Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales; Part B

For part B, the first story that caught my attention was the Fox-Fire. It had to do with a farmer stealing something from a fox. What the fox had was very powerful, and in time it gave the farmer great abilities. The farmer became very wealthy and had many powers. One evening, however, the fox came back for what was rightfully his and stole his power back from the farmer. I think there are a lot of things that could have been added to make this story more interesting. I did like the fact that the farmer had the power of invisibility. I think it would be cool to make a character invisible in one of my own stories. Supernatural powers are always fun to play around with and give to different characters.

(Fox)

The next story I enjoyed from this segment was called Retribution. It was about a boy watching the accidental death of a water boy. He saw it from his window and did not say a word when the body of the boy was found. Although the death had been accidental, there was a man that saw it and did not report it to anyone. The boy didn't report it either. Years went by and nothing was said, then the boy who was now grown, saw a figure that looked like the man that had died. He discovered it was more like a spirit that lived there. Things took a strange turn as the boy accidentally killed the man who witnessed the water boy's killing. I think it would be interesting to cycle a story for turn of events such as this one.

The last story from this section that I would like to touch upon was about the maiden who was stolen and trapped at the top of a building. The building was called a pagoda. The maid was stolen by a cyclone and brought to the top of the building. The man seemed normal and nice, but gave her an ultimatum. She refused to go with the man she did not go. He then held her there hostage, but brought her everything that she needed to be successful. She stayed up there for a while, as the man had trapped and made it impossible for her to get down. Every day that he came to visit, he asked if she would like to go with him, but she refused. One day, the man accidentally left the window open and she was able to look down below. The man transformed into some weird creature and she cried out for help. Since she was so high, no one could hear her. Instead, she threw down her clothes hoping that someone might find her. Her family did, and eventually came to her rescue and injured the man that stole her. I think it would be fun to add on to this story or change it up a bit. I thought about making it more drastic and saying that something happens to the man that stole her.


Bibliography: Chinese Fairy Tales

Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales; Part A

The first story in Part A was very interesting. It was about a princess who had bad luck and had to choose someone to marry. She chose to marry a beggar who had good luck. Although her parents (mainly her father) did not approve, she was sent off with the beggar anyways and lived a rough life with him. Eventually, the beggar decided to go off and look for his fortune, while the wife stayed in their hut and in a horrible lifestyle. Eighteen years later, the beggar returned, but this time he did not look the same and was instead a king. The wife did not recognize him, but stayed loyal to her husband. The king finally told her who he was and they went off to live in the castle. The happiness didn't last long though. The wife suddenly got ill and died. I think that this story could be taken in a new direction. I could switch the roles and give the girl good luck and the guy bad luck. I also like the idea of a happy story and then suddenly turning something in the wrong direction. That would be cool to do to my readers. I might have to include something like this in my next story!

The next story about daughters, their father, and cave creatures. The story starts off in one direction, as the father finds seven eggs, but wants them all to himself and not for his daughters. The daughters end up eating all the eggs so the father is unhappy. The father takes some of his daughters to "grandmas" house, or so he tells them. They actually end up being left in the woods to fend for themselves and to not get eaten by a fox or a wolf. The daughters somehow outsmart the fox and the wolf in their own cage and end up killing them. They find their jewels and then the father finally comes back because he misses them. This part of the story I didn't necessarily like all to much. I think if I was to change it, I would definitely change the ending up so that the dad doesn't get any of the jewels. I think it would be hard to forgive my father if he left me to die in the woods for eating an egg. I would like to maybe make him have some karma.

The last story for part A that I enjoyed was about a dog and a cat. Their owners had owned a gold ring and whenever they had that, they had enough wealth to live. They did not know this, so they ended up selling the ring for a small amount of money and eventually went poor again. Their dog and cat suffered as well because they were not fed. Then, the dog and cat came up with a plan to get the ring back. They would use a mouse to go retrieve it. They did this, and used each other for help. When they finally got the ring and were bringing it back, however, the cat went off with it and brought it home because he was able to get home quicker. The cat was rewarded by the parents and they were mad at the dog because they thought the dog did not help at all. This is why they think dogs and cats are not friends.

