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This
is our first forest theme and it has inspired a variety of
fascinating contributions from different countries.
Introduction
to Myths
- a
general introduction to forest myths and the use of myths in
environmental education.
Contributions
to this theme come from:
Bulgaria
- Learn
about the Bulgarian wood nymph, the ‘samodiva’ and the Tree
of Life. Here you
will also find a story called ‘The Magic Forest’ written by
13-year old Donka Dragova as well as some myths sent by the
pupils at Vasil Aprilov school.
Cyprus
-
Here
are four stories edited by pupils (aged 11 years) at Christakio
Primary School of Potamos Yermasoyias, about the most famous
tree in Cyprus, the olive tree.
Denmark
- How
did the Red Alder tree get its name?
Read about the Danish elves that live among the alder
trees.
England
- Read about the 'Hoods' from England: Little Red Riding
Hood and Robin Hood and their adventures in the forests of England
long ago.
Finland
- These
stories about the wolves, bears, trees and gods of the Finnish
forests have been edited by the pupils from the Lintumetsä Secondary
School.
Germany
- 'Hansel
and Gretel', an
old fairy tale written by the famous Brothers Grimm in the early
1800s, is set in one of the forests in Germany.
Read about how the clever children overcome the evil
in the forest.
Greece
- In
Greece many of the myths about trees are connected to stories
about the great Greek gods and goddesses.
Learn about the fir, oak, myrtle, pomengranate, laurel,
olive and others.
Ireland
- Here you can find two legends set in Irish woods: one about
telling secrets to oak trees and a very vain king who did not
like having his hair cut, and the other, a love story set in
a forest.
Southern
Africa
- Learn
about a very special tree in southern Africa and the role it
plays in ‘bringing home the spirit’ of someone who has died
far away from home.
Sweden
- Juniper
plants are special parts of Swedish forests.
Did you know that juniper beer is a healthy drink?
Learn more about juniper and then read about the Swedish
Skogsrået,
or Woman of the Forest.
Here you will also find extracts from 'The Wonderful
Adventures of Nils’ written by Selma Lagerlöf.
Nils is a little elf boy who travelled all around Sweden
on the back of a goose.
Learn about Swedish forests and wolves with Nils.
Turkey
- Read
about the ghost of Cicek Baba in the Black Pine Forest.
Introduction
Forest mean many different things to different people.
In the Learning About Forests programme we
recognise the importance that forests play from ecological,
socio-cultural and economic points of view.
One way of exploring the socio-cultural importance of
forests is to study the myths and stories that are told by
people about their forests.
By
reading the contributions from participating countries you can
learn about the significance of particular trees and forest
areas in different countries.
Many myths are fairy tales with deeper meanings to teach
certain lessons to children.
In some areas the forest has traditionally been seen as a
place of darkness and fear which we must learn to overcome. In the words of Terri Winding,
"The
fairy tale journey may look like an outward trek across plains
and mountains, through castles and forests, but the actual
movement is inward, into the lands of the soul. The dark path of
the fairy tale forest lies in the shadows of our imagination,
the depths of our unconscious. To travel to the wood, to face
its dangers, is to emerged transformed by this experience.
Particularly for children whose world does not resemble the
simplified world of television sit-coms ... this ability to
travel inward, to face fear and transform it, is a skill they
will use all their lives...."
("White as Snow: Fairy Tales and
Fantasy," in Snow White, Blood Red from
http://www.legends.dm.net/fairy/index.html- 1 February 2001)
In
environmental education we often focus on ecological aspects of
ecosystems but it is important to consider other areas too.
It is interesting to consider a question asked by Bob
Jickling, a well-known environmental educator from Canada. He asks: ‘What
is most fundamentally missing from societies’ educational
experiences?’ He finds some insights in the words of Norwegian
philosopher Arne Naess who said: “You learn as a child that
there is something called knowledge, and soon children learn
about scientific knowledge as something opposed to myths and the
undue influence of feelings, and values. And you easily get to
overestimate the importance of scientific knowledge in a vital
question, which is also a value question.”
(From http://www.planetcreacom.nl/bepa/ 13 January 2002).
Let us value both the myths and the scientific studies in
order to develop clearer understandings about our precious
forests.
We
hope you find these myths interesting and useful for your
students.
Please contact us if you would
like to share how you use them as others may find your
suggestions useful. New myths are also welcome.
Bulgaria
From:
Stanimir
Georgiev
Learn
about the Bulgarian wood nymph, the ‘samodiva’ and the Tree
of Life. Here you
will also find a story called ‘The Magic Forest’ written by
13-year old Donka Dragova as
well as some myths sent by the pupils at Vasil Aprilov school.
The
myth is history and philosophy and at the same time religion and
science, moral lesson and literature.
Even primitive man was looking at the surrounding world with
great interest and curiosity, which he satisfied with the help
of his imagination, creativity and wit. Sometimes he may have
passed by a rock or a tree without paying attention
to
it, but if it caught his eye with something extraordinary in its
appearance, shape or position, he would immediately assign some
magic power to it.
Trees
have power and soul and they come into a special connection with
man sometimes, and it is believed that someone who is related
with them will die if they are cut. It is the same with animals
too. That is why man feels like “primus inter pares” among
them and not superior to them, because as the animals may
transform into humans, the humans can turn into animals too in
the myths.
Bulgarian
myths often originate from the beliefs of the people and their
superstitions. There are different types of myths:
-
Some
are based on the Bible;
-
Some
are emphasising ethics;
-
Some
depict strange and magic creatures and people’s beliefs in
them;
-
Some
myths try to explain phenomena, customs, origin of things.
The
main character in the Bulgarian forests myths is the so-called
samodiva – a wood nymph, which is the Bulgarian equivalent of
the elf and the fairy. (Diva can be translated either as
wild or as wonderful and fascinating.)
The
Bulgarian samodivi live in the forest or in the mountain rivers
and springs. They fly in their long light white shirts and ride
grey deer, which they whip with snakes, dance wild chain dances
in a circle (the Bulgarian dance horo) and their laughter is
heard everywhere. The samodivi have beautiful palaces in the
forest where they grow the samodivi flower, which is called
rosen or dittany (Dictamnus fraxinella). The samodivi are very
beautiful and charming ladies, who seek friendship with humans
and they tempt and enchant men and if they are betrayed by them
their revenge is really cruel. They can bring you suffering,
illness or death if you treat them badly and they can cure you
as well if you win their mercy. They lose their magic power if
someone steals the veil or wreath they wear on their heads.
The
Spring of the Samodivi
We
believe in the healing power of the samodivi and their spring.
Usually people with illness, that cannot be identified or cured
in any other way, go to a glade in the forest by the samodivi
spring only once a year – on the eve of the Ascension Day.
They find a place on the glade, near a samodivi flower
and make up their bed for the night there. Every ill person
leaves a bowl with honey, covered with a round loaf of bread by
the stem of the flower and goes to the samodivi spring where he
washes his face or bathes in it if possible. Then he leaves some
sign by the spring – usually a thread from his clothes or a
coin and gets back to the glade in total silence where he lies
on his bedding and covers himself with a white cloth. Everyone
there waits for the storm, which is repeated three times and
then the samodivi come, led by their queen. They throw their
sign on the white cloths of the sick people, which can be a sign
of healing or a sign of death. If you see or hear the samodivi
you must not talk because you will get crippled, deaf or blind.
When the storm is over, before daybreak all the ill people get
up in the dark and run silently away from the glade. Sunrays
should not touch them. When the people get back home they open
the cloth and by the samodivi sign they find, they read their
destiny. If they find fresh rosen flower or green grass they
will be cured. If they find earth or dry grass it means they
will fade away and die.
You
can learn more about samodivi, or woodland fairies, at
http://www.omda.bg/engl/ethnography/samodivi.html
The
Tree of Life
The tree of life is one of the most widespread mythical
symbols of the universe in Bulgarian mythology. It embodies the
idea of the three layers of the world in a vertical plan.
The
head of the tree symbolises the upper, heavenly world with its
real and supernatural inhabitants – birds (eagle, pigeon),
God, the saints and angels.
The
trunk of the tree of life is the middle world or our world on
earth.
