Week 14 (Reading Diary): Grimm (Hunt)

Grimm (Hunt)

Hansel and Grethel - I already read the original of this story before, but I still enjoyed it! It is a good first story for this unit! I am guessing that the overall theme of this unit is about children meeting obstacles and they have to figure out how to find their way home.

Thumbling - This is basically, the male version of Thumbelina. I found it interesting and I like how clever Thumbling is. This also has the theme of a child meeting obstacles as he finds his way home.

Allerleirauh - I feel like this story fits better with the Grimm (Crane) unit.

Snow White and Rose Red - I was expecting this story to be related or a sequel to the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, but it's not. I think I like this story a bit better anyway. I found it endearing, entertaining, and enjoyable.

Overall, I think this unit is a bit strange. I liked it at the beginning, but then the second half of the reading got very confusing.

Reading Diary (Week 13): Grimm Tales

Grimm (Crane)

Fisherman and His Wife - I found this story the most humorous out of the three. The wife is never content with what she has once she realizes that she can wish for whatever she wants. When she finally wishes for the power to control the sun and moon, she ends up back where she started in a small little hovel. This is probably why genies only give out three wishes.

Aschenputtel - I remember reading this earlier in the semester. I think it is in someone's storybook. Anyway, this is my first time actually reading the original and it was more gruesome than I expected. There is a lot of extreme actions taken. Nonetheless, it was an interesting story.

Robber Bridegroom - This was a very surprising story! I did not expect this to happen at all. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable reading it honestly. I don't know how people come up with this stuff.

Six Swans - This was a nice story. I had never heard of it before, but it is actually very popular. It was a nice story.

King Thrushbeard - This is probably my favorite story out of all the ones from this unit. I did not expect the ending at all and I thought it was really sweet! It kind of reminded me of the Beggar King from the Jewish Fairy Tales unit.

Three Spinsters - This story was super funny! I definitely recommend it to people! I think it would be a really good story to do a storytelling over too!

Snow White - I actually did not like this story very much. It was kind of long. I didn't feel like there was a really stand out moment in this story. It was so-so.

Week 12 (Reading Diary): King Arthur

King Arthur
I was originally going to read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but I changed my mind last minute to read this unit since it related better with the unit I read last week.

Drawing of the Sword - What a perfect beginning story for this unit! I liked it a lot. I had already knew a general idea of the story, but this was my first time actually reading and I was not disappointed. It was a great story to start out with.

Sword Excalibur - I have always heard of this term and of the Lady of the Lake, but I never brought myself to research it a bit. Now I finally know! This unit is a lot more interesting then I was expecting.

Passing of Merlin - Yikes! What a harsh break up! Poor guy got tricked by the one he loved even though he knew it was going to happen to him anyway.

Sir Lancelot's Vision  - This story was kind of confusing to follow, but I think I still understood it for the most part. I enjoyed it. After reading the note for this, I decided to read through some of the wikipedia pages. I found it very interesting!

End of Arthur - This story was actually difficult to follow. I wish the notes expanded a bit more about Sir Mordred and his plot to kill Arthur. It is fitting for the last story to be the demise of Arthur since this is the King Arthur unit. Not only that, it showed the end of Lancelot and Guenevere.

Reading Diary (Week 11): Faerie Queen

Faerie Queen


Sir Guyon - I LOVE THIS OPENING STORY! I am already in love with the plot. The readings are a bit longer than previous stories I have read, but I think each section has a lot of good details and aren't boring at all so they don't seem like long stories.

The Magic Mirror - I liked this section from the start. I love Britomart's response to the Knight because she wanted to be more than the "typical maiden". I really admire her for that. I like the background stories behind each character as well.

Britomart's Quest - I really like Britomart. She is brave, ambitious, a bit pretentious, and independent. However near the end of this story, Britomart is a bit more feminine. She is pretty much dreaming about a dude. A great contrast to her persona in the beginning of the story. I am stuck in choosing which story I want to write about this week.

 How Britomart Ended Her Quest - After reading this story, it kind of reminded me a bit of Disney's Mulan. Even though it was the end of the story, it ended with the start of another story.  It seems like all the knight stories in this unit were about either fame and glory or a beautiful lady. I still enjoyed it. I suppose each story is fairytale-esque.

