The Sun and the North Wind (Aesop)
The Sun and the North Wind were arguing about who was the stronger of the two of them. They agreed to a challenge. The one which made a traveller take off his cloak would be known as the more powerful. The Wind began, blowing a fierce, icy blast. But the stronger he blew, the closer the traveller wrapped his cloak around him. Then, the Sun came out. The traveller felt the warm sunlight, and as the Sun shone brighter and brighter, the traveller took off his cloak. So, the Sun was declared the winner. |
The Legend of Cantre'r Gwaelod
King Gwyddno Garanhir ruled over a wealthy kingdom in West Wales, near the sea, called Cantre'r Gwaelod. It was a rich and fertile land and the people were happy. A great dam defended this land as it lay below sea level. The guardian of the dam was a prince named Seithennin. His job was to let water in and out of the gates as was needed. However, Seithennin grew bored of the job. He stopped checking for cracks and neglected the gates. |
Two Kinds of Luck (Russian tale)
There were two brothers. The older brother was very poor indeed, while the younger brother was very rich. One day, the poor brother asked his younger brother if he could borrow a horse for ploughing. The rich brother agreed. But when the poor brother went to the field, there were some men there ploughing with his brother's horses. "Stop! Who are you?" he cried. One of the ploughmen said "We are your brother's Luck! He does nothing, while we work for him" "Well" said the poor brother "what has happened to my Luck?" The ploughman pointed to a hedge "Your Luck is lying over there under a bush, he does nothing, he just sleeps all the time." The poor brother woke up his Luck and demanded that Luck help him. "Well, then" said his Luck "drop your farming and start trading. Sell your wife's old dress, then with the money, buy another and sell that. I will help you." |