Extra Reading Diary: Stories from Congo Part 2

Stories From Congo Part 2

(Leopard)

The Antelope And The Leopard

This was a pretty cool origin story of how the leopard began to hunt the antelope. I was surprised that the reason was because of the Antelope's savagery and not the Leopards. What began as just a game between the two animals, quickly became much more. The antelope is horrible for what it did to the leopard, but the leopard is also stupid for cutting off his limbs and removing his teeth, claws, and eyes. By removing his eyes, he lost his sight and eliminated the ability to see the Damsel's beauty, which was the reason he wanted to marry her.

The Turtle And The Man

Like many of the stories in this unit, I thought this was a good example of greed, selfishness, and trickery. It was the turtle's idea to divide the traps with the man so they would each have their own despite knowing that he could not remove the dead animals from his trap. This comes from his greed and inability to share. If they had just decided to split the food from the traps, then none of this would have ever happened. Ultimately, the turtle meets his end from his selfishness.

The Rabbit And The Antelope

This is again another example of greed, selfishness, and trickery. The antelope senses something is weird about the rabbit, but ignores it and decides to trust him. After all of the food is gone, he realizes the rabbit has been secretly eating the food while he worked and decides to teach him a lesson. Upset that the rabbit took advantage of him, the antelope sets up a trap, captures him, and eats him. A tragic way to learn a lesson for the rabbit, but he should be nicer.

Why The Crocodile Does Not Eat The Hen

I thought this was funny because of the reason the crocodile does not eat the hen. The lizard says that they are brothers in a sense with all animals who lay eggs and live in the water with them. For this reason, the crocodile does not eat the hen. This reasoning does not hold up because crocodiles eat many animals that lay eggs. 

The Three Brothers

The forgiveness of the three brothers is admirable. They take in their old mother that abandoned them as infants. Really, the spirit should be considered their mother because it raised them and not the old woman. I am happy they take her in and forgive her though, since she is their birth mother.

Reading Diary B: Stories from Congo Part 1

Stories from Congo Part 1

How Gazelle Got Married

I really liked this story for its humor and happy ending. The dog was characterized perfectly for his ADD and short-term memory. I love dogs, but I realize that they are easily distracted and forgetful. That being said, I thought it was funny how the dog would continually forget the two daughter's names if he were to do anything on his way back to his master. 

The Vanishing Wife

I feel really bad for Buite. He is treated like crap by his own brother and can never catch a break. Despite finding a wife that gave him everything while wandering the jungle, he lost it all for one silly mistake. His brother, Swarmi, is not a good person and is a horrible brother.

Another Vanishing Wife

Mavunga represents a lot of people in today's society in that he wants to please everybody, even his enemies and people that treat him poorly. It also happens too often that someone does not realize when they have something good until it is too late. In his case, his wife made him attractive, loved him, and gave him everything, only asking for him not to tell anyone how they met. 

How Kengi Lost Her Child

This is a pretty ridiculous story. The two women are married to the same man, yet cannot share anything with each other. After taking some beans from the other wife without asking, they come to an agreement that anything born on their land was to be theirs. The other wife has a child on the other's land and ends up having to give the baby to her. Why would she take her husband's other wife's baby just for a stupid agreement, especially knowing that she could not nourish the child with breast milk like the mother? 

(photograph from the book)

The Twin Brothers

It seems like people do not value life very much in the Congo and that it does not mean much to be someone's sibling because they just kill each other for the most trivial of disagreements. Just when I thought it was going to end happily, it takes a horrible turn for the worst. Luemba deserved the followers for all that he had done for Mavunga, considering he brought him back from the dead and saved his wife from adultery. Technically, Luemba became the elder brother when he brought Mavunga back to life because it was basically a rebirth. In the end, I thought both Luemba and Mavunga got what they deserved; however I think death is a little extreme.

