Week Six: Reading Diary A

Nigerian Unit

The Pretty Stranger who Killed the King

This story was very entertaining. It was like a miniature movie. Sometimes, you have to be clever,if you want to retaliate against someone that is perceived to be stronger than you. This reminds me of the television show Catfish! It is not wise to just marry someone that you have not taken the time to get to know. I hope the rest of this unit is as good.

Why the Bat Flies by Night

I have always wondered why bats are creatures of the night. Lol. Okay, maybe not always but it has crossed my mind. I enjoy creative stories like this that help get a point across. Besides the bush rat dying, this is a story that I could tell my future children. I am sure they will ask why bats like the night time.

The Disobedient Daughter that Married a Skull

Children. We have to learn things the hard way. We have to learn things on our own. Unfortunately, this leads to many other things that go wrong. I am glad this story had a good ending because it could have been terrible.

The King who Married the Cook's Daughter

What goes around comes around. That is karma. I am shaking my head. Being jealous does not serve a purpose. It only brings ill harm right back to the sender. 

The Woman, the Ape, and the Child

This story was somewhat glory. My heart cries for the baby. It is so sad that children  are brought into such violence, greed, and jealousy. The relationship between humans and apes has been ruined. A mother not only watcher her child die but also lost her life. No one won in this situation. When one person creates a lie, it involves so many other people.

The Fish and the Leopard's Wife

That unfaithful friend ruined for all fish in the world. That is terrible. I have noticed that these stories revolve around an intimate relationship. Never betray your friends because nothing comes of it. Always lock you spouse in a closet until you return.

Why the Worms Live Underneath the Ground

Talk is cheap. I like how the king made them settle it out the old fashion way. The worms were completely embarrassed. That sucks. I would really dislike to be defeated by everyone that lives in town also.

The Elephant and the Tortoise

These stories are great! I love them. This is so great! This story provided an explanation for two animals. You should never be so greedy that you would "eat" your own eye.

Why a Hawk Kill Chickens

The king gave the chicken a cruel punishment. You should never think it is okay to eat a child as revenge or repayment. That is not good. Why would the hawk want to eat a child? I guess animals do not care. Food is food.

Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky

The sun and the moon are nice enough to stay in the sky by themselves, so that, the water and its people have a place to visit. That is what you call a true friend. The sun has always been a good friend to the water. Once again, this unit has provided a story that has a great story line and meaning behind it.

Why the Cat Kills Rats

After reading all the stories, I have realized that the results last forever. Cats still kill rats. I like how the king, like in the previous stories, is very involved in everyone's situations and problems. 

The Cat and Mouse

Essay: Ryder's Panchatantra

I really did enjoy this unit, Ryder's Panchatantra. It was very easy to read and understand. My favorite stories were The Sensible Enemy and The Foolish Friend. 

When I read stories for this course, I try to find the lesson in the story. I always try to relate it to reality in some shape or form, so that, I can better understand the true meaning of the story. I try to apply this practice to everything that I do in life. 

I feel like The Sensible Enemy and The Foolish Friend could both be used to understand each other. The sensible enemy became a friend to the three boys, after sacrificing himself first. I know that sounds crazy because he had negative and harmful intentions. The foolish friend obviously really cared for the king and it seems that the three boys really wanted someone who cared for them. 

I am not sure that I had a least favorite story from this unit. This unit was really good. I actually enjoyed reading the stories. I am not sure of any other background information that could have been provided. When I read stories, I do not necessarily look for any background informaton. I just read. 

For this course, I would appreciate units that are entertaining and do not feel like I am reading for class. This unit achieved that goal for me. Also, I liked the length of the stories in this unit. The lengths were short but not too short. I am a very "get to the point" person. I do not write with much detail. These stories provided a lot of detail but still got the point across. 

After reading this unit, I want to continue reading all the units from beginning to end. I know that I have struggled with working ahead in this course but this unit has spiked my interest in other units. 

Source: Panchatantra.org

Week Five: Storytelling

The Innocent Murderer

Once upon a time, over the grassy hill and through the scary forest lived a bear. The bear was known to many others, who also considered the scary forest home, such as Grandma Mattie. She received the name Grandma Mattie from her closest friends because she was one of the oldest in the neighborhood of the forest known as Love Land. Grandma Mattie was born and raised in Love Land. It would be her home until it was time for her to fly with the angels. She loved everyone with the most unselfish heart, as if they were own children. The husband of Grandma Mattie had been deceased for years now. It was terrible how his life ended.  As soon as the two said "I do," he had a heart attack and fell over. The two love birds never had the chance to birth their own mini cubs. Her nurturing tendencies found a way to display themselves every single chance that she got. For example, she would routinely bake many delicious blueberry pies to share with her neighbors every Tuesday morning.

One day a young cub came into town with his head hanging low, his fur extremely dirty, and gooey snot dripping from his nose. Everyone looked down at him like a poor lost boy and with disgust. No one wanted to offer him food and shelter because of the ancient proverb:

"See a stranger, meet a stranger;
Meet a stranger, lose a life.
See a stranger, turn your head.
For you mother always said."

Everyone was too frightened to meet a stranger because one never knew the true intentions of stranger. They all have watched enough LifeTime movies to know that strangers are capable of pure craziness. Grandma Mattie did not mind meeting strangers. In reality, she loved meeting new people. She saw such opportunities as a chance to welcome more people into her loving home.

She quickly offered the cub, who said his name was Jacob, a slice of her famous blueberry pie and a bed to rest his body. They both took a liking to each other in seconds. She began to raise him, school him, and love him, like she would do for anyone else. Neighbors that disagreed with her friendliness towards the cub would voice their opinions about it. Unfortunately, Grandma Mattie chose not to listen.

One day, Grandma Mattie decided to teach the young cub how to fish. Unlike most bears, Grandma Mattie preferred to fish just like humans, with a fishing pole. After some practice, Jacob seemed to be a professional fisherman. One day, he fished for hours and hours because it was just so fun! He noticed that something was swimming in the water with a huge fin on its back. He wanted to show Grandma Mattie the massive fishy swimming so bad that he could hardly even speak.

He pushed Grandma Mattie in so that she could swim with the fishy. The fishy, with the huge fin on its back, began to rip Grandma Mattie to pieces. Her blood and limbs were flying everywhere and Jacob ran into town to get help. Once the neighbors realized what happened, they grieved for weeks. Poor Jacob was felt alone again. No one in Love Land wanted to take him in. They were all too scared of him now. The homeless little cub wandered off looking for another home. Until this day, Love Land has forbidden welcoming strangers into their neighborhood.

Source: Bear

Author’s Note: With this story, I wanted to create a story that was somewhat similar to the Three Little Bears. That story has been on my mind for days. The Foolish Friend was a great story, which can be found in the book of The Panchatantra of Vishnu Sharma, translated by Arthur W. Ryder (1925). I did not want to change it too drastically because I did like the original story line. I changed the animals in the story, how the two characters became friends, and how one character dies. The original story consisted of a king that became really close to a monkey.  No one understood why the king wanted to be great friends with a monkey. The king had everything he wanted under the sun, plus a monkey for a friend. During the king's afternoon nap, the monkey was assigned as a body guard. The king and his wife rested in peace until they were due for their next public appearance. The monkey tried to kill the mosquito that rested on the king. Unfortunately, he killed the king instead.I wanted my story to have a similar ending. Jacob, the little cub, did not understand that it was a shark in the water. He innocently sent Grandma Mattie to her ending.

Week 5: Reading Diary B: Panchatatra

Myth-Folklore Unit: Panchatatra

Right-Mind and Wrong-Mind
I really like the stories that have a story within the story. I think it makes it more believable. It's somewhat like watching a movie. It is unfortunate the Wrong-Mind was willing to involve his father in his wrong doing. 

The Mice that Ate Iron
Being greedy gets you nowhere in life. I believe in Karma. What goes around comes around. Laksham should have known that his lie about the mice would not work. I do like how Naduk secretly got Money-God to leave the house. That was very clever. In the end, it worked out best for both of them.

The Sensible Enemy
The enemy knew that no good would come from his evil thoughts. He would rather sacrifice himself for having bad intentions rather than have three young boys killed. At least, he came to his senses and did not remain evil spirited. 

The Foolish Friend
You have to be careful who you associate yourself with. It's best to hang out with others that have similar values such as: lifetime goals, manners, education, and etc. If not, you will find yourself in a situation like the King. 

How the Rabbit Fooled the Elephant
I appreciate that the king had compassion for the thirsty elephants. Most king have been known to only worry about themselves. There is a proverb for everything. The rabbits name was Victory and he achieved just that.  

The Cat's Judgement
I think the Crow should have spoken up for his friend, the partridge. I know he was sad and believed he would never come back, but I still wouldn't want someone to occupy my friends home. The rabbit should have just moved. He had not been there long enough to become upset about it. I think the cat is a great soul for not wanting to eat any of them. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The sneaky cat was not nice.

The Brahman's Goat
Do as you will. There are many speed bumps in life but you have to stick to your first plan. Many others will come and try to ruin what you have only because they want what you have. The three men were wise enough to fool the Brahman and get what they want. 

Mouse-Maid Made Mouse
This was a very interesting story. I really like this unit.

The Loyal Mongoose
At first, I thought it was crazy that she mothered a mongoose. I realized she took care of it like it was her own. I am a little slow sometimes. Lol. Mothers have to be everything in the household. That is why it's true that the woman wears the pants.

Thirst Elephants and Rabbits