From Here to There and Back again with Diddilydeedot : Blog

From Here to There and Back again with Diddilydeedot : Blog
 GREECE

Seligor's Castle, where there is so much fun for all of our children in the land. : Blogs

Seligor's Castle, where there is so much fun for all of our children in the land. : Blogs

Twinklinka

                      by Janaki Sooriyarachchi,

                        Illustrations by: Janaki Sooriyarachchi

        [http://www.tikiri.com/author.html]

 

Twinklinka

One day, not so long ago, a special new doll
arrived at the toy shop.Fresh from the factory in her very own box,
the doll’s name was printed in
colorful, sparkly letters across the lid, “Twinklinka.” “Oh, isn’t she
beautiful?” The shopkeeper cried out, as he opened the box. The sales
assistants all gathered around, excited at the arrival of the new doll.

“Yes, she’s certainly gorgeous. Those jewels on her dress and hair
twinkle like diamonds,” said one sales assistant. “Yes, that must be
why she’s named Twinklinka,” said another. “A pretty little princess
would surely buy this beauty at any price.” “Yes, yes. I’m sure we can
put a very high price on her and sell with no trouble,” said the
shopkeeper.

The sales assistant took Twinklinka out of the
box and placed her carefully on the best rack of the shop. None of them
knew that the toy from this factory were able to hear everything that
went on around them and talk to each other. So, they had no idea that
Twinklinka was secretly listening to all they said. “Oh, am I really so
pretty?” she wondered. Glancing around quickly, to make sure no one was
looking, she stretched up on her toes and peered into the large mirror
on the wall. She blinked in surprise at what she saw. “Is that really
me?” She could not believe her eyes. “What lovely rosy pink cheeks I
have! And such deep blue eyes… and all those golden curls! Just look at
my silk stockings and all the lace, pearls and sparkles on my dress.
Can those be diamonds in my hair, twinkling like stars?


“And they said that a ‘pretty little
princess’ would buy me. It sounds like someone really special.” Of
course Twinklinka had no idea what a “princess” was, but she thought
that it would be someone very sweet and elegant, like the lovely girls
she had seen in the picture books. She closed her eyes and imagined.
“Some day, a ‘pretty little princess’ who has beautiful golden curls,
rosy cheeks and blue eyes, will come into our shop with her mother. She
will point at me right away, and say, ‘Mum, can I have this pretty
doll, please?’ Then her mother will say, ‘Yes, of course, my darling.’

And
the shopkeeper will take me down from the shelf and hand me to the
little princess. And...” “...she will take me home wrapped lovingly in
her arms. And she will rock me and cuddle me like her mother does her.
She will tell me wonderful stories and play with me the whole day long.
All of her friends will say, ‘How lucky you are to have such a
beautiful doll!’” Twinklinka was lost in her dream.

Finally,
evening came, the lights were turned off, everyone left and the shop
was closed up for the night. The other toys that had come from the
magical factory all jumped off their shelves and ran around excitedly,
happy to be free to play.

Nighttime was when they were their merriest.

But today was more special than usual, and everyone gathered around Twinklinka, curious about the beautiful newcomer.

"You are a very pretty doll. What’s your name?"

"What beautiful eyes you have!"

"Are these really diamonds on your hair and dress, twinkling like stars?"

Twinklinka was showered with questions.

In
the middle of all that, a grey Teddy bear in a green waistcoat, who had
been on the third shelf, ran up to her. And he gave the delicate doll
such a strong bear hug, that she almost lost her breath.

“W-welcome
to our toy shop!” he blurted out in a sweet voice, despite his gruff
looks. “Oh…thank you!” said Twinklinka, blushing a deep shade of
crimson. There were very happy and bubbly soft toys and dolls of many
nationalities. All the dolls, Teddy bears and bunnies were indeed
dazzled by her loveliness. Every time someone complimented her, she
smiled shyly, and her heart felt like it might bounce right out of her
chest.

“Your
dress is very beautiful!” Lilac, the French doll exclaimed. The
Japanese doll, Atsuko, and the Sri Lankan doll, Malithi, gaped at
Twinklinka’s exquisite dress. “I’m sure a rich young miss will buy you
very soon,” the Indian doll Brindha said, trying to have a closer look
at the twinkling things in her hair. “But... she should look like a
princess,” Twinklinka whispered to herself.

The following
morning, all the toys were back on their shelves and sitting still. A
pretty girl came in with her mother and ran straight to Twinklinka.
“Oh, Mum, this doll is very beautiful. Can I have it please?” she
pleaded.