The Younger Brother Who Knew More Than The Elder

I liked this story about the brother's much more because they both ended up living. Regardless of how much they argued and disliked each other, I think it is despicable that the elder brother would not stand up for the life of his younger brother's wife. Agreements take precedence over family, logic, and morality in these stories, no matter how ridiculous the agreement or situation. 

Storytelling for Week 6: The Tiger and the Frog Part 2

The Kingdom of the Frogs

The frog stood proudly after managing to scare away a tiger not once, but twice. Feeling very fortunate to have survived the day, the frog jumped back in the river and went about his day. Little did he know that there was an observer of what had happened that day. 

A bird had been perched on a tree branch minding his own business when he heard the exchange between the tiger and the frog. Intrigued about what was to come, the bird decided to stay and watch how the situation would unfold. 

The bird was impressed by the frog's ability to convince the tiger that he jumped across the river and that he killed and ate a tiger. He was so impressed that he vowed to tell all of the animals in the jungle the story of how the King of the Frogs was able to defeat the tiger, and even a fox. 

News of the brave frog scaring away a mighty tiger quickly made its way throughout the jungle. Soon all of the frogs in the jungle wanted to meet and live with the so called "King of the Frogs." Meanwhile, the frog was just relaxing in his river, completely unaware of what was to come. 

Before the frog realized, there were thousands of frogs serving him. The frog embraced his self-anointed role as King of the Frogs, and this is how the Kingdom of the Frogs came to be. Their kingdom was incredible; with burrows running all along the river, lily pads everywhere, and food aplenty. Everything was going perfectly for the kingdom, but the King knew the tiger would return for revenge. 

(King of the Frogs)

The tiger found himself on the other side of the jungle after running away from the frog. Embarrassed and exhausted, the tiger finally came to his senses. He felt stupid for believing that a frog could kill and eat a tiger, and knew that there must have been some trickery involved. Anger filled the tiger and he craved revenge. Determined to redeem himself, the tiger made his way back to the river.

After days of trekking through the jungle, the tiger finally arrived. Clouded with blood-thirst and unaware of the newly formed kingdom, he rushed into attack the frog who once embarrassed him. The frogs reacted quickly to protect their king and swarmed the tiger. The tiger was caught off guard and overwhelmed by the number of frogs attacking. Proving too much for him to handle, the frogs successfully drowned the tiger.


In celebration, the frogs cooked the tiger and had a magnificent feast. The Kingdom of the Frogs learned a lesson that would change them forever. They learned that united they stand and divided they fall, for they had strength in numbers.

Author's Note

This is my version of a sequel to The Tiger and the Frog. When writing this, I wanted to have all of the lies of the frog in the original to come true. Although he lied about being the "King of the Frogs", I decided it would be fun to have that lie come true. I also wanted the tiger to come back only to find his doom, so I thought creating a kingdom of frogs would be a cool way to accomplish that. One frog obviously couldn't kill a tiger, but maybe thousands of them working together could. 

Bibliography

Title: The Tiger and the Frog

Author: A.L. Shelton

Year Published: 1925

Web Site Source: Mythology and Folklore Un-Textbook

Reading Diary B: Tibetan Folk Tales

Tibetan Folk Tales

A lot of the stories in the second half of this unit are not the happiest, but I still found enjoyment. The stories of animals doing bad things are not as bad as if people were doing them. This is because they are each other's food. 

How the Rabbit Killed the Lion

So far from this unit, it seems Lions and Tigers are only portrayed as dumb and powerful. On the other hand, Rabbits are quite the evil tricksters. The Rabbit knew his life would surely end if he did not lie to the Lion, so he made up a lie about a devil in the water that wanted to fight the Lion. The Lion went to fight this "devil" and saw his reflection, which he thought was the devil. Instead of telling the Lion it was just his reflection, he started shouting it was the devil, and the Lion drowned himself like a fool.

The Golden Squash

I really enjoyed this story because the greedy man gets what he deserves. The greedy man is terrible and breaks the legs of birds with an arrow and nurses them back to health just so he can get a golden squash to make him money. To the man's surprise when he opens the squash, he was taken by the neck and killed by a fierce old man. Money really is not worth it if you have to do terrible things to get it.

