Story Planning: The Lion and the Fox

In my story, I want to capture the positive energy of the stories for a children's audience like in the original. Meaning, I want to target my stories to a younger audience to incorporate the complete opposite types of stories than what I read last week. The fights between animals still happen in the children's tales, they just aren't described as in depth, which includes the gruesome vocabulary that some authors use in Native American tales. In my story, I am going to include two main characters, the Lion and the Fox. Lions and foxes typically do not get along in the wild and I plan to write about the history behind this famous feud. Many myths and stories that we read in this class, especially in those of the Native Americans, don't give the main animal characters specific names. This is very different from children's stories today, because most of them are made up of fictional characters that eventually end up as a figure on their lunch box. Modern day children don't get the history and knowledge of the life of animals and I want to be able to offer this in my story.
The Lion is the king, so you know he is going to be cocky. He lays on top of the highest rock and watches over his beloved kingdom while his wife does all the work. Keep in mind that lions get very angry when other animals encroach on their territory.
The Fox is sly and sleeps under a rock. He and the Lion are very different, but they are also both predators so they share similar DNA. The Fox is constantly antagonizing the other animals, but his favorite in particular is the Lion.
Since they prey on some of the same animals, this can create tension on the land. Other animals will have to choose sides if they want to survive.


The Lion and the Fox; anonymous.


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

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.