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Mama's Home Remedies: Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health and the Pleasures of Natural Living

Page 29

by Svetlana Konnikova


  The bells and cymbals were clanking with difficulty. Ula approached the yellow strip and saw a beautiful shining woman’s sash. He grabbed it with both hands, and a girl of unspeakable beauty appeared in front of him. She wore a yellow dress. The youth looked at her and forgot why he had come here. The owl gave him again a loud outcry.

  “Why didn’t you wait until sunrise had come? Why didn’t you listen to me?” the girl asked Ula frowning.

  “Because now you are powerless,” Ula replied. “You will not bewitch me and I am not afraid of you. Tell me where my father is and what you did to him.”

  The girl stood silent in front of him. The owl’s outcry resounded again.

  “Tell me immediately where my father is or I’ll tear down your sash and you’ll lose your power!” Ula demanded in anger, ripping her sash from her dress.

  “Your father is here, but he is blind. He looked at me at sunrise. Anyone who looks at me at the daybreak becomes blind from my beauty and my bright dress,” the girl replied. “Give me back my sash and I’ll bring you to your father.”

  “No, first you bring me to my father, and then I’ll see if I will give you back your sash,” Ula continued.

  The bells began tinkling and cymbals ringing again. One red flower opened up. It rocked and then it threw all its petals to the ground. In a blink of an eye, a hunter appeared in front of Ula. This hunter looked like him, Ula.

  “I don’t see you, the sorceress,” he said. “Let me touch your sash; it will give me my life back.”

  “Your son came after you,” replied the girl. “I give you your freedom because of him, but you will still be blind.”

  The hunter was happy anyway. His cheeks became wet from his tears. But the next minute the owl gave her outcry again. Ula looked at the valley and saw myriad flowers there. He guessed that all those flowers were the misfortunate hunters who had been charmed by the sorceress the same as his father had.

  As Isis, So Is Mama… @ 271

  “Well, what you want to give me is not enough, smart girl. Liberate all the hunters you charmed,” Ula said. “I don’t want even one flower to be left on your meadow.”

  The sorceress became very angry, but she couldn’t do anything. She gave a sign, and all flowers opened up at once. They rocked and threw their petals on the ground. The stems began to grow and in several minutes 77 hunters stood in front of Ula. All of them were blind. The owl gave an outcry again, and Ula crumpled the yellow sash with one fast clenching of his fist. Then he burned the sash and put the ashes in a wooden cup. The owl gave an outcry again, and the young man came up to his father and rubbed his eyes with the ash. His father began to see again. Ula did the same with all 77 hunters and all of them gained their sight back. They were very happy to be free. They thanked Ula for saving their lives and giving them back their healthy eyes.

  But the next minute the owl-friend cried again. Ula understood that something was not finished yet. He looked at the girl. She was sitting on the grass, an unspeakable beauty in the yellow shining dress, and she was crying.

  “Why do you cry? I see now you are not a malicious witch

  but a normal girl. You are so beautiful that I have fallen in love with you,” said Ula. “Do you know what? Promise to be good and I will take you with us, and I’ll marry you. We’ll live together and I’ll be a good husband to you.”

  The end of this fairy tale was happy. Ula, his father, and the girl returned home together. Ula’s mother met them with a big smile and a warm hospitality that only she could provide as a real mother. She liked the girl at first sight. There was a big, merry wedding, and all 77 hunters were invited with their families. They celebrated seven days and seven nights.

  And from that time on hunters are not scared to go back

  to the Valley of Flowers because now hundreds of red flowers grow there, blossom, and dance gracefully at sunrise. They murmur and share the peoples’ secrets with the wind, and

  sing marvelous songs, known only to them alone.

  272 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

  When I think about this old folk tale, I feel that it is surprisingly compatible with the real life we lead. Albert Einstein said, not by chance, that if we want our children to be brilliant, we should read them fairy tales. He said so from his observations and his own experience. We can trust his suggestion; he was a brilliant man and a genius scientist himself. Perhaps his mother read him a lot of fairy tales.

