Extra Reading Diary: Dante's Inferno

Dante's Inferno

Gate of Hell and Charon

All of these stories are dark and creepy, and this one is no different. The poor angels kicked out of heaven for being faithful to themselves rather than God moan very loudly because they are not allowed into Hell. Charon is a scary demon and is described very well throughout this story as well as in Limbo. I am pretty sure that Charon is also referenced in the stories of Greek Mythology too. 

Limbo

Limbo is exactly what I would have expected it to be. Which is basically a place of nothingness. The saddest part about Limbo is that all people who do not follow Christianity or are not baptized are sent to it. Even before the time of Christianity, people were sent to Limbo instead of heaven. I do not think that is very fair, considering that they did not know what to believe in and had never heard of Christianity before. Some prominent people have been lucky enough to be taken from there, however.

(Christ in Limbo)

Fallen Angels

This story is creepy as well. I picture fallen angels to be giant and scary. I can only imagine their anger after being banished from Heaven. I thought this story was very interesting though and shows Dante's fear of being lost in Deep Hell while he is still alive. Lucky for him however, he has Virgil who is watching out for him and promises to never leave him in Hell. If I were Dante, I would be terrified the entire time. Hell is one of those places that I never want to experience, alive or not. He truly is brave for doing so while alive and not forced there after death. 

Reading Diary B: Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen

The Princess and the Pea

I really enjoyed this story, especially because of how short and sweet it was. The story starts by saying that there is a Prince who wanted to marry a princess, but only a "real" princess. He had found many princesses, but they were not "real". When I first read this, I thought it meant he did not love the other princesses or something like that. As I read on, I soon found that this was not the case. The way his family determined whether or not it was a real princess was placing a bunch of mattresses on top of a pea, and if the princess feels the pea while she slept, then she would be deemed a "real" princess. Sure enough, a princess shows up at the gates in the middle of a storm and sleeps on top of the mattresses. She complained of sleeping poorly because of something pointing her back and was thus deemed a "real" princess. The Prince went on to marry the "real" princess.

The Wicked Prince

This story was very entertaining and had a good ending. The prince in the story kind of reminded me of Xerxes from the movie 300, when the Persians tried to conquer Sparta. Similar to that movie, the wicked prince also wants to conquer everyone, destroying many kingdoms and killing men, women, and children along the way. The wicked prince ends up believing he can defeat God, which is ridiculous. In 300, Xerxes believes he is a god and won't stop until he conquers everyone. I think he honestly believed he was an immortal God in the movie, until Leonidas made him bleed. Apparently, Xerxes, in real life, actually sentenced the sea 300 lashes for destroying two of his bridges. They are both oblivious to their own tyranny, which I have noticed is very common throughout history. The whole time, the wicked prince, like Xerxes, believes that there is no wrong in what they are doing. In order to challenge God, the wicked prince has his people build a giant ship with a thousand guns and had hundreds of eagles attached to it to give it flight. Picturing the eagles carrying a giant ship is pretty funny and clearly unrealistic, but is also cool. Not surprisingly, he ends up being no challenge to God and his angels. In the end, he ends up being humiliated by a single gnat. Everyone laughed because the prince thought he could defeat God and ended up being defeated by a single gnat. Although it wasn't the harshest of lessons, I thought it was a good one. The wicked prince deserved much worse for what he had done, but these stories are more fitted for children. The descriptions of what the wicked prince had done to the lands he conquered never went into much depth and left it for the imagination of and interpretation to the reader.

(Rodrigo Santoro playing Xerxes in the movie 300)

Reading Diary B: Lang's European Fairy Tales

Lang's European Fairy Tales

Puss in Boots Part 1 and Part 2

(Puss in Boots)

I really enjoyed this story. Part of the reason I liked it so much may have been my familiarity with the character Puss in Boots. This was a two page story, so I included links to the first and second page. Puss in Boots is also known as the Master Cat and Monsieur Puss, and he is very smart and clever. There is no doubt that Lord Marquis of Carabas needs the Cat, but I would argue that the Cat does not need Lord Marquis of Carabas. Monsieur Puss does everything for Lord Marquis, even devising a plan to have the princess fall for him. I thought it was funny how the Master Cat the cat could intimidate and scare countrymen and reapers with his threats. After all, he is only a cat. The way he conquers the ogre is very clever. The ogre can transform into any animal and Puss convinces him to transform into a mouse because he does not believe he can. Falling for his trick, the ogre changes into a mouse and Puss eats him whole.

