The Story: A woman goes out for the evening with friends. Upon her return, she is greeted by her pet doberman choking in the hallway. Alarmed, she takes the pet to the veterinarian. The vet announces that he must perform a tracheotomy on the animal and he will call her when he has news. When the woman arrives home, the vet calls and tells her to leave the house at once. The dog was choking on three human fingers (often described as "Mexican Fingers" or "Black fingers"). The woman calls the police, who search the house. They discover the burglar, hiding in a closet, passed out from loss of blood.

The Choking Doberman is a popular urban legend that originated in the United States. It became popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Folklorists believe it is a descendant of a much older (Renaissance Era) European folk tale about a clumsy burglar who injures his own hand while breaking into a house. His intrusion is revealed by the discovery of one or more severed fingers. The Choking Doberman and Other 'New' Urban Legends is the title of a book by folklorist Jan Harold Brunvard.

Variations from this Urban Legend:
* The number of fingers dredged from the dog's throat varies, as does their color. Though in many tellings the race of the intruder goes unspecified, at times the discovered digits are described as "black" or "Mexican," adding a racist spin to the tale.

* In the 1980s, a Doberman was the usual star in this story; in the 1990s, the dog became a pit bull when that breed gained media prominence as the decade's fierce dog of choice. Other breeds of pooch have been known to report for duty in this tale as well — always large, scary-looking dogs.

* The thief is usually discovered hiding in a closet, the bedroom, or in the basement, but in some tellings he gets away from the house and is only brought to justice when his injuries force him to visit an emergency room. His missing fingers identify him as the culprit police are looking for.

* With very few exceptions, the troubled dog owner is female. Moreover, the setting of the tale makes it very clear she lives alone.

* Most of the time, the dog's presence in the woman's life passes uncommented upon; nothing of the dog's history or her reasons for keeping him are mentioned. Occasionally though, we're told the dog was given by her father when she went off to college in a distant city, or that in the wake of her divorce her lawyer recommended her getting a big dog for protection.

In the interpretatio Romana, she was equated with Victoria. The characters of Brigid and Saint Brigid in Irish mythology and legend are derived from the goddess.

Though nothing is known about Brigantia from the Cymric written sources, and she appears in the Irish tales as Brighid the daughter of In Dagda, one-time wife of Bres, the half Fomorii who breiefly became leader of the Tuath Dé Dannan. By her second consort, Tuireann she had three sons: Brían, Iuchar and Iucharba. She is the brother of Oengus Mac ind-Óg, the Irish equivalent of the Brythonic Maponos and Bodb Derg, king of the Tuatha de Danann after they are driven underground into the sidhe. In one version of the Lebor Gabala Erenn Brighid is said to have owned two royal oxen, called Fea and Men, which gave their names to the plain of Feimhean. She is also said to own Torc Triath, the king of boars. Cattle being the main source of wealth in early Ireland (as they were for the Brigantes of Britain, see below). Both are also animals of the otherworld in both Cymric and Irish legend. She cries-out the first lament heard in Ireland when, during the second battle of Magh Turedh when her son Ruadhán is killed while attempting to slay Goibhniu the smith-god. Brighid Despite the paucity of written records a considerable amount can be inferred about this deity from epigraphic inscription, depiction in carving and surviving folklore.

