Week Twelve Reading Diary cont.: Canterbury Tales

Little Hugh
-This story was really sad but magical. Any time a child is killed it is sad. Especially for such a silly reason as singing a song they didn't like.
Cock, Hen and Fox
-The Cock had a dream a fox ate him and the hens told him it was silly. The next day a fox tried to eat him but he narrowly escaped.
The Priest
-Basically a trickster convince a priest he could make copper into silver with a magic recipe and got the priest to pay him for the recipe that was fake.
Story source:The Chaucer Story Book by Eva March Tappan (1908)

The Canterbury Tales

Week Twelve Reading Diary: Canterbury Tales

The Unknown Bride
-A man is sentenced to be hung unless he properly reports on what women want most. An old wise woman gave him the answer that women want to rule their husbands and then forces him into marriage. After some advice about having an old ugly honest wife over a hot rich and unfaithful one she turns into a beautiful young woman.
The Story of the Summoner
-A summoner is basically a trickster who tries to get people to pay him money in false court cases. He meets the devil who he believes to be his new thieving friend. The first man they try to loot calls out to God so the new friend says he isnt worth looting. Then the old lady tells him basically to go to hell so the devil takes him!
The Promise of Dorigen
-Wow this was a great story. At first I hated the squire because I felt it was so rude to go after another man's wife and try to deceive her like he did. But I am glad he repented in the end. I am also glad that her husband was such a great and understanding man and she such a truthful wife. And the magician I was sure to be a pig but he was also very good. It is not often you have a story with so many good men.
The Revelers
-This was an interesting story. The ending was quick. I thought it would go through the fight more. but it is funny how they set out to search for death and their greed led them to it.

The Canterbury Tales

Story source:The Chaucer Story Book by Eva March Tappan (1908)

Reading Diary Week Eleven: Robin Hood

Robin Hood. The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child (1882-1898).

Statue of Robin Hood

Progress to Nottingham
-Robin Hood killed a group of men because they said he couldnt do archery and when he proved it they did not pay the wager
Little John
-He was a large man that beat Robin Hood in a fight. After Robin was beat he decided this man needed to join his group so he taught him archery and gave him a spot in the group.
The Butcher
-This one was pretty confusing to read. Basically I gathered that he tricked some butchers into thinking he was rich and got a rich sheriff to come with him then stole all his stuff.
The Ranger
-This is another story of Robin Hood adding to his troop. This man was protecting the kings deer in the woods that Robin was trying to kill. They fought a long battle then Robin decided he wanted him on his team the same at Little John.
The Bold Pedler
-Little John and Robin Hood came across a pedlar and fought him for his things. When they asked him who he was he turned out to be his cousin so they all went for beers.
The Shepard
-Robin Hood fought a shepard and lost then little John fought him and also lost. Robin Hood is not as good of a fighter as I imagined.
Delight
-Another story of fighting men and losing and then drinking and becoming friends
The Pedlars
-They met pedlars again and tried to fight them Robin got knocked out and the pedlars said to take this as a lesson and gave him some medicine to make him better then he threw it up and they left.
Allen A Dale
-He met a man who was trying to marry this one lady but she was about to marry someone else so Robin swept in and got her to marry his friend
Rescuing Three Squires
-Robin comes across their mother who tells him of there sentencing to death. He sees it unjust and disguises himself as a beggar and saves the three men.