How the Dragon was Tricked Part 1 and Part 2

This story was another one of my favorite in this unit. Stories about tricksters are always entertaining, especially when the trickster gets away with everything. This was also a two page story, so I included links to the first and second page. The main character in this story is a cunning young man. Although his actions are terrible at times, I could not help but root for him throughout the story. I am not sure what exactly it was that made me want to root for him, but maybe it was how he did everything he did. He persuades and tricks everything and everyone he encounters, even a dragon. Overall, I found this story to be extremely entertaining.

Reading Diary A: King Arthur Pt. 1

King Arthur

The Drawing of the Sword

This was the first story and arguably the most important because the events that occur led to the coronation of Arthur. After the passing of King Uther Pendragon, Britain was left with no ruler and laws were being broken left and right with no consequence. One day appeared a sword in a stone with the words, "Whoso pulleth out this sword is by right of birth King of England," engraved on the blade. Every knight tried, but they all failed. Arthur was the foster son of Sir Ector and foster brother of Sir Kay. Merlin gave him to Sir Ector when Arthur was a child and told him that he would know who his father was when the time came. It turns out that Arthur's father was King Uther Pendragon and is why Arthur could pull out the sword. I like to think that it was Arthur's selfless act of wanting to get the sword for his foster brother, Sir Kay, which led to him being able to pull out the sword. Every knight wanted the sword for himself so that they could become King, however, Arthur just wanted to get it for Sir Kay because he was unable to retrieve his other sword. 

The Sword Excalibur

King Arthur is extremely lucky to have Merlin as such a close friend. Nearly dying in battle, he lost his sword and would need another. Merlin then led King Arthur to a lake that had a sword being held up by the Lady of the Lake's arm. His good fortune continues and he gets Excalibur. I thought it was interesting how Merlin asked him, which he liked best, the sword or the scabbard. He was going to have both regardless, but asked it anyways. Merlin disagreed when King Arthur answered the sword, saying that it is worth ten swords because it protects him. I tend to agree with him except for the fact that it is Excalibur. 

The Round Table

(King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, by Evrard d'Espinques)

The Round Table is iconic and is one of the first things I think of when I think about the stories of King Arthur. I enjoyed this story much like the others and it shows how gracious and genuine Arthur is. He also seems to be very emotional not only in this story, but the others as well. I think the people love him most for his emotion and sincere statements, such as when he stuck by his word that he would give any man the gift he should ask for, and made young Tor a Knight of the Round Table. A round table is a great way to encourage discussion because everyone can see each other and there are no ends. This makes King Arthur even more likable because he treats everyone as if they are the same level as him.

Reading Diary B: English Fairy Tales

English Fairy Tales

The Three Little Pigs

This was one of my favorite stories when I was a little kid. I had not read it in so long that I forgot some parts of it, so it was fun to read the story again. I always that it was funny that the first two pigs built their homes out of straw and furze because in no way would that be stable. Also, if the wolf could blow it down, then how could the simple force of the wind not do the same? For some reason, I thought the two other pigs survived, ran away from the wolf, and hid in the third pigs house. The third pig is very clever in this story and continues to deceive the wolf, even though the wolf is trying to do the same to him. In the end, the pig outwits the wolf, boils him, and eats him for dinner.

The Master And His Pupil

Since I am a big fan of science fiction, I really liked this story. The notes before reading the story mention that Disney's Fantasia is another version of this folktale, so I was very interested in the story from the beginning. I remember seeing the movie many times as a child and even seeing the show at Disney World. Even more recently, there was another Sorcerer's Apprentice movie made with Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel. This is how I pictured each character while reading this story. Overall, the pupil is pretty stupid and the master apparently does not like to teach him things. For this reason, it feels more like the pupil is more of a servant or slave for the master. The pupil should have never began reading spells from the book if he could not understand any of them. This nearly killed him, as he summoned a demon without knowing what to do afterwards. Although the pupil should not have opened the book and read from it, the master could have actually taught him how to use it to prevent this from ever happening.

(Mickey Mouse in Fantasia)

Extra Reading Diary: Sioux Legends

Sioux Legends

The Rabbit and the Bear

The ending came out of nowhere. At no time while reading this story did I anticipate the rabbit killing all of the bears in the village. I thought the rabbit was going to just go home and sob to his mom. Anyways, I do not think the rabbit was at fault for splitting the bear chief in half. The bear chief was getting annoyed at how long it was taking the rabbit to break off flint from his body and pushed him to hit him so hard that he broke in half. If I were the rabbit, then I probably would have done the same thing and run away, since the bears in the village probably would have killed him. As expected, the bears chased after him and he sang a song to cause a lot of snow to fall. There was so much snow that the bears were stuck, unable to move, while the rabbit could easily run over it. Instead of running away like his personality would suggest, he ran back and killed all of the helpless bears with his club. 