(The Golden Squash)

A Rabbit Story

This is another story of where a rabbit is cunning and evil, but takes it another step in this one. After his mother is killed and eaten by his neighbor mother bear, he promises himself to get revenge one day. That day comes and he shoots the mother bear's child in the ear with an arrow and kills him. Knowing the mother bear would try to find him, he convinced a nearby tiger to let him hide from her. The tiger suggested he hide in his ear, which didn't make sense to me. I doubt a rabbit could fit in a tiger's ear and even if it could, it would be extremely uncomfortable. The rabbit can't stop his trickery and decides to tell the tiger that he is eating his eyeball when it is really the roots he brought along. Interested in the taste of the eyes, the tiger asks for a taste and eats a root. The tiger then decides to eat his own eyeballs because the roots tasted so good and the rabbit promises to take care of him. Not surprisingly, the rabbit lets him do it, brings him the the edge of a cliff, and causes him to walk off the edge.

Reading Diary A: Tibetan Folk Tales

Tibetan Folk Tales

The Tiger and the Frog

I really liked this story because of how funny it was. The frog reacted so well when in danger and somehow came up with a foolproof plan to save himself from the tiger. By taking a hold on the tiger's tail, he was able to look as though he jumped further. However, I do not understand how the tiger did not feel the frog on his tail, but then again he is starving for a reason. The poor tiger is humiliated throughout the story and makes me feel bad for him.

(The Tiger and the Frog)

How the Fox Fell a Victim to His Own Deceit

This was another one of my favorites. I feel like everyone knows that person who is always trying to stir up trouble between friends, but they always get away with it. All the friends have to do is talk to each other to figure out that they were being lied to, however this seems to rarely happen minus this story. The fox is just a jealous and selfish friend of the tiger, and is shown as soon as the tiger becomes friends with the calf. Although I think the punishment is far too harsh, I was pleased that the fox got what was coming to him.

The Story of Drashup and the Goddesses

Stories about fate are always interesting. Time and time again fate is portrayed to be unavoidable, such as in the "Final Destination" movies. It is a really scary thought that your destiny has already been chosen and there is no way to escape it. I thought this story was exciting, but I knew the ending because I read the paragraph before it. I still think Drashup could have just left her once he found out she was the girl he was destined to be with and wonder what would have happened if he did. 

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Week 5 Storytelling: How the Dog Came to Live with Man

How the Dog Came to Live with Man

Many years ago, the forest was a peaceful place for all of the animals. The animals held many celebrations during this time of peace, however the biggest and most important of all was the "Ka lew Luri Lura" (The Fair of Luri Lura). Occurring every few years, every animal was forced to attend and to bring something to sell. In order to ensure every animal attended with something to sell, the tiger, U Khla was put in charge. 

Although not very successful at the time, Man hunted the animals, therefore they were banned from these celebrations. The animals of the forest never dared to leave their home and touch the land of Man, for fear of certain death. This all changed when the dog decided to leave and serve Man. 

U Ksew, the dog, was having no luck finding something to sell at the fair. He searched the entire forest, but could find nothing. The dog wanted nothing more than to find something worthy to sell at the fair, so he did the unthinkable and went to the village of Man. 

The dog was different from the other animals, in that he was fluffy, loyal, loving, and pleasant-looking. Due to these qualities, the dog was approached and rubbed by multiple children upon entering the village. This was a delightful surprise for him, and found that he enjoyed the affection and attention. He was so happy that he had completely forgot why he was there, until he smelled the most intriguing odor.

Curious to know what was producing the peculiar smell, U Ksew followed the scent, bringing him to the home of Man and his family. Man quickly invited the dog inside to join them for dinner. Abiding, he entered the home.

Excited to see a dog in his house, Man asked, "What brings you to our village? I have never seen your kind out of the forest." The dog responded:

"Fearing that I wouldn't have anything to sell for the upcoming festival, I had no other choice but to try my luck here. Just when I thought I would leave empty handed, I smelled something unique and followed it to your home. May I ask what it is?"