Week 10 (Reading Diary): Tejas Legends

Tejas Legends

I really like this unit! I like this more than the Cherokee unit because it is easier to understand and the content is a bit more....realistic? I am not sure if that is the right word. Nonetheless, this is a good unit to read!

When the Storm God Rides - I really liked this reading because it had great content. I liked the descriptions used in here a lot and it is very interesting. I think I can definitely make a really good storytelling out of this! The storm god kind of reminded me of a Pokemon from the first generation. Hahah.

The Plant that Grows in Trees - The thunder bird comes back in to this story. This story was about how the mistletoe started to grow on trees. Inanimate objects have their own dialogue in here, which I have found common in a few Native American stories.

Why the Woodpecker Pecks - I remember reading this story from someone else's storytelling. I cannot remember who, but the retelling was very good. The original story is a bit more gruesome, but it is still an interesting story.

The Cloud that Was Lost - I really liked this story! This may be my favorite from the unit. I love the personifications within this story. It really adds to the story and made me feel more sympathetic for the little cloud while reading the story. It is such a cute story!

Week 9 (Reading Diary): Cherokee Myths

Cherokee Myths

How the World Was Made - Well this was interesting....I have never heard of a creation story like this! The world was basically made my little insects, which makes sense because Native Americans were very in touch with nature. Then men and women came. The first man impregnated a woman by smacking her with a fish.....

The First Fire - I really liked this story. I initially thought that it was going to be similar to the Greek-Roman Myth story. However, it was very different. It explains how the Earth received fire for the first time and it describes why some animals have black on their bodies. It is very creative!

The Moon and Thunders - The first part of the story was really cute. I can definitely see myself writing a storytelling over it! The other parts were interesting as well, but my favorite is the first section.

Tobacco and Strawberries - I remember reading the second part about strawberries during the first week of school. I really liked it because it was so different and it is definitely one of the reasons why I chose this unit. I liked the tobacco story as well.

The Owl Gets Married - Sometimes, I can't tell if a Cherokee story is supposed to be funny or not. I found this story a bit humorous, but the ending is a bit morbid. Maybe that is just the humor of Native Americans?

Huhu Gets Married - This is similar to the previous story. I tried to imagine what a huhu is, but I couldn't find an image.

Snake Boy and Snake Man - Some of these stories are difficult to follow because they are so strange and because there are a few terms that I don't know about. This stories definitely caught my eye though.

Week 8 (Reading Diary): Review Week

Half way through the first quarter, I did not realize that we did not have to comment on all of the stories. We just had to comment on our favorites. For Diary notes, I usually write down why I liked the story and what was unique about it. Sometimes I compare the story to more familiar fairy tales or other readings I have done. I try to stay consistent with my Reading Diary format and style each time. I like consistency and it helps me stay more organized. I try to write at least 100-150 words for each diary note for each story. I may start doing my diary posts as notes instead of short segments. I think that may help me see the similarities and differences between each story. I also will try taking notes while I am reading the story instead of reading all of it and then writing something at the end.

Week 7 (Reading Diary): South African Unit

 South African Unit

Dance for Water I could not tell if the rabbit was the protagonist or antagonist. At first, I did not like him because he reminded me of high schoolers who were "too cool" to do anything, but they would use the rewards of other people. Then when the group of animals decided that they wanted to kill the rabbit, I felt sorry for him because I did not want him to die. However, the rabbit was able to escape. It is a bit of a confusing story, but nonetheless, interesting.

Jackal and Monkey This had an unexpected ending. Maybe it's because I grew up with American stories and fairy tales where there is always a happy ending. I cannot believe the jackal would be so sly and evil as to leave the monkey in the noose.

The White Man and Snake After reading a lot of stories from this unit, I could see where the story was going to go about half through the reading. I still enjoyed this one a lot. I found it a bit humorous.

The Judgement of Baboon This was hilarious. I like how it kind of explained why each animal or element did not like the other. It is a bit out there since wood, fire, and water cannot "speak" as it mentions in the story. Nonetheless, it was an interesting story.

Week 6 (Reading Diary): Laos Unit

Laos Unit

Many of the stories in the first half have common themes throughout each such as unconditional love, emphasis on nature, and reincarnation. These stories stood out to me the most from this unit.

Child of the Woods This story reminded me a bit of The Jungle Book. Mainly because there is an adolescent that goes off into the jungle and lives with wild beasts for some time before returning to human civilization. I felt a bit of shivers from reading this for some odd reason.

