Fabric of Folklore
Folktales can be strange, mystical, macabre and intriguing. Join us as we explore the stories, culture and people behind the folklore. We go beyond retelling the legends, myths and fairy tales of old. We look at the story behind the lore, behind the songs and traditions to understand more about what they mean, and their importance. These stories, many originating as oral histories, inform us of what it means to be human; what it means to be an integral part of this Earth. Stories of magic and wonder bind us. They connect us through invisible strands, like the gossamer fibers of a spiders web. Folktales have the power to demonstrate how, although we live in drastically different locals, our hearts and minds beat as one human race. We are weaving the fabrics of our past and present stories, to help us better understand ourselves and to awaken us to a more compassionate and caring world community. As we explore the meaning of existence through folklore we hope to inspire future generations to lead with love and understanding.
Fabric of Folklore
The Princess of the Spring: A Brazilian Folktale - Storytelling
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Born of the Moon Giant and the Giantess of the Great River, the Princess of the Springs rules over every river and lake in the rainforest. But when love, loss, and betrayal scatter her family across the world, this mighty princess must find the courage to stand up for herself and reclaim what matters most. A breathtaking Brazilian folktale about mother love, loyalty, and the power of a woman who refuses to be broken.
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Vanessa (00:00.204)
going to be telling the story of a Brazilian folk tale called The Princess of the Spring. Our story starts with a river giantess who is being wooed by a moon giant. And so they fall in love and he builds her a mother of pearl palace where the river meets the ocean. And together they have a daughter who is called
The Princess of the Spring. Now the Princess of the Spring is a mother's girl. She loves her mother. She loves her mother so much that when the suitors start coming by to woo her, to ask for her hand in marriage, she turns them all down because she's perfectly happy in her beautiful palace by the ocean and the river. And why would she ever want
to leave her mother. Until one day, the giant of the sun, a powerful giant, comes and asks for her hand in marriage. And again, she replies that she is quite happy how she is, but he is very persistent. And she finally tells him, I don't want to leave my mother. The reason I have sent every suitor away in the past is because I-
I want to stay here with my wonderful mom. And he says, well, what if you come and visit your mom every, for three months of the year? And so after pondering this, she decides that that is acceptable. So she marries the giant of the sun and they go and live in this beautiful sun palace. And then they also have a child.
who the Princess of the Spring just absolutely adores, and she cannot wait to share this new male heir with her mother, but her husband, the Giant of the Sun, does not allow her to take her son away from the palace. He insists that the baby has to remain with him at the palace and she may not take him.
Vanessa (02:26.146)
to visit the mother. so of course, the princess of the spring is distraught, but she wants to go see her mother. And so she procures the best nurses that she can and she makes her way down to her mother in the mother of Pearl Palace. But when she calls out her mother's name, the only reply she gets is the echo of her own voice.
In every hallway, in every room, she hears only her own voice. So she goes out to the river and she asks the fish, where is my mother? Where is the giantess of the river? And the fish replied that they don't know. And so the, the princess of the spring becomes extremely distraught and very worried. And so she goes searching for her mother, the giantess of the river. And she comes across
the house of the giant of the wind, but he is not home. His father is home, however, and he invites her in and invites her to wait for her son to return who he insists will return soon. But as he's returning, the father suggests, you know, it might be better if you wait a little bit before he knows that you're here. And so the father of the wind,
hides her away and sure enough when the giant of the wind comes in, he is in a storm. He is furious. He's throwing the doors and the windows in every which direction until he's had food and a bath and he becomes much more civilized and is able to contain his emotions once he's had some time to settle. And so finally, father of
the giant of the wind asks his son, what would you do son, if a princess came by with a very intentional question? And the giant of the sun said, well, of course I would try and help her the best I can. And so the father then assured that his son is in a better mood, releases the princess from her hiding place.
Vanessa (04:50.334)
And the princess asks the giant of the wind if he has seen her mother. And he says, well, yes, I have actually just a few days ago, but she was captured. She was captured by the giant, one of the giants of the land. But I know where they're holding her. I will show you where she is right away. And so they go off to the castle where the mother-
is being held and the princess begins to dig and she digs underneath the castle into the castle and she's able to rescue her mother and they go away back to their home. And once they return to their palace, the princess of the spring realizes that her three months was up much very long ago and so she rushes back to her husband who had initially
upon the three months passing been worried. And then his worry had turned into anger. And his anger, he married a new wife. And that wife had taken their beautiful baby son and placed him in the kitchen. And this is what the text says, like a little black slave boy.
Uh, and if you are listening to the podcast episode where we talk about this, we are going to talk about this, uh, and he has put him to work in the kitchens. And so the princess of the Springs takes her son away and she dives down deep into the depths of the seas where she cries and cries and cries. She cries for 40 days and 40 nights.
And with her tears, the river and the oceans swell so much that the forests are filled with water and even the palace of the sun is covered with water until at last she stops raining and her son is then named the Giant of the Rain. And that
Vanessa (07:08.894)
is the end of the story. I hope you enjoyed that story and if you're interested in hearing how that story kind of translates culturally in Brazil, make sure you tune in to our episode of Fairy Tail Flip where we talk about the history and the context of that fascinating folklore from Brazil.
and make sure you're hitting the subscribe button, the follow button, like, comment if you're watching on YouTube. We'd love to hear your thoughts about our episodes. And if you have suggestions for future tales, we would love to hear that as well. Thanks so much. I'm Vanessa Wye Rogers of Fairy Tail Flip and Fabric of Folklore. And I can't wait to tell you your next tale. Keep the fairy tales alive.
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