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)