Week 11 - Essay - English Fairy Tales.

For this week I will be assessing the chosen reading unit. This week I have decided to read about English fairy tales. Being eleven weeks into the semester, I think so far this is my favorite reading unit. I thought I had found my favorite unit last week. But I felt more engaged with the stories this week. I think that they were very exciting and a good and easy read.

My favorite this week was the story that I chose for my story telling assignment - Tim Tit Tot. I just felt that this story entertained me the most. I think that the girl in the story was rather fortunate. One: she was married to the king. So I’m sure she was lavished in every way possible. Then, even though she was unable to spin, she miraculously found someone to help her. However, everyone that came to her aid set conditions on her. The king wanted her to spin on the twelfth month of the year, and Tim Tit Tot wanted to keep her if she didn’t guess his name right. I also like how the story ended. I thought that it was quite a coincidence that the king randomly saw this creature singing his name, whilst he was spinning. Then he came to tell his wife. Not knowing that he had just saved her.

I also really enjoyed, The Rose tree, and Mr Fox. I think they too were marvelous stories. Also I like reading the story of the three little pigs. Although, it was not my favorite of the bunch. But it was interesting to read the difference in the story, in comparison to the one we are all used to. I strongly recommend this reading unit to anyone who hasn’t decided on a reading unit for week twelve.  I think the information provided prior reading the unit was sufficient to base a decision on. It really is a short and sweet reading unit.

 

 

 

Link: English Fairy Tales

Week 11: story telling - Tom Tit Tot

Once upon a time, in a land far away. There lived a girl named Madison. Madison lived with her mother. Madison and her mother lived in a village and couldn't afford much.

One day Madison’s mother made five pieces of pies. However, they were not soft enough once they were baked. So her mother told her to let them set out a little so they may soften. Madison, didn’t allow for them to sit and soften. So, instead she ate them all.

It was tea time, and Madison’s mother wanted to have a bit to have with her tea. “Can you fetch me a piece of pie,” said Madison’s mother.

“No mother, they haven’t been sitting out long enough” replied Madison, “they aren’t yet soft.”

“Soft or not soft, I’ll have one to go with my tea now,” ordered her mother.

“You can’t have any,” said Madison nervously.

“And why not?” asked her mother.

“I ate them all,” answered Madison.

And so all afternoon Madisons mother sang.

'My darter ha' ate five, five pies today.

The king was riding by and heard her singing. “Good God, What on earth are you singing,” asked the king.

Madinso

ns mother hesitated. She didn’t want the king to know her daughter ate all those pies.

“Ah, I was singing my daughter spun five skeins”

“Well, that’s great,” said the king excitedly.” I shall marry her at once, so she may spin for me”

Madison’s mother was thrilled to hear this. This was grand gesture. And so she married her daughter off to the king.

For eleven months in the year Madison had everything she could ever want. But, for the twelfth month she had to spin five skeins every day. Madison wasn’t able to do this. She didn’t know the first thing about spinning. When the twelfth month came, she didn’t know what to do. A little black figure appeared at her window. It had promised her that he will help her. However, she had only three attempts to guess his name correct. If she didn’t he would get to keep her. And so she made a deal with him.

Every night, he would come and say, “Well what’s my name?”

“Gregory.” She guessed.

“No,” replied the black creature. “You have only one attempt left.”

One night the king came to see his wife. While she was pretending to spin.

“I saw the strangest little black creature in the forest, this afternoon. He was also spinning and singing TOM, TIT, TOT is my name” said the king.

Madison was thrilled. And so she waited for the creature to come see her one more time.

“So, have you figured out my name?” asked the creature.

“Tom, Tit, Tot, is you name” she said happily.

So, the black creature went away. And she was never to see him again.

Author’s note: I picked this story because I enjoyed it the most. I thought that it was very funny. I kept the plot the same as the original. But decided to take something’s out to shorten the story,

The Black Creature

Link : Tom Tit Tot

Week 12- Reading Diary : Nursery Rhymes

Nursery Rhymes: Tales - The nursery rhyme about the babies in the wood was sad. Thank goodness for the robin. Who gave them the strawberries. I like how singing in this unit is used to symbolize happiness.