The
roots of the tree represent the lower, underground world,
haunted mainly by evil demons of darkness and water, living in
the bodies of the snake, the dragon, the fish, the mole.
The
tree of life expresses the archaic notion of the possibility to
cross the boundaries between the lower, middle and upper world.
It is interpreted as the “way” to the worlds of the
heavenly gods or the underground demons.
Usually
in the myths and customs the tree of life is the oak, the
walnut-tree or the pine tree and rarely the elm-tree or the
vine. The tradition prohibits breaking of the branches or
cutting such age-old trees.
Religious ceremonies and sacrifices were held under old
trees like in a temple in the name of the saint - guardian of
that place, in the name of the demons of the illness and in the
name of the gods of thunder
and
rain. The blood of the sacrificed animals was let to flow and
soak into the roots of the tree.
The
symbol of the tree of life is widely covered in the Bulgarian
traditional culture, art and crafts. We can find it in the
traditional
embroidery and woodcarving,
in the decoration of metal vessels and pottery, in the gold and
silver jewelry. The tree of life is typical not only for the
myths, but for the folk songs too.
Very
often the tree of life is considered the mythical equivalent of
the individual and his home as a model of the micro cosmos,
which develops according to the rules and laws of the Universe
(the macro cosmos).
The
Magic Forest
A story by Donka Dragova – 13 years old
There
was a beautiful forest, surrounded by mountains, with a
magnificent small lake in the centre of it. Thousands of fish
lived in the clear water and many animals and birds found their
shelter in the trees and bushes.
Fabulous
forest creatures lived in that heavenly spot untouched by human
eye or hand. Beautiful forest nymphs gathered around the big
willow-tree by the lake every night. They used to sing and dance
under the oldest tree in the world.
But
the Devil was envious and decided to harm the harmony of the
magic forest. He washed his muddy and ugly body, combed his hair
and suddenly turned into a handsome forest spirit. One night he
went to the old willow and started dancing together with the
fine creatures there. Their queen was swinging on a big branch
while her friends sang and danced with the stranger.
The
Devil grinned cunningly and invited the beautiful queen to dance
with him. They started dancing enchanted by the magic songs and
motions of the other fairies. Suddenly the Devil jumped, grabbed
the golden crown from the head of the queen and sank in the
black ground.
The
young queen screamed and started crying. She felt sick and lay
down on the bottom of the lake. Frightened the animals hid in
their holes and shelters, the birds started yelling and black
clouds covered the sky over the century-old forest, terrifying
thunder and lightnings cut the darkness.
The
queen of the fairies died in sorrow after two days. At that time
the old willow-tree fell down. Chaos reigned over the forest.
The fairies were crying all the time and they forgot the songs
and dances. They did not leave their
palaces
on the bottom of the lake, whose water raved in grief too. All
the inhabitants of the forest felt something terrible was about
to happen.
And
the revenge
was
not late. All the forest powers got angry. The old trees
entangled the Devil in their roots and took him out of the
ground. All the birds and animals were waiting for a signal to
attack him. The forest spirits appeared and they crucified the
Devil on the place where the old willow-tree was growing and
burned him.
After
a long time the harmony in the heavenly forest was restored. The
fairies chose a new queen and the body of the late queen was
placed in a glass coffin covered with flowers on the bottom of
the lake. You can still see it there.
Then
God created the pine-tree so that he could beat the Devil. This
tree is evergreen and God ruled over the Earth all the year.
Where there is a pine – God is also there.
The
Devil got angry and took a drill. He wanted to make holes in the
trees so that they would die. Knots appeared in the holes –
they were signs of the Devil. But in spite of this the
pine-trees still grow.
When
you are near a pine-tree you must know that God is on the other
side of the tree. Don’t look for him but plant a pine-tree and
so in that way you will become God’s partner. If you see a
cone fall from the pine-tree you have planted it will be best
present that God gave you.
Sayings
about trees
Pine and fir-tree: These
trees grow high up in the mountains, where others trees cannot
grow up. Pine and fir-trees are symbols of innocence and
sometimes songs compare young women and girls with these trees.
