Guide to the Tales
I've written this as a guide to the different types of chain tales that you will find here in the Portfolio and also at my blog. I've ended up with four chain tales here in the Portfolio, plus five more chain tales at my blog.
Portfolio:
- The Mouse-Bride. Tale type ATU 2031. Stronger and Strongest. The chain goes from sun to cloud to wind to wall to mouse. As you can see, even though this story has the same classification as "The Flower" (see below), they are very different stories.
- Mistress Rabbit's Wedding Day. Tale type ATU 2030. The Old Woman and her Pig. The chain goes from camel to well to dog to boy to waitress to cow to clover, and then back again.
- Who's to Blame in the Garden of Eden? This is not a traditional chain tale, but I modeled it on the "chain of blame" type of stories like ATU 2042. Chain of Accidents. The chain goes from Adam to Eve to snake to Lilith to Samael to Adam to Eve to fire, and then back again.
- The Flower. Tale type ATU 2031. Stronger and Strongest. The chain goes from flower to bee to cat to moon to sun and back to flower again. It's also an aetiological tale, providing an origin story for the sunflower.
Blog:
- The Cats and their Friends. Tale type ATU 210 Rooster, Hen, Duck, Pin, and Needle. This chain connects cats, cow, dog, crow, ashes, needles, snake, and beans. As you can see from the classification number, this is not grouped with the other chain tales (ATU 2000- and above), but I have told it in a cumulative way to bring out the chain-tale quality.
- Brer Anansi Borrows Money. Tale type ATU 2024. Rabbit Borrows Money. This chain goes from hog to dog to monkey to tiger to lion.
- A Writer Dreams. Tale type ATU 1430 Air Castles. This dream sequence involves a series of events leading up to the Noble Prize and a trip to Stockholm. This story is also not grouped with the other chain tales, but it has a distinctively chain-tale quality.
- Psyche Lives! This is not a traditional chain tale, but I modeled it on the "chain of mourners" type of stories like ATU 2022 The Death of the Little Hen. The chain of mourners goes from tree, bird, goatherd, goat, stream, and cook.
- The Cat and Her Husband. Tale type ATU 2023. Little Ant Marries. This has a chain of mourners, plus a series of suitors. The suitors are dog, pig, calf, and mouse. The mourners are cat, door, window, tree, dove, fountain, cuckoo, monk, and queen; the story ends when the king does not mourn but just decides to drink a cup of coffee.