Myths and legends with a twist

Myths and Legends with a twist

by 1st EPAL Ierapetra’s, Ierapetra, Greece Soltorgsgymnasiet, Borlänge, Sweden Condorcet, Paris, France Collège Paul Verlaine, Paris, France Collège lycée privé Blomet, Paris, France

Myths and Legends with a twist is an eTwinning project. Five European schools have collaborated and created new stories with existing characters, thus giving myths and legends a new twist. We hope you enjoy reading as much as we enjoyed writing.

2014-2015

Contents Icarus’s adventures Thor’s hammer The magical sword Merlin and his friends Europe’s escape Blue Beard and Medusa Lancelot’s missions Minotaur’s search for a magic potion Credits

Icarus’s adventures.

Once upon a time there were a father and his son. Their names were Daedalus and Icarus. They were in prison in the Knossos Palace because King Minos was afraid they would reveal state secrets. They were five years in prison and they went crazy. Every day they thought of ideas to escape.

One day Daedalus had an idea. He cut the pillows and the mattresses, took the feathers and iron springs from inside and made two pairs of wings. They put the wings on and flew over the huge wall and escaped from prison.

They flew far away but king Minos sent his best prison guard to capture them .

Icarus and his father flew far, far to the desolate north. The wind was rough and the cold was biting. It was getting harder and harder to keep on flying. At sunset they could no longer keep altitude. Icarus came crashing down first onto the unexplored land and soon, his father followed. Several hours after the crash they woke up seemingly unharmed but with minor injuries. Their wings were ruined and of no use for them. They saw several exotic animals, one of them a

majestic animal with horns. They weren't sure of this beast's intentions and ran away from it, into the wild unknown.

Suddenly they heard a sound of music. It was the enchanting sound of a single violin. They walked towards the music and found that it came from a naked man sitting upon a small rock in a small river. He’s known as Näcken. Mesmerized by the soothing sound of the violin they walked towards the water, when suddenly a group of mooses rushed into the glade. One of them snuck up behind Icarus and whispered “Beware for men, women and children has fallen victim to this malicious creature. He lures people in with his music into the deep water and drowns them. He won’t hesitate to do the same with you. Be careful!”.

Meanwhile, the prison guard searched across Europe for Icarus and his father. People told him of giant flying beasts.

He ventured to the mythical north, where he searched for many days until he found two pairs of broken wings.

Icarus and Dedalus were caught in Näcken’s mortal trap. His enchanting music was charming them. Slowly, they were becoming nothing more than puppets. They no longer had control over their bodies. Dedalus and Icarus started walking towards Näcken. He had a nasty smile on his face.

They were getting closer and closer to him. But smart Icarus had an idea. Thanks to the moose’s advice, he managed to escape Näcken’s overwhelming music. Remembering his meditation lessons, he found deep inside himself the strength to focus on his thoughts instead of the music. He used the remaining wax from his wings and put it in his ears

so that he couldn’t hear. Then, he did the same for his father.

The spell was broken. To avoid other people from being captured by Näcken, Icarus took a sharp spear that he had found near an abandoned armor and threw it towards Näcken. The spear went through his chest. He shouted, his eyes opened wide, he tried to catch his breath, and he fell in the water, without a sound.

Then, Icarus and Dedalus crossed the river and looked for a place to rest.

But the island was like a jungle, dangerous, and something (or someone) was watching them.

They were wet, and the biting cold was making them sick. Suddenly, there was a loud noise. Icarus and his father turned around… And there he was, waiting for them : Minos’s guard, with eyes glowing like fire.

Afraid by his strong size, they sank into the hostile jungle to escape. After long minutes, breathless and tired, they collapsed in a clearing, behind ferns and trees. Then, when they woke up, they decided to inspect the surroundings.

They understood that it was a dead-end, so they needed to find a way to leave this place.

Climbing the mountain was the only solution. Weakened by the effort, Daedalus fell down and sprained his ankle. He told his son to continue without him. Sad, Icarus began to cry, his tears touched his father who screamed. Fire wings grew out

of his back and Daedalus came flying and took his son with him. Finally, they arrived on top of the mountain but suddenly, thinking that they were saved, Minos's guard appeared and made the earth shake. He proposed them to surrender and no one would be hurt. They refused categorically because they wanted to stay free. Stuck, they had no other choice but to fight against him who had a sabre with a very sharp and poisoned blade whereas Daedalus only had fire wings and Icarus had nothing. The battle began, Minos's guard attacked first. Daedalus tried to blind the guard with his wings but their enemy guessed the attack and cut them, so the old man couldn't fly anymore. His son, enraged when seeing his father on the ground, tried to smash the guard on the head with a rock but the guard had guessed the attack and punched the young man in the stomach. The fight had lasted only five minute and the father

and the son were already down. So Minos told his guard to go back with the two fugitives and the servant began his journey with the two men on his back.

Suddenly, something hit the Minos’s guard on the head. He fell dead. It was the little red riding hood with a bottle of champagne in her hands. She said suddenly: “Bonjour…”

Icarus felt his heart bumping stronger. They looked at each other eye to eye. Something was happening between them.

