FINNISH STORIES, TALES AND FOLKLORE

Firefox of the northern lights

Finnish name for northern lights "revontulet" is based on a story about firetailed fox in finnish "tulirepo" which sprints through north and bashes its tail to snow lifting up snowflakes that reflect moonlight which people see as northern lights. Another version of the story is that sparks from the fox´s flaming tail go up to the sky when it´s hitting branches or snow

(Snowflakes that reflect moonlight forming northern lights)

Jutta and Santeri

Anecdote and prank stories: Sika-Kyösti in Bank of Turku

Once upon a time there was Sika-Kyösti. The banker was just counting money when Sika-Kyösti came into the Bank of Turku. He went to talk to the banker because he was a gentleman. He said: "If there was Sika-Kyösti here, he would take those money with him!" And he took the money and walked away. The banker thought it was a game but the money was never brought back, because thief was Sika-Kyösti.

Kustaa Mikonpoika Nummelin (Sika-Kyösti) was famous great thief who lived in Finland in the beginning of the 17th century.

Assi and Jasmin

Simpletons church building

Once upon a time there lived the simpletons. At first they didn't own a church, so they decided to build one. They built it on top of a very high hill. As the chruch was finished, appeared an old wise man just to say: "You could have built the church little lower so there would have been less resistance while dragging the gallows uphill". And so the simpletons demolished the church and began to build it lower on the hill. It went way more easily than the first building. Now they took the gallows downhill instead of dragging them upwards.

Finally the church was finished. The church didn't have any other holes except the door so it was really dark in there. There was given a public service announcement that went something like this: when the next sunny day comes, all men and women have to collect sunlight in to the church. On the next sunny day there was a huge group of people with bags ready to collect some sunlight in them. For seven days they did this: standing outside collecting light into their bags and releasing it inside the church. It didn't work out so well.

Finally the old wise man appeared again and said: "It would be much better to hack holes in to the walls instead of doing that mad work you're doing". The simpletons agreed with the old wise man since its advices had worked before. And so the simpletons began to hack the walls full of holes. While working hard they slowly began to sweat. They spotted an undulating cornfield on the distance and someone said: "Lets go swimming". And so they did. Everyone went to swimming in the cornfield. Once they finished swimming and came off the cornfield, they noticed that one person was missing. They always counted everyone insted of themselves so one it was always one off, but they didn't realize it.

The wise one walked in to the situation and asked whats wrong? The simpletons moaned: " One of us drowned on the cornfield during our swimming trip!" The wise one counted them and suddenly everyone was there. Merrily everyone went back to church.

The simpletons viewed their church. They were pleased about it. It was perfect in every way. Now there was light since the walls were pierced. The simpletons were happy. 

 

  

Ada Kalliomäki ja Samuli Nummela 16B

The fox and the rabbit

Once upon a time there was a fox who met a rabbit. The fox said: ”No one is afraid of you, rabbit!” ”Well who the hell would be scared of you?!” rabbit responded. ”Everyone is afraid of me,” the fox boasted. ”I look like a wolf because of my long tail, and that’s why they are scared of me, not you.” ”I bet that you’re wrong,” the rabbit snorted. ”I will show you,” she continued. The fox accepted the challenge. They went walking together and suddenly the rabbit noticed a flock of sheep grazing next to a fence. Right away she jumped into the flock and the sheep sprung to their feet and scampered away. The rabbit had won the bet and because of that she burst into laught and her mouth ripped. After that, all rabbits have had a crossed mouth.

Tarinan kääntämisessä mukana olleet: Veera Reiman, Ellen Sunila, Nea Sundström

The draught of a Fox 

For a long time, Fox had been looking at the host of Metso, who was an avid fishmonger, and was always caught between the house and the beach. Then the heart winters came and the fox saw how the host took large rocks to the shore and dived and arranged them under the ice with long shoulders. The fox was sitting on a large rock, keeping a close eye on the host. At some point, it licked its lips, and did not shudder off to leave. One day, it saw the host coming from the ice husking fish.  

-" How would I get that catch for myself? " thought the fox.  

Finally the fox got an idea. It quickly ran down the pathway where it knew the host was going home with his fish-laden, throwing itself in a very visible place next to the road and making itself dead. Beautifully and brilliantly there was a reddish coat on white snow, and a slim-looking host soon discovered it.  

-"Look at that, a dead fox along the side of the road," said the stranger, quite surprised. 

-" Today is my lucky day. First i get a pack full of fish and now i get this beautiful fur!" 

 The host lifted the fox from the ground and threw it on the fish load. The host was happy and started to move on. But in the meanwhile, the fox started to throw the fish one by one on the road. After all the fish had been thrown into the road, it jumped by the tail. As the host was lost from the sight, the fox started to collect the fish from the road and carried them to the woods where it then began to enjoy its rich meal. In the meantime, Metso's host had already arrived at his home. Satisfied, he stepped into the pit, threw the mittens on the bench, and said to his mistress: 

-" Come to see what a great catch I got. I'm pretty awesome."  

-" Great my man, i'll go right away. "  

The mistress rode in his chariot in the yard and came back to the same time.  

-" What are you talking about! There's an empty pack in the yard!" The mistress shouted.  

-"Well, that's weird"  

said the host, and went to see himself. 

-" You really are talking. Where have the catches disappeared? The fox was dead!" 

  The host went out on the same path where he had came from. But no fish could be found anymore, and with anger he had to go home.

Jasmin Lemmetti 

How the bear lost its tail

Once upon a time there was a fisherman driving on a highway. He had a huge barrel full of fish with him. After driving for a while he noticed a fox lying on the ground. The fisherman picked up the fox and put him in his fishbarrel. But the fox wasn't dead, he was just acting. The sly creature tossed every single fish from the barrel to the ground. When the barrel was empty, he jumped out of the car and started picking up the fish.
Having picked up all the fish the fox started walking back home. He encountered a bear who confronted him and asked:
"Where did you get all this fish from?"
The fox replied:
"I went fishing."
"When did you go fishing to get all this fish?" the bear asked.
The fox gave him advice:
"You should go fishing when the sky is clear. Put your tail in the water and hold it there until you feel something nibbling on it. When you feel as though there are enough fish caught in your tail, pull your tail out of the water with a quick wrench. That's how I got all the fish."
The bear, gullible as he was, believed the devious fox and did as he was told. When he saw a sky full of stars, he took a trip to the lake. It was frozen, but there was a hole in the ice where he stuck his tail in. After sitting there for a while, the bear starter to feel tingling in his tail so he yanked it up quickly. As the bear turned to look at all the fish he had gotten, he was shocked. He had no fish - and no tail. The lake had frozen leaving the poor critters tail under ice. Since then the bear has had no tail.

Tilda Häsä
Riikka Saarinen

The third chapter of Kalevala( national epic of Finland) is called The Fate of Aino. In the previous chapter Joukahainen has promised his sister Aino to be the wife of Väinämöinen( one of the central character of Kalevala, a shamanistic hero). 

Aino is very angry and upset about it. She doesn't want to marry anyone yet. Especially not the ancient Väinämöinen. Her mother doesn't care about Ainos complaints and sorrow. She's just happy that Aino will have such a great man as her husband. Aino doesn't want the fate that was given to her and sees no option but to drown herself. 

Anni Säynätjoki