What is it?
What draws me to these tales
Examples of this Tale Type
- The Tale of Cupid and Psyche
- I was first introduced to the version in Mary Pope Osbourne's Favorite Greek Myths, but the complete, unbowdlerized version it stems from is told in Apuleius's The Golden Ass, which circulated throughout Europe during the Middle Ages and early Modern period. In this version, Psyche, the wife, is unknowingly wed to Eros himself--we might know him better as Cupid, his Roman name--and lives in a grand mansion with invisible, mute servants (probably inspiration for the enchanted household objects in Disney's version of "Beauty and the Beast"), and otherwise alone all day until her mysterious husband visits her at night. During his nocturnal bootycalls, all is dark, so Psyche is unable to see the face of her lover, and she is forbidden to have a candle or other source of light in the bedchamber. They get along just fine, until curiosity (reasonably) gets the better of her, and Psyche's sisters convince her to bring an oil lamp into the bedchamber. She does, and, when her husband is asleep, she lights the lamp, looking upon the face of the god of love himself, and instantly falling in love with him. Unfortunately, she stands there gaping adoringly long enough that the lamp sputters, and a drop of oil lands on Eros's skin, waking him up. He immediately flees, feeling betrayed, and Psyche is sent on a task-filled quest to prove to her bitter mother-in-law, the goddess Aphrodite, that she deserves a second chance with Eros.
- East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon
- The Singing Soaring Lark
- My favorite fairy tale ever ever ever! This is a German telling of the tale, found in the Grimms, and sometimes called "The Singing, Springing Lark", depending on who's doing the translating into English. Sometimes it's also called "The Lady and the Lion", since the lark is only really the starting-off point for the story and contextually, a lion makes more sense in the title.
- The Black Bull of Noroway
- The Pig King
- The Hoodie Crow
- White Bear Whittington