Topic: Traditional Literature (Legend)

What is a Legend?

A legend is a traditional narrative that is popularly perceived to be historical fact, but not
authenticated. Legends usually have some connection to real events or locations and
there is some factual basis in legends; this is why they are popularly believed to be true.

Legends are also woven around historical figures that are considered as heroes. But
their heroic deeds are often exaggerated and distorted in legends. However, these
characters and events may be incorporated with many supernatural elements.

Considering all these facts, we can come to the conclusion that though legends may
have some facts, they are not entirely factual or real.

Some examples for famous legends include Tales of Robin Hood, King Arthur, William
Tell, El Dorado, the story of Rama and Sita etc.

Examples Legend Stories:

Legend of Chinese Dragon

Long, long ago, a little boy lived in a small village in China. His name was Chi Yu. Chi
Yu lived in a small cottage with his mother. The cottage was surrounded by large
meadows. During the monsoon seasons, the meadows looked the most beautiful.
Green, fresh grass grew in those meadows.

Every day in the morning Chi Yu went into the meadows and played. After playing for
some time, he would cut some grass and put it in a basket every day. Then, he would
take the basket full of fresh-cut grass and take it to a farmer called Hieun Tse. The
farmer would take the basket of grass and in return would give a rice jar to Chi Yu.
Hieun Tse fed the grass to his cows.

All of a sudden, the city did not receive any rains for two years. A single drop of water
didn’t fell from the sky. As a result, the grass died out. The fresh green grass didn’t grow
in the meadows. Chi Yu searched and searched for green grass, so he could give a
basket to the farmer, but he found none.

One day, while Chi Yu was searching for the grass noticed a green patch behind some
tall hills. He quickly ran to the patch and cut some of the grass. Putting it in a basket he
happily returned and gave the basket to the farmer. In return, he got a rice jar.

Every day he would go to the same spot, behind the tall hills. And he would find a green
fresh patch of grass. Chi Yu would cut it and bring it back. Chi Yu was surprised to see
that every day the grass would grow back. Days passed like that.
One day, when Chi Yu was cutting the last of the grass with his sickle to take to the
farmer, a shiny object caught his eye. The object was lying somewhere under the grass.
Fascinated, Chi Yu picked it up. It was a small golden bead. It was the most beautiful
thing the boy had ever seen. So he decided to take it home.

Upon reaching home, Chi Yu hid the golden bead in a rice jar and went to sleep. The
next morning, Chi Yu found that the rice jar was full to the top. He kept taking the rice
out of the jar. And every time, the jar would fill up to the brim. Finally, the boy
understood that the bead was the reason for this miracle. The golden bead he had
found behind the hills was filling the jar up again and again.

The little boy was so happy with the miracle that he shared the rice with everyone in the
village. Everyone was happy except the farmer. Not only were the farmer’s cows
starving, no one came to him for rice anymore. Somehow the farmer came to know of
the miracle performing bead and he wanted it for himself.

The farmer came up with an idea to acquire the golden bead for himself. He went to Chi
Yu and told him that Chi Yu could have the farmer’s house, the farmer’s farm and all of
the money the farmer had. In exchange, all he wanted was Chi Yu’s golden bead. Chi
Yu refused the farmer and said that the farmer could not have the bead.

Soon, Hieun Tse decided he would steal Chi Yu’s golden bead. One day when the night
sky was still dark, Hieun Tse crept into Chi Yu’s house. He was about to steal the bead
hidden in the rice jar when Chi Yu woke up. The farmer had been searching for the
bead noisily and without realizing he had woken up Chi Yu.

Chi Yu knew why the farmer was in his house and quickly rushed to the jar. He took the
golden bead and swallowed it. The moment Chi Yu swallowed the bead; he realized he
made a mistake. It started burning inside him; the golden bead grew hotter and hotter.

Chi Yu drank some water, but it had no effect on the burning bead. Even after drinking
all the water in his house, the burning did not stop. Chi Yu drank the entire village’s
water. Yet, the bead grew hotter and hotter. Then Chi Yu started becoming hot. He
grew hotter and hotter just like the bead. He then ran to the river. Even that didn’t help.
Soon, the boy started changing. Chi Yu turned into a fire breathing creature.

Long flames came out of his mouth. He blew orange flames, some yellow and some red
flames. Upon, seeing the change he knew nobody would accept Chi Yu anymore. Chi
Yu ran away from his house. He ran far away- even beyond the tall hills.
 Story of Robin Hood

By James Baldwin

In the rude days of King Richard and King John there were many great woods in
England. The most famous of these was Sherwood Forest, where the king often went to
hunt deer. In this forest there lived a band of daring men called out-laws.

