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Discovering Colombia's Best Fairy Tales photo by Koven.rm (via Creative Commons)

Discovering Colombia's Best Fairy Tales

by : Nicole Brown posted :

When talking to locals during your Colombian adventure tour you might hear some interesting tales that tell you a lot about the country and its culture. The Germans brought us the Brothers Grimm, Disney brought us happily ever afters and Colombia brings us stories to live by. Find out why these have staying power and will forever be passed down from generation to generation of Colombians.


A depiction of the "Poor Old Lady" photo by Koven.rm (via Creative Commons)
A depiction of the "Poor Old Lady"

The Poor Old Lady

Unlike the popular nursery song involving a poor old woman swallowing a fly, this old lady is anything but poor. Written as a satire, author Rafael Pombo penned “The Poor Old Lady." In this story, there is an old woman who complains about not having anything yet she has everything. She has people waiting on her, she has any food she could possibly desire and she also has all the clothes and jewels that she could ever desire.

Still she is unsatisfied with herself and her belongings and feels that she is poor. At the end of this fairytale she passes away which shows the reader that no matter how much you have, you can’t take it with you. And in the last line of the story, the author cheekily suggests that anyone would be lucky enough to die as poor as her.

The moral of the story, of course, is that material items are not what is most important in life. This woman had everything but was still unfulfilled and unhappy. She still felt poor. This is the most recognisable fairytale in Colombia as it is taught in many schools as well as told by parents during bedtime.


Pastel interpretation of Pastorcita photo by HernanFritzler (via Creative Commons)
Pastel interpretation of Pastorcita

Pastorcita

Another famous fairytale in Colombia, and also penned by Rafael Pombo, is Pastorcita. Pastorcita is the Colombian version of Little Bo Peep. Like Little Bo Peep, Miss Pastorcita fell asleep and woke up to discover that her sheep were gone. She searches high and low trying to find the sheep but when she does, their tails are missing.

As she looks further, she notices the tails of all of her sheep hanging in a tree left out to dry. She then proceeds to take each tail down and tries to sew them back on with honey and thread. The moral of this story, of course, is to be alert/aware and to take responsibility for your own actions. Little miss Pastorcita fell asleep and something gruesome happened so now she is having to deal with the consequences.

Just like Little Bo Peep, this tale has stood the test of time and is a favorite fairytale in the classrooms as well as in homes during story time.

Staying Power

Just like urban legends, fairy tales are a significant part of culture. Every country has their own way of describing happenings, connecting to the past and teaching moral values. So make sure when you book your Colombian adventure tour that you brush up on some urban legends and tales so that you can impress the locals and make some new lifelong friends.

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