The Princess and the Pea

There was a kind prince who wished for love. He searched, but he could not find a lady he liked.

One night, he met a beautiful lady in a dream. Her skin was so soft. She could even feel a little pea under the thick mattress when they slept… Suddenly, the prince woke up.

As time went on, the face of the dream lady blurred in his mind.

A knock at the door.

He opened the door.

A maid looking for work stood before the door, and he saw a shallow welt shaped just like a pea on her neck.

By: Taiwei Chang

The Lonely Shepherd

A lonely shepherd played the flute when a beautiful woman appeared. They fell in love and married.

Together, they had two sons, and he discovered they were peris. If he were unfaithful or told their secret, she vowed he’d never see them again.

One day, the shepherd left for his former home, but the peri followed him and waited for him to tell her secret. Several days passed and he revealed nothing of the peris.

On his last day at home, he told his first wife the truth.

Upset, the peri declared their relationship over and vanished with their children.

By: anon.

The Peri Wife

Three years had passed since the heartbroken peri wife took her two sons and left her dear husband. She remembered her vow but regretted leaving her love.

Every day, she observed her shepherd play a sad tune on his flute and wait for her.

Stubborn and jealous by peri nature, her time separated from him allowed her to make peace with his betrayal. It had been for the safety of his first children.

Watching her sons grow made her see he had been right.

So, when her shepherd came to the spot they met, she stood there with open arms.

By: anon.

Sabzperi, The Emerald Peri

Sabzperi was a dancing peri in the court of Indra, King of the Gods.

She fell in love with Prince Gulfam, a human, and brought him to heaven, keeping their love secret from Indra.

Gulfam was jealous of the time she spent dancing in Indra’s court.

“No human may go there!’ she said, but Gulfam insisted.

She took him to court, hiding him in her wings. But Indra saw Gulfam and hurled him down from heaven.

Then he had Sabzperi’s wings torn off until she forgot about her love for Gulfam; only then would she be welcome again in heaven.

By: LKG

Rufio

King — they call him. Rufio learns to whisper, “Pan.” Then — “Peter.” But being the right-hand man of Neverland’s leader makes Rufio privy to Peter’s uglier parts. And he wonders if now that he’s older, leaner, no longer a boy — will his king tire of him? Peter promises adventure. Their days together burst effervescent, without responsibility, their skin tingling with pixie dust, but it comes at the price of a shorter life. Because Pan doesn’t tolerate adulthood. He doesn’t accept his Lost Boys growing up.

But it’s a fair trade, isn’t it?

Rufio expected to die young anyway.

By: Harana

The Hill Giant

Once a hill giant offered to help build a fortress for the gods, requesting the sun, moon, and Freya as wife. The gods agreed if he and his horse, Svadilfari, finished before summer started.

The giant began working, letting Svadilfari do most of the work.

The deadline was arriving and the gods were fearful he would succeed. Loki disguised himself as a mare and seduced Svadilfari, rendering the hill giant unable to meet the deadline.

The gods got a fortress … and an eight-legged foal, Sleipnir, for free: Loki had gotten impregnated by Svadilfari.

Sleipnir later became Odin’s steed.

By: Addison Franca

Freya’s Necklace

Freya, a concubine of Odin, discovered four dwarves crafting a beautiful necklace. She wanted it, and the dwarves said she could have it if she slept with ALL of them.

She did what a jewelry-loving goddess had to do.

Loki saw this and, disguising himself as a flea, he stole the necklace from sleeping Freya, giving it to Odin.

Freya told Odin about the theft but he said he knew all about her affair, and he would give it back if she started a never-ending war between two kings: every time a king died he would rise again.

Freya agreed.

By: Addison Franca

Yamato’s Sacred Sword

Having lost his sacred sword, Yamato beseeched Kwannon to help him find the sword. The Goddess of Mercy told him a deer had his sword.

Yamato began to search, but realized he had no weapon. He asked the Goddess again, and she gave him a lance. He asked for hounds to help, and she gave him her wolves.

They chased after the deer until the wolves could no longer follow. The deer plunged into a lake, and, seeing the sword on its great antlers, Yamato threw his lance. It plunged into the deer’s heart, and Yamato retrieved his sacred sword.

By: Jaicee Dickerson

A Knight’s Take on King Arthur

Today is the day of the tournament. I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to be crowned king — after all, everybody knows I’m the best knight we have. I get that nobody was able to pull the sword from the stone, so they’re making us do this, but I bet I could have if I tried.

