Gracie

The Hardworking Man There was once a man who worked in the oilfield. He worked all day and all night and earned so much money that his boss began to resent him. "You are working too much, and now I have to give you all my money," he said. He scolded the man and made him move to a different rig where he did not have to pay him for his hard work. A company man heard about the hard working man, and sought after him. He respected the man for his hard work and offered him a job on his site. He told the man that if he worked non stop for the next three years, he will receive his own company. The man agreed. The man knew the struggles he may face while working non-stop. "How will I eat, or drink, or sleep?" he asked himself. He thought long and hard about how he would make this dream come true. He then had an idea.. To help him achieve his goal, he recruited three other rig hands to help him work. The rig hands agreed to help him only if they could be company men of...

Reading Notes B This story is about tricks.The man tricks his mean wife into going into the pit. Then once the demon comes out of the pit, he begins ticking the people that his is saving them from the demon, when in reality the demon and him have teamed up so he can earn money Then he tricks the demon into going back into the pit to be with the bad wife. He earns a daughter's hand in marriage for making the demon disappear, even though he was the one who brought him into the world. Russian Fairy Tales  by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

Reading A - The three spinsters This story is clever and witty. I really enjoyed the story line and the slight twist at the end. I truly could not predict how it was going to end. mom beats daughter for not spinning queen hears her cries, questions why mother is beating daughter mom is ashamed to admit her daughter won't spin, so lies and says she is spinning too much queen takes her to the castle where she can spin all the flax in the kingdom queen says if she gets it all done she can marry her son daughter does not want to spin at the castle, so she finds three woman who are fast spinners they have ugly features cause by spinning so much daughter asks women to help her spin all the flax in the kingdom they agree as long as they can attend her wedding as her "cousins" they spin all the flax in the kingdom without anyone knowing it was them when the queen the finished project, she schedules the wedding at the wedding, he r son asks why the cousins are so u...

This story is part of the  Italian Popular Tales unit . Story source:  Italian Popular Tales  by Thomas Frederick Crane (1885). Water and Salt This story is a twisted version of a father's love for his daughter. The king's daughter told him she loved him as much as salt and water. The king thought this wasn't much, so he had her killed. The daughter's sisters did not want her to die, so they had the servant kill a dog instead, and sent the sister to the forrest. In the forrest, she met a king, whose son fell in love with her. They were to get married, but only if she invited her father, a king. When he father was there, the feasted, but he was not allowed to have salt or water with his meal, which was miserable and he could not eat. The daughter approached him and explained why she loved him as much as salt and water. He realized that meant she loved him endlessly, and he begged for her forgiveness and they lived happily ever after.

This story is about a young girl who is hated by her stepmother. Her stepmother is jealous of her hair and cuts it off with an axe, then kills her. Her brother, who loved her, buries her and through his tears grew a rose bush. A bird came out of the rose bush and flew into town. The bird sang a song and gather treasures. The bird brought them back and gave a treasure to the brother and the father. When the stepmother went to get her treasure, the bird dropped a millstone and killed her. Story source:  English Fairy Tales  by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1890). The Rose Tree LIBRIVOX AUDIO: The Rose Tree

Robin Hood and the Ranger The stories from the British origin are interesting and unique. I read the Robin hood section, which consisted of many poem-like writings. The story I read was called Robin Hood and the Ranger. It was a unique story about hunting and had a fun rhyming sense to it. If I were to rewrite this story, I would keep the theme of the poem structure, and the subject of the hunt, but change the purpose. the characters, and the motives. This story is part of the  Robin Hood unit . Story source:  The English and Scottish Popular Ballads  by Francis James Child (1882-1898).

The Creation of the Mermaid The whale created the oceans, far and wide, deep and shallow, black and blue. He created the plants that bloomed vibrantly through the waving currents, and he created the sand that shimmered abundantly beneath the weight of the water. The whale also created the live that happily swam among the tides. The whale was proud and very content with his creation, but one day he decided there should be another creation, none like he has ever made before. It shall be called a mermaid, because of its man like-features. The whale gathered the animals that lived in his ocean, and held a meeting that would decide what the new creation should consist of. Each animal had its own thoughts of what the new life should be. The clown fish thought the mermaid should be orange and white, just like him. The shark thought it should have razor sharp teeth, so it could hunt better than any other fish. The tuna thought the mermaid should be agile and very large, to cut and dive thr...

