The false prophet is on his way to pronounce a curse on the children of Israel, when his donkey swerves off the path and throws him to the ground. Balaam begins to beat the donkey, but stops in amazement as the beast starts talking to him. Then Balaam s eyes are opened, and he sees an angel with a flaming sword blocking the road. But it could be there's something a little deeper going on in those animal stories. Maybe they suggest that humans have a deep need to communicate with all of nature, for advice on how it stays so beautiful, so constant, and so harmonious.
Animals are the most obvious targets for that communication.
But there are lots of folk tales, from any number of cultures, that personify all the elements of nature - not just animals. Look at Native American stories, where the forest is alive with knowledge, where even the wind and rain have gender and personality. And, as with most basic types of stories and legends, there are also examples at the opera. There are famous ones, like Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen . And less famous examples, like this week's opera, The Snow Maiden , by Rimsky-Korsakov.