“No darling, I don’t have enough money to buy that
one,” said her mother, looking at the price tag. “I’m sure you can find
something less expensive.” The little girl’s eyes narrowed and her
happy smile became a pout. And when her mother insisted, she took
Bianca, the Italian doll halfheartedly. Still she didn’t take her eyes
off Twinklinka, the one she really wanted, the most beautiful doll in
the whole shop. Twinklinka felt very sorry for the little girl. But she
knew she couldn’t go with her, because she was not the “pretty little
princess” in her dream.

From Here to There and Back again with Diddilydeedot : Blog

From Here to There and Back again with Diddilydeedot : Blog

Ukrainian Folktales:

Old woman scraped out the
flour-box and swept out the bin, she made some dough and she shaped a
little round bun out of it. She then lit the oven, baked the bun and
put it on the windowsill to cool...



by Volodimir Boyko, Translated by Irina Zheleznova
Illustrations by Yuliy Kryha

The Little Round Bun

          Once
upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman who were very poor
and had nothing at all to their name. And they kept getting poorer and
poorer till there was nothing left to eat in the house, not even bread.

Said the old man: Do bake us a bun, old woman! If you scrape out the flour-box and sweep out the bin, you'll have enough flour."


So the old woman scraped out the flour-box and swept out the bin, she
made some dough and she shaped a little round bun out of it. She then
lit the oven, baked the bun and put it on the windowsill to cool. But
the bun jumped out of the window and onto the bench outside, and from
the bench onto the ground, and away it rolled along the road!
 On and on it rolled, and it met a Rabbit coming toward it.
"I'm going to eat you up, Little Round Bun!" called the Rabbit.

"Don't do that, Fleet-Feet, let me sing you a song instead," said Little Round Bun.

"All right, let's hear it!"

"Here it is!

"I was scraped from the flour-box
And swept from the bin
And baked in the oven
And cooled on the sill.
I ran away from Grandpa,
I ran away from Grandma,
And I'll run away from you, this minute I will!"

And off it rolled and away.
By and by it met a Wolf coming toward it.
"I'm going to eat you up, Little Round Bun!" called the Wolf.
"Don't do that, Brother Wolf, let me sing you a song instead."
"All right, let's hear it!"

"I was scraped from the flour-box
And swept from the bin,
And baked in the oven,
And cooled on the sill.
I ran away from Grandpa,
I ran away from Grandma,
And I'll run away from you, this minute I will!"

Dodies_Dream_ World. : Blog

Dodies_Dream_ World. : Blog

 ECHO & NARCISSUS

ECHO & NARCISSUS

Zeus, the King of the Olympians, was known for his
many love affairs. Sometimes the young and beautiful Nymph Echo would
distract and amuse his wife Hera with long and entertaining stories,
while Zeus took advantage of the moment to ravish the other mountain
nymphs. When Hera discovered the trickery she punished the talkative
Echo by taking away her voice, except in foolish repetition of
another's shouted words. Thus, all Echo could do was repeat the voice
of another.

Echo fell
in love with a vain youth named Narcissus, who was the son of the blue
Nymph Leiriope of Thespia. The River god Cephisus had once encircled
Leirope with the windings of his streams, and thus trapping her, had
seduced the nymph. Narcissus was their child.

Concerned about the baby's welfare, Leirope went to
consult the oracle called Teiresias regarding her son's future.
Teiresias told the nymph that Narcissus "would live to a ripe old
age, as long as he never knew himself."

Narcissus was beautiful as a child and grew even more
so as he matured. By the age of sixteen he had left a trail of broken
hearts, from rejected lovers of both sexes. Narcissus wanted nothing
to do with falling in love with anyone and rebuffed all attempts at
romance.

One day when Narcissus
was out hunting stags, Echo stealthily followed the handsome youth
through the woods, longing to address him but unable to speak first.
When Narcissus finally heard footsteps and shouted "Who's
there?", Echo answered "Who's there?" And so it went,
until finally Echo showed herself and rushed to embrace the lovely
youth.

He pulled away from the
nymph and vainly told her to get lost. Narcissus left Echo heartbroken
and she spent the rest of her life in lonely glens, pining away for the
love she never knew, until only her voice remained.

A man named Ameinius
was one of Narcissus' most ardent admirers, and repeatedly vied for
his attention. The conceited youth responded by sending his suitor a
sword, telling him to prove his adoration. Ameinious proceeded to
plunge the sword into his heart, committing suicide to demonstrate his
love, but not before he beseeched the gods to punish the vain
Narcissus.

The goddess of the
hunt, Artemis, heard the plea and made Narcissus fall in love, but a
kind a love that couldn't be fulfilled. Narcissus came upon a clear
spring at Donacon in Thespia and, as he bent low to take a drink, for
the first time caught sight of himself reflected in the pool. Try as
he might to touch this exquisite person in the waters, however, he
never could.

