Tradition / Region: American Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Cow
The Myth
Long ago in the United States there lived an old woman named Emerline Allen, feared among her neighbors for her power to lay spells upon cattle. People said that anyone who angered her might soon see misfortune fall upon their livestock.
One night, some villagers claimed to have seen Emerline working a spell against Grandma Parker’s cow. Not long afterward, the animal stopped giving milk. Each day it yielded only a single small cup, no matter how it was tended.
Grandma Parker was told of a way to break such a curse. She was to take the little milk the cow produced, set it to boil, and cut it with a knife. By doing this, the spell would be severed, and the one who cast it would be forced to come begging.
She followed the instructions exactly. Soon after, Emerline Allen appeared at her door, asking for bread. She promised that if she were given something to eat, the cow would recover. But Grandma Parker refused her request.
With nothing given, Emerline went away in pain, and people said she suffered greatly. From that time on, the cow’s milk returned, and it gave as much as before.
Later, Emerline tried again to seek help, begging others for small things, but no one would give her anything. Left without relief, she endured her suffering alone, while the cow remained healthy and the spell never returned.
Gallery
Sources
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Folklore Council. (1948–1960). North Carolina Folklore, p. 307.
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive