Myths And Legends

It's the first written version of Sleeping Beauty, put down to paper in the 1600s by the Neapolitan writer Giambattista Basile. And it's horrifying.    The creature is elephant rat. It's an elephant whose also a rat sometimes. No big deal. Now move along and let him murder in peace.    --   Music: "Running on Empty" by Podington Bear "Sylvestor" by Blue Dot Sessions "Midday" by Blue Dot Sessions "Black Cosmos Ring" by Podington Bear "The Nightmare" by Podington Bear "Studie I" by Jahzzar "Betrayal" by Lee Rosevere "Support Me in This Moment That I'm About to Lose Hope" by Nihilore Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership

The king is annoyed. All of these people want to make him work. It's just...not fair. Sure, they're starving and about to riot in the streets, but actually showing up to work is really going to cut into his sitting around time. Unfortunately, he might not have a choice. The people are getting angry, and that leads to a journey west, farther than anyone in his kingdom has ever gone, to unearth an ancient secret. -- The article I referenced: https://medium.com/s/futurehuman/survival-of-the-richest-9ef6cddd0cc1 --  Music: "Parade" by Nctrnm "Building the Sled" by Blue Dot Sessions "Slow Line Stomp" by Blue Dot Sessions "Vulcan Street" by Blue Dot Sessions "Cylinder Three" by Chris Zabriskie Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership

This week, it's the fairy tale "Youth without Age and Life without Death", from Romania, a tale of love, loss, impossible quests, and acheiving your dreams. Also, why you shouldn't make idle promises to a kid that's just an hour old. It might end with them playing dominos with your horses and taking half of your kingdom's worth of gold.    The creature this week is the hili, from Lesotho, Africa. If you've never seen Big Bird's toilet...well...that's because it's you --  Music:   “Flutterbee” by Podington Bear “Nearly Nowhere” by Ketsa “Kestrel” by Chad Crouch “Rambling” by Ketsa “Worlds Edge” by Ketsa “Flashing Runner” by Blue Dot Sessions “Algea Trio” by Blue Dot Sessions “Traffic” by Kai Engel “Daedalus” by Kai Engel “Cold War Echo” by Kai Engel “Haunted Past” by Ketsa Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership

Joaquin is out of control. He is riding through town, doubling the rewards on his own wanted posters. He has cowed or killed anyone who has tried to stop him, and he thinks he is untouchable. He's not wrong, either. The only people who know his face are either very trusted or very dead. Still, the more he pushes, the more the state of California pushes back, until one man is finally commissioned with a bill from the California legislature to hunt him down for good.   --  Music: Opener” by Blue Dot Sessions “Moon Bicycle Theme” by Blue Dot Sessions “Dropped Ticket” by Blue Dot Sessions “Sopor” by Kai Engel “Scraper” by Blue Dot Sessions “Wistful” by Blue Dot Sessions “Insatiable Toad” by Blue Dot Sessions “Vibrant Canopy” by Blue Dot Sessions “Comatose” by Kai Engel “Silent Flock” by Blue Dot Sessions Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership

It's 1850. The gold rush in the wild west, and Joaquin Murrieta seeks a better life in the US state of California, only recently taken from Mexico in the Mexican-American War. He tries to play by the rules and live by the laws, but everything keeps getting taken from him over and over again. Tired of living underfoot in a land that used to be his homeland, Joaquin decides to stand up and take his place as one of the legendary bandits of the old west.  The creature this week is the headless mule. Like, a firebreathing one that moves around, not just a dead mule.  --  Music: “Something Elated” by Broke For Free “Bald Eagle” by Chad Crouch “Global Warming” by Kai Engel “Emmit Sprak” by Blue Dot Sessions “Roll On” by Ketsa “Pied-billed Grebe” by Chad Crouch “Maree” by Kai Engel “We Drive 3 Days” by Blue Dot Sessions “Masked” by Ketsa “Meekness” by Kai Engel “Residual Anxieties” by Ketsa “Life in Letters” by Ketsa “Sad Moments” by Ketsa “Dangerous Swing” by Blue Dot Sessions “Wandering” by Steve Combs

The story of Meng Jiangnu and the Great Wall is one of the four great folktales of China. It's the story of love, tyranny, and standing up for what is right, no matter the cost. If you like your evil creatures without any way to defeat them whatsoever, then this week's creature might be for you. -- The book by Wilt Idema: https://bardic.link/Pieuc  --  Music: "Mindset" by Ketsa "Calming Storms" by Ketsa "Management" by Ketsa "Our Digital Compass" by Blue Dot Sessions "Rate Sheet" by Blue Dot Sessions "Tolls Folly" by Blue Dot Sessions "Tumblehome" by Blue Dot Sessions "Slate Tracker" by Blue Dot Sessions "Lonely Stairwell" by Blue Dot Sessions "Morning Colorwheel" by Blue Dot Sessions Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership

The world has been quiet for centuries, but everyone knows that they will return. The demon kings. An ancient evil destined to be reborn a third and final time. Then, one day, a child is born. The parents rejoice, but only for a moment. There is something different about the child, and there are rumors that the monster has been reborn once again and, after his battle with the one destined to fight him through the ages, the world will never be the same. -- That roach: https://bardic.link/b9fiF  --  Music: "Good Evening Melancholy" by Ketsa "Plague" by Kai Engel "Slum Canto" by Kai Engel "Tiptoe Treadline" by Blue Dot Sessions "Arctic Draba" by Blue Dot Sessions "Sal's Piano Solo" by Blue Dot Sessions Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership

Three lifetimes, two guardians, one objective: get back home. In our long overdue first foray into stories from India, it's the story of Jaya and Vijaya, the gatekeepers to Vishnu's celestial abode and the fateful decision they made one day that would change everything. It's the story of a demon that, reborn across generations and millennia, battles heroes that are born for the fight.  The creature this week is an angry bird who is less about wrecking towers and more about exsanguinating the corpses of his enemies.  -- Music: "Silent Dreams" by Ketsa "Moon Love" by Ketsa "Our Names Engraved" by Blue Dot Sessions "Sanctuary" by Podington Bear "Seventh Hill" by Podington Bear "Ervira" by Blue Dot Sessions "4 Point Path" by Blue Dot Sessions Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership

The prince is having a bad day...because the prince is having a great day. His life is just too easy. Too awesome. He is suffering from too much luxury. It's definitely not because he's into a girl who doesn't like him back. Nope. Not at all. Ok, it totally is. But don't tell his mom.  The creature this week is a homicidal sea monster baby, because sure.   ---  Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership

It's the end for Pinocchio. We left him last week the lead suspect in a murder investigation (no, I'm not joking), and we'll catch up to him on the beach, facing the authorities as he stands over the body with the murder weapon in hand. Also a lot of other stuff happens. Like, way too much stuff, like deep-fried puppets, snail butlers, and sleazy millionaires. And that's just in the first half of the episode.  The creature this week is a gentleman who is so polite as to bow at every opportunity...but not so polite that he won't take every opportunity to fart out of his three anuses (still not joking).  ---  Music: "Le Monstre" by Chad Crouch/Podington Bear "Caterpillar Brigade" by Chad Crouch/Podington Bear "Go To Sleep" by Chad Crouch/Podington Bear "Stages of Awakening" by Chad Crouch/Podington Bear "Blossoming" by Chad Crouch/Podington Bear "Lamb and Wolf" by Chad Crouch/Podington Bear "Bell Club" by Chad Crouch/Podington Bear "Paper Boat" by Chad Crouch/Podington Bear "Coopers Hawk" by Chad Crouch/Podi

I wouldn't really call Pinocchio ill-fated. That implies that it's undeserved, and it's definitely not. The little guy lies like it's a second language. Regardless, a lot happens to our little buddy in this episode, starting with him coming back from the dead.  The creature this week is the Hai Ho Shang, a vicious merman from Chinese mythology who absolutely has some opinions on your dancing.  --  Music: "Slow Dial" by Blue Dot Sessions "Lakeside Path" by Blue Dot Sessions "Arbinac" by Blue Dot Sessions "Taoudella" by Blue Dot Sessions "Plaque" by Blue Dot Sessions "Our Names Engraved" by Blue Dot Sessions "New Skin" by Chad Crouch "Red-tailed Hawk" by Chad Crouch Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership

Prison. Assassins. Marionette dance parties. The original story of Pinocchio has it all. Of course, you know of Pinocchio and Geppetto, but did you know that Geppetto, in order to get the wood to make Pinocchio, had to chew on an old man's wig? Or that the original story had a shockingly brutal end, even for an 1800s children's tale? Check it out. This story is wild.  The creature this time is a giant grasshopper who wants to have your kids over for dinner. And no, he's not being playfully ambiguous with that wording. He's going to eat your children and there's nothing you can do to stop him because he's a twelve foot tall grasshopper.  --  Music: "Anna's Hummingbird" by Chad Crouch "Great Egret" by Chad Crouch "Single Player" by Chad Crouch "Staggering" by Chad Crouch "Frogs in Tuxes" by Podington Bear "Climbing the Mountain" by Podington Bear "Little Black Cloud" by Podington Bear "Puzzler" by Podington Bear Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership

Thumbelina's life is already difficult. She lives in early modern Denmark and is no bigger than her mom's thumb. Oh, and also, everyone wants to marry her. And by everyone, I mean everyone. Frog moms want her to marry their sons and, somehow, the story gets stranger from there. In true Hans Christian Andersen fashion, this fairy tale for children about a girl being born from a flower and trying to find love contains kidnapping, death threats, crushing nihilism, and sleazy moles. Childhood was different back in the 1800s.  The creature are shrimp fries! But you have to act now or they'll be gone...oh, wait...no. My bad. They died 200 years ago.  ---  Music: "Buzzy Minuet" by Chad Crouch "De Facto" by Chad Crouch "Platformer" by Chad Crouch "Drawing Mazes" by Chad Crouch "Idle Ways" by Blue Dot Sessions "Uncertain Ground" by Blue Dot Sessions "Velda Tallow" by Blue Dot Sessions "Sal's Piano Solo" by Blue Dot Sessions "Arbic Tallow" by Blue Dot Sessions "Button" by Chad Crouch Support the show: https://www.my

