Three years of Fimbulwinter
Snow and wind whirl without waning, uninterrupted by the warm embrace of summer. When the third Fimbulwinter ends, it is greeted by the warmth of Surtr the fire giant, bringing forth Ragnarok.
Three great winters come and the end of the world follows.
Three Wise Monkeys
Mi-zaru the monkey who would not see, Kika-zaru the monkey who would not hear and Iwa-zaru the monkey who would not speak.
See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil.
A complex principle of purposeful ignorance, turned into a simple proverb, distilled to a monkey emoji
The three visits of Rumpelstiltskin
Three times he spun her gold from straw each day and in return her firstborn son was how she'd pay.
When he came to collect his fee, he gave her chances numbered three.
Guess my name,
three goes you’ll get.
Guess my name,
in three days the bet
The three eggs of Manuk Manuk
Creation comes in many forms, whether we take comfort in all-powerful gods, or the wonder of a million sequences of events that all lead to us.
Any explanation is a mind-blowing miracle — and all equally as extraordinary as the Sumatran myth of a giant blue chicken (Manuk Manuk) who laid heaven, earth and the underworld.
The Three Bears
The tale of The Three Bears says much about our changing sensibilities.
Written by Robert Southey and published in 1837, the story has changed from three bears mauling a misbehaving old woman, to a more family friendly fair-haired girl escaping into the forest having learned a valuable life lesson.
Three sheets to the wind
The fact inspires a phrase, the phrase describes the drunk, the drunk loses control of the sheets, the three sheets moor the sails, the sails are loose to the wind, the wind causes the ship to wobble, the wobble follows the whisky.
Three days in the belly of the beast
Not a person would wish to spend three days and three nights in the belly of a fish, but for Jonah there were no oars, no sail, just the mouth of a whale.
When his sea journey was at its end, when land was in view, all Jonah could do, was wait for the whale to spew.
The three-toed sloth
Three toes and a dark nose, living in a canopy of leaves.
His sight is poor, so he lives off the floor free from the anxiety felt by the faster parts of society.
We see him as slow, a lazy lothario, but you’ll never see a happier face, than a three-toed sloth, living at his own pace.
The three-cornered hat
Not just the preference of pirates and Poldark; the tricorn hat is a masterpiece of folded functionality.
It transcends town criers, has more purpose than just the headpiece of Chelsea Pensioners — because, who needs to huddle under an umbrella, when your hat is designed to direct water away from your face?
Three Weyward Witches
When shall we three meet again In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
When the hurlyburly's done, When the battle’s lost and won.
That will be ere the set of sun.
Where the place?
Upon the heath.
There to meet with Macbeth.
Three Men Make a Tiger
The tale of a tiger walking the streets may seem absurd, until it’s confirmed by a second and then a third.
Information, no matter how unreasonable, if confirmed by enough, suddenly becomes feasible.
The Three Spirits
I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.
