Extra Reading Diary: Brothers Grimm (Hunt) Unit

This half of the Brothers Grimm Hunt unit was very interesting.  I had not read or heard of any of these stories before and they certainly intrigued me! They had very interesting creatures in them!  I thought it was a lot of fun to read these stories, although they do not particularly fit with my storybook. 

Bearskin

What an interesting story! I had never heard this fairy tale before, although it certainly bears a resemblance to Beauty and the Beast.  I think that it is so interesting that the Devil shows up again at the end of the story, claiming that even after appearing to lose, he has won! I thought that it was a great twist! I might use something like that in my storybook…

Bearskin Illustration. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Hans the Hedgehog

This was definitely a unique story.  A half hedgehog half man definitely calls an interesting picture to mind.  It was an odd image, but I suppose it worked for the story.  I am confused how something that was small enough to ride on a cock simply shed its skin and became a man, but it is a fairy tale! The whole story was a little odd, so I suppose I can’t get too caught up with this particular mental problem.

Snow-White and Rose-Red         

Another tale reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast! It was certainly an interesting tale, but not nearly as unique as the other two from the unit.  I liked that the dwarf had magic that turned the man into a bear, though.  It was an aspect of the story that I had not thought of before.  I might be able to incorporate it into one of my stories, although I’m not sure how.

Definitely a wonderful unit, but not exactly beneficial to my storybook!

Week 10 Storytelling: A Tale of Two Sisters

In the land of Candy Corn, there was a king with two beautiful daughters.  They were rumored to be the most beautiful in all the land and they were finally old enough to marry.  The two young women had many suitors, including kings, princes, knights, and everyone in between.  However, to their father’s dismay, they refused every proposal. 

Little did the people of the kingdom know, but the god of the land had sent every one of his friends to ask for the daughters’ hands in marriage.  He finally decided to come to Candy Corn to evaluate the young women.  He arrived during the night, appearing as poor, dirty beggars. 

Meanwhile, the young women were priding themselves on their success.  They believed that their father would acquiesce and not force them to marry.  They were happy with their freedom and didn’t want to be under the thumb of a man.  Why did they need husbands?

When they awoke, the noticed that a tent had appeared outside of the castle where the merchants usually set up.  It looked bedraggled and dirty, definitely not one of the usual crowd.  They mentioned it to their father, but he took no action against the new people.  He always had a soft spot for the poor and hungry, and was loathe to throw them out.

Unfortunately, the king had resolved that night to find husbands for his daughters, since they refused to choose their own.  He devised a contests, the champion of which would marry his daughters.  The contest was announced and the young men of the land traveled to the city in droves.  They couldn’t wait to win the contest and marry the most beautiful women in the land!

On the day of the contest, every man lined up to take his shot.  They were to shoot an apple off the highest turret while standing in the courtyard.  Amazingly, every single man missed!  The king was in disbelief, until suddenly an arrow pierced the apple!  When he looked around, he saw the young beggar man standing with a bow in his hand. 

“Young man, is that your arrow in the apple up there?” the king asked.

“Yes, my liege.  It is,” the dirty young man replied. 

“Well, unfortunately I cannot declare you the winner of this contest.  No one saw you make the shot, so we must hold another.  Tomorrow, we will have a hunting contest!” declared the king. The man with the greatest kill would be declared the winner.

The beggar looked piqued but did not dissent.  Meanwhile, the two daughters were very grateful that their father had declared another contest.  They did not want to leave their life of luxury for that of poverty and hard work. 

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The next day, the men assembled for the hunt.  Men without horses were given the stable nags, the slowest of which was given to the beggar. The rest of the hunting party was not concerned about the beggar beating them this time, because they knew he could not keep up.

When the horn blew, the entire party took off at a gallop with the beggar lagging far behind.  The group disappeared into the woods and there was only the occasional horn sound to let the castle know of the progress. 

Several hours later, the castle trumpet sounded to call the hunting party back to the keep.  They came in slowly, all toting their kills on their saddles or in their saddle bags.  However, the beggar was nowhere to be seen.  Finally, as the final kills were being compared, someone spotted the man returning from the woods.  As he drew closer, the people could see what appeared to be a small sleigh being pulled behind the beggar’s nag. 

