T is for Temptation

Janet ventured out one day knowing full well that she was not supposed to go anywhere near Carterhaugh.  She found herself there anyway perhaps because it is tempting to go where one has been forbidden to go.  It was tempting to pluck a sweet smelling rose; so she did.  The young man who appeared tempted her to walk with him.

So many temptations all in one afternoon.  And if you know the story of Janet and Tam Lin (or the ballad), you know not only how tempted she was, but also that he was tempted as well.  Janet was different from the other lassies who made their way either through knowledge or fate to Carterhaugh.  She was a young woman who knew her mind.  She was more curious than afraid.  Janet went of her own free will into the forest with Tam Lin.

Janet proved to be brave when she freed Tam Lin from the faerie spell.  And because she yielded to temptation, she found something so precious she was willing to give her own life to save his.

Temptation finds us all at various points in our lives.  We must judge the merits of the temptation before giving in to it.  Will it give satisfaction for a moment or a life-time?  Is it fleeting like the taste of chocolate cake or life changing as in the case of True Love?  Only we can decide for ourselves, and thus our free will.

Now back to the story.  Janet saved Tam Lin’s life and did not lose her own although she risked it.  Their child had two loving parents because of Janet’s bravery.  Carterhaugh was returned to its rightful heirs, and all turned out for the best.  So one might say with all that temptation going ‘round, a life was saved and two lives were changed and a third life begun and the Fairy Queen lost because of True Love. 

Not all temptations turn out so well, but in Fairy Tales, true love finds its own and proves to have a pull far harder to resist than chocolate cake at midnight.

S is for Sisters

Sisters, ah yes, I know all there is to know about sisters since I have two of my own and a cousin who is more like an older sister than a cousin.  Or do I?  Know all there is to know about sisters – that is?

I chaffed through my childhood while Mom read or told us stories about sisters and how the youngest one was always the prettiest, wittiest, smartest, best all around at everything.  How come it was never the oldest?

Well at least when our cousinly theatre was presented, I played the part of Cinderella.  Well, it was because I was the theatrical type and my sisters and cousin weren’t.  But secretly, deep down, I was so relieved that the oldest could do something beautiful, special, right.

One of my favorite stories as an eldest sister growing up in the 50’s was Snow White and Rose Red.  Why?  Because both sisters were all those wonderful things that seemed in most tales to belong only to the youngest.  Both sisters marry a prince.  

This month it is my turn to choose the book and lead the book discussion for my book club (Broads, Books and Banter).  At Jane Yolen’s suggestion I decided to have members read one of the books in the Fairy Tale series edited by Terri Windling. These novels are remakes of the old fairy tales.  Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia C. Wrede, was one of them.  It is set in medieval England.  The Land of Fairy borders the land where the home of the widow and her two daughters is located.  The novel follows to some degree the Grimm’s tale, but with delightful diversions.

Other novels in the Fairy Tale series include Briar Rose, by Jane Yolen; Tam Lin, by Pamela Dean; Jack the Giant Killer, by Charles de Lint; The Nightingale, by Kara Dalkey; White as Snow, by Tanith Lee; Fitcher’s Brides, by Gregory Frost; The Sun, the Moon and the Stars, by Steven Burst; and Persinette, by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont La Force.  If you haven’t discovered this series of old tales set in more modern times, you’re in for a treat.

L is for Libraries

I am a former librarian.  All the librarians I know would fit the mold of once a librarian, always a librarian.  Librarians worth their salt are standing on the threshold of freedom of information, barring the way when the censors show up and allowing the “common man” entrance.

And librarians are always sharing stories as there are so many, many stories in a library.  All the fiction books are stories of one kind and another.  Biographies are stories, as well; they’re just about real people.  When Mr. Dewey set up his system of classification, he placed the stories in the 800’s.  But the very best place to look for stories is 398.2, this is where the folktales, fairy tales, tall tales and all the other stories that represent our cultures reside.  Now, “Why?” you may ask, “are these stories, which are obviously not factual, placed in Customs?”  Because folktales and their ilk are our heritage.

In many of the libraries where I worked, the 398.2 section was large, containing both anthologies and picture books.  Some of the older anthologies were simply given the number 398, and many of the newer picture books had numbers added after the .2 to tell the origin of the story.

Next time you need a new story to tell, want to brush up on one you already know, find variants of various kinds take a trip to the library and check out the 398.2 section in either the juvenile or adult sections.  You just might find what you are looking for and a lot more besides!

Lucky Me – Stories My Mother Told Me



Mom & Me

My mother, my mother told me stories, sang me songs and read to me every day when I was little.  She told stories about her life, her brothers and sisters, her mother and father.  She read fairy tales and folktales from a set of books we called the Red Books which were part of the deal when she purchased a set of encyclopedias when I was about three or four.  By the time I needed to use an encyclopedia they were pretty much out of date, but I still have the Red Books.

A few times when Mom told us, my sisters and me, folktales and fairy tales she made up little songs to put into the stories.  The one I especially remember is The Three Billy Goats Gruff and I use those little ditties when I tell that story.  I loved listening to Mom tell and read stories.  I wanted to remember the stories she told; so I retold them to my imaginary brother, his name was Bother, when he would come to visit me.

From http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/misc/stories/

I remember sitting in the rock garden overlooking the valley that was next to our rural Ohio home.  Brother lived in the Valley.  When I called, “Brother, come up!” sometimes he would be there, and I could practice telling Mom’s stories since he never seemed to be around when she told them.  Brother was a good listener.

My grandpa was an engineer for the gas company in Iowa.  The family moved a lot, and Mom told us stories about all the places she lived.  One I particularly remember is about when she and her older brother got in trouble for throwing crab apples at the trolley.  Her older brother taught her how to play basketball.  These were the olden days, remember, and girls played by different rules in basketball than boys did.  They couldn’t cross the line in the middle of the gym.  But Mom learned to play boys’ rules.  Basketball was a big deal in Iowa even back then.  Mom was on the Girls Basketball Team in High School.  The whistle blew a lot when she was on the court – every time she crossed that middle line!



Mom & Daddy

As we got older, Mom’s stories were sometimes about when she met my dad.  It was a blind date, but they weren’t dating each other.  Daddy’s sister went to the same Nursing School my mom did.  She volunteered her brother as a date for a dance.  Mom’s good friend did not have a date; so…  The day after the double date, Daddy stepped way out of his comfort zone and called Mom to see if he could take her out.  She said, “Yes,” and that was it.

Mom is gone from my life now.  It’s been a number of years.  But those stories she told me, read to me, and the songs she sang to me are still part of me.  They always will be! 

Happy Mother’s Day to my very first storytelling mentor – MY MOM!