OU Email Tech Tip

Agh! I wish I had discovered this tip earlier. I will definitely use this technique in the future.

Finishing up

I don’t believe I have done a Famous Last Words post yet, but how fitting for me to do it at the very end of the semester during the final hours of this course. I suppose I will use my time here to write about my feelings after completing this course.

The reading. I loved the reading in this course. When I first decided to take it, I assumed that it would be all about Greek mythology. I was soon corrected. I’m glad that it wasn’t, though. As it turned out, the week on Greek mythology may have been one of my least favorite weeks. I enjoyed the diversity in the reading of this course. I also liked reading the stories other students wrote. Sometimes the number of these stories we had to read each week was a little overwhelming, but most of the stories were fun to read.

The writing. This course really helped spark my creativity. When I chose to write my Storybook on pride, I began to really look at the moral of each story I read to see if I could spin it in a way that would fit into my storybook. I liked retelling stories, too. However, I did not like commenting one bit. That part of the class was really dull for me. I found myself giving as small of an effort as possible when commenting on other students’ work.

The instructor. Professor Laura Gibbs was fantastic. She was really helpful and really encouraging with her comments on our work. The un-textbook for this class was unbelievably cool, because it made for a lot of freedom. This was one of the best online course set ups I have ever taken, and I am a senior who has taken at least one online course each semester. Great job!

Merry Christmas everyone!

John Leech illustration from A Christmas Carol. Web Source: D2L

Writing Post

• Did you choose the Storybook or the Portfolio? Are you happy with your choice? What information should I emphasize to next semester's students when they make that choice?
• I chose to create the Storybook. I'm very happy with the choice I made. I loved the creativity involved in finding stories that fit into a single theme. The portfolio seemed like it would be the easier option, since editing a story you've already written is easier than writing a whole new story. However, the portfolio option has an assignment each week, whereas the storybook option has two free passes.
• What kinds of comments did you find most useful as you working on your Storybook/Portfolio?
• I really only found the instructor's comments useful. I think the student comments were filled with a lot of fluff (I like this..., or it was neat how...) and were void of helpful criticism.

About the Reading

•  What did you like best about the readings for this class? Are there any general suggestions you would make about how the readings are set up?
• I really enjoyed the way the readings were set up. The Un-textbook is a great idea. I got to choose what interested me most. 
•  What did you think of the overall balance between reading - writing - commenting in the class assignments?
• I think the commenting portion of this class was too heavy. I often felt overwhelmed reading three different storybooks each week. I didn't want to give any of them my full attention; I just wanted to hit 200 words then be done, even if it was mostly fluff.
• creating "anthology" units on different themes across cultures: ghost stories, love stories, hero stories — with the stories drawn from different units to create new units (what kinds of themes would interest you?)
• I loved stories with tricksters and with a good moral.
• 
  

Essay for Week 14: Marriage in Grimm Tales (Crane)

                This week I read the Grimm Unit of tales translated by Lucy and Walter Crane. One thing that I really found interesting about this unit was the motif of marriage and marital problems that could be seen throughout the unit. I will examine four of the stories from the unit in this essay: The Fisherman and His Wife, The Robber Bridegroom, King Thrushbeard, and The Three Spinsters.

                I will begin by examining my favorite story of the unit, The Fisherman and His Wife. In this story, the couple is already married and lives in a small hovel, but the fisherman finds a magic fish. Throughout the story, the wife tells the husband to return to the fish to ask for things to improve their living status. The wife’s greed is insatiable, and the husband reluctantly goes back to the fish each time the wife has a new request. This can be seen as an example of many husbands’ need to fulfill their wives’ desires.

                In the Robber Bridegroom, we can see why it is important to really know someone before you agree to marry them. The robber bridegroom and his pals were a horrible lot, and would have led the miller’s daughter to destruction if it was not for the help of the old lady. The miller promised his daughter to the robber bridegroom because he “knew nothing to his disadvantage.” The miller should have been a tad more selective and gone past first impressions.

                KingThrushbeard was another favorite of mine. In this story, we see a princess who is too prideful to take a suitor. She believes that not one is good enough for her. This story shows us that we can’t expect perfection from our potential spouse; everyone has faults.

                Finally, The Three Spinsters was a humorous tale. I thought it was funny how the girl and her mother lied the girl’s way into marriage with the prince. Not only that, but the girl suffered no consequences for it. I did not find a moral to this story, but it is an example of how funny the world can be at times.

The Three Spinsters by Walter Crane. Web Source: Un-Textbook

Storytelling for Week 14: King Thrushbeard and the Beggar

There once was an old king who had a daughter who refused to be married. She was the most beautiful woman in all the land; however, she was full of pride and conceit. In her eyes, there was no man good enough for her, and every eligible bachelor who came to ask her for her hand in marriage was sent away with the sound of laughter and mocking.

The king even put on a grand ball, in hopes that one suitor would sweep his daughter off her feet. However, the princess would not dance with a single one of them; she found something wrong with each man who asked her to dance: one was too fat, another was too skinny; one was too short, another was too tall; etc. There was one handsome, noble king whom she made a big mockery of. She claimed his chin was pointed like the beak of a thrush bird. The name, King Thrushbeard, stuck with him from that day on.

Thrush Bird. Web Source: Wikipedia

 

The old king was furious with his daughter. He apologized to his guests and politely dismissed them. Then, in his anger, he swore that he would marry his daughter off to the first beggar that came to the castle door.

It was not long before a man dressed in rags came to the castle asking to play a song for the king and his daughter. The king agreed, and the beggar played beautifully on his small harp and sang a lovely song. Then he asked for a small sum for reward. The king did not offer the beggar money, but instead offered his daughter’s hand in marriage. The princess was in complete shock. However, her father could not break his word. A wedding was held immediately and the princess became a beggar’s wife.

