Extra Reading Diary: Lang's European Fairy Tales I

Lang's European Fairy Tales I

I Know What I Have Learned:

• People get married to weird things in these stories
• I would never marry an underground troll or any troll at that
• Why would anyone set money down
• When her eyes turned green there were fish to be caught 
• He tried doing the same things as the trolls did, but it didnt work for him
• I didnt understand the point of this story

Troll

Source:X Index

Lovely Llonka:

• The very beginning starts off in 3rd person then changes to 1st randomly
• Why would he call a random old woman mother?
• Poor prince took the ugly old daughter with him and not his original beauty
• What a horrible lady, maybe she was ugly on the inside too
• He finally got what was originally intended to be his

The Death of the Sun-Hero:

• How weird they had the same dream 
• I wouldnt be able to stay awake for 9 days and 9 nights either
• A crab tore out his tongue? Thats kind of weird
• Well guess they should have followed their dreams...

The Giants and Herd-Boy:

• This was a good story
• I liked the ending
• Sometimes when you do something nice for others you will be rewarded 

The Voice of Death:

• Kind of a creepy title
• Makes me think of ghost 
• Lots of death in the story 
• The word mortals was used
• Reminded me of vampier

The Goats Ears of Emperor Trojan:

• He had his own barber to shave him.. how nice
• He asked the barber what he thought so he told him..Why kill him?
• He obviously can't handle the truth
• No point to the story, kind of had me lost 
• 
  

Reading Diary B: Russian Folktales

Russian Folktales

The Witch Girl:

• I fear death so I would not have gone in 
• Such a morbid story 
• I wouldnt imagine a witch wearing white 
• Some good was done by the Cossack

The Headless Princess:

• What a weird title 
• They call all old women in these stories granny
• The story was weird just like I anticipated from the title 

The Warlock:

• This 3 nights thing is repeating 
• Why would you send another daughter in law when the first one died going 
• How did he die when he was already dead?

The Fox-Physician:

• Cut a hole in the sky? Thats interesting 
• Carried the old women by his teeth, now thats some strength 
• "My old woman is smashed to pieces" it was sad but made me laugh a little, no one in these stories ever had real names 
• Poor old man :(

The Fiddler in Hell:

• Burying money made me think of old people who do not trust banks 
• Once these people die the writers still act as if they are alive
• At least he got out of hell in the end 

The Two Friends:

• How do you invite someone when they are dead
• Years passes just by drinking one drink, I feel like that when my boyfriend tells me its going to be just one more drink
• Of course the world moved on without him, it doesn't stop for anyone 

The Shroud:

• This girl reminds me of a lot of people I know 
• All the other girls knew something bad was going to happen, but lazybones had no idea 
• In the end she got what she deserved 

The Coffin-Lid:

• I would never try to go to sleep next to a grave yard much less on a grave 
• Why do they make dead people kill people in these stories 
• If he was a corpse he must not have a heart

The Two Corpses:

• How do you not know if you are dead or alive
• I am glad the solider got away
• The good guy never gets away in these stories

The Dog and the Corpse:

• How does the darkness of night surprise you? Its going to turn dark eventually 
• I am starting to think of ghost when I hear corpse just by how they are describing them 
• Id be mad too if my owner just up and left me 

The Solider and the Vampire:

• They started this story just like "The Two Corpses" 
• A lot more detail in this story
• Used a vampire instead of a corpse
• the solider got away again

Graveyard

Source:49th Shelf

Reading Diary A: Russian Folktales

Russian Folktales

The Dead Mother:

• The title is a little morbid
• Everyone always looks happy from the outside 
• Moujik weird name and the wiki didnt explain much about the exact name 
• How do they know someone opened the door and came up to the cradle without seeing anything?
• The dead mom was coming back to feed the baby, and then they baby died too
• Weird story because it shows people are always looking over us but why did the baby have to die too?

The Treasure: 

• More death in these stories
• You would think the old mans friends would want to help him since he was in poverty
• Poor man...the pope should help him 
• I wold have never of gone back to that horrible pope with money 
• That pope got what he deserved in the end!

The Bad Wife:

• Why would you want to be in a marriage so miserable 
• I would always tell the wife that I didnt want what I really wanted 
• A Demon? these stories are creepy odd
• Maybe its a Russian thing
• The bad wife is where she belongs with the demons

The Three Copecks:

• How do you work for free and live that makes no sense 
• Why would he sell the cat when he knows its not his
• Greedy people
• I did not get the point of this story at all

The Miser:

• He should have never asked for the money if he didnt want to pay it back 
• If I was the wife I would have told my husband he was crazy 
• He never got is copeck but still ended up with money 

 The Water Snake:

• The snake sounds like a teenage boy
• If I had that many snakes coming at me I would FREAKKKK
• Why would her mother do that when she said she was happy...

