Extra Reading Diary: The Twin Brothers

Congo: The Twin Brothers

 

I really liked that this story had twins! It made the story really interesting! I really liked this story until the end when the brothers started fighting and then murdered each other. I thought it was going to be happy and that they would save everyone but that seemed too good to be true and I was right. I did like the brother that won in the end! He seemed like he was doing the right thing! I probably would have done the same thing. It was pretty messed up that after he saved his brother, the other twin turned around and killed him over claim of the followers! I also think that in the grand scheme of things, they should have been the second brother’s followers because he was the one to go and save his brother. Whereas, the other brother was pretty stupid when his wife told him not to go to that town and he decided to go anyway. That wasn’t the smartest decision. Overall, I like this story, though.

(Fetish With Mirror)

 

Storytelling Week 7: The Dog Couple and Their Human

The Dog Couple and Their Human

 

A long time ago, there lived an old dog and his wife who had very little money and no pups to give all of their love and affection to so, they gave all of their love to their pet human. The little human was not spoiled and ungrateful but instead loved the old dog couple unconditionally and followed the couple everywhere they went.

                One hot afternoon, the dog was hard at work digging in his garden with his little human by his side. Growing tired, the old dog wiped the sweat off of his forehead with his paw and rose to head into the house. As he was leaving the garden, he noticed that his little human was digging at a spot on the other side of the garden. There was nothing unusual about this as his little human loved to pick up his toy shovel and dig but this time, the little human ran to his master and started jumping up and down and yelling. The human kept on doing this until the old dog followed him to the spot he was digging. The little human was so excited that his yelling brought the little old dog’s wife out of the house. The little human continued to dig until he dug up a small box. When the old dog grabbed the box and opened it, he found that it was filled with gold coins. Soon, the wealth of the little old dog couple and their incredible little human spread around the town.

                The little old dog couple’s neighbor, the cat, grew so envious of them that he found himself unable to eat, sleep, or think about anything else besides how to steal the dog couple’s wealth. The cat begged the old man to let him borrow his dear little human so that he may become rich as well. With much hesitation, the little old dog finally agreed to lend the cat his human only if he promised to take good care of him. As soon as the cat took the human home, he turned him loose into his backyard. Once in the backyard, the little did nothing but run around and play. He waited all day and all night for the dog to show him the way to the undiscovered riches. Alas, nothing happened and the cat grew so angry at the little human that he loaded him in his car, drove out into the forest and pushed the little human out of his car, leaving him there to die.

                The next day, the cat realized what he had done and quickly ran to the old dog couple’s house. Instead of telling the truth, he lied to the old couple and said that their little human ran away. The little old dog couple was so devastated that they wept for days and days. Weeks passed and the little old couple began to lose all hope. One night, as the couple was sitting in their dining room having dinner, they heard a familiar sound. They jumped up from their table and ran outside. Running outside, they were reunited with their precious little human and vowed to never let him leave their sight again. The cat, plagued with guilt, fled the town and was never heard from again and everyone lived happily ever after.  

(Japanese Gold Coin)

Author's Note: This story is based on the Japanese tale, The Envious Neighbor. I decided to switch the roles of the dog and the humans to make the story a little more fun. In the story, the neighbor becomes so angry with the dog that he kills him. I decided to change this part because I felt that killing the dog was a little gruesome and I wanted to make my story a little more lighthearted.

Bibliography: This story is based on the story The Envious Neighbor that is part of the Japanese Fairy Tales(Lang)  written by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H.J. Ford(1901).

Reading Diary B: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang)

How the Wicked Tanuki was Punished

This story is my favorite story in this unit. I thought that the Tanuki was going to secretly kill his son and that his wife, the fox, would find out and fins a clever way to punish him. The Tanuki reminded me of the trickster Anansi from the West African folklore/fairytales. Like the Tanuki, Anansi also selfishly betrayed his family members in order to gain something. In this case, both the Tanuki and Anansi betrayed their family for food. I also loved that the sons were the heroes in both of these stories. I was really happy when the Tanuki’s son realized that his father had betrayed and killed his mother and instead of confronting his father, he thought of a clever plan of how to use his father’s cockiness against him and avenge his mother’s death.

