Reading Notes: Brothers Grimm (Librivox), Part B

I enjoyed Part B of this unit a lot. The stories were ones most people had probably never heard of and were not typical fairytales. Even the one that involves princesses was very different from other princess fairytales.

The Twelve Huntsmen

I thought this story was so beautiful and the ending was amazing! I did have a lot of questions throughout the story, though, like why did she need 11 body doubles and then dressed them up like men? There was never a good reason given for why that was the route the princess chose to check up on the prince. Also what happened to the prince's new bride? Was she just super cool with the prince divorcing her for his huntsman/former lover (who is a woman)? Also how did the lion just know they were women? Was it a smell thing? I would love to maybe give some clarification to these things or maybe write the story from the point of view of the new bride. That would be interesting.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses

This story also had a really interesting premise! I mean princesses that secretly dance at night is super cool! Also this story has a Barbie movie, so it earns bonus points from me. The only problem I had was the ending because it seemed very rushed and I really didn't expect the soldier to choose a daughter or at least a little more after he chose one. The entire story had so much description and reasoning behind everything else that to have the soldier solve the mystery, decide to marry the oldest sister, and then the end seemed really short. I would definitely work on making the story a little more concise and changing what happens to the girls in the end. Also is the place they go to dance outside the realm of reality or is there a king somewhere wondering why his twelve sons always have holes in their shoes? Maybe I'd tell the story from their perspective.

(Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses. Photo from The Movie DB)

Bibliography. Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm, an audiobook recording available at LibriVox based on a Project Gutenberg publication. Links to readings

Reading Notes: Brothers Grimm (Librivox), Part A

All the way back in Week 2's Reading Options assignment I was interested in the Brothers Grimm (Crane) because I liked that while they were still fairytales, they were different from you typical fairytales. I was a little torn on whether to go with Crane or Librivox, but I enjoyed the other Librivox stories that I read, so I decided to try listening to the stories again. 

Rapunzel

I loved the Barbie movie of this tale and I've read a bunch of different versions of it! All the versions have put their own little spin on it though so they don't get boring. I've had trouble coming up with retellings for stories that have many versions so maybe I'll do a diary entry and tell it from a different perspective. Or maybe I could figure out why the witch locked Rapunzel away in the first place. The story never said she was jealous of her beauty and she didn't have magic hair like in Tangled. It would be interesting to see why she wasn't more of a mother to her.

(Photo from Giphy)

The Traveling Musicians

I really enjoyed this story and thought all the animals working together and finding the house was really cute. It was like something out of a movie with a rag-tag gang of unlikely friends coming together for a common goal. It honestly kind of reminded me of Avatar the Last Airbender. If I were retelling this story I would make them all humans or I would listen to the last line of the story and check if they still were in the house after all this time.

Bibliography. Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm, an audiobook recording available at LibriVox based on a Project Gutenberg publication. Links to readings

Reading Notes: Canterbury Tales, Part A

I was first introduced to the Canterbury Tales my senior year of high school. We read a few stories, but I was gone for a golf tournament so I never actually read them. I also read a Storybook from last year that turned the Canterbury Tales into a murder-mystery and it was so interesting! The Canterbury Tales was fun to read because it felt like reading a Storybook for class.

The Franklin's Tale: The Promise of Dorigen

This was my favorite tale out of the three stories from Part A. I originally thought it would be hard to retell or make my own but then the ending asked us "now of these three generous men, which one was the most generous?" and that really made me start to think. That question opens up so many possibilities! There is also the idea to tell the story from different perspectives, like from the perspective of one of the three generous men, or from Dorigen's perspective, or maybe even from the rock's that disappear view. I think this retelling will be really original.

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography. The Chaucer Story Book by Eva March Tappan (1908). Link to readings

Week 12 Story: Just Jack!

There once was a lad, named Jack, who ran away from home because he couldn’t deal with his abusive father anymore. He hated to leave his true love, the widow’s daughter from down the road, but he promised that one day he would return as a rich man and they would finally marry.

Jack ran and ran until he ran into an old lady in the woods. She thought he looked like a nice young man and offered him a nice salary if he would be her servant which Jack agreed to because he was very hungry. He served the old lady for twelve months and a day, and when the year was up, she brought Jack an ass from her stable. She told him to pull its ear and when Jack did, the ass brayed, and then dropped money out of it’s mouth and into Jack’s hand. Jack thanked the old woman for the ass and rode off into the sunset.

Jack thought about returning home but he felt that he didn’t have enough to take care of his true love, so he began to search for another job. A carpenter thought he would make a good assistant, so he told Jack that if he served him for a year and a day he would pay him well. After the year was up, the carpenter presented Jack with a table that if told “Table, be covered,” would fill up with plenty of food and drinks. Jack thanked the carpenter for the table, put it on the back of the donkey, and rode off into the sunset.