The insular Brythonic goddess, Brigantia, was the tutelary deity of the Brigantes tribe of northern Britain. It is not surprising therefore that the inscriptional evidence for Brigantia in the Roman period is centred around Yorkshire, Northumberland and Southern Scotland. Inscriptions having been found at South Shields, County Durham, Adel and Castleford in Yorkshire. At Brampton, Cumberland and Irthington Yorkshire she is invoked as deae Nymphae Brigantiae (the Nymph goddesses Brigantiae) indicating a clear association with water and the multiplicity of this deity. At Corbridge, Northumberland she is linked with Jupiter and this is the only evidence we have for Brigantia's consort: indicating that he may have been of the sky god-warrior type. At Greetland, Yorkshire she is invoked as Victoria, (victory) — with the obvious implication that Brigantia, at least in one aspect of her multiplicity, was a warrior goddess. However, by far the most important and interesting depiction of Brigantia is the relief from Birrens (Blatobulgium) on the Antonine Wall, Dumfries, Scotland [see image above]. Here, Brigantia is depicted as Minerva. She bears a spear in her right hand and has a globe in her left, the symbol of victory. She wears a gorgoneion pendant about her neck (a symbolic representation of the Medusa replete with protruding tongue), symbol of Minerva in her goddess aspect and also shield-symbol of Pallas Athena. Behind Brigantia a shield can just be seen, another warrior attribute. Here Brigantia also wears a mural crown (a crown that looks like the crenulations of a battlement) indicating her territorial associations as both conqueror and defender of her territory. The fact that the Brigantes held this powerful warrior deity as their tutelary tribal ancestor is interesting in that this potentially makes Brigantis a goddess of the Magna Mater or great mother type, akin to Dôn/Danu and Modron/Matrona. This may be why some authors have conflated Briganta with Danu, though there is no direct evidence for this association. It is also likely that the river Brent (formerly *briganti) in Middlesex is derived from Briganta, indicating that the cult area of the goddess was wider than current evidence suggests. (Some have also suggested that the afon Braint on Ynys Môn is also derived from Brigantia; however this is etymologically dubious especially as the word braint in modern Cymric means 'privilege' and the word brig means 'highest point or summit'. We may have an example here of the survival of the name of a lost goddess, now conflated with Brigantia.) Finally, it appears as if the Brigantes were a pastoral people, concerned with husbandry and shepherding, then it would be strange if Brigantia did not, herself, possess a pastoral aspect. In the insular tradition, therefore, Brigantia can be viewed as warrior, water deity and healer (if she is a pastoral deity and by association with Minerva).


We now turn to considering the Irish tradition of Brighid. She is sometimes referred to as the triple Brigid, suggesting that she is a triple mother goddess. Assuming that the original form of Brigantia is something like *Brigantī then Brighid is equivalent to Brigantia, given Goidelic and Brythonic divergence and etymologically at least they seem to be the same deity. According to Cormac's Glossary (a tenth century encyclopaedia of Irish tradition compiled by Cormac mac Cuilennan priest-king of Cashel) a priceless repository of folklore, Brighid was a one of triplets, each with the same name. Respectively they were the goddesses of poetry, smith-craft and leech-craft, or healing. This may well reflect the survival of an older tradition that Brighid was a triune deity unto herself. In this respect here attributes are at least consistent with those of Brigantia. Folklore also portrays Brighid as the protectress of domestic animals and the bringer of fertility and new growth to the land and the people. During the christian period the legends of Brighid have become confabulated with those of St Brigit. These legends retain heavy mythological overtones and may have been borrowed from the goddess Brighid, though with a christian overlay that makes it difficult to separate the earlier myth from later tales. However, the saint was said to be daughter of Dubthach the Brown, who may have been a druid and in the legend is impervious to fire. He can only be sustained by a white, red-eared cow, the markings of an otherworldly animal, and the saint could magically provide a feast for all, regardless of how little food was at hand. Brighid was said to be the daughter of the goood god, the Dagda who is also associated with fire and is the possessor of the magic cauldron of plenty. In Ireland St Brigit became the principal focus of the feast of Imbolc or Oimelk (leterally oi-melc ewe's milk) on February the first. This is when, after the depths of winter, the days begin to noticeably lengthen and the nights shorten. Traditionally this was when lambing time began, hence it is the time of ewes' milk. In the Christian calendar Oimelc was subsumed into the festival of Candlemass. The association of Brigit in Ireland and her equivalend, St Bride, in Scotland with this day may man that is was once considered holy to the goddess Bridghid and to Brigantia, which would make sense in terms of her being a pastoral deity. But this association is uncertain. The association of St Brigit/St Bride with the coming of new light has been used as an argument that Brigantia herself was a solar or a fire deity. This is true in as far as the De Dannan and the Plant Dôn were the gods of light but any stronger association than this cannot be supported. St Bride of Scotland was invoked at childbirth and may be an echo of Brighid's aspect as a healer. It is interesting to note that St Brigid returned to Cymru in the form of St Braidd and churches were dedicated to her as at Llansanffraidd (due to mutation the intitial 'b' in Braidd becomes and 'ff' which has caused many authors considerable confusion).


