The Dumpling Master & Other Modern Folk Tales

By Salem Williams

Laughter, cantankerous mountain folks, nasal infatuation, home-cooking, 'real' family, life-lessons and childhood dreams come true, are what The Dumpling Master & Other Modern Folk Tales is all about. With tongue-in-cheek humor reminiscent of Mark Twain, Salem Williams takes you on a journey of colorful avenues, memory lanes and just plain fun. "It's like going home, but not having to live there!"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Yvonne Harbin - Publishing
• Release date: Apr 18, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301693177

Salem Williams

Salem Williams, often called a free spirit, likes boots, singing, swimming, good conversation, and three seasons (spring, summer, autumn)) up close and considers winter to be best experienced as "a beautiful view from the window".Her favorite people have always been small children and "old people", because, she says, "They are the most fascinating and tell the best stories!"

Book preview

The Dumpling Master -

& other Modern Folk Tales

by

Salem Williams

Published by Ancient Arbor at Smashwords

COPYRIGHT 2013 by Y. Lester

Discover other titles by Salem Williams, Your Village Herbalist at Smashwords.com:

Witches' Runes - Nine Children of the Green

Every Day is Mother's Day

Bubbles & Brews - Healthier Beverages for All Occasions

Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

17 modern folk tales on growing a self, on love and marriage, on parenting, on family, friends & traditions, on becoming and being...

The Stories

A Wish for the Dreamers - A child's dream to become a writer connects her with her grandmother's lifelong dream and later comes true.

I See You! - Putting on the brakes and noticing your life is what makes it special enough to write about.

The '61 Classic - A story about waiting to become an adult, to get to choose absolutely freely, and realizing you care about more than you expected to care about and that you have been choosing all along...you just didn't see it.

To Blog, or Not to Blog - A story about a few days in the company of an insane computer.

Joe's Nose - A story about a pesky wife who loves her husbands nose and how he must love her to put up with it.

The Jukebox - An annoying mom teaches her children that sometimes you simply have to go with the flow and follow through in order to reach the end of a matter.

The Pirate's Holiday - Choosing to celebrate simply because you can.

The Bad Mother Award - Realizing that we grow up with our children, humility in parenting, lifelong ability to learn valuable lessons.

The Way of the Dumpling - The meaning of dumplings to one family and the importance of taking the time for traditions and the people who create them.

Our Peppermint Party - A day in the life of a family who will use almost any excuse to celebrate almost anything.

Weather Sense - Two old men discuss the weather, weird of late, and the writer sorts it out for them.

The Devil Himself - A child's understanding of The Devil and an evening in church.

Winter in Sahara Tennessee - Turning a man's fear of cold weather into a cause to celebrate.

Two Days' Journey - A story about trusting your heart and being with people you love in a life you create together

A Taste of Life Before Gypsy's Wings - A woman's struggle with the concept of home and the many unusual solutions she's attempted.

The Gypsy's Wings - A woman gets an RV

Go West, Young Man

SPECIAL SECTION

Broken Moon - Fiction, included to demonstrate that one person can have many feelings and expressions in her soul.

Prelude to Broken Moon - poem

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About the Author

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INTRODUCTION

From the online dictionary.com we learn that a folk tale is;

folk tale; noun

1. a tale or legend originating and traditional among a people or folk, especially one forming part of the oral tradition of the common people.

2. any belief or story passed on traditionally, especially one considered to be false or based on superstition.

Also, folk·tale. Also called folk story.

Origin: 1890–95

~*~

Our family tradition of remembering and telling folk tales has been so important throughout my life. Tucked away safely in my memories, I have the stories of many generations and branches of my family, and through sharing those with my children and grandchildren I was able to watch them begin to embody a sense of belonging to something colorful, something larger than themselves and the troubles of the day. Sharing the stories has given us a sense of connection and a much stronger bond. At times, the inspiration of one person in our family overcoming or triumphing over adversity has inspired yet another person to tap into that genetic tenacity and reach their goals. Lessons learned by one generaton are passed on to another generation without lecture, without punishment, in a way that says, You are a part of something great, something wonderful, and you never need fear failure because you are part of this family!

Individual identity must be chosen and cultivated. It is important. Our nation, our world, however, has had some difficulty in coming together on the subject of group identity; I feel this is because of