I need a Folk Tale for a course tomorrow possibly Swedish or Jamaican- help?

[KatyMac]

The brief is to tell a short story posssibly from a forest/woodland culture (children's story or folk tale) - maybe celtic or from another country.

So as I have Swedish and Jamaican connections - I wondered about something from those countries

But I'm not the best story-teller in the world & I feel quite nervous

Hi KatyMac, there's lots on the web, if you are specially looking for children's stuff, google 'whootie owl' stories to grow by- it's a US site you can search by country or theme- there are others too, but that's very user friendly- enjoy!

anansi is a Jamaican folk tale. Very good.

I love that site

Unfortunately the stories are quite long

I'm quite worried about telling a short story at such short notice

I was qoing to mention Anansi. A classic.

I found this but don't think I can do the accent

oh anansi and the talking melon is very funny
you don't need the accent necessarily

here's a great version
not too long IMO

LOL sorry I am ROFL just rereading it
I really think you must do this one

It's very funny

I'm not sure I can do funny, Scary I can do & mysterious, but not funny

I prefer poetry but they have asked for a folk tales

I don't think YOU have to be funny
just do it deadpan
it's bloody hilarious

no well anyway I hope you find the one you like

I can see myself doing this (see below) but it's not what I've been asked for

"Trolls are likely descended from the 'Jotun'3 of Norse Mythology. The Jotun were the enemies of the gods and were for the most part kept out of the human world by the vigilance of the gods. They lived in remote hills, forests and mountains and awaited the end of the world when they would do battle with the gods.
The trolls kept the mountains as their home, but they were no longer waiting to do battle with the gods. Instead they were fighting a losing battle against Christianity. Many large boulders in the vicinity of churches have stories about trolls attempting to wreck the building, often to still the church bells which would bother them even in their mountain homes. The boulders are then either something thrown by the troll, or the troll itself surprised by sunrise and turned to stone.
In some of the tales supernatural beings, human in appearance, are called trolls, evidence of the generic use of the word. Real trolls, however, are big and ugly and sometimes don't have the regular number of body parts for a humanoid shape.
The tale of The Boys who Met the Trolls in the Heddal Forest describes three trolls as tall as the trees, sharing one single eye. They take it in turns to use this eye, until one of the boys in the story steals it and holds it hostage for a large amount of gold and silver from the Trolls' hoard.
The most famous troll of all, the one in The Three Billy Goats Gruff, lives under a bridge that crosses a waterfall. It has eyes the size of tin plates and a nose as long as a rake. Although human proportions do not apply, it has to be fairly large to accommodate such features.
Trolls live inside hills and mountains and rarely close to humans. The inside of the hill can be but a simple dwelling, but it can also be a whole domain with houses and farmlands. Humans and trolls often come into conflict because trolls are territorial and claim an area around the entrance to their homes; because they like to steal valuables, like princesses; and because they often posses great riches, not only in gold and silver, but also in magic objects. Often the conflict involves all of the above.
Trolls are seldom intelligent and often downright stupid. Although they can smell the Christian blood of an uninvited visitor, a clever princess can always fool them by telling a tale of a bird recently dropping a human thighbone or something similar down the chimney.
Trolls eat the same things as humans, only in larger quantities. They have no scruples about eating human flesh, but can be fooled with a stick or similar to think you're not fat enough yet to be tasty.
An encounter with a troll is an opportunity for acquiring riches, potentially a princess and a kingdom, but also for losing your life quickly and brutally4. Only try it if:

• You are an only child, or the youngest of three brothers, or the youngest of the company of three you are travelling in.
• You have shown kindness and compassion to unfortunates you have met on your journey, and kept any innocent looking trinkets they might have given you.
• You are in possession of magical objects.
• You are a right clever lad. If the above list does not apply to you and you find yourself near a troll, you might want to run for safety"

I also like this one - but no forest/woods are mentioned

One day Grandpa Nasrettin walked into his house and his wife said, "Grandpa Nasrettin I'm going to make dinner, but there is no saucepan to make it in. Go to our neighbour and ask if we can borrow one."

Grandpa Nasrettin went next door and said, "may I borrow your saucepan please?" But their next door neighbour said "No!"

"I beg you! I beg you please," said Grandpa Nasrettin.

The neighbour said "All right, but bring it back when you have finished with it."

"Oh thank you and I will bring it back," said Grandpa.

The next day Grandpa Nasrettin put a little tin inside the neighbour's saucepan and went and gave it back to her.

"What is this small pan doing inside my big one?" she asked.

"Your pan has given birth," said Grandpa Nasrettin. The next door neighbour began to laugh.

A week later Grandpa went to borrow the pan again and the neighbour was very happy to lend it to him.

After a month, the neighbour knocked on Grandpa's door to ask for her saucepan back.

"I'm sorry. It's dead," he told her.

"Grandpa, pans never die," she laughed.

"Well you believe that it gave birth, why don't you believe it died?"

I do like this one too

Why Death is Like the Banana Tree

A Tale from Madagascar

God wanted the first man and woman to be able to choose the kind of death they would have. One day he asked, "Would you prefer to die like the moon, or like the banana tree?" The couple did not know what it meant to die like the moon or the banana tree, so God explained, "Each month the moon dies and fades away, but it revives bit by bit to live again. When the banana tree dies, it does not come back, but it leaves behind green shoots so that its offspring can carry on in its place. You may have offspring to take your place, or you may revive each month like the moon. You choose."

The couple considered the options for some time. If they chose to be childless, they would always be restored to life, like the moon. It would be lonely, however, and they would have no one to help them with their work, no one to teach, to love, or to strive for. They told God they preferred to be fruitful like the banana tree. God granted their wish. They had many fine children and a happy life and then they died. Since then there has been much love and new life on this earth, replenishing generation after generation. But since the first couple chose, each individual's life is brief, and in the end the body withers like a banana tree.

& this one

Why Trees Whisper

In the early days of earth, not long after the trees were created and humans were forced to leave Paradise to work, a man went out to the forest to cut wood. The first tree he came to was a pine tree. But as soon as the man lifted the axe he heard a voice cry out.

"Don't strike me. Can't you see the sticky tears that are already coming out of my body? If you hit me it will bring you bad luck."

The man did not indeed see the sticky sap coming from the several cuts in the tree trunk, so he moved on farther into the forest. He came to a spruce tree and again raised his axe. But the spruce tree protested.

"Don't cut me down. You will find me of little use for my wood is twisted and knotty."

Unhappily, the man went on until he came to an alder tree. Once more he raised his axe to strike but the alder shrieked at him.

"Be careful that you don't wound me. Whenever I am cut, blood runs from my heart. It will stain my wood and your axe blood red."

The man went no farther but called out to God.

"How am I to get wood to make fire and to build shelter? Every tree I meet cries out and pleads that I not cut it down."

God took pity on the man and said: "Return to the forest. I will see that hence forth no tree will talk back or contradict you."

The man did as he was told and this time no tree spoke to him. None protested as he cut down to make shelter and to make a fire.

The trees were not happy about this. They dared not complain aloud to God. Instead, they began to whisper softly, each time a person entered their domain in the forests. If you approach a group of trees anywhere, you can still hear them softly whispering to each other. They are gently complaining about their poor treatment at the hands of humans.

I used that last one

It was a success

I did it orally in a structure in front of a fire

It was fun