  I believe we must find time in our busy lives to read to our children as much as we can—good children’s literature, kind and wise stories, folk tales and fairy tales. As all mothers do, I am sure if we “put” anything good in our children by planting fine “seeds” from the first day of their appearance on Earth, it will give great results in the future. Our children will lead healthy lives, and not “thorny paths,” and they will not get hurt easily, if they will choose good actions, and inspire the same in others.

  Doesn’t the Valley of Flowers remind you too of our everyday life and the fascinating world around that we explore all the time? The place where we and our children share love, joy and appreciation for each other, and the great satisfaction of knowing we should continue our life journey with the best intentions we can?

  Our life, our Valley of Flowers, is where millions of peoples’ destinies grow and blossom like flowers, dance gracefully at sunrise, and murmur with the wind. Some of these flowers and their neighbors—herbs, trees, fruits, and vegetables—can enhance our health and emotions. Respect them and take advantage of how they can help you and others.

 

  As Isis, So Is Mama… @ 273

  274 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

  Chapter 14

  Nature’s Green Clinic:

  Useful Herbs, Plants, Fruits

  and Vegetables

  Medicine is an art to imitate the healing power of nature. Hippocrates (c.460-c.377 B.C.), Greek physician

  and the “Father of Medicine.”

  This chapter charts the healing power of our green friends, used in remedies in this book, and how they can be our lifesavers. They come from centuries of people’s wisdom and from flora of the earth—an endless treasure of natural healers. Even the most primitive tribes on Earth knew medicinal characteristics of herbs and how to use them. In search of food, human beings observed the faultless instincts of animals, saving themselves with green plants, and they began to recognize the medicinal properties of herbs.

  Humans have long studied about how to find and use herbs. One of the important precepts of Hippocrates doctrine was based on the “the healing power of nature,” or in Latin, vis mediatrix naturae. Theophrastus, Greek philosopher and a student of Aristotle and Dioscorides (circa 372-287 B.C.), wrote Medicinal Matters, in which he prescribed the experiences of ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians and the use of 600 plants or herbs. His Nature’s Green Clinic: Useful Herbs, Plants, Fruits and Vegetables @ 275

  book was translated into Latin with the name Materia Medica and served as a guide to doctors and pharmacists for 15 centuries. From that time, Latin names of herbs have become well known and used throughout European countries, Russia, and almost everywhere in the world. Names of herbs, trees, and other plants are given in English and Latin versions.

  Chapter 1: Rose Hips Tea Party

  Coffee (beans) – Coffea arabica

  Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale

  Rose hips – Rosa canina

  Dried grape (raisin) – Vitis vinifera

  Chapter 2:

  Evening primrose oil – Oenothera biennis

  “Even the Badger Knows…”

  Garden radish – Raphanus sativis

  Garlic – Allium sativum

  Almond – Amygdalis dulcis

  Grape, Grapeseed oil – Vitis vinifera

  Aloe – Aloe vera

  Grapeseed oil – Vitis vinifera

  Barley – Hordeum vulgare

  Lemon – Citrus limon

  Beet – Beta vulgaris

&n
bsp; Olive (oil) – Olea europaea

  Black radish – Raphanus sativus

  Plum – Prunus domestica

  Cabbage – Brassica oleracea

  Potato – Solanum tuberosum

  Carrot – Daucus carota

  Prune (dried plum) – Prunus domestica

  Garlic – Allium sativum

  Rose hips oil –Rosa canina

  Ginger – Zingiber officinale

  Tomato – Solanum lycopersicum

  Olive (oil ) – Olea europaea

  Onion – Allium cepa

  Turnip – Brassica rapa

  Peat moss – Sphagnum

  Walnut – Juglans regia

  Pine. Stone Pine (nuts) – Pinus pinea

  Wheat germ oil – Triticum durum

  Pomegranate – Punica granatum

  Chapter 4: Stop Sneezes

  Walnut – Juglans regia

  And Sniffles and Stifle a Cold

  Chapter 3: A Healthy Spirit

  Anise – Pimpinella anisum

  Lives in a Healthy Body

  Apple – Malus domestica

  Almond, almond oil – Amygdalis dulcis

  Beet – Beta vulgaris

  Apple – Malus domestica

  Birch – Betula alba

  Apricot (dried, or apricot kernel oil)