When he rode into the keep, the entire company gasped.  He had shot a 12 point buck, the greatest catch of all the hunters.  Of course, there were cries of cheating and deceit, but the king honored his promise.  Unfortunately, his elder daughter had already promised herself to a foreign king, without her father’s knowledge.  The younger daughter was able to fulfill the promise, however.

She followed the beggar to his tent and cared for him.  She did her wifely duties with nary a complaint or wish for her old life.  They stayed within the castle walls and she visited her father every day.  Her sister, who was still in residence, was always decked from head to toe in jewels and fine fabrics.  She made a point to degrade the younger sister every chance she got.

However, on her return from visiting her one day, she could not find her husband’s tent.  In its place was a grand tent, made from beautiful silks and poles made of gold.  She began to worry if her husband had been pushed from his spot by this extravagant newcomer. 

Suddenly, an incredibly handsome man exited the tent.  He had long black hair, a chiseled jaw, broad shoulders, a barrel chest, and eyes to die for.  He was the man every woman dreamed of, but he was not her husband! She drew breath to berate him. However, he beat her to it.

“Before you ask where your husband is, look closer, my love.  I am your husband, but I have finally assumed my true form.  I am the man that this land worships.  I came to earth to see what all the excitement was about you and your sister, but you are by far the better woman.  You honored your deal, despite the misgivings that I know you had.  You never complained either, and I know it wasn’t easy.”

The woman couldn’t believe what was going on.  She was married to a god! The man gave her something to eat and explained that it would make her like him, so they could stay together for eternity. 

Of course, the older sister wanted to join them, but her husband took her to his home, which turned out to be a drafty castle filled with smelly old men.  You know what they say about Karma!

Author’s Note:

I chose to rewrite the story of Dirty-Boy this week.  It seemed like one that I could easily twist about and had enough superfluous details that I could shorten it to fit my need.  I kept pretty close to the original story, although in the original, there were two deities that came to the village. 

I’ll be honest about the name of the kingdom.  I’m sitting at my desk shoveling candy corn into my mouth as I am writing this, so it seemed like an appropriate name.  It makes the kingdom sound more than a little childish, but I’ve come up with worse names!

I didn’t make any major changes to the story other than changing the details.  I kept close to the original because I thought it was a good story that would teach a good lesson.  Too many changes would have changed the message!

"Dirty-Boy" from Tales of North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).  Web Source: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook. 

Image Source: Castle Keep. Source: Wikimedia Commons; Dirty Tent. Source: Wikimedia Commons; 

                       Turkish Tent. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Diary B: Hero Tales

I have finished reading the Hero Tales unit and found yet more intriguing stories!  I find it very interesting which tales are included in this unit, as I do not see all of them as hero tales.  Some of them seem to be the tales of wayward children who are not doing as they were told, such as in the case of Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away.  Yes, they do rid the land of several villains, but they are simply acting like most young boys do.  They did the exact opposite of what their father ordered them to do and just happened to survive the outcome.   

Some of the heroic acts are simply good deeds, such as honoring the promise that you made.  In Dirty-Boy, the two sisters were promised to a poor, disfigured man who shot an eagle from a tree, but only the younger sister honored the deal.  She was richly rewarded for her honesty, but I’m not sure if that classifies as heroism.

Regardless, some of the acts reminded me much of Charlotte Grimm, which I thought was great.  Not every deed needs to be grand.  Some are small things that simply add up.  

Bald Eagle. Source: Wikipedia

Reading Diary A: Hero Tales

I chose to read the Hero Tales unit for this week.  I enjoyed reading the combination of stories in the Marriage tales unit and wanted to continue that.  I like that I get a glimpse into many different tribes and how they view heroes and heroic acts.

I liked the general theme of most of the stories, as they often reminded me of my own storybook. I like stories of heroes and good deeds, as most children seem to as we are growing up.  I like some of the darker twists, like in the story of The Jealous Uncle.  The uncle has murdered his previous nephews and tries several times to kill the latest one.  However, this nephew escapes and lives, eventually returning to see his parents and end his uncle’s reign over his people. 

These stories were very interesting to read and I look forward to finishing the unit.

