Reading Notes: South African Folktales, Part B

The Dance for Water

• The Rabbit did not help the other animals get water, yet he still drank from it, so they decided to catch him on the tortoise's shell with sticky pitch
• As punishment, they swung him by the tail to dash his head against stone, but he escaped

Jackal and Monkey

• Jackal stole lamb from Boer at night and was caught in a trap that he set until Monkey came by and he convinced him he was only swinging and that it was fun
• Could rewrite the story so Jackal doesn't convince Monkey to try to swing and Jackal is caught

The Story of Hare

• Could expand on one of the stories of the inkalimeva tricking the animals to steal all the fat

Elephant and Tortoise

• Elephant argued with Rain and Rain left, so he made the tortoise keep watch over the one lagoon of water left and deny all other animals (except the lion who beat the tortoise)
• Could rewrite the story from Rain's point of view watching Elephant suffer after arguing

The Judgment of Baboon

• Baboon assembled all the animals who denied tearing the clothes of the tailor and made them punish each other when they pleaded their innocence

When Lion Could Fly

• Lion used to be able to fly until Frog came and broke all of the bones of his spoils of hunting
• Great Frog said that he must find him at his home to return and there the played a game of Frog jumping around and Lion sneaking up on it, which Lion still does today
• Could add to the story that the lion caught the great frog and the power of flight was restored

(Lion that used to be able to fly)

Lion Who Thought Himself Wiser Than His Mother

• Lion and the Only Man fought over water from a rain and even though Lion's mother warned him not to face the man, Lion ambushed him at the water
• The Man's dogs attacked Lion and he was speared by the Man and left to die
• Could make the Lion and Man actually settle the dispute and compromise as friends

Lion Who Took a Woman's Shape

• A Woman and Lion hunted each other until the Lion ate the woman and left her skin whole so that he could take her place and went to her family
• No one knew until the cows refused to be milked so the people of the kraal removed the hut where the lion was sleeping and cast a spell to Fire to remove the heart, which became alive
• Could rewrite the story from the woman's perspective when she came back to life

Bibliography:
South African Folktales by the nomadic and San people (bushmen) of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe

Reading Notes: South African Folktales, Part A

The Lost Message

• The insect-king heard that all the different insects were arguing and could not agree to get along, so he sent a message of Work-together via a beetle who never arrived to stop the war

The Lion, The Jackal, and The Man

• The Lion boasted that he was the strongest in the world so his advisor the Jackal introduced him to man, who shot him and stabbed him while his dogs attacked and the lion retreated
• It would be interesting to change the story so that they encountered a woman instead of a man

The World's Reward

• A dog, bull, ram, donkey, cat, goose, and cock all stood on each other's shoulders to scare robbers out of a house so they could eat all of their food
  Could rewrite the story so that they actually established the residence as a permanent home for themselves and they lived together in harmony growing old

Tiger and Jackal

• Mr. Tiger allowed Mr. Jackal to teach his seven tiger children at his house for the best education possible, but Mr. Jackal ate one each week until there were no more left
• Could write a story that is an excerpt from their time at Mr. Jackal's house "learning"

Tink-Tinkje

• The birds wanted a king and decided it would be whoever flew highest, but the small Tink-tinkje hid in the vulture's feathers and ascended as high as he
• Could write about Tink-Tinkje being so scared in the tree but becoming king after all

The Lion, The Jackal, and The Rope

• The Lion needed help crossing the river and the jackal had to pull him up with rope, but he secretly instructed his wife to get the worst rope each time so that the lion kept falling
• Could add influences of Lion King in with the Jackal wanting to take over the kingdom as if he were Scar and the lion were Mufasa

Story of Lion and Little Jackal

• The Jackal tricked the lion into letting him take the eland meat home to his own family and then he did it again when the caught an ox, only the jackal beat the lion's family with an ox shin

The Lioness and the Ostrich

• The Lioness and Ostrich had rival roars and each hunted eland, but the lion cubs realized the ostrich had no teeth and that she should not be the rival of the lioness
• Could add a girly friendship between the ostrich and lioness so that they don't even care in the end who is stronger