 

The Slaying of the Tanuki

There seems to be a lot of murder in the stories that involve the Tanuki. As I was reading the story, I knew that the Tanuki would play a cruel trick on the peasant man but, I never would have guessed that the “trick” would be the Tanuki murdering the peasant’s wife and then feeding her to him. That part of the story was a little extreme. It made for a good story but, it was still pretty extreme. When the hare set the Tanuki on fire and almost killed him, I thought that surely the Tanuki wouldn’t trust the hare anymore but, for some reason he did. The part of the story that said, “The Tanuki was still feeling angry with the hare about the trick he had played him, but he was weak and very hungry, so he gladly accepted the proposal” really shocked me. They made the hare’s attempt to kill the Tanuki seem as if it was not a big deal. I don’t know about whoever wrote this story but, attempting to set someone on fire is definitely not just a harmless “trick.”

 

(The Hare and the Tanuki illustrated by H. J. Ford 1897)

 

Reading Diary A: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang)

The Envious Neighbour
I
 liked this story. In a way, it kind of reminded me of the story The Ungrateful Man that was a part of the West African Folktales unit. Both of the antagonists in these stories were jealous of the protagonists in the story. Even though the old couple in The Envious Neighbor and the hunter in The Ungrateful Man were nothing but nice to their opposites, the neighbor and the man still betrayed them. I was shocked when the neighbor killed the old couple’s dog. I thought that he would try to steal the dog but I never thought he would actually harm the dog. In the end, the neighbor got what he deserved and the old couple came out on top.

The Cat's Elopement 

 

It seems like the characters in Japanese folklore/fairytales love their animals. The man and woman in this story are really attached to their cat just like the old couple was attached to their dog. Pets or animals in general must be important to the Japanese culture.

I love that this story is a love story about two cats. It was cute that the cats had human qualities and that the story was told through their eyes (kind of like the Disney movie The Aristocats). The part about the serpent always trying to get to the princess confused me a little. Why didn’t the princess’s servants kill the serpent instead of just shooing him away? I was glad that Gon and Koma found each other in the end and got to live with the princess and her prince. It was a happy ending for both the humans and the cats. I wonder what happened to Gon and Koma’s original owners?

 

(illustrated by H. J. Ford 1897 )



 

 

Extra Reading Diary: Brer Rabbit

Brer Rabbit

I have never read Brer Rabbit before so I was not too sure what to expect. The unique dialect is what really makes these folklore stories stand out. When I read the description of the book, I expected the stories to be very similar to Aesop’s Fables. Once I started reading the stories, I started to realize that the only thing that Aesop’s Fables and Brer Rabbit have in common is the use of animals as the main characters (at least in my opinion). I’ve seen dialect in a few stories but I do not think I have ever read a story that uses nothing but dialect throughout the whole story. I also listened to some of the stories using Libriox. Listening to someone read the stories made them come to life more than when I started reading the stories myself. While I was listening, the voices that the people reading the stories used reminded me of the crows in the movie Dumbo. The voices that were used in these stories were also similar to the voices used in the To Kill a Mockingbird auto.

                One thing that I liked about this unit is the use of similes. These stories are filled with southern similes and I absolutely love it. My grandparents and my friends’ grandparents use similes similar to the ones used in this unit. I guess those type of sayings are very unique and important in southern culture.

                Overall, I am on the fence about whether or not I really liked this unit. Overall, some of the stories were entertaining but, the dialect was a little hard to listen to.

