Buzz
For thousands of years, tales have been passed down, often to teach valuable lessons. Many of these fables are quite brief, needing just a few sentences to deliver their message. Here are some particularly strange ones that have nearly faded from modern memory.
10. 'Chonguita The Monkey Bride' - Don't Judge By Appearances
A king sends his three sons away from the kingdom to seek their own destinies. The youngest, Juan, finds himself in a palace where he encounters a monkey whose daughter, Chonguita, is available for marriage. They wed, and later, Juan reunites with his brothers, each of whom married a beautiful human woman.
When the three brothers return to the palace, the king initially accepts the youngest son’s choice. However, he soon feels ashamed and decides to put all three wives to the test, hoping to have Chonguita killed. Ultimately, the monkey wife proves to be the most capable of the three, and her abilities earn her husband the throne.
Later, at a grand celebration honoring the new king, Juan becomes enraged when Chonguita tries to dance with him, throwing her against the wall. She then transforms into a stunning woman. The story ends abruptly—perhaps before the concept of a 'happily ever after' ending was established.
9. 'Of Chastity' - God Is Good; Resist Temptation
'Of Chastity' is a brief tale from a collection known as the Gesta Romanorum ('The History of Rome'), which was likely compiled in the early 14th century. A highly influential text, it significantly shaped Western literature, especially the works of Chaucer and Shakespeare. More of a moral guide than a historical record, the Gesta Romanorum features many stories designed to offer Christian lessons to aid preachers.
'Of Chastity' takes place during the reign of the Roman emperor Gallus and tells the tale of an exceptionally skilled carpenter commissioned to build him a palace. The carpenter marries, and his new mother-in-law gifts him a magical shirt that remains spotless as long as he and his wife remain faithful to one another.
A soldier plots to make the carpenter’s wife betray him, thereby soiling the shirt. However, the wife outsmarts the soldier by locking him in a room. Two other men try the same trick, but she traps them in separate rooms as well.
When the carpenter returns, his wife thanks God that the shirt is still clean and recounts the events. The soldiers are freed, and their lives are improved.
8. 'The Historic Fart' - A Single Action Can Define Your Entire Life
This tale comes from the classic Arabian collection, 'One Thousand and One Nights.' The framing story is well known: a king marries a new virgin every day, executing his previous wife. However, his latest wife, Scheherazade, begins telling him stories, and he postpones her execution each day to hear the end of them. After one thousand nights of storytelling, he falls in love with her, spares her life, and makes her his queen.
'The Historic Fart' tells the tale of Abu Hassan, a wealthy merchant who marries. During his wedding celebration, after indulging in food and wine, he accidentally lets out a fart. So mortified by the incident, he goes into self-imposed exile for several years.
Years later, yearning to reunite with his wife, he returns to his village in disguise. As he nears the edge of the town, he overhears a young girl asking her mother about the day she was born. The mother replies, 'You were born on the very night of Abu Hassan’s fart.'
Realizing that his embarrassing moment will forever define him, Abu Hassan flees once again into exile, where he remains until his death.
7. 'The Expulsion Of The Jews From Prussia' - Jews Are Inherently Evil
This German story, lesser known than the anti-Semitic tales made famous by the Brothers Grimm, provides a specific explanation for why Jews were excluded from Prussia. Many of the anti-Semitic stories of the period were designed as propaganda to portray Jews as evil or subhuman. This particular tale not only depicts Jews as deceitful but also as enemies of Christianity.
A poor fisherman struggles to catch fish. A Jewish man approaches him, offering a solution: by using sacred bread from the Eucharist as bait, he could catch all the fish he could carry. A year later, the Jewish man is arrested for another crime and confesses to what he told the fisherman. The fisherman avoids punishment, but the Jewish man is executed, and all Jews are expelled from Prussia.
6. 'How Saint Peter Lost His Hair' - Don’t Be Greedy (And Don’t Lie To Jesus)
In Christian folklore, St. Peter and Jesus often share the spotlight, much like a comedic duo, with Jesus playing the serious role while the bumbling, humorous St. Peter provides the laughs. Traditionally, St. Peter is depicted as bald, with just one lock of hair sticking out from the front of his head. This old German folktale attempts to explain why.
One day, while walking, St. Peter and Jesus come across a farmhouse. Both hungry, St. Peter enters and begs the woman inside for some food. She kindly gives him three freshly made pancakes. St. Peter hides one under his hat, and when Jesus asks how many pancakes there are, St. Peter replies, 'Two,' handing Jesus only one pancake.
The hot pancake burns St. Peter’s head, prompting him to remove his hat. To his surprise, all his hair has fallen out, leaving only the lock of hair hidden beneath his hat.
5. 'How The Wicked Sons Were Duped' - Don’t Give Away Your Money Too Early
An ancient Indian folktale, 'How the Wicked Sons Were Duped,' tells a story common in cultures that hold the elderly in high regard. At the start of the story, an old man, on his deathbed, divides his wealth among his three sons. Miraculously, he survives, but he is left penniless. His sons, seeing that he has no wealth left, refuse to care for him.
