Extra Reading Diary: Santal Folklore

The link to this reading unit can be found here.


Ledha and the Leopard

• Leopard playing hide and seek with a lizard unlikely match
• Interesting how the leopard was watching
• Kind of funny imaging a leopard carrying a bed on its head
• Good that Ledha woke up
• Also funny how the leopard is thought to be a very dangerous and scary animal, but in this story he is afraid of a small lizard
• Animal - human relationship
• Measuring hair?
• Somewhat random turn of events when the princess wanted Ledha to promise to marry her..
• "Became a great Raja"

The Monkey and the Girl

• Monkey creating a plan to be able to eat crops
• Another human-animal relationship
• Girl wanted to marry the monkey - interesting aspect
• Turn of events when the father shot the monkey because he heard of his daughters intentions
• Intense, quick, and sad ending

The Tiger's Bride

• The offering of her daughter for help..
• Human-animal relationship
• Like the previous story in that it is a deeper connection than what is conventional in real world
• "How far off is our home, big head?" 
• Intriguing story, the ending was both good and bad in terms of plot

"Hanuman Langur Monkey"
Source: MythFolklore UnTextbook

Reading Diary B: King Arthur

The link to this reading unit can be found here.


Sir Lancelot's Vision

• I like how descriptive the story is 
• Sick knight
• Quest of the Graal
• Blur between a dream and reality for Sir Lancelot
• Seems his sins lead to his misfortune; lost some of his things

Sir Gawaine and the Hermit

• Adventure story
• The part about the mysterious person that went into the chapel and then vanished --> had me interested and wondering what was going to happen.
• "You have failed in three things, charity, fasting, and truth.."
• As in Lancelot's vision, intriguing to see how in this story, where he is looking for an adventurous quest, he cannot perform one due to his sins
• Sins continue to lead to his misfortune here too

End of Arthur

• Following intense fight
• "Throw my sword in that water.."
• Could only see bad coming from Sir Bedivere lying and disobeying King Arthur
• How King Arthur knew Sir Bedivere had lied..
• Weird but interesting how a hand came up from the water and caught the sword..
• Sad ending
• Focus on Lancelot

"Gawaine, by Howard Pyle"
Source: MythFolklore UnTextbook

Reading Diary A: King Arthur

The link to this reading unit can be found here.

The Drawing of the Sword

• One of my favorite parts of King Arthur's story
• Idea that if there was no king, the country would basically fall apart
• London! And Christmas!
• Arthur was the foster-child
• The fact that Arthur was able to pull out the sword so easily. I really like this part.
• Arthur meant to do something nice for his brother, but his brother in return tried to steal what was rightfully his. --> not right, however it's good that he eventually told the truth
• I like that Arthur was humble about it. He didn't get conceited and was not power hungry
• Could turn this story around and add a love interest early on

The Round Table

• Guenevere
• Even in this story, I could add an interesting snippet of Guenevere and Arthur's relationship before marriage besides the one told
• Gift of a round table
• "The Round Table is dearer to me than great riches."
• Quick preparations
• I like the good deeds Arthur was willing to do like making the young man into a knight easily.

The King's Pilgrimage

• "St. Augustine, which is in the White Forest and may only be found by adventure." I like this set up
• Chaus
• Scary dream that was brought upon Chaus
• Connection between reality and dream with the knife and candlestick
• Gory turn of events when the knife was drawn out and the dream somewhat turned into real life

The Drawing of the Sword
Source: MythFolklore UnTextbook

Extra Reading Diary: Turkish Fairy Tales

The link to this reading unit can be found here.

Patience-Stone and Patience-Knife

• The random entrance and immediate exit of the bird
• Animals characterized with speaking abilities/be able to communicate to humans
• Repeated theme of the bird
• "Oh my poor maiden, your kismet is with a dead person"
• Like a bad omen
• Fear of the bird coming back starting to impact the mother and daughters daily lives
• Turned into something better than a bad omen

Patience-Stone and Patience-Knife (cont.)

• Definite plot twist when the Arab girl took credit for the Maiden's work
• Strange connection between the ship stopping and a man on board not having kept his word for something
• Didn't expect that's what the maiden needed the stone and knife for
• I think the plot twist adds more interest to the story
• Turn of events at the end of the story. Good for all but the Arab

Kunterbunt

• The beginning sentence grabs the attention of the reader
• Theme- two-->third
• The idea that they were talking to a dead man
• "At which I became angry and ran away to melon field"
• Very interesting, somewhat odd story but I liked it
• The ending wasn't expected

Patience Stone and Patience Knife
Source: MythFolklore UnTextbook

Reading Diary B: British North America

The link to this reading unit can be found here.