(Dog and cat) 

Bibliography: Chinese Fairy Tales

Tech Tip: Canvas Notifications

For this Tech Tip, I decided to set up my Canvas notifications for my classes. After downloading the Canvas app, I have been getting a lot of unnecessary notifications for when people post their discussion and for when a teacher uploads a document. I thought this would be a good lesson for me to learn how to set up and configure things just how I want them to. I really just want to receive notifications for when a grade has been added and when a teacher comments on something. I usually check canvas out daily for each of my classes so I don't want random notifications. After watching the tutorial, I found it helpful that I am able to customize my Canvas to receive notifications for certain things only. It was helpful because it allows me to minimize the notifications I receive for unnecessary things. I would recommend setting this up!

(Grade marking) 

Tech Tip: Google Site Image

For this tech tip, I explored the Google site for my storybook. I am somewhat challenged when it comes to working on a new site I have not seen before or been familiar with. I am still somewhat struggling with making my site look "cool". I see other people's sites and wish I could figure out how to format things to get to how I want them to look. I think the Google site is very easy to work with. Putting in a picture wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. On my introduction to my storybook I added a picture of the Amazon Jungle. I'm still trying to figure out if I am able to get a picture in the background and how to work with different fonts.

Week 6 Storytelling: Zarro and the water

Tiki was King of the land for hundreds of years. He was very well known and had eternal life. He had lived to see lives changing during his time as king. Tiki also enjoyed the finer things in life, such as the prettiest women, great big feasts, and commanding his servants around. What Tiki enjoyed the most was the array of women he was allowed to chose from. He was allowed to have multiple wives, but wasn't entirely satisfied as his wives would soon get old and eventually die, while he stayed young and everlasting. The king called upon his servant to find him an eternal love.

"Zarro", the king yelled, "If you can find me eternal love, then I will denounce my thrown unto you. Your fate lies in the hands of my happiness."

Not sure quite what to do, Zarro was off to find what the king was looking for. He hiked up mountains and through the desert storms, asking, hoping, and praying for any sort of sign that would lead him to what the king was wishing for. Zarro was poor servant, and this was a once and a life time opportunity for him to become something other than that. He loved the people of the land, and desired fame.

Twenty nine days passed, and the servant still had yet to find someone for the king. He thought to himself that there must be someone else out there with eternal life. Although he thought this, there was nothing he could do except wait for a sign.

Suddenly, Zarro was stopped by an old man on the streets who said he could help with him with his problem. Without hesitation, Zarro agreed.

The old man was a fisherman and had many tricks up his sleeve. Not many people had heard of him, but he felt bad for the servant and wanted to offer up his services. He led Zarro to his boat and took him on a fishing adventure.

Zarro had never been to the water or on a boat, so he was nervous. All his life, he only knew of the land to be safe. He didn't know what the waters contained so people of his kind stayed away from it. Trusting the old man and wanting to be successful, he went on the boat anyways.

While on the boat, Zarro and the fisherman had a nice conversation. The fisherman told him stories about the water and what lies beneath. All of the sudden, the fisherman threw his fishing rod into the water. They waited ten minutes to before something finally caught the hook. Reeling it in with all his strength, the old man pulled a fish out of the water. Zarro was in shock. He had never seen anything so wonderful, he did not want to let that moment go.

What happened next was magical to Zarro. The fisherman somehow was able to turn the fish into the most beautiful lady in all of the land who had eternal life, or so he thought. Zarro was so thankful for what the fisherman had done and he led the girl back to the king for him.

The king, Tiki, was overwhelmed and happy that he had finally found someone to share life with. Zarro was then made the king of the land, while Tiki went off to be with the girl.

Little did Tiki know that the beautiful girl would lead him to the water where he would later die and drown. The king didn't know much of the water, but saw how the girl transformed into a fish and thought he could do the same...

(Fish in water)

Author's Note - I got the idea for my story after reading multiple stories from the Nigerian Folk stories. I thought they all very interesting and different at the same time. Most of the stories began with a king having several wives, so I thought I would make mine similar in that way. The moral of my story is that looks can be deceiving. The fisherman isn't who the servant thought he was going to be and the girl isn't who the king thought she would be. The servant and the king had no idea what the water was like nor had they ever really explored it. The story worked out well for the servant, but the king was unsuccessful at living eternally happy with the fish. I though I would include some type of animal my story because most of the folk stories did and twisted things to where I didn't think something was going to happen.


Bibliography - Nigerian Folk Stories by Elphinstone Dayrell

Reading Notes: Nigerian Folk Stories, Part B

The lightning and thunder story was a good read. I like how the central focus for Nigerian Folk Stories focuses on attributing certain things for why they are the way they are. For instance, in this lightning and thunder story, thunder was the mom and lightning was the son causing destruction. The lightning was always causing havoc and burning things down and the thunder was yelling at her son for doing so. They were eventually banished from town and were sent to another place where they did the same thing and that is why there were sent so far away into the sky. They couldn't harm anyone from there. Bringing things to life from nature would make for an interesting story! There are so many takes I could make a spin off of.

(Lightning storm)

The next story I enjoyed in Part B of the reading was about a hippo who no one knew of his name. The hippo had many wives and threw many feasts for people. During his feast, he asked if anyone knew his name and no one knew the answer. Eventually he made a deal that if someone knew his name he would go live out his days in the water. The tortious snuck his way around the hippo so he could get one of his many wives to call him by name. This fold story is another one of those legends for why hippos stay in water. Thinking I could do something like this story about another animal or so.

The last story that I wanted to comment on was about two birds that were competing for the king. The king promised that he would make whoever could endure pain the longest chief of his tribe. Two different birds were both up to the challenge. One was larger and therefore thought of himself more fit than the other. The other bird was not fit, but rather very witty. They had to build a house and go seven days without food. The smaller, but wittier bird skillfully planned his house to where there was a whole he could go in and out of to get food. The king inspected it and didn't notice the whole. At the end of the seven days the smaller bird had been able to get in and out of his cage and get to food, while the larger bird had died. He became the chief appointed by the king. I like how the story transitioned into why these types of birds are hard to shoot. They are small and witty.

I very much liked reading through these different stories. They were all similar and different at the same time. There were reoccurring instances of some characters and some similar themes. What I think I could use to make my own story might possibly have to do with creating why something does or is the way it is. I could also alter one of the stories. Stay tuned to see what I come up with this week! 

Bibliography - Nigerian Folk Stories by Elphinstone Dayrell

Reading Notes: Nigerian Folk Stories, Part A

The first story for this weeks reading caught my attention fairly quickly and caught me off guard. It was about a king who was successful and well liked and hated at the same time by his people. He got what he wanted and any pretty girl that he wanted as well. A neighboring town did not liked the king and wanted him killed, so a witch agreed to do so. This witch turned herself into a pretty girl and deceived the king by poisoning his food that she made for him. All the sudden the story got gory and she sliced the kings head off when he was poisoned. Her town was able to then defeat the king's town as they were not prepared. I think if I was able to give one of my characters a supernatural power that would make for an entertaining story. I have always liked the idea of tricking others to think you are someone else. Secretly in my own mind I wish I could do that.

The next short story from the reading had to do with a bat and a rat. The central theme was jealousy, and ultimately the rat tried to do what the bad had done to make his soup just as good. In the end, the rat lost his life and the king sent people after the bat. I enjoyed how the end of the story led to the reason that bats only come out to feed in the dark. They have fear that something will happen to them. Maybe for my story I could use something like this and lead up to something normal.

The third story in this first half of the reading

Bush rat 

was about a daughter who disobeyed her parents and wound up marrying someone that she shouldn't. At first, I thought surely something was going to happen to the girl when she went off with the skull who borrowed things to appear handsome for her since the skull was from an evil land of spirits. I thought the moral of the story was going to be that you should listen to what your parents tell you, otherwise something bad might happen. It seemed bad, but then she was sent home because she was kind to the skull's mother. I didn't quite know what the moral of the story was then, but I liked how I thought something was going to happen then something else happened instead.

Following that story, the next one I really enjoyed reading was about a king and a cock's daughter. The king was able to get any girl that he ultimately wanted and had many wives. He heard of the cock's daughter and that she was beautiful, so he wanted her. Seeing as how the cock was poor, he had no option but to present his daughter to the king, although he warned the king that she still contained some qualities of a cock. This part I though was especially interesting because I think it would be fun to add qualities to humans that people don't expect into my story. As the story goes on, the cock's daughter eventually becomes the favorite and the other wives are jealous. They then expose her qualities and embarrass the king so that he gets rid of her, and their plan works. When the king finds out it was a set up he gets rid of the wife that planned it and she ends up poor and homeless. The king himself eventually dies because he is unhappy that he sent the cock's daughter away.