The Story of a Dam

• The Baboon, Leopard, Hyena, Jackal, Hare, and Tortoise all created a large hole for water, but the Jackal drank it all and bathed in it, making it muddy and unusable
• All the animals conspired together to catch him and make him pay, since he didn't help create it, and the tortoise with a sticky honey caught the jackal's feet, but he escaped
• Could rewrite the story to present day and make the jackal the bully of the school or playground, making all the other animals miserable 

(The evil Jackal)

Bibliography:
South African Folktales by the nomadic and San people (bushmen) of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe

Week 6 Storytelling: The Diary of Dschou Tschu

Dear Diary,Today, I got into another fight! And of course, I won. We were drinking beers at the tavern all night and some old man looked at me in an odd way from across the room, which I didn't like one bit, so I through my beer mug at him. It hit him right in the forehead and he came charging at me, throwing punches left and right. I easily picked him up by the collar of his shirt and took one swing at him, which knocked him straight out. Everyone at the bar was really upset that I hit the old guy so they were all crying and yelling, but no one kicked me out or anything. They were probably just overreacting but I knew it wasn't a big deal. I get into fights all the time... and at least I always win! The people in this town just don't appreciate me or my strength.

Dear Diary,
Tonight, as I was walking home from drinking at the tavern, there was a man crying on my doorstep. I was in a good mood so I continued singing loudly and flinging my sword around until I was close enough to him that I could not bear his foolish crying anymore. So I asked him who he was and he told me that he was saddened because of the people's distress. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I laughed in his face and told him of the abundant harvest and how happily people lived in our village. He then told me that the people claimed there were three evils in the land: the dragon (understandably scary), the tiger (which didn't really seem all that scary to me), and me (which is ridiculous). He told me I had to take care of all three evils and then left... I know people here think poorly of me and that I am always causing fights, but I had no idea they considered me the third evil of the land... I must leave tomorrow morning to kill both of these monsters and then I should exile myself to a far away land where I can never bother anyone again.

 (The evil tiger in his cave)

Dear Diary,
I am briefly pausing on my journey to write that I have killed the tiger. I hunted him out of his cave and fought his savage claws and teeth before I threw his neck to the ground with my left hand and beat him with my right. He died before me and I carried him home on my back to show the people that the tiger is no more. Now I am about to embark on the second part of my journey, which is killing the dragon. I am more nervous about this part of my commission.

Dear Diary,
I have slain the dragon. I walked on the long bridge and dived into the water in which I encountered the dragon sleeping peacefully. I grabbed him by the neck with my mighty hands and we wrestled beneath the water for some time, both taking turns with the upper hand. Eventually, the dragon's strength began to fade and he realized he was no match for me and my own supernatural strength. The dragon flapped his wings desperately in a last attempt to get away, which sounded like the hooves of a thousand horses galloping around me. Finally, I cut the dragons head off and rose from the waves out of the water that was turning red with the dragon's blood. I then took the dragon's head, along with the tiger, to the man and told him that I had accomplished what he asked of me. He then told me to travel far from here and leave him to rule the people. This saddened me because I have lived in my village my entire life, but I knew I had to do it.

 (The evil dragon that Dschou Tschu killed)

Dear Diary,
Now I am sitting on a rock, overlooking the ocean at sunset, writing this and deciding where to travel next. I suppose I will wander until I find a country that will allow me to use my strength to fight as a soldier for the people. I will use my talents for good rather than for my own enjoyment now. And perhaps people will like me and I will never be banished again. I will write again when I have enlisted as a soldier and fought my first battle.

Author's Note:
For this story, I kept the entire plot the same but focused on telling the tale from the perspective of Dschou Tschu himself, rather than the mandarin. As I was reading the source story, I imagined Dscou Tschu as a brute who is not very smart and had no idea that the people disliked him so much for his eagerness to start fights and cause trouble. I wanted to highlight how he must have felt hearing the news of the evils and his adventures during the battles he fought and it made me laugh to picture him sitting down to journal the events that unfolded each time. I have never written in this style before and it was fun to try something new. However, it was difficult for me to decide what language style was best since it needed to sound personal because it was a diary entry, but I wanted it to be understandable and still convey the story appropriately. So I settled on a slightly modern take and I am not yet sure if it worked. Another thing I had difficulty with was finding images to illustrate this story because there were none available of the actual fights with the tiger and dragon. Regardless, I liked writing this piece and hope it was enjoyable to read!

Bibliography:
The Chinese Fairy Tales are a selection of stories from Wilhem's Chinese Fairy Book.

Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales, Part B

The Little Hunting Dog

• A scholar lived in a Buddhist temple where little knights invaded and hunted, but one day they left a small dog that the scholar kept and loved as his own
• One morning, he woke up to the dog being pressed flat as paper and dead

Fox-Fire

• A farmer-boy stumbled upon a fox breathing fire to the moon in preparing the elixir of life so the farmer snatched it and swallowed it himself
• He was able to see ghosts and demons, perform many miracles, and use his talents with the spirit-world until the fox stole it back from him one day
• Could expand on the details of one of the specific miracles performed or make him also a fox

The Talking Silver Foxes

• The talking foxes sat on the side of a mountain and tease passersby until one day, the Farmer Wang, was surprised by a fox and cracked it with his ox-whip
• A girl in the village became possessed and the foxes said they would not pray to the god of war or any other god because they only feared Wang, who afterwards sent the spirit fleeing
• An archer also came across a fox and shot it with his bow, skinned it, and sold it

Retribution

• One day old Wang accidentally pushed a water-carrier down a terrace, where he died, and left the corpse there for the town to discover
• Many days later, the water-carrier returned as the neighbor's baby and grew up, accidentally throwing a stone at some pigeons but hitting Wang, so the scene repeated itself
• Could rewrite the story so that the water-carrier returning was indeed for retribution and the character of Ma was the only one who could see him, finding himself crazy

The Night on the Battlefield

• A merchant stumbled upon an inn during a storm where he found a room and watched a procession and hearty dinner of many soldiers and a general
• When the general retired to his room, his aid helped him take his head, arms, legs, and torso apart so that he could rest
• The merchant was horrified and left the inn for another, finding out that the inn which he had first stayed was on an old battlefield and strange things happened in the night
• Could write a scary story and make other creepy things happen to the merchant during his stay

(Inn on the Haunted Battlefield at Night)

The Maiden Who Was Stolen Away

• A storm stole a young maiden away from her home and to an incredibly tall pagoda, where she was doted on hand and foot by a young man asking her to marry him
• She denied every day and then he left, but one day he left the door open and she saw that he was a hideous ogre when he flew down to earth and she was terrified
• Her brother heard of her up there, hid in wait for the "young man", and threw an axe into his arm to scare him off and save his sister
• Could incorporate some of Rapunzel's tale, with her being kept away

The Flying Ogre

• A monk saw a woman running quickly toward him, asking him to hide her until he saw a man riding an armored horse who explained she was a terrible flying ogre and he needed to kill her

The Sorceror of the White Lotus Lodge

• A sorcerer made his pupils watch a small ship and candle while he was away and they failed, so his ship capsized and he had to walk in the dark
• He turned one pupil into a pig so a thousand soldiers arrested him and his family and as they travelled to the castle, they encountered a giant who ate the sorcerer and his wife and son
• Could expand on the tasks that the sorcerer made his pupils do while he was away

 The Three Evils

• A mandarin moved to a village and was told there were three evils- a terrible dragon, a tiger lurking in the hills, and Dschou Tschu who was wild, devilish, and always starting brawls
• Dschou Tschu was enlisted to take care of all three evils so he killed both the dragon and tiger and then exiled himself (before killing himself) to rid the village of all three
• Could rewrite the story from Dschou Tschu's point of view with how hurt his feelings are that the village thinks so lowly of him

How the River God's Wedding Was Broken Off

• Si-Men came to govern the Yellow River people where there was a custom of offering a river-bride, chosen by who's family could not pay, to the river-god every year
• Si-Men carefully sent several witches to beckon the god at the next wedding and none came back, so all fearfully vowed to put an end to the tradition
• Could add to the story that Si-Men actually posed as the bride to put an end to the river-god, who unknowingly still married Si-Men

Yang Gui Fe 

• Yang Gui Fe was the emperor's favorite wife, but she and her cousin took advantage and eventually caused the emperor to be driven from the country
• His soldiers mutinied and killed both Yang Gui Fe and her cousin and she departed to a fairy land as a blessed spirit, which she was before meeting the emperor
• A magician searched for her and found her so she gave him her ring to give to the emperor and told him she would return in 12 years time and not to weep too greatly

Bibliography:
The Chinese Fairy Tales are a selection of stories from Wilhem's Chinese Fairy Book.

Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales, Part A

The Favorite of Fortune and the Child of Ill Luck

•  A princess with ill luck married a beggar with good luck in hopes of one day finding splendor
•  He left to find his fortune and returned after 18 years an emperor, so they lived happily for 18 days until the wife died while the husband lived on many years

The Cave of the Beasts

• A father was furious with his wife for feeding their daughters the duck eggs he found so he took two of them out to the forest and left them there
• They stumbled upon a cave full of treasures and jems belonging to a fox and wolf, so they trapped them in the kettle and took all of the treasures for themselves
• Could change the story so that the fox or the wolf escaped and actually captured the girls, but then realized they were friendly and frightened and they all live together

The Panther

• A panther devoured a mother and son and then, wearing her clothing, posed as the mother to the two daughters left at home
• They managed to scare the panther away for a little while but were on their doorstep crying for their mother and brother
• A needle-vender, a scorpion-catcher, an egg-seller, a turtle dealer, and a man selling clubs all stopped by and gave the girls a gift of each of their trade to scare the panther off with
• Could rewrite the story so that only one of the gifts was given to the girls and they had to fight the panther off with that alone

Why Dog and Cat are Enemies

• A man and wife lost their lucky ring and all of their wealth so the cat and dog planned and ventured to acquire the ring and bring it back home
• After they got the ring back, the cat beat the dog back to the house because it was able to run over the roof and the cat was rewarded for the ring while the dog was beaten for not assisting

Yang Oerlang

• Oerlang, a shapeshifter, was fetching his mother water when he returned to her dead corpse and he realized that her magic powers had failed her and the sunlight had killed her
• Oerlang avenged her death by killing 9 of the 10 suns but he did not kill the last one so that the earth could live and he was honored as a god after
• It would be interesting to change the story so that Oerlang did kill all of the suns and the world went into complete darkness

The Lady of the Moon

• Hou I was given an herb of immortality and his wife ate some of it when he was not home, floated up to the clouds, and became the Lady of the Moon in the castle there
• The emperor and two sorcerers created a bridge to the moon and saw the castle of the lady, which was filled with beautiful music that the emperor had transcribed when he returned to earth  

The Girl with the Horse's Head or the Silkworm Goddess

• A girl vowed to marry her horse if it could return her father to her from a long journey and when it did, she and her father instead slew the horse and hung the hide up
• One day, the hide swallowed the girl and carried her to a tree where she became wrapped in a cocoon and spun beautiful silk
• Could change the story so that she actually did have to marry the horse and she falls in love with him and they live happily ever after

(Girl grooming her horse as she misses her father) 

The God of War

• Guan Yu was a faithful and brilliant warrior who fought the evil Tsau Tsau but was caught into an ambush with his son where they were both slain
• He visited a monk and asked for his head to be restored, but the monk answered that it would not be fair to all those that Guan Yu had killed to not have their own heads restored.
• Afterwards, he became very spiritually active and worshipped as the God of War

The Miserly Farmer

• A bonze asked a farmer for a pear but was not given one, so an artisan bought one for him
• He ate the pear and planted it, watered it, and it grew into a magnificent tree from which he passed out many pears 
• The farmer realized after the bonze left that the pears he passed out had actually been his all along and the tree came from the wooden axle of his cart, but the bonze was nowhere to be found for him to confront him

The King of the Ants 

• A scholar lived in a haunted house where a hundred knights the size of ants galloped in to hunt with horses the size of flies
• They prepared a beautiful banquet, sang, and danced until the small knight in the scarlet hat made fun of his kingly status as compared to the scholar's poor status, so the scholar shooed them out and smoked them out of the ants' nest
• It would be fun to write more from the perspective of everyday life and struggles of the small knights in their own world and how it differs from the regular, life-sized world

Bibliography:
The Chinese Fairy Tales are a selection of stories from Wilhem's Chinese Fairy Book.

Tech Tip: Including Images in a Google Sites Page

This week's tech tip of including an image in a Google Sites page was fairly difficult for me! It took several tries for me to add the image in its own box, rather than trying to add it to the header, which threw everything off. I finally added the image by uploading it from a picture saved on my computer and added the image information below the introduction so that it wouldn't alter the aesthetic too much. I liked that I could size the image and it would show me where it was evenly spaced, but I did not like that I couldn't tell what size it would turn out to be until I published it and viewed the page later. Overall, it was not too bad figuring it out!

