Folktales

Folktales Of Hungary by Linda Dégh

A collection of folktales.  Starting with the fairy tales, which combined a number of motifs in forms I had never seen before. There are no top pop culture ones, even in variant form, and some new motifs -- like the factory that churned out devil.  Also a collection of jokes, tales about fools and wise men, legends, and notes at the back about sources and tale types.

Folktales of Egypt by Hasan M. El-Shamy

Also a collection of folktales. The fairy tales are of recognizable types -- if you are very familiar with a large range of tales -- in new forms. Also religious and philosophical ones, tales of fools and tricksters and more.

the scrimshaws of space

If space is an ocean -- which is the commonest metaphor -- what are the sailors doing while sailing the spaceways?  Especially if we have no FTL communications (or at any rate, none faster than the ships.)  Making scrimshaws?
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