El Rato or Tooth Fairy

At a young age when the process of loosing teeth began and the tooth fairy was introduced, I met Il’ Rato. My father had shared the Italian version of the Tooth Fairy whom happened to be a rat. The procedure was the same, loose a tooth, place the tooth under your pillow but instead Il Rato would place a clue. From one clue to the next I would wander trying to find my hidden fortune. Eventually after a 30 min game I would get my one dollar. Thinking back I don’t know how I never was freaked out by a rat sneaking in my room.

Like a lot of stories that are told by the ELDER and pasted on, much was lost, changed and mortified. When I decided to do the research I found that in Italy, some people simply keep the tooth in a safe place. Finding the origin of this very off translation “Il Topo” was found. According to a bunch of “About Italy” websites there is a “Mouse Fairy,” but no story. I am going to assume that this mouse came from the French and Latin American cultures.

In French and Latin American cultures, the tooth is taken from under the pillow not by a fairy, but by a little mouse. This tradition is illustrated in the French folktale ‘La Bonne Petite Souris,’ where the “Tooth Fairy” is thought to have been derived from. The 18th century French Tale has a mouse change into a fairy to help a good queen defeat an evil king. The fairy was said to have hid under the king’s pillow to torture him and knock out all his teeth.

In Spain and Spanish-speaking cultures, this mouse is referred to as ‘Ratonicito Perez,’ or the “little mouse Perez,” a character was created around 1894 by the priest Luis Coloma, who wrote the tale for the royal 8-year-old Alfonso XIII, when one of his teeth had fallen out. Apparently the Tooth Mouse’s house was destroyed and he goes around collecting children's teeth to use as building blocks for his new home. In return for the tooth he leaves a gift under the pillow. The only place I could find a rat was from parts of Lowland Scotland. There comes a tradition similar to the fairy mouse: a white fairy rat which purchases the teeth with coins

Still no idea where the scavenger hunts came from, my grandfather now added a new tale.

A translation of “La Bonne Petite Souris”