The beggar then led his wife out of her old home. She asked him where his carriage was, but was saddened to find out that they would be travelling on foot.

The two passed through a large forest. The beggar’s wife asked him who owned the forest. He explained that it belonged to King Thrushbeard, and it could have been hers if she had taken him for a husband. She could tell by the tone of his voice that he knew of her mockery of her suitors.

The two passed through a beautiful, green meadow. The beggar’s wife asked him who owned the meadow. He explained that it too belonged to King Thrushbeard, and it could have been hers if she had taken him for a husband.

The two then passed through a large city with many fine building. The beggar’s wife asked him who owned the city. He explained that it was King Thrushbeard’s kingdom, and it could have been hers if she had taken him for a husband.

Finally, the two came to a very small cottage. The beggar’s wife asked him who owned the wretched hole, fearing the answer he would give her. He explained that it was his home, and it is now hers that she has taken him for a husband.

 

Author’s note:

This story is based on part one of King Thrushbeard from the Grimm Brothers Unit. The story continues and has a surprising ending. I do not wish to spoil it here, because I plan to include both parts in my storybook, Pride Cometh Before Destruction. I really enjoyed the original, so I only wished to condense the story and not edit any further.

 

Bibliography:

King Thrushbeard from Household Stories by the Brothers Grim, translated by Lucy Crane (1886)

Reading Diary for Week 14: Grimm Tales (Crane)

Grimm Tales (Crane)


The Fisherman and His Wife: I can relate to the fisherman a bit. While my wife is content and happy with our apartment unlike the wife in the story, I can tell that she has more of a desire to buy a home than I do. I would be fine living in the apartment for many years, but like many husbands, I want to fulfill my wife's desires and so we will probably buy a house sooner rather than later. However, while my wife would probably ask me to ask the fish for the cottage, that would be the end of it. She does not want anything extravagant like a castle or power over the moon and sun, just a nice home to call our own.




The Robber Bridegroom: What an evil little group of men. I like how she kept repeating, "Sweetheart, the dream is not ended," while she was telling her story. I was imagining the bridegroom nudging her to stop talking throughout the story.


King Thrushbeard: This unit definitely seems to have a focus on marital problems. This story really surprised me! I did not expect the beggar to be king Thrushbeard. This may be the one I rewrite. It would make for a nice ending to my storybook. Death could end with encouragement that you can learn from your mistakes and learn to humble yourself.


The Three Spinsters: This story was pretty funny. I loved the way the prince told her not to spin anymore in fear of her becoming like the three spinsters. I bet her mother is furious with the situation, though. That the daughter was constantly rewarded for her laziness.

Essay for Week 13: The Grimm Brothers' Dark Outlook on the World

Illustration by Walter Crane. Web Source: Un-Textbook

This week I read Ashliman's translation of some of the classic stories that came from the Brothers Grimm. One thing that almost every hears when they are told about these stories is that they are not as friendly as their Disney cousins. A lot of them are very gruesome and dark. People may get a happy ending, but the story is not going to be full of lollipops and gumdrops while getting there. Many of the stories I read this week had an especially negative outlook on the people of this world.

One such story is the Cat and Mouse in Partnership. In this story, a cat and mouse decide to live together, and they store a pot of fat in a church to save for the winter season. The cat, however, eats it all up before winter, then he eats the mouse. The story ends with the line, “that is the way of the world.” My jaw just dropped when I read that. How horrible! The little guy is going to get screwed over by the fat cats of the world and all we are left with is “that’s just the way it is.” However, the mouse should know not to trust a cat. Cats are the natural predator of mice. The moral could be salvaged and made into something like: be careful who you get into bed with; don’t partner someone who is known to be an enemy. This moral, however, could lead children to be overly distrusting of people.

Again, in The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids, the wolf was trying to deceive seven young kids (baby goats). He goes to the miller for help. The miller is scared of the wolf, so he agrees, even though he knows it is wrong. The story says “that is the way people are.” I again object to this moral. The miller feared the consequences of doing the right thing, so he helped the wolf. People cannot live that way; they must do what is right because it is right.

Perhaps these stories were written in this way on purpose. Perhaps the Brothers Grimm intended on me to find the moral disgusting. That way, I object strongly to them and do not become like the characters in their story. In this way, reading their stories could create a better world.

 

Storytelling for Week 13: The Fox and the Cat

 Reynard the Fox Web Source: Wikipedia

One day, the cat ran into a childhood friend of his, Mr. Fox. The fox had been away for several years, during which he devoted his time to his education. The cat approached the fox, who was carrying a large sack on his back, and greeted his old friend. However, the fox looked upon the cat with contempt. The fox considered himself to be greater than the cat, for he had spent his time learning hundreds of tricks for escaping predators. He the cat that he would consider the cat lucky if he knew but one of these tricks.

Indeed, the cat did know one trick. If ever he found himself fleeing from a predator, he would simply run up a tree and hide in the branches. He told this to the fox. The fox laughed and showed the cat the sack he had been carrying on his back. He explained that inside that sack were nearly a thousand tricks he could use, all of which would outperform the cat’s simple trick.

The cat became angry. He did not consider himself overly prideful, but he did not like the way his old friend had spoken to him. He decided to challenge the fox. The next day, they would open up the farmer’s fence that kept his many dogs from escaping. The dogs would immediately chase after the cat and the fox, and whoever demonstrated their trick the greatest would be the victor. The fox agreed and said that he would bring his sack and chose one at random to show that any of his tricks would be greater than the cat’s. The fox then went on his way.