Alaskan Inuit Family. Source: Wikipedia

Extra Reading Diary: Brothers Grimm (Hunt) Unit

For this week’s extra reading diary, I read the first half of the Brothers Grimm Hunt unit.  It was a very interesting set of readings, but there was only one tale that truly interested me.  I really enjoyed reading Hansel and Grethel.  It was interesting to read the true story and not just the later renditions. 

I had never heard the part of the story that told of them returning to their house first.  I also didn’t know that it was their step mother that came up with the idea to leave them in the forest in the first place.  I really liked the way that the witch was described, particularly her keen sense of smell.

I’ve always found the tale of Hansel and Grethel intriguing and I am definitely planning on using it in my storybook. I think that it will be fun to write Charlotte into this story and just by reading it, I have already come up with several ideas.  

Hansel and Grethel. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Diary B: Marriage Tales

I enjoyed the remainder of the Native American Marriage Tales unit.  It had longer tales that gave me a better insight into the culture.  I still didn’t find anything that I was really excited to draw from, but there was one story that caught my eye.

I particularly liked the tale of the Girl and The Turkeys.  It was very similar to the tale of Cinderella, but from a different culture’s viewpoint.  I really liked that the Turkeys were the ones that aided her in going to the ball, not a fairy god mother.  I thought it was interesting that there wasn’t really anyone that told her she couldn’t go to the ball, just her view of herself.  I liked that the Turkeys cleaned her clothes and then essentially spat out a variety of ornaments for her to wear.  The fact that she forgot about them after she left was cool too.  It definitely sets the tale apart from Cinderella.  

Turkey. Source: Wikipedia

Reading Diary A: Marriage Tales

This week’s theme was Native American tales.  From the choices, I selected the Marriage Tales because it encompasses a range of tribes so I would get a feel for many different cultures.  I enjoyed the readings in the first half of the unit, but did not really find any that I could draw from.  

I like the tale of Splinter-Foot-Girl, but did not draw anything from it that I wanted to use in my stories.  I did like that the animals helped her escape from her marriages.  However, she was a rather meek girl that didn’t really do much for herself.  Her family helped her escape and she simply went along with the plan. 

I like when the girl takes charge of the situation and makes a name for herself.  I guess it just goes along with my outlook on life.  We need to be the writers of our own destinies. Why wouldn’t she try to take charge of the situation? Why would she wait for help and go along with what everyone wants her to do? It just doesn’t fit with my perspective I suppose.  

Badger. Source: Wikipedia

Reading Plan

Planning. Source: Pixabay

Since we’re halfway through the semester, I suppose I should layout my readings for the remainder of the semester.  Of course, these may change, but this is my current reading plan:

Week 9: Marriage Tales

Week 10: Cherokee

Week 11: King Arthur

Week 12: Beowulf

Week 13: Italian Tales

Week 14: Andersen Fairy Tales

Some of these are stories that I have wanted to read for a while but never had the time.  The rest of them were just units that sounded interesting.  One in particular, the Italian Tales unit, I chose just because I am going to Italy for the spring semester!

Reflections: Looking Forward

Road Sign.  Source: Geograph

I’m excited for the remainder of this semester.  I hope that I can continue to write stories that I can be proud of.  I hope that I can continue to finish my assignments on time and not fall down on the job since this is an online class.  

I want to try new things for the remainder of the semester.  I want to explore new storytelling styles, although I’ve been trying to do that already.  I want to read new things, especially for my extra readings (at least once I’ve finished the Grimm fairy tales).  Hopefully I can try to layout some time frames to get my assignments done, instead of just doing them when I have the time.  I want to try to treat this as an actual class so that I’m not trying to get things done at the last minute.  

Thankfully, I am already on track to get the grade I want.  In fact, I’m actually a little bit ahead.  I would love to finish early if I can, but I will need to start doing some of the extra credit assignments when I have the time.  

I hope the rest of the semester goes as smoothly as the first half did!

Reflections: Looking Back

Time Flies. Source: Wikimedia Commons. 

Wow, half of the semester has already gone by and I feel like I just started the year!  I can’t believe how much I’ve already done this semester, especially in this class alone! I’ve started a blog, written six stories on my own, and started a storybook webpage.  I can’t believe it!  Well, I guess it’s time to look back at what I’ve done so far!  

