EC Reading Notes: Wonder Tales from Tibet

This book in particular caught my eye because I have been reading and watching documentaries on Tibet recently. It is a beautiful region in China, but it is also mysterious. It is nearly impossible for humans to live in some parts of Tibet and the animals that live there are unlike any others in the world. I am excited to read historical myths from this specific region.

In the preface, Jewett discusses how she found these stories in different pamphlets and books over the years and decided to compile them into a book. She has changed some of them so that they are appropriate for children. I like how she included this information in her preface because it not only gives a background on the stories themselves, but also the authors. Jewett created this book to teach American children the stories of distant lands that haven't been told for many years.

The stories in the book are much longer than the others I have read in this class, so I am excited to get to know the characters, unlike in the other stories. One thing that I have said before is that I don't like how myths take away the personal aspect of a story. Most of the time the authors don't even bother to include names; they write to merely tell a story. In my opinion, however, a story is nothing without names, descriptions, and details.

Tibet.

"Wonder Tales from Tibet" by Eleanore Myers Jewett.

Reading Notes: Russian Fairy Tales, Part B

Although I am sure that my previous storytelling assignment idea would be a good option, I also want to explore other chapters of the book. This week has been one of my favorites because the story I chose is exactly about something I would read in my spare time. The supernatural characters don't have names, nor does Ralston focus on the details. However, in my story this week, no matter what it is about, I want to include those details and the personal element.
The story that caught my eye was "The Headless Princess." It is about a boy who peers through a princess's window and just as he does, the princess removes her head, dresses it up, and returns it to its rightful place. The princess then fell ill and demanded that that boy be the one who reads the psalter next to her coffin. The boy consulted his grandmother, who gave him advice on how to keep evil spirits from harming him. However, when the boy showed up to read, the princess escaped the coffin and tried to cast spells and conjure up horrors. The boy continued reading the psalms aloud, which meant the magic would not affect him. When the king was told of his daughter's mental and physical state, he demanded she be executed.
I am thinking that I could use this story, but in a more modern sense. I have the idea to incorporate the current Royal Family and making Princess Margaret share this wretched secret. No one in the Royal Family is aware of this, until a member of the palace staff witness her switched her heads in the night. I plan to make the story set in the 1970s, since Princess Margaret is no longer alive. I want to include other Royal Family characters in the story as well, while still keeping the themes and ideas of Ralston.


The headless princess choosing her hairstyle and head for the evening.

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston.

Reading Notes: Russian Fairy Tales, Part A

I have never read a Russian fairy tale before, but this book immediately caught my attention when the description said it included vampires and other supernatural creatures. I had been wondering if we would have the opportunity to read myths about vampires, but it makes sense that they come from Russia.
My first impression is that the book is going to be gruesome and dark. The titles of each of the chapters are simple, yet ominous, such as "Friday" and "The Two Corpses." Each of the chapters are there own stories, none of them being related to each other. I plan to continue this theme in my story this week by including a short and mysterious title.
The first chapter, "The Dead Mother", is about a child whose mother passed away in childbirth and whose father has to take care of her alone. The child was uncooperative and refused to eat every time it was fed, which was strange for a newborn. In the middle of the night, the people keeping watch on the child realized that someone had been breaking into the house and breastfeeding the child while everyone else was asleep.
In my story this week, I have the idea to incorporate this idea, but put a more modern twist on it. I also want to write it as a horror story or a thriller, which will be a challenge because I have never written a story like this before. I have always enjoyed reading stories with incredibly detailed descriptions of the settings and characters, while still including the fear factor for the audience. An author that I would like to channel in this weeks writing assignment is Edgar Allan Poe because in his stories, such as "The Raven" and "The Tell Tale Heart." He is notorious for his gloomy and dark writing and also including shocking twists. He is very talented in incorporating symbols to foreshadow future misfortunes. My idea is to have a child who has been adopted by a couple after its mother died in childbirth. The baby doesn't stop crying until about midnight every night and refuses to eat when its adopted mother tries to feed it. When the baby isn't crying, it is sleeping, which is odd for a newborn. They are woken up multiple times throughout the night by noises coming from the baby monitor, but the noises don't sound like crying. When the father goes to check on the child, he sees the child's dead mother standing over the crib with the child suckling on her breast.


The dead mother and her child

Russian Fairy Tales by W.R.S. Ralston

Reading Notes: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table, Part B

I really want to emphasize writing through the thoughts of King Arthur. Imagine being a young orphan boy who is the destined king. Then, he meets Merlin, the greatest wizard of all time. The original stories that we are reading don't capture the characters' emotions at all. The writing is very detached and impersonal. I enjoy reading stories that develop characters and have back stories. Thoughts, in my opinion, are the most interesting thing to read in a story. The audience gets a sense of a certain character's personality and they literally get to be inside their head. It is amazing that people have written up these characters, but haven't elaborated on their lives at all. I have noticed that many myths have been made into some sort of book or movie, but it still might not give the readers a perspective into the heads of the characters.
I also have the option of putting my story in Merlin's point of view. There must be a lot going on in a wizard's head, especially such a famous one. The powers that he performs and the situations that he easily gets them out of are so fantastic and I think it would be very cool to capture this and write it in an assignment.
This story was actually one of my favorites because I love magic and wizards. Although I had never read these stories before, right when I read the description I knew I would enjoy it.


An encounter with Merlin.

King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang

Reading Notes- King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table, Part A

I have never read these stories before, but I have heard of King Arthur and his journeys. I think that it could be interesting to write the stories in the first person point of view. Stories in first person come with a more personal element as opposed to stories that are written without the inside thoughts of characters. King Arthur was a powerful king, but he obviously wasn't pleased all the time and it could be funny to write about what he is thinking during his journeys.
The first story is about the sword in the stone. Knights throughout the land came to attempt to extract the sword, but it wouldn't budge. They had to find the fit king, the only man who could withdraw the sword. I love the fact that Arthur was just a knight's foster son, and when looking for a sword, he stumbled upon the sword in the stone and took it out easily. It is so innocent because he is merely a boy when he is proclaimed king. I think that this part of the story would make a great storytelling assignment. The thoughts that were going through Arthur's head were probably so innocent and naive; and that could give a completely different view into this story. As a reader, I didn't know much about his journey except for what someone could see on the outside. I want to give my audience a look on the inside and how the characters actually think.


This is exactly how I picture the sword in the stone.

King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table retold by Andrew Lang

Reading Notes: Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Part A

I have previously read, I think, one story from the Canterbury Tales, but I don't remember it at all. It would have been a long time ago and I think it could be interesting to read something that I read as a child. In the first story, "The Wife of Bath's Tale," a knight is sent by the Queen to figure out what women wish for the most in order to spare his own life. Many of the answers are very typical of women in medieval times, but I think that I could make this into a modern day story. What I plan to write about is a modern day boy who is given the task, for some reason, to find out what women wish for the most. The answers from all of the girls will be cliches, except for the real wish. I could also tie this into the topic of feminism because that is a very important topic amongst society currently. Women are expected to want stereotypical things, like children, makeup, or money, but in current society, women are achieving standards that no man would have deemed possible in the past. An old woman told him that the thing women desired the most was to rule over their husbands. All the women agreed, which is a very unlikely answer nowadays, and his life was spared; however, in return, the knight had to grant the old woman a wish and she wanted to be his wife. He was unhappy at first, but then when he accepted his fate, the hag turned into a beautiful young woman and they lived happily ever after. I want to change my story to include a more modern answer to this mysterious question.


An example of sexual prejudice against women in advertising, 1950s.

"Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer.

Reading Notes: Tejas and Other Indian Legends, Part A

I chose this story because it was described as nature tales for children. This reminds me more of Greek mythology in the sense that the gods are in touch with the Earth. It is made up of the individual stories behind the certain aspects of nature. The first chapter talks about the story behind the word hurricane, which was originally a giant bird named Hurakan who belonged to the Storm God. They would terrorize the people, but I can tell that this story was intended for a younger audience. It has a more upbeat and positive feel to it, even when talking about the evil person in the story. It is interesting to read the Native American stories last week, where they were gruesome and vulgar, and then read a much milder version this week. It is important to explore a variety of stories because if not, then you won't understand the Native American culture fully. I want to write my own story this week about the creation of some famous landform. I plan to include my own god, different from the Storm God, that created this landform a long time ago in a world much different than the one we live in today. I want to incorporate magic and animals that help the god during his journey and creation. I like how the author used a name like Hurakan which is similar to hurricane. I want to write about a natural disaster and the original animal it was named after. It could be an earthquake, tornado or tsunami. 

Original illustration from the story; by Berniece Burrough (1936).

When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends retold by Florence Stratton. 