 

(Illustrated by A. B. Frost)

 

Storytelling Week 6: The Ungratetful Young Woman

One day, a little girl in a red coat was walking through the forest in search of beautiful flowers to give to her sick grandmother. As she was searching, she stumbled upon a deep hole. She looked down in the hole and saw that there was a witch, an elf, a leprechaun, and a young woman. When they saw the girl, they began to beg her to help them out of the hole. The girl stood over the hole and contemplated whether or not she wanted to help them. She knew that she wanted to help the young women, for she was warm and beautiful but, the other three were a different story. The witch, she thought, tried to eat her best friends Hansel and Gretel. The dark elf used his magic to harm people. The leprechaun was just difficult to deal with. The little girl saw no use in helping them escape.

(Enchanted Forest)

 

The other three captives begged and begged for their freedom that the girl, being a kind hearted person, she decided to set them free. Each one of the creatures promised that they would compensate her kindness-except for the young woman. The young woman told the girl that she was very poor and could not offer her anything but, the girl allowed the young woman to stay with her and her grandmother.

A couple of days passed and the elf came to the girl and offered her a vile of his magic. “Make sure you always keep it close by,” he said. “You will find it very, very useful. When you want to use it, make sure you mix it with the blood of a beautiful maiden.”  Although the girl was a little frightened to possess such powerful magic, she thanked the elf and put the vile on a string and wore it as a necklace. The witch also showed her gratitude by promising to never harm the girl or any of her friends and always keeping her and her grandmother well fed.

The leprechaun also came to the girl and gave her a large pot of gold. “This pot of gold is magic. The gold in it will never run out and you and your grandmother will be very rich. After this, the girl and her grandmother lived in comfort and luxury and never went hungry again. The young woman who lived with the girl and her grandmother became jealous of the girl and all of her riches and constantly searched for a way to harm the girl.

The next day, there was an announcement that someone had robbed the Queen’s castle and stole all of her valuable jewels. The young woman rushed to the castle and told the Queen’s guards and told them that it was the girl who stole the Queen’s jewels. The Queen promised the young woman that she would give half of her jewels to the young woman for telling her who stole the jewels. The next day, the girl was thrown in jail and questioned about her newly acquired wealth. The girl truthfully told the witch, the elf, and the leprechaun but, no one believed her. The girl was condemned to die the next evening.

The next day before the girl’s execution, there was news that the Queen’s son was dying. Anyone who could save him was begged to help. The girl instantly clutched the vile that the elf gave her and asked if she could use it to save the Queen’s son. The Queen asked the girl if there was anything she needed and she said, “The blood of a beautiful maiden.” The Queen immediately pointed to the young woman who betrayed the girl and said, “There goes a beautiful maiden. She may be beautiful on the outside but her insides are filled with hate.” The young woman was beheaded and her blood was mixed with the vile of the elf’s magic.

As soon as it was given to the prince, he was cured and the Queen awarded the girl with the highest honors of the kingdom.

 

 

Author's Note: I chose to write my retelling in the same style as the original story. I made this decision because I really liked the way the original story flowed. I changed this story by making the characters storybook/fairytale characters and creatures, such as little red riding hood, instead of using animals.

Bibliography: This story was based on the story The Ungrateful Man. This story is part of the book West African Folktales written by William H. Baker and Cecilia Sinclair, with drawings by Cecilia Sinclair(1917).

  

Reading Diary B: West African Folktales(continued)

The Moon and Stars

There was a dragon in this story! A dragon! I was surprised and confused that there would be a dragon in a West African folktale. I do not know why I was so surprised but for some reason I just don’t think of dragons when I think of West African folktales/fairytales. The story was very interesting. I knew from previous stories that Anansi and his son, Kweku Tsin, could shapeshift into different animals but I did not know that they were the moon and sun as well. It always seems that Kweku Tsin is always the hero in these stories and not Anansi. This makes me wonder why Anansi is the more well-known character than his son. Why isn’t Kweku Tsin the face/main character of these stories instead of his father?

