Fairy Tale Fix - 98: What Would Skeletor Do?

Episode Date: November 26, 2024

Today’s episode brought to you by existential dread! Kelsey regales the overly sappy fairy tale The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde—but don’t worry, she’s got a delightfully unhinged fix for our ...collective mood. Meanwhile, Abbie shares the indigenous (most likely Haida) folk tale The Ogre, the Sun, and the Raven, retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. (That’s sun, not son.)

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Keeping it, keeping it breezy. Keeping it breezy, baby. It's like gravy, baby. It's all gravy. You know Skeletor, right? Yes. I love Skeletor. Iconic.
Starting point is 00:00:18 Where he's like, I don't like to feel good. I like to feel evil. Evil. What's the show that Skeletor is from? It's He-Man, right? He-Man, yeah. Or if you're like me and you tried watching the original 80s He-Man and we're like, no, this is bad. Was it bad? No.
Starting point is 00:00:44 Okay. like, no, this is bad. Was it bad? No. I didn't care for it. That's what I'll say. I'm sure if you have a lot of nostalgia fueling you and you really loved it as a kid, more power to you. I like a lot of shit from the 90s and early 2000s that's not that great either. I'm going to check it out. If you are interested in He-Man as a property, I thought that the Netflix revivals were really good. This would be Masters of the Universe Revolution and Revelation. And each of them are about a season long. And they kind of continue the He-Man story.
Starting point is 00:01:34 And Mark Hamill voices Skeletor and does an amazing job. I love that so much. I need something new too because I have been just binge watching nothing but Bob's Burgers and How I Met Your Mother. Delicious comfort food. Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl were on the next list. Also excellent comfort food. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:01:57 I don't know. Something about a nice 80s. No, not 80s cartoon. 80s inspired? 80s inspired. And the vibe is still pretty 80s cartoon. 80s inspired? 80s inspired. The vibe is still pretty 80s. I think the person that directed it or produced it or whatever is Kevin Smith. It also has a very Kevin Smith sensibility. He's Silent Bob of J and Silent Bob.
Starting point is 00:02:23 Oh, I love that guy. I love Silent Bob and like the of Jay and Silent Bob. Oh, I love that guy. Love Silent Bob. Me too. Do you have any other good show recommendations for me right now? Also, I just, I have to interject real, I have to interrupt myself and you from... I looked up Skeletor images, and I feel like I'm seeing a lot of weird thirst trap Skeletor pictures. Skeletor. Skeletor really is iconic. What would Skeletor do?
Starting point is 00:02:57 Diabolical ways to master the universe. What is that? I mean, I'm not seeing thirst traps exactly, but it's very Jessica Rabbit in the sense that he's just drawn that way. I know. Maybe it's just his positions that they draw him. He's half naked and has an eight pack and a skull. The way he's sitting on that throne, okay, you're right. It's totally just the way he's drawn. Okay, but there's another one where it looks like he's taking off his sweater, but it's
Starting point is 00:03:33 like bones. It's a skeleton underneath. Yeah. But it's still oddly sexy anyway. It's absolutely odd. I mean, Skeletor is the poster child for weirdly sexy. Why is he a skeleton, but also at the same time so muscular? It was the 80s. Don't ask questions. Iconic though. I'm sure it's the one you saw, but I don't know why.
Starting point is 00:03:56 No. Anyway. But love the show. Lena Headey also was in it playing Evil Lin. Lena Headey played Cersei on Game of Thrones. Evil Lin. Oh, amazing. Sarah Michelle Geller is... Of course.
Starting point is 00:04:13 ...Voices one of the characters. All right. It's great. I got to give it a try. I got to give it a try. I say that about so many shows and then I'm like, think you know, but, or, or you know what I could do instead. Oh my God, Keith David is in it. Sorry. What? You just recommended something in the last episode
Starting point is 00:04:39 with Kate David and I still haven't seen it. The Thing. I still haven't watched The Thing. The Thing. Oh Thing, ugh. I mean, don't watch that if you're in the mood for a lighthearted time because that's... But horror to me for some reason is lighthearted. I just finished a rewatch of Marianne. It's a French horror on Ethlix. Oh yeah, you're telling me about that.
Starting point is 00:05:01 If we have any listeners that like horror, I feel like I don't have any friends in my whole life that like horror except Stephen and Madeline. And you and you like different kinds of horror. Yeah. Mary Ann's so good though. It's a French horror about a witch. And she's awesome. I like that.
Starting point is 00:05:19 She's so good. It's really spooky. It's genuinely like eerie, creepy, but also has some French humor, which I love. Okay, you do enjoy French humor. I do. Those French with their humor. It's a little quirky and a little... Anyway. Okay.
Starting point is 00:05:43 Anyway. Okay. Kind of existential. Okay. I do like a witch. She's a scary ass witch. Marianne is the name of the witch. Okay. And you wouldn't like it though I'm sure because it's actually, like I actually think it's scary. I don't know if you'd, I mean you'd probably enjoy the story itself, but. I especially like supernatural horror, so it feels more supernatural to me. It's basically this like, witch is haunting this,
Starting point is 00:06:15 the main character, Emma, who is like, basically becomes a writer, and she's like haunted by this witch and her teens, and you actually, there's like a flashback episode where you get to see her and her friends as teens as punks in the eighties. Okay. With actual Mohawks and like, it's fucking awesome.
Starting point is 00:06:35 It's such a good episode. And then, but the main storyline is that she's a writer and she came up with this character, Lizzie, Lizzie Lark that like she invented her to kick Marianne's ass. So she writes all these books about Marianne. But she ends up stopping writing the books because she wants to work on something besides horror.
Starting point is 00:07:00 And the witch is like, no, you need to keep writing about me. Ooh, okay. Cause like the thing is, is like, no, you need to keep writing about me. Ooh, OK, because the thing is, I do love that trope of a monster that thinks it's really cool. Of like, I love myself and I want all of the attention. Yep. No, you need to keep telling everybody about me. Me. Me. Me. The like, I've manifested my own, like you, and I also like, you know, you've manifested your own monster.
Starting point is 00:07:34 And honestly, for this one, kind of all the trigger warnings. Okay. All the trigger, like the first episode, the reason that she ends up going back to her hometown and like kind of has to realize that she has to figure out this whole Marian witch thing is that her friend comes and tells her straight up like you have to come fix this. And then she she trigger warning for suicide. Oh, boy.
Starting point is 00:08:02 Okay. Literally, literally in front of Emma and it's horrifying, it's horrible. She goes back, her mom, her friend that killed herself, her mom like basically has been inhabited by the witch. And that's not really a spoiler, it happens on the first episode. And the old lady that plays the witch is fucking amazing. She should have won awards for that role. It's so good. It's
Starting point is 00:08:25 so spooky. I could go on forever about the show. It's so good. I do have a lot of feelings and opinions though about certain things, but I have no one to talk to about it. I'm just going to make Stephen watch it and then he can tell me about it and then we can talk about it. I have no one to talk to about this. It's fine. Anyway. On a witch related note, because you also asked like what other shows are out there that are good. And I just finished watching Agatha all along. I have not watched that. Can you believe that? It has Aubrey Plaza. And Catherine, what's
Starting point is 00:09:03 her name? Catherine Hahn. Catherine Hahn. Gosh, she, what's her name? Catherine Hahn. Catherine Hahn. Gosh, she's so- Patti LuPone. That's right. I need to get my shit together. Among others.
