Persevere And Prosper
: German: Fairy Tales From All Nations
"He that seeketh shall find, and to him that knocketh shall be
opened," says an old Arab proverb. "I will try that," said a youth
one day. To carry out his intentions he journeyed to Bagdad, where he
presented himself before the Vizier. "Lord!" said he, "for many years
I have lived a quiet and solitary life, the monotony of which wearies
me. I have never permitted myself earnestly to will anything. But as
my teacher da
him that knocketh shall be opened,' so have I now come to the
resolution with might and heart to will, and the resolution of my
will is nothing less than to have the Caliph's daughter for my
wife."
The Vizier thought the poor man was mad, and told him to call again
some other time.
Perseveringly he daily returned, and never felt disconcerted at the
same often-repeated answer. One day, the Caliph called on the Vizier,
just as the youth was delivering his statement.
Full of astonishment the Caliph listened to the strange demand, and
being in no peculiar humour for having the poor youth's head taken
off, but on the contrary, rather inclined for pleasantry, his
Mightiness condescendingly said: "For the great, the wise, or the
brave, to request a princess for wife, is a moderate demand; but what
are your claims? To be the possessor of my daughter you must
distinguish yourself by one of these attributes, or else by some great
undertaking. Ages ago a carbuncle of inestimable value was lost in the
Tigris; he who finds it shall have the hand of my daughter."
The youth, satisfied with the promise of the Caliph, went to the
shores of the Tigris. With a small vessel he every morning went to the
river, scooping out the water and throwing it on the land; and after
having for hours thus employed himself, he knelt down and prayed. The
fishes became at last uneasy at his perseverance; and being fearful
that, in course of time, he might exhaust the waters, they assembled
in great council.
"What is the purpose of this man?" demanded the monarch of the fishes.
"The possession of the carbuncle that lies buried in the sluice of the
Tigris," was the reply.
"I advise you, then," said the aged monarch, "to give it up to him;
for if he has the steady will, and has positively resolved to find it,
he will drain the last drop of water from the Tigris, rather than
deviate a hair's breadth from his purpose."
The fishes, out of fear, threw the carbuncle into the vessel of the
youth; and the latter, as a reward, received the daughter of the
Caliph for his wife.
"He who earnestly wills, can do much!"
More
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Origin Of The Fairies
The Fairy tales that abound in the Principality have much in common with like legends in other countries. This points to a common origin of all such tales. There is a real and unreal, a mythical and a material aspect to Fairy Folk-Lore. The preva... Origin Of The Raven And The Macaw
(Totems of summer and winter) Zuni (New Mexico) The priest who was named Yanauluha carried ever in his hand a staff which now in the daylight was plumed and covered with feathers - yellow, blue-green, red, white, black, and varied. Attached to it w... Origin Of The Saguaro And Palo Verde Cacti
Pima (Arizona) Once upon a time an old Indian woman had two grandchildren. Every day she ground wheat and corn between the grinding stones to make porridge for them. One day as she put the water-olla on the fire outside the house to heat the water,... Origin Of Tiis Lake
A troll had once taken up his abode near the village of Kund, in the high bank on which the church now stands, but when the people about there had become pious, and went constantly to church, the troll was dreadfully annoyed by their almost incess... Orpheus
“Orpheus with his lute made trees, And the mountain tops that freeze, Bow themselves when he did sing; To his music plants and flowers Ever sprung, as sun and showers There had made a lasting spring. Everything that heard him play, Even the bill... Osseo Or The Son Of The Evening Star
ALGONQUIN LEGEND. There once lived an Indian in the north, who had ten daughters, all of whom grew up to womanhood. They were noted for their beauty, but especially Oweenee, the youngest, who was very independent in her way of thinking. She was... Other Buried Wealth