The scent was coming from fermented Khasi beans, otherwise known as ktung rymbai. Despite the smell, the man promised that it tasted wonderfully. U Ksew immediately fell in love with the taste and requested a jar to sell at the festival.

After receiving the jar of ktung rymbai, he headed back to the forest with a smile on his face. The dog made sure to get to the fair early and get a good spot because he was certain that his item would be the talk of the fair.

So the fair came and U Ksew could hardly contain his excitement. He told everyone how great his item was, consequently leading to all of the animals at the fair to gather around his table. They all wanted to know what was in the jar and demanded he show them. Breaking the seal, the dog opened the jar and out poured the concentrated stench of the fermented Khasi beans.

The animals were caught off guard by the different smell and shouted "Gross, close the jar before we all get sick and die!" U Khla, the tiger then proclaimed,  "This is the worst item ever brought to the Ka lew Luri Lura and I ban you from ever attending this fair again!" U Ksew promised that the contents of the jar were the best tasting food he has ever tasted, but nobody would listen.

Now depressed, U Ksew thought of how he was treated by the people of the village. They kindly gave him food and displayed kindness, so he decided to go back to Man's home, forever. U Ksew had no allegiance to the animals of the forest after what had happened at the Luri Lura. He knew he could use his knowledge of the forest, speed, strength, and nose to help with the hunting troubles of Man. By offering his assistance, U Ksew could be fed and loved for the rest of his life.

Confident in his plan, the dog told Man his offer. Man was ecstatic and quickly accepted. Their mutually beneficial friendship was everything they could have hoped for. Man's hunting problems disappeared and the dog was happy for the rest of his life. That is the story of how the dog came to live with Man.

(Evolution of Man and Dog)

Author's Note

In the original version of the story, the dog is lazy and decides to look for something to sell in the village. There is no worry in the dog when he enters the village and openly talks to the people. After receiving the jar of ktung rymbai, the dog boasted and bragged about his item to all the animals at the fair. The dog cursed the animals and promised to make them pay after being humiliated. Once the dog arrived at the man's house, he was put to work with a pig. The dog was lazy and just ran back and forth all day, leaving all the work for the pig. Angry, the pig told the man. The man didn't believe the pig so he checked the pin in which they were put to work, and noticed all of the footprints of the dog. Convinced the pig was lying to him, the man brought the dog inside and sentenced the pig to live outside in filth. The main goal of my story was to make the dog seem better because I am a huge dog person. To do this, I eliminated the cursing of the animals and the story of the pig.

Bibliography

Book: Folk-Tales of the Khasis
Author: Mrs. Rafty
Year Published: 1920
Web Source: Mythology and Folklore Un-Textbook

Extra Reading Diary: Khasi Folktales

Khasi Folktales

Since I really enjoy folktales involving animals, I wanted to choose another unit that had stories about them. The Khasi Folktales unit appealed most to me because in addition to having stories about animals, it had stories about their creations as well. All of the stories in the first half were great and here are a few of my favorites:

The Tiger and the Monkeys: 

Tigers are fascinating animals, so this story instantly appealed to me. In this story, the Tiger is like a lot of rulers over the years, in that he only cares about himself and does not take the time to get to know his people. The other animals put elected him because of his strength and ability to break up quarrels between animals. However, the monkeys made a dumb mistake and claimed one of their sisters to be the source of the beautiful singing when it wasn't. They understood how little he actually knew about his people and knew they could take advantage of him. I always thought of monkeys as cunning animals and this story used that theme. 

Hunting the Stag Lapalang:

I really liked this story. It made me think of the saying "Mother's know best" because despite all of the mother's warnings to the Stag Lapalang would not listen. The Stag Lapalang is similar to a teenager, where they refuse to listen to their parents. He has been treated very well his whole life and it was sad to see him ignore his mother's requests. Although the Stag Lapalang would learn his lesson to always listen to his mother, it was too late and killed him. Not everyone in life gets second chances, so it is always best to listen to the advice of those who love you. In the end, the hunters learn the power of a mother's love.

How the Dog Came to live with Man:

This is the first origin story of how dogs became Man's best friend that I have read and it was definitely my favorite in this unit. Dogs are my favorite animals so I knew I would probably like this story. To no surprise, the man feels sorry for the dog and takes him in. I mean, who can resist the cuteness of a dog? Little did I know, this story would also explain how the pig was (unfairly) given its current role in society. Overall, the story shows how the relationship between man and dog are mutually beneficial, just like they are today.

(Evolution of Man and Dog)

Reading Diary A: Santal Folktales

Santal Folktales

I have found myself to really enjoy animal stories and knew that tigers were prominent in Indian culture, so choosing this unit was a no-brainer. The stories in this unit were great and had a good assortment of plots. Almost all of the stories had satisfying endings and noticed that karma was a common theme. I enjoyed all of the stories, but here are a few of my favorites:

Ledha and the Leopard:

Poor Ledha was a nice boy, but got tricked by the Leopard into making a promise he couldn't keep. Knowing he would tell someone the story of how he had to remove a lizard from the Leopard, the Leopard waited outside of his house, listening for him to reveal the secret. While taking the boy to his doom, he woke up and climbed up a tree. The Leopard soon realized and convinced him to come down, but Ledha's wit saved him. He was grateful for being able to live and served buffaloes for the rest of his life, even after marrying rich. I really enjoyed this happy ending.

Ramai and the Animals: 

This was my favorite story of these three.  Ramai was different from his brothers. When his father gave him and his four brothers one hundred rupees to buy whatever animals they wanted, Ramai's brothers chose common animals, such as, horses, buffaloes, and cattle. Ramai, on the other hand, chose to save the lives of a cat, dog, otter, and a snake. His father was greatly disappointed and vowed to kill them, and then the snake promised to give Ramai his father's magical ring in exchange for him to be brought home. Abiding, Ramai brought him home and got the ring. The ring could grant any wish, but his father had killed the other animals by the time he got home. His father thought the animals were useless, however Ramai did not and showed his father using the ring. I thought this story did a good job of showing karma and how perspective can change the value of anything. 

(The Jungle Book)

This story reminded me of the Jungle Book so that is why I chose this picture.

The Jackal and the Crow:

I thought this story was interesting and taught a few lessons. Starting out as friends who benefitted from each other during rough times, the Jackal soon became tired of his relationship with the Crow. The Crow fed him well with mice, but it was not enough and the Jackal ate the Crow. Despite being completely full, the Jackal continued on bragging about all that he had eaten that night and devouring everything in his path. Soon enough, his gluttony would prove to be his downfall. Fattened and weighed down, the fox tried to jump over a fence and fell on the tip of a stake, killing him. Although the Crow died, I felt satisfied with the fact that the Jackal got what he deserved.

Extra Reading Diary: Turkish Fairy Tales

Turkish Fairy Tales

I chose this reading because I figured stories about wizards, princes, and fairies would be interesting. The promise of beautiful illustrations was also enticing. There were four stories in the first half of this unit, each with two parts, and they didn't disappoint. The stories were called Fear, The Wizard-Dervish, The Fish-Peri, and The Crow-Peri. I found that all of the stories were very similar and had happy endings, which I enjoyed.

Fear Part 1 & Fear Part 2

I really enjoyed this story, especially because it is so different from the others. The youth has never experienced fear and goes on a quest to find it. He is uncorrupted by the world and doesn't know what he should be scared of, so all of the attempts to scare him fail. I would have thought that a hand reaching from a grave would scare him, but he hasn't watched any movies that portray the living dead as brain eating zombies. For this reason, I am not surprised that the only thing to scare him was when the Sultana placed a sparrow under the lid of his soup.