The Mysterious Butte

I really enjoyed this story and it made me think of a time when everything had not already been discovered. It would be the coolest thing to see something nobody has seen or be somewhere nobody else has been. There is not really anywhere that can be a "secret place" anymore, so I am jealous of the young man in the story who found the opening. One thing I could not help wonder was why the most daring warriors that were sent into the mysterious opening did not have torches or something so that they could see in the pitch black chambers inside of the opening. Another part of the story I liked was how the young man who took one of the bracelets was not killed for his actions, but was only hurt. I would say a good portion of folk tales that I have read this semester have unreasonable punishments, typically death.

(Buffalo Hunt, George Catlin)

Reading Diary B: Tejas Legends Part II

Tejas Legends Part II

The Maiden Who Loved a Star

This story had a pretty bittersweet ending and reminded me of the phrase, "anything for love." The maiden could not bear to live without the star youth and decided to go to an old witch woman. All she wanted was to die in a way that she could join the youth in the star, but the witch woman could not do such a thing. Instead, the old witch woman had a way to allow the maiden to live in the desert under the smiles of the star youth. I was not surprised the maiden quickly agreed because she was willing to die so that she could be with her love. After agreeing, the maiden transformed into a shrub in the desert. Becoming a shrub would be a pretty terrible transformation, but at least she became a type of shrub that was never seen before. The star youth realized what had happened and broke through the edge of the star and fell down on the shrub in the form of starry bits of dust. This caused the shrub to blossom into the purple sage. The maiden and star youth were finally together, but now they were plants and could not move. I can't help but wonder why the star youth didn't try leaving his home before. 

(Purple Sage)

How Sickness Entered the World

I enjoyed this story, but I think the punishment was unfair. Trying to gather all of the wisdom from an old medicine man, the Great Spirit sent down a messenger. You would think that the Great Spirit would send a messenger in the form of a person or at least something immortal, but no. The Great Spirit sends a messenger in the form of a snake, but fails to say who or what the messenger is. Two young boys were sent to meet the messenger in the forest because the medicine man was too weak. I believe that the boys assumed the messenger would be a person, so when they saw a large snake looking at them they became scared and killed it. Fearing the repercussions of killing the Great Spirit's messenger, the boys passed the snake throughout. The snake's mate was angry and laid eggs outside of each wigwam that had the dead snake. These eggs hatched different sicknesses, and that was how sickness entered the world. I can't blame the boys for killing the snake or the people from moving the snake once it was dead. I would be pretty terrified if I saw a giant snake looking at me too.

(Python Killed, J. Headland)

Reading Diary A: Tejas Legends Part I

Tejas Legends

The Plant That Grows in Trees

I really enjoyed this story and thought it was a cool way to explain how mistletoe ended up in trees. Honestly, I have never seen mistletoe outside and did not know that it grew in trees or was green year round. The thunder bird has a bad reputation for scaring the Indians, so I liked how its softer side was shown in this story.

Why the Woodpecker Pecks

This was not the happiest of stories, but I think it teaches a good lesson and shows the effects of parents that struggle with substance abuse. These parents care a lot about their children, however, they become selfish and forget about them when they are hallucinating on the mescal buttons. I know they care about their children because they accepted the offer from the god Manitou to become birds so they could search for them. They became woodpeckers and their children are supposedly still trapped in trees. Since there are still woodpeckers, I am assuming that they never found their children.

A Tribe That Left Its Shoes

Although a sad story, this one had a little bright ending. A tribe lived happily on an island until a volcano destroyed their home and forced them to leave. Similar to Hansel and Gretel, the tribe's medicine man left painted moccasins so that they could find their island whenever it came back. The moccasins ended up turning into orchids, pointing towards the island, so they would always be able to find it.

The Swift Blue One

I was really interested in this story because of the sculpture at the University of Oklahoma. Before reading this, I was not aware that the Spaniards brought horses to North America. For some reason, I thought that horses have always been here and that the Indians rode them before foreigners came to their land.  

(Blue Horse)

Reading Diary A: California and the Old Southwest

California and the Old Southwest

Creation of Man

I really enjoyed this story and think that it is funny how each animal wants man to be just like them. They all seem to think that what they have is the best. Thankfully the Coyote stayed up all night and finished creating man before everyone else because I could not imagine if one of the other animals had finished first. The Coyote seems to be the most creative one and aware of his own flaws.   

Old Man Above and the Grizzlies

This story was sad for the Grizzlies. They never did anything wrong, but were punished as if they did. It was the Wind that pulled the Little Daughter's hair and dragged her to the land of the Grizzlies. Not only were they not responsible for it, they took care of and fed her as if she was their own. I could not help but think of Yogi Bear when I pictured the bears standing with clubs in their hands. The Old Man Above is like a grumpy father who does not approve of his daughter's relationship. He unfairly punishes the Grizzlies for something that his daughter had an equal part in doing. 

