CANADA

The Sled:The Sled is a tale passed on from our Ukrainian ancestors which portrays the theme of respect for our elders as the carriers of knowledge, experience and wisdom in society. The tale is about a man who has an elderly father who did nothing all day but sleep by the warm hearth. One day, the man questioned why he should feed his father and let him clutter up the hearth. So the man decided to harness his father to an old sled and take him out to a field to die. When the man returned home, his wife asked him why he left the sled behind. The man's son, who had been listening to the conversation, then said, "Father you are such a fool! How could you leave the sled there? When you are old, what should I put you on when I leave you to freeze in the field? Why didn't you think of that?" Recognising what he had done and the fact that, he too, would one day be old, he went back and brought his father home.

 The Maiden's Cave: The Maiden's Cave is a legend which forms part of a collection of Maritime mysteries. The Legend honours a young woman's courage. The story takes place in a cave at Black Point in Cumberland County, near Parrsboro, now known as "Maiden's Cave." When the wind is high, strange sounds are emitted from the cave that resemble the cry of a young girl. The sounds recall the fate of a lovely girl who died in the cave. The tale takes place in those long ago days when many pirates ruled the seas. There was a merciless Italian pirate named Deno who was cruising off the shore of Nova Scotia when he came across a British ship. The pirates boarded the ship and proceeded to kill all those aboard except for the Commander's daughter. Deno had a special interest in the commander's daughter. However, the girl had little interest in the dangerous pirate as she had watched him kill her father. Although Deno was a merciless pirate, Deno sought to win the girl's affection through his attentive charming manner. The girl could not forget the sight of her father and the first chance she had, she tried to kill the pirate. Unable to suppress his anger, Deno ordered the girl to her death by walking the plank. However, a war ship was spotted in the distance and the girl was saved from the same fate as her father. The girl was locked in her cabin while the pirate ship made its escape with the aid of a sudden storm. The storm drove the pirate ship into the Bay of Fundy close to Black Point near Parrsboro. With the coming of daylight the pirates gazed with unbelieving eyes upon the shore. On shore, as far as they could see, the beach seemed to glitter with jewels in the morning sun. The pirates quickly made their way to land to gather their treasure. Deno gave the girl one last chance to be his bride. The girl declined the offer. Deno then brought the girl ashore. He led her to a cave at the end of the beach and sealed the entrance leaving her to die.

Les petits sauteux: The tale of Les petits sauteux originated in the small town of Tourelle, Quebec. The legend warns us of the dangers of greed. Les petits sauteux were said to haunt the town of Tourelle. These little men would run around causing trouble and teasing people. But whenever people tried to catch them, they would disappear in a cloud of smoke. The townspeople believed that these little people were the guardians of a treasure, a chest filled with gold, that a captain had buried a long time ago. The legend has it that sometimes at night, one could see a light shining on top of the location where the gold treasure chest was buried. No one was ever able to find the treasure until one night, a lone villager decided he would attempt to uncover it. The following morning, to the villagers' surprise, there was a deep hole in the place where the lone villager was digging, however, he was no where to be found.