The Wisdom of Folktales: Lessons on How to Live Happily Ever After

By Steven Gregory

We often go through life looking for answers and ways to find happiness today and in the future. These answers have been put in a form that is not only accessible but enjoyable: folk and fairy tales! The wisdom of the ages exists in the stories we have been raised on and told to our children for generations. Whether we seek advice on love and marriage, self-respect, or finding our purpose, the words and guidance exist in the tales told around the world for generations. This ebook provides stories and insights on: Balance and Tricksters, Growing Up, Love and Marriage, Jealousy and Envy, Kindness and Generosity, Self-Respect, Your Heart's Desire is Waiting to be Found...At Home, We All Have a Purpose, There is a Higher Power, The Time to Live is Now, and Happily Ever After.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steven Gregory
• Release date: Jul 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9780980088045

Steven Gregory

Steven Gregory is Professor of Anthropology and African-American Studies at Columbia University. He is the author of Santería in New York City: A Study in Cultural Resistance and Black Corona: Race and the Politics of Place in an Urban Community. He coedited Race with Roger Sanjek.

Book preview

The Wisdom of Folktales:

Lessons on How to Live Happily Ever After

By Steven Gregory

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Steven Gregory

ISBN: 978-0-9800880-4-5

Table of Contents

Why Folktales?

Balance and Tricksters

Growing Up

Love and Marriage

Jealousy and Envy

Kindness and Generosity

Self-Respect

Your Heart’s Desire is Waiting to be Found…At Home

We All Have a Purpose

There is a Higher Power

The Time to Live is Now

Happily Ever After

List of Stories

List of Stories

Tortoise Triumphant

The Brahman, The Tiger, and the Jackal

The Theft of Fire

Issun Boshi

The Ugly Duckling

Koi and the Kola Nuts

Ricky of the Tuft

The Princess and the Pea

The Snake Prince

The Three Genjias

The Crystal Casket

Baba Yaga

The Crane Maiden

Androcles and the Lion

Medio Pollito

The Stonecutter

The Fisherman and His Wife

Salt and Bread

The Man Who Became Rich Through a Dream

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

The Envious Neighbor

The Three Hares

The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship

Puss in Boots

The Boy Who Drew Cats

The Ant and the Grasshopper

The Broken Pot

The Three Apprentices

Why Folktales?

Life is one continual learning process.  When we are always learning there is always the need for instruction and advice -- life tips.  These life tips are meant to make us better, happier people in the way we think, how we live, and what we do.  And many of the most important life tips, just about all that we will ever need, were given to us in the form of folktales.

Most people view folktales as little more than entertainment for children.  While they are entertaining, folktales do much more than entertain.  Historically, stories were told to children and adults to educate, inform, and guide.  Many of them also taught important lessons.  Many of them contain the very life tips that we seek even today.  Our ancestors have put into pleasant and entertaining words what we’ve been repeating to generations of descendants ever since in living rooms, schools, and churches.  And they did it in a way that is so engaging that it remains one of the few ancient traditions we still hold on to.  We run to these lessons and eagerly await them, whether it be around a campfire, underneath a tree, or in the comfort of our own homes.  And we learn the life tips and lessons contained in them because we simply can’t help it.

Perhaps Aesop’s fables and the parables of Jesus achieved the most fame as stories that point out to the reader-listener that there was something more to the story, something that should be learned and not forgotten.  But these were far from the only ones doing so.  Similar tales exist in cultures all over the world, either as individual stories or in collections such as the Panchatantra from India and several of the tales from the Arabian Nights. 

Even some modern tales serve to teach us lessons, such as Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit.  When we finish that story about the naughty little bunny, we internalize that mother really does know best and that nothing good can happen to us if we sneak into someone else’s garden and eat the fruits of their labor, i.e., steal.  Not only does Peter end up going to bed early feeling sick, he has lost yet another jacket and pair of shoes.  It’s not hard for us to see ourselves ending up the same way if we, metaphorically, do the same thing.  While we all feel a little affinity for the adventurous Peter, none of us want to end up in his situation.  In contrast, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail all enjoy a wonderful dinner and dessert for obeying the rules.  By remembering the story, we remember the lesson within it, even if we don’t consciously think of it that way.

What makes a story bad, good, or great is what the audience takes away from it.  Whether it’s a feeling of sadness, joy, or inspiration, the deeper we feel it, the more we enjoy the story.  The best storytellers learned this and have used it to great effect in their stories.  As a result, many of the stories formed the basis of religions or explained the world around us and how it came to be.  Other stories taught us valuable lessons that go beyond religion or our environment.  Beyond all of that, the basic fundamentals of human existence come out in the stories we have preserved and continue to tell our children generation after generation.  In short, they tell us all we need to know whether the story is as recent as the 20th century or dates back thousands of years.