I’ve liked all of the stories that I have written so far this semester, but I have a favorite of course.  My favorite story was The Human Child of a Mother-Wolf.  I thought it was fun to rewrite the story and give it a darker tone.  The stories from that week were all about animals and saints, but the animals were always being helpful.  I thought it was a much more interesting idea to have the wolf help the child, but only because she saw something that she could get out of it!

Of course, my favorite stories to read so far have been the Grimm Fairy Tales that I have done for my extra readings.  I didn’t realize that several of the stories I grew up reading were actually Grimm stories! One of my favorite books as a child was The Twelve Dancing Princesses.  In fact, I still have the book in my closet at home! I loved the story and the pictures in the book, but I never thought that it was written by the Grimm brothers!

Over the semester so far, I have been doing my assignments at my desk at home or in my boss’s office at work.  A few times, thanks to the faulty wifi at work, I’ve done my assignments at Panera Bread as well.  I like to have a designated space to do my work and don’t like to have big distractions.  I can’t do my work in my living room or at the public library because I get easily distracted! I’ve tried to stay a little ahead in the class when I can, but as the semester goes on that is getting more and more difficult! I just can’t seem to stay on top of everything! Time always seemed to fly when I was working on this class's assignments though, no matter how busy I was.

I’m proud of my work in this class so far and hope that it continues to go well!

Extra Reading Diary: Brother Grimm (Crane) unit

For this week’s Extra Reading, I finished the Brothers Grimm Crane unit.  There was only one story that I wasn’t real wild about, but it definitely gave me some great fodder for my own Storybook.  I found a story that will work as well as a general format/reference that will be a great help.

I like the tone of The Six Swans story.  It reminds me a lot of how I intend to write Charlotte Grimm.  A very strong young woman who does not shirk from her duty.  She is so devoted to her brothers that she risks her own life to save them.  I will definitely refer to this story as I write my own since it is such a great example of what I am trying to do!

King Thrushbeard was a very interesting story, with a twist at the end that I did not entirely see coming!  The story as a whole is like a twist on the tale of Cinderella, but in reverse.  The great King dresses like a beggar so the woman will learn some humility! I really liked this story, but can’t really see myself using it in my storybook. 

The beginning of the Grimm version of Snow White is reminiscent of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I really liked this version of the story, without the “true love’s kiss” that awakens her from her slumber.  This might be an option for my Storybook, although I would definitely have to mix up the story a little bit to make it work.  I like how persistent the queen was in her attempts to kill Snow White, and I think it was much better than the Disney version of the story.  

Image Information: King Thrushbeard and his Wife. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Week 7 Storytelling: The Strangest Case of the Day

When something bad happens, people always find someone else to blame.  “It wasn’t my fault, it was his” seems to be a very common utterance, in case you hadn’t noticed.  In fact, I bet you’ve said it yourself more often than you can count! This is the story of just such an occasion, and the interesting way that the judge decided to solve the problem.

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There I was, having a perfect day.  It wasn’t too hot, it wasn’t too cold, and I hadn’t had any trying cases come into the court.  Most of it was just simple, day to day things that needed court approval before any action was taken.  Mostly it was just administering oaths and being the “impartial third party” for a few minor disputes.  It was going to be a wonderful day! That is, until two knuckleheads walked into my courtroom.

You see, these two young men, neighbors in fact, were arguing over who was at fault for a broken pot of oil.  One man had been driving his truck down the mountain path into the city, the back full filled with wood.  Meanwhile, the other young man was sitting on the ground with his pot of oil sitting on a rock beside him.  

Old Pickup Truck. Source: Pixabay

In case you didn’t know, neither of them were really following the laws of the city.  The man with the truck was speeding and trying to re-tune the radio at the same time.  He came around a bend at breakneck speed and some of his wood flew out of the back.  The man with the oil should not have been on that road in the first place, as it is strictly for motor vehicles.  There is a walking path that he should have been on instead of the road. 

