Week 7 Reading Diary: Filipino Popular Tales

This week I'm reading Filipino Popular Tales by Dean Fasler.

The Three Friends: The monkey, dog and carabao were all great friends and decided to move out to the country to hunt. Each of the three friends stayed home one at a time in order to cook, and a Buñgisñgis was causing problems for them and essentially bullying them alone, and the monkey tricked him and he was killed by a boa constrictor.

Three Brothers of Function: Three brothers were sent to a prestigious school by their father, but had way too much fun and didn't actually study. During their vacation, they bought a book from an old woman, and the book was supposed to bring the dead back to life. Then, they met a woman who sold them a flying mat. Finally, the last brother found a stone that he thought was magical as well. Ambo, the brother who kept the book that brought people back to life, promised a young woman's parents that he would bring their daughter back to life and fell in love. The other brother then took her for a ride on his flying mat, and he fell in love with her as well. Then, they wrecked and the last brother, with the magic stones, fixed the ship and thought he deserved to be with the the woman too. They couldn't decide, so their father divided her up into parts for all of the brothers, and Suan, the brother with the magic stones, was the only one who wanted her and put her back together.

The Clever Husband and Wife: Pedro wanted a wife, but didn't have anything to offer a woman. He went to the doctor and said he wanted one, so the doctor promised that he would get him a wife the following day. Pedro and his wife were married and the doctor gave him two hundred pieces of gold and a house to live in. They were trying to figure out what to do with the money, spent all of it, and became poor. They kept getting money from the doctor and he realized they were tricking him, and took them home with him to be his servants.

The Devil and the Guachinango: A young girl, Piriang, was very stubborn when it came to finding a husband. The devil heard this news, and disguised himself as a worthy man, and she fell in love. Then, a guachinango decided he wanted to marry her, and he buried the devil, which scared him away and married the girl.

Chonguita: A king had three sons, Pedro, Diego and Juan. Their father sent them out on their own and Juan came upon a monkey who gave him bread and told him that he had to share the bread with each monkey he came into contact with. He met a huge monkey who promised his daughter, Chonguita, would marry him. They returned to his father, along with the other brothers who also had wives, and the king said that whoever's wife drew the prettiest picture would be crowned as king. Chonguita drew the prettiest picture, so Juan was king, even though his wife was a monkey.

Cochinango: Cochinango was a boy who was considered a fool, but a man predicted that he was going to marry the princess and become the king. The prediction came true, and Cochinango was king.

The Enchanted Prince: A very rich king had a son who fell in love with his enemy, a young witch. His father brought all of the beautiful women of the land to the castle for his son to pick, but the son chose none of them. He finally found a woman, but the witch was very angry and terrorized the town and turned the prince into a monkey. After many years, the prince found a beautiful woman and he was turned back into a man and they lived happily ever after. 

(Monkey)

The Wicked Woman's Reward: A king had five women and favored two of them because they could give him children. One woman had a girl and another had a boy. The one who had a girl wished she had a son, so she killed her girl and stole the boy from the other woman. The king thought the son's mother had drowned the girl and ordered that she be drowned in the river and he was happy to see his son was still alive. He married his daughter's mother, went to the river, and realized he drowned the wrong woman. He had his wife hanged and his son was raised to become the next king. 

The Poor Man and his Three Sons: A poor man had three sons and on his deathbed he gave them a rooster, a cat and a scythe. They each ended up becoming rich because they knew how to trade things that they were given. 

The Monkey and the Turtle: A turtle and a monkey were good friends and decided to share a banana plant. They both planted their plant, but the monkey's died while the turtle's thrived. The turtle tricked the monkey, and the monkey ended up dying.

The Monkey and the Crocodile: A monkey and a crocodile had a weird arrangement after the crocodile helped him across the river. The crocodile vowed that the monkey would pay, but the monkey said that he was the chef for the king, and the crocodile believed him. The monkey gave him food that he was allergic to, because he had tried to eat the monkey, and the crocodile was uncomfortable. 

The Monkey and the Dragon-flies: A tired dragonfly wanted to rest on a monkey's tree and he mocked her for being weak and swatted her away. The monkeys then decided to fight the dragonflies, thinking that they would win, but they lost and all were killed.

The Monkey, the Turtle and the Crocodile: A monkey was very deceitful and tried to trick a crocodile and a turtle that were resting in the street. He tricked them into going near two very hungry men, and they were both killed. 

Storytelling Week 6: Disobedient Daughter's Diary

Dear Diary,

It's time for me to marry, but none of the men in this town are good enough for me. They're lacking in looks or personality, when, let's face it, I'm the most beautiful and smartest woman in all the land. I just don't understand why it's so hard to find someone who is as good as me. I'll be single forever if things don't turn around.

Dear Diary,

I've heard that there's the most handsome man who has traveled from a faraway land just to meet me. I must find him and meet him, since he's all that my friends can talk about. Hopefully he's just as good looking as I am.

Dear Diary,

The man is all I could ever want and more in a future husband. He's smart, charming, and so incredibly handsome. I plan to marry him and return with him to his homeland, but my parents seem to think that we're moving too fast. Don't they understand that they shouldn't mess with true love? They were married within a month!

