Reading Diary B: West African Folktales

The link to this reading unit can be found here.

The Moon and Stars

• Didn't expect a dragon to appear pretending to be Anansi
• Kind of funny how the servant to the dragon was simply a chicken that would crow to warn him.
• I like the throwing bones and dancing to the fiddle music parts toward the end
• I was interested in seeing why the title was the moon and the stars as the majority of the story never hinted at it. But I enjoyed Kewku Tsin being able to create a plan and get him, his friends, and father to the heavens safely.
• I also like how the ending ties it all together smoothly

The Ungrateful Man

• How both the animals and the human man can speak and communicate simultaneously
• The contrast between the beginning and middle of the plot: first the hunter wanted to save just the man and it turns out the man is who wants to end up doing him harm. The animals which he almost didn't want to save, only gave him good things
• I think the story turned out how it should have. 
• It could be interesting to flip flop the plot and have the ungrateful man be the good guy somehow

Why Tigers Never Attack Men Unless They Are Provoked

• Another human-animal relationship
• Interesting how the tiger had money to give
• Again, I like how the ending ties it altogether and provides reason to real world things that we don't often think about. 

"Sun photo by Simon"
Source: MythFolklore UnTextbook

Reading Diary A: West African Folktales

The link to the reading unit can be here.

How Wisdom Became the Property of the Human Race

• The fact that the punishment was not like a regular one people would expect, instead it was to take away his wisdom from them.
• Put it into a pot
• I like the ending where he finds out his son knew something he didn't think of first and then the wisdom he tried to hide instead escaped from the pot and spread everywhere

Anansi and Nothing

• The character's name of Nothing
• I liked how his name is Nothing yet he was rich and had really fine clothing
• It seemed weird to me that Anansi attempted to kill Nothing when he was the one who took his clothes and Nothing agreed to it. It was his own fault he lied. 
• The fact that Anansi succeeded in his attempt made me upset, but the ending part with the reason you see a child crying was very interesting to me in how they tied it all together. 
• If I retold it, the ending definitely would be different
• I also would probably change the middle of the plot emphasizing on Nothing and his wife

The Squirrel and the Spider

• Animals given a voice
• The fact that there was a court. Really gives a humanistic approach. It was kind of funny to imagine this. It would be cool to retell this with a focus on this part. 
• Karma at the end. I'm glad the spiders didn't get away with it but it's still sad for the squirrel who never got justice. - Another thing that could be changed

"Squirrel"
Source: MythFolklore UnTextbook

Thoughts about Comments

Personally, I love reading through the comments and seeing the constructive criticism people have left me on my stories. This is one of the most helpful things a person can do to help another person better their writing. I think often people are worried they may be offering too harsh of criticism so they try to point out more good than things that can be worked on (I do that sometimes, too)! However I think it's truly very important that we give our honest opinions. I know seeing what people like or didn't like, helps me look at my story from different perspectives than just my own. It opens my eyes to new ideas and new possibilities which I really enjoy. I think a way I could improve the comments i'm leaving for others is to take my own advice and be more constructive and try to balance the good with what I think could be better. I really have enjoyed reading everyone's stories though, it's great to see other's amazing creativity at work! I'm excited to have the chance to read new stories every week!

Extra Reading Diary: Great Plains

Link to the extra reading diary unit can be found here.

Sacred Legend

• Interesting on the idea that the first people came from water.
• Part where a man figured out how to make fire and it was the first time anyone had seen it and weren't sure what the phenomenon was. Reminds me of the "caveman" theory
• A lot of intelligence 
• Were able to come up with a lot of ideas with how to survive on not much. Also how to build certain things to aid in their survival
• Man with the seeds-coincidental 
• Cool storytelling method

The Buffalo and the Grizzly Bear

• Animal theme
• I liked the way the story turned around. You have a bullying situation from the Grizzly Bear to Buffalo Bull and then Buffalo Bull finally stands up for himself
• I also like the animals were given a voice
• Funny at the end how Grizzly Bear wanted to be friends with Buffalo Bull just because he got bested by him and because he was treated like he treated Buffalo Bull

The Eagle's Revenge

• Blurs line between reality and fantasy
• At first I thought the stranger was going to be the Eagle that had been killed
• Stranger vanished-turned out to be the brother of the Eagle
• I feel like if I had retold this I wouldn't change much because I like how it was put together in only 300 words, but maybe I would have the stranger actually be the Eagle and possibly have the revenge be haunting the hunter for a while.

"Buffalo"
Source: Mythology and Folklore UnTextbook

Storytelling for Week 5: A New Start

Fayiz was unhappy. He had been noticing it along the way but today it really hit him harder than ever before. Things weren't the same and he knew they would never be the same from here on out.

"Fayiz, why won't you speak to me?" his wife inquired.

This had been going on for a while. The back and forth quarrels continued to increase as the days went on. He would usually take a small pause and then continue to argue with his wife. But now, he had grown tired of arguing, so he just said nothing instead. He kept quiet, hoping this would speak louder than any words he could've managed to utter. His wife stared at him a while, grunted and walked away.

At this point, Fayiz decided that enough was enough and went to his wife the very next day to end it. He simply explained that he was not happy with the situation and that they had been fighting for too long. Every fight their two boys would listen and watch and he didn't want that either. He felt that this was the best decision so he packed his things and left.

He wasn't sure where he was going but he knew he would figure it out as he went. For a while he went from town to town. He often stayed in small houses people would rent out for cheap and would take up quick jobs in order to get enough money to eat and survive. He didn't have much, but it was enough.

One day Fayiz was on his way traveling to yet another new town when he came upon a vast mountain area. He was very tired so he decided to stay the night there, under the protection of a big tree close by. When he awoke the next day he saw a beautiful girl standing above him, watching him. Startled, he jumped up.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Peri," she responded. "Are you lost?"

"No, I am not lost. I was just heading to a new town. I am sort of a drifter, you could say."

"Hmm. I see. But, strange man, why drift when you can comfortably stay in one place? Come with me. I live not far away. I can help you get settled and lead a normal, happy life."

Fayiz was not too sure about it, but he knew that he liked this mysterious girl. He somewhat hesitantly agreed upon her offer. There was something about her that he could not put his finger on but he knew he wanted to learn more about her and spend more time with her. Over time, they eventually fell in love and got married. It had been years since Fayiz saw his old family. He felt like a new person. He was happy again with his new life and new wife.

However, on one particular day, he witnessed something he had never seen before. As he was lying in bed, his wife got up and walked to the window across the room. He presumed that she thought he was still asleep, but he very much wasn't.

In the blink of an eye, wings grew from her back, she shrunk to the size of a faerie, and swiftly flew out.

Fayiz opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Fayiz
Source: Mythology and Folklore UnTextbook

Author's Note:  For this story I decided to retell the story of Fayiz and the Peri Wife. In the original story, Fayiz was a married man who left his previous family, went to the mountains. fell in love with and married, a beautiful woman who was not human. She was a Peri-which is another word for fairie in Persian folklore. Eventually, Fayiz becomes unhappy once again and wants to go back home to see his other wife and two sons. His new wife, the Peri, agrees but tells him if he tells anyone her secret, he will never see her again and will only come into trouble. Well, Fayiz ends up breaking his promise of not telling and tells his old wife because he thought this would be best. Since he did, he never saw his Peri wife again and yearned for her. In my retelling I decided to give more of a backstory with Fayiz and his old wife and change the story up a bit but having him have an unhappy marriage and becoming happy again in his new life with the Peri. Then, at the end he randomly finds out that his wife is not human. I liked ending the story with a surprise because throughout the story one would never guess that his wife is not human although there is an inclination of something off from Fayiz's thoughts of her.

Bibliography: "Fayiz and the Peri Wife" translated by D.L.R Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer and illustrated by Hilda Roberts from Persian Tales (1919).
Web Source: Mythology and Folklore UnTextbook

Reading Diary B: Persian Tales

The link to this reading unit where you can find my favorite stories from this unit and more can be found here!

Fayiz and the Peri Wife

• Fayiz-"true-hearted and honest"  
• Love story. I could retell this story and use it my portfolio. I think it would go really well with my theme!
• Fayiz and the wife-didn't seem to know each other well but fell in love
• "It is, indeed, scarcely possible that a human being should keep faith." I found this, in the midst of the rest of the story, kind of funny. Like the author was throwing a subtle jab at humans ability to be faithful in a relationship
• The wife was not human
• Secret that she is not human, but Peri and if Fayiz tells then trouble will come to him.
• fairy
• Ended up telling the secret and what Peri warned him came true

The Story of the Wolf-Bride

• Starts off with a bad fate 
• The wolf that was predicted to tear the boy into pieces turned out to be his new wife
• Interesting short story. Really straight and to the point. If I retold this I would probably add more to the story line

The Man Who Went to Wake His Luck

• Luck personified as a human being
• As the poor brother was looking for his Luck, people on the way were asking him for favors regarding their Luck
• Kind of a plot twist at the end but I like how it catches the reader off guard. Maybe the reason he got eaten was because he woke his Luck up too early. 

The Shepherd Who Found a Treasure

• I like the symbolism in this story
• Interesting, weird part about the green fly
• The shepherd tricked his brother who was not really his brother anymore due to the fly and used it to his benefit

The Fayiz
Source: Mythology and Folklore UnTextbook

Reading Diary A: Persian Tales

The link to this reading unit and my story favorites from it can be found right here!

The Wolf and the Goat

• Character names - Alil, Balil, Ginger Stick, and Black Eyes - child goats
• The wolf tricking the goats by painting his hand red. Good part is that Black eyes was able to escape and hide until the mother returned. 
• Black eyes and the mother climbed the roof
• I like the contrast between the wolf not taking care to provide a good present and the dentist putting in teeth that only looked nice, and the goat doing everything right and being able to then trick the wolf and lure him into her trap
• If I retold the story I might add in a scene with the wolf in his house with the goats that he kidnapped.

Nim Tanak, or Half-Boy

• First sentence same as previous story I read.. "Once upon a time there was a time when there was no one but God."
• Very interesting read
• Idea of a "half-child"
• Apples that caused the wives to become pregnant
• Nim Tanak - treated poorly by his father
• Same ending line as previous story "And now my story has come to an end, but the sparrow never got home."
• I like the fact that Nim Tanak became the hero, but not the fact that that's how his father came to respect and love him.

The Sad Tale of the Mouse's Tail

• Second sentence went right into the dilemma of the story.
• The story was made into an intriguing way, there's no resolution but I thought there might be.
• I like the hunt for things to achieve the end goal
• I would probably continue the story, leaving the majority the same, but giving it an actually ending that goes a long with the plot.

"Nim Tanak, or Half-Boy"
Source: Mythology and Folklore UnTextbook