Reading Part B "Folklore of Laos"

Another river scene in Laos (Source)

The first story of the wizard and the old beggar was very similar to some of the stories of Arabia and one of the African legends as well, where a genie or wizard was repaid for their kindness with ingratitude, teaching a lesson about the importance of being grateful and honest.
The next story, about the grain of rice, actually follows a similar theme. Rice used to be so big it would just roll out of the field when it was ready and come down into the village. However, due to the ingratitude of an older woman, the rice broke into thousands of small grains and was content to sit in the fields until it was wanted.
Another tale focused on the beautiful young woman, Chum Paw, who tricks all of her evil suitors into killing themselves and the other men into doing the same. It is interesting to see such a story like this in a culture that is traditionally male-dominated, this story truly was a fairy tale for young women.
After this fun story for young girls, we now have a story for young men, where a youth is captured by 3 old men but ends up being able to escape them and sell them into slavery, where he is able to pocket the silver and live a grand old life. It was fun.
It was interesting to see the idea of a "Philosopher's stone" is prevalent in all cultures around the world. This Laotian story, for example lets the owner of the stone turn things into gold and also grants any wish that the possessor desires. Kind of a new twist, I liked it.

Story Source: Laos Folk-lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson with photographs by W.A. Briggs (1899)

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