Finally we come to the Continental aspect of the goddess, where there is most paucity of evidence. In western France there are inscriptions to Brigindo and at Auxey in the Côte d'Or there is an inscription to the goddess Brigindona. Both deities seem etymologically related ti Brigantia/Brighid and may well represent the same goddess. We also have the Brigantii tribe of Central Raetia whose capital, Brigantium Raetiae, situated on the eastern shores of Brigantinus Lacus in Central Raetia is mow known as Bregentz on Lake Constance in the Austrian Tyrol. Again the Brigantii, like their insular equivalents the Brigantiae would seem to be 'the people of the goddess Brigantia'. Interestingly this was also a location where a defixione (curse tablet) invoking Ogmios and also naming Dis Pater this indicates that Gaulish Brigantia, Ogmos and Dis Pater bore a similar relationship to one another as their Irish cognates: Brighid, In Dagda and Ogma (see entry on Ogmios for a full discussion), adding support to the proposition that Brighid is the cognate of Gaulish/Brythonic Brigantia.

Brigantia's name can be derived from the reconstructed proto-Celtic elements *briganti- (be high) and the feminine ending -a. Thus the name Brigantia can be interpreted as 'Most High'.

This story was first recorded by Charles Perrault in his Contes De ma Mere L'Oye in 1697. He called the story Le Petit Chaperon Rouge. The story first appeared in English in 1729. Many grim and gruesome endings to the story exist. The version that we have retold here, in which a passing woodcutter rescues Red Riding Hood and her grandmother, was recorded by the Brothers Grimm under the title of Little Red Cap. Beatrix Potter used a similar storyline in The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck.

The version most widely known today is based on the Brothers Grimm variant. It is about a girl called Little Red Riding Hood, after the red hooded cape or cloak she wears. The girl walks through the woods to deliver food to her sick grandmother. A wolf wants to eat the girl but is afraid to do so in public. He approaches the girl, and she naïvely tells him where she is going. He suggests the girl pick some flowers, which she does. In the meantime, he goes to the grandmother's house and gains entry by pretending to be the girl. He swallows the grandmother whole, and waits for the girl, disguised as the grandmother. When the girl arrives, she notices he looks very strange to be her grandma, then, eventually he swallows her whole too. A hunter, however, comes to the rescue and cuts the wolf open.

Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother emerge unharmed. They fill the wolf's body with heavy stones, which kill him. Other versions of the story have had the grandmother shut in the closet instead of eaten, and some have Little Red Riding Hood saved by the hunter as the wolf advances on her rather than after she is eaten.

The tale makes the clearest contrast between the safe world of the village and the dangers of the forest, conventional antitheses that are essentially medieval, though no written versions are as old as that.

The theme of the ravening wolf and of the creature released unharmed from its belly is reflected in the Russian tale Peter and the Wolf, and the other Grimm tale The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids, but its general theme of restoration is at least as old as Jonah and the whale. The Theme also appears in the story of the life of Saint Margaret, where the saint emerges unharmed from the belly of a dragon.

Although no written forms of the tale predate Perrault, the origins of the Little Red Riding Hood story can be traced to oral versions from various European countries and more than likely preceding the 17th century, of which several exist, some significantly different from the currently-known, Grimms-inspired version. It was told by French peasants in the 14th century as well as in Italy, where a number of versions exist, including La finta nonna (The False Grandmother). It is also possible that this early tale has roots in very similar Oriental tales (e.g. "Grandaunt Tiger").