Starting point is 00:09:13 Uh, and it's fucking awesome and it's super fucking gay. Okay. I guess how long, that's next. Yeah. And there's just some, it's like, it's not, it's not scary, but it does, but it is like horror themed in a really satisfying way. So I think you'll really enjoy it. You need to get on it.
Starting point is 00:09:34 Yeah. I'm gonna get on it. I'm gonna get my shit together. Sometime. Someday. Maybe. Someday. It's been rough. I don't know how everybody else is feeling,
Starting point is 00:09:45 but I feel bad. Same. Still. Definitely same. But trying not to dwell for our listeners, just for your edification, we are recording this episode on November 11th, 2024 in the United States of America. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Just cue the nervous giggling for another 10 minutes and we're good.
Starting point is 00:10:29 Oh, cue the nervous giggling for another four years or longer. So anywho, I've been drinking a lot lately. I'm drinking a hot toddy right now, which is great. I've got a gin and tonic. It looks fresh. What did you put? Did you put like slices of cucumber in that? I sure did.
Starting point is 00:10:47 That's so fancy. You know what? Cause I'm a bougie bitch and I use Hendrix gin. Oh, that is bougie. I also used elderflower tonic water. Shut up. Now you gotta add some like whole pink peppercorns in there too.
Starting point is 00:11:01 Mmm. I actually do have some. I should have. Okay, you know, it's, well, this was exciting to me this morning. This is the series I call Kelsey, this is the series I call things Kelsey Finds in Her Front Yard that's-
Starting point is 00:11:19 Amazing, tell me. Exciting. Oh, it's my favorite series. It was raining this morning, which is like the first rain all season or maybe second rain. Anyway, but I love it. I was so excited. I went out, you know, letting the rain hit my face, feeling good.
Starting point is 00:11:34 And I looked down and there's this plant that's popped up and I always have weeds in my front yard. My front yard looks like a disaster. Don't come at me about it. I work full time. I'm tired. And I can't afford a person to come make my yard look pretty, so just weeds.
Starting point is 00:11:54 And you know what? And you know what? This weed looked really familiar. I was looking real close at this plant, and I was like, is that like mint? And so I pick off a leaf and I like rub it and smell it. It's fucking peppermint just randomly popped up in my front yard. Not like from a neighbor who's growing it and it went under my fence or something, just right in the middle of like a desert of bark.
Starting point is 00:12:21 A random seed just popped up in your front yard. Yeah. It was delightful. It made me very happy. I feel like that's nice. I feel that feels like a good sign, you know? Absolutely. I think surprise peppermint is always wonderful. Can I have the name of the episode? Sure. Yeah. Episode title contender, surprise peppermint. Surprise peppermint. I looked up what peppermint means in witchcraft because I was curious. I was like, why is peppermint just showing up in my garden? And it says, the first thing I saw says,
Starting point is 00:12:54 throughout history, this remarkable herb has been associated with a myriad of magical properties and enhancing qualities. From its ability to uplift spirits and enhance mental clarity to its protective and purifying energies, peppermint holds a special place in the realm of magic. And I was like, holy shit, I feel like I really needed that. Yeah, protection, purification, and mental clarity
Starting point is 00:13:16 sound very important right now. I need it. I feel like a good sign, you know? Yeah, I love that. That's good. I think that's a good omen for you. Yeah, I hope so. I'm wearing, by the way, speaking of like kind of like witchcraft and protection stuff,
Starting point is 00:13:37 is I'm wearing the bracelets that you got me for my birthday, the little wish bracelets. That's what I was hoping. Kelsey got me these like little wish bracelets where like you tie them on while you make a wish and then when they fall off your wish is supposed to come true. And one of them is tied to a moss agate, which is like all about like abundance and prosperity. And then also a Cornelian. Cornelian? Carnelian? I don't know. Whatever. I've heard it both ways. It's associated with like protection. Yep.
Starting point is 00:14:10 I got that for you for your birthday because I was like, you know what? Abby's job was taking too much. Like you were pretty stressed out about your job. I was, I was. And I really do when I, not that I'm like, not that I'm saying I'm like practicing witchcraft, but when I do things where I need like a little extra protection or like I wanna,
Starting point is 00:14:33 I don't know, I need some comfort. I usually use things that my friends give me. Like I wear this ring that Caroline and Lola bought me and the bracelets that you, sometimes I have like a bracelet that you and Caroline got me or like candles that you and Madeline and people buy me. I just I use things like other people give me and that makes me feel more like supported. Absolutely. Oh, 100%. I feel this I feel the same way that like, because like, regardless of whether or not you believe in like, because regardless of whether or not you believe in the act, the literal magic of a thing, which I both do, which I am, I both do and I don't. As you called it, I love this so much, spicy psychology.
Starting point is 00:15:14 Well, and that's still, so I stole that from Naila, who I'm sure also stole that from someone else. But yeah, the spicy psychology of it. And then also I like carrying, I like having your wishes and your hopes for me visually represented somewhere around my house or on my body. I think it's really important, like magic and spell craft is that the people who love you sending you their hopes for you. And that's like, I don't know, that people who love you kind of sending you their hopes for you. Yeah. And that's like, I don't know, that's magic to me.
Starting point is 00:15:50 I agree. So I believe in energies. Like, it carries that energy. Yeah. And it's a good, regardless of whether or not you believe in the magic, it's a good reminder. Yep. And then I do, I do, and then I genuinely do believe in like, yeah, like you said, the energy that someone else is holding for you. Very important. So yeah, if you're thinking, I don't know, this episode comes out late November, maybe early December. The week of Thanksgiving, I believe, is when it's supposed to come out. So if you're thinking about holiday gifts,
Starting point is 00:16:30 I mean, I highly recommend finding black female-owned shops and then getting your friends' stuff for protection. I'm thinking about getting this book that I ran across on TikTok. Literally my whole FYP page is black women talking about their businesses and I'm saving all of them because that's the only thing I'm buying for this holiday season. But this one woman was talking about her book and it's like, don't be that white bitch or something like that. And it's
Starting point is 00:16:58 like a journal for white women to like think about like, oh, what's it called? Hold on. You know what, it's worth it. I'm just gonna find it real fast. It's called, is it something like, don't be that white bitch? I can't remember. That was definitely her tagline and it was funny as fuck. And I was like, I love this so much.
