Traditional cultures the world over have used stories to teach children (and remind adults) about what's important and how to stay safe.
“The Twelve Months” is a Czech story that teaches about kindness and gratitude. Gentle Marushka is forced out into the snow by her cruel step mother to find violets, strawberries, and apples in the dead of winter for her spoiled daughter, Holena. Marushka comes upon The Twelve Months - a council of twelve elders who apparently control the seasons - who reward her politeness by granting her the items she seeks. When Holena marches out into the snow herself to claim some more, the Twelve respond to Holena's rudeness with a winter storm that claims her life.
There's a Celtic story about a horse that lives in the water and likes to steal young kids. It helps children learn caution when playing by the sea.
And stories have even been used as a primary tool for healing individuals and communities, as with a group of Confucian peasants in the Northern Chinese provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang.
Useful stories were vetted over generations.
Who's in charge of our stories?
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