Water Snake

Source:Wikipedia

Friday:

• Need to explain better what mother friday is 
• I bet she will never disobey mother friday again
• I wouldnt have let her off that easy though

Wednesday:

• So now days of weeks are actual people..interesting
• I would have thought the wednesday lady was nice and only came since she called for her 
• There is no point to these stories I am realizing 

The Leshy:

• She went strolling through the forrest, and nothing else was said just that 3 years went by
• There should be some explanation before the story begins
• No explanation what a leshy is 
• Glad the girl was rescued, but where did the hut go?

Dnieper, Volga, and Dvina:

• they said used once instead of once used, not sure if that was a typo or just how they saw it 
• Poor kids
• Not sure what toiling is 
• I feel bad for the brother since his sisters left him
• No point to the story 

Emilian the Fool:

• I wish I had something like the fool did 
• The fool is unlike any other fool I've ever seen
• 
  

Reading Diary B: Fables of La Fontaine

Fables of La Fontaine

Mice:

• A mouse turning into a maid.. Ive heard it all
• Wish there was better pictures 
• Sometimes I feel like the authors try so hard to rhyme they lose their story along the way 
• I think the picture for the Council Held by the Rats was perfect for it 
• Funny the rats trapped the cat

(Illustration by Conde)

The Tortoise; The Bat:

• A flying turtle who knew 
• How nice of the ducks to help the turtle 
• Im not really sure what the bat story was all about 

Frogs:

• Its funny to me thinking of seeing a frog dangle from a string 
• Excitement in the stories is what I liked 
• These stories brought a decent amount of excitement and dialogue

The Swallow; The Eagle:

• Took me a bit to figure out what the Swallow was
• "Believe no evil till the evil's done", I like this quote from the story
• A beetle has a throne.. kind of weird 
• If the beetle was right he shouldn't have to hide

Man and Beast:

• Tried to rhyme but some of these word don't really rhyme 
• Didn't enjoy these stories as much as I would have liked 
• Need to look up what an Adder is 
• Story didn't make much sense

The Astrologer; The Dairywoman:

• Wish they would have separated the story some so it would be easier to read
• I liked the weirdness of the story 
• Simple Jack wants to be king, of course

The God Mercury; Hercules:

• Did not understand the point of the first story 
• I like reading stories about Hercules
• I always picture Hercules from the little kid movie 

Sun and Wind; Belly and Members:

• The traveler was strong 
• 2nd story did well describing what it was trying to tell 
• When I saw Boss Belly I thought of a big fat man 

 

Reading Diary A: La Fontaine

La Fontaine

Foolish Animals:

• Enjoyed all the colorful pictures
• The pictures helped tell the stories 
• I don't like the way the author said "Said the Tortoise to the Hare" then said what the Tortoise said 
• Or when he used the word quoth like he was quote him, why not just say he said it
• I like the rhyming 
• Poor dog lost his bone trying to attack himself
• I find some comedy in that 

Foxes:

• The fox and the stork is just like another story I read, probably just in a different country 
• I have seen a lot of repeated stories through out the semester, just retold in different countries 
• I like the use of direct quotes and how much they are used within these stories 
• Once again, good pictures 

Birds:

• The fox sure did fool the raven, bet he will think twice next time 
• Raven should never compare his self to an eagle
• The heron story reminded me of some people I know 

Insects:

• The ant did hard work therefore has food unlike the grasshopper
• I find it hard to see and dove and ant together 
• Me and the lion are the same when it comes to gnats, those things piss me off

Foolish People:

• Thought this would be about people not objects 
• Except the Miller and his Son
• We are all asses in some way or another eventually

Foxes and Wolves:

• First time I've heard of Aesop in a story 
• Renard is reoccurring just spelt differently 
• Now I can imagine a fox and wolf hanging out and even hanging out with a horse thats  a little more believable than some of the stories I have read
• I do not like when stories are so far off they are hard to even imagine 

Horses:

• Revenge is nice, but its not always what is necessary for situations 
• I would kick the wolf too

Horse kicking a wolf

Source:Baby's Book of Fables

Dogs:

• I like stories that include dogs because there aren't many of them
• I have written a story about an old dog 
• These remind me somewhat of that story
• Good lessons within these stories 

Cats:

• Weird thinking a cat turned into a women 
• There are some weir cat ladies out there is what that made me think of
• I think the last story trying to rhyme too much made it confusing to see the point of the story 

Extra Reading Diary: Celtic Fairy Tales

Celtic Fairy Tales

King O'Toole and His Goose:

• They consider a real boy to be someone who likes sports, and hunting 
• I was wondering in the beginning if the goose was actually a goose 
• used the phrase "by dad" not really sure about that 
• Poor goose still died after the saint got ahold of him
• Not sure if there was a moral to the story 

The Shee An Gannon and the Gruagach Gaire:

• All the stories about a Gaire which is a goblin
• Mysterious stories
• First time I have read about a cowboy 
• I wouldnt consider a cowboy something celtic
• I enjoyed the way the land of the giant was told and what it was about 

Beth Gellert:

• A nice dog at home but a lion in the chase, I like that because there are a lot of people/ dogs like that 
• This story made me sad...
• The dog did something good for his owner, but he jumped to conclusions and killed him 

