wanted: baby myths

BeccaPrice · 06-24-2013, 05:54 PM

I know about the story that babies are brought by storks, or found under cabbage leaves. I need a third one for a fairy tale I'm working on. Anybody got any suggestions?

Bilbo1967 · 06-24-2013, 05:56 PM

Found under a gooseberry bush is a pretty common one, but possibly too similar to the cabbage leaf thing for your purposes.

crich70 · 06-24-2013, 05:59 PM

How about the one where they are brought by the Dr. in his little black bag. That one used to be pretty common back when Dr's made house calls to deliver babies at home.
And it wasn't that long ago that they did that either. My dad was born at his families home in 1937. Cost my grandfather his last $35.00 for the Dr. visit.

BeccaPrice · 06-24-2013, 06:03 PM

hm. I'm not sure how I could work that into my story - it's about a little couple trying to have a baby, and buying into all the myths. It's actually an adoption story, so there's no sex ed in it - it's for a bit of a younger crowd.

Penforhire · 06-24-2013, 06:34 PM

Doppelganger and golem myths come to mind but I get a creepy vibe as they might apply to infants.

crich70 · 06-24-2013, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

hm. I'm not sure how I could work that into my story - it's about a little couple trying to have a baby, and buying into all the myths. It's actually an adoption story, so there's no sex ed in it - it's for a bit of a younger crowd.

Maybe (if there is a young character) he/she thinks that babies come from the department store.For that matter back in the day everything imaginable could be bought from the Sears Robuck catalog for a price and they would ship your purchase to you.

VydorScope · 06-24-2013, 08:00 PM

We told our son we got him from Walmart. Seemed to work since he looks nothing like us!

crich70 · 06-24-2013, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VydorScope

We told our son we got him from Walmart. Seemed to work since he looks nothing like us!

So does he check the baby section to see if any newer ones are on the shelves?

meeera · 06-24-2013, 10:38 PM

There was a 20th century myth that swallowing a watermelon seed could make you pregnant, sort of a variant from the "a watermelon will grow in your belly" story.

owly · 06-25-2013, 03:09 AM

There's a creepy Swedish one. Unbabtised babies that where murdered by their mothers and buried in unhallowed ground would come back as vengeful ghosts called Mylingar.

gmw · 06-25-2013, 03:25 AM

I grew up on a dairy farm, there wasn't a lot of room for myths regarding conception or birth.

teh603 · 06-25-2013, 08:26 AM

Fairies swap normal babies and replace them with fairy babies. How do you tell? They either learn how to talk extremely early (and extremely well) or suddenly become very sickly.

Edit: The first part of it was probably kids showing up with Aspergers, and the parents trying to find an excuse to do nasty things to them.

crich70 · 06-25-2013, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teh603

Fairies swap normal babies and replace them with fairy babies. How do you tell? They either learn how to talk extremely early (and extremely well) or suddenly become very sickly.

Edit: The first part of it was probably kids showing up with Aspergers, and the parents trying to find an excuse to do nasty things to them.

Some folklore was invented to help rather than harm though. Jenny Greenteeth is an example of that. She was believed to live in bodies of water and if a child got too close she would snatch them up and drag them under to her home. Since few knew how to swim way back when the danger of drowning was a major concern and anything that kept kids from large bodies of water that they might drown in was a plus as far as adults were concerned.

elemenoP · 06-25-2013, 09:27 AM

There is a Russian folktale about a couple who wants a child and they don't have one, so they go out in the snow and make a snow child, and it comes to life.

http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0703.html

I know about this because I read the novel "The Snow Child" by Eowyn Ivey, which is a modern retelling of the story.

Clicking around on the site above, it looks like there are several myths where a woman eats an icicle and gives birth to a snow child. Could that work for you??

eP

HarryT · 06-25-2013, 09:30 AM

In the UK it's definitely the stork or the gooseberry bush that are the old favourites. Never heard of cabbages being involved until now!

06-24-2013, 05:54 PM	#1
BeccaPrice Wizard Posts: 2,145 Karma: 11174187 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Sony 350, K3-3G, K4SO, KPW	wanted: baby myths I know about the story that babies are brought by storks, or found under cabbage leaves. I need a third one for a fairy tale I'm working on. Anybody got any suggestions?

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06-24-2013, 05:56 PM	#2
Bilbo1967 Not scared! Posts: 13,424 Karma: 81011643 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Midlands, UK Device: Kindle Paperwhite 10, Huawei M5 10	Found under a gooseberry bush is a pretty common one, but possibly too similar to the cabbage leaf thing for your purposes.

06-24-2013, 05:59 PM	#3
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,305 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	How about the one where they are brought by the Dr. in his little black bag. That one used to be pretty common back when Dr's made house calls to deliver babies at home. And it wasn't that long ago that they did that either. My dad was born at his families home in 1937. Cost my grandfather his last $35.00 for the Dr. visit.

06-24-2013, 06:03 PM	#4
BeccaPrice Wizard Posts: 2,145 Karma: 11174187 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Sony 350, K3-3G, K4SO, KPW	hm. I'm not sure how I could work that into my story - it's about a little couple trying to have a baby, and buying into all the myths. It's actually an adoption story, so there's no sex ed in it - it's for a bit of a younger crowd.

06-24-2013, 06:34 PM	#5
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 2,230 Karma: 7145404 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+	Doppelganger and golem myths come to mind but I get a creepy vibe as they might apply to infants.

06-24-2013, 08:00 PM	#7
VydorScope Wizard Posts: 3,418 Karma: 35207650 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad	We told our son we got him from Walmart. Seemed to work since he looks nothing like us!

06-24-2013, 10:38 PM	#9
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,659 Karma: 66420972 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	There was a 20th century myth that swallowing a watermelon seed could make you pregnant, sort of a variant from the "a watermelon will grow in your belly" story.

06-25-2013, 03:09 AM	#10
owly Guru Posts: 729 Karma: 3822612 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Sweden Device: Paperwhite 2, Kobo Aura H2O	There's a creepy Swedish one. Unbabtised babies that where murdered by their mothers and buried in unhallowed ground would come back as vengeful ghosts called Mylingar.

06-25-2013, 03:25 AM	#11
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,809 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	I grew up on a dairy farm, there wasn't a lot of room for myths regarding conception or birth.

06-25-2013, 08:26 AM	#12
teh603 Autism Spectrum Disorder Posts: 1,212 Karma: 6244877 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Coastal Texas Device: Android Phone	Fairies swap normal babies and replace them with fairy babies. How do you tell? They either learn how to talk extremely early (and extremely well) or suddenly become very sickly. Edit: The first part of it was probably kids showing up with Aspergers, and the parents trying to find an excuse to do nasty things to them.

06-25-2013, 09:27 AM	#14
elemenoP Wizard Posts: 1,717 Karma: 3790058 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony 650	There is a Russian folktale about a couple who wants a child and they don't have one, so they go out in the snow and make a snow child, and it comes to life. http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0703.html I know about this because I read the novel "The Snow Child" by Eowyn Ivey, which is a modern retelling of the story. Clicking around on the site above, it looks like there are several myths where a woman eats an icicle and gives birth to a snow child. Could that work for you?? eP

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06-25-2013, 09:30 AM	#15
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	In the UK it's definitely the stork or the gooseberry bush that are the old favourites. Never heard of cabbages being involved until now!