Reading Notes: Russian Folktales, Part B

The Witch Girl

I have to agree with Mr. Cossack - what the heck kind of question is that? I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to stay the night at someone's place who said that to me.

Clever guy.

The Headless Princess

Hmm. I'm surprised that the king believed the priest's son. Clearly he wasn't familiar with the son because he didn't even know he existed, but he believed him about the very strange events that had occurred. Maybe the king knew there was something strange about his daughter - even that she was a witch, like the old woman did?

I really wish the story would have described the horrors that the priest's son had to witness. I think it would have added another dimension to this story and really make the reader feel scared and appreciate the son's task a lot more.

The Warlock

Uh oh. There are a lot of instructions on what not to do, so that probably means that one of the three (probably the third and youngest one) will disobey the orders.

WHAT. Why would they send the second daughter after the first one had been strangled to death????

The Fox Physician

Must be one fairly strong sack!

Well, I mean he probably should have known that his teeth wouldn't be the most reliable way of carrying such a heavy sack...

Oof! That's sad...

The Fiddler in Hell

Three again. What's the obsession with this number?

Haha at the the fiddler jinxing himself..

Weird... another story where a lot of random events not really related to the main narrative happen at the end. Like why did the child need to be born and then abandoned? So strange.

The Two Friends

"It was not to make any difference whether he was alive or dead." - pretty obvious foreshadowing and such an unrealistic thing to be discussed between two friends.

Hmm... sounds kind of like a Futurama scenario, but without the futuristic world. I could see a story where this happens, but instead there is much more description of the world after the man returns to it. That could be fun to write.

The Shroud

I like that this story uses the word "lazybones." I'm not sure why, but I always thought that was a more modern word that wouldn't be used for a story like this one, so it took me off guard!

Well, I guess it was deserved...

This sounds a lot like some sort of horror story that could be modernized to be some teenage girl's sleepover or something, maybe with rich, inattentive parents to add some resentment to the mood.

The Coffin-Lid

Lots of grave/dead/coffin stories in this unit.

Man, the townspeople in these stories are so strange. First they want to kill the man who saved their sons, then they just believe his story right away after calling him a trickster?

The Two Corpses

The Dog and the Corpse

And the dog should be upset! The master easily could have helped him fend off the corpse, but his selfishness shined through.

Oh - that ending.

The Soldier and the Vampire


What a strange form of regeneration this warlock has...

Well, this time the man who cured the unjust death wasn't questioned at all. Was it due to him being a soldier?

A lead coffin

via Flickr user Thomas Quine

Bibliography: Russian Fairy Tales by W.R.S. Ralton. Source.

Reading Notes: Russian Folktales, Part A

The Dead Mother

"He did what was best" - seems odd to me, but I guess this was the culture. Mothers apparently were the domestic figures to the point of the father needing a motherly figure to take care of his child.

Woah, that was a creepy ending! Gotta love it though.

The Treasure

It seems like the old man's fortune is turning pretty quickly. I wonder if it'll stay throughout the story? (Probably not :/)

God, it's disgusting to see the pope's behavior change towards the peasant once he realizes he has money to pay him.

Well, this has certainly taken a turn for the weird. But weird is good.

Yay, happy ending with the bad guy being punished. I wasn't expecting it though.

The Bad Wife

Hmm. Sounds like this "bad wife" is pretty susceptible to reverse psychology.

I wonder why she keeps calling him thief... maybe it is the reason she disobeys every order her husband gives?

Okay, surely there's some sort of trick. Maybe the bad wife is actually this demon?

Huh! I was pretty sure that the peasant was going to get punished for leaving his wife - even though she was labeled as bad - in the pit, but it turns out he's the hero of the story. Surely people will find out his secret the next time someone gets sick though?

The Three Copecks

Wow, greed and money is such a huge factor in these stories. I wonder if that's because poverty has played such a huge role in Russia especially?

That was a very strange story. It seemed to shift perspectives all the time and lead down pointless paths to get to where the story was headed. I guess that's maybe the point?

The Miser

I'm glad the wife is enabling her husband's terribly greedy plans. I guess she's just obeying though...

Wow... I don't like that Marko got away with not paying the poor man, but I guess that's what happens sometimes..

The Water Snake

Uh oh, something tells me that this poor girl is going to have to marry that snake.

That's simply terrifying. I can't imagine one snake crashing through my window, much less a whole troop of them.

Another strange, random ending. Are the birds symbolic or something?

This story wasn't about money per se, but it did involve deception.

Friday

Okay that escalated quickly. What a horrible thing..

I'm not sure what the meaning of this story is. Is Friday something special in Russian culture?

Wednesday

Strange, I guess Wednesday is the complete opposite of Friday in the minds of the old Russians who wrote these stories..

I was pretty surprised everything went according to plan.

The Leshy

I like how casually time passes in these stories. "Three years went by."

It's interesting that the girl was so aware of her situation - that escape wasn't on her mind, but only that the Leshy was needed to provide her with food and drink for survival. I wonder how long she was on her own? It also could have just been brainwashing..

Dnieper, Volga, and Dvina

Emilian the Fool

I wonder why he couldn't just wish for wood to make its way to the home? Seems a lot easier than going yourself.

Oh, well no harm done then I suppose.

Pike

via Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: Russian Fairy Tales by W.R.S. Ralton. Source.

Reading Notes: Grimm Brothers (Crane), Part B

The Six Swans

Hmmm... While I understand that the step-mother was pretty cruel turning the sons into swans, I can also understand her anger at the King for hiding the children from her. That kind of dishonesty in a marriage isn't healthy.