The Tale of Ivan:

• I would have thought market jew had to do with jews, but it doesn't at all
• I like when stories have quotes as if they people are talking directly to each other and your there listening instead of interpreting what could have been said 
• How nice he was rewarded for doing the right thing
• I don't see how becoming someone servant is a reward though

Andrew Coffee:

• Knowing everyone and them knowing you reminds me of a small town 
• Told as a dream
• I haven't read any stories that came from a dream 

Brewery of Eggshells:

• She left her twins in the home and went to the neighbors
• The twins didn't grow at all since that day 
• She threw them into the lake and the goblins saved their dwarfs and the women's chidden returned 

Twins

Source:UnTextbook

Reading Diary B: Aesop's Fables

Aesop's Fables

Wolves:

• Most of these fables were about injustices
• We all know there are a lot of injustices
• Some of the stories are a little hard to follow because they are trying to make them rhyme instead of telling the story the easiest possible way
• Longer stories

• Even though the stories were longer they were still not so easy to follow 
• I like the italicized words at the end of the stories going into more detail about the morals of the stories

Dogs:

• I liked reading about dogs
• I did not like the title "The Bitch and Her Puppies"
• These stories reminded me of a story I wrote for this class this year 
• Dogs can be very faithful
• They pooped on the floor made me laugh cause thats something dogs would do 

• Like the other stories some of the words used were confusing to me in what the author was trying to get at
• Shortening words is what loses my concentration 

Cats and Weasels:

• A little hard to follow 
• Use weasels as cats 
• They are always battling 

Birds:

• I got lost reading everyone of the stories 
• I have read a story just like the rooster and the pearl before 
• Explains the difference between 2 birds 
• Favorite from the section was the Eagle and the Serpent
• Longer stories but easier to follow 

Rooster

UnTextbook

Insects:

• Much like all the other stories just with different characters
• still rhyming 
• Wonder how some of these animals become friends 
• Seems so normal in these stories 

Insects, Fishes, and Frogs:

• Much simpler stories 
• Not all had summaries and some could use one 
• Enjoyed the proud frog

Reading Diary A: Aesop's Fables (English)

Aesop's Fables (English)

The Gods:

• I like the notes on each of the poems 
• I like the rhyming just like in the nursery rhymes I read last week 
• The rhymes are short but all tell a story 
• A cat turning into a human to marry who she loves...weird

More Gods:

• These were longer than the ones before, but still told a decent story 
• They were not overly long so they were still easy enough to follow 
• My favorite in this one was the "The Two Bags"
• I like the lesson behind it

Fables About People:

• I noticed a few spelling errors in this one 
• Glad I got to read The Wolf and The Shepherds Boy because they other day I said something cried wolf and used it in the wrong context and I knew better
• The Man and His Mistresses reminds me of karma 

More Fables About People:

• Each line in these fables were longer than the ones before this 
• Not rhyming anymore
• There are a lot of lessons in these that I had not heard of before but I find them interesting 
• They are easier to relate to since it is with people and not some outlandish animal fantasy 

Apes:

• The Ape and her Two brats was very weird to me?
• These are more like stories 
• Even though there are no notes at the beginning I like them at the end saying what the stories were about

Foxes:

• Foxes are always the tricksters no matter what part of the world is telling stories about them 
• Haven't read any stories with Dragons in them until now 
• So I guess not all fox stories have them being tricksters but most of them do

Illustration from Baby's Book of Fables

Source:UnTextbook

More Foxes:

• First story was simple and to the point 
• Some stories that take longer to get to the point tend to loose my interest faster
• Calling the cat a puss made me laugh because they don't usually do that anymore 

Lions:

• I found these harder to follow than the other ones I have read in this unit
• I liked seeing a better side in the Lion King 
• The Lion is with different types of animals in every story ranging from small to large 

A Lion and A Man:

• First story in this unit that only has one unit on the page 
• It goes into more detail than the other stories did 
• You should always listen to your parents even when you think they are wrong is what I took from this story 

Lions and Asses:

• Some of these stories remind me of other stories I have read this semester in different units 
• The donkey is wise.. who knew that was possible 
• Some stories that don't have notes I would have liked to of been able to read a note

Asses:

• Things can always be worse
• Some of these are so short with little detail they make no sense 
• Not sure if I liked any of these stories 

More Asses:

• Two longer stories that are still short to finish the first half of of the unit 
• I have found I like the longer stories that are still short rather than the stories that are only a few sentences long 
• I get more out of them when they have a little more detail

 

Extra Reading Diary: Celtic Fairy Tales

Celtic Fairy Tales

Connla and the Fairy Maiden:

• Fiery Hair?
• The spell fairy all different ways 
• Fair maid thats doesn't get old nor does she die how nice
• I like how the story is more detailed then the ones I have read recently 

The Field of Boliauns:

• The picture of the old man is funny to me 
• Lady-day? Why is there no such thing in the real world
• I like how they exaggerated how small the old man was 
• I didn't think british people talked about leprechaun's, who knew  

The Horned Woman:

• Is she a real mistress, or is that what they are just calling women?
• Id be mad too if I had a horn growing out of my forehead
• The whole story was interesting, and nicely detailed 
• Great cries made me think of witches laughing  a lot

The Shepherd of Myddvai:

• Weird names for things
• People marry so easy 
• Those that die go out of trouble, sounds kind of harsh because thats still trouble for them 
• In the middle of the story there is a rhyme,  it adds something different to the story 

The Sprightly Tailor:

• The same old man is in a bunch of the pictures 
• Never heard of the kind of clothing in this story
• Even though it wasn't perfect he still got his reward 

Munachar and Manachar:

• The two things make me think of a gremlin especially from the picture on the page 
• The first paragraph made no sense at all
• Lots of things can talk in this story 
• Not much makes sense at all
• Its my own news makes no sense 
• Manachar burst anyways 

Munachar and Manachar

Source:UnTextbook

Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree:

• The trout was brutally honest, made me laugh
• I like humor in stories
• Why would she want her daughters heart, no mother should be like that
• Sneaky she got better without her daughters heart 
• Who left them there?

Reading Diary B: Nursery Rhymes

Nursery Rhymes

Jingles:

• When I read these I think of someone just making up rhymes as the go about their day and the things that are happening within that day
• Lots of shoe losing 
• I had never heard of stories calling cats pussicats at least in children's books, or spelling it that way 
• Kind of odd reading pussy, even though I know its about cats.
• Maybe the modern world is turning too many normal words into vulgar things

Love and Matrimony:

• Jack and Jill is a good classic
• I didnt realize so many of these came from Britain
• These don't rhyme as much as all of the others do 
• They are longer than most too

Natural History, Part 1:

• I wonder where the title Natural history comes from
•  All the different types of pig tales are cute 
• What does Tris at the in mean?

Pigs

Source:UnTextbook

Natural History, Part 2:

• Why does the words bow wow go along with dogs, never understood that 
• There are some weird rhymes
• And weird pictures to go along with the rhymes
• I like how the popular rhymes are still the same to this day 

Accumulative Stories:

• All the stories have the same way of writing 
• Same amount of words for each line, just different sayings 
• They are long but they still rhyme 

Relics:

• One rhyme was short with just 1 word on each line 
• Not sure why they were all on separate lines 
• Some stories have a point some don't
• Some just make no sense at all 
• 
  

Reading Diary A: Nursery Rhymes

Nursery Rhymes

Tales:

• I like how they rhyme 
• A crooked man was my favorite
• A story with Unicorns!
• Poor fat man of Bombay
• The first word is always Capitalized

Proverbs:

• Do not like the way the words are written in the St. Swithin's Day
• There was an answer to the Rhyme 
• When a man marries his troubles begin :(
• Each day when you sneeze it means something different 
• When you rise earlier you are going to be wealthier 

Songs, Part 1:

• These are longer songs 
• Every line rhymes 
• Little Bo-peep is a popular one 

Songs, Part 2:

• Happy, gay, and free
• Some of these are songs people still sing 
• A lot of the songs make no sense 

Riddles:

• Answers to the riddles are at the bottom
• I like how it is informative 
• Humpty Dumpty!

Paradoxes:

• Could spelt like Cou'd
• The simple name of the song The Riddle Song
• Tobacco would make me sick, so thats true 

Charms and Lullabies:

• Peter Piper I thought would be a riddle
• These were the most popular out of all of them

Games:

• This little piggy reminds me off my childhood
• lots of stuff about porridge
• I do not understand the numbered ones 

Pigs

Source:UnTextbook

Reading Diary A: Apache Tales

Apache Tales

The Emergence: 

• The story does not mention who "He" is 
• This story to me did not make any sense
• I have been to Taos before, so that was kind of cool reading something about it even if it made no sense

The First War:

• To me there is no point to the stories
• They have some really weird names 
• Why would he want the chief who shot him to take the arrow out?
• So since he said he didn't intend to hurt him he believed him just like that 
• They cut their hair odd to mourn properly?

The Culture Heros and Owl:

• Long hard names to say 
• The were to be cooked but couldn't be 
• Strange, Strange story

The Killing of the Monsters:

• The elk was good at breaking out 
• Eagle failed a lot trying to get what he wanted 
• When they went to eat it, it was still making noise
• The stories make absolutely no sense at all

Naiyenesgani Rescues the Taos Indians:

• I had never heard of the Pueblo Indians before
• Magical powers
• Turning corn into snakes
• Bribing 

More Deeds of Naiyenesgani:

• A monster fish makes me think of a shark 
• He was inside the fish but was not dead
• You would think the fish would die with someone cutting it open everywhere
• She has some strong teeth 
• Super weird
• Each time the boy came out with more hair 
• They couldn't hurt him because he had taken his heart out 
• Found the heart and killed him anyways 
• Told what the story was getting at

Naiyenesgani Takes His Leave:

• He placed certain Animals/insects in charge of certain things
• The center of the world was the heart
• People are dying because it is not their own country 

Coyote Secures Fire:

• Fireflies were the only ones with fire
• The coyote persuaded the children easily 
• The Coyotes tail caught fire 
• He then caught the whole world on fire

The Swallowing Moster:

• The same girl keeps finding dead deer when she went to get water
• How did a spider tear the mister to pieces
• When the girl fell into the pond she became a frog

Rio Grande Leopard Frog

Source:UnTextbook

The Man Who Helped the Eagles:

• He picked up the food they threw away because he was very poor
• They kept leaving him 
• Strung the bodies he killed on a stick

Releasing the Buffalo:

• The hoop and pole game is in a lot of the stories 
• He had more meat then they thought 
• The made Apache into a puppy to get near the food
• They let the buffalo out 

The Origin of Corn and Deer:

• The man was accompanied by a turkey how odd
• The Turkey made the corn 
• No people by the fire 
• A girl tried hiding from him but could not get away 
• The man wanted more corn 
• Sent them on south

Reading Diary A: Southwestern and California Legends

Southwestern and California Legends

Three Coyote Creation Stories: 

• The coyote was always going the good things 
• And the Eagle came along and helped finish it up
• I like the super short stories

Creation of The World:

• How did these random people just appear
• I like how it showed how things were created
• Its interesting how they described all the things and how they came about

The Great Fire / The Origin of Light:

• Magpies is a weird word
• Sticks turning into men and women is a weird concept
• I can't imagine there not being any light 
• I like how they distinguished why the sun is brighter than the moon

Old Man Above and The Grizzlies:

• People always do exactly as they are told to do in these stories except the little daughter in this story
• I like the rebel
• Old man had a lot of power it seems

The Creation of Man-kind and the Flood:

• I like the idea of magic crystals it reminds me of a magic ball
• The names in the story are so boring, and not really names at all just types of people
• The first person to appear after the flood was named the ruler

The Great Flood:

• I picture the stars coming out of the bag being pretty
• He opened the bag even though he wasn't supposed to 
• Got in trouble but still managed to keep some of the stars

The Fable of the Animals:

• Fishes in the big water made me laugh instead of saying ocean
• Never thought of how animals knew what to eat 
• All the animals laughed but man still took pity on the coyote

The Course of the Sun:

• I can't even pronounce the spiders name, but I like how it has stayed the same through out these stories
• How is the sun the spiders son
• I like how it talks about eating for when the sun stops

The Theft of Fire:

• Karoks?
• How do you steal fire?
• I can just picture all these animals running as fast as the can with fire on the end of a stick hanging out of their mouth

Coyote and the Tortillas / Coyote and the Mesquite Beans:

• Why would someone put a basket of tortillas on their head? To carry it easier maybe?
• The women was pretty clever to be standing on a stump
• Shouldn't do what you are told not to do is the moral of that last story

Extra Reading Diary: Nigerian Folk Stories

Nigerian Folk Stories

Of the Pretty Stranger who Killed the King:

• The whole town wanted to kill him, and he didn't know about the witch
• Sounds like the king is a creeper
• She cut his head off and took it with her, how morbid
• Guess they caught them by surprise

Why the Bat Flies by Night:

• Weird names 
• Boil your self in the water your food goes in...weird
• The rat didn't tell her how the soup would be so good so how did she know to blame the bat
• I like when stories give reason to why things are how they are

The Disobedient Daughter Who Married a Skull:

• I like that the girl didn't marry just any old person her parents wanted her to
• How can people lend body parts
• Some of these stories are too irrational 
• What a coincidence that she fell in love with him
• Lots of lessons on not marrying strangers

The King who Married the Cock's Daughter:

• The king had wives, so more than one 
• Of course the other wives were jealous
• The king is dumb for making her leave for doing what she was supposed to do
• What horrible parents

The Woman, the Ape, and the Child:

• Weird they have to pay for their wives
• At least the truth came out in the end 
• Jealously always gets the best of people

The Fish and the Leopards Wife:

• No way fish ever lived on land 
• How would a leopard live in a bush
• Glad someone told on the fish

Why the Worms Live Underneath the Ground:

• All these stories people are having feast, I love me a good feast 
• Poor worms no one likes them
•  I would hide too 

The Elephant and the Tortoise:

• I picture an elephant with really big eyes
• I feel like men and animals are still friends 
• I laughed at the picture in my head of the elephant with little eyeballs
• I never really thought of how small elephants eyes were

Why a Hawk Kills Chickens:

• You would think the hawk would just eat the hen without marrying it
• And the parents shouldn't have to pay a dowry 

Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky:

• Thats a nice friend to build a new house just for them to come over
• Don't really like the reason the sun and the moon are in the sky in this story

Why the Cat Kills Rats:

• The king had a store?
• What can angry cat, could have just punished the rat
• It was all for love

Cat

Source:UnTextbook

Reading Diary B: Jamaica Anansi Stories

Jamaica Anansi Stories

Goat on the Hill-Side / Duckano Tree

• I like how this story had a meaning behind it
• Why the goat stays up on the hill-side instead of coming down 
• Still hard to comprehend what is being told
• I feel like I am reading a bunch of words, and it is impossible to follow

Anansi and the Tar-Baby / The Yam Hills:

• I wonder why they spell his name differently sometimes
• He is a mean person
• Tough guy was crying
• Such a trickster he is
• The monkey is a smart guy!