The folktales in this work are only a small sampling of the tales that exist throughout the world that contain advice for life.  Along with the stories presented here, numerous other folktales contain the lessons we all need to know and remember.  Beneath the layers of witches and fairy godmothers, gods and goddesses, and other good and evil characters, these stories say the same things religious leaders, sages, and self-help experts have said for centuries and continue to say today: "Circumstances may seem to be conspiring against you, but stay true to what you know is right and you WILL come out happily ever after."  And it probably comes as no surprise that every culture in the world is still raising its children with these same core beliefs.  It is these beliefs, hidden in fanciful tales with magical creatures and amazing circumstances, that still make these stories as wonderful and true today as they were when they were first told.

Balance and Tricksters

The world is full of beliefs about the balance of life.  On the scientific side there is the food chain: mice eat worms, birds eat mice and, when birds die, worms eat birds.  You can even play the food chain game with people.  Life exists in a constant circle of the lowest to the highest, and we all play our role of low and high at some point.  Like a balance scale, we are up, down, or equal at any given point to the person on the other side whoever it may be.

Sometimes these roles of high, low and equal aren’t so easy to see.  Sometimes it looks as though someone is always on top or that someone else never has a chance and is always on the bottom.  The butterfly never eats the spider; the sheep never gets the wolf.  At any given point in time the world can seem terribly unfair.  Words and phrases have sprouted over time to illustrate this.  Terms such as underdog and little guy have come to carry not just literal definitions but emotional ones as well. 

It’s a worldwide phenomenon to root for the individual or team that seems to have no chance, and the phrase David versus Goliath has become cliché in every culture that has been exposed to the biblical story.  And just as David slew Goliath, so too have characters arisen throughout the world’s cultures to demonstrate that there is indeed balance in the universe.  The fight is not always to the strongest nor the race always to the swiftest.  And even if the playing field is not level, the little guy is going to win every now and again.

And just who is this little guy?  He’s usually not the strongest or biggest, and only occasionally the fastest.  Often this character is one who is not the prettiest, sometimes even ugly, and usually has few skills or natural abilities.  The little guy frequently shows up as a spider, rabbit, fox, coyote, turtle, or snake.  And how do these creatures, none of whom is at the top of their respective food chain, manage to win?  Guile.  Cleverness.  Brain power.

The trickster is as common in folklore and mythology as the gods themselves.  For every grand creator that has ever made the world from nothing, fashioned people from dirt or clay, and put things in order, there have been at least as many tricksters who have come along to bring a little chaos and balance it all out.  For every supreme example of the species, there is another one out there who has their number.  What nature, the universe, or some god hasn’t granted us at birth, we can compensate for by some other means.  Every culture, past and present, believes this.  No one wins all the time, and no one loses all the time.

There are enough trickster tales to fill numerous bookshelves, and indeed there are several books of tales simply about tricksters.  The examples here are limited to just three stories. 

The first originates in Africa and is entitled Tortoise Triumphant.  The second story comes from India and is often used as an example of the world being ungrateful.  However, the finer point to the story is, of course, restoring a harmonious balance through trickery.  The version here is titled The Brahman, The Tiger, and the Jackal.  For the final story, we’ll turn to the Native American culture and Coyote.  But first, the story from Africa:

Tortoise Triumphant

One day, Tortoise was walking along the riverbank.  There was a rumbling of the ground, then Hippopotamus came crashing out of the jungle and thundered by to get into the water, nearly stepping on and crushing Tortoise.  While Tortoise was used to being ignored and often had to take great pains to stay out of the way, he was feeling particularly cranky that day.  Instead of plodding on his way as usual, he turned toward the huge beast and shouted at him.

You’d better watch yourself! Tortoise yelled. You’re not the only one around here!

Hippo turned around in surprise, then caught sight of Tortoise.  You talk big for such a small, slow creature, Hippo said.  You’d be better off to just keep your mouth shut and keep your distance.

I am stronger than I look, Tortoise replied.  "You’d be better off to keep your distance from me."

Hippo, angry, started to get out of the water, and Tortoise realized that perhaps his mouth had gotten him in trouble.

Hold it there, Tortoise said quickly.  Before you come out and risk an encounter that might not go as you think it will, I suggest a test of strength.  In this way, we can truly see who is strongest without getting hurt.

Hippo was a little confused, and not a little bit concerned that Tortoise hadn’t backed down.  What do you suggest? Hippo asked.

A tug of war, Tortoise replied.  I will stand in the grass with my end of the vine, while you stay in the river.  When I give the signal, we will begin.  If I manage to pull you out of the river, it will be obvious that I am stronger.  But if you manage to pull me into the river, I will accept your strength.

I will certainly pull you into the water, puny one, Hippo said.  "And when I do, I will then stamp your shell into a hundred