That's an interesting arrangement..

Ah, beauty is such a curse! Couldn't they see she was on a mission??

What the heck? People in this time are so scheming it's crazy.

Yay! Happy ending!

I really like the idea of transformation for some reason, so it's cool to see it appear in so many stories from this time.

King Thrushbeard

Well that's not very nice. She should ridicule people like that!

I don't know about that sort of punishment, but she definitely shouldn't have people lining up to try and marry her if she's such a rude person.

Oh no, not menial labor! What a terrible thing to have to do! It's really hard to feel bad for this character...

Huh. I actually didn't expect that ending, but it's good to see that a character be given a second chance to right their wrongs. Hopefully now she will be more appreciative of her life in royalty.

The Three Spinsters

Oof. First the mother lies to the queen, then her daughter does the same. This can't end well...

Uh oh, here's another opportunity for the daughter to mess up! She better remember to invite them to the wedding..

Oh wow, she got away with it! That's actually crazy and a nice twist on the narrative I was expecting.

Snow-White

Okay, hold on a second. The queen wanted to EAT Snow-White's heart??? That's really insane, but kind of cool.

A lot of similarities to Goldilocks actually in how she first interacts with the Dwarves' house. Pretty neat.

That's an interesting way to try and kill someone. I've never heard of being laced to death!

Snow-White is pretty dumb. I guess she is a child though...

I wonder if the queen had hunted down every woman who was deemed more beautiful than her by the mirror, or if this was the first time.

The ballad-singer

via the UnTextbook

Bibliography: Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm translated by Lucy Crane and illustrated by Walter Crane. Source.

Reading Notes: Brothers Grimm (Crane), Part A

The Fisherman and His Wife

Well, that was quite the sudden end. I'm not sure that I liked it. I guess I expected the wife to be punished or something for being too greedy, but I they were only returned to their former state. Hm.

I really liked how the weather/ocean got more intense as the extravagance of the wish grew more and more. It was a good, although obvious form of symbolism. Additionally, it was cool for some reason to see the wife want to be the dominant, traditionally "male" role (king, emperor, pope) despite the fact that she was female.

I could see a story idea being modernized like... a kid asking parents for increasingly more expensive or more advanced form of technology, until he/she asks for something that is too demanding and loses it all!

Aschenputtel

Huh, so that's where the name "Cinderella" comes from. I like that the translation was kept close to the original name, even though the Disney version didn't include the parts about ashes.

Oh, I didn't fully comprehend the part about Aschenputtel being forced to pick lentils out of the ashes. That's actually horrible.

It's not like the step-mother is even giving her useful things to do! She's making it obvious that she doesn't like Aschenputtel and doesn't want her to go to the ball and enjoy herself. So cruel.

So the father is Aschenputtel's father? It seems weird that he would want to cut down the tree even if it wasn't his daughter in it! Crazy.

What the heck?? That's some desperation... You would think she would at least wait until the bleeding stopped.

Also I never thought about this before, but it's crazy to think testing every woman's foot in a shoe was a good plan. The chances that the shoe would only fit one woman would be so low. Also - could they really just not recognize her?

Okay birds... I don't really think that was necessary!

The Robber Bridegroom

Another talking bird who attempts to advise a human. A Grimm Brothers favorite, apparently.

This story moves very quickly. And creepily.

Hmm. That story was kind of lame, honestly. Nothing really exciting happened after the initial shock of the house of cannibals.

The bride of the Robber bridegroom

via the UnTextbook

Bibliography: Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm translated by Lucy Crane and illustrated by Walter Crane. Source.

Reading Notes: Turkish Fairy Tales, Part A

Fear

The concept of this story is really interesting. Though fear is something natural, this story presumes that it is learned by showing how a young person goes on adventures in search of fear, but is able to not even notice situations where others would have been shaken with fear.

I wonder what else could be done in this way? A lot of things are taught, so it would have to be something that we just feel naturally.

Hm! I wonder what so significant about that fear that caused him to become afraid. Maybe it was more just surprise than actual fear, because I assume that the other things that happened to him (like the hand in the cemetery) were also shocking.

The Wizard-Dervish

Woops, guess Pops didn't tell his son about the Dervish! That must be pretty startling.

Interesting! This Dervish guy has some strange practices.

"...who was a witch." uh oh...

I wonder how hard it was to follow the instructions of the maidens. Clearly, this has been done before, otherwise how would she know what the son needed to answer in order to earn one of the daughter's hands in marriage?

How strange! I guess this is the kind of arduous test you need to pass in order to marry into a magical family.

A dervish 

via Wikimedia Commons

The Fish-Peri

Mahomet - that's the name of my hometown! I wonder how the French name for Mohammed got in this story...

Typical power-hungry king trying to take from his subjects...

That ending was weird.

The Crow-Peri

A lot of stories have similar events (father dies - son is born without knowing his occupation), (three birds - turn into maidens), (40 days to accomplish a task), etc.

The Parishah is also very demanding of the boy. A lot of these stories center around young people who are able to do great or seemingly diffucult tasks. Story: society ruled by adults, but have children that have supernatural abilities who do all of these ridiculous tasks for their parents / elders.

Huh, I didn't think that magical creatures could get sick.

Bibliography: Forty-Four Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignacz Kunos. Source.

Reading Notes: Celtic Tales, Part B

King O'Toole and His Goose

Wow, getting old sucks. It's so sad to see someone have suicidal thoughts, but I guess maybe it's something you think about when your body starts to fail you.

"I'm an honest man" - in disguise, haha.

I really liked the dialect in this story. It made reading it fun!

