Reading: Nursery Rhymes, Part B

I enjoyed these nursery rhymes, and they would all be fun to base a story on! The illustrations were also very nice.

Of course I liked “Hey Diddle Diddle” and I think it would be a nice challenge to try and lengthen it into a story. I want to know why all these things are happening, like why the cow is jumping over the moon. 

(Illustration for "Hey Diddle Diddle," source) 

I feel like I could use this rhyme as a sequel to a story I wrote earlier in the semester about Petal the cat. 

Pussy-cat, pussy-cat, where have you been?

PUSSY-CAT, pussy-cat, where have you been?

I've been to London to look at the queen.

Pussy-cat, pussy-cat, what did you there?

I frighten'd a little mouse under the chair.

“What Little Boys are Made of” reminds me of the Powderpuff Girls with “sugar, spice, and everything nice.” 

Bibliography: Nursery Rhymes by Andrew Lang 

Reading: American Indian Fairy Tales, Part A

In “Iagoo, the Story-Teller” I really liked the line “and there was magic in almost everything.” It felt almost whimsical, and caught my attention. I also think Iagoo is an interesting character and I would like to know more about him. Was he always good at telling stories? Will he pass his stories onto a new person in the future?

I also enjoyed “The Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds.” I loved the description of the valley and the interactions between all the animals to save the two kids. 

(source) 

Bibliography: American Indian Fairy Tales by Henry Schoolcraft

Reading Notes: California and the Old Southwest, Part A

“The Great Fire” story definitely fits California, with all the fires they have. I also thought these lines were funny: 

“Long ago a man loved two women and wished to marry both of them. But the women were magpies and they laughed at him.” 

(the fire, source) 

I also thought that the “Creation of Man” was interesting. The animals in this story acted as some sort of “god” who created man. However, I wondered why they wanted to create man in the first place. (since man would end up stronger than them) I wonder what their motivations are? 

Bibliogrpahy: California and the Old Southwest by Katharine Berry Judson

Story: Grizzly Bear and Coyote

Located in the middle of a small town was an old, run down shopping mall. Because of its age there was only one light switch and one thermostat that controlled the entire building. This mall was well-known for its defective wiring and inconsistent temperature changes, and this was all because of two vendors who couldn’t get along. 

One was a coyote who owned a coffee shop, and the other was a polar bear who ran an ice cream parlour. They both disagreed on the temperature of the building. The coyote preferred a warm, homey environment for his customers while the bear wanted a slight chill to keep her merchandise cold. 

(source) 

As a result the two animals would constantly go to the control room and change the temperature to their tastes. This often resulted in arguments. 

“Hey stop turning down the heat!” yelled the agitated coyote. 

The polar bear growled back, “I can do what I want, and I own an ice cream shop. It needs to be cold in here!”

The coyote took a step forward and put a paw in the bear’s face. “Well I sell HOT chocolate and coffee. I need it to be warm!”

This went on for a few minutes before the two went their separate ways. However, both their customers became annoyed by the inconsistent temperatures in the stores and stopped showing up, causing their profits to decrease. 

The bear was the first to approach the coyote with a compromise. 

“We’re both losing money because of this feud,” the bear sighed. “Why don’t we just keep it cool half of the day and warm for the other?” 

The coyote thought this over before nodding in agreement. “The temperature can be higher in the morning and cooler in the afternoon.” 

The two shook paws and went to their respective stores. 

The peace didn’t last long. 

This time they began to argue over the levels of lighting in their stores. The coyote preferred the lighting to be dim, since he had an aesthetic to uphold, and he wanted to be the most “hip” shop in town. The bear on the other hand wanted it to be brighter to show that her store was friendly and welcoming to people of all ages. Once again they took turns changing the lighting before they finally decided to settle their differences. 

The coyote was first to speak. “Okay. Whoever can guess the amount of customers in both our stores combined gets to be in charge of the lights.” 

The bear agreed to this and guessed 21. The coyote said 17. 

Of course the answer was 19. Exactly in the middle. They decided to compromise again. 

“We can keep it dim for part of the day and bright for the other. Like last time.” suggested the coyote. 

The polar bear agreed to this. 

Afterwards the two were still at odds, but they no longer fought about the temperature or lighting of their stores. 

Author's note: I based this on the "Grizzly Bear and Coyote" Story from the British North America Unit. In the original a bear and coyote fought over how long the days and nights should be, as well as how many months of the year should be cold and warm. I decided to change this slightly by having them be store owners in a mall where they have to share a thermostat and and light switch. I also kept the part where they tried to settle their differences by counting the feathers on a bird's tail. However, I changed it by having them count the number of customers in their stores. (I also turned the grizzly bear into a polar bear). 

Bibliography: "Grizzly Bear and Coyote" from the British North America Unit by the First Nations people of Canada. 

Reading Notes: Tejas Legends, Reading B

I thought the description of the hummingbirds spraying themselves with water and playing in the rain was cute in “Why Hummingbirds Drink Only Dew.” I also was surprised that the hummingbird was able to fly faster than the heron. Herons have much larger wingspans. 

Before I actually read “Paisano, Hater of the Rattlesnake” I thought of the coyote and road runner from looney tunes. I also kept imagining a rattlesnake flying around. 

(image from Tejas Legends, source) 

Bibliography: Tejas Legends by the Tejas Indians 

Reading Notes: British North America, Reading A

This specific group of stories caught my attention because of the “Grizzly Bear and Coyote” story. I thought it was interesting to see how day/night and warm/cold months of the year came to be. However, I’m still trying to figure out if this would be a good story for my storybook or not. I’d have to change it a lot for it to fit in the world I made for Medved. Maybe a couple of bears are fighting over the temperature of the thermostat? 

“How the Earth was Formed” reminded me of Noah’s ark because they put two of each animal on a raft. 

The “Creation of Light” made me laugh because of the line “he did not invite them. They went.” 

(source) 

Bibliography: Myths and Legends of British North America by the First Nations people of Canada

Week 8 Growth Mindset

Some strengths I have include being confident that I can improve and/or learn from my mistakes, setting my priorities, and being open to feedback. This class has definitely given me great feedback and I always try my best to apply it to my writings. I have also had to manage my schedule often so that I turn everything in on time. 

My weaknesses are staying in my comfort zone (in this class and in life in general), taking a short time view, and comparing myself to others. At first writing a story each week was out of my comfort zone, but as time has gone by I have become used to it. I’ve also had to try and ditch my short-term mindset when it comes to planning for my storybook. 

I hope that for the second half of the semester I can continue to improve with my writing and get out of my comfort zone more often.

(source)

Week 8 Reflections

I have really enjoyed this class so far! It’s a nice break from my other schoolwork, and I feel like my writing has improved because of it. The readings are great and without this class I would have never known that they existed. 

As for the reading notes I feel like I’ve done a good job. I usually leave myself notes on elements I liked in a story, or things I didn’t like and might want to change in a re-write. 

 I’m also pretty pleased with the stories I’ve written this semester. I was a little nervous in the beginning, since I’ve been self-conscious about my writing in the past, but I think writing stories, blog posts, and comments each week has helped me improve. I’ve also noticed that I tend to gravitate towards stories involving animals and and happy endings. If a story has an unfortunate end or sad element I will usually change it to something better. I want people to be happy when reading my stories.

(a bunch of animals, source) 

I really like my storybook topic as well. I’m happy to write about Medved and his adventures, and it has kept my interest each week. I was worried that I would end up choosing a topic I didn’t like and that I would end up stuck. However that hasn’t been a problem so far! I can’t wait to see my whole storybook completed by the end of the semester. 

One thing I want to improve on is my dialog. I use a lot of it in my stories and based on feedback I’ve gotten I need to work on the grammar side of it. I want it to seem as natural as possible and hopefully I’ll see improvement by the end. 

Some things I admire from other people’s stories are humor and unique twists. I also love when people make a story their own, where it doesn’t just feel like a longer version of the original story. 

Another thing I’ve noticed while reading some people’s stories is that they tend to repeat words in the same sentence. I try and avoid this myself. 

Story: Adventures of a Jackal

(The panther, source) 

Everyone living in the land of the animals knew of the fairly gullible but friendly panther. Whenever he passed a stranger he would always strike up a conversation, and made it a point to compliment them in some way. He was a people-pleaser. However, because of his kindness he was often taken advantage of. 

This day was no different. 

On his way to visit some friends, the partridges, he happened to pass a jackal and a hedgehog traveling together. As usual he stopped and waved to the two animals but before he spoke he noticed that the fox was wearing bright red shoes. 

The panther couldn’t help staring before speaking. 

“Um, excuse me sir. I couldn’t help but notice your shoes. Would you mind telling me where you bought them?

The jackal glanced at the hedgehog momentarily before responding, “I made these myself actually. They’re not from a store.” 

“Would you make me a pair like yours?” The panther asked eagerly. 

“Uh, sure.” the jackal shrugged. “I just need some materials. Kill a cow for me so that I can eat it, and then I’ll make shoes for you from its hide.”

The panther agreed to this right away and set off to find a cow. An hour or so later he returned and after the jackal finished eating he began to work on the shoes. As he worked the panther watched happily with stars in his eyes. When the jackal finished he handed the red shoes to the panther. 

“Now lay these in the sun for two hours, and after that you can wear them. Don’t put them on too early though, or they’ll be uncomfortable.” 

With a final goodbye the jackal and hedgehog continued on their way and the panther followed the jackal's instructions exactly. 

When the two hours were up he excitedly put the new shoes on his feet and stood up to admire them. They looked great and he couldn’t help smiling to himself. After a few moments he began to walk away but was stopped by excruciating pain coming from his paws. The shoes were still stiff and crushed his feet every step he took. He immediately tried taking them off but they wouldn’t budge. 

Feeling overwhelmed and disappointed the panther fell to the ground and started to cry. He had only wanted nice shoes like the jackal. 

Later, the panther’s partridge friends heard his sobbing and flew to his side. 

“What’s wrong?” asked one of the birds. 

The panther looked up at them and wiped away some tears. “A jackal made me these shoes, but now they’re stuck on my feet!”

After hearing this the partridges came up with a plan to remove the red shoes. They went to the nearest stream and flew back with water in their beaks. Then they poured it over the panther’s feet and the leather began to soften. Eventually he was able to take the shoes off. 

“Thank you!” The panther exclaimed. “Now I need to find that jackal and teach him a lesson!”

The little birds attempted to stop him, but the panther ignored them and ran into the jungle nearby.  

________________________

Eventually the panther caught up to the jackal but before he could get close enough the jackal saw him and scurried into the foliage. It was too dense for the panther to follow and he angrily went around it. However, the jackal was already long gone. 

The panther briefly wondered if he should go home and forget the jackal, but shook the idea from his head. The jackal had given him bad shoes and he needed to pay. 

However, each time he came close to catching the jackal he always failed. He had tried luring him with a cow and also some melons. Each time the jackal outsmarted him. 

After a while the panther decided to give up on chasing the jackal and sadly headed back to his house. On the way back the partridges found him and handed him a present with a large bow on top. The panther gave them a confused look before opening the box. 

Once he saw the item inside his eyes lit up with joy, and he thanked the birds over and over. They had given him a pair of red shoes! A pair of red converse to be exact. He quickly put them on and forgot all about his run in with the jackal. 

Author’s Note: In the original story the panther wasn’t the main character, but I decided to make my re-write about him instead of the jackal. I kept most of the story the same but I changed the ending for the panther. I felt bad that he never got the shoes he wanted, so I had the partridges give him a pair. 

Bibliography: "Adventures of a Jackal" by Andrew Lang in the African Tales Unit. 

Reading Notes: Filipino Popular Tales, Reading A

By the time I was done reading “The Poor Man and his Three Sons” I was genuinely surprised that all the sons ended up happy and wealthy. It was set up for me to believe that at least one of the children would go against their father’s dying wishes. However this never happened and the only bad thing that happened was that the father died.    

I didn’t like the ending to “The Monkey, the Turtle, and the Crocodile” story. The monkey tricked both the turtle and crocodile and never felt repercussions for his actions. I also want to know why he decided to trick these animals. Was it just for fun or did he have a deeper reason behind his actions? If I were to re-write this I would explore the monkey’s motivation.

(the turtle, source) 

Bibliography: Filipino Popular Tales by Dean Fansler 

Reading Notes: African Tales (Lang), Reading A

 I enjoyed how the “Adventures of a Jackal,” “Adventures of Jackals Eldest Son,” and “Adventures of Younger Son of Jackal” were all connected into one large story. I do wish that the jackals had different personalities, and if I were to re-write this I would make them more distinguishable from each other. Maybe one of the kids is smart, like the others, but doesn’t use their brain in a malicious way. They might even deal with scrutiny from the other animals because of their family’s reputation.  

(a jackal, source) 

I also liked the panther character in “Adventures of a Jackal.” He was too trusting of others, and innocent in a way. I want to hear more about him and his backstory. When the jackal tricked him he wanted revenge, but this went away after he failed multiple times. I liked this because he just let go of his anger instead of spending every waking moment trying to catch the jackal. I’d want to explore how he became the panther he is today. 

Bibliography: African Tales by Andrew Lang