They took a step forward and kissed. Dedalus had been killed by Minos, who had fled away. Icarus wanted to say goodbye to his father but they were still in danger so the little riding hood took Icarus’s hand while he was still crying upon his father and they walked away. They knew that love was stronger than death. Nobody ever saw them again, but it is said that they built a beautiful castle in the Vallée de la Loire, where they married but nobody knows if they have any children.

The end

Thor’s hammer Once upon a time there was a powerful god called Thor.

Thor had a powerful hammer, a gift from his father Odin, that gave him massive strength. As soon as he accepted the gift he went to fight against the Giants.

The Giants were defeated by Thor again and again, so they thought of a trap to take Thor’s hammer away from him. One giant dressed up as a woman to trick Thor and managed to take Thor’s hammer when Thor fell asleep.

The giant threw the hammer far far away so that Thor would never be able to find it. When Thor woke up he saw that his hammer was not there. He got very angry but he couldn’t do anything without the hammer and its strength so he set off trying to find it.

His first stop after setting of to find his hammer was Greece.

He found his “friend” Zeus, the king of thunder. Well, maybe not friend, but he might know where his hammer, Mjölnir could be. Last time they met Zeus tried to eat him, yeah, tried, he didn`t succeed. But Thor thought it at least would be worth trying.

He stepped inside of Zeus huge castle. There he was, sitting on his golden throne. Thor carefully asked if he might know where Mjönir was. After a few silent seconds Zeus told him he had heard some rumors about some giants having his hammer in the cold mountains up north in Scandinavia.

Before Thor went to the mountains in the north, Zeus started to apologize for trying to eat him. And as a gift Zeus offered his amazing Pegasus to Thor. Thor accepted the gift and flew away.

He took the winged horse and flew over the sea to Scandinavia. The red sun lit the dark waves in a mystical way. The day was coming to an end. When Thor finally arrived, he asked Pegasus to fly lower so he could look for the giants who were apparently in the cold mountains, dangerous and feared by many.

The giants weren't hard to find, because of their size. Two of them were keeping the entrance of what seemed to be a cave. They were very large, with irritated faces. Hiding behind a large stone, Thor observed the two guards. He couldn't see anything because of the snow and the cold wind in his face. Therefore, he decided to land next to the cave, where the evil giants couldn't see him. Thor knew it was going to be very difficult to get his hammer back, and that he would have to be clever; cleverer than the giants, which looked quite easy.

He walked all around the cave, to look for another entrance.

Instead, he found a strange flower, the Acazylia, that was known to make one fall asleep. Thor had learned from his friend Medea how to prepare a magic potion with these flowers. He started making a fire, and removed all the petals of the Acazylias to put them in a cooking pot, and after adding some ice in the cauldron, he put it on the flames.

Then, Thor discretely set the boiled flowers on a plate, so it looked like a delicious meal, and set it where the giants could see it. He knew the giants would be very hungry, because it was impossible to find anything to eat in this cold weather.

Our hero decided to sleep because he was so tired from traveling and from the freezing weather. He couldn't help falling asleep on Pegasus's warm and furry coat. It was a starry night so he knew the next day would be nice.

He dreamt of his wonderful hammer, more powerful than any other object on planet Earth. As he woke up, a few hours later, he discovered the two guards asleep, and the flowers gone. It was Thor's chance to enter the cave discretely. Of course, he didn't know what was awaiting him inside...

Thor managed to come into the cave. Proud, he walked head up and chest out. He was convinced: In the cave was his hammer stolen by the giants and he would find it.

After a few steps, he realized that he was in a damp, dark, worrying, cold and very silent place. Thor was worried.

There was a dreary atmosphere and a very bad smell too. He could smell the grilled marshmallow with cod. Disgusting!!

Thor shuddered but he kept on walking, determined.

Suddenly, Thor jumped back: he was very surprised when a big noise rang inside the cave. The rumble was very powerful. Thor stood still; he listened, but heard nothing else.

A little while after, an army of puppies arrived at top speed towards the man. Thor was thrown backwards. The puppies were barking. They were trampling, licking and jumping on Thor. He thought they were strange and very ugly. They were white with black spots. He didn't count but he thought they were more than ninety and maybe a hundred. Thor

managed to get rid of the puppies. There were everywhere.

He got up and rushed to the back of the cave.

After several meters, Thor saw a small light at the end. He rushed immediately. The smell had changed: Now you could feel a nice pumpkin smell. It reminded him of the soup made by his grandmother when he was a young boy.

When he arrived at the end of the cave, He found a small door up in front of him. He opened it, delicately and without noises. At this moment, Thor heard a small voice; someone was singing a little tune. He walked on. Soon, he ,arrived into a small room. It was supposed to be a kitchen. A very old lady stood in the middle of the room. She was very ugly, bent and wrinkled. This woman reminded him of something.

When he was a young boy, his grandmother used to read many tales to him: He remembered the story of this crone. It was Cruella De vil.

Suddenly he turned his head. He saw the soup cauldron and as he was very hungry, he approached. Without paying attention, he drank all the soup. Not a single drop remained.

Then, surprised, he saw his hammer placed next to the cauldron. The old lady had used it as a spoon to stir the soup.