Turtle and Thunder

• Turtle in need
• "Let me see how you can fight"
• I like how it went from big animals you would expect to be able to protect the turtle, like the deer and bear, to a crowd of small turtles.
• The turtle decided the crowd of turtles will be most helpful to him
• His own crowd
• Crowd unfortunately killed by a stone
• Thunder Bird
• Reasoning behind why turtles stay in white during a thunderstorm
• Could add a female turtle for love story, change the plot around a bit

Coyote's Gifts

• "Powerful in magic"
• "The aurora is the light of Coyote's fire, shining through the ice, or the reflection of it cast by the ice."
• Word choice
• Coyote having the ability to create parts of the world
• Made different tribes to speak different languages
• Shape shift into a piece of wood
• Another story providing interesting reasoning for things

Wolverene and Rock

• "I can't walk, but I can roll."
• Rock is personified
• Funny story, I like the way the author wrote the story.
• I would probably expand on the story if I retold it 
• Add more background info

"Coyote Tule Lake"
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Diary A: British North America

The link to this reading unit can be found here.


Raven and Moon Woman

• Stopping up every hole in the house
• "The box." This interested me. I might elaborate on this particular aspect
• Moon woman - guards moon, has a raven as a son - intriguing relationship choice. 
• "Turned himself into a raven"
• Switching between child and raven
• Fishermen saying what the Moon woman said at beginning of story
• I like the ending how the parts of the sky came to be are explained

Grizzly Bear and Coyote

• Opposing views
• The change between light and dark due to Coyote and Grizzly Bears very different songs.
• Came to a compromise 
• I think it's interesting how animals are characterized into being able to control such things such as light and darkness
• Feathers deciding how long a season is
• "Coyote saved the people from living in darkness, and from very long, cold winter."

Why the Sun is Bright

• Sad beginning..
• Sky Land
• The sun is personified
• Robe being the reason for the intensity of the Sun's light
• Interesting to read stories based on why something is the way that it is in the real world.

"Moon and Stars"
Source: MythFolklore UnTextbook

Extra Reading Diary: Eskimo Folk Tales

The link to this reading unit can be found here.

The Coming of Men, A Long, Long While Ago

• I like the beginning of the story -the first paragraph and how it was written. 
• "Earth, hills and stones, all fell down from the sky, and thus the earth was made."
• Focus on man being created
• Good visualization
• Intro of 1st person towards middle of plot
• "No day ever dawned"
• Intriguing take on the creation of men, dogs, children, women, death, light, etc. Nice read

The Woman Who Had a Bear as a Foster-Son

• Eskimo theme
• Interesting turn as she ate bear but once she saw the cub was alive she didn't immediately kill it but instead try to save it. 
• Bear gaining the mind of a human
• Deep "mother-son" type of relationship between the mother and the bear
• Had to let the bear go for his own safety

Isigâligârssik

•  Wizard introduced
• Singled out from hearing the wizard
• Very quick union between the girl and Isigâligârssik while in the house..
• Wondering why the wizard took away his wife
• Quick healing
• Wizard vs. Isigâligârssik

"Polar Bear"
Source: MythFolklore UnTextbook

Reading Diary B: Pacific Northwest

The link to this week's reading and my favorites can be found here.

Two Thunder Bird Stories

• "The beating of its wings was thunder. Its glance was lightning."
• How the simple touch of the Thunder Bird can create things so big.
• The Tinne
• Sacred Arrow is a cool touch to the story
• "The bird's wings darkened the sun. The flapping of its wings shook the earth."
• I like the descriptions of the birds
• Interesting how the Indians were said to be made from eggs

How the Ermine Got its Necklace

• Very abrupt how they just went and killed the porcupine when it didn't answer their question
• How pride got the best of one of the brothers.
• Monsters
• Thunder Bird reappearance
• Cool how the birds are the ones making the weather change
• Wondering why the boy kills all the birds. Fear?
• Didn't expect the other brother to have become an ermine.
• Saved the younger brother

Falls of the Willamette

• Not finishing what he started in many places
• I like how the Trap is given emotions
• Argument leading to use of spears

"Short tailed weasel ermine animal mustela erminea"
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Diary A: Pacific Northwest

The link to this weeks reading and my favorites from it can be found here.

How Silver-Fox Created the World

• Silver-Fox and Coyote having issues
• Interesting how Silver-Fox came up with the idea to make a hole and climb down through it in order to live on the island below.
• Wondering how Silver-Fox made island larger
• Sunflower seeds
• "Silver-Fox did not reply" theme
• Silver-Fox seems very wise and it's interesting how he was able to make all that stuff and then send Coyote out to complete errands.

How Beaver Stole Fire

• Idea that animals and trees talked long ago before humans
• "secret of fire"
• I like how it tied in the pine trees that ran and all stopped in one place to the hunters hardly being able to get through the trees today. Cool connection.
• Beaver giving fire to different trees
• Nice how the moral relates to animals and Indians being able to get fire from the woods by rubbing two together
• Enjoyed this story, short but still told well

The First Totem Pole

• Wakiash - main
• The Raven taking him all around the world
• Animal clothes
• How the mouse turned and decided to help Wakiash
• Intriguing how the animals know what Wakiash is thinking 
• Goal- totem pole

"Beaver"
Source: MythFolklore Untextbook

Reading Diary B: Stories from Congo

The link to this reading unit can be found here.

The Antelope and the Leopard

• Interesting how a dog jumped out from the nut
• Animals, talking theme
• Plot progresses quickly once the dog jumps out. 
• Kind of weird how the leopard immediately took orders from the dog turned damsel because she was so beautiful; then, by demand he killed all of his wives. This may be a part I change up a bit
• Quick "love"
• I had a feeling damsel was actually the antelope. 
• Also interesting how the ending relates to reasons we don't often think about. "And this is why the leopard now always kills the antelope when he meets one"

The Turtle and The Man

• Right off the bat, it's different but cool how the story sets up a relationship between a man and a turtle. 
• Can both communicate to each other
• Diets - antelope
• Turtle seems to be the "bad guy." selfish, sneaky, mischievous
• Turn of events when the leopard was able to play the turtle's game
• Intriguing how the man came in at the very end. I was wondering where he went and thought the story would mainly be about both of them but it was mostly just about the turtle.
• I could retell it, having the man be more apart of the story line

The Three Brothers

• Although short, I really liked this story
• Story of a mother giving up her three children and later reuniting with them
• Instead of anything terrible, they took her in and cared for her
• I think if I were to retell this story I would definitely either add more of a background story with the mother being the main character, or add more of a story for the three brothers. Possibly more about their lives growing up and then more dialogue when finding their father and mother, too. 

"Village, photo by Dennett"
Source: MythFolkloreUntextbook

Reading Diary A: Stories from Congo

The link to this reading unit can be found here.

How Gazelle Got Married

• Taking husbands theme
• Interesting how it focuses on animals as if they were humans. 
• The back and forth journey of the dog was kind of funny; getting hungry, satisfying that hunger, forgetting the names of the daughters, then getting thirsty, satisfying that thirst and forgetting the names again.
• Bargain between dog and Nsassi
• I like the name Nsassi for a characters name, I probably wouldn't change this
• Haha, another funny part how on the way to see the two girls both Nsassi and the dog had forgotten the names and the dog had to go once more to figure it out. 
• I think the ending was kind of out of the blue how the antelope returned in the plot but it was interesting to see how they tied up that end.

The Vanishing Wife

• Reminds me of the contrast between Anansi and Nothing
• I like how the dream portion became a reality the next day for Buite
• It's sad how the story ended, and how his brother continued to treat him. I feel that I might change the ending up a bit. I think it might make for sense for the dream to have just been a dream, of course, but stories have the ability to be however they want to be.
• If I retold it I would probably have Buite keep his riches and his brother lose his and then go from there

The Younger Brother Who Knew More Than the Elder

• Wondering why the younger brother left
• Weird how the agreement turned out when the wife was lost
• I enjoyed the ending how the elder brother turned out to help his younger brother and in a clever way

"Gazelle"
Source: MythFolklore UnTextbook

Extra Reading Diary: Italian Tales

The link to this extra reading unit can be found here.

An Incident in Rome

• I like the writing style of this story and how it's told
• "darkness that you could cut"
• The story was kind of scary but really interesting to read about. I also like the ending sentence as well "This is the story of Pilate, who is neither saved nor damned."
• The part of Master Francis going down the hole is important but I'm curious to know what happened after he told the Pope. 

