Trickster Tales Forty Folk Stories from Around the World

by Sherman, Josepha; Boston, David

• ISBN13: 9780874834505
• ISBN10: 0874834503
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-12-27
• Publisher: August House

Summary

People of all ages love to watch the escapades of tricksters. In modern times, we watch Bugs Bunny, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote even Ace Ventura and Bart Simpson. But these contemporary characters have roots in antiquity. The trickster is a universal archetype, found in every culture: Anansi among the African people, Coyote in the American Southwest, Raven in the Pacific Northwest, Rabbit in the American South, the leprechaun in Ireland, Fox in South America.

Author Biography

Josepha Sherman Bio:

Josepha Sherman enjoyed success as a fantasy novelist, folklorist, and editor, who was a prolific writer. Her work ranged from adapting Star Trek novels to biographies of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon.com) to folktale collections like Trickster Tales. Sherman was the winner of the prestigious Compton Crook Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and has had many titles on the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Reader List. When she wasn't busy writing, editing, or gathering folklore, Sherman loved to travel, learned how to do “Horse Whispering”, and once had a newborn foal fall asleep on her foot.

Table of Contents

Introduction	9	(4)
John O. West
Africa	13	(18)
Why Anansi Owns Every Story (Ashanti People of Ghana)	15	(4)
Hare and Tortoise (Thonga People of Mozambique)	19	(3)
Glara Saves His Sons (Jul'hoan People of Botswana)	22	(3)
Tortoise's Debt and Pig's Grunt (Cameroon)	25	(3)
Hlakanyana (Xhosa People of South Africa)	28	(3)
Europe	31	(22)
The Hedley Know (England)	33	(2)
The Leprehaun's Gold (Ireland)	35	(3)
The Lutin's Pranks (France)	38	(2)
Tyl Eulenspiegel and the Marvelous Painting (Netherlands)	40	(3)
Tyl Eulenspiegel and the Wager (Germany)	43	(3)
Hershele's Feast (Jews of Eastern Europe)	46	(3)
The Leshy (Eastern Europe/Russia)	49	(4)
The Near East	53	(18)
The Poor Man of Nippur (Ancient Babylonia)	55	(3)
Djuba's Guests (Morocco)	58	(2)
Two Legs or One? (Egypt)	60	(2)
The Caliph's Questions (Iraq)	62	(3)
The Khoja in Court (Turkey)	65	(3)
The Effendi and the Riddles (Uygur People of Central Asia and China)	68	(3)
Asia and Polynesia	71	(20)
The Two Tricksters (India)	73	(3)
The Trickster in the Underworld (China)	76	(4)
Liar Mvkang and the Rich Folk (Rawang People of Burma)	80	(3)
Hare, Otter, Monkey, and Badger (Japan)	83	(2)
The Theft of Fire (Ilocano People of the Philippines)	85	(2)
The Snaring of the Sun (Hawaii)	87	(4)
Meso-And South America	91	(16)
The Magic Burro (Mexico)	93	(2)
Guinea Pig and Fox (Peru)	95	(3)
The Mare's Egg (Chile)	98	(2)
Tokwah (Mataco People of Argentina)	100	(2)
Fire-Taking (Makiritare People of Venezuela)	102	(5)
North America	107	(20)
Raven Steals the Light (Inuit People of Alaska)	109	(2)
Coyote Goes Hunting (White Mountain Apache People of Arizona)	111	(3)
Saynday Was Coming Along (Kiowa People of the Great Plains)	114	(4)
Eye-Juggling (Blackfoot People of the Great Plains)	118	(2)
The Trickster's Revenge (Menominee People of Minnesota)	120	(3)
Rabbit and Wildcat (Algonquin People of the Northeast)	123	(4)
Trickster Immigrants	127	(18)
Lutin or Not? (French Canada)	129	(3)
Jack the Varmint Killer (Appalachian Mountains)	132	(3)
John and His Freedom (Southern United States)	135	(3)
Lapin and the Little Tar Man (Creole People of Louisiana)	138	(2)
Anansi Returns (Jamaica)	140	(5)
Notes	145	(22)
Bibliography	167