Jack felt that he could return home to his true love now, but since it was dark he decided to stay at an inn for the night and continue his journey in the morning. Jack thought no one saw him pull the donkey’s ear to get money for the room or cover the table, so he and the donkey could eat, but the innkeeper saw it all. That night the innkeeper stole the table and the donkey. When Jack awoke the next morning, he asked the innkeeper to fetch him his donkey and table, but the innkeeper told him that they were his now and threw him out the door into the river.

A man picked him up from the river and asked if Jack would help him build a bridge across it. Jack agreed and the two used a tree to create the bridge. Once the work was done, the man tore off a branch of the tree, whittled it into a club, and told Jack that when it was told “Up stick and bang him,” the club would beat up anyone who angered him. Then the man gave the club to Jack as payment for his help.

Jack immediately went to the inn and commanded the stick to beat the innkeeper until he gave him back his table and donkey. Once he had all three of his magical items, he rode back as fast as he could to his true love! They got married later that summer, serving all their friends and family with their magical table and then riding off into the sunset on their magical donkey.

The End

(Photo from Buzzfeed)

Author’s Note: This is based of The Ass, the Table, and the Stick by Joseph Jacobs from the English Fairy Tales Unit. In the original story, the beginning is similar but instead of searching for another job, Jack heads back to his father’s house and stops at an inn for the night. The innkeeper won’t let him in without payment first, so Jack shows him the cool trick his donkey can do. That night the innkeeper switches out Jack’s magic donkey with a regular one and Jack rides away the next day with no clue as to what just happened. When he gets home, Jack asks his dad if he can marry the maiden and his dad says only if he can provide for her. Jack says he can and pulls on the donkey’s ear, but nothing happens so his dad beats him and causes Jack to leave again. Jack goes through the same cycle: works, gets a magical table, shows the innkeeper, there’s a secret switch, humiliates himself in front of dad, gets beaten, runs away, works, and finally gets a magical stick. Jack beats the innkeeper up with the stick until he gets the ass and table back and when he returns home he finds his father dead. He is now very rich and wants to marry someone, so he has all the maidens in the town come with all their money in their aprons. His love has no money but comes anyways and when Jack sees her he tells her to stand aside because she has nothing. She begins to cry diamonds, so Jack tells the stick to beat all the other girls causing them to drop their money and run away. Jack then gives the maiden the dropped money and tells her she is now the richest girl in town, so he will marry her.

 You can see why I changed a lot of the story because Jack was a real jerk in the original. Like he kept causing his own downfall and then he gets to come out on top? No sir! So I made him much nicer and made his main motivation providing for the maiden.

Bibliography. The Ass, the Table, and the Stick by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1890). Link to reading

(Photo from Tenor)

Reading Notes: English Fairy Tales, Part B

I've noticed that these stories love to repeat themselves over and over again. I swear during one of the stories I could hear the lady reading for Librivox losing her will to live. That's how outrageous it was sometimes!

The Ass, The Table, and the Stick

I thought the general concept of this story was interesting and I liked all the items that Jack got in exchange for his work, but man he was stupid to keep bragging to the innkeeper. Also the ending was super weird and why did he beat up those girls for his one true love? She cried diamonds!!! She was richer than all of them!! I would change so many things about this story. Like all the components were there to make a good story but they weren't put together well.

Fairy Ointment

This story was really interesting! Why did the fairies need the ointment though? Can fairies not see other fairies without it? That would be so weird! Also how could Dame Goody know that she was only seeing the pixie with her right eye? These stories repeat everything and take about a million years so why couldn't we get a little scene of her closing one eye and then the other as she went back and forth from seeing the pixie to not seeing him!

(Photo from Pinterest)

Bibliography. English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1890). Links to readings

Reading Notes: English Fairy Tales, Part A

I read Aesop's Fables by Joseph Jacobs way back in Week 3, so I decided to give another collection of his stories a chance. I've heard different versions of a lot of these stories before, so that may cause me some issues with trying to make an original retelling because there have already been so many. This unit had audio recordings so I decided to try listening to the stories and it was very helpful! I really couldn't get distracted from the stories and flew right through them.

Cap O' Rushes

This was a cool "Cinderella" type story that was very different for most of the versions I've read or seen. In most stories, the dad loves her unconditionally which causes the stepmother to be jealous and that's why she punishes Cinderella when her father dies. I thought it was great that in this story, Cap O' Rushes definitely earned her rags to riches story. She was in control most of the time by knowing that she was the person who danced with the prince, then making sure the prince's love was real with the ring, and finally getting back at her dad with the unsalted food. 

The Story of the Three Little Pigs

I have a soft spot for the three little pigs because at my high school we did a fundraiser called Senior Serve where groups of seniors would choose a theme then decorate tables and dress up to the theme. You then invite family and friends and you serve them dinner. My two best friends and I chose the three little pigs for our theme! There are of course so many versions of this story but it might be fun to try one myself. I thought it was clever that the wolf tried to get the pig out of the house instead of trying to get into the house, that is until the end of course.

(The Three Little Pigs and our Big Bad Wolf.