The next morning, the fox and the cat met at the farmer’s fence. Already, the dogs were barking wildly at the two. They stood ten yards away while the rabbit, a mutual friend, waited for the cat’s signal to unlock the fence. The fox tried to open his sack to choose a trick, but could not untie the knot. What he did not know, was that, during the previous night, the cat snuck over and tied a knot around the bag so that it could not be opened. As the fox struggled with the sack, the cat told him to simply think of a trick from memory. However, the fox had not committed any of his tricks to memory; he only wrote them down and put them in his sack.

The cat then gave the rabbit the signal to unlock the fence. Immediately, the dogs began their chase. The cat found a nearby tree, ran up its trunk, and hid amongst its branches. As he looked down, he saw the fox still fumbling with his sack. He called out to the fox to hurry up and choose a trick, but it was too late. The fox could not think of a trick and was eaten by the dogs.

Author’s Note:

This story is based on The Fox and the Cat from the Brothers Grimm unit. The original story is basically the same as mine. However, I did add the part about the cat tying a knot around the sack. I like this story because it gives value to experience over education. Education is very important, but it is useless if not applied. The fox “knew” hundreds of tricks, but never did use any enough to commit to memory. The cat knew only one trick, but he practiced it often.

Bibliography

“The Fox and the Cat” from The Grimm Brothers’ Children’s and Household Tales translated by D. L. Ashliman (1998-2013).

Reading Diary for Week 13 Brothers Grimm (Ashliman)

Brothers Grimm (Ashliman)


Cat and Mouse in Partnership: Wow, what a tough lesson for the mouse. The reader would like to see justice done to the cat, but the writer instead instructs the reader that the world doesn't always work that way.


The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids: Agh! Again! The reader would like to see the Miller stand up to the wolf, but he was frightened and did not. The Brothers Grimm have a dark outlook on the people of this world. At least the kids ended up alright and the wolf met his doom


The Seven Ravens: This story was very odd and trippy. I'm glad the family was reunited, though

Rumpelstiltskin: It's always fun to read this story. But now I think of Once Upon a Time when I read his name.

The Fox and the Cat: Interesting story. The fox was pretty arrogant in his thinking. The story started with him metaphorically looking down on the cat, but the story ended with the cat literally looking down on him. This could be a fun one to rewrite, but it would need to be lengthened.

Death's Messengers: I read this story interested in how they would portray death. I wasn't a fan. He just seemed like a bully who picked on the little guy. However, he did say that he favors no one. Also, people don't understand death most of the time, so it makes sense that the man did not recognize death's messengers.

The Hare and the Hedgehog: "And if they have not died, then they are still alive." Haha, what a fantastic line. I really like this story. The Hedgehog should be kinder to his wife, but, overall, it is a fun tale.

Essay for Week 12: Robin Hood

Often times, I find myself getting bored with some of the stories I have to read, especially the lengthy ones. I am to blame for most my boredom, because I usually wait to the last minute to read the stories and I’m tired and grumpy. The unit of Robin Hood seemed even more troublesome as I began it, since the stories were written as ballads. Poetry and song-type literature can become very dull when simply read in your head. They require tune and rhythm to be fully enjoyed, otherwise they are dry and lifeless.

One thing that I really enjoyed when I read the Robin Hood unit in the Un-textbook was the video added to the ballad of Robin Hood and Little John. This was a particularly long ballad, but, instead of reading the ballad, the unit provided the option of listening to a man sing it accompanied by his acoustic guitar. This helped the story flow much more smoothly and held my interest much longer. I ended up retelling this story in my Storytelling blog post. Not only did the song help me enjoy this particular ballad, but others as well. I then had a tune in my head to which I could read the other ballads, which helped keep me moving along and stay interested in the story.

Bottom line, I think this was a great tool to add to the Robin Hood unit. I know that there are also some units that provide audio recording so that one can listen to the story instead of reading it. This can be especially useful for someone who is tired from a long day and does not want to read several stories. Instead, they can relax and listen and think about what they find interesting in the story. This helps motivate creativity when it is their turn to write the story.

Robin Hood and Little John by L. Rhead

Storytelling for Week 12: Little John

Little John

Author’s Note: This week’s storytelling assignment is based on the ballad of Little John from the Robin Hood unit. I decided to take this same story and place it into another setting. I’ve been watching a lot of The Walking Dead recently, so I thought it would be fun to set Robin Hood and his merry men (referred to as weary men in my story) in a zombie apocalypse (zombies are called Hungerers in my story). This is a different type of story than what I usually write, but I thought it would be fun try it out. Enjoy.      

Robin Hood and his weary men had been traveling for nearly two weeks without a decent meal to fill their bellies. When they reached the edge of a forest, Robin Hood instructed his weary men to rest while he entered the forest to hunt for food. The weary men protested and warned Robin that the forest could be overrun by Hungerers and would be too dangerous to travel through alone. Robin Hood quickly assured his men that would not be alone, for he would have his trusted bow and quiver at his side. He also added that if he were to find himself in a spot of trouble from which he could not escape, he would blow on his horn; at the sound of his horn, his weary men would run to rescue Robin Hood.



The weary men were still unconvinced, yet they could not stop Robin from entering the forest. Robin Hood entered the forest alone to hunt, but the game was sparse. He had managed to catch a few squirrels before he reached a brook in the middle of the forest. Not too far was a narrow bridge, where Robin Hood spotted a stranger fending off several Hungerers. Thrice Robin saw a Hungerer nearly bite the stranger, but the stranger was a large man and a savage fighter with his staff. Robin Hood ran to the bridge and nocked an arrow and drew his bow, but before he released the arrow, he heard the stranger call out to him.

“Oh, come on! Don’t spoil the fun with your bow and arrows! Pick up that pole over there and let’s see how you fair against me in fighting these monsters!”