Guinea-Chick / Horse and Anansi:

• Anansi loves to eat other people after he pretty much kills them himself
• His tricks didn't work this time, he is the one who dropped dead
• I am starting to like when Anansi loses

Anansi in Monkey Country / The Fishes

• I am starting to like the monkey more
• Killing those poor fishes mom, and then they didn't even get revenge 
• He sure isn't a picky eater

Anansi, White-Belly and Fish

• I wish I could be fitted with wings and be able to fly that easy 
• Haven't heard of cousins till this story
• I can't blame Anansi, fish is really good

The Rain/ Fire and Anansi:

• The first story didn't really have a point, or I did not catch it 
• He should have listened to his wife...
• I thought they were good friend why would he try and fool him

Spider Marries Monkeys Daughter:

• Spelling "brother" like "bredder" makes me laugh like medder did before
• The monkey was a user
• I like how the lizard was on the spiders side!
• Why would you kill the babies father

Lizard

Source:UnTextbook

The Chain of Victims:

• Anansi is persuasive
• Being mean to the people who were nice to him again
• There are no points to these stories

Why Tumble-Bug Rolls in the Dung / Why Joh-Crow has a Bald Head:

• The word dung makes me laugh
• Makes sense why nasty bugs are attracted to poo
• So at his wedding now one even his wife wouldnt be at the table? Makes a lot of sense
• I like when stories at least make some kind of sense 

Anansi and the Pig Coming From Market:

• Wee pig is a cute name 
• Anansi is so greedy
• I wonder if people in Jamaica really write like this
• It does not seem proper at all

 

Reading Diary A: Jamaica Anansi Stories

Jamaica Anansi Stories

Tying Tigers:

• Hard to comprehend what they are saying
• Um I have no idea what I read at all, I do not like the writing 

The Gub-Gub Peas:

• The watchman should have known better since he couldn't read and his master knew that 
• Watchman does not follow instructions very well
• Anansi is kind of smart, but I am glad the lion got away 

Tiger as Riding-Horse:

• I like how the story was wrote with sentences all spaced out
• Stories are to hard to read, I do not like how they are trying to sound African
• I know how Africans talk I do not need it to be that altered in the writing

Tiger Catching the Sheep-Thief:

• An' confuses me on who's talking
• I liked the humor in this story
• Reminds me some of the other stories I have read since the tiger was able to put on she eps skin

Tigers Breakfast / Tigers Bone-Hole:

• Anansi is spelt like Hanansi this time
• Anansi and the tiger eat breakfast together, but Anansi is not as generous as tiger is and pays for it in the end
• Anansi was doing things he wasn't supposed to be doing again
• This time he got away with it by scaring the tiger

Eggs and Scorpions / The Christening:

• Anansi tried to steal his egg back that he gave to the tiger for the sheep
• Short story with no point
• Always trying to do things for his wife, so he says
• Why did he want to wake tiger up to watch him

Eating Tigers Guts / Monkey and Anansi:

• Sometimes they put Brer in front of the names sometimes they don't 
• At least Anansi kids are better than he is
• He took the tigers guts to eat, how gross
• He loves to mess with the tiger
• At least he is good to his so called friends 

Sheep and Anansi / Rabbit and Anansi:

• How could the sheep fall for something so stupid 
• Hes teaching the rabbit a lesson now, how nice of him
• Showed him how to survive day time trouble

New Names:

• I like the word "mother" as "mudder" made me laugh while reading
• Why would you eat someone for not knowing the name changed, especially the one they gave you
• What fancy new names Anansi came up with these guys
• How mean he warned his mother instead of killing her and eating her like the others did to their own mothers
• Hadn't heard of a parrot before until this story

Parrot

Source:UnTextbook

Long Shirt:

• The shirt could talk, how cool
• The goat smells because they forgot to wring his beard, kind of odd
• Master had a wooden leg, random

Shut up in the Pot / House in the Air:

• Why would he want to cook his friend so he could eat them
• Changed Anansi name again to Nansi 
• Anansi is smart I guess
• My least favorite thing from all the stories was the way they were written
• My favorite thing was the humor

Extra Reading: Filipino Popular Tales Reading B

Filipino Popular Tales

The Iguana and The Turtle:

• I like how at the end it tells the moral of the story because sometimes I do not get what the writers are trying to get at
• I hadn't read a story with an iguana in it before, I wonder if those are more popular in the Philippines
• Love short stories

Why Mosquitos Hum:

• I like this story, they have a little crab town with leaders and what not 
• Their old friend Hu-man, I wonder if that was meant to be a human 
• At least the king understood good reasons
• Interesting that is why mosquitos hum...

The Greedy Crow:

•  At first I thought the word crow was the word cow and I thought it was weird that the cow could fly, and then I thought well with these stories it wouldnt surprise me 
• I like the moral of this story
• Being greedy usually does not get you anything, and you end up losing what you do have 

The Humming Bird and The Carabao:

• Everyone always wants to be the biggest and best at everything
• How would Carabao be able to add that much water to the river, even though I get the writers point of the tide rising 
• Of course the bird knew the tide was going to go down, theres always someone smart in stories
• At least Carabao knew how to take defeat even if it wasn't real 

The Ant:

• I guess this stories theory could make sense
• Im going to guess not though

Why The Sun Shines more Brightly than The Moon:

• Interesting story, jealousy is never a good trait
• Funny her diamond wasn't as good as her sisters, thats what she gets
• Other than I think the moon is prettier then the sun, at least you can look at the moon

The Hawk and The Coling: 

• What is a coling?
• Ahh its a little bird
• I thought the coling died from the sun?
• But then he proved he went the highest up, I don't get it 
• I remember reading a story similar to this one 

Why The Cows Skin is Loose:

• Weird way to spell plow, plough
• Weird that they would exchange skin in the first place
• These stories just keep getting weirder

The Lost Necklace:

• I always wonder how in these stories how these animals do things like human beings 
• The always have a king to go to and tell on the other person, I guess kind of like the police 
• Kinda a funny story I think, I would have never thought of it 

The Story of our Fingers:

• If the fingers were all in the same position it would look weird 
• Makes me laugh cause it talks about fingers talking to each other 

Why Snails Climb up Grass:

• How did a fish live with a wasp, none of this ever makes sense
• The strongest doesn't have to be the head of the household 
• I just picture a little snail looking over all the other grass, I bet they feel as if they are on top of the world. Well their world at least

Snail

Source:UnTextbook

Cuttlefish and Squids:

• The fishes had a convention
• Finally they used a normal term for power, officers
• Very formal story
• They show up late to the show and expect something in return, I think not

Why the Ocean is Salty:

• Ive always wondered why there was salt in the ocean
• I liked all these stories because they were short for one but another thing is I could understand them even if they had weird stuff goin on within them

Reading Diary B: South African Folktales

South African Folktales

The Dance for Water:

• Seeking drink? is that how they would have said it or was it just miss typed?
• I have noticed a lot of mistakes in this story
• Glad they all agreed on one solution
• I agree the rabbit should not have any water since he did not want to dance with them
• They wanted to kill rabbit, but wanted to do it in such a violent manner. I think that is why the rabbit got away in the end

Jackal and Monkey:

• Jackal is always a trickster in these stories
• Monkey eventually believed him when he should have
• Always go with your first instinct
• I wish the monkey wouldnt have died in this :(

The Story of Hare:

• Weird names in this story
• Why do the ones who eat the fat always wake up the ones who are supposed to be guarding 
• The Inkalimeva sure can eat a lot of fat
• The Hare finally watched guard without falling asleep and ended up killing the other animals

The White Man and Snake:

• The man helped the snake and then the snake wanted to bite him
• After asking others the Jackal suggested to show him how the snake was trapped
• The Jackal was clever to help the man out by telling him to keep the snake trapped since he wanted to bite the man

Jackal, Dove and Heron:

• Why did the Jackal want one of the Doves little ones
• Jackal can't even fly like he told the dove
• Jackal was mad at Heron for telling the Dove he couldt fly so he broke his neck, what a nice way to solve a problem..

Elephant and Tortoise:

• The Tortoise was supposed to keep the other animals out of the Elephants water but could not do so
• When an animal is going to be killed in these stories they always give them an option of how they want to die
• The Tortoise ripped up the elephants insides and it killed him and the Tortoise lived I call that karma

The Judgement of Baboon:

• Everyone always has someone else to blame 
• How was justice serve, they didn't solve anything at all 
• Where in the world did the name Jan come from anyways, they always called him Baboon 

When Lion Could Fly:

• Lions being able to fly sounds weird 
• The frog broke the bones that weren't attached to Lion and that made him not be able to fly

Lion

Source:UnTextbook

Lion Who Thought Himself Wiser Than His Mother:

• You should always listen to your mother is what this story reminds me of 
• They let him go so his mother could teach him a lesson

Lion who Took a Woman's Shape:

• Theres a human in this story and animals, but the human still acts like an animal
• Her and the lion hunted each other 
• The daughter finally listened to the mother

Reading Diary A: South African Folktales

South African Folktales

The Lost Message:

• I like how the ant in the story is small, but he is still destructive
• They had a meeting to me that is good planning on their part, but were still not able to come up with a solution
• They all had their own way of doing things, and none of the ways worked for them so they are still having trouble

The Monkeys Fiddle:

• The monkey in the story's name is Monkey, I like that it is so simple
• How did the monkey become a pro at the fiddle so fast?
• He got what he wanted by wearing the animals with what they thought they liked

The Tiger, The Ram, and The Jackal:

• Such simple names in the stories, I like it 
• This story did not make much sense to me 

The Lion, The Jackal, and The Man:

• The lion seems to be full of himself
• He thought he was the strongest to walk the earth
• Turns out there is usually someone stronger, and this time he found that out himself

The Worlds Reward:

• I haven't read a story with a dog in it, this dog should be that mans best friend 
• He shouldn't be getting rid of him because he is old
• At least the dog found a friend 
• These were some clever animals
• They all worked together to get what they wanted

Tiger and Jackal:

• I like how they said how he got his name progressive
• He talked all the others into cutting their tails off to make it seem cool cause his was off
• So he just took in the tigers kids to teach them and Mrs. Tiger was not aloud to see them, she didn't even believe they were there

Tink-Tinkje:

• The birds wanted a king, who in the world would want that 
• They just wanted to be like everyone else
• I like how the little guy in this story wins

The Lion, The Jackal, and The Rope:

• The lion should not be so demanding
• But how can the Jackal do something like that to his uncle
• That is just straight up mean 

Jackal Fools Lion Again:

• Working together for food for the winter, thats nice
• I hate people like the Jackal, cannot keep their word ever
• I wish the lion would get up to kill him, but not his family he was the one with the horrible plan
• Why is he always acting like he is beating his wife, like he is a man or something because that does not make you a man 
• He kills him because he is afraid to fight a real fight when the lion does figure out how to get up there

The Hunt of Lion and Jackal:

• Why would you hurt yourself just so you do not have to share
• The Jackal was always the little guy, he seems very bitter in these stories

Story of Lion and Little Jackal:

• Maybe the Jackal is does all this mean stuff for his family, but even if he does he needs to share at least a little
• How could the Lion be so stupid and fall for the same tricks over and over
• At least he didn't kill the lion this time 

The Lioness and the Ostrich:

• They thought they were equal because they had the same roar
• The cubs did not think they were equal because the Ostrich did not have any teeth 
• The Ostrich still killed the lion even though it did not have any teeth

Ostrich

Source:UnTextbook

The Story of a Dam:

• I like how there are a bunch of different animals in these stories 
• The Jackal was still a jack ass in this story also, so rude
• Usually in stories the Lions are the tough mean ones but that is not true in the African stories 

Reading Diary B: Persian Tales

Persian Tales

Fayiz and the Peri Wife:

• All these stories have maidens that are beautiful, and no one has ever seen someone so beautiful. 
• These people must be caught up in looks
• He just goes off with some random girl and he is married?
• Why would the salve girls have their hands on their breast
• Things are always so complicated in these stories
• In the end the man lost everything

The Hemp-Smokers Dream:

• I like how the guy thought he was the most handsome guy, that is some confidence
• I like how the story was told from the guys dream

The Story of the Wolf Bride:

• First off I like how short the story is 
• How did the guy get a son with no wife? Makes no sense
• The girl didn't know how it happened, but she actually did
• It was very easy to understand

The Man Who Went to Wake His Luck:

• I like how they used the word luck, but in this story luck is a person
• All these lazy people wanting the poor brother to do their work for them
• The luck said the king is a woman, thats why no one obeys her....umm excuse me..
• Of course the wolf is going to eat the poor man...I could have called that when the luck told him to tell the wolf to eat the first foolish man he saw

Tortoise Bowl-On-The-Back and the Fox:

• Love these short stories, they are easy to read and keep up with
• Another person thinking they deserve everything for doing nothing
• What a smart Tortoise, he out smarted the fox!

The Shepard Who Found a Treasure:

• Haha a fly come out of the guys nose
• The fly was the shepherds soul
• The other shepherd bought the shepherds dream and became rich

The Merchant and The Saffron:

• I like how the people were nice to hime when he wasn't in a familiar place
• I still like how they talk about luck, Im always talking about my luck running out
• When the sheep stayed alive they knew his luck had awaked
• Story just randomly ends never says anything about the guy who took care of him

Shah Abbas and the Poor Mother:

• The guy who stole the ring gave it to someone else to give back to the person he stole it from without them knowing
• People in these stories are way to trusting
• So the baker was the liar not the Shah

The Apparition of the Prophet Khizr:

• The stakes are always so high in these stories
• The guy in this story was a good man, and did right by his family even if it meant his life
• The poor man ended up with a village and some money!

The Story of the Baker and the Grateful Fish:

• He didn't have to work for 40 days 
• But the 40th day he worked 2 hours and was carried to the top of the mountain
• He was supposed to throw down jewels when he was finished he asked for the way down 
• But there was really no way down, all the people up there were dead
• But he fell into the river that the fish he fed were in and they carried him to his place
• Then the baker did the same thing to the merchant who did it to him in the beginning

Baker and the Fish

Source:UnTextbook