TREASURY OF MAGICAL TALES FROM AROUND THE WORLD DONNA JO NAPOLI ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHRISTINA BALIT NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC WASHINGTON D.C.
Introduction This is a collection of tales from around the globe tied together by the thread of magic All have their origins in oral storytelling that is storytelling through voice and gestures including poems and chants and songs Many scholars of cultural evolution believe that human beings have been telling stories around evening campfires or in the dark of night for tens of thousands of years Storytelling can fill time that might otherwise feel lonely or frightening Unlike myths the magical stories offered here are rarely meant to praise gods or otherworldly spirits They are not minding a religious code They do not aim to tell you how best to live your life And they usually do not try to explain natural phenomena They are grounded in the traditions of their time and place yes but in a way distinct from many other kinds of traditional tales Often when we speak of traditions we intend religion language music food clothing housing things we can easily point to and identify and things that are often tightly bound to a specific place and time Traditions in these tales however include the hopes and fears of generations ephemeral things that defy easy definition and that belong more to our common humanity than to any particular culture In a sense then magical tales give us a record of the history of the human spirit I often retell traditional tales that are myths or religious stories and when I do I tend to stay as close to the original details and tone of the story as I know how to do In the present volume however I stray from that because I want to keep the focus on how the stories here deal with hopes and fears a tradition that can belong to any place and 8
any time So as I wrote this volume I kept in mind the modern sensibility and tried to bring stories from far away and long ago to today’s children in a way that can ring true as we look around our own worlds It was a delightful challenge Stories of this sort make us laugh cry shiver grow angry sometimes with respect to our own foibles and confusions These tales confront us with aspects of our local world that we might not easily discuss or might even be prohibited from discussing Moments of injustice are common as are experiences of sudden loss Longings for an easy life of luxury can form an undercurrent Sitting in a group around a storyteller who brings up these sticky topics can give us comfort The silly things the characters do offer us relief from the burden of always trying to be responsible in our own lives The chances characters take can embolden us in making choices The lessons characters learn which can be harsh can give us a safe way of considering possible results if we were to act rashly ourselves But most of all seeing characters who dream and cringe like we do reminds us that those around us are just like us in this way Storytelling binds a community as much as working together for common goals does Oral traditional stories can lose some of their charm and power when they appear in written form The tendency in many oral traditions is to repeat but repetition in text gets annoying Plus in oral traditions the storyteller and audience can interact where the reactions of one can affect the other So I urge you to share these stories aloud with someone Ham it up Play with tone and body postures and hand gestures The tales here were selected to make you smile and laugh I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them 9