For hours he sat enraptured
by the spring, at last recognizing himself but tortured by the
realization that he could never possess the object of his infatuation.
Narcissus was tormented, much as he had tormented all those who in the
past had been unlucky enough to fall in love with him.

Finally unable to stand
the agony Narcissus plunged a dagger in his heart and died, calling
out a last goodbye to his reflected image. Where his blood soaked the
earth sprung up the white narcissus flower with its red corollary.

From Here to There and Back again with Diddilydeedot : Blog

From Here to There and Back again with Diddilydeedot : Blog

 Malaysia
Dodiesdreamworld

EQ Strawberry Farm, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Posted:
04 Aug 2009 10:03 AM PDT

Being a tropical country, it’s not easy to grow strawberries in Malaysia.
Cameron Highlands is probably the only place which mass produced the juicy fruit
in the country thanks to its higher altitude and cooler temperature.

 

 

BEFORE WE TRAVEL TO MALAYSIA AND INDONESIA,

LET US TAKE A LITTLE DETOUR TO

JAVA AND BORNEO

FIRST, WITH A STORY THAT IS TOLD THROUGHOUT ASIA.

  This tale told by
the Ilocano is well known among both the Christianized and the wild tribes
of the Philippines, and also in Borneo and Java. However, the Ilocano
is the only version, so far as known, which has the explanatory element:
the reason is given here why monkeys do not eat meat. The turtle is accredited
with extraordinary sagacity and cunning. It is another example of the
type of tale showing the victory of the weak and cunning over the strong
but stupid.

The
Monkey and the Turtle


(Ilocano)

A Monkey, looking
very sad and dejected, was walking along the bank of the river one day
when he met a turtle.

"How are you?" asked the turtle, noticing that
he looked sad.

The monkey replied, "Oh, my friend, I am very hungry.
The squash of Mr. Farmer were all taken by the other monkeys, and now
I am about to die from want of food."

"Do not be discouraged," said the turtle; "take
a bolo and follow me and we will steal some banana plants."

So they walked along together until they found some nice
plants which they dug up, and then they looked for a place to set them.
Finally the monkey climbed a tree and planted his in it, but as the turtle
could not climb he dug a hole in the ground and set his there.

When their work was finished they went away, planning
what they should do with their crop. The monkey said:

"When my tree bears fruit, I shall sell it and have
a great deal of money."

And the turtle said: "When my tree bears fruit, I
shall sell it and buy three varas of cloth to wear in place of this cracked
shell."

A few weeks later they went back to the place to see their
plants and found that that of the monkey was dead, for its roots had had
no soil in the tree, but that of the turtle was tall and bearing fruit.

"I will climb to the top so that we can get the fruit,"
said the monkey. And he sprang up the tree, leaving the poor turtle on
the ground alone.

"Please give me some to eat," called the turtle,
but the monkey threw him only a green one and ate all the ripe ones himself.

When he had eaten all the good bananas, the monkey stretched
his arms around the tree and went to sleep. The turtle, seeing this, was
very angry and considered how he might punish the thief. Having decided
on a scheme, he gathered some sharp bamboo which he stuck all around under
the tree, and then he exclaimed:

"Crocodile is coming! Crocodile is coming!"

The monkey was so startled at the cry that he fell upon
the sharp bamboo and was killed.

Then the turtle cut the dead monkey into pieces, put salt
on it, and dried it in the sun. The next day, he went to the mountains
and sold his meat to other monkeys who gladly gave him squash in return.
As he was leaving them he called back:

"Lazy fellows, you are now eating your own body;
you are now eating your own body."

Then the monkeys ran and caught him and carried him to
their own home.

"Let us take a hatchet," said one old monkey,
"and cut him into very small pieces."

But the turtle laughed and said: "That is just what
I like, I have been struck with a hatchet many times. Do you not see the
black scars on my shell?"

Then one of the other monkeys said: "Let us throw
him into the water,"

At this the turtle cried and begged them to spare his
life, but they paid no heed to his pleadings and threw him into the water.
He sank to the bottom, but very soon came up with a lobster. The monkeys
were greatly surprised at this and begged him to tell them how to catch
lobsters.

"I tied one end of a string around my waist,"
said the turtle. "To the other end of the string I tied a stone so
that I would sink."

The monkeys immediately tied strings around themselves
as the turtle said, and when all was ready they plunged into the water
never to come up again.

And to this day monkeys do not like to eat meat, because
they remember the ancient story.

Another Wonderful Story from the Surlalune web site.

Seligor's Castle, where there is so much fun for all of our children in the land. : Blogs

Seligor's Castle, where there is so much fun for all of our children in the land. : Blogs