Week 7 Storybook: The Old Woman of Adachigahara

LONG, long ago there was a large plain called Adachigahara in the province of Mutsu in Japan. This place was said to be haunted by a cannibal goblin who took the form of an old woman…

It was said that after dark the land was not safe. The goblin only took her captives at night. Stories were told of how she would eat and destroy innocent men and boys for bothering her in her secluded cottage near the edge of town. The windows were tattered, the wood was withering, and weeds surrounded the entire cottage. The stories mentioned that in one of the rooms lay bones and bloodstains of the Goblin’s victims who had been there before. Everyone of Adachigahara stayed clear of the area. Anyone they had ever known to venture near the cottage, had never returned.

One evening, an orphan was traveling through Adachigahara with no food, no shelter, or no clothes but the rags on his back. He had been walking all day and just needed a place to rest his feet for the night. They were blistered and had gone num. He had already passed through the town, and was making his way through the fields when he saw an old run-down cottage with a lantern burning inside.

The orphan walked to the gate and up towards the door. Instead of knocking, for he was afraid the tattered door would fall down with his touch, he yelled to see if anyone was home.

“What do you want?” responded a voice that sounded like it came from a frail old woman.

“Oh thank you, someone is home. It seems my prayers have been answered, for you see I am wandering through the land and have walked all day. I only wish for a place to rest my head tonight,” replied the orphan boy.

“Well I can not help you,” said the old woman sharply.

“No, please ma’am. You must help me or I will have to sleep outside with the beasts. I can’t take another step; my feet are bloody and tired from my long journey. Please allow me to at least sleep on the floor. I promise I will not be a bother,” begged the orphan.

“Fine, you may come in for the night and rest,” replied the old woman. “I will give you some food and some rags for you feet.”

Traveler approaches the Old Woman's cabin, Image source:Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki)

The orphan walked inside and sat down in a rocking chair. “Thank you ma’am. You do not know how much I appreciate your sympathy and kind heart.” 

The old woman went to the sink and fixed some warm rags for the poor orphan’s feet and brought him some warm broth to sip on. The orphan could not believe how blessed he was to have found the old cottage on the edge of town, even if it did look like something out of a haunted story. As the fire was burning down, the old woman began to put on her coat and head towards the door.

“I am going out to get more wood before the fire burns out,” explained the old woman. “"You must sit where you are and not move, and, whatever happens, don't go near or look into the inner room. Now mind what I tell you!"

“I understand,” replied the orphan. After she shut the door and left the front gate, he began to ponder. He did not understand why the old woman was so adamant about not opening the door to that room. She seemed like such a kind old lady. What could she have to hide? His curiosity started to get the best of him, as he got up out of the chair and walked towards the door of the back room. He must know what was behind it. Could it be gold? He could rob the old woman and be rich and an orphan no more. His hand hovered over the handle as he went to turn it.

He immediately dropped his hand and thought to himself. “This woman has been so nice to me and offered me shelter, warm rags for my feet, and food. I must not disobey her wishes.”

The orphan returned to sit in his chair and waited for the old woman to return. As she opened the door to see the orphan still sitting there, she almost had a surprised look on her face.

As she went to put the new wood on the fire, and the flames burst up the old woman thought to herself, “He must not have opened the door like all the others have before. He would not still be here if he saw the bones and blood that lay in that room. All the others ran away and tried to escape- even though they failed. No, this one is different. He obeyed my orders, and for that his life shall be spared.”

The orphan boy fell asleep in the rocking chair with the warm rags on his feet as the old woman laid a blanket over him so he would not get cold during the night.

Author’s Note: The original story, The Goblin of Adachigahara,  included an old priest who came wandering through the town and landed upon the old woman’s house who was rumored to be a cannibal goblin. The woman warned him not to look in the back room while she was gone, but the priest let his curiosity get the best of him and he opened the door to find bones on the floor and blood splashed on the walls. He immediately ran out of the house, and the old woman saw him fleeing and knew he must have looked into the room despite her warnings. She chases after him in her goblin form through the night, until daylight breaks and she is forced to retreat. I kept the story the same in the beginning but switched the priest to an orphan boy. I wanted to drastically change the ending to make a moral of the story that the old woman spares the boy’s life because he obeys her wishes not to look into the room.

Bibliography: The Goblin of Adachigahara. Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki, with illustrations by Japanese artists (1905)

Week 7 Reading Diary: Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki)

This week I decided for my Diaries to just focus on one story that I really enjoyed: for part A I focus on the story The Man Who DidNot Wish to Die from the Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki) unit. 