Anyway, the two morons were quarreling over the broken pot, trying to decide who to blame.  I decided to teach the two a bit of a lesson, especially for fighting over something so trivial.  I knew that the man with the oil had a mother to care for and that selling the oil was his only livelihood.  I also knew that the man with the truck did not have the money to pay for the oil.  So, I devised a way to teach a lesson and get the man the money he was owed.

“Clearly it is neither of your faults.  It is the fault of the truck and the rock.  They are the ones that I will judge.  Bailiff, chain up the truck in the courtyard.  Make sure that it cannot move.  Then go retrieve the rock and chain it to the pole, and don’t forget to wrap it in chains.  I don’t want it going anywhere until the hearing.” 

I knew I sounded insane, but I was trying to prove a point after all.  Word swept through the town about my wild decree, so I knew my plan would work. 

On the day of the hearing, a great many people showed up to hear the trial.  Once the time of the trial arrived, the doors to the courtroom were locked, so no one could leave until the hearing was finished.  I took my seat, called the people to order, and proceeded to pronounce my judgement on the case.

"As you very well know, there is no law by which a truck and a rock can be judged. Why have you all come to see so absurd a thing? Now, because of your curiosity in the matter, every one of you shall pay five dollars before he gets out."

Everyone looked very much ashamed of themselves, but were more than happy to pay their way to leave the courtroom.  Thanks to the great number of people who had shown up, there was a decent sum of money by the time the room emptied.  This money was given to the man who had lost his oil, so the man was happy, their friendship was rectified, and the debt was paid.  Most importantly, I was finally able to close the court!

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Clearly this case could have been solved outside the court if the men hadn’t been set on blaming one another.  Some deal could have been worked out and the debt would have been paid.  However, because they did not want to take responsibility for their own actions, they could not settle their own differences! While the case worked out in this instance, that is not often the result of such actions.  

Author’s Note:

For this week’s storytelling, I chose The Story of the Donkey and the Rock from the Tibetan Folk Tales unit.  I kept pretty close to the original story, but I did change the point of view and that the one man was driving a truck instead of a donkey. 

I thought it would be fun to see what the judge thought of such an odd case.  I thought that a case like this would not come around very often, but would be a great chance to teach people a lesson.  I included almost a narration at the beginning and end, just to change it up a little bit.  It kind of gives the story more of a lesson type feel to it, which fits!

"The Story of the Donkey and the Rock" from Tibetan Folk Tales, by A.L. Shelton (1925). Web Source: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook. 

Reading Diary B: Tibetan Folk Tales

The remainder of the Tibetan Folk Tales unit was interesting.  I noticed a trend to all the stories, which was that some character in the story always died! Sometimes it was the villain and sometimes it was the main character. 

There didn’t seem to be any honest morals to the story that could transfer to real life.  With many of the stories, the person who committed villainous deeds was actually the one who benefited the most from his actions.  In How the Wolf, the Fox and the Rabbit Committed a Crime, this was exactly what happened.  The three characters stole a man’s things and divided the profits between them.  The rabbit divided the goods, giving the wolf the heavy boots that got him killed and the rabbit a bell that seriously frightened his children, while the rabbit got food!

While these stories were great, they definitely won’t work for my storybook.  I didn’t even find any general ideas that could transfer, although that may be because the stories were so short.  

Rabbit. Source: Pixabay

Reading Diary A: Tibetan Folk Tales

For this week’s readings, I chose to do the unit on Tibetan Folk Tales.  It was a very interesting unit, full of animal trickery and unique life lessons.  There was very little in this unit that I could use in my Storybook, but it was definitely fun to read.  I had not yet read a unit quite like this.

The Story of the Donkey and the Rock was one of my favorite stories in this unit. I really liked how it didn’t really teach a lesson to the main characters, but taught a lesson to the entire town.  Curiosity may actually be nosiness disguised!  This could be an interesting twist to use in one of my storybook tales.

Working Donkey. Source: Pixabay

My other favorite story was The Ingratitude of Man.  I think that it is funny that people assume that others like them will reciprocate favors, when that is rarely the case.  By making the animals the ones who actually showed gratitude and payed the debt, it shows that you cannot always judge a book by its cover.  (This idea reminds me of the monster book in Harry Potter)

This unit has been fun to read so far and I look forward to continuing the readings.  I hope I will be able to find other ideas to include in my storybook.