 

(A Promise Under the Moon)

 Why Tigers NeverAttack Men Unless They Are Provoked

As I mentioned earlier, I was surprised to read about a dragon in West African folklore/fairytales but, I was not surprised that there was a tiger even though, there are no tigers in Africa. I think this is because West African stories are filled with animals that I didn’t even think twice about the absence of tigers. I liked this cute story about friendship. When the tiger decided to pretend to be dead in order to test the man’s friendship, I have to admit that I expected the worse. For some reason, despite the title, I doubted the man’s loyalty to the tiger but I am glad that I was proved wrong.

Reading Diary A: West African Folktales

 West African Folktales

 

I was so excited when I saw that our next unit was Asia/Pacific- Africa! I love the trickster Anansi! I have only heard a few Anansi stories so I am excited to read more stories about him. I am also excited to read the animal stories. African folklore/fairytales have very cool stories about why certain animals behave the way they do and how these animals came to be. The stories are fun and clever and I can’t wait to start reading more of them.

Thunder and Anansi

This is one Anansi story that I have not heard before. When Anansi received the magic pot from Thunder, I was really hoping that he would actually use it for not only for himself but for his family as well. Of course, that was wishful thinking. But, as always, Anansi got what he deserved when the stick that Thunder gave him started beating him for his foolishness.

Why Spiders Are Always Found in Corners of Ceilings

Just like before, Anansi has decided to me greedy and try to get over on his wife and son. As always, Anansi’s son foiled his father’s plan. You would think that as clever and tricky as Anansi is, he would be smart enough to know that the rubber man was not real, especially when his hand got stuck to the rubber man’s face when he tried to hit it. I also think that is cool how both Anansi and his son Kweku Tsin can change themselves into animals. It would be cool to have shapeshifting powers.

(Anansi the Storyteller)



 

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Extra Reading Diary: Persian Tales

Myth-Folklore Unit: Persian Tales

 

The Sad Tale of the Mouse's Tail

I thought that this story was very cute. I’ve read many stories like this when I was younger. It reminded me of an episode of Animaniacs (I think that’s what it was) that had a plot that was like this story. The only difference between this story’s plot and the cartoon’s plot was that at the end if the episode, the character ended back at the place he began asking that person for something to trade. I found myself reading each part of the story faster and faster as it progressed.  Although it was a quick and simple read, it was also an enjoyable one.

 

The Wolf-Aunt

I thought that the backstory of this story was very interesting. I wonder why the wives are told to hate their sister-in-laws. What if a wife really likes her husband’s sister and they actually get along. Do they have to pretend and act like they hate each other?

My favorite part of the story is when the wolf-aunt asks the brother how he would like to be eaten. He didn’t even try to fight her off; he just calmly accepted his fate. There is a line at the end of the story that says “if he had listened to his wife this would never have happened.” As I read this, I could definitely picture my mom or any other mom/wife saying this.

(Werewolf Girl)

Storytelling Week 5: Who Can Ring Her Belle?

Another Valentine’s Day, another year single and I am perfectly happy with that yet, here I am at this stupid speed dating event that I was forced to attend. You would think that by now my parents and my best friend, Aurora, would know me well enough to know that I absolutely do not have the time for a boyfriend. My mom and dad constantly hound me about marriage and kids and my best friend Aurora keeps attempting to set me up with her boyfriend, Philip’s friends. I guess it would be nice to not be the third wheel every time we hangout but, then again I do enjoy my freedom. But, like I said before, I’m here at Snow White’s Singles Mingle speed dating so obviously I can’t be all that opposed to finding a boyfriend.

“Hello, everyone! Are you all ready to begin?”

Gosh, Snow’s voice could be annoying. If she can find a guy to put up with that sound everyday then surely I can find someone to put up with me. As the first round starts, I begin to get nervous. Right when decided that I am going to blow this Popsicle stand, a guy of medium height and bright brown eyes walked up to me.

