Portfolio Guide

Week 6: Kai-Lan

Week 2: Venus and Psyche

Week 9: The Sweet and Sour of Love and Strawberries

Week 3: The Beggar Businessman

Week 4: The Man Who Thought He was a Fisherman

Week 6 (Storytelling): Kai-Lan

 

(Laotian Wedding Tradition; source: Our Journeys Within)

January 7, 1707

“To my one and only Kaipo,

It has been many months since our last meeting. I constantly think about you and the past times when we were together. Remember when we used to gaze at the stars or when we found that lost puppy? I recently saw that puppy with its family and she looked very happy! I wish I could feel just as happy. I miss your handsome face looking at me. I miss your strong hands holding mine. I miss your calm voice steadying my heart. Ever since my father forbade me to see you, you are all I can think about.

I hate my father. He and his servants are constantly watching me. My father is frequently boasting to others how he drove you away. He invites many suitors into my home. He is expecting me to marry one of them. However, I refuse all of them. You are all that I want. No one can compare to you. Our love is stronger than any distance that keeps us apart. I will never betray our love or you.

We have been apart for too long. These past months have felt like centuries to me. Time moves so slowly when you are not around. I cannot wait anymore. My father is hosting a feast for all in the province tomorrow night. Please come. I must see you. I must be with you.

Love,

Your Dearest Aelan”

The next night, the feast was held. It was possibly grander than any of the king’s feasts. People from all over the province came to enjoy the festivities. They were everywhere and the room was filled with constant laughter and merriment. Everyone was enjoying the party except for one, Aelan. She constantly kept an eye out for her dear lover. However, she could not find him. Dismayed, she stepped outside into the garden to get away from the crowd. Suddenly, she heard shrubs shake and turned around to see her lover, Kaipo, standing there in front of her. She ran to him and they embraced. Tears filled her eyes and it felt as if they had never been separated at all. Kaipo looked lovingly into Aelan’s eyes. Right then, he pleaded her to elope with him. She did not think twice before complying. They both jumped on his horse and while they did that, a servant saw them trying to escape. He immediately told Aelan’s father and a search party was formed.

Kaipo and Aelan went far past the city limits and into the dangerous and rocky mountains. The two lovers came to a huge canyon and had nowhere to go. The search party was catching up to them. They were trapped. Kaipo and Aelan looked at each other and nodded. They both decided that they would rather die together than be separated again. So, they jumped. They were so close to making it to the other side, but their weight was just too much. The couple and their steed fell into the river at the bottom of the canyon. The search party saw this. The river was two hundred feet below the top of the rocky canyon, so there was no way the couple could have survived. They decided that there was no reason to continue and they returned home. However, by the will of God, the couple and horse fell into the river and survived the fall. They scrambled out of the river with a few bruises, but very much alive. The couple was so tired that they laid on the riverbank and looked up into the stars. They lived happily ever after.

Author's Note - The original storyline comes from Lovers' Leap in the Laos Unit. For my past storytellings, I usually do a modernization of the plot, but this time I did something different and tried a love letter style. In the original plot, the lovers do not make it over the cliff, but I wanted to have a happier ending than that. Then, in my original storytelling, I wrote that the couple made it over to the other side of the canyon, but I realized that it was a bit predictable so I changed it for my portfolio to the way it is now. I actually like my new ending a lot and I think it is more interesting. Other than that, I kept the story basically the same. For the title, I combined the lovers' names together. In Laotian, "Kaipo" is a male name meaning "sweetheart" and "Aelan" is a female name meaning "flower." I know that it is pretty cheesy. In fact, my whole story is pretty cheesy. I imagined the lovers to be around sixteen or seventeen years old so I figured that I could get away with it. This reminded me a bit of Romeo and Juliet as I was reading it so I added the detail about the stars. Star-crossed lovers usually have tragic endings because the stars controls people’s fates, but like I said, I wanted a happier ending. Therefore, in the end, I just had the couples stare at the stars as a triumph over what their fate should have been. 

If you are having trouble deciding what unit to read next week, I highly recommend the Laos Unit! It has some really good stories and many have surprising endings. The diction and wording are also easy to read! If you have any suggestions for what I should read next week, please leave a comment below!


Book: Laos Fairy Tales

Author: Katherine Neville Fleeson

Year Published: 1899

Web Source: Project Gutenberg

Week 2 (Storytelling): Venus and Psyche

In the meadows of Nysa, one of the goddess’s favorite sacred havens, Venus walks through throngs of flowers to celebrate the new spring. Sunshine illuminates the vast meadows and reflects from the waters that it is almost blinding. However, it is not a sight you want to close your eyes from. Countless blossoms bloom in the new sunshine, creatures emerge from their winter slumber, and chatter fills the air with liveliness. Venus watches as her servants enjoy the relaxing day. Some are picking flowers, while some sit, sharing secrets, and others are playing a…….scream? Everyone looks at the source of the noise. One young servant dressed in blue clothes looks pale and is as frozen as if Medusa had stunned her.

Venus hurries to her. “What is it, my child?”

She turns to look in the same direction and sees it. Not an it, a her. A young maiden in her later teens emerges from behind the tree.

“What is this nonsense? What name do you go by, young maiden? Why do you trespass here?”

“I am known as Psyche, the youngest princess of a king, not far from here. I did not mean to cause harm. I just wanted to gander with my own eyes the beauty of this place,” says the pretty young maiden.

“These lands are blessed, as decreed by the father of all gods himself. No mortal is allowed to walk on the soft soil or lay his or her eyes on the lush greenery. Begone,” sneered one servant.

“Yes, no servants are permitted to come here, especially not a vile-looking creature as yourself, human,” laughed another. All the servants followed.

However, this young maiden was not a vile-looking creature. She was actually a very beautiful girl, an uncommon beauty. She had light brown hair done up in an unruly braid that hung down on her shoulders. Her pale and delicate skin greatly contrasted with her strong facial features, deep-set eyes, a tall nose, high cheekbones, and a pointed chin. Her most attractive feature was her eyes. They shined light brown in the sunlight, but in the shade they looked green around the edges. They were the most unique set of eyes the goddess had ever laid her eyes on.  She had to have them.

“Tell me, Psyche, why do your eyes change as they do? They are a wonder that I have not seen before and I am the fairest of all creatures in Heaven and Earth. Tell me, Psyche.”

 “I am sorry, great Venus, I do not know why. I am the only of my family and our kingdom that can do such.”

“I see. You do know where you are standing is sacred ground? The air you are breathing is revered? The sight you are seeing is blessed? Your kind is not welcomed here.”

“Yes, I do know. Please spare my life! I did not wish to do harm! I just wanted to see your splendor with my own eyes. You are the queen of all that is exquisite,” begged Psyche.

“Do not be afraid, young and naïve Psyche. I will not take your life away. However, I cannot allow you to leave unpunished from trespassing. Since you yearned so much to see this safe haven, I shall make sure this that last thing you see.”

With that, the goddess’s servants held poor and struggling Psyche down, while one pulled out her eyes. Psyche cried with all her lungs with the worse pain.

“My eyes! How can I see now? Please Venus, give me back my sight!”
“They are mine now. Hush, young one. Stay calm. I will not give back your eyes, but I will make you my servant. I will grant you immortality and your status will no longer be a mere mortal."

(Psyche Before The Throne Of Venus; 

photo by Henrietta Rae; source:ArtScroll)

Author's Note  - In the original plot of Cupid and Psyche, Venus is jealous of Psyche because humans used to praise her more than they praised Venus. If you do not already know, when Venus is envious of someone, she goes on a rampage. There is a lot more to the story, but at some point, Venus is torturing poor Psyche. When I first wrote this story, I tried to come up with a storyline that went with the original storyline of Venus and Psyche. However, I came at a dead end and ran out of things to write so I looked at storytelling from my peers and realized that some people took a completely different take from the original plot. So I redid my whole storyline to what it is now. Obviously, this is completely different from the original storyline so this is not a retelling of the story. Rather, I use the characters, their personalities, and some of the basic ideas from the original story and made a completely new storyline. I ended up liking this version of my storytelling a lot more than what I had before even though it is a bit gruesome. I tried to imitate the typical flamboyant and descriptive language Roman stories are written in. I'm not sure if I did it justice, but I gave it a shot.

Book: The Golden Ass
Author:ApuleiusYear
Published: 2013
Web Source: Poetry in Translation

Week 9 (Storytelling): The Sweet and Sour of Love and Strawberries

When the Earth was just an infant, there was only one couple.


“Why do you always act like this?!” yelled the man.

“Why do you always ACT LIKE THIS?!” responded the woman.

“You are always so overly sensitive and self-centered. You never consider my feelings over yours.”

“You are always so stubborn and indolent. I cannot do this anymore. Good-bye.”


Then, the woman stormed out of the couple's home. She looked at the sky. It was just after dawn. The new Sun was hardly above the horizon. Angered, the woman headed towards the East, where the land of the Sun was.


“I cannot believe him. He is so arrogant,” she thought to herself.


Three hours passed.

Still heated by the argument from this morning, the woman continued on her journey to the East. Not once did she look back.

However, the man was solemnly sitting in his home. He had been grieving over their fight. The man felt so alone without his wife.


“Why am I an idiot? I should not have let her leave. What if she never comes back? What if she is in danger, but no one is there to save her? I cannot be without her. I must find her and bring her home.”

The man got up and raced towards the entrance of his home. He loved her. He did not want to be without her because of a silly argument. He was determined to bring her back to him.

Then, he heard a mysterious, deep voice say, “Do you love her? Do you want her back?”

The man looked around. He did not see anyone. Nonetheless, he replied, “Yes! Yes, I love her dearly. I do not want to be without her.”

The voice said, “Very well. I will help you.”


At that point, the sun shined brighter than ever. The man realized that he was speaking to Une'`länûñ'hï, the Sun. He was very grateful for the kind act and continued towards the East where his wife had gone.

Meanwhile, the woman continued to walk. She was still upset. Une'`länûñ'hï saw this. He devised a plan for the couple to be reunited so he shined his light on a large patch of delicious huckleberries in front of the woman. However, the woman did not pay attention to them. Then, Une'`länûñ'hï shined his light on the ripest blackberries in front of the woman, but she still did not pay attention to them either. Une'`länûñ'hï continued to shine his bright rays on more berries in front of the woman in order to tempt her. Yet, the unswerving woman still ignored all of them and continued to stride with anger for her husband in each step. Finally, Une'`länûñ'hï shined his light on a patch of delectable strawberries. The woman stopped. This was the first time she had ever seen such a delicious-looking fruit.


“I have never seen an exotic fruit like this!”


Her stomach growled. She realized how hungry she was. The berries were plump and juicy. The sight was mouth-watering. They were screaming for her to eat one.


“I suppose I could take a small break now. I must try this wonderful fruit.”


She swooped down and grabbed a few strawberries. She ate them and indulged in their juicy goodness. While the woman went to grab more, she accidentally looked towards the West. This act caused her to remember the man. Suddenly, a wave of grief fell over her. She missed him dearly and decided she could not live without him. So, she gathered more strawberries and started back towards West. Somewhere along the path, the man and woman found each other.


“I am so sorry for being stubborn and arrogant,” said the man.

“I’m sorry for considering only my feelings. I love you very much,” said the woman.


Then she showed him the new fruit she had found. The man’s eyes opened wide because he had never seen such a fruit. He tried one hungrily.


“These are delicious! Let us go home so that we may enjoy these together.”


