Faerie Queene: Britomart -- Reading Diary B

Faerie Queene: Britomart Table of Contents

     Although the second half of this unit was not as entertaining as the first half there were still some chapters that I really enjoyed. One chapter was the story of The Enchanted Chamber. This story lived up to its title; it was pretty enchanting. The chapter began with Britomart hearing the sound of a trumpet. In the darkness appeared a figure; it was Ease. After Ease, also came Fancy, Desire, Doubt, Danger, Fear, Hope, and Suspicion and so much more. Each one of these figure lived up to his/her name. For instance, Fancy was dressed in all silk and was vain. Hope was dressed in light silk and she had beautiful fair hair. She was always smiling and show a great liking of everyone. She gave out favours to pretty much everyone.
    Another chapter that I enjoyed was the story of How the "Savage Knight" met the "Knight with the Ebony Spear." It is also just called the Two Knights. In story Sir Scudamour runs into a knight that calls himself the Savage Knight. They began to converse and they soon learn that they share something in common; they both despise Britomart. They form an alliance and decide to go after Britomart.The two knights fight against Britomart. It looked as though Artegall was going to win the fight but as soon as he rose his weapon to strike Britomart, Britomart revealed her face to him. Taken by her Artegall surrendered. Britomart eventually remembers who Artegall is. He is the face she saw int he mirror long ago; he is her true love.
In How Britomart Ended her Quest, Britomart and Artegall fall in love and are finally together.

(Britomart)

Faerie Queene: Britomart -- Reading Diary A

Faerie Queene: Britomart Table of Contents

I really enjoyed this unit. It was very entertaining. A favorite chapter of mine was the The Magic Mirror. I really enjoyed this chapter because it was kind of humorous. This section was about what had brought Britomart onto the journey with the Knights. A knight approaches Britomart and asks why Britomart is here. Britomart replies that she left her home to find someone -- Artegall. She lies to the Knight and tells him that she wishes to revenge herself against Artegall but really she wishes to find Artegall not because she has contempt towards him but because she is in love with him. She did not want the Knight to know her true feelings toward Artegall. As soon as Britomart said this, the Knight defended Artegall. He began telling Britomart the amazing accomplishments of Artegall. This pleased Britomart so she continued to verbally attack Artegall just so that she may hear more good things about Artegall. This was the part of the story that I thought was humorous.

I also enjoyed The Cave of the Magician Merlin. This chapter was about the aftermath of seeing her future husband, Artegall, in the magical mirror by Merlin. After looking into the mirror, Britomart becomes ill or "lovesick." She longs for Artegall. Her sick state concerns her nurse, Glauce. Glauce fearful for Britomart visits Merlin. Merlin informs Glauce that the man that Britomart saw in the mirror was Sir Artegall, the champion Knight of Justice, and he lives in the land of the Faerie Queene. Glauce returns to Britomart and tells her what Merline told her. This contents Britomart for now she knows where can find him.

(Britomart)

Tejas Stories -- Extra Reading Diary

Tejas Stories Table of Contents

I really enjoyed the second half of this unit. It was really entertaining. One of my favorite stories was the story of The Maiden Who Loved a Star. This story was about a young beautiful girl who falls in love with a man on a star -- I'm sure you got that from the title. The story begins with a girl in a desert. At night the girl notices a start shining brighter than all the other stars. This initiates her infatuation. She dreams that the star is the home to a handsome man. She eventually falls in love with this man who lives on the star and wishes to join him on the star. The young girl sought help from a witch woman. The witch woman turned the girl into a shrub. The man on the start fell with sparkling pieces of star onto the young girl who had become a bush. The starry bits turned the bush into purple blossoms. Finally, the young maiden and the young man are together.

I also enjoyed How Sickness Entered the World. This story began with introducing the character the old medicine man. He was the leader of the people. He was the one who talked directly to the Great spirit. The Great Spirit sent a messenger to the old medicine man but the old medicine man was to ill to meet the messenger. Instead the old medicine man sent two young men to meet with the messenger. Not knowing that the messenger was a snake, the two young men killed the snake when it appeared to them. The mate of the killed snake came to the camp to avenge the killed snake. She laid eggs and by morning every egg hatched out some kind of sickness. And this is how sickness and disease came to be.

