Little Burnt-Face

One of my favorite stories as a child was Little Burnt-Face, read to me from the impressive tome Anthology of Children's Literature by Johnson and Scott (my copy is a bit tattered but it's the original that Mom sent me a few years ago when I asked her if I could keep it with me). Little Burnt-Face is sort of a Native American "Cinderella" story, and probably most cultures have a similar one, but this version always captures my heart - even when I read it now as an adult. I mean, it has magic and nature and a happy ending! In spite of all that her sisters put her through, the girl called Little Burnt-Face persevered and remained true to her Self -- and in the end this brought her happiness, peace, love and a new life.

I thought today of Little Burnt-Face because I'm following Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes' posts on fb, listening to her podcasts, hoping to soon obtain some of her audio programs from SoundsTrue, and eagerly awaiting the publication of her masterwork The Dangerous Old Woman. Her classic Women Who Run With The Wolves changed the lives of many women, and I have no doubt that her new book will do the same. Through the stories Dr. E shares, and how she relates them to our journeys in life, we open to new possibilities, to creativity, to flowering of consciousness - to Self. Dr. E is a scholar, poet, Jungian psychoanalyst, and cantadora (keeper of the old stories in the Latina tradition).