Personal Photo from February, 2015)

Bibliography. English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1890). Links to readings

Famous Last Words: My Best Week Ever

I think this is the best week I’ve ever had in this class in term of being on top of things. I mean I’m doing the extra credit so that shows that I actually had time to do it instead of working on the real class work. I just really buckled down and did what I needed to do instead of letting myself get distracted and letting the work pile up. I was better about sticking to my schedule that I set for myself at the beginning of the semester. Like for example, I didn’t have the revisions on my Storybook back by Wednesday (which according to my schedule is the day I do them), so I just moved onto Project Feedback and Blog Comments and saved working on my Project for the weekend. Normally I would just be like well I can’t do anything now! All in all, I was very proud of myself this week.

I’m glad I could show myself that I can get everything done in a timely manner because I’m really going to need to use that this upcoming week! I have a paper due on Thursday, then two tests on Friday, and its Dad’s Weekend so I really don’t want to push a lot of work to the weekend. Luckily, I had to split my latest story for my Storybook into two parts, so I have the other part mostly all written. That is going to save me so much time already! I’m also going to try and start my readings tonight and really stick to my schedule for the week! If I am only able to stick to that schedule once this semester, then this needs to be the week I do it! It would be great if I could get ahead because I’ve been trying to do that all semester, but baby steps, Kelly, baby steps.

(Photo from Make A Meme)

Tech Tip: Canvas Mobile App

I already had the Canvas Mobile App for iPhone installed on my phone because its super convenient. There were no problems with the download if I remember correctly and you just log in with your OU 4x4. I use the app all the time! It has everything that regular Canvas does! I can check my messages and grades, look at PowerPoints and other files, and you can even turn in assignments on the app (I haven't done that yet though). Like I said it's super convenient!

Reading Notes: Southwestern and California Legends, Part B

I have already chosen a story from Part A to do so the Part B reading was just for fun! These stories were a little longer and were again more creation stories. I enjoyed them all the same though!

The Children of Cloud

This story did not go at all like I expected it to in both good and bad ways. I kept expecting the mother's warning about not stopping on the journey to their father to come up but it never did. The ending was very random because they didn't talk to anyone on their journey so why were they turned into mescal? This myth just kind of seemed like they wanted a myth so baldy about how mescal came to be and why storms travel from place to place that they made this disjointed thing. 

The Boy who Became a God

Now this story was just weird. It seemed like something from a fever dream or an LSD trip or something. It was really disjointed and didn't make much sense. There were crow people and sheep people. I have so many questions. Why were the crow people in the story? Were they the gods or were the 12 deer the gods? Why didn't the older brothers believe the younger one? Also what happened to the brother in law who believed the younger brother? So many questions! I did  think it was cool that the gods taught the young boy so much and then let him tell his people about it because gods don't often do that.

(Resting Navajo-Churro Lamb. Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography. Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest by Katharine Berry Judson (1912). Link to readings

Reading Notes: Southwestern and California Legends, Part A

I didn't really know what I wanted to read this week so I asked the Crystal Ball and that's what I read. These stories were very short and really cute. A lot of the stories were creation stories and it was really interesting how many different versions there were for the creation of one thing. 

Creation and Longevity

This was my favorite of the three coyote creation stories! I liked how all the animals worked together to create the earth and I loved that Coyote carried the fire from the west back to the Indians in his ears. I could just picture it and it was so cute! If I were to rewrite this story, I would probably tell it as a bedtime story. That way the kids can learn to work together and think Coyote bringing fire back in his ears is cute too.

(Photo from Deviant Art)

The Creation of the World

I enjoyed how this story described how a lot of the basic things came to be like the earth, the sun, and the stars. I liked how they all had a different component to them and I would like to use that if I rewrite this story. I would probably have a planet making factory and as you follow the assembly down, you would learn about how the basic planet was made and then you add water and mountains, and then the sun, and so on. There would also be a room for trying to build new planets, like how the Earth Doctor tried a few different ways to get the earth to stay steady.

The Origin of Light

I thought it was so funny that the animals used to just bump into each other before there was light. In a retelling of this story I would write about Hawk and Coyote planning on how to create the sun and then having to regroup when they realize they also have to make the moon.

Bibliography. Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest by Katharine Berry Judson (1912). Link to readings

Week 10 Story: How The Cactus Got Its Color

Long ago, the flowers on the cactus were white but they so desperately wanted to have color. The rainbow had given other plants and flowers color, but it never came near the cactus plants.

“Hey, Rainbow! Next time would you please set one of your ends near us so that we can get some color?” A cactus plant called up to the rainbow one day after a rainstorm which was the only time that the rainbow appeared.

“No! Your thorns are too sharp! I will never set one of my ends near you and you will never get color!” The rainbow yelled back at the cactus plant.

This made the cactus plants very sad and caused their flowers to close up and droop. They understood because they didn’t want to hurt anyone, but they also wanted to be included. They spent their days watching as all the other plants got color from the rainbow and prayed to the spirits that one day they could get color too. The spirits must have been listening because one day around sunset, a lost cloud drifted over the cactus plants.