Starting point is 00:17:22 It's like a journal that you go through and you kind of think about. It asks you questions. It's like a journal that you go through and you kind of think about, it asks you questions. It's like shadow work. It was asking you questions about like, what was womanhood, what were you raised as a child? Like what were you raised to think of as womanhood? Or it's called stop acting like that white bitch. A self-reflection journal to help you see
Starting point is 00:17:45 minding your business is anti-racism work. I want to- Every time I Google stop acting like that white bitch, it keeps giving me SZA lyrics. Yes, I saw that too. That's what I was trying to look it up. I had to find it. She was actually saying, I think,
Starting point is 00:18:03 that Amazon keeps putting her book down. It had to find it. She was actually saying, I think that like, Amazon keeps putting her book down, like it's not promoting it. So that's why I saved it on TikTok. But I have- Probably because you're not allowed, like, it's horrible and discriminatory if you say rude things to or about white people. Yes. So it says, so one of the journal entries is like, who represents me? Local, board of supervisors, city council, school board. So it helps you learn who is representing you.
Starting point is 00:18:35 Like, where are you going? It makes you do the work, or do work. And then, what implicit messages did you receive as a child about womanhood? what implicit messages did you receive as a child about womanhood? What explicit messages did you receive as a woman about childhood? So just... Ooh, I love this. I know.
Starting point is 00:18:53 Isn't that cool? This is real. Honestly, that's really cool. Because it does kind of... Because like, I don't know, like so much of it is like stuff you just don't really think about on the day to day. And then you don't think... And then because you don't think about it,
Starting point is 00:19:05 you don't think about how that frames your worldview or how you interact with other people. So if anyone, I don't know if we're gonna keep it all in, but if anyone's interested. That's a great, that sounds like a great book. We could do, we could probably even do a little book club. Oh, that's a good idea. On that one.
Starting point is 00:19:24 Because I think that those kinds of books are usually best if they're sort of like in tandem with other people. Yep. Which I want to get for all of my family this holiday season. So the creator is at the irreverend underscore returns. So anyway, if you're looking for some holiday gift ideas, get stuff that helps your friends, your family. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:19:54 Not be assholes. A difficult prospect. Or you can text them if they need that, if they're not assholes. Or what I like about that journal is it's very gentle, but it kind of reaffirms like, well, how are you being an asshole? Because you're a person, which means you're probably being an asshole somewhere and you should think about that. And sit with it, think about it, work on it. Yeah, you know.
Starting point is 00:20:32 Just do your best. We're all fucking jerks somehow, somewhere, especially when you have privilege, you know. So just think about it. Anyway. Anyway. Okay. On that note. Let's read some stories.
Starting point is 00:20:51 Stories that totally aren't also political that I chose specifically for this episode. Totally not political. Read me a story. I'm going to read you a story today. We're going to get to this. So I you a story today. We're going to get to this. So I chose a story today. This is by Oscar Wilde, so I'm going a little off brand for what I usually do, I guess. I don't know.
Starting point is 00:21:14 Well, sad Victorian bisexual boys. I don't know. Okay. It was either Oscar Wilde or Hans Christian Andersen today. That's pretty on brand. We're getting to Yuletide, so I'm feeling sad Victorian boy. This story is called The Selfish Giant. The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde. Oh my goodness.
Starting point is 00:21:46 And certainly didn't make me think of anything that's happening right now currently. What? At all. There's no real reason I chose this story today. Oh, God. Oh, no. I told Abby earlier, I was last night when I was searching for my story, I was looking for stories about a woman who
Starting point is 00:22:05 turns into a monster and literally eats her lover, her ex-lover for revenge. I couldn't find anything. Probably because in most cultures that would be called a monster story and not a fairy tale. I did look through monstrous tales, but nothing was really like, nothing was vibing. There were a couple of them. Nothing hit quite right. There are a couple good ones that'll probably get to but.
Starting point is 00:22:31 Honestly, I think what after this after this, after we record, I'm just going to go re listen to the episode about Bobaloochee. Bobaloochee! Also, Leechy Slays the Dragon was one I was I was like, I really want another Leechy Slays the Dragon. Yeah, that one's also a good one. We'll do a little more research and see if we can just find some more female rage related. Or the one you read pretty recently. Was it for Mermaid or was it just over the summer?
Starting point is 00:23:01 It was the one where it was for Mermaid. It was our last episode for Mermaid before our break. Yeah, yup. The slow burn, I can't even remember what it was called. Me neither, but it was like, it was the guy who fools around with this girl on the coastline and he gets her pregnant and then. The Mermaid's Vengeance for episode 89.
Starting point is 00:23:22 Everybody go re-listen to that one. That was a great one. It was a great story. That was some female rage at its finest. I remember re-listening to that and thinking I was nervous giggling a lot in that episode, so I apologize. No, you weren't. I don't know. I thought you were nervous giggling the correct amount. Thank you. You're such a good supportive friend.
Starting point is 00:23:45 Anyway. Okay. How many predictions do I get for the Selfish Giant? Three. Give me three. And it's not like long, long. It's very medium. I hope that's okay. No, cool. I've got a nice medium one locked and loaded as well. Also, our last episode was so short. So I'm sure people won't mind if we go a little long. I feel like it was exactly almost exactly an hour. It was like 56 minutes. It was, but we usually go like an hour 30. And it was good. No, I feel like, I feel like an hour is this it technically that is what we're supposed to be shooting for but then we talk for a long time Um, you know, we like each other Whatever crazy Sue us
Starting point is 00:24:31 Or don't um The selfish giant the stupid Fucking selfish giant This motherfucker. Okay. This motherfucker has a family Has a family, okay. Um, this motherfucker eats more than his fair share. Remember what I told you earlier? I probably shouldn't have, but it has... I don't want to spoil it. So you got to bleep this out. But how does this... James Sable. Oh, I do remember you told me that.
Starting point is 00:25:14 I remember that now. It's on my fixers and pinch. Bleep it out. Beep. Beep. James Sable. I'm just going to start saying that instead of bleep. Instead, that's our bleep. Oh my God. He's probably the nicest. I don't know. I don't trust anybody anymore. I have no fucking idea.
Starting point is 00:25:40 I haven't heard from him since freshman year of high school. No idea. Couldn't tell you anything about him. Whoops. I don't care to learn. I don't want to know. I don't want to know. I don't care.
Starting point is 00:25:53 Don't care. We're not even friends on Facebook. That's the level to which we do not care about each other. I think I tried to find him on Facebook and I couldn't. I don't know if he's on Facebook. God, now I'm wondering if he's okay. No, well, I don't know. Anyway, that's neither here nor there. I mean, that's not really a hint. The protagonist is some poor person. The protagonist is some poor person. You know, I also heard a quote recently that I really liked that was
Starting point is 00:26:31 Some people are so poor all they have is money. Oh I really really like that me too Me too, all right, Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde. Every afternoon as they were coming home from school, the children used to go and play in the Giants' garden. It was a large and lovely garden with soft green grass. Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach trees, and the springtime broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl
Starting point is 00:27:05 and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them. How happy we are here, they cried to each other. One day the giant came back. He had been to visit his friend, the Cornish Ogre. The Cornish Ogre. Okay. All right. Okay. So it was a long visit because these kids have been playing in his yard for a minute. Yes, and had stayed with him for seven years. Damn. Yeah. He'd been gone a while. So he and the Cornish Ogre like broke up. They had a bitter breakup.
