Titres dans Asie

Nicht nur die Brüder Grimm oder Hans Christian Andersen haben Märchen gesammelt oder geschrieben, auch in anderen Ländern ist das Märchen selbstverständlich kulturelles Volksgut. In Japan wurden und werden gerne Märchen erzählt - wie diese feine Sammlung von zwanzig wunderbaren Geschichten beweist! Einige Themen kommen uns bekannt vor, anderes ist ganz neu - und natürlich mit dem Kolorit des Asiatischen versehen!

A greedy monkey tricks a crab into trading her yummy omusubi rice snack for a single persimmon seed. But who will end up with the bigger reward in the end? This children’s story by Ryan Aoto is based on the traditional Japanese folktale “The Monkey-Crab Battle.”

Kashima, a god in Edo, Japan, resides in his shrine to protect the people from Namazu, a catfish, from causing earthquakes that devastate the lives of the villagers. When Kashima helps one of the villagers, Namazu must decide whether to obey Kashima and stay put or swim and potentially endanger the lives of the villagers.

Tam and Cam are stepsisters who are supposed to work together, but Cam sees Tam as her rival and always leaves all the work for her to do. When a festival comes to town, will Tam succeed in catching the eye of the king? Follow along on this Cinderella-esque tale from Vietnam and find out!

Two brothers, Heung Bu and Nol Bu, lived as neighbors. One spring day when the brothers were out planting, Heung Bu finds a wounded swallow. He nurses it back to health and is rewarded with a single pumpkinseed. Heung Bu plants the seed and is rewarded for his kindness. Nol Bu, jealous of his brother’s good fortune, seeks out a wounded swallow of his own. Will he be rewarded like his brother?

A boy named Ty is sent on several impossible errands by his scheming stepmother and each time he is helped by a tortoise. Frustrated by his success, Ty’s stepmother sends him away. Ty decides to follow the river looking for work when he encounters the emperor making a sacrifice to the river god. Can Ty help the emperor?

This tender Japanese tale recalls the legend about Suho, a poor shepherd lad, and the newborn foal he finds on the Mongolian steppes.