(The Boy Who Found Fear)

The Wizard-Dervish Part 1 & 2, The Fish-Peri Part 1 & 2, The Crow-Peri Part 1 & 2

All of these stories are so similar that I decided to combine them. Although the characters and stories are different, the plots are essentially the same. The main character of each story ends up befriending an animal, the animal helps them, the animal is changed into a woman, and they are married. The Wizard-Dervish was different only in that the boy is created from the help of a dervish and then must pay the dervish back when he is twenty. Overall, I really enjoyed these stories because they had happy endings. However, I do wish they weren't so similar to each other.

Week 4 Storytelling: Arabian Nights - Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

Once upon a time, there was a poor tailor named Mustapha, who had a careless son who spent his days playing in the streets with his friends. His son's name was Aladdin and his lifestyle bothered him greatly, so much that it killed him. Despite his father's death, Aladdin refused to grow up. 

Years later, Aladdin was approached by a man while playing outside. The man inquired about his age, and if his father was Mustapha the tailor.

Aladdin responded, "who's asking?"

The stranger, who was a famous African magician, grasped the boy's shoulder and said, "I am your uncle, now follow me. I have something to show you."

So he followed him into the desert, unsure if he was truly his uncle. By the time they arrived at their destination, which was between two mountains, it was very late and Aladdin was tired. Having traveled too far to turn back, they started a fire.

After the fire was started, the magician threw some of his magical powder on the ground. The earth began to shake violently, and seconds later there was an entrance to a cave.

"Listen carefully," the magician said. "Retrieve for me a special lamp and you may have all the treasure in that cave."

Intrigued by the promise of treasure, Aladdin entered the cave. Surrounded by enough treasure to raise him from poverty, he resisted and continued to search for the lamp. Minutes later, he found the lamp and headed back to the entrance, grabbing everything he could hold.

As he got closer to the exit, the magician kept shouting impatiently, "Give me the lamp, give me the lamp, give me the lamp!" Aladdin refused until he was safe and out of the cave. The magician couldn't wait any longer and became very angry. In a rage, he threw more of his magic powder and before Aladdin could get out of the cave, he was trapped.

Days had passed and Aladdin had no hope. He thought he was going to die for sure, but then he noticed something covered in dust on the lamp. In an effort to read what it said, he began rubbing it. Before he could finish, a gigantic blue genie appeared and said, "Who is it that has summoned me?"

Frightened, Aladdin quietly says it was him and begs for the genie's mercy. The genie began to laugh and responded, "Silly boy, I mean you no harm. Thank you for releasing me from the lamp, I had been trapped for hundreds of years. Can you imagine how uncomfortable that was for someone my size fitting into something so small?"

The friendliness of the genie eased Aladdin's tension. "I am happy I could help, but you see we are trapped here in this cave with no way to get out."

"Don't you know my power?" said the genie. "I must grant your every wish, for I am now your servant."

Shocked, Aladdin told the genie nicely, "Release us from this cave," and poof, they were in the middle of the desert.

Little did he know, this genie would change his life forever.

(Aladdin and the Genie's First Encounter)

Author's Note: Loving the Disney movie as a kid, I knew I wanted to write a story about Aladdin, but I wasn't sure which one yet. The reason I chose this story was that I would rather develop Aladdin and the genie by telling the story of how they met each other, than start in the middle of the full Aladdin story. I decided to get rid of the mother's role because I felt being alone would strengthen Aladdin's character. There was a second genie in the original, the Slave of the Ring, but I didn't think it added anything useful to the story so I didn't include it. Instead, I chose to include just the genie from the lamp. The movie was one of my childhood favorites, so I wanted to keep it similar. In the original, the genies aren't very nice and are scary. I wasn't a big fan of that so I decided to make the genie happy and nice. The image was selected because it shows how big the genie truly is compared to Aladdin, and shows Aladdin releasing the genie for the first time. Here is the link to the original.

