Mythology and Folklore

                 Hestia, who once was one of the twelve Olympians before she gave up her seat to keep harmony in Olympus, regarded her Temple with a careful eye. Her Temple was a humble one, for Hestia was the goddess of hearth and home, and had no need for the gold and statues the other gods favored. No priestesses had been here for quite some time, and it was extremely apparent. Something had happened in the city near her—Hestia was not sure what—and everyone had left quite quickly. The doors to her Temple had been left open, and all sorts of things had blown in. Cobwebs and dust were present on nearly every surface, and the fire in the hearth had long since blown out.   Hestia sighed, pursing her lips. She would deal with this tomorrow. It had been a long day for her, and even goddesses got tired. As she turned, she saw a very small person making their way into her Temple. Though, all people were small to Olympians (and she was...

Polyphemus growled slightly to himself as he walked back to the cave he had made into his home. It had been a long day. Everything on the island was provided by the gods—the sheep, the fish in the ocean surrounding them, the drinkable water, the fertile soil, the shelters. However, the upkeep needed to live off those things was done by the Cyclopses’ themselves. Today, Polyphemus had been helping one of the other Cyclops’ mend fishing nets, and his hands still ached from the labor. He flexed and then extended his fingers, trying to get the muscles to relax. Then, a few of the sheep that belonged in Polyphemus’ flock had veered away from the others for no discernible reason. Polyphemus had had to chase them down, and even though he was a Cyclops (and thus, a giant), traipsing all over the island cliffs for hours was not his idea of fun. After he had finally herded the sheep who had veered away back to the larger flock, one of the younger Cyclopses had done something while trying to make...

                                                                               Brer Fox      Brer Fox was ambling down the path toward his home. He paused when he heard Brer Frog croaking about another Fox by the river. Intrigued, Brer Fox rushed toward the embankment, nearly falling when he tripped over thin air in his excitement. Brer Fox caught sight of another Fox below the surface of the river! He moved to try to pull the other Fox up, but the ripples from the water Brer Fox displaced made it hard to see the other Fox. Eventually, after trying several times to pull the other Fox up out of the river, Brer Fox settled in the sand at the bank of the river. He could wait until the other Fox decided they were ready to come out. Only, Brer Fox had underestimated the how boring...

     Odysseus and his men came upon an island filled with greenery, goats, and plenty to eat. The men killed many sheep to eat, and once their hunger was satisfied, Odysseus and a few others set off to see who lived on the island. They stumbled across a cave, filled with cheese and wine. Seeing that someone lived here, Odysseus and his men waited. The first sign they had of something coming toward the cave was a rumbling noise, almost like an earthquake. A herd of goats made their way into the cave with a giant following them. The giant then moved a boulder that Odysseus and his men could not move even with a team of horses in front of the door. Odysseus and his men paled. This giant only had one eye, right in the center of his forehead. He was a Cyclops, a child of Poseidon. Odysseus, thinking quickly, rose to greet this Cyclops. Before he could say anything, however, the giant saw that his stores of cheese and wine had been depleted. Enraged, the Cyclops accused Odysseu...

     There once was a Tiger trapped in a cage. A Brahman, having happened upon his cage, felt sorry for the clearly distressed Tiger and decided to let him out. The Tiger rumbled gratefully at the Brahman and sank into a stretch, grumbling about being quite famished. The Tiger did not know why the Brahman paled at this, but that thought was soon driven from his head when the Brahman offered to bring him something to eat. The Tiger, who had been trapped in the cage for a long time and was quite famished, wondered into the shade of a nearby tree and laid down. The Brahman took off at a run.      Now, this Brahman, having been second guessing his decision to let the Tiger out of the cage, had misheard what the Tiger said. This Brahman was now under the impression that he was going to be eaten for dinner. Distraught, he decided to ask the advice of the things around him. Firstly, he happened upon a pipal-tree. The pipal-tree, who was quite bitter about being st...