Week 6 Storytelling: The Stones and the Ring

Author's Note: This story is a continuation of the story titled Three Brother's of Fortune, which is about three brothers who all are gifted items that have supernatural powers. Suan, the brother who eventually ends up with a wife when the other brothers do not, has two stones which will reunite what is of similar kind. Suan uses this to restore his wife together again, and will use them in the story that follows.

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After Suan and his wife had been happy together for many years, Suan still had the stones that he had used to restore life to his wife. Their life had been hard since bringing his wife back to life, for they were very poor. Suan worked very hard each day, as did his wife to provide for themselves, but they were both struggling to makes ends meet. The only hope that Suan had was his stones. If he could find a way to profit off of their usefulness, surely he and his wife would be happy for he was sure that the potential for a large profit margin was there. He had hung onto them, but they really had not been much use. He had used them on occasion, for very minor things such as fixing broken pots, and repairing other things around the house. But, it seemed that their defining moment had already happened. 

Suan spent many years thinking on this, pondering on what to do with them, even considering selling them. He could make a lot of money off of them, money that he could use to buy him and his wife a new house or more livestock. But just as he got to seriously considering this, the opportunity to use them again presented itself! The head of his village had been recently married to a gorgeous woman, and had given her a beautiful ring. However, the ring had already been broken! The stone had been separated from the ring, and no jeweler within one hundred kilometers had been successful in repairing it. Suan saw this as an opportunity to both earn favor with the head of the village, and prove the usefulness of his stones!

So Suan brought his stones to the head of the village, and offered his services. The head of the village was very suspicious at first, but then eventually submitted for there was nothing to lose. To his amazement, Suan fixed the ring right in front of him! The head of the village was amazed, and began to send out letters, telling all the surrounding villages about these wondrous stones and their powers. 

Suan soon had a huge clientele, who would bring him items each week to have him repair them. He earned a living for himself and his wife through this, and again the stones secured his livelihood. He and his wife were both happy and wealthy, with their future secured. 

Stones

Source: Pixabay

Bibliography: This story is based on The Three Brother's of Fortune out of Filipino Tales written by Dean Fansler, published in 1921.

Week 6 Reading Diary: Filipino Popular Tales Continued

Filipino Tales by Dean Fansler

Iguana and turtle are friends, iguana tricks turtle into taking his place several times. Sherrif wonders why people are laughing outside of his house at night. Do not be greedy, crow loses his meat whenever trying to chase a small bird that he cannot catch. Hummingbird tricks water buffalo into thinking that he can drink more water than him. God makes the ants bite not as poisonous as snake as punishment for disobedience. God makes two jewels in the sky. The reason hens peck at the ground is searching for the cows necklace that the other hens lost. The ocean is salty because of the broken salt blocks.

Land crab from "Why the Mosquitos Hum"

Source: UnTextbook

Week 6 Reading Diary: Filipino Popular Tales

Filipino Tales by Dean Fansler

Monkey tricks man into getting bees to attack him, and wearing a boa constrictor as a belt. Suan unites the women who has been split into three and makes her his wife moving forward. Chonguita transforms into a women after Don Juan throws her into a wall, which does not make sense. Chochinango marries the kings daughter after being tested by god and passing. God tested his character, and gave him rewards each time he passed. He ended up needed all of the rewards in order to convince the kings daughter to marry him. Man is turned into a monkey in punishment, has to find lover. He does after five centuries, then marries her. Brothers select right place to trade, all make good fortunes. Dragon flies trick monkeys into hitting themselves on the head, beating them in a battle.

Carabao in the Philippines

Source: UnTextbook

Week 5 Reading Diary Continued: Jataka Tales

Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbit

Greedy mother steals all of the gooses feathers, they turn white if plucked against gooses will. The monkey uproot all of the trees in an attempt to make sure they have enough water. Wolf outsmarts man and does not fall for his tricks. Figures out that he is actually alive. Wolf tries to kill an elephant for the lion, is unsuccessful, and dies. It is what the lion predicted. Man says mice ate another mans plow, this man then says that birds carried off his boy. Both were lying, and got their things back. Story about an elephant and dog becoming friends, playing and eating with each other.

A goose from the story The Golden Goose

Source: UnTextbook

Week 5 Reading Diary: Jataka Tales

Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbit

Monkey is tricked into riding on crocodiles back, tricks the croc into taking him back to his tree. The croc then tries to catch him again by cutting off his path to the fruit, but the monkey does not fall for his tricks. Turtle tricks men into throwing him back into the lake instead of smashing him. Quail are able to lift the net of the fowler until they begin to quarrel, at which point they are taken in and sold. King of the Banyan deer sacrifices his life for another deer mother, and the kind ends up granting both their life, and the life of every deer. Odd story about white elephant and carpenters, ends up being sold to a king. Pig eats good food, and cows are filled with envy until the pig is slaughtered, then they are content with their wheat. Very-thoughtful fish tricks the fisherman into thinking that his net has broken in order to save his two friends.

The monkey and the Crocodile

Source: UnTextbook

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Storytelling Week 4: The not so Lean Cat

Author's Note: In Bidpai's story, the lean cat meets the fat cat, who hears his story about how he got so fat. The fat cat has been stealing scraps from the king’s table. The lean cat develops a huge interest in this, and seeks out food from the king’s table. This fable goes into how the lean cat's master did not want the lean cat to go to the kings palace, for surely the lean cat would get caught. And the king had just issued a decree that if he caught a cat stealing food from his table that he would make sure that the cat got hung.

In the original story, he gets caught stealing food from the king's table. I thought this was no fun, and am going to rewrite the ending of the story on how the lean cat actually got away. I wanted to try to create a story where the cat got rewarded by his master for bring food home, and give a happy ending. This is the original image from Bidpai's story that I have included, because I thought it did a really good job of helping me imagine what the lean cat would look like.

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As the fat cat turned away, the lean cat was not to be discouraged. He could smell the food in front of him, more food than he had ever seen in his life. He had heard the king's decree, that any cat caught stealing food from his table would be hung. But, desperation prevailed, and the lean cat could not turn away from such delicious smells. 

As he approached the dining hall, he remained in the shadows. He knew how risky this was, and wanted to make sure that he would not get caught. He also wanted to make sure he got the most food possible. As he scanned the table, trying to decide what he wanted, he spied an entire roasted chicken. He knew it was ambitious, to escape with an entire chicken, but once he had laid his eyes on it, he could not turn away. That could feed him and his master for a week! He decided that that is what he would try to take. 

The cat watched the servants carefully, trying to monitor their movements, and decide when the best time to strike would be. The king had not yet been seated, but that would be soon so the cat knew his time was running out. As soon as the servant in front of him exited the room, the cat bounced on top of the table. He had it! The chicken was in his mouth. As he was about to jump down, he heard shouting behind him. He had been seen! Quickly, motivated by the fear of death, he jumped down and scurried away to where the servants could not find him. 

The Lean Cat

Source: UnTextbook

He had done it! He had the chicken and was outside of the gates. As he made his way home, he could not stop thinking about how excited his master would be when he delivered an entire chicken to her. Upon arriving at his doorstep, he bounded inside to see his masters face light up. "Wonderful" she exclaimed, both excited for the food and that her cat had returned to her, for she thought that surely her cat would be killed. 

After this successful run, the lean cat was no longer the lean cat, he joined the other cats and became quite fat. He was an expert at stealing food from the masters table, and did it on a regular basis. His master was more than taken care of, and both had never been happier. 

Bibliography: This story is based on Bidpai's story The Lean Cat and the Fat Cat, written by Bidpai and published by Maude Barrows in 1908. Link

Week 4 Reading Diary Continued: Bidpai

Fables of Bidpai by Bidpai

Fox tricks hare and wolf into a trap. Bird tricks a man into killing a snake because the snake at his babies. Man his whip envy which is actually a snake. Snake then bites and kills him. A fox tricks an adder to crawl back into a bag instead of biting anyone. Tortoise is holding onto stick with his mouth between two geese, people make fun of him, he opens his mouth to retort and dies from the fall. Old crane carries fish to another pond, but actually eats them. Crab strangles the crane upon learning this. Lean cat dies whenever he tries to eat from the kings table. Crow forgets how to walk when trying to learn how to walk like a partridge.

An image from the Tortoise and the Geese

Source: UnTextbook

Week 4 Reading Diary: Bidpai

Fables of Bidpai by Bidpai

Nightingale reveals pot of gold to man who rescues him. King is trying to drink out of a stream, falcon knocks cup out of his hand twice, so the kind kills the falcon. Dead dragon at the top of the stream, poisoned entire stream, falcon was saving him. Man does what stone tells him to do, is made kind of the city. Man envies to be a raven and have someone feed him. Merchant holds a boy hostage in exchange for the iron that the friend stole from him. It is better to have a wise enemy than a foolish friend, as the bear kills the man. Prince is crowned king after living as a hermit. Ape tries to split wood, gets it's tail caught. Man makes a trap for a fox, actually catches a leopard, which then kills him.

Maharaja of Indore

Source: UnTextbook

Storybook Brainstorming: Possible Styles

I have decided to Dante's Inferno, with a modern twist that Professor Gibbs suggested! I am going to include modern celebrities. I think this is such a fun idea, and one that would allow me to get really creative. I am already thinking of ideas to work with!

I will rewrite this Poets and Philosophers section, because this is a section where Dante uses famous people from his time period. So, this would allow me to change it and add characters of my own.

Paola and Francesca is another section that involves someone famous from his time period. I may rewrite this section completely, or I may do a modern spin on it by making the same story, but about modern people, like Kanye and Kim or something. I think this could be really fun!

Dante's guide rebuffs Malacoda and his friends

Source: Wikipedia

Some different style strategies I am thinking about are below.

Script - I could actually do this, while substituting the different characters for new, modern ones. I could write it like a play that tells the original story, but using my new characters and adding some new dialogue, in addition to some new props. 

Tabloid Gossip and Scandal -  While this one could be more difficult, I do think it has some potential. I could tell the story from a third person perspective, looking at all the characters from the view point of a paparazzi or something. I will have to give this more thought, but this is an idea that I think I could run with. 

Divine Observer - This could be really fun since my story is about the different layers of hell. I could pick a god, and tell the story from that god's point of view. This would allow me to get really creative about how they perceived different things, and would let me include some of the god's personality in addition to the personalities of the new characters that I made up. 

Minor Character as Storyteller - I could do another twist with this by telling the story from the point of view of one of the new characters that I brought into this story. Again, I think this would be a difficult style, but I also think it would be a lot of fun and something that I will consider. 

I am going to include the link to the different styles page, because I am not sold on any particular style yet, and will continue to brainstorm possible ideas.

Storytelling for Week 3: The Failed Heist

Authors Note: In Apuleius's story, the scene opens up to Lucius, who is a man turned into a donkey, in a bandit camp with a girl who got taken hostage by bandits from the night before. His story gives no details on how this came about. The bandits are all sad about their fallen friends, and lamenting about how the heist did not work out. So I felt like this gave me enough details to write a background story on how the heist happened. I knew from the few details in the story what I needed to include, and also what I needed to elaborate on. While I understand why Apuleius did not add this in his original fable, I thought that it would be fun to write and a good addition.

I chose the image because it had the donkey in it, who's perspective I wrote the story from. I thought it was a good image that helped to personify the donkey, and give the reader something to imagine as they read my story. In this image, he looks not willing to eat and work with the person, which is kind of how he is made out to be by the author.

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As soon as the sun set, the bandits began to break camp and pack up their things. Lucius, the donkey, could feel the excitement in the air, for they knew that the potential for a huge payout was in front of them. He had seen them scouting the area for weeks, trying to find where the owners hide their valuables, and planning how the best way to approach would be. 

As they began to ride out, their large group of about twenty men grew silent, for stealth was absolutely necessary. Lucius was also a vital part, because they were going to use him to carry out the valuables. He really would've rather stayed at the camp, but he had no choice. As they approached the estate, they readied their weapons. They got to the back door of the house, and forced their way in. Lucius was wearing saddle bags on his back, so they brought him inside too. A few of the robbers immediately went upstairs to make sure that the guards were taken care of. The others began filling my saddle bags. 

Soon, a loud commotion from upstairs was heard. There was lots of yelling and then several guards came down. The robbers who had gone upstairs apparently had not done their job. Most of the robbers around Lucius immediately began to panic and drew their weapons. They engaged in battle with the guards while a few others began to explore other parts of the house in search of more loot. 

Screaming was soon heard as the robbers returned, one of them carrying a girl. "She tried to club me!" the robber yelled. Apparently she had been hiding and tried to strike the robber in order to defend her parents estate. He grabbed her because he could not bring himself to kill this girl. He threw her on the back of Lucius, in the process knocking off the saddle bags, and hit Lucius on the behind to make him move while more guards amassed in front of him. Soon he turned and ran, with a few others that survived the attack. The spoils had all be lost. It was an utter failure, all they had to show for the raid was a single girl. But, there was hope, for she had rich parents who would surely pay a ransom for her. 

Donkey from Apuleius's story

Source: UnTextbook

Bibliography: This story is based on Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche written by written by Apuleius and translated by Tony Kline. Link

Week 3 Reading Diary Continued: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche

Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche written by Apuleius. 

Bird tells Venus that Cupid has taken Psyche as a lover, Venus is furious. Psyche is meanwhile praying to the Gods that they will bring back Cupid. Psyche is captured and brought back to Venus. Venus tortures her, then gives a giant pile of different seeds for her to sort. Ants sort them for her. She captures wool as her second task. An eagle fills the phial for the third task.

She collects the phial of beauty, but is actually sleep which attacks her whenever she opens it. Cupid rescues her, and tells her to take the phial to his mother, and he will take care of the rest. They are married, and the story ends, returning again to the donkey. Robbers decide to kill the donkey, for it has only brought them bad luck.

The donkey escapes and rescues the girl. The end of the story.

Venus chides Cupid

Source: UnTextbook

Week 3 Reading Diary: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche

Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche written by Apuleius. 

Story opens with Lucius as a Donkey. Old woman at first consoles her, then turns on her when the girl suggests suicide, saying that she will not have her young men's profit go to waste. Girl describes her dream, how she was snatched on her wedding night from her lover, and how her lover was then killed in his search for her. This is the dream that awoke her. Old woman begins to tell an old wives tale to divert the gils attention from this. 

People stopped worshiping Venus because this girl was so beautiful. Upsets Venus, so she summons Cupid. Tells Cupid to make Psyche fall in love with wretched man. Psyche's fate is transported away to a different place. In a huge mansion that is all hers, with invisible servants and cooks, all taking care of her.

Her new husband comes at night, lays with her then leaves. Forbids her to speak to others. Psyche convinces him to allow her to see her sisters. Her sisters are envious, plan to destroy her. Sisters are keeping secret from parents, have figured out that Psyche does not know what her husband looks like. Sisters convince Psyche to reveal her husband, and give her a plan on how to do so. 

Her husband is beautiful, and she accidentally pricks herself with his arrows, falling even deeper into love with him. Cupid leaves her, her sisters both commit suicide. 

Cupid and Psyche 

Source: UnTextbook