Week 5 Storytelling: The Snake, the Nobleman, and His Horse

[The scene is set in an open field with a nobleman who is hunting with his favorite companion, his horse. He heard several strange noises, something moving in the tall grass, and immediately reached for his arrows. His horse neighed as he whirled around to see a frightened snake hurrying towards him. Alarmed, the nobleman jumped back from the snake.]

(The nobleman and his horse hunting) 

SNAKE

Please, oh my lord, allow me to hide! An enemy with a stick is pursuing me! He wants to kill me!

NOBLEMAN

Oh yes, kind friend, conceal yourself in my shirt sleeve. No enemy will reach you there, for I will protect you!

[Just then, a devious looking man holding a sharp stick ran towards the nobleman and his horse. The nobleman double-checked his sleeve to make sure the snake was still hidden.]

MAN

You haven't by any chance seen a sneaky snake slithering around here, have you? I have been searching everywhere for him because he bit my dog and the poison killed him!

NOBLEMAN

No, sir, I have not seen a snake around here and I cannot be of assistance to you! I wish you all the best! 

[The nobleman's horse stamped its hoof at hearing the nobleman's false words, for the horse did not trust the snake, but he quickly placed a hand on the horse's back to calm it. The man was not quite convinced and searched around the field anyway, but alas, could not see the snake hidden in the sleeve. The man then went his own way in search of the snake elsewhere and the nobleman sighed with relief, letting the snake out of his sleeve.]

NOBLEMAN

Your enemy has gone and you should also be on your way, kind friend.

SNAKE

I have deceived you! You are quite ignorant to believe that a snake could be your kind friend, for you see, I have already bitten you and poisoned you.

[The nobleman suddenly felt a sharp pain and he glanced down at his right forearm to see that the snake had indeed bitten him, though he was just now beginning to feel the effects. His bite wounds began to leak blood and poison and the nobleman fell to his knees in agony.]

(The evil snake after biting the nobleman)

NOBLEMAN

How could you do this to me? I helped you and hid you from your enemy, you fiend!

SNAKE

Ah, but it is as they say, 'it is not right to do good to every person'. So when I smelled your human scent and had the urge to bite you, I did! 

[The nobleman shook his head in denial and pain as the snake chuckled to himself, watching the nobleman become weaker and weaker with the pain. The snake then turned to slither away but before he could leave, the angry horse came to the nobleman's defense. He leapt forward and smashed the snake's head into the ground, instantly killing it.]

NOBLEMAN

My dear horse, my sweet friend, thank you. You have avenged me and I can now die in peace knowing that I had the greatest horse that ever lived. Thank you for being my dearest companion.

[The nobleman sighed as the poison overtook his body and he took his last breath. The horse cried out in sorrow, knelt by the nobleman's side, and stayed with him through the night. When the rays of the morning sun awakened the horse, he galloped to the nearby town and urged several men he encountered on the street to follow him to the field where the nobleman's body lay. They too cried out when they saw the tragic scene and carried his corpse back into town to prepare him for a proper burial. While it was the saddest day the horse had ever experienced, he knew he had done the right thing and was glad to let his master rest in peace with.]

Author's Note:

I decided to try something creative with experimenting with a new storytelling style for this week's tale. I wanted to write it in a script style because I have not written a script since high school, but have always enjoyed doing it. I noticed that I was not able to include as much detail as I normally like to, making my story shorter than it usually is, but I was challenged in a different way of keeping the story flowing at a quicker pace. I ended up writing it as if it were a children's play, even if the content was a little dark for that. I kept the original premise of the story the same with a nobleman who hid a snake in his sleeve, but instead of the nobleman managing to kill the snake, I turned the tables and caused the nobleman to be bitten and poisoned after all. I wanted to expand on how evil and deceiving the snake was, but I did not want the snake to get away with it. So I created a bigger character in the nobleman's horse, who avenged his death by killing the snake and then warned the townsfolk of what had happened so that they would not just leave the nobleman's body in the field. He deserved a proper burial and peaceful ending, even if it was a little dark and sad. I was challenged by writing in this style, but I had a lot of fun!

 
Bibliography: Tales of a Parrot, an early 19th century English version of the Tutinameh and an adaptation of an earlier book written in Sanskrit