Dear Diary,

We're married now, and it's time to move back to his home with his mother! My parents are being incredibly stubborn about this whole situation. They reluctantly allowed me to marry him, but now they're saying that I should wait to move back with him. They're just not ready for me to leave. They don't understand that they can no longer control me. I'm a married woman! They're going to have to realize that my husband will take care of me and that I'm going to do what I want.

Dear Diary,

I've made a horrible mistake. I returned back to my husband's home and he was not what I thought he was. As soon as we arrived in his town, his friends came and started taking parts of his body away until he was reduced to a skull. A skull! How am I supposed to be married to something that isn't even fully human. I tried to leave but he demanded that I go back to his mother's house to take care of her. I do love his mother. She's old, but she's so very sweet. I help her out around the house and we have some lovely conversations. I'm glad that I have her here, at least. I don't know what I'd do if I were here all alone.

(The Skull)

Dear Diary,

I haven't written in so long! My life was so hectic. The skull's mother finally felt so sorry for me that she helped me escape. A gentle breeze blew me home and I was able to return to my mother. My parents thought I was dead, so they were incredibly happy to see me. I don't know what I was thinking ever leaving them for someone who I hardly knew! I have definitely learned my lesson. I'm not really sure what happened to my last husband, and I don't really ever want to find out. I'm sure he was angry, but he couldn't have really expected someone as beautiful as me to stay with him forever. It's time for me to find a real husband, a human husband. Hopefully he will be as good looking as me.

Bibliography: This story is based off of "The Disobedient Daughter Who Married A Skull" in the Nigerian Folklore Unit by Elphinstone Dayrell.

Author's Note: I really enjoyed this story, not only because it was interesting, but also because it was kind of interesting how the girl's situation seemed like karma for being so vain and not wanting to listen to her parents. In the original story, the girl is incredibly self-centered and stubborn, and refuses  to marry every man until she hears of an extremely handsome man and ends up meeting him at the market. He's actually a skull who has borrowed body parts from his friends because he wants to be appealing enough that the girl will agree to marry him and return home to the spirit world, and she finds this out after disobeying her parents and marrying him and returning to the faraway land with him. He doesn't let her go back home, and he lives in the spirit world that is full of cannibals, so the girl would have most likely been killed. After helping around the house, she becomes good friends with his mother, who eventually helps her get back home. I thought it would be fun to do a diary from her perspective and explain things in her eyes, since it's all told in third person and you never really hear what the girl is thinking.

Reading Diary Week 6: Nigerian Folk Stories Continued

This is part B of the Nigerian Folk Stories unit by Elphinstone Dayrell.

The Story of the Lightening and the Thunder: Thunder and lightening lived on earth, and were mother and son. Lightening had a temper, and when he was angry he'd destroy everything in his path. Thunder would yell very loudly when her son threw his fits and would scare people in the town. The king made them move out farther, but they still caused destruction, so they were forced to go live in the sky.

The Bush Cow and the Elephant: The bush cow and the elephant weren't very good friends at all, and wanted the chief to settle all of their arguments once and for all. He decided that they would just need to fight, but caused problems fighting in public, so animals had to fight in the open bush after that.

The Cock who caused a fight between Two Towns: Ekpo and Etim were brothers and were very rich. Ekpo had a great chicken who caused a lot of issues between the two brothers. They fought about him, and ended up killing many men in the process. Since it caused a lot of issues, Ekpo was forced to kill his chicken so they never fought over him again.

The Affair of the Hippopotamus and Tortoise: Isantim was the biggest king in all the land and had seven wives. The hippos would only go down to the water in order to bathe, but didn't live in it like they do now. The hippo used to hold feasts, and told a tortoise if he guessed the king's name at the next meal, that he and his wives would be ashamed and go live in the water for eternity. The tortoise guessed his name, and that's why hippos now live in the water.

 

(Hippo)

Why Dead People are Buried: The creator decided that dead bodies would be put in a compound, and had wood and ashes over them, and then in 24 hours they would become alive again. The creator sent a messenger dog to tell the world his new plan, but the dog got distracted by a bone in an old woman's yard, so he didn't make it back in time to put the wood and ashes over the bodies. As punishment, the creator decided that all bodies would be buried underground, and not be able to come back to life again.

Of the Fat Woman who Melted Away: A fat woman was made of oil who many men wanted to marry. Her mother finally agreed to let a man from a far away land marry her and take her home with him. His other wife got very jealous, and put the woman in the sun and she ended up melting. The husband was furious and gave her back to her parents who sold her as a slave.

Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes: A starving woman used to cut parts of the moon off so that she could eat, but people found out and started wanting to get some of the moon too. The moon now hides, and gets thinner and fatter each month. 

How the Tortoise overcame the Elephant and the Hippopotamus: An elephant and hippo were very good friends. They were eating together and a tortoise showed up and agreed that he would give the elephant 10,000 rods if he could pull the tortoise out of the water. The tortoise tricked him a few times, and that's why tortoises live on the land and in water.

