Wikipedia Trail: From Lions to Alexander the Great

LION
I picked lion to start out with because I read some Aesop's Fables that were about lions. Lions are big cats that are part of the felidae family. There are eight different subspecies of lions that are recognized today. They can be mostly found in the wild in Africa.

HERACLES
Heracles (also known as Hercules) is a Greek mythological character. He is a demigod whose father was Zeus and whose mother was Alcmene. He is one of the most famous demigods. At one point in his life Hera caused Hercules to go mad and kill his family. He wanted to pay for his crimes so he set out to accomplish ten tasks. Two of the tasks weren't accepted so he had to do a total of twelve tasks.


Hercules and the Nemean Lion

MARES OF DIOMEDES
The mares of diomedes were man-eating horses from Greek mythology. They were wild and uncontrollable horses that belonged to Diomedes, who was the king of Thrace. These horses were apart of Hercules' eight task.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT
Alexander was the king of the ancient kingdom of Macedon. He led to Greeks in a conquest of Persia. He was not only the King of Macedon, but also the Pharaoh of Egypt, the King of Persia, and the King of Asia. He is regarded as one of the most influential people in history.

Famous Last Words: Almost Done!

Since this was the last week of class I didn’t do any assigned reading on Monday and Tuesday. I did chose to do the extra credit reading though. I went all the way back to the beginning and read the Aesop’s Fables, the one translated by Jacobs. It was really fun and quick to read the stories in that unit. I liked how they were all broken down into different categories based on character. There were a lot of stories about lions. I liked how at the end of each story there was a little lesson that the story was trying to teach. This week I got to finish one of the story books that I started at the beginning of the semester. It was really cool to see the story come to an end. I did have a few issues with how it ended, but hey we all aren’t professional writers, so not everything will be one hundred percent awesome. I have finished two out of six classes this week, and once I finish my assignments for this class today I will be done with half of my classes for the semester! I am doing pretty good in all of my classes this semester. I am a bit worried about the two classes I have to take a final in, they are my two hardest classes! I am confident that I can study well and get a good grade on both tests! Next week is finals week! School is so close to being over, it’s crazy how fast this school year went by. I can barely remember last semester, but that could just be my horrible memory coming into play! My summer plans aren’t that exciting, just summer school and work, but I am looking forward to a slower pace of life for a few months!

Me next week

Reading Notes: Aesop's Fables (Jacobs), part A

A lion, a fox, a jackal, and a wolf went hunting one day and killed a stag. They had a hard time figuring out how to split up the meat. The lion told the animals to quarter the body. Then the lion said he got one quarter because he is the king, another quarter because he chased the stag, a third quarter because he is making the decisions, and the last quarter because no one will stop him. No one dared question him. “You may share the labours of the great, but you will not share the spoil.”

Lion

A slave escape his master and ran into the forest. He saw and lion and started to flee, but it wasn’t chasing him. The slave noticed that the lion had a thorn stuck in his paw. The slave removed the thorn and bandaged the paw, and soon the lion was able to bring the slave to his cave. They both lived together in the cave for a while before the slave was captured. The slave was put in an arena with the lion who hadn’t had food for a while. When the lion was let loose he remembered his friend and began to lick him. The emperor took the slave, and after the slave explained what had happened, pardoned him and set him free. “Gratitude is the sign of noble souls”

A man and a lion were contemplation which one was stronger. The man said that humans were stronger and show the lion a statue of Hercules defeating a lion. The lion said that that didn’t mean much because a man made the statue. “We can easily represent things as we wish them to be.”

A lion would try to hunt four oxen, but every time he tried, they would stand back to back. He could never approach them because of their horns. One day the oxen started fighting and split up. The lion was easily able to kill them one by one. “United we stand,
divided we fall”

A fox got into a theatre and saw a face staring at him. He was scared until he realized it was just a mask. Then he wasn’t frightened anymore. “Outside show is poor substitute for inner worth”

Bibliography:
The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs

Review: The Story Coaster

The Story Coaster

I picked this illustration from the announcements because it made me laugh out loud. I love to read and I thought this humorous picture was just fantastic. I can think of each part of the roller coaster and how it applies to some of my favorite books.

Growth Mindset: I don't know what I am doing

The Power of "I Don't Know"

I chose this meme because I myself have a hard time saying "I don't know" I think this is a good info-graphic to show how to help you when you don't know something. I also think that this is illustrated really nicely.

Learning Challenge: Pay Attention to Me

Grant Snider: Interior Life

I really liked this illustration under the attention tab. I picked this meme because I thought it was the cutest of the bunch. I think that it is a funny way of looking at how people's brains work. Of course I don't think that it totally applies to everyone, but it's still cute.

Google Timer Tech Tip

I think that using a timer can be a great way to manage how long study breaks are. I think that I will start a study break with no defined ending point and so my break ends up being a few hours long. That's not always what I want when I take a break. I think I should probably implement this technique next semester.

Improvements

I think that changing the review weeks to planning weeks would be helpful. Especially for week 8. Being able to step back at evaluate how the class is going, and then planning how to approach the last half of the semester would be helpful. This would be most useful of your original plan for the class wasn't working and you needed to reevaluate your approach to the class.

I also like the idea of having thematic units as well as book units. I did find that some of the stories within the books we read weren't very enjoyable to read because the subject matter was boring. Having a whole unit to read that was about the same subject would be really fun.

Wikipedia Trails: From Swans to Sleeping Beauty's Castle

Swans
I started off my wikipedia trails by looking at swans. One of the stories I read this week was about a witch who turns her new husbands kids into swans. I think swans are pretty so I wanted to learn more about them.

Lohengrin

From swans I went to the opera Lohengrin. This opera is swan related which is why I ended up on it. I learned that the famous wedding march comes from this opera, which I thought was really cool!

Neuschwanstein Castle

Next I went to neuschwanstein castle, which served as an inspiration for the opera Lohengrin. I love castle so I wanted to learn a bit more about this one. The palace took 17 years to complete, and is now open to the public to go visit. 

