Week 9 Storytelling: The Hope of a Warrior's Mother

There once was a mother with an extremely small son. The mother was worried about her son’s future; she knew that he could never grow up to be a successful warrior unless he became taller and stronger. They lived in a village where the only way for a man to be successful was for him to become a warrior. The mother had heard about a powerful magician who lived in the village next to hers, so she decided to pay the magician a visit.

When the mother told the magician of her small son, the magician said that she had just the thing that would cure this boy of his tiny size forever. “Oh thank you so much! I will do anything you say as long as it will help my son to be a successful warrior one day!” exclaimed the mother.

The magician said, “Tomorrow, send your son to my house. I will be on a trip, so he will need to care for my garden and ensure that everything runs smoothly in my absence. But just be sure that he stays away from the hall closet.”

The mother ran home. She immediately told her son that he should take care of the magician’s plants the next day and to be sure to avoid the hall closet. He agreed, and the next day he arrived at the magician’s home.

There was a note left out that said that the magician would return the following week with detailed instructions for the boy. The boy followed the instructions carefully but with each passing day, he became more and more curious about the hall closet. He listened at the door, peeked underneath, and finally he was so curious that he convinced himself that there was no way that the magician could possibly know whether or not he opened the door.

Closet Door

On the final day of his time within the magician’s home, he pulled the door open and to his surprise, the closet was empty. The boy walked inside, and immediately his entire body started to grow. He felt very strange, and he decided that he should go home immediately and show his mother the evidence of his growth spurt.

As soon as he arrived home, his mother shouted with joy, “Oh, my son! You have finally grown, and now you can be a successful warrior!”

In response to his questioning gaze, his mother explained how she had only sent him to the magician in the hopes that he might grow. The boy was very excited because he had always wanted to become a warrior as well. The boy became one of his village’s most respected warriors, and his story was told for generations. He gave small boys everywhere hope that they might grow one day, but of course, no one knew his secret of how the magician had helped him.

When he had his own small boys, he sent them to the magician with a warning about not opening the hall closet. And one by one, each of his sons became so curious that they too opened the hall closet and grew into a large and powerful warrior.

Bibliography: This story is based on The Legend of the Head of Gold from Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by Katharine Judson (1913).

Author’s note: The original story featured a father with a lazy son who visited an old woman because he was worried about his lazy son's future. The woman said that she could help. The lazy boy watched over a house and some horses, but he was instructed to stay away from a pot of gold. One of the horses he was watching told him to dip his head in the gold, and then the boy became extremely well respected. 

I wanted to keep some of the same details, especially that the son was ultimately rewarded for going against the instructions he was given. I decided to make it about a boy in a warrior village because I thought that his mother would be equally as worried as the father with the lazy son. Both parents would have no hope for their sons because of the lack of career prospects the sons faced. I also wanted to have a happy ending since sometimes stories with magicians end in trickery that leaves many people unhappy. I had the boy take care of plants instead of horses because I wanted to have the boy break the rules because of his own desires, not because he was following a horse's instructions.

Week 9 Reading Diary: Myths and Legends of the Great Plains Continued

I finished up the second part of Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by Katharine Judson (1913), and I really enjoyed this second half. I really liked the Legend of the Head of Gold. It was a different kind of story and it was unlike many others that I've read or heard of. It was a bit like Adam and Eve because there was a certain item that the boy in the story was not supposed to mess with, but he did it anyway. However, this story was different because it was good that he was messing with the gold and got a gold head because then he because well-respected because of it.

Before he got the golden head, he was a very lazy person, so I don't really understand where the shift was, expect for being motivated enough to not be too lazy to break a very important rule? I don't really understand the moral of this story besides that laziness is a big problem.

I liked reading all of the native american stories in this unit because the stories really have a purpose, but since they are usually relayed orally, they don't have the same hard-to-understand language as most religious texts. I think it's important to try and learn new things from different cultures so you can get a feel for the morals that guide diverse audiences.

 

Chief Bone Necklace, 1899

Week 9 Reading Diary: Myths and Legends of the Great Plains

This week I read Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by Katharine Judson (1913). I was really excited about getting to read some Native American stories. My favorite from the first half of the reading was the creation story. I always like creation stories because every culture has one and they are all extremely unique even though they have certain things in common at times.

This particular great plains creation story from the Osage (Wazhá zhe group) people featured an elk who helped all the animals live on earth. I really liked that the animals could fly/float. I definitely want to write a story at some point this semester that involves flying. Everyone knows that flying dreams are the best kind, so I want to be sure and bring that fun aspect into a storytelling post.

The elk in the story is totally awesome because everyone trusts him so much. He allows the animals to live in a place that is covered in water and he provides the seeds for plants and vegetables. Obviously, the elk is really important to this culture.

In the Osage (Hoga group) creation story, the animals relied on the crawfish to provide land to live on after a few other animals had drowned. I liked this simple story, but there was no flying involved so that was a slight disappointment.

elk

Future Reading Ideas

I'm really excited for this next unit so I can read  Myths and Legends of the Great Plains. I'm fairly familiar with many different Native American stories, so it will be fun to see if I've read any versions of the stories before.

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Myths and Legends of the Great Plains

After I read the stories of the Great Plain, I'm planning on reading Myths and Legends of Alaska. I really like short stories so I can sample quite a few before I decide which one I liked best and to use for my storytelling post. I once wrote a research paper over Aleut creation myths, so I'm really excited to get back into some Alaska legends!

Time Strategies

I really think Dali's clocks are a great depiction of how time tends to go during the spring semester after spring break. Things get crazy, and time seems to melt away! My biggest goal is just to get things done ahead of time whenever possible, but not so much that my to do list stresses me out more than necessary. My current schedule for this class is going really well. I get ahead when I can, and I keep the general week starting on Monday, which seems to really work for me. My workload is much lighter than usual this semester, but I can still get overwhelmed when I have big assignments in multiple classes all due around the same time. I think getting some things done ahead of time is my best bet for staying motivated and successful. 

Dali's clock

Week 7 Storytelling: Allie, Cali, and Sally

There were once three friends named Allie, Cali, and Sally. They had been living in different states since they graduated college, and now they were on vacation together in a rental house in the Colorado mountains. One day, these friends decided to have a meal together. Allie had a new recipe she was dying to try out, so she said, “Don’t worry, guys; I can stay home and cook today. You two can go shopping and enjoy your day together; I will have dinner ready when you come back!”

Cali and Sally were grateful for Allie’s gesture of kindness, so they thanked her and went to the mall for the day.

Allie began to cook a meatloaf, but she realized that she missed her friends. However, she knew they would be having a great time shopping, so she buckled down and finished cooking the meal for her friends.

When Cali and Sally returned, Sally said to Ali, “We had a lot of fun and bought a lot of new clothes, but I missed getting to talk and have fun with you! What have you cooked for us?”

“Oh, I missed you as well, but I think my new meatloaf recipe is a great one! I’m glad I could cook a meal for us to enjoy together,” Allie said.

Meatloaf

Cali and Sally looked at each other. Cali said, “Oh, Allie, I forgot to tell you that we no longer eat meat! You should still enjoy your meatloaf though. Sally and I can eat cereal!”

The next day, Cali suggested that her two friends go to see a movie while she stayed home and cooked. Allie and Sally saw the high school horror rom-com that was sweeping the nation, and they were excited to tell Cali all about it while eating the meal she had spent all day cooking for them.

When Cali saw her friends walking through the door she said, “Hey guys! I had so much fun cooking macaroni and cheese for you today, and I can’t wait to hear about the high school horror rom-com! I missed you guys while you were gone!”

Macaroni and Cheese

Sally looked a little embarrassed and said, “Oh no, yesterday when I told you that I don’t eat any animal products, I meant dairy and eggs as well; I’m a vegan!”

That night, Allie and Cali ate their mac and cheese while Sally had cereal. The next day was their last day together, and they wanted to visit an art museum.

Technically, it was Sally’s turn to cook for the three of them for their last day, but Allie and Cali didn’t really want to leave her alone all day for their very last day.

“I’ve got an idea!” said Allie. “We can just all three stay home today and cook together! That way we can be sure it’s something that we all want to eat, and no one has to spend the day alone.”

Cali looked at her friends and said, “That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard! Plus I never really understand the art in museums, but I always understand food!”

On their final day together, Allie, Cali, and Sally made a vegetable risotto that they all enjoyed. More importantly, they enjoyed their day together and realized that there was strength in unity.

Risotto

Author's note: I really liked reading The Three Friends: the Monkey, the Dog, and the Carabao, a story from the Philippines. I wanted to keep some of the main aspects, like having three friends cooking for each other. In the original story, there is a monster-like creature, the Buñgisñgis, that tries to steal the food of a monkey, a dog, and a carabao, and the three friends try to outsmart him so they can keep their food. A carabao is a type of water buffalo that is the national animal of Philippines. In this story, each animal stays home in turn to cook, and eventually the Buñgisñgis steals all of their food. Finally, when it is the monkey's turn to cook, he traps the Buñgisñgis. Unfortunately, the dog and carabao are foolish and set the Buñgisñgis free and he attacks them. Eventually, the monkey is able to kill the Buñgisñgis with the help of a boa-constrictor.

I thought that it would be fun to add the twist of having vegetarians and vegans into the story because that perfectly fits my two best friends! One of the messages from the original story is that there is strength in unity, so I wanted to maintain that message. I think it’s really important for friends to spend time together, and cooking is always more fun with more people in the kitchen! When friends no longer live in the same place, some details about their everyday life, like eating habits, can fall through the cracks. That’s why I think it’s important to find strength in unity when you can be with your friends. 

Bibliography: The Three Friends: the Monkey, the Dog, and the Carabao from Filipino Popular Tales from Dean Fansler's monumental Filipino Popular Tales, published in 1921.

Week 7: Filipino Tales Continued

Nelore cattle

This week I read Filipino Popular Tales from Dean Fansler's monumental Filipino Popular Tales, published in 1921. I've really liked this unit, and my favorite stories from the second half were pretty different from the first half of this unit.

I liked Why the Cow’s Skin is Loose on the Neck the most this time. I liked this story because it was about two friendly animals running away from their master together, and it told a sort of creation or "why something is so" story. I had never wondered why the cow has looser than many other animals, but now I know! It could be fun to do a storytelling post that explains something about another animal, or maybe even a human!

My second favorite from this unit Why the Cuttlefish and Squids produce a Black Liquid because it was the same kind of story as that of the cow. I like that this one was more of a punishment than the cow story because that gives the cuttlefish and the squids more motivation to have a boring special feature like squirting black liquid.

There's so many stories like this is so many different cultures that it always really interests me to see the commonalities and differences. Writing my own could be really fun because I would feel like I was creating a culture of my own with it's own myths and creation stories!