Folks of All Mythology

 The Morning After     And it was on the next morning when Owen O'Mulready waited for his master to pass by so he might report back to him about his dream. James Taafe was not long. In fact, he was earlier than usual.     "What have you to report?" James asked for he was very curious to hear how Owen's first dream had gone.     "What haven't I to report?" Owen said. "I thought I was halfway to America when I awoke climbing halfway up my chimney covered in soot! There was a rogue of a crane and some strange-looking sailors and, by God!, even the plants talked." Owen shook his head. "I shan't be envious of people who dream anymore."     "It does sound like a harrowing adventure," James said. "You're sure you've no desire to dream anymore?"     "None whatsoever!"     James nodded and started on his way when Owen stopped him. "What is it you need Owen O'Mulready?"     "Was it no...

 Carrying the Family Mantle     Ava looked at the fur mantle spread proudly on the wall above the fireplace. "You've never told me about this, Mary."     Mary shuffled next to her and looked up at it. "My family and I tend not to talk about out of doors," she said. "Most people don't believe the story behind it anyway."     Ava shifted. "What's the story?" she asked, though she already knew it.     "One night, 500 hundred years ago, twelve witches came to the house. Long story short, my ancestor drove them out of the house with a trick. When they came back she had already protected the house, so they couldn't get back in. They fled again, and one of them left her mantle."     Left?  Ava frowned. "You're sure it wasn't stolen?"     Mary rolled her eyes. "Why would anyone want to steal a witch's mantle?" She shook her head. "Anyone with any sense knows that would be a terrible idea....

Dads, Look!     The seven men left of the original war party sat around the fire and spoke about their day. As usual, at the end of the day, they were all exhausted. Had they been a normal group with no other responsibilities to speak of that weren't toward each other, hunting, scouting, and the like, they would no doubt have been brimming with energy at the end of their days.     But with their little girl, Foot-Stuck-Child? No. Definitely not. Each day left them tired and haggard, but they wouldn't have had it any other way.     "Foot-Stuck-Child lit me on fire today," one said. His eyebrows were missing. The ends of his sleeves were singed black, and his hair was noticeably shorter. "I didn't burn for the most part. She's getting better." He leaned back and smiled smugly. Who could top being set on fire?     Another man waved him away. "Please, she sent me to the bottom of the river! I could still breathe for the most part, but she just sat o...

 How to be Dead 101     The man poked his head out of the burial site. His thin wrinkled face squinted at those around him. "I tried being dead," he told his wife, "but I don't think it's stuck to me. I don't know how to be dead."     His wife, who had bargained their long lives for some daylight, shushed him. "You are the first one to ever die, figure it out."     The man lay back down, grumbling.     Flashes of light went off around him. "Congratulations!" someone shouted. He couldn't tell if it was male or female. A smooth, round face, like that of a child's, appeared above him. H screamed and poked his head out of the gravesite again.     "Dear, I really don't think I like being dead."     His wife shushed him. "We'll figure it out once the men return from hunting. Until then, get back in your grave."     The man settled back into his grave forlornly.      "You're the first human to eve...

To Be Worthy of a Happy Ending     Prince Ucay looked nervously about the grand hall. His bride-to-be beside was not an unpleasant woman, but he did not love her. He pined for his love who he kept secret from the world for he was too afraid to admit to his father he was in love with the daughter of his father's most hated rival, a witch.     The doors to the hall burst open. The guests screamed. His bride-to-be cowered beside him. For a brief moment, Ucay's heart was elated. It was his love!     His heart fell. She did not come toward him with a smile. She came toward him with eyes red from tears and hate on her face.     "You have betrayed and destroyed any love we once shared! For your timidity and cowardice, you will be transformed into nothing more than the performing monkey you are. And what better place for a monkey to live than the tallest tree in the forest. And what better subjects for a monkey prince to rule over than the other animals i...

 The Fate of Two Friends           It was a peaceful day, even with Sun so close by. Bodhi was in mild shock something hadn't gone wrong because of his friend today. So far, there hadn't been pranks or tricks. No one had yelled. Sun hadn't gotten anyone riled up either. The weather was fair with a soft steady breeze flowing through every room.     Yes, it was a perfect day.     Bodhi frowned and rubbed his forehead. If it was so perfect, why couldn't he meditate? No matter how hard he tried to concentrate on it, he couldn't quiet and empty his mind today. He was tempted to blame Sun, but he really hadn't done anything today. Yet.     "That may be my fault," a man said.     Bodhi turned to admonish him who dared interrupt his prayers and meditation but stopped. Sitting serenely by him was a man dressed in glowing garments. Bodhi was stunned into silence. His brain catching up to him, Bodhi jumped up and bowed to t...