The crooked man. Everything in this nursery rhyme is crooked. I guess that’s why the probably all got to live happily ever after.

I don’t understand how tom was beat when he stole the pig. I ccouldn'tunderstand why he went roaring down the street.

I enjoyed reading the rhyme about the man with the gun. That shot the duck. I like the repetition in that poem.

My favorite so far in this book of rhyme. Is the nursery rhyme about jack and the goose. I like that he became friends with the goose and in return the goose laid him a golden egg. It’s sad that the Jew cheated him of his golden egg.

Nursery Rhymes: Proverbs - I like the riddle of if wishes were hours. I would never had guessed that it was referring to the hours of sleep. I thought that this was very clever.

I don’t agree with the rhyme about the needles and pin. When a man marries his troubles begins. I thought it was quite funny. But I think that this is true for both husband and wife. The troubles can go both ways.

I liked the rhyme about sneezing. Each day in the week you sneezed, meant you had to do something. It reminds me of something you would get in a text message.

Nursery Rhymes: Songs, Part 1 - The fox in this rhyme is cunning. As he picked the farmers bones and the goose on his farm. The farmer let him stay out of good gesture. But in return he killed his goose. I don’t think the farmer should have gone after the fox. As he deceived the farmer again.

It is strange to me that, Johnny the boy was given a blue ribbon to tie his hair. I thought that that was something you would do on little girl’s hair. Maybe I’m wrong.

I think that Elsie Marley, Is a good example of a lazy person. Someone who is self-centered, and only cares about how beautiful she has become.

London Bridge is falling down – this is not the rhyme that I was brought up to now. As this has its own characters and twist to it.

Nursery Rhymes: Songs, Part 2 – I thought the idea of brandy in a spoon was rather interesting.

My wife tells me that, hot cross bun is a traditional English bon. With a cross on it literally. It is often ate during, Easter.

I have been to Piccadilly a time or two. I have also been to Bristol. So to see rhyme written about these places is interesting.

I liked the rhyme of the queen of hearts. I felt like it really flowed. I felt that It was a lot more easier to understand than the some of the other rhymes. And it told a story.

Nursery Rhymes: Riddles - I liked reading the riddles in this chapter. A lot of them I tried to guess but they were actually quite hard. I think that they were very well put together in having the readers guessing.

My favorites were “LONG legs, crooked thighs,
Little head, and no eyes”. [Pair of tongs.]. I would have never guess that.

And….

FORMED long ago, yet made to-day,
Employed while others sleep;
What few would like to give away,
Nor any wish to keep.

[A Bed.]

Nursery Rhymes: Paradoxes - I liked the riddle song. As when she went on to list all the things her true love got her. There was questions asked of i.e. how could she have a goose without a bone, or a bible no man can read. And I also liked how clever the answers were.

Nursery Rhymes: Charms and Lullabies - The Peter Piper rhyme, reminds me of being in elementary school. We called them tongue twister. We all tried to say it the fastest. I enjoyed going back and reading these nursery rhymes. It really reminded me of growing up as a child. Or hearing these lullabies in school or in cartoons.

Nursery Rhymes: Games* - I like how the men in this rhyme thought that the hedgehog was a pin cushion with the pins stuck in the wrong way. I thought that was quite funny.

My wife is from London. And so when I read her the rhyme about oranges and lemons. She sang me the rhyme and she told me how they used to sing it in the playground whilst jumping rope.

Nursery Rhymes: Jingles - I liked the jingle about rub-a-dub-dub, with the three men in the tub. I’ve always heard it but I never knew who the three men were until today.

Nursery Rhymes: Love and Matrimony - I am not familiar with these rhymes. Except for Jack and Jill. However, what I did find quite interesting was the description of London, given by the man who went to look for wife. Because it is it small, and has narrow roads today.

Nursery Rhymes: Natural History, Part 1 &  Part 2 - I liked the rhyme about the pussy cat and the mouse. I thought it was quite funny that the mouse went all the way to London to see the queen. Then to scare a mouse under her chair. And also Ba Ba Black sheep. Although I felt that it was told a little different to how it is sang.

