H is for Hoarding

         (My A to Z theme this year is How to Make a Fantastical Creature, in which I explore 26 traits that are widely shared among the monsters and marvels of fantasy and folklore.  If you want to see what some of this year’s other A to Z bloggers are up to, check here.)

        Lots of mythical creatures have a habit of hoarding treasure.  This one seems sort of strange, because while there are animals in the natural world that like to collect shiny or colorful objects, it seems to me that animals wouldn’t really have much use for gold.  No, the real reason magical creatures like gold is that humans like gold.  If the creatures are evil, we can happily kill them and take their gold for ourselves, and if they’re good, they can happily give us the gold, or guard our own treasures for us.  If there’s one thing we humans like to imagine, it’s collecting treasure, so naturally when we’re imagining mythical creatures, a certain amount of treasure inevitably creeps into the story.

        Once again it’s the dragon that exemplifies this trait, probably dating back to the Norse story of Fafnir, whose unhealthy greed for treasure is what transformed him into a dragon in the first place.  As both Fafnir and Smaug could tell you, dwarfs like hoarding gold and precious objects, too.  In the medieval era it was griffins who were especially known for guarding treasure.

        The alicanto of Chile is a bird that could have been introduced under G, since it glows.  Unlike dragons, it has a real use for gold and other precious metals: they are its food.  If you see an alicanto glowing in the night you can try to follow it to the veins of precious ore from which it feeds.  (It can’t fly because eating all that metal makes it too heavy.)  But be careful, because it will be protective of its food sources and may try to lead you astray.

        Another gold-eater is the Chinese pixiu, a winged lion (which could have been introduced at F), that goes out in search of wealth, which he finds by smell.  He then brings gold and silver back and guards the treasure for his master.

        In Lithuania you may be able to get your hands on some of the gold gathered by the aitvaras or the similar kaukas.  These fiery-tailed dragons collect wealth for the specific purpose of enriching the household they’ve adopted.  However, as they are none too particular about where or how they acquire this wealth, you may have to choose between the aitvaras and an amicable relationship with your neighbors.

        You’re not as likely to get your hands on the gold of the Spanish cuelebre.  This is a flying snake (again, see F) that guards treasure.  Or at least, it’s said to do so, but I cannot confirm it as apparently no one has every actually found the treasure and returned to tell the tale.

        Then there’s the more recently-discovered niffler of the Wizarding world, which has a long snout that might be mistaken for a platypus beak.  Nifflers can be used to hunt for treasure, but such is their glee in shiny objects that they will tear a house or building apart in their search for anything glittery.

        The moral of these stories is that while a sufficiency of wealth is always good, enormous wealth may not be worth the price you’ll have to pay for it.  Nevertheless, if you’re determined, a Pro Tip for treasure hunters is to consider employing the gold-digging ants of India or Ethiopia.  These fox-sized gold-digging beasts are not, in fact, ants, but in any case the gold sand they dig can be gathered up onto camels and hauled away for your own enjoyment.

        Is there anything you particularly enjoy hoarding - I mean, collecting?

[Pictures: Dragon (Smaug), illustration by John Howe for The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1990 (Image from John-Howe.com);

Griffin, illustration by Henry Justice Ford from The Red Book of Animal Stories by Andrew Lang ed., 1899 (Image from Wikimedia Commons);

Pixiu, brass statue, c 1900 (Image from Pamono);

Niffler, poster by anonymous designer from Sykes Cottages ad campaign, 2016 (Image from Sykes Cottages);

Gold-digging Ant, wood block print from Ortus sanitatis by Johann Prüss, 1499 (Image from Boston Public Library);

Hoard of Teacups and Saucers, illustration by Lauren, 2014 (Image from artist’s web site iguanamouth.tumblr).]