As for a story idea, I could imagine some sort of man/woman who participates in their livelihood with some beloved pet of theirs, then something happens to the pet, and then a mysterious creature or person comes to offer a cure.

The Shee An Gannon and the Gruagach Gaire

Well, that must be some daughter of his if so many people are willing to risk their lives to be with her...

I'm really confused.. why did Gruagach let that happen to him and his sons? Why didn't he just leave with them after he was mistreated?

It also seemed pretty obvious what those loops were for... but he didn't realize it (or else I don't think he would have sacrificed his twelve sons).

I'm thinking Gruagach just isn't that capable of defending himself. He was easily caught and forced to speak by Gannon.

Yay, Gannon saved the day! I'm not sure why he had to kill the daughters though... that seemed a bit cruel (even if was "fair").

Wait, so the son of the king of Tsean lied to the King, and he believed it? Wouldn't the other 11 men who had tried to figure out why the Gruagach stopped laughing have at least tried to lie?

Crazy.

Beth Gellert

Awww, poor Gallert :(

I can't really say I blame the prince because the evidence was horrifying and seemingly everywhere, but he did act just a little too rashly.

The Tale of Ivan

He just left his wife for three years?

That was a nice story. Impressive how Ivan was able to follow all of the advice even in moments when it would have difficult to do so (social pressure!). He also did it without having to explain himself, so good on him.

It would be fun to craft a story like this one and come up with the three pieces of advice and also the events that force the character to follow the advice in a difficult time to do so.

Andrew Coffey

That story contrasted well with the Tale of Ivan because Andrew Coffey wasn't very good at following any of the directions given to him by Patrick Rooney.

Also, the ending wasn't expected! For some reason, I thought I couldn't be fooled by things that were just dreams because that trick has been done a lot, but this one took my by surprise.

Brewery of Eggshells

Aha, that was a weird one. Glad the mother got her children back though!

The Shee an Gannon via

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. Source.

Reading Notes: Celtic Tales, Part A

Connla and the Fairy Maiden

This story was interesting because of the world it took place in, but the actual plot was pretty dull. I like that there are magical creatures on both sides of this battle for Connla, but that's about as far as it goes for me. I might have missed the point, but that's just what I took from it.

The Fields of Boliauns

I like how even in these stories from hundreds of years ago there's still the same sort of reaction to seeing something as mythical as a leprechaun. It's neat to see how culture hasn't changed in that aspect.

Geez, I didn't think the Leprechaun would be the calm, innocent one in this story. He only tricks Tom after Tom threatens his life and spills his homemade beer.

Was pretty foolish of Tom, and I don't think people nowadays would have fallen for that trick, but it's a good story nonetheless.

Also, crock of gold was NOT at the end of the rainbow!

 The Horned Woman

That was a really creepy story, but definitely one that I could see being told by families and the reason an heirloom is kept. It's these sort of superstitions that make people do things that appear strange.

Throughout the story, the woman doesn't really have control of what happens. She listens to whoever asks things of her, and eventually, the good wins out. I'm not sure what exactly that's supposed to tell us, maybe that there are just good and evil forces, both of which can seem like practical things to follow.

The Shepherd of Myddvai

I don't like the character of the Maiden. The "three strikes" could hardly be called strikes at all. Maybe in olden days it as different, but tapping someone on the shoulder is a common, social interaction in today's society.

Although, nothing really that bad came from this. Sure, the shepherd lost his wife, but the foundation for their marriage was so thin (he didn't even bake the bread that "won" her heart) that it couldn't have been that meaningful.

The Sprightly Tailor

"he discovered a few stitches were somewhat long" - haha, this part was great. It was going to be a pretty standard fairy tale, but this little line at the end made it really enjoyable.

Munachar and Manachar

It seems like a rather extreme thing to hang someone just for stealing raspberries! Maybe they were pretty delicious..

The heck? That ending was weird. I was half expecting Manachar to have come up with a plan to keep Munachar from accomplishing his very drawn-out task, but I guess he ended up just exploding from eating too many raspberries.

Oh well, that's how it goes sometimes.

Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree

For some reason, I really like the names Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree.

WHAT.

:(............. poor Gold-Tree! She didn't ask for this.

I can't believe nobody thought to remove the object from Gold-Tree's finger..

Well, a happy ending I suppose! Odd that a mother would be so dedicated to being the most beautiful queen that she would kill her own daughter.

Murderous Silver Tree

via Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. Source.

Reading Notes: The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre, Part A

The Boatwoman and the Monks

From this story we can already tell that this is a feminist writer by showing clever women as the main characters, but also it's a religious work. It might be a criticism of religion because the two priests were the evil men trying to take advantage of the boatwoman.

The Lady From Milan

This story was pretty okay for the most part except for the ending comments made by the narrator of the story, which was a very old way of thinking about the pursuit of women, despite the fact that some people still think of it this way.

The story itself wasn't that interesting, even the test that the lady gave the man by having her servants come to the door.

A Villager, His Wife, and the Priest

I guess the impurity of priests is a big motif in these works, because here again is another classical example. This time, however, the wife is consenting and also helps the priest in his lie.

I didn't really care for the dialogue at the end. It seemed to talk down on "simple people", but I assume that it was more acceptable back then than it is now.

The Virgin with Child

This tale was deeply religious, even the commentary afterward echoed heavily the sentiments of the story's characters. Again it involved a priest committing sins. I'm not sure if this is meant to criticize religion or just to reveal some of the hypocrisy that occurs within the religious sector.

The Monks and the Butcher

This was a nice change of pace to the other stories since it was very, very different. It had both a comical ending and different main characters, as well as a clear, message at the end that wasn't religious in nature.

