Essay Week 14: A Place for Grace

What is incredible to me is the place that grace holds among these stories. Most stories have some element of grace in them, whether that is abundant grace or grace that is lacking. The Italian Popular Tales unit is full of all kinds of examples.

When the stories with varying levels of grace are juxtaposed like they are in the storybook, it truly highlights the role that grace plays. I will go into detail on two stories that are in the storybook and elaborate on the role grace plays for each.

The Ingrates 

In this story, there is a man, a snake, and a fox. The man helps the snake from under a rock, but then the serpent wants to eat the man. They both inquire with others what is right, and the fox basically tricks the snake back under the rock and all is how it started. Now, instead of thanking or repaying the fox for saving his life, the man ends up killing the fox. The moral of that story being that evil is repaid to those who do good. Basically, this story lacks grace. You know how when you are eating something while on the beach, at some point you accidentally get a few grains of sand in your mouth and you are left with it grinding in the teeth? That is how I felt at the end of this story. Where is the redemption?

The Story of Crivoliu

In this story, a brother and a sister end up having a son together and he ends up being raised in a different place. At some point he finds out how he was conceived and pays his penance for his parents sin. Long story short, he ends up becoming pope. Later, his parents come and confess their sins to the pope. Instead if being bitter, he forgives them and they all lived happily ever after. In other words, full of grace. You know how you feel on a hot summer day when your mom pulls out a sleeve of frozen iced pops and that sweet, frozen nectar hits your hot tongue? That's refreshing, just like this story.

Both of these stories, grace plays a role. I think to me I realized that we all in some form or fashion long for redemption, and that comes through grace. I find both stories equally entertaining, but I truly enjoy when grace is present. It also reminds me to show grace as often as possible!

Image Credit: NBC News

Storytelling Week 14: The Three Brothers

There once were three brothers. They all three were adventurous, studious, brilliant young men who were trying to fight their way into the world of business.

The three of them decided that it was wise to go all in together because there is strength in numbers.. as well as less business risk. They looked into a variety of options for their business and decided on an industrial equipment sales company that would distribute as well as repair manufacturer equipment to smaller "mom and pop" companies. The three of them drew up a business plan and got to work.

Half a year down the road, the business was up and running. The three of them had poured all their effort into the structure of the company as well as into building up a broad clientele base. The oldest brother saw a ton of potential in the company and had been in charge of the legal side of the business. When it came time to divvy up the profit, the oldest brother greedily thought it the right time to tell the other brothers they had been "written out," meaning that they were not owners of the company and therefore would receive nothing for their work.

Enraged, the other brothers fought him in court, but to no avail due to the eldest brother's infallible contract work. The two of them counted their losses and set to work again, their entrepreneurial spirit as alive as ever. The middle brother proposed a new business, one that managed, bought, and sold real estate properties. Seeing the potential, the younger brother agreed. They both made a promise that they wouldn't let the same thing happen that had the last time. They hired out a contract lawyer to do the work.

So they set to work, and the business was again up and running within the first year. After they had acquired enough properties, the middle brother turned over a new, yet ugly leaf. It turns out that the contract lawyer that was hired to do the work had been paid off by the middle brother to write the youngest out of the contract. The same thing happened again. When it came time to reap the reward of their hard work, the middle brother kicked the younger one out.

Dejected and hurt after being kicked out of two businesses he had rightfully started, he set down and rethought his approach to business-building. He analyzed the markets like never before, and tried to combine that with all of his passions. He started out, this time with no other business partners, to build his very own outdoor adventure store. It would offer access to all extreme sports, renting out equipment, as well as selling high-end retail.

Again, the business thrived within the first year. The youngest brother was happier than ever, and found himself almost glad that he had been thwarted by his oldest two brothers.

Five years later, the youngest brother had grown his company into an empire, with store locations all around the nation. The market turned unfavorable and the middle and eldest brothers had been "wolfed" by the downturn. By the end, the youngest brother was the only one still standing, taller and happier than ever.

Image Credit: Real Adventure

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Author's Note: This story is based on the Three Goslings from the Italian Fairy Tales book written by Thomas Crane in 1885. This story is also very well known in the states as "The Three Little Pigs." Here, I gave it a modern twist by changing the pigs into three brothers, and the wolf into the volatile market. I thought instead of dying physically, as the goslings did in the story, I would have the brothers' careers die instead. In this day and age, some people would argue that that death is just as bad (although it isn't). I like that the third brother combined his passion for business and passion for adventure and opened an outdoors store; this is something I hope to do one day, too!