Nursery Rhymes: Accumulative Stories – I liked the one about the keys of the kingdom. And how in everything there is something else. However, I did not understand what c & c meant at the end. I thought that we were going to actually find something in the end.

Nursery Rhymes: Relics – I remember the rhyme about little Miss Muffet. And the one about the rain. The rest was interesting to read about.

Link: Nursery Rhymes Unit

Week 11 - Reading Diary : English Fairy Tales.

Tom Tit Tot  - I really enjoyed reading this story. She seems to keep getting herself into sticky situations. At first her mother lies to the king saying she can spin five skeins. But then the king sets a condition on her. When she finally gets the help she needs to Tom Tit Tot. He too has a condition on her. Luckily, her husband told her about his encounter with the little black thing.

The Rose-Tree - This story reminds me of snow white. It has a destiny like plot. The evil stepmother envying the girl for her beauty. I am so glad that, when the girl became a bird she took revenge on the evil step mother.

The Old Woman and Her Pig - I liked the pattern in the story. I think that it was very creative making a link between each thing.  But in the end in order for her to get the favours she requested. She too had to do favors for the cat and the cow. In the end it worked out for her.

Binnorie - I think that the younger sister is crazy. She didn’t need to kill her sister in order to get Sir William. He should have chosen the right sister in the first place. I enjoyed this story though. At least, she was able to tell the story of how her sister killed her, through the harp the man made.

Mouse and Mouser - I like the style in which the story is written. I think it makes it easy to read. And really makes it interesting. It is a quick and easy dialect to follow between the cat and the mouse. It is almost very poetic.  The cat is very cunning, as the mouse comes to tell her a story and then the cat responds. In the end she eats him like she ate his pie.

Cap O' Rushes - This story reminds me of Cinderella. Except Cinderella’s father didn’t banish her. I think that the young master most of had some great sort of love for her. His love for her has him in bed sick for her love. I think Cap O’ Rushes was very clever in slipping the ring he gave her into his gruel. Now, he knows that she is in the same house as him. Then maybe she could be rich and beautiful again. I like how the salt on meat was used to symbolize her love for her father. In the end it was a win-win situation for them all.

The Story of the Three Little Pigs - Growing up, I always enjoyed the story of the three little pigs. The third little pig was by far the most clever, as he was afraid of the wolf. However, he didn’t let his fear get the better of him. So he remained a step ahead of the wolf each time.

The Master and His Pupil - This was an intense story. Had it not been for the master the boy would have drowned, due to the order he had given the dark spirit. Classic example of doing what you are not supposed to do, then having to pay for it. I don’t think the boy meant any harm. It was more due to curiosity.

Henny-Penny- I like the names used for the characters in this book. It really has a childish theme to it. I knew that foxy-woxy would be deceitful to them. As fox’s are in all stories.

Molly Whuppie - Molly Whuppie had a very lucky escape here. Luckily she was the cleverest of the sisters and she managed to escape.

Mr Fox - Could you imagine how scary this was for Lady Mary? Seeing her fiancé dragging women into his castle. What is soon to be their home?  At least her brothers sought revenge for all those ladies Mr Fox had killed. I am glad that she confronted him about what she had seen. Otherwise, that might have been her fate also.

Johnny-Cake- The fox was very clever. In out smarting Johnny- cake. I thought it was quite strange having a cake out run everyone.

Mr Miacca - I thought that this story was quite funny. I am glad that in the end Mr Miacca taught him a lesson.

The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh - Its good that the king found love again. After the loss of his wife. As usual most kids don’t take well with having a step mother. So you can already see that the replacement of her mum is going to be an issue. I knew the step mum would be envious of the princess beauty. I think turning her into a dragon made the story even more interesting.

The Ass, The Table and the Stick - I think that it was so sad that Jack went away for twelve whole months. Worked very hard for the lady. And when he was given his wages to give to his father. It was all stolen from him. As a parent he should have accepted his son no matter what, instead he decided to punish him. At least Jack got a happy ending.

Fairy Ointment - I liked how the ointment let her see the truth about everything. But, I thought that it was rather sad that the old man blinded her after she had helped his baby.