The King and the 'Nsiat Bird: The king wanted to marry the 'Nsiat Bird's daughter. The king agreed to marrying her, even though she was going to have twins, which wasn't allowed in their kingdom. The king loved his children, but it was custom for them to be killed since they were twins. The 'Nsiat Bird, not liking the idea of his daughter's children being killed, decided to take his daughter and her children and live in the trees.

Concerning the Hawk and the Owl: Rulers were supposed to put on huge feasts that they had to invite all species to. He used a hawk as a messenger, since they were the fastest birds. Once he got too old, the king told him to find his replacement and he chose an owl. The king made him take the owlet back to his parents and find another replacement, and the hawk chose a chicken, which the king also didn't want. The hawk's friend just used him as a way to eat chicken, which didn't make anything better.

The 'Nsasak Bird and the Odudu Bird: Both of the birds were friends, and decided that they were going to try to become chiefs. The king had them build houses and would decide which one was chief after inspecting them. The 'Nasak Bird ended up winning because of his cunningness.

The Election of the King Bird: Essiya wanted to find a new king of the birds and didn't take the decision lightly. In the end, he chose Ituen, the fishing eagle as the king. 

Reading Diary Week 6: Nigerian Folk Stories

This week I read the Nigerian Folk Stories unit by Elphinstone Dayrell

Of The Pretty Stranger Who Killed The King: MBOTU was a terrible king. He took prisoners for slaves and his people hated him. Many people wanted to kill him, and a witch decided to take matters into her own hands. She changed herself into a pretty girl and ended up killing the king. The king of Itu, however, was planning an attack. They attacked after the king was killed and ended up killing and taking a lot of the people in the town as prisoners. 

Why The Bat Flies By Night: A rat, Oyot and a bat, Emiong, were great friends. The bat always cooked good food and told the rat that he boiled himself in water in order to make the best food. The rat decided to try this, died, and the wife of the rat was very upset and wanted the bat to be killed. The bat changed his habits so that he flew at night instead of the day so that he could avoid being killed.

The Disobedient Daughter Who Married A Skull: A skull decided that he wanted to marry a very beautiful woman named Afiong. He borrowed many parts from his friends and was made into a beautiful man. Afiong saw him and fell in love, and agreed when he wanted to marry her. Her parents hesitated, but since Afiong was very stubborn, she went back to his homeland as his wife. Since he was a skull, his friends demanded their body parts back, and he was left only looking like a skull. Afiong wanted to go home, but he refused and took her back to his home to his mother. His mother loved her, so she eventually decided to help her escape, and Afiong was returned to her parents. 

The King Who Married The Cock's Daughter: Effiom was married to 250 women, but wasn't satisfied with any of them. He decided to marry a hen, and she made him happier than any of his other wives. This made them mad and they ended up tricking him into having to send her away, which broke his heart, and he died.

The Woman, The Ape and The Child: A woman had a child and moved to the jungle with her husband. The ape would come and take care of the child, and a jealous man decided to report this to the husband, who now wanted to kill the ape. The husband shot the ape, but didn't kill him, and the ape ended up killing the child. Out of anger, the husband also killed his wife and then went to tell the king what happened. The king, Duke, wanted to kill the hunter for all the issues he caused. He was killed, and apes and monkeys are now afraid of children.

(A Nigerian Drill)

The Fish and the Leopard's Wife: A leopard had a beautiful wife, and all the fish fell in love with her. Fish used  to be able to come on the land and would visit the leopard's wife. The leopard found out, was enraged and went to the king. The king ruled that fish were to never come on the land again, and that they would be eaten by any animal or human who found them in the future.

Why the Worms live Underneath the Ground: Driver ants and worms had a fight to see who was the strongest. The worms lost, so they had to go live underground for eternity.

The Elephant and the Tortoise: A tortoise tricked an elephant into giving him his eyes. The elephant then tricked the worm into giving him his eyes, so now elephants have tiny eyes and worms are blind.

Why a Hawk kills Chickens: A hawk fell in love with a hen, and she agreed to marry him. A young chicken then decided that he wanted to marry the hen, and stole her from the hawk. The hawk was very angry, and the king decided that chickens will be carried off by hawks for eternity to pay the hawk back for having his wife taken. 

Why the Sun and the Moon live in the Sky: The sun built a large compound for his friend, water, to come visit with all its other friends. The compound was built, and water came in with all its friends, and pushed the sun and the moon into the sky. 

Why the Cat kills Rats: Ansa had a very good housekeeping cat. A rat fell in love with one of the king's girls, but didn't have anything to offer the king. The cat then realized that food was missing from the store and her friends told her that the rat had taken the food to pay the king for the girl. The cat told the king, who was very angry, and was ordered to quit her job and take the rat. The cat killed the rat, which is why all rats get killed by cats now. 

Thoughts About Comments

I really enjoyed reading through all of my comments! The best ones were when people found parts of my introduction and found ways to tie it back to their own lives and also told me about themselves. It can be hard to feel connected to my classmates since this is a fully online class, but it actually really helps to have engaging comments that almost seem to be a conversation of their own. I also like the comments that make it seem like the person has read my story in full, and reflects back on those certain parts, it makes it feel a lot more personal. I should actually work on making my comments more engaging and personal, rather than just saying "I liked your story" and leaving comments that just kind of talk about stories in general. That's something I'm really going to work towards doing next week!

