The Princess and the Crow
A Tale from the Black Sea Retold by Laura Simms ©2001. Once upon a time there were three princesses who were sisters. They set out on a journey to see their entire kingdom. They enjoyed the beautiful cities and rich mountain villages of their country. Everywhere they went they feasted and slept on silken sheets. …
How Night Came Into Being
A Hindu Tale told by D.M. Kartha ©2001. Sent by Cristy West. Once upon a time only a twin brother and sister lived upon the earth. Their names were Yama and Yami and they loved each other dearly. They roamed the earth enjoying its smells and tastes, it sounds and sights, the touches of the …
How Squirrel Got Its Stripes
Retold by Laura Simms ©2001. A Tale from the Ramayana, the ancient Hindu epic poem of India, which narrates the struggle of the divine prince Sri Rama to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. “Each serves according to their strength” Long ago in ancient India a ten-headed monster called Ravana the Rakshasa …
How to Create Stories for Children who Are Having Fears and Nightmares
by Nancy Mellon, September 21, 2001. Soon after the recent events in New York City, I received from a mother the following story. The previous morning her six-year old child had told her a dream: “I was on a ship and it crashed. There were a lot of skeletons around and then some people came …
How to Create Stories for Children who Are Having Fears and Nightmares
How God Chose The Site For The Temple of Jerusalem
An Adaptation of a Talmudic Legend Offered by Rinah and Leon Sheleff of Israel ©2001. Four thousand years ago, two brothers lived near each other on a hill by Jerusalem. They each had their own farm, but they shared a threshing floor. Every year they would bring in the harvest and divide it equally between …
Portrait of Peace
Offered by Linda Spitzer ©2001. There was once a king who offered a prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all of the pictures. After much deliberation he was down to the last two. He had to choose between them. One picture was …
The Golden Squash
A Tale from Tibet, adapted by Laura Simms ©2001. Two old men lived near each other high up among the mountains in a small village. Each owned a small garden. One old man was very generous and thoughtful. He never thought about doing things that were kind, it was just his nature. The other old …
In The Beginning
A Cherokee Tale by storyteller Gayle Ross. Retold by Olive Hackett-Shaughnessy. This is what the elders told me when I was a child. In the beginning, everything was water. There was nothing but a great ocean. Then Water Beetle dove to the bottom of the sea and brought up a handful of mud, which grew …
The Mice and the Elephant
A Tale from India Adapted by Laura Simms ©2001. Once upon a time there was a colony of mice who feared the elephants. Whenever the elephants walked through the mice’s land with their enormous feet many mice were harmed. One day, the mouse king went to the King of the Elephants and said, “If you …
The Red Fish
A Tale from Turkey Adapted by Laura Simms ©2001. A kind fisherman once caught a bright shining red fish. It was so lovely, he took pity on it and instead of cooking it or selling it, he decided to take the fish home as a pet. He dug a hole in the floor of his …