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Contrary to their frequent portrayal in modern fantasy, the house fairies of British folklore were not slaves. They would cook and clean for a human family because they wanted to. If the family was disrespectful, the fairy would punish them for the offense.
#FolkloreSunday
Hans Christian Andersen's "The Tinderbox" is about a tinderbox that summons three large dogs with gigantic eyes to fulfill a soldier's every whim. Though initially criticized for its lack of morals, the tale eventually became Denmark's first animated movie.
#FairyTaleTuesday
In Wales, many people would be happy if a bwca or bwbachod (a goblin that cleans your home) took up residence in their home. However, these goblins are infamous for their hatred of teetotalers, and will often kick or throw plates at someone who refuses alcohol.
#WyrdWednesday
In Lewis' Narnia, merfolk mirror human society, even going hawking with little hunting fish. While humans often live in valleys and monsters lurk in mountains, merfolk live in the underwater "mountains" (the shallows) and monsters lurk in "valleys" (the depths).
#FairyTaleTuesday
The Coraniaid were a species of dwarves in Welsh mythology whose ears could hear any sound on the wind. When the Coraniaid invaded Britain, the only way the British King Llud could speak without them overhearing was through a long horn that muffled conversation.
#MythologyMonday
The Celtic Otherworlds (such as the Welsh Annwn and the Irish Tír na nÓg) are often depicted as places of eternal youth and resplendent beauty, their trees heavy with fruit. Thus, they're sometimes referred to as the "Summerland" or the "Summer Country."
#FolkloreSunday
The Honey Island Swamp Monster, aka the "Cajun Sasquatch," is an ape cryptid said to inhabit Louisiana's Honey Island Swamp. Honey Swamp is the Swamp Monster in the teen monster fashion doll franchise Monster High. However, she's less ape and more southern belle.
#SwampSunday
Among the many things the Welsh hero Culhwch had to find to marry Olwen, daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden, were the Birds of Rhiannon. These birds' songs can wake the dead and put the living to sleep; Ysbaddaden demanded they entertain him before the wedding.
#FairyTaleTuesday
When a magical mist causes everyone to vanish in his kingdom, the Welsh hero Manawydan has to figure out who has stolen them. The culprit is a fairy sorcerer who wants revenge against Manawydan's wife for breaking her engagement with the sorcerer's best friend.
#MythologyMonday
Interestingly, the airy spirit Ariel has male pronouns in the script for Shakespeare's "Tempest," and was initially viewed as male. However, Ariel was usually played by women from the mid-1600s to about 1930. Since then both men and women have played the spirit.
#TheatreThursday