Urashima Taro (Japan)
The Legend of Urashima Taro is one of Japan's most famous fairy tales. It is a story of a fisherman who is rewarded with a trip to the undersea kingdom of the Dragon King after he saves a turtle from the hands of some cruel children. The tale serves as a moral for not breaking promises.
Links
The Legend of Maria Makiling (Philippines)
My mother introduced me to the story of Maria Makiling, a Filipina goddess or fairy who walked the earth and later transformed into Mt. Makiling. I have heard several different versions of this story, including one by Philippine national hero Jose Rizal.
Links
The Legend of Fa Mulan (China)
The legend of Fa Mulan dates back to the 5th or 6th Century. While Europe was constructing stories of damsels in distress, the people of China were telling the story of a young woman who took destiny into her own hands by disguising herself as a man and who fought for 12 years rising to the ranks of general.
Links
Maui the Trickster (Polynesia)
The tales of Maui is known throughout Polynesia. In fact, one of the Hawaiian islands is named after this trickster hero. Maui is best known to have fished the islands that make up Polynesia out of the ocean, slowed down the sun to make the day last longer and bring fire from the underworld.
Links
Persephone and Demeter (Greece)
I've always loved this Greek myth about how the seasons came to be. It's the story of Persephone, the harvest goddess' daughter, being kidnapped by Hades, the god of the underworld. Although Zeus orders Hades to return her to Demeter, Persephone had eaten a pomegranite while in the underworld and was bound by godly law to stay with Hades a month for each seed eaten. The rest of the months, she is allowed to return to her mother. So, when she is with Demter, the world is warm and the flowers bloom, but when she is in the underworld, the world is cold and snowy.
Links
Paul Bunyan (USA)
Having lived a couple years as a child in Minnesota, one could not escape the tales of the giant lumberjack who owned a giant blue ox. No one knows where Paul Bunyan came from other than having floated across the ocean to a small Maine town. Paul became legend and tales of his feats became taller and taller. There are tales of him responsible for several incredible things. He dug the Great Lakes as a drinking hole for his ox Babe; Minnesota's lakes were the result of snow melting into his footprints; he created the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains while digging the Mississippi River and cleared all the cottonwood trees in Kansas so they could plant wheat.
Links
The Daughter of the Sun and the Moon (Mbundu)
This Sleeping Beauty tale comes from the Mbundu people in Africa. The son of the Earth falls in love with the daughter of the Sun and the Moon. The Earth son employs the help of a frog named Mainu who travelled to the heavens to represent the young prince. The Sun and Moon are hesitant to wed their daughter to the son of the Earth, so Mainu used magic to make the princess fall into a deep sleep and tells them that the only way the spell can be broken is for the prince and the princess to be wed. The Sun and Moon agree and the prince and princess live happily ever after.
Links
The Burnt-Face Girl (Micmac)
Cinderella stories have been known in many cultures throughout the world, but this story from the Micmac is especially endearing. Oochigieskw' (burnt-faced girl) is tormented by her two sisters and is forced to be their servant. The two sisters go to an island in the middle of the lake. It is on this island that lives an invisible warrior and his sister. Legend has it that the maiden who could see the Invisible One would be the one to wed him. When they return with no luck, Oochigieskw' goes to the island to try her luck. And lo and behold, she sees him with great clarity, the two are wed and live happily ever after.
Links
Ramayana (Indian)
The Ramayana is one of the central and well known epics in South to Southeast Asia and dates back to the first century BC. The epic revolves around Rama, an earthly prince said to the seventh avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, who preserves life as we know it. Rama was banished to the jungle and his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana followed. Sita is kidnapped by Ravana, king of the demon Rakashas and ruler of Sri Lanka, so Rama enlists the assistance of the monkey king Sugriva and his general Hanuman to fight against the demons. In the end, Rama prevails and is able to return home in full glory.
Links
Aladdin (Middle East)
Of all the stories in 1,001 Arabian Nights, I like Aladdin the most. I think its because its both magical and uplifting. The story revolves around a poor boy named Aladdin who is tricked by an evil wizard pretending to be his uncle. The old man tells Aladdin to go into a deep, dark underground cave to fetch a lamp. While Aladdin find the lamp, it is mistaken for another and the wizard takes the wrong lamp. In the meantime, Aladdin, in cleaning the correct lamp for sale, unleashes the genie. The wizard tries to reclaim the lamp, but in the end, Aladdin gets the lamp, the genie and the princess.
Links