FINAL STORIES

TRICKSTER TALE
The Wolf tricks the Trickster

~A Shoshone Legend~

The Shoshone people saw the Wolf as a creator God and they respected him greatly. Long ago, Wolf and many other
animals, walked and talked like man.

Coyote could talk, too, but the Shoshone people kept far away from him because he was a Trickster, somebody who
is always up to no good and out to double-cross you.

Coyote resented Wolf because he was respected by the Shoshone people. Being a devious Trickster, Coyote decided
it was time to teach Wolf a lesson.

He would make the Shoshone people dislike Wolf, and he had the perfect plan. Or so he thought.

One day, Wolf and Coyote were discussing the people of the land. Wolf claimed that if somebody were to die, he
could bring them back to life by shooting an arrow under them. Coyote had heard this boast before and decided to
put his plan into action.

Wearing his most innocent smile he told Wolf that if he brought everyone back to life, there would soon be no room
left on Earth. Once people die, said Coyote, they should remain dead.

If Wolf takes my advice, thought Coyote, then the Shoshone people would hate Wolf, once and for all.

Wolf was getting tired of Coyote constantly questioning his wisdom and knew he was up to no good, but he didn't
say anything. He just nodded wisely and decided it was time to teach Coyote a lesson.

A few days after their conversation, Coyote came running to Wolf. Coyote's fur was ruffled and his eyes were wide
with panic.

Wolf already knew what was wrong: Coyote's son had been bitten by Rattlesnake and no animal can survive the
snake's powerful venom.

Coyote pleaded with Wolf to bring his son back to life by shooting an arrow under him, as he claimed he could do.

Wolf reminded Coyote of his own remark that people should remain dead. He was no longer going to bring people
back to life, as Coyote had suggested.

The Shoshone people say that was the day Death came to the land and that, as a punishment for his mischievous
ways, Coyote's son was the first todie.
No one else was ever raised from the dead by Wolf again, and the people came to know sadness when someone dies.
Despite Coyote's efforts, however, the Shoshone didn't hate Wolf. Instead, they admired his strength, wisdom and
power, and they still do today.

FABLE

The Lion and the Mouse (fable)

Aesop fable retold by Oban

A Lion was sleeping peacefully when he was woken by something running up and down his back and
over his face.

Pretending to be still asleep, the Lion slowly opened one eye and saw that it was a little mouse.

With lightning speed the Lion reached out and caught the little mouse in one of his large paws. He
dangled it by its tail and roared, Im the King of Beasts! Youll pay with your life for showing me such
disrespect.

The Lion held the little mouse over his huge open jaws and prepared to swallow it.

Please, please dont eat me, Mr King of Beasts, Sir, squeaked the mouse. If you forgive me this time
and let me go Ill never, never forget it.

I may be able to do you a good turn in the future to repay your kindness, it squeaked.

You, do me a favour! roared the Lion with laughter. That is the funniest thing Ive ever heard.

Still laughing, the Lion put the mouse down on the ground and said; Youve made me laugh so much I
cant eat you now. Go on, off you go before I change my mind.

The little mouse scurried away as fast as its little legs could go.

Not long after this the Lion was caught in a trap by some hunters. They tied him to a tree with rope while
they went to get their wagon.

The little mouse was nearby and came when he heard the mighty Lions roar for help.

The mouse gnawed the rope with his sharp teeth and set the Lion free.

I know you didnt believe me, but I told you I could help you one day, squeaked the little mouse. Even
a little mouse like me can help someone as big and strong as you.

Thank you my little friend. I wont forget that lesson, said the Lion as he ran away before the hunters
returned.
 The End

PARABLE

The Boy Who Cried Wolf (parable)

There once was a shepherd boy who was bored as he sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. To
amuse himself he took a great breath and sang out, "Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!"

The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away. But when they arrived at the
top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy laughed at the sight of their angry faces.

"Don't cry 'wolf', shepherd boy," said the villagers, "when there's no wolf!" They went grumbling back
down the hill.

Later, the boy sang out again, "Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!" To his naughty delight, he
watched the villagers run up the hill to help him drive the wolf away.

