Folklore

Our Arab heritage, from east to west, is filled with many stories and legends that our grandmothers narrated to us when we were small. The time has come to narrate some of what we heard. The story of the seven brothers is a lesson, admonition, and counsel. It is inspired by the Algerian folklore, and this is the story. There was a lady called Khadija, living with her husband in a simple hut. The couple wanted very much to be blessed with a baby girl, but God’s will is above everything, of course. So God blessed them with seven boys, one after another. Khadija kept giving birth to boys until her sons all agreed when their mother was pregnant with her last child, that if she didn’t give birth to a girl for them, they would all leave the house and never return to it again. ...

Some of the stories and narrations we hear from our grandmothers may not constitute heritage passed down by generations. They may be narrations about true events they lived at their age, by their familiarity with reality and that ancient time periods were indeed filled with events that today’s mind cannot easily believe. The narrator says and her name is Asma: We were sitting in our rural home one of the winter nights extremely cold in temperature. The weather was storming severely outside to a truly terrifying degree. During those thunderous storms and this unstable weather, the electrical current suddenly cut off. ...

Hundreds of years ago, in ancient times in one of the villages, lived a family consisting of six individuals: parents and four sons. During that period of ancient time, people enjoyed many marvels and miracles that were granted to many. That small family was full of different abilities of its individuals. The daughter was called Rufa, and the four sons had inherited their strength and power from their father Einov, who was able to kill a huge bull with only one strike of his hand. ...

We must learn from childhood not to betray, as betrayal is harsh, especially when it comes from the humans closest to our hearts. The betrayal of a loved one is like a stabbing sword. Its effect remains no matter how many days pass, and we meet other people, while the wound of treachery and betrayal remains in our hearts, fueling the curse of revenge within us. Therefore, it’s important that you learn not to betray, as happened in this story. ...

There was a boy living with his old grandmother in one of the villages. They had a goat. They would sell its milk and live on the money they obtained. The boy was also fond of hunting. He would go in the morning to the forests surrounding the village. If he hunted a rabbit, bird, or something else, he would return with it to his grandmother. They would feast on it, eat it, and complete the day in joy and happiness. ...

One day, an Egyptian sailing ship sailed on a journey to Sinai Peninsula. There were some sailors on it who wanted to explore Sinai’s mines and what minerals they contained. There were many mines in this island with precious minerals. When the ship was on its way, a severe storm struck it, sinking it and drowning the sailors. Only one man survived, who was able to sail until he reached an island called the Magic Island. ...

Long ago, Indian legends say that the god Krishna once descended to the earth. He loved playing the flute, and would stroll in the forest and play the flute tunes to all the animals that were passionate about this beautiful playing. One day, Krishna fell into sleep after becoming tired from playing the flute and strolling, and he didn’t know that a little boy was also listening with passion to the playing. When the boy saw that Krishna had fallen into sleep, he sneaked close to him, picked up the flute, and placed it on his mouth, trying to play on it whatever tune he could. All he managed to do was only produce sharp sounds that disturbed Krishna and made him wake from sleep. ...

Once there was a king called Midas. He owned a very large amount of gold, to the point people called him the man who owned the largest amount of gold in the whole world. Despite being very rich, he kept collecting and gathering money. His biggest dream was for his daughter Zoe to become the richest girl in the world. Zoe was a beautiful, gentle, simple, and elegant girl. She was different from her father in everything, as all her dreams were a beautiful garden decorated with flowers and a quiet place to live in. One day, King Midas was sitting in the residence where he placed the gold. Suddenly, a man wearing white clothes came out to him named Silenus. He was the god of wealth who approached King Midas carefully, then said: Your Majesty, I can give you more gold than you own. ...

It is told that in ancient times there was a king and queen living in harmony. They had twelve children from their offspring. One day, the king said to the queen while sad: Soon you will give birth, and if the thirteenth child who comes to the world is a girl, she will cause the death of her twelve brothers, and the kingdom will become hers alone. The king prepared twelve wooden coffins, placed sawdust in them, left them in a locked room of the palace rooms, and ordered his wife the queen not to tell anyone that secret. But the sad queen couldn’t keep the secret before her little child Benjamin, who was constantly affectionate with her. ...

It is told that in ancient times, there was a king who had three daughters, and God had not blessed him with sons. He loved them very much, but the youngest was closest to his heart. Once, the king wanted to tell them of his love for them, so he brought his eldest daughter and said to her: My precious daughter, tell me how much is your love for your father? ...