(Tom Tit Tot and the girl)

Link: English Fairy Tales Unit

Week 10 Extra credit - Famous Last words.

This week has been a very hectic week at school. I have had back to back examinations, and assignments to do. My wife and I usually have very busy schedules. Both work and school related. I just can’t wait for the day that I graduate and actually start pursuing my career. Even though I am now as well.

I work two jobs, one as a math tutor and the other as a salesmen. Balancing that along with school is hard work. But with the support of my wife I feel like I can do anything.

Besides school, my wife and I are both looking forward to our December vacation. I will be visiting Seattle. I cannot wait to spend time with my family like the good old days. It has been a year since I went back home. My schedule has not allowed me to do. My wife on the other had will be visiting her family in London. She is super excited.

Last night we went to go watch “Gone girl”, at the AMC Theater in Pennsqaure mall. My oh my, that was one hell of a movie. I think that it was by far one of the best movies I have seen so far. And trust me I have seen my fair share of those. I recommend that everyone should go watch it if given the chance to.

In terms of this class, I feel like it is getting more and more hectic. I have published my third story so far. I really am enjoying this class. But I feel like it requires a lot of time and thought. Then again so does every other class. I just can’t wait to be done with this semester. It feels like such a long and hectic semester, and I am sure everyone else can also relate.

(Chasing Rabbit is hard work. By dancingwaters97. Date: unknown)

Week 10 extra credit - Google search Tech tip

For my google search tech tip, I decided to use the African sacred text website, and google search Monkeys. This is what I came up with.

South-African Folk-Tales, by James A. Honeÿ, [1910], at sacred-texts.com

---

THE MONKEY'S FIDDLE

HUNGER and want forced Monkey one day to forsake his land and to seek elsewhere among strangers for much-needed work. Bulbs, earth beans, scorpions, insects, and such things were completely exhausted in his own land. But fortunately he received, for the time being, shelter with a great uncle of his, Orang Outang, who lived in another part of the country.
When he had worked for quite a while he wanted to return home, and as recompense his great uncle gave him a fiddle and a bow and arrow and told him that with the bow and arrow he could hit and kill anything he desired, and with the fiddle he could force anything to dance.
The first he met upon his return to his own land was Brer Wolf. This old fellow told him all the news and also that he had since early morning been attempting to stalk a deer, but all in vain.

Week 10 Essay - ASSESSES STORY

In this week’s reading, I decided to read American Indian tales. I really enjoyed reading the stories in this unit, as I felt a sense of the Indian culture. Living here in Oklahoma, the Indian heritage is very much valued. And to read some of their mythological stories was somewhat interesting.

For this week, I pretty much enjoyed reading almost all of the stories. However, a few stood out to me the most. As you already know by now, for this week’s story telling assignment I decided to retell the story about The son of the evening star. To me this story reminded me a lot of our modern day beauty and the beast. Bell fell in love with the beast despite his odd and ugly appearance, as did Owenee with Osseo. She, unlike her other sisters decided to pick whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She didn’t just settle for the most handsome, strongest; or richest young man. Whilst reading this story, when Osseo finally became beautiful (as granted from his father the evening star), Owenee lost her beauty. It made me think that did he consume all her beauty or was it just a test of their love? I think that it was a test as he stayed with her even when she wasn’t beautiful anymore. And as a reward, they were both given beauty, and all those that were not kind to them became birds and other creatures.

I also enjoyed reading about Lagoo, I think that he was a very wise man. As I would picture most of the native Indians to be at that time.

Collectively, I think that this was a very good reading unit, and I  would recommend it to future students. I think that there was enough information provided about the unit. I also enjoyed the fact that it was not a confusing unit and all the stories were being told by Lagoo. It really helped give the readers a good use of their imagination.

Link : American Indian Tales

The Boy Who Became Beautiful

Owenee, was the most beautiful of nine sisters. These were the daughters of the chief of the land. They were beautiful and angelic looking.  There was no girls in comparable to them. It was now time for them to be wedded to the warriors and princes of the land. And so all of them became brides except for Owenee. She was the youngest of them all, and also the most opinionated.