Robin Hood spotted the old street sign that the stranger was referring to. He set his bow down and picked up the sign and began to bash it against the heads of the Hungerers. Robin and the stranger were fighting hard, yet more and more Hungerers were coming to the bridge. Soon, Robin Hood found himself overwhelmed by a crowd of Hungerers and was forced off of the bridge and into the brook. He then reached for his horn and gave it a hard blow, for he knew that they would not last long like this.

The noise attracted a several Hungerers to him, but the stranger jumped down from the bridge and helped fight them off. Robin Hood and the stranger then fought back to back while the weary men ran towards them. When the weary men reached their leader, they let loose several arrows that each met their target and the battle was finally over.

As the fighting stopped, the stranger thanked Robin Hood and his weary men for their support. He introduced himself as Little John. Robin Hood applauded Little John’s capability against the Hungerers and asked if he would like to join him and his weary men. Little John agreed and traveled onward with Robin Hood and his weary men.



Robin Hood and Little John by L. Rhead



Bibliography

"Robin Hood and Little John" from

The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child (1882-1898).

Reading Diary Week 12: Robin Hood

From Robin Hood Unit in the Un-textbook

Progress to Nottingham: What we learned about Robin Hood is that he does not like to be insulted, he is really good with a bow, and he knows it. Don't mess with Robin Hood
Little John: This one was very long, but the video of the song was great! I liked how they started as enemies, but then gained each other's respect. I think I will rewrite this story.
The Shepherd: Wow. What a great pride story. Robin and Little John definitely underestimated their foe. This would be a great story for my Storybook

Reading Diary for Week 11: King Arthur

King Arthur Unit

The Sword Excalibur: It's never safe in a story to exchange an open ended promise for a gift. When the other party decides to redeem that promise, it is always more than the fool bargained for. It reminds me of Wimpy how would offer to pay Tuesday for a hamburger today.
The Passing of Merlin: I like it when things can't be changed. Whenever time traveling or fortune-telling is involved in a story, it always gets mess with how it can work out and still make sense. I like all the mess is cut out and it is simply stated that what happened happened and whatever will happen will happen.
King Arthur and Morgan le Fay: It is great that King Arthur has so many wise people surrounding him. I feel like he is not very wise and is prone to making foolish mistakes.

Storytelling Week 10: The Jealous Son and the Unlucky Mother

                There once was a king of a great kingdom. The king had two children, one a boy and the other a daughter. The king loved both children very much, but he showed more love to the daughter than to the son. This made the son angry and he was always envious of his sister, so he was known as Jealous Son.

                Years past and the children grew up, became married, and had children of their own. The Jealous Son’s wife had many girls, but never a son. This made the Jealous Son nervous, for his sister had already had a son. He did not want her son to inherit the kingdom, so he killed him and made it look like an accident. His sister had several more sons, but each one was killed by the Jealous Son and their death was made to look like an accident. The Jealous Son’s sister accused her brother to the king, but the king said that each death was an accident and she was just unlucky. She was then known as Unlucky Mother.

                The Unlucky Mother had yet another son. She and her husband feared the Jealous Son’s wrath, and thus decided to dress the child as a girl in hopes of fooling the uncle. This was not successful after a few years. The Jealous Son could tell that the child was a boy and decided to kill him. He told his sister that he would take his nephew hunting at the end of the next week.

                When the parents found out that their plan had failed, they cried for days. When the boy asked why they were so sad, they explained what had happened to his brothers and what would likely happen to him. The boy reassured them, however, and told them that his uncle would not be able to kill him during their hunting trip. Any trap the Jealous Son would set for him, he would surely be able to get out of. He only asked if his brothers had any possessions that he would have. The parents told their boy that they only had a sour cranberry, and they gave that to their son.

                The day came for the hunting trip and the Jealous Son took his nephew with him. They were going to hunt rabbits to bring home for a feast. The boy saw many rabbits on their way, but the Jealous Son said that there were fatter rabbits further on. The boy saw even fatter rabbits as they continued, but the Jealous Son again said that there were fatter rabbits further on. Finally, the two spotted a very fat rabbit, just barely smaller than the boy, hidden inside of a hollow log. The Jealous Son instructed the boy to go into the log and retrieve the rabbit. However, when the boy entered the log he got stuck, for he was too big. The rabbit left the log and the Jealous Son returned home, leaving the boy behind.

                The boy wiggled and wiggled, trying to force himself out of the log, but he was truly stuck. Then he remembered the sour cranberry that his parents had given him. He took it out of his pocket, and rubbed it all over the inside of the log. The log detested the sour taste of the cranberry, and opened its mouth wide enough to release the boy. The boy then returned home to reassure his parents.

                The boy’s mother then took her son to the king to share what happened on the hunting trip. She pleaded with the king and begged him to see that this is what happened to her other sons. The king agreed and ordered that the Jealous Son be put in the deepest dungeon. The boy and his mother never saw the Jealous Son again.

Yupik Mother and Child. Web Source: Wikipedia

 

 

Author’s Note:

This story is based on The Jealous Uncle, which can be found in the Native American Heroes unit. I changed the name of the uncle to The Jealous Son in order to emphasize his boyish desire to be king. This was a motive that I added to the story to explain the uncle’s desire to kill his nephews. The original story continues and the uncle tries to kill the boy several times. For time sake, I simply ended the story after the first attempt.

 

Bibliography:

“The Jealous Uncle” from Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929). Web Source: Un-Textbook

Reading Diary Week 10: Native American Hero Tales

Native American Hero Tales

The Jealous Uncle:
This story reminded me of the adventures of Sindbad in the way that the boy is repeatedly thrown into peril. I'm glad that the Uncle met justice in the end.

Bluejay and his Companions:
Talk about a prank going wrong! It was awesome that the Grouse got back at the other guys for the way they treated him, but I doubt that he meant for it to go that far.

