Reading Diary B: West African Folktales

West African Folktales

King Chameleon and the Animals
-World with no ruler or rules seems chaotic to me
-Lion=too fierce
-Wolf=feared by sheep
-Impossible to please everyone

Elephant and Wren

-Don't be foolish when trying to accomplish something

-Know your limits or you will be without the things you need

Farmer Mybrow and the Fairies

-Don't try to cheat your way through something

-Don't make promises you can't keep

-Hard work is hard work and it will pay off

(Photo taken from WikiMedia Commons)

Reading Diary A: West African Folktales

West African Folktales




Anansi and Nothing
-I have always thought the stories of about characters named "Nothing" or " Nobody" were entertaining

Why the Lizard Moves His Head Up and Down
-I really love the end to this story. I agree, how can anyone be so foolish? Clever reasoning for why the lizards heads move like they do

Tit For Tat
-I like that even though Anansi is such  trickster, his son is about doing good and helping others. I like that at then end of this story Anansi agrees to end his evil and tricky ways.

This is probably not the kind of feast they were speaking of in the story, but it looks good to me!

(Photo taken from WikiMedia Commons)

Thoughts and Comments

I tend to lack a lot of confidence when I am writing my stories, so for me personally, getting positive or constructive feedback on my creativity really helps me. I worry that my story will not make sense or will not be entertaining enough, so when I see that something I published got a positive remark or comment, it gives me that a little bit of hope that my next story will not be a total failure!
I think it is always helpful to receive comments about grammar and structure. I know I am not a professional writer, so of course I misuse a comma here or there.
I am not sure if other people have the same confidence issue that I do, but just in case they do, I try to use my comments to tell them what I liked and what I thought was funny or entertaining. For people like me, its scary to think a lot of random people are reading (and possibly judging) my writing, so seeing some praises here and there are very soothing.

Storytelling Week 5: The Spoiled Ox

(Photo taken from WikiMedia Commons)

Long ago, Farmer John owned the strongest ox in all of the land. He was very proud of his ox too. Farmer John took better care of his ox than he did of himself. His ox would get a bath every morning, and it was not just any bath. Farmer John built the ox his very own bathhouse. He took the ox in there every morning at 7:00 a.m. and cleaned him until his coat would shine. After his morning cleaning, Farmer John would then feed his ox the freshest of all feeds. He made sure it was the healthiest, cleanest, and best feed there ever was. He cared so much about his ox that he wanted to make sure that he fed him only the greatest.

Right after breakfast, Farmer John took his ox on a two-mile walk. He did not want to overwork him, but he wanted to make sure his ox was loose and ready for the next part of his day. Immediately after returning from their walk, Farmer John would attach his to various wagons of various weights. The ox would then pull the wagons across the pasture and then return to the farmer. As Farmer John would move the ox from wagon to wagon, the weight load would increase. After completing his pull on the fifth wagon, Farmer John would take his ox back into the bathhouse and give him a post workout bath. Once again, Farmer John would scrub and clean his ox until his coat was shining and cleaner than before.

By this time, it was time for the ox to eat lunch. Farmer John would put out more of the feed for his ox. Farmer John focused so much on his ox that many times he would forget to take care of himself. The ox would get most of the rest of the day to relax inside the barn but at 6:00 p.m. Farmer John would go attach his ox to the wagons once again. He would go through his same rounds of wagons, and then return to the barn for dinner. After the ox was fed his third meal of the night, Farmer John would place fresh hay in the ox’s stable and call it a night.

Farmer John followed this schedule every single day to make sure he always had the happiest and strongest ox of all. Farmer John knew that giving his ox such special treatment and taking great care of him would pay off for him someday, so Farmer John vowed to never veer away from his way of life with his ox.

One day Farmer John entered his ox into a contest. His bull would have to pull five wagon's worth of weight over fifty yards. No one believed that Farmer John’s ox would succeed. Everyone having a lack of confidence in his bull made Farmer John very angry. So after he hooked up his bull to the wagon, he slapped him on the butt and irritably yelled at him to start pulling. The ox did not respond to this treatment.

The farmer took a step back and began to ponder why his ox was not performing as usual. After a few moments of thought, the farmer realized he was treating his ox very poorly. Farmer John walked up to the front of the ox, apologized, and rubbed his nose gently. He then proceeded to walk away and right then the ox started to pull the wagon.

The farmer ran to finish line to congratulate his beloved animal. Farmer John finally realized true respect and compassion will always win over anger and force.


Bibliography:
The Ox Who Won the Forfeit
Jataka Tales
Ellen C. Babbitt, 1912


Author’s Note:
This story is based on The Ox Who Won the Forfeit from the Jataka Tales. In the original story, the farmer enters his ox into a contest, and when it is time to perform, the ox fails because the farmer treats him poorly. The farmer then enters him in the contest again. This time the farmer treats the ox with respect and the ox won the contest.

The original story never explains how the ox was treated to begin with, so that is where my wheels started turning. I wanted to give a story about the day in the life of this incredibly spoiled ox. I felt like there needed to be a reason in which the bull reacted to one treatment but not the other. I also wanted to tie in some kind of loving and kind meaning to it in order to add it to my portfolio. It is not necessarily a romantic love story, but it does have a loving vibe to it. Humans love their pets all the time, and of course this farmer thought of his ox as a pet.

I also took a little bit of the original story, like the ox being entered into a contest, and added it to the end. To save time and word count, I edited the original story line a bit. In the original story, the farmer comes across as a greedy and boastful man. In my story I wanted to show that the farmer had true love and compassion for his ox, and that his treatment of ox at the contest was simply a mistake. 

Reading Diary A: Jataka Tales

Jataka Tales

Photo from WikiMedia Commons

The Monkey and the Crocodile
-The crocodile thinks he is tricking the monkey, but the monkey outsmarts him
-This happens more than once
-I am unsure of what the point of this story is, but it was entertaining

How the Turtle Saved His Own Life
-People wanted to kill the turtle in very violent ways
-One man suggested throwing him into the river
-The turtle knew he would survive that situation so pretended that one sounded the worst
-That’s the one the king followed through with so the turtle survived
-Sometimes when you know more than others, its okay not to tell them

The Ox Who Won the Forfeit
-When you act differently toward someone, you will not get the same results
-The man called the Ox names and whipped him, therefore the Ox did not respond like normal
-When treated correctly as he was used to, the Ox performed as he needed to

Extra Reading Diary: Nursery Rhyme Riddles

Nursery Rhymes -- Riddles

 Readings the different riddles was very fun. I was trying to figure out what the riddle was specking of before looking at the answer. 

This one specifically, I was close!

“I WENT to the wood and got it;
I sat me down and looked at it;
The more I looked at it the less I liked it;
And I brought it home because I couldn't help it.”

The answer is a thorn, however I thought it was splinter. But I am still confused because I think the two might be the same in this situation. When I hear thorn I think of thorns on roses, but maybe wood had thorns too?

I got this one right because of the last two lines in it.

“LITTLE Nancy Etticoat
In a white petticoat,
And a red rose.
The longer she stands
The shorter she grows.”

I had read a riddle before that said “The longer I stand the shorter I grow, what am I?” So I knew this one was a candle.

(Picture taken from WikiMedia Commons)

I would recommend that everyone go read some of these riddles! They seem to make reading much more fun!

Storytelling Week 4: Life Like a Hawk

Life Like a Hawk

At only fourteen years old, John was a very hardworking young man. His family owned a farm, so he would work from sunrise to sunset every single day. As a typical teenage boy who was always working, John had the appetite of an elephant. He was much bigger and stronger than most of the boys his age; mainly because of all the work and effort he put in to his family farm.

One day John wonders into the woods to take a break from the physical labor. He just wanted to explore and look around. He noticed a lonely raven sitting in a nest. John stood there quietly waiting for the ravens family to return. Ten minutes goes by, then twenty, and finally John begins to leave the woods. Right at that very moment, a giant hawk swoops past John’s head and flies up to the raven. Next thing he knows the hawk is feeding the raven. Seeing that happen made John angry. He felt as if he was the Hawk, big and strong and always doing for others. HE decided right then that he was no longer going to be the hawk, he was going to be the raven and have others take care of him.

The first day of his lifestyle change went well. John’s mother took very good care of him. After an entire week of no work, and less food, John started noticing some dramatic changes. He was no longer strong, he did not eat as much as he used to, and he did not have the energy he once did. That is when John started to regret his decision.

Slowly but surely, John started to live his hawk-like life again. As he did so, he decided to truly believe in his heart and in his mind that the life of a Raven is not all that it is cracked up to be. Being taken care of all day can be good on rare occasions, but his true calling was to be a hawk. He was meant to be strong and work hard.

(Drawing of a hawk taken from WikiMedia Commons)

Author's Note: Rather than change this story, I just wanted to add to it. The original story talks of a random kid who sees a hawk that is feeding raven and assumes that the life of a raven is ideal. He then learns that the life of a hawk is actually better. I simply wanted to give background on the kid as to why he was so envious of the raven and add to his rational of why he realizes a hawks life is better.



Bibliography:
The Youth, the Hawk, and the Raven
The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai
Maude Barrows Dutton
1908