The wealth of the Astors hardly exceeds the treasure that is supposed to be secreted here and there about the country, and thousands of dollars have been expended in dredging rivers and shallow seas, and in blasting caves and cellars. Certain promot... Our Lady Of Pilar
"How very singular! What do you suppose they are doing?" "I'm sure I don't know. The American mind is unequal to grappling with the problem of what the natives are doing out here, most of the time. They seem to be praying. Or are they having a t... Ouyan The Curlew
Bleargah the hawk, mother of Ouyan the curlew, said one day to her son: "Go, Ouyan, out, take your spears and kill an emu. The women and I are hungry. You are a man, go out and kill, that we may eat. You must not stay always in the camp like an ol... Over The Divide
The hope of finding El Dorado, that animated the adventurous Spaniards who made the earlier recorded voyages to America, lived in the souls of Western mountaineers as late as the first half of this century. Ample discoveries of gold in California an... Owney And Owney-na-peak
BY GERALD GRIFFEN When Ireland had kings of her own--when there was no such thing as a coat made of red cloth in the country--when there was plenty in men's houses, and peace and quietness at men's doors (and that is a long time since)--there l... Pah-hah-undootah The Red Head
A DACOTAH LEGEND. As spring approaches, the Indians return from their wintering grounds to their villages, engage in feasting, soon exhaust their stock of provisions, and begin to suffer for the want of food. Such of the hunters as are of an ac... Palo
There was once a man named Dhuju, and he had sons named Ret Mongla, Saru Sama and Chapat champa; and their wives were named Chibo, Porbet and Palo. One rainy season the family was busy with the ploughing: Ret Mongla used to take the plough cattle... Pan
“What was he doing, the great god Pan, Down in the reeds by the river? Spreading ruin and scattering ban, Splashing and paddling with hoofs of a goat, And breaking the golden lilies afloat With the dragon-fly on the river. He tore out a reed, the... Panaumbe Penaumbe And The Lord Of Matomai[e]
Panaumbe wanted very much to become rich. For this reason, he stretched his penis across to the town of Matomai. Then the lord of Matomai spoke thus: "This is a pole sent by the gods; so it will be well to dry all the clothes upon it." So all the cl... Panaumbe Penaumbe And The Sea-lion
There were Panaumbe and Penaumbe. Panaumbe went down to the sea-shore, and walked up and down upon the sand. Then he saw a sea-lion in the water. He wanted to catch that sea-lion, and eat its flesh. So he called out to it: "Oh! Mr. Sea-Lion, if you ... Panaumbe Penaumbe And The Weeping Foxes
There were Panaumbe and Penaumbe. Panaumbe went down to the bank of a river, and called out: "Oh! you fellows on the cliff behind yonder cliff! Ferry me across!" They replied: "We must first scoop out a boat. Wait for us!" After a little while Panau... Panaumbe Penaumbe The Fishes And The Insects
There were Panaumbe and Penaumbe. Panaumbe went down to the sea-shore, squatted on the sand, pulled up his clothes, and, turning his back to the sea, opened his anus as widely as possible. Then all the whales and the salmon and the other good fishes... Papik Who Killed His Wife's Brother
There was once a man whose name was Papik, and it was his custom to go out hunting with his wife's brother, whose name was Ailaq. But whenever those two went out hunting together, it was always Ailaq who came home with seal in tow, while Papik ret... Parricide Of The Wissahickon
Farmer Derwent and his four stout sons set off on an autumn night for the meeting of patriots at a house on the Wissahickon,--a meeting that bodes no good to the British encamped in Philadelphia, let the red-coats laugh as they will at the rag-tag a... Pass Christian
Senhor Vineiro, a Portuguese, having wedded Julia Regalea, a Spaniard, in South America, found it needful to his fortunes to leave Montevideo, for a revolution was breeding, and no less needful to his happiness to take his wife with him from that ci... Passaconaway's Ride To Heaven
The personality of Passaconaway, the powerful chief and prophet, is involved in doubt, but there can be no misprision of his wisdom. By some historians he has been made one with St. Aspenquid, the earliest of native missionaries among the Indians, w... Patussorssuaq Who Killed His Uncle