In walks Arthur, wait — did I just see him with the sword from the stone? There’s no way! Someone must have pulled it for him. If I, a noble knight, can’t pull it, there’s no way that lowlife did. I won’t accept it.

The Moral of the Story:
That loser just got the sword.

By: Sidney May

A Short Odyssey

Austin was initially taken aback by Polyphemus. He had never seen a cyclops before until he and his men had been shipwrecked on this god-forsaken island.

The cyclops had already eaten six of Austin’s best men. He knew that if he was complacent any longer, they would all be goners.

Summoning his remaining courage, Austin called out to Polyphemus as he rolled back the stone to come into the cave for the day. “Hey man, would you wanna have a guitar battle sometime?”

As the cyclops turned to Austin, Austin’s men gouged its eye out with a cyclops-sized guitar.

By: Christian Trent

Creation Myth: When God Spoke

The waters were calm when God first spoke.

Suddenly light, air, and earth leapt into existence.

Not finished yet, God created the first man and woman — Adam and Eve.

The couple was very happy together in the garden God made for them until one day when Eve was tempted by the forbidden fruit. It was the only rule God had given the couple: don’t eat from the tree.

But Eve couldn’t help herself, and Adam ate too.

They could no longer live in the garden and were cast out of paradise.

However, God hadn’t given up on them yet.

By: Rachel Averitt

The Fall

The serpent appeared to Eve in the garden.

Eve told the serpent, “I must not eat the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden for it would kill me.”

The serpent tempted Eve by telling her, “You will not die from eating this delicious fruit.”

Overcome with temptation, Eve ate from the tree.

She gave to Adam too and their eyes were opened to their sin. They became ashamed of their nakedness and covered themselves with fig leaves.

God called out to them, but the couple would not confess their sins.

The Lord cursed Adam and Eve.

By: Morgan Pask

The Sunrise and the Serpent

Adam and Eve awoke to a blazing sun.

Thinking God was the sun sending a plague onto them, Adam became afraid.

Then Adam and Eve left the cave to search for the garden. In the garden, they found the serpent who tempted them before. The serpent was the meanest creature on earth; its venom was a curse from God.

It ran after Eve, and Adam went to stop it. The serpent pinned them to the ground, but God sent his angel to save them. God struck the serpent dumb and the wind carried it away to the seashore of India.

By: Morgan Pask

Creation Myth: Izanagi and Izanami

Izanagi and Izanami stretched their jeweled spear down from the heavens and stirred the calm ocean water.

Suddenly all the islands of Japan sprang into existence.

From the couple’s marriage were born every human being and kami.

The two were very happy together, until one day when Izanami perished giving birth. Distraught, her husband Izanagi followed her to the underworld to get her back. But since she had eaten the food from the underworld, she was forbidden to return.

Purifying himself before his return to heaven, Izanagi accidentally created three new kami by washing his face: Susanoo, Tsukoyomi, and Amaterasu.

By: Rachel Averitt

Why the Sun Rises Every Day

One day, the sun goddess Amaterasu was weaving at her loom when her stormy brother and enemy Susanoo burst in and killed one of her handmaidens.

Grieving, Amaterasu fled to a cave, and the sun disappeared.

In the darkness, the frightened inhabitants of the earth devised a plan. The Goddess of Laughter helped the humans by laughing and dancing outside the cave.

Within the shadowy cavern, Amaterasu stirred and peeked outside. The people held up a large mirror. When Amaterasu saw her reflection, she thought it was a rival! She exited the cave, and the sun’s been shining ever since.

By: Rachel Averitt

Why the Sun and Moon Got Divorced

One day, the Moon God went to dinner in the palace of the Sun Goddess, his wife.

At dinner, the Moon God was offended by the rude manner in which the food was served. Because he felt like his wife had been dishonored by being invited to such a lewd occasion, his anger boiled over. He killed the host of the dinner in cold blood.

Horrified, his wife banished him from the heavens.

He could not understand. But she could not even look at him, so he never saw her again.

This is why day and night are always separated.

By: Rachel Averitt

Always Apart

“Go to dinner in my place!” And so I did.

Let her be dishonored? I would not.

And so here I am — banished, cast out, exiled.

Is not the moon’s rightful place beside the sun?

Give me one more day there and I would be content to relive that day for all eternity.

By: Rachel Averitt