Reading Diary Week Ten: Cherokee

Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).
First Story
-The earth was made by a beetle pulling soil to the water's surface
-The mountains were from a bird flying too close to the surface when the soil had not hardened yet
-They started rotating the sun east to west to dry out the land
-At first woman multiplied weekly until the population got large then woman could only multiply yearly
The First Fire
-The spider successfully retrieved the fire with a bowl of web
-The Raven is black because the fire charred his winds
-Owls eyes are red from the smoke
-Snakes slither side to side from dodging the burning ashes
The Journey to the sunrise
-A group of men wanted to see where the sun stayed at night
-They met many tribes along the way and at one point met one who buried the spouse alive when the other passed
-I thought that was odd because I read that same custom in another story- I think it was the one where the man went on seven crazy voyages
-The found his home but one was crushed when they tried to enter so the rest returned home
Origin of the Pleiades and the Pine
-A group of boys were too busy playing instead of working so the mother decided to punish them
-The boys rebelled and danced and prayed to the gods
-They were carried up to the stars but one boy was pulled back and fell into the earth and became a pine tree
The Moon and The Thunder
-The moon was courting the sun but the sun did not know who he was because she only saw him at night. So one night she put ashes on his face so at daybreak she would know. That is why the moon has dark spots. The moon was embarrassed so now he stays as far away as possible
-The moon is a ball that was thrown during a game illegally and is there to remind players not to cheat. games can only be played on a full moon
-Whenever an eclipse happens it is a frog trying to swallow the moon or sun so they shoot guns at it to scare it away
-The main thunders in the sky are helpful but there are other thunders around earth that cause mischief. If you point at a rainbow your finger swells
The Deluge
-This story was strange, it didnt really have an ending
-It reminded me of Noahs Ark he built a raft for the flood but he only saved his family and when the water went down everywhere he went ghosts were dancing
Tobacco and Strawberries
-their one tobacco plant was stolen and without it this old woman was dying
-every animal tried to retrieve it but the thief killed them as soon as he saw them
-finally the hummingbird tried and was so swift and small he could not be caught and killed
-he saved the people by returning the tobacco plant
-a husband and wife were fighting and she ran off, he tried to chase her but couldnt catch up
-so a god put fruits in her path to try and get her to stop but she paid no attention until he made a new fruit the strawberry which got her to stop
-they got back together
Rabbit Goes Duck Hunting
-A sly rabbit tries to do all these tricks to impress people, one day he tries to catch a duck who ends up flying off with him
-He falls into a tree and is stuck until some kids cut him out and he scurries away
Rabbit steals Otters Coat
-The rabbit tricked the otter into taking off his coat and wearing it himself for a compitition
-when he got to the competition he was recognized as the rabbit and his tail was pulled off
Why the Possums Tail is Bare
-The rabbit is a trickster again
-Out of jealousy the rabbit convinced the cricket to brush the possoms tail but really cut all the hair off without him knowing.
How the Terrapin Beat the Rabbit
-He hid out his identical friends at each ridge and he hid at the finish line and when the rabbit got close and wore out he crossed the finish line winning the race
Flint Visited Rabit
-Flint was evil and everyone wanted him dead
-Trickster Rabbit thought he could do it so he befriends flint and invites him to dinner
-After dinner Flint falls asleep and Rabbit shatters him with a mallet which is why we find flint everywhere
Deer and Rabbit
-the deer and the rabbit were racing to see who would get the antlers
-the rabbit cheated and cut a neat path so the deer would have to run through thick brush
-since he cheated the deer automatically got the antlers
-the rabbit was jealous so he tricked the deer into thinking he needed sharper teeth
-the deer foolishly let him sharpen his teeth but he really just cut them down to the gum so now deer can only eat soft things

A Cute Deer

Reading Diary Week Seven cont.: Japanese Fairy Tales

The Goblin of Adachigahara

• A monk was traveling one night and got lost in an empty plain, he found shelter in an old woman's hut
• when she went to get more firewood he looked around her place finding a room filled with skeletons
• He then released she was going to kill him, she was the goblin he had heard stories of 
• So he ran away and ran all night with her chasing him until daylight broke and she vanished

The Ogre of Rashomon

• A brave knight fights a large scary ogre seizing his arm in the battle
• The ogre returns as an old woman to retrieve his arm and escapes before he can be harmed again
• The ogres never returned to the city out of fear of this brave knight

The Story of Princess Hase

• She was born via prayers from her parents who were having trouble conceiving
• Her mother died when she was young but still taught her manners
• Her new stepmother hated her and treated her awful, even tried to poison her but accidentally poisoned her son instead
• She then had her sent away while her father was on business
• The servant sent to kill her decided to just stay with her in the forest until her father returned
• Upon his return he found his daughter in the wood and his second wife ran away for fear of what the father would say to her for banishing his daughter
• the daughter and father lived a happy peaceful life after that

Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki (1908).

The princess being rescued by her father

Reading Diary Week Seven: Japanese Fairy Tales

My Lord Bag of Rice

• A man wanted to go out a find an adventure/prove his masculinity
• He came across a dragon but was not afraid nor did he try and kill it since it was sleeping and posing no threat
• The dragon then changed form to human and requested his help in killing the enemy
• He said yes thinking it would be a great adventure and killed the enemy with creativity (human saliva)
• The dragon king gave him gifts that could not be used up ever and he became very wealthy

The Golden Boy

• A woman was forced to live in the woods after her husband died and his enemies kicked her and her unborn boy out
• The boy become very strong and well acquainted with the animals
• One day a general saw him and his great strength and recruited him to be a samurai
• He became the biggest hero in the land and brought his mother back to the city and cared for her

The Man who did not wish to die

• A man was afraid of death and went in search of eternal life
• He prayed to a God that could supposedly grant him that
• The God put him in a dream and showed him what it would be like to live for hundreds of years
• The man realized he did not desire to live forever and he would prosper in his life by being a good soul

Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki (1908)

Bird that transports you to eternal life

Reading Diary Week Six cont: Nigeria

Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910).

Eagle, King of the Birds

The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder

• Whenever lightning is mad he becomes destructive and burns and destroys land and homes
• Thunder is lightnings mother and she yells at him when he becomes destructive but it usually doesn't make him stop

The Bush Cow and the Elephant

• They did not like each other and were fighting for domaninance 
• They fought in the middle of town and were scaring the people
• a monkey sees the fight and goes to get someone to stop it but forgets on the way
• eventually he remembers and the towns king kills the two animals

The Cock Who Caused a Fight Between Two Towns

• Another story about jealousy
• A man was jealous of two brothers so he started a fight between them by claiming one stole the others pet to kill
• the two brothers and their towns fought and then the king stopped it and found that the third man had started the fight out of jealousy and he was sentenced to death

The Affair of the Hippopotamus and the Tortoise

• The hippo always served all the animals dinner
• He then started saying if you did not know his name you could not eat
• One tortoise said what happens if I know your name and the hippo says he will go down to the water in shame
• The tortoise finds out his name from one of his wives and the hippos then live in the water from then on. 

Why Dead People are Buried

• A king sent a dog out with a message on how to revive people after death
• He got distracted and forgot to spread the message
• So the king sent a sheep to do it but he spread the wrong messages, that people should just be buried at death and it just stuck

Of the Fat Woman Who Melted Away

• More jealousy stories
• The fat wife could not go out in the sun but the other wife nagged her until she did
• She melted outside but her toe was saved so she could be reborn
• The husband returned the other wife to her parents who sold her as a slave to repay him his dowry for their daughters jealous behaviors

Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes

• The moon used to provide for an old woman and the people got mad because the moon was getting thin
• They stopped the woman from taking from the moon and she eventually died
• the moon was scared and stayed in the sky from here on out getting fat and thin over and over

How the Tortoise Overcame the Elephant and the Hippopotamus

• the tortoise tricked them into thinking he was strong by tying a rope to a rock and a tree and pretending it was him 
• They both wanted to befriend him after that thinking he was strong
• So he went to the water and his son went to land with the elephant 
• this is why tortoises live on land and water

The King and the 'Nsiat Bird

• The king wanted to marry this beautiful bird but she had a curse of having twins which is not allowed
• when she had her twins she and her family ran away to the tree tops to avoid being killed for having twins

Concerning the Hawk and the Owl

• The hawk took a baby owl to eat but since the parents were so quiet when he took the child he became nervous of what they were going to plot as revenge
• He decided to return the baby owl and get a baby chicken instead
• the chickens were very loud and crazy so he knew they would not plan revenge over the night so he continues to feed on chicks forever

The 'Nsasak Bird and the Odudu Bird

• These birds are competing to see who can go the longest without eating
• The Nsasak bird sneaks out of his cage at night and eats while the other bird eventually dies
• The Nsasak bird wins the title of the best bird in the land

The Election of the King Bird

• The birds had a fight to establish dominance and the eagle won
• now eagles are seen as a sign of good or bad luck depending on their flight patterns and help with hunting when you wear their feathers

Reading Diary Week Six: Nigeria

Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910).

Angry but Cute Cat 

Of the Pretty Stranger Who Killed the King

• Moral of the story is do not trust strangers
• A shape shiftier changed into a young girl to get close to the awful king then kill him in his sleep
• This king was a awful person who rampaged other countries and took many prisoners and made them slave

Why the Bat Flies by Night

• The bat tricks his "friend" the bush rat into killing himself
• Once they realized the bat caused the incident they tried to kill him
• He hid out while they looked all day and had to adjust his habits and only come out for food at night so he didn't get caught

The Disobedient Daughter Who Married a Skull

• The daughter was more interesting in looks when searching for a husband
• When she finally found a man handsome enough for her he takes her to his homeland which is really the spirit world where she could be eaten by the cannibals
• She befriends and old lady who hides her and eventually sneaks her out of the spirit world and returns her home
• The girl then starts listening to her parents and not marrying just for looks

The King Who Married the Cock's Daughter

• This story was really strange, I think the king married an animal, but I am a little unsure. 
• The kings other wives were jealous of his most recent one (the possible hen) and made her look stupid so the king would get rid of her
• When the king found out of this plan he kicked out the woman who headed the plan and she was left on the street
• Moral of the story, do not let jealousy overcome you

The Woman, the Ape, and the Child

• This was a bit of a confusing story
• Basically the moral is to not trust what everyone says because alot of people ended up dying because a jealous man made up a story
• A jealous man basically told another man his wife was being unfaithful and the man killed his wife and since they were from different towns the two towns started fighting over it and a good chunk of people died

The Fish and the Leopard's Wife

• The fish was an adulterer and was sentenced to life underwater as punishment for his bad deeds

Why the Worms Live Underneath the Ground

• Ants tried to fight the worms to establish dominance so the worms hid out underground and have stayed there always fearful for their lives

The Elephant and the Tortoise

• A jealous tortoise tricked the elephant into losing his eyes
• a generous worm loaned the elephant his eyes but the elephant could never give them back
• this is why the elephant has small eyes and worms are blind

Why a Hawk Kills Chickens

• The hawk married a hen and paid her parents a dowry for her
• The hen left the hawk and her parents could not repay the dowry so the hawk takes chicks when he sees them as a repayment.

Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky

• They invited water over to visit but the water was too big and drove them out into the sky

Why the Cat Kills Rats

• The rat was stealing from the cat to give presents to his sweetheart
• When the rat was found out the girl was beaten (which is dumb, I doubt she knew they were stolen) and the rat was given to the Cat
• The cat lost his job so he ate the rat out of anger and has hated rats ever since

Week Five Reading Diary cont: Voyages of Sindbad

Fifth Voyage: He built his own ship that ended up being destroyed by Rocs who dropped boulders on it. He swam ashore and was made captive by a crazy old man. He escaped by getting him drunk and running away eventually finding his way back with riches.
Sixth Voyage: He set off again getting caught in a current that crashed the ship into a mountain. To escape the deserted area he rode a raft down a stream that went underground when he emerged he was taken care of and helped home.
Seventh Voyage: He did not want to leave since all of his troubles at sea but his king wants him to run an errand and he couldn't say no. The voyage there went smoothly but on the way back he was kidnapped by pirates and sold in the slave trade. He worked as a slave killing elephants for months until he found their burial ground and made his owner very rich. He was then granted freedom to return home.

The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).

I just love elephant images

Week Five Reading Diary: Voyages of Sindbad

First Voyage: It started out making me think about the biblical story Jonah and the whale
he floated to shore and met some men who took him inland to the king who kept him safe until his original ship passed back through and he sailed home to buy a new place to live.
Second Voyage: He gets left on a deserted island because he isn't smart enough to tell someone he is setting down for a nap so they don't leave him. Then a bird takes him to diamonds which he smartly gathers many off then meets some merchants and finds his way home. he then gives money to the poor which is pretty cool
Third Voyage: this is the one that is like the Greek legend where they stab the one eyed giant in the eye to blind of their escape. This man has great luck that he keeps finding the ships that he was originally lost from so he never really loses his money or merchandise. Also is surprises me that him and the captain do not recognize each other at first. For someone you are stuck on a ship with you would think you would recognize them
Fourth Voyage: This is probably the most wild one yet. He is shipwrecked and survived and was saved and taken to another king who then decided he wanted Sindbad to stay on his land so he married Sindbad off. Then Sindbad learns that when his wife dies it is customary to be buried alive with her. His wife eventually falls ill and dies and he is buried alive. He find a hole to sneak out of and finds a valley full of jewels. He was down a ship who then carries him home.

The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).

Roc carrying an elephant

Week Four Reading Diary Cont.: Tales of a Parrot

The Tooti Nameh or Tales of a Parrot, by Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi (1801).

• The first story in this section the parrot tells about friendship and how a snake and a frog repayed a prince for his kindness to them but once they had repayed their service they went back to their homes. I also like how he took his money to charity and did not become rich from it. 
• The main woman starts to question her new lover's personality
• The next story was probably the best so far it is of three men fighting over a young woman trying to win her over with their skills. She is captured and all their skills were used to save her but only one was willing to actually go in and rescue her with no regard to his own life. 
• A princess runs off with a man of no status and takes enough gold from her father so they can live in peace outside his territory for the rest of their lives
• This was another tale about who deserved the woman in this one her husbands head and body got displaced so which one was the rightful husband? head or body? the head because of the thoughts, memories and wisdom kept there
• Now the main woman feels like she is shameful for even thinking of going and is questioning her "lover"
• The next story is actually one that is about not committing adultery. It is about wanting to and realizing the wrongs but then dying without their one true love. 
• The next story a man tries to help a snake then the snake goes to bite him so the man tricks the snake and ends up killing him
• This story basically tells that no secret is truly safe unless it is only in your mind. Once he confided in his wife he was busted.
• The lesson of the next story is not to always follow other's actions because it may not have the same outcome for you. Like hitting a man and him turning to gold because of a phrophecy 
• this story was awful, the elephant just had a scratch he was not trying to harm the eggs it is awful that he had to die for it. especially in such a cruel and suffering way
• Now the main woman wants to be completely single
• This story was weird, basically some animals came into the garden and got caught because the donkey started singing poorly
• HOLY COW! The ending was entirely unexpected. Not just with the last tale but also with the original characters. As for the tale I am glad the son was not killed and that family could rejoin. As for the main story I am so surprised as the parrot for telling everything, and I am surprised she was killed considering she never actually went out to meet the man.

Elephant from one of the tales, I really enjoy elephant pictures

Week Four Reading Diary: Tales of a Parrot

The Tooti Nameh or Tales of a Parrot, by Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi (1801).

• The female seems a bit crazy, like she has anger issues. When the parrot told her cheating was bad she just killed it with no thought
• This parrot is very clever telling his first story like that of what reality could soon be looking like
• the next story is of men fighting over a woman and then the woman disappearing and none of the men getting what they want
• Next is of giving your livelihood for someone "lesser" than you
• The next is about saying your kids even if you have to be decitful to others
• The next is about a cheating wife catching her husband trying to cheat and making him out to be the bad guy
• The next is about playing your card right to keep your job then going away and not telling your replacement how to do the job properly
• the next story is of a frog who asks for help from the wrong person and has to run away to save his own life
• The mistress complains that the parrot is keeping her from her lover with all his stories but everynight she wants to hear more
• the next story tells how if you do not listen to your friends you will end up lonely
• The final story tells of more women cheating on their husbands this one she finds someone to be her replacement and the replacement gets beaten for not speaking to the husband while trying to conceal her identity

The elephant from The King of Kinoje and his Daughter

Week 3 Reading Diary cont.: Adam and Eve

I did not enjoy the second half of the reading. It was very repetitive and Adam's whining was very irritating to me. Also the amount of suicide I have read about in these past few readings has been alarming. I did not realize how much there was in the story of Adam and Eve. Every page Adam was complaining about something he had lost and praying to get his punishment revoked and killing himself when it was not. It was very frustrating.
The Forgotten Books of Eden, edited by Rutherford H. Platt, Jr. (1926): The First Book of Adam and Eve.

Adam and Eve Upset 

Week 3 Reading Diary: Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve Unit The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg

This reading was more in depth than previous readings so far. The most interesting part for me was the story of Adam's first wife and her desire to be an equal and her banishment when refusing to be his secondary. That could make an interesting modern day story. I was also amused by the snake's punishment especially that of always being hated by humans and facing alot of death. Also I had never read the part about the punishments to the moon and earth so I thought that was really interesting especially how the moon is made out to be basically evil because he laughed instead of grieving.

Adam and Eve being removed from Paradise

Week 2 Reading Diary cont.: Cupid and Psyche

Apuleius's Golden Ass, as translated into English by Tony Kline (2013). 

• Venus doesn't love her husband
• She is so unreasonable
• she seems a bit OCD
• for the first time ever she isn't suicidal
• No one will help her because Venus is to scary and mean
• She finally decided to toughen up and face the consequences of her actions
• seriously, how many times will this girl try and commit suicide
• Why does she never listen!!
• of course the story ends well
• Jupiter gives in to all of Cupid's wishes (which seems to be a trend)
• Flashback to the beginning of the story with the kidnapped girl, her and the donkey run away

Venus assigning tasks to Psyche

Week 2 Reading Diary: Cupid and Psyche

Apuleius's Golden Ass, as translated into English by Tony Kline (2013).

• The girl said she predicted the event in her dreams and that no one struggle to save her
• Venus convinced cupid to set her up to fail and Apollo gives her father a terrible prophecy and she just wants to die. 
• strange that she sees how beauty is not happiness and wants to die instead of being alone for the rest of her days
• reminds me of locking the princess away in the tower
• curiosity killed the cat
• humans cannot deny temptation such as searching the place she was in 
• the invisible things make it seem like a dream
• he raped her
• she doesn't listen well 
• she gets better at it and her sister's are bipolar
• having a sister would suck
• she is pregnant but it is not yet known if it is mortal or divine
• she asks for too much again
• she is still a bad listener and her sister's are horrible people
• cupid doesn't follow orders well either, i bet mother wouldnt be happy
• was everyone this suicidal?
• lmao where did she learn to be mischievous, the naive mindset had to end sometime i guess.

Psyche over Cupid