Starting point is 00:27:46 You know what? That tracks. That totally tracks. I think he kept his second home, just in case he ever needed to go back, but seven years is a long visit. That is a long visit. Maybe for immortal beings, it's not that long a visit though. I don't know.
Starting point is 00:28:02 Are giants immortal? Do they live longer? Maybe. I'm overthinking it probably. He's been gone for seven years. He comes back. After the seven years were over, he had said all that he had to say for his conversation was limited and he determined to return to his own castle. When he arrived, he saw the children playing in his garden. Selfish people are boring. And stupid.
Starting point is 00:28:29 Yeah. Okay, anyway, so he sees the kids playing in his yard and I bet he hates that. Oh, he definitely hates it. He hates it so much. Why should anybody be having, why should anyone be enjoying anything ever? What are you doing here?
Starting point is 00:28:43 He cried in a very gruff voice and the children ran away. My own garden is my own garden, said the giant. Anyone can understand that and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself. So he built a high wall all around it and put up a notice board. Trespassers will be prosecuted. So he's like a libertarian. He was a very selfish giant.
Starting point is 00:29:15 This guy sucks. Mr. Build the Wall. It's literally named the Selfish Giant song. The poor children had nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it. They used to wander around the high wall when their lessons were over and talk about the beautiful garden inside. How happy we were there, they said to each other. Then the spring came, and all over the, there were little blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the selfish giant was still winter.
Starting point is 00:29:51 The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice board, it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again and went off to sleep. Oh, I know. The only people who were pleased were the snow and the frost.
Starting point is 00:30:15 Spring has forgotten this garden, they cried, so we will live here all year round. The snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak and the frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them and he came. He was wrapped in furs. It's a nice little winter sanctuary because everybody else is too depressed. It can't be winter all the time though. No, because that is depressing.
Starting point is 00:30:46 He was wrapped in furs and he roared all day about the garden and he blew the chimney pots down. This is a delightful spot, he said. We must ask the hail on a visit. So the hail came. Every day for three hours, he riled on the roof of the castle until he broke most of the slates. And then he ran around the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in gray and
Starting point is 00:31:09 his breath was like ice. I cannot understand why the spring is so late in coming, said the selfish giant. Okay. See, I do love the metaphor. I love the burgeoning metaphor here. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. it's a good one. This is good, this is good. As he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden, I hope there will be a change in the weather.
Starting point is 00:31:33 But the spring- Maybe if you weren't such a miserable fuck. Maybe if you weren't such an asshole. You're doing it to yourself, man, like. But the spring never came, nor the summer. The autumn gave gold fruit to every garden, but to the giant's garden she gave none. He's too selfish, she said. That's damn straight. It was always winter there.
Starting point is 00:32:01 And the north wind, the hail and the frost and the snow danced about through the trees. At least they're having a good time. You're so sweet, Abby. What? Like winter in and of itself isn't inherently bad. It's just that like it's. It's a metaphor. Oh my God.
Starting point is 00:32:22 You're killing me. Sorry. Sorry. I just like the, just the North wind sounds like a fun guy. Yeah. He's just screaming nonstop. Yeah, absolutely. Oh, the old North wind. No, no North wind. You know what? I don't actually don't think we've read that fairy tale yet, but there's a Norse fairy tale. I think it's called The Old Great Wind, or The Old North Wind.
Starting point is 00:32:51 Maybe I'll read that one next. Okay, sure. Do it. Anywho. Anywho, Abby. I'll shut up. I'm sorry. No, it's okay.
Starting point is 00:33:01 One morning, the giant was lying awake in bed wherein he heard some lovely music. It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the king's musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window. But it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him the most beautiful music in the world. Then the hill stopped dancing over his head and the north wind ceased roaring and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement. I believe spring has come at last, said the giant and he jumped out of bed and looked
Starting point is 00:33:39 out. What did he see? He saw the most wonderful sight! Through a little hole in the wall, the children had crept in and they were sitting on the branches of the trees and every tree that he could see there was a little child and the trees were so glad to have the children back again they had covered themselves with blossoms and they were waving their arms gently above the children's head. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a lovely scene. Only in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden,
Starting point is 00:34:16 and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all around it, crying bitterly. The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow and the north wind was blowing and roaring above it. Climb up little boy, said the tree, which is kind of creepy actually. That is a little creepy. Climb up little boy. Climb up little boy. Climb up to my branches. But only if you climb into my branches. And it bent its branches down as low as it could, but the boy was too tiny. Oh, tiny. Oh, no. Oh, God. I should have predicted this is going to be like a Christmas carol or something
Starting point is 00:35:01 where like, or the Grinch. Too small. Christmas Carol or something, or The Grinch. Just wait. This man, this selfish giant's heart is going to grow three sizes this day. Shush, you don't know that yet. Oh my God. I do. I'm pretty sure I know it. Oh, look in the next line.
Starting point is 00:35:22 And the giant's heart melted as he looked down. Yeah, yeah. How selfish I have been, he said. Now I know why the spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on top of the tree and then I will knock down the wall and my garden shall be the children's playground forever and ever. He was really very sorry for what he had done. I do like the message, it's a nice message. Me too, me too.
Starting point is 00:35:50 I'm trying not to let my present bitterness with the state of the world affect, it's nice when people change, it's good. It's what we hope for. I mean, in my mind, all of the children are the gays, the gays and the a's. Absolutely. And they're having fun and being them fabulous selves,
Starting point is 00:36:15 even outside the wall and the giant's like, oh man. Oh man. Sorry I'm so- I wanna be cool and fabulous and not be imprisoned by my own fucking- Stupid narcissist. Stupid culture. Asshole motherfucker-y, anyway. And he was really sorry for what he had done.
Starting point is 00:36:39 Okay. So he crept down the stairs. When you actually see and know people, it's easier to be empathetic without just being empathetic. You could just try being a normal fucking person with basic empathy. But some people don't have that. They need firsthand experience before they care.
Starting point is 00:37:03 I feel like more people than you think don't experience empathy. I don't want to live in that world, but I've also... You don't have a choice. Sorry. Okay. Oh my God. Can you tell this is the episode that we recorded right after the election? Go on.