Walnut: Under
it’s shadow you must not stay, because you might fall ill.
Beech: Beech
woods are always dark and dangerous and devils and
‘karakonjels’ live here. The beech woods have frightful,
awful names like ‘The Devil’s Valley’, ‘The Dark
River’, ‘Oukchlenski Valley’.
Oak: Bulgarians
say that this is a holy tree. This tree lives for many years.
Many oaks can be found on Strandja mountain.
At Christmas the oak is put into fires which burn all
night.
Pear: The
Pear tree is the keeper of the field. Evil spirits and devils
cannot live in its shade. Because of this the swings of the
children are tied to pear trees.
Legend
of the last brown bear
This
legend tells us about a group of treasure-hunters. The
treasure-hunters were living at “Chajduchky dol” area. They
killed a bear. This big animal had a little child.
The
story continues with one herdsman. He took the bear’s child at
his home and many years he was looking after it and saved it
from the winter cold days. The legend tells us how the same
little bear grew up and helped the herdsman and some other
members of this family. The bear also helped many other people.
But
one day envious inhabitants from the neighbouring village killed
the bear. From this day their life became difficult and bad;
illnesses, troubles and death were everywhere.
People
believe that they are damned by
the bear.
God
and the Deers
At Stranja mountain there is a legend that narrates that
deers are God's creatures. God himself is their shepherd. We
mustn’t kill them. This is a story of one little deer.
An
old man treated some hunters with the meat of the little deer.
One hunter hid one of the deer’s bones.
The next day the group of hunters killed a deer.
But it
was the same little deer that the old man had
given them.
From this time they decided do not kill the deers, because they
are God’s herd.
Why does the aspen shake?
Once upon a time when God came to the Earth he went through the
forest. All trees bowed to him and only the aspen stayed erect.
That’s why it was cursed to shake forever.
A
legend about the Rhodopi
Once upon a time, there was a good pious man, living in the
mountains, called Slav. He used to eat only forest fruit. Slav
knew the healing power of the herbs and used to cure people. A
lot of them looked for his help and everyone was cured. Slav
lived for a long time. After his death the mountain was called
“Slaveeva polyana”. The grateful generations narrate
splendid stories about him and beautiful Rhodopa where lies the
fragrant “Poislavova polyana”.
Cyprus
From:
Demetris
Mikellides
Here
are four stories edited by pupils (aged 11 years)
at Christakio Primary School of Potamos Yermasoyias, about the
most famous tree in Cyprus, the olive tree.
Myths
of the Cypriot Olive Tree
The Olive Tree - Story no. 1
Once
upon a time, Cyprus was full of dragons. The people didn’t
live happily. At least so it seemed. Aphrodite, the Goddess of
beauty, ordered the fairies to tell Hercules (a national hero in
ancient Greece) to come to Cyprus. Goddess Aphrodite told
Hercules to go to the dragons’ lair and exterminate them. The
evil spirits were there too, as they were the dragons’
masters. When the dragons were killed, their masters remained.
Hercules couldn’t beat them, so he asked his friend Theseus
for help. The two of them managed to send the evil spirits that
guarded the olive seeds away. Immediately Aphrodite appeared
before them, took the seeds and so olive trees grew.
The Olive Tree - Story no.
2
Once
upon a time,
Cyprus was an island full of forests: pine-trees,
fir-trees, platens, willow-trees covered the land and made it as
green as a forest can be. Forests, mountains, rivers and the
clear, blue sea turned this scenic island basking under the sun
into Heaven on Earth. The people here lived a content life.
But
god Ares (Mars, the god of war), furious from jealousy for the
beauty of the island, sent his evil minions, the little goblins
over, having given them a lurid red seed. The goblins came to
Cyprus and planted the notorious seed. Gradually, they grew into
mysterious, wicked trees. Soon, they spread over the whole
island of Cyprus.
On
a peaceful day, goddess Aphrodite (Venus, the goddess of beauty,
native of Cyprus) was walking around in the magnificent Paphos
forest. As she was wandering, she noticed these sinister trees.
