Week 7:Reading Diary A

This week I chose a unit from the African Traditions category. I was quite interested to read Brer Rabbit. I always enjoy reading stories about animals, and from first glance this unit definitely seemed like that kind of book. After reading into the unit, it was a little difficult to understand. I definitely got the gist though. Besides the difficult language, the first story I really loved was Why Mr. Possum Loves Peace. So even though I had a difficult time understanding this story, I believe that Mr. Possum and Mr. Coon were friends. I thought it was hilarious when Mr. Possum pretended to be dead. Mr. Coon thought that Mr. Possum was a coward for this act, but he wasn't. He was simply trying to put fear in another. What better way to put fear into someone than to pretend to be dead!

The second story that seemed really interesting was Mr. Wolf Makes a Failure. I always get a kick out of reading stories about wolves and foxes, so it was very fun to read about Mr. Fox. This story actually seemed sort of morbid if I got part of it correctly. So, what I believe that happened was that Mr. Fox and Mr. Wolf decided to play a trick on Mr. Rabbit. I think the general idea was for Mr. Wolf to go to Mr. Rabbit's house and pretend that Mr. Fox was dead. Although, I sort of don't think that he completely convinced the rabbit. It was a good try though.

(Gray wolf howling)

Week 6: Storytelling

The Sun Goddess

(The Sun goddess emerging out of a cave, bringing sunlight back to the universe)

Up in the heavens, lived the beautiful Sun Goddess. She sat day and night, in a beautiful palace in the sky, with her maids, deciding the fates of the world below. They were in charge of the joys, as well as the misfortunes. Everything was weaved together in one giant mess.

One day the Goddess and her maids were sitting in silence while working away when they heard a loud roar in the distance. The Sun Goddess knew only one creature could make a sound so frightening, the fire demon. Not long after they heard this, sharp nails started to scrape the roof of the palace. Fire would be inevitable. The palace was doomed to go up in flames, and of course its occupants would go with it. Scared for her life, and what might become of it from the fiery flames, the Goddess fled. While chaos surrounded the eight of them, they quickly made their way out of the palace. A secret passage way took them outside the gates of heaven.

The Goddess of course did not stop here, for once the dragon realized that she was not in the rubble, the dragon would not stop until it took her life. The Sun Goddess flew down to the deepest dark parts of the earth, where she retreated to a cave hidden within the vast blue ocean. Too afraid to face the world, for her death would be soon to follow, the Goddess hid there for a great period of time.

After some time, the Goddess of Laughter soon came looking for her. The Sun Goddess was still hesitant to leave her place of comfort. The Goddess of Laughter thought for a moment. After a pause, she began to tell the Sun Goddess of a beautiful new princess that would soon grace everyone with her presence. She began to add that she was fairer than anyone that anyone had laid his or her eyes on before. The Sun Goddess began to fill with rage. She would let no one take her place in heaven. She stormed out of her shelter and fled back up to the sky, the fire demon awaiting her arrival. With all the rage she contained, she defeated the dragon with one stroke of a sword. Victorious in the fight, she returned to her throne to continue things as they left off.

Author’s Note: I decided to write my story based on the the Miraculous Mirror the Japanese Mythology unit. The original story was included in the "Romance of Old Japan" by E.W. Champney and F. Champney in 1917. I don’t believe I changed too much of the story line. I did want to keep the idea of the Sun Goddess and the dragon, but sort of wanted to elaborate and change some items. I wanted to build up a little more on the dragon that scared the Sun Goddess from her post, as well as her retreat from danger. I decided against including the mirror, but instead kept the rage that fueled her to return to her throne.

Week 6: Reading Diary B

For my reading diary this week I decided to read Japanese Mythology. After reading the first half of this unit, I was very excited to finish things up. I've always been very interested in mythology, as well as the whole god and goddess aspect intertwined with it. It was nice to see how these items are displayed in asian culture. The first story that I really enjoyed reading was the Labors of Yamato - the Grass-Cleaving Sword. Honestly when I first saw this title, I did not know what to expect. This story was full of suspense and I just wanted to keep reading more. Obviously, after reading the story, the name was quite literal with the grass-cleaving sword part. Yamato did really mow down the grass with his sword, luckily creating a safety area within a blaze. This was so interesting to read. I honestly thought the princess came out of no where, but it was a very nice addition.

(Yamamoto Takeru no mikoto between burning grass)

The second story I really enjoyed was yet another story about Yamato, the Labors of Yamato - the Dragon.  I was really excited to get to this story, especially since I do have a little obsession with dragons. You can definitely thank Game of Thrones for that. I thought that it was already going bad when Yamato decided to go and punish the sorceress. Nothing ever goes to plan when you want to do that. As usual, the sorceress fled and became a dragon. This seems very typical for these kinds of stories, but also very entertaining.