Neuschwanstein Castle

Sleeping Beauty Castle

The last wikipedia article I visited was sleeping beauty's castle. I was really excited to see that sleeping beauty castle took inspiration from neuschwanstein castle. They are both so pretty. I didn't realize that the castle is also featured in Hong Kong Disneyland

Famous Last Words: Death is Upon Me

It’s finally dead week! Only one week left of classes. This past week was pretty good reading wise. I think I accidentally read two different books thinking they were the same. So, parts A and B are different, but I don’t think it’s a big deal. I really like my story that I wrote for this week. I adapted Cinderella and turned it into a genderbent story, which was really fun to do. I think that it was easier for me to write my story this week because I was easily inspired by the stories I was reading. I quickly thought of my idea for this week, and knocked out my story in no time! I didn’t really read anything outstanding this week. Everything was ok, but nothing was amazing. One story was a bit confusing to read, but I think I understood better once I re-read it. My other classes are going ok. A bit overwhelmed by the amount of work left to do. But it’s all almost over so I think I can manage it all ok. This weekend was really fun. I went to a spring banquet to celebrate the graduating senior within the college ministry I am a part of. We all got to dress up, which is a fun change from sweatpants and t-shirts every day. My boyfriend was one of the seniors recognized, so it was fun to get to celebrate him graduating. I am looking forward to watching him walk the stage in two weeks. This upcoming week is going to be a little crazy. I have two major semester long projects due, one final, and a bunch of other homework. I am going to have to buckle down and get all of this done on time! I have my weeks all planned out to get this all done on time!

Almost graduation time

Review: Week 14

I really liked this picture from the announcements.

I think that its a fun way to think about how to view life. I really like how it was illustrated as well. Its really cute.

Link to picture here.

Learning by H.E.A.R.T: Empathy

I chose Empathy.
I read through PostSecret this week. I thought that is was a really cool website. Some of the posts were kinda sad, but some of them were really happy and hopeful.


One secret

Growth Mindset: How to say the right thing

I am usually really hard on myself when it comes to school. When I don't understand something, or don't pick it up as fast others, I usually get really down. I liked this chart because it gives me a different way to think when I am having a hard time motivating myself.

Tech Tip: Weather Widget

Today I added a weather widget to my blog. Now you can check what the temperature is in Norman, Oklahoma. If you want to add a weather widget to your blog as well you can follow the instructions that are in blog post that is linked here.

Storytelling: Cinder-Elliot

Hi everyone, my name is Cinder-Elliot. Today I am going to tell you the story of my life. Many of you have probably have heard the Brothers Grimm story “Cinderella”, that story was a lie. They decided that my story would be more appealing if they changed me to a girl, and that’s not the only thing that they changed. So today, I am going to set the record straight and tell you the truth.

First of all, it was my father who died, not my mother. He died when I was nine, and my mother remarried soon after. My step-father was a jerk to me. He made me do all of the chores around the house, and never let me go outside to play. Meanwhile his two sons got to live a life of ease, lounging all day and ordering me around. I never got any breaks, and only stopped working when it was time for bed. Since I wasn’t given my own room, or bed for that matter, I slept by the fireplace to keep warm. On breezy nights, I would always end up being covered in cinders, hence the name Cinder-Elliot.

One day it was announced across the village that the King was going to hold a ball so that his only daughter may find a suitable husband. I of course wanted to go, a ball sounded fun and it never hurts to put yourself out there, but my step-father wouldn’t allow it. He said that I had been slacking on my chores the past week and this was my punishment. I couldn’t believe it, I had been working my hardest this past week and deserved a break.

The day of the ball my mother tried to convince my step-father to allow me to go, but he stood firm on his decision and told her not to bother him about it again. So, after they left, I ran to my father’s grave. I was too upset to do any work and needed to get out of the house. When I got to his grave all I could do was cry out to him and ask for help. I just wanted to live a normal life, not one where I was forced to work all day.

What happened next still blows my mind to this day. A white cloud descended from the sky and from it a woman dressed in a glowing white ball gown emerged. (At least some retellings get my fairy godmother right.) She walked up towards me and I couldn’t decide if I should be amazed or scared. Quickly I realized that she meant no harm and I asked her what she was doing here. She told me that she heard my pleas and that I was going to go to the ball. After that she did some magic and the next thing I knew I was at the ball in the nicest outfit I had ever seen. My suit was spectacular and my gloves were top notch. She did make sure to impress upon me the instructions that I needed to be home by midnight because the magic would wear off by then.

As the night rolled on the princess, whose name I discovered was Amber, and I really hit it off. She and I danced the whole night away and we learned so much about each other. I quickly lost track of time and before I knew it the clock was striking five till midnight. I knew I needed to be out of there before my clothes changed back and my step-father and brothers discovered I was there. I wrapped things up with Amber rather abruptly and ran out the castle gates. She was quick to follow and tried to grab me to get me to stop. She got a hold of my gloves which I was able to slip of easily and get away.

The next day I found out that Amber had created a search party to find the lost prince from the night before. She was going to every house in the village and trying the glove on each male’s hand. When she arrived at my house my step-brothers where ready to have their shot at trying the glove on. They greased their hands before they put it on, thinking that it would slip on much easier. When they failed to get the glove on, Amber was ready to leave, but my mother at the last second told her that I was up in my room and hadn’t tried on the glove. Even though my step-father protested the need for me to try on the glove, Amber insisted. I came downstairs quickly and was eager to try the glove on for myself. It slipped on easily and when Amber looked me in the eyes she knew I was the one.

That lovely story happened well over 25 years ago. Amber and I got married a month after that day, and are still happily married now. As for my step-father and step-brothers? Well, they tried to get me to give them some of my newly acquired riches, when I refused to do so they swore never to speak to me again, and I was totally fine with that.


Prince Elliot and Princess Amber

Bibliography:

Europa's Fairy Book by Joseph Jacobs and illustrated by John Batten (1916).

Author's Note:

When I saw that the story I read for this week included a rendition of Cinderella, I knew that I wanted to take it and give it my own twist. I wanted Cinderella to actually be a man, and I thought it would be funny to have the Brothers Grimm purposefully change him into a woman when they wrote their story. Since I was giving the "real" version of the Brothers Grimm story I wanted to change some of the elements of the story, not just the characters gender. So I changed the glass slipper into a glove and I changed it from an evil step-mother and step-sisters, to an evil step-father and step-brothers. I kept the fairy godmother which I know isn't in the Brothers Grimm story, but its in other renditions.

Reading Notes: Crane Unit, Part B

A king got lost in the woods. A witch came and told him that she would help him get out if he married her daughter. The king said yes and followed the witch home. The daughter was beautiful, but the king shuttered everything he looked at her. The king didn’t trust his new wife to be kind to his seven children from his previous marriage. So, he hid them in a castle hidden deep in the woods. The queen was angry at home much time the king spent away from her, so she bribed some servants to tell her where the king went. When she found out about the king’s children she went to the castle to see them. She had used some of her mother’s magic to turn the six sons into swans. She didn’t learn about the king’s daughter and left without changing her. The next day the king came around and asked where his sons were. The king didn’t think that it was his wife who did such a thing and wanted to take his daughter with him. She refused and staid at the castle to look for her brothers. She found her brothers in the forest, and they were only able to stay in human for 15 minutes. She wanted to help them become human again, but they told her it would be too hard. She couldn’t talk or laugh and she must make six shirts out of aster-flowers. The daughter set her mind on helping her brothers. The daughter wouldn’t speak when hunters found her sleeping in a tree. When she wouldn’t give an answer, they took her to another king. The king couldn’t get her to talk either but fell in love with her beauty. He took her home with him and made him his queen. The king’s mother didn’t like his new wife and tried to get rid of her. The daughter gave birth to a son and the king’s mother tried to make her son think that his wife ate their baby. The daughter didn’t care and went on sewing the shirts for her brothers. The daughter gave birth to two more sons and the queen did the exact same thing as before. After the third time the King couldn’t ignore the evidence and ordered her to be put to death. As she was about to be put to death she finished the shirts and gave them to her brothers. After that she was able to speak and told her husband about his mother’s treachery. They lived happily ever after.

The six brothers

Bibliography:
Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm, translated by Lucy Crane and illustrated by Walter Crane (1886).

Reading Notes: Europa, Part A

A noble man had a daughter with his first wife. When his first wife died, he married a new woman who had two other daughters. The step mother and step sister hated the man’s daughter. They made her sleep by the fire every night, which led them to call her Cinder-Maid. One day the king made a decree that all the noble daughters of the land shall come to a ball so his son may choose a princess. Cinder-Maid’s step sisters started to pick out an outfit, but when her father suggests that Cinder-Maid go to, they tell him that she is a disgrace. After they left for the ball, Cinder-Maid wept under the Hazel tree that grew at her mother’s grave. All she wanted was to go to the ball. Her wish was granted and she was given a beautiful dress and carriage from the hazel tree. A little bird called out to her and told her she must be back by midnight. When she got to the ball the prince only wanted to dance with her. As midnight approached though, she fled home. A great mist came and hid her so that the guards couldn’t follow her home. Since the prince couldn’t find Cinder-Maid after the first ball he threw another one. Again Cinder-Maid got her dress from the hazel tree and went to the ball. She got there and the prince would only dance with her. He had his guards put honey on the stairs so her shoes would stick. However, when she ran away she didn’t stick. At the last ball Cinder-Maid left a little too late, and as the clock struck midnight her shoe got stuck on some tar on the stairs and her clothes changed to rags. The prince went around with the shoe having everyone try it on. The first step sister tried it on but it was too small. So she cut off her toe and the prince believed her. However, he soon saw the blood coming from her shoe and knew it wasn’t her. The next step sister tried it on and cut off her heel to fit. The prince started to take her home until he saw the blood coming from her shoe. When he got back he found out about Cinder-Maid and when she tried it on he knew she was the one.

A father sent his son to school to learn about great things. Every time he would come back he would claim that he knows what animals are saying. His father wasn’t satisfied and kept sending him back to learn about more useful stuff. After three years of this his father wanted to see if what his son was saying was true. When is father didn’t believe what his son was telling him that a bird was saying, he called upon a robber to kill his son. The robber instead let the boy go, and he ran off into the woods. The boy came upon a castle and after listening to a dog bark, informed the lord that he would be attacked that night. They put up extra guards and sure enough they were attacked. The lord gave the boy a reward for saving their lives. The boy moved on to another castle where the king’s daughter was ill. The boy was able to listen to the frogs and tell the king how to save his daughter. One of the frogs swallowed her holy wafer, and all they had to do was get it back. When they finished the boy was given a reward for saving the girls life. Then the boy and his two companions travelled to Rome. The pope had just died and the boy heard from the birds that one of them would become the new pope. It turns out the boy was elected to be the new pope. He then travelled back home and met up with him mother and father again. When he got there his mother and father were very sorry for what they had tried to do to him. He forgave them and took them back with him.

The frog

Bibliography:
Europa's Fairy Book by Joseph Jacobs and illustrated by John Batten (1916).

Famous Last Words: How am I not dead yet.

Reading was rough this week. Other class projects took over my time and I wasn’t able to get any reading done. I did accidentally write an extra story for last week, so I was able to use that as my story for this week. That saved me some time and allowed me to work on other homework instead. I read some really great stories this week. My favorite story book so far was The Lost Princess. It was a really fun read, and I’ll need to go and check in on it at the end of the semester so I can finish the story. My other classes are getting a bit overwhelming! With the end of the semester just right around the corner I have a lot of big projects that need to get done. I feel a bit stressed and I am not handling it well. I am trying to take things one day at a time. It will be over soon. Outside of school has been hectic too. Bad news and good news have come pouring in all around, and while I want to be really happy and excited for the good news, the bad news needs to be addressed as well. I just hope that the bad news will turn into good news within the next few days, but all I can do is wait and see. Next week is dead week, which means I’ll be dead by the end of the week. One final, two large projects, and a billion other little things need to get done all at the same time. I hope this weekend will provide a little bit of stress relieve before the chaos ensues. The semester is almost to an end, which means summer is so close. That also means for me that summer school is close as well, but I’ll deal with that later.

I need to manage my stress better!

Week 13 Review

This picture I really liked from this weeks announcements.

Imagination

I think that the illustration is really cute, and the quote is fun too. I love being imaginative, and find motivation to stay creative in this quote.

Wikipedia Trail: From Cinderella to Clades

For my first wikipedia I started with Cinderella. I chose this because for my reading this week I read the Brother's Grimm story Aschenputtel, which the Disney Movie is based off of. I wanted to learn more about the different variations on the story of Cinderella.

One take on Cinderella

My next article was about the Aarne–Thompson classification systems. This is a system that classifies different folktales. It gives each folktale a number to signify the central motif found within the story. I saw that the story of Cinderella was given the classification 510A, and I wanted to exactly what they meant so I clicked through to the article.

After that article I clicked over to an article about Phylogenetics. This deals with studying the evolutionary history and relationships of an organism. This method was used to study the folktales and group them together. I didn't know much about this concept, but I thought it was interesting that they used a biology concept to help sort through stories.

The last article I looked at dealt with clades. This is essentially a family tree, where you group together organisms that descended from the same ancestors. This is used in phylogenetics to help visually sort the organisms that they are studying. I didn't know what a clade was beforehand so I was interested to see how it related to this biology concept.

Learning by H.E.A.R.T: Time Management

This week I read the Time article "5 Secrets to Managing Your Time, Backed by Research" by Eric Barker. In it he gives five pieces of advice on how to manage time better. First he broke down the concept of work into two categories, "Shallow work" and "Deep work". He says that shallow work is what we spend most of our time on, but deep work is what really needs to be done. His first piece of advice is to schedule time to do deep work. You need to set aside time to focus your attention on the important projects you got going on. His second point is to keep track of how much time a day you spend on deep work. Mark it on your calendar so you can see your progress. Saying no to shallow work is his third piece of advice. Save your time for deep work, and say no to the unimportant work. The fourth point is to have a routine or ritual in place so that you can signal to your brain that you are about to get focused and do deep work. Having these routines can help you get into the zone when you have to do intense concentration. The last piece of advice was to ask your boss how much time they want you to commit to doing deep work and shallow work. By doing this you can show your boss that you are really using your time wisely and that you are an asset to your company.

I think that this was a great article and very useful for not only school, but work life. I never really thought about how much time is wasted doing tasks that, while useful in some sense, aren't useful to the overall picture. I think that applying these tips to school and work life will help me to cut out unnecessary tasks.


Time management

Growth Mindset: Time Management

I think that the only common denominator with all of my classes is that I have a lot of homework in all of them. A challenge I have with all of my classes is time management. I have so much homework due all at the same time, that I have to figure out how to do everything on time. I know it's close to the end of the semester, so this is something I should have figured out a long time ago, but better late than never. I have slowly been finding a rhythm for how to organize my life, which will be very helpful once I get out of school as well.


Time management

Tech Tip: Reverse Image Search

Rama

This picture is of a Hindu god called Rama. He is considered the supreme being. He is one of his most popular incarnations of Vishnu. He is the seventh avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu.

Reading Notes: Brother's Grimm (Crane), Part A

A fisherman and his wife lived in a gross house by the sea. One day the fisherman went out and caught a flounder. The fish said he was an enchanted prince so the man let him go. When he told his wife, she made him go and find the fish again so he could wish for a better house. So, he went back and found the fish and wished for a little cottage, and his wish was granted. They lived in this cottage for many months, when one day the wife told her husband to go back to this fish and wish for a castle. The fisherman was quite content with his house, but his wife insisted that he go. So, out the fisherman went.

So, the man went to the sea and called upon the flounder again. The fish came and when the fisherman told him what his wife wanted, the fish granted his wish. He went back home to find a castle standing there. The wife was so happy. The castle had many nice things inside and many servants as well. The next day the wife decided that her husband should be the king. When he refused, she made him go ask the fish to make her the king of the land. So out the man went reluctantly, and asked the fish to make his wife the king. The fish granted his wish and the fisherman went back home.

When he got back home, he saw his wife sitting on the throne. She wasn’t happy though. She wanted to be the emperor. The fisherman didn’t think that the fish could do it, for there was only one emperor. However, he had to go and ask the flounder. So off to the sea he went. He didn’t think it was right, but he asked anyways, and the fish granted his wish. When he came back he found out his wife was the emperor, but again she wasn’t happy. She now wanted to be the pope. The fisherman now really didn’t want to do it, but his wife threatened him. So back to the fish he went, and again his wish was granted.

When the fisherman went back home, he saw a great church where is little hovel once stood. He went up to his wife and asked her what she wanted to be now. She couldn’t think of a response, but she knew she wouldn’t be content until she came up with something else to wish to be. By morning she decided that she wanted power over the sun and the moon, so the husband went out to find the fish. He granted her final wish, and in the end, she ended up becoming a part of a cuckoo clock.

A rich man had a sick wife. As she lay dying she told her daughter to always be kind to others. After the mother died the father remarried, and she brought along two very mean spirited daughters. They forced her to work for her food, and they made her dress like a kitchen-maid. One day her father went to a fair and asked what his daughters would like him to bring them. All his daughter wanted was the first twig that touched his hat on his way home. She planted that twig at her mother’s grave and I quickly sprouted a fine tree, and whenever she wept and wished, her wish came true. The king of the land invited all the young maidens to attend so his son could pick a wife. The girl’s stepmom would not let her attend because she was all filthy. The stepmother said that only if she could pick out all the lentils from the ashes in the fireplace in two hour, then she could go to the festival. The girl went out and cried and wished at her tree for help, and two birds came to her rescue. After she was done, her stepmom made her do it two more times. Even after that she still wouldn’t let her go. She went to her tree and wished for a dress to wear. When she got to the festival her stepmother and stepsisters didn’t recognize her. The prince wanted to marry her. The girl kept getting away from the prince and wouldn’t let him know her true identity. The prince got her shoe and decided to try it on all the maidens. When the girl’s oldest stepsister tried on the shoe it didn’t fit. So, she cut off her toe and shoved it on. It almost worked, but the prince saw the blood. Then the next stepsister tried and had to cut off her heel. Again, it almost worked, but he saw the blood. Finely the girl was able to try on the shoe and it fit. The prince found his maiden.

Aschenputtel

Bibliography:
Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm, translated by Lucy Crane and illustrated by Walter Crane (1886).

Story: Behind the Veil of Beauty

For the past four years Jessica Anderson has won homecoming queen despite the entire school population absolutely hating her. I, Natalee Germaine, head reporter of the high school newspaper had to get to the bottom of this. First things first, time to talk to the nerds. Everyone knows that Jessica loves to terrorize them every day, so why in their right mind would they vote for her.

“So tell me, what made you decide to vote for Jessica for homecoming queen this year?”

“Oh, um, well I just think that Jessica was the most qualified, you know? She is just such a great role model and a great student.” Tanner managed to stumble out.

Jessica and her King

I knew that Tanner was lying to me, I have seen the things that Jessica had done to him and his friends. I tried to push a little harder on the topic, but Tanner wasn’t budging. I didn’t want to waste my time any farther, so I headed over to my next source. I headed up a little higher on the school food chain and decided to interview Heather Wilson, the captain of the girls’ soccer team. Jessica and Heather have had a long standing feud going on ever since Jessica stole her boyfriend and convince everyone at school that she had herpes.

“So, Heather, I would love to know what made you decide to vote for Jessica for homecoming queen this year? I am sure that the history you have with her would have persuaded you to vote for someone else.”

“Are you taking about what happened between us last year? That was just a big misunderstanding! Jessica and I are on good term now!” I could see the anger in Heather’s eyes as she gave me her answer, but no matter what I asked her, her answer never changed.

I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I knew that something must be going on between Jessica and her so called “friends”. I couldn’t leave this story now, I still had so many questions. I went around the school and I asked a dozen more people, who I knew had bad blood with Jessica, why they voted for her, and every person said the same thing. Why are these people who I know hate this girl, saying all these sweet and nice things about her? It wasn’t until I asked Jessica’s little sister some question, that things started to unravel.

According to Lilly Anderson, Jessica’s younger sister, Jessica has a folder of black mail on at least of the students at our high school. She collects secrets and stores them away to use for her own personal gain. Lilly informed me that this has been going on since the start of middle school, and her stash of knowledge has grown quite big since then. Every year Jessica makes her rounds to all the people on her black list and reminds them of the dirt she has on them. In exchange for her silence, the person has to vote for her for homecoming queen. Lilly told me that everything Jessica said about Heather was true. Jessica found out that Heather didn’t vote for her last year and so she got her revenge.

I can’t wait to write up my article and post it in the school newspaper. When everyone finds out what Jessica has been doing, they won’t be singing her praises any longer.

“The Veneration that is paid to Great and Powerful Men, is but from the Teeth outward, not from the Heart; and more out of Fear then Love.”

Bibliography:

Fables of Aesop and Other Eminent Mythologists by Roger L'Estrange (1692).

Author's Note:

I took inspiration from a fable that has to do with fake praises. It talks about this eagle who claims that she is the most beautiful bird there is, and a peacock replies and tells her that she is. However, it goes on to say that the eagle had talons and a beak that would have hurt anyone who tried to disagree. So when I read that I thought of a high school homecoming queen. Usually the most beautiful girl or the most popular girl in school wins. So I wanted her to black mail her classmates into voting for her out of fear of her telling their secrets to the whole school. I wanted to write it from the perspective of a journalist because they always get to the bottom of a juicy story.

Reading Notes: Canterbury Tales, Part A

Back in the day there use to be a lot of fairies. The fairies don’t exist anymore. There was a knight who vowed to treat all women with respect, but one day he was rude to a woman. Since he didn’t stick to his word he should have been put to death, but he was loved by all that they pleaded for his life. Si King Arthur said that the Queen would decide. The Queen wouldn’t let him off without some sort of punishment. So he had a year to figure out what women wish for the most. So he traveled the world to find his answer, but no two woman agreed on an answer. He had to go back to the Queen without an answer. On his way he ran into an ugly old woman and she agreed to answer his question in exchange for a favor, which the knight agreed too.

The knight's bride

The old woman told him the answer and he was off back to the palace. He told the Queen that woman want to rule their husbands most of all. The Queen and all the other women in the court agreed so the knight left with his life. After he was set free the old woman who helped him came to claim her favor. She wanted the knight to marry her, which he didn’t want to do. However, since he vowed to do so, he married her. He was sad and glum on his wedding day. His new wife scolded him saying that just because she was old doesn’t mean she wouldn’t be loyal. When the knight saw that she made good points, he gave himself over to her. At once she became a beautiful, young, and charming wife.

Bibliography:
The Chaucer Story Book by Eva March Tappan (1908).

Reading Notes: Celtic Fairy Tales, Part A

The king of Lir thought he would be appointed king of all of Ireland. But one of the other king’s eldest sons was elected. He was angry and left the assembly. The other kings would have harmed him because of this but the new king wouldn’t let them. The king decided to join their two kingdoms by marriage to bring peace. He sent the king of Lir three maidens to pick from. He chose the oldest maiden. They had a set of twins, a boy and a girl, and then two more boys after. His wife died giving birth to their last son, and the king mourned his loss. After her death, the high king sent the maidens sister to keep the peace. His new wife loved his children at first, but then grew to hate them. She took the four children out to the lake one day. The kings daughter had a dream that her new mother was going to harm her and didn’t want to go, but she was pressured into joining. She told the people that lived by the lake to kill the children, but they would not. So she attempted to kill them but didn’t have the strength. She made them bathe in the lake, and turned them into swans. The king of Lir had suspicion that his new wife had done something to his children.

The king of Lir found the swans upon the lake, and since they would speak they told him what happened to them. The king then turned his wife into an air-demon as punishment. The king declared that no swan should ever be killed. The children got hurt and separated in a heavy storm, but they soon found each other again. They were so hurt and cold that they just nestled against each other for warmth.

The Children

Bibliography:
More Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1895)

Reading Notes: Alaska, Part A

A man was created in a pod. When he emerged he was a full grown man. The man was learning how his body worked and how the world around him worked. The man was a raven flying around, the raven swooped down and turned into a man. It turns out that the raven made the man unintentionally. The raven gave the man food. He made sheep for the man, and reindeer. After the raven made all sorts of creatures, he created a companion for the man. He took fine clay and shaped it into a woman and used water grass for hair. He waved his hands around four times and she became real.

Raven

When the people were first put on earth there was no mountains, or rain, or winds. The raven taught the humans how to live and survive off the land. He made the man some fish to eat. The raven spent days making all kinds of animals out of clay. When he was done he showed each one of them to the man. The raven brought the man fish but noticed that the lakes were bare, so he made bugs to float on top. Then babies were introduced to the earth, and the raven became afraid they would kill his animals. So the raven created big creatures that could not easily be killed by the humans.

Bibliography:
Myths and Legends of Alaska, edited by Katharine Berry Judson (1911).

Week 9 Story: Dance the Night Away

Once upon a time there was lived two separate and distinct schools. One school was made up of all girls, and the other school was made up of all boys. The students from both schools had never ventured outside of their school’s property and had no knowledge that either existed.

One day two girls, Agatha and Jenny, decided that they need some adventures in their lives and so they ventured off of the school grounds to see what they could find. It didn’t take them very long to come across a boy roaming the streets in front of them. They had never see a boy in real life before and they didn’t know what to make of him. They went over to talk to him. He seemed shocked to see them both out in town. He introduced himself as Tommy and asked them where they were from. The girls told him all about their school. They said that they went to an all-girls private school and never left the school grounds. He told them that he was in the same situation, but he went to an all-boys school. He asked the girls if their friends would like to meet up with the boys one night for a party. The girls told him that they would go back to school and ask, then they would meet him back at the exact same spot at the exact same time.

Agatha, Jenny, and Friends

So they both went back to their schools for the night. Agatha and Jenny told their friends all about the boy they met and how he wanted to have a party. Tommy told his friends all about the girls he met and how they should have a party with them. Both parties thought it was a great idea. So the next night Agatha, Jenny, and Tommy met back up and planned the party together.

The night came for the party to happen, and the students from both schools snuck out and met each other in a secret location for the party. The music was playing and the boys and girls were dancing with each other. One of Agatha’s friends, Sarah, had just gotten done with rugby practice right before they dance started and didn’t have time to clean up. She wanted to dance with Tommy and went over to ask him. Seeing how dirty and smelly she was, Tommy declined her request to dance. Saddened, Sarah ran back to school to shower off and do herself up. Once she was done getting ready she headed back to the dance. Seeing how beautiful Sarah was now that she was cleaned up, Tommy really wanted to dance with her. He went over to say hi, but Sarah walked right past him. He turned around to see Sarah walk up to Eric and ask to dance. Eric of course said yes, and so Tommy waited for his turn to dance with Sarah. However, every time Sarah was done dancing with one boy, she would ignore Tommy’s requests to dance and find a new partner. This happened throughout the entire night, and finally after the last song was done playing Sarah walked up to Tommy and told him that she wasn’t interested in him. 

Author's Note:

I took inspiration from a story from the Blackfoot Native Americans. The story was about a tribe of men and a tribe of women who had never seen each other before. One day a man and two women cross paths and they decide their tribes should meet up to pick husbands and wives. When the man gets to the woman's tribe he passes himself off as chief so that the chief woman would pick him. She is all dirty though from working so he refuses to marry her. However once she cleans up he thinks she is beautiful and wants her now, but she refuses and picks someone else. This story made me think of two schools will all boys and all girls who meet and have a dance party.

Bibliography:

Blackfeet Indian Stories by George Bird Grinnell (1915).

Week 9: Blackfoot, Part B

Long ago men and women were separate. Women were made first and were not as strong as men. But the women were smarter than the men. One day a man came across a group of women. They did not know what kind of animal he was. Th women ran into the man again and told him to ask his male friends if they wanted to get married. They said yes so they met up to pick husbands. The chief woman was really dirty and tried to pick the man, but he refused. After she changed he wanted her but she picked someone else. This story could be about an all-girls school and an all-boys that meet up for the first time. They decide to pick boyfriends and girlfriends. 

Bobcat

A man found prairie dogs sitting around a camp fire. The old man joined them. He put them in the fire and let them die. A female prairie dog escaped into a hole in the ground. The man fell asleep and a bobcat ate his food. The old man was very angry and he tracked the bobcat down. While the bobcat was sleeping the man grabbed him. He pulled off his tail and smashed his face into the rocks. This is how all bobcats got their look. He then went back to the fire and burnt his nose. He called for a strong wind to cool it off, but it knocked him over. He was saved by a birch tree.

Bibliography:

Blackfeet Indian Stories by George Bird Grinnell (1915).

Week 9: Blackfoot, Part A

An antelope and a deer argued over who could run faster. The set up a race to decide the winner and they bet their gall. They raced in the prairie and the antelope won. The deer said if they raced in the woods it would win. So, they set up another race this time in the woods and they bet their dewclaws. During this race the deer easily won and took the antelopes dewclaw. This is why the deer has no gall, and the antelope has no dewclaw.

Wolf Howling

A man had two wives, both of which weren’t very nice to him. They didn’t do anything to help around the house. So he moved them away from the rest of the camp to see if that would make them focus more on their wife duties. The wives planned to kill their husband so that they could move back with the rest of the camp. He fell into a hole that they dug, and so the wives headed back to camp and pretended to mourn. The man didn’t die though, he just couldn’t get out of the hole. A pack of wolves found him and helped him out of the hole. They adopted him into their pack and turned him into a man wolf. He then helped the wolves steal the animals from the camp. They people soon found out what was going on and the wolf-man told them how his wives tried to kill him. So the people in the camp decided to punish them.

Bibliography:
Blackfeet Indian Stories by George Bird Grinnell (1915).

Week 8 Reflections

I think that my reading notes helped me to understand what the story I was using as my source was about. I don’t think that it helped me to come up with ideas, or even give me ideas on style choices. I think that I could spend more time coming up with ideas while reading, instead of doing it right before I try to write my story. I think for the Native American Tales I will choose to read the Alaskan story for my weekly reading. For British and Celtic stories, I am going to choose either the Canterbury Tales or Celtic Tales. For the last two weeks, I think I will choose to read one of the Brothers Grimm stories.

I think I like my stories overall. There are a few that I had to rush to put together that weren’t that great. However, there have been many that I enjoyed creating a lot. For my story book, I am happy in the direction I am going. I am getting a bit stuck on developing my story lines, but I think I just need to spend more time brainstorming.

I have been liking everyone’s stories so far. They are all so different and unique, that I get a new perspective on story writing every time I go to someone’s blog. I think that I need to use dialogue more in my stories. I read a lot of great stories where the author used dialogue really well, and that is something I struggle with.

      Little Polly Flinders

*This picture is from a story that I really enjoyed writing this semester

Storytelling: Money for Death

There was a guy named Tanner who the secretary to a rich doctor named Thomas. He didn’t have much of a salary and couldn’t afford to support a wife. Tanner was sad because he and his girlfriend Laney wanted to get married soon. One day he came into work very upset, after he had a very long conversation with Laney’s parents.

“What’s wrong Tanner? Is everything ok?” asked Thomas.

“No, everything is not ok! My girlfriend and I are trying to get married, but her parents want me to have more money.” Tanner replied sadly.

“Well is there anything I can do, I hate to see money keep you from the one you love!”

“Unless you were willing to give me enough money to support us both, I don’t think there is much you can do.” Tanner said, not really thinking much of Thomas’ request.

Thomas left the room and after a few minutes returned with an envelope in his hands.

“What is that?” Tanner asked. His curiosity was peaked.

“Let’s just call it an early bonus… and an early wedding present.” A sly smile crept upon Thomas’ face as he handed Tanner the envelope. 

                What was inside the envelope

Tanner wait until he was alone to open the envelope. He had a feeling he knew what Thomas had done, but he was floored by the generosity that Thomas had showed him.

Soon after Tanner and Laney got married, moved away and got themselves a house. Tanner got a new job, but unfortunately it didn’t pay much more than his last job. They didn’t have to worry though, because the money that Thomas gave them was enough to get by for many years. Five year later they realized that they had run out of the money from Thomas.

“What do we do now? All of our money is gone!” Laney said with a sense of worry in her voice. “We won’t be able to last more than a month!”

“Don’t worry! Thomas help us once, I am sure he will help us once again.”

The next day Tanner headed across town to Thomas’ office.

“Hello Thomas.” Tanner nervously said.

“Tanner hello! How has married life been treating you?” Thomas got up and gave Tanner a big firm hug.

“Actually, that’s why I came here to see you. Laney and I have used up all the money that you gave us for the wedding. I was hoping that you could help us again.” Tanner wasn’t too sure how Thomas was going to respond.

“Oh, of course I will help you Tanner. This is the least I can do for someone who worked so hard for me!” Thomas said, much to Tanner’s surprise.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me and Laney!” Tanner said. He could barely contain his excitement.

Thomas handed Tanner an envelope, much like the one from five years earlier. Tanner was soon back at home with his wife, returning to life as normal. However, even this new money didn’t last forever and a year and a half later they were back in the same spot again.

“Oh Tanner what are we supposed to do this time? We can’t ask Thomas for more money, he will just think we are using him!” Laney cried.

“Don’t worry, I have a plan. I will tell Thomas that you have died and that I need some money to cover the funeral costs. He won’t be able to say no.”

Tanner rushed over to Thomas’ office and cried about his wife’s passing and the costs of the funeral. Sure enough Thomas handed Tanner another check to help him cover all of the funeral costs, and a little extra for his troubles. Tanner couldn’t believe it, he and Laney were able to live off of that check for about a year. Just like last time though, they were out of extra money and Tanner’s job couldn’t sustain them for long.

“Tanner now what? We can’t go back to Thomas again, he already thinks I am dead, there is nothing more you can say.”

“Wait Laney, didn’t you work for Thomas’ sister? Why don’t you go to her and tell her I have died and I am sure she will give you some money.”

So, that is exactly what Laney did, and sure enough Thomas’ sister gave Laney money. What Laney and Tanner didn’t know is that Thomas got lunch with his sister the next day, and she decided to tell him the news that Tanner had died.

“What, that makes no sense. Tanner came to my office and said that Laney had died over a year ago.” Thomas said after his sister told him the news.

“I am not lying, Laney came to me at work and said that Tanner had passes away and that she needed money for the funeral.”

So, they both decided to get down to the bottom of this. After lunch they headed over to Laney and Tanner’s house to see what they could find. As they were walking up to the front door Laney saw that they were coming. Without knowing what else to do they both got on the floor and pretended to be dead. When Thomas knocked on the front door, he noticed that it was open and let himself in. He saw Laney and Tanner dead on the floor and couch and rushed to check on them. However, he quickly realized that they weren’t dead.

“Tanner, Laney I know you’re not dead. Get up.”

They both got up with shame on their faces.

“Look guys, I see what you were trying to do. I don’t want you to be without money, so please come back to work for me and you will be able to live off your salary.” Thomas said.

So Laney and Tanner went back to work for Thomas and they lived a good and happy life.

Author's Note:

In the original story a doctor's servant wants to get married but has no money. So the doctor gives his a lot of money and lets him leave to get a wife. Everything is fine for a few years, but they eventually run out of money. So they servant goes back to the doctor and asks for more, which he is given. But again after a while the money runs out and he doesn't know what to do. So he pretends his wife died and asks the doctor to pay for the funeral costs, which he does. When this money runs out his wife goes to the doctor's sister and does the exact same thing. The sister gives them money too. Soon they both realize that something is going on and go to investigate. They go to the servants house and find him and his wife lying on the floor dead. They realize that they aren't actually dead, they are just pretending. The doctor isn't mad though. He thinks its all a joke and asks the servant to come back and work for him. I wanted to keep the story the same but set it in modern times, and give the story more dialogue. I wanted to flesh out the characters a bit more. 

Bibliography:
The Clever Husband and Wife in Filipino Popular Tales by Dean S. Fansler (1921).

Reading Notes: Filipino Tales, Part B

There was an iguana and a turtle who were friends. They went fishing at an old man’s pond and were caught. The iguana got away but the turtle was tied up under the house. The iguana came looking for his friend the next day. When he found the turtle he asked why he was tied up. The turtle said it was because the old man wanted him to marry his daughter, but he doesn’t want to. The iguana really wants a wife so he decided to take the turtle’s place. The old man didn’t really want anyone to marry his daughter and tried to hurt the iguana, but he got away. Later the iguana ran into the turtle again who tricked him one last time.

A mosquito

There once was a crab who was the kind of all land crabs. He brought all of his subjects together and told then to watch his house at night, but to make no noise while doing it. All of his subjects agreed to do so. That night the rain started to pour and the crabs started to laugh. This awake the king, who was angry, but he went back to sleep so he could deal with it in the morning. When he asked the crabs why they were laughing they said that it was because they saw Hu-man carrying his house on his back. He took that as a good reason and didn’t do anything to them. When he asked why Hu-man was carrying his house on his back he said that it was because a creature had brought fire and he was afraid his house would be destroyed. Again the king thought this was a good reason. He then asked the creature why he was carrying fire to which he responded that Lamoc was trying to bite him, and he was protecting himself. The king thought this was a good reason. When the king tried to talk to Lamoc he bit him and so the king ordered him to be killed. After he was killed, Lamoc’s friends chased the executioner around and stayed at him front door humming for the rest of their lives. These friends sometimes mistake humans ears for the door of the executioners home, and this is why mosquitoes hum in our ears.

Bibliography:

Filipino Popular Tales by Dean Fansler

Reading Notes: Filipino Tales, Part A

A monkey, a dog, and a carabao were friends. They didn’t want to live in the city anymore so they went to live in the country. Over the course of two days, the carabao and the dog were left at home to cook while the others went out to hunt. Each day a giant came to their house and ate all their food. When they tried to attack him, he just flung them away.  On the last day the monkey was in charge of cooking and set up a trap for the man. When he came to eat the monkey invited him in and the man fell into a giant pit. He then filled in the hole. When the dog and carabao came back they dug up the hole and found out that the man was still alive. He then killed the dog and injured the cow, but the monkey was able to escape. The monkey tricked the man into getting stung by bees, and to wear a boa-constrictor as a belt.

 

                           Carabao

A wealthy man sent his three sons to get the best education they could. They didn’t take school seriously and instead wasted their time. They didn’t want to go back home so instead they wandered from town to town. One day they came across an old lady who said she had a book that could bring the dead back to life. So one of the brothers bought the book. Later they met an old woman selling a mat that she claimed could fly. So another brother decided to buy it. The last brother found two rocks that could come together to form one big rock. They came upon a dead woman who the first brother was able to bring back to life. The second brother used his mat to take them to the seashore and they got on a boat. The boat was destroyed in a storm but the third brother was able to use his rocks to repair it. After they were safely on shore they fought over who should have to woman. They brought their problem to the king who had the lady cut into three pieces to be given to the brothers. The first two brothers didn’t want their part and threw it away, but the last brother used his rocks to put her back together.

Bibliography:

Filipino Popular Tales by Dean Fansler

Storytelling: The Search for Eternal Life

This is the story of a very powerful king; a stone monkey king. He was born from a supernatural rock that burst forth at the dawn of creation. He was not given his kingly title from birth, but the stone monkey was a powerful and mysterious creature to behold. Even the gods in the heavens above were weary of his power. One day while with a group of normal monkeys the stone monkey proved to them all his power and authority by jumping through a waterfall and finding himself a castle built into the side of a mountain. He claimed this cave castle as his own, and was crowned king by the monkeys that beheld this feat.

(Jumping Through the Waterfall)

He lived with his subjects for many years, but soon became discontent. Even though he had the power he wanted and all the riches he could have ever imagined, he knew that one day Death would call for him and take him away from his earthly pleasure. Becoming distraught at the thought, he began to weep in front of his subjects. However, there was one wise old monkey among the group that was attending the king. This wise monkey told the king of a way that he could find the secret of eternal life. The Buddhas, the spirits, and the gods all had eternal life, so all he needed to do was find where they dwelled and beg them for the secret to being immortal. At the mention of this plan the king became resolved. He soon packed up some of his things and headed off to find the people who could share the secret to evading Death. 

After sailing for many weeks, he finally set ashore in Asia. While there he decided to learn how to become more like the humans he saw around him. He lived among the humans for 10 years in search of someone who could teach him what to do to get eternal life. He searched high and low, looking for any signs of spirits dwelling among him. He looked all around to see if he could find the living place of the Buddhas. He scoured the entire continent for evidence that a god was residing in the midst of the humans. After many years, the stone monkey king gave up hope of finding who he needed in Asia. So, he set off for the West.

The stone monkey king travelled for many weeks by land and see until he found a new land to explore. When he arrived, he looked up to see an enormous mountain jutting up right in front of him. From the mountain, he heard the most beautiful singing that he had ever come across. He knew that he had found the place in which the spirits dwelled. When he climbed up and found the source of the singing he was sad to see that if was just a lowly farmer. Must to his surprise the stone monkey king found out that the farmer learned his song from a wise old spirit that lived at the top of the mountain. So, the monkey went and climbed to the very top where he did indeed find the spirit. 

The spirit saw the drive that the stone monkey king had and decided to take him under his wing. The first thing he did was brand him with a new name: Sun Wu Kung. After doing that the spirit taught Sun many different skills, like tending a garden, cleaning a house, having manners. He didn’t teach him how to become immortal though, and Sun Wu Kung was becoming impatient. After any years of living with the spirit and learning from him, Sun Wu Kung demanded to be taught how to become immortal. The spirit sadly informed him that he didn’t know how to make oneself immortal, for he had been born immortal. This infuriated Sun Wu Kung, but he didn’t let him stop him from finding what he truly wanted. So he set off again in hopes of finding out this secret.

Bibliography:

"The Ape Sun Wu Kung" in The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

Author's Note:

In the original story this monkey king made out of stone doesn't want to die. So he sets out on a journey to find someone who could teach him how to get eternal life. He is told that the spirits, the Buddhas, and the gods have eternal life and must know how someone could get it for themselves. I wanted to tell the story in my own words and not change too much from the original. I did change the ending a bit. The place where I ended was actually the middle of the story. I could see my word count get a bit too high so I thought this would be a good place to stop. So I changed it to were the spirit didn't know how to become immortal so Sun Wu Kung had to set off to find someone knew. I wanted it to end so you didn't know whether he became immortal or not.

Reading Notes: The Monkey King, Part A

At the beginning of time there was a rock that had absorbed power from heaven and earth. It was given magical abilities which caused it to burst open and spring forth an egg made of stone. From this stone egg, and ape of stone was born. He became an area of concern for the Lord of the Heavens. One day the ape was challenged to jump through a roaring waterfall to get to the other side. He easily did so and found an iron bridge on the other side. He told all the other apes about what he found and took them to go see the cave castle. They crowned him Handsome King of the Apes. He lived a life of ease for the next three hundred years. 

Monkey

After a while he soon became discontent because he realized that they could not stop death from coming for them. The monkey king was told that only three types of people can escape death. The Buddha, the blessed spirit, and the gods. If he can attain one of these three statuses, then he can become immortal. So, the monkey king set out to find these people to learn from them how he could become immortal. At once he set off to Asia and learned how to blend in with humans so that he could live among them while trying to find the people who could help him. After nine years, he set off again in the west to continue his search. He came upon a mountain which he thought might be the home of the spirits.

He finally found the home of a spirit called ‘The Discerner’. He got the attention of the spirit in the cave and was led into his home. When the spirit asked for the ape’s name he could not give him one. So, the spirit named him Sun Wu Kung. The spirit taught Sun many different skills such as sweeping, good manners, tending a field, and watering a garden. He also learned how to read and write. This went on for six or seven years. Even with all of his teaching Sun Wu Kung still could not give up his wild nature.

Bibliography:

"The Ape Sun Wu Kung" in The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

Storytelling: The Ghost Man's Life

I have no name, I have no true identity. I am just a ghost of a man set to wander this earth forever. What shall I do? What shall I do?

I see a man packing to leave his wife and mother, maybe this is my opportunity to have a normal life again. He won’t be back for many years. If I can just convince them that I am really him then maybe it will work.

His wife doesn’t seem to suspect a thing. She is curious why I have come back so soon, the man was set to be gone for years. I just had to tell her that I wasn’t ready to leave, she seemed happy with that answer.

Many months have passed by now. Some days I forget that I am truly not this woman’s husband. She is so lovely to me, and so kind. I am starting to fall in love with her. I am starting to feel like a real man again.

It’s been a year now since I have taken on this form. I have no regrets with my decision to do this. I am truly happy, and so is my family. They need me to provide for them, and to love them. Nothing can take me away from my family.

Three years has passed, and the real man has returned. He is messing up my happy life. He has no business claiming my wife as his. I have loved her and taken care of her for three years while he was off traveling the world. This is my family and he can’t take them away from me.

He is being very persistent. He has come to my house many times and tried to convince my wife that he is really her husband. She knows that he isn’t meant to be with her. She is meant to be with me. I am unsure how to fix this problem. I don’t know what to do to make him go away for good. Maybe he will just give up soon.

He hasn’t given up yet. It has been months since he has returned home, and every day he makes a plea to the king to return his wife, mother, and home to him. Every day the king denies his request. Why won’t he just take a hint and move on with his life. He is just causing my family distress.

He has done it. He has convinced the king to take his case to court. He will never win of course, but I don’t like taking chances. I don’t know how he managed to pull this one off.

Oh, I am such a fool. How could I have fallen for such a trick. My wife and home have been taken from me. I was sure that if I used my ghostly powers to shrink myself into the vial, like the king asked, it would have proved me the rightful husband of my wife, and rightful owner of my house. Now I am stuck in here forevermore. 

The ghost and his wife

Author's Note:

The story I took inspiration from deals with a man leaving his wife and mother for many years so that he can go find work to provide from them. While he is gone a ghost transforms himself to look like the man and takes over his identity. When the real man comes back he can't convince anyone that he is the rightful husband to his wife. He finally convinces the king to take his case to trial. The king says that if either of the men can fit into a tiny vial he is rightfully the husband to the woman. Since the ghost man wants to keep his life he shrinks himself down and fits into the vial. The king then puts a lid on the vial and tells the real man to throw it into the sea. What I wanted to do was tell the story from the ghost man perspective and give his side of the story. Why did he take this man's life and why didn't he want to give it back.

Bibliography:

Folk-Tales of Bengal by the Rev. Lal Behari Day, with illustrations by Warwick Goble (1912).