It started with us needing a change of pace at the dinner table. We had been vegetarians for a long time, but were starting to tire of our beautiful hand-woven animal placemats that we picked up at an artisan market in Peru many years ago. Even though the pandemic has encouraged me to dive even deeper into vegan cooking--I’m making my own vegan cheese and sausages, fermenting my own vegetables and baking my own bread--our routine was marked by solitude and the longing memories of fabulous trips to faraway places and little eateries in Queens. So I began thinking about a theme that would compliment our food philosophy. This is when I came across a book of folktales and ancient mythology that detailed stories of humans who fell in love with animals.
“Zeus and Europa,” Ancient Greece
Beauty and the Beast: Classic Tales About Animal Brides and Grooms from Around the World by Maria Tatar (Penguin Classics, 2017) features a plethora of stories about humans who fall for snakes, bulls, pigs, parrots, fish and even muskrats! The book is as much an overview of the attraction animals have had on humans across the globe and over thousands of years as it is a lesson in empathy. (Another good source is this page, specifically about snake husbands) by the University of Pittsburg, edited by D.L Ashliman. SNAKE HUSBANDS, get it???)
“The Golden Crab,” Greece
Animals have souls and a sense of humor. They feel love, joy and pain. They suffer, just like humans do. Just because you have never met the pig or chicken on your dinner plate doesn’t mean that it didn’t have a little soul, that it didn’t have feelings. Animals can teach us about ourselves and encourage us to think about the world in ways we wouldn’t be able without them. Yet, far too often they are disrespected and mistreated. Our senseless hunger for meat is what brought us forests where birds sing no longer sing and monkeys have ceased to screech. Our desire for burgers and pork chops made us cram ever more creatures into factories where they exist in sorrow, their only purpose to be consumed by humans. The suffering is unimaginable. It is the lack of respect we have for animals that have brought us zoonotic diseases like Covid-19, SARS, Leprosy and Ebola.
“The Girl and the Snake,” Sweden
I had a hard time picking five animals to depict on my placemats because, honestly, I love all animals; eventually I let myself be led by the most passionate quotes from folktales and mythology. Once you get to know an animal you just can’t help but love it. I fondly remember, for example, how a turkey hugged my husband on a visit to the Farm Sanctuary. The turkey literally spread his wings and wrapped them around my husband. From that point on, my husband decided to never eat turkey again in his life.
“A Boarhog For a Husband,” West Indies
I have always said that if our cat Gilbert was a human, my husband would have serious competition. OK, I’ll be honest, my husband does have serious competition. Gilbert looks into my eyes like no one ever has. But since Gilbert doesn’t read to me at night and is just a tad less funny than my husband, my marriage is safe and blossoming.
“The Swan Maidens,” England
The placemats measure about 12x17 inches. They are made from recycled fabric. In the end, we decided not to eat from them because they simply took too long to make to be splattered with oil--and vegan cheese. The mats are for sale. Please contact me for a price at sabineheinlein@gmail.com