Starting point is 00:37:33 So he crept down the stairs and opened the front door quite softly and went out into the garden. But when the children saw him, they were so frightened that they all ran away and the garden became winter again. Only the little boy did not run for his eyes were so full of tears that he couldn't see the giant coming. The giant stole up behind him
Starting point is 00:37:53 and took him gently in his hand and put him up into the tree. And the tree at once broke into blossom and the birds came and sang on it. And the little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them around the giant's neck and kissed him. And the other children, when they saw that the giant was not wicked any longer,
Starting point is 00:38:11 came running back and with them came the spring. It is your garden now little children, said the giant. Wait, I gotta get my giant voice. It is your garden now little children, said the giant. And he took, that sounds creepy when I say it like that. It does, it does when you say it like that. Trying to be like a big, like, because your voice would be lower, right?
Starting point is 00:38:41 Yes. And then he took a great ax and knocked down the wall. And when the people were going to market at 12 o'clock, specifically, which I love, they found the giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen. All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the giant to bid him goodbye. But where is your little companion? He said.
Starting point is 00:39:09 I still hate that. The boy I put. Okay, I'll stop. I'm trying to make it a giant story. No, no, no. Do it, do it, do it, do it. I'll stop, I'll stop. I want to know what happened to the little boy. But where is your little companion? He said. The boy I put into the tree. The giant loved him best.
Starting point is 00:39:31 We don't know, answered the children. He's gone away. You must tell him to be sure to come here tomorrow, said the giant. But the children said that they did not know where he lived and had never seen him before. And the giant felt very sad. Every afternoon when the school was over, the children came and played with the giant, but the little boy whom the giant loved was never seen again. The giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his first little friend and often spoke of him,
Starting point is 00:40:00 how I would like to see him, he used to say. Years went over and the giant grew very old and feeble. He could not play about anymore, so he sat in a huge armchair and watched the children play their games and admired his garden. I have many beautiful flowers, he said, but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all. One winter morning, he looked out of his window as he was dressing. He did not hate the winter now, for he knew that it was merely the spring asleep
Starting point is 00:40:32 and that the flowers were resting. Suddenly, he rubbed his eyes in wonder and looked and looked. It certainly was a marvelous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were all golden and silver and fruit hung down from them and underneath stood the little boy he had loved.
Starting point is 00:40:56 Downstairs ran the giant in great joy and out to the garden. He hastened across the grass and he came near the child and when he came close, his face grew red with anger. And he said, who have dared to wound thee? For on the palms of the child's hands were the prints of two nails. And the prints of two nails were on the little feet. I was gonna warn you, but. Okay, so the little boy is Jesus.
Starting point is 00:41:25 It's still sweet. Shhh, shh, shh, shh, shh. It is still sweet, it is still sweet. And like, I'm definitely not, I'm not trying to offend anybody. No, no, no, I had the same reaction. Who hath dared to wound me? Tell me that I may take my big sword and slay him. Nay, answered
Starting point is 00:41:46 the child, but these are the wounds of love. Who art thou? said the giant. Hauntiest pilot. Okay, I just, just. I'm sorry. No, I had the same reaction last night when I read it. Okay. Who art thou, said the giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child.
Starting point is 00:42:12 And the child smiled on the giant and said to him, You let me play once in your garden. Today you shall come with me to my garden, which is paradise. And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the giant lying dead under the tree all covered with white blossoms. The end. Okay. So I totally agree, which is almost why I didn't read the story. But I have a fix. Okay. What's your fix? My fix is that the children climb the wall and eat the giant. My fix. Or I was also thinking maybe the children grow up and become adults
Starting point is 00:43:01 and dismantle the wall and murder the giant. I was also. All good fixes, love those so much. I was also thinking I would love an ending where the giant withers away to death and sorrow and sadness because he's so alone in his sad winter and everyone else lives happily ever after? Honestly, I kind of like that one best. Although I also do like that the kids grow up and then they just tear the wall down as well. It's a good one. Maybe both. He dies and then they grow up and tear the wall down. Yeah, maybe.
Starting point is 00:43:41 Reclaim the land. I don't know. I don't know. Look, I mean, because, okay, so here's the thing. It's not a bad story. I do appreciate the metaphor that the eternal winter of your life as a selfish person is like something you're doing to yourself and you can change anytime you want to. And that like that there that you can find like love and community and you know, springtime or whatever, you know, if you just like learn how to care about people that aren't you. Yep. Yeah. So like, do like that still and I do want like I do want that like that's that's very that's very hopeful. I just the part that I resent and I'm and I'm so sorry I know that we do have like more religious listeners so I'm not I'm definitely not saying I'm not trying
Starting point is 00:44:40 to say that like having Jesus in it is bad necessarily, but I do. The part that I don't like is the implication that finding religion is the thing that will change your heart. I think his heart was changed and that's how he was accepted into that religion. I don't know. Maybe I just, yeah, I don't know. It's like selfish people can only be changed by finding Jesus, I guess is something that I personally don't love.
Starting point is 00:45:18 Yeah, I agree. But I really liked the rest of it while I was reading this story. And as like you realize, you know, the winter is coming and I was reading the story. And as like you realize, you know, the winter is coming and it's making him miserable. Yeah. I really enjoyed that part.
Starting point is 00:45:31 And then I really, I really enjoyed like him peeking out into the hole and being like, wow, like there's spring. I fucked it up for myself and everyone else in here. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, also like if you, I don't know.
Starting point is 00:45:47 So I'm also, I was thinking about it more and also like kind of taking the story in the context in which it was written, like in the time period in which it was written. 1888. 1888. Like that was, that is, that is, that is the whole, that is the whole metaphor. Jesus just happens to be there because a very Christian man wrote the story. Yeah, I definitely didn't love that ending. So my fix, I mean, I mentioned,
Starting point is 00:46:19 I was looking for a story that was much more violent, but I went with something that was more kind. And- Yeah, that's very hopeful. I like hopefulness. And I love the idea of people gaining empathy. Yeah. Yeah, it's never too late to decide
Starting point is 00:46:42 to care about other people. So, yeah, I had a tough time. It was that one or some Hans Christian Anderson stories that also didn't hit it quite for me. So, I like that you went for the one with the hopeful ending, although I do like the idea of that like, if like, I don't know, in an alternate universe where the giant
Starting point is 00:47:02 just kind of dies in there. Yeah, where there's a way all alone from his loneliness and sadness. As he deserves. From being a cold, awful, horrible giant. And then the children revolt and tear down the walls and eat him alive. I guess he was. Yeah him alive. I guess you're right. Yeah. Nope.
Starting point is 00:47:27 I love that. Let's, you know, the kids have a revolt. They have a little riot. They light some stuff on fire. Yeah. Oh, we'll warm you up. Cause actually it wasn't the Giants garden, it was theirs. It's their garden.
Starting point is 00:47:45 Yeah, it's their. Oh my God, Kelsey, I love that. It's their garden, god damn it. Private property is a capitalist lie. So anyway. Settler colonialist thinking. I hope you have a better story. It wasn't the best story.
Starting point is 00:48:08 I'm not saying I loved it, but it was a story that I read. I do like it. I like all the possible iterations of it, including the original story. The original story is very good. I'm not trying to throw shade on Mr. Wiles. Very sappy. Not really for me. But that's a lot of the fairy tales that we read. They have very like... Very sappy endings. Very sappy endings. It's fine. Yeah. Okay. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes they do, I don't know. I just don't know anymore.