The cloud had been chasing its tail all day like a puppy causing it to get separated from the other clouds. It needed to find the mountain soon because after the sun set it would be time for the cloud to go to sleep. Clouds sleep at the peaks of mountains because they grow tired and heavy while waiting for the rains to come. The little white cloud began to cry and he rained down on the cactus plants. This caused the cactus plants to grow very excited because rain meant that the rainbow would come back and maybe give their flowers color. Instead, the lost cloud became tired and started to sink down into the cactus plants.

The cactus plant who had called up to the rainbow now called out to the cloud, “Hey, little cloud! Watch out! We don’t want our spikes to hurt you!”

The cloud looked over at the cactus plant who had spoken to him, but it was too late because he was already touching some of the taller cactus plants spikes. The cloud began to giggle and cried out, “These spikes tickle!”

This made the cactus plants laugh with happiness. The cactus flowers, never wanting to be left out, opened back up to see what was going on. As soon as the flowers touching the cloud opened up, they began to drink in the red, orange, and yellow colored mist left on the cloud from the sunset. The cloud noticed this and began to scoot between the cactus plants, so that all the flowers could get some color. The entire time the cloud giggled as the spikes continued to tickle him.

When the sun rose in the morning, all the cactus flowers had color. The mountain was now visible again, so the cloud said his goodbyes and floated off to be with his cloud friends.

The End.  

(Photo from Pinterest)

Author’s Note: This is based off two stories from the Tejas Legends Unit, When The Rainbow Was Torn and The Cloud That Was Lost. In the story When The Rainbow Was Torn, the rainbow has given all the other flowers color except for the white cactus flower because of it’s sharp thorns. One day the rainbow accidently starts placing one of its ends on field of cactus plants. Only the red, orange, and yellow colors get stuck on the spines while green, blue, indigo, and violet slip away. The white cactus flowers open and pulls some of the vapor from the three colors before the rainbow can get unstuck. Therefore, the cactus flowers are those three colors. In the story The Cloud That Was Lost, a cloud gets distracted playing and can’t find his way back to the mountain to sleep with the other clouds, so he decides to sleep in a field. The field is covered in white flowers who also want color. The cloud is still pink and purple from the sunset, so the flowers pull the vapor from him until he is all gone. This is why wild phlox are the colors they are. In my reading notes I talked about how I felt bad for the cloud basically getting punished for getting lost and how the rainbow couldn’t get away from the cactus fast enough when it got stuck. I wanted to change these two aspects and I felt it was best to combine the two stories.

Bibliography. The Cloud That Was Lost retold by Florence Stratton and illustrated by Berniece Burrough (1936). Links to reading

Bibliography. When The Rainbow Was Torn retold by Florence Stratton and illustrated by Berniece Burrough (1936). Links to reading

Reading Notes: Tejas Legends, Part B

I really enjoyed these legends. They were all pretty much origin stories but those are some of my favorite stories because by the end they answer all the questions they asked in the beginning. These stories are great for children and are a pretty easy reads.

Why Hummingbirds Drink Only Dew

The image of a hummingbird and a heron owning a lake was just too cute! I kept thinking about them wearing flannel shirts and having a cabin by the lake and renting canoes to the other birds! I don't know how I would turn this into a story but I'd figure something out. Maybe I'll write about how they came to own the lake.

When The Rainbow Was Torn

I felt so bad for the cactus in this story. Why didn't the rainbow want to give some color to the cactus? I mean I could understand not wanting to get caught on the thorns but then when the rainbow was stuck it made it seem like the flowers opening to get color was a bad thing! The flowers just wanted to be pretty too! In a retelling of this story I would probably just expand on the story already told and give the cactus and rainbow some personality. 

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography. When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends retold by Florence Stratton and illustrated by Berniece Burrough (1936). Links to readings

Reading Notes: Tejas Legends, Part A

I originally read about the Tejas Legends during the Reading Options assignment back in Week 2. When I saw that we were doing Native American stories this week, I knew instantly that I was going to be reading these. Almost all of these stories were origin stories, so the first ideas that come to mind for a retelling is to do some kind of continuation. This would be the third week in a row of continuation stories for me, so hopefully I can come up with something more creative.

A Tribe That Left Its Shoes

This story was interesting because it had a kind of open ending. The story told how the moccasin flower came to be and why the part of the moccasin for the toes is pointing south. It gave the chief great relief because the toe was pointing to where his tribes old island used to be and now his grandchildren would be able to find it when the old tribe was no longer there to help them. I could do some kind of continuation story where the grandchildren follow the flowers to find their old island, but as mentioned before I'm kind of trying to avoid the continuation story this week. Maybe I could have a story about a cheeky flower that likes to point north or something cute like that.

