In Aesop’s “The Hen and the Fox”, which is a European oral story, a wryly little fox sneaks into a hen-house and sees a hen sitting up top on a rafter out of his reach. The clever fox tries to trick the hen into coming down from the rafters by acting like he was concerned for the hen’s health.

Europeans have similar heroes. For instance, in the epic tale Excalibur, King Arthur has Merlin the magician grant him special powers. Likewise, dragon slayers always have supernatural weapons and mystical creatures that help them. Another popular European folk hero is Robin Hood the English outlaw who uses his strength and cunning to rob from the rich and give to the poor. Stephen Knight describes Robin Hood as:

The oral narratives that make up the great oral tradition of both European and Native American peoples have been passed down for thousands of years. Even though the stories and characters may have been altered or changed over the years, the lessons and morals they teach have not. There are underlying themes that transcend both European and Native American culture. Cautionary tales that warn the listener of greed, vanity, and pride; trickster tales that warn the listener about deception, and tales that encourage the listener to be brave, generous, and noble are prevalent in both oral traditions. There are major differences, however, between the two cultures. For example, Native Americans tell many elaborate stories about the “Place of Emergence” or how the world was created, as well as stories that emphasize their special relationship and interdependence with all the living creatures of the Earth. Native Americans also have many stories about the mystical spirit world and their relationship with the spirits of both humans and animals. On the other hand, European oral tradition does not put much emphasis on world creation or man’s interdependence with nature. Instead, the European oral tradition seems to be more preoccupied with warning the younger generation about the nature of man. Nonetheless, the same themes and morals have crossed the cultures of Native Americans and Europeans. Oral tradition seems to arise from the need and desire to educate our offspring, a trait shared by all cultures. As a result, it is only natural that such oral tradition would share common themes, lessons, and warnings.

“This happened in the long-ago days. Back then, it was always dark. There was no sun in the sky, and people had to creep along the ground so they wouldn’t bump into anything. […] There was a wealthy man who lived with his daughter away from anyone else. But a strange story reached the Raven’s curious ears: It said that the man owned two balls that glowed brightly in the dark. One of them was big, the other small, and they both were bright.” (Sherman, p.109).

Some topics in this essay:
Native American, Light” Raven, Coyote Never-Grows-Larger, Fernando Penalosa, Cocks” Aesop, Native Americans, Americans Europeans, Robin Hood, Pueblo Indians, Fox” European, native american, oral tradition, native americans, robin hood, european native, trickster tales, european native american, cautionary tales, tales warn listener, americans europeans, warn listener, rich man’s, native americans europeans, hero robin hood, rich man’s daughter,