Stories Passed Down Through Generations and Generations... But Are They Really True?

 Title: The Rough-Face Girl

Author/Illustrator: Rafe Martin/David Shannon
Genre(s): Folklore, Fiction
Age: 4-8

    This book takes a twist on the beloved classic story Cinderella. Long ago there was village off the shores of Lake Ontario, and there were many wigwams, off from the rest, stood one great wigwam. It was painted on its sides, and this was the wigwam where the great and powerful Invisible Being had lived, but no one could see him, except for his sister. There were many women who wanted to marry him, but only the one who could see him, could marry him. There was a poor man who lived in the village with his three daughters. The two oldest daughters were cruel and hard-hearted, and they made their youngest sister sit by a fire, and get burned by the sparks that popped off, and she became very burnt and scarred, and her hair became rugged and charred. They called her ugly and a Rough-Face Girl, and made her life hard and miserable. 

 
One day the two older sisters went to their father and asked for necklaces, new buckskin dresses, pretty beaded moccasins, so they could go marry the Invisible Being. They marched through the village in these fine clothes and everyone thought they were so beautiful, and they continued until they got to the wigwam where the sister was waiting. She wanted to know why they had come, and they said it was to marry her brother. The sister questioned them, and asked if they had actually seen him, which they failed, because they couldn't tell her what his bow and runner sled were of, and the answers they provided were lies. Although they said they've seen him, they didn't want to be asked all the questions. The sister brought them into wigwam and they sat at the back and the Invisible Being entered, but all they could see was his bow and quiver filled with arrows, and after this failed attempt, they were sent home ashamed. The next day the Rough-Face girl went to her father and asked for the same items as her sisters, but their father only had broken shells, and old worn-down moccasins for her, but she took whatever he could spare her to make her outfit come together. She found dried reeds and mixed with them the broken shells and made a necklace, from birch bark she made a cap, dress, and leggings, and carved pictures of the sun, moon, stars, plants, trees, and animals into them, just like the Invisible Beings wigwam. As she walked through the village everyone laughed at her and called her ugly, and said she would never marry the Invisible Being, but she persisted, because she believed in herself.

    As she walked she saw the beauty in the nature around her. She came to the lakeshore as the sun was setting and saw the sister standing there waiting for her. The sister was a wise woman, and could tell by looking into someone's eyes whether their intentions were pure or not, and what kind of heart they had. When she looked at the Rough-Face girl she could tell she had a beautiful, kind heart, unlike her sisters. She asked her the same questions and she was able to answer these questions correctly. His bow was made of the arc of the rainbow, and his runner sled was made of the Spirit road,  the Milky Way of stars that covered the sky. The sister brought her to see the Invisible Being, he saw her as the most beautiful woman. The sister gave her the finest buckskin robes, and a necklace made of perfect shells. She  was told to bathe in the lake, and to get dressed in the robes. As she bathed in the lake, her scars and burns vanished, her hair grew long and glossy, and everyone could see how beautiful she was, but the Invisible Being and his sister already knew that to be true. The Rough-Face girl, and the Invisible Being were married and never parted afterwards. 

Title: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

Author/Illustrator: Verna Aardema/ Leo and Diane Dillon
Award: Caldecott Medal Book (1976)
Genre(s): Folklore, Fiction
Age: 5-9

    In this tale a mosquito tells an iguana a foolish lie, and the iguana  didn't want to hear anymore nonsense so he put sticks in his ears, which created a chain reaction of events. The python said good morning to the iguana, but since his ears were plugged, he didn't hear him, which made the python think he was plotting mischief against him. So the python slithered into a rabbit's hole to hide which startled the rabbit and she went running through the field. When a crow saw her running he assumed there was danger coming and cried kaa kaa in the sky which sent the monkey swinging across branches to warn the other animals. While the monkey was going through the trees, he landed on a dead limb which broke and fell killing one of the owlets. Mother Owl had been out hunting all night for her outlets and hadn't returned yet, but when she saw one of her owlets dead, she became so sad, and didn't hoot to wake the sun. Her other owlets told her what the monkey had did and the nights grew longer and longer. 

    The animals knew that the night was lasting too long and King Lion called a meeting of the animals. When Mother Owl didn't show up, the antelope was sent for her, and she told King Lion what happened, and then they sent for the monkey. Then the money told his side of what made him go running in the trees, and blamed the crow. They work their way all the way back to the iguana, who, missed the calls for the meeting because he still had sticks in his ears. King Lion had asked him why he was plotting evil against the python, and he said he didn't even see or hear him that morning, because the mosquito had told him such a big lie he couldn't bare to listen to it, so he put sticks in his ears. They all started chanting that the mosquito should be punished, when mother heard this she became satisfied and hooted so the sun would come up. Since mosquito wasn't at the meeting, she was nearby listening, but was never found and brought to the council. She had a guilty conscience and goes about whining in people's ears "Is everyone still angry at me?", and she gets her answers when they swat at their ears. This is why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears.   

Now Let's Compare the Two....

    The Rough-Face Girl was based on Algonquin Indian folklore, and was people based, while Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears is an animal folklore story and is based on Pourquori tale or myth. When comparing these two stories I noticed their artworks are very different. With The Rough-Face Girl, the pictures were more lifelike and still, in Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears, it wasn't as lifelike and in a way moved, as we followed one character and their chain reaction. These stories, however, are very different as one story follows a format of another story, Cinderella, and the other is a complete tale. Pourquori tales or myths tell of natural phenomena came to be, a mosquito tells an iguana something so foolish that he puts sticks in his ears, so that he doesn't have to hear such foolishness anymore. Algonquin Indian Folklore put a cultural twist on the typical story we think of, there are two evil sisters, but instead they are going after a husband who is an Invisible Being. These stories are very different, but provide a good read to anyone who reads them. I enjoyed these stories and their takes on two different stories.