Bibliography:
Book: Arabian Nights - Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
Author: Andrew Lang
Year Published: 1898
Web Source: Mythology and Folklore Un-Textbook

Reading Diary B: Arabian Nights - Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

Disney's cartoon movie version of Aladdin was the only story of Aladdin that I had known before this. This version was certainly different from what I remember from the movie. Aladdin has a mother and doesn't have a pet monkey. There were also two genies and two villains. Compared to the movie, the story was much darker. 

Aladdin 1: I would think that Aladdin and his mother would realize that he isn't truly his uncle, but I guess it wasn't that obvious. The magician is from Africa and is unrelated to Aladdin's father, therefore he probably didn't look much like him. I also don't understand why the magician couldn't wait for Aladdin to get out of the cave. His plan was to kill him anyways, so I don't get why he did it. Why did the magician give Aladdin the magical ring in the first place? It served no other purpose than to let him escape the cave in which he had been trapped.

(The Slave of the Ring Appears to Aladdin in the Cave)

Aladdin 2: Scaring the princess probably wasn't what he intended on doing. I fear that he may have ruined any shot he might have had with her because she could remember his face or voice.

Aladdin 3: His plan had worked, scaring the vizir's son so much that he demanded separation from the princess. I am surprised that Aladdin and his mother didn't use the genie lamp to get out of poverty. The least they could have done was make their home look extravagant. Somehow the princess doesn't recognize his face or voice when he meets him, so I guess his plan worked perfectly. The Sultan is pretty dumb for not questioning the source of Aladdin's wealth. He lives in poverty, yet has eighty slaves and forty basins of jewels. Not to mention he built an incredible palace in two days.

Aladdin 4: The magician was very clever in his plan to get the lamp from Aladdin. Trading a new lamp for an old one makes no logical sense, but it is a no-brainer for the person trading an old for new. I am surprised that after several years of marriage, Prince Aladdin has never revealed the magic of the lamp to the princess. Finally, the Sultan believes the vizir when he claims it was enchantment all along. I am impressed by how much the people loved him, despite realizing his wealth came at the hands of magic. Clearly, his past spent in poverty has benefited him greatly as a leader, but I it is not said how. I think it could benefit the story to include a couple of things that Prince Aladdin did to become so beloved by his people.

Aladdin 5: The princess' love for Aladdin is shown in this chapter, and it is refreshing to know that her love for him is real, despite having an arranged marriage. Aladdin is smart for poisoning the magician because who knows what could have happened if he knew Aladdin was there.

Aladdin 6: Poor princess, she is always getting deceived. It seems her father, the Sultan, passed this trait down to her, as she always fails to notice the obvious. I would think it would be evident that the Fatima she met, was a man imposter. He may have been able to cover his face with a veil, but it is much more difficult to disguise your shoulder width, body frame, and voice. I enjoyed the happy ending because they are always better than tragic ones.

Reading Diary A: Arabian Nights

Arabian Nights

Scheherazade: This story is great and I can't wait to find out what happens to Scheherazade. I don't understand why she would volunteer herself to die just so she could tell stories to her sister. That being said, I am sure she has something up her sleeve before dawn comes because how else would she "deliver the people from the terror that reigns over them." The Sultan is definitely insane, marrying and killing a new woman every night because his first wife deceived him. The wording wasn't very specific, but I can imagine that his wife was cheating on him.

The Merchant and the Genius: Scheherazade is very clever, but I don't know how she knew he wouldn't kill her before she finished the story. I am very curious to find out what happens. The story of The Merchant and the Genius is similar to her own, except she hasn't killed the Sultan's child. She is a gifted storyteller and I can't wait to read more. I don't get why the merchant went back at years end when he could have easily never returned, but maybe he has something planned like Scheherazade.

The Story of the Fisherman: Once again, Scheherazade has convinced the Sultan to hear more of her stories. At this point, I feel like she is going to tell him stories of people who are spared death and forgiven, but I may be wrong. I can tell that I will enjoy this story more than the previous, just as she promised the Sultan. It is sad that the genie had been locked in a vase for so long, but it is terrible that he would kill whoever freed him after waiting so long. The Fisherman was smart, convincing the genie to show him how he fit in the vase so he could trap him again.

