Mythology and Folklore KT

This story is also in my Portfolio:  Tales told by a Bookworm   There once was a woman named Kya who lived with her father, stepmother, and half-sister, May.  Her mother had passed away when she was young.  Kya’s stepmother did not like her; she feared that she would be competition for her own daughter.  So, one day she sent Kya to do a seemingly impossible task; gathering berries in the middle of winter.  Kya wondered around in the cold, knowing that she would not be permitted back into the house until she completed her stepmother’s task.  She stumbled onto a cottage, where five old women lived.  They invited her in.  They offered her a place by the fire to be warm, and asked what she was doing outside.  She explained the situation.  The women took pity on her.  They gave her a small shovel and told her to go clear a mound of snow that was on the side of their house.  As she dug away the snow, she found a bush full...

Tales of the North American Indians, by Stith Thompson The Youth Who Joined the Deer I enjoy the theme of respect that is represented in this story.  In the story, if you kill a deer, use every part of the deer, and throw all of the bones into water, the deer will come to life again.  The deer in this story sacrifice themselves for their people so that they may eat.  The True Bride This story reminds me of Cinderella in a sense that she has a jealous stepmother, a haughty step-sister, and people who give her clothes and abilities to attract the chief's son.  This week I want to write a story that follows a similar story line, while also including the problems that the stepmother causes with the main character's children, and the loyal dog who takes care of them.  Goose, Snow Luray   Source:  Wikimedia Commons

Tales of the North American Indians, by Stith Thompson One thing that I like from these stories is how the characters can change from animals to humans almost at will sometimes. Also, how the animals and elements (rocks and trees) are personified sometimes, enough that they have the human habits of taking a wife and building a fire.  I want to have these elements for characters in my story this week. Malayan Sun Bear, Source:  Wikimedia Commons

There was once a college student named Laurel.  Laurel had spent weeks looking for a roommate.  She noticed a that someone else had put a post on the school’s Facebook page, saying that they also needed a roommate.  Laurel messaged this person, Olivia, and set up a time for them to meet. Laurel asked Olivia some things about herself, and came to find that they had the same major, enjoyed the same TV shows, and liked similar food.  ‘This is perfect!’ thought Laurel, ‘We are equals, this will work.’ Laurel asked Olivia if she would like to move in to the same apartment together, and Olivia accepted.  Laurel and Olivia lived together for a while.  Soon they fell into a routine.  Olivia would give Laurel a ride to school, and would pick up Laurel from her job in the evening.  They would both make dinner, but Olivia would pay for the basic groceries, like butter and milk.    One day, Laurel was talking to her friends abou...

South African Folk-Tales by James Honey The Dance for Water The rabbit was tricked by the tortoise, yet fooled the lion Jackal and Monkey The Jackal tricked the monkey The White Man and Snake The snake wanted to bite the man after he helped her, so the jackal tricked her to be put under the stone again. Jackal, Dove, and Heron The Jackal breaks the Heron's neck, causing it to always be bent.  The Jackal is not a nice character, and it is odd that most of the stories involving him end with him "winning" Elephant and Tortoise It is hard to tell who is the villain in this story.  It seems to be the elephant, yet also the lion. The Judgement of Baboon It is like a giant rick paper scissors.  Each animal or element defeats itself in some way. When Lion Could Fly The frog destroyed some special bones that gave the lion the ability to fly.  It would be fun to incorporate an object that would let the animals fly. The Lion who thought Himself Wiser than...

Jackal, Source:  Wikimedia Commons South African Folk-Tales by James Honey The Lost Message The various types of ants never learned to get along to protect themselves, so they are constantly getting eaten by other creatures.  A beetle was supposed to inform them on how to get along, but he never arrived with the message.  This is a slightly ironic ending.  The Monkey's Fiddle I like the idea of magical objects.  A fiddle that can make anyone dance sounds interesting. The Tiger, The Ram, and The Jackal I have read this plot before, where a threatening animal is tricked into thinking that a nonthreatening animal will eat him because a third animal (normally someone who is less than the first animal and greater than the second animal on the food chain) takes the threatening animal to the nonthreatening one, and the non threatening one says, "where is [the third animal] he was supposed to bring me another animal to eat." The Lion, the Jackal, and the...

Feedback in The comments that I have received have been very helpful to my writing.  They provide good ideas and information that I had not considered before.  The kinds of comments that have helped me the most have been the ones that provide different ideas or outlooks on my stories.   Feedback out I have yet to be disappointed with a story from someone in this class.  All of the stories have been very entertaining, and there are a large range of story styles and plots.   Blog comments The blogs are a marvelous way to get to know different people.  We each present ourselves differently, and I believe that they are tailored to our personalities.  Looking back, I would change a couple things about my intro.  There are times where I am reading someone else's intro and I think, "Oh, it would have been fun to discuss that part of myself too." Looking forward I like it when I am able to get the other person's perspective.  I enj...

Looking Back  My favorite reading so far was Homer's Odyssey.  My reading notes have been a huge help going back and writing the story. I had a rough start to my class project, but I am really happy with how it is turning out now.  So far, my biggest accomplishment in this class so far has been being able to combine several stories from a reading into one story. The Kiss, Source:  Wikimedia Commons I chose this image for a story that I wrote about two people who eventually turn into stone.  I thought that this image went well with the story, and I incorporated aspects of this statue into the story.   Looking Forward I want to try different writing styles in the future.  I feel like I am only writing things the same way.  

This story is also in my Portfolio:  Tales told by a Bookworm   The Monster and the Mittens One day I was taking a leisurely stroll through the woods.  I had never been to this part of the woods before.  I stopped to get a drink from the stream, when I saw two little kittens playing on the rocks nearby.  I said hello and waved.  The kittens looked up, and screamed very loudly.  They pointed to something behind me, and shouted something that I didn’t quite understand.  They looked very frightened.  I must have just missed what they were pointing at, because when I looked behind me I didn’t see anything.  When I turned back around the kittens were scampering away.  I noticed that one of the kittens had left their mittens on the rock.  I went and picked up the mittens, and called out, “Hey! You forgot your mittens!”  They must have not heard me, because they kept running.  I started to walk after them, because it wo...

Tibetan Folk Tales, collected by Albert Shelton The Golden Squash I like the moral aspects of this story.  One man is good and ends up rich, and shares his riches.  Another tries to scheme his way into wealth, and gets punished for it.  It is very straight forward. The Two Little Cats I think this story would be interesting if the Handre was just trying to be friends with them.  Or maybe the two little cats dropped something and he was trying to return it to them, but they thought that he was trying to eat them.  Or maybe the cats went into the Handre's home by accident. Chiang Mai kitties, Source:  Wikimedia Commons

Tibetan Folk Tales, collected by Albert Shelton The Story of the Two Devils I like in this story how the fortune-teller was a fraud, but he was still able to help the prince.  Much of what he did was pure luck.  That would be fun, writing a story about a character who is unable or unwilling to save the day, but actually ends up saving it. The Ingratitude of Man I like in this story how the animals that the traveler saved helped him because he helped them.  The traveler doubted that they would help, and assumed that the man was the trustworthy one, but was proven wrong. The Tiger and the Frog This story is actually extremely similar to a joke that I read in a joke book when I was little.  It had the same punch line of a two larger animals going to gang up on a smaller animal, with the smaller animal making a false comment about how the one of the larger animals was supposed to bring him a large animal for supper.  It would be fun to have the end of a sto...