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.  

Extra Reading Diary: Brothers Grimm (Crane) Unit

This week, I read the first half of the Brothers Grimm Crane Unit.  It contains the stories of The Fisherman and his Wife, Aschenputtel (a.k.a. Cinderella), and The Robber Bridegroom. All of these tales are so amazing, but there was only one that I would like to incorporate into my storybook. 

The Robber Bridegroom is a very dark and evil story, even for the Grimm brothers.  I think that it would be a great story to use since there is such a clear villain and so many ways that I could tweak the story for my purposes.  Charlotte could be the bride, the old woman, the bird, or any number of other characters in the story.  She could even be one of the robber-cannibals if I really want to make it interesting!  I am definitely going to use this story in my book. 

I’m really excited to start writing it, even though I plan on using one of the more well-known stories first.  I think it will be very interesting to see how Charlotte fits into this story!

Old Woman and Bride Escaping. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Week 6 Storytelling: Escaping the Darkness and the World Beyond

I lived in a world of darkness.  It was all that I had ever known, all that I could remember.  The darkness was large enough for me to stand and stretch, but was enclosed by… something.  I don’t know how long I had been in the darkness or if there was anything but darkness in the world. 

One day, the darkness cracked.  I could see something, something so completely opposite the darkness that it burned.  It terrified me, but when the darkness did not return, I decided to further the cracks.  After much work, I was finally free from the darkness.  The world was so bright, so big, that I bowed in each direction out of thanks and worship. 

While I already knew how to stand, actual movement was hard to figure out.  I had no teacher and there was no one in sight when I escaped the darkness.  Gradually I learned how to walk and jump.  I was so excited and happy to be able to explore the world that I cried out with joy.

As I grew up and explored what I came to learn was an island, I met other beings like me.  I learned I was an ape, but I was different from the others.  No other ape had hatched from the darkness and no other ape was made from stone.  However, they accepted me into their community. 

Together, we ate and laughed and played. We had no concept of responsibility or an end to our existences.  We were happy. 

Waterfall. Source: Wikipedia

After a time, we were enjoying the coolness of a pond in one of the valleys.  It was fed by a rushing, pounding fall of water, something we had never encountered before. 

One of the apes said, “Whoever can force his way through the waterfall without suffering injury shall be our king.” I knew that I would be able to cross the fall of water since I was made of tougher stuff than the other apes, quite literally. 

“I will pass through,” I cried.  I closed my eyes, bent down low, and leaped through the roar and foam of the waters.  On the other side, I wiped the water from my face and opened my eyes.  I saw an iron bridge with a stone tablet above it engraved with these words: “This is the heavenly cave behind the water-curtain on the Blessed Island of Flowers and Fruits.”

I was so excited that I leapt back through the waterfall and told the other beasts what I had seen. They all wanted me to help them cross the waterfall.  I took each ape and monkey into my arms, covered them with my head and shoulders, and leapt back and forth through the falls until they were all on the iron bridge.

We ran towards the castle cave that was on the other side of the bridge and pilfered everything we could.  The cabinets held pots and pans and cups that were made of stone, the same stone I was made from!

All the apes and all the monkeys saw this and began to bow before me. They called me the Handsome King of the Apes.  I appointed the different species to be my counselors and officials, my servants and retainers.  We led a peaceful and happy life in the cave, sleeping in the great hall and feasting on the fruits and flowers that were surrounding the castle cave.  We kept away from all the other beasts and birds, enjoying untroubled happiness. 

In this way, some three hundred years went by.  

Author’s Note

For this week’s storytelling, I found it very difficult to choose a story to rewrite.  They are so intertwined with one another that it was daunting to choose one that I could write independently.  

I chose to rewrite the beginning of Sun Wu Kung's story, the Handsome King of the Apes. In the original story, the tale is told from a third person point of view.  The Stone Ape hatches from a rock that was on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits.  He catches the notice of the gods, who write him off as something they do not need to worry about.  In the remainder of the story, he quickly becomes a very serious problem for the gods, causing all sorts of mischief and problems. 

In my rendition, I decided to tell the story from the ape’s point of view.  He had existed within the rock for a while before he hatched and he knew nothing else.  I thought it would be fun to see how he dealt with the new world and how he became part of the ape community.  He was so different from the other apes and finally that difference payed off.  I would have loved to rewrite the entire story after I wrote this, but I didn’t have the words that would let me tell the whole thing.  

"Handome King of the Apes" edited by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens, from The Chinese Fairy Book (1921). Web Source: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook.

Reading Diary B: The Monkey King Sun Wu Kung

The remainder of The Monkey King Sun Wu Kung unit went by rather quickly.  I did not find it nearly as interesting as the beginning of the unit, although that may be because of the synopses at the end of the unit.  I did not find anything that I would want to use in my storybook, although I may use the extreme arrogance of the Monkey King in some of my future weekly stories.

No particular story drew my attention, nor did any of the new characters that were introduced.  The settings were the same and the plot was simply a continuation of the beginning of the story, so there was little for me to draw from.

Overall, the unit was very interesting and a blast to read.  The adventures were so dramatic and fantastical that I just couldn’t stop reading.  However, the stories were not of the type-- in either character setting or plot line-- for what I am thinking to use in my own storybook.  That is, not including the arrogance of the king being translated into the Grimm Brothers!

Huangshan Mountain. Source: Wikipedia

Reading Diary A: The Monkey King Sun Wu Kung

For week 6, I chose to read the unit on The Monkey King SunWu Kung.  It is definitely an interesting read, full of adventure and unique story lines. 

I particularly like the section on The Great Sea.  The like how the ape disguises himself as a human.  It would be fun to use this type of story in my storybook to explain how Charlotte gets away with following her brothers.  Clearly some sort of disguise had to be involved.  She could be disguised as a man!

I thought it was interesting that, though Sun Wu Kung was supposedly a saint, he was so greedy and arrogant.  The way that his character is written would be intriguing to use for the Grimm Brothers.  Clearly they were so full of themselves that they didn’t notice their sister was following and helping them.

I think that this is very similar to how the Monkey King is acting.  He doesn’t think that the rules apply to him, so he essentially overrules them.  He takes what is not his and demands things on top of those that he has already stolen.  He demands for his will to be done and gets it out of fear.  He is so arrogant that he is sure to fall at some point.

Ape Rock Formation. Source: Flickr

Thoughts About Comments

I love getting comments on my blog! However, like everyone else, I do prefer some comments over others.  I really like comments that offer constructive criticism.  I think that it allows me to better myself and my blogs when people point out ways to tweak my stories.

I had a comments on the color of my text making it hard to read, so I changed it (which honestly didn't help).  I decided to do a solid background for the text area so that people could read easier and haven't had a comment on it since!

For my introduction comments, I really like when people mention similar experiences.  I think that it is a great way to create connections between the readers when they have similar backgrounds.

Please keep leaving comments, and if something is really bugging you, let me know! If I agree, I'll definitely work to fix it!

I think my comments so far have been both constructive and beneficial.  I like how everyone has a different style and try to mention that in my comments.  If I see grammatical errors or anything that might hinder the reading, I try to mention that as well.