The Sexton's Nose

• Weird how it went from an exchange of animals to the exchange of a to-be bride whom the main character carried away in a bag.. that probably wouldn't stay in the story if I retold it
• How did the girl not say anything while in the bag?
• Also wondering why he meant to throw the bag in the sea. Also why the roasted pea was so important to him in the first place.
•  I like how it flipped. Instead of people giving him things, he had to get things himself to heal his nose. 
• For some reason I was expecting the ending to not end the way it was expected to. It would be cool to end it differently with the sexton not getting what he needed then continue it from there. 

A Feast Day

• Really funny story! I enjoyed how the author put it together. It gave me a good laugh.
• I like the ending too where it switches from third person to first person in the very last sentence

Italian Popular Tales
Source: MythFolklore UnTextbook

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

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

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

 

Extra Reading Diary: Georgian Folktales

The link to the extra reading unit I did this week can be found here!

Fate

• Only son-desirable
• The king wanted there to be an arranged marriage. My first thought after finishing the first paragraph was that I'm glad that the son objected-(I'm not a fan of arranged marriages)
• The son wanted to have some control and knowledge of his own fate*
• I also like the journey aspect and meeting strangers along the way that help him.
• This story definitely took a dark turn when the son wasn't happy about his fate..I think if I retold this story this dark part wouldn't be in there. Or maybe it would, but only in a way where he stops himself and something better becomes of it.
• The ending was very interesting. It was cool how it came full circle-fate

The Shepherd Judge

• The way he rose to be a judge
• It's good that he didn't fall to corruption and take the bribe of the man- it seemed to pay off for him in the end of the story.

The Three Precepts

• First paragraph and throughout the story-how the writer used repetition
• Passage of time
• A story of rags to riches and back to rags..it was overall a sad story that he lost all of his riches since he didn't listen to the clever man
• I think if I retold it it wouldn't be a snake giving him riches but possibly something else
• I also feel I might expand on the dialogue between the young man and his wife

"Caucasus mountains"
Source: Mythology and Folklore UnTextbook

Reading Diary B: Indian Fairy Tales

The link to this unit and the stories can be found here

The Talkative Tortoise

• Interesting story to me, I think that tortoise's last words were both terrible and sad. This also felt like karma towards the tortoise for what he had said just before falling.
• I liked the logic of the ducks telling the tortoise not to talk. At first I thought it was for a different reason since the ducks did not say explicitly why the tortoise should hold his tongue.
• Another part that I enjoyed about this story is how the very beginning introduces the king, who is also very talkative, and the future Buddha. Then, it tells the tortoise's story, and at the end it connects the two. I found that style of telling the plot pretty cool.

Pride Goeth Before a Fall

• I like the title of this story
• This was a good read, the robbers got what they deserved in the end
• I'm glad one of the merchants was able to think up a plan and I also liked the fact that there was a song with key words only they could understand. It remind me of entire languages-this could be a replacement to that part.

How Sun, Moon, and Wind Went Out to Dinner

• To start off, I like the familial linkage aspect between the Sun, Moon, Wind, Thunder, Star and Lightning
• One of my favorite stories from the unit. I really like learning about the moon and stars, etc. and in this story the moon is the choice character who gets treated the best. 
• The connection between reasons why the sun is hot or why the wind is not liked in hot weather and the Star's curses were intriguing and fun to read. 

The Talkative Tortoise
Source: Mythology and Folklore UnTextbook

Reading Diary A: Indian Fairy Tales

The link to this unit can be found here

The Lion and the Crane

• Crane and lion-unlikely companions
• I like how the crane did a good deed for the lion even though he was hesitant about it.
• I could see this story going a different route, more specifically, having a different ending. The crane could have flew away and then maybe came back. It also could be a told in a way that the crane continues to do favors not returned by the lion.
• This could lead to the lion being in bigger trouble or ultimately really suffering because he did not return the cranes favors.

The Broken Pot

• Ha, this was definitely an interesting read. Reading the majority of it I felt sad for the character Svabhavakripana since he had to beg to get food. 
• It was nice reading the middle of the plot because even though it might not have been a lot, he had dreams and goals of what he could do with the rice.
• The ending was a little twist, it kind of seemed like small karma to me because of him dreaming of kicking his wife and then he ending up kicking his pot full of rice. 

The Magic Fiddle

• Reminds of a previous story I read of a girl being turned into a harp
• I think it's good that she was turned back into a human as I thought she might remain a fiddle.
• Nice ending*

Harisarman

• Village name*
• "Secret crimes manifest themselves by means of fear"
• I liked this story. It wasn't right that the Brahman prospered by lying. There was some humor, though, in how many coincidences there were in his favor. If I changed anything it would be the ending outcome.

Harisarman
Source: Mythology and Folklore Untextbook