Week 6: Reading Diary A

For this week I decided to read the Japanese Mythology unit. I've always been a fan of asian culture, and definitely was interested in reading this particular unit. The first story that really caught my eye was the Miraculous Mirror. I really enjoyed how it started off. I thought the fact that it included the Sun Goddess was pretty cool. I thought it was very interesting how everything bad was woven together with something good by the Goddess. It was a little confusing to read at first, but after looking at it a second time, the story seemed to have made more sense. It was very sad that the Sun Goddess was pretty much run out of her home, to go to the deepest darkest place she could find to hide. If I were up against a dragon, I would probably do the same thing.

The second story that I really enjoyed was the first part of the Heaven-Descended. The name was what really caught my attention. I thought it would be interesting to read about the heaven that is involved in Japanese mythology. It was really cool there was another reference to the sun Goddess. I think my absolute favorite part of the story, for some reason or another, was the rainbow bridge. I've always loved rainbows, and it's really cool that the heaven prince descended on it. It was really neat how this story had a lot to do with princes and princesses. I honestly wasn't expecting that from reading the other stories.

(Rainbow Bridge)

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Week 5: Extra Reading Diary

For my extra reading this week, I decided to look into the first half of Twenty-two Goblins. The name was what first intrigued me. The readings from the units this week haven't exactly been what I was expecting, so I was very interested to start this unit. Overall, the first half of this unit was extremely interesting and very entertaining. Since it is close to Valentine's Day, I did very much like reading the Three Lovers. The name itself seemed pretty straight forward. The story was a little more in depth, and it was great! I was not thinking of that exact outcome for the third youth to get her as his wife. Once I actually thought about it, it definitely made more sense. It was crazy that this girl had three worshipers, and was very sad that she died. Luckily, her death did decide who would ultimately be her husband. I did very much enjoy the King's decision on who treated her like a lover.

(the goblin in the tree)

The second story that I really enjoyed was Food, Women, and Cotton. This was a very interesting story and somewhat complicated, as well as confusing. It was a little hard to read. In all, the reader was suppose to declare who was the most clever out of the specialist of food, women, and cotton. I was thoroughly confused by the end of this story. After reading it the second time, it definitely made more sense. All the sons forgot about their duty to their father, and were instead arguing about why they couldn't carry a turtle. In the end, they all forget about the turtle and ruin their father's sacrifice.

Week 5: Reading Diary B

It was really nice to finish up reading Folktales of Bengal. I really enjoyed the first story I read. As I mentioned in the first reading diary this week, I really like stories about ghosts. Folktales of Bengal has definitely been introducing me to different kinds of stories this week. A Ghostly Wife was definitely one of those stories. It seems like a lot of the ghost stories I've read this week involve a ghost impersonating someone else. Luckily this time, someone noticed the change, and that the ghost was in fact not the brahman's wife. In the end, they did get the woman back, and the ghost back to her tree. I liked the ending of this story the best I think.

The second story that really interested me was the Ghost who was Afraid of being Bagged. The barber's wife was very upset that she lived a widow's life. She thought that they should have way more money than what they did. The barber went out one night and came across a ghost. This was a very interesting event, especially since the ghost was wanting to kill the barber, but the barber was very clever. He told a fib to the ghost to save himself. It's crazy to think that the ghost was taken back so much by the barber's story. The ghost really believed that the barber would bag him. Luckily, for the barber, he was very good at telling a lie. This definitely saved him in the long run. This also, in turn, made him a very rich man. I think it's safe to say that he now has a very happy wife.

(Ghost. Unkown.)

Week 5: Reading Diary A

For this weeks reading diary, I decided to read into one of the India units. Reading the first part of Folktales of Bengal was very interesting. The first story that really caught my attention this week was the Boy whom Seven Mothers Suckled. After starting this story, it really seemed kind of familiar to another story I believe I read last week in the Indian fairy tales. Both were about a king who had a number a wives that were trying to get pregnant. In this particular story, the king was told if he plucked seven mangoes, and fed them to his seven wives, they would soon bear children. I did really enjoy the change in the story when the king decided to marry a Rakshasi. After reading about these indian demons in Epics of India, I was intrigued to move on. After this change in the story, it got somewhat morbid. The Rakshasi of course wanted the king to prove his love for her in the most terrible of ways.

The second story that captured my attention was the Ghost-Brahman. Of course I always enjoy a good ghost story. In all honesty, I didn't know if this story would be like the ghost stories I like or something entirely different. It was a pretty crazy story, and one I did not picture when starting the story. It was a good change of pace though. The ghost actually came in and took over everything that the Brahman had called his own. Luckily in the end, the Brahman did get his wife, his mother, and his house back. It might have taken a lot of time, but he got it back.