  Black currant – Ribes nigrum

  –Prunus armeniaca

  Black elder, elderberry – Sambucus nigra

  Beet – Beta vulgaris

  Black elder, Siberian elder – Sambucus

  Black tea – Camellia sinensis

  nigra

  Burdock – Arctium lappa

  Blackthorn – Prunus spinosa

  Cabbage – Brassica oleracea

  Bogbean – Menyanthes trifoliata

  Calendula – Calendula officinalis

  Buckthorn – Rhamnus frangula

  Chamomile – Matricaria chamomilla/

  Calendula – Calendula officinalis

  M. recutita

  Carrot – Daucus carota

  276 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

  Centaury (an old World herb)

  Vanilla (extract) – Vanilla planifolia

  – Centaurium erythraea

  White oak – Quercus alba

  Chamomile – Matricaria chamimilla/

  Wild marjoram – Origanum vulgare

  M. recutita

  Willow – Salix alba

  Cherry – Prunus cerasus

  Wood betony – Betonica officinalis

  Coltsfoot – Tussilago farfara

  (in Europe used to treat about 30

  Elecampane – Unula helenium

  diseases. W.b. is not commonly

  English oak – Quercus robur

  used in the U.S.A.)

  Fennel – Foeniculum officinale

  Feverfew – Tanacetum parthenium

  Chapter 5:

