reading notes: the faithful house-dog, part b

I had a hart time picking my second story this week since both wolves and dogs were in the options. I decided to go with dogs since my whole project is over wolves and I found a great one! The title of the story is The Faithful House-Dog which immediately caught my eye. It reminded me of my first dog that I have from the time I was 3 until I was 18. He was most definitely our faithful house-dog.

I really enjoyed this story as it was written different than previous stories I have read. This story was set up in the form of a poem. Maybe I will try to make a poem this week. It all depends on how much time I have though because I do not think I exactly a natural at coming up with poems on the fly. We will see!

The story starts out by saying that the dog is a man that is always generous and that some may mistake the generosity for stupidity. But, the dog knows what he is doing and doesn't give attention to those that snare. 

Late at night, a fellow came to his home and tried to bribe him with food. He asks the man if he is really attempting to distract his mouth from its' real job of being on guard. He tells the man that he is mistaken and that he recognizes the strange act of kindness and knows that he is not actually doing it out of generosity. 

(Photo from Flickr.)

I can tell you that you must have a VERY faithful house-dog for them to not give in to a food bribery. My dogs right now would have dropped any task for an extra treat, but I still love them. They just would never be given the task of guarding our home, haha!

Aesop's Fables (English) unit. The Faithful House-Dog by Christopher Smart.

reading notes: an ape and a fox, part a

This week we are reading British and Celtic stories. I chose to read a story from Aesop's Fables which is from the English unit. The story I picked is called An Ape and a Fox.

The story starts out with a lion that has passed away. The beasts then all meet in the council to choose a king. I am not sure who all is included in this group of beasts, but I am hoping to find out as I continue to read. 

As they try to choose a king, no one seems fit. Everyone has something else that they are better at like strength, brains, ect. 

The ending of the first paragraph did not make much sense to me. It seems as though there were some translation errors that make the sentence unclear. Hopefully, I will still be able to get something out of the story at the end.

From what I am understanding, the fox is a pretender and has to go against the choice from the beasts. The fox tries to give him some information to maybe throw him off. He tells the choice that there is a hidden treasure that is from royalty and belongs to the choice. He tells him that he has nothing to do with it.

At this point, you find out that the choice from the beast was the ape. The ape follows the fox to the "hidden treasure," but it's not treasure after all. Instead, it was bait in a ditch. The ape laid his hands on the treasure and the trap sprung up and caught his fingers. 

The story ends with the fox saying that governors should be men of business and not pleasure.

(Photo from WikiMedia.)

I think this story can apply to our last election series. It ends with this thought of who should be a ruler. But, what happens when one is both business oriented and in it for pleasure? Maybe I can make a modern version of this for my story this week!

Aesop's Fables (English) unit. Fables of Aesop and Other Eminent Mythologists: An Ape and a Fox by Roger L'Estrange.

more reading notes: friday

I decided to do some extra reading in the units that we will cover during the final weeks of the class since I am on track to finish early and don't want to miss out. For this week, I am reading a story from the European Unit. It is a part of the Russian Folktales unit and is called Friday.

The story starts out by introducing you to a woman that did not pay her due reverence to Mother Friday. It says that instead she set to work on a distaff-ful of flax. I am not sure exactly what that means and tried to look it up but found nothing. I am hoping it will fall into place as I read on. 

The woman worked until dinner-time when she fell into a deep sleep. When she fell asleep, Mother Friday paid her a visit. She was clothed in a white dress and was angry. She went straight up to the woman who had been working, picked up a handful of the dust that had fallen out of the flax, and began stuffing the woman's eyes full of it. 

I found that to be quite harsh. I was expecting her to just throw the dust at her, but it quickly escalated past that as she stuffed it into the woman's eyeballs. Somehow, as she did this, the woman did not wake up. I found that to be quite strange as well.

When the woman woke up, she began to yell at the top of her lungs as she did not know what was wrong with her eyes. Finally, someone in the room that was watching told her that she brought this upon herself for upsetting Mother Friday. They filled her in on all that happened while the woman was off in her dreams taking a little nap. 

Once she found out what happened to her, she cried out apologies to Mother Friday and promises to never dishonor her again. So, during the night, Mother Friday came back and was able to remove the dust from the woman's eyes.