 The Bald Wife's Happy Ending          The woman, a wife who used to be bald, sat beside the muni at his behest. She wanted to ask what he required of her but stayed silent until he was ready to talk. The sun set and rose once more before he uttered a single word to her.     Her long dark hair flowed in the breeze and the birds in the leaves sang of her charm, but she reveled not in her newly bestowed beauty but in the beauty around her. All was peaceful in the holy grove where the muni lived. The woman silently supposed that anywhere the younger wife wasn't yelling at and beating her was considered peaceful.      When the sun had risen enough to be blocked by the boughs of the trees, he spoke.     "By your kindness and obedience, you have been granted blessings," the muni said. "That is not easy to accomplish."     The woman bowed low. "I do not deserve such words, Father Muni," she said, "for I was doing what a...

 And the Threads of Stories Go On     The Goblin always left where he wanted to, and to the Sands of Many Stories did he go. In the sands were fine jewels. Each shined under the sun and glowed under the moon. Each facet presented to him another world, a story.     He tapped the center, and the jewel opened up for him. Into the world, he was transported within the blink of an eye. The characters stopped and stared. Their bickering halted, their problems paused, and their ponderings ceased.     They looked around the vast, luminous cavern. The walls sparkled and shined a bright yellow. The floor was bathed in a bright red, and the finest curtains made of warm light kept everyone from the cold of their dazzling prison.     It was time again.     The Goblin stood before them presently and waited until he was sure all their attention was on him. He held his arms wide and smiled. "There has been one to answer your riddles."     ...

Gathering of the Year               Emity turned off the sidewalk into an alleyway lit brightly from the strung lanterns overhead. The painted black door of the coffee shop stood proudly at the end. H A V E N was stamped in big, bold golden lettering. The brass doorknob was cool against her slightly translucent fingertips.     She opened the door and walked in. Soft piano music accompanied by the clatter of dishes and quiet murmuring of patrons wrapped around Emity. The last home for her kind welcomed her back. Patrons ranging from spirits, like her, to duwendes to nagas to dullahans sat at tables near windows or at the bar. Most were enjoying the food and drink the cafe had to offer.  Emity chose a table apart from the other patrons and sat facing the door.       Minutes later a large man with thick black hair and a pencil mustache trundled through the door. His chin was held high with his shoulders back in a wa...

 The Descendent     Margot, of being pure in chastity and of unshakeable faith, called upon the saints of her line, upon the angels, upon the protection of Jesu Christ. For her faith, she was rewarded and thus feared none and sought to purify corruption. Not to give sway to any inner desires of pride, she grieved for lost souls whom she herself was not meant to save. She drew comfort in another being able to succeed where she failed.     She walked the streets of the city, feeling the great Evil festering in every shadow.  The scourging clean of this city would be difficult work.     The first six weeks of her visit yielded no fruit. No eyes nor ears nor hearts would break their shells of stone to believe.     Yet Margot in faith did not wane. Twelve times a day, twelve times a night she would weep in pleading to the Lord to enable her to save the city for Him.      And at once in the evening of the third day of the sevent...

 Åtta the Troll's Proposal     On the eighth day of the eighth month, Undra and her father and her mother climbed the tallest mountain. They stopped only when they had reached the summit at the eighth hour in the morning. They had not yet caught their breath when the ground shook beneath their feet, and the sky trembled above their heads.     Undra's parents stepped back in fear. Undra stood where she was. She refused to shake from the fear that struck her heart. From the mist emerged  Åtta, the youngest but most vile of the trolls.      His hair was stained the darkest red from his victims. His noisome body was wrapped in a cloak of moss, firs, and pines. Åtta's sunken pitch eyes reflected no light. He stood eight leagues over the summit and had to stoop to see Undra.           "Of the question I have asked your eight sisters before you, Fru Undra, you may answer only yes or no: Will you marry me?"   ...