What Stories Unfold: Recent Episodes
MoonLake Digital
Classic tales from the likes of Hans Christian Andersen, The Grimm Brothers, Arabian Nights, etc. Stories that have something in them for every age. And other stories from the public domain, personal experiences, and thinkers' illuminations of all kinds. moonlakedigital@gmail.com
Hans Christian Andersen relates a story close to home for all those who still enjoy the scent and feel of a live Christmas tree during the holidays. But this story speaks to the pain of youth and the cost of wanting only what is in front oneself. It is a story, too, of our failing as humans to regard all life as something with value in and of itself.
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This podcast series of The World's Best Fairy Tales are stories read from the same titled Reader's Digest Anthology edited by Belle Becker Sideman with illustrations by Fritz Kredel ©1967. When I was a child, my mother improved her English by reading to me from this book. Soundtracks and SFX come mainly from Story Blocks and more recently Epidemic Sound. Recorded using the Blue Yeti and edited entirely on open source Audacity. This is dedicated to my mother, Helga.
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The Grimm Brothers' tale of how costly life's mistakes can be involves a step-queen's envy and jealousy that grows out of an unhealthy fixation with self-image, and Snow White's fault in being too trusting and not following the advice of elders not matter their size. The truth of this tale is dark indeed and Disney's version all but eliminates the lessons it holds.
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Originally from Scandinavia, this story's message might align with the old adage "To Each His Own". A recent episode of The Nature of Things showed how city-dwelling is far more stressful than country dwelling, which suits the story's conclusion.
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This story carries strange, supernatural elements in it. A talking horse, a handkerchief with a mother's blood on it to protect her child, and a power to will the wind to blow. How to explain its meaning? It is story about the fear of death if one breaks their oath to keep secret their true identity and that of their imposter. It also a tale about the wisdom of elders and how their experience allows them to see more clearly the truth of others.
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Disney fans will find as much unfamiliar and disturbing about this tale as they recognize their favourite parts, and Freud would have had a field day with this one. Deeply symbolic of the author's own journey through unrequited love, the dark undertones of a damaged psyche emerge on both sides of the surface in this classic.
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Andrew Lang and his wife Leonora Blanche Alleyne translated and published 798 stories from 1889-1913. This tale from the Punjab encourages wisdom passed on from a village guru to ensure a long and prosperous life, portraying characters in the story as stereotypes of a bygone era whose traits are thankfully not acceptable by most cultures today.
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This Grimm Brothers' story has been appropriated in so many ways but remains a cautionary tale about who to trust, and to always be skeptical. A story about the confidence game that played to this very day.
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Are we born with the character of becoming someone who is good to humanity or someone who wreaks trouble and strife for others? This story seems to illustrate that age makes little difference in the choice to use our knowledge for good or bad. The lesson then must be that we should choose wisely to what end our acquired knowledge and skills should be used.
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Hans Christian Andersen's personal plight of unrequited love echoes in this story as it does in so many of his. The intangibility of his female characters, their loss of place, overcoming the desires of undeserving others, and their final arrival at a truth not of their own making are the hallmarks of Andersen's central characters.
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An original Grimm Brothers tale that has since morphed the hedgehog into a tortoise, this story asks the reader if lying or at the least cheating to succeed is the lesser sin of being overly proud of oneself.
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Sometimes we are faced with the challenge to remain humble in the face of what we perceive is stupidity. But with humility comes rewards that have a value far beyond the fleeting feeling of being superior.
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This story must have been close to Hans Christian Andersen's heart as it tells a story about unconditional love set in the wonderous regions of Scandinavia. Adventure and challenges invite the listener to stay true and always choose a love that is selfless.
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Japanese culture and stories have a deeply ingrained connection to nature. It is by no small measure then that this story is told through the eyes of two frogs. However, in anthropomorphizing them, we learn that if we do not focus on what is ahead of us in life, and instead look back, we may very well end up where we started without the new knowledge we sought in our journeys.
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There is a an old Chinese proverb that says, "perseverance brings success". This may depend upon who is not giving up, and for what they are trying so hard. Jack tries harder when he discovers his fate, but it was his own grit that led him to the discovery and ultimately his journey to taake his rightful place in the world.
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What remains is our inner self, our own true nature, which is perfectly imperfect, unique and original not only to the world but to what we see in our own reflection.
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On the surface, this is an origin-myth, a "reductio ad absurdum". Thought to originate in ancient Greece, then in Norse oral storytelling traditions, and then later the Grimm Brothers who called the tale "Sweet Porridge", this may be another early interaction between dark forces and human greed which we all know, although they attract each other for the same means, never mix well in the end.
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Although the story begins with an act of kindness on the part of a youngest son of three named Simpleton (or from a more direct German-to-English translation "Dummling" - little dummy), it is about want turning into greed and persistence, for the right reasons, turning into reward.
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What begins as a tale of greed becomes a story of redemption of sorts. Recall that this took place at a time when slavery was commonplace and the ideals of Arabian culture were not so far from those of the Wild West.
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What this story tells its listeners is that to be compassionate and sensitive to others, we must be compassionate and sensitive to ourselves. The true princess was not afraid to sense and express the discomfort of her surroundings. This is the catalyst for the positive change we must make within to become the person we want to be for others.
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This story is so commonplace across so many countries. Originating in ancient Egypt and whose most popular version is the French translation presented here, its analogy is ingrained in popular culture. Everyone has a "cinderella" story where a long-hidden beauty or talent is finally recognized and given the attention it duly deserves. Is this a story about fate or patience? You decide.
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The age-old adage "Don't judge a book by its cover" is the lesson to heed from this story. It also reveals how very sheltered the richest people are from the virtues of true and unconditional friendship.
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This old English Folk Tale is a cautionary story, one whose ending warns its readers against panicking too soon, following along with the crowd, and ignoring the character of those who would want to be your leader; an allegory of the politics of humanity throughout our brief history on this planet.
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Hans Christian Andersen is credited with this tale set in the far east. First published in 1843, the story explores what happens when we begin to value the virtual world more than real life. Artificial things are more easily understood, but pale in comparison to rich variety that real life has to offer.
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The smallest things in life often become the things we treasure most, even when we sometimes lose their worth along the way.
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It is still amazing how easily an event or a half-joking remark can turn into a rumour that has exaggerated the truth into extinction. Perhaps we need to be mindful our own words and what we choose to "pass on".
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This tale teaches that we should always be kind and helpful, even to those who do not appreciate it. Kindness is like a positive karma that will bring with the act the rewards that we deserve.
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There may be some truth to this tale. A plaque on the stone entrance of the so-called Pied Piper house in Hamelin, Germany dating to 1602 – similar to an earlier one etched on the building’s window – describes the mystery. The inscription reads:
“A.D. 1284 – on the 26th of June – the day of St John and St Paul – 130 children – born in Hamelin – were led out of the town by a piper wearing multicoloured clothes. After passing the Calvary near the Koppenberg they disappeared forever.”
(from https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200902-the-grim-truth-behind-the-pied-piper)
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