I once happened across a Native American folktale, said to be of Algonquin origin, that tells of how a hunter espied a group of beautiful girls descend from the sky in a basket and dance, and how he used a trick to win one of them for his wife. I was immediately struck by the resemblance to the old Korean tale of 'The Fairy Maid and the Woodsman'/ 선녀와 나뭇군, which tells of a humble peasant who espies a group of beautiful maidens descend from the sky and bathe in a pond, and how he used a low trick to win one of them for his wife (I referred to this legend in the July 10, 2010 post). There is more to both stories (the Korean one has a sad ending while the Algonquin one is more optimistic), but it's got me wondering about the close similarity, and if there are also stories from other cultures that tell of similar doings. Perhaps it's a metaphor for man's desire for unity and wholeness, and the girl from the sky symbolizes the anima? Is the Greek myth of Psyche and Eros another iteration of this theme, with the gender roles switched?
THE MEGATHERIUM AND THE REPENOMAMUS,
A TALE OF SEPARATION AND LONGING
In the picture it looks like a man who married an angel and the angel has to leave, and this is the scene the angel leaves.
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