Drawbridges save lives, especially those of damsels in distress.  Knights in shiny amours, princes, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella do exist.  They live in and amidst us every day. Look carefully and you will see them.  I believe in fairy godmothers and fairytales.  I believe they give meaning to our existence.  I’m a girl who loves to fly to the moon and play among the stars.  Wouldn’t you like to see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars?

The woman who fills me with the best tales is my mother.  They are the best because they are all true.  They are the history of her family, my father’s family and our country. She has an ease with the storytelling.  It is in with the conversation over tea and a visit when there is usually just the two of us.  It is the way I was brought up and learned about life and morals – with family stories and Chinese tradition.

Then there are the Chinese fables.  My favourite ones being the Legend of the White Snake and the Cowherd and Weaving Girl. They are love stories between a human being and something other – a snake and a fairy.  You will have to click on the links highlighted to know more.  I do not have my mother’s knack of telling a story.  I will ruin it for sure.  My mother told from memory. There was no book or DVD.  Just her voice.

We still do our cuppas, my mother and I.  The stories are still coming though a bit different.  Not so many fables now that I’m all grown up.  Pity!  I might have to write my own.