Each time a young, handsome and wealthy man would ask for her hand in marriage. And each time she would find a fault in them. There was this young man; he claimed to be the son of the evening star. He was short, and very ugly. His name was Osseo. Owenee saw in Osseo what she failed to see in any other man. Her sisters teased her for his ugly appearance. Osseo always prayed to his father, so that he may be blessed with beauty.

One day, they took a trip to watch fireworks in a nearby village. The sisters led the way with their husbands, whilst Owenee and Osseo trailed behind. Somewhere along their journey, they stumbled upon a log, in which all of them managed to leap over. Osseo on the other hand was too short to jump over it.

“I bet you, he can’t get over,” said one of the sisters, “are you going to carry him Owenee”.

“Leave him alone. For he is a kind heart,” replied Owenee.

Owenee hated them teasing her all the time. While the sisters were bickering about Osseo’s strange appearance. Osseo noticed that the log was hollow and it had a huge hole in it. So he crawled through to get to the other side. Upon coming out, Osseo didn’t seem himself anymore. A tall, strong, and handsome man appeared on the other end. There Osseo stood with all the beauty in the world.

The sisters were in awe of his new found beauty. However, Owenee was no longer beautiful. There she stood, old and grey. Her sisters were happy to see this happen to her and laughed. This meant that she would no longer be a competition in terms of her beauty. Osseo on the other hand reassured her that he would love her no matter what. For she loved him, when everyone else failed to.

Author’s note: I chose to write about the The Child of the Evening Star. This story reminded me of beauty and the beast. I kept most of the plot the same. And the characters the same. The story is about a young girl who doesn’t marry the men her father brings her. She falls for the son of the evening star who is ugly. But then when he goes through a log he becomes beautiful. In return Owenee becomes ugly. Eventually, her beauty is restored and everyone else is turned into birds and other creatures.

Link:The child of the Evening

Week 10: Reading Diary - American Indian Fairy Tales

Iagoo, the Story-Teller – Lagoo seems like a really wise old man. Not only is he wise, but he is also a humble character. Hence why the children adore him so much.

Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind & Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind (cont.) – Ka-bib-on-okka seems like a very fierce and dull character. Could you imagine a world with no green grass or trees? Why would he want the world to be covered in ice anyway? I like the competition between Kab-bib-on-okka and the south wind Sha-won-dasee. Shin-ge-bis is a very positive and brave character. He seemed to not be startled at all despite the fact that Ka-bib-on-okka was coming to turn everything into ice.

I think that the way the Indians counted time i.e. one moon was very clever, as you can imagine there was no clocks back then. The north wind definitely met his match. The fact that Shin-ge-bis was not afraid of the north wind helped him overcome him.

The Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds & The Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds (cont.) - I am glad Morning Glory asked the question about the existence of the mountains. The story about the hill that grew and grew, taking the little girl and the boy into the clouds. Reminds me a lot of Jack and the bean stalk. The world he describes in this story sounds like such a beautiful time and place to live. I think that as time went on us humans have complicated things. The coyote is very clever and had amazing senses. This story is a classic example not to underestimate anyone, no matter how big or small. How big the task he accomplished and tiny he was led for the mountain to be named after him “Tu-tok-a-nu-la”.

The Child of the Evening Star & The Child of the Evening Star (cont. End) – In every family there is that one person that is more opinionated than everyone else. Or that someone that breaks tradition. In this case Owenee is the daughter that is hardest to please, hence why she didn’t get married like her other sisters. I think that as the youngest sister she was also the wisest, as she did not fall for mere beauty. But, in fact is looking for beauty from within. I think that this is very important in any relationship.

This story reminds me of beauty and the beast. As Owenee loved Osseo that was dark and evil but possessed the most beautiful heart. It is almost as if he Osseo took all of Owenee beauty when he crawled inside the log. He came out beautiful whilst she became ugly.

The love they have for each other is deep and pure as they do not care of their outside appearance as did the nine sisters. This story also reminds me a little of Cinderella as her sisters were happy that she is no longer a competition in terms of beauty for them. I am also glad that Osseo finally got a response out of his father – the evening star.