The introduction where Sentaro reflects on the life of the Chinese King Shin-no-Shiko, who had everything but was still miserable, made me really ponder. The king had everything he could ever want: “the luxury and the splendor of his Court, the wisdom of his councilors and the glory of his reign” but yet he was so unhappy because he knew one day he must die. He would leave all of his treasures and glory behind. It was for this reason the thought of death plagued his thoughts every second of every day. It seems ironic to me that he did not want to part with the most wonderful things he had in life, yet he was not truly enjoying them because his misery surrounding the thought of death made him depressed in all matters.

            The story then transitions back to Sentaro, who is in the same dilemma as Shin-no-Shiko was in having wealth and wanting to live forever. He then sets out to Mt. Fuji to find the hermits for the Elixir of Life. I also thought it was interesting how hermits were the keepers of the elixir, when in most tales it is an old wise man or someone looked more highly upon than a hermit.

Upon switching to the next part of the story, I can see that my intuition was correct about the hermits. Jofuku criticizes Sentaro for being selfish and saying he would never be able to live the life of a hermit because he would “never be able to go barefoot or to wear only one thin dress in the winter time.” Jafuko questions him. “Do you think that you would ever have the patience or the endurance to live a hermit's life?” Sentaro has been spoiled his whole life, and the reason he seeks the Elixir is in order to live this grand life forever, not a life of being cold and hungry and barefoot. It shows his true selfishness

I loved the mention of the paper crane he flew on to the magic city- oragami- and reflects the Japanese culture.

One of my favorite parts of the story is when Heaven is mentioned as Paradise. “Priests had come over from India and China and told them of a beautiful country called Paradise, where happiness and bliss and contentment fill all men's hearts, but its gates could only be reached by dying.” It is a strong allusion to Heaven. The people of the land of Perpetual Life, who could live forever, only wanted to die to reach Paradise. Sentaro was the only happy one on the island, because he was the only one not wishing for death.

AH but it was all just a dream! I did not see this coming at all and thought it added so much to the story. The dream allowed him to see his life if he were to live forever, and then he even saw that then he did not wish for death. “Your desire for death was not real, for even at that moment you cried out loudly and shouted for help." I think we can all relate to the idea of fearing death, yet knowing death brings eternal life in Heaven and yearning for that. 

Part B Reading I decided to focus on the story The Goblin of Adachigahara.  

When starting the story, I did not expect the Goblin to be a poor old woman who, legend had it, devoured men at night and tossed their bones into an empty room. The title did not give hint to this. But from the beginning, instead of starting with "Once upon a time" it starts with "Long, long ago" and I think this introduction sets the stage for a kind of "ghost story." I got the sense from the opening that it would be more of a wicked kind of tale. This story was far more gruesome and disturbing than those of the first half of the unit. This story had no twists and turns as the story of The Man Who Did Not Wish to Die. It alluded to the Goblin who ate humans, and then the man who stayed with her ended up being her prey. He did escape and thanked his life to his prayers to Buddha. This ending does set it apart from other grim fairy tales, such as the Persian fairy tales, where most of the characters die an awful death. The man was warned by the Goblin not to look into the room and it seems that, like all the men before him, his punishment for giving into his curiosity was to be eaten by the Goblin.

Week 6 Essay: Analyzing The Stonecutter

For my essay this week I decided to analyze and discuss one specific story in the Japanese Tales Unit (Lang). It was one that as I read it, I appreciated the story for the lesson it was teaching and how the story swings back full-circle to end where it started. The story is The Stonecutter.

            The story begins with a poor stonecutter whose art is being able to carve stone and pick out which types of stone are best for different purposes. He goes everyday to the mountain to cut the stone and has never seen Spirit of the Mountain who supposedly helped the men become rich and prosperous. The story introduces how the stonecutter did not believe in the spirit and then actually provides foreshadowing in the end of the second paragraph “But a time was coming when he learned to change his opinion.” This sets the stage for how the reader can see that the spirit of the mountain will probably come back into the story at some point.

            In the next paragraph, we see that the stonecutter’s luck begins to change as the spirit hears his request to be a rich man, and upon returning home, the stonecutter’s wooden hut has become a palace. His first wish had been granted. Later, the stonecutter sees a prince with a golden umbrella being used to hide the prince from the piercing sun coming down. The stonecutter, sweating from the intense heat, was jealous and wished he too could be a prince. He was envious.  He wished for what he didn’t have. The spirit heard his plea and turned him into a prince.

