the case,-
When other things, you know, give place.
Behold the goat is just behind;
Trust, trust you'll not think me unkind.'

The goat declared his rocky lairs
Wholly unsuited were to hares.
'There is the sheep,' he said, 'with fleece.
Adapted, now, to your release.'

The sheep replied that she was sure
Her weight was too great to endure;
'Besides,' she said, 'hounds worry sheep.'

Next was a calf, safe in a keep:
'Oh, help me, bull-calf-lend me aid! '

'My youth and inexperience weighed,'
Replied the bull-calf, 'though I rue it,
Make me incompetent to do it;
My friends might take offence. My heart-
You know my heart, my friend-we part,
I do assure you-Hark! adieu!
The pack, in full cry, is in view.'

July 22. Story of the Day: A Monkey

This story is from Philippine Folk Tales by Mabel Cook Cole. The author notes that this story comes from the Ilocano people; you can find out more at Wikipedia.

Note that this story is very similar to the Indian story of the monkey with the tom-tom drum, but with quite a different ending!

This type of story is classified as ATU 2034C. Lending and Repaying.

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THE STORY OF A MONKEY

(macaque monkey)

One day when a monkey was climbing a tree in the forest in which he lived, he ran a thorn into his tail. Try as he would, he could not get it out, so he went to a barber in the town and said, "Friend barber, I have a thorn in the end of my tail. Pull it out, and I will pay you well."

The barber tried to pull out the thorn with his razor, but in doing so he cut off the end of the tail.

The monkey was very angry and cried, "Barber, barber, give me back my tail, or give me your razor!"

The barber could not put back the end of the monkey's tail, so he gave him his razor.

On the way home the monkey met an old woman who was cutting wood for fuel, and he said to her, "Grandmother, grandmother, that is very hard. Use this razor and then it will cut easily."

The old woman was very pleased with the offer and began to cut with the razor, but before she had used it long it broke.

Then the monkey cried, "Grandmother, grandmother, you have broken my razor! You must get a new one for me or else give me all the firewood."

The old woman could not get a new razor, so she gave him the firewood.

The monkey took the wood and was going back to town to sell it, when he saw a woman sitting beside the road making cakes.

"Grandmother, grandmother," said he, "your wood is most gone. Take this of mine and bake more cakes."

The woman took the wood and thanked him for his kindness, but when the last stick was burned, the monkey cried out, "Grandmother, grandmother, you have burned up all my wood! Now you must give me all your cakes to pay for it."

The old woman could not cut more dry wood at once, so she gave him all the cakes. The monkey took the cakes and the town, but on the way he met a dog which bit him so that he died.

And the dog ate all the cakes.

July 15. Story of the Day: What Can I Do? (The Peacock's Story)

Here is another original story by Prof. Smita Pawaskar (more of her contributions here), and it features a long series of animals, but this time it is a series of wild animals, seen through the eyes of a peacock: flying birds, songbirds, squirrel, mice, tortoise, ducks, and a crane. The plot might remind you of Aesop's fable about the jealous peacock, with a dose of Andersen's ugly duckling.  The ending of the story is very sweet!

Looking for more stories? Click here for previous Stories-of-the-Day.

WHAT CAN I DO?

by Smita Pawaskar

(translated by Suniti Namjoshi)

Around a small pond near the outskirts of a town a number of birds and beasts lived happily together. One day a young peacock came through the bushes. They had never seen a peacock before, but as he had two feet, wings and a beak the other birds assumed that he must be like them. They gave him some of the grain they had gathered for themselves. He must have come a long way because he gobbled it up hungrily, and then he perched on a low branch and fell asleep.

The next day when he went for a walk he saw a number of birds flying about in the sky. He said to himself ruefully, ‘The most I can do is hop onto a low branch. What fun the birds are having!’ 

Then he heard birdsong. He cleared his throat and tried to sing, but it was no use. ‘How wonderful to be able to sing like that,’ he thought.

A little further on the peacock saw a squirrel scamper up a tree and down again. She picked up a fruit in her front paws and began eating it. The peacock was charmed, ‘It must be great to be squirrel. She can do ever so many things!’ He tried to imitate her, but it was beyond him.

Next he saw two mice running in and out of mouse holes and playing catch. He wished he could play the way they were playing, but he knew that he would never fit into a mouse hole.

Then he saw a tortoise. As soon as the tortoise saw him, it pulled in its head and feet and hid under its shell. The peacock thought this was quite a trick. He tried to tuck his long neck under his body, but he just couldn’t do it.

As he got nearer the pond he saw some ducks. They kept going into the water and coming out again onto the mud. The peacock put one foot into the mud and promptly withdrew it. He was afraid of getting stuck. He couldn’t help thinking though that the ducks were having a splendid time.

At the side of the pond there was a crane standing absolutely still on one foot. He looked like a sage meditating; but as soon as he caught sight of a fish, he would spear it with his beak and eat it up. The peacock tried standing on one foot and tumbled over. As for the fish, they were nowhere in sight. The peacock said to himself sadly, ‘And I don’t even eat fish! All I eat is grain and insects.’

The peacock returned to his tree. As the days passed, his crest grew and his tail feathers filled out. The peacock didn’t know what he was supposed to do with all these feathers. 

(photo by Suniti Namjoshi)

But then one evening dark rain clouds began to mass in the sky. The sunlight could barely filter through. There was a tremendous thunderclap and a flash of lightning. And an astonishing thing happened. It was as though the lightning had somehow sparked something in the peacock. His whole body trembled, even his tail feathers, and as they trembled he fanned them out and his feet began to dance. He danced and he danced as he gazed at the sky. 

The birds and the beasts gathered about and watched the peacock’s unearthly dance. They loved the way his neck glittered when the lightning blazed, the grace of his movements, the spread of his tail, and were altogether enchanted by his magnificence. They gazed at the iridescent blues and greens and purples of his plumage, his jewelled feathers, and thought he was a splendid fellow. And still the peacock danced. He danced and danced till he was exhausted. And that night his sleep was peaceful and untroubled.