Reading Notes: Stith Thompson's Tales of the North American Indians, Part B

After reading the rest of the stories, I have come to realize that Native American stories can be very violent and gruesome. All of the stories involved killing, but sometimes it was over-descriptive. It proved difficult to read at times because even the main characters would be killed suddenly. Many of the stories also include hunting of some type in the plot. In Part A, the uncle lured his nephew out to the woods because they were going hunting. In Part B from the story "Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away," the husband escaped his own death because he was out hunting for his family. The stories that the Native Americans tell most of the time involve a single person who is terrorizing a certain group of people. I can put a creative twist on this in my story this week because I can write up my own version of a serial killer or villain. I like how in these stories the people who fall victim to the villain's cruelty outsmart the them every time. I have noticed that, especially in these stories, the evil character looks senseless up against the innocent man being hunted. The characters in the Native American stories are especially savage; for example in the story "The Son-In-Law Tests," Wemicus forces his son-in-law to eat the lice from his head. Luckily, the son-in-law prepared for this and only pretended to eat them. Obviously this was written in a vastly different time period, but these stories take myths to a whole new level. The Native Americans include some of the same motifs throughout different stories, like the individual killers or different recurring objects. In two different stories, the author associated fire with moccasins and I am assuming this is a cultural reference. I would like to include specific culture references like this one in my own story.


The Crow Tribe, where the story "Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away" originated.

Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson

Reading Notes: Stith Thompson's Tales of the North American Indian, Part A

I decided to read a story that allowed me to read about the cultures of a variety of Native American tribes. This book, Tales of the North American Indian by Stith Thompson includes specific stories from the Hupa, Apache, Crow and Cree tribes.

The story called "The Jealous Uncle" interested me the most when it started off more gruesome than most of the stories I have read in this class. However, the fate of the main character was different than many of the stories from other parts of the world. The writer starts by talking about a man who would kill his nephews when they would get to be just a few years old. A new nephew was born, but he acted like a girl his entire childhood in order to be spared. When his uncle finally figured out he was a boy, he was set on killing him. The boy uses three unsuspecting objects to get himself out of his attempted murder, but unfortunately the uncle trapped him in a box and left him in the ocean to die.

For my story this week, I have the option to write a version of the original story of "The Jealous Uncle". I want to use the same premise for my story by including a terrorizing uncle, a nephew and three odd items. The part of the story where the innocent boy uses random objects to get out of the fatal situations is most entertaining because this allows me to use my imagination when creating three new objects for my character to use. This story, in particular, gave me some insight into the culture of storytelling in Native American tribes. In a Native American Studies class I took, we learned about the importance of storytelling to the Native Americans and how they cherish this time that they spend together with their family. They are a very close-knit group of people and I like being able to read some of these culturally significant stories. I want to incorporate this part of their culture as well in my storytelling assignment this week.


Tribe joined together to tell stories.

Tales of the North American Indian by Stith Thompson

Reading Notes: Stories from Congo, Part B

In one of the stories, a man stumbled upon a tree and starts to pull at the branches. When he pulls off one of the leaves, it turns into a woman. All of the leaves that he tugs at start to turn into men and women. This part of the story reminds me of the Tree of Life from the Bible, but it different because in this story, it involves magic. The woman who was transformed from a leaf became the man's wife and turned him into a more handsome man and created a village and home for them to live in. In the first story of Part B, it tells a myth about why the leopard always kills an antelope when it sees it. Within the story, the author uses native African words, like nkutu, ngongo, shimbec and chimpacasi, to incorporate the culture of the people of Congo. The words are put into the story in a manner where the reader can infer what they mean, without the author actually specifying. Most of the stories are depressing, but I think I could write my own unique and possibly up-beat version for this week's storytelling assignment. I plan to write about two other animals that don't get along, or perhaps do get along, and the story behind how they came to meet each other. I have noticed that most of the stories are more gruesome than the Greek myth, but they are still entertaining to read. In one of the stories, an antelope sends a leopard's skinned head to his wife and she ate it. It was a bit more morbid than some of the stories that I read, but it shows the unique characteristics and culture of original myths from Congo. Most of the myths also contain the same animals, including leopards, antelope and gazelle. These are animals native to Africa and are well known amongst that region of the world. I enjoy reading stories from Africa and Asia because I have never read anything like them before and it gives me some insight into what their cultures are like.


Leopard attacking an antelope.

Richard Edward Dennett's Stories from Congo (1898).

Reading Notes: Stories from Congo, Part A

The story jumps right in with a man killing animals and giving them to his three wives to eat. Then, suddenly, an ox killed the man while he was trying to hunt. One of the wives has the power to dream what has happened; another has the power to locate their husband; and the other has the power to bring him back to life. The animals that the characters eat in the story are different than those that people eat nowadays, especially in the United States. They eat monkeys and antelope. The dog is also animated and can speak to his owner. I enjoy reading stories that have talking animals because it can attract people of all ages and with different interests. Even as an adult, I love watching animated movies and the stories that are created to develop the animated characters.
A recurring magical power that characters in this story seem to have is the power to dream something and then it actually coming to life. One of the wives in the first story had this power and so did Buite, a man who left his brother to live alone in a valley. However, when Buite did not follow the exact storyline of his dream, all of it went away. I would like to possibly write about this in this week's storytelling assignment because I could talk about a more modern man who also dreamed about his perfect woman.
A motif that is often seen in these types of stories is when one of the main characters runs away from home to start a new life for themselves. This can be the beginning of a mysterious, unfamiliar place where anything could happen to this character and where they have no one else that they know. I think it is important to reference these motifs when writing your version of the story because it keeps the main ideas similar to the original. It magnifies important themes that were frequently used in not only Africa, but also the majority of myths.


Women and wives of Congo, by Henry M. Stanley.

Richard Edward Dennett's Stories from Congo (1898).

Reading Notes: Wilhelm's The Monkey King, Part B

My favorite part about reading this story are the details that the author includes in every single chapter. Sun Wu Kung has gone on many different adventures and his bravery has only helped him with his success. One story that caught my eye was "The Lord of the Heavens" at the beginning of Part B of the reading. Unlike many fairytales. this book incorporates religion into the plot as well. When the Evening Star is trying to convince the Lord of the Heavens to let Sun Wu Kung into his realm, he talks to the Lord like he worships him. He sounds like someone praying to their god; and that was exactly what he was doing. The Evening Star begs the Lord to forgive the King for his sins and for him to be accepted into the Heavens. The Monkey King is then deemed knowledgeable and worthy of entering the Heavens.
When the author is describing floating on a cloud from the Heavens to the mountains, the story again has that familiar fairytale feel to it. I want to include the Monkey King floating on a colored cloud from the mountains to the entrance to the Heavens in my story. I like the idea of writing a story about someone going to heaven to "'look around there a little!'" Heaven is an ominous topic that not many people write about because there is no way to know what it is like in real life. There is also the controversy of if heaven even is real. Writing a story about a man going to visit heaven for a day could be very interesting and unique. It is important to write a story about something that not everyone else in the class is going to write about as well. The author of the original story introduces other characters in this story as well, such as the gate-keeper, stable-master and the Lord of the Heavens himself. I plan to make my own versions of these characters in my storytelling assignment for this week.


Painting on silk of the Jade Emperor, or the Lord of the Heavens; anonymous.

"The Monkey King" by Richard Wilhelm; link to reading online.

Reading Notes: Wilhelm's The Monkey King Part A

The title of the story, "The Monkey King," caught my eye immediately. I love animals and I enjoy reading stories about them, specifically when they take on human characteristics. The first sentence of the story begins with, "FAR, far away to the East..." This sentence in particular reminds me of the beginning of a fairytale. When I first started reading this, I was not sure if this was an actual fairytale or just a child's story. Then I realized that the title of the book was "The Chinese Fairy Book." I am excited to read the rest of this story and I am glad I chose this one because I do enjoy reading fairytales.
The main character, Sun Wu Kung, was named "Handsome King of the Apes" by the other apes; and I think I could do a spin on this in the story that I write this week. I have been incorporating modernization into most of the stories I have been writing and I could continue that trend in this week's storytelling assignment. The original story was written over a century ago, so the author's meaning of "handsome" might not be the same as the meaning that we would use today. "Handsome" used to resemble strong rather than good-looking, like how we use it today. I am thinking that I might write a story about a "handsome" leader who is attractive and is loved by all of his peers. He could be a football player or an important politician.
The character of the stone ape is the bravest of all the other apes so i want to incorporate that also into my version of the story. He is a tough guy who isn't afraid to step up and be a leader, but it might not work out as well as he thinks it will in the end. It depends on whether he uses his intelligence or his pride when trying to get through a situation.
It can be difficult to write a story about animals that have taken on human characteristics, but I think that I am going to give it a try this week. The monkeys in the original story are basically like humans, negotiating, wearing clothes and learning new things. I plan to keep the main characters as monkeys, but also possibly make them modern day high schoolers or young adult monkeys who have to overcome something that has happened.


The Monkey King or Sun Wu Kung; monkey picture.

"The Monkey King" by Richard Wilhelm; link to reading online.

Reading Notes: The Voyages of Sindbad, Part A

Before reading this story, I had heard of Sindbad but I hadn't actually read any stories about him. He went on seven separate voyages throughout the entire story, each more terrifying than the one before. My favorite voyage was the second one when Sindbad was stranded on an island and ended up being picked up by a giant bird called the Roc. He stumbled upon the Roc's egg, which was huge and soft. Once the Roc scooped him up, Sindbad tied himself to its leg, which was the size of a tree trunk. He stayed in the nest until the next morning when the Roc landed on ground once again and Sindbad untied himself and was set free. The adventures and horrors that Sindbad has to face throughout his journey are tragic and unlucky; however, Sindbad uses his quick thinking to devise a plan every time. Since my favorite voyage was the one about the Roc, I am planning to write my own version of this story in this week's storytelling post. I want to keep the character of the Roc and Sindbad in my story, but make a different ending that is completely different than the one told in the original story.

Sindbad tied to the leg of the Roc. Illustrated by H. J. Ford.
http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/sindbad-second-voyage.html

The Voyages of Sindbad by Andrew Lang.
http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/myth-folklore-unit-voyages-of-sindbad.html

Reading Notes: Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi 's Tales of a Parrot, Part B

My favorite aspect of the book itself is that the stories that the parrot tells Khojisteh are so captivating that she can't miss a single one. The parrot is an impressive story teller and even though Khojisteh wants to go see her lover, she can't seem to get away from the parrot's enticement. There is shape shifting in many of the stories, and I want to include that in my version of the story that I write this week. In the story "Of a King and His Sons, and of a Frog and a Snake," the characters Khaliss and Mukhless are actually a snake and a frog that have taken on a human form. They acquired this power when the prince carved out a piece of skin for each of them. They also use their original animal form to help people with tasks that would otherwise be difficult. Mukhless jumps into the water to fish out a ring that fell in and Khaliss cured the King's daughter after she was bit by a snake. The characters that the parrot's stories include are typically manipulative and intelligent in their own ways. The fate of Khojisteh in the original story is unfortunate, especially since, after all that time, Khojisteh never even got to see her lover. Her husband also put her to death.


"The Parrot addresses Khojisteh" by Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdus Samad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutinama

Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi's Tales of a Parrot http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/tales-of-parrot-of-king-and-his-sons.html

Reading Notes: Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi's Tales of a Parrot Part A

The story Tutinameh or Tales of a Parrot by Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi is about a parrot that prince, Miemun, purchased. The parrot tells stories to the prince's wife, Khojisteh, to keep her from committing adultery and cheating on her husband with another prince. Some of the individual stories in the reading are stories that the parrot tells Khojisteh. For my story this week, I am thinking about telling either my own versions of the stories that the parrot tells, or change the ending of them a little bit. The parrot is also extremely smart and can foresee the future. In my story this week, I also might incorporate the parrot's ability to see the future.
 
"Khojisteh and the parrot" by Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdus Samad.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutinama#mediaviewer/File:Indischer_Maler_um_1580_001.jpg

Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi's Tales of a Parrot. http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/myth-folklore-unit-tutinameh-or-tales.html

Reading Notes: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche Part B

I love the power that Venus carries with her. She is the goddess of love and she doesn't think that Cupid should be with someone like Psyche. Venus is incredibly protective of Cupid and that is kind of why I chose to use this picture. Psyche's character is the most interesting to me because she is strangely beautiful, yet the only man to ever fall in love with her is Cupid. The series of events that happen because of Cupid and Psyche's romance are nothing less of unfortunate. Venus does everything in her power to set things back to the way they were and to get Cupid back. In this week's story, I also really want to focus on the imagery and descriptions like the author does in the original story.


"Venus Chides Cupid" by Giordano.
https://www.uni-erfurt.de/fileadmin/user-docs/spz-latein/materialien/apuleius/psyche-giordano.pdf

Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche; http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-apuleiuss-cupid-and.html

Reading Notes: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche, Part A

The way that myths are written is very different than other stories that we read in the sense that the dialogue is much longer. Instead of having a conversation going back and forth between two people, the characters respond with long paragraphs. The characters are described in full, along with the settings of where the story takes place. When the author is describing the ocean and all the creatures surrounding Venus, it strongly resembles "The Little Mermaid". He mentions every sea creature that is present and what they are doing and it really makes you feel like you are in the story.
My other favorite part was when Pan was giving advice to Psyche, even though they had never spoken before and did not know each other. Pan gave helpful advice to Psyche about what to do about Cupid.


Cupid abandoning Psyche after declaring his love for her. By Coypel.
http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/apuleius-psyches-husband-revealed.html

Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche; http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-apuleiuss-cupid-and.html