The Boy who Snared the Sun, The Boy who Snared the Sun (cont.) &The Boy who Snared the Sun (end) – I can imagine a world where people ate the berries and the vegetation of the earth. Instead of meat. Maybe that’s why people were a lot healthier than we are today. Wow, could you imagine a world with more animals than humans. My thought right now are, were the little girl and boy not scared being the only humans amongst all those huge animals? This story reminds me of Hansel and Gretel.Gretel was over protective of her brother as is the little girl in this story. If I was alone on the earth, I think that I would be just as curious as the little boy was to look for more people. I don’t understand why the little boy felt that he had to catch the sun. I like the concept of how the door mouse became small in this story. I think the     coyote set him up.

How the Summer Came, How the Summer Came (cont.) & How the Summer Came (end) – Could you imagine living in a place where summer never came. Personally I like the winter better. But a change of season is always great – gives you something to look forward to. I like the creativity used in this story as before it became cold. There was a crack in the sky which leaked warmth. When this crack became noticed they mended it. Therefore, it was to remain cold on earth. The love of a parent it so large, that O-jeej was willing to do this for his son, knowing that it was a dangerous task. I like the concept in this story of spring, summer, and autumn being trapped in the sky. But it was sad that O-jeej remained trapped in the sky, again on the bright side he son will always be able to look up and find his father.

The Fairy Bride & The Fairy Bride (cont.) – When I think of fairies I think of happy little things. In this story however, they are rather mischievous taking things from people. In most stories when people wonder, they are deep thinker. They never fall in with the norm, but rather chose their own destiny. As Neen-i-zu did not want to marry the hunter her mother wants her to marry. This changed her character as she was no longer happy. It was sort of like an arrange marriage. Neen-i-zu reminds me a lot of Owenee in the previous story.

Link: American Indian Fairy Tales Unit

Week 9: Essay - Assesses Reading Unit.

For this week’s reading unit I decided to read Native American heroes tales unit. Overall, I thought that this was a really good reading unit and I enjoyed reading about the different American Mythology. Being someone that prefers realistic story lines, I felt that this unit had a lot of that as well as the little imagination and adventure where needed.  The stories in this unit were a lot different to the ones I read in previous weeks. As the class progresses I have come to know that each genre or culture have different ways of telling mythical stories. Therefore, reading a diversity of stories from different parts of the world has definitely been an eye opener. One thing that I thought was really helpful reading this unit, was the fact that it didn’t have too many stories but rather a few stories that were short and sweet.

In this week’s story telling assignment I decided to write about my favorite story in the unit – Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away. This story stood out to me the most as I liked the fact that the twin boys weren’t dead and that they went on to grow up in two completely different places. But in the end they found each other and were reunited as a family. I also enjoyed the fact that whenever they were warned by their father not to do something. They would still go and do it but made sure they conquered every obstacle. To me this story showed their brotherhood and closeness and it reminded me a lot of my childhood growing up with my brothers and sisters.

I also enjoyed reading about the jealous uncle. I felt that this story reminded me a lot of the time of Moses and the Pharaoh. When the pharaoh wanted rid of all the boys that were born in Egypt but Moses being the only one to survive.
My least favorite was The Son-In-Law-Tests. I can’t really pinpoint why I did not enjoy this story. But it was definitely the least appealing. I didn’t quite understand the concept as to why the father did not want his daughter to be happily married. Overall, I thought that this was a very enjoyable reading unit.


                                        

                                                       (Grouse. One of the characters in the Bluejay and his companions story)

Link: Native American Hero Tales Unit

Week 9: Story Telling - Thrown-behind-the-curtain and Thrown-into-the-river

Once upon a time in a land far far away, there lived a man named Kowasa. Kowasa lived with his wife who at the time was pregnant with twin boys. In the land they lived there lived an evil witch. This witch hated anyone that was happier than her, so she took away their gift. 

One day when Kowasa went away to work she paid a visit to his wife and knocked her down then ripping open her belly and took out the twins. She threw one behind the curtain and the other she threw in the river.Kowasa came home that evening tired after a long days work.

 “Honey I’m home. I am starving could you fry this fish that I caught from the river?” asked Kowasa. But he got no reply. He then walked over to his wife that appeared as if she was just sitting there smiling but in fact she was dead.

