Stand-Up Stories: Multicultural Tales to Live By in Saratoga

Stand-Up Stories: Multicultural Tales to Live By

This show features a collection of multicultural folktales and myths which provide the listener with valuable messages and cultural wisdom they can use to live by. The stories include:

PHAETHON (Greek Mythology) - A boy named Phaethon goes to find out if his father is Helios, God of the Sun. Helios offers Phaethon anything he wants to prove it to him. Phaethon chooses to ride the chariot that carries the sun through the sky, but when he does, the horses go where they want and almost burn up the earth!  Zeus must then save the earth by striking down Phaethon and scaring the horses back to the sky. The lesson: youth is a time to play, but also a time to be patient, listen, and learn.

THE STONECUTTER (Chinese Folktale) - A stonecutter is envious of other people. An angel offers to change him, but he keeps finding things he’d rather be: a rich man, a king, a farmer, the sun, a cloud, the wind, a mountain. While he’s a mountain, a stonecutter comes by and starts to chip away at him, and the pain is too much for him to bear. He realizes that being a stonecutter was best after all. The lesson: Be happy with who you are.

THE BOY WHO FED EAGLES (Tlingit and Haida people of the Pacific Northwest) - A boy gains special powers after he shows respect to his clan crest, the eagle, in spite of the disapproval of some tribe members. The eagle becomes a spirit who guides and inspires him, and helps him develop strength, skills and judgment. The lesson: regard for values is rewarded.

THE LION'S WHISKERS (Amhara people of Ethiopia, Eastern Africa) - Finaye longs for a family of her own. When she marries Tesfa and meets his son Abebe, she is overjoyed. She tries hard to please the boy, but he wants no part of her. Desperate, Fanaye seeks the wisdom of a shaman, who sends her on a mission to gather three whiskers from a fierce lion for a magic potion that will win Abebe over. She collects the whiskers very carefully by slowly gaining the lion’s trust. Once obtained, the whiskers are no longer needed, as Fanaye has also learned how she must likewise gain Abebe’s trust, love, patience, respect, and discretion.    

Content Connections: Geography, European Studies, African Studies, Asian Studies, Literature, Visual and Performing ArtsPlanning to invoice your order?

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