The President of Grenoble's Revenge

The was a really good story! I love very long, drawn-out plots, especially if they have a dark twist to them. The dialogue at the end was also appealing, because it simulated well the different reactions that people might have to the story and the debate that would surely follow.

A boatwoman

Bibliography: The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre translated by Walter K. Kelley. Source.

Reading Notes: King Arthur, Part B

 Sir Galahad and the White Knight

Dang, Galahad is pretty strong. This story didn't really do much for me though.. The White Knight was mysterious, but didn't really intrigue me in a way that mysterious characters usually do.

Sir Lancelot's Vision

Wow, that speech at the end by Lancelot was pretty great to be honest. I was pretty blown away by it, I really could feel the emotion behind his words. Well done by the author.

The Adventure of Sir Percivale

This is one of those stories that has progression like the other tales, but it was way more jumbled without much sense to it. There isn't a clean, overarching theme to  Sir Percivale's adventure, something that makes it hard for me, the reader, to make sense of.

A story idea: write a better adventure for Sir Percivale!

Sir Lancelot and the Five Hundred Knights

It's interesting that the nun gave advice to Lancelot that was essentially "you're good at being a sinful, but adventurous knight. You tried to go on an adventure meant for pure, holy knights, which is why you failed. Continue your sinful ways because you're better than anyone at that."

I thought the nun would be more biased towards religion and try to comfort him in that way, but it turns out the answer she gave was much more spiritual than religious.

Sir Gawaine and the Hermit

These stories are starting to seem like religious propaganda.

Maybe there could be a mystical item that can only be obtained by sinners? That would be something.

The Adventure of Sir Bors

Sir Bors seems like a good enough dude, unless you're his brother and accidentally get killed by him.

Sir Galahad and the Mysterious Ship

Woah, Logris seems like a really cool place. The waterfall entrance reminds me of the Incredibles.

"that is better than other men" - this rubs me the wrong way.

Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad

It's strange to me how strong a family bond can be when you have spent almost no time together with one another. I guess back then it might have been different, but really is everyone just acting like blood means everything? It's very odd. Galahad knows almost nothing about Lancelot, yet he still treats him with the utmost respect. That might also be a knight thing I suppose.

Sir Galahad and the Graal

Miracles? Sounds more like a religious thing.

So Galahad got to finally see the Holy Graal, but it led to his death? I guess maybe in this case the idea is that chasing the grail is equivalent to gaining entrance into heaven, but then the whole Christianity thing doesn't make much sense.

This story is confusing.

The End of Arthur

Arthur's death was probably the coolest, just because he died in a valiant way and was still able to tell that his knight was lying about throwing the sword into the water. If he was testing him, then it was a pretty easy test (you can fail twice and still succeed!).

It's also kind of lame that Guenevere became a nun. Not that being a nun is lame, but the fact that she did it at the end of her life (after Arthur died) makes it seem much less genuine than those who had become nuns earlier in life.

Lancelot's story ends sadly, but at least he received a lot of praise + the forgiveness of his sins throughout life.

Drawing of Sir Bors

via the UnTextbook

Bibliography: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang. Source

Reading Notes: King Arthur, Part A

The Drawing of the Sword

Ah, the classic first Arthurian tale. I actually hadn't read this story before. It's the only Arthurian legend that I know, so from here on our things should get interesting.

It's also funny how all the new groups of people didn't believe in Arthur, so he had to continuously show bigger and bigger groups of people that he could pull the sword out.

I guess nobody really did have authority at that time.

The Questing Beast

Wow, poor horsie. That must have been quite a chase. I wonder if the deer was mystical, and this was a test for the young king?

That was... different. I was expecting Arthur to perform his heroic quest, but really it ended... not anticlimactically, but just more calmly. Less action and more thinking,  I would say.

The beast was described rather vaguely, which leaves room for a story to be written about it. It really could be anything!

I also really want to know more about the nephew that is going to destroy Arthur and his knights. Is it inevitable? Merlin seems to think so, and he knows all...

The Sword Excalibur

I wonder if I'll get to find out what the Lady of the Lake is going to ask of Arthur. If not, that could be a story idea! (I guess it could be one regardless.)

The Round Table

Merlin does advise King Arthur a lot! Since he does it so often, it would humorous to write a story where Merlin advises Arthur on modern-day things (maybe time travel?), such as which toothpaste brand to purchase, or what Halloween costume is most fitting for a King.

What does being a Knight entail exactly? If it's prestigious, why is Arthur knighting everyone who asks for it? I would think, if I was one of the knights who actually worked very hard to become one, that I would be pretty upset that these young, inexperienced men were granted knighthood for doing nothing.

The Passing of Merlin

Poor Merlin :(

I didn't realize that he would be capable of falling in love with someone (for some reason being so wise makes me think he would be resistant to that sort of thing), but I guess that was one area he couldn't be wise about.

I hope he comes back!!

King Arthur and Morgan le Fay

Wow, what an intense series of events this story was.

I really like Morgan's character because she's really clever and also bloodthirsty. It seems messed up that she is trying to kill Arthur, her own brother, but then again, the love of her life was slain by him so.... I think I can understand that.

The Quest of the Holy Graal

Huh, that's a pretty interesting and probably true for most ancient stories. Translation is tough!

The King's Pilgrimage

That was a really neat story. I liked the fact that it revolved around a relatively minor character because it shows an interesting diversion from the traditional hero story arc. Also, it involves the supernatural, which is that the dream affected him in reality, which is cool to see.

Definitely could do this with any minor character, or even a major character, and have it be interesting.

The Coming of the Holy Graal

First of all let me just say: having a Holy Graal would be awesome! I couldn't imagine getting my most desired food served magically right out of the air. I guess the Knights agreed as well, because they thought it was important enough to go on a potentially life-threatening quest to seek out this Graal.

It was a strange turn of events. I wonder if this is the prophecy foretold by Merlin?

Statue of King Arthur in Austria

via Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang. Source

Reading Notes: California and the Old Southwest, Part B

Origin of the Sierra Nevadas

Poor duck! Being sacrificed like that is unfortunate.

Again, a lot of these stories focus on animal-creators rather than human creators. Could the Native Americans not imagine a creator that was human-like and thus replaced the traditional "god" model by animal creators?

Tu-Tok-A-Nu'-La (El Capitan)

"measuring worm"?

The Children of Cloud

That was a cool story. If I were to write a story like this one, I think the best approach would be to pick some sort of natural landmark and make up some characters with mystical powers that interact in some way to produce the desired land form.

Sounds hard though.

The Boy Who Became a God

Good story, the curious boy manages to experience a whole lot of things but his elders don't believe him. In the end, he is rewarded for not being discouraged by the other members of his tribe.

Origin of the Raven and the Macaw

Coyote and the Hare; Coyote and Fawns

"I am very very stupid." - I feel like this coyote is me sometimes!

Ah, what a great modern message we have here about body image. Beauty isn't worth hurting yourself over!

Coyote and the Quails

How horrifying. How did the coyote not notice his own flesh missing?

Okay, that coyote is really dumb. What makes him think that the quails would tell the truth, leading them to their own demise?

How the Bluebird Got Its Color

Man, the Pima people really don't like the coyote.

Couldn't coyote just jump in the water to get the dirt off? He shouldn't be scared of the water anymore.

Coyote's Eyes

I guess the moral of the story is to not ask for too much! Coyote should have been content with his shinier eyes the first time around.

Coyote as a Hunter

I was surprised that this story didn't end up with the coyote being sprayed by the skunk.This story does a good job of showing the duality of the coyote: the ever-scheming trickster and the greedy creature who always desires for more.

Scarlet macaw, via Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest by Katharine Berry Judson. Source.

Reading Notes: California and the Old Southwest, Part A

Three Coyote Creation Stories

I really like the simplistic, oral telling of these stories.

It's cool to see how creation stories, no matter where they are from, have to deal with the question of nothingness.

The Coyote is interesting because he doesn't want men to live forever, but he also doesn't want them to suffer.

Another flood story!

I wonder what a modernized Coyote-god would look like. He could be saving people from a lot of modern situations like credit card debt or heroin or something. I dunno.

The Creation of the World

I really like how the Earth Doctor creates various things. The way that they explain the rotations of the sun and moon was pretty cool.

Spider's Creation

I like how each people is given some sort of designation.

The Great Fire; The Origin of Light

What a guy! Can't marry two women so he decides to set the world on fire.

In a lot of these stories, there is talk of a world existing without light. I wonder how difficult that would be. If our world suddenly had no light (I know we need the sun's light for warmth, but imagine if we could live without it), what would happen?

Creation of Man

Great story! It's interesting because a lot of creation done by humans is also done in their own image, maybe not physically but we usually create something that we really connect with.

Old Man Above and the Grizzlies

I don't think that punishment was fair! The grizzlies helped raise his daughter and gave her a good life, it seems.

The Creation of Man-kind and the Flood

I hope we don't have to eat each other when we run out of room....

I wonder why the coyote is such a strong character in these stories.

The Great Flood

The Fable of the Animals

Hmm, so coyotes are friendly to man. I guess this is a common idea, because it would explain the creation stories involving coyote as the "god."

The Course of the Sun

The Theft of Fire

Man, those Karok people really know how to tell a story. I didn't see the ending coming, about fire being kept in dry wood. If I could write a story similar to this one, that would be great. It would be tough to come up with the thing to explain though.

Coyote, Tortillas, and Mesquite Beans

Wow, the cunning coyote got out-foxed this time!

Coyote, god of creation, via Pixabay

Bibliography: Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest by Katharine Berry Judson. Source.

Reading Notes: Tejas, Part B

Why the Hummingbird Drinks Only Dew

Ah, I love the simplicity of this story to explain something about our world! I'm a firm "believer" in science, but it's also so cool to hear non-scientific explanations, like these, for why animals do certain things.

The Maiden Who Loved a Star

It's interesting how the Indians in these stories don't seem to care much about their physical form so long as they can attain some sort of spiritual end.

Old Quanah's Gift

How Sickness Entered the World

Don't mess with snakes. But seriously, snakes are usually portrayed of evil creatures in stories, so it's a very understandable mistake the two young Indians made.

Why the Irises Hold Hands

It sounds like the Great Spirit has some flaws. Just like gods in other stories can get angry, it seems like this god acts much like a human as well. I wonder what other flaws could be written into the Great Spirit? Could it be a jealous god as well? What would the Great Spirit be jealous of?

The Pecan Tree's Best Friend

I wonder if pecan trees and orioles are actually related today. I wonder what other relationships  I could trace create a story out of. I might need to do some research on plants/animals for this story.

How the Rainbow Was Torn


It's interesting to me how most of the stories involved nature, and mostly use people the help explain something in nature. I would think there would be more lessons/teaching in the form of humans taking action and running into problems, but I guess that says a lot about the Tejas people.

Paisano, the Hater of the Rattlesnake

Competition is often very cutthroat, as this story showed. The actions by both of the characters are understandable, so there's not really a right or wrong here, in my opinion.

Maidens Who Broke a Drought

I really like the few common themes / motifs present in this one. The first is the idea of a great drought, which I am sure happened a lot back then, and the second is the willingness of the members of the tribe to sacrifice themselves for the good of the whole. Though some might view it as a form of brainwashing that is done to the young Indians, I view it more as something that is valued within the tribe and if it had been the elders, or the men, or the mothers, I think they all would have done the same.

The Cottonwood Remembers

Poor owl...

Why the Dog's Ears Flap

Dang, the last few stories were so sad! Poor doggies..

Rainbow drawing

via the UnTextbook

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

Reading Notes: Tejas, Part A

When the Storm God Rides

I liked this story a lot. It's always cool to me when stories like this one use characters (like the storm god and Hurakan) to explain natural phenomena like hurricanes and thunderstorms. Also, they explained the formation of islands off of the Gulf of Mexico, which was a cool bonus.

I could see a story written in a similar format but used to explain a different natural phenomenon.

How the North Wind Lost His Hair

Again, this story has another great characterization of natural occurrences.

The Plant That Grows in Trees

Short and sweet! I wonder if there's any factual backing to this story? Probably not, but it makes for a nice tale.

Why the Woodpecker Pecks

Woah, that was quite the twist at the end. Also, this story makes for good anti-peyote propaganda. Story idea: write a similar folksy tale but that warns against the dangers of another drug, like heroin or marijuana.

The Woodpecker's Stumpy Tail

For some reason it didn't occur to me to think of birds as having tails. After doing a quick Google search, I can confirm that the Woodpecker has a strange, jagged one.

Old Woolly Bird's Sacrifice

The story never goes into how long the rest of the tribe lasts because of the elders' great sacrifice, but I guess we are to assume that they were "saved" by the actions of Old Woolly? I could see some sort of survival story (maybe post-apocalyptic?) ending with the elderly people sacrificing themselves for the younger ones for the good of the whole.

A Tribe That Left Its Shoes

 I really like how these stories are written. I found it a little curious that the stories refer to all of these tribes as "Indians", but I guess there might not be a better word for the translation? Or maybe the specific tribe or tribes that were involved have been lost over the years?

Anyway, here's another survival story that gave me the idea to write an account of a family escaping a volcanic eruption! Would be kind of cool.

The Cloud That Was Lost

The cloud being drunk by the flowers provided a nice visual.

The Swift Blue One

"Horse language" stuck out to me in this story. What else can be communicated by horses? Can they talk to humans, or can humans just give commands?

Grandmother River's Trick

Illustration of the Woodpecker

via the UnTextbook

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

Reading Notes: The Monkey King, Part B

The Lord of the Heavens

The gods are very forgiving in these stories, unlike the stories from Greek mythology. Although the servants in heaven (I'm not sure if this meant gods or just people who worked in heaven) were quick to condemn Sun Wu Kung, the North Wind god and the Lord were very forgiving of his behavior and gave him a position in heaven.

The Great Saint

Unfortunately, Sun Wu Kung didn't really know that he was doing servant work so the work that he did is kind of invalidated. His outrage is unfortunate because it shows he hasn't really learned the ways of the heavens.

Notscha, Son of Li Dsing


The power of the Monkey King is much greater than  I thought. I wonder why the gods are not more powerful than him?

The Queen-Mother of the West

Saint seems like a real punk. Also, the forbidden fruit is a common theme in stories like these. (Like Adam and Eve).

Laotzse

I really like how clever Saint is, even though he is using his cunning to deceive people. I hope he doesn't end up dying, but he is acting much like a "lovable scamp" character in this narrative.

Yang Oerlang

What an exciting chase between the two shape shifters. It would be cool to do a scene like this in a story where there are even more species, like across a galaxy or something. Maybe like a bounty hunter sort of deal?

The Destiny of Sun Wu Kung

I wonder what Buddha would have done if Sun Wu Kung would not have written his name in his hand. The logic doesn't exactly make sense to me anyway, but I guess having a great, strong arrogant being taken down this way makes us humble.

Xi Wangmu, the Queen-Mother of the West via the UnTextbook

Bibliography: Stories from "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" in The Chinese Fairy Book by R. Wilhems, translated by Frederick H. Martens. Source.

Reading Notes: The Monkey King, Part A

Handsome King of the Apes

I wonder what the meaning here is of "stone". Is the stone ape made out of stone? Also, I'm not sure if this really is Sun Wu Kung. I really like the idea of a waterfall hiding a cave because it reminds me of the Incredibles, which is one of my favorite animated films.

The Great Sea

It's always interesting to me when an author builds up a a "good" character like the Monkey King, but then later he has the character commit some sort of random, bad act. It makes the character more realistic, but always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. In this story, the part that gave me this feeling was when the Monkey King knocked the fisherman down and stole his clothes to blend in with the humans.

Sun Wu Kung Gets His Name

Ah, so the reference to the "stone ape" just means that he was born of stone. Also, I wonder how old Sun Wu Kung is at this point because he spent 8 + 6-7 years at least traveling trying to find out the "great truth" of immortality.

The Master

I really like stories that involve teaching various disciplines. I can imagine writing a story that involves a quest similar to Sun Wu Kung's where the main character is as focused on a particular goal as he is. It's pretty inspiring.

Learning the Art

It's funny how Sun Wu Kung misinterpreted the master's teachings. It's so typical of someone young and inexperienced in the world, and also seems to make fun of traditional tales where everything has to mean something significant.

Wait, what? Oh, I guess he really did mean for Sun Wu Kung to come to his bedroom at night? That was a strange exchange.

I feel like if I had been whispered a magical truth, I definitely wouldn't be able to sleep right after.

Sun Wu Kung Departs

Aww, poor guy. The master seems unreasonably angry, but he also knows much more about the powers and their capabilities, so I understand his decision.

I wonder if these secrets are actually a result of the behavior or if the behavior just complements controlling the powers and is the only reason a power would be given. If a secret power can just be given to someone, are there evil groups in this world that have these powers as well?

The Devil-King

Boo, that fight was kind of lame. The Devil King didn't even fight back really.

The Dragon-King

Apparently stealing is okay? It seems like Sun Wu Kung is trying to play god here.

Why does as weapon need to be heavy? This is a weird progression.

The Dragon-Queen

Well, I am really not very happy with Sun Wu Kung's character now. He's very determined, but his determination leads to him upsetting a lot of innocent people. The Dragon King tried to appease him, but even then Sun Wu Kung was not very grateful and just demanded more difficult things to obtain.

The Nether World

Now he is heaven-born? I thought he only assumed that he was born of stone?

So, I bet a conflict is coming with the Lord of the Heavens soon because it seems a lot of upset people are turning to him and complaining about Sun Wu Kung. I don't think they are entirely in the wrong by doing so.

Chinese painting, from the UnTextbook

Bibliography: Stories from "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" in The Chinese Fairy Book edited by R. Wilhems, translated by Frederick H. Martens. Source.

Reading Notes: Japanese Mythology, Part B

The Labors of Yamato - The Grotto of Love

Something about the poem at the beginning of this story is really creepy to me. 

Wow, Yamato is a hard guy to please. Apparently, a princess is only worth it if she's in need of saving. I understand the need to chase some sort of passion, but I don't think it's healthy for danger to be your passion! (Story idea: Yamato tries a bunch of ridiculously dangerous things for no reason, getting increasingly injured while doing them)

"Deathless love" sounds a lot better than "loveless death."

Welp, now Yamato has found a woman who challenges him. I wonder if he's bitten off more than he can chew with this "Golden Apple" business.

The Labors of Yamato - The Golden Apple

I actually really, really enjoyed the verses in this poem-story. The rhymes were very fluid and the story they told was also enjoyable. 

The Labors of Yamato - The Demon Boar

I didn't actually think about it before now, but Yamato is pretty comparable to Heracles. Was there influence between these two stories? 

Ah, well that was kind of anti-climactic, albeit realistic.

The boar story made up for it though. I really liked the random, gory details which contrasted well against Yamato's non-adventure.

The Labors of Yamato - The Grass-Cleaving Sword

All I can think about when I hear the title of the story is The Legend of Zelda, because in the video games Link would constantly cut grass to try and find rupees.

"ghostly sounds"

Good attribution at the end there to Tacibana. She was truly the hero that day!

The Labors of Yamato - The Sacred Sword

Wow, what a terrible guy! Yamato is so mean to Tacibana, despite the fact that she just saved his life. She should be the one running off to chase sirens.

Why would Benten leave the Sacred Sword with a mortal deer? Why wouldn't she just deliver the sword to Susanoo himself? 

The Labors of Yamato - The Dragon

Such a sad story, but mostly because Tacibana sacrificed herself for Yamato. It was a predictable outcome, but it was still sad to see that happen. She was the only character I liked.

The Quest of the Jewel

Here's another story about a quest to return a stolen object taken specifically by Benten. People will do crazy things for love. 

Image from the Golden Apple via the UnTextbook

Bibliography: Stories from Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E.W. and F. Champney. Source.

Reading Notes: Japanese Mythology, Part A

Izanagi and Izanami

Like many other myths of creation, the gods represent human beings pretty well in a variety of different ways. The part that struck me this time was Izanami's death by childbirth. Who would think that gods would be capable of dying, let alone in a way that is utterly human?

The marriage scene was very silly to me. Not only was it rooted in traditional gender roles (man speaks first because he is more important yada yada), but also the fact that they redid the whole thing due to superstitions arising from those roles was pretty humorous to me. Could you imagine if that were to really happen at someone's wedding? ("Let's call this off - the groom was led in by his father instead of the bride" tsk tsk)

The Miraculous Mirror

That first paragraph was hilarious! 

It's interesting how Amaterasu and her hand maidens are involved in creating both good and bad things. 

It's interesting to see Amaterasu's reaction to the mirror. It was completely opposite to Narcissus' reaction when he saw his own reflection. Of course, Amaterasu was ignorant to what the mirror was doing, but still.

The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi

Wow, Suanoo can be a real great guy when he's irately chasing his sister out of the kingdom of heaven into a terrible cave!

The Heaven-Descended

"Don't shoot the messenger" wasn't really applied here, I guess. It might not have been his fault though, because nobody told him not to shoot the messenger!

The Fortunate Fish Hook

If the fish hook is past the "bounds of the ocean", where is it? What makes it not ocean? 

Woah, a marriage that was actually based in love! I'm glad to hear that the woman was actually consenting to the marriage, not just "wed" or "taken as a bride" as many of these kinds of stories seem to describe marriage. It was cool to see.

The Labors of Yamato - The Rescue of the Princess

Where did the idea for the mermaid come from? The part about Yamato chasing after the mermaid would make for a nice side story.

Yamato must have had very interesting facial features to be able to pass as a beautiful woman by just wearing a tiara and putting on a woman's clothing!

Fortunate fish hook 

via the UnTextbook

Bibliography: Stories from Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E.W. and F. Champney. Source.

Reading Notes: Twenty-Two Goblins, Part B

Goblins: The Snake's Poison
Swami - swami son with wife named Beauty

Conflict! 

That's some pretty perfect description - like the mourning of a dead partner.

It took him days? He was so grief stricken, you would think he'd jump instantly at the chance to find his wife.

Uh oh.. poor Hariswami.. 

"If you know and do not tell the truth" - seems really odd to me. What reason would the king have for lying? He knows he has to play the goblin's game to get him to come with him. This line just seemed weird to me.

Goblins: The Girl and the Thief

Merchant - Jewel, Wife - Pleasing, Daughter - Pearl

It seems like all the daughters/wives in these stories turn out to be beautiful.

Clever king - but he sounds like he is about to meet some dangerous company. 

Did he really think the thief did not recognize him? He is the king after all.

What? Pearl, no! 

The people in these stories really like to self-sacrifice.

Oh, well goody! All it took for the thief to be a good person was divine intervention.

These riddles are getting lame. It seems like any answer will do, as long as you can somewhat justify it.

Goblins: The General's Wife

There are a lot of king stories.

How kind of him. He wouldn't want to make all those women lovesick.

Wow, he is very committed to ruling his kingdom virtuously. It's too bad, because he might end up alone because of it.

I like the king's answer a lot, actually. Though he kind of underplayed the role of the general, I guess it could be the fact that social norms were different back then. Maybe his servitude was ordinary. However, it is pretty tough to have power and not abuse it, so good on the king as well.

Ahilya Ghat by the Ganges, 

from the UnTextbook

Goblins: The Four Brothers

Wow, I never even considered how old hanging/suicide might be. I wonder who was the first person to die that way?

Why are the younger brothers so wise? 

Ah yes, brothers learning different sciences. This is just like the reading yesterday. 

Where are they learning such crazy "sciences"? Story idea; make more crazy sciences for some brothers or sisters to learn!

What? How could the brother who put the hair/flesh on not know it was a lion? Was it done blindly or something? How skilled were they in this science? I don't like this story.

Goblins: The Old Hermit

That story was just kind of weird. Is the king actually going to die? I didn't think he was actually afraid of the goblin's magic until the end of this story.

Goblins: Father and Son, Daughter and Mother
The description has changed. I feel that something different is about to happen, and it doesn't look good for the king.

"if your faces lose their beauty we won't want to be marry you anymore" - the way that men speak to women in these stories weirds me out!

It doesn't seem like that big of deal for them to switch their original agreement. It's not like it was a business contract, and it makes more sense for the young to marry each other.

Is it not an impossible puzzle? Each of the children would have multiple relations, depending on how you trace it.

Goblins: Conclusion

Yay, happy ending! I rather enjoyed these stories, there's a lot of similarities to them, but some of them were really enjoyable. 

Bibliography: Twenty-two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder. Source.

Reading Notes: Twenty-Two Goblins, Part A

Introduction

Okay, these characters have interesting names. I wonder if the message of this story is going to have a play on words involved.

King rewarded for his generosity

Ooh, the king thinks that all the fruits have jewels in them. Now he's greedy = bad thing to come

Oh, just kidding. All of the fruits had gems in them. However, I still think something bad is to come out of greed.

This truly is a brave king if he agreed to that so easily.

Interesting. There is some magic involved in this story, and the goblin has yet to prove that he is a good character. I wonder what his story holds.

The Three Lovers

"feasting on the beauty of her face" - kind of a creepy line

Woah. That was sudden!

Jeez, what is going on in this story? People really didn't like crying children back then.

Oh, okay. So all forgiven then? Killing children/people is okay when you can bring them back to life, apparently.

Oooh, here's the dilemma. The king is brave, but is he wise as well?

The answer he gave is interesting, but I'm not so sure that it's true. It must be some sort of cultural behavior that made the answer so obvious and acceptable to the king.

Brave, Wise, Clever

Counselor, wife, daughter = Moonlight

brave, wise, clever

"given" to me - another example of women in the past being treated like objects

I really don't like the answer this time. While it true that the brave man defeated the giant, one could say that he was simply working for someone as a soldier or something.

If there is another similar riddle, I'm going to try and guess the correct answer.

The Girl, Her Husband, and Her Brother

temple for goddess, bath for goddess where people come once a year to bathe

These are some interesting names.

That was a really strange puzzle. The answer seemed too plain, but I guess it only makes sense!

Food, Women, Cotton

Woah, that's pretty intense. As an eldest brother, you would think that he would show some leadership and take the turtle himself.

I don't understand how being a "specialist" in any of those particular domains has to do with carrying a turtle. Are they really that afraid of touching something "slimy"?

Could the hair not have been planted? It could have even been tested to make sure an imprint was left on the third brother's skin. 

Food, Women, Cotton 

from the UnTextbook

The Four Suitors

I wonder why the goblin doesn't want to be taken to the monk. Is he  going to be sacrificed or something like that?

Husband that is good-looking and knows a science

1 - tailor, 5 suits/day, give 1 to god, 1 to brahman, 1 to himself, 1 to wife, 1 to sell for a living.

2 - farmer, understands beasts+birds

3 - soldier, best swordsman

4 - can resurrect dead creatures

I didn't catch that the king was a warrior, or maybe all the kings back then were also warriors? I was honestly thinking that he was going to say the tailor, because he actually provides a service for the wife. Battle/bringing back dead creatures/talking to animals doesn't seem as obviously useful in a day to day life.

It is worth noting that the king is becoming visibly frustrated by the goblin's riddles. Is he about to make a mistake?

The Three Delicate Wives

King with 3 wives - riddle has to deal with the wives?

Bibliography: Twenty-two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder. Source.