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| Image by Rusty Clark |
This week I decided to go with a South American tale. This one comes from an Incan folktale in Ecuador. I can't remember ever having heard an Incan folktale before. So this one was a first for me (or at least I think it is).
A young girl named Ampata lives with her poor farming family. One day her brothers set out in search of the magic lake. The Sun King's son is very sick and the only thing that will heal him is the water from the magic lake which is at the end of the world. The Sun King has declared that anyone who brings back the healing water will join the royal family. The two brothers give up after climbing over mountain after mountain after mountain. The scoop up some water and try to deceive the Sun King. But the court magician has a flask that will only hold the magic water. When the water desolves the brothers are found to be frauds and thrown in jail.
Ampata decides she is going to try and find the magic lake. One day she shares some of her food with two macaw's. Once they find out about her mission the two macaws reward her kindness with three magic feathers. The feathers will transport her anywhere she wants. She uses the feathers to transport to the magic lake. There she encounters a swarm of army ants, a poisonous snake and a scorpion. All three foes are vanquished by the fan of feathers. When she arrives back to the Sun King he offers her to join the family. Instead she asks for more land and cattle for her family. She also asks for the release of her two brothers, which the king grants. Eventually she ends up marrying the prince after many years of visiting the castle and becoming friends with him.
I liked that in this folktale a young girl is the hero. I also like that instead of just joining the royal she wants to stay with her family and she asks for things that would make them successful without just sitting around. They still will be working but they have the means now to survive. I really want to check out some more Incan stories. This one was just so different.
Thursday's Tales are hosted by CarolsNotebook. Stop by and see what she has read this week or better yet join in and read your own tale this week.
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