(Photo from WikiMedia.)

Russian Folktales unit. Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S Ralston: Friday.

reading notes: coyote and the dragon, part b

This story takes place in Willamette Valley long ago. I looked up the location of the Willamette Valley and it is in the Pacific Northwest which makes sense as this story is from the Northwest Pacific unit.

In the Willamette Valley in a monster in a cave that scares all of the people. He scared them because at night he would go and hunt people until the morning when he would return to his cave. 

Coyote heard about the issues the people were having with this monster and wanted to help out. He is much more skilled for the task than the people are and was hoping his skills could save them from some agony. 

It turns out that the monster only came out of his cave to hunt the people during the night because he could not endure daylight. The coyote waited for a sunny day to put his plan to take the monster down into action. 

On a bright day, the coyote got his bows and arrows and went to a mountain top and shot an arrow into the sun. Just like the previous story, this one happens to include shooting an arrow into the sky to make a chain of arrows.

Once the chain of arrows was created, the coyote pulled the sun until it came down so he could hide it in the Willamette River. So, unlike the first story I read, he did not climb the chain of arrows and used them as a rope instead.

When night came around, the monster came back out to attack the people. At that time, the coyote broke the chain of arrows which made the sun fly back up into the sky. This blinded the monster giving the coyote the opportunity to kill him.

The story ends by the Indians warning the people that something evil would come of it.

(Photo by WikiMedia.)

I will definitely add the arrow element in my story as that is a recurring theme in the Pacific Northwest unit stories.

 Pacific Northwest unit. Myths and Legends of the Pacific Northwest: Coyote and the Dragon by New Perce.

reading notes: why there are no snakes on takhoma, part a

This week our readings are from the Native American Unit again. I chose to do a story from the Pacific Northwest category titled Why There Are No Snakes on Takhoma.

This story starts out with Tyhee Sahale getting angry. He then ordered a medicine man to take his bow and arrow and shoot into the cloud that hung low over Takhoma. At first, I did not understand why Sahale didn't shoot the could himself. After doing some research I realize that it's because the medicine men are thought of as having magical healing powers. This makes sense as you later read that the arrow stuck in the cloud. He kept shooting arrows until he made a chain of arrows that went all the way down to the earth.

Then, the medicine man told his klootchman and children to climb up the arrow trail. I looked up what klootchman means and it's his wife. He also had the good animals to climb up and then he climbed up. 

After they were all up the chain of arrows, the medicine man broke the chain of arrows so no bad animals could come up. Once the chain broke, it began to rain until the land flooded. Once all of the bad animals were drowned, it stopped raining. 

Once the waters drained, they medicine man and his family went out of the cloud and back to the earth. Now there are no snakes or bad animals on Takhoma.

I am a little confused as to why they got rid of all of the bad animal just because someone was mad as the people. I am sure I am missing a piece of something that relates to the culture, but I could not find anything online. 

I think this would be a good thing to do my story over because I really like the flow of the story.

(Photo from WikiMedia.)

Native American Unit: Pacific Northwest. Why There Are No Snakes on Takhoma by Cowlitz.

more reading notes: the monkey and the girl, part a

This week, I decided to read for extra credit as the end of the semester is approaching. I want to rack up extra credit as well as explore some additional readings as I really enjoy this part of class. 

I read The Monkey and the Girl from Folklore of the Santal Parganas. This story starts out by introducing some background info. There are kids that used to watch crops growing by a river, and a Hanuman monkey used to come because he wanted to eat the crops. Each time her came, the kids drove him off to protect the crops. 

Wanting to eat the crops, the monkey started to put together a plan that would allow him to have his wish. He decided to make a garland of flowers to leave behind the next time the children drive him away from the crops. He was hoping this would make them like him. It ended up working and the children started to like him. One girl specifically liked him so much that she wanted to marry him. 

Later on, the news spread to this young girl's family and they were very angry. The father went out and shot the monkey and burned the corpse. As the girl arrived, she wanted to see the burning monkey. Her father let her and she distracted all that were gathered by pointing their attention to the sky. At that moment, she took sand and threw it in the air so it would land in their eyes and blind them as she jumped to the pyre and burned alongside the monkey.

The family just brushed it off like it was no big deal and said that she must have had the monkey's soul. 

(Photo from PixaBay.)

