Fairy-Tale Files, published once weekly, feature three variations of a fairy tale chosen by one of Fairy Tale Review’s editors.
In the Modoc people’s story “When Grizzlies Walked Upright,” the Chief of the Sky Spirits descends to our world through a hole he creates in the sky—the barrier between our world and the terribly cold “Above World.” His fingers make the trees, his walking stick begets beavers and fish, and a girl’s romance with a grizzly ends up creating mankind itself. But perhaps most importantly, the Chief pushes all the Above World’s snow and ice out through that hole, creating the place we now know as Mount Shasta.
(Photo courtesy of Chmee2 at Wikipedia)
The Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland is a landmark equally famous for its beauty and its origin, which is fabled to be a one-giant public works project Fionn mac Cumhaill builds so that he can fight the Scottish giant, Benandonner. By pretending he is a baby, and not a giant, Fionn tricks Benandonner into believing that if Fionn’s child is so large, Fionn himself must be truly enormous. As Benandonner flees, he destroys the causeway, leaving only a trace of similar structures on a small Scottish island across the North Channel.
Internet-famous Giorgio A. Tsoukalos (pictured below) is a supporter of the Alien Astronaut Theory, or the “ancient aliens” theory, which argues that many of Earth’s most famous landmarks, including Easter Island’s Moai statues, were created solely by, or with the help of, aliens and their advanced technology. Tsoukalos explains, “The only way the ancient astronaut theory can be disproven is when the extraterrestrials show up and say, ‘We were never here in the past.'” How oh-so-very convenient for you, Mr. Tsoukalos.
This edition of Fairy-Tale Files is brought to you by Fairy Tale Review Managing Editor Joel Hans.
