My Blog for Myth and Folklore

Jason and the Giant's Gold Jason had always been a poor peasant, unknown by most. He had a job as a shepherd for the Lord of the lands and it provided for himself, his mothers, and his sisters and he was grateful for it. However, he was with the sheep night and day and was unable to do little else. If he didn't have this job, his family would have starved when his father died some years back and so Jason worked hard, both to support his family and from the gratitude he felt toward the Lord for trusting him with his flocks. However, some days back, he had left the sheep, for a little while, when he had come across a giant. He thought that would be the end of him and he briefly wondered who would take care of his family when he died but the giant hadn't killed him. It had needed his help and as a reward, it had taken him to a giant celebration. It had given him a belt of invisibility so he would be safe from the other giants and in this way, Jason had been able to witness...

Lady Bridget Lady Bridget, sister of Sir Percivale of King Arthur's round table, stood at the railing of the ship and looked out over the waves. She'd been on board the vessel for weeks now but still, she marveled at how all this came to be. She had been at her manor, following her ordinary habits when a shining knight, fully equipped in all white armor approached. Normally, she would have been frightened at such a sudden appearance, however, all she felt was peace and knew immediately this knight was not of this world. So she stood and waited until he neared and then he hailed her. "Lady Bridget, sister of Sir Percivale, I have a request to make of you. You have heard, I am certain, how one hundred and fifty knights left the round table in order to search for the Holy Graal, despite Arthur's sorrow and protests. They seek something many are not worthy of finding and they will die for it. But, three knights are worthy. Sir Galahad, the best and most virtuous of t...

The Attack on the Great Elk Jona reached the last of the trees and stopped just before he stepped out in the open. Out on the plain the Great Elk lay sleeping. It was a towering beast, capable of leveling mountains and flattening villages in one stride. Not only that, it was a killer. Hundreds of Jona's people had been taken by the beast. It didn't eat them, no, it was an herbivore. This thing killed for sport but that was over now. Years ago, Jona's mother had prayed to the Spirits for an end to the terrible beast. The Spirits had answered by giving her Jona. His entire life he had prepared for this and now, finally, his training had come to an end. His mother had finished making his powerful bow and his strong arrows. He had taken them up and trekked to the land where the Great Elk dwelt. Unfortunately, with the large plain between himself and the beast, there was no way to get close enough to kill it. The Elk was said to have impenetrable hide. Besides that, it had...

There once was a poor man called Sentaro who hated that he had very little money and had very few possessions in a very small house. He hated his meager life, however, he was never able to get a good job and didn't want to put into the effort to begin his own business. He heard of CEOs and company owner's who made millions of dollars and lived lives of luxury. Sentaro saw those people and wished he were them. He dreamed he was them. He even prayed for it. One night, he was so unhappy he couldn't sleep and instead, he fantasized his life as a billionaire elite. He was so focused on the imagination he almost didn't hear someone knocking on his door. However, it was an insistent type of rapping that quickly forced his attention.  Hurriedly, he opened the door and found what could have been an executive's assistant. A young man wearing a crisp, tailored suit and sunglasses despite the fact that it was nighttime. The man thrust out his hands as soon as the door opene...

After becoming a captain of my own ship, I took off from earth and quickly left the atmosphere, piloting my ship on a well-known trading route to various planets which were friendly toward earth and toward exchange. We carried with us all sorts of things, that though common to us, were novelties where we were going. Everything was fine until the ship stalled. The maintenance workers were sure they could fix it but in the meantime, as we were passing a small planet which appeared to be uninhabited, I gave permission to send a small ship down so the crew could look about.  I joined them and fairly soon we were down on the rocky surface of the planet. We hadn't gotten far when the ground beneath us jolted and we were thrown off our feet. There was another shudder and I realized we were not standing on a planet but on a giant monster! I even glimpsed its head before it lurched again.  Several of the crew members were launched off the monster's back; the rest ...

The Coming of the Genie  Author's Note  In order to give background for my story, I thought I would put my author's note first. This is based on Arabian Nights, in which, the Sultan's wife, Scheherazade is telling her husband stories in order to keep him from killing her. She tells a tale of a merchant who has been threatened with death by a genie. Three men came along and told their tales and finally a third man will tell his. If each of their tales are better than the previous one, the genie will spare the merchant's life. The first man told a tale about the deer he was with. It was his wife, they had no children so he adopted the child of a servant. The wife was jealous so she turned the boy and his mother into a calf and cow. The cow was slaughtered but the steward's daughter saved the calf and turned him back human. They married and she turned the bad wife into a deer. The second man came with two dogs. They were his brothers and were wicked. They...

Hector's Fate Achilles was approaching, fast as the wind, and Hector stood to face him. He leaned casually on his spear, by the gate of his beloved city, unfazed by the valiant warrior, the best of the Greeks. As the gap between them closed, Hector took up his spear in a fluid motion and readied it. They stood and faced one another, the greatest of the Greeks against the greatest of the Trojans. Despite the sweat, glistening at Achille's golden brow, the mighty warrior appeared fresh as if he had just started the fight. There was no sign of fatigue in his limbs or his eyes, keen and ready. It was as if Hector was looking on a god and not a mortal, yet his resolve never wavered, his courage never left him. He stood firm, the defender of Troy. Achilles hefted his massive spear, a gift from the gods, which only he could wield. He threw first and his spear flew straight. It would have struck true but Hector saw it coming and ducked. The spear hit the ground behind him and lo...

Mary and the Tiger It was market day and Mary's two sisters wanted their usual gifts. They demanded their mother go and buy them all the things they wanted, however, Mary knew that her mother was still sick. She worried that her mother wouldn't be able to withstand the long trip to the market, let alone carry the many items all the way back on her own. "Please mother," she begged, "let me come with you or better yet, stay here and rest and I will go alone." Her mother protested but as she struggled to get out of bed she fell back coughing. "Go my child and be safe." Mary left quickly and as she left one of her sister's called out, "and remember, don't come back without the roses, I want three of them!" Mary hurried to the market and spent all days searching for everything on the long list her sisters had given her. When the last of the purchases was complete, she began the journey back, however, it was dark and foggy and...