(The maiden and her lover_

Storytelling for Week 10: Home Sweet Home

Home Sweet Home
 
In the early years of Indian history, there once lived a brother and sister. They lived on a large island near the Gulf of Mexico. They loved their home. The land was bountiful with vegetables, animals, and fruits. For fun the brother and sister enjoyed painting their shoes or moccasins bright colors, such as blue, yellow, red, and white. They loved and were proud of their shoes. Everybody from the ends of the world knew about their shoes and envied them.

For a long time the brother and sister were happy on the island until the volcano on the island erupted. Stone fell down from the volcano on to the brother and sister’s home. Red- hot melted rock ran down the volcano, burning everything it touched. The Brother and sister frantically ran to their home and gathered all they could that was important to them. They packed some food and most importantly their many shoes.

The brother and sister canoed their way to the mainland and stood at a safe distance and watched their home get burned down. The brother and sister cried for days. They eventually gathered their things and made their way to find a new home. Even though they were in search of a new home, they did not wish to forget their original home. The brother and sister began leaving their shoes along the trail so that they could retrace their steps and find their home again. Unfortunately without the brother and sister’s knowledge, their shoes were magically turning into a little orchid, colored like the moccasin.

Eventually, the brother and sister came upon a beautiful home. The brother and sister were so hungry and tired they decided that this place shall be their new home. They knocked on the front door and was greeted by an elderly woman. The woman welcomed the brother and sister into her home and fed them well – a little too well. The brother and sister never ate so much. Whatever their stomach desired, the old woman gave to them. They ate all day.

Eventually though, the brother and sister felt sick and bloated. They wished to leave the old woman’s home. When the brother and sister confronted the old woman, the old woman became angry, revealing her true intentions. She was fattening the brother and sister so that she may eat them. Hearing this the brother and sister ran away as fast as they could. Fortunately, the old woman was not able to catch up with them because of her old age and weak body.

Once again, the brother and sister were homeless. Living at the older woman’s home made the brother and sister realize that there is no place better than home. The brother and sister decided to go back to their island and rebuild it. They tried to find the trail of their shoes that led to the island but found them to be nowhere. Instead they found orchids that were the same exact colors as their shoes. They finally realized that the orchids took the place of their shoes and that the orchids will lead them to their home. With the help of the orchids, the brother and sister made it home safely.

(Orchid)

 

 

 

 

Author's Note:
This story is based on A Tribe That Left Its Shoes.  This story can be found in Tejas Stories. The story of the "A Tribe That Left Its Shoes" is about the origin of the orchid. The story began by introducing a village on an island that enjoys painting their moccasins all kinds of colors. Their home is threatened by a volcano that erupts. This natural disaster forces the villagers to move away from their home. To not forget their way back to the island the villagers leave a trail of their colorful shoes. In place of the moccasin grew a little orchid, colored like the moccasin. And the part of the flower that looked like toe area of the shoe was pointing in the direction of their home -- south. In my story "Home Sweet Home," I decided to add a Hansel and Gretel twist because the leaving a trail of shoes reminded me of how Hansel and Gretel left a trail of bread crumbs. I made the story about two characters, a brother and sister like Hansel and Gretel, instead of an entire village. I also included an antagonist -- the evil older woman. This older woman is similar to the evil witch in Hansel and Gretel in that they both fatten the brother and sister and wish to devour the children. I wanted to end the story with a happy ending so I allowed the brother and sister to return to their home by following their trail of shoes that turned into orchids. This is similar to the original story, "A Tribe That Left Its Shoes."




"A Tribe That Left Its Shoes" from Tejas Stories (1936). Web source: Sacred Texts.

Tejas Stories-- Reading Diary B

Tejas Stories Table of Contents

I really enjoyed this unit. A particular unit that I found interesting was the story of The Plant That Grows in Trees. This story is about the mistletoe and why it is grown in trees. The story begins with describing how the mistletoe was originally grown on the ground. It was grown as a small bushy plant on the ground. A bird took pity on the mistletoe because it was dying from all of the animals feeding off of it. The bird decided to take the plant up to a tree and place it there so that it may not be disturbed by other animals. And this is why the mistletoe are grown in trees.

I also really enjoyed A Tribe That Left Its Shoes. This story was about an Indian tribe that painted their leather moccasins all kinds of colors such as blue, yellow, red, and blue. The tribe was forced to relocate because a volcano erupted near their home. The tribe was forced travel north and away from their home. As they wandered they left dropped their shoes so that they may not forget the way back to their home. The medicine man turned each shoe so that its toe pointed towards their home. In the shoes' place a little orchid grew. And the part of the flower that is the toes point toward the home. And this is the story of the origin of the orchid and the reason why the little flower points south.