Starting point is 00:48:47 My brain is made of mush. What story do you have? Oh wait, you got no points. He didn't have a family. He did not. He didn't eat and the protagonist is some poor person? No. I should have guessed that it was kids.
Starting point is 00:49:04 I should have guessed that the protagonist was children. Because that's the majority of the fairy tales that Oscar Wilde wrote were featured child protagonists. So I should have guessed. We don't read a lot of Oscar Wilde. We've only read one other one and that was The Happy Prince, right? Yep. That was The Happy Prince. Yeah. Prince, right? Yep. That was the Happy Prince. It's a pretty bummer of the story. You know what? I'm going to find a better one for next. Well, yeah, for our next episode. I know. I love that story. I thought it was a great story. The story is good.
Starting point is 00:49:42 Is it? Okay. It's good. Yeah, I like it. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed listening to it. The ending was a bit of a jump scare. Yeah, I agree. It was kind of like The Little Mermaid. It was. It was.
Starting point is 00:49:59 It was. Exactly. The ending jumps the shark a little bit for me. It's like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa, hey, whoa. Like I get that the giant, like, his heart grew three times, three sizes that day. But I don't know.
Starting point is 00:50:23 Now I'm like, was that not reading the room? Should I have just done something fun and silly? I don't know. Now I'm like, was that not reading the room? Should I have just done something fun and silly? I don't know. No, no. I think that was reading the room because I think that they're like, sorry, so what's making you feel like you weren't reading the room? Oh, I don't know. It was a more serious and really sappy story and just not. I don't know. I think it was great. Okay. I mean, it's an I don't know, like I think that that's an important message. But it's also and then also, I think our discussion of stuff like that is also important of like, at what point do you lose patience with people and you
Starting point is 00:51:00 rip their and you rip the wall down? Like, that's what I prefer. Yeah, I love it. That's what I prefer. Yeah, I love it. I think it was a good choice. Okay, I don't know. I'll re-listen when it's fit and I'll be fine. It'll be fine. I'm also about to get a little political.
Starting point is 00:51:23 It's just, I feel like maybe it's just an area that we've never, we've had the very, very fortunate. We've been very fortunate to not really have to discuss too much on our podcast because we started it right before he got elected out. Thank God. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.
Starting point is 00:51:44 And now there is kind of like, we are having to have a bit more of a, you know, of a live reckoning with what this means. Yeah, and I don't know, it was just so nice. It's such a nice story. That's what I hated about it. Absolutely. But there are things about it that like, I think are good to keep in mind, but then there are also, I don't know, I also really like your fix for it, which is at some point,
Starting point is 00:52:18 it's time to have a revolt. It's time to have a riot. You can't wait for Jesus to change people. For sure. Okay. I wanted to pick something. The other one was like, I was thinking about doing the emperor's new clothes and that just felt like too... Funny. That's funny. But perhaps a little too on the nose. A little too on the nose. There's also one called The Wicked Prince from Hans Christian Andersen that's like kind of funny. But I don't know. I don't know. I just don't know. Maybe later.
Starting point is 00:53:01 I'm just losing my mind. Okay. Maybe later if we're in the mood, we'll do more. Read a witch story next time. I'll do something fun for the next one. Okay. For my story, funny you should mention ogres. Oh, is it a Cornish ogre? It's not a Cornish ogre. Okay. So like this is kind of, I've got of where I kind of had to do like a little research on this. So you sent me Mab's Media's reprint of a book of charms and changelings.
Starting point is 00:53:37 Actually, Melissa sent that to us. That's right. Melissa from Mab's Media sent that to us. That's right. Melissa from Mabs Media sent that to us. Thank you, Melissa. Thank you so much for sending us along these. I mean, you know that you will never have a more appreciative recipient of an RMS book. Yeah, and I'm actually-
Starting point is 00:53:59 Than us. Literally also a great holiday gift. A great holiday gift. All of those books. A great holiday gift. From bookshop.org. I'm buying everyone, as soon as the choice of magic comes out, I'm buying that book for literally every single person I know. Like, honestly, Melissa.
Starting point is 00:54:15 And then every free library that exists in my town. Good. Yes, I love it. Yes. Preserve, like, tell these stories to the little children and to all of the adults that love fairy tales. Yeah. Like, and honestly, like, getting a choice of magic back out into the world, like,
Starting point is 00:54:36 ugh, the God's work, Melissa. Yeah, thank you, Melissa, for sending us these new books, and thank you, Chris, for sending us old books. Yeah. Oh, I treasure my old, like the old library copies. Oh yeah. So I like these new copies. I feel more comfortable opening and kind of cracking open and like bending pages and stuff. The other ones are like, they're from my historical archive. I feel nervous every time I open them.
Starting point is 00:54:59 Yeah. Let's just dig your face in and just. Oh, I mean an anchor. It smells so good. Okay. So this is the story that I'm going to read you today is called The Ogre, The Sun and The Raven. Okay. I wanted to give like a little bit of historical context on this one.
Starting point is 00:55:20 So RMS just refers to this story in her forward as a North American Indian story. I attempted to get a little more specific than that. Any luck? Sort of. I couldn't find exactly the same stories, but a very similar story is told by the, similar story is told by the, and I looked up how to pronounce their name, a very similar story is told by the Haida people of Haida Gwaii, which is an archipelago, archipelago? Where is that? Arca, which is an archipelago in British Columbia, which is in Canada. So I wanted to do this story partially just because this episode is coming out
Starting point is 00:56:14 the week of American Thanksgiving, I should be clear. I know Canadian Thanksgiving is in October. And also National Indigenous Peoples Month in the United States. And so, I wanted to tell an Indigenous North American story, and this book kind of already had one in it, so that's what I went with. I do want to note that I think RMS heavily rewrote this story based on what I read of the original Hada. So I also want to acknowledge that it is a white American lady who rewrote a Hada, an original Hada story and then didn't even credit them
Starting point is 00:57:00 in her forward bad on RMS. You know, we've all got work to do. We do, we do all have work to do. So I do, but I did want to acknowledge that before reading the story. I'm not sure where she heard it or how heavily she rewrote it or whatever, but the version that I found online was a little different.
Starting point is 00:57:20 Okay. Anyway, so this is also just because this is Indigenous Peoples Month and American Thanksgiving. I also, as ever, just want to remind everybody to look up whose lands you're living on and find out if they have requested anything from you. I think it's like you can go to nativeland.net or something like that. We'll link it somewhere. And find out if there are any land back initiatives or any other requests that your local indigenous nation
Starting point is 00:57:58 is asking for. And you should do it because you are living on colonized land. Yup. Yeah. Anyway, so without further ado, this is the ogre, the sun and the raven. And you may give me three predictions. The sun and the raven.
