Folktale Reimagined

[Folktale Reimagined] project

with by UAEbby (UAE Board on Books for Young People)

Folktales are stories that are passed down from generation to generation.

Every culture has ones of their own – fables and myths that encompass traditions, beliefs, and legends. Some answer unsolved questions, ease social anxieties, and others tell of lessons that should be learned.

But what if these folktales were seen through the eyes of someone different?

Not just from a different culture, but from a new generation whose understanding and perspective has progressed from when these stories were originally told.

Korean illustrators have reimagined famous Arabic folk tales and expressed them in a single picture.

My story was [Khonfor Zonfor].

Synopsis:

Khonfor Zonfor, a lady beetle, dreams of finding the perfect husband and

getting married like the other beetles in her village. She prepares herself with

henna and scented paste and sets herself in the middle of a busy road to attract

a suitable husband. However, she refuses marriage proposals from a horse rider

and a rider on a donkey due to concerns about transportation.

As the day goes by and it gets dark, Khonfor loses hope. But then, a handsome

dung beetle appears, and she proposes to him. He accepts, and suggests

carrying her on his back. Khonfor happily agrees and rides off into the future

with her dung beetle husband, ready for a new chapter in her life.