Essay for Week 9: Sioux Legends Review

                This week I read the Sioux Legends unit. I went into it expecting to read some stories involving animals, maybe some humans, and a lot of tricksters based on the description in the UN-Textbook table of contents. This much was true. However, I went into the unit with a pre-existing assumption that legends and fables usually are strongly centered on some moral. This much was not true for this particular reading unit. The stories did not seem to make much sense and contained a lot of randomness. I did not see a point to many of the stories that I read.

                I rewrote the story of The Rabbit and the Bear in my storytelling assignment. I did this because of my lack of satisfaction with the ending. The rabbit finds himself ill prepared for the hunt. He then travels to visit the bear chief to acquire flint for his arrowheads. He takes too much and kills the chief. My expectation for a story like this would be for the rabbit to learn a lesson at the end. He was an irresponsible and selfish creature and he should be punished. Instead, he gets away with the flint and kills all of the other bears. The story takes the alternate path that is very unsatisfying and ultimately boils down to an explanation for why there aren’t as many bears anymore. It just made me feel like I wasted my time by reading this story.

                Even worse was the story of The Boy and the Turtles. What the heck happened in that story? Why did the boy not hunt for turtles in the usual place? Why did the men appear in the lake? Why was the boy honored when they confirmed his story? What does it all mean? The story just seems so nonsensical and ridiculous.

Turtles. Web Source: Flickr

Storytelling for Week 9: The Rabbit and the Bear

Hard times had fallen on the rabbit and his grandmother. The season for hunting was approaching fast, yet the rabbit found himself ill-prepared. He had used the last of his arrowheads the previous season and had failed to prepare more. It would be worthless to fire off any of the plethora of arrow sticks he had without a sharp head.

            His grandmother instructed him that he must go and make new arrow heads with flint, but the rabbit did not know where to find the flint. His grandmother then told him that he would only find flint in the body of the old bear chiefs.

            The rabbit then began his journey to the village of the Bears where he would find the old bear chief. The rabbit used his great speed to travel to the far away village. He wanted to make great haste, so he did not make a single stop and even traveled through the night, despite the danger he risked running into. However, the rabbit made it safely to the village of the Bears by the next morning.

            The rabbit was welcomed into the chief’s home, and was even offered a pipe to smoke while he and the chief spoke. When the small talk had run its course, the chief asked the rabbit what he wanted. The rabbit then told the chief of his predicament, and made the request to take some flint so that he could make new arrow heads. The chief then pulled off his robe and, to the rabbit’s great surprise, revealed that his body was composed half of flesh and half of solid flint.

            The chief then instructed his subjects to bring a hammer and a chisel to the rabbit. He told the rabbit that he was allowed to take his fair share of the flint. He also warned him that if the rabbit took too big of a piece, his guards would surely chase him down and eat him. The rabbit ignored the warning, however, thinking that he was fast enough to outrun any bear in the village. Thus, he struck off a piece much larger than what he needed.

            The chief then cried out in agony, for no creature had ever stuck off a piece as large as the rabbit’s. The chief’s guards responded immediately and took chase after the rabbit. The rabbit began to take flight; however, he found himself weary from the previous night’s travel and weighed down by the mass of the flint he carried. The guards were able to catch him easily. Two of them took the flint back to the chief in hopes to mend him, and the other two killed the rabbit and began to prepare him for a stew that they would offer to the chief.

(original drawing in book)

Author's Note: The original story, The Rabbit and the Bear with the Flint Body, was much like the story that I told. Only, when the rabbit runs away, the bears get stuck in a snow storm and the rabbit kills them one by one. This is then given as an explanation for why there are now so few bears. I didn't like the ending of the original or the theme behind it, so I decided to rewrite it. I wrote it with the proverb "Pride cometh before destruction" in mind, just incase I would like to add this to my storybook.

Bibliography:

"The Rabbit and the Bear with the Flint Body" by Marie McLaughlin from Myths and Legends of the Sioux (1916). Websource: Un-Textbook

Reading Diary Week 9: Myths an Legends of the Sioux

The Rabbit and the Bear: This story was really odd. The plot went all over the place and the ending was unsatisfying. I think I will rewrite this story for my storytelling assignment, but change the ending. I'll have the rabbit bite off more than he can chew.

The Simpleton's Wisdom: These stories are pretty weird. I'm not understanding the point to many of them.

The Boy and the Turtles: Why did the boy not begin with the lake where the tribe normally hunted turtles? Why did the men appear in the lake? Why was the boy honored when they confirmed his story? What does it all mean?!

Reading Diary Self-Assessment

                As the semester has gone on, I was starting to think I was doing the Reading Diary posts wrong. I had kept the posts on the stories rather short, so the entire post was not very substantial. I was just writing bits and pieces of things I thought while reading the stories and how I might use the story in the future. Upon reading the Guidelines for the Reading Diary, I was reassured that this was exactly what I should be doing.

It’s super helpful this way, too. While reading through my Reading Diary, I found a couple of stories that I had read that I would like to include in my Storybook. I had just written a couple of notes on these stories, but these notes triggered the part of my brain where the story was stored, and I was able to remember the plot I had read weeks ago. The summary of the story wouldn’t have been beneficial since the short notes reminded me what happened in the story. It was these notes, though, that made me see an association with the story and the theme of my Storybook.

I do notice, however, that I comment on almost every story I read in a given unit. This isn’t bad, but it does make the post a little cluttered with useless information. I will probably focus on the stories that I consider to be my favorites and write about them. This is hard to do, though, since I comment on a story I like right after I read it. When I like most of the stories in a unit or find most of them interesting, I end up writing about almost all of them. Perhaps I will raise the bar to REALLY liking them before commenting on them.