I was shocked at how the ending of this story was so casual. The father's daughter just burned herself to death and he just claimed that she must have had the monkey's soul and moved on with his daily activities.

Santal Folklore unit: The Monkey and the Girl from Folklore of the Santal Parganas by Cecil Henry Bompas.

reading notes: why the possum plays dead, part b

For my second story of the week, I decided to read Why the Possum Plays Dead.

This story is about a rabbit and a possum that each want a wife, but can't seem to find one. They decided that their best bet was to go to the village over and pretend to be on a council. They were going to tell them that they all must marry at once in a hope that they themselves will become married. 

As they traveled to the next town together, the rabbit moved much quicker and outran the possum. He tried to wait, but the people in the village noticed him and took him to the council lodge. The rabbit went on to deliver his news to the chief and he passed the message along to the people.

Immediately, everyone, including the rabbit, found a mate. By the time the possum got to the village, there were to wives left for him. So, the rabbit traveled on to the next village. This time, he told the chief that there must be peace at once. The animals all began to fight, but the rabbit got away quickly. The possum reached the lodge and all the animals began to gang up on him and they hit him so hard that he just decided to play dead.

This is the reasoning behind why possums play dead.

I found this story to not flow very well. I think I might use it to create my own so that I can make it how I was imagining. I was imagining the possum to show up to the lodge in the first village to find out that all the wives were taken, At that point, I thought he was going to play dead and maybe one lone animal was going to come out of hiding to try and save him and then end up getting married.

(Photo by Flickr.)

Great Plains unit: Why the Possum Plays Dead by Katharine Berry Judson.

reading notes: old woman who never dies, part a

This week, we are reading Native American stories. I chose to read Old Woman Who Never Dies from the Great Plains unit.

This story was nothing as I expected it to be when I read the title. This "woman" lives in the moon and has children that live in the sky. Her children are Day, Sun, Night, the Morning Star, a star which circles around the polar star, and the Evening Star.

Every spring, the old woman who never dies sends the wild geese, the swans, and the ducks. When the wild geese arrive, the Indians plant their corn and she makes it grow. There are certain signs from the number of geese that tell the Indians how large their crops will be. If swans or ducks arrive, it means that they must plant something different. 

In order to call out for the wild birds, the Indians create a scaffold decorated with meat. They perform rituals around this scaffold which are followed by the old women in the village eating the dried meat. 

In the fall, they have a corn feast so the old woman that never dies may send herds of buffalo to them. This season, they ask for the cold not to come early as they will not be prepared.

I think that I can make this into my own story by having the Indians not perform the ritual and end up going through a rough season of crops. I can also have it happen in the fall and make the cold come early or more intense than normal. I also could make the Indians start a new tradition such as throwing something in the river or something along those lines that causes damage to the earth. This can then result in less geese and less corn for them until they figure out what has made the old woman that never dies upset. 

(Photo from PixaBay.)

Great Plains unit: Old Woman Who Never Dies by Mandan.

reading notes: the iguana and the turtle, part b

This story started out with the iguana and turtle being good friends that always go fishing together. The iguana invited the turtle to go to a different pond that he knew of. When the owner of the pond came out, the iguana got away, but the turtle did not. The owner took the turtle and tied him up. The turtle went to look for his friend and, when he found him, he found out that the old man wants him to marry his daughter. The iguana wanted to marry his daughter and took the turtle's spot. But, when the old man came back, he tried to hit him and he ran off. He came across his turtle friend again and he was listening to his grandfather rubbing two bamboo pipes together from a tree above. The iguana went up out of curiosity and got injured. 

The moral of this story is that one that believes foolishly will get injured. I honestly was very confused as to how anything in this story made sense. I felt as though it was sporadic and didn't flow well. This may be because it is such a short story and they tried to fit in main components without much room for explanation. 

I honestly do not think that I will use this for my story because it did not appeal to me as much as the first story I read. I find it interesting how, because of what I have been through and how I was raised, this story just didn't catch my attention. 

(Photo by WikiMedia.)

Filipino Tales. Filipino Popular Tales: The Iguana and the Turtle by Dean S. Fansler.

reading notes: the monkey and the crocodile, part a

This week, I decided to read out of the Jamaica Anansi Stories unit. I chose this unit because I am still not 100% better from being sick last week and these are short stories. I am hoping that I will be able to really focus in on details without expending too much extra energy.