They had done something that was against the laws of the land, and had been forced to
hide themselves in the woods to save their lives. There they spent their time in roaming
about among the trees, in hunting the king's deer, and in robbing rich travelers that
came that way.

There were nearly a hundred of these outlaws, and their leader was a bold fellow called
Robin Hood. They were dressed in suits of green, and armed with bows and arrows;
and sometimes they carried long wooden lances and broad-swords, which they knew
how to handle well. When-ever they had taken anything; it was brought and laid at the
feet of Robin Hood, whom they called their king. He then divided it fairly among them,
giving to each man his just share.

Robin never allowed his men to harm anybody but the rich men who lived in great
houses and did no work. He was always kind to the poor, and he often sent help to
them; and for that reason the common people looked upon him as their friend.

Long after he was dead, men liked to talk about his deeds. Some praised him, and
some blamed him. He was, indeed, a rude, lawless fellow; but at that time, people did
not think of right and wrong as they do now.

A great many songs were made up about Robin Hood, and these songs were sung in
the cottages and huts all over the land for hundreds of years after-ward.

Here is a little story that is told in one of those songs:--

Robin Hood was standing one day under a green tree by the road-side. While he was
listening to the birds among the leaves, he saw a young man passing by. This young
man was dressed in a fine suit of bright red cloth; and, as he tripped gaily along the
road, he seemed to be as happy as the day.

"I will not trouble him," said Robin Hood, "for I think he is on his way to his wedding."

The next day Robin stood in the same place. He had not been there long when he saw
the same young man coming down the road. But he did not seem to be so happy this
time. He had left his scarlet coat at home, and at every step he sighed and groaned.

"Ah the sad day! The sad day!" he kept saying to himself.
Then Robin Hood stepped out from under the tree, and said,--

"I say, young man! Have you any money to spare for my merry men and me?"

"I have nothing at all," said the young man, "but five shillings and a ring."

"A gold ring?" asked Robin.

"Yes?" said the young man, "it is a gold ring. Here it is."

"Ah, I see!" said Robin: "it is a wedding ring."

"I have kept it these seven years," said the young man; "I have kept it to give to my
bride on our wedding day. We were going to be married yesterday. But her father has
promised her to a rich old man whom she never saw. And now my heart is broken."

"What is your name?" asked Robin.

"My name is Allin-a-Dale," said the young man.

"What will you give me, in gold or fee," said Robin, "if I will help you win your bride again
in spite of the rich old man to whom she has been promised?"

"I have no money," said Allin, "but I will promise to be your servant."

"How many miles is it to the place where the maiden lives?" asked Robin.

It is not far," said Allin. "But she is to be married this very day, and the church is five
miles away."

Then Robin made haste to dress himself as a harper; and in the after-noon he stood in
the door of the church.

"Who are you?" said the bishop, "and what are you doing here?"

"I am a bold harper," said Robin, "the best in the north country."

"I am glad you have come," said the bishop kindly. "There is no music that I like so well
as that of the harp. Come in, and play for us."

"I will go in," said Robin Hood; "but I will not give you any music until I see the bride and
bridegroom."

Just then an old man came in. He was dressed in rich clothing, but was bent with age,
and was feeble and gray. By his side walked a fair young girl. Her cheeks were very
pale, and her eyes were full of tears.
"This is no match," said Robin. "Let the bride choose for herself."

Then he put his horn to his lips, and blew three times. The very next minute, four and
twenty men, all dressed in green, and carrying long bows in their hands, came running
across the fields. And as they marched into the church, all in a row, the fore-most
among them was Allin-a-Dale.

"Now whom do you choose?" said Robin to the maiden.

"I choose Allin-a-Dale," she said, blushing.

"And Allin-a-Dale you shall have," said Robin; "and he that takes you from Allin-a-Dale
shall find that he has Robin Hood to deal with."

And so the fair maiden and Allin-a-Dale were married then and there, and the rich old
man went home in a great rage.

The Story of Tarzan

By Basab Ghosh

One day, in a high tree house, Kala the ape found an odd looking baby. The baby had
no fur on its body. His parents had been killed by the leopard called Sabor. He was the
same leopard who had recently taken Kala’s own baby.

Kala could see that the little boy she had just found needed to be taken care of. So she
decided that she would take care of the baby. Kala would be the boy’s mother. She
would raise him herself. Kala took the baby to her family group. There Kerchak, the
leader, did not like the idea of raising a human child among the apes. He ordered Kala
to take the boy back. Kerchak was afraid that when the boy would grow, he might
become a threat to his family. After Kala pleaded with Kerchak and told him that the boy
needed her, Kerchak agreed.

“He’ll be a good son,” Kala smiled. “I said he could stay,” Kerchak said, “That does not
make him my son.” Kerchak went away after that.