Starting point is 00:58:29 Okay. Okay. I love that there's an ogre. We don't see a lot of ogres. We don't. All right. Well, I'm just going to predict that the ogre is bad. That feels like a freebie, but I'm taking it.
Starting point is 00:58:49 I'll let you have it. The ogre is bad. The raven is tricky. The sun is an asshole. Okay. There's no one good in the whole story. I love. Is my prediction. The raven is tricky. The ogre is bad. The sun is an asshole. Yeah. Those are my predictions for this dream. I love it so much. Thank you. Okay. There was once a bad wicked ogre who stole the sun out of the sky and put it in a box.
Starting point is 00:59:32 Then the world went dark. The birds didn't sing, the flowers didn't bloom, and everyone was miserable. So the birds went to their king, Raven, and said, "'Mighty King Raven, get us back our sun.'" Now, Raven was very clever, and he'd been studying magic for some time. Now he's sat- Okay, hold on. I'm just realizing it's like the sun as in the sun,
Starting point is 00:59:58 not like a sun. Oh, sorry. The sun as in the celestial body. As in the star that keeps the earth warm. You know what I'm keeping? I'm keeping my prediction. The sun is still going to be an asshole. I feel like that's less likely, but you know what?
Starting point is 01:00:16 I'm keeping it. You want to keep it? You don't want to change? Because I'll let you change it. The sun. Oh, that's funny. Because there was a misunderstanding about S-O-N and S-U-N. I thought it was like the sun is in somebody's sun. And I was like, no.
Starting point is 01:00:40 What a dick. Well, OK, actually, can I amend it? You may amend it because you thought it was a different kind of sun. Okay. The sun. Or you can keep it. Let's write it. Let's see where it goes.
Starting point is 01:01:04 Let's see where it goes. Okay. Let's see where it goes. Okay. We're letting it ride. Oh my goodness. Okay. Raven was very clever and he'd been studying magic for some time. He sat in the dark and he thought and thought and then he spread his wings and he flew off to the ogre's house. The ogre was away, prowling about the dark world, stealing people's horses. Sounds about right.
Starting point is 01:01:37 It's very busy stealing horses. So Raven flew down the smoke hole into the ogre's house and there was the ogre's baby lying in the cradle. Raven snatched up the baby and flew away with it, away and away, till he came to the tall forest tree where his nest was. Go on. He had three little ones of his own in the nest, and he pushed the ogre's baby in with them.
Starting point is 01:02:09 Then he turned himself three times round on his toes, muttered some spells, and changed the ogre's baby into a raven chick. I love that. You know what? Yeah. That's great. Good thinking. Steal his baby. You know what? You don't get to have this baby. No baby for you. No baby for you. Here's another little one for you to mind, said he to his wife. And then he flew back to the ogre's house and down the smoke hole again. Oh, he's going to steal another baby. What does he do next, you might be asking or just asked?
Starting point is 01:02:43 Yep. That's exactly what I did. He stands on the edge of the cradle, turns three times, round on his toes, mutters some spells and changes himself into a baby. So like the ogre's baby that you couldn't tell the difference. Interesting. Interesting, I know.
Starting point is 01:03:01 I only got two points. I mean- I know. I only got two points. I know. I mean, I guess really basic ones. Very basic ones, but like, you know, the ogre is an asshole who stole the sun. And well, and the raven in a lot of- Ravens are always like trickster gods. Yeah, ravens are a trickster animal. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:03:24 Almost always, sorry. Almost always. Yeah, almost always, sorry. Almost always, yeah. So you nailed it. So he changes himself into a baby, so like the ogre's baby that you couldn't tell the difference. And when the ogre comes home, there's a baby in the cradle and isn't it yelling?
Starting point is 01:03:44 Wah! Yells the baby. I want the son to play with. Well, you can't have it, says the ogre. I want it now! I want the son! Yeah, he's going full- For a gasalt. Thank you.
Starting point is 01:04:02 I was trying to remember her name, but yes, the I want it now girl from- I want it now. I want it now, daddy from Willy Wonka. Yep. I want the sun. I want the sun. Be quiet, shouts the ogre. I want the sun. I want the sun to play with. Here's a rattle," says the ogre. Play with that. The baby throws the rattle in the ogre's face. I don't want the nasty rattle. I want the sun. I want the sun to play with. All day long, the baby went on shrieking. The ogre tried slapping it, he tried cuddling it, he tried giving it this, that, and the other, but it screamed and kicked and flung itself about and all the time it was yelling,
Starting point is 01:04:53 wah, I want the sun. I want the sun to play with. Also, slapping it didn't work? Interesting. Stunning. Stunning. Stunning. But the ogre went to bed and muffled his ears in a blanket and the baby went on yelling. It was still yelling when the ogre got up in the morning.
Starting point is 01:05:17 It wanted the sun. It wanted the sun. It wanted the sun to play with. So at last, the ogre took the sun out of its box and flung it into the cradle. And then the baby stopped yelling and chuckled. You also realize I can't not picture an ogre as Shrek, right? Right, obviously. It's Shrek and one of his little green babies.
Starting point is 01:05:41 Same. Although this is the Robin Jacques illustration. Oh, wow. Can you see it? That is a great, that's great. Honestly, it's good. It nails it. Yeah, that's a pretty good, go Robin Jacques.
Starting point is 01:05:59 Yeah, he can do everything except dragons. So, the baby stops yelling and chuckles. Well, after a while, the ogre went out to feed the horses he had stolen because he stole himself some pretty huge chores. The donkeys. The donkeys. The donkeys. What did the baby do then, Kelsey?
Starting point is 01:06:27 Wah, wah. Right? No. It jumped out of the cradle, turned three times, rounded its toes, muttered some spells, and changed back into King Raven. Oh, hell yeah. And King Raven took the sun in his beak and flew up to the smoke hole. Hmm.
Starting point is 01:06:44 But, oh, oh no, the sun is so big actually, so it won't fit through the smoke hole. No matter how much Raven pushes and prods it, Raven pecks at it with his beak and he pecks off little pieces all around the edge of the sun and tosses those little bits up through the smoke hole. And away they float up and up right into the dark sky and there they stay sparkling and twinkling. So it's the origin story of the stars. I like it. And the birds look up and said, oh, see how pretty little stars twinkling in the black sky, and that's better than utter darkness. One or two birds tried to sing, but the rest said, No, we can't sing until the sun is up there. Not the metal arc? The nightingale.
Starting point is 01:07:41 The nightingale. Yeah, exactly. Stupid nightingales. And all this time, Raven was prodding and pushing at the sun and breaking off more and more bits to make it the right size to go through the smoke hole. And at last, with a mighty heave, he did get it through. And up it rose and up it rose, higher and higher into the brightening sky, putting out the stars with its blinding rays and lighting the whole world.