Many weeks had passed and Kowasa came home to a lonely house and ate dinner on his own, until one day he heard a voice “May I eat with you?” said the voice. Kowasa looked around and heard that it was coming from behind the curtain.

 “Reveal yourself” Kowasa called. And there stood his son and they ate dinner together. His son explained what had happened and so Kowasa called him Thrown-behind-the-curtain.

Thrown-behind-the-curtain often visited the river where he played with a young boy of the same age. One day Kowasa came looking for his son and saw that he was playing with a boy. When Thrown-behind-the-curtain came home that evening Kowasa had asked him who that boy was and if he would like to stay with them. But Thrown-behind-the-curtain had told his father that he did not like to play with others as he lived in the river. “Bring him home one day” said Kowasa.

“He will not come out to play if he sees you” replied Thrown-behind-the-curtain.

“I shall hide” said Kowasa.

And so the next day he set off to play with the boy. When the boy saw that he was being watched he climbed the wall where Kowasa sat and tried to bite him with his otter appearing sharp teeth. But before he could do it Kowasa had broken off his teeth and they took the boy home.

Later that evening when they sat for dinner the boy had explained what had happened to him and so Kowasa knew that it was his other son and decided to name him Thrown-into-the-river. The two boys grew up to be brave conquering all the most dangerous obstacles and eventually killing the witch that cast a spell on their mother which caused her to sleep for many years. Their mother had awoken from the spell and they lived happily ever after.

                                           

                                                             (Crow horsemen, photo by E. Curtis)

Author’s Note: I decided to retell the story of the Lodge-boy and thrown-away. I enjoyed reading this story the most. I kept the plot of the story the same but I changed up the names of the characters.  The original story is about two boys that were thrown away by an evil witch before birth. When their father found them to be alive, he took them both into care and they went on to go through dangerous adventures which the father had told them not to. But each time they went they would come back victorious. In the end their mother is bought back from the dead and so the story ends.

Link : Lodge-boy and Thrown-away

Bibliography: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929). 

Week 9: Reading Dairy - Native American Heroes Tales unit

The Jealous Uncle & The Jealous uncle (Continu) – This story about unnatural and the boys reminds me of Moses and the pharaoh because this uncle killed all his male nephews as the pharaoh had ordered to the people of his land. I think it is sad that the uncle still wanted to kill his nephew knowing that he bought him back some wood. I also think it is quite stupid of the boy to trust his uncle knowing that he killed his brother before him. I think it is pretty awesome that he stumbled upon the eagle people and their ability to turn into eagles and humans. I am glad he got revenge for his parents after the cruelty of his uncle.

Bluejay and His Companions – I think that Bluejay is a very bad a selfish friend – poor Grouse. I think that there are a lot of cunning characters in this book. I think Bluejay had a good set of companions they were victorious in every challenge they had to face. Bluejay even lied to his companions about having tamanous to give to them. In the end they learnt their lesson giving grouse the fattest seal.

Dug- From- Ground – this is a classic example of doing the things we aren’t supposed to. What is it that they say “curiosity killed the cat.” I think that it is sad that his mother will not look at him. When thy boy grew up he grew up to be a very fine and strong young man.

The Attack on the Giant Elk and the Great Eagle & (contin) – This story reminds me of some of the Greek myths. I think that is creative that jonayaiyin and the animals can communicate. And why is it that all the animals wants the Elk dead also? I like how they used the ploughing of the Elk to portray how the mountains today were formed. It was kind of jonayaiyin not killing the eaglets but he killed the mother which is quite sad. It was quite unfair for the bat to lose her feathers after she helped Jonayaiyin.

         (Elk. Source : The Attack on the Giant Elk and the Great Eagle By Jicarilla Apache, 1929)

Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away – How could red woman be so evil in killing a woman and taking out her babies. I am glad to know that the two twin boys are alive. The fact that one of the twin boys lives in the springs and has sharp teeth like otters show that he had adapted to his living conditions, sort of like the jungle book or the boy that grew up with the wolves. I was glad to read that the mother was bought back to life. Thrown in the springs and Thrown-behind the curtain are to brave boys, as children they always do what their father tells them not to. I guess the boys grew up to be heroes.

The Son-in-Law Tests – This was a really loyal wife as she made sure to protect her husband from Wemicus because he had killed all her other husbands. I didn't really enjoy this story.

The Jealous Father – Aioswe is a crazy character I think by actually thinking that his son was intimate with one of his wives just because he had seen some marks on her. Aioswe’s son is very selfish as Walrus is just trying to help him but in order for the son to reach his goal he is lying to him about everything in fear that he may be deserted. As a result Walrus died because Aioswe sent lightening to strike him. He was actually very clever making the witches that were sent to kill him to kill each other. He got revenge on his father and he and his mother lived happily ever after. I think this is one of the nicest stories so far in this unit.

Dirty Boy – I like the concept of sun and star coming down to earth and pretending to be humans. I also like the fact the grandmother (star) was rooting for her grandson as he was the one that shot the eagle not wolf. Even though dirty-boy/ Sun was sick and not good looking the younger sister still went and agreed to marry him and in return she got a handsome prince.

Source :Native American Heroes Tales Unit

Bibliography : Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).

Week 8: Blogger Template TechTip

I have chosen to choose the simple layout for my template. I think it is simple and it complements the reading choices that I have made so far. I have never blogged before so this is entirely new to me. I would say it is somewhat fun experimenting.

Week 8 : Reading diary

Looking back at my blog I feel like I have come a very long way. First and foremost I have never written a blog before in my entire life so starting a blog was something really interesting and new to me. It was definitely some great to learn. Also I am not a story book reader but instead I enjoy watching movies with an interesting story line in particular mythical movies (which yes, this class is based on). I definitely feel like this class has helped me widen my horizon in terms of the style of reading material given. And it has helped me tap into my imagination allowing me to recreate great my myth-folklore stories told.

I think the reading dairies are a very useful tool in this class. Yes, some may say that they are time consuming especially whilst balancing it with other classes. But I really believe that they are very useful in the sense that it provides me with a brief summary of what I have written helping me incorporate my thoughts with the story telling part of the reading week. This is also useful as with the reading dairy at hand you do not need to go back referring to your original source for ideas as you have already jotted down your thoughts whilst reading.

I think that my blog is coming along great and the use of images and links for each unit is also helpful. By having us read our fellow class mates stories each week it helps make your decision of possible reading units you may or may not be interested in so I think that’s a plus for this class. I also really appreciate the encouragement of reading out loud after writing, as it proves to be a useful tip in helping correct minor errors that you may not catch when reading in your head.

So far I think the course structure is really well put and a very enjoyable class.

Week 7: Essay - ASSESS THE READING UNIT

This week I read about African stories from Lang’s fairy tale book. I thought that this week’s reading was quite interesting. To be honest it was not my favorite but I enjoyed it more than last week’s reading. I enjoy reading books that have a variety of different story topic incorporated into it making it one. As I believe that it really helps keep the readers focus – well at least mine. The fact that it had a series of short stories allowed me to pick one and retell it in my own words.

A few of my favorite stories were The heart of the monkey as you can tell as I have chosen to retell it in this week’s story telling task. I loved the character of the monkey and how wise he was in preventing himself from giving the sultan his heart.. I also really enjoyed reading about the washermans donkey. One thing that stood out to me the most about this story is the reason why the donkey was tricked by the hare twice. I think it is rather intriguing how they use the heart to be the tool for thought and it being the reason she came back twice believing the hare, when I would assume that it would be your brain that is the deciding tool. I guess different cultures assume that different things are used to help make decisions and I’m guessing in this case because the donkey didn’t have a heart she made the same mistake twice. Finally my third favorite was the story of Makoma, whilst reading this story I felt like I was reading the African version of the story of Hercules. As Makoma too went on a mission conquering different obstacles making him the undefeated one as did Hercules with the twelve obstacles. And in the end Makoma being made a God as was Hercules (half mortal half god).

Collectively this was a really good reading unit, and I would also say it was a an easy read with a good flow to it.

Link: African Stories from Lang's fairy tale book