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In Issue 60 of the Baba Indaba Children’s Stories, Baba Indaba narrates the Hopi tale of what happened during raid on a Navaho village during a ceremonial dance.
This issue also has a “Where in the World – Look it Up” section, where young readers are challenged to look up a place on a map somewhere in the world. The place, town or city is relevant to the story, on map. HINT – use Google maps.
INCLUDES LINKS TO 8 FREE DOWNLOADS
Baba Indaba is a fictitious Zulu storyteller who narrates children’s stories from around the world. Baba Indaba translates as “Father of Stories”.
In Issue 59 of the Baba Indaba Children’s Stories, Baba Indaba narrates the European folktale of how gullible people in the world are. A poor farm laborer, sends his wife to market to sell their last hen. But then starts the story of how he and his wife used the gullibility of people to trade their way to a more comfortable life. But just how did they do it? Download and read the story to find out how.
This issue also has a “Where in the World – Look it Up” section, where young readers are challenged to look up a place on a map somewhere in the world. The place, town or city is relevant to the story, on map. HINT – use Google maps.
INCLUDES LINKS TO 8 FREE DOWNLOADS
Baba Indaba is a fictitious Zulu storyteller who narrates children’s stories from around the world. Baba Indaba translates as “Father of Stories”.
In Issue 58 of the Baba Indaba Children’s Stories, Baba Indaba narrates the Burmese tale of A Greedy King who is allowed one wish, but his wish has a devastating effect on him personally – but what was his wish and how did affect him? Download and read the story to find out what happened!
This issue also has a “Where in the World – Look it Up” section, where young readers are challenged to look up a place on a map somewhere in the world. The place, town or city is relevant to the story, on map. HINT – use Google maps.
INCLUDES LINKS TO 8 FREE DOWNLOADS
Baba Indaba is a fictitious Zulu storyteller who narrates children’s stories from around the world. Baba Indaba translates as “Father of Stories”.
Low and brown barns, thatched and repatched and tattered,
Where I had seven sons until to-day—
A little hill of hay your spur has scattered….
This is not Paris. You have lost the way.
You, staring at your sword to find it brittle,
Surprised at the surprise that was your plan,
Who shaking and breaking barriers not a little,
Find never more the death-door of Sedan.
Must I for more than carnage call you claimant,
Paying you a penny for each son you slay?
Man, the whole globe in gold were no repayment
For what you have lost. And how shall I repay?
What is the price of that red spark that caught me
From a kind farm that never had a name?
What is the price of that dead man they brought me?
For other dead men do not look the same.
How should I pay for one poor graven steeple
Whereon you shattered what you shall not know?
How should I pay you, miserable people,
How should I pay you everything you owe?
Unhappy, can I give you back your honour?
Though I forgave, would any man forget?
While all the great green land has trampled on her
The treason and terror of the night we met.
Not any more in vengeance or in pardon,
One old wife bargains for a bean that’s hers.
You have no word to break: no heart to harden.
Ride on and prosper. You have lost your spurs.
G. K. Chesterton 1917
From POEMS of the GREAT WAR raising funds for the Royal British Legion (the equivalent of the Returned Servicemen’s Association or Veterans Association)
http://abelapublishing.com/poems-of-the-great-war–1914-to-1918_p28280158.htm
HEAR FROM THE HEROES of WWI THIS REMEMBRANCE DAY
As most of you know, this November is the centenary of WWI. It is only right that we remember the circa 10 million soldiers, from both sides of the barbed wire, who perished during this conflict; not forgetting the 6 million civilians who also died during The Great War.
In remembrance of WWI we have published 3 books, 1 book of poetry by the most prominent English poets of the day and 2 books by Louis Raemakers.
33% of the net profit from the sale of these books will be donated to the ROYAL BRITISH LEGION.
Louis Raemaekers
A bit of history about Louis Raemakers – whom many of you have probably never heard of. Raemakers was a Dutch cartoonist who drew cartoons for newspapers during the war. His cartoons were so effective, and to the point, that the Germans stated “When we win the war, Raemakers will be tried as War Criminal” or words to that effect. The German High Command even placed a 12,000 guilder reward, $250,000 in today’s money, for his capture, dead or alive (proving words and images can be as effective as bullets, bombs and shells.) This forced Raemakers to flee to England. The first two books in the series are displayed in our November newsletter (link below) with the third to be published in the next few weeks. Samples of the cartoons can be found on each book’s pages.
COMING SOON
RAEMAKERS CARTOONS of the GREAT WAR vol. 3
If anyone knows of similar cartoon works of WWI in German, please do let me know, as I would love to publish these as well to give balance to the catastrophe that was WWI.
ALSO READ INTERVIEW WITH TERRY HAYWARD
Author of the Jack Delaney Chronicles.
Author Terry Hayward
“My newest published book is “Aphrodisiac” which continues the cause of the anti-poaching lobby and is the 4th book in the series. The story tells of Rhinos that are being poached from a Private Game Reserve and Jack Delaney and his team are called in to put a stop to this blight.”