The Fable of the Animals

The Coyote in Native America folktales are very similar to the fox in others. They are both cunning, smart, and have similar appearances. Although the Coyote in this story has a good idea for becoming the most powerful animal, he has poor execution. He should have just woken up earlier, rather than trying to stay up all night. Also, being as smart as he is, why would he make the edges of the sticks that are holding his eyes open sharp? Fortunately for the Coyote, he is not really weaker than a frog. 

(Coyote)

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

Extra Reading Diary: Aesop's Fables (Jacobs)

My Favorite Stories from Aesop's Fables (Jacobs)

Lions, Part 1: My favorite story was Androcles and the Lion, which was about a runaway slave named Androcles and a Lion. Androcles sees a Lion and notices it is injured so he kindly went to help. There was a thorn in his paw, so he pulled it out and became friends with the Lion. Androcles was very courageous for walking up to a Lion, but it showed how good of a person he was. What really surprised me was what happened after the Lion and Androcles were captured. I thought the Lion would surely kill him when hungry because it is in his nature to hunt. To my surprise, the Lion licked his hand and refused to eat him. I enjoy happy stories and this showed that good things happen if you are kind.

Foxes, Part 2:  I really liked The Fox Without a Tail by Jacobs, where a fox loses its tail in a trap and tries to convince all the other foxes to get rid of theirs because it is useless. Although the fox makes some good points, pointing out "how inconvenient a tail was when they were pursued by their enemies, the dogs; how much it was in the way when they desired to sit down and hold a friendly conversation with one another." This all may be true, but it is obvious he wouldn't being suggesting this if he still had his tail. The other foxes are smart for not listening because he is only giving the advice that benefits him. 

(The Fox Without a Tail)

Wolves: The Dog and the Wolf was great, but I find that I can really argue both ways about the moral of the story. I interpreted it as the dog has a good paying job that he doesn't enjoy, where the wolf would rather do what he loves and sacrifice money. I'm not sure why I associated it with a career, as it can probably be interpreted many ways, but I hear a lot of my friends saying they would rather be poor and happy than wealthy and unhappy. In my opinion, you can choose to either live to work or work to live, and I choose too work to live while making money. You don't have to love your job to be happy, which can be seen by the dog.

Dogs and Cats: I enjoyed the story of The Fox and the Cat. Sometimes I can be indecisive, especially when there are a lot of options. It is better to know what you're going to do before you have to do it. The cat is right when it says, "Better one safe way than a hundred on which you cannot reckon." The fox seems to be the jack of all trades, but master of none. It is also well researched that the most successful people where the same thing everyday because they don't want to use any of their decision making or brainpower just to pick what to wear. Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg are good examples of this, and I can relate this story to picking what to wear.

Reading Diary B: Ovid's Metamorphoses III

Ovid's Metamorphoses III

Orpheus and Eurydice: Wow, what a sad story. Losing a significant other is tragic enough as it is, but for them to die on their wedding day is extremely sad. Luckily for Orpheus, he had the ability to beg the gods of Erebus to bring her back to life. His speech was so moving that he won over the gods and they agreed to bring her back to life. All he had to do was not turn his eyes to see her until they exited the Underworld, but of course he broke the only rule he had, thus losing his wife again. Sometimes I feel as if the author had to come up with a reason why she wasn't brought back to life, rather than admitting it was never possible. This story ended very weird and suggested that Orpheus turned into a homosexual and possible pedophile. The quote, "Indeed, he was the first of the Thracian people to transfer his love to young boys, and enjoy their brief springtime, and early flowering, this side of manhood." I may have misinterpreted this sentence, but it sounded like he gave up women.

Ganymede and Hyacinthus: Yet another story where someone dies at a young age. I think this is evidence of the time and how fragile life used to be. I did enjoy how there is honor given to the boy.

Pygmalion: I recognized the name Pygmalion from the well known phenomenon, the Pygmalion effect, where people either live up to or down to their expectations. Through the eyes of Pygmalion, this can be seen in both the women and the statue. First the women because he sees them as prostitutes and no longer has attraction to them, thus living down to his expectation. With the statue on the other hand, he sees the statue as perfect and beautiful, and becomes real by living up to his expectation.

(Pygmalion and the Statue, Regnault)

Myrrha and Cinyras, Myrrha and the Nurse, Myrrha's Punishment: These were disturbing. 

The Death of Adonis: It seems to be a common theme that the death of a young boy leads to them becoming flowers or being remembered as flowers.

I really enjoyed these stories. The imagery was fantastic as usual, and the stories were never dull.