THERE’S NOTHING better than a story to inspire young minds and in today’s global village, learning about other cultures from an early age can only help kids grow up with a better understanding of the world around them.

That way of thinking is the premise behind the new publication “25 Folktales from Around the World”, a book put together by the Spouses of the Heads of Mission – Shom for short – launched recently at the Portuguese ambassador’s residence in Bangkok.

Initiated by Shom almost a year ago in collaboration with the Bangkok Bank, Thai Beverage, and Plan Publishing, the book has 25 stories in both English and Thai. All have been contributed by members of Shom and reflect the morals, cultures and traditions of their countries of origin. The print run of 5,000 copies will be donated to under-resourced schools and libraries around the kingdom though the book will not be for sale.

The stories come from Australia, Austria, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Uganda, the UK and US and Vietnam.

“Our objectives were to present folk and fairytales that represent each of our country’s traditions so that Thai children who might not otherwise have the opportunity get to experience these stories and have an introduction to our unique cultures,” says Kevin Colleary spouse of the Portuguese Ambassador.

“The stories reflect many important messages about love, family, responsibility, loyalty, honesty, trust, courage and other positive ideas. Even though we all live in a modern society, folktales are still key communicators of cultural messages. As today’s world gets smaller through transportation and communication, folktales are even more important as they help us better understand traditions that might seem very different from our own.”

Juri Sekiguchi-Drofenik, spouse of the Austrian ambassador, adds that folktales reflect the moral values, beliefs, customs and traditions of the society where the stories originated.

“I think folktales will help develop children’s insights and appreciation of the cultures of other people, and ultimately help them to become competent global citizens,” she says.

“The Black and White Stones” is an Austrian folktale about family love. It tells the story of a young girl who decides to look for her missing brothers. The boys have carelessly climbed up a mysterious mountain out of curiosity despite a hermit’s warning not to do so. When she reaches the summit, she finds an empty castle and strangely shaped black-and-white rocks. At the bidding of a golden bird, she pours the water in a jar over the rocks, and the black stones become people, including her brothers, and the white stones become horses. One of the black stones with a pair of keys on top becomes a prince who lived arrogantly and mercilessly. As punishment, his people and horses were turned into black-and-white stones and whoever touched them turned into stones. The prince thanks the girl, giving her the key to the castle and the two marry. The story depicts the mountainous

Austrian landscape, which is dotted with old castles, and conveys several messages: curiosity kills the cat (the elder brother who did not listen to hermit’s advice), siblings love and care, courage, punishment for malicious acts, mercy, redemption, and happiness.

Portugal’s “The Rooster of Barcelos” is a very old story that has been passed down through the centuries. It tells of a foreigner who is falsely accused of a crime but maintains his innocence. A miracle occurs where a cooked rooster comes to life and proves that the man is innocent. The image of this rooster is one of the most important symbols found even today in Portugal.

Japan’s Momotaro (“The Peach Boy”) is about justice, courage, and friendship while the South Korea folktale “The Pumpkin Seeds” has been around for hundreds of years.

“It’s about honesty, how people should live their lives, family love and how lying will eventually earn you a punishment. However, it also teaches about forgiveness and reconciliation. Children in Korea hear the story from a very young age from their parents and grandparents,” says Chung Wha, spouse of the Korean ambassador.

“Each story has a specific moral whether it deals with honesty, family or love. It’s good for children to be exposed to such elements and because this book has stories from different countries, it will expose Thai children to different cultures from a very young age. South Korea is not just about K-pop, we also have a traditional culture.”

From the United Kingdom comes a long-time favourite “The Magpie’s Nest”.

“The magpie is the cleverest bird at building a nest. So she gathers all the birds around her and begins to show them how to do it. But none of the birds waits until the end of the lesson and in the end she refuses to continue. That’s why birds build their nests differently. It’s a very nice story that teaches children about diversity, about people taking what they need,” says Scott Chang, spouse of the British ambassador.

Irish folktale “The Children of Lir” is about a king who loses his children to a spell cast by a jealous woman who turns them into swans. The spell was only broken when children heard the ringing of a bell symbolising St Patrick’s arrival. “The key message is about love and making decisions by listening to the people that truly love

you and give the right advice. Irish people always give their kids this story to read and it represents St Patrick’s National Day as well,” says Kevin Doris Ejon, spouse of Ireland’s ambassador to Thailand.

Columbia’s “Baby Bottles for the Sun and the Moon” conveys the key message is that with collaboration anything is possible. “In our culture we always include the sun and the moon in a different context for children’s stories. Folktales are very important in passing along our culture to different countries,” says Astrid Amaya, spouse of Colombia ambassador.

“While we are not diplomats ourselves, we have a very important role in helping our spouse and our Missions here communicate the best of our country and our culture to Thais at all levels of society. In addition, at Shom, we try to support projects that ‘give back’ something to Thai society,” Colleary adds.