Reading Diary B: Italian Round 2

The second half of the Italian Popular Tales unit proved to be just as fun as the first! There were a few of the stories that I had heard before, but with a twist. For instance, The Three Goslings is the equivalent of The Three Little Pigs. A lot of the stories, however, were very new to me and in my opinion had a variety of lessons.

I found An Incident in Rome to be entertaining yet serious. It is a story where a group of men stumble upon this hole in the ground. A man descends into it to find a door and a man sitting in the room behind it. After a series of events, we find out that this man is Pontius Pilate, who is neither saved nor condemned. He is to stay and read over and over the sentence he gave to Jesus Christ. It is no light subject matter, that is for sure!

My favorite of the unit was The Feast Day. This is a story about how a cat, a dog, a maiden, and her husband all get stuck on the top of the house. They are later saved by a friend who came to visit and managed to pull them all down. The reason it was my favorite is really just because it is a story that in context means something completely different present day. They use the following expressions:

"... Where the deuce are you fastened?"
"Where the deuce have they hidden?"

I find this entertaining because a lot of college kids use similar expressions. I don't know if this is the style of story from which that slang term originated, but it added such value to the entertainment of the story. Not to mention the way that it ends:

So he gave a great pull: the cat's tail was loosened, the cat fell into the dog's mouth, the dog into his mistress' mouth, the mistress into her husband's, her husband into his friend's, and his friend into the mouth of the blockheads who are listening to me.

I just like that the author used the term "blockheads" to finish of a great story!

Image Cred: StripGenerator

Reading Diary A: Italia What, These Are Some Good Stories!

Read Italian Fairy Tales, the first half, today. It was right up there with some of my other favorite units in the class. I think I have come to the conclusion that I really enjoy the middle ages where there are kings and enchantments and the works.

The beginning of this unit had the story of Rapunzel, but not Rapunzel. It was an Italian Rapunzel whose name is The Fair Angiola. What I liked about this story is that it reminds me of the movie Tangled (happened to watch it this past weekend). But it truly does help paint the picture whenever we have something to which we can compare the imagery used in writing. I picture the old witch very similar to the old lady in Tangled!

Image Credit: YouTube

I also thought that The Ingrates had a very interesting ending to its story. In it, there is a serpent trapped under a rock, and a man helps him escape. The snake then wants to eat the man. They seek advice of those around them to see what is fair. Eventually, they ask the fox, and the fox tricks the snake back to being trapped from under the rock and frees the man. Then, the man gives the fox a gift that actually contains dog inside. The fox opens the gift and is killed by the dogs. It definitely is an ending that is bittersweet. I like it because it is different- not that prefect happy ending. But I also think it is so sad that so much injustice was done. Although it was entertaining, to say the least.

Extra Reading Diary: The Little Mermaid

I read The Little Mermaid from the Andersen Fairy Tales Unit. It was broken into six parts, but goes through the entire story of the Little Mermaid.

My first observation is just how different it is from the Disney movies. Granted, I have heard that a mall ion times- that Disney always "Disneyfies" their stories to always be a happy ending. I would say the end of this story is a sad ending, and it was sad the way the prince called her "my dumb foundling." It just kind of paints a picture of the little mermaid being pathetic and like a little puppy dog. Also, the ending is of course completely different! How she doesn't actually end up with a prince, but she floats into the air to become a "daughter of the air." Just all around different!

Another observation is how descriptive the stories really are. Especially Part 1. The way the undersea kingdom is described makes me want to visit. It is vivid detail and creatively thought up! For instance:

Outside the castle there was a beautiful garden, in which grew bright red and dark blue flowers and blossoms like flames of fire; the fruit glittered like gold, and the leaves and stems waved to and fro continually. The earth itself was the finest sand, but blue as the flame of burning sulphur. Over everything lay a peculiar blue radiance, as if it were surrounded by the air from above, through which the blue sky shone, instead of the dark depths of the sea.

I just can picture the colors and the intertwining creatures! The way that Andersen uses color to truly enhance the imagery makes me want to write the same way. Although... to be of equal stature would take quite a bit of time and some extremely favorable circumstances!

 Image Credit: Disney Blogs

Storytelling Week 13: Desserted.

"Scoot it over towards me!" Brady directed, indicating with his hands the stool that stood between him and his older sister Jamie. 

"No, I think this is right!" Jamie responded. Getting on her tippy toes and stretching her legs as far as possible, she was barely able to reach the first step on the bottom of the stool. Climbing up step after step, she had made it to the very top of the stool. Extending her hands as far as possible, they came just short of the cookie jar.

Earlier that morning, the toddlers' mom had spent a few hours making all kinds of baked goods for the party they were hosting that night. She forbid Brady and Jamie from touching them until the party, something about "spoiling" something or other. However, the kids just saw this as a challenge. They watched as she placed the last of the cookies in the tall, crystal jar and scooted it to the back of the counter. Bring it on, Brady thought. He was already devising a plan.

Mom had gone back to her room to 'work on bills', which the kids knew really meant that mommy was taking a nap. By their approximation they had around thirty minutes to retrieve the cookies. Their first attempt being to take the stool out of the pantry and see if Jamie was tall enough to reach the jar.

She wasn't.

"What are we gonna do now?" Brady asked. "That was my best idea!"

"I know! Let's see if we can get one of the stools from our bathroom and put it on top of this one!" Jamie exclaimed excitedly.

They ran to their bathroom and took one of the stools they used to see the mirror when they brushed their teeth. Lugging it behind the two of them, they came to the kitchen and pondered how they were going to get it on top of the other stool. In the same manner as the first time, Jamie climbed as high as she could on top of the first stool. Brady did his best to shove the other stool as high up as he could, managing to also climb on top of the first stool. The two of them, while balancing together, managed to lift and place the second stool on top of the first. The best news? The top of the second stool was even with the countertop!

Jamie began to climb as Brady tried to stabilize. She got about halfway up, but accidentally took a step a little too far to the left, throwing Brady off balance, and sending the two of them toppling down to the tile. The commotion was too much- and Mom came running out of her room.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?" she was breathing hard and fast. "Oh..." she said quietly as she digested the situation. Then she began to chuckle and chuckle and chuckle. "Not today, you two!" And with that remark, she swept up the cookie jar and put it in the very top cabinet- forever out of the reach of her two little cookie monsters. (Well, until that night anyway!)

Image Credit: The Cripple Gate

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Author's Note: This story is based on The Fox and the Grapes from the La Fontaine Aesop's Fables unit. The original story is short and sweet:

Rosy and ripe, and ready to box,

The grapes hang high o'er the hungry Fox. —

He pricks up his ears, and his eye he cocks.
Ripe and rosy, yet so high! —
He gazes at them with a greedy eye,
And knows he must eat and drink — or die.
When the jump proves to be beyond his power —
"Pooh!" says the Fox. "Let the pigs devour
Fruit of that sort. Those grapes are sour!"

I like this idea of having something that is so sweetly desired almost dangling in front of your face, and then realizing that it isn't going to happen. When I first read this I immediately thought of my cookie jar days, and knew immediately that it would be a fun story to write. Obviously, the cookies represent that grapes and the toddlers represent the fox. It was just out of reach for both stories! Not really a central theme or lesson, just a fun story!

Reading Diary B: La Fontaine Fables

Read the second half of Fontaine's Aesop's Fables. The second half was much like the first. It grouped the fables and broke it down by the animal involved in the story. I liked a lot of them but for some reason my favorite part was in the story The Bear and The Amateur Gardener.

"The bear, with thoughts the same,
Down from his mountain came;
And in a solitary place,
They met each other, face to face."

This is an excerpt from the story where the bear and the gardener are about to "face off" if you can call it that. At the end the bear ends up living with the man and everything is great. But at the very end a very trivial instance made the bear kill the man. It just teaches to be aware of your surroundings and intentions of your friendships.

I guess the reason why I liked it so much is that it seemed to me like a very dramatic face off between the two. Like I can just imagine the bear clambering down the mountain side and coming to a complete stop right as the man has his chest puffed out standing tall in the middle of a mouton meadow. The creatures of the forest stand in awe to see the outcome... it could be a cool movie scene, that is for sure!

If I were to imagine this scene, here is how I think it would end up:

Image Credit: io9

Reading Diary A: La Fontaine Fable

This week it is the La Fontaine Fable unit that has a hodgepodge collection of the various fables from Aesop and others. They are organized based on the animals that are in the stories, and I really enjoyed a lot of them, but will highlight them here:

The Hen With The Golden Eggs

I haven't heard this little rhyme in years, and I think it is clever, funny, and I like the message behind it. Essentially, it is about a farmer that owns a hen that produces a gold egg every day. He was foolish and decided he wanted all of the wealth it offered at once, so he cut it open. Only, he didn't find any golden eggs, of course, and now was left with a dead hen. I think this is interesting because shouldn't a farmer know how chickens and eggs and all that mumbo jumbo works? I do love the idea behind it, which is counter to the American culture of 'get rich quick.' Hard work and patience ain't all that bad!

The Horse and the Wolf

This story is essentially about two wolves being curious about the creature of a horse, for they had never seen one! So one day they went up to the horse and asked him what sort of creature he was and for his name. The horse told them they could read about who he is on the bottom of his hoof. Eventually, one of the wolves came forward to read the bottom of the hoof and the horse smacked him, causing four teeth to be knocked out! The whole reason I liked this story was that it reminded me of this trick:

"Does this cupcake smell weird to you?"
*Person #2 leans over to smell cupcake*
*Person #1 smears it all over Person #2's face"

You end up looking like this guy.

Image Credit: Karen Russel Photography

Essay: Nobility or No Ability?

I find it very interesting that in the Arthurian legends there is such high value placed on the "noblest" of all the people, or at least whoever the crowd of people designates the "best man." What is crazy to me, though, is that most of the time these people aren't even anything special at the beginning. Arthur was a foster-brother of a friend of a knight, a nobody in the kingdom. He had no special abilities, yet, as the saying goes, 'greatness was thrust upon him.' (Although not literally, because if he were literally thrust by a sword then none of these stories would even exist.) He became a great king whenever he was chosen. He became the best man of all whenever he was chosen. He became noble when he was chosen.

This quote from the end of the story The Drawing of the Sword it states:

"Then rich and poor fell on their knees before him, and Arthur took the sword and offered it upon the altar where the Archbishop stood, and the best man that was there made him Knight. After that the crown was put on his head, and he swore to his lords and commons that he would be a true King and would do them justice all the days of his life."

I think it is crazy how at the beginning of this short story he was not confident in his ability to be king, in fact he says, "'But why am I the king?'" But whenever someone is chosen, they live up to their new identity. Arthur lived up to be the king that he was now suddenly revered as.

The same for Sir Galahad in Sir Galahad and the White Knight. There was a shield that would only allow the best knight in the world to carry it:

"Sirs," said the monk, "this shield can be hung round no Knight's neck unless he be the worthiest Knight in the world, and therefore I counsel you to be well advised!"

If a knight who was not the worthiest in the world tried to use it, then ill would befall him every time. Sir Galahad did not believe he was the best knight in the world, but the shield soon made it clear that it was made for him. So he took it and used it, later becoming (arguably) the best knight in the world. He was the one who eventually succeeded in his quest for the holy grail!

These are two instances where there is distinction made between those who are the best or the most noble. I think it is very cool to see, though, that you don't have to be the obvious choice or have been raised in a certain way to be chosen for greatness! I have a theory that every person on this planet longs to change the world, longs to be a hero. Deep down, we all want to partake in greatness. These instances in literature tell us that we CAN be a part of greatness even if we have no obvious ability to do so!

Image Credit: Lisa Congdon Blog

Storytelling Week 12: I'm Banking On It

Arian was a young, attractive, and hard-working twenty-three year-old. She worked part time for J.P. Morgan as a bank teller, as well as was finishing up her Masters in Counseling from SMU. She was the most genuine and honest girl in the world. 

Her and Carter had been dating for almost three years now. They met at the bank where she worked when they were both juniors in college. He graduated with a degree in Sales and Entrepreneurship and his one-man startup business he started the week after graduation has turned into one of the most successful small businesses in Dallas.

Carter fell in love the moment he met Arian, and knew he wanted to marry her immediately. Though he could afford one from Tiffany's, her dream engagement ring was a simple gold band with a simple small diamond on it. She also absolutely loved surprises, so he knew he had to go big since her ring was so small! But surprising Arian proved to be no easy task.

He knew that popping the question at a fancy dinner wasn't really what she would want, so he took a different approach. 

His office building was right above the bank where she worked, and she would occasionally come help him out with the smaller tasks if she had some time off. One day, she went up to visit him and asked if she could help in any way before work.

"Yeah, actually, I need to put something in my safe at Chase downstairs," Carter said in a pretend stressful tone. He handed her a briefcase full of signed documents and legal papers that are integral to the operation of his business. 

Taking them downstairs, Arian realized that she didn't actually have clearance to the safe itself, even though she worked there. I'll just get my friend that does have clearance to do it later, I don't want to stress Carter out. She left the briefcase under her desk and went back to do some teller work.

Minutes later she got a call from Carter. "Hey honey, were you able to get the documents put in my safe? They are really important!" 

She didn't want to stress him out, but had to be honest, "No, sorry Carter, I don't have clearance. I'll have to get my coworkers to do it later."

"Is there any way you could ask now? I just really need to make sure this is done right away." Carter said, his plan working perfectly. By this time, he was downstairs peeking around the corner. Ready to spring into action.

Arian approached her coworker, asking if it was okay to deposit Carter's briefcase even though she doesn't have clearance. Her coworker knowing all about the plan, told her she could go ahead and deposit it herself. Carter was right behind her, and got to watch everything play out perfectly.

Arian went to his safe, about the size of a microwave, and typed in the code. It opened with a click, and sitting right in the middle was a picture of her and Carter with her dream engagement ring with a short note telling her how much Carter loved her. She began to cry and turned around to see Carter down on one knee. 

"YES!" she screamed as all of her office mates clapped and cheered!

It may not be the most romantic, but it sure surprised and was perfect for Arian!

Image Credit: Etsy

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Author's Note: This story is very loosely based on The End Of Arthur from the King Arthur unit, original story written by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H.J. Ford in 1902. In the original story, King Arthur asks Sir Bedivere to throw his sword Excalibur into the nearby lake. He doesn't want to do it, but tells the King he did. King Arthur knew he didn't and told Sir Bedivere he HAD to go throw the sword into the lake. I wanted to kind of use this same concept, where Carter asks Arian to do a task for him that takes a few times to accomplish. That's basically the only thing I kept the same, though. I wanted to write a happy story where there is a happy ending and the story is more relatable. Where, in the original story, everyone dies. 

Reading Diary B: King Arthur

Ah, the quest for the grail! The entire second half of the King Arthur unit is entirely focused on the knights' search for the Holy Grail. The stories jumper from one knight to the other and back to the first. All of the stories are interwoven and by then end you half half of an idea about what happened to half of them. It is beautiful chaos!

Basically, by the end of these stories, I have come to realize that Sir Galahad is the greatest and that Monty Python's version of this is a bit off. I can't imagine what it would have been like to live in the stone ages where jousting and swords were a normal. I would much like to see a jousting tournament, that's for sure!

One thing that surprised me from this unit was how futile the search for the grail truly was. I thought there would be more of a purpose to going, but hundreds of noble knights lost their lives from searching after an object they saw once for a few minutes. Then, once obtained, what even is the prize? The pride coming with it... but then the knight who gets it is the one who is holiest and most humble? So pride wouldn't really be too great of a prize. We see all of this from the way Sir Galahad goes!

What a crazy story that truly is a classic!

A hodgepodge of quotes from the brilliant Monty Python version of King Arthur and the search for the Holy Grail.

Image Credit: Etsy

Reading Diary A: King Arthur

"He likewise told the King many things that should befall him, and warned him always to keep the scabbard as well as the sword Excalibur, and foretold that both sword and scabbard should be stolen from him by a woman whom he most trusted." from The Passing of Merlin from the King Arthur unit.

King Arthur has been a longtime fave of mine. I read all of Arthurian legends in high school, and am happy to have this unit bring back some memories. Plus, there is a really good country song called "Guinevere" for you country music lovers out there. Of course I have to listen to it as I type this! (Listen to it Here) I had long forgotten about a lot of the specific people involved, like Sir Tor and the role that Merlin played and how he died.

The quote I included at the beginning is from when Merlin is about to leave Arthur forever in pursuit of some wicked maiden, and he tells Arthur about all of the bad things that will come of him. I thought this was interesting, and it brought to mind the phrase: "ignorance is bliss." And now I am thinking it actually might be true. I wouldn't want to hear about all of the evil that will befall me, especially if it was something like my crazy half sister coming to murder me in my sleep but stealing my magical scabbard and running away with it instead. I'm better off not knowing that!

Looking forward to the second half!

The magical sword, Excalibur.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

Extra Reading Diary: Alice In Wonderland, the Second Half

Because I enjoyed the Alice in Wonderland unit so much, I figured I would read the second half for my extra reading since I didn't get a chance at the beginning of the week!

Although I liked the first half of this reading better, I liked the second part a lot as well because it was ten times the madness! People in Wonderland seem to never make sense, and I kind of like that. One part, that I didn't like was the ending. You know how in elementary school the whole "wake up in a dream" thing is always a cop out to writing an actual ending? I felt a little bit like that about the end of this story, although I am sure that, being written in 1850, they called "dibs" on that. It was probably a novel ending back then...

