4 ELEMENTS

Project logo
Improve the foreign language learning and intercultural competences of adults through e-learning

The project

FOUR ELEMENTS is an initiative called to raise awareness and appreciation of the importance of culture and heritage as well as to train educators working with adult learners who want to improve their skills and competences necessary in today’s EU labour market.

The project will take advantage of the potential of the common European cultural values associated to the 4 elements earth, water, air and fire) to empower adults to improve their digital, foreign language and intercultural competences.

The partnership expects to develop and deliver innovative teaching materials presented in a culturally accessible E-book consisting of European legends and stories – giving visibility to the underlying common EU values and principles, especially adapted to learners with special needs.

To achieved such objectives, partners will develop:

An interactive map: a collection of legends and stories related to earth, water, air and fire, in different EU countries.

Digital Books with national legends and stories related to the four elements.

Methodological recommendations for adult educators.

To find more information, access the Four Elements platform here.

Digital books

The nations of Europe all have rich cultures of myth and folklore which give the different regions their particular individual flavour. Here we have grouped traditional stories from Belgium, Estonia, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia and Spain according to the four elements: earth, air, wind and fire.

They are specially adapted to adult learners and can be used to develop language or ICT skills among your students while enhancing intercultural understanding.

Alongside the stories, this digital book contains interactive exercises and is in Easy Read format. All the material in it can be downloaded and printed. Teachers and trainers will find tips and suggestions for how to use it on the Recommendations section of this site.

European partnership

Four Elements is an Erasmus+ KA204 project designed to highlight the importance of culture and heritage at European Union level. It aims to train educators working with adult learners to enable them to acquire the skills and competences, including linguistic and digital skills and competences, required in the European labour market.

The project is coordinated by : CVO EduKempen (Belgium). The partnership also includes DomSpain Consulting (Spain), The Central Library of Võru County (Estonia), Les Apprimeurs (France), Istituto dei Sordi di Torino (Italy), Slovenian Third Age University (Slovenia), MyArtist (Greece).

Erasmus+ project

Erasmus logo The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

The Treasure-bearers in the Wheel Hub

FAIRY TALE

Main element: Fire

Language of the original: Estonian

Date of origin: 1895

Author: Matthias Johann Eisen

To find more information about the legend, access the Four Elements platform here.

The original name of "treasure-bearer" in the title of this fairy tale is "tulihänd" - a creature with a blazing tail. In Estonian folklore there often appear a magical creature, who has different names: "kratt", "pisuhänd", "tulihänd". It was a creature made of hay or old household implements and to bring it to life, its owner had to donate three drops of blood to the Devil. "Tulihänd" or "Kratt" did all kind of jobs for its master and was mostly used to steal or bring different goods to its owner. It could fly and it often left behind a trail of sparks or fire.

One man had two treasure-bearers. Those always brought him all kinds of goods. Every evening the master had to leave food in the attic for the treasure-bearers.

Once the master fell ill and couldn't take the meal to the treasure-bearers himself, so he sent a servant with a bowl of porridge to the attic.

But the crooked servant did not obey his master's orders. He ate the porridge himself and filled the bowl with pig feed. Took it to the attic and stayed behind to see what happens.

After a while the treasure-bearers arrived and went straight to the bowl to start eating.

One said: "Uh-oh, food!"

The other said: "Uh-oh, not food!"

So they stopped eating and started to plan how to get even with their master for deceiving them.

The first one suggested: "Why don't we strangle him?"

The other one said: "Let's burn down the barn instead!"

The first one then asked: "Where shall we hide ourselves?" and the other answered: "We'll hide under the woodpile, inside the wheel hub!"

The servant went in the house and waited for what was going to happen.

After a while the barn went up in flames. The master and the servant ran out and the servant tried to rescue some things from the burning barn. His master forbade him by saying: "Leave it be - what fire has brought me, should also be taken by fire."

In a little while the servant fetched the wheel hub from under the woodpile and threw it into the fire, saying: "If everything else has burned already, let's also burn this old piece of junk."

The master charged like a madman towards the barn and tried to save the wheel hub, but he couldn't get to it because the flames were too hot.

Then he turned to his servant and said: "From this moment you are fired! You have made me a poor man in an instant! Inside this wheel hub was my biggest fortune and now I have lost this for good."

Tulihännad rattarummus

MUINASJUTT

Element: Tuli

Originaalkeel: Eesti

Pärinemise aeg: 1895

Autor: Matthias Johann Eisen

Rohkem infot legendi kohta leiad 4 elemendi veebilehelt siit.

Ühel mehel olnud kaks tulihända. Need vedanud talle alati varandust kokku. Igal õhtul pidanud peremees tulihändadele kambri peale süüa viima.

Kord olnud peremees haige. Ei võinud ise tulihändadele süüa viia. Saatnud sulasega neile kausitäie putru kambri peale.

Sulane, kelm, ei täitnud peremehe käsku. Söönud ise pudru ära, kausi aga pannud seasööki täis. Viinud siis kausi kambri peale ja jäänud ise kuulatama.

Natukese aja pärast tulnud tulihännad koju ja läinud ruttu kausi kallale sööma.

Esimene ütelnud: „Pupp, pupp!“

Teine vastu: „Ei ole! Õtsa pupp!“

Jätnud söömise järele. Hakanud nõu pidama, kuidas peremehele kurja kätte maksta.

Esimene tahtnud peremehe ära kägistada.

Teine aga ütelnud: „Paneme aida põlema!“

Esimene küsinud: „Aga kuhu me ise läheme?“

Teine vastu: „Lähme haoriida alla rummu sisse!“

Sulane läinud tuppa. Oodanud, mis tuleb. Natukese aja pärast hakanud ait põlema.

Peremees läinud sulasega aida juurde. Sulane tahtnud kraami välja vedada.

Peremees aga keelanud. Ütelnud: „Lase olla! Mida tuli toonud, seda tuli viib!“

natukese aja pärast võtnud sulane haoriida alt rattarummu ja visanud tulle. Ütelnud ise: „Kui kõik on põlenud, siis põlegu ka see vana risu ära!“

Peremees karanud nagu meeletu põleva aida juurde ja tahtnud rattarummu välja tuua, aga ei pääsenud ligi-liiga palav.

Siis pööranud peremees sulase poole ja ütelnud: „Tänasest päevast oled sa minust lahti. Sa oled mind korraga vaeseks teinud. Selle rattarummu sees oli minu kõige suurem varandus. Sellest olen mina nüüd igavesti ilma.“

Eisen, M. (1996). Kratiraamat. Tallinn: Kirjastus Perioodika.