Origin of Lightning This story was very unique. I am glad I read it. It had reincarnation within it, which I have found to be very common in many Asian stories. Another common thing I have been seeing is MULTIPLE WIVES!!! It was a common practice in the olden days, but nine wives?! Really? Anyway,  it was a really sweet story! I am feeling a little bit gushy after reading it.

Lovers' Leap This story was a bit sad. The general theme reminded me of Romeo and Juliet. This theme is seen in a lot of current stories.

The Faithful Husband and The Faithful Wife  I found it interesting how these stories are back to back. These stories reflect the values of Laotian people. It is an example of what they believe a faithful husband and wife should act.

One Woman I did not anticipate the ending at all.  I expected the usual theme of bad deeds being punished and those that wish to do to evil being outsmarted themselves like in The Wizard and the Beggar. It was interesting to read a story that was completely the opposite.

To Aid a Beast This story reminded me a little bit of The Lion and the Mouse. Though the ending was surprising to me, it has been a common theme that people are quick to condemn and kill for the wrong judgement.

The Boys Who Were Not Appreciated I really liked this story. This story contained two common themes of the meek receiving riches and those who are not appreciative and expecting of riches are punished or suffer. I found it strange that their parents died at the end because that is probably not what they would have wished but the parents are the moral of the story, not the boys.

The Fortunes of a Lazy Beggar I found this story very interesting due to the parallels it draws between a rich prince and a lazy beggar. Though the beggar is transformed, he wonders to himself that he has once again become the same lazy person on the inside, but now he is revered due to his riches.

The Blind Man This was my favorite story. The blind man is very endearing in the story and though he deceives his wife by pretending to be able to see, he does his best to earn her love. Naturally, he is rewarded for his spirit with the ability to see at the end of the story.

Week 5 (Reading Diary): Twenty-Two Goblins Unit

Twenty-Two Goblins
These are my favorite stories from this unit.

The Three Lovers who brought the Dead Girl to Life There is a very beautiful woman who is ready to be married. Many people know of her beauty and three suitors come to her for her hand in marriage. She cannot decided who she wants to marry and then all of the sudden, she dies. The three men are so sad and so they cremate her body. One suitor keeps her ashes and lays it out on his and sleeps on it every night while he begs for food in the day. Another suitor dips her bones in the sacred Ganges River. The last one goes off as a Brahman. He finds a magical spell that can bring the dead back alive. The last one steals the book and takes it back to his love's ashes and bones. He uses the spell on her and she comes back alive.

The Girl who transposed the Heads of her Husband and Brother A girl who visits her hometown with her husband and brother stop by a beautiful temple for Gauri. Both her husband and her brother commit suicide in the temple. The girl is very sad and so she prays to the goddess before she decides to kill herself. However, Gauri stops her from committing suicide and tells the girl to put the heads of her husband and brother back on the bodies and they would come back from the dead. She does so, but she accidentally puts the wrong heads on the bodies.

Four Scientific Suitors A powerful king and his wife are looking for suitors for his beautiful daughter. She does not really care who she marries, she just wants someone who knows a specific science very well. Then a weaver, a farmer, a swordsman, and a magician all come to take her hand in marriage. They are all masters of their own science. The king has to choose between the four scientists.

The Three Delicate Wives There is a King Virtue-banner with three wives. One night, each of his wives are injured. One was injured by a lotus petal falling on her. Another was injured by the moonbeams shining on her giving her blisters. The last wife was bruised from the sound of pestles.

The Snake's Poison I was surprised by the ending of this one because I did not read the title of it. Regardless, I still thought it was a very good story. It is ironic how a kind act could lead to a death of one person and the exile of another.

The Girl and the Thief This was an interesting story. It reminded me of Aladdin from Disney except, a bit more gory. I found it a bit humorous too because nowadays, it seems like all daughters give their fathers grief because they choose to date "bad boys."

The General's Wife I read this story after reading someone else's storytelling. I really liked it and I thought it was very interesting so that was why I chose to read this unit. I like reading different and unique stories and this one was certainly not something that I have read or heard of before.

The Father and Son who Married the Daughter and Mother This is probably my favorite story out of the all the units because it is the most unique. It is a really good ending to the unit and it even leaves me puzzled.