I actually got a bit frustrated by the king by the end of the court session about who stole the tarts. At this point I am definitely feeling the same emotions as Alice probably is while standing in the court room. Another thing I really like is that it includes Alice's thoughts in the dialogue. For instance, the comment about jurors.

'I suppose they are the jurors.' She said this last word two or three times over to herself, being rather proud of it: for she thought, and rightly too, that very few little girls of her age knew the meaning of it at all. However, 'jury-men' would have done just as well.

I just think it's funny how it includes Alice's sentiments all throughout the context. I'm glad I was able to finish off this unit, and loved my trip down memory lane.

Image Creds:Pinterest 

Storytelling Week 11: Pigless in Wonderland

First of all, these clothes are ridiculously itchy. You would think that these people would realize that one, I'm not a baby human because I have a giant snout and fuzz all over my soft, pink body, and two, that I don't need clothes on because... I have fuzz all over my soft, pink body. The only problem is that I don't speak their language so I can't tell them any of this.

I've always lived in Wonderland, and I've never heard of any place more, that is, until this little blonde girl came from the outside. She just waltzed right into our house and struck up conversation with my caretakers. Although her audacity was surprising, I was thankful for her being there because it led to my escape.

How did I get there in the first place, you might ask? I grew up on a farm just past the Mad Hatter's house. I lived with my mom and a few other sows, along with three confused cows and a very snoody cock. We all pitched in with the work that needed to be done, and it happened to be my day to go out and collect hay for that night's dinner. I ventured a little too far that day and crossed paths with two senile old women, they presumed I was helpless and against my will took me back to their twisted cottage.

I'd been there for a full two weeks before that Alice girl showed up. As soon as she walked in, I knew it was my chance. So I screamed as loudly as possible to her for help, although she kept calling my pleas for help loud "grunts." I didn't care what she called them as long as she got me out of there eventually. Then the strangest thing happened.

BANG! The kitchen pot clanged against the back wall, and narrowly missed my right ear. I screamed even louder, but the woman holding me paid no attention. The cook kept throwing anything and everything our direction, sometimes making painful contact with an exposed hoof or belly. Finally, the woman stood up and launched me into the air towards the girl.

Alice caught me, but not without effort. I contorted my body every which way to try and get free, but nothing worked. She held tightly until I figured I should just go along with the ride. Thankfully Alice didn't stay long, and she carried me outside. Her eyesight was up to par and she was able to realize that I was, in fact, not a human baby.

"You're a pig!" she exclaimed. I grunted back.

"A pig has no place in a house like this with women of this nature," she softly said as she bent down and let me free. With a squeal of thanks, I ran off towards the farm. My family is NOT going to believe this.

Alice and the pig.

Image Creds: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Diary A: Alice in Wonderland

This week I read the first half of the Alice in Wonderland unit! I much liked it, and much liked the way it was written. It was pleasant to all be one flowy story, and led to my reading through it with little to no effort. I found it more than enjoyable! I also thought it odd that there would be random words capitalized, but then again I do not see a reason why they shouldn't be. Overall, it was VERY entertaining, and I'd like to share my favorite quotes from the reading here:

'Who are YOU?' said the Caterpillar.
This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, 'I — I hardly know, sir, just at present — at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.'

This is from the Advice From A Caterpillar Part 1 whenever Alice first crosses paths with the silly creature.  I fell in love with this quote the same way Alice fell down the rabbit-hole. I am a huge believer in the idea that change doesn't usually happen at one time. For instance, who I am one year is merely the sum of who I became every day of the previous year. This is why I like Alice's quote! She doesn't know who she is because it has already changed for the day!

I also like the quote when she was talking to the cheshire cat in Pig and Pepper Part 3, and she was asking where she should go:

'But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.
'Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: 'we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.'

I just like this because it's true! I feel like sometimes I should be in Wonderland because I am mad!

Image via Etsy

Storytelling Week 10: Cat and Mouse

It had been a while since Mama and Papa Mouse had a baby mouse around. The first two... well... they were eaten. They were eaten by IT. 

Ever since the Cat learned of its dominion over the entire house, he had made it clear that no one else was welcome. He paid no mind to the established, cosy residence of the Mouse family. He had paid no mind that they had been living there long before his grubby paws crossed the threshold. He had paid no mind to the sound of their tears after he made the first two Mouse family babies his dinner. 

Mama and Papa Mouse had enough of IT. Once they discovered they were pregnant for the third time, they were determined that this baby would survive. They concealed its birth by holding it close to their bodies when they traveled, