IWU Global Storytelling Project

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  Galician: Negra sombra-Black Shadow

  Rosalía de Castro and Carmela Ferradáns

  “Negra sombra” [Black Shadow] is one of the poems in the collection Follas Novas [New Leaves] published in 1880. This poetry collection, together with Cantares gallegos [Galician Songs] is widely considered as one of the foundational works in Galician literature. Written by Rosalía de Castro (Santiago de Compostela, 1837-Padrón, 1835), “Negra sombra” is one of the most emblematic and recognized Galician poems after composer Xoán Montés Capón (1840-1899) fused it with a traditional Galician alalá ballad.

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  German: Rotkäppchen-Little Red Riding Hood

  Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm, and Marina Balina

  The story of the little girl and her fatal encounter with the wolf was recorded by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and first published in 1812 in Berlin, Germany. Various sources referred to the French origin of this tale and claimed that the story was told to the fairy tale collectors by a French member of their household who belonged to the Huguenots, a persecuted Calvinist group in the Catholic France who left France in the 17th century. Brothers Grimm’s version significantly altered the ending of the story: both Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother are saved by a hunter, and the big bad wolf dies.

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  Hebrew: We Shall Overcome

  Charles Albert Tindley and Irv Epstein

  Based upon the refrain that slaves sang in the field, “I’ll be all right someday,” Reverend Charles Albert Tindley published ”I’ll Overcome Someday” in 1901. In 1945, workers striking against the American Tobacco Company sang ”We will overcome, and we will win our rights someday.”

  The song was brought to the Highlander Folk Center where it was used in workshops where civil rights activists congregated. Later, the Highlander musical director, Zilphia Horton, introduced the song to Pete Seeger who adapted it to its current form.

  But it was Guy Caroway, who succeeded Horton as Highlander Folk Center musical director, who led an audience singing “We Shall Overcome” at the founding convention of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

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  Japanese: Ame Nimo Makezu

  Kenji Miyazawa and Chisato Kojima

  The poem is entitled Ame Nimo Makezu “not losing to the rain”. It is one of the most famous and influential pieces. This simple poem inspires hundreds and thousands of people to this day. The poem depicts the ideal person in a listing manner – leading simple but healthy life, cultivating fields when it’s sunny and read when raining, eat and live humbly yet feels content in life. Kenji Miyazawa also depicts the ideal people as selfless, persistent, passionate and full of empathy for others. Kenji ends his poem adding “I want to be a person like that”. Unfortunately, when he wrote the poem, he was deadly ill and far from the strong and healthy person that was described by the poem. However, the poem has been giving hope and encouraging countless people in Japanese culture and beyond

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  Korean: 어리석은 나이 자랑 [eoliseog-eun nai jalang] Foolish Boasting About Age

  Unknown and Janette Lee

  In this traditional Korean folktale, a bird, monkey, and elephant lived near an old tree. One day, while swinging on the tree, the three friends fought over who got to stay on the swing the longest. The elephant claimed he should swing the most since he was the strongest. The bird said that he was the one who brought the rope for the swing, so he gets the most time. Then the monkey explained that it should be him since he was the one who tied the rope to the tree. After arguing, they decided to go by age instead. The elephant bragged that the tree came up to his belly button when he was a baby. Next, the monkey boasted that the tree was just a sprout when he was a baby. Finally, the bird announced that he was the one who brought the seed from way beyond the mountains and planted it in this spot. So from that day forward, the monkey and elephant respected the bird.