And here is where the big central message comes. He was rich and now a prince “But yet it was not enough.” It is a typical of the human nature. Many times when we want what we can’t have, as soon as we get it, we are not satisfied and want something else.

The stonecutter then goes one a power-craze. He wishes to be the sun, but then the clouds hide the sun. So he wishes to be a cloud, but then the stone withstands his rain. So he wishes to be a rock. “And the rock he was, and gloried in his power.” The stonecutter was finally content and proud that neither sun nor rain could overpower him. Until one day when a stonecutter came and begin chipping away at him. He cries out “'Is a mere child of earth mightier than a rock? Oh, if I were only a man!” And the last wish is granted as he is turned back into a man.

“His bed was hard and his food scanty, but he had learned to be satisfied with it and did not long to be something or somebody else. And as he never asked for things he had not got, or desired to be greater and mightier than other people, he was happy at last and heard the voice of the mountain spirit no longer.”

The last paragraph perfectly explains the story. The man learned that he could never be happy if he was always chasing something else. He could not find happiness in always yearning for more and never appreciating what he had and who he was at the moment. The spirit of the mountain represented his selfish hunger, and after he learned to be content and grateful, the voice went away. 

Man on Mountain, Image Source: Pixabay

Week 6 Storytelling: The Tale of Frank and George

The Tale of Frank and George 

Once upon a time there were two frogs who had lived in the same land their entire lives. They had never explored the neighboring land that lay just over the hill. It was not that they had no interest to go explore the great-unknown land, It was simply that neither had ever had the courage to leave.

            One of the frogs, named George, had lived in the same swamp since the day he was just a little tadpole. His mother had protected him and sheltered him in their swamp in the land of Panmith. His days were spent hopping around the grassy brush of their home, or swimming with his brothers and sisters. His brothers always teased George that he would not do anything adventurous. They would dare him to go touch the old rotting tree, which their mother had told them to never go to. When he refused to disobey his mother’s rules, his brothers and sisters called him cowardly and laughed at him. But George had had about all he could take. He wanted to show them he could be brave and adventurous. So he decided he would venture not just past the rotting tree, but all the way over the hill to the neighboring land of Swamith.

As George set out to climb the hill he was unsure if he had made the right decision. He was leaving behind his home; the only place he had ever known. His mother would be so angry with him. And what if Swamith was the exact same as Panmith? Would he regret his decision to leave? As he was contemplating these questions and planning to turn around and go home, George spotted an old grey owl in a big oak tree. The owl cooed:

If you never go

You will never see

What the other place could be

The owl’s words were exactly what George needed to hear to keep going on his adventure, and with the owl’s advice he decided to travel to Swamith and start a new adventure…

            In the land of Swamith lived another cowardly little frog named Frank. Frank was an only child frog. A human boy with a net had captured his siblings and mother. His father was so upset that since that day he had barely spoken a word to his son. Frank was lonely. He had always thought about leaving and going over the hill to see what the land of Panmith was like. Many of his friends had mentioned its beautiful swamps, and he always wanted to see it for himself. Frank hated to leave his father all alone, but he needed to be happy, and right now he was just sad. So he decided he would venture all the way over the hill to the neighboring land of Panmith.

As Frank started his adventure he began to question his choice to leave. He was leaving his father, who had already endured so much heartache, all-alone. And what if Swamith was the exact same as Panmith? Would he regret his decision to leave? As he was contemplating these questions and planning to turn around and go home, Frank spotted an old grey owl in a big oak tree. The owl cooed:

If you never go

You will never see

What th other place could be

             The owl’s words were exactly what Frank needed to hear to keep going on his adventure, and with the owl’s advice he decided to travel to Panmith and start a new adventure…

Green Swamp Frog, Source: Pixabay

Author's Note: This is a retelling of an original tale from the Japanese Tales (Lang) unit called The Two Frogs. In the original tale, two frogs go on top of a hill to see the other's land and decide if they want to go visit the other side. When the frogs climb on each others' backs, they have their noses facing the new land but their eyes (on the back of their head) face their land they just came from. They see, what they think is the unexplored land, looks the same as theirs and decide to turn around and go back home. In my story, I wanted them to go to the unexplored land because I think being adventurous and traveling is so important in life.

Bibliography: The Two Frogs. The Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1901).