The Greek King and the Physician Douban: I am starting to understand what Scheherazade's plan is. All of her stories are lessons for the Sultan, and she hopes that he will change his mind in the end. The first was about forgiveness and this one is about trust. The storytelling also continues to get deeper and deeper, having the characters in the story tell stories.

The Physician's Revenge: I really liked this story. Scheherazade told this story to scare the Sultan, making him think that he will die if he kills her innocent self. The King would have lived had he not killed the innocent Physician, but his paranoia was his downfall. I was also happy to see that even the story had an effect on the genie, and ended up gaining his trust. In my opinion, this story is a lesson about Karma.

(The Physician's Revenge)

King of the Black Isles: Finally, a story that has a happy ending! The genie's plan was pretty complicated, but it worked, giving the Fisherman all the money he and his family would ever need.

I loved these stories and can't wait to hear how it all ends in the next section. Aladdin was another one of my favorite childhood movies, so I am excited to read the actual story.

Greek Heroes: Styles Brainstorm

Topic: My storybook will be about famous heroes of Greek mythology. Greek mythology is my favorite subject so far, and I think I would enjoy this topic the most. I want to include at least four heroes, but I am having trouble deciding so I might end up just doing more. The four I have in mind are Heracles, Perseus, and Bellerophontes. The reason I chose these four is because they are the four most legendary in my opinion. Bellerophontes was one of the most famous before the time of Heracles and Perseus, so I felt like he should be included. Heracles is my favorite overall and my familiarity with Perseus, led me to choosing them as well. The three other heroes that I am unsure about are Achilles, Odysseus, and Theseus. I want to use the story of The Second Labour of Heracles, where he slays the Lernaean Hydra, most because it was his most deadly foe. Another story I am thinking of using is of Bellerophontes and The Slaying of the Chimera. Another story I would like to include is of Perseus Overcoming the Gorgon (Medusa). I am also interested in Odysseus and the Odyssey, Achilles and the Iliad, and the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Finding enough stories is clearly not an issue, however, I should try to limit it to four.

(Bellerophontes & the Chimera, Roman mosaic from Palmyra C3rd A.D.)

Bibliography:

1. "The Second Labour of Heracles: Lernaean Hydra". Web Source: Wikipedia
2. "Bellerophontes: The Slaying of the Chimera". Web Source: Wikipedia
3. "Perseus: Overcoming the Gorgon (Medusa)". Web Source: Wikipedia
4. "Odysseus: The Odyssey". Web Source: Wikipedia
5. "Achilles: The Iliad". Web Source: Wikipedia
6. "Theseus: The Myth of Theseus and the Minotaur". Web Source: Wikipedia

Possible Styles:

Heroes as storytellers. My first choice is in the perspective of each hero. There are a few ways I could do it, but I am thinking of making it to where each hero is up for the "Best Greek Hero" award and they have to sell themselves to the decision maker of the award. This would be fun because I could create a personality of the heroes and really make it my own. 

Defeated foes as storytellers. Having the defeated enemies of the heroes, such as the Lernaean Hydra, Chimera, Medusa, Minotaur, Hektor, etc., tell the story of their battles would be cool as well. They could either be just telling the story of their battles to a person or even an award giver like the style above. I really like this option too, so it will be difficult for me to choose.

Gods as the storytellers. The gods play a big role in greek mythology, therefore I think it would be logical to have them tell the stories of each hero from their perspective. Similar to the above styles, the gods could be giving an award to one of the heroes, and a god must nominate a hero for the award. Since the majority of the heroes I have suggested are Demigods, their parents could be the gods nominating them.

Observer as the storyteller. The final style I was thinking about is using an observer to tell about a battle for every hero. I could use an animal, a fake person, or even a different observer for each hero to recount one of their famous battles. I am leaning away from this option just because it probably won't be as fun to read or write.