Kala named the boy Tarzan. The boy was growing up quickly. He was strong and
curious about everything, as little children are. Young Tarzan loved to mimic the jungle
animals. He also came up with his unique sound- The Tarzan Yell. Tarzan made a lot of
friends. His best friend was a female ape called Terk. One day she dared Tarzan to pull
a hair from an elephant. As Tarzan was approaching the elephant’s herd, a young
elephant mistook Tarzan for a piranha. Tarzan scared off all the elephants and made a
huge mess.

The frightened elephants ran through the gorilla’s feeding grounds. Crushing all their
food, they almost crushed a baby gorilla too. When Kerchak found out about this and
that Tarzan was the reason behind it. He was furious! “I did not mean to…” Tarzan
spoke quietly, “It was an accident.” “You will never learn to be one of us,” Kerchak said
angrily. Then he told Kala the same thing and left.

Tarzan was very sad after that. Kala realized that Tarzan was hurt she went to him and
she told him that Kerchak just could not see, that inside, all their hearts are the same.
Tarzan was determined to be accepted as one of them. He told Kala that he will make
Kerchak see that he was one of them. “I’ll be the best ape, ever,” he said.

Over the years Tarzan had worked hard, he had learned many different skills from all
the animals in the jungle. He had practiced and had become strong. One day, when
Sabor, the leopard attacked the gorillas; Tarzan chased it and he killed the leopard.
Tarzan had saved Kerchak and the entire family from the evil leopard.

The gorillas were just recovering from the shock of all this when they heard gunshots.
They ran into hiding in the jungle, but Tarzan decided to find out what was happening.
He followed the sound and finally he came to clear patch. He was amazed at what he
saw; under the tree, there were creatures that looked just like him. Tarzan kept his
distance and noticed them from tree tops.

One of them was a girl in a yellow dress. He saw her upset a group of baboons. Then
the baboons started chasing her. Tarzan swung through the trees and saved her. He
was curious about these creatures. They looked just like him and yet somehow were
very different than him. He held his hand up against her hand and studied it.

But he still did not understand. The girl was amazed to see Tarzan, she told him her
name was Jane Potter. She and her father had come to these deep forests of Africa to
study apes. Jane was very curious to know the wild man and his story. When Tarzan
returned to the gorillas, Kerchak asked Tarzan to stay away from the humans. Tarzan
told Kerchak that the humans were not there to hurt them. But Kerchak heard none of
that. “Protect your family and stay away from them,” Kerchak commanded.
Jane was telling her father and the hunter Clayton all about Tarzan; when suddenly
Tarzan dropped into the middle of the human camp. Clayton was a greedy man when
he saw Tarzan he started to hatch an evil plan. Jane’s father told him that Tarzan could
go back to England with them, to the human world. Jane even offered some clothes that
would make him look- normal.

Tarzan told Kala about the invitation. Then Kala sadly told Tarzan about his real parents
and how they died. “You belong to them. You should go,” she sadly told Tarzan.

Tarzan hugged her and told her that no matter where he went, Kala would always be his
mother. After that, he found Jane and told her that he was going with them. Jane helped
Tarzan with the clothes. Soon they boarded the ship bound for England and sail.

On board, Clayton revealed his evil plans. He was going capture all the apes and sell
them to the highest payer. Clayton told him, that he had already tied Jane and her father
and thrown them in a cell. Tarzan knew he would soon be sent to the same cell. He let
out a loud cry of despair.

Back in the jungle, his friends heard Tarzan’s cry. They knew Tarzan was in trouble.
Tantor and Terk managed to get to the ship and helped Tarzan escape. Tarzan and his
friends raced back to the jungle to warn the gorillas.

Clayton had turned his ship around and was coming for all of them. Soon he landed and
came searching for Tarzan and the apes. On finding him, he aimed his gun at Tarzan.
Before he knew it Clayton had taken the shot but he missed. Kerchak was hit instead of
Tarzan.

Tarzan quickly grabbed the gun and smashed it into a tree, breaking it. The two men
started to fight. They climbed trees and slid down them; Clayton slipped and fell to his
death. Soon after that, Tarzan ran to the dying Kerchak. “Forgive me,” Tarzan said to
him with tears in his eyes.

“No,” Kerchack said, “Forgive me for not understanding you. Take care of our family,
son.” And those were his last words. Tarzan realized that the jungle was his home. The
jungle was where he belonged; He decided to stay with his family. He was needed here.

He told Jane and her father that he had changed his mind about leaving with them. So
Jane and her father said their goodbyes to Tarzan and started rowing away. Upon
leaving Jane realized she could not go back either. She quickly jumped out of the boat
and ran to Tarzan. Tarzan and Jane built a tree house together in the jungle. There they
lived along with the gorillas, happily ever after.