Myths, Fairytales and Legends

Alexander fulfilled the letter of a prophecy and he did become ruler of the world, but it wasn’t quite fair.

To ‘cut the Gordian knot’ is to solve an apparently intractable problem simply, by lateral thinking. I’m not sure, however, that Alexander really ‘solved’ the problem at all.

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An ancient Greek myth about the dangers of easy wealth.

The ‘Midas Touch’ is the ability to make a success of anything to which you turn your hand, but the original myth carries a warning.

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The Greek hero thinks he has paid off more of his debt to the gods, but an unpleasant surprise awaits him.

In a moment of madness induced by Hera, Heracles has killed his own children. Now he is working off his debt by serving his cousin and rival Eurystheus, and has already returned alive from one ‘hopeless errand’...

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A misfit duckling grew up with rejection as a way of life, until he thought all hope was gone.

The Ugly Duckling is one of the best-loved of all the fairy tales of Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen, a contemporary and friend of Charles Dickens. Below you will find a very brief précis of the story, which reminds us that it’s not where you came from that matters, it’s where you belong.

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A prince falls for a dazzling dance-partner who teasingly vanishes at midnight.

An unhappy young woman treated as a serving-maid by her step-sisters is magically transformed into the belle of the ball. But the prince whose heart she has captured is not content with a lover who vanishes at midnight.

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A fastidious prince felt he deserved a girl of royal refinement, and he certainly found one.

A young and idealistic prince thought he deserved a wife of right royal delicacy, but the daughters of the kings in neighbouring kingdoms did not meet his expectations.

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