There were black and green fruit on the dark green branches. She
wanted to try them. She approached and picked one. When she put
it in her mouth, she collapsed. She was unconscious when the
fairies of the forest happened to be passing by, found her and
carried her to their kingdom. They took good care of her and
when she came to, they asked for explanations. She recounted
everything.
The
fairies placed a magical, golden seed at the roots of those
plants and all of a sudden the poisonous trees became lovely and
beautiful. They named them OLIVE TREES. Since then, the olive
tree is the most well-known and nicest tree of the Cyprian
flora.
The
Fairies had planted the whole of their castle gardens with olive
trees. One day, two giants that lived in the area, Titan and
Zeron were going for a stroll. They didn’t notice that there
were olive trees there. So they stepped on hundreds of trees and
left without realizing what they had done.
When
the fairies saw the damage done, they were very sad. But their sorrow didn’t last for long, as they
perceived that a kind of juice was squeezed out of the crashed
olive crop. The youngest fairy, Marilena, tasted this juice. She
liked it and added it to her salad. It was delicious. The
fairies processed this juice in their workshop and called it
OLIVE OIL. So they used it for other sorts of food which became
tastier and more nutritious. From that time on, have nominated
the olive tree as THE TREE OF CYPRUS.
The Olive Tree - Story no.
3
Cyprus
was a beautiful island. Everywhere was green.
Mountains, rivers, animals and people were part of its natural
environment. People lived happily until one day they realised
that something was missing.
A
winter day some people went to a beautiful forest in Cyprus.
They had a lot of fun but then it started raining and the people
looked everywhere to find a place to go under. They found a cave
and they were very happy about it.
Down
the cave there was an old wooden door. They tried to open it but
it was locked. There was a large key on the door. When the storm
and the raining became heavy they decided to break the door with
this key. They thought that there would be a warm room to rest.
The
door opened and the people got inside. There was an old bed full
of dust and spiders. As soon as the people saw these they
started to get out but it was too late. Ghosts and spirits
appeared all of a sudden and started torturing them in many
ways. In the meantime other people who knew about their
friends’ excursion to the forest worried about them a lot.
They couldn’t go to find them because it was very dark.
The
next day they went to Eleophoros Square to look for their
friends. The ghosts and the spirits appeared again and started
taking these people too. They had nearly taken all of them when
a strange tree came out of the earth. The people started cutting
the branches of the tree. They threw them against the ghosts.
All the ghosts disappeared forever. This tree was named ELIA
because it appeared in Eleophoros Square. (ELIA means olive
tree).
So
the people started to grow olive trees and Cyprus became full of
olive trees. The people of Cyprus started using olive oil in
their food and they loved olive trees. The olive tree is the
most popular tree in Cyprus.
The Olive Tree - Story no.
4
Once
upon a time, there were two dragons imprisoned in a cage. They
belonged to a king. Theseus and Hercules, the two famous heroes
in ancient Greece, were the guards of the dragons. They watched
them carefully and they were hoping to catch a third dragon
because the King promised them a very beautiful present.
When
the day came to look for the third dragon, they went to a very
dangerous forest. They found the dragon there and they started
fighting with him very bravely. Finally they won.
When
they returned with the dragon, the King was very proud of them.
These kinds of dragons were called Elion. Theseus and Hercules
found a seed in the dragon’s mouth and when they planted it,
it grew a tree which they named it after the dragon. Elion, they
called it ELIA (which means olive tree).
The
King gave them a wonderful garden with many kinds of trees like
them. Theseus and Hercules, however, decided to plant the seed
in their garden and since then it became the olive garden. All
these things happened in Cyprus, and Cyprus is famous for its
olives.
Denmark
From:
Malene
Bendix
How
did the Red Alder tree get its name?
Read about the Danish elves that live among the alder
trees.
Myths
about alder Trees
The
name
Red Alder (or Common Alder) gets its name from the fact that its
timber is red straight after it has been felled. This happens
because the juice of the alder becomes red when it comes into
contact with oxygen. If the tree is felled during spring, when
there is high pressure on its juices, then the red juice will
leak out from the cut. Then it looks as if the tree is bleeding.
Elves
Red Alder thrives in damp conditions, where fog is often formed.
