Kaitlyn's Korner: Folktales can be fun

By Kaitlyn Delaney
Associate Editor/Photo Editor

As someone who loves reading, and spent many summers with her nose in a book, sometimes I find it fun to dive into a different form of storytelling rather than the traditional novel.

One of my go-to storytelling forms in these situations is folktales.

There are all forms of folktales. From spooky to funny, you can learn so much about any part of the world based on the folktales they tell.

There are the more popular ones like “Bloody Mary,” “Babe the Big Blue Ox,” “Paul Bunyan,” and “The Jersey Devil,” but I would like to tell you about a lesser-known tale called “Gollywhopper’s Eggs.” I have also seen a version of it as a children’s book called “The Gollywhopper Egg.”

Now, the thing about folktales is, it’s hard to know the original author, as most of these stories started out being passed through word of mouth. Therefore I can’t really credit any one person for the tale, but a quick search on Google should allow you to find it.

“Gollywhopper’s Eggs” is about a peddler who claims the special wares he is selling are called Gollywhopper eggs. He managed to sell them to many of the people in the town, before news got back to the rich, widowed lady who was homebound and unable to see the eggs herself.

When she was finally able to see them, she realized quickly that they were coconuts, the same as her husband use to bring home from his travels. Together with the rest of the ladies in town, she forms a plan to drive the peddler out of town and get their money back.

The story, as many folktales are created to do, teaches a lesson. This lesson happens to be something along the lines of; if you’re not honest, you never know how it will come back to get you.

I find this one great for its simplicity, and the comedy that picturing coconuts sitting carefully by a fire to keep them warm brings. There are plenty of more creepy, scary ones I could share, but if you would like to read some for yourself, American Folklore is a great database to explore.