The Cloud That Was Lost

This story was just too cute! I was loving it the entire time and felt so bad for the cloud that got lost. This story was about how the wild phlox got their pretty colors, but the cloud was pretty much the main character and he was my favorite. In a retelling of this story I would change the ending and have the cloud still be there in the end and maybe come back every night so that the other flowers could take some of his color. What ever I decide to do, the cloud will still be there in the morning!

The Swift Blue One

I thought this story was cool because of intro mentioning Mesteño, a blue horse sculpture that is here at OU. I've seen the sculpture before and there isn't a description to go along with it so it's kind of scary. I enjoyed learning about the horse that the piece was based on and I think It would make an interesting retelling. Maybe the sculpture could come alive and only certain students can tame it or something like that.

(Mesteño (Mustang) by Luis Jiménez. Photo from FJJMA Blog)

Bibliography. When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends retold by Florence Stratton and illustrated by Berniece Burrough (1936). Links to readings

Week 9 Story: Vanida and the Spirit-Guarded Cave

“Long ago, the people of the far north were constantly being attacked so they decided to pack up all their household possessions, cattle, rice, money, and jewels and escape to the south country. They knew that they would become slaves but thought that was better than living in fear. They journeyed through jungles and mountains, eating all their rice and cattle along the way, causing them to eventually have to stop and buy food in a town along the way. The people in the town saw all of their money and jewels and looked at them with greedy eyes. The travelers began to grow nervous that they would be slain for their worldly goods.
 
One man, wiser than the rest of the group, said, “Why do we risk death over our possessions? Let us leave them in some secret place and when happier days return to us, so will we to our possessions.” The travelers agreed with the wise man and since they were in the favor of the spirits, they were guided to a cave deep in the forest where they left their money and jewels. 

Generations passed and the story of the cave and its treasure was spread across the land. Many people tried to get to the treasure but the spirits who guarded it always drove them away. Even the white, foreign strangers, were driven back by the faithful spirits when they endeavored to enter the treasure chamber. For all time this treasure shall remain there, and verily it will remain untouched forever.” Vanida’s grandmother finished the story dramatically.

“Oh, that was the best telling yet, Grandma!” Vanida exclaimed as she clapped her small five-year old hands together. She had heard the story of The Spirit-Guarded Cave many, many times, but it was still her favorite of the Laos folklore. She insisted that her grandmother tell the story every time she came to visit.

“Vanida, have I ever told you about the wise man from the story?” Her grandmother asked. Vanida just shook her head in response. “Well he was your great-great-great grandfather. He was the one who began passing the story down from generation to generation in the hopes that one day, when our people were no longer enslaved, that one of his decedents would be able to retrieve the treasure from the cave.”

“I’ll do it! I’ll get the treasure Grandma!” Vanida cried as she jumped up from her spot on the floor.

“I know you will sweetheart,” Her grandmother replied as she pulled her into a hug.

Many years passed and Vanida grew up from the little girl who loved to hear her grandmother tell stories into a beautiful, young woman whose family had fallen on hard times. It had been a long time since her grandmother had told her the story of the Spirit-Guarded Cave, but she had never forgotten about it.

Late one night, Vanida snuck into her grandmother’s room and gently shook her awake, “Grandma, I know how to help our family. I am going to find the cave from the story and get back the treasures of our ancestors.”

“Do be careful, sweetheart, and let the spirit’s guide you.” Her grandmother advised. She had thought about telling her that is was too dangerous but knew that nothing would change her granddaughters mind. Vanida gave her grandmother a kiss on the forehead, grabbed her pack of food and water, and disappeared into the night. 

Vanida realized after about thirty minutes of walking that she had no clue where exactly the spirit cave was. She stopped and chastised herself for just boldly charging into the situation without thinking it through and was about to turn around to return home, when she remembered her grandmother’s advice. The girl had always loved the spirits and treated them with the upmost respect so she hoped they would help her. She stood still for a moment, just listening to the wind rustle the trees around her, until she felt something pull her towards the mountains. 

Vanida let the spirits guide her deep into the woods near the mountains and up to the mouth of a cave. She knew all the things that the spirits liked to do to people coming to steal the treasure, but at that moment she wasn’t scared. She felt safe and protected by the spirits and entered the cave without fear. She entered the treasure chamber unharmed and collected enough money and jewels to fill her pack, while still leaving plenty behind to be found by other descendants. Vanida thanked the spirits for their protection and headed home, knowing that her family would be saved.  

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons) 

Author’s Note: This story is a continuation of The Spirit-Guarded Cave from the Folklore of Laos. I summarized the original story in the beginning of this story but I highly recommend checking out the original version because it was really good. I mentioned in my reading notes that I would love to do a continuation of the story because the ending seemed like it was left kind of open. I felt it would be really depressing for the treasure to never be found and thought that maybe the spirits would let a descendent of the travelers claim the treasure. 

Bibliography. The Spirit-Guarded Cave by Katherine Neville Fleeson, with photographs by W.A. Briggs (1899). Links to the reading
 

Reading Notes: Folklore of Laos, Part B

I really enjoyed the Laos Folklore unit. There were some great stories and they were all really different and interesting.