Thor began to run to his hammer. The witch turned back and screamed. Suddenly Thor stopped running and started feeling strange. The witch was now looking like a young and beautiful lady who was asking him for help. The soup was actually a love filter. She said „ please, powerful God, help me! A knight called D’Artagnan is coming to kill me! “. Thor forgot everything and swore to protect her against this man.

He stayed with the lady for three days in her cave.

D’Artagnan finally came in the witch’s cave. He was carrying

a long iron sword and he didn’t expect to see another man there. Thor abruptly took his hammer and started a fight with the knight. It lasted for a very long time. Thor appealed to his divine powers and called upon the thunder.

Unfortunately it hit a wall of the cave which began to collapse. A big rock fell on the witch and killed her. The love filter’s effects faded away and Thor suddenly stopped fighting. He didn’t remember anything but he realized that the cave was collapsing. He quickly ran out with D’Artagnan.

Pegasus was still waiting outside. The men climbed on his back and Pegasus brought them far away from there. During that time, he discovered that the giants had been changed into ants by the witch. He guessed later on that the giants had probably died too.

The End

The magical sword.

In a forest in the North, far away from a town there lived a young beautiful girl called Huldra. She had long dark hair and white skin. Her only flaw was that she had a cow’s tail that she hid under her skirt.

She knew that if she got married in a church, the tail would disappear.

But she also knew that she would become very ugly.

Huldra was in love with a beautiful prince who went hunting in the forest. She wanted to marry him but she didn’t want to become ugly so she visited a witch for advice. The witch told her that the only way to get rid of the tail and still be beautiful is to find the magical sword in a forest far away.

And so Huldra decided to try and find the magical sword to be able to marry her prince.

Huldra had heard that the sword was located in a distant land far beyond the sea, so she decided to head for the

harbour, to board a ship. But the captain on board refused to let her on the ship, so she used her supernatural powers to persuade the captain into letting her come with them.

Long and far they sailed, until they finally arrived to the shores in which the sailors called Northumbria. The ship docked by the nearby harbour, and Huldra set foot in this foreign land.

As she moved through the crowded masses of villagers she overheard a preacher shouting out to the people: Repent!

For the dark king shall purge this land of sinners! And all who defy his will shall hang by the gallows!

Huldra knew that the sword was somewhere in the forest, so she quickly made it to the outskirts of the town and into the dark forest. With her ability to talk to animals she asked a bird where she might find the sword, so the bird led her to a clearing where she found a solitary stone. Confused, she examined every inch of the stone but found nothing. That was when she heard a strange noise coming from somewhere behind her. Curious she followed the sound and found herself amongst a crowd of villagers, her eye caught a weary looking old man speaking frantically to a young boy, but it was above all the people that she saw what all the commotion was about. On a podium there was a short, fat looking man in black clothes and with a wide grin on his face, and in his hand he held a glowing long sword. Stunned, Huldra heard the crowd shouting, UN! UN! All hail KIM JONG UN!

The crowd was composed of villagers but also little creatures such as Goblins, Dokkaebis or Lutins. When the speech was over, the villagers left the place to go about their business. At this time, Huldra tried to look for a way to get the sword back. She knew that Kim Jong Un wouldn’t give it to her, even if she used her persuasire superpower. Indeed, Un was a terrible dictator who used the sword to influence the people.

Huldra looked around her, everybody had drifted away now except for a little creature. It looked like an elderly man, was very small, wore green clothes, black shoes, white socks. It also had a big green hat, red hair and a long beard. It was smoking a pipe. Huldra suddenly realised that this little man was actually a Leprechaun! So he also had superpowers! The

Leprechaun was mumbling and grumbling because of what Un had just said. When the Leprechaun finally decided to go back home, Huldra followed it through the forest because she knew it could help her in her mission.

The Leprechaun, who had noticed her, all of a sudden turned. It questioned Huldra about the reason why she was there. As an answer she told the Leprechaun her entire story. Then, it told her that it was also looking for the sword because it was made of gold and everyone knows that Leprechauns worship gold, money and everything that shines!

Then they decided to work together to develop a plan to steal the sword from Un. While they were talking, they didn’t notice that a Dokkaebi working as a security guard was following them…

Suddenly, Huldra heard a branch snapping, turned around and saw the Dokkaebi. She screamed. - Shhh ! Don't worry, I'm here to help you ! whispered the strange creature. I have heard what you said and I know how to enter Un's castle and find the sword. - Wonderful ! Let's go at once ! said the Leprechaun.

At nightfall, they walked to the castle until arriving before a huge, old-looking closed door. They decided to climb over the high wall. Huldra and the Dokkaebi quickly reached the top but the little Leprechaun wasn't able to follow them. He exclaimed : “Hey! Wait for me please ! I'm going to fall down!

Help ! I can't grab the the rope anymore ! HAAAAAAA... Never mind ! declared Huldra. Let's go on !”

The noise the Leprechaun had made alerted the guards, who came to imprison them. Huldra struggled as she could but

wasn't able to escape, and they were finally brought before Kim Jong Un. - Huldra ? What are you doing here ? He exclaimed when he saw the three prisoners. - How do you know my name ? she asked, very troubled. - Oops ! - But wait a minute. I know your voice... Understanding he was discovered, Un got out his mask while Hudra was about to lose consciousness: - but... but... that's my Prince charming !