When the villagers saw no wolf they sternly said, "Save your frightened song for when there is really
something wrong! Don't cry 'wolf' when there is NO wolf!"

But the boy just grinned and watched them go grumbling down the hill once more.

Later, he saw a REAL wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet and sang out as
loudly as he could, "Wolf! Wolf!"

But the villagers thought he was trying to fool them again, and so they didn't come.

At sunset, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn't returned to the village with their sheep. They
went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping.

"There really was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, "Wolf!" Why didn't you come?"

An old man tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village.

"We'll help you look for the lost sheep in the morning," he said, putting his arm around the youth,
"Nobody believes a liar...even when he is telling the truth!"
FAIRYTALE (pili nala Darls)

The Goblin Treasure (A Korean Folktale)

Once upon a time, there were two brothers who were very different. The older brother

was spoiled and lazy, but Chun, the younger brother, worked day and night as a

woodcutter. Chun woke every morning at the crack of dawn to go to the forest to cut and

gather wood, and he shared all his earnings with his mother and father as well as his

brother and his brother's wife. He never complained.

One day in the woods, Chun was tired, and he lay down to rest beneath an oak tree. An

acorn fell to the ground beside him, and then another and another.

"I'll take these to my mother and father and to my brother and my brother's wife," he

said. He put the acorns in his pocket and started back home.

Suddenly, darkness fell, and Chun was lost. He heard the call of the cuckoo bird, and he

began to walk in circles, shivering with cold and fear. After he had walked for many

hours, he came to a house. Relieved to find shelter from the nighttime chill, he knocked

upon the door. When no one answered, he tried the handle, and he was pleased when

the door opened. Once inside, he relaxed, but too quickly he heard voices in the

doorway.

Fearful, he hid inside a closet, leaving the door open only a crack so he could see who

lived here.

When he saw a gang of goblins walk through the door, he was horrified. Each one

carried a club, and Chun stared as the goblins gathered in a circle. He held his breath so
they would not hear him, and soon they began to pound their clubs upon the wooden

floor: thump, thump, thump.

To Chun's surprise, they began to chant, "Make gold, make gold, make gold," and as they

chanted and pounded those clubs, a mountain of gold appeared in the center of the

circle.

Chun could not believe his eyes!

He watched as they continued to pound those clubs, and he listened as they changed

their chant.

"Make silver, make silver, make silver," the goblins said, and sure enough, a pile of silver

appeared.

Chun began to fear the goblins might discover him -- and he was terrified of what they

might do if they knew he had seen their magic.

Next they chanted, "Make rubies, make rubies, make rubies," and a mound of rubies

appeared. They went on to ask for copper and diamonds and emeralds.

But suddenly Chun's stomach began to rumble with hunger.

The goblins stopped pounding their clubs and looked around. "What was that sound?"

one of them asked.

Another said, "That must be thunder ... we must be careful."

But Chun's stomach would not stop grumbling, and he knew he must find some way to

quiet it. He felt the acorns in his pocket, and as quietly as he could, he took one out and

put it in his mouth.

But to his horror, when he bit down, he heard a thunderous crack.

"Get out!" the goblins cried, leaping to their feet. "The roof will fall down upon us if we

don't escape!"

Chun's heart was thumping with fear, but he did not move an inch as the goblins fled out

the door and disappeared. All night long he stayed right where he was, fearful they

would return and find him.

But at dawn, he tiptoed out of the closet, and looked at the treasure all around him. As

quickly and as carefully as he could, he filled his sack with as many riches as he could

and raced to the door. There he saw a goblin's club left behind, and he took that too!

He raced home as fast as he could. Back home he built a beautiful big house, and he

moved his parents into the mansion. Whenever they needed money, he simply thumped

his club upon the ground and chanted, "Make gold, make gold, make gold," and

whatever he asked for then appeared.

When his brother saw Chun's fortune, he was terribly jealous, and he demanded to know

how his brother had made his fortune.

Chun loved his big brother, and so he told him the story with every tiny detail. But his

brother was so busy thinking of how rich he might become that he did not listen

carefully.