SOUND BITES from Terry’s interview:
“In my youth I was a top swimmer and had my eyes set on Olympic glory when South Africa was expelled from the Olympic movement for its racist apartheid policies.”
“I was fired as Chaplain to Westville Prison, Durban, South Africa when I went public and highlighted the corruption.”
DOWNLOAD a free e-story – ARA AND SERAMIS from the book ARMENIAN POETRY AND LEGENDS
Download from http://www.potn.co.uk/images/abela/ARA%20and%20SEMIRAMIS.pdf
READ THIS NEWSLETTER ONLINE @ http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=c41d269606581b96d6bf339c4&id=4c17696aab
The cry of “STOP THE WAR” is not new. It was happening as far back as 1900…..
1886 – gold had been discovered in South Africa and the dominant nation on earth wanted it! Sound familiar…..?
The Boer War (1899 – 1902) was but a dress-rehearsal for WWI – when forces from across the world were mobilised to ensure that a precious commodity “stayed in the right hands”.
But just as soldiers who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan have written poetry about the conflict, so too did soldiers who fought in the Boer War. This volume contains 26 poems about the conflict, the men and the leaders from both sides.
Download your free copy at http://abelapublishing.com/boer-war-lyrics–a-free-ebook_p26851983.htm
THE OPENING STANZAS
1. Within the gates | ere a man shall go,
(Full warily let him watch,)
Full long let him look about him;
For little he knows | where a foe may lurk,
And sit in the seats within.
2. Hail to the giver! | a guest has come;
Where shall the stranger sit?
Swift shall he be who, | with swords shall try
The proof of his might to make.
3. Fire he needs | who with frozen knees
Has come from the cold without;
Food and clothes | must the farer have,
The man from the mountains come.
4. Water and towels | and welcoming speech
Should he find who comes, to the feast;
If renown he would get, | and again be greeted,
Wisely and well must he act.
5. Wits must he have | who wanders wide,
But all is easy at home;
At the witless man | the wise shall wink
When among such men he sits.
6. A man shall not boast | of his keenness of mind,
But keep it close in his breast;
To the silent and wise | does ill come seldom
When he goes as guest to a house;
(For a faster friend | one never finds
Than wisdom tried and true.)
7. The knowing guest | who goes to the feast,
In silent attention sits;
With his ears he hears, | with his eyes he watches,
Thus wary are wise men all.
8. Happy the one | who wins for himself
Favor and praises fair;
Less safe by far | is the wisdom found
That is hid in another’s heart.
9. Happy the man | who has while he lives
Wisdom and praise as well,
For evil counsel | a man full oft
Has from another’s heart.
10. A better burden | may no man bear
For wanderings wide than wisdom;
It is better than wealth | on unknown ways,
And in grief a refuge it gives.
11. A better burden | may no man bear
For wanderings wide than wisdom;
Worse food for the journey | he brings not afield
Than an over-drinking of ale.
12. Less good there lies | than most believe
In ale for mortal men;
For the more he drinks | the less does man
Of his mind the mastery hold.
——-
CONTENTS
(1) The Havamal proper (stanzas 1-80).
(2) The Loddfafnismol (stanzas 111-138).
(3) The Ljothatal (stanzas 147-165).
(4) The love-story of Odin and Billing’s daughter (stanzas 96-102).
(5) The story of how Odin got the mead of poetry–the draught which gave him the gift of tongues–from the maiden Gunnloth (stanzas 103-110).
(6) A brief passage telling how Odin won the runes (stanzas 139 146).
For more information, table of contents and to buy, go to http://abelapublishing.com/the-havamal–the-sayings-of-the-wise-one_p26538287.htm
This week we have two poems from the Hyaku-nin-isshiu, or ‘Single Verses by a Hundred People’, were collected together in A.D. 1235. They are placed in approximate chronological order, and range from about the year 670. Perhaps what strikes one most in connection with the Hyaku-nin-isshiu is the date when the verses were written; most of them were produced before the time of the Norman Conquest (of Britain – AD 1066), and one cannot but be struck with the advanced state of art and culture in Japan at a time when Europe was still in a very elementary stage of civilization.
The Collection consists almost entirely of love-poems and what the editor calls picture-poems, intended to bring before the mind’s eye some well-known scene in nature; and it is marvellous what effect little thumbnail sketches are compressed within thirty-one syllables. Some show the cherry blossoms which are doomed to fall, the dewdrops scattered by the wind, the mournful cry of the wild deer on the mountains, the dying crimson of the fallen maple leaves, the weird sadness of the cuckoo singing in the moonlight, and the loneliness of the recluse in the mountain wilds; while those verses which appear to be of a more cheerful type are rather of the nature of the ‘Japanese smile’, described by Lafcadio Hearn as a mask to hide the real feelings.
From: A Hundred Verses from Old Japan
ISBN: 978-1-907256-19-6
URL: www.AbelaPublishing.com/100Verses.html
6
THE IMPERIAL ADVISER YAKAMOCHI
(CHŪ-NAGON YAKAMOCHI)
Kasasagi no
Wataseru hashi ni
Oku shimo no
Shiroki wo mireba
Yo zo fuke ni keru.