When the wind moves the fog it looks as if forms and shapes are
moving between the alder trees. In previous times people were
convinced that these forms were Elves that danced. Elves were
dangerous creatures, as they would put spells on people. If a
spell was cast on you, you would be afflicted by elves and be
good for nothing. You could even die of such spells!
During
the days the Elves would stay underneath the old alder trees. An
old treetrunk of Red Alder with many small shoots of new growth
protuding from it would be called an "aldertrunk". It
was told that if you saw an elven girl from the front she would
be very comely and beautiful. But if you saw her from behind she
would look like an "aldertrunk" - and she would have a
hole in her back. People said that:
The Elven girl is comely and pious if seen from the
front, but she is empty and hollow if seen from behind.
England
Read about the 'Hoods' from England: Little Red Riding
Hood and Robin Hood and their adventures in the forests of
England long ago.
Little
Red Riding Hood
Robin
Hood
Little
Red Riding Hood
There are many versions of this famous story for children.
In some stories Little Red Riding Hood escapes the wolf,
in others she gets eaten up!
When children were told the story it was always with the
message that when they were sent on errand they should not stop
along the way to play or talk to strangers. Look
at the home page for the Little Red Riding Hood Project: www.dept.usm.edu/~engdept/lrrh/lrrhhome.htm – here
you will find many different versions of the story and wonderful
pictures.
Source of story
and picture: "Little Red Riding Hood Project", Michael
N. Salda (ed), The de Grummond Children's Literature Research
Collection, University of Southern Mississippi, http://www.dept.usm.edu/~engdept/lrrh/lrrhhome.htm
Adapted
from English Fairy Tales, Flora Annie Steel, Macmillan, London,
1979
Once
upon a time there was a little girl who was called little Red
Riding-Hood, because she was quite small and because she always
wore a red cloak with a big red hood, which her grandmother had
made for her.
Now
one day her mother, who had been churning and baking cakes, said
to her: “My dear, put on your red cloak with the hood,
and take this cake and pot of butter to your Granny, and ask how
she is, for I hear she is not well.”
Now
little Red Riding-Hood was very fond of her grandmother, who
made her so many nice things, so she put on her cloak joyfully
and started on her errand.
But her grandmother lived some way off, and to reach the
cottage little Red Riding-Hood had to pass through a big lonely
forest. However,
some wood-cutters were at work in it, so little Red Riding-Hood
was not very frightened when she saw a great big wolf coming
towards her, because she knew that wolves were not very brave.
And
sure enough the wolf, who would surely have eaten little Red
Riding-Hood if it was’t for the wood-cutters, only stopped and
asked her politely where she was going.
“I
am going to see Granny, take her this cake and this pot of
butter, and ask how she is,” says little Red Riding-Hood.
“Does
she live a very long way off?” asks the wolf craftily.
“Not
so very far if you go by the straight road,” replied little
Red Riding-Hood. You
only have to pass the mill and the first cottage on the right is
Granny’s; but I am going by the wood path because there are
nuts and flowers and butterflies.”
“I
wish you good luck,” says the wolf politely.
“Give my respects to your grandmother and tell her I
hope she is quite well soon.”
And
with that he trotted off. But
instead of going his own way he turned back, took the straight
road to the old lady’s cottage, and knocked at the door.
Rap!
Rap! Rap!
“Who’s
there?” asked the old lady, who was in bed.
“Little
Red Riding-Hood,” sings out the wolf, making his voice as
shrill as he could. “I
have come to bring dear Granny a pot of butter and a cake from
mother, and to ask how you are.”
“Pull
the door open then,” says the old woman, well satisfied.
So
the wolf pulled the door open, and – oh my! – it wasn’t a
minute before he had gobbled up old Granny, for he had had
nothing to eat for a week.
Then
he shut the door, put on Granny’s night-cap, and, getting into
bed, rolled himself well up in the blankets.
By
and by along comes little Red Riding-Hood, who has been amusing
herself by gathering nuts, running after butterflies and picking
flowers.
She
knocked at the door.
Rap!
Rap! Rap!
“Who’s
there?” says the wolf, making his voice as soft as he could.