Odin. Jotunheim. Shin Tinder. We're (basically) back in Norse mythology with the legendary story of Hadingus, a Viking king that hates being king. We'll visit nearly half of the worlds in Norse mythology as we follow a spectacularly bad ancient Norse hero.  The creature this time is a way to get superpowers...if you ever wanted to be a bitter, stinky, homicidal muppet.  --  "Orange Juicier" by Podington Bear "Holding Steady" by Podington Bear "So We Go" by Blue Dot Sessions "Closet Interlude" by Blue Dot Sessions "Bristlecone" by Podington Bear "Shade Ways" by Podington Bear "Telltale" by Podington Bear "We Make a Good Team" by Podington Bear "House Finch" by Chad Crouch "Journies" by Podington Bear Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership

The city of Athens is one of the most famous of the ancient world and its royal family was plagued with, well, weirdness. Between the dragon kings and the bird people, you either had to be sure to trust no one, or to never go anywhere ever because the wind or even the dawn could be out to get you.  The creature of the week is a fairy cow by the name of Fuwch Gyfeiliorn which I have the good sense to not even begin to attempt to say.  --  Music: "Bombadore" by Blue Dot Sessions "The Records" by Blue Dot Sessions "Slow Line Stomp" by Blue Dot Sessions "Rate Sheet" by Blue Dot Sessions "Setting Pace" by Blue Dot Sessions "Jog to the Water" by Blue Dot Sessions "Minor Islands" by Blue Dot Sessions "Crumbling Dock" by Blue Dot Sessions "Waves of Intensity" by Podington Bear Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership

Tom Thumb is the story of a guy named Tom...who is as big as his dad's thumb. A practical joke by a wizard, Tom went on to become Sir Thomas Thumb, the greatest knight in the realm, but not before becoming indigestion for a giant, a raven's canker sore, and exploring all the thrilling intricacies of a cow's digestive system.  The creature this week is a fish that's more manly than I'll ever be.  ---  Music: "Le Monstre" by Podington Bear "Pives and Flarinet" by Podington Bear "Elephants on Parade" by Podington Bear "Releaseing the Sculpture" by Podington Bear "Two Boys and a Girl" by Podington Bear "Airliner" by Podington Bear "New Skin" by Podington Bear "Denouement" by Podington Bear "Waiting for the Moment that Never Comes" by Lee Rosevere "You're Enough" by Lee Rosevere Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership

It's quiet. Too quiet. It has been years since the last blood libel and the Jewish community in Prague is starting to relax. Then, the Maharal receives a sign from God a few days before Passover, letting him know that the danger is far from over.  On the creature of the week, if you can't take the heat, get out of the desert. Or stay in the desert and be like the Funeral Mountain Terrashot. S Music: "Just need a walk under the lights of the boulevard" by Bisou de l'enfant sauvage "After midnight kiss" by Bisou de l'enfant sauvage "Ocean Ending" by Soft and Furious "The Coil Winds" by Blue Dot Sessions "Lost in Russia" by TRG Banks "Alchemical" by Blue Dot Sessions Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership

As a way to say thank for voting for Myths and Legends for the Webbys (and for being the reason why we won!), we wanted to share an additional story this week. It's from the southern United States, and it was originally an episode on the Myths and Legends member feed. It's a story of two wives in a stupidity arms race over who has the worse husband. The creature is the reason why the owl is such a shady bird that never comes out during the day. Thanks again for your vote. If you liked this episode and want more like it, there are now 31+ other episodes on the member feed. Go to support.mythpodcast.com for more info. All music this week by Podington BearSupport the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 16th century Prague, a people are under attack. Accused of an unspeakable crime they didn't commit, they have no recourse: even the rulers of the city have turned against them. They can't find justice, so they have to make justice - a silent guardian to watch over their community, one to keep the wolves at bay. But is he too late to help guard the innocents against the sinister machinations of one man?  ---  Music: "An Opus in Bb" by Blue Dot Sessions "A Simple Shroud" by Blue Dot Sessions "Beeth" by Blue Dot Sessions "Andelo" by Blue Dot Sessions "Toothless Slope" by Blue Dot Sessions "Valantis" by Blue Dot Sessions Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership

The king returns to his homeland after nearly a decade of exile. An evil sorcerer king is at the apex of his power. Owls deliver insults and dating is difficult no matter who you are. The epic story of Sundiata, the first emperor of Mali, concludes.    The creature of the week is the grey man of Ben MacDhui, a...grey man. Who lives on the mountain of Ben MacDhui. And also he's naked because why not?   ---    Music:   "Fantasy and Denoument" by Podington Bear "In" by Podington Bear "Elipse" by Blue Dot Sessions "Waves" by Blue Dot Sessions "Endeavour" by Jahzzar "Ruins" by Jahzzar "We Drive 3 Days" by Blue Dot Sessions "Thin Passage" by Blue Dot Sessions "Pacing" by Blue Dot Sessions Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership