Mythology and Folklore KT

Fairy Tales by Andrew Lang I Know What I have Learned This story made no sense to me.  Why on earth did that man think that he could do everything that the trolls did?  And he just left 6 bags of gold in the road?  He does not seem like the smartest in the land. Lovely Ilonka I liked how in this story the King wouldn't let his son get married until he accomplished a quest.  It was a bit weird how the prince went about it thought.  I also that it was odd that the royal family could  be so easily fooled into marrying off the prince to the wrong person. The Death of the Sun-Hero Staying awake for 9 days and nights sounds exhausting.  Staying awake for that long will definitely cause you to hallucinate. The Voice of Death Stories like this seem all the same to me.  The character spends all this time avoiding death, and it is a waste of time because it is futile.  They might as well make the most of what time they have. The Goat's Ea...

Fairy Tales by Andrew Lang Puss in Boots I like the aspect of this story where a cunning cat improves his master's life considerably.  The tricks that he pulls are masterfully thought out. The Dirty Shepherdess The father in this story grossly over reacted to his daughters words. How the Dragon was Tricked The king in this story was foolish and greedy.  It is a weird theme in foldlore where tricksters often prosper. The young man who would have is eyes opened I did not like this story.  It is promoting the idea that ignorance is bliss, which is something that I do not believe is always true. Kisa the Cat This story is very odd.  It resembles the frog prince a bit.  If I were to have a character in my story cursed, it would probably be also as a cat, because they seem more capable than other animals. Kot w Butach, Source:  Wikimedia Commons

The Little Mermaid, by Hans Christian Anderson The Little Mermaid pt1 This story is wonderfully descriptive.  I like how all of the mermaids are given permission to learn about the human world, and explore along shipwrecks. The Little Mermaid pt2 It is interesting that the mermaids try to convince the sailors that it is so much better under the water, and that a storm is fun and playful for them.  The Little Mermaid pt3 The notion of mermaids not having an immortal soul is rather sad.  It is odd that if a person falls in love with them, then they are given a soul.  The Little Mermaid pt4 The sea witch is extremely scary.  She is not someone I would want to make a deal with.  The Little Mermaid pt5 and 6 It is extremely sad that the little mermaid did not get to be with the prince that she loved so dearly.  He never seemed to really take her feelings into consideration, instead always saying how happy she should be for him.  However, ...

Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm The Queen Bee I have read this story before, and I greatly enjoy it.  I like the fact that the brother who was kind and considerate was given the help he needed to break the curse.   The Twelve Huntsmen I like the lion from this story.  Having a wise lion would be a good addition to my story. Jorinda and Jorindel It is funny that they have such similar names.  I like how the answer for the problem came in a dream. The Twelve Dancing Princesses One theme that I do not like in all of these stories is the forced marriage.  I understand that it was common among royalty, but women should not be treated as prizes for an accomplished task.  In my story, I will not make this part of it.   12 dancing princess par Arthur Rackham, Source:  Wikimedia Commons

Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm The Frog Prince I like the idea in this story of the prince being cursed.  I want to incorporate a cursed prince into my story; I will probably have him be a frog as well. Rapunzel I am thinking of having the prince in my story run into a girl who is trapped in a tower. Brier Rose From this story, I like the idea of an entire castle being still for a hundred years because of a curse.  I will add this to the curse that I am going to put on the prince in my story.  Maybe the tower that the girl is trapped in will be a part of the prince's castle, and he finds and rescues the girl in the tower while he is still a frog. Die Brüder Grimm by  Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann, Source:  Wikimedia Commons

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, by Lewis Carrol I want to do this week's story about a girl who winds up in a Nursery Rhyme book.  I figured looking into Alice would be a good idea, because she gets into a similar situation. Looking-Glass House Alice has theories about Looking glass house, which is like a parallel dimension that is through a mirror that is a mirrored version of her actual house.  It would be fun to write a story about a girl who believes that characters from stories have their own little world within books The Jabberwocky poem is one of my favorites.  It is dark yet silly, and you can only read it while holding it up to a mirror.  Tweedledum and Tweedledee these are actually characters in one of the nursery rhymes Humpty Dumpty he is also a nursery rhyme, but apparently it is also a riddle.  you are supposed to guess that he is an egg. My Own Invention A part that is left out of this story is the Lion and t...

The Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang Jingles: cock a doodle do, my dame has lost her shoe To market to Market to by a fat pig Love and Matrimony: Jack Sprat Did you see my wife, did you see Natural History: IN the month of February, When green leaves begin to spring, little lambs do skip like faries, birds do couple, build and sing Lady bird, Lady bird, fly away home Mary had a pretty bird, with feathers bright and yellow Little Girl, little girl, where have you been, gathering roses to give to the queen Accumulative Stories: Little Miss Muffet What are little boys or girls made of? Little Miss Muffet, Source:  Wikimedia Commons

The Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang My idea for my story is to have my main character land in a word of nursery rhymes and meets all of the characters.  so my notes will be mainly around the main characters and their situations Tales: the man in the moon babes in the wood DIED WHAT??  They were stolen and died.  Why is this a nursery rhyme?? the crooked man, who had a crooked house and cat and mouse Simple Simon The lion and the unicorn were fighting fro the crown.  It seems the lion won.  Tom the piper's son stole a pig, ate him, and was beat for it My lady Wind set the house on fire Taffy was a Welshman, and he stole things Litttle Jack Horner Solomon Grundy, the poem makes it seem like he lived only a week Proverbs: The characters need to speak in the nursery rhyme proverbs Monday's Child is one of my favorite poems.  I definitely want to include it in my story For want of a nail, aka a kingdom can be lost over the smalles...

The Faerie Queene, by Mary Macleod These are some random ideas that I had while reading this story.  I want to include most of them in the retelling. Sir Guyon I like how when the knights in this story fight, it is more to test strength than to defeat the other.  It is a "show me what you got" thing. How Britomart Fought with Six Knights The idea of having a villian have people pledge allegiance to her would be an intriguing addition to a story. Britomart in Castle Joyus Britomart and the Knight are not impressed by lavishness. Malecasta is a fun name. The Magic Mirror Britomart has been trained since birth to fight. A prophecy instead of a mirror would be a good way to get a hero to go on a quest.  Prophecy book, that has many different prophecies, and what you read will come true. The Cave of the Magician Merlin Merlin should make the Prophecy book Britomart's Quest Britomart is apparently tall. And apparently she is not the first noble Princess to...

The Song of Hiawatha, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1855 Hiawatha and the Pearl-Feather Nokomis points west, and tells Hiawatha about the great Pearl-Feather, guarded by serpents.  Apparently the great Pearl Feather killed her father.  She wants him to avenge her father.  Hiawatha agreed.  He killed the serpents when they did not let him pass.  When he arrived, PF told him to go back, for he will kill him like Nokomis's father.  They battled.  A woodpecker told Hiawatha told him where megissogwon was vulnerable, and that he should shoot there.  3 arrows.  PF was killed.  Hia put some of the blood on the woodpecker as a thankyou, and woodpeckers have red feathers to this day. Hiawatha's Wooing Hia still loves Minnehaha.  Nokomis wants him to marry from his own people.  Hia went to go get Minnehaha.  He proposed; she accepted.  The headed Home.  Hiawatha's Wedding-Feast Pau-Puk_Keewis was asked to dance a...

The Song of Hiawatha, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1855 This story is a poem, which I have not read before in this class.  Maybe I could write my story in poem form as well.  It is free verse (does not rhyme). Because it is a poem, I am going to write what is happening in the story so I can take my favorite parts from it later: The Four Winds Mudjekeewis cam home with the sacred belt of wampum, which he stole from Mishe-Mokwa.  He stole it by creeping close while the monster was sleeping.  He could feel the monster's breath.  Then He kit Mishe-Mokwa on the head with a club. Mishe-Mokwa is a bear.  They just used the phrase "whimpered like a woman," which I did not appreciate. Mudjekeewis (hereafter known as Mud) taunted the bear, saying that he is not brave.  He says that the bear is cowardly.  He then killed Mishe by breaking his skull. Mud is now known as the West-Wind. New character, Wabun.  East Wind.  He brings the morn...

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

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...

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...

Story source: More Jataka Tales by Ellen C The Golden Goose the golden goose was being generous, but the mother was greedy.  Her greed caused the goose to fly away and they were were poor again.  The Stupid Monkeys The gardener gave his job for the day to the monkeys, but they did not know how to do it, so all of the trees died. The Woodpecker and the Lion The woodpecker was kind to the lion, but the lion did not return the kindness.  The Lion thought that he was doing the woodpecker a favor by not harming him.  This is a good representation of how some groups in power think.  Instead of being grateful to the woodpecker and treating him as an equal, he though his restraint for not harming him was enough. The otters and the wolf I really like this story.  The two otters could not agree on how to divide up the fish, so they asked a wolf to do it.  The wolf divided up the fish and took the best part for himself.  I think that it is a ...

Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt, illustrated by Ellsworth Young (1912) the monkey and the crocodile In this story, the monkey outsmarts the crocodile on several occasions How the turtle saved his own life The turtle used cunning and the fact that noone knew what he was to save his life. The turtle who couldn't stop talking The turtle died because he had to answer the people instead of holding onto the stick The ox who won the forfeit The ox would not respond positively when the man was mean to him The quarrel of the quials the quails wouldn't worked together, so they got caught The foolish, timid rabbit The rabbit cried wolf the banyan deer one of the king deer was willing to give up himself for a mother, and the king was touched and agreed to not eat deer anymore the princes and the water-sprite the oldest prince was wise The King's white elephant the king bought an elephant for himself the ox who envied the pig the pig was being well fed be...

The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang First of all, Aladdin's father died because he was grieved that his son didn't have a job.  That is very dramatic.   I like the character of Aladdin in this story.  He doesn't take time to make decisions, he immediately acts.  Even though his behavior is somewhat impulsive, everything always seems to work out for him.  Having a character behave like that would be fun.   The princess goes through some stressful situations in this story.  On her wedding night to the son of the kings main adviser, Aladdin has his genie transport herself and her husband to his house, makes her husband sleep in the cold while Aladdin shares a bed with her.  Aladdin does this every night until the princess and her husband are so scared that they decide to break off the marriage.  Then Aladdin marries her and she seems happy, despite him having kidnapped her on her previous marriage's wedding night.  ...