Huldra had just found out that Kim Jong Un was her prince charming that was supposed to marry him but her prince charming was actually a dictator. She gave it some thoughts and decided to go look for her friend Panoramix who lived in a forest in the North. When she finally met him, she explained to him everything that had happened to her and asked him for help. Panoramix felt concerned and agreed to help Huldra. So he started preparing a potion that make people stronger. They left and a few days later they arrived at Kim Jong Un’s village. She told the sailors that she had a solution so that they could fight against the dictator of Kim Jong Un. When everyone had drunk some potion, they went to the castle and took over the kingdom. After the fight, it was up to Huldra to decide what would happen to the prince.

She transformed him into a squirrel because it was cute and innocent as she wished he had been like this with her. She took the magic sword to cut her tail so she could marry the leprechaun.

The End

Merlin and his friends.

Merlin was a powerful wizard. He could do anything. But he didn’t have any friends. He lived alone in the black forest and he felt lonely.

- I wish I had somebody to talk to. I wish I had somebody to share my ideas, he said to himself.

So, he decided to leave the black forest and travel around the world to try and find friends.

On the first day of his journey, he finally got out of the forest and the first thing he noticed was how beautiful it was out in the open. The sun, the flowers, EVERYTHING! Merlin saw a pond and decided to refill his water supplies but as he approached the water he realized something was wrong.

The sun had suddenly disappeared from the sky and the clouds quickly covered the sky. The pond was no longer calm and unnatural waves had formed on its surface as frogs started jumping out of it. Merlin felt shivers down his spine and he felt a bit uncomfortable sensing something odd was taking place.

Suddenly the sky cleared out of nothing, the water calmed and once again Merlin heard the beautiful singing of birds.

He felt great confusion as he tried to comprehend whatever had happened.

But he quickly understood everything when he saw a colossal M made of smoke in the blue sky, it was definitely Morgan’s signature.

He remembered that she was jealous because the previous year she had lost the prestigious ÂŤ Best Wizard of the Year Âť award, to the delight of Merlin because he had won it ! But actually it was pretty hard for him to think about all this because he was trapped in the heart of the huge storm that Morgan had created.

So he used his powers of Best Wizard of the Year to stop the agitation of the animals, the wind and the plants. So then he was able to think again in quiet, and understood that she knew that if he met new friends, he would be happier, more powerful, and would probably win the championship again.

Merlin laughed, he wasn’t scared at all, actually he felt quite the opposite. Morgan’s acts reinforced his anger and his plot to revenge.

During the rest of his ride in the forest, Merlin found some very appetizing mushrooms with subtle and bright colors : orange, yellow, dark black, turquoise blue, and many other shades.

He found them as beautiful as diamonds. But he didn’t want to eat them, he just put them in his wizard’s bag (where he could put whatever he wanted) and he decided to offer the mushrooms to the first friend he would meet.

Then Merlin started to walk again. He had barely made two or three steps that Arthur suddenly fell from a tree and crashed behind him. Arthur was a young and naive boy and

when he saw the old man’s big magic stick, he asked him with a lot of excitement whether he was a wizard.

Merlin answered that yes, he was just Merlin (actually, he was very proud to tell strangers that he had magic powers and that he could do whatever he wanted with the magic stick he always had on him).

Then Arthur asked with a lot of admiration whether Merlin would accept to be his friend, and the wizard gave him the mushrooms.

But at that precise moment, they both heard a threatening noise in an owl’s nest of a very dark tree‌ What was that?

Merlin took his magic stick and he prepared to defend.

Merlin took his stick and went to the dark tree. There, he saw Morgan who was waiting for him.

« I was waiting for you, Merlin !

- What do you want ?

- I want to be the Best Wizard of the Year so I have to kill you NOW. - If you want to kill me, kill me at the Arena. Everyone shall see who the best of us is.

- Okay, dig your grave ».

Then she disappeared suddendly in a dark smoke. Merlin left the tree and he wandered in the forest during the winter.

He didn't know how to kill Morgan. He didn't feel capable of killing her. He's a strong magician but he's not a killer. He was desperate.

One day, he found an elf who was trapped. He helped him. « Thank you so much. But you look sad. What's wrong ?

- I have to find a way to beat Morgan.

- I know a way : Those who share a real bond Will find the Tears of Friendship They are the only weakness of the Darkness » With Arthur, they searched the Tears of Friendship but they couldn't find them.

On the eve of the Tournament, Merlin was definitely desperate. So he cried. Arthur was very sad for him so he cried too. Suddendly, a white shard appeared from their tears.

Suddenly, a white shard appeared from their tears. The elf appeared next to the friends and said : « Great ! You finally found the tears of friendship ! — But how can a shard help me to defeat Morgan ? asked Merlin — You will see when the time comes, answered the elf with a mysterious voice. Good luck ! » He disappeared, leaving Arthur and Merlin thrown into confusion by this answer. Merlin put the shard in his wizard’s bag and headed with Arthur for the arena where the tournament was held. Merlin and Morgane were fighting with terrific spells. Merlin was disavantaged because of his old age. Suddenly, the shard went out of Merlin’s bag and beacme strangely shining. Merlin was dazzled by the light, so he looked away. When the light stopped, Merlin looked again and the Beast has appeared. He began to fight Morgane at the place of Merlin. This was the weirdest fight one has ever seen, because at the middle of the fight a spell hit the Beast.

This broke the former spell that was imprisoning the Prince into the appearance of a Beast. Morgane stopped fighting when she saw what happened. Then, an unexpected thing happened : they fell in love. Even Merlin, who didn’t know a lot about love, saw that it was a love at first sight. The fight has become a love affair by the magic of love. Here comes the end of Merlin’s adventures : even if Morgane won the Best Wizard of the Year award, Merlin was happy. He was not alone any more : he had at least three new friends : Arthur, the Beast who was now a handsome prince and Morgane with whom he made peace. He was hoping it was the beginning of a long and true friendship.

The end

Europe’s escape.

Zeus , disguised as a bull, abducted Europe, crossed the sea and took her to Crete. Europe didn’t want to be in Crete and thought of different ways to escape. Even her father sent monsters to try to get her back but they couldn’t.

A simple man heard the story of Europe and wanted to help her. As soon as they saw each other they fell in love. The young man helped her escape. They went to different places to hide from Zeus but he was always one step behind them.

Statue in Agios Nikolaos of Europe and Zeus disguised as a bull.

The simple man named Thor took Europe to Sweden with hope that they would not be found by Zeus. They lived happily and peacefully in the deep forest until one day, they heard the bird’s singing about Zeus. It didn’t take long for Thor and Europe to realize that Zeus would be coming for them once again.

Preparing their escape Europe was left out alone in the forest while Thor went hunting for food. As the hours went

by Europe was getting more worried. She started to feel the ground shaking; she panicked in fear of Zeus getting closer and started to run after Thor who was deep in the forest. She ran as fast as she possibly could but the ground started to shake even more for each step she took.

Suddenly she discovered a stream and a naked man.

Nervously she peaked at the handsome man on the rock by the stream. The handsome man held a violin in his big hands.

–“Who are you?” Europe whispered.

–“I’m Näcken” the handsome man quietly answered as he placed the violin to his chin and started to play and enchanting melody.

As the melody continued playing she felt the ground shaking even more than it had done before but she couldn’t react to the frightening sound since she was enchanted by the melody Näcken played. Suddenly she felt the ground stopped shaking and a warm breath reached the side of her neck. It was Zeus and before she could scream she saw Thor in the corner of her eye.

As Zeus looked around, he saw Thor hiding behind a tree and he thought of different ways of escaping. Finally Zeus

metamorphosed into a big eagle and flew away. As he was flying even higher, Thor threw his powerful hammer in Zeus’s direction and, of course, the hammer reached its target. Zeus, hurt in his wing, fell on the ground. Luckily, Europe whom he had been holding in his talons managed to escape and joined Thor. The couple decided to return to Crete in order to avoid Zeus’s anger. As a matter of fact, they thought that Zeus wouldn’t look for them in his own country.

So, Thor and Europe went on a scary trip on the sea and a few months later they arrived in Crete. They walked very fast, learning that Zeus had sent his best guards so as to catch them. When they arrived in front of the entrance of the labyrinth, they had no choice; Zeus was in the vicinity, they

Europe and Thor in Daedalus’s labyrinth

felt his smell next to them. So they decided to run into the labyrinth.

They were walking in Daedalus’s labyrinth in search of the exit as Europe heard a long whisper. The more they approached, the more it became louder. They felt the branches tremble and behind a corner Europe saw the head of a bull! She knew on the spot that it was Zeus searching for her and, petrified, she stopped moving. However the bull approached her and as Thor was ready to fight him, they noticed that he had the body of a human being! As a matter of fact, he was a strong and terrifying half-man half-bull.

Straight away, Europe remembered her little son, the Minotaur. In fact, she had had three sons with Zeus among whom Minos, the Minotaur’s father. But would he agree to help her fight against his grandfather?

Europe decided to tell him her story hoping he would help her. Touched by his grandmother's adventures, he accepted.

The Minotaur told them that they would have to leave Crete and go on a little island on the Atlantic Ocean to be safe. She asked her grandson the way out of the labyrinth. Thor tried to convice her that it might be a trap. She answered that she wanted to spend time with the Minotaur because she hadn't seen him for a long time. The Minotaur, who knew the exit, guided them. As they were walking, Thor warned Europe of the fact that it might have been Zeus who had sent her grandson. She began to be angry and repeated that she had to renew ties with her grandson and stay with him. The Minotaur, who was, in fact, playing a double game, heard the conversation of the couple, caught Thor by the neck and locked him up into the labyrinth. He took Europe to the island and when they arrived, they saw a giant castle in front

of them. The young woman wondered where she was. As she was waiting in a scary room, she saw a shadow on the opposite wall.

In this scary room, Europe saw someone’s shadow on the wall. Curious, she wanted to know what it was and she decided to follow this strange apparition. She walked straight ahead in the corridors of the dark castle, hearing the sound of an owl, feeling mouses brushing against her legs ; bright disturbing eyes were watching her‌ All this made her afraid but she continued her walk through the castle.

