Simon and Theodore

[Rexenm]

I am including a story within a story in a book I am planning. I want to know four simple things: How far can myth go back in time? When does a myth become a legend? Where can I find this myth or legend? Should myths and legends be written by word of mouth?

“The water looked pure. Fairy Simon watched, as the cool waters sparkled. Like frozen flowers. The dirt underneath looked like chocolate, the sand, like sprinkles. There was a small and magical crustacean, that lived and died there. It was like a dormitory of spiders, with homes like pockets, and a grave - to catch things in.

A thought occurred to Fairy Theodore, as he sat there, in the tree canopy. “Why don’t we dig, and see how far we can go, what treasures we can find?” He could not reasonably have said anything else.

Simon looked up from his reverie. “I suppose we will find out where the water comes from first, and then we shall see what lies beneath that, and then beneath that – finding all sorts of mystery.”

Theodore jumped down, and landed in the water. He was about to say, that he thought there should only be a certain amount of mystery anyway, then he yelped, as the icy substance crawled up his skin, and formed butterfly wings.”

Well, started howling, really.

 

[Finchbearer]

What are myths?

This will tell you the differences between myths, legends, fables, folktales and more.

 

[Prince of Spires]

The oldest known myth that we can actually date is probably 10.000 - 13.000 years old, and it's the Aboriginal tale of the flooding of the east coast of Australia. Reason we can date it is that we know that in that period the sea level rose a lot (like 30-120 meters), which drowned large stretches of land on the Australian east coast, and did so fairly rapidly (on a geological timeframe). It has been an oral story for most of its history.

 

[pmmg]

You forgot Alvin!

I am not sure what the sample you provided has to do with the question. Is that supposed to be the myth you are wondering how far back you can go with?

I am including a story within a story in a book I am planning. I want to know four simple things: How far can myth go back in time? When does a myth become a legend? Where can I find this myth or legend? Should myths and legends be written by word of mouth?

Myths are things that do not have a substantial, known with certainty, or provable aspect to them. Generally, they are about creation stories, Gods, or supernatural beliefs. In the snippet you provided, if the fairy characters are actual, and its their history, it would not be a myth, it would be their history.

Legends are things that might have some known history, or proof to them, but have been embellished and exaggerated beyond what would seem possible or human. Such as, there may have been a man, Paul Bunyan, and he may have cut down a lot of trees, but he was probably not a giant, and could not clear whole forests in one swipe of his ax. Paul Bunyan was real, the tales about him have grown to something beyond his true human capability.

Legends and Myths would certainly abound in the world prior to a written language. After one has surfaced, its more of a cultural thing if it becomes written word or not. Over time, stuff not written down will almost certainly become lost to time, and hard to incorporate into any list of surviving myths and legends.

If one was present at the creation, saw the whole thing, and gave an oral accounting of what he saw, it would not be a myth. It would just be his testimony. If that became an oral tradition...it would probably become myth, as over generations, no one could know what had been changed, and what he actually saw. It may be a myth retelling true events, but it would still drift into veracity unknowable.

Less he had a cell phone and took a video.