Once upon a time a wicked King invaded a Queen's land, seized the Queen and her infant daughter as prisoners, and shut them both into the highest room of a tall tower. The room was very tiny and empty, with only one table and a very hard bed on the floor. Then the enemy King sent for a fairy who lived near his kingdom. He nearly pushed the Fairy up the stairs to see the Queen. The Fairy was so touched by the sight of the Queen's miserable condition that when she kissed the Queen's hand the Fairy whispered to her, "Courage, madam! I think I see a way to help you." The Queen whispered her thanks. Then the wicked King cried harshly, "Silence!" He turned to the Fairy. "I brought you here for one reason and one reason only. Tell me this: Is this baby girl destined to grow up to be a worthy bride for my son?" The Fairy answered that indeed, the Princess was destined to grow up to have every grace good fortune could bestow, that she would be fair, fortunate and in every way worthy of a throne. The old King growled to the Queen that it was lucky for them both that the Fairy had said it would be so. Then the baby would be saved to become the future bride for his son, a spoiled boy already terrorizing the palace with his wild tantrums and mean pranks. The King thundered that if the Fairy had forecast differently, both the baby and her mother would have immediately been hanged. Then he stamped off, taking the Fairy with him, and leaving the poor Queen in tears. "How can I wish my little daughter to grow up with good graces only to be married to that horrid King's son!" she cried. "And yet, if she were ill-fated we would both be doomed right now. If only I could hide her safely away, somewhere, anywhere! There must be someplace where the cruel King could never find her." As the days went on, the Queen and the little Princess grew thinner and thinner, for every day their hard-hearted jailer gave them only three boiled peas each to eat and a tiny morsel of black bread, so they were always terribly hungry. At last, one evening, as the Queen sat at her spinning-wheel -- for she was made to work day and night -- she saw a tiny, pretty little mouse creep out of a hole. She said to the mouse, "Alas, little creature! Why are you coming here? I have only three peas each day, so unless you wish to starve I'm afraid you must go elsewhere for your food." But the mouse ran hither and thither, and danced and twirled so prettily, that the Queen clapped and laughed with joy and at last gave the mouse her last pea, which she was keeping for her supper, saying, "Here, little one. I'm sorry I've nothing better to offer you, as your fine dancing deserves far more than this wrinkled little pea." She had hardly spoken when upon the table appeared a succulent roast partridge and two dishes of preserved fruit. Amazed she was! Quickly she mashed a portion of the meat and fruit and spoon fed her baby, who licked each spoonful with glee. Then the Queen ate with great satisfaction herself, and offered what was left to the little mouse. The mouse danced even more charmingly than ever before. The next morning the jailer brought the Queen and the Princess' daily allowance of three peas each, which he brought in upon a large dish to make them look even smaller. As soon as the jailer left, the Queen gave the mouse all three of her peas. The empty dish was instantly covered with all sorts of wonderful things to eat, and the Queen shared a feast with her daughter once again. But afterwards, as she sat at her spinning-wheel, she began to worry that the fine meals could end any time, and even if they didn't, that her precious daughter was doomed to live as a prisoner, only to be forced to marry that horrid prince when she grew up. The Queen despaired, "Oh! If only I could think of some way of saving her!"As she spoke, she noticed the little mouse playing in a corner with some long straws. The Queen began to braid the straws, thinking, "If I had but enough straws I could make a basket with them, and let my baby down in the basket from the window to any kind passerby who might take care of her and raise her in freedom." By the time she had finished her thoughts, the little mouse had dragged in more and more straw, until the Queen had plenty to weave her basket. The Queen worked at it night and day while the little mouse danced for her. At lunch and supper time the Queen gave the mouse the three peas and the bit of black bread, and always found something scrumptious in their place. She really could not imagine where all these yummy dishes were coming from. At last one day when the basket was finished, the Queen was looking out of the window to see how long a cord she must make to lower it to the bottom of the tower, when she noticed a little old woman down below leaning upon her stick who was looking up at her. Presently the old woman said, "I know your trouble, madam. If you like, I will help you."At last one day when the basket was finished, the Queen was looking out of the window to see how long a cord she must make to lower it to the bottom of the tower, when she noticed a little old woman down below leaning upon her stick who was looking up at her. Presently the old woman said, "I know your trouble, madam. If you like I will help you." "Oh, dear lady!" said the Queen. "If you really wish to be of use to me you will come at a time I will describe to you, and I will let down my poor little baby in a basket. If you will take her, and bring her up for me, when I am rich and free again, I will reward you splendidly." "I don't care about any reward," said the old woman. "And you can be sure your little daughter shall be well taken care of by me. But there is one thing I should like. You must know that I am very particular about what I eat, and if there is one thing that I fancy above all else, it is a plump, tender little mouse. If there happens to be any mouse in your garret just throw it down to me, that is all I ask." Well, when the Queen heard this began to cry. The old woman, after waiting a few minutes, asked her what was the matter. "Why," said the Queen, "There is only one mouse in this garret, and that is such a dear, sweet little thing that I cannot bear to think of its being killed." "What!" cried the old woman, in a rage. "You care more for a miserable mouse than for your very own baby? Good-bye, madam! I leave you to enjoy its company. For my own part I thank my stars that I can get plenty of mice without troubling the likes of you!" That night when the Queen's baby was fast asleep, she packed it into the basket and wrote on a slip of paper, "Here is my beloved but unfortunate little baby girl. Please raise her with tenderness and love." This she pinned to the baby's robe. Very sadly she shut the basket. Just then, in sprang the little mouse. "Ah, little one!" said the Queen. "It cost me dear today to save your life." Whereupon the Queen collapsed and cried her heart out. The Mouse answered, "Believe me, madam, you will never regret your kindness." The Queen was immensely astonished when the Mouse began to speak, and still more so when she saw its little sharp nose turn to a beautiful face, and its paws become hands and feet. Then it suddenly grew tall, and the Queen recognized the Fairy who had come up to her tower room with the wicked King to visit her. The Fairy smiled at her astonished look, and said, "I wanted to see if you were capable of real friendship before I extended myself to help you. You see, we fairies are rich in everything but friends, and real friends are hard to find." "It is not possible that you should want for friends, you charming creature," said the Queen, kissing her. "Yet it is so," said the Fairy. "For so many are only friendly with Fairies for their own advantage, and that I do not count at all. But when you protected the poor little mouse, you could not have known there was anything to be gained by it. To test you I took the form of the old woman whom you talked to from the window and tempted you to forsake your little mouse friend. But this you did not do! At that moment I realized that you are indeed capable of true friendship." Turning to the little Princess, she kissed her rosy lips three times. The Princess cooed and giggled. "Dear little one, I am going to take you and your mother to my very own enchanted cottage, quite a distance from this wicked kingdom. There you both will be invisible to all others and you, sweet baby, will grow up safe and free, together with your mother." In an instant, the Fairy, the Queen and her baby vanished from the tall tower prison room, never to return.