Reading Diary (Week 4): Jataka (Shedlock) Unit

Jataka (Shedlock) Unit

Many of these stories are very similar. Especially in the first half of the unit, there are many stories that include the spirit of Buddha, whether in the body of an animal, human, or tree, and testing his virtue and morals. Many of the tests come from the King of Gods, Sakka.


The Spirit that Lived in the Tree

The Hare That Was Not Afraid to Die

The Parrot that Fed His Parents

The Man Who Worked to Give Alms

The King Who Saw the Truth


All of these stories above had the spirit of Buddha inside a being, where the spirit did many gracious and kind acts. Mainly, Buddha gave away whatever he could to others, not for wealth or fame, but for his own moral goals. It's a good lesson to learn, but it gets very repetitive.

Week 3 (Reading Diary): Jewish Fairy Tales

Jewish Fairy Tales


The Giant of the Flood - I have never heard of this version of the story of Noah's Ark. It had a lot of supernatural creatures like a unicorn and phoenix. The basic overview is a giant did not want to starve during the Great Flood so he agreed to be the Noah's and his descendants' servant in exchange for food. This lasted for generations. Then Og, the giant, died. I felt like this story was very lighthearted compared to the other version that I am used to.

The Beggar King - I really liked this story. There was a ruthless king and he was very proud of himself. He met a genie and the genie took the King's throne and so the ruthless king had to live his life as a beggar for months. Once the king realized how to be humble and serve others, the genie gave him back his throne. This story was also very lighthearted.

The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog - This was also really cute. I like how this story explains why cats and dogs fight with each other. It definitely overemphasized the stereotype of cats and dogs. I found it a little bit funny as well.

The Water-Babe - I really liked this story too. I know that I have been saying that for all of the stories, but I really do like them. They show a different perspective of the Bible that I feel like not many people know. This story is about the childhood of Moses.

From Shepard-Boy to King - This story I did not understand or enjoy as much as the other ones. It is about a shepard-boy that runs off into the forest. He finds a gigantic deer as large as a mountain and he climbs on top of it. Then he slides off the deer when its head is bent. Unfortunately, when the boy lands on the ground, it is right in front of a lion. After that, the deer saves the boy. Then the boy reaches back to humanity and the deer tells him that he will be king. I think I would have understood this much better if I knew the song or story it is referring too.

The Magic Palace  - This story was about Ibrahim, who I think changes his name to Abraham later on, searching for money to feed his family. He comes across an Arab builder and the Arab offers to be his slave. The Arab tells Ibrahim to find a wealthy merchant wanting to build a new home and to sell his new Arab slave to the merchant so that he may build the house. Ibrahim does so and earns a lot of money. Then the Arab builds the house in one night by praying, but on that night, Ibrahim had a dream about the Arab. He then realizes that the Arab is Elijah, the Prophet. I'm not sure who that is in the Bible, but he must have been important. I also liked this story a lot.

Week 2 (Reading Diary): Cupid and Psyche

Cupid and Psyche

 The Captive Woman This little rich girl is a bit crazy. She was definitely sheltered in her life. Even when her kidnappers assured her that she was only for ransom and she was not going to be killed, the little girl went on a tantrum. 

Her Dream That was a really intense dream the little rich girl had. I can see why she threw such a tantrum now. It is really scary when you have a dream of someone you have know all your life dying. She probably felt a bit guilty like it was her fault for being kidnapped because now she thinks her fiance will die. I am a little bit more interested now.

Psyche's Beauty I believe a common theme in many Roman tales is a story within a story. I also think every story about Venus (Aphrodite) has something to do with a human being beautiful and her getting jealous. Then her jealousy causes her to do something mean to the human. It is ironic that the son of the goddess of love, ruins marriages. 

Oracle of Apollo It is so sad how even though Psyche did not ask for her divine beauty that she cannot wed. In that era, a woman's main role, especially of her rank, was to find a husband and bare his children. If she could not marry, then she was practically worthless to her family. Of course, today it is different.

The Magical Palace This section of the story was mainly a description of Psyche's new home. When she thought that she was going to die, she finds her new home. It is very grand and magical. Her new home is much more splendid than any human home. She also has very many servants, but they are all invisible. I can see how it is similar to the Beauty and the Beast now.

The Mysterious Husband Okay....this section of the story started off really weird. But what is a Roman myth if there isn't a little bit of weirdness to it? Anyway, after the weird part, Psyche's husband, whose identity is unknown to her, warns her to not see her sisters. If she does, it will bring a bad fortune. However, Psyche was able to convince him by crying a lot and then seducing him.

