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).

Feedback Focus

Out of the three reading techniques I thought that reading out loud was the most effective and beneficial to getting me to focus. Since I speck slower than I actually read I force myself to slow down and pay more attention to the words I am saying. Plus I just like reading out loud, it just makes it a little more fun. I would say the copy and delete method was just a little bit better than the timer method, but not by much. I didn't really like either of them. I thought that the copy and delete method was too fussy when it came to actually deleting the paragraph. The timer method wasn't something I liked either because I don't like feeling like I have to fill up time by rereading or just reading slower. It doesn't make me pay more attention because I'm just focusing on when the time is up. I think for future project readings I'll implement reading out loud to help me pay more attention to the stories. Out of the stories I read I really liked the Bucchettino story. I just thought it was really cute, and I like the little boys name.

Focus while reading!

Week 4 Story: The Three Delicate Wives

My name is Crescent, I am the first of three wives to the king of the greatest kingdom in all the land, Ujjain. One day I was sitting with my husband in our beautiful palace garden. It was a beautiful spring day and the weather was divine. The flowers were in bloom and the bees were buzzing all around us. My king and I were having a great time together, talking and laughing. He reached to push my hair behind my ear, like he always does when he doesn’t know what to say. Just as he did that I saw the most beautiful lotus blossom fall into my lap. When it finally hit my lap a wave of excruciating pain radiated through-out my entire body. All I could do was scream before the pain overtook my body and caused me to faint. I was in and out of consciousness for several hours. The pain would go away long enough for me to open my eyes and see my king sitting across from me, making sure I was being taken care of. It wasn’t until after nightfall that the pain was subdued. I finally was able to let out a sigh of relief and get some rest. My king kissed my forehead before I fell asleep and promised me that everything would be alright.

My name is Star, I am the second of three wives to the king of the greatest kingdom in all the land, Ujjain. After Crescent had been healed and put to sleep, my king came to my chambers to seek comfort and relaxation from the stressful day that occurred before. We were sitting on the balcony enjoying each other’s company while the moonlight shone upon us. I was rested upon my king’s chest and could hear his rhythmic heartbeat. That soothing sound, and the soft breezed that flowed across the balcony soon put me into a gentle sleep. It wasn’t long before I was awoken to a painful sensation that spread across my face and hands. It felt as if my flesh had been burned by a great fire. I wept as I looked upon the great blisters that covered my body. The moon that shone down upon me was the source of my great pain. As I wept in agony, my king made sure the physicians bandaged me up and laid me upon a soft bed of moist lotus-leaves. My king kissed my forehead before I fell asleep and promised me that everything would be alright.

My name is Moon, I am the third of three wives to the king of the greatest kingdom in all the land, Ujjain. I had heard of the events that had transpired earlier and decided to seek out my king to comfort him. As I was walking alone in the dark quiet halls, I heard to sound of pestles grinding grain in the distance. As the noise raged on I noticed giant bruises forming on my arms and hands. Just as I thought my time was coming to an end, I see my servants running towards me from the end of the hall. When they see that I am in distress they lead me back to my room and inquired what is wrong. I show them the bruises that I now have and the quickly informed my king of my condition. As soon as he arrived to my chambers he had physicians working on soothing my pains. After they were done bandaging me up, I was laid in bed to rest. My king kissed my forehead before I fell asleep and promised me that everything would be alright.

The King of the Three Wives

Author's Note:

The original story that I based this weeks retelling on was actually one story out of twenty-two. This is one of the riddles presented to a wise king by a goblin. The king must successfully answer the riddle, or get his head cut in two. I wanted to expand the story a bit and give it more depth and story line. In this riddle the goblin wants to know which of the three wives is the most delicate. The one who was in pain from a lotus leaf, the one who was blistered by a moonbeam, or the one who was bruised by the sound of a pestle. What do you think?

Bibliography:

Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder, with illustrations by Perham W. Nahl (1917).

Reading Notes: Twenty-Two Goblins, Part A

A monk keeps bringing a king fruit with gems in them. The king confronts the man and asks why he keeps doing this. The monk says he needs the king’s help. He asks him to take a body that is hanging from a tree and bring it to him. When the king goes to do that, he finds out the body is that of a goblins. The goblin then proceeds to tell the king riddles. If the king gets it wrong his head will explode. If he gets them right the goblin will go back to his tree.

The first riddle is about three young men who love the same girl. When she dies unexpectedly they all morn differently. One man takes her ashes and sleeps on them in a hut. One man takes her bones and washes them in the river. The last man becomes a monk and wanders. He soon comes across a man who can bring the dead back to life, and learns his secret. He takes what he knows back to the cemetery and brings the girl back to life. The goblin wants to know who the king thinks should marry her. He says the one who slept on her ashes because that is what a lover would do.