There lived a woman at Kugkat, and she was very beautiful, and Alataq was he who had her to wife. And at the same place lived Patussorssuaq, and Alataq was his uncle. He also had a wife, but was yet fonder of his uncle's wife than of his own. ... Pauguk
THE MYTHOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF HIAWATHA. In a class of languages, where the personification of ideas, or sentiments, frequently compensates for the paucity of expression, it could hardly be expected that death should be omitted. The soul, or... Paup-puk-keewiss
The vernal equinox in the north, generally takes place while the ground is covered with snow, and winter still wears a polar aspect. Storms of wind and light drifting snow, expressively called poudre by the French, and peewun by the Indians, fill ... Pauppukkeewis
A man of large stature and great activity of mind and body found himself standing alone on a prairie. He thought to himself-- "How came I here? Are there no beings on this earth but myself? I must travel and see. I must walk till I find the abod... Peach-prince And The Treasure Island
Very long, long ago, there lived an old man and woman in a village near a mountain, from which flowed a stream of purest water. This old couple loved each other so dearly and lived together so happily, that the neighbors called them oshi-dori fu-f... Peacock
The peacock's shrill note is a sign of rain. Its call is supposed to resemble the word gwlaw, the Welsh for rain. ... Pearls Of Sulu
Now and then people comment upon the odd style of a charm which I wear upon my watch chain. The charm is a plain, gold sphere, and is, I acknowledge, a trifle too large to be in good taste. If those who ask me about the charm are people whom I c... Peboan And Seegwun An Allegory Of Winter And Spring
ODJIBWA. An old man was sitting in his lodge, by the side of a frozen stream. It was the close of winter, and his fire was almost out. He appeared very old and very desolate. His locks were white with age, and he trembled in every joint. Day af... Peeta Kway The Foam-woman
AN OTTOWA LEGEND. There once lived a woman called Monedo Kway[83] on the sand mountains called "the Sleeping Bear," of Lake Michigan, who had a daughter as beautiful as she was modest and discreet. Everybody spoke of the beauty of this daughter... Pele's Hair
Fiercest, though loveliest, of all the gods is Pele, she whose home is in Kilauea, greatest of the world's volcanoes. When this mountain lights the heavens, when lava pours from its miles of throat, when stone bombs are hurled at the stars, when i... Pentrevoelas Squire Griffith's Ghost
A couple of workmen engaged at Foelas, the seat of the late Squire Griffiths, thought they would steal a few apples from the orchard for their children, and for this purpose one evening, just before leaving off work, they climbed up a tree, but ha... Pepelyouga
On a high pasture land, near by an immense precipice, some maidens were occupied in spinning and attending to their grazing cattle, when an old strange-looking man with a white beard reaching down to his girdle approached, and said: "O fair maidens,... Peronnik The Idiot
You cannot surely have failed, some time or other, to meet by chance some of those poor idiots, or innocents, whose utmost wisdom scarcely serves to lead them as beggars from door to door in quest of daily bread. One might almost fancy they were s... Perseus The Hero
“We call such a man a hero in English to this day, and call it a ‘heroic’ thing to suffer pain and grief, that we may do good to our fellow-men.” Charles Kingsley. In the pleasant land of Argos, now a place of unwholesome marshes, once up... Persevere And Prosper
"He that seeketh shall find, and to him that knocketh shall be opened," says an old Arab proverb. "I will try that," said a youth one day. To carry out his intentions he journeyed to Bagdad, where he presented himself before the Vizier. "Lord!... Peter Klaus
Peter Klaus, a goatherd of Sittendorf, who tended herds on the Kyffhauser mountain, used to let them rest of an evening in a spot surrounded by an old wall, where he always counted them to see if they were all right. For some days he noticed that ... Peter Rugg The Missing Man