Week 6 Reading Diary: Japanese Fairy Tales

The Two Frogs: The introduction reminded me of The Parent Trap, where the two twins do not know about each other before meeting at camp and then they both wanted to explore the life of the other to see what their other parent was like. When the frogs forget their eyes are in the back of their heads, and think where they came from is the unexplored town, I gave a little giggle. This story was funny and you almost feel bad for the poor little frogs that they will never know that the other town actually is completely different and they will never explore it.

The Stonecutter: I think this story provides a good message, that even when the stonecutter got what he wanted, he always ended up discontent. It was never enough for him. Many people find this problem when they turn to fulfillment through material things. The ending explains this perfectly: “he had learned to be satisfied with it and did not long to be something or somebody else. And as he never asked for things he had not got, or desired to be greater and mightier than other people, he was happy at last and heard the voice of the mountain spirit no longer.” It is so important that we be happy with who we are and what we have. That is when we will find we are our happiest selves.

The Maiden and the Wooden Helmet: This story included an idea that beauty should be hidden. In many Japanese stories and movies I have read or seen, it seems like this is a common idea. The story ends as a typical Fairy Tale I think of would, with a woman and man living happily ever after with children and were famous for their beauty and goodness.

**** After reading these first three stories, I wanted to note how vastly different these Fairy Tales are than the fairy tales of the unit I read last week: Persian Tales. It is black and white with the two focusing on happiness and important life lessons vs tales of death and horrible incidents. ***

The Sparrow and the Slit Tongue: This story was very interesting and I actually enjoyed it a lot. The woman got what she had coming for her, after she treated the sparrow so horribly for no reason. The husband was rewarded for his faithfulness and his lack of greed in taking the small box, which happened to be filled with jewels. The woman let her eyes deceive her and her greed take over, as she expected the big box be filled with even greater jewels. She got what she deserved though, when serpents attacked her. I enjoyed the connection of the serpents with “forky tongues” to the sparrow whose tongue was slit.

The Cat's Elopement: Cupid made an appearance in this story, which I was intrigued by as Cupid is a Greek mythology character. It shows how universal Greek mythology is that it shows up in a Japanese fairy tale. I also drew the connection to Romeo and Juliette of “unrequited love.” This is another story that ends with a “happily ever after.”

Schippeitaro: This story mentions the Spirit of the Mountain again. I think it might be interesting to research the significance of the Spirit of the Mountain in Japanese culture. This was more of a whimsical story with the cats being evil and the black cat being the Spirit of the Mountain. But the ending still ends happily with the maidens living safely and a feast each year in the brave boy’s honor.

The Crab and the Monkey: Most of the stories so far have included animals taking on seemingly human characteristics. All the lessons that could be explained with humans, instead use animals in the Japanese Fairy tales. The crab was “a very good housewife” which is not something we would normally attribute with a crab. I especially enjoyed the image attached with the story.

How the Wicked Tanuuki was Punished: This story started out so happy and I thought the fox and tanuki were such clever little animals, but I was not expecting the tanuki to betray his wife like that. I actually had to read that paragraph twice to make sure I had read right that he told the buyer she was not dead. The little boy was actually the clever one, and of course, he ended up living happily after he avenged his mothers death.

The Slaying of the Tanuki: I felt bad for the poor woman in this story that the Tanuki tricked into letting her go. It plays on the idea that women always find the best in people and believe they will help them. The offer to help her pound the rice “melted the good woman” and I think this is a character statement about women as well because a man would not be so easily to melt at the offer of help. From this story I am able to see that the Tanuki is an evil little trickster and the people and forest animals do not like his cunning ways. I felt so bad for the poor man who ended up eating his wife due to the evil deed of the Tanuki. This story also mentions how greed is not a good quality, because the Tanuki chooses the large boat thinking he will get more fish, only to come to his death.

Week 5 Essay: Women in Persian Fiary Tales

One of the Essay topics to choose from was the role of women in the stories. In some of the past tales, women have important roles and even are the main characters, such as the Arabian Nights unit. But, this unit did not have strong female characters, or paint women in the most flattering light. In the Persian Tales unit, there were women who turned into wolves and killed their innocent husbands, such as in the tale The Wolf-Bride. And there were wives who manipulated their husbands and other family members into doing terrible things. 

            One of the most interesting cases I read was in the story The Wolf-Aunt. In the background information provided, it mentioned that in Persian culture, the sister of the husband is viewed as somewhat evil. The children are taught not to like their aunt on their father’s side. The author’s note states there are two types of aunts, “the mother's sister (khala) whom he is taught to love, and the father's sister (amma) who spoils him and who is kind to him, but whom his mother tries to teach him to hate and fear.” The tale is told to children for the specific purpose of teaching them to be fearful and distrust their amma (father’s sister). It was so strange to me to think that children are taught to dislike one of their family members, because I have always been taught that your love for your family should be unconditional. They are family.

            One of the other stories that really stuck out to me where the women’s role stuck out to me was in The Boy WhoBecame a Bulbul. The woman in this story said "You two ought to lay a wager to-day and agree that whichever of you collects the more firewood should cut off the other one's head." This seems ludicrous for a mother to say that her husband and son should make a somewhat friendly wager in which one will have to kill the other. I could not believe a mother would do that! But, there is an important detail that I believe makes a significant point. She is a stepmother. In many fairy tales I am familiar with, such as Cinderella, the stepmother is not described in a favorable way; although usually not to this extent. I thought it was interesting to draw the similarities of how stepmothers are often portrayed negatively in fairy tales. 

Cinderella was forced to live in unbearable conditions by her stepmother, image source: wikimedia

Week 4 Famous Last Words

This week has been one of the more stressful ones since school has started. It was a busy week at work. I have exams coming up. I have family obligations. It just seemed like this week was packed full of things to do. As soon as I crossed one thing off my to-do list, four more appeared. The most stressful aspect of the week by far though was filling out my applications for physical therapy school. The programs are very competitive and require many qualifications to be accepted. For this reason I have kept my options open and have decided to apply to five different schools, most of which are in my hometown of Dallas. But of course, I will still be applying to OU. The application process is long and each one requires different essays and requirements. Some require a letter of recommendation from multiple certified physical therapists, while some one letters from professors or more specifically core- science professors. My week was spent inputting prerequisite course numbers into spread sheets, requesting transcripts, requesting GRE scores, answering about my accomplishments and volunteer opportunities. The list goes on and on.

As I reflect back, I have worked over 1,000 hours at a PT clinic, taken tough science courses, and now have locked myself in my room to finish these applications all in hopes that these past 3.5 years of school will be worth it. It is scary to think I have come this far and may not get accepted into a physical therapy program. I am thankful for the reading this week from the Persian Tales unit entitled The Story of the Wolf-Bride. In the tale, the boy’s horoscope designates that he will die a young tragic, death by a wolf. The boy’s father locks him in a cave to protect him from this awful tragedy, but in the end, a wolf eats him anyways. The last line reads: "Whatever is willed by fate, that verily comes to pass." This message was especially great to be reminded of this week as I was working so hard on my applications and thinking there was a chance it could all be for nothing if I did not get accepted. I have to remember that God has a plan for me and whatever he has willed will happen and that is my fate. 

The concept of Fate, image source

Week 5 Storytelling: Margie and Frank

The old weeping willow, image

There once was a pair of cats, Margie and Frank, who had fallen in love just when they were young kittens. They loved spending time together curled up by the window soaking up the sun. They would take walks together in the meadow down by the stream. Sometimes they would gently wade in the water just up to the tips of their paws and enjoy the refreshing feeling of the warm water on their fur. They would rub up against the trees and get a nice massage from the bark. Sometimes they would stop and visit with their friends in the meadow like the mouse couple who lived in the sunflower fields or the brother and sister sparrows that made the old willow tree their home.

One sunny day, the cat couple decided to take a walk down by the stream. Frank had gone over to the willow to rub up against the trunk and scratch his back. The water was warm and Margie decided she wanted to dip her paws in to clean them of the dirt. Just as she was dipping her front paw in, she thought she saw the evil dogs from across the stream, which startled her, and she lost her balance. Margie tumbled whiskers first into the stream and was immediately taken down shore by the running waters. She did not know how to swim, and as she meowed and meowed for Frank to come help, she struggled to stay above water and drowned.

           

Frank was so upset and began to meow low he was so distraught. He could not bear the thought of living without his true love. The evil dogs were still across the stream and Frank decided he would sacrifice himself so he could be with his wife in kitty heaven.

The dogs were now full and began to walk back towards their home. The sparrows stopped them and asked what had become of Margie and Frank.

“Haven’t you heard?” asked the dogs.

Margie fell into the stream and drowned

Frank sacrificed himself to the dogs

“Oh no, that is terrible!” cried the sparrows. And they began shedding their feathers in distress. The willow tree nearby saw the feathers falling and asked the sparrows why they were shedding their feathers.

“Haven’t you heard, old willow tree?”

Margie fell into the stream and drowned

Frank sacrificed himself to the dogs

The sparrows shed their feathers

At this news the old willow tree began to droop his branches even lower to the ground. The mouse couple from the sunflower fields saw the drooping weeping willow and asked why his branches were so low.

“Haven’t you heard?”

Margie fell into the stream and drowned

Frank sacrificed himself to the dogs

The sparrows shed their feathers

The willow tree drooped its branches

The mice were so sad to hear the news they immediately started crying and ran home to their sunflower patch. The sunflowers turned their petals to ask why they were crying so hysterically.

“Haven’t you heard, my sunflowers?”

Margie fell into the stream and drowned

Frank sacrificed himself to the dogs

The sparrows shed their feathers

The willow tree drooped its branches

The mice cried all the way home

At this news the sunflowers were so upset and began to lose all their petals, leaving them with just a black round center on a stem.

And now my story has come to an end. 

Author's Note: This is a retelling of the story Susku and Mushu from the Persian Tales unit. In the original story, there is a husband and wife mice and one of the mice comes to drown in a pot of stew. The rest of the story continues with other animals and farmers killing themselves at hearing the news. It is an accumulation story, which I really enjoyed the style, and decided to write a story in similar fashion. My story does not include more deaths than just the first because I tried to keep my fairy tale a little less gruesome than the original.

Bibliography: Susku and Mushu. Persian Tales, translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer, illustrated by Hilda Roberts (1919).

Week 5 Reading Diary: Persian Fairy Tales

These are some of my favorites or most interesting tales from the Persian Tales Unit: 

The Wolf and the Goat: I found this story very interesting… The point I got from it was that you should not take the easy way out or cheat people as the wolf did to the tooth-puller. However, I was very confused by the ending which reads “
And now my story has come to an end, but the sparrow never got home.” I do not remember the mention of a sparrow and cannot find the meaning to the ending.  The opening “Once upon a time there was a time when there was no one but God.” Also struck me as somewhat strange. Another thought I had while reading was how much more gruesome this fairy tale is compared to the fairy tales I am used to hearing.

The City of Nothing-in-the-World: The title had me intrigued what the story would be about, and I can see now how it fits. The story had me very confused and I had no clue what was going on, but I also believe that was the point of it. I also realized that the intro and ending of the story was the same as the first and must be a standard part of Persian fairy tales.

Susku and Mushu: This tale took an unsuspected turn with all the drownings and deaths of the people and animals involved. Again, it is not what I think of when I think of a typical fairy tale. I did like how the story was an “accumulation story” and may play with using that in one of my storytelling posts.

The Boy Who Became a Bulbul: I enjoyed this story more than the others, although the beginning was very gruesome and I did not like the father. I enjoyed the song the bulbul sang and thought it very clever. I thought the son would try to get revenge on his father too because he did not hesitate in killing his own son. I am glad the sister got a treat for her loyalty and the step-mom got what she deserved as well.

The Wolf-Aunt: I found it so strange that this is a tale meant to teach children not to like their father’s sister (aunt/amma) because we are taught to love everyone in our family unconditionally. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending though: “if he had listened to his wife this would never have happened.” I found it light-hearted and humorous compared to the rest of the tale.

Muhammad Tirandaz, The Archer: I enjoyed this fairy tale because of the description and detail. I could imagine the scene as Muhammad rode with the tree branch flailing about, as he was strapped to the horse and screaming. It was also entertaining without the usual horror and deaths in the fairy tale.

The Praying Baker: This is my favorite story from this unit so far! I loved a particular part of this story where the King says “If he is praying only with his lips I shall put him to death, but if he is sincere I shall give him a robe of honour."Many times we speak without meaning or emotion, just to speak and I think it is important that whatever we say, pray, or do be done with meaning and sincerity. It also shows that the Baker gave all his troubles and trust to God and full-heartedly believe in his plan, which spared him his life. 

 

Fayiz and the Peri Wife: I knew from the beginning, that trouble was going to come to the man when they described him as a true and honest man. I have picked up on the idea that in these Persian tales nothing good happens to those who seem innocent. The women in the tale are constantly making threats, which seems to be found throughout many of the tales.

Hemp Smoker’s Dream: This reminded me of the story from the first unit, The City of Nothing-in-the-World. It was very abstract and dream-like. It gave me the sense of an Alice in Wonderland type feeling where the hemp made him intoxicated and created this whole new story and land.

The Story of the Wolf-Bride: Although, this was another gruesome tale between men and women, I enjoyed the message presented in the tale. I strongly believe in fate. In this tale, the man relies on the fate as told by the akhund and the horoscope based on astrology and tried to change fate’s plan. I strongly believe in fate from God’s plan and know that whatever God has in store for me is my fate and I cannot change that. The last line was a perfect ending for the tale: "Whatever is willed by fate, that verily comes to pass."

The Man Who Went to Wake His Luck: This story ended with a grim ending but I really enjoyed it! I thought it was interesting he went looking for his Luck and was asked by all these others for advise on why their life was not going as planned. It made me wonder if they could not find their own Luck. As soon as the poor brother’s Luck told him to tell the wolf that he will eat a foolish man, I knew that the poor brother would be the one the wolf killed. This tale did not have a significant deeper meaning as the last one did, but I enjoyed it for the simplicity of the storytelling and the rather ironic/funny ending.

Tortoise Bowl-On-The-Back and the Fox: I enjoyed this story so much and the trickiness of the tortoise. I have heard variations of this story before because it is a very common tale. I enjoyed this version and how the ending is blunt in explaining that “every one who is greedy is put to shame.”

The Merchant and the Saffron: I found this tale interesting for the idea that they seemed to be “testing the merchant’s Luck.” The host gave the merchant many sheep to see if they would survive the winter, and when they did not he gave him more sheep to see if his Luck would awaken. Finally the third time around, the sheep survived to produce ewe and they had seen his Luck had awakened and he could be sent on his way to become wealthy. In this way, I felt that they were seeing when his Luck would awaken and can be likened to the idea that we “test our luck.”

The Apparition of the Prophet Khizr: I enjoyed this tale the most from this second half of the unit. I enjoyed that the old man who ended up being Khizr explained why the Wazirs had chosen the specific punishment for the poor man. I was confused by what was meant by “every man speaks according to his own intelligence” but understood after Khizr explained how the tailor, baker, barber and loyal Wazir had picked their punishments based on their background. I think the phrase "Every man speaks according to his own intelligence" is a powerful one and explains how our experiences shape our perceptions.

 

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Essay Week 4: Humans to Animals

This week when reading the Arabian Nights unit, I noticed a common theme with many of the stories Scheherazade was telling in order to save her life: people being turned into animals as punishment for their wrongdoings.

In the Story of the First Old Man and of the Hind, the husband has an even wicked wife who despised his mother and son. He had to leave for a year, and in this time, the wife practiced witchcraft in order to turn their son and slave into a calf and cow. Luckily, when it came time to slaughter the calf and cow, the man was stricken by the tears of the cow and the loyalty of the calf to lay by his feet. The man spared their lives. A fairy living on the land told the man of his son and slave being turned into the calf and cow by his wife and requested that if she turn them back into their human form that the wife be punished equally. The wife was then turned into a hind (deer). The story explains that a hind was chosen as the animal to take form because it was not as dreadful looking or misbehaved, and therefore the the family could still keep her close by. 

First Old man with his wife the Hind, source: blogspot

The next story in the unit, The Story of the Two Black Dogs, also included two brothers being turned into dogs after they betrayed their brother. Their brother had been nothing but kind to them and once he married a lovely woman and was very happy with his life the brothers became jealous. They tried to drown him and his wife by pushing them overboard a ship. To the man’s surprise, his wife was a fairy who rescued them and requested the two brothers be killed. The man said he did not want them killed, but the fairy wanted them to be punished so she transformed them into two black dogs where they would remain in that shape for ten years. It does not say why dogs were chosen as the animal as it does in the story of the hind, but I believe it was for much of the same reason. In the two brothers being dogs, they were allowed to remain by heir brother’s side but still had their punishment of living their next ten years as animals.

In the story of the Young King of the Black Isles, a young king was betrayed by his wife whom did not love him. She was a wicked enchantress that hated her husband for requesting she stop mourning the loss of one of their slaves who she truly loved. In her rage, she destroyed the land of the Black Isles and turned the people of the town into fish. “The fish of four colours which are in it are the different races who lived in the town.”  In this story, the people did not do anything to deserve being turned into animals, but the people suffered the punishment the wife wished to bring on the King of destroying the land he governed. 

Week 4 Storytelling: Witchcraft Revealed

 

Jesabell and her husband Theo had been married for twenty years. Theo’s love for his beautiful wife never hindered. His love for his wife was pure, and he adored her. He hated any time he had to leave her side, so he rarely left his wife in their home alone.

When Theo’s uncle died and he was called away to the funeral, he was devastated at his family’s loss but also by the fact that he would have to leave his loving wife alone in their home for five nights.

The distraught Theo traveled into town to purchase some food and supplies for his journey across the country to where his uncle had lived. After wandering around the stalls in the market and picking out some fresh bread and meat that would last him the long journey, he began to wander aimlessly. As he was turning to walk home, he saw a booth with a blob of bright colors and heard a loud commotion. 

Theo walked over and admired the parrots’ beauty. The old bearded man at the booth selling the birds walked over to Theo.

“My good man,” began the seller. “I see you admiring my birds and I think one of these truth telling birds is exactly what you need.”

“Truth telling bird?” questioned Theo.

“Why, yes! This bird has the gift of telling all that had been done before it. It tells you the truth you cannot see!” exclaimed the old man.

Theo took this as a sign of fate. He was worried about leaving his wife alone for five days. He trusted his wife to be faithful, and that was not the reason he thought the bird a good idea. If something was to happen, or someone comes in the middle of the night while she was alone, the parrot would be able to tell of the incident upon his return.

“I’ll take one,” said Theo as he handed the old man the last of his money. He grabbed the bird’s cage and went home with a smile on his face.

That night before Theo left, he told Jesabell to put the parrot in her room and Jesabell obeyed. The bird was beautiful, and she thought she might like to have the company while her husband was gone.

As soon as Theo had disappeared over the mountainside, there was a knock on the door. Jesabell excitedly ran to open it and jumped through the doorway into the arms of her two loving sisters. They all squealed with excitement to see each other again and for their upcoming plans while Theo was away. For you see, the three sisters were witches. And when Theo was gone was their only time to practice their witchcraft. Theo was blind to his wife’s abilities, for Jesabell feared he would not love her if he knew her true identity.

The witches went into the bedroom where they began mixing potions, brewing concoctions and chanting words from a leather bound book. This all happened while the parrot watched quietly in the corner. 

 

Sisters performing witchcraft, Source: wikipedia

Four days later, before Theo was expected to arrive, the two sisters departed and Jesabell cleaned the house spotless so her husband would not know of the witchcraft that had occurred while he was gone.

After returning late that night, Theo embraced Jesabell and told her of his journey and the sorrow of the family at his uncle’s funeral. Jesabell listened intently and then told Theo of her uneventful few days spent cleaning the house and going into town to wander around the market and visit with a few friends.

“Well that sounds pleasant,” replied Theo. “Now if you will excuse me I am going to go check on the parrot. How was it having him here to keep you company while I was gone? Was he a bother?” questioned Theo.

“Oh my, I forgot he was even there. He was quiet and a joy to have. We must keep him for a pet,” replied Jesabell.

Theo wandered into the bedroom and asked the parrot to reveal his special gift of being able to say what had been done before it. The parrot began telling of the sisters, the potions, the leather book, the chanting, and all the wicked witchcraft that had happened in the room that weekend. Theo almost fell to the floor in horror of finding out the true identity of his wife.

“How could she be a witch and I did not even know,” thought Theo as his head was spinning with the new dreadful reality.

Theo walked out of the room and stared at his wife. Or who he thought was his wife. He felt like he did not even know her anymore. He could not look at her the same way ever again.

“So the parrot has just told me of what happened this weekend. He told me of your sisters and your witchcraft,” began Theo. “I can not believe this. I do not know what to say to you so I need to walk to clear my head. Do not follow me,” finished Theo as he walked out the door into the night.

Jesabell stood speechless with mouth open as tears began to roll down her cheek. She was hurt. She felt betrayed by that stupid little parrot who revealed her darkest secret. For that, the parrot would suffer.

            As she began to think of the proper punishment for the parrot, she also realized how furious she was with her husband. Her husband was the one who used to parrot’s ability to spy on her while he was gone.

            Both would soon get the punishment they deserved.

Author's Note: This week I decided to retell The Story of the Parrot from the Arabian Nights unit. The original story is quite short and I decided this would give me a lot of room to expand the story. The original story includes the wife getting caught by the parrot who told told the man "some things which made him scold his wife" but it does not specficy what that entailed. I took this opportunity to create my own idea that she was a witch and was performing witchcraft while the husband was away. I left the story with a kind of "cliff-hanger" ending but the original story ends with the wife tricking the parrot, and the husband ends up thinking the parrot is telling lies. I thought leaving the ending open created suspense and would leave the reader wanting more.

Bibliography: The Story of the Parrot. The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898)