Overall, I think that the Reading Diary is a great assignment that is easy to complete and proves to be very helpful to other assignments. I refer to my Reading Diary often for my Storytelling assignments, and I have found inspiration for my Storybook within the comments in my Reading Diary.

Essay Week 7: I Before E Except After...What?



Cartoon By Dan Piraro

There are several humorous elements in this cartoon.. First, it pokes fun at the many rules of the English language that we learned when studying spelling in elementary school, the most famous being "'i' before 'e' except after 'c'". Then it puts this rule we learned in English and puts it in the perspective of ancient Egyptians, who wrote in hieroglyphics. Its also funny, because the writer is writing with a chisel, so his mistake is much more permanent than if a student made the mistake on pencil and paper.


Thus, the cartoon had enough humor to cause me to chuckle a bit. Soon after I remembered actually learning the "'i' before 'e' except after 'c'" rule in elementary. As with most rules in English spelling and grammar, it was followed by a long list of exceptions. Here are a few of the exceptions to the rule: science, society, fancied, financier, efficient, glacier, either, neither, heinous, seize, leisure. One quickly learns that the English language isn't very strict when implementing its rules.


That is one reason why I liked studying the German language. It was pretty cut and dry. When you heard the “i” sound, you knew that the “i” came after “e”. When it made the “e” sound, you knew that the “e” came after the “i”. That was it. The only exceptions came from foreign languages, like English. Consistency in spelling was one reason why learning the German language would be easier than learning English.


Another fun fact about German, is they didn’t like making up new words. If they found something new and they needed a new word for it, they often just took two existing words and put them together. For example, the German word for “pork” is “Schweinefleisch”, which literally translates to “pig flesh.” The only downside is that some of these compound nouns can become ridiculously long, like “Gesundheitswiederherstellungszusammenmischungsverhaeltniskundiger” which means “one who knows the mixture ratio of a concoction that is sure to restore health.”




Essay Week 6: Proverbs in Tibetan Folktales

This week I read through the Tibetan Folktales unit of the Un-textbook. This unit contained a bunch of folktales that took place in distant lands with both animals and human playing the characters. At the beginning of each folktale there is always a Tibetan proverb that is supposed to relate to the story. However, the connection to the proverb and the story is not always obvious. My plan for this essay is to explore some of the stories and see how the proverb relates to the story.

The first story I want to look at is The Story of the Donkey and the Rock. The proverb for this story is “Between iron and brass there is union if the welding is skillful.” When I first read the story, I did not see how this could possibly relate. I then began to think about the proverb. My first thought is “who is the welder?” The answer seemed to most likely be the judge in the story. Then I needed to find an answer to what he was bringing a union to. In the story, both the accuser and the defendant were right, so a verdict was not clear. The judge, however, found a way for both to leave happy. His union of iron and brass could be his creativity in finding a solution. The skillful welding would be a wise solution. Therefore, while the proverb did not seem to fit at first, it really did have a connection to the story.

The next story I will examine is The Ingratitude of Man. The proverb for this story is “Whatever you have promised make it not as changeable as a loop in a string, but as firm as a line on a rock.” This proverb is easy to connect to the story since promises are made within it. The man’s promise was easily changeable. He promised to repay the traveler, yet later falsely accused him of stealing. The animals’ promises were firm as a line on a rock. They helped the man while he was in prison and also helped him escape.

The Traveler in Prison. Web Source: Un-Textbook

Storytelling for Week 6: How the Little Boy Fell Victim to His Own Deceit

Once upon a time, in a village that lied in the valley of two mountains, in a modest cottage lived a widow and her son. The father had died shortly after the boy’s birth, and this made the mother sad, for she did not have a chance to provide him with any brothers or sisters to play with.

One day, while the mother was out shopping in the village, she spotted a little boy who had no family. She brought this boy home with her to be her son’s playmate. This was good for the little boy, for he did not have to beg for food anymore. He simply played all day and accepted what he was provided with.

Years later, again while she was out shopping, the widow spotted another older boy, whom she also took home to be a playmate for her son. This upset the little boy who had first been brought to be a playmate, for he believed that they loved the older boy more than they loved him. This, of course, was not true; the little boy received the very same things offered to the older boy. Even still, the little boy became prideful and began to store vengeance in his heart.

Many years past and the widow grew ill. As a final wish, she asked her three boys to always stay close. With this request, she died. The little boy, who was nearly full grown, saw this as an opportunity to take his vengeance on the older boy. He told the widow’s son that the older boy planned to kill him. This made the widow’s son very watchful of the older boy. The little boy then went to the older boy and told him that the widow’s son never cared for him. He said that the widow’s son was always watching the older boy, waiting for an opportunity to kill him.

The widow’s son and the older boy both became very vigilant and were always thinking of ways to defend themselves and to gain the upper hand. One day, the older boy went to the widow’s son to ask why he had disdain for him. The widow’s son replied that it was because of the older boy’s plot to kill him. The two quickly realized that they had been tricked by the little boy. They sought him out and cast him back into the streets where he belonged. The little boy was again forced to beg for a living, but he could not do so well enough, and soon died of starvation.

Author's Note: This story is based on How the Fox Fell a Victim to His Own Deceit. I kept the plot very similar; just replace the widow and her son with a tiger and its cub, the little boy with a fox, and the older boy with a calf. 

Bibliography

“How the Fox Fell a Victim to His Own Deceit”, from Tibetan Folk Tales by A.L Shelton (1925).

Week 6 Reading Diary: Tibetan Folktales

These are stories from the Tibetan Folktales unit.

The Tiger and the Frog: This is a great trickster story. The tiger must have been very hungry to think he needed to go through the challenges, instead of just eating the frog.
The Donkey and the Rock: I'm not sure how the proverb fits into this story, but I love the story anyways! It reminds me of King Solomon's wisdom in court hearings.
How the Fox Fell a Victim to His Own Deceit: This story could fit into my storybook. I think I would want to rewrite it as a rich man who adopts two children after his wife dies. The first one becomes prideful and envious of the other. Could be an interesting adaptation.
The Ingratitude of Man: The irony in this story is fantastic. The traveler thought that only the man would be able to repay him, but instead the man brought the traveler much trouble and it was the animals who helped him.
The Wise Carpenter: This story reminds me of Spy vs. Spy. The carpenter really was smart to have the loud music played to cover the painter's screams.
The Story of the Two Devils: This story reminded me of a cartoon where the protagonist just happens to defeat the antagonist, with no real qualifications to speak of.
How the Rabbit Killed the Lion: This is an interesting pride story. He was blinded by it and could not see past the rabbit's lies.
How the Raven Saved the Hunter: Poor raven ):

Essay Week 5: The Restlessness of Sindbad

            Sindbad is an interesting character. He inherits a large sum of money from his parents, decides to sail with a band of merchants, and survives seven voyages of epic proportion. The interesting quality of Sindbad isn’t in the fact that he loves adventure. Any young person, especially one who is the protagonist of a story, can be expected to crave a little adventure. The interesting thing about Sindbad is that he experiences some of the most frightful and terrifying things that one could experience when out at sea, yet still he wants more. Of course, immediately after each voyage he tells himself that he will be content to live a quiet life, but at the start of each story to follow, he grows tired of his quiet life. Time and time again, Sindbad trades his safe, restful life for a daring and dangerous adventure.

            Sindbad experience some of the most terrible fates in each of his seven voyages. On his very first voyage, Sindbad and his company are shipwrecked by a whale they mistook for an island. This would most certainly be a dramatic first experience for a sailor. Sindbad expresses this feeling at the end of the first voyage, when he decides to “forget [his] past sufferings” and “live happily…in the enjoyment of all the pleasures of life.” However, at the start of the second voyage, we find Sindbad has become restless and tired of an “idle life.” He then goes on another voyage, where again he becomes shipwrecked and faces terrible adversity. This is the theme throughout all seven voyages.

Sindbad Fleeing From Giants. Web Source: Un-Textbook

            One thing that could explain Sindbad’s constant desire to return to the sea is the marvelous fortune that always results. In the midst of every misfortune, Sindbad always finds himself with a plethora of treasures and befriends powerful kings and merchants. When he returns home from the voyages, he is always far richer than when he had set out.

Read the full story here!

Storytelling for Week 5: The Foolish Beneficiary

Shortly after my parents passing, I was told that I would be the sole beneficiary to a large inheritance. I was shocked when I was told this bitter-sweet news for, while I had never wanted for much of anything, I had never thought my parents to be of wealthy means. Our home was not extravagant, we did not own much land, and we walked to places we need to go. Our lives were no different than those of our peers. What was the purpose of amassing such a large sum of currency if we never spent more than what we needed?

Immediately, I began to dream of all that I would buy with my inheritance! I would live in a home so large that I would be able to sleep in a new room every day of the week! I would buy acres and acres of land with a pond to fish in and horses to ride on. I would never walk when I went into town; instead, I would buy a carriage and have a drive take me wherever I needed to go. I would live above all others, for that was my heritage.

On the day I officially received my inheritance, I went to the bank to collect a portion to purchase my carriage. When I collected the money, I witnessed the most peculiar thing. When I grabbed the first bill in the pouch I received from the banker, it flew away. Thinking that the wind had simply carried off the weightless paper money, I decided to spend my silver and gold coins instead. However, when I touched the first gold coin, it jumped away from me. I was astonished as I watched the coin jump several times on the ground until it finally sprouted two wings and flew away! Surely, I thought, I must be dreaming! I reached in the pouch for a second coin, and again I watched as it grew wings and flew away.

I quickly closed the pouch in fear that this cursed money would all fly away before I could return to the bank. When I went inside the bank, I told the banker of the bizarre circumstances that led to my return. When he heard my story, he did not look the least bit surprised. He told me that this is not a rare experience among young beneficiaries to large inheritances. The money easily flies from their hands because they do not understand the importance of holding on to it. They did not earn the money, so they intend to quickly spend it on that which they do not need. Before they know it, the money has all flown away and they are left with nothing in their old age.

After hearing the banker share his wisdom, I decided to place the money back into the bank. There it would remain until I could find a way to properly invest it. I did not want to end up penniless in my old age.

(14th-century sequins)

Author’s Note: This story is very loosely based on the First Voyage of Sindbad. In the beginning of the story, young Sindbad inherits a large sum from his parents. He spends it recklessly and finds that, if he manages it poorly, it is as if the money grows wings and flies away. He then decides to put it to good use and becomes a merchant and goes on crazy voyages. I really just expanded one sentence of the story.

Bibliography: 

"First Voyage", from The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).

Week 5 Reading Diary: Voyages of Sindbad

Sindbad: First Voyage: What a valuable lesson for Sindbad to learn! That if you are not careful with your money it will grow wings and fly away without a trace. I'm a Dave Ramsey kind of guy, so this stuck out to me.

Second Voyage: I love the way he kicks around the diamonds, since they are worthless to him in his situation.  Plus, the purpose of this voyage wasn't for riches, which he did get, but for adventure.

Third Voyage: I don't understand why they went back to the castle! If they were able to build rafts, they should have been able to build a shelter for the nights.
I like how Sindbad keeps finding his old crew and merchandise at the end of the stories.
Fifth Voyage: Surely this man is some sort of adrenaline junkie. With his constant restlessness, I would not be surprised to see him die in the seventh voyage. I didn't like when his shipmates killed and ate the roc
Sixth Voyage: I really wish that Sindbad would be able to share his fortune with his companions. In every voyage, all of his companions die and he is the sole survivor. It is madness.
Seventh Voyage: Nothing can be more true than when the merchant who took Sindbad as a slave said, "you must be under the special protection of Heaven." That's the only explanation for how Sindbad survived every voyage. Like the fifth voyage, I was upset about the killing of the elephants. At least the elephants provided Sindbad and the merchant with a way to collect ivory without hunting the elephants.