  Garlic – Allium sativum

  A Sickness of the 21st Century

  German golden locks – Gnaphalium

  Agrimony –Agrimonia eupatoria

  avenarium

  Apple – Malus domestica

  Greater celandine – Chelidonium majus

  Apricot – Prunus armeniaca

  Hawthorn – Crataegus monogyna/

  Birch – Betula verrucosa

  C. laevigata

  Black currant – Ribes nigrum

  Heartsease – Viola tricolor

  Black tea – Camelia sinensis

  Lemon – Citrus limon

  Blueberry – Vaccinium vitis idaea

  Licorice – Glycyrrhiza glabra

  Burdock – Arctium lappa

  Linden – Tilia europea

  Cabbage – Brassica oleracea

  Lungwort – Pulmonaria officinalis

  Calendula (pot marigold) – Calendula

  Marsh cudweed – Gnaphalium uliginosum

  officinalis

  Marshmallow – Althaea officinalis

  Carrot – Daucus carota

  Mint – Mentha

  Celery – Apium graveolens

  Mullein – Verbascum thapsus

  Chamomile – Matricaria chamomilla/

  Nettle (stinging) – Urtica dionica

  M.recutita

  Oat straw – Avena sativa

  Cherry – Prunus cerasus

  Onion – Allium cepa

  Coffee – Coffea arabica

  Orange – Citrus aurantium

  Corn silk – Zea mays

  Peppermint – Mentha piperita

  Cranberry – Vaccinium oxycoccus

  Poppy – Papaver rhoeas

  Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale

  Potato – Solanum tuberosum

  Duckweed (aquatic plant) – Lemna minor

  Raspberry – Rubus idaeus

  Eyebright – Euphrasia officinalis

  Red bilberry – Vaccinium myrtillis

  Garlic – Allium sativum

  Rose hips – Rosa canina

  Gooseberry – Ribes glossularia

  Sage – Salvia officinalis

  Greater celandine – Chelidonium majus

  St. John’s Wort – Hypericum perforatum

  Heartsease – Viola tricolor

  Strawberry – Fragaria vesca

  Hops – Humulus lupulus

  Sunflower oil – Helianthus annuus

  Horsetail – Equisetum arvense

  Sweet brier, Eglantine –Rosa rubiginosa

  Jasmine – Jasminum officinale

  Tangerine – Citrus reticulata

  Lemon –Citrus limon

  Thyme – Thymus

  Motherwort – Leonurus cardiaca

  Nature’s Green Clinic: Useful Herbs, Plants, Fruits and Vegetables @ 277

  Mountain Ash – Sorbus

  Pine – Pinus sylvestris/ Pinus cembra

  Nettle – Urtica dionica

  Quince – Cydonia oblongata

  Oak (bark) – Quercus robur

  Rose – Rosa centifolia, Rosa damascena

  Oat – Avena sativa

  Rose hip – Rosa canina

  Olive(oil) – Olea europaea

  Rye – Secale cereale

  Onion – Allium cepa

  Sage – Salvia officinalis

  Orange – Citrus aurantium

  Strawberry – Fragaria vesca

  Parsley – Petroselinum crispum

  Thyme – Thymus vulgaris

  Passionflower – Passiflora incarnata

  Wheat bran – Triticum durum

  Peony – Paeonia officinalis

  Wild marjoram – Origanum vulgare

  Peppermint – Mentha piperita

  Yarrow – Achillea millefolium

  Rose hips – Rosa canina

  Self-Heal – Prunella vulgaris

  Chapter 7: Clever Remedies

  St. John’s Wort – Hypericum perforatum

  to Outsmart Headaches

  Strawberry – Fragaria vesca

  Black currant – Ribes nigrum

  Valerian – Valeriana officinalis

  Black radish – Raphanus sativus

  Yarrow – Achillea millefolium

  Black tea – Camellia sinensis

  Chapter 6: Ourselves, Our Children,

  Burdock – Arctium lappa

  Allergens, and Happy Cells

  Cabbage – Brassica oleracea

  Calendula – Calendula arvensis

  Agrimony – Agrimonia eupatoria

  Calendula – Calendula officinalis

  Apple – Malus domestica

  Carrot – Daucus carota

  Birch – Betula verrucosa

  Chamomile – Matricaria chamomilla

  Black currant – Ribes nigrum

  Cherry – Prunus cerasus

  Burdock (root) – Arctium lappa

  Cinnamon – Cinnamomum verum

  Calendula – Calendula officinalis

  Cinnamon – Cinnamomum zeylanicum

  Chamomile – Matricaria recutita

  Clover – Tri
folium pratense

  Cherry – Prunus cerasus

  Coffee – Coffea arabica

  Cranberry – Vaccinium oxycoccus

  Coltsfoot – Tussilago farfara

  Dandelion (root) – Taraxacum officinale

  Cranberry – Vaccinium oxycoccus

  Elecampane – Unula helenium

  Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale

  Gentian – Gentiana lutea

  Dill – Anethum graveolens

  Gooseberries – Ribes glossularia

  Elder – Sambucus nigra

  Heartsease – Viola tricolor

  Elecampane – Unula helenium

  Horsetail – Equisetum arvense

  Evening primrose/ Oenothera biennis)

  Juniper – Juniperus communis

  Feverfew – Tanacetum parthenium

  Licorice – Glycyrrhiza glabra

  Garlic –Allium sativum

  Licorice – Glycyrrhiza spp.

  Geranium – Pelargonium

  Nettle – Urtica dionica

  Ginseng – Panax

  Oak – Quercus robur

  Green bean – Phaseolus vulgaris

  Oat – Avena sativa

  Green tea – Camellia sinensis

  Peppermint – Mentha piperita

  Hawthorn – Crataegus monogyna

  278 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

  Horehound (leaves and young shoots)

  Coffee – Coffea arabica

  – Marrubium vulgare

  Cranberry – Vaccinium oxycoccus

  Horsetail – Equisetum arvense

  Dill – Anethum graveolens

  Jasmine – Jasminum officinale

  Elder – Sambucus nigra

  Lavender – Lavandula officinalis

  Elder (red berries) – Sambucus racemosa

  Lemon – Citrus limon

  Elecampane – Unula helenium

  Lemon balm – Melissa officinalis

  Fennel – Foeniculum vulgare

  Lime – Citrus aurantifolia

  Grape – Vitis vinifera

  Linden – Tilia europea

  Hawthorn – Crataegus oxyacantha

  Mint –Mentha

  Hops – Humulus lupulus

  Mountain ash – Sorbus aucuparia

  Knotgrass (Bird’s buckwheat) –

  Onion – Allium cepa

  Poligonum aviculare

  Orange – Citrus aurantium

  Lavender oil – Lavandula officinalis

  Oregano – Origanum vulgare

  Lemon – Citrus limon

  Peppermint – Mentha piperita

  Lemon balm – Melissa officinalis

  Pine – Pinus sylvestris

  Lily of the Valley – Convillaria majalis

  Potato – Solanum tuberosum

 

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