Fairy tale information

Centuries ago, in Southeast Asia, the priests of the Khmer people believed in reincarnation and that the souls of the dead could enter animals' bodies. These priests, called kittahs, were forced to flee to the remote mountains of northern Burma to escape their enemies. They built a temple there. The temple was known as Lao-Tsun, or "house of the gods," and was hidden amidst winding pathways and towering mountain walls. There, the priests could worship in peace. Mun-Ha was the chief priest. His favorite cat was Sinh, one of a hundred cats at the temple. The kittahs adored this creature, with its yellow eyes, white body, and ears, tail, nose and paws a dark brown. One night, the enemy came to destroy the temple. On that night, Mun-Ha died suddenly, and as he did, a miracle took place. Sinh l ...

Most nights, people rested easy in the land of marshes and bogs. But, on that night each month that Moon rested, they feared the bog creatures. These creatures only came out on those dark nights when Moon rested, and were said to eat people who got lost in their swampy lands. Everyone mourned whenever Moon rested. The people's sadness troubled Moon. So one night when she would ordinarily have rested, she put on a black cloak and hood and floated down to earth. As Moon neared a huge black pool, she slipped and grabbed at a branch to steady herself. The moment she touched it, the branch wrapped itself around her. She could see the marsh creatures closing in. She wriggled against the branch's grip, to no avail. She heard squishing footsteps, and she saw a man, lost and terrified. As Moon stru ...

Long ago, out of a shell, the world emerged. The shell began to open slowly, and the top of that shell became the sky一Rangi, the bottom became earth一Papa. Now Rangi and Papa loved each other, and so they held each other in a strong embrace. Before long Papa bore sons, 70 in all, each one wishing to help with the new creation.The sons created beasts to roam the land, birds to fill the sky, and fish to fill the seas. But now that more and more things filled the world, the sons began to long for more space. The children asked their parents to let go of each other. Papa and Rangi, still very much in love, refused. Their sons began to fear that they might suffocate in this tiny world."We need more space," the sons chanted. But Papa and Rangi still refused to part.The children, growing impatie ...

Once upon a time on the island of Curacao, there lived a young girl named Toewi. One thing distinguished Toewi from all others, and that was her astonishing voice. When Toewi sat inside weaving cotton into cloth, she invented songs to celebrate the animals. As she toiled, she dreamed of a handsome prince, and she imagined marrying him. One day Toewi sat at home alone, working at her loom. She began to sing. Suddenly a young man appeared in the doorway. He was dressed like a warrior prince. Toewi continued to sing, and said nothing to the stranger, for she understood that he did not exist, and that he was merely a figment of her imagination. The next day as Toewi carried a bucket of water home from the river, the warrior prince appeared in front of her. "I am dreaming," she sang.Toewi walke ...

Once upon a time, there lived a king who had 12 sons. When they had grown up, the king instructed them, "You all must find wives that are able to spin and weave a shirt in one day." After some traveling, the brothers began to quarrel over who would find the best wife 一everyone but the youngest son, Ashiepattle. Impatient with Ashiepattle's ways, they rode off, deserting him. Then, out of the grass, a tiny figure appeared. Ashiepattle bent down and saw that it was a beautiful girl. "You look so very sad," she said. "What errand sends you here?" Ashiepattle explained, "Our father has told me and my brothers to find ourselves wives. But our wives must be able to spin and weave a shirt in one day. If you could perform this task, I would marry you."In less than one hour she had made a tiny shi ...