WokeTales - Woke Folktales

Episode 90 - The White Snake (Grimm’s fairy tale)

“The White Snake” begins with a king who eats a bite of the white snake every evening, and rules his kingdom with such power, it seems he knows what will happen in it before anyone possibly could. He’s our only glimpse into the larger implications of the power of the white snake—once the king’s servant discovers the secret, the story becomes all about the servant’s use of this power to gain wealth, stature, and a wife who is resistant to him, that it takes three tests before she gives in and marries him.

Episode 89 - The Three Snake-Leaves (German fairy tale)

The Three Snake-Leaves is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale about a young man who marries a princess. When she dies he is buried alive with her. Using folk medicine troupe in the story, while in the tomb he brings her back to life with three snake-leaves. She comes to life but is not the same, she betrays him with another man and that betrayal leads to her possibly ultimate death.

Episode 88 - A Bought Dream (Turkmenistan Folktale)

‘A Bought Dream’ is an interesting story where it seems like someone threw half a dozen fairy tale elements into a blender just to see what would happen, making it a perfect story to start the year with. It is a story of Sarsembai and a dream he has for his life. He goes through a journey to realize if his dream has come true and if he earns a happy ending for himself and his village too.

Episode 87 - The Snow Queen, Gerda, and Kai (Danish fairytale)

The story of Snow Queen, Gerda, and Kai is perfect for this cold winter. After tiny fragments of a magic mirror become lodged in one of Kai’s eyes and his heart, his personality begins to change and he starts to turn cold. It then becomes easy for the Snow Queen to abduct the boy. Kai is carried off to the Snow Queen's faraway palace. Join Gerda on a dangerous and whimsical quest to save her best friend before he is trapped forever in the Snow Queen’s palace.

Episode 86 - Jólakötturinn, The Giant Yule Cat (Icelandic legend)

In a holiday-themed episode this is an Icelandic legend of Jólakötturinn, aka “Yule Cat”. This monstrous feline stalks the entire country looking for those who aren’t wearing new clothes on Christmas Eve. Upon finding such a poor soul, the Yule Cat spares no mercy and eats the human before resuming the hunt for others. To find out more, let’s take a look at Icelandic mythology, the importance of oral storytelling, and wool production.

Episode 85 - Baker’s Dozen (American folktale)

A baker was well known for his honesty as well as for his fine Saint Nicholas cookies. He always gave his customers exactly what they paid for — not more, and not less. So, how could he agree with a mysterious old woman on Saint Nicholas Day when she insists that a dozen is thirteen?

The woman’s curse puts an end to the baker’s business, and he believes it would take Saint Nicholas to help him. But if he receives that help, will it be exactly what he imagined?

Find out in this inspiring legend from Dutch colonial New York about the birth of an honored American custom.

Episode 84 - Little Mukra (Arabic Fairytale)

Little Mukra is an Arabic fairytale about an unlikely hero, a dwarf, whose enemy is not a vengeful sorceress or dastardly king, but the widespread bigotry of ordinary people. With the help of one-woman animal welfare league, a dog, and some magic he finds his purpose.

Episode 83 - Kate Cracketnuts (English Fairytale)

Kate Cracketnuts is an English story taken from Angela Carter’s Book of Fairy Tales and the premise is familiar: a king with a beautiful daughter called Anna marries a queen with a comparatively plain one called Kate. Guess who interprets the genetic lottery as a personal insult! Here’s a clue – it’s not Kate. Instead she rescues her beautiful sister from an evil enchantment and a prince from a wasting sickness caused by dancing nightly with the fairies. 

Episode 82 - The Three Sisters (Native American Legend)

In this Thanksgiving “decolonizing our dinner” story, meet the sustainer of Indigenous cultures for centuries and one of the original examples of regenerative farming, The Three Sisters. The Three Sisters (corn, squash, and beans) planted or eaten together create an ideal environment for success, and hold a strong spiritual and cultural connection to the history of Indigenous people. Many Native American legends have been woven around the "Three Sisters" - sisters who would never be apart from one another - sisters who should be planted together, eaten together, and celebrated together. 

Episode 81 - Why the Opossum’s Tail is Bare (A Cherokee Legend)

Opossums, awe-Inspiring but often underappreciated, are marsupials with many fascinating attributes and superheroes when it comes to cleaning up around your property. Opossum is a loanword from Powhatan, an Indigenous language from what is now the Virginia area. Additionally, a number of Indigenous tribes had origin stories of the opossum, which speaks to its range throughout what is now the United States and Canada. This Northern Cherokee Nation story explains why the opossum’s tail is bare.