Week 5 Storytelling: The Trial Of The Father

We find ourselves in a musty, crowded courtroom to see if the father of a young woman is guilty of murder, after killing a monkey, which caused his young daughter to commit suicide. The court was to decide if he would be charged with involuntary manslaughter for his daughter, or murder for the monkey. This was the first time that someone had been prosecuted for killing an animal, and many people believed that he was really being charged with causing his daughter's death.

The father is brought in by the bailiff, looking incredibly nervous and tired. He hadn't slept in weeks. He didn't understand why he was being prosecuted for murder, all he did was kill an animal. He didn't realize it would cause any trouble, let alone cause his daughter to kill herself. He nervously looked over at the jury, some who looked at him sympathetically, and others who looked at him with pure hatred in their eyes. He took his seat and waited for the trial to begin. 

Judge: "Prosecution I'll allow you to begin".

Prosecutor: "The prosecution calls the girl's father up to the stand".

He wasn't prepared for this. He didn't think he'd have to testify so soon. He glanced over at his lawyers, who were equally as surprised. They hadn't prepared him for the kinds of questions that the prosecution would ask, or how he was supposed to answer. 

The judge looked at him expectantly and said "Sir, we don't have all day".

The father reluctantly made his way to the stand, and waited for the questioning to begin.

Prosecution: "Sir, is it true that you killed the monkey because you didn't want your daughter to marry him?"

Father: "Yes, that's correct".

(courtroom)

Prosecution: "Why was that such an issue for you? In this day and age we often see those kinds of marriages happen. In fact, there was a woman who gave her daughter to a tiger to be married". 

Father: "I wanted my daughter to marry a human, not a monkey. I knew that she loved him though, so I thought something had to be done. I realize now that my daughter just had a monkey soul and that she needed to be with him". 

Prosecution: "So, you're telling me that you murdered an innocent animal who would your daughter wanted to marry, for your own selfish reasons? Don't you realize your actions led to your daughter's death?"

Father: "I'm very aware of that, sir. You just don't understand. I didn't want my daughter to marry an animal. I wasn't okay with it. We've killed animals for many years before this, so I don't see what the issue is".

Prosecution: "The issue is that your actions caused another human to die. Your SELFISH actions. The prosecution has no more questions". 

The trial went on for days. The father was emotionally drained and just couldn't understand why he was in trouble for killing an animal. He was also mourning the death of his daughter, which took an even bigger emotional toll on him. 

Finally, after a long day of arguments, the jury ruled not guilty, and the father was allowed to go on with his life. 

Bibliography: This story is based on "The Monkey and the Girl" by C.H. Bompas. 

Author's Note: "The Monkey and the Girl" is a very interesting story. It starts with the girl agreeing to marry the monkey, but then her father finds out and disapproves. He decides that he needs to kill the monkey and instead of just burying him, he burns him like they would a real man. The girl is extremely upset and distracts the men burning the monkey so that she can jump into the fire. Her father says that she just must have a monkey soul, so she wanted to be with the dead monkey. I thought it would be fun to kind of spin it into a court trial, since murder is obviously something that would get you into prison today. I think that the father would justify his actions and not really understand why he was in trouble for killing a monkey or for his daughter killing herself, and would explain that he thought his daughter had a monkey soul. He would probably be super distraught over losing his daughter, and kind of regret his actions since it did lead to her death. I think that the jury would also find him not guilty, at least for murder, since he didn't actually kill a human being, even though he shouldn't have killed the monkey either.

Week 5 Reading Diary: Santal Folklore Cont.

I read part B of the Santal Folklore Unit by C.H. Bompas. 

The Jackal and the Chickens: A jackal and a hen were very good friends, but one night the jackal ate the chicken and intended to eat her children too. The chickens outsmarted the jackal, and he was planned to eventually be killed by the townspeople.

(Jackal)

The Jackal Punished: The Jackal ate his friend, the hen, and vowed to eat her children after. The chickens, however, made a plan to trick him and ended up causing mortar to fall and crush him. The chickens then took an axe and chopped him up to avenge the death of their mother. 

The Tigers and the Cat: A cat and tiger were good friends, but the cat took too long to get something to cook a deer with, so the tigers had to eat raw meat. The tiger was very upset, and decided he would kill the cat, but every time they got near the town the dogs would start barking. The tiger grew tired of the dogs barking, so all of the tigers decided they would just eat dogs from now on. 

The Elephant and the Ants: An elephant thought he was smarter and stronger than ants, but the ants were actually smarter than him. Every time the elephant would take a step, ants would be there, and he tried to run away from them but ended up dying of exhaustion.

A Fox and his Wife: A fox and his wife were approached by a tiger, but tricked him in waiting to eat them. The wife used her wit to make the tiger think that he was helping them out, but she was just trying to get away from him and keep her family safe. The tiger couldn't get to them because the hole to their den was so small, so the entire family survived.

The Jackal and the Crocodiles: A crocodile requested that a jackal teach his children how to read and write, but the jackal grew impatient and ate all of them but one. The crocodile realized that the jackal had killed his children, so he ended up killing the jackal.

The Hyaena Outwitted: A tiger was ill and all of the animals went to pay their respects, except the jackals who were running late. The hyaena scolded them, and was killed because he wasn't supposed to scold them and get them in trouble. 

The Crow and the Egret: A crow and egret nested in the same tree, but the crow realized the egret's children were prettier than hers. One day while the egret was out, the crow traded their children and tried to convince the egret that her children had just magically changed. The egret, however, didn't believe her and settled the matter on her own. 

The Jackal and the Hare: A jackal and hare were very good friends, but the jackal decided he was going to eat a huge meal without the hare. The hare was very upset and smashed the jackal's drum. 

The Brave Jackal: A goat escaped and hid in a leopard's den and scared the leopard away. The leopard told the jackal what happened and the two went in the cave, got scared, and the leopard accidentally ripped the jackal's skin off.

The Jackal and the Leopards: A jackal tricked leopard cubs into thinking they owed him for a paddy they got, so they began giving him all their food. The leopard was very upset that he was taking food from his children, so tried to kill him but ended up dying himself. The jackal started taking care of the cubs and leopardess, but got into trouble with a crocodile, who tried to kill him. The jackal was too smart though, and the crocodile died in the end and the jackal was fine. 

Week 5 Reading Diary: Santal Folklore

This week I read Santal Folklore by C.H. Bompas.

Ledha and the Leopard: Ledha helped the leopard get the lizard off his tail, but promised that he wouldn't tell anyone what happened, or the leopard would eat him. Ledha told, and the leopard carried him off to the jungle at night to eat him. Ledha escaped and found a home among the buffalo, but then he left and once he realized the buffalo were sick without him, returned with his wife.

The Oilman's Bullock:  An oilman got two bullocks, and the bullock was overheard saying that it could beat Raja's elephant in order to be freed. They collected 500 Rupees for the fight, and Raja thought he would easily win, but the bullock beat the elephant and the oilman vowed to let the bullock live a good life. It only lived for a month after the fight though.

The Monkey and the Girl: A girl promised to marry a monkey, but her father was angered by this and planned to kill the monkey. The town decided to bury the monkey like a man, and burn the body, so the girl ended up jumping in the flames to be with him.

Ramai and the Animals: Ramai had a soft spot for animals, and when he found people trying to kill them he bought them. He got a snake, and the snake told him to take him back to his parents, and they would give him a magical gold ring that would grant him every wish he could ever desire. He asked for the ring, and it gave him everything he wanted.

The Ghormuhas: The Ghormuhas took a boy and decided they were going to eat him. He outsmarted them though, and convinced them to just let him live among them for the rest of his life.

The Raibar and the Leopard: A raibar told a leopard that he could make him into two leopards as long as he promised not to eat him. The raibar put him in a sack and sent him down the river, thinking he would have drowned. The leopard found a leopardess, and thought he had been made into two. The raibar was traveling one day through the jungle and saw the leopard, who offered him any animal he wished.

The Tiger's Bride: A woman offered her daughter up for marriage to anyone who helped her carry a large bundle of grass home. A tiger helped, and he and the daughter were married, but the daughter escaped. 

(The Tiger)

The Killing of the Tiger: Raja wanted to kill a tiger who had been preying on many travelers. He sent a man to kill him, and the man was able to complete his task.

The Raja's Dream: Raja had a dream that he would have good fortune if he found three animals, so he sent his three sons to find the three animals. They visited Gosain's to find how to locate the animals, and each gave them information about what they had to do. 

The Raja's Dream (cont.): The Raja's son was ordered to go kill snakes, but couldn't decide how to do it. The Raja, however, realized he made a mistake and left his younger wife and went back to his first wife.

The Jackal and the Crow: A jackal and crow were good friends, but the crow tricked the Jackal by making it hard for him to eat a dinner that the crow had invited him to. The Jackal vowed to repay the Crow and the Jackal ended up eating him. One his walk home, however, he was bragging and ended up dying. 

The Tiger Cub and the Calf: A tiger cub and calf used to play very well together, but the tigress killed the calf's mother. The two ran away together and the tigress was very upset, but luckily never found them because she would have killed them. 

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Week 4 Storytelling: The Merchant's Revenge

The merchant was furious. He knew that taking his friend's son was wrong, but what was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to trust anyone again? He left his iron with his good friend, the only thing that he was counting on for his livelihood after he returned from his failed journey, and his friend had the nerve to sell it. He then decided to lie about it, which made everything even worse. Was he really supposed to believe that rats ate two hundred pounds of iron? Maybe if his friend had explained why he sold it and given a good reason, they could have worked out a deal, but since he lied, things will never be the same again. What was the merchant supposed to do now for work? He spent his life savings during his travels. He had nothing, not even friends who he could trust. It was simple, his friend would get his son back when the iron reappeared. It was simple to get the boy. He just grabbed him while he was playing outside and took him to his shack outside of the town.

The merchant wasn't quite sure how the whole deal would work out. Iron is kind of expensive, let alone two hundred pounds. His friend had pleaded and begged for his son, but the merchant knew that he had to stand firm. He would take care of the boy, and feed him and make sure he stayed well, but he wanted his iron back. He gave his friend a week to get the iron, but he wasn't sure what he'd do if the friend didn't come through. The boy was only a little over five years old, he couldn't exactly just take him somewhere and let him go, and he surely wasn't going to kill him. He had time to decide though. He knew he had to be patient, but all he wanted was to get on with his life, and to teach his friend a lesson about lying.