The idea of long wandering as a penalty, symbolized in The Wandering Jew, The Flying Dutchman, and the character of Kundry, in Parsifal, has application in the legend of Peter Rugg. This strange man, who lived in Middle Street, Boston, with his wife... Pezhiu And Wabose Or The Lynx And Hare
A CHIPPEWA FABLE A lynx almost famished, met a hare one day in the woods, in the winter season, when food was very scarce. The hare, however, stood up on a rock, and was safe from its enemy. "Wabose," said the lynx, in a very kind manner, "co... Phaeton
“The road, to drive on which unskilled were Phaeton’s hands.” Dante—Purgatorio. To Apollo, the sun-god, and Clymene, a beautiful ocean-nymph, there was born in the pleasant land of Greece a child to whom was given the name of Phaeton, the B... Philomel And Progne
From home and city spires, one day, The swallow Progne flew away, And sought the bosky dell Where sang poor Philomel. "My sister," Progne said, "how do you do? 'Tis now a thousand years since you Have b... Pigeon
If the sick asks for a pigeon pie, or the flesh of a pigeon, it is a sign that his death is near. If the feathers of a pigeon be in a bed, the sick cannot die on it. ... Pigs
Pigs used to be credited with the power of seeing the wind. Devils were fond of assuming the form of, or entering into, pigs. Pigs littered in February could not be reared. This I was told by a native of Llansantffraid, Montgomeryshire. ... Pipestone
Pipestone, a smooth, hard, even-textured clay, of lively color, from which thousands of red men cut their pipe-bowls, forms a wall on the Coteau des Prairies, in Minnesota, that is two miles long and thirty feet high. In front of it lie five bowlder... Piqua
A great while ago the Shawanos nation took up the war-talk against the Walkullas, who lived on their own lands on the borders of the Great Salt Lake, and near the Burning Water. Part of the nation were not well pleased with the war. The head chief... Poison-mouth
There was once a poor father and mother who had a little daughter, called "Poison-Mouth." And it happened on a day that a great number of cows came into the garden, and when the mother saw them she cried angrily, "You but destroy our garden. I wo... Pokepsie
The name of this town has forty-two spellings in old records, and with singular pertinacity in ill-doing, the inhabitants have fastened on it the longest and clumsiest of all. It comes from the Mohegan words Apo-keep-sink, meaning a safe, pleasant h... Pokoh The Old Man
Pai Ute (near Kern River, Cal.) Pokoh, Old Man, they say, created the world. Pokoh had many thoughts. He had many blankets in which he carried around gifts for men. He created every tribe out of the soil where they used to live. That is why an Indi... Police Activity In Humacao
For three centuries a Spanish convict station was kept in Porto Rico. The unpleasant and undesirable found, not a welcome here, but a more congenial company than in the home land. Life was easier because one needed less food and clothes, and they ... Polly's Lover
In about the middle of this century a withered woman of ninety was buried from a now deserted house in White Plains, New York, Polly Carter the name of her, but Crazy Polly was what the neighbors called her, for she was eccentric and not fond of com... Ponce
When Ponce de Leon visited and conquered Porto Rico he heard of the elixir of life. It may not have been among the springs of that island, but the natives had a faith in it and some of them referred it to the Bahamas. Their possible reason for thi... Pont-y-glyn Ghost
There is a picturesque glen between Corwen and Cerrig-y-Drudion, down which rushes a mountain stream, and over this stream is a bridge, called Pont-y-Glyn. On the left hand side, a few yards from the bridge, on the Corwen side, is a yawning chasm... Pregnant Women
Pregnant women are not allowed to go about alone outside the village; for there are bongas everywhere and some of them dislike the sight of pregnant women and kill them or cause the child to be born wry-necked. A pregnant woman may not make a mud ... Prehlad
A terror both of gods and men Was Heerun Kasyapu, the king; No bear more sullen in its den, No tiger quicker at the spring. In strength of limb he had not met, Since first his black flag he unfurled, Nor in audacious... Prester John
About the middle of the twelfth century, a rumor circulated through Europe that there reigned in Asia a powerful Christian Emperor, Presbyter Johannes. In a bloody fight he had broken the power of the Mussulmans, and was ready to come to the as... Pretty Woman