The Wizard and the Beggar

This story did frustrate me a little bit because the beggar asked for help from the wizard, a dog, a water buffalo, and then the wizard again. After that only the wizard is mentioned, so what was the point of the dog or the water buffalo? Was it just to reinforce that man will not appreciate you and forget all that has been done to help you? If I were to retell this story I would do something so that the beggar repaid his debt and helped the dog and buffalo instead of trying to kill the wizard. Or maybe tell the story from the wizards perspective because I have a feeling that he is the dog and the water buffalo, too.

One Woman

This story was just awesome! The Chum Paw played all of the men the entire story and come out on top every single time! I would retell this story in a more modern setting or maybe from whatever god is protecting her (because someone has to). This story was so good I almost don't want to try and change it because I don't think that I could do it justice!

(Chum Paw at the end of the story, basically. Photo from Imgur)

To Aid a Beast

I enjoyed the message of this story and it reminded me of one that we read in the Anthology our second week of class. I would like to make this story more clear because I had to go back and read multiple parts twice to get all the characters straight and remember what everyone did for the other person. I would make sure that every character got remembered or punished because the tiger got off scot free while the hunter was almost put to death. 

Bibliography. Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson, with photographs by W.A. Briggs (1899). Links to readings

Reading Notes: Folklore of Laos, Part A

I wanted to read the folklore of Laos because it's a country in Southeast Asia relatively close to Indonesia. I would have picked the stories from the Philippines but Laos seemed more interesting to me for some reason. I enjoyed so many of the stories from this reading and I think it was the first time I came away happy instead of frustrated. So many of the stories explained themselves all the way through with how something came to be or to explain a message. It was wonderful!

The Enchanted Mountain

The spot at the top of the mountain described in the story sound absolutely gorgeous. It's interesting that men can find the place but not prove that they have ever been there. I wonder how it came to be or what would happen if anyone found it and was allowed to stay? The fruit can't be eaten, the fowl can't be killed, and the water cannot be drank so how would that work? I mean maybe the person just uses it as a meditation garden, not wanting to take anything from it, just looking for a place to come for some peace. 

(Kuang Si Falls in Laos. Photo from Pixabay)

The Spirit-Guarded Cave

I love how the spirits in these stories are so helpful to the people! It's really refreshing because it feels like all I've read the past few weeks are stories about how the deities like to screw people over. This story caught my attention because of the more open-ending it had by saying that the treasure so far has been left untouched. I think it would be interesting to continue the story so that maybe one of the ancestors of the wise man goes to claim the treasure after growing up hearing stories about it.

Bibliography. Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson, with photographs by W.A. Briggs (1899). Links to readings

Week 8 Progress

Looking Back

I am really proud of my progress so far. I've never taken an online class before so this is all new too me. I had a weekly routine that was getting me into trouble so I'm working on going back to the schedule that I had set at the beginning of the semester. Something that surprised me was how much I like the blog comments! They are actually fun, especially when you go to comment on a blog and realize that they commented on yours and left a really nice comment. Its a great way to get to know people too! I probably know more about the people in this class than I know about the people in any other class I've taken. It's really refreshing. I actually have not been taking advantage of the extra credit opportunities as much as should have, but moving forward I'm going to be doing more extra credit.

Looking Forward

I'm really going to try and stay more on schedule or even get ahead in the second half of the semester. I've gotten better about moving things around when I don't have time for them instead of just waiting until I get the time and letting everything pile up behind it. I'm also going to work on remembering that there is extra credit so if I just really don't have time that week to do Reading B, then I won't do it. I'm also going to try and do extra credit more regularly so that I don't have to worry about not getting to something in a later week.

My golf coach in high school was always telling us this, so one of my
teammates ripped up an old rules sheet and stuck the note
into the 18th tee box so we all could see it
(Personal Photo taken April, 2014)

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

Feedback In

I think everyone is doing a really good job with the feedback! Nobody has been mean or unhelpful and it's nice to see that people are enjoying my stories. I think the feedback on my Comment Wall is the most helpful because people are giving me suggestions instead of just saying what they liked about the story. Don't get me wrong I love the ego boost that comes along with people telling you they like your work, but the Comment Wall is nice because then I actually get to edit my work based on that feedback. 

Feedback Out

I'd like to think I'm doing a good job of leaving people feedback. I don't read through the other comments before I write my comment but sometimes I worry that I might be mentioning something that the author has heard a lot already. I think reading other people's stories is very helpful because you can see different styles or perspectives that you didn't even consider using. I also like seeing the different ways other people retold a story that you had read that week.

Blog Comments

I feel like I am getting to know people when I visit their blogs. I mean, obviously, through

the introduction, but everyone has also designed their blog in their own unique style and you learn little bits of information through comments they leave on your posts and author's notes at the end of their stories. I love my introduction and blog style because I think they really do give people a sense of who I am and what I'm all about. Most of the pictures I use on my posts are because I think they're funny and gives people an idea of what my sense of humor is like.