Feeling desperate, the old man visits a friend and shares his sorrow. His friend fills several bags with gravel, advising the old man to pretend they contain the repayment of an imaginary loan. He tells the man to inform his sons that they won't be able to have the bags until his death.
When the three sons discover the supposed treasure, they treat their father kindly every day until his death. But when they open the bags, they are shocked to find that they have been deceived.
4. 'The Frogs Desiring A King' - Better No Rule Than Cruel Rule
The Greek author Aesop is likely a fictional character, similar to Homer. Yet, his legacy endures as one of the earliest storytellers to impart morals through his fables. While popular tales such as 'The Tortoise and the Hare' or 'The Ant and the Grasshopper' are widely recognized, every fable of his is worth exploring.
'The Frogs Desiring a King' tells the story of a group of frogs living contently in their swamp, without any worries. One day, a few frogs decide they need a true leader and beg Jove, their god, to send them a king. In response, Jove laughs and sends them a large log.
At first, the frogs are frightened and unsure of what to do. Eventually, the strongest frog leaps onto the log and mocks it. Gradually, the rest of the frogs join in, complaining to Jove that they wanted a powerful ruler, not a weak one. Jove listens to their pleas and sends them a stork, which immediately gobbles them up.
3. 'The Broken Pot' - Overthinking and excessive planning can lead to failure.
Similar to the Greeks, India had its own moralistic author, Pandit Vishnu Sharma. This sage, believed to have lived in the third century B.C., is credited with writing a collection of tales called the Panchatantra. Although the original version has been lost over time, the present form remains true to its essence and was likely compiled between the fourth and sixth centuries.
The simple story 'The Broken Pot' centers on a Brahman beggar known for his seemingly perpetual bad luck. One day, kind strangers give him a full pot of rice gruel. After eating his share, he still has a pot of rice left. As he gazes at the full pot, his mind begins to wander.
He imagines what might happen if a famine strikes. He could sell the rice gruel, buy a pair of goats, and soon grow a herd. Eventually, he'd become wealthy enough to start a family. His children might be disobedient, and he would have to discipline them by kicking them... .
Lost in his daydreams, he kicks out his foot and accidentally breaks the pot. The rice gruel, along with his dreams of a better future, spills onto the floor below.
2. ‘The Mosquito And The Carpenter’ A Senseless Friend Is Worse Than An Enemy
The Jataka tales, written as early as the fourth century B.C., are a collection of loosely connected stories centered on the Buddha and his past lives. Some of these tales can also be found, almost verbatim, in other great literary works.
In one tale, the Buddha walks past a village and observes a carpenter with his son. A mosquito lands on the bald head of the carpenter, and he asks his son to remove it. The son searches for an object to swat the mosquito away, apparently forgetting he has hands. The closest item available is an axe.
The son, grabbing the axe, swings it towards the mosquito, but tragically ends up striking his father's head, killing him instantly.
1. ‘Filippo Balducci And His Son’ You Can’t Fight Your Nature
Giovanni Boccaccio, a 13th-century Italian poet and author, is perhaps most famous for his collection of novellas titled 'The Decameron.' Among the lesser-known tales within that collection is 'Filippo Balducci and His Son,' which depicts the early life of Balducci's son. Boccaccio begins the story by addressing five accusations made against him, one of which is that he 'likes women too much.' The story that follows aims to address this particular allegation.
Balducci's wife passes away before the story begins, leaving him to raise their only son alone. Determined to have his son dedicate his life to God, Balducci relocates to the mountains. As he grows older, he struggles to make the journey to the city for supplies, so he takes his now-18-year-old son with him.
As they travel, the son repeatedly asks about things they pass. When they come upon a group of attractive women, Balducci tells his son they are geese. The son, seemingly unaffected, says, 'We’ll take one home, and I’ll give it something to peck.' In response, Balducci becomes alarmed and warns, 'I won’t allow it, for you do not know from where they peck!'
But it proves futile. Balducci comes to the painful conclusion that his intellect is no match for the relentless forces of nature.
+‘Death’s Messengers’ Death Is Inescapable
In 1812, the Grimm brothers, Wilhelm and Jacob, released their first collection of fairy tales. While many stories were inspired by earlier works (some even plagiarized), others were traditional folk tales from villages. As is well known, their early versions were often violent and unsuitable for children, prompting the brothers to revise and soften them for later editions.
In ‘Death’s Messengers,’ Death attempts to claim a giant whose time has come, but after a prolonged struggle, Death himself is left gravely injured and unable to defeat the giant.
Just as he is about to meet his end, a stranger approaches and helps Death to his feet. Though Death wishes to show gratitude, he knows he cannot avoid the man’s fate. Instead, he strikes a deal: he will warn the man when his time is near by sending his messengers ahead.
Many years later, when the man is frail and aging, a hand taps him on the shoulder. It’s Death. The man protests, accusing Death of failing to warn him. Death calmly responds, explaining that his messengers had been there all along: illness, old age, and sleep. Realizing the truth, the man accepts his fate and lets Death take him.