Once in time of famine there were two children deserted by their parents, because they could not find food enough for all. The boy and girl were perishing of hunger when they were discovered wandering in the wood by Old Crow Woman. The kind old body... Prince Chaffinch
There was once a king and queen who ruled with the greatest kindness and simplicity imaginable; and their subjects were just such good folks as themselves, so that both parties agreed very well. As, however, there is no condition in the world ... Prince Csihan Nettles
There was once--I don't know where, at the other side of seven times seven countries, or even beyond them, on the tumble-down side of a tumble-down stove--a poplar-tree, and this poplar-tree had sixty-five branches, and on every branch sat sixty-s... Prince Mirko
There was once, I don't know where, a king who had three sons. This king had great delight in his three sons, and decided to give them a sound education, and after that to give them a place in the government, so that he might leave them as fit and... Princess Finola And The Dwarf
A long, long time ago there lived in a little hut in the midst of a bare, brown, lonely moor an old woman and a young girl. The old woman was withered, sour-tempered, and dumb. The young girl was as sweet and as fresh as an opening rosebud, and he... Prometheus And Pandora
Those who are interested in watching the mental development of a child must have noted that when the baby has learned to speak even a little, it begins to show its growing intelligence by asking questions. “What is this?” it would seem at first to ... Prometheus The Friend Of Man
Many, many centuries ago there lived two brothers, Prometheus or Forethought, and Epimetheus or Afterthought. They were the sons of those Titans who had fought against Jupiter and been sent in chains to the great prison-house of the lower world, b... Proserpine
“Sacred Goddess, Mother Earth, Thou from whose immortal bosom, Gods, and men, and beasts have birth, Leaf and blade, and bud and blossom, Breathe thine influence most divine On thine own child, Proserpine. If with mists of evening dew Thou dost ... Providence Hole
The going of white men into the prairies aroused the same sort of animosity among the Indians that they have shown in other parts of the country when retiring before the advance of civilization, and many who tried to plant corn on the rolling lands ... Psyche
Those who read for the first time the story of Psyche must at once be struck by its kinship to the fairy tales of childhood. Here we have the three sisters, the two elder jealous and spiteful, the youngest beautiful and gentle and quite unable to defen... Puagssuaq
There was once a wifeless man who always went out hunting ptarmigan. It became his custom always to go out hunting ptarmigan every day. And when he was out one day, hunting ptarmigan as was his custom, he came to a place whence he could see out ... Puck Wudj Ininees Or The Vanishing Little Men
AN ODJIBWA MYTH OF FAIRIES. There was a time when all the inhabitants of the earth had died, excepting two helpless children, a baby boy and a little girl. When their parents died, these children were asleep. The little girl, who was the elder,... Pullet's Egg Divination
Mr. J. Roberts, Plas Einion, Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd, told me the following:--When he was a young man, he, his sister, and the servant man, formed a company to find out by divination their future life partners. They procured a pullet's egg, it was ... Putting Bees In Mourning
This is done after a death in a family, and the bees are put into mourning by tying a piece of black ribbon on a bit of wood, and inserting it into the hole at the top of the hive. ... Putting Hens To Sit
Placing the eggs in the nest for hens, geese, and ducks to sit on was considered an important undertaking. This was always done by the lucky member of the family. It was usual to put fowl to sit so as to get the chick out of the egg at the waxin... Pygmalion
In days when the world was young and when the gods walked on the earth, there reigned over the island of Cyprus a sculptor-king, and king of sculptors, named Pygmalion. In the language of our own day, we should call him “wedded to his art.” In woma...