Suddenly, she lost sight of the shadow. She came into the first room she saw. She was not alone : a tall woman, dressed in black with horns on her head was watching her as if she was waiting for her. Europe recognised Maleficient who was secretly the sister of the Minotaur. She took fright and wanted to leave the room but the big door was closed.

However, Maleficient reassured her, she was in fact very kind with Europe. She even proposed her to sew with a needle. Unfortunately, Europe cut herself on the needle and she suddenly fell on the floor. Maleficient roared with laughter : Europe was asleep for one hundred years ! When the Minautor came into the room, he saw the body of Europe and thought she was dead. He shouted of grief because he was falling in love with Europe. He decided to kill himself, mad of sadness.

At the same time, Thor, who knew the way to go out of the maze thanks to the Minautor, escaped from it. He arrived at Maleficient’s castle and looked for Europe through the castle.

He found her lying on the floor : he gave her a kiss which broke the malediction of Maleficient : Europe woke up.

When she saw the Minautor dead, she thought that Thor had killed him and thanked him to have set her free.

A month later, Europe and Thor were married, started they live together based on a lie‌

The End

Lancelot’s missions.

Once upon a time there was a poor man living in the kings kingdom because he was the kings slave. His name was Lancelot.

Lancelot worked really hard all day and all night to make a living for his sister and parents that were very sick. He struggled a lot because he worked in a place with high temperatures. He made the kings swords.

One day the king’s daughter came to his workplace because she wanted a new crown for her twenty first birthday. As she entered the room he stopped and stared at her. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She looked at him and it was love at first sight.

The king’s daughter, Izabella, visited Lancelot very often and they started seeing each other secretly. Every day their love grew stronger and Lancelot was determined to marry her but he was afraid that the king would not give him his daughter that easily.

Lancelot eventually went to the king and asked him if he could have his daughter’s hand in marriage. The king was surprised that a slave was so brave to do such a thing and decided to let Izabella marry Lancelot if he could prove that he is worthy of being Izabella’s husband and future king. So, he sent him out to carry out three extremely difficult missions.

Lancelot’s first mission was to catch a fairy in the magical forest far, far away from the northern town in Ireland. He completed the mission without any complications.

His second mission was to travel across the sea to a small town in the French mountains where he should collect hair

from an uncommon magical unicorn. He completed the second mission as well, with a few scratches.

The third and toughest mission was to travel to Scandinavia and search in the great dark dangerous woods to find an enormous troll and kill it. He walked in the woods with his spellbound sword of love made by Aphrodite. The dark woods didn’t scare Lancelot at all because he knew the price he would win was outstanding.

Far away in the woods he saw a light and thought that it might be a troll. He blew out his lantern and sneaked up.

When he came closer he saw a hideous being with dark rotten hair, an ugly old body and a long black tail. Lancelot prepared himself by raising his sword and walked forward.

Suddenly the being turned around and she looked deeply in his eyes. He realized that she wasn’t a troll but the magical holder. All of a sudden Lancelot got stricken by a weird magical feeling going through his body and he started to feel love for the being in front of him. Somewhere deep inside he felt that something was wrong and he could vaguely remember a face of an important and beautiful woman before he passed out.

When Lancelot woke up, three days after he had fainted, he didn’t know where he was, he just knew he was in a bed, inside a room. He had completely forgotten the king's daughter and his missions, he just knew that he had to protect the mysterious woman he had seen before fainting.

He decided to leave the lovely room he was in to look for the woman inside the house. After that, he walked for a few minutes, completely lost, found himself in a kitchen.

The woman, with long curly red hair, was cooking and when she perceived Lancelot's presence she turned around and looked at him. She was beautiful, and Lancelot stopped breathing for a while. She had blue eyes and red lips. For two minutes they looked at each other with passion and curiosity from Lancelot ; even if this woman knew everything about Lancelot, for him, she was just a beautiful stranger. But something was happening in Lancelot's heart : he felt like his entire world stopped turning around him and started turning around this mysterious women.

Finally Lancelot articulated : - Who are you ?

As if she had waited for this question to begin, she said : - I'm Rosalinda.

She looked at him and realised that he was still standing up, so she added before starting telling him her story : - Oh, I'm sorry, come, sit down. Lancelot, you're my last hope. You are the only one who can help me. I'm the daughter of the true king ; the current king locked my father to reign with his horrible and miserable daughter.

Everybody hates them because they take money from the poor and they don't hesitate to kill. You are the bravest and strongest man of the kingdom, please feel sorry for me and save my father. I've already prepared your weapons. Kill them and you will be a hero to my heart.

While talking, she had burst into tears and Lancelot saw the woman he loved crying. First, he was completely lost, and two voices in his brain were fighting. The first one was the nice one, and she told him to not listen to such a strange

story and to not forget his feelings for the king's daughter he had to do missions for. And the second one was the bad one.

She said that he had to believe her, and that he didn't have any feeling for the women he used to think was the king's daughter, but for the beautiful women he saw at that moment. And Lancelot chose the bad one, but of course he didn't know he made the worst choice ever.

So, he swore to kill the "king", his daughter and everybody who had made Rosalinda suffer.

But what Lancelot didn't know was that he was victim of a spell of love made by Rosalinda. Rosalinda had lied about everything and was not the beautiful woman Lancelot thought he had fallen in love with, but the troll he had seen in the forest. Because of this lie, Lancelot prepared himself to go and kill the man he thought was a killer, and his daughter, the girl he was really in love with.