Now
little Red Riding-Hood heard the voice was very gruff, but she
thought her grandmother had a cold; so she said: “Little Red
Riding-Hood, with a pot of butter and a cake from mother, to ask
how you are.”
“Pull
the door open then.”
So
little Red Riding-Hood pulled the door open, and there she
thought, was her grandmother in the bed; for the cottage was so
dark one could not see well.
Besides the crafty wolf turned his face to the wall at
first. And he made his voice as soft, as soft as he could, when he
said:
“Come
and kiss me, my dear.”
Then
little Red Riding-Hood took off her cloak and went to the bed.
“Oh,
Grandmamma, Grandmamma,” says she, “what big arms you’ve
got!”
“All
the better to hug you with”, says he.
“But,
Grandmamma, Grandmamma, what big legs you have!”
“All
the better to run with, my dear.”
“Oh,
Grandmamma, Grandmamma, what big ears you’ve got!”
“All
the better to hear you with, my dear.”
“But,
Grandmamma, Grandmamma, what big eyes you’ve got!”
“All
the better to see you with, my dear!”
“Oh,
Grandmamma, Grandmamma, what big teeth you’ve got!”
“All
the better to eat you with, my dear!” says that wicked, wicked
wolf, and with that he gobbled up little Red Riding-Hood.
Robin
Hood
There are many different versions of the legend of
Robin Hood and his Merry Men who lived in Sherwood Forest,
Nottinghamshire, England in the 1100s.
Although Robin Hood was a bandit, he only took from the
rich to give to the poor, and for many people Robin Hood has
become a symbol of fearlessness and justice.
Read about some of the myths of Robin Hood below. You can also find information about Sherwood Forest where
Robin lived.
The
extracts below come from 'A Beginner's Guide to Robin
Hood' at Robin Hood -- Bold Outlaw of Barnsdale and Sherwood
http://www.boldoutlaw.com.
and
are
reproduced with the kind permission of Allen W. Wright. Visit
his site for much more on Robin Hood.
Source of picture: "Robin Hood Project - University of Rochester
http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/rh/rhhome.htm
Robin
Hood, dressed in green with a feathered cap and a bow and arrow,
is probably the most famous English outlaw of all time.
As
an outlaw, Robin lived outside the protection of the law. But he
was a law unto himself. He was the self-styled king of the
greenwood -- either Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire or
Barnsdale in Yorkshire.
But Robin was no common criminal. As the famous saying
goes, he robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. The poor had
little to fear from Robin Hood. His enemies were the rich and
corrupt, especially the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Sometimes
Robin Hood fought for the Saxons. The Saxons were better known
as the English, and for a time they lived under the cruel
domination of the Normans, the French-speaking descendants of
Vikings. In many modern stories, Robin fights for an England
where Norman and Saxon could live together in peace.
Robin
Hood could usually be found with his band of Merry Men -- Little
John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, Much the Miller's Son, Alan a
Dale. The beautiful Maid Marian was his true love.
Robin
Hood was a champion archer. Once, in a Nottingham archery
tournament, the prize was an arrow with a silver shaft and
golden head and feathers. It was a tough contest. Some people
say Robin's leading opponent shot an arrow into centre of the
target. It seemed impossible to beat that shot. But bold
Robin Hood took aim and fired an arrow that split his opponent's
arrow in two. Thus, Robin won the tournament and the gold and
silver arrow. Some tales say Robin can split a mere branch from
over 300 yards away.
But
for all this, Robin actually lost a lot of fights. There are
many stories where Robin meets a stranger, often a simple
tradesman like a potter or a tanner. Robin picks a fight.
But the stranger often overpowers Robin Hood. Then Robin
sometimes asks the stranger to join his band. This is how many
of the most famous Merry Men met Robin Hood.
There
are many stories about the adventures of Robin Hood.
Nobody is quite sure who he really was or even how he
died.
One thing is certain though, his spirit remains alive -
when good friends gather or when the underprivileged need a
champion. For centuries people have recalled the legends of
Robin Hood. He will never be truly
dead as long as someone
tells a tale of the bold outlaw of Barnsdale and Sherwood.
| 
Myths