This story is titled The Money and the Crocodile. It starts with a monkey wanting to get to the other side of a river. He tricks a crocodile into giving him a ride to the other side, and the crocodile says that he will pay. Later on, the monkey comes across a crocodile playing dead by a bush with fruits he wants. The crocodile springs up and grabs the monkey, but again the monkey comes up with a witty response. He says that he is the king's cook and that the crocodile with be killed the moment he decides to kill the monkey because the king needs him. The crocodile apologizes and asks for food from the monkey. The monkey tells him to have all that he wants and watches from afar as the crocodile itches and itches from the food. 

The moral of this story was to use your own judgment and not to rely on the council of others for it's the father of destruction and ruin.

I could see myself using this same moral and maybe changing the scene in some way. I thought that the monkey was going to eventually get caught, but he didn't. Maybe I could make it so that the monkey gets caught. I also could further exaggerate the story by making both scenarios happen to the same crocodile to really show that this crocodile was not using his judgement. 

Overall, I feel there are many different ways that I can change up this story and it would be a great one to use for my next story.

(Photo from PixaBay.)

Filipino Tales: The Monkey and the Crocodile by Dean S. Fansler.

more reading notes: down the rabbit-hole

This week will be my first week doing extra reading. I feel like this is a great opportunity to seek out topics that interest me in my extra time. 

I chose to read a story from the Alice in Wonderland Unit titled, "Down the Rabbit-Hole," by Lewis Carroll.

I honestly haven't seen Alice in Wonderland in forever and can't quite remember all of the details. But, seeing this unit, made me want to go back and rewatch the movie. 

I forgot how Alice was introduced to the rabbit. After reading the start to this story, I see myself in Alice. I was always very curious and would run off after anything that caught my eye when I was little. I'm sure movies like this only inspired me when I was younger.

I forgot how slowly the time passes as she falls into the well. I truly wonder whether she was falling slowly or just delirious from the heat. I'm sure I will go and research more about the theories behind this story once I am done reading it. 

(Photo by Public Domain Pictures)

I feel like this would have been a very fun unit to do my storybook over as it would give me the opportunity to relive my childhood and break it into more specific details. I may look to see if anyone else in the class did theirs over this unit because I am intrigued and find myself wanting to read on! 

I may continue reading this for my extra credit each week from here on out. Unless I browse through again and something new changes my mind. That's my favorite thing about this course -- we are given the opportunity to continue digging through new topics and learning what peaks out interest.

Well, enough rambling! I just got very excited about this unit and am glad I finally decided to do some extra readings!

Alice in Wonderland Unit: "Down the Rabbit-Hole" by Lewis Carroll.

reading notes: why dead people are buried, part b

This is my second reading from the Nigeria Unit which I really have enjoyed so much. This story is, "Why Dead People are Buried" by Elphinstone Dayrell. 

As you can see, both of the stories have to do with very complex thoughts. I picture them being the perfect questions coming out of a curious four-year-old's mouth. Maybe I will start my own story with something along those line for this week...we'll see!

I found it to be interesting that the story started out with the creator commanding a dog to tell others about burying. This was strange to me because the same creator created man and woman. I would think that they would be told since they are one of the few creatures with opposable thumbs and a large enough brain capacity...but, that's just me thinking realistically and I understand that this is just a story. 

By the end of the story, I realized why he used a dog and sheep in the story. Each could only remember half of the creators commands and they just happened to contradict each other by the time it got back to the people. 

I love how one detail in the story is forgotten and it changes the whole outlook on dogs. Also, it changes the outcome of deaths because the one detail that was left out is the one that was supposed to bring humans back to life. 

I think it would be fun to make the full command get back to the humans and see the outcome of humans never dying. Then, maybe the sheep could come into play with a new story that causes those buried to stay dead and the sheep will be hater instead...simply because I love dogs!

 

(Photo from Wikipedia.)

Nigeria Unit. "Why Dead People are Buried" by Elphinstone Dayrell.

reading notes: why the sun and the moon live in the sky, part a

This week, I chose to read a story from the Nigeria Unit. The story is by Elphinstone Darrell and it is called, "Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky."

