When God created the snake without legs, the hoop snake was having none of it. Taking tail in mouth, he rolled away. A story told in two sentences is worth noting. Actually there are many stories of hoop snakes. It’s a legendary creature in American folklore often associated with Pecos Bill stories, but it’s origins might be older. A similar snake in Greek mythology, the ouroboros, was a symbol of eternal return. In Japanese...

Maybe the Grimm brothers didn’t set out to kill women’s stories, but they did. Here’s what happened: Rumpenstünzchen was a spinning tale, part of a large number of spinning tales that European women shared while spinning and weaving flax into cloth, an arduous task that was usually done in the evening after all the other tasks were completed (children cared for, meals fixed, animals fed, eggs sold, laundry washed—you get the...

Learned today that some scholars think the Panchatantra is the origin of all fairy tales. That’s probably not entirely true, but it is one of the oldest sources. It was written in Sanskrit in the 3rd Century BCE by Vishna Sharma who gathered his material from even older versions. Tales from the Panchatantra have spread widely. Today they can be found from Java to Iceland. The enduring/endearing power of folk tales is the subject of a...

I hiked Glacier National Park last fall, tagging along with Douglas Chadwick, the famed wildlife biologist (see The Wolverine Way). We climbed up and down and all around checking wildflowers and bear sign–great experience That evening, after we’d kicked back in the Granite Chalet, he shared wolverine stories. Chadwick spent seven years studying mountain goats–not an easy gig. Goats go places humans find impossible. But...

Saw a bumper sticker at a stoplight today. It said WWJD? I’m not up on my texting terms. Took me a minute–What Would Jesus Do?  Our computer-savy dogs are also engaged in a story that can be expressed in a single line–My Dog Ate My Homework. No further explanation needed. Narrative is a coherent system of stories, like Biblical stories or Greek myths. Meta-narrative is an understanding so deeply embedded in the culture that...

Recent research indicates humans are wired for story. Keith Oatley, an expert in cognitive psychology and a novelist, thinks stories are like flight simulators. They prepare us for life’s ups and downs the way a simulator prepares a pilot for unseen turbulence. Steven Pinker, an evolutionary psychologist, similarly thinks that telling stories allowed us to see ahead and anticipate new situations. Those who were receptive to stories...