That night Chun's brother walked into the hills, chopped firewood, and then, just as his

brother had, he sat down beside an oak tree. When he heard an acorn fall, he picked it

up, just as Chun had. But instead of thinking of his parents and his wife and his brother,

he thought only of himself. "I love acorns," he said. "These will make me very happy."

When his pockets were full, he walked in search of the house Chun had described. When

he found it, he waited until it was dark and he heard the cuckoo's call. Then he walked

inside the house and hid in the closet.

Just as Chun had explained, the goblins soon entered and began to pound their clubs

and chant, "Make gold, make gold."

But the older brother was so excited that he couldn't wait to scare the goblins away. He

put an acorn in his mouth and bit down hard. Then he heard the loud CRACK and

waited for the goblins to flee.

He peeked out of the closet after a while, but the goblins were standing there, waiting for

him. "You greedy fool," they cried. "You are a thief!" And they began to beat him with

their clubs.
Before long, Chun's brother was flat, long and skinny and stretched as thin as a pole.

When the goblins were finished with him, they let him go, and he staggered back home

with no treasure, no acorns and no club. He didn't have so much as a stick of wood.

When Chun saw him, he shook his head, and his brother wept. "I have learned my

lesson," he said softly.

But no one was quite sure if knew that by putting himself above others, he paid a painful

price for his greediness.

The Princess and the Goblin

Eight-year-old Princess Irene lives a lonely life in a castle in a wild, desolate,

mountainous kingdom, with only her nursemaid, Lootie, for company. Her father, the
king, is normally absent, and her mother is dead. Unknown to her, the nearby mines are
inhabited by a race of goblins, long banished from the kingdom and now anxious to take
revenge on their human neighbors. One rainy day, the princess explores the castle and
discovers a beautiful, mysterious lady, who identifies herself as Irene's namesake and
great-great-grandmother. The next day, Princess Irene persuades her nursemaid to take
her outside. After dark they are chased by goblins and rescued by the young miner,
Curdie, whom Irene befriends. At work with the rest of the miners, Curdie overhears the
goblins talking, and their conversation reveals to Curdie the secret weakness of goblin
anatomy: they have very soft, vulnerable feet. Curdie sneaks into the Great Hall of the
goblin palace to eavesdrop on their general meeting, and hears that the goblins intend
to flood the mine if a certain other part of their plan should fail. He later conveys this
news to his father. In the palace, Princess Irene injures her hand, which her great-great-
grandmother heals. A week later Irene is about to see her great-great-grandmother
again, but is frightened by a long-legged cat and escapes up the mountain; whereupon
the light from her great-great-grandmother's tower leads her home, where her great-
great-grandmother gives Irene a ring attached to a thread invisible except to herself,
which thereafter connects her constantly to home.
When Curdie explores the goblins' domain, he is discovered by the goblins and stamps
on their feet with great success; but when he tries to stamp on the Queen's feet she is
uninjured due to her stone shoes. The goblins imprison Curdie, thinking he will die of
starvation; but Irene's magic thread leads her to his rescue, and Curdie steals one of the
goblin queen's stone shoes. Irene takes Curdie to see her great-great-grandmother and
be introduced; but she is only visible to Irene. Curdie later learns that the goblins are
digging a tunnel in the mines towards the king's palace, where they plan to abduct the
Princess and marry her to goblin prince Harelip. Curdie warns the palace guards about
this, but is imprisoned instead and contracts a fever through a wound in his leg, until
Irene's great-great-grandmother heals the wound. Meanwhile, the goblins break through
the palace floor and come to abduct the princess; but Curdie escapes from his prison
room and stamps on the goblins' feet. Upon the goblins' retreat, Irene is believed a
captive; but Curdie follows the magic thread to her refuge at his own house, and
restores her to the king. When the goblins flood the mines, the water enters the palace,
and Curdie warns the others; but the goblins are drowned. The king asks him to serve
as a bodyguard; but Curdie refuses, saying he cannot leave his mother and father, and
instead accepts a new red petticoat for his mother, as a reward.