These early variations of the tale differ from the currently known version in several ways. The antagonist is not always a wolf, but sometimes an ogre or a ‘bzou’ (werewolf), making these tales relevant to the werewolf-trials (similar to witch trials) of the time (e.g. the trial of Peter Stumpp). The wolf usually leaves the grandmother’s blood and meat for the girl to eat, who then unwittingly cannibalises her own grandmother. Furthermore, the wolf was also known to ask her to remove her clothing and toss it into the fire. In some versions, the wolf eats the girl after she gets into bed with him, and the story ends there. In others, she sees through his disguise and tries to escape, complaining to her "grandmother" that she needs to defecate and would not wish to do so in the bed. The wolf reluctantly lets her go, tied to a piece of string so she does not get away. However, the girl slips the string over something else and runs off.

In these stories she escapes with no help from any male or older female figure, instead using her own cunning. Sometimes, the red hood is even non-existent.


There have been many modern uses and adaptations of Little Red Riding Hood, generally with a mock-serious reversal of Red Riding Hood's naïveté or some twist of social satire; they range across a number of different media and styles. Multiple variations have been written in the past century, in which authors adapt the Grimms' tale to their own interests.

A tiger ran out from the mountains. When he saw this big tall thing, he thought it must be divine. He quickly hid himself in the forest and surveyed it from under cover. Sometimes the tiger ventured a little nearer, but still kept a respectful distance.

One day the tiger came out again. Just then the donkey gave a loud bray. Thinking the donkey was going to eat him, the tiger hurriedly ran away. After a while he sneaked back and watched the donkey carefully. He found that though it had a huge body it seemed to have no special ability.

After a few days the tiger gradually became accustomed to its braying and was no longer so afraid. Sometimes he even came near and circled around the donkey.
Later the tiger became bolder. Once he walked in front of the donkey and purposely bumped it. This made the donkey so angry that it struck out his hind legs and kicked wildly.

Seeing this the tiger was very gleeful, 'Such a big thing as you can do so little!' With a roar he pounced on the donkey and ate it up.

Bloody Mary is a ghost or witch featured in Western folklore. She is said to appear in a mirror when her name is called three times (or sometimes more, depending upon the version of the story), often as part of a game at slumber parties. Other very similar tales use different names for the character including Mary Worth, Mary Worthington, and Hell Mary among others.

Who can forget the scary story of Bloody Mary, the evil spirit who will scratch your eyes out when summoned? Most people heard the Bloody Mary legend when they were children, listening to spooky ghost stories around the campfire. The tale is still told at slumber parties, campouts, and late-night bonfire parties.

The constellation is commonly represented as two fish, each of which is tied to the same point by a long length of string. The fish are connected at the tails. However, the 'strings' can also be interpreted as stick-figure men (with the 'fish' thus becoming their heads), and some forms of early Greek mythology viewed it as men bound to a point, with only the constellation Piscis Austrinus considered to be a fish.

According to one Greek myth, Pisces represents the fish into which Aphrodite and her son Eros transformed in order to escape the monstrous Typhon; they are tied together with a cord on their tails, to make sure they do not lose one another.

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A constellation south of Andromeda. Pisces is the twelfth sign of the zodiac, which is entered by the sun on or about February 21st. As of 2002, the Sun appears in the constellation Pisces from March 12 to April 18. In tropical astrology, the Sun is considered to be in the sign Pisces from February 20 to March 20, and in sidereal astrology, from March 15 to April 14. According to a majority of polled tropical astrologers, we are currently in the Age of Pisces.

For thousands of years, this faint zodiacal constellation has been seen either as one or two fish. In Greco-Roman mythology, Aphrodite and her son Heros were being pursued by the monster Typhon. In order to escape him, they turned themselves into fish, swimming to safety. The pair tied their tails together to insure that they wouldn't be parted during their escape. Pisces lies between Aries and Aquarius in the northern skies.

Fairy Tale is a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and talking animals, and usually enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events. In modern-day parlance, the term is also used to describe something blessed with princesses, as in "fairy tale ending" (a happy ending) or "fairy tale romance", though not all fairy tales end happily. Colloquially, a "fairy tale" or "fairy story" can also mean any far-fetched story. Fairy tales commonly attract young children since they easily understand the archetypal characters in the story.