(Mango tree. Robert Mclean)

Week 4: Extra Reading Diary

For this week's extra reading diary, I chose to read Indian Fairy Tales. I kind of stayed with the fairy tale theme this week. For my whole reading I did the Persian Tales, so I thought this unit would be a nice finish of my week. I really enjoyed reading the entire first half of this unit. One story in particular that I really liked was the Broken Pot. I thought this was kind of a very funny story to read. It goes through all these things the Brahman wishes to do, which of course starts with a pot. Unfortunately for the Brahman, he thinks up all these thoughts of which will happen, and ends up getting burned by karma before they even happen. That's why I thought that the ending of the story was funny. He thinks about kicking his wife that he will get eventually, and of course makes a kicking motion with his foot. This, in turn, causes him to kick the pot, smashing it into a bunch of pieces.

(Pot Cracked)

I also really enjoyed reading the Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal. Both stories seemed to have witty, as well as funny endings. In this story, the Jackal actually turns out to be the smartest being, of course tricking the tiger who which tricked the Brahman. It really goes to show that not everyone who seems to be a fool is. Some of them are just playing the game, and in a very smart way I might add. It's better to trick others when they think you have no wits.

Week 4: Reading Diary B

I was really excited to finish the unit Persian Tales. It was mostly due to the fact of some animal stories coming up. I am definitely a sucker for any kinds of stories about animals, as well as fairy tales. It does seem kind of generic, but that's just what I like. The first story that really captured my attention was The Story of the Wolf Bride. I mean if that title doesn't catch your attention, I don't know what will. It was actually a very good story with a lesson behind it. The story seemed sort of short, but I very much enjoyed reading it. I think the lesson was definitely right though. What is meant to happen will happen. There is no changing fate. It was really sad though that the girl had torn her husband to pieces. It was probably a good thing that she did not remember any of it.

(akira by WolfyWiseHeart)

The second story I really liked was the Story of the Baker and the Grateful Fish. This story was a bit morbid at the end, but it definitely got the point across. It it very unwise to trick people, especially people who have a lot of support behind them. Luckily the baker had given so much to the fish, so in turn, they helped him escaped from the mountain top and get to dry land. The same can't be said for the trickster merchant. Unfortunately for him, he got what was coming his way. Karma is definitely real. Different factors play into it, but it always finds it's victim.

Week 4: Reading Diary A

This week I chose to read a unit from the Middle East. I decided to read Persian Tales. I think the whole fairy tales name really got me excited to read this unit. I've always been a fan of them, and to get a glimpse into Persian fairy tales sounded like a really fun idea. After reading the overview, I really got hooked. Animals and magical adventures sounded like a great time, and I was excited to get into the actual reading. The first story that really caught my eye was Nim Tanak, or Half-Boy. It was really the name that hooked me onto the story at first, and I'm glad I got to read it. The story was actually quite sad, at least at first. It was a nice refresher that the "half-boy" was the hero of the story. Luckily, he got what he truly deserved in the end, which was his families love. You really can't judge a book by it's cover.

(Magyar warrior of the 10th century. Typical of the appearance of light skirmish horse-archers of all periods.)

The second story that I really enjoyed was Muhammad Tirandaz, The Archer. A story about an archer just seemed very exciting to read. It was very interesting that from killing two mice with one shot, he got so much. I really liked that they referred to the mice as two lions in the story. It made Muhammad sound much fiercer than he actually was. Sometimes this is a bad thing, but in the end it definitely ended up working for him.

Week 3: Brainstorming Storytelling Styles

Topic. My Storybook will be online dating profiles of Mermaids. I want to have the site be along the lines of a regular dating site you would find now, but instead of humans, they would just be mermaids. I found four stories in particular that I would really enjoy encompassing into my Storybook. The first story, which actually kind of drew me to this topic, was Sam and the Mermaid. I think this story really shows how ruthless and persistent a mermaid can be, and I have the perfect profile in mind for this one. Another Story that was very interest was Lorelei. This story gave a great depiction of a mermaid to which I would like to elaborate on. Of course I can't spoil any fun for now though. The other two stories I thought about encompassing are The Mermaid's Twin Sister and The Lady of Gollerus. I thought both of these stories had some potential on being added to my storybook. It may take some tweaking, but I would like to include them both.

(Mermaid. John Reinhard Weguelin. 1911.)

Bibliography.
1. Sam and the Mermaid, from Folktales Told around the World, by R. M. Dorson (1975).
2. Lorelei, retold from the ballad Loreley, by Clemens Brentano (1801).
3. The Mermaid's Twin Sister, from the Clarion Books, by L. Joseph (1994)

4.The Lady of Gollerus, from Fairy and Folk tales of Ireland, by W. B. Yeats (1973).