WHEN on the Magpies’ Bridge I see
The Hoar-frost King has cast
His sparkling mantle, well I know
The night is nearly past,
Daylight approaches fast.
Explanation:
The author of this verse was Governor of the Province of Kōshū, and Viceroy of the more or less uncivilized northern and eastern parts of Japan; he died A.D. 785. There was a bridge or passageway in the Imperial Palace at Kyōto called the Magpies’ Bridge, but there is also an allusion here to the old legend about the Weaver and Herdsman. It is said, that the Weaver (the star Vega) was a maiden, who dwelt on one side of the River of the Milky Way, and who was employed in making clothes for the Gods. But one day the Sun took pity upon her, and gave her in marriage to the Herdboy (the star Aquila), who lived on the other side of the river. But as the result of this was that the supply of clothes fell short, she was only permitted to visit her husband once a year, viz. on the seventh night of the seventh month; and on this night, it is said, the magpies in a dense flock form a bridge for her across the river. The hoar frost forms just before day breaks. The illustration shows the Herdboy crossing on the Bridge of Magpies to his bride.
From: A Hundred Verses from Old Japan
ISBN: 978-1-907256-19-6
URL: www.AbelaPublishing.com/100Verses.html
9
KOMACHI ONO
(ONO NO KOMACHI)
Hana no iro wa
Utsuri ni keri na
Itazura ni
Waga mi yo ni furu
Nagame seshi ma ni.
THE blossom’s tint is washed away
By heavy showers of rain;
My charms, which once I prized so much,
Are also on the wane,
Both bloomed, alas! in vain.
Explanation
The writer was a famous poetess, who lived A.D. 834-880. She is remembered for her talent, her beauty, her pride, her love of luxury, her frailty, and her miserable old age. The magic of her art is said to have overcome a severe drought, from which the country suffered in the year 866, when prayers to the Gods had proved useless.
The first and last couplets may mean either ‘the blossom’s tint fades away under the continued downpour of rain in the world’, or ‘the beauty of this flower (i.e. herself) is fading away as I grow older and older in this life’; while the third line dividing the two couplets means, that the flower’s tint and her own beauty are alike only vanity. This verse, with its double meaning running throughout, is an excellent example of the characteristic Japanese play upon words.
From: A Hundred Verses from Old Japan
ISBN: 978-1-907256-19-6
URL: www.AbelaPublishing.com/100Verses.html
Books Yellow, Red, and Green and Blue,
All true, or just as good as true,
And now here’s the Pink Book just for YOU!
Hard is the path from A to Z,
And puzzling to a curly head,
Yet leads to Books—Green, Blue, and Red.
For every child should understand
That letters from the first were planned
To guide us into Fairy Land
So labour at your Alphabet,
For by that learning shall you get
To lands where Fairies may be met.
And going where this pathway goes,
You too, at last, may find, who knows?
The Garden of the Singing Rose.
Penned by Andrew Lang as an introduction to his Pink Fairy Books – now part of a 3 book set.
URL: http://abelapublishing.com/andrew-langs-coloured-fairy-tales-3-book-set_p24618764.htm
5
SARU MARU, A SHINTO OFFICIAL or SARU MARU TAIU
Oku yama ni
Momiji fumi wake
Naku shika no
Koe kiku toki zo
Aki wa kanashiki.
HEAR the stag’s pathetic call
Far up the mountain side,
While tramping o’er the maple leaves
Wind-scattered far and wide
This sad, sad autumn tide.
NOTE: Very little is known of this writer, but he probably lived not later than A.D. 800. Stags and the crimson leaves of the maple are frequently used as the symbolism of autumn.
——————-
7
NAKAMARO ABE or ABE NO NAKAMARO
Ama no hara
Furisake-mireba
Kasuga naru
Mikasa no yama ni
Ideshi tsuki kamo.
WHILE gazing up into the sky,
My thoughts have wandered far;
Methinks I see the rising moon
Above Mount Mikasa
At far-off Kasuga.
NOTE: The poet, when sixteen years of age, was sent with two others to China, to discover the secret of the Chinese calendar, and on the night before sailing for home his friends gave him a farewell banquet. It was a beautiful moonlight night, and after dinner he composed this verse. Another account, however, says that the Emperor of China, becoming suspicious, caused him to be invited to a dinner at the top of a high pagoda, and then had the stairs removed, in order that he might be left to die of hunger. Nakamaro is said to have bitten his hand and written this verse with his blood, after which he appears to have escaped and fled to Annam. Kasuga, pronounced Kasunga, is a famous temple at the foot of Mount Mikasa, near Nara, the poet’s home; the verse was written in the year 726, and the author died in 780
————————-
From: A HUNDRED VERSES FROM OLD JAPAN
ISBN: 978-1-907256-19-6
http://www.abelapublishing.com/hvoj.html
A percentage of the profits will be donated to the CHRISTCHURCH EARTHQUAKE APPEAL.
Folklore and Fairytales - Free Stories for Children 