Looking Forward

A good way for me to use feedback is to try not to focus so much on meeting the word requirement and focus more on making meaningful comments. I think I do that most of the time but sometimes there is something in there because I don't have enough words. Also I could spend a little bit more time really analyzing what I just read so that my comments are more meaningful. I don't want to change my blog at all though. I love it just the way it is.

Image

(Photo from Feedback Cats)

I picked this picture because I think an important part of feedback is making sure it's being done in the right environment. If people feel like the feedback they are getting is mean and unconstructive then they won't fix their mistakes. Feedback needs to be given in a way that doesn't make the person receiving it feel attacked and unsafe.

Week 8 Reading and Writing

Looking Back

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with my reading notes and stories. I can see how my reading notes have evolved from basically a summary of what I just read into more of my thoughts on certain parts of the story and different ways I can retell it. I do think I can do a better job of writing out my thoughts in my reading notes, though. Even though they have gotten better at helping me write my stories, my reading notes still aren't the most helpful and I don't often find myself consulting them when I go to write. I do like my stories, though, and I think they are good but I also think that I could be a little more creative with them. I want to try some new storytelling styles and maybe even use a style that I've never used before that pushes me out of my comfort zone.
I've liked quite a lot of the stories I've read for class, so I don't know if I have a favorite. If I had to choose I'd probably say The Fox and the Stork from Aesop's Fables (Jacob). I seriously did not see the ending coming! I also thought the message was a pretty good one. 
My Storybook is coming along nicely and I'm really proud of it. I have been getting lots of good feedback on it and it's helping me come up with some really good ideas. I think being open to people's feedback and actually listening to it has been my biggest accomplishment. Its hard to put yourself out there but everyone has such great suggestions that I don't feel the need to shut them down or ignore them.

Image

(photo from imgur)

This image is from my Topic Brainstorming blog post and it just makes me laugh every time I see it. I was thinking about doing a Storybook about moon stories which immediately made me think of when Sokka says, "my first girlfriend turned into the moon" and Zuko just replies with, "that's rough buddy." Instead I found this gif and thought it was more fitting. I've actually used another Avatar gif on a story post because they are just so applicable!

Looking Forward

To get more out of the readings and writings in this class, I think I just need to make sure I'm helping myself with my reading notes. I'll start working on writing notes that have ideas about the story I am going to write later in the week and use them more as a brainstorming session. I think that will help me out with some of the writers block I've been getting when I sit down to write my weekly story.

Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales, Part B

These fairytales are very different from what I was expecting. The stories were really good, if not a little strange, and a lot of them were about how things came to be. I wasn't super inspired by anything in Part A, so I'm hoping the stories in Part B will interest me more.

Retribution

This was probably my favorite story I read this week! I really liked how the it was told over many years and it took a while for the consequences of the person's actions to catch up with them. I wonder if the little boy knew about his past life and purposely threw the rock at the old man or if he did it unconsciously or if it was just fate/ some divine intervention. Also did Ma look out the window only like three or four times in his life and it's amazing that he happened to see all this happen every time he looked out? Or did he look out the window often? Because if you look out the window all the time you are bound to see something eventually. There is just so much that could be done with it! I'm thinking of either telling it from a different character's perspective or continuing on the story and have it become a tale of revenge.

(Gif from Tenor)

The Night on the Battlefield

I'm not usually a ghost story person but this one wasn't scary so I found it rather enjoyable. I liked the sense of eeriness it had because as soon as the narrator said something felt off to the merchant, you felt it too. I'm also a big fan of the ending when the innkeeper just says that it's a battlefield and all kinds of weird stuff happens there. It doesn't over explain to the reader and just kind of lets them figure it out on their own. If I was better at writing those kinds of endings I might consider writing a story based on this one. Maybe I'll try it so that I can get some practice in.

Bibliography. The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens, links to reading 

Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales, Part A

I was drawn to the Chinese Fairy Tales because when I visited China we heard lots of stories about their history and even fun little fables, but I don't remember hearing any fairytales. I love fairytales and I think it's so interesting how different they are from region to region.

The Panther

What a whirlwind this story was! So much happened in so little time and it was all very strange. I didn't realize that the panther took on a sort of human form when pretending to be the mother until it mentioned him having to change back into a panther so I thought the girls were just really dumb. Also what was up with all those merchants? Who sells scorpions or turtles? Is that a normal thing to sell in China or was it just for the story? I just don't understand why people trust animals in fairy tales because it never works out for them.

Yang Oerlang

I thought this story was really sweet because of how much Yang cared for his mother. I also really like stories that explain how things came to be in the world. This one explains why there is only one sun in the sky and why the portulacca plant can survive in direct sunlight. I don't know how I could retell this story any better! It had a nice happy ending and it was a relatively normal story that was easy to follow. The story even took the time to describe what he looked like after he became a god!