The couple lived happily ever after.

Author’s Note - The original storyline is The Origins of Strawberries from the Cherokee Myths unit. I remember reading this story beginning of the semester for the proofreading assignment. I really liked the story and it is partially why I decided to read this unit for this week. So, I decided to write my own version of the story. In the original, the story is strictly third person narrative. I added dialogue to give the characters more personality and life. I also wanted to add a different dynamic to the original plot. The dialogue is a bit modern so it may not fit with the storyline, but I felt that it is the easiest for readers to understand. Other than that, I kept the story pretty much the same. I felt that it is already an interesting story so I did not want to change it too much. I also chose this story because I love strawberries! I thought it was sweet that the "origin" of strawberries came from a love story since they kind of look like hearts! Hence, that is why the picture I chose is of heart-shaped strawberries. Not to mention, strawberries are sweet, yet tart. Relationships happen to be like that as well.

Book: Myths of the Cherokee

Author: James Mooney

Year Published: 1900

Web Source: Project Gutenberg

Week 3 (Storytelling): The Beggar Businessman

I check my watch. It reads 9:15am. I am waiting at Starbucks for my grande caffe mocha. I told the workers precisely how I wanted it: no sugar, no whipped cream, extra dry, with half skim and half full milk, no two percent milk, and two shots of caramel syrup, but mix the syrup with the milk before adding it to the coffee. Can you believe these college students can’t get a simple order right? Don’t they know there are actually people with real jobs?

Finally, the barista boy calls out, “Grande caffe mocha for John!” I walk up to the counter for my drink. Then, as I was reaching for my drink, I could have sworn the barista boy say, “For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?”

I give the barista a confused look. “What did you say to me, boy?”

“Enjoy your coffee, sir,” smiles the barista boy.

I eye him and give him one last look, then walk out. I don’t have time for this.

If you do not know me, whom you really should, my name is John Hagag. I am the president of Specci Inc. Ever heard of the term "multimillionaire"? I’m a multibillionaire. My company is worth six billion dollars. On top of being filthy rich, I was also born with handsome looks. I have been on the cover of hundreds of magazines from Gentlemen’s Quarterly to Time Magazine. I have won People magazine’s most handsome businessman for three years straight. You could call me the King of New York City.

So, I am about to walk into my office building, when a mischievous teenager suddenly rolls by on his skateboard and snatches my wallet right out of my back pocket.

I yell, “SECURITY! That PUNK has my wallet! SECURITY!”

However, they are too slow. Even my grandmother in a wheelchair moves faster than these oafs. I start chasing the kid. This punk has skills on his board. I can give him that. He swiftly dodges the massive crowds of people. After six blocks, he makes a right turn into a deserted alley.

“There you are, kid. Stop with the games and give me back my wallet. I’m reporting you to the police.”

“You are very wrong, sir. I am not a kid. I am a genie.”

Then the skater transforms into the barista boy from this morning. I am speechless. He changes again. This time, he changes to me. I am astonished. My eyes bulge out of their eye sockets. Finally, the security guards catch up to us. They push me, yes, me onto the ground and handcuff me.

“Get off of me! Don’t you know who I am! I am John Hagag! The John Hagag!”

I look down at my reflection in the muddy puddles on the ground. That’s not me, but it is me. I look completely different. My shiny black hair is now a dirty brown color. My nose looks like it was broken at one point, my face is dirty and sagging. There are deep wrinkles on my forehead and bags under my tired eyes.

“Let him go,” says the genie. “He is not a problem anymore. I have my wallet back.”


They take off the handcuffs and leave me on the ground. As they are walking away, the genie gives me a smirk and winks at me. How can this be? What happened to my life? I walk out on to the streets and try to convince passers by, “I am John Hagag! I am the president of Specci. I am People’s magazine most handsome businessman! Please, a genie stole my identity! You must believe me.” I continue this for a week and no one believes me.

Discouraged, I sit on the corner of Main and 2^nd. A little nine-year-old girl stands in front of me and hands me spare change. My stomach cries in pain. When was the last time I ate? I accept it. I continue to sit on that corner and more pedestrians offer me their pennies and dimes. Someone hands me five dollars; tears of joy gush out of my eyes. Five dollars have never felt so valuable. After a month of begging on the streets, I look in the reflection of the shopping window. I look pathetic. My torn and ragged clothes hang on my frail body. My face has sunken more. My eyes look empty and lost.

I start to cry. In that instant, I decide that I can no longer beg. I need to make a change in my life. I go to a public library to start a resume. I buy some decent clothes from the Salvation Army and clean up myself as much as I can. I assume the name James Schultz. After that, I apply to many jobs. Most of them reject me. However, a Starbucks manager takes pity on me and she gives me a job. I start training immediately. Most of my coworkers are much younger than me. They gawk at me like I am a circus freak. The hours are long and customers are very demanding, though I cannot and will not give up because I do not want to go back to the streets. After weeks of hard work, my coworkers begin to accept me and I am promoted to manager after only six months. We laugh and make jokes with each other. Life is great.

One day, a familiar face walks in. It is me, the-John-Hagag me. The genie looks at me and he comes towards me.

“Hello…” he looks at my badge, “…James.”

“Hello,” I respond.

“How have you been? It has been a long time.”

“Times have been rough, but I am still happy and well. Thank you.”

“That is good. I see that you have learned your lesson. Are you ready to return to your old life?”

“No, I cannot. I cannot leave these people. They need me.”

“Do not worry. They will be fine.”

Right then, instead of standing behind the counter, I am in front of it. I look into a mirror hanging on the wall. I am back to my original self. I look over the counter. The barista gives me a wink and hands me a coffee.

“There you go, sir. Have a nice day.”

I look at him and give him a smile. “Thank you, you too.” I walk out of with the biggest smile on my face.

 (Businessman Drinking Coffee Outside Office Building 

by Smart Creatives; source: Visual Photos)

Author's Note - My story is based off of The Beggar King from the Jewish Fairy Tales unit. I chose this story because I really liked the original plot and the meaning behind the story. In the beginning, the main character is an arrogant and narcissistic king without a care for anyone other than himself. After meeting a powerful genie, the king is removed from his throne and he becomes a poor beggar living on the streets of the kingdom he once ruled. After begging in the streets for many months, the king decides to remake himself into a respectable person. He learns to serve others before serving himself. This life-changing event makes him more humble and appreciative of the people around him. Because of this, the genie allows him to return to his original body. Strangely, the king did not originally want to come back because he did not want to abandon the people that needed him. However, the genie convinces him and the king comes back with a completely new attitude and mindset. I did a modern take on this story while trying to stay true to the original characters. Instead of a king, I chose my main character to be a powerful businessman in New York. I kept the genie in the story because it added an interesting touch.

Book: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends

Author: Gertrude Landa

Year Published: 1919

Web Source: Project Gutenberg

Week 4 (Storytelling): The Man Who Thought He was a Fisherman

In the city of New York City, there was a newlywed couple. Unfortunately, this couple was very poor. They struggled to keep up with their monthly bills and they constantly had to borrow money from friends and family. One day, the newlywed couple decided to escape from the bustling and boisterous city and moved to a humble, small home in the countryside of New York.

This small home was just big enough for both of them to live there comfortably. It was white with faded blue trim around the windows and door. Inside, the couple furnished their new home with just the necessities and only a few bits and bobs to add a bit of character. Surrounding the white house were stretches of cedar trees as far as the eye could see. About half mile north of their home was a lake. During the late afternoon, the temperature was just right and it was the perfect time to watch the sun set, whilst its light reflected in the waters. The sight was breathtaking. The couple took walks by the lake during this time. On those walks, they saw always saw a fisherman by himself sitting on his boat. He was a stout man with a head of thick grey hair around his mid-to-late sixties. From afar, the couple could see the fisherman very skilled. His bucket was filled with fish after a full day’s catch.
 
One morning, the husband decided to go out on a walk to the lake. He saw the fisherman as he was unhitching his boat to go out onto the lake. The husband came up to the fisherman and said, “Hello, sir, I see you fish all day! Please, let me go with you today.”

The fisherman nodded, “I see you and your wife walking by the lake during the afternoons. Come along with me and I’ll show you how to fish.”

The husband hopped on to the wobbly, old motorboat. The boat was so old that many of the writings on the controls had faded off and many of the gears were stiff and difficult to use. However, the fisherman started the boat effortlessly. They smoothly sailed to the middle of the lake. The fisherman showed the husband his fishing techniques. They sat and talked all day until it was time to go home. The fisherman had plenty of fish in his bucket. However, the husband did not have any at all. The fisherman saw this and pitied the husband. He gave him half of his fish and said, “Take this home and eat it with your wife for dinner tonight. Come back tomorrow morning and we shall try again.”

“Thank you, sir,” replied the humble husband.

The next day, the husband came back and sailed with the fisherman again. By the end of the day, the results were the same as the day before. The fisherman split his fish and gave half to the husband. The husband accepted.

Later on that night in his bed, the husband was staring up at his ceiling. “How come I cannot catch any fish? I am doing as the fisherman tells me. I know why. It is because all the fish want to go to his bait and not mine. Tomorrow morning, I will rise very early and take the boat. Then I will be able to catch all the fish by myself.”

The next morning, the husband did so. He woke up very early and went to the lake. He started up the boat. It was a much shakier ride than when the fisherman steered, but he eventually made it to the middle of the lake. Then, the husband cast his line and waited. The sun was rising. The husband looked up and saw the fisherman walking towards the dock. Unexpectedly, there was a tug from his fishing line. He pulled back and the fishing line stayed taut. Immediately, the husband did what the fisherman showed him. It was a good ten-minute struggle. Finally, he gave one last pull and the largest catfish he had ever seen came out of the water. He had caught his first fish. He stood up on the boat and waved victoriously to the fisherman. All of a sudden, the boat shook abruptly. The husband tried to balance on it, but it shook again. What was wrong with it? Then, he realized that he did not know how to swim, so he panicked. The more he panicked, the more the boat shook. The fisherman was on the dock and he tried to tell the husband something, but he was too far. Suddenly, the boat overturned and the husband fell into the water. He paddled his legs to try to get air, but some water vines had caught ahold of his leg. The husband hopelessly struggled for his life. Finally when he ran out of energy, he sank into the bottom of the lake. 

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Author's Note - The original story comes from the The Crow that Thought It Knew from the Jakata (Sheddlock) unit. I liked this storyline because it was different from the other Jakata stories. In many of the other stories, Buddha is reincarnated and a god decided to test his virtue. The test usually demanded Buddha to sacrifice something precious to him, but in this story he was not tested. In the original version of this story, Buddha is reincarnated into a very intelligent and strong marsh crow. A couple of regular crows escape a city suffering from famine and find Buddha. They are so hungry and ask Buddha for fish. Due to his giving nature, Buddha shares his fish with them and continues to do this for some time. Then one day the male crow decides that he does not need Buddha’s help anymore. He looks just like Buddha so he believes that he can catch his own fish. Unfortunately, soon he finds out that they are not similar at all. This grave mistake leads to his death. I did a modern take on this story because I think that it is very relatable to many contemporary situations. Someone sees that another person with an extraordinary talent so he or she believes that they have the same capabilities due to physical similarities. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. There are people that overestimate their abilities and make irrational decisions. This husband did so and that led to his demise.

 

(Fisherman on Lake Malawi by Steve Evans) 

Bibliography: "The Crow that Thought It Knew" from Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock (1920)