“Hi, I’m Aladdin. And you are?” he said while extending his hand.

“I’m Belle. It’s nice to meet you. So, tell me about yourself, Aladdin.”

“Well, you may hear people say that I am a “street rat” he said with air quotes, but I am actually quite the hard worker.”

Somehow, I found that very hard to believe but, my mother always told me that you can’t always believe what people say so, I decided to amuse him.

“You see these pants? I made them myself. I actually make 5 pairs a day. I give two to the Sultan, one I keep for myself, of course and the other I would give to my girlfriend,” he said with a wink. “The last pair I sell for you know food and stuff. Gotta eat to live, gotta sale to eat.”

Suddenly, the bell dinged signaling that it was time to switch partners. Thank God! The next guy that sat at my table was tall and lean with brown dreads.

“Hello. I’m Tarzan and may I say you are quite the looker.” After this creepy statement, he proceeded to growl at me.

“Um, thanks. Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?”

“Well, um, I’m Tarzan. My talents include talking to apes, vine surfing, and farming. And uh, that’s about it. So umm you wanna get out of here?”

It took everything in me not to laugh at him. Is this guy serious? I mean what did I expect? There is no way I can meet the guy of my dreams at a 5 minute speed dating party hosted by Snow White.

“Last Round!” yelled Snow White in her sing song voice.

Well, here goes nothing. Just one more loser then I can go home. When I looked up, the most beautiful guy I had ever seen was sitting in front of me.

“Hi.” He said with a voice as smooth as jiffy peanut butter. “I’m Adam but my friends call me beast.”

Right from the beginning I could tell that he had to be some type of worrier. He was tall with a muscular build and a fabulous beard that confirmed why his friends called him beast. Adam and I had a connection so deep that our conversation lasted well past the allotted 5 minutes. We moved our date to the nearest coffee shop and I am proud to say that Adam and I have been dating for 8 months now and now Aurora’s dream of double dates and a double wedding is finally coming true.

 

Author's Note: With Valentine's day coming up this weekend, I decided to take the story The Four Scientific Suitors from the Twenty-Two Goblins unit and turn it into the story of the Disney princess, Belle and her experience at a speed dating party. In the original story, there are four men competing for the princess's love but to save time, I decided to only write about three men in my retelling. I tried to keep the story modern by adding some slang in the dialogue.

(Heart)



Bibliography: The Four Scientific Suitors from the Twenty-Two Goblins unit by Sanskrit Vetālapañcaviṃśati translated by Arthur Ryder. Illustrations by Perham W. Nahl (1917).

 

Reading Diary B: Twenty-Two Goblins

I really enjoyed this unit. The stories were a bit dramatic but that is what I liked about them. One thing I was curious about was the names of the characters. A lot of the names were not traditional names but instead descriptive words such as Passion, Beautiful, and Lovely. I wonder why the author of these stories decided to do that. Maybe the names were changed once the stories were translated into English.

Goblins: Father and Son, Daughter and Mother

This story was by far my favorite of the Twenty-Two Goblins unit. Even though I probably should have seen it coming, I was surprised when the smaller footprints belonged to the Queen and the larger footprints belonged to the Queen’s daughter. Although it made for a good plot twist, I still think that the King’s son should have married the princess and the King should have married the Queen despite their initial agreement about the King’s son marring the woman with the smaller footprints. The riddle was fun to try to figure out and I was a little disappointed when the King didn’t have an answer for the Goblin. I wish that they would have told us the answer instead of just leaving the riddle unsolved. I tried to solve the riddle myself but it was a hard one.

Princess=Prince’s stepmother/stepsister & Queen’s daughter/mother-in-law

King= Queen’s son-in-law/father-in-law & Prince’s father/step brother-in-law

Queen= King’s daughter-in-law/mother-in-law….

I got confused and gave up.

(illustration by Perham W. Nahl 1917)

 

Reading Diary: Twenty-Two Goblins

Myth-Folklore Unit: Twenty-Two Goblins

When I read the description of this unit, I knew that I had to read it. I love riddles, I am not the best at solving them but I like hearing them and then sharing them with others. I was also interested in reading about the Goblins in the story. When I think of goblins I think of creepy green creatures. The Goblins in this unit aren’t creepy creatures but supernatural creatures that inhabit dead bodies. When reading this chapter, I noticed that a lot of the stories are about men fighting over women. There seems to be a reoccurring theme of marriage in the units/stories we have been reading.

                This unit also had some very dramatic characters. In The Girl, Her Husband and Her Brother the characters very dramatically killed themselves without a second thought. In The Three Lovers the woman that the monk stayed with became very upset with her son because he would not stop crying. Instead of trying to soothe hi, she became angry and threw him into the fire (it escalated quickly). That part of the story really caught me off guard and I even reread it to make sure that is what really happened.

                So far, I am really enjoying this unit and I am excited to read the rest.

(Goblin in the Tree illustrated by Perham W. Nahl)

 

Extra Reading Diary: Turkish Fairy Tales

Myth-Folklore Unit: Turkish Fairy Tales

 

While reading this unit I noticed that in a few of the stories, the main character who is usually a male receives help from a female character who then in turn agrees to become the main character’s wife.  I know that fairy tales usually involve love, marriage, and a happy ending but, there is no romance. The romantic plot is just boy needs girl’s help, girl marries boy. At least in other fairy tales the boy has to fight for the girl’s hand in marriage or at the very least he has to dance with her a some sort of ball. I guess they just like to move fast in Turkish fairy tales.

 

Fear

I really enjoyed this story. The name was the thing that drew me to this story. When I was younger, I remember reading an excerpt of the Grimm brothers’ version of this story. As the main character of this story went through his journey without fear or anything he encountered, I had a feeling that the one thing that would end up scaring him would be the least scary thing he faces. Sure enough, the thing that causes him fear is the bird that the Sultana hides in his soup. Could it be that what the youth felt when he discovered the bird was surprise and not actually fear?

The Fish-Peri

I absolutely love fairies! This story reminded me a lot of the fairy tale The Elves and the Shoemaker. Just like the fish fairy that cleaned the son’s house without his knowledge, the elves in The Elves and the Shoemaker finished the shoemaker’s work while he and his wife slept.

(The Fish-Peri illustrated by Willy Pogany 1913)

 

 

Storytelling Week 4: Aladdin's Genie

Aladdin's Genie

 

The life of a genie is a boring yet hectic one. Every day, I sit in my prison or lamp as you mortals like to call it, and slowly rot. Hour after hour, day after day, month after month, year after year, I sit and wait for my lamp to be discovered only to then become a slave to the one who finds me; my master. Just as I was about to give up on being found, the lesser of the two evils, I feel the magic of the lamp alerting me that my new master is summoning me. My first task was to deliver my new master, Aladdin, from the cave that held both of us captive.

                As I spent my first days with Aladdin, I quickly found out that he was quite a foolish boy. While idle in my prison, I overheard him telling his mother that he has fallen in love with the princess. Silly boy! Did he not know that the princess was promised to the grand-vizir’s son? There is no way he would allow Aladdin to marry his daughter! But alas, for almost three months I listened to Aladdin prepare for the moment when he would earn the princess’ hand in marriage. Once he heard the news of the Sultan’s betrayal, he once again summoned me to do his bidding. My newest task was to bring the bride and bridegroom to him and throw the young man out into the cold. As crazy as this stunt was, it did successfully lured the grand-vizir’s son away from the princess’ hand and made her fall in love with my master. After the three months were up, I was summoned again to provide Aladdin with a scented bath, a horse that was grander than the sultan’s, twenty slaves for him, six slaves for his mother, and ten thousand pieces of gold.

                Once promised by the sultan to be married to the princess, he summoned me yet again to build a grand palace for the princess. Although I have only been with Aladdin for a short time, I am beginning to grow tired of his constant demands. Genie build me this, Genie give me that! All of this fuss over a woman who already possesses more riches than all of the people of China! Humans constantly long for more riches, more possessions while I only long for freedom.

                I have noticed that it has been days since Aladdin has last summoned me and I am beginning to become weary. I know that he has the genie of the ring at his beck and call but, it is not like him to not rub my lamp at all. After a few more days of waiting, I feel myself being summoned. Once I am out of the lamp, I see that it is not Aladdin who has summoned me but the magician from the far west. Somehow I have ended up in his hands and I do not know how. I know that I have spoken ill of Aladdin before but, I much rather him to be my master than this magician. Another day passes and I am summoned again. This time, it is by Aladdin. He has told me that he and the princess have poisoned and killed the magician and he wishes me to carry his palace that the magician had stolen back to China. Days pass and Aladdin once again calls upon my name and requested that I bring him a roc’s egg for his wife. How could he ask me this!? I have done everything for him and yet he still wants more. Aladdin and his precious wife get everything while I, a creature more powerful than him, sit alone in a lamp wishing for freedom that will never come.

(Aladdin and the Magician illustrated by H.J. Ford)



 

Author's Note: I chose to reimagine the story of  Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp from The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898). I was not sure about how to retell this story so I tried to retell the story of Aladdin from the Genie in the lamp's point of view. The story ends very abruptly because the tale of Aladdin is a long one and I was not sure about how to condense the story without leaving out important aspects of the story. 

 

Reading Diary B: Arabian Nights-Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

I went in to this story expecting something similar to Disney’s version of Aladdin(even though the notes about the story said not to). I have to say that although I do love Abu very much, I enjoyed this version of the story more than I thought I would once I found out how different it was. I thought it was cool that in this story Aladdin had two genies! I had to go back and reread one part of this story because when I first read it, I didn’t realize that he possessed two genies. I think this is because I was still expecting this version to the Disney one.

 Besides the two genies, another thing that I found interesting was the fact that this version took place in China. It was kind of strange that the characters still had Arabic names even though the story was set in China. It was also weird that what would be called an emperor in China was still called a Sultan as if they were in the Middle East. Another thing that confused me was how Aladdin and his mother easily believed that the magician was Aladdin’s uncle. I’m not an expert but I know that people from Africa and people from China have very different features. Maybe the magician transformed himself to look like he was from China.

Overall, I think that I enjoyed this version of Aladdin because of the amount of the magic that was involved. This version was basically one huge magic fight with the princess’s hand as the prize.  

(Aladdin and the Princess illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898))

 

 

Reading Diary A: Myth-Folklore Unit: Arabian Nights

Myth-Folklore Unit: Arabian Nights

I think that Scheherazade is a great character! She is very clever and obviously very strong minded. I love how she saw an awful thing happening to the women of her country and instead of sitting around doing nothing and waiting for her own time to come, she decided to stand up to the Sultan in the cleverest of ways.

The Story of the First Old Man and of the Hind

I liked this part of the story because the first old man’s wife was a witch. I am thinking about making my storybook project about witches in fairytales from different countries. I don’t think I have ever heard a witch story from the Middle East before; except for the witch in the Aladdin part of the show Once Upon a Time. It would be interesting if I could use this story as one of my witch examples.

The Story of the Fisherman

I really enjoyed this section of the story. Although it was a little bit confusing trying to sort through everything, I thought it was cool that this story is a story within a story within a story! It feels a lot like the movie Inception (Story-ception!). I also like the switch of storytellers at the end. This section is so much fun to read. The stories are simple but the ways that they are presented are fun, unique, and very clever. I don’t think I have ever read a story in this form before but I really enjoyed it. I completely understand why the Sultan was sucked in to these stories told by Scheherazade and her younger sister; they are very entertaining.

(illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898)