Reading Notes: Brothers Grimm by Ashliman, Part B

The Fox and the Cat: This is a  funny story but also one with a good lesson. It talks about a cat and a fox who met by simple coincidence. The cat knowing that the Fox is a very smart and strong animal approached him very friendly and greeted him. However, the Fox being so arrogant felt like the cat should not be allowed to greet him since he is much superior to it. Therefore the Fox said why should he talk with her, what is so special about the cat? And the cat replied that she knew a very good trick to escape dogs by climbing on a tree when they are chasing her. However the fox was still bigheaded and told her that he knew hundreds of tricks and the cat was not up to expectations. Therefore, the fox suggested that he should teach her. So they went in a place where dogs started chasing them, the cat used her usual trick by climbing the tree but the fox ended up being caught by the dogs. This story is great to rewrite but it should be extended a little bit more in order to add more characters that will bring great value to the story.

The fox being attacked by the dogs. Web Source

The Peasant and the Devil: This is a story about a wise peasant who was able to fool a devil. One day when the peasant was going home, he found a devil on all his crops who ordered him to give him half of his production. However, since the peasant was smart, he negotiated and was able to get a deal that he would get anything under the ground and the devil anything above. Since the peasant planted turnips, nothing came out so the devil got angry and said next time he will get everything under the ground. Therefore, the peasant this time planted wheat and the devil did not get anything. This peasant is very smart and in my story, I could make him do so much more to the devil.

Reading Notes: Brothers Grimm by Ashliman, Part A

The Elves: This story is very nice as it brings a very good message to us humans which is about always being thankful to everyone and more importantly thank anyone that does something good for us. This story talks about a poor shoemaker who had only enough leather to make one shoe, one night before he slept, he prepared the leather to make the shoe the next day but surprisingly it was already perfectly done. Every night, he would prepare the leather and found all the shoes done and ready to be sold every morning. After a while he became rich enough and wanted to thank whoever was doing this for him. Therefore, he decided to stay up all night with his wife in order to find out who it is. It turns out to be two elves that were doing the shoes every night. He decides to thank them by offering them very nice clothes and since then they were freed and never returned. However, since he had made enough money, he was able to manage and keep himself a good business. This story is a great story to write as it includes everything and with a little bit of character twisting, it could become fantastic.

The shoemaker and his wife hiding while the Elves working. Web Source

Rumpelstiltskin: This is a very mysterious and dramatic story. It talks about a poor miller who once engaged in a conversation with the King and since he had a beautiful daughter, he told the King that she can spin straw into gold. The King ordered the beautiful girl to do so at night otherwise he will kill her. Therefore an evil witch by the name of Rumpelstiltskin and was able to do it for her but in exchange of something small but with time the King got greedy and asked for more so the beautiful girl offered her baby as the last exchange if he would help her. At the end, he felt sorry for her and let her go if she could find his name which she was able to find out at the end and Rumpelstiltskin ends up killing himself. This story is very nice to write as I can add more plots to what the evil man does to the miller’s daughter.

Reading Notes: The Fable of La Fontaine by W.T Lared, Part A

The Frog and the Ox: This is a very funny story. It talks about a frog who was not happy about his size, in fact he did not like being so small. He saw an Ox and was somehow jealous of her size. Therefore he decided to “stretch” himself in order to reach that size. Therefore, he kept on blowing himself more and more until his body could not stretch more. He ended up blowing up into many little pieces. Although the outcome of this story is very sad, the story is however very funny when you think about. I think this can also be a good pick for my story writing since I can write a comedy story from this by adding more action to it or even changing the reason why the frog decided to get bigger. Or even funnier I can add a magic potion for the frog to reach his wanted size but it will come with consequences of course just like in the story. Finally I believe that this will be the story I will be writing on.







The Old Man and the Ass. Web Source




The Ass in the Lion’s Skin: This is a very short story that talks about an ass who was camouflaged in a Lion’s skin. In the beginning everyone feared him because they all thought that he was a lion. Therefore everyone took off running. However, an old man noticed that he was not a lion due to his mouth and eyes that were not similar to those of a lion. Although, this story is short and brief, I believe that a lot can be done to it. I can add more characters and add more plots to the story. This will make it much more interesting and also I can add more drama or mystery into it to make it better.

Reading Notes: The Fables of La Fontaine by Elizur Wright, Part B

The Cat and the Old Rat: This story is very interesting, it talks about an old rat and a cat. Since they were many traps that were present, the rats did not dare go out anymore. However, the cat needed rats in order to eat but since the rats were very scared from the cat and all the traps, they did not dare leave their hiding places. Therefore, the cat had to come up with a solution and one of those solution was to fake its death. The cat hanged himself but faked it all by keeping its claws on the rope so it does not die. Since the Old rat realized that there was no more movement, he thought that it was finally safe to leave and look for food. However, the second the old rat left, the cat jumped on him and ate everything leaving only the bones. This story is a great one and I believe that it can be rewritten in a much better way. I can make it much more interesting by adding more characters and adding more plots like making the rat escape but then the cat catching him again and much more. I have no decided yet which story to write but this one is for sure a good option.

The Frog and the Rat: This story is actually very nice. I really liked the plot a lot and the ending. It talks about a frog who invites a rat home for dinner. However, the frog’s home is in the water and since the rat does not know how to swim, the frog decided to attach him to his back and take him to his home. After swimming in the water, it was time for the frog to go underwater but the rat started drowning. There was an eagle flying by and scanning the water for food and that is when he noticed the rat was drowning so he goes and pulls the rat out of the water in order to eat but pulls with him the frog as well since he was attached to him. The eagle ends up having two meals while thinking he would only get one.

The cat and Old Rat. Web Source

Reading Notes: Aesop's Fables by James Davies, Part A

Jupiter and the Money: This fable talks about Jupiter being a judge in a beauty contest for the baby animals. It talks about the mother of a monkey who went straight to the judges and told them that her baby was the most beautiful and she obviously deserves the prize. This fable conveys a great message which is how everyone always believes that what he creates or makes or owns is always the best there is. This story can be a perfect story to write because it offers many great points and values that can be extended on or even developed in order to add more drama or just action to the story itself.

Jupiter and the Monkey. Web Source

Apollo and Jupiter: This fable is about Jupiter and Apollo his son engaging in an archery competition. It starts with Jupiter shooting. Being the greatest and biggest, he thought that no one can beat him not even his own son. However, Apollo ended up reaching the same place as Jupiter which was Mars and Jupiter was very surprised. This story can be rewritten in many different ways that could be very fun. I can make this a whole competition between many other members of the family where I can add planet names and make the competition but also the prize even more interesting.

The Carter and Hercules: This fable talks about a wagon driver who had an accident and it fell into a rugged lane. He could not do anything so he stood there and asked god for help. Therefore, Hercules showed up and helped him put it back on track. However, he did tell him one thing after helping him “When you pray again, help yourself likewise or you will pray in vain”. This means that Hercules conveyed a great message to the driver by telling him that he should always pray god and not only when he needs help because god will not respond every time he needs helps.

Reading Notes: Aesop's Fables, Part B

The Wolf and the Lamb: This fable talks about the injustice in the world that is portrayed through the Wolf’s eyes. It is about a Wolf and a Lamb who were drinking from a river but the lamb troubled the flood with mud. Therefore, the lamb tried to explain that it was not him but it was someone else who looked like him. However, the wolf got angry and did not care, he just attacked and ate the lamb. We can see clearly here that the message that conveys is about how the Wolf decided whatever he wants because of his strength and by doing this he oppresses the rights of any other animal which is the case of the lamb here. I really like this story because of the message it has, however I believe that a lot of work can be done by making it much more interesting by adding more plots and more characters. I believe this could add a great touch of mystery and drama to it.

Wolf and the Lamb. Source

The Wolf and the Crane: This fable is also very nice, this time again about the Wolf’s injustice but in a different way. As the wolf was trying to devour a bone, it got stuck in his throat and his pain was incredible. Therefore he asked for help and that anyone who would be able to remove it would get a big privilege with the wolf. Therefore a crane went to help him and since she has a very long throat, she was able to reach the bone and remove it. However, since the wolf is not honest and did not eat because he had a bone in his throat, he ended up eating the crane that just saved his life. We have here another great example of the injustice of the wolf who did not keep his word. This story can be another great one to rewrite and it would be even better by adding all the mystery to it.

Reading Notes: Robin Hood Unit by Francis James Child, Part A

Robin Hood’s Progress to Nottingham: This story was very nice and I think a great way to introduce Robin Hood’s strength. It talks about Robin Hood a young man who wanted to show how good he was with his bow and arrow to the foresters. Of course, no one believed he was any good so he decided to demonstrate his skills by competing with each one of them. It was in Fair Nottingham that all of this happened and Robin Hood ended up killing all of them but one forester so that he can tell the story. Then he took off to the merry green wood and all the foresters were buried in a row next to each other. This is really a great story but I believe that it needs a bit more action and mystery to make it more alive. I think that a lot can be done to it by adding more characters and also more parts to the story.

Robin Hood and the Ranger: This story talks about Robin Hood who went to the forest to hunt deer. However, he met a forester who forbids him of such. After a long talk, they start to fight and Robin Hood looses. Therefore, he decides to blow his horn in order to call his men for help. However, the forester offers him help and they became good companions and swear to always fight with each other so that they can be much stronger. This story is very nice and I think that I will be writing my story on this one as it captivated me the most. There is a good message that comes out of it that I will insist much more while writing my story. Also, I think that I can add more into the fight of Robin Hood to make it much more interesting.

Man Dressed As Robin Hood. Web Source

Reading Notes: Myths and Legends of British North America, Part B

Turtle and Thunder: This story is a British North American legend. The title of the story Turtle and Thunder really made me curious as to what correlation there would be between them. The turtle was getting struck by something several times. He was helpless and wanted help from anyone. The turtle tested out a deer and a bear and they both failed the test of proving that they could fight the giant he was after. A crowd of little turtles ironically proved that they were the only ones that the turtle believed would be able to stand against the giant. He took them to the lake where he lived and shortly a big stone fell down and killed the little turtles. Ever since that day the turtle hid in the water whenever a thunderstorm was striking.

Wolverene. Source

Wolverene and the Geese: This story is about a wolverene who was running around the seashore and saw many birds in the water. He lured the birds into believing that he has a bee nest waiting for them if they come to shore to dance and sing with him. As expected they came and he sang for them. He told them to all close their eyes as he was singing. As soon as they closed their eyes, he took advantage and killed them all. A loon was able to escape because he did not believe the cunning wolverene. The wolverene skinned and put the birds in a pot to boil as he took for a nap. A Jay saw the wolverene’s actions and went to tell the Indians about him. The Indians rushed to the wolverene’s location to steal the meat from the pot. When the wolverene woke up he realized that the meat had gone as he was sleeping, however he did not know it was the Indians. The jay then told the wolverene that it was him who told the Indians to come. The wolverene replied by telling the bird he was keeping a piece for him. 

Reading Notes: Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest by Katharine Berry Judson, Part A

The Children of Cloud: This story had interesting characters by introducing the wind, sun and cloud as potential fathers of the children. They were in pursuit for their father which the mother directed to them as the cloud however they had to g through a series of tests by both the wind and cloud to prove. After proving that they are the children of the cloud, they stayed in their father’s house for a very long time. One day they missed their mother and demanded that they get sent back to their mother. To do that they went through many obstacles with alterations with ravens, roadrunner, hawk, eagle and coyote. With the help of the cloud through lightning and thunder, they were able to surpass them all. This was all a representation of why thunder and lightning go place to place and why mescals are large and near Tucson. Great story to describe a historical native American belief. 

Sierra Nevada and Coast Range

Origin of the Sierra Nevadas and Coast Range: This story is about the Sierra Nevada and Coast range. The story behind it is very interesting using two animals the crow and hawk as a symbol to each region. The crow and the hawk were both pushing the mud and parallel directions until they reached at the northern point. The crow however had gathered much more than the Hawk by stealing the hawks mud. The Hawk then chewed some Indian tobacco that made him wise and was able to take a hold of the mountains. This led to him having a greater range. This story serves as the mythical explanation of why Sierra Nevada Range is larger than the Coast range. The use of animals is symbolic to the desert setting that the author intended for. Additionally, the mentioning of Indian tobacco is representative of the famous native American chewing tobacco culture.

Reading Notes: American Indian Fairy Tales by W.T. Larned, Part A

Iagoo, the Story Teller: This story was a great read and had a great intro that made me gain interest in the core of the story. It talks about Iagoo an Indian man who knew everything about the nature and spent his time discovering everything. He can understand everyone, from humans to animals, the forest was his home. However, besides his hidden talent, he was a great story teller. When winter time came, he would hide in the wigwam because of the freezing cold of the North Pole. Then, he would start telling stories to the little kids around him that always love his stories.

Iagoo telling stories to the children. Web Source

Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind: After reading about the character Iagoo and his storytelling ability I was interested in hearing some of the stories he had told the children. This story was about the wind since iut was winter and the children were scared of the cold outside. Winter and Ka-bib-on-okka which meant the North wind were the fears of the children. Fishermen also feared the freezing Ka-bib-on-okkka since it was so cold that it can freeze anything. One day all the fisherman were out to get their nets back and noticed that the water has turned into a thin layer of ice. Therefore, they all knew that Ka-bib-on-okka was coming very soon and that they all had to leave. However, all of them were scared except one fisherman, Shin-ge-bis who never feared anything. He told them that the North Wind will never scare him because he has a fur coat that can withstand any cold and as for the ice layer, he can just fish through it. This story continues after to talk more about Sin-ge-bis facing the North Wind. It was a long night for Shin-ge-bis as he started a fire in his Wigwam to get ready to face the North Wind. As it came, the North Wind froze everything on its path and tried to enter the Wigwam many times but it was too hot and it could not do anything. So the North Wind challenged the Shin-ge-bis to come outside his wigwam in order to fight like a man. He felt that he was able to as he was hot enough and felt the North Wind was already weakened. He went out and by the time the Sun came he had already won. This is a great story to rewrite I believe as so much more mystery and drama can be added to it.

Reading Notes: Filipino tales, Part B

The Greedy Cow: I enjoy reading stories with nice morale lessons. This story is about a crow who found a piece of meat to feast on. As the crow climbed to the top of the tree, the crow saw a small bird with a full rat. The crow wanted to take the rat from the small bird, so he chased the bird leaving his piece of meat behind. The bird being smaller was more agile and could fly faster. The crow wasn’t able to catch the bird and returned to find his meat taken. The hawk was responsible for taking the crow’s meat. The crow learned that one should not be greedy and instead be content with what you have. I feel this a great story to re tell with different characters, maybe a child in a school type of scenario where the child feels ungrateful for what his poor parents are offering him but later learns a lesson.

The Lost Necklace: The crow bought a fine necklace from a merchant. He was very proud with it and boasted around other animals with this necklace. One day he saw the Hen who asked to borrow the necklace. The crow gave the Hen the necklace, trusting that the hen would return the necklace the next day. The next day the crow went to gather his necklace, the hen did not have it and claimed that one of her chicks had lost the necklace and could not find it. The crow threatened to go to the king and tell him about the Hen losing his necklace. The hen was frightened and then agreed to give the crow a chick every day until she retrieves his necklace. The necklace was never retrieved and the crow ate a chick every day.  

Hen and Chicks 

Reading Notes: Filipino Popular Tales, Part A

Don Juan and his monkey wife

Chonguita: A king that had three sons went out on a journey to seek their fortunes. Pedro, Diego and Juan were the names of the three sons. The brothers decided to split up into different paths and meet again at a certain place and time. Don Juan met an old man that gave him bread and told him to go to into a village full of monkeys. So Don Juan went on an adventure to the palace. When he entered he was surprised and felt indifferent by the sight of monkeys around him. He was about to leave until he was called by one monkey who knew the purpose of Don Juan’s arrival. He offered him his daughter Chonguita as a wife. He felt obligated to marry her, so he did but was ashamed that he was marrying a monkey. When he went back to meet with his brothers, Juan was embarrassed. When they returned to the kingdom, his father passed out from shock and embarrassment of his sons new wife. The King’s goal was to try to get rid of the monkey wife. So he set up a series of challenges between the son’s wives where the worst of the challenge will die. Chonguita excelled in all the challenges set by the king and was able to prove otherwise. One of the challenges Chonguita one gave Juan the throne to become king. At the ceremony of his initiation, Chonguita insisted that they have a first dance but Juan was ashamed. Juan was not too fond of that and hurled her on to the wall and suddenly the hall became dark. When it became bright again, she transformed into a beautiful woman. This story is great to use as a storytelling source as the characters could be adjusted or also the continuation could produce a great moral lesson.





Cochinango: I enjoyed reading this story a lot. A son of a farmer called Cochinango always believed that one day he will dine with the king and his future wife, the princess. He was ridiculed for his foolish dreams but he promised that he would do it. One day an opportunity came to Cochinango’s attention, a questionnaire competition made by the princess where the winner would become her husband. On the journey to the king’s palace Cochinango faith was tested by god in many forms. Being the generous and faithful person Cochinango was, he successfully passed all of god’s tests. As a prize he earned many items that would grant him food, money and ability to make everyone dance. Finally, Cochinango reached the palace and took part in the competition. He looked very warned out and the queen was denying his right answers because of how he looked. When he entered prison, Cochinango started using his earned powers which caught the attention of the princess. After displaying many tricks the king gave up on imprisoning Cochinango and the other prisoners because of how all the disturbance caused by Cochinango. Cochinango demanded that he would marry the princess in return of stopping his actions. The king agreed and they got married. This story is great to use to story tell because the journeys of Cochinango can be modified and changed. Also the reaction of the princess can be changed to where she uses his powers against him but God intervenes in some way to avoid Cochinango for getting unrightfully hurt.

Reading Notes: African Stories, Part B

Why dead people are buried: This story had an interesting title. The creator felt sorry when everyone was dying. He decided to bring back to life everyone that dies, and used the dog as a messenger. The dog had a mission to deliver the message but got too caught up with a bone he found and forgot to mention the message to the people of the town. The creator then sent the sheep but also the sheep got distracted and started eating grass. After his distraction, the sheep was not able to accurately remember what the message from the creator was and instead told the people to bury the dead instead. Days later, the dog remembered that he was on a mission to give out a message by the creator but it was too late. Everyone already believed the sheep and were burying the dead.

Of the Fat Woman who Melted Away: This story starts with a fat woman made out of oil that was very beautiful. Her parents received many men that wanted to marry her but rejected since none promised that she would not be exposed to the sun. Finally, one man came and promised her parents that he would not expose their daughter to the sun. The man had another wife that was jealous of how the fat beautiful wife would only stay inside and not go outside and help in the farm. One day, the man left the house for the whole day and the jealous kept on abusing the fat wife until she took her outside. Being pressured she went outside and sat under a tree. Of course she kept on pressuring her even more until she went under the sun and started working, she then started melting. What remained of her was only her big toe that was covered with a leaf. The daughter of the jealous wife, covered up the toe and returned it into the house preserving it in a pot with clay. The husband new of the incident and returned his jealous wife to her parents whom was sold as a slave later. He collected back his dowry and his fat wife build back up to her fat beautiful self.

(Photo by Leeshypooh)

Reading Notes: African Stories, Part A

Motikatika: The woman in the story was ill and her thoughtful husband went on four journeys to get Honey till she finally ate the honey. Later on, he felt ill and sent her on a journey to get some water. During her fourth journey she encountered an Ogre while trying to get some water. The Ogre was furious as he caught the lady red handed. So he said he will eat her, but she offered him her son Motikatika as a sacrifice. Motikatika was a magician and knew all along what his mother has chosen his fate to be. Therefore, Motikatika ended up setting up the father claiming that he was the one responsible for the water. The story is nice, but the father is not one to be punished. The mother should be held responsibility for her own actions, there are many different sources of water however she chose to go to the one with the Ogre.

The woman and the Ogre

Ofthe Pretty Stranger who killed the King: This story talks about the Nigerian tribes which is always an interesting read. Mbotu was the king of Old town, Calabar. He was loved by some but had many enemies. The people of Itu were one of the people that were considered enemies. Itu tribe had a witch that offered to transform herself into a young girl to try to get with Mbotu. Mbotu was known as a womanizer and someone that finds young charming girls appealing. The witch took advantage of that and was directly able to get into his chamber and cook his dinner. She made him dinner that he ate and went to sleep after. She silently cut his head off and took it back to the Itu people. The moral of the story is to never marry a stranger, no matter how pretty she may be.