The Jealousy of Psyche's Sisters Well what do you know, Psyche's husband, the god, was right about the bad fortune. After Psyche's sisters saw her beautiful home and all of her riches, they became jealous. Who could really blame them though? Their youngest sister always got the spotlight and praise. Now, she has the dream life.

Psyche's Husband Warns Her So Psyche's husband warns her again the evil nature of her sisters. He actually warns her twice, but of course she brings out the tears and begs him to let her see them. Tears are a powerful weapon against a man and/or god. The good news is that Psyche is now pregnant!

Fears and Doubts These sisters are so evil. Psyche's husband was right to compare them to Sirens, Harpies, and Furies. They are so deep in envy that they would do so much wrong to their own little sister.

Psyche's Husband Revealed It got a bit weird again. Well Psyche discovered the real appearance of her husband. He turns out to be handsome and she smothers him with kisses. Then he wakes up and he spills the beans that it was all a plan that they married devised by his mother. If I were Psyche, I would have felt betrayed. 

Psyche's Despair  Woah, sweet and naive Psyche is not as sweet and naive as I thought. Her sisters were so unhappy in their marriages that when Psyche told them her husband, Cupid, left her for them, they did not hesitate to leave. They did not even think that Psyche would lie to them. It is very ironic. Unfortunately, or fortunately, they both fell to their deaths. 

Venus and the Goddesses  So Venus finds out about Cupid's deceit. Now she is enraged and is searching to find Psyche and possibly kill her. Juno and Ceres try to reason with her, but she cannot be reasoned with.

Psyche's Prayer This part was really sad. Psyche has been searching day and night for her husband. That is not safe for her child, but what other choice does she have? She ends up in Ceres's temple and asks for shelter, but Ceres cannot betray Venus, her niece, so Psyche moves on. Psyche finds Juno's temple, but again, is denied shelter.

Venus and Mercury Psyche has nowhere to go so she contemplates going to Venus's house. Meanwhile, Venus can not find Psyche on Earth so she asked for the assistance of Mercury (Hermes). She tells him to send messages to humans that Psyche is a runaway servant. That is, of course, a lie! I should say I can't believe her, but after having read so many of these stories before, I can believe it. Venus is very vengeful and self-centered. If things do not go her way, she cause chaos and destruction until it is her way.

Venus and Psyche Psyche is taken to Venus and she is brutally tormented. There is a lot of hair pulling and slapping. Then Venus leaves her to separate all these grains from one huge pile. Fortunately, Psyche gets help from ants. 

Psyche's Next Task Now Venus tells Psyche to take the wool from sheep. Psyche was so unhappy that she tried to commit suicide again, but a small reed (I think that's a spirit or nymph) saves her and tells her how to complete the task. So she does it and Venus is very upset.

The Third Task So now Psyche is supposed to collect water from an evil fountain in the Underworld. When she arrives to the area, it is unimaginably dangerous, even for the gods. Fortunately, Providence, Jupiter's favorite eagle, was flying by and decided to help her complete the task.

Jar of Beauty Again, Venus was not happy that Psyche completed the task so she gave another one to her. This time, she had to visit Persephone, the goddess of the Underworld. Psyche, again, tried to kill herself. Then someone stopped her, again. This invisible spirit told her how to complete task and she did it. There is so much repetition in these stories.

The Sleep of the Dead Psyche's foolishness caused her to do open the jar of beauty. This made her fall into a deep sleep. Fortunately, Cupid came to her rescue and removed the deep sleep from her. After that, Cupid came to Jupiter asking for his blessing. Jupiter granted it to him, in return for a beauty of his own.

The Wedding Feast/Lucius and the Robbers  I had complete forgot that this was a story within a story. Well in the Wedding Feast, they had a grand celebration. Jupiter even made Psyche a goddess. Venus did not seem too unhappy at the wedding celebration. Then in the second half, the robbers came back. Many were wounded and they started to complain about Lucius. They made plans to kill him.

The Escape In this section the captured princess and Lucius was able to escape. Hurrah! Lucius did not want to die so he did what any man-animal would have done, he escaped. The old woman tried stop him and gave a good effort. However, the princess twisted the rope from the old woman's hands and hopped on. Then they rode off.