There are always elections happening somewhere, decisions being made in all kinds of manners. But since the US elections is being followed all around the world (and I have family and friends in the US), it seemed appropriate to post this now. I gathered a short list of folktales and legends that might be useful when a storyteller is engaging in conversations of choices, leadership, and democracy.
(Links in the titles, as usual)
The Bird of Truth (Spain)
A good tale for talking about how one proves the truth, and how misinformation works. A prince, cast out with her twin sister as a baby, tries to prove to his royal father that indeed they are his real children. For that, he sets out on a quest to find the Bird of Truth. On the way he encounters many obstacles, and in the end he has to select the bird from among many that all claim to be the Bird of Truth (reminiscent of Indiana Jones' moment with the Holy Grail).
Mahakapi Jataka (India)
A story that talks about what a true leader is like. A monkey king saves his people from danger by using his own body as a bridge, even though it costs him his life. Thus, he teaches a human king a valuable lesson about being a ruler.
The king who trusted his kingdom to his daughters (Jewish)
Another tale about what a real leader should be like. A king gives each of his daughters a precious gem to see what they would do with it. The youngest daughter sells it to help a poor family, and then continues on her own, using her kindness and riches to better the life of her people.
The Deceiver (Somalia)
A dark story about how easily a greedy person can turn everyone on each other. The villain, exiled from his village, incites hatred in the animals against the humans, and with their help raids the village. Once they have the loot, he starts accusing the animals one by one, turning them against each other, until they are all gone and he can keep all the wealth.
The shy quilt bird (Myanmar)
When an evil serpent threatens the animal kingdom, all the animals band together to defeat it. Since the great Galon (Garuda) bird can't come to their aid, they all come up with a plan to pretend to be the bird itself (see also: Bug's Life). The story talks about good and bad leaders, the importance of community, and strength in unity.
The charitable maid-servant (India)
A stingy king shares no food with his people, hoarding everything for himself. He even measures the ingredients for his daily sweets to keep his servants from stealing. Still, a maidservant finds a way to pilfer some food and share it with people. When the kingdom is attacked, these stolen pastries magically defend the people from the enemy, teaching the king a lesson.
Heracles and Athena (Greece)
A lesser known Aesop's fable that I think is very much applicable to Internet arguments. Heracles finds a small apple-like object on the road, and hits it with his club. It swells to twice its size. He keeps hitting it and it keeps growing, until Athena appears, and tells him the object is Strife itself. The more you fight it the larger it gets.
How long the winter lasts (Tehuelche)
The animals gather to discuss how long the winter should be. The rhea insists that it should last as many months as he can count on his feet - twelve months. Other animals argue that it would be too long, but the rhea insists, and manages to gather followers, despite the fact that he has no logical arguments. Eventually the debate proves fruitless - and while the animals fight, the mara sets out to convey a more managable decision to the Creator.
Drop of Honey (Myanmar)
A chain of events prove that if we don't take responsibility for the small things, they can really get out of hand.
If you have any more tales to add, drop them in the comments!
And don't forget to vote, wherever you are.