The next story is about three different men wanting the same girls hand in marriage. A brave man, a wise man, and a clever man. They were each chosen to marry the same girl by accident, but when it came time to the wedding the girl had disappeared. The wise man told them that she had been taken by a giant. The clever man made a flying chariot to take them to the cave. When they got there the brave man killed the giant and saved the girl. The goblin wants to know who should take the girls hand in marriage. The king says the brave man because he risked his life to save the girl. The goblin likes this answer and run back to his tree.

The next riddle involves a beautiful woman, her husband, and her brother. When they were out in the city they come across a temple and decide to go in and worship the goddess there. The husband goes in first and cuts off his head, the brother goes in next and see what happened and cute his head off too. When the woman goes in and sees what has happened she wants to kill herself. The goddess stops her and tells her that she can just put their heads back on and it will be ok. When she does this she accidentally puts the wrong head on the bodies. The goblin wants to know which head and body combination is the woman’s husband. The king says the body with the husband’s head on it. Once agai the goblin escapes and goes back to the tree.

Three Brothers with Turtle

Bibliography: Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder, with illustrations by Perham W. Nahl (1917).

Storytelling: The Love of Cupid

My mother thinks she is the most beautiful woman both in Heaven and on Earth. Up until this point she was right, but once I set my gaze upon the face of Psyche I knew my mother would be in for a rude awakening. My mother wanted me to get revenge on Psyche by using one of my arrows to make her fall in love with the vilest man I could find. I had other plans. One day I found Psyche dressed in fine apparel on the edge of a cliff, I told my wind servants to bring her to my private home where I could meet her face to face. 

Oh gods, she was even more beautiful up close. How I longed to be by her side, but I couldn’t let her see who I really was. As she walked around the estate I told my servants to treat her like the queen she was. By the time night fell I couldn’t stay away any longer, I rushed to see my new bride. The night didn’t last long enough. I snuck out of our room before the dawn broke, I was sad to leave Psyche, but I knew if she found out who I was everything would be ruined.

After a while Psyche became homesick, I knew she wanted to be reunited with her sisters, but if I let that happen I knew her sister would try and convinced her to find out who I really was. Eventually I caved and let her bring her sister here, but I warned her about what they might try and do. It wasn’t until I woke up to a sharp pain on my shoulder, that I knew her sisters had convinced her to find out who I really was. Seeing her face looking over me in the candle-light, I couldn’t help but stare back. 

Soon my awe at her beauty turned into rage as I came to the realization that she broken my trust. She did the one thing I ask her not to do. I flew away, as my beautiful bride chased after me, I was too distraught to look back to her pleads. I hid myself away at my mother’s house. She was greatly upset that I not only disobeyed her orders, but that I fell in love with her enemy. She decided to take matters into her own hands, I was too sad and angry to intervene. 

Weeks later I decided to venture out of my mother’s house, and the first person I stumble upon is my beautiful Psyche fast asleep in the middle of the woods. I quickly realize that she had been tricked by my mother and was put to sleep with the waters of the River Styx. Seeing Psyche like this made all of my anger and hurt towards her fall away. I was able to wake her up from this deep sleep, and knew that I had to set things straight. 

I called upon the help of Jupiter to try and make amends with my mother. Jupiter happily agrees and calls upon all the gods and goddess to join him for a party. Once my mother arrives, we reveal to everyone that this party is in fact a wedding, the re-marriage of Psyche and I. Jupiter performed a beautiful ceremony, and Psyche and I were able to live together happily as man and wife for the rest of our days.

Cupid Pleading Venus to Forgive Psyche

Author's Note: 

My inspiration comes from the story Cupid and Psyche. It tells the story of the beautiful Psyche and her troubles with the goddess Venus. Venus is considered the most beautiful woman that has ever lived, but once Psyche was born everyone started to praise her for her immense beauty. This did not please Venus so she sent her son Cupid to get revenge on Psyche. However, instead of going through with his mothers wishes, he fell in love and married her. This caused problems for both of them. After a lot of turmoil and heartbreak, Cupid and Psyche reconcile and the story ends with them getting remarried with the help of Jupiter. For my retelling I decided to do it from the perspective of Cupid, since he gets to see both Venus' side of the story and Psyche's side of the story.

Bibliography:

Cupid and Psyche, written by Apuleius and translated English by Tony Kline. A fairy tale included in the novel The Golden Ass.