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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