Once upon a time, long ago, there used to be a caveman who lived with his family in a tiny cave. Every night, the caveman would tell the others about all the adventures he had that day. Because language hadn’t been invented yet, the caveman would paint on the cave walls to communicate. Some of these ‘stories’ were meant to be warnings, while others were simply meant to amuse. That’s probably how storytelling began. Through the years, we humans have drawn, recited and written millions of stories. A few of these stories have been so popular that they have been shared across cities, countries and even continents. Along the way, these stories have been edited and changed, with each culture adding a bit of itself to the story. These stories are called myths, legends, folk tales, fairy tales, and many other names. Myths and legends are stories that are loosely based on real-life events, but often take on magical or ‘mythical’ properties involving supernatural beings. This Tinkle Digest is a nod to all those myths and legends that we love and enjoy. Some of the myths and legends you will read about in this issue are simple stories shared within families; others are larger myths that are famous all over the world, such as mermaids and the Loch Ness Monster. You will also read about legendary people as well as places, which may or may not have existed. Fairy tale characters, the Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, also guest star in this issue. If you like making up your own stories and myths, do visit the website http:myths.e2bn.orgmythsandlegends where you can not only read hundreds of myths from around the world, but also submit your own. If you enjoy Indian mythology, then you may want to visit www.amarchitrakatha.com and take a look at the amazing titles that are available there.