FAIRY TALES Part 3 P-W CONTENTS The Peacock and the Crane ..................................................................................3 Pelops ......................................................................................................................5 Phaethon .................................................................................................................7 Pinocchio ..............................................................................................................10 The Prince and The Frog ....................................................................................17 Puss in Boots ........................................................................................................21 The Reckless Man and the Swallow ...................................................................27 The Rooster, the Cat, and the Club ...................................................................29 Rosie and the Peacock King ...............................................................................32 The Sacred Stone of Namuncura .......................................................................40 The search for the most powerful being ...........................................................42 The Seven Little Goats ........................................................................................45 Shake, My Satchel! ...............................................................................................49 The Singing Flute .................................................................................................52 The Sleeping Beauty ............................................................................................55 The Snail and the Rose Tree ...............................................................................60 The Snow Queen ..................................................................................................64 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ...................................................................71 The Soldier and the Horse ..................................................................................79 The Stag and the Lake .........................................................................................81 The Story of Wood ...............................................................................................83 The Swan and the Crow ......................................................................................85 The Tale of the Lion and the Mouse ..................................................................87 Three Bits of Wisdom .........................................................................................89 The Three-Blossomed Rose ................................................................................93 The Three Coins ...................................................................................................98 The Three Feathers ............................................................................................101 The Three Golden Hairs ...................................................................................105 The Three Piglets ...............................................................................................112 The Three Sillies .................................................................................................117 Three trees ..........................................................................................................121 Thumbelina ........................................................................................................125 The Tortoise and the Hare ................................................................................132 The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse ....................................................134 The Ugly Duckling ............................................................................................137 The Vanishing Pond ..........................................................................................140 Wise Matthew and the Fools ............................................................................143 The Wolf and the Ram ......................................................................................147 The Wooden Boy ...............................................................................................149 THE PEACOCK AND THE CRANE Once there was a peacock living by a small pond. Every day, he proudly strolled along the shore, spreading his magnificent feathers whenever he met another bird. The giant fan full of colours and patterns shimmering in the sunshine was admired by everyone who lived nearby. When there was no admirer in sight, the fowl himself feasted his eyes on his reflection on the lake. Sometimes he even kicked a pebble into the water to ruffle the surface and admire his own beauty in movement. Over time his pride turned into arrogance and haughtiness. In his eyes, other birds were not beautiful enough to be worth talking to or, heaven forbid, pal around with. Everyone around was pretty much irked by it, so the other birds came up with a plan to play a joke on the puffed-up fowl. The task was given to a crane, the most mundane and unexceptional bird compared to the peacock, what with his scrawny body, grey colour and skinny legs. Far and wide, there was no bird so dull and forgettable as the crane. A beautiful morning came. Sparrows were chirping and the sun was shining. Once the crane noticed the peacock admiring his own reflection and smoothing out his colourful feathers, he set out for a little walk to meet the vain fowl. When they met, the peacock instantly started mocking the crane. “Oh, crane, why don’t you do something with those feathers of yours! Don’t 3 THE PEACOCK AND THE CRANE you wish to look at least a bit more interesting? Look how boring and drab you are! Look at that dismal, bland colour, that drooping tail, those ridiculously bony legs,” he scoffed at the crane, knowing that his beauty must have been even more apparent now that he was standing right next to the grey bird. But the crane just kept walking patiently around, even coming back a few times to give the peacock enough opportunity to add some more of his snide remarks. After some time the crane paused for a bit and said: “You may have the most beautiful feathers in the world, and sure enough, everyone who meets you has to admire your tail, no doubt. But I have never seen you fly. I guess that’s because your feathers are as weak and fragile as they are beautiful. They could never keep you up in the air since they would break easily. My feathers may be grey as dust, but they are also strong enough to carry me high into the sky and wherever I want. You, however, are doomed to stay on the ground forever.” And as he finished, he fluttered his wings and disappeared. 4 PELOPS A war started and the gods cast Pelops’s father into the deepest abyss of the Underworld and threw Pelops himself out of Olympus. The young man settled in Greece, and even though he was still very young, he decided to get married, choosing the beautiful daughter of king Oenomaus, Hippodamia. But many young men from all over the country desired her hand, and so her father announced that he would give his daughter only to a man that could defeat him in a chariot race. Those who would lose, though, would pay with their lives. These were the rules of the race: right after the start, the king would first sacrifice a ram to Zeus and only then he would begin pursuing the suitor. If he managed to catch up despite the suitor’s head start, he could pierce him with a spear. The suitors viewed the rules as too easy given the head start and the fact that the king himself was already very weak and very old. One by one, they arrived at the palace, bowed to Hippodamia and asked her father for her hand. The king politely received each one of them, gave them rest and refreshment and had a beautiful chariot with four horses called quadriga readied. After the starting signal with a suitor already on the track, the king would first make for the altar and set off on the race only after sacrificing a ram. But every single time, his 5 PELOPS horses, faster than the wind, caught up with the suitors long before reaching the finish line. By the time it was Pelops’s turn, twelve suitors had already lost their lives. Knowing the fate of his predecessors, Pelops set off for the seashore on the eve of the race where he called on Poseidon, the ruler of all seas: “Oh, mighty god! Please help me beat the king. Give me strength, so that he can never catch up with my chariot and pierce me with his spear. Show me the fastest route and grant me victory.” The water started boiling, a thunder roared and a beautiful golden chariot drawn by four winged horses emerged from the waves. Pelops expressed his thanks and got into the chariot. The divine horses were faster than the wind. Even though king Oenomaus saw that the new suitor arrived in a golden chariot pulled by divine horses, he did not take fright and gave Pelops a head start just like the other suitors. When he sacrificed a ram to Zeus, he got into his chariot and set off in pursuit after Pelops. The young man was only a stone’s throw away from the finish line when Oenomaus finally caught up with him and drew his spear, swinging it to deliver a mortal blow to his opponent. But in that moment, Poseidon, who kept a protective eye over Pelops, appeared out of thin air and intervened. The wheels on the king’s chariot tore