The Course of the Sun Sia (New Mexico) This story tells of how the sun began to rise from the east and west. The mother spider told the sun to go from north to east, but the sun didn't like that path. The mother spider then told the sun to go from east to west, and the sun was much contended. From then on, the sun started in the east, and traveled to the west, stopping three times a day for breakfast, dinner, and supper. Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest  by Katharine Berry Judson (1912).

Creation of Man Miwok (San Joaquin Valley, Cal.) I really enjoyed this story. Coyote created all of the world, and the decided he should create man as well. He gathered all of the animals in a circle as the Indians do, and asked them what the name should look like. All of the animals suggested the man have qualities and characteristics that matched themselves, but the coyote thought otherwise. He told the animals to disperse and mold what they consider to be the perfect man out of clay. The coyote did the same, and worked all night to complete his masterpiece. After all of the other animals fell asleep, coyote destroyed they molds, and made his man come to life. If I were to rewrite this story, I would make it underwater, and have all of the fish consult to create the mermaid.

The People of the Ravens In the deep forrest of the Alaskan mountains lived the people of the Ravens. These people were brought to life through the wisdom and magic the ravens provided. They were sprouted from the ground, first growing like roots and branches, then forming into people. The people found their living through the land. For shelter, they started hiding under trees. The protection was enough to keep them alive, but they wanted more. The people explored the forrest, looking for something that could be better than the simple branch of a tree. After days of looking without any luck, they decided that the tree was a good start, and they must find ways to make the tree better. They found sharp rocks near the rivers, perfectly edged by the rapid currents. With these rocks they cut off the branches, and tied them together with vines, creating huts and homes that provided better protection than the tree alone. When the people were hungry, they ate roots and berries found in the ...

The Flood This story from the Alaskan section was quite interesting. It seems the Raven had planned to keep the tide as low as possible so the people could feast. The story was a little hard to follow, but overall I really liked it. Another interesting tidbit was the prevalence of ravens throughout the entire Alaskan section. Every story either had a raven in the title, or was based on the raven. I wonder where that sparked from... Myths and Legends of Alaska , edited by Katharine Berry Judson (1911). story & image link

Great Plains: Sacred Legend   Myths and Legends of the Great Plains  by Katharine Berry Judson (1913). This story tells how the native people came about and how they started using tools of the land for survival. Each method was improved, and the people made adjustments so they could be more satisfied with their livings. If I were to rewrite this story, I would base it in Alaska, and tell how the people came out of the ice and wondered into the mainland. I would describe what the people use to live and how they discovered it. I would also describe how the people made each item better My version would mimic the original, but contain a different setting and different items used to live in that area at that time. My story will feature bears, snow, roots, and trees taller than the sky. Each item found in nature will be used to benefit the native people in some way. faithful native american family  picture link

The Beautiful Daughters Once there lived a mother, who gave birth to two beautiful girls. They were so beautiful, that the gods casted a magical genie to look after them, protect them, and give them anything they desired. The daughters grew to be brace, valiant women, with fierce motives and hearts of gold. They were loved by all who approached them, and made efforts to help anyone they could. The daughters lived a life of goodness and stability, but one day, a woman said to them, "daughters, you must help the city. There is a jewel that is missing from the king's temple, and without it the city will crumble." The daughters immediately knew what to do. They packed up, and traveled to find the jewel. "Before you go," said the woman, "you must know that the jewel is in a dangerous place, where no being has stepped foot on." Subtle fear struck the daughter's eyes, but then they remembered their genies were with them, so they did not fear an...

Reading notes B: My Lord Bag of Rice Japanese Fairy Tales  by Yei Theodora Ozaki (1908). This story is very interesting and easy to read. The man finds a dragon that is transformed into a man He says his enemy is killing his family and asks for the man's help to kill him. The adventure continues as the man helps the dragon king. If I were rewrite this story, I would base it out of a jungle, and include tigers and people of that specific culture.

Reading A Congo: The Twin Brothers This story is about two twin brothers who were both born with magical charm that could grant them anything they wished. One brother loved to travel, so he travelled far and wide, and had hopes of marrying the daughter of Nzambi. When he arrived from his journey, the daughter saw him and immediately fell in love, and they were wed. She showed him mirrors that held towns and villages. One town was the town that no person ever returned. Being the traveller that he was, he decided he must go there. Once he arrived, he was quickly killed by an old woman. When the twin brother travelled to the palace of Nzambi to see his brother, the daughter and her father saw the twin, and thought it was her husband, so they rejoiced. The twin saw the mirror of the town where no man returns and knew his brother has gone there, so he went to retrieve him. When he got to the town, he saw the old woman, but killed her first. Then he saw the bones of his bro...

Yes, I am happy with my progress so far. There have been a few weeks where I have been so overwhelmed with my 18 hours of schools, and full time job that I have missed some assignments. However, as a whole I feel like I have kept up decently. For the second half, I would like to be better about getting assignments done early and not waiting until the last minute to complete my work.

Feedback Overall, the quality of feedback I have received throughout this semester has been helpful. People are kind, but still provide helpful tips that will make me a better writer. I appreciate the comments people have shared so far.  I base my reading notes on some of the strategies of others, and some of the strategies I have learned from other classes. My strategies work well for me. Yes I like the system of blog commenting. I like that we are assigned a project to read, and we also get freedom to choose which one we would like to read. This gives us an opportunity to meet new people and read new stories, while still getting to keep up with the ones we like. For the future, I can continue to be supportive of other people's work while still respectfully leaving input. Opinions are subjective, and just because I didn't like a story doesn't mean it was bad, so I won't be critical of their content. I will always be sure to encourage creativity among my peers and...

Overall, this class has been great so far. I have enjoyed learning about the different varieties of stories seen throughout the different cultures. Although my project is about greek mythology, I found the weekly stories to be a little bit more fun. I think the idea of creating some new and different each week is exciting, and it helps my writing skills little by little. My favorite week of stories has been the African section. I loved reading about the culture that is represented in these tales. Looking back on my own writings, I see a few things that I might have done differently, but as a whole I still enjoy reading them. Over time I forget some of the details I mention and it makes me proud to see all the work I have accomplished so far. I look forward to continuing my writing and learning even more about stories from the past!

In this story, the prince must guess the names of the beautiful women so he can make them his wives. His dog waits by the town, listening for the names so he can go tell the prince He hears the names, and returns back But on the way he stops to eat, while he eats he forgets the names He returns back to the town and listens fort he names again Hearing them once more, he goes back to tell his master He gets thirsty on the way back and stops for a drink While drinking he forgets the names again, so he goes back to town He hears the names again, and returns to his master This time, he remembers the names and he and his master go back to town to claim their wives The prince marries the women because he knew their names.  This  story is a light, fun read. If I were to rewrite it, I would write about a bird who must gather certain pieces of material to build a nest, but he keeps forgetting the items needed. His guardian keeps telling him, and he flies back and fo...

South Africa: The Monkey's Fiddle In this story, the monkey receives a fiddle and a bow and arrow from his great uncle. He ventures off to go back home and meets the wolf. The wolf is hunting a deer that the monkey shoots down with his bow and arrow. The wolf sees how prized the weapon is, and wants it for himself. He tells the jackal that the monkey stole it from him, and the jackal believes him, so they go to court to be judged by the lion. While in court, all the animals see what a prize the bow and arrow is, so they make efforts to take it for themselves. The monkey begins to play the fiddle that can make anyone dance, and the animals dance and dance and dance until they are exhausted and fatigued. They tell the monkey he can have his bow and arrow back and they all would leave him alone if he would stop playing the fiddle. If I were to rewrite this story, I would write about a person who has a special key that could unlock any door. This could be used for goo...