Bibliography - Nigerian Folk Stories by Elphinstone Dayrell

Week 5 Storytelling: The Buddha(s)

It came through a mystical dream on a breezy summer night. Unlike any other dream before, the mother, Maya was awoken. Maya had that gut wrenching feeling that something great was coming. She had waited all her life for this one moment...

Maya was married to King Suddhodana. They lived happily and healthy in their castle ruling over the land. They were good people and did much for their people. The King and Queen were connected on a spiritual level as well and could feel what each other were thinking.

King Suddhodana could feel the excitement that his wife was feeling and knew they were destined to have something great join their little family in their lavish lifestyle.

Although the King and Queen were good people, they lived their life enjoying all things wonderful. From fine dining to maid services to everything in between, they never really had any struggles. They helped the poor and worked with communities, but were never challenged like others that lived in the towns they ruled over. They had power and felt that what was coming would make them even stronger.

Just after the dream had come, Maya learned that she was pregnant. The King and Queen were ecstatic.

"This is a God sent gift to us. He has chosen us as the worthy ones to be the bearer of all things great through our child", the King exclaimed to Maya.

As the birth neared, all the sudden Maya had another dream. This dream was not like the coming of something great experience she had in the first dream. She woke in fear, as tears trickled down her face.

"What is wrong?", Suddhodana whispered.

"God came to me in a dream. He said where there is good, there is also evil. I fear for my pregnancy and what is to come", Maya cried back.

Weeks went on and Maya was nearing her pregnancy. The King wanted everything to be wonderful and for Maya to be showered with gifts and all things great. He ordered the servants to prepare for the birth of what they thought would bring them great glory.

It happened... But not quite as how they anticipated things would go.

A maiden came running to King Suddhodana yelling, "We come with some news. Two sons have been born, twins."

In a world of shock, the King did not know what to think or what to do. How should she feel? These dreams his wife was having had to have meant something. He went to go see his beautiful baby boys and give names to them. Gazing into their eyes and addressing them for the first time he said, "You shall be called Siddhartha and you shall be Hiddhartha."

As a great hermit came to welcome their sons into the world, he had a worried look on his face. He picked Siddhartha up and smiled. When he picked Hiddhartha up, he got a bad vibe from the child and set him back down. The hermit said, "Be careful, for life isn't always what it seems."

Not sure what to do or what that meant, Siddhartha and Hiddhartha were raised in the lavish lifestyle that the King and Queen provided for them. They knew eventually, that only one of the boys were going to be destined for greatness.

(Siddhartha and Hiddhartha) 

Siddhartha wasn't like his brother, he rejected the nice things and was always helping the people. He wanted to get away from the life he was provided and to get out into the world on his own. Hiddhartha, on the other hand, was a greedy boy. He enjoyed the expensive things in life and wanted nothing more than to take over with power.

The King and Queen were became very worried. Their sons were nothing alike. One wanted nothing to do with their fancy offerings and merely wanted to help the people. The other wanted power and was only worried about himself.

King Suddhodana called for God, "What must we do? We are lost and want our people to be safe under the chosen Buddha. Give us some guidance and we will be ever so thankful."

Siddhartha spent his days meditating and searching for the true meaning of life. He found that through prayer and practice life and death were connected. Hiddhartha thought he knew everything already and that he would be the chosen one. He didn't care about the connection or the people.

When the time came Siddhartha became the chosen one, the true Buddha. Although Siddhartha did not want the lifestyle, he had a way promoting peace and prosperity. Hiddhartha was sentenced to live under the teachings of his brother. Siddhartha would eventually come to teach the world nirvana. Only the good will prevail the evil.



Bibliography: "The Life of Buddha" by Andre Ferdinand Herold; Web Source 

Author's Note: The original story was about the life of Buddha. Siddhartha was born to a King and Queen who wanted nothing but the best for their son. He was hidden from the bad parts of life, but ultimately wanted to adventure. Although his parents were not pleased, Siddhartha went on his journey as a hermit and found nirvana through meditation. In the original story, his mom passed away and he was left to her sister. In my story, I made a twist in the fact that two sons were born instead of one. They were sort of competing to become the Buddha, but it is a chosen position. Siddhartha was the good son and his brother Hiddhartha was evil. In the end my story has the message that good outweighs the evil in the world, but that good and evil are accompanied by eachother.

Reading Notes: The Life of Buddha, Part B

The second part of the reading begins with Siddhartha leaving the city of Kapila. He also leaves on his horse Kanthaka. Siddhartha wants to discover life and death all together and feels like he must go out and venture. He wants to find good or evil. I think if I could tell it from the horses point of view that would be neat. I could also make up something along the lines that his father holds him at his palace like he is in prison. His father wants to ultimately be the greatest.

Siddhartha's leaving was very heartfelt and emotional. He talked with Chandaka and realized that he wanted to discover more. Leaving his family would be hard for them, but if he was to stay they might leave him (in death). Gopa realized that Siddhartha has left to become a hermit. The people are not happy and wonder if he can be persuaded to come back and rule. The horse also returned from Siddhartha and was silent and then died. I thought that was really sad and brought out a new emotional side. Maybe the horse was so heartbroken that their next prince who was so divine was straying away from his "path".

King Vimbasara set out looking for Siddhartha. He was told by a man that a God was wandering the streets of the city. He went to help Siddhartha. I thought this part of the story really stood out. Siddhartha had everything he could have ever wanted and chose to give it up to be poor. Maybe my story could have something more meaningful like that. Siddhartha was trying to find enlightenment.

Siddhartha went to Nairanjana where he for a moment was thought to be "dead". His mom Maya appeared among that Gods thinking that he was dead. She uttered powerful words to him. Siddhartha then meditated for SIX years on the banks of the river. What a long time. I wish I could meditate and stay concentrated for that long. He was also followed by five disciples who left him because he could not teach them the correct path of knowledge.

(Buddha Meditating) 

The tree of knowledge was another good part of the story. Siddhartha realizes he has the knowledge and some interesting things happen with an evil soul, Mara. Siddhartha eventually becomes the Buddha. In his time meditating and discovering, he finds that there is no life without death. I think it would be cool to add my own twist of life and death. I want to maybe do a story where something is reborn into something else after death.


Bibliography: "The Life of Buddha" by Andre Ferdinand Herold; Web Source

Reading Notes: The Life of Buddha, Part A

I chose to read this story particularly because of the mini Buddhas I have in my room that my friend had gotten me. I know a little about Buddhism from learning about it in my religion class. I thought it would be interesting to read the stories!

The intro to the story, Maya's Dream, was very detailed and eye opening. I like how it mentioned that the child chose that specific family even before it was born. I also liked how the powerful King felt week at the thought of a child being born and he did not know why. It would be fascinating to turn create a story out of a dream and make it come to life. The Queen and King were summoned by the Gods and they knew that something magical was going to be born. I enjoyed how good things began to happen to those around them as they prepared for something greater. In my story I could make it about someone being healed or having the power to heal... Just a thought!

As the story continues, the son is about to be born and is gifted with all this magical stuff. It made me desire to have all the things the King could offer his Queen at the time of birth. The detail was truly amazing. I think it is interesting how effortlessly they made childbirth seem. Maybe I could put a twist into the story to show that childbirth is not as magical as the Queen had made it appear... Siddhartha was born and everything in the world seemed to be great just because of his appearance.

A hermit comes to see the son and is weeping at the sight. The powerful words that he says to the king really resided in me and I want my story to leave some kind of lasting impact. The son is supposed to "destroy the evil of rebirth".. The King was left with many questions.

The story continued and I was sad, as the mother of Siddhartha had passed away and he was now left in the care of her sister, Mahaprajapati. I would like to add some sort of feelings to my stories as well. I think emotion is key for people to stay intrigued. The sister had Siddhartha wearing nice jewelry that a Goddess did not like. She was ordered to take it off of him.

(Siddhartha and Mahaprajapati) 

Siddhartha grew older and was taken to a temple. He was taught things, but already knew everything that his teacher Visvamitra taught him. Wouldn't that be nice? Just to know everything already. I wish I had that ability in school (ha ha). He began to meditate. Maybe I could do a story about finding peace and meditation after something bad. Finding a sense of belonging in a world...

Bibliography: "The Life of Buddha" by Andre Ferdinand Herold; Web Source 

Tech Tip: Creating a Google Site

For this past week, I created a Google Site with the helpful tips that were provided. Although I was new to it, I found it very easy to create. I was about to personalize my website and add my own picture. Google has really transformed what people are able to create and simplify it for them. I will continue to add to my website as I move forward with my storybook. Feel free to check it out and play around with everything that Google Sites has to offer! 

Feedback Focus

I would rank the strategies in terms of their usefulness in this order: using a timer, copy-and-paste, and reading out loud. I was very surprised by the way these different strategies affected my reading. Each strategy had a different affect and I found them very helpful. I often feel as if it takes me a long time to sometimes read someones story and stay focused. I think setting a timer would be a great idea and something I didn't really even think of before reading these strategies. The second strategy of copying and pasting would be very good for comments and focusing in on detail. That is also very handy for having comments ready to go for the most part. I think the last one is something I sort of do anyways when I am reading alone sometimes. It is very helpful for getting the feel of what is going on in the story. Often times our eyes miss things when we are reading through a story. I think I would try these strategies in the future. They will help make sure I get things finished in a reasonable period of time and also to have good and insightful comments/feedback for people to read. I want to get better at giving feedback to people and these tips are things that will improve my ability to do so.  

(Focused sign) 

Week 4 Storytelling: The Unknown

Once upon a time, there was a little family living in among the woods. Through the creaking trees, snapping branches, and water trails the family was well hidden and secure. Their castle consisted of brown and rusted wood piled together to make shelter. It was built by the dad, Billy, who did almost everything for them to help them get by. Other members of the family included the mom, Molly, and the only child, Mike.

Mike was different... He was not like other children his own age. That's part of the reason their family moved to stay hidden in the woods. Mike was primarily a happy and brave young lad. Before hauling out to live in the woods, Mike went to school, played and learned as much as he could. One day, his parents discovered something peculiar after Mike left for school. Molly, his mom was cleaning his room and noticed ruffled under his bed, was a large red box. She assumed it was his special toys at first, but when she opened it, it was nothing she had anticipated.

Scattered in the box were well drawn out plans and papers written by Mike. They always knew he was a smart boy, but didn't realize his mental capacity was well beyond his age, and even theirs. They knew he was planning something big, but weren't quite sure how to handle the situation. Billy and Molly needed to appear neutral as to not scare off their son Mike. They wanted to know what he had planned. Mike seemed to show some signs of his grandfather, and Billy was willing to do whatever he could.

They eventually went searching for help at any place they thought might guide them in the right direction to help with their situation with Mike. After searching for what felt like a lifetime, Billy came across an only lady who sparked an interesting conversation. Billy stumbled upon her at a store and eventually the two got to talking. She said she could help, and for some reason their gut instinct trusted the wise words she delivered to them.

"Come to my place at the edge just before the woods right outside of town. Bring nothing but the boy and yourselves. Do not tell him anything other than you are just visiting an old friend." whispered the little old lady as she slid past Billy on her way down the spice isle.

As interesting as it seemed Billy replied, "I will do just that. This is our last resort to help our son not to let things get out of hand."

Billy and Molly told Mike they would be going on a little vacation and to pack some things. Mike was interested but seemed to have some questions.

"What do I need to bring?" said Mike.

"We have already packed your bag for you. Are you ready to go?" his mom yelled across the house.

Mike annoyingly replied, "I suppose so."

The three went on their way to the woods. They met with the old lady in the woods. Who had a lot of wise words to give to them. She asked about their family life and how things were with the boy. Mike seemed to think something was wrong, but trusted his family. The old lady asked if they wanted to see the rest of their property. Without hesitation, the family was interested because of its beauty. Also, how could they not trust a cute little old lady.

They went on their way and after crossing a creek, Billy, Molly, and Mike began to felt like something was wrong. They didn't know where they were or where they were going. It felt like they were on a never ending trail that just went around in circles. The old lady disappeared.

Suddenly, Mike's persona had changed. He became scared and let go of his brave persona. He realized what had happened and blamed his parents for not understanding what was to come.

The old lady came back when she heard Mike whimper. Out of the woods she appeared. She stated, "You have come to realize, my smart child. This is where you will be afraid. For your parents came to me because they feared you and what you had planned. You shall live the rest of your days out in the afraid of your own ability."

With that, the family was left to fend for themselves..



Bibliography:
Forty-four Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignacz Kunos, link to web source 


Author's Note: My idea for this story was from one of the Turkish fairy tales that were written by Ignacz Kunos. The fairy tales in his books were very different than ordinary tales. The story I got my idea from was about a boy looking for fear and eventually someone scaring him. Although it was a lot different, my story is also about a boy. However, the boy in my story does not posses fear. His parents are trying to figure out what is wrong. They eventually stumble upon an old lady who knows what she is doing. She traps the family into her woods where the boy is becomes scared and isn't able to process things like he usually is.

Reading Notes: Turkish Fairy Tales, Part B

The first story in the part was quite interesting and I enjoyed the first half, but then it got a little confusing. The story was about a maiden who was in a way summoned by a bird to find her "kismet". I didn't know quite what that word was, but once I looked it up, I found out that it meant destiny or fate. Continuing on with the story, there was a lot of really good detail that made you picture the surroundings. In my story I want to try to incorporate more detail. I feel as if really good stories make you feel a part of them. I did not like the second part of the story, I felt a little confused and like it didn't connect with the first part entirely. Somehow there was someone called Bey who granted presents for the servants and the maiden requested a brown patience-knife and a yellow patience-stone. I don't exactly know what they meant by "patience" there. They Bey wasn't quite able to deliver on his promise, but somehow ended up with them for the maiden. She used them to describe a story and in the end she eventually found her kismet. I thought it was weird how she stabbed herself with the knife and the Bey jumped out and said that she was his kismet. Overall, I thought it was an interesting tale. Maybe in my stories I can include more magical aspects.

(Patience-Stone and Patience-Knife, link to web source)

The next story I enjoyed was "The Imp of the Well". Again, I did not know what an imp was, so I looked that up as well and found out that it meant some sort of devil or spirit. The story started off very well. I thought it was funny how the many left his wife in the well. She seemed to not let him do anything on his own and always took from him, so that was bad karma when she fell in the well. The story had a twist to it when the woodcutter left his wife in the well and came back for her the next day. The imp appeared and the woodcutter had to sort of go on a mission for saving the imp from the well instead of his wife. Somehow they ended up back at the well and the woodcutter felt bad for not saving his wife. The imp didn't know if he believed the man so the story sort of left off in a mystery. I could use something like that in my story and leave things off with a mystery and people wanting to find out more. Cliffhangers are a good twist because they leave people to their own imagination and interpretation of the story.


Bibliography:
Forty-four Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignacz Kunos, link to web source 

Reading Notes: Turkish Fairy Tales, Part A

The first part of this reading was very interesting. I wasn't sure what to expect before I started reading the stories. I don't know a lot about the Turkish culture. The first story was about fear and a boy trying to find it. I like how the author included a lot of dialogue into his story. I think for my stories I need to do that more. I also liked the theme of the boy searching for fear, but not really being afraid of it. There were some fairytale aspects to the story, but it was not what I was anticipating. There were some maidens that found the boy and offered him some nice things, but he was still on the search for fear. As the boy was still in search, he was offered to be the Shah, but declined as he wished to find out what fear was first. I liked thought it was interesting that something landing on his head meant that he was the Shah. Eventually he sat down with the Sultana who was able to scare him by placing a bird in side the dish that when he opened it, it flew out. I thought the ending was pretty basic though. They all lived "happily ever after", and I thought something more dramatic was going to happen.

The next story that I liked from these was about a fisherman. The intro to the story really drew me in to it. The fisherman was able to discover his passion and from that he gained a fish. I like how the fish was brought to life. It really added a new dynamic to the story. I think it would be cool to bring something to life in one of my stories. I also thought it was unique what things the fisherman had to bring to the Padishah. He requested some extravagant things the fisherman was able to deliver so he wouldn't have to give up his maiden. My stories could use a little more creativity like these.

(The Fish-Peri, web source) 

Bibliography:
Forty-four Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignacz Kunos, link to the reading online