Lancelot rode for the king's stronghold with a regiment of galvanized peasants, astride a flamboyant black stallion, a «gift» from Rosalinda. He arrived at the gates of the impressive fortress of rocks, and screamed : – King Merovee, show yourself !

From the top of his dungeon, the king and his noblemen stood. One of his knights urged Merovee to engage the treacherous slave. The old king, weakened by time and his entourage itself, could not resist the demands of his court.

The king unwillingly accepted and went to a sacred sanctuary. There he took his holy and ancestral sword and held aloft his magic sword, and said : « By the power of Greyskull ! »

The king left his sanctuary and, at his amazement, his entire army was here, united under a single banner : the Oriflamme. The two armies violently clashed against one another. Spears splintered, swords penetrated flesh, blood spat abundantly ; severed limbs and heads lied on the grass and ground. Lancelot and Merovee were on a killing spree, slashing every foe on their way. At the climax of the battle, the two leaders engaged in a fierce duel, breaking their shield, spear, helm and armour. All that was left was their long sword.

Suddenly, the Old Lion knelt, his legs couldn't bear the weight of his armour anymore. Lancelot, seizing the opportunity to strike the decisive blow upon his soon-to-be dead slaver, held his blade up in the air, and prepared to hit him. – Cease hostilities !

And every fighter indeed did cease all forms of combat.

The bright sword of Lancelot stood up in the air. At one second, the king noticed the princess at the back , his attention got drawn to her. As he was distracted Lancelot took the opportunity to hit him and murder him. The king was dead. The gorgeous young princess came forward and sparkles came up between the two young people. At this moment, his goal was changed: he had to kill Rosalinda.

Rosalinda appeared to encourage him in his mission.

Lancelot looked at her in the eyes and pierced her slowly with his sword. She fell to the ground. They heard the steps of someone: it was Merlin, the greatest enemy of Rosalinda.

Merlin saw Lancelot crying and decided to thank him by bringing the king back to life. To celebrate this happy ending, a big meal was served. Sausages and white sauce were on the menu. Lancelot knelt in front of the princess and asked her to marry him. She whispered in his ear: “You’re mine as I’m yours”. A few weeks later, they married and celebrated the wedding.

The end

Minotaur’s search for a magic potion.

Once upon a time there was an ugly man whose name was Minotaur. He had the head of a bull and the body of a man.

He was unhappy because all people were scared when they saw him. His father put him in a labyrinth so that people wouldn’t see him and so that he wouldn’t get away.

Minotaur wanted to escape. He had fallen in love with a woman but she was scared of him, so he wanted to change his looks. He thought of a way to escape.

He tied a string in the labyrinth and started walking until he found the exit. Then he went to find the witch who could help him change his face with a magic potion.

Minotaur spent days searching, days that turned into months that eventually turned into years. Minotaur searched

all over Crete for a witch that would make him beautiful.

This was, as far as he considered, the only way to capture the heart of the love of his life. Time was running out. Rumor had it that Althea – the woman who had captured Minotaur’s heart, was about to be married to a wealthy and above all – beautiful, nobleman from afar.

Minotaur lost hope as the days went by. According to his calculations the wedding was not far ahead and he was still not beautiful. Not beautiful was an underestimation; Minotaur was a hideous creature. When it seemed like there was no hope, like a bolt from the blue, Minotaur had an idea.

This included leaving Crete for the mainland. To become beautiful, finding a witch was essential.

He would have to travel. So he travelled. Minotaur travelled to places he never knew existed. It was a beautiful summer day. Minotaur had ended up somewhere unknown; all he knew was that this unknown place had a marvelous landscape. If it hadn’t been for the many strange places he had seen throughout the way and the odd events that had taken place along the way, Minotaur wouldn’t have believed his eyes.

Before his arrival, the Minotaur saw a huge castle inhabited by the famous Lord Dracula. The Minotaur thought that it was the witch who was living in that castle and he decided to go in.

At the beginning, he didn't see anybody but when the moon started to shine in the sky, he thought that a ghost was in that strange place. The Minotaur took shelter in a small room, where Dracula was sleeping. He suddenly woke up.

For the first time in his life as a monster, the Minotaur was afraid of this freaky creature. But the vampire was actually a very nice person.

Dracula saw that the Minotaur was a monster as unique as he himself. He decided to let him go and helped the white bull-headed man to find his way.

The Lord told him that he would discover an old little house, where a powerful witch was living.

As he finally found the house, he noticed that there was an old door, which made strange noises and two close windows. The Minotaur entered.

The witch was in the middle of a room with just a table and a chair. She was a very young and pretty woman, with frizzy and long chestnut-brown hair and emerald green eyes. She looked like Europa. The young girl was casting a spell and she held a rock in her hands.

When she saw the Minotaur, she was amazed and she blushed. She immediately fell in love with him. But he had not fallen in love with her.

But, he needed her to charm his beloved. After his arrival, she was very considerate: she gave him a cosy room with a lot of food.

Day after day, they became very close and had a good time.

