Nature Myths

TURTLE TORTOISE, IMAGE & SYMBOL is published here in two volumes Volume One: THE WEST and Volume Two: THE EAST, and each volume is divided into four books. The WEST series is presented as a chronological sequence and the EAST series as individual studies of specific cultures. Together they constitute an in-depth coverage of the image and symbol of the turtle/tortoise throughout the world from the earliest times. Reference is made to specific artifacts, documents and monuments, works of science, literature and art, which may be viewed or consulted today in museums and public places, ...

A big bully lion is no match for the Clever Monkey in this retelling of a classic story from West Africa

Did you ever look carefully at a spider's webs? Did you ever wonder what causes thunder and lighting? Why do dogs chase cats? Why does it look like there's a man in the moon? In this delightful recording of tales from around the world, each story explains why an animal, plant, or natural object looks or acts the way it does.

The town of Hamelin has a rat problem. Thousands of rats and nobody knows what to do about it. A young man offers to rid the town of rats for a price, and the town council gladly agrees. The Pied Piper blows his horn, and the rats all follow him right into the sea, where they drown. When the Pied Piper returns to collect his fee, the town council refuses to pay. The Pied Piper blows his horn again, and all the children of Hamelin follow him right through a mountain.

The Ugly Duckling, narrated by Glenn Hascall and written by Hans Christian Anderson, is indeed an inspiration to those of us who believe we were born ugly or less talented than our peers. Barnyard abuse, verbal abuse, or bullying: it's all pretty much the same. This classic piece by Hans Christian Anderson has delighted children for over 150 years.

The humans are freezing during a cold winter and have no fire to warm themselves. They ask Coyote for help! Under the leadership of a Coyote, all the animals of the forest band together to steal fire from three wicked sisters and deliver it to humans in this tale from the Pacific Northwest. Can he defeat the skookums or will they continue to keep the fire all to themselves?

Weltweit verfolgen Fans das Geschehen um die KatzenClans: USA, Großbritannien, Frankreich, Russland, Japan, Korea, China, Tschechien, Litauen, Portugal, Ungarn, Brasilien, Norwegen und Griechenland. Ein Wald. Vier Clans. Und alle wollen überleben. Jenseits der Menschen, tief verborgen im Wald, leben die Katzen der Clans wild und ungezähmt. Feuerpfote, der seine Zweibeiner verließ, um sich dem DonnerClan anzuschließen, genießt das stürmische Leben des Waldes in vollen Zügen.

Gabriel Finley is longing to find his mother, who vanished without a trace when he was just a baby. Along with Gabriel's raven, Paladin - with whom he has a magical bond that enables them to become one creature and fly! - and his three friends, he ventures back to the ruined underground city of Aviopolis to free her from the rune in which she has been imprisoned. But Aviopolis is home to Corax, the Lord of Air and Darkness, who is also Gabriel's uncle. And before Tabitha Finley is released, Gabriel must answer a riddle.

The retelling of an ordinary woman who had no voice in the literary classic of Beowulf. When a young girl’s life takes a crushing dark turn, she’s sacrificed to the dragon for shaming her community. Alone in the wild, she discovers special skills that enable her to survive, gives birth, and raises a child who has both physical and mental abnormalities. Grendel's Mother is an evocative story of a young woman whose life is shattered by circumstances beyond her control and paints a poignant picture of the history of one of the most infamous monsters of Norse mythology. - Amazon reader

The circus has arrived at last. Prince Martin and his cousin, Princess Margaret, have a glorious time - until they see a scary Northman selling a blind bear cub into captivity. When the kids intervene, the Northman’s cryptic threat chills their blood.... But with the help of old friends, they hatch a plan to rescue the cub - and take him home to Northland, where the colossal creatures are bad...and the Northmen are worse.

Theo Tan doesn't want a spirit companion. He just wants to be a normal American kid, playing video games, going to conventions, and using cirth pendants to cast his spells like everyone else. But, when his older brother dies, Theo ends up inheriting Jamie's fox spirit, Kai. Kai isn't happy about this either. Theo is nothing like Jamie, and the two of them have never gotten along. But, when they realize the mysterious journal Jamie left Theo is filled with clues and secret codes, it's clear that something strange was going on with Jamie's internship at Reapling Corp.

Había una vez una madre pato sentada en sus huevos. Los patitos fueron rompiendo los cascarones y saliendo a jugar con los otros animales. Cuando ya habían salido todos los patitos, quedaba nada más un huevo, más grande que el resto, y de él salió un patito mucho más grande que sus hermanos. Sus plumas eran oscuras y feas, y los otros animales lo maltrataron, golpeándolo y empujándolo hasta que tuvo que irse, volando hacia tierras lejanas.

Aloo-ki glances up from fishing and sees her sled dogs floating off on an ice floe. She races after them and comes upon an igloo. Being a curious girl, she goes inside only to find no one home. That's because the polar bear family who lives there is out walking while their breakfast cools off. Aloo-ki eats some soup, tries on their boots, and finally crawls into the smallest bed for a nap. Meanwhile, Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear see her dogs adrift, swim out to rescue them and return home to find Aloo-ki fast asleep in Baby Bear's bed.

When his brother Kartikeya challenges him to a race around the world, Ganesha knows he cannot win with speed. He may not be as fast as Kartikeya, but clever Ganesha knows that every problem has more than one solution! A celebration of the dynamic bond between siblings and a loving tribute to family, Ganesha’s Great Race is the story of their most famous contest and will delight readers with a tale of muscles, mangoes, and the meaning of the world.

Asatru is a modern neo-pagan creed with roots in the pre-Christian religions of Scandinavia and northern Europe. Thanks to this audiobook, you will be taken by the hand and brought into a spectacular journey to discovering the Asatru world, starting from its most ancient origins, to how and why it survived over time, and how it is evolved today.

Long ago a trickster rabbit cheated other animals in order to become more elegant. What happened when the other animals caught on? Find out in this tale from Uganda. The rabbit wants the fox’s tail, the fish’s scales, the bird’s feathers, and the leopard’s spots and greedily tosses away one feature for the next.

When barbarians invade Rome, Miranda the cat and her daughter Punka must find a safe place to hide from the chaos. They make their way through the burning city, collecting motherless kittens as they go. At last they reach the Colosseum, but even there, danger lurks! How these fortunate felines survive to become the noble ancestors of the cats of modern Rome is all due to the cleverness of the cat they come to call Miranda the Great, Queen of the Colosseum!

For the past three decades, Pleasant DeSpain has explored Latin America – its people, customs, cultures, and especially the myths and legends. The 15 tales in this collection are full of compassionate souls, tricks and humor, explanations of nature and geography – and as always, memorable characters and places. Mario Lamo-Jiménez's Spanish translation that accompanies the English version reverberates with the rich, vibrant quality that has become the bench mark for the best stories from Latin America.

A cat, smart and cunning, clever and mischievous but very helpful: he is just the sort of friend we'd all like by our sides. The youngest of three orphan brothers is left destitute after his parents' death. But such an apparently sad situation takes a quite unexpected turn for the better when he inherits what appears at first to be a small, quite ordinary cat. But it turns out to be the greatest inheritance of all! Our cat is not only clever and brave, but he is also a talking cat!

Cuando el joven Rey Buby pierde su primer diente, el ratón de los dientes viene a visitarlo.