The Dragon Slayer: Folktales from Latin America (TOON Graphics)
IMAGINATION AND TRADITION by F Isabel Campoy If you want your children to be intelligent read them fairy tales If you want them to be more intelligent read them more fairy tales Attributed to albert einstein Tales have the power to open up our imagination From childhood to old age our lives are framed by the stories we tell Folktales passed down orally through generations show us the world by taking us through the customs values and cultural traditions of a people Fairy tales may be populated by princesses ogres and talking animals but they also take us into the homes of common folk solving real-life problems Everything that happens in the land of the popular cuentos or fairy tales was once invented by the pure magic of a storyteller's fertile imagination As the stories grew and changed with every telling the anecdotal became universal Folktales often contain moral lessons instead of telling us how to behave they show us the implications of right and wrong behaviors to help us develop our social and emotional intelligence They teach us how to be better human beings The Latin American heritage is richly diverse a unique blend of Old World and New spanning a continent across many geographic boundaries and cultures When the Spaniards landed in the 15th century they brought their medieval stories brimming with castles and dragons But since Spain is itself a land at the crossroads of many cultures these tales already contained Catholic Jewish Arab and Moorish influences The Europeans encounter with Maya Aztec Inca and other Native American cultures themselves widespread across land and time produced one of the most diverse and varied storytelling traditions with a story for virtually every taste A recurring theme in the Latino experience is a celebration of strong women Like so many señoras and señoritas in Hispanic families the independent mothers sisters and daughters in these folktales have the inner strength to rise above obstacles and to overcome adversity But above all the reality of Latin American folktales is that magic can happen at any time Listen to these stories and tell them to others sharing these tales will ground us in our communities and give us a window into others MONKEY RABBIT SNAKE EAGLE ALLIGATOR LIZARD DEER DOG JAGUAR VULTURE Aztec Maya Pictograms
the dragon slayer
ONCE THERE WAS A MAN WHO HAD THREE DAUGHTERS THE YOUNGEST ATTRACTED ALL THE MEN WE HAVE TO GET RID OF HER SISTER TOOK IT OUR LOOK THE TWO OLDER DAUGHTERS TOOK SOME OF THEIR FATHER’S MON EY AND PUT IT IN HER BED THE NEXT MORNING THE FATHER WENT TO COUNT HIS MONEY SOME OF MY MONEY IS GONE SO THE YOUNGEST DAUGHTER WAS SENT AWAY AND TOLD NEVER TO RETURN SHE WALKED FOR MILES WITH NOWHERE TO GO
TIRED AND HUNGRY SHE SAT TO EAT I BEG YOUR PARDON BUT MAY I HAVE ONE OF YOUR TORTILLAS I HAVEN’T EATEN IN TWO DAYS OF COURSE HELP YOURSELF FARTHER DOWN THE ROAD IS THE KINGDOM OF DRAGONIA YOU WILL FIND WORK IN THE KING’S PALACE I’M SORRY I HAVEN’T MORE TO GIVE YOU I’M POOR WITH NOWHERE TO GO ARE YOU WILLING TO WORK TAKE THIS LITTLE WAND ASK IT AND IT WILL TELL YOU ANYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW OH THANK YOU