(Mistletoe and Bird)

Cherokee Stories Extra Reading Diary

Cherokee Stories Table of Contents

I really enjoyed this unit. One of my favorite stories was the How the World was Made. This story was obviously about how the world or Earth came to be. I have always enjoyed stories about the beginning of time or Earth because everybody has different beliefs and perceptions of this concept. The different stories about the beginning kind of reflects the values and beliefs of the relevant cultures and that is why I find it interesting. In this particular telling of how the world came to be, it describes the world as  floating and being held by cords. And it describes men and women came after animals and plants.


I also thought the story of The First Fire was interesting. A lightning struck a sycamore tree and sparked the first fire. All of the animals admired this new creation. They all wanted to capture it. The Raven, the little Screech-owl, Hooting Owl, Horned Owl, and the blacksnake attempted to capture this fire but failed to. But then a water spider appeared asserting that she could bring the--  fire back. She spun a thread and wove the thread into a tusti bowl and attached it to her body and journeyed to the fire. Upon her arrival at the fire, she placed the fire into her bowl and came back. And that is how we go our first fire.

(Strawberry

And my third favorite story was the story of the Origin of Strawberries. This story begins with a man and woman who fall out of love. The woman leaves the man but the man follows her. The man still wants her. The Sun pitied him and tried to help him win his wife back. He does so by springing up a bush of strawberries in front of the woman. The woman picks up the strawberry and turns west and her memories of her husband resurfaced, causing her to miss him. She returned to her husband and they went home together.

The Hunter and Fox-- Storytelling, Week 9

The Hunter and the Fox
Once there lived a hunter. He was known as the greatest hunter in the land. He was a skilled archer and trapper. There was nothing he could not hunt and capture. He kept many of the skins and heads of his capture creatures as trophies to remind him of his achievements.

Although he was an accomplished hunter, he was a lonely hunter. Every day from a day of hunting, the hunter would come home to an empty home. He had no one to talk to. It is not fun when you have a lot of things but have no one to share it with.

One day when the hunter returned from a trip, he noticed that his home had been visited in his absence. It was not like any common break-in for nothing was taken or missing. The home actually looked better than it had ever looked. It was cleaned and organized. The confused hunter thought nothing of it until it happened again.

This time not only was the housed cleaned but there was also dinner ready on the table. The hunter could not ignore this any longer.

One day the hunter pretended to go away on another hunting trip, but was actually hid himself in a bush and waited for the intruder to arrive. Eventually a fox appeared. The fox entered his home and transformed into a beautiful woman. The hunter approached this woman and asked her if it was her who was cleaning his home and making him dinner. She responded that yes it was indeed her that was cleaning and cooking for him.

As a hunter, his first instinct was to kill this creature/woman but he could not help but admire her beauty. He let her go but he threatened her that if she should return he will be forced to kill and hunt her like the rest of the animals. The fox-woman ran away in fear from hearing this.

After the fox-woman finally left, the hunter returned to his normal routine of hunting and being alone. As the weeks went by, the hunter’s home became messier. Looking at the mess, the hunter began to miss the fox-woman and her company. The hunter felt lonely.

Feeling lonely, the hunter decided to hunt or search for the fox-woman. Weeks passed by and still no luck of finding the fox-woman for the fox-woman was so heart- broken by the hunter she hid herself.

Being the best hunter, the hunter eventually found the fox-woman and asked for her forgiveness. The fox-woman could see that the hunter was genuine and thus accepted his apology. They embraced and the hunter told the fox-woman that he loved her. Hearing this the fox turned into a beautiful woman.

(Fox-Woman)

 Author's Note:
This story was based from the the Fox-Woman from Marriage Tales. In the Fox-woman, the hunter comes upon an intruder but she is not like any other common intruder. She does not steal or break anything. Rather, she cleans and cooks. The hunter curious about this intruder decides to hide out until the intruder arrives. Upon the intruder's arrival, to the surprise of the hunter he discovers that it is a woman but she is not any ordinary woman. She is a fox-woman. She is a fox when she wears the fox skin and is a woman when she takes it off. The hunter confronts the fox-woman. The fox-woman responds by telling him that she is his wife. The hunter is unable to accept her as she is and therefore rejects her, causing her to run-off. My story was based off this story but I made a few changes. For instance, my story has a happier ending. The hunter and the fox-woman end up together. My story was more a love story. My inspiration came from the Beauty and the Beast. Like the beast from Beauty and the Beast, the fox-woman becomes human after learning that she is loved.

"The Fox-woman" from the Native American Marriage Tales by Thompson (1929).Web source: Sacred Texts

Marriage Tales-- Reading Diary B

Marriage Tales Table of Contents

I really enjoyed the second half of this reading unit. A particular story that I thought was interesting was the story of the The Dog-Husband. This story was about young girl who befriends a dog but this was not just any ordinary dog. Eventually the girl and the dog's relationship became romantic and late at night the dog would transform into a human. The young girl then becomes pregnant, bringing shame to her family. She eventually gave birth to five dog pups: 4 male and 1 female. Even though they brought shame to the girl she still loved and cared for them. One day, though, the girl caught her children in human form. This was good news to the young girl. The young girl advised her children to remain in human form; they obeyed and now the village does shame them.

(Dog)

Another story that I enjoyed was the The True Bride. The story actually kind of started like a Cinderella story, which I found kind of humorous. For instance, the young girl had an evil stepmother who make her do tremendous amounts of work. While out running errands for her mother the young girl ran into her relatives. Her relatives pitied her and gave her the gift of gold. Whenever she spit a nugget of gold would come out. As soon as her stepmother found this out she sent her other daughter to the relatives to perhaps receive this same gift but her daughter disrespected them. So instead they gave her an unfortunate gift. Every time she spits a smelly toe nail comes out. Good things come to those that are humble and kind.

Marriage Tales-- Reading Diary A

Marriage Tales Table of Contents

I really enjoyed this unit. One of the stories that I enjoyed was the The Fox-Woman. This story was about a hunter who discovers that someone is entering his home. At first, he believes that it is a fox who is breaking into his home but something is strange about this break in. When the hunter returns home he finds his home put in order as if a wife lived there. He eventually discovers that it was indeed a woman.

Another story that I enjoyed was the The Woman Stolen by Killer Whales.This story was about a woman who is kidnapped by fish to avenge their fish friend. The woman's husband was no match for the fish and therefore sought help. The Shark offered to help. The Shark was able to save the woman and bring her home to her husband.

The third story I enjoyed was the story of the The Rolling Head. This story was about a wife who met up with a snake behind her husband's The husband eventually figures out where his wife has been sneaking out to. Angered by this discovery, the husband kills his wife and cooks his wife. The children unaware that it is their mom, eat the meat their father offered. The children find out that what they ate was their mother. They were so distraught and betrayed by this discovery they had their father killed. They had lions jump on him. Even though this story was gruesome. I still thought that it was interesting. A lot of the events that happened in the story caught me off guard so it kept me interested.

(Snake)

Commenting Review Week

I find the comments that the instructor and my fellow students leave for me are very useful. I usually actually do all of the changes my peers suggests because I normally agree with them. They are very helpful; they seem to catch things I missed.

The easiest part about writing comments is that all of the students in this class are so creative and good at writing it is not hard to come up with complimentary comments for them. I have enjoyed reading other students' stories. Some of them are so funny and creative.

I do feel like I am making good connections with other students in the class at the blogs. By reading students' introductions, I have discovered that I share many similarities and interests with other students.

(World Map)

Writing Review Week

Some writing goals I have for myself are to make sure I do not miss any minor grammatical or punctuation errors and to allow a peers to read over my writing because they seem to always find something that I missed. Reading the feedback I have received from the instructor and fellow students have really helped me. It has improved my writing style and made my stories more interesting.

The biggest challenge I face while writing this story was coming up with a plot or idea that draw in readers. I did not want to bore my viewers. I normally drew stories I knew and twisted them or changed them to make them different or make them into my own story.

(Hares and Frogs)

Reading Review

I have really enjoyed doing the reading diaries. It has exposed me to so many stories I was not aware of. Reading the stories also educated me about the many cultures that exist. It showed me how each culture likes to emphasis on a different subject or idea -- how each culture is different.

I have always enjoyed reading. Some of my favorite books are Catcher in the Rye, East of Eden, Count of Monte Cristo, and the Road. So as you can see the kind of stories we read for class were kind of different from the kind of stories I normally read. But just because they were different, it doesn't mean I did not enjoy  them because I did actually enjoy them.

If I had to say what my favorite story was it would probably be the story of Cupid and Psyche.

(Cupid and Psyche)