Starting point is 01:08:03 Then all the birds burst into song and the flowers bloomed again and everyone was happy. No. Aww. Aww. Aww. Aww. Raven flew back to his nest. There were four little ones in the nest now, his own three and the ogre's baby. They all looked exactly alike, but Raven knew which one was the ogre's
Starting point is 01:08:24 baby right away by the way it was behaving. It was squawking and pecking the other three and trying to pitch them out of the nest. So Kelsey, I'm going to give you that third point because the sun is an asshole. Just the different sun. The sun that I thought that they were talking about. Not the sun from the title, but damn, the ogre sun sucks. Thank you. Mother Raven was having a bad time and trying to keep order.
Starting point is 01:08:59 A good thing you've come back, said she to King Raven. I'm losing my temper with this brat that I am. And once a temper is lost, it isn't so easily found again. Mm-hmm. That's true. That's right. So Raven stood on the edge of the nest, turned himself three times, rounded his toes, muttered some spells and changed ogre nestling back into ogre baby. And he snatched up ogre baby and flew with it back to the
Starting point is 01:09:25 Ogre's house and down the smoke hole and dumped it into the cradle. It began to yell then, wah, wah. But Raven flew away and left it yelling. The baby was yelling in the house and the Ogre was yelling outside the house because he had just come out from his dark cattle shed and seen the sun back in the sky. I'll have you down again. I'll have you down again. He yelled, shaking his fist at the sun, but he hasn't managed to get the sun down again yet and it's more than likely he never will manage it. Good.
Starting point is 01:10:04 That was cute. and it's more than likely he never will manage it. Good. The end. That was cute. I thought that was cute too. I really liked it. I don't really have any fixes for the story. I like that it's kind of a nice story where the horrible selfish ogre is thwarted and he can never get the sun down even though he wants to keep it all for himself. My only fix for the story, I suppose, is Ruth Manning Sanders being a little more specific about where she heard the story.
Starting point is 01:10:49 the story. Yeah. And knowing, I guess, more for certain like how much she rewrote it. There are a few key differences in this story versus the one that I found. Yeah, like what? When I looked it up. So this is also something to take from a grain of salt, because I have no idea who wrote the story on the internet either. Yeah. And it's from like a random blog called like Primus Ontario. It's like magma.ca. And I'll share the link if anybody wants to read it, but some key differences.
Starting point is 01:11:23 It's an old man who has existed from the beginning of time who keeps the sun in a box. Oh, okay. And Raven is just kind of fucking sick of it being dark. Fair. And so, apropos of nothing, he's not king Raven, he's just Raven. He decides to steal the sun. And so the old man lives alone in the woods with his daughter and the daughter goes out to
Starting point is 01:11:53 fetch water. Raven turns himself into a needle and then the daughter swallows the needle and then the needle becomes a baby and then she gives birth to the baby and then the needle becomes a baby, and then she gives birth to the baby, and then kind of a similar thing happens where Raven screams until the old man gives him the sun to play with. Yeah. And then Raven turns, and then Raven like releases the sun into the universe,
Starting point is 01:12:20 and that's how we got light. Yeah. Well, I think it's important also to keep in mind that the internet wasn't a thing until the late 90s, right? Exactly, yeah. So all this information definitely wasn't readily available. Nope, so we'll never really know
Starting point is 01:12:43 where Ruth Baning Sanders heard the story. Yeah, Who knows? It could have been an oral story. How much, exactly. How she heard it, how much she rewrote it, whatever. But I just kind of want to flag that, I suppose. Because we do have the internet now. I actually like that as a reminder that things are, information is getting out there so quickly nowadays. Mm-hmm. And that's a positive. And it's easier to search for where something actually came from or how people actually tell it amongst themselves in that culture, et cetera. If magma.ca can even be believed that that's the original story. Well, and that's why we have all these different versions of the fairy and folktales.
Starting point is 01:13:35 There isn't an N original. As the fairy tailors put it, don't make me tap on the glass. Don't make me tap on the glass. There is no original. Don't make me tap the the glass. Don't make me tap on the glass. There is no original. Don't make me tap the sign. Yeah, yeah. There is no original folktale. Exactly, which is one thing that you and I really like about folk and fairy tales.
Starting point is 01:13:55 So I read the Ruth Manning Sanders version because it's longer and I think in a little more detail than I like it better. Yeah. I mean, and it's also probably written for us to understand written written for us. But yeah, but that's but you know, there are there are other versions of the story out there. So I'll link the ones that I found. But Nice. I loved it. And I got a whole three points. Yeah, you did.
Starting point is 01:14:22 I don't know if this ever happens to me. Yeah, I was oh for three and you were three for three. Woohoo. All right. Well, is that going to do it for us today? Anything else? Any other? No, I think that's it.
Starting point is 01:14:41 So just to reiterate from the last public episode of Fairy Tale Fix, because times is hard and things are scary, we are going to be donating the next three months, November, December and January of our Patreon funds to nonprofit organizations that really mean a lot to us. So like the ACLU, the Trevor Project, and we'll also like Planned Parenthood, we'll also probably be reaching out to our patrons to see what nonprofits mean a lot to them. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:15:16 So if you're interested in making your money, putting your money where your mouth is and getting extra bonus episodes, join us. You can join our Patreon at patreon.com forward slash fairy tale fix. And yeah, get some bonus episodes out of it. Yeah, you'll get a bunch of bonus episodes. We'll donate the money to causes that I think we all care about. If you want to donate $20 a month to causes you care about, you'll get some merch too.
Starting point is 01:15:52 Join our Patreon. Yep. Also just saying if you want to join our Patreon, get the bonus episodes, donate whatever you're comfortable with, and then in January, cancel your membership. That's totally fine. No hard feelings. That's great. That's great, actually. Time's as hard. Yeah. We're doing this because it's something that we just deeply care about. We care about social issues and we want everyone to know that they're important
Starting point is 01:16:25 and they matter. If just donating money generally isn't in the cards for you right now, but you love our podcast and you like us and you want to support us, there are a couple of free 99 ways that you can do that. You can follow us on Instagram. You can join our Discord. You can leave us reviews and ratings. That's actually probably the most helpful way that you can do that. There are a number of platforms that allow you to do at least one of those things. If you just want to leave us a review that just simply says the sun is an asshole. That's a great review. That's all you got to say. We really appreciate it. We'll know what it means. All right. Well, for anything else, any of your favorite fairy tale inspired art or personal anecdotes, fun tales, if tales you wanna hear that you haven't yet,
Starting point is 01:17:26 send it to us at info at fairytalefixpod.com. And thank you again so much for listening. And so the giant slowly, sadly withered away in his own winter that he created for himself because he had no empathy and didn't care about other people and realized how lonely and sad that makes him. And he died. And then the children got older and revolted and tore down the wall and took back their garden and danced on the giant's grave. Amazing. Perfect. Flawless. Perfection. flawless perfection. And the Raven and all of the other birds continued to live long happy lives enjoying the sun that the Raven stole back from the selfish stupid ogre. And
Starting point is 01:18:17 they all lived happily ever after. The end.

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