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Essay Week 4: Stories within Stories

                Last week, for our Storybook Project assignment, we explored various storytelling options that we might later use for our final Storybook. It was a great way to learn about telling stories from different perspectives using various techniques. This week, I read stories in the Arabian Nights unit. These stories used a particular form of storytelling. The stories were layered in such a way that some of the stories were stories told within a story, and others were stories told within those stories. The style was very interesting in the way that it brought all of the stories together.

                The unit begins with a story of an evil sultan who takes a bride every night, then kills them the next morning. Scheherazade, the daughter of the sultan’s vizir, then offers herself as a bride and uses the following stories to postpone her death. Each night she will end the story at an interesting point, influencing the sultan to let her live another day so that he can hear the rest of the story the following night. It is a genius plan, but we don’t get to see how it ends for Scheherazade. I suppose that the entire story was too long to fit into this whole unit.

Scheherazade. Web Source: Un-Textbook

                Something very interesting about the stories she tells each night is that they often relate to the predicament she is in. In the Merchant and the Genius, the Merchant finds himself at the hands of an angry Genie. However, the Genie does not kill the Merchant because of the stories told by three old men. We see the same thing happen to a fisherman who is threatened by a genie. In this story, the genie tells a story, then is tricked by the fisherman, who then tells a story of his own. The stories are all so complex, so this provides Scheherazade many nights to postpone her death.

Storytelling for Week 4: The Widow

There once was a man who spotted a black widow scurrying on the floor of his dining room. At once he picked up a newspaper to remove the vile creature from his dwelling, but was stopped when he heard a tiny voice say, "No! Please! I promise I will bring no harm to your home or those within it. Spare my life this day!"

The man was amazed! "How can a spider such as you be able to speak?" the man asked.

"I was not always a widow as you see me now. I was once a woman with a husband, but no offspring. Let me tell you my tale. If you find it entertaining, you must promise not to kill me."

"Agreed," said the man.

The black widow went on to tell her story:

There once was a wealthy tailor who lived with his wife. Their business was very successful. She would weave fantastic fabrics and he would form them into wonderful garments that were coveted throughout the town. Despite all of their financial success, however, they still had a hole in their heart, for they were unable to bear children. This made the tailor sad, for he would have no child to inherit all that he had acquired when he died.

      News spread by whispers of the couple’s misfortunes, and found itself in the ears of the town’s harlot and her bastard child. The harlot went to the tailor and offered to let her son fill the void in the tailor’s heart, if he would only let her live with them in his home. The tailor joyfully agreed, despite the warnings from his wife. The wife was most distrustful of the harlot and her son.

      The tailor raised the boy as his own son, and loved him very much. Then a day came when he had to travel for a month or two to sell his clothing. He asked his wife to take good care of the boy and his harlot mother while he was away. The wife reluctantly agreed.

      While the tailor was away, the wife happened to overhear a conversation the harlot had with her boy. The harlot described an elaborate plan to the boy. Upon the tailor’s arrival, the harlot would fake a terrible sickness. The boy was to plead for his inheritance from his adoptive father, so that he could travel with his mother to a doctor many towns away. However, the boy and his harlot mother would flee with the money and never return. The wife of the tailor knew that her husband would never believe such a tall tale if she told him, so she decided to take matters into her own hands.

      One night, while the tailor was still away, the wife journeyed to the woods just outside of the town. There, she spoke with a witch who lived in the woods. She told the witch of her predicament, and asked what could be done. The witch told the wife what should be done. The wife should use a magical silk made from a spider that lives deep inside the woods. This silk should then be spun into a blanket. When the harlot mother and her son go to sleep with this blanket, they will wake up to find themselves transformed into spiders.

      The wife did as the witch said, and wove a beautiful blanket that she then offered to the boy and his harlot mother. The two slept beneath that blanket the night before the tailor was to return. When the tailor returned the next morning, he entered his boy’s room. Instead of the boy and his harlot mother, he found only a pair of spiders in the boy’s bed. The tailor grabbed a newspaper to destroy them, for he hated spiders, but his wife stopped him. She told him what she had overheard and what she had done.

The man left the room, stricken with grief. The wife became overcome with sorrow for the damage she had caused her husband’s heart. She sat on the bed and began to weep uncontrollably. She finally forced her eyes closed and fell asleep. When she awoke, she found herself beneath the blanket she made for the boy and his harlot mother. She had been transformed into a spider by the same magic she created for her enemies.

"I then left the only home I knew, and have travelled about as a spider ever since," explained the black widow.

"Truly, I have been entertained," said the man. "I will grant you welcome in my home this day. Each day hereafter, though, the price for staying within my home will be an entertaining story such as this."

Author's Note: This story is based on The Hind, which can be found in the Arabian Nights unit. The story is about a man who adopts one of his slaves sons. The wife doesn't like it, so she turns the son and his mother into a cow and a calf. The wife said that the slave had died and the son disappeared. Later, during a celebration, the man tried to kill the cow and the calf, but was stopped both times and was told that they were really the slave and her son. The man then has someone turn the slave and the son back and turn the wife into a deer. In the original story, the wife was kind of whacked out and crazy. I wanted to tell a story that was from her perspective. It gave the reader a reason for the wife's hatred of the other woman and her son.

The Story of the First Old Man and the Hind. Web Source: Un-textbook

Bibliography

"The Hind", from The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).