Myth & Folklore

Photo by Brandon Montrone from Pexels  Reading notes: This story is one I was somewhat familiar with because I remember watching a movie about it when I was younger.  I used to be scared of Rumpelstiltskin because I remember the request he made for helping the girl spin straw into gold.  I think there is something to work with here because there are so many possibilities I could come up with.  Since the relationship between Rumpelstiltskin and the girl is transactional, I thought I could try and stray away from that in another way and have them really talk things out and find another way to reach an agreement.  

 Reading Notes Photo by Jose Aragones from Pexels Reading Notes: I like this story because it was super short and simple.  It was kind of eerie too which I liked.  Perhaps I could combine the ideas and themes from my two favorite stories in this unit and make another story.  I liked the idea that because these story in particular was so short, it leaves a lot of room for editing if I choose to do so.  Also, I think it will be interesting to see what I can come up with with this story because the plot is kind of hard for me to understand.  With that said, it might be difficult for me to come up with solutions, but that will make the process more interesting! tory source: Italian Popular Tales by Thomas Frederick Crane (1885) Incident in Rome

 Reading Notes Photo by Aron Visuals from Pexels Story source: Italian Popular Tales by Thomas Frederick Crane (1885).  Zelinda and the Monster  I enjoyed this story because it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the tale.  I was completely caught off guard that the monster was a man and required the consent of marriage from a woman to be turned back to normal.  I think there is something in my new story I could write about that is similar to the monster turning into a man.  I like twists like that in stories because usually it is not to be expected by the audience.  I may even spend a little more time on describing the palace they entered.  Possibly changing it to an underwater palace or somewhere else reclusive like up in the mountains.  

 Reading Notes Photo by Lachlan Ross from Pexels The Story of Beowulf by Strafford Riggs with illustrations by Henry Pitz (1933). Battle With the Dragon I liked this story because it is similar to most of the stories I have written about.  Another classic battle between hero and foe and it is epic!  I figured here I would stay close to the plot and keep the dragon as the antagonist.  I could go into detail about abilities of the dragon and perhaps provide more descriptive imagery, but I feel like that might not be good as the main focus of the story.  I would like to have known what it would be like if Beowulf survived the battle?  I could go into how he might rule has an eternal King (maybe the dragon's defeat gives him prolonged life).  Decent amount of ideas to work with here and look forward to writing about them!

 Reading notes Photo by Matheus Bertelli from Pexels Story source: The Story of Beowulf by Strafford Riggs with illustrations by Henry Pitz (1933). Beowulf's Journey I liked what I read here because the section of this story was quite descriptive.  I figure I could make this a section of a new story since I have been working at bettering my writing skills in present tense as well as providing more imagery and descriptions.  It takes us through important preparations and I think that is a very important step in view of the fact they will be going on an adventure in the next story to come.  

 Reading Notes  Photo by veeterzy from Pexels Reading Notes: So this battle between the valiant knight and Robin Hood is the finale.  It was a short story, but I think there is a lot to work with here.  It is a battle so I have plans to be descriptive and attempt to write in present tense throughout the whole story.  There is a challenge in doing so because I don't know how interesting it will be for the reader to just read about a battle as its happening.  I feel like it would be a lot less captivating than a movie.  However, I will probably combine ideas from the battle and give an alternate ending to Robin Hood.  I think he can go out by a glorious fight rather than by bleeding.   Story source: The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child (1882-1898) -Robin Hood and the Valiant Knight; Robin Hood's Death 

 Reading Notes  Photo by Darwis Alwan from Pexels Reading Notes: I am somewhat familiar with the tale of Robin Hood, but only have memory from when I was a child.  I enjoyed this story with the ranger because it reminded me of a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail where King Arthur fought the dark night in the forest.  It was a pretty funny movie, but I think Robin Hood is a character with wit and he enjoys a duel like any other sellsword or in his case, just a thief.  I think there is a lot I could work with because it appeared that the ranger gave Robin Hood a good challenge.  I would stay in line with the plot and maybe go into further detail of what happens after Robin Hood welcomes the ranger to his ranks.  It would be fun to imagine the possibilities of their adventures considering that is all they do as thieves!   Story source: The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child (1882-1898).  -Robin Hood and th...

