Storytelling Week Seven: My Wicked Stepdaughter

Dear Diary,

I am so overwhelmed with joy! Today is the day I get to marry the handsome Prince Toyonari. I have waited my entire life to meet a man of his perfection and class. Everything about this marriage will be perfect. My soon- to- be husband is handsome, courageous, generous and very wealthy. And my son will be next in line to his status and fortune! Well, as long as I can get the girl out of the picture. Did I tell you about the child he has? My goodness, he is obsessed with her! Apparently his first wife couldn’t have children so she is some miracle baby from the gods. She doesn’t seem very special to me, just an obstacle in the grand scheme. But that is okay- I know how to handle problems.

XOXO,

Lady Terute

Dear Diary,

This child is so frustrating! I have tried to trick her into being disrespectful so as to have her punished. But no matter what task I give her or rude thing I say she just takes it with no complaints! Her abnormal kindness is ruining all my plans! She is stealing my attention from MY HUSBAND. And she is showing up my boy! She is a talented musician and poet and everyone swoons over her every word. She was even asked to play at the palace! She puts on a great front, showing everyone her grace and charm. But I know, deep down, that she is an accident waiting to happen. She can’t stay this perfect forever. Her dark past will catch up with her. No child makes it through the loss of a parent unscathed.

XOXO,

Lady Terute

Dear Diary,

Well I have devised a plan. If she won’t show her true colors now, it is best I do not wait around on her to explode. That could be treacherous! For the sake of everyone around her, I feel it is best to get rid of her now. I have decided to poison her. I went and got the concoction from a friend today. I will mix it in her wine at playtime tomorrow. Wish me luck!

XOXO,

Lady Terute

Dear Diary,

I am writing today with a heavy heart. My son has passed. And it is all the girl’s fault. How you ask? Well, let me tell you. I mixed the wines accordingly, being careful to mark the poisonous cup. I took the wine to the playroom for the children and handed them out. I looked away for one minute and somehow the girl switched the cups! She must have known one was poison. She has to be a witch of sorts. This is even more of a reason for me to get rid of her! She is a nuisance to society! First she takes my husband’s attention and now she takes my only son’s life. She will be gone soon, mark my words.

XOXO,

Lady Terute

Dear Diary,

My husband left today, so it was the perfect time to strike. With him gone, I am head of the household. So, today I ordered our servant to take the girl to the woods and kill her. I explained her witchcraft to him and how she is harmful to us if she stays here. He obliged and they left early this afternoon. It was such a wonderful feeling watching her be escorted away. I have never felt so powerful and free. And honestly, it needed to be done for the good of the country. No child is that perfect without something being wrong. She must be a witch, so she needs to be taken care of. I know I made the right decision.

XOXO,

Lady Terute

Dear Diary,

Bad news. When my husband returned to his daughter missing, I told him she ran away. Naturally he went out to look for her. I, assuming she was dead, wasn’t worried. Well, today I received word that he has found her! That wretched girl must have pleaded for her life and that awful servant stayed out there and kept her alive! You just can’t seem to find good help these days. I should have taken her out there myself. Oh well, none of that matters now. He is going to have me executed if I do not leave. So now I must make a run for it. Hopefully my father will take me back in. It will probably be a while before I can write again. So wish me luck and I will try and make the best of this awful situation.

XOXO,

Lady Terute

Daughter being saved by father

Author's Note: This is the story of Princess Hase. She has an evil stepmother who tries to kill her multiple times. All of her plans fail miserably, and in one attempt she even accidentally killed her own son. In the end her father finds out about his wife's plan and runs her out of town. The father and daughter live happily together after that. For my retelling, I kept the plot the same. All the events in my retelling actually happen in the original story. In the original story it is told by a third person voice. For my story, I thought it would be fun to write it in the stepmother's voice. Historically we never really see the evil stepmother's side of the story. So, I thought this would be fun and different. I always assume in stories with evil stepmothers there is an alternative reason to jealousy that the stepmothers have for hating the stepdaughters. So for my retelling I added that the stepmother was convinced the girl was a witch. Therefore, killing her was the right thing to do. After doing some research on Princess Hase I have found that many compare her story to Cinderella. This was my first thought as well when I read the original story. The story explained some of the princess's accomplishments specifically in music and poetry. In my research I found she is also accredited with the art of embroidery. 

Bibliography: The Story of Princess Hase. Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki (1908).

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