I really enjoyed how this story personified different elements of the Earth. I feel as though this makes the story a lot more relatable as I could see this story happening between humans. I also did not expect for the sun and moon to start out on the ground. I feel like I could make this story start in the sky and explain why the sun and moon can't be out at the same time.

The sun and the moon are husband and wife in the story while the water is friends with the sun. The sun wants the water to come to his home, but the water warns him that he will drive him out of his house if we does not make a large enough compound for his visit. 

Essentially, the water kept flowing into the sun and moon's home until they were pinned up against the ceiling and forced to move up into the sun. This is why the sun and the moon have been in the sky.

I can see myself twisting the story in many ways. I can either make it to where the sun tells the water to stop entering and it change the whole earth. I can make it so that only the sun or moon has to leave. I can also trade out the elements for humans and make it a more realistic story where one person gets kicked out of their house somehow.

I am not sure what spin I will take on this one yet or if I will use it for my story. But, we'll see after I read the next story!

(Photo from Pixabay.)

Nigeria Unit: "Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky," by Elphinstone Darrell.

reading notes: the turtle who couldn't stop talking, part b

For this story, I chose to read The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking. This is another story from the Indian Tales Unit from a book of Jataka Tales by Ellen Babbit.

This story is about a turtle that befriends two geese. They become such good friends that the geese invite him to their living quarters.

They both hold a stick between them and tell the turtle to hold on by his mouth and not to speak a word. 

Once they flew over a village and people began to talk about how outrageous is was that the turtle was in the air, the turtle forgot his only task -- to not talk. He began to talk to defend himself and the fact that he had great friends but, before he knew is, he fell dead to the ground. 

The turtle had to talk, so he lost his life.

(Photo by Flickr.)

I see many connections in this story as I did in, "The Lion in Bad Company." Although the lion was tricked, the two animals do not listen to other more wise than themselves. Both of their mistakes led to the loss of their lives. 

I can use this in a story of my own by changing up the point of views. I think that I may either use the lion story from the point of view of the wolf or use this story and add in more details. 

Both are great options and I feel as though these stories give me lots of room to become creative. This is one thing I really enjoy about shorter stories. I get the main point across and can then add in my own detailing. 



Indian Tales Unit: The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking by Ellen Babbit.

reading notes: the lion in bad company, part a

This week I am reading The Lion in Bad Company from the Jataka Tales.

I am not sure if this is just fate, but almost every story I have come across (and even some of my classmates) have included a wolf in some way or another. I was trying to avoid that today and branch out to new topics, but I guess the wolves find me when I am not even looking for them!

This story starts out with a wolf running into a lion and begging for his life. You see the lion's characteristics when he goes against what his family has told him and gives into the wolf. His family warned him not to ever listen to a wolf. The young lion thought he knew better than them and still allowed the wolf to come home and stay with his family in their den. 

The wolf talked the young lion into going to the river and killing a pony for him and the wolf to eat. The father reminded the son that those ponies belong to the king and that lions that steal from the king don't live long. 

The pony tasted so good that the lion did not listen to his father. He continued to kill ponies until the king find out what was happening to them. The king had a tank built in the town, but the lion was so foolish that he followed to the tank and continued the killings. Then, the king had the ponies stay in their stables, but the lion continued. 

Finally, the king ordered an archer to shoot the lion. Once the lion was shot, he yelled out to the wolf and realized that he had been tricked. The wolf was following all along just to get the lion killed so he could return to his normal life back in the woods.

(Photo from Flickr.)

Indian Tales Unit: The Lion in Bad Company by Ellen Babbit.

reading notes: the story of the wolf-bride, part b

For this reading, I read The Story of the Wolf-Bride from the Persian Tales unit.

This story starts out by the father of a boy receiving a horoscope that his son will be torn to pieces by a wolf. 

Being one that love horoscopes, I was already drawn in.

This story also incorporates an akhund which is from the Persian culture. This akhund was the boy's teacher in his chamber underground.

I like that the author did not make this chamber seem to be a dark or scary place.

All at once, the now man in the chamber was old enough to receive a wife. After all that time spent in a chamber, his new wife was the anticipated wolf that would tear him to pieces the first moment they were left alone.

The moral of the story is that whatever fate has in store for you will indeed happen. I think this was a great way of sending this message since the wife did not know what had happened to herself. This shows that, no matter what, you should continue to live your life because whatever is meant to happen will happen when the time comes.

(Photo by WikiMedia.)

The Story of the Wolf-Bride from Persian Tales translated by D. L. R. Lorimer and E. O. Lorimer.

reading notes: the wolf and the goat, part A

For this week, I read The Wolf and The Goat from the Persian Tales Unit.

Right off the bat, I noticed how the Persian culture was tied into this story. The Wolf listened in on the baby goat's mom and dyed his him with henna in order to make it red like the mom's hand.

In addition to this, they included a traditional Persian dish in the story called ash. 

Another part that I really enjoyed and would like to attempt to incorporate into my own story is the rhyming. This made the wolf and goat dialogue much more fluent and entertaining as they confronted each other.

I was a little confused when the two exchanged skins and the goat was called a dentist, but the end of the story was clear.

I may use the sense of foolishness from this wolf in my own story.

(Photo by PixaBay.)

Persian Tales, translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer and illustrated by Hilda Roberts (1919). The Wolf and The Goat.

reading notes: the shepherd's boy, part b

I read The Shepherd's Boy from Aesop's Fables by Joseph Jacobs for this reading. I chose to read this simply because it has a wolf integrated into the story.

I enjoyed this short story as another trait I learned about wolves is the fact that their foolishness can sometimes lead them into trouble. In this story, this is what stood out to me:

• The setting made the story. If this would've taken place elsewhere, this may not have happened. The author describes the surroundings with just enough detail to set the eerie mood.
• The boy wanted attention, so he lied. I think this would be integrated into my story in some way, but using the wolf in place of the boy. Maybe even having the wolf lie to his "cousin" dog that I read about in the last story in order to get food. But, ultimately becoming trapped as a pet and loosing his freedom.
• I love the quote that this story ended on, "a liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth." This could come into play by making the wolf need to escape to save a pup or something, but the dog not believing him.

(Image from Flickr.)

Aesop's Fables by Joseph Jacobs: The Shepherd's Boy.

reading notes: the dog and the wolf, part a

This week, I am going to put forth my best effort to zoom in on the topics that truly interest me for my project.

Today, I read, "The Dog and The Wolf" by Joseph Jacobs. I loved this story. Although it was sweet, it was to the point. 

Here are the main points that stood out to me:

• the Wolf's longing for freedom and independence 
• the Wolf's ability to have a civil conversation with one of a different kind
• the Wolf's ability to stay loyal to his values

I love how the story ends with the Wolf calling the dog a fat slave as it took a 180 degree turn from how they communicated when they first met. This shows that wolves are kind until a boundary is crossed. Even though there was no harm done to the wolf in learning that the dog was chained up every night, he believes so strongly that his way is correct. His morals are black and white to him and he will make that clear for all to see.

I see this strong trait doing both good and bad for the wolf. Who knows, there could've been a whole pack of neighborhood dogs ready to teach the hungry lone wolf a lesson.

(Photo from PixaBay)

Aesop's Fables by Joseph Jacobs; The Dog and The Wolf.

reading notes: adam and eve - leaving the garden, part b

After reading Adam and Eve: Leaving the Garden, these are some ideas that jumped out at me:

• The very beginning pulled me in with the location of the garden. Beyond it, one only can find water that goes on forever.
• The pureness of the sea and the fact that it physically and spiritually cleanses. 
• The placement of Adam by the sea also held many important details. He had to be in the perfect place to be cleansed from his sins without the smell of the apples that led him to sin in the air.
• The fact the God has pity on Adam and lifts him up is also another main detail that was a great end to the story.

Although this was a rather short story, there were many details that I can use in my own story. One that I will definitely use is the example of God's grace when we lifts Adam and Eve from their fallen state. Growing up, this is what I was taught and, even if I am writing a fiction story based on God, it will remain. I definitely found more of my "what if" thinking in the previous story I read, but this story brought me more concrete ideas that I will include in my story.

(The Expulsion, Caedmon ms., circa 1000)

This story is part of the Adam and Eve unit. Story source: The Forgotten Books of Eden, edited by Rutherford H. Platt, Jr. (1926): The First Book of Adam and Eve 1-2.