"Life With the Wind"

The wind is the messenger of stories, with each path a different interpretation is envisioned. A pause in breath and the battle against each exhale pushing away details that further described each image. Allowing the receiver to create their own story. The wind brings links to cultures never imagined, expanding adventure and a new found curiosity.

One day while Nanook was building the grandest of ice castles the Wind brought news of a small boy who never listened to the Wind. The boy wanted to share his desires and night after night asked the skies to bring him adventure and spirit. With every GUSTY update the Wind filled Nanook in. “How can he not see the Wind, how could the boy ignore the life that the Wind was so obviously trying to awaken in him,” Nanook asked himself. Nanook felt lucky to understand the Wind. He wanted to help the boy and encourage the boy to listen to his surroundings. Nanook told the Wind to cover the boy with love, bring him gusts of excitement, to let him be joyful and encourage the earth to play with the boy. So the Wind did as told bringing strong forces lifting the fall leaves from the ground circling the boy like confetti from a New Years hurrah. The colors and textures created what should have been a visual excitement, but the boy was stubborn and wanted obvious answers. He did not understand the Winds playful nature and rejected the gift by running inside for shelter. Nanook thought over the problem and again encouraged the Wind to not give up on the boy. He asked the Wind to fill the boy’s senses with uplifting fragrance. So the Wind traveled its world journey to the boy collecting the scents of fresh cut grass, the essences from the lavender in the fields, and the sweetness from the citrus ready for picking. Finally the Wind reached the boy who was fishing in his kayak, his usual daytime activity. With an overwhelming force the Wind surrounded the boy’s senses so each aroma would be captured at once. In complete shock the boy started sneezing continuously and his eyes started to water, as he once again rejected the Winds offerings. The Wind hopelessly returned to Nanook seeing no way to guide the boy’s spirit. One last time Nanook encouraged the the Wind to make a final attempt. “Go Wind, create movement and let the boy understand your strength”. So again off the Wind traveled saving its force building up its confidence and determination to show the boy its power. Once again the boy sat in his kayak, the Wind circled the boy and then with all its strength the Wind pushed the still water, creating a current that lifted the kayak. Before the boy could grasp what was occurring the Wind again pushed the water under his kayak. Overwhelmed with excitement the boy stood up and commanded the wind to take him away. The Wind so proud took the boy with more force off into the horizon. Together the boy and the Wind continued towards faraway lands that the boy never imagined. Now able to appreciate all that the Wind could share the boy found his spirit and love for all the world.

"Ring Around the Rosy"

"Ring Around the Rosy," a common childhood song and dance, is really about one of the deadliest epidemics in all of history"the Bubonic Plague". It claimed millions of victims. The opening words, "Ring around the rosy," represent the skin lesion associated with the disease that appears as a bright red, or rosy, ulcerated spot surrounded by a ring.The next line, "Pocket full of posies," has superstitious origins. Physicians used to carry scented herbs and flowers – usually posies – in front of their noses in an attempt to ward off the plague. Traditional 17th century London physicians wore long robes and a long beaked mask with posies stuffed inside.The final verse, "Ashes, ashes, we all fall down," symbolizes death by the plague