The merchant was getting nervous. Why did he take his friend's son? What kind of person even does that? He knew that he should have left the boy out of it. He should be at home with his mother and father, and they should have settled this in a different way. He couldn't just give his son back though. He wouldn't get his iron and his friend wouldn't respect him.

(Merchant)

He went and saw his friend the next day just to see how he was doing with the merchant's request. His friend was clearly distressed. He looked like he hadn't slept in months and he was nervous and clearly flustered. The merchant felt even worse, and knew that he couldn't keep the son and father apart anymore. It didn't sit well on his conscious and he knew that it wasn't fair to take a child for iron. He went and collected the boy and returned him to his father. He made the friend promise that he would never steal from anyone again. The friend surprised him, however, and had collected enough money to almost replace the iron. The two made up, and remain close friends to this day.

Bibliography: This story is based on "The Merchant and His Iron" in Bidpai's Fables. 

Author's Note: 

The merchant leaves on his journey, but first left his iron with his friend and trusted that he would let nothing happen to it. The friend, however, thought that the merchant would never return, so he sold all 200 pounds of iron. After a terrible journey, the merchant returns home, and goes to his friend's house to get his iron back, but since the friend had sold it, he lied and said that rats had eaten all 200 pounds of it. The merchant knew that his friend was lying and, in retaliation, stole the friend's son until the friend found a way to replace all of his iron. I thought this story was really interesting, and really enjoyed it and wanted to finish it, since the it ends on a cliffhanger with the merchant just announcing that he had stolen his friend's son. We never find out what happened, or if the merchant ever got his iron back and returned the son, so I thought it would be interesting to know how the story ends and what comes of the merchant, friend and son. I like to think that the merchant would realize that he did the wrong thing for taking the son, so he'd want to return the him, even if it meant he didn't get his iron back.

Week 4 Reading Diary: Bidpai's Fables

This is part 2 of Bidpai's Fables.

The Hare, The Fox and The Wolf: The three tried to outsmart each other, but the fox ended up outsmarting them all. The wolf thought that the hare had tricked him, so ate him, when it had been the fox all along. The fox ended up getting to escape.

Three Stories About Snakes: A snake ate a Sparrow's children, and thought that he would do nothing about it since the snake was so big. The sparrow, however, was smart enough to take an oil lamp from a nearby house and set the nest on fire while the snake was sleeping in it. A serpent ate a frog's eggs, and she was very distressed about it. She went to a crab who introduced her to a weasel who agreed to help her get back at the snake, and the weasel ate him, but then remembered the frog and her other tadpoles, and ate them too. A blind man didn't get rid of a snake, even though his friend wanted him too, and was bit and killed by the snake.

The Camel Driver and the Adder: A camel driver let a snake live, but the adder decided he would sting him anyway. The camel driver asked for advice from other animals to see whether or not the adder should bite him or the camel first, and finally a fox came by and tricked the snake into a drawstring bag to kill him.

Two Tortoise Stories: A tortoise lived with two geese, and he wanted to go with them when they moved to a new home. They agreed to carry him by stick, but made him promise that he wouldn't talk. The tortoise talked, was dropped by the geese and died. A tortoise and a scorpion became good friends, but when they crossed a river together and the tortoise agreed to let the scorpion ride on his back, the scorpion tried to sting him and then the tortoise drowned him.

The Crane and the Crab: A crane realized that her pond was almost dry, so she went and talked to a crab. She was going to outsmart the crab, but he realized her plan and broke her neck.

The Lean Cat and the Fat Cat: A lean and fat cat set out to steal food from the palace feast. The lean cat wasn't smart about it, and he was grabbed and put to death.

Three stories About Birds: A crow tried to imitate a Partridge because he didn't like who he was. A crane was taken and killed by a Bleacher because he was trying to imitate a hawk. A falcon was upset with a hen wanting to leave its keepers, but the hen explained that the keepers tried to kill it, and the falcon would do the same in the same situation.

The Partridge and the Hawk: A hawk wanted to be friends with a partridge, and finally convinced her, but the partridge betrayed him so he killed her.

(The Partridge and the Hawk)

The Crow, The Jackal, The Wolf and The Camel: The four friends knew that their king was dying, so they tried to offer themselves up to give him strength, but finally the camel, who had been sleeping a lot, gave himself up. 

The Three Fish: Three fish tried to outwit a fisherman, but one thought he was smarter than the rest and was killed and served at the palace. 

The Lion and the Hare: A hare decided that he didn't want to die, because the lion king got to choose animals to kill and eat, and tricked the lion into following him to a well to see another lion and hare. The lion was tricked and leapt into the well and died. 

Reading Week 4: Bidpai

This week I read the India Unit about Bidpai's fables by Bidpai.

