Compare/Contrast Essay

Folklore defines a culture the same way someone’s personality defines them as a person. Although every story is unique, they all share several similarities.  But despite multiple similarities there are even more differences.  I recently read three pieces of folklore. Each one is from a different continent.
      The first story I read was Rabbit Plays Tug-of-war.  From this Native American story I realized that it’s a bad idea to take advantage of other people for your own entertainment.  It told of a rabbit who challenged two big, strong snakes to a game of tug-of-war.  However, the rabbit pit the snakes against each other instead. when they heard his laughter they banished him from the watering hole.
      The second tale I read was titled The Lion and the Mouse. This one of Asops’ fables tells of a Mouse accidentally terrorizing a lion. The lion is going to kill him but after the mouse explains that he might need his help one day the lion sets him free. several days later the lion is caught in a trap and the mouse comes along and rescues him.  Like the Rabbit Plays Tug-of-war all the characters are animals. But they teach a lesson that will be beneficial in your lifetime.
      The last story I read was written by the Micmac tribe.  It is titled Bloody Knife.  The story told of a fight between two men from rival tribes. One slips in the mud and drops his knife into the stream. He reaches for it and he can never touch it. He falls down and claws his way towards it but it is always out of reach. His fellow tribe members come and find him later that day. They remove him from the river and try to grab his knife. It remains out of reach no matter how hard they try to get it. The other man’s blood is still on the blade and refuses to wash off despite the rapid current. This is the only story I read that someone actually died. But just like Rabbit Plays Tug-of-war the problem is based around a competition between two characters. And similar to The Lion and the Mouse someones life is in the other characters hands.
       All three stories that I read were from completely different cultures. They retained a certain uniqueness, yet they were full of similarities. This just displays how similar all people are.