Every evening, they went out and the witch showed him her favourite places. She thought she was finally loved in return by the man of her life. Unfortunately for the witch, a week later, she discovered that the Minautor had lied and that he was in love with another girl. She heard him talk about this girl in his dream. Devastated, she decided to throw him out.

So the Minautor left the witch’s house, and went on looking for another witch who could transform him. After many thoughts, the Minotaur decided to return to a village he had noticed while he was in Crete. He found a large mansion, abandoned, dark and gloomy. There was surely a witch in this house !

The Minotaur decided to become friend with the witch, so she could give him the potion to become as beautiful and handsome as he saw himself in his dreams. He spent time with her, but the witch didn't know if she loved him like a friend or for real. He succeeded to manipulate the witch, and, as expected, she gave him the potion.

Once he was handsome, he wanted to find Althea. He started a long travel to go back home. On the road, while he was walking alone, he met a man very special. He had a wick backwards and a blue pullover. They walked a part of the road together and talked a lot. His name was Tintin and he was a young adventurer. They became good friends. He was going to Istanbul searching the poison d'Or as he called it. He let the Minotaur enter alone in the castle of Althea. First she didn't recognize him but after a long talk she looked in love with him without explanation. Then the Minotaur stunned realized that she wasn't honest and was only interested in his physical appearance. He concluded that she wasn't really in love with him and was disappointed. Therefore he thought he had feelings for the witch and she was not just a

friend for him. He ran to her house like he had never run before.

Three years later, the Minotaur ,who had found his original form, had had four children, two witches and two wizards with a horse body. In love's maze, you have to be sure of your choice if you don't want to get lost forever.

The end

Credits Teachers : Despina Papadopoulou : 1st EPAL Ierapetra’s, Ierapetra, Greece Carina Eriksson: Soltorgsgymnasiet, Borlänge, Sweden Clarissa Behar: Condorcet, Paris, France Laura Damez: Collège Paul Verlaine, Paris, France Anne Priour: Collège lycée privé Blomet, Paris, France

Students: Myth #1: Icarus's adventures : Chanteau Alice Dalembert Alex Fihey Pierre Konstantopoulos Stavros Lambraki Marianna Gaitanaki Elizabeth Sandberg Anna Nygårds Julia Svensson Matilda Martin Hayes Tancrede Le Julien Peltier Drawings and digital creations: Elizabeth Gaitanaki Myth #2: Thor's hammer.

Mayer Eva Scheidecker Alice Galanakis George Mratsa Denisa

Pitropaki Georgia Tzitzika Sofia Hitai Keizi Granér Oscar Sehlin Linnea Jansson Emma Ivana de Guibert Alice Rohou Isée Dumay Drawings and digital creations: Keizi Hitai Eva Mayer Emilie Rohou Μyth #3: The magical sword.

Bellec Inès Dame Estelle Daskalaki Despina Dassi Eleni Siganou Ioanna Tsikaloudaki Chrissa Domert Hampus Alm Daniel Reijm Mattias Lucie Dekens Alice Carquin Clémentine Sabouret Elynna Thai Drawings and digital creations: Ioanna Siganou Estelle Dame Alice Carquin Elynna Thai Myth #4: Merlin and his friends Dramé-Maigné Charles Ramo Alexandre Elezi Era Dobreva Veronika Soukouli Sara Tsiobanou Nikoletta Pisarek Daria Bjurell Lovisa Litborn Daniel

Anthony Tan Marius Brunet Mehdi Askri Elias Amouroux Drawings and digital creations: Nikoletta Tsiobanou Alexandre Ramo Anthony Tan

Myth #5: Europes escape.

Hueber Aliette Le Péron Guillaume Kaparaki Haroula Papadopoulou Nena Papadakis Marios Rianberg Artina Smits Ellen Kaustinen Alexandra Clara Acelor Giulia Trouvé Margaud Fayaud Coralie Leurond

Drawings and digital creations: Aliette Hueber Margaud Fayaud

Myth #6:Blue Beard and Medussa.

Liédot Anna-Eléonore Meeschaert Coline Kolev George Pyrgiotaki Valia Kapantaidaki Maria Bengtson Julia Gustafsson Anna Sunnanhagen Oskar Nabil El Abassi Jamal Hadjab Mehdi Merakchi Maxime Brunet

Drawings and digital creations: Nena Papadopoulou Nabil El Abassi

Myth #7: Lancelot's missions.

Ouvrier-Bonnaz Samia Hubert-Delisle Candice Kosmidis George Staring Katerina Begea Emmanouela Gillström Alice Engvall Sara Tibbling Lingwall Agnes Joshua Demaria Elio Muzy Mazza Didier Tsang

Myths and Legends with a twist

Drawings and digital creations: Emmanouela Begea Samia Ouvrier-Bonnaz Joshua Demaria

Myth #8: Minotaur's search for a magic potion.

Sadik Sarah Tonazzo Emma Koutsouki Lambrini Kefalas Panagiotis Zoumboulaki Despina Graf Brolund Ingrid Barkhadle Imaan Wikander Moa Yussra Shahin Elora Deriau Camille Sabarly Léa Sabarly Camilla Zegaoui Drawings and digital creations: Lambrini Koutsouki Camille Sabarly Léa Sabarly

2014-2015