Introduction: Bidpai's wrote fables, and is considered as one of the bravest philosophers from his time. King Dabshelim kept him around, but forgot him until the he remembered him one day, then, as a reward, gave him the entire kingdom to rule. Bidpai then gave Dabshelim all his moral wisdom, which made the king very happy, so he granted him any wish he wanted.

The Rustic and the Nightingale: The Rustic had a beautiful garden that he took very good care of. One day, he saw a Nightingale in his garden and was angered by it. The Nightingale returned, and the Rustic decided to capture it and take it home. The Nightingale was very sad, so he offered to sing a song for the Rustic. The Rustic enjoyed the song and decided to let the Nightingale go.

The King, the Falcon and the Drinking Cup: The king had a falcon who helped him hunt. One day they spotted a deer, and the king pursued it along with the falcon. The king was taking a drink, the falcon hit it out of his hand, and the king killed it by hitting it simply because he was angry. He was very upset once he realized he killed the falcon.

The Two Travelers: Ganem and Salem were two friends who were traveling together. They rested and they came upon a white stone with writing that guided them to their ideal destination. Ganem wanted to go that way, but Salem was skeptical and wanted to go a different way, so they separated. Ganem found people at city gates who were mourning their king, and by city rules, since Ganem followed the inscription, he was crowned the new king.

Poor Man, Rich Man, Young Man: The Poor Man received oil from a wealthy merchant, and he started planning what he could do with it. He made a plan, but spilled the oil everywhere and couldn't use it. The Rich man had a bundle of wood, but he refused to give it to a priest for a poor man. The same pile of wood ended up burning his house down. The Young Man saw a raven getting fed by a hawk, and decided that if he were lazy that someone would come take care of him. He ended up withering away, and realized he should have been more like the hawk.

The Merchant and his Iron: The merchant allowed one of his friends to watch his iron while he went on a journey, but the friend sold the iron and lied. The merchant then stole his son as revenge for selling the iron.

Gardener, Farmer, Tyrant: The Gardener befriended a bear and the bear was annoyed by a fly who was bothering the sleeping gardener. The Bear ended up killing the Gardener and the fly. Robbers tricked a stupid farmer and stole his sheep, even though he thought it was a dog. A tyrant decided to change his ways because he had seen how quickly karma caught up with people who had done something wrong.

The King, the Hermit and the Two Princes: A king found out that he was about to die, and he didn't want either of his sons to have it, so he gave it to a Hermit who hid it. One of the sons became king and kept some of the riches. The other prince found the hidden treasure and took it. The city soon elected a fair and just king.

(Kanishka Coin)

Three Stories About Apes: One ape decided he wanted to try splitting wood like a carpenter, but ended up hurting himself, which was payback for meddling in the carpenter's business. A group of apes decided that they wanted to attack a popinjay, who taunted them. They then killed her. An ape and a boar became friends, but then he upset the boar and the boar tried to kill him, but fell and died while climbing the tree. 

The Ass, The Lion and The Fox: A lion became very ill, and a fox decided to help him by suggesting he attack the ass. The lion attacked and killed him, and wanted the heart and ears, but needed to bathe first. The fox decided he was going to eat the heart and lungs and had to escape from the lion. 

Three Stories About Foxes: The fox was hungry and heard a drum, which he thought was a sign that there was large food nearby. The hen, hearing the drum as well, took flight and the fox went to sleep hungry because he was greedy. The fox and the piece of meat is about a hungry fox that was outsmarted by a jackal. A hunter wanted a fox's skin very badly. The hunter tried to outsmart the fox, but the fox had escaped and a leopard was waiting for the hunter in the brush and killed him. 

Storybook Styles Brainstorm

My Topic: I really think that I want to my storybook over gods and goddesses. I think I want to do it over Olympian gods specifically, just because there are a lot more options for characters with these gods. I really love Zeus, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite and Iris. It's really hard to choose which one to do the book over right now. I think that Aphrodite would be fun to do a storybook over, since she is the goddess of love. Zeus, on the other hand, is a very well known god, who did a lot throughout Mythology, so he could also be really interesting to do the storybook over. It would also be cool to do it over a lesser known god or goddess, just because I think it'd be fun to learn more about him or her.

Bibliography:

The Story of Zeus on Theoi

The Story of Athena on Theoi

The Story of Apollo on Theoi

The Story of Aphrodite on Theoi

The Story of Iris on Theoi


Possible Styles: 

Love as a storyteller: This topic could be a lot of fun, just because it would be fun and easy to make a story about a god/goddess falling in love and doing crazy things in order to make the person return their feelings. Aphrodite would be a great main character for this story, since she was the goddess of love, among other things, and had affairs with a few different gods. One hard thing about this though would be figuring out who the narrator was, since I'm using the Greek goddess of love as the main character already. I could most definitely find other goddesses in different mythology to use though. I could also easily do this over Zeus, since he was also known for loving multiple women. It would be fun to do a story over him and his many lovers.

Tabloid Gossip and Scandal: This one would also be a ton of fun, since the Olympian gods always seemed to have scandals going on. There could be love affairs, secret alliances or just deals being made that make headlines. One idea that jumped out at me was having Zeus and Thetis meeting up to discuss Achilles, and Hera just assuming that he's trying to find another wife. Aphrodite would also be a great one for this, since she seemed to have multiple lovers. This style would also kind of relate to modern times, since tabloids are so prevalent in our society today and people seem to always read/believe them.