(Yang Orelang, photo from Wikimedia Commons) 

Bibliography. The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens, links to reading 

Week 6 Story: Knowledge is Power

There once was a young man named Nour, who spent his days reading the ancient records in the House of Life. He loved to read the scrolls and books and the inscriptions on the walls because he wanted to learn as much as he could. One day when Nour had gotten completely lost in his readings, an older priest came up and tapped him on the shoulder.

“I am so sorry to have startled you!” The priest apologized to Nour, who had jumped, “You just remind me so much of a man who used to come here many years ago when I was a much younger priest. His name was Nefer-ka-ptah and he too loved to come here to read the ancient records.”

“I know that name! Written next to his name was the name of his wife and his child and the date his name was registered but nothing else. What happened to him?” Nour asked the priest.

“His death was not registered here in the House of Life. The gods do not like people to know what happened, but I will tell you his story anyways. One day when Nefer-ka-ptah was visiting the House of Life, a priest told him he could gain great power from the Book of Thoth which was guarded by many boxes, crawly creatures, and snake that no man could kill. Nefer-ka-ptah knew he could get this book so he convinced his wife and son to travel with him to the Southern Land where it was located. He defeated the snake no man can kill, he froze the crawly creatures with a spell, and opened all the boxes until he got to the Book of Thoth. As soon as he opened the first page, he was overwhelmed with great power. Immediately, he began to write the spells down, then wash away the words with beer, and drink the beer, so that he could learn the spells. Thoth was enraged that someone had found his book so he punished Nefer-ka-ptah by drowning his son and then his wife. Nefer-ka-ptah realized what Thoth was doing and tied the Book of Thoth to himself before he jumped into the river and drowned himself. The book remained tied to him until his body was found on the shores of the Northern Land, where his father, the King, decided that the book would be buried with his son and it has remained there since then.”

Nour sat in silence for a minute, thinking about the story of Nefer-ka-ptah and the Book of Thoth. He had so many questions that he didn’t know where to start.

“What is so special about the Book of Thoth?” He decided to ask.

“Thoth wrote the book himself and it contains all the magic of the world. The first page contains a spell that allows you to talk to animals and the second page contains a spell that allows you to perceive the gods themselves.” The priest answered.

Nour talked to the priest about the Book of Thoth for a few more hours and when night fell, he left the House of Life and headed home. For some reason, he took a different path than usual, which found him walking past the North Land shore; the final resting place of Nefer-ka-ptah and the Book of Thoth. Curiosity got the better of the young man and followed the trail that led to the Egyptian prince’s tomb. He could feel the magic from the book getting stronger with each step he took closer to the tomb, like it was drawing him to the tomb. Before Nour reached the entrance, he turned around and ran home because he knew what he had to do.

Nour spent the rest of the night and all the next day working on his creation. When the sun set, he set out for the tomb again, but this time he was prepared. Just like the night before, the Book of Thoth’s magic called to him and this time he let it pull him all the way to the entrance. He walked into the tomb and up to the coffin where prince and the book were supposed to stay sealed in for all eternity. Nour pushed off the heavy metal lid of the coffin and grabbed the Book of Thoth. The ghost of Nefer-ka-ptah appeared before the young man and tried to seize the book back from the young man.

“Give me the book! The power it contains is not worth the price you will pay!” The prince yelled at him.

“No! I’m putting this book back where it belongs!” Nour dug around in his bag for his creation. He hadn’t opened the book even though he was tempted too but he knew what the prince said was true. The knowledge contained in the pages of the Book of Thoth was too great for humans to have.

Nour pulled his creation out of the bag and presented it to the ghost. It was a small box, just big enough for a book, with a latch and lock on the side. He placed the Book of Thoth into the box, shut the lid, and locked it up. He knelt to the ground and held the box up to the sky.

“Oh, great and powerful Thoth, god of knowledge, please take your book and hide it once more. The contents of this book are too much for any human to know.” Nour called out.

A bright light started to appear causing Nour to squeeze his eyes shut. When he opened them, the box in his hands was gone, the ghost of Nefer-ka-ptah was no where in sight, and the lid to the coffin was firmly back in place. Everything had been returned to how it was before, but for some reason Nour felt different. He just shrugged it off and headed home, deciding to investigate more in the morning when he would make his daily trip to the House of Life.

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Author’s Note: This is based off the story The Book of Thoth which I gave a summary of in the story above. I felt that in the original story, Thoth came after the prince for no reason because the prince never said or even implied that he was going to use the power he gained for evil. He was died very soon after reading the book so we never got to see him in action. I wanted to retell this story with the main character being intrigued by the knowledge of the book and not the power that it could give them. I decided to have Nour not open the book because I felt that it would have ruined the message I was trying to get across. If he had gotten the power of the book and then given it back to Thoth with the reason that it’s not for mortals, it would have come across that he is better than other people who have come before him. He is a person who has a passion for knowledge and for him to not open the book I think reveals a lot more about him anyways than if he had opened it. I also decided to leave the ending open for more adventures in case I get the chance to write another story.

Bibliography. The Book of Thoth by Donald Mackenzie, link to Part One.