Ken Beckwith

Dragon Black Lake Ken Beckwith

"Each were part of a pair that reappeared each time in the world. They were one phenomena." A Smart, Red Fox tells of two fishermen, "who once cared very much for each other's well-being", and how "they came upon a passage between two hills, covered by a door of waving leaves" that led to a black pool sanctuary at the center of their lives. The fishermen never felt so free, so they took out their hearts to air them off in the sanctuary. "Maybe there is a muskellunge dragon who lives at the bottom." The first older, wiser fisherman said. Folktales aren't pristine, perfect, or even pretty sometimes. They're stories told in order to reflect the simple, or common person's life. Folktales are oral culture. They are unpinned by conventions of composition, standardized language, free to escape and extend beyond whatever foolishness one entertains today about "dominant culture". They are a solution to the standardization of language and culture.