Neighborhood Gossip: I think it'd be super interesting to just have neighborhood gossip going on with the Olympian gods. This would be a great way to be able to use multiple characters, but still keep the drama that you kind of associate with some mythology. I could use all five, and maybe more, of the gods and goddesses that I find interesting and make a ton of neighborhood drama. Maybe people are upset with how aggressive Zeus can be, or how annoying happy and nosy Iris is, or the jealousy that people have for Aphrodite. There are a ton of possibilities with this idea.

(Iris)

Divine Observer: This would be fun to do because you don't really think about what it would be like if the gods/goddesses were watching everything that is happening on earth today. I think it would maybe be cool to do it from multiple perspectives and do differing opinions based on which god/goddess is observing. I think that this allows for a lot of creative freedom, and could be a great way to describe the views of the different Olympian gods and show their personality.

Week 3 Storytelling: Helen's Diary

This story is based on the story of Helen and how the war between Greece and Troy started. 

****

Dear Diary,

My dad, the King of Sparta, says that it's time for me to find a husband. A lot of women my age are already getting married, so he figures that I need to be married too. I don't think I'm quite ready yet though. My life is working out pretty well and I don't think I'm ready for marriage. I don't even know how I'll choose a husband, especially since Greece is filled with so many wonderful men. I know my dad doesn't expect me to marry just anyone, but it's still stressful for me to worry about. I'm just going to try to avoid the subject for now, and hopefully my father just forgets. 

(Helen of Troy)

Dear Diary,

Some men came to the castle today and I overheard my father talking to them about marrying me. He told them that no matter who I choose they must still remain friends, and if someone steals me, they must help my husband get me back. Why would someone steal me? That's making this whole marriage thing a whole lot scarier. I don't necessarily need to get married, right? 

Dear Diary,

I know the last time I wrote I said I was very nervous about getting married, but I've met the most amazing man, Menelaüs. He treats me so well and we have so much fun. I know he's already asked my father to marry me, so now I'm just counting down the days until he finally asks me. I can't wait to get married.

Dear Diary,

My father passed away, so I guess that means Menelaüs will be the new king, and I the queen. I just can't believe that my father is gone. He did so much for me over the years, and I'm not quite sure what I'll do without him.

Dear Diary, 

I don't know what to do. Paris, a young man from Troy, broke into the castle last night and took me away from the castle, along with many of my belongings. I know how angry Menelaüs will be, and I know he will come after me. All of the men also promised my father that they would help get me back, so I'm not sure what will come of this. Greece and Troy could easily go to war, but that's the last thing I want.

Dear Diary,

It's been so long since I've written. Greece and Troy are in the middle of a messy war, all because of me. The Greeks keep trying to invade Troy, but the Trojans are holding on and hoping for a victory. I know lots of men have died and have had to leave their families in order to fight. I just want to go back to Menelaüs, and end this war, but Paris refuses. He claims to love me, but I know that this just has more to do with money and power. I just hope this ends soon. 

Author's note: Helen is infamous for being the entire reason that the Greeks and Trojans went to war. Since it wasn't something that was covered in detail in the actual Iliad, but was covered in Church's version, I thought it would be interesting to do a diary from Helen's perspective to show how she felt about the everything going on in her life. 

Bibliography: This story is based on the story of Helen in Homer's Iliad retold by Alfred J. Church 

Week 3 Reading Diary: Homer's Iliad

I read the second part of Homer's Iliad, retold by Alfred J. Church.

The Rousing of Achilles and The Rousing of Achilles continued: There were many people fighting for the body of Patroclus. Hector took his arms but Antilŏchus, who was very upset that Patroclus was dead, sent Menelaüs to talk to Achilles to save Patroclus', since he was wearing Achilles body. Achilles was incredibly sad to learn that Patroclus was dead and his mother decided to help him once again. Achilles went down to the trenches to hold the Trojans back in order to get his arms back. Achilles got Patroclus' body and mourned for him.

The Slaying of Hector: Achilles was going to get back at Hector for killing Patroclus and Thetis had new weapons made for him. Apollo had kept the Greeks from taking the city of Troy, but the Trojans were waiting to enter the gate.

The Slaying of Hector cont.: The gods deliberated on whether or not they were going to allow Achilles to kill Hector. The gods argued, but ultimately Apollo helped him, keeping Hector alive.

The Slaying of Hector end: Hector and Achilles met to talk. Achilles threw a spear at Hector, missed, but Athene gave the spear back without Hector knowing. Achilles struck Hector again, and he was killed.

The Ransoming of Hector: Zeus wanted the body of Hector and sent Thetis to get it from Achilles. Achilles wanted the to buy it from him, so Zeus sent a message to Priam to send Hermes to get the body. Achilles didn't easily give it up though and decided to hold Hector's body for ransom.

The Ransoming of Hector cont.: Priam went to see Achilles to plead with him for Hector's body. He wept to Achilles, and Achilles, still sad from losing Patroclus, sympathized with Priam and gave up Hector's body, and they had a great burial for him.

 

(Priam and Achilles)