Reading Notes  Photo by Ekrulila from Pexels Story source: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929). Reading notes: This story kind of reminded me of one of some of the adventures of Sinbad.  I was intrigued not long after the introduction because the story unfolded in different areas.  Since the story kept taking the reader to different places, we were offered a lot descriptive accounts of what those in the story were experiencing.  I like this concept because it is engaging and I myself have made it a goal to try and be more descriptive in my writing.  I look forward to working with this and I think I may have to adopt that dynamic plot to keep things interesting.   

Reading Notes Photo by paul voie from Pexels Story source: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929). Reading notes: I thought this story in particular was a good read.  I think I can do a lot with this and my idea as of now is to maybe change the animals within the story.  I have always been fond of marine life so maybe I could find a way to incorporate that into my story.  The elk story was good and I thought it was cool how some of the actions performed by the elk had repercussions that we can visualize.  Perhaps I could think of an animal or an event that "caused" the creation  of the oceans.  There are a lot of options to go with in that regard and I look forward to coming up with ideas. 

 Reading Notes Photo by Ekrulila from Pexels Story source: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929) This story was kind of similar to the Jealous Uncle from part A.  The reason this story caught my eye was because of the fact that it appeared to be another family conflict.  It does not differ to much from the plot of the Jealous Uncle and for that reason I am considering combining the two stories for my storybook.  I enjoy the fact that the story incorporates a few components of nature and I will make an attempt to be just as descriptive in painting a picture of my story's setting.  I thought it was interesting to see two stories about jealousy within family in this particular unit.  Both of those stories made for a captivating read and I enjoyed the suspense that each story had to offer.

 Reading Notes Unnatural Uncle  Photo by Marco Santos from Pexels I have no prior knowledge of this story at all, but I enjoyed the read a lot.  I have a plan to go ahead and make it to where the nephew and his jealous uncle have a battle.  I think the portion where the nephew is locked away and is found on the beach of another land was a nice addition to the story.  It is there where I will write in the training for the nephew and he will train to overcome his uncle.  For the most part I will likely stay in line with the original plot because I enjoyed it so much.  Throughout the whole story I was trying to think about how the story would end!  It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time and my hope is that I can do the same for my rendition of the story.   Story:  Jealous Uncle Story source: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).

 Reading Notes  Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom from Pexels Reading Notes:   I enjoyed this story because it was a little more action-packed than my favorite from part A.  I think I can do a lot with this by adding more action.  I decided to take a step away from my usual preference yesterday and went with more of a story rather than a battle.  I am tempted to take out the Princess Tacibana all together, but I am still open to some options.  I really enjoyed the story from part A more than any of the ones I read in part B.  Specifically, I may try and rewrite my first storybook about susanoo and orochi.   Story source: Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).   The Labors of Yamato - The Dragon

 Reading Notes A Photo by Francesco Ungaro from Pexels Story Source:  Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917). Reading Notes part A:  I particularly enjoyed the story of the Fortunate Fish-Hook.  I made a connection since the story is about two brothers and it made me think of my brother.  Additionally, I thought about making a change in the theme of my stories.  The Fortunate Fish-Hook is a romance story and perhaps I may decide to write a romance story for my upcoming story book this week?  I am still undecided because I also feel like I could take the conflict between Ho-wori and Ho-deri.  Perhaps I could make it to where Ho-wori and Ho-deri become great enemies of each other and that the forests and the seas would never be able to rekindle after such a grief.  I am considering editing the story to where Ho-wori is lost for a very long time and returns with his hook and his relations...

 Reading Notes  Photo by Jaymantri from Pexels Flying Ogre: I have never heard of this story before I stumbled upon it in this unit.  It is quite short, but I am looking forward to working with it whenever I write my story.  My plan is to keep the Ogre and the man pursuing it, but possibly change the monk.  I can add a little more of a backstory as to why this particular Ogre is important to capture.  I mentioned in my previous reading notes post that I am considering combining stories and I think I may do so for this story, Guan Yu, and the Panther.  These three stories stood out to me as I read through.  Perhaps, I could even combine the Panther and the Flying Ogres.  I thought it would be interesting to say that the reason why the one Ogre is so sought after is because it had disguised itself as a panther!  might be a fun twist to work with.   Source:  The Chinese Fairy Book , ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederi...

 Reading notes  Photo by Ian Beckley from Pexels Guan Yu: I have only heard the name Guan Yu before reading this story.  I knew he was a warrior of some type just based off of the descriptions/depictions I have seen before.  I was surprised after I clicked on the story of The Chinese God of War and saw that he was the God of War.  I read this story and while short I think I can maybe make it more fun.  There was not a lot of fighting.  If you ask me, a story about the God of War should have a lot of battles in it.  So I think instead of just describing a battle, I am going to describe all of the preparations he does for a great battle.  I think it would add a different theme and add a lot of suspense and keep the audience wondering what will happen.  I was particularly fond of this story from Reading A because I personally found the others to not be that interesting.  I am considering doing a combination with another story within Pa...

 Goblin Reading Notes B Photo by Francesco Ungaro from Pexels The King in this story is determined to get the Goblin to the monk.  The goblin tells him a story of the girl who refused to marry Kings and great wealthy merchants in her land.  In the land, thieves had been pestering with the common folk to the point where they asked for their brave King's help.  The King captures a prominent thief and sentences him to death for his crimes.  The girl sees the thief on the day of his execution and cannot help but say that he is to be her husband.  The girl watches him die and follows his body to the cemetery.  She nearly had set herself ablaze, but the Divine Shiva interrupted  her actions and admired her commitment to her "husband."  Shiva granted life to the man and they lived together.  The King saw the reformed thief and promoted him to general of his ranks.  Story Story source: Twenty-Two Goblins , translated by Arthur W. Ryder, wit...

 Goblin Story Reading Notes Photo by Luis del Río from Pexels The King in this story is attempting to reach the Monk who kept giving him gifts in the form of fruits.  In order for him to do that he must carry a body hanging from a tree to the monk.  The body is overtaken by a goblin who questions the king and if he knows the answer to his questions the goblin will go back to the tree where the King took him down from.  If the King knows the answer to his question, but does not tell the truth, the King's head will explode! Interesting story all together.  There is potential for writing some crazy story with this information for sure.  Maybe even consider writing in Sinbad for an appearance since it seems like a crazy experience.  I like how in this specific story there are three options for the King to choose from (usually three options in most of the stories the goblin tells him).  The King once again answered correctly so the goblin got off his s...

 Reading Notes Part B  Photo by Jeremy Bishop from Pexels Part B: In Sinbad’s fifth voyage he and his crew that he assembled climbed aboard his ship and set sail for more adventure and trade.  They end up on an island and encounter the Roc birds again.  Once again in this story, Sinbad becomes abandoned on the island by himself and loses all his crew as well as his ship. I feel like all of Sinbad’s voyages have gotten him into a similar situation where he becomes trapped on an island and rescued later.  So, on this adventure I have thought about maybe including a longer duration of time spent on the island.  I will maybe write about how he finds the Old Man and the man captures him and holds him prisoner.  I think it would be interesting to write about a great escape on an island all alone with man-eating birds and a crazy old guy who quite possibly could also be a man eater.  Since Sinbad is a wealthy merchant, I think this would be a different...

 Sinbad Notes Part A  Photo by Asad Photo Maldives from Pexels I think I am going to incorporate some of the plots from the third and fourth voyages (stories) and try and focus on those for the upcoming story.   I like the story of the third voyage because it starts out with Sinbad and the crew docking on a remote island.   The fourth voyage begins with Sinbad and his crew shipwrecking on an island so I figure I can potentially merge the stories/voyages together since they both have similar settings.   I like how they spend a lot of time figuring out where they are on the first island and then realize there are small inhabitants that are quite aggressive.   The inhabitants stole the ship and left the crew for dead with the cyclopes.   I wanted there to be more cyclopes and we only got to see that in the end of the story when everyone escaped.  My plan is to introduce more of them early on and maybe even having Sinbad discover an entire settlement ...

 Part B Notes Photo by Brett Sayles from Pexels Notes: For part B of these reading unit, I was most interested in the story of when Jesus first entered in Jerusalem.  Jesus and his disciples first entered the city and were not accepted well by the priests.  The people loved His doctrine and that frightened the priests.  As I was reading, I could only think what if the priests did accept his doctrine?  What changes would have occurred in the treatment of Jesus in the gospel of Mark?  The Pharisees themselves were amongst the priests as well and would still have sought out to destroy who they saw as a threat to their traditional ways.  I would maybe like to take a turn away from that in my retelling of this story.  I think it would be interesting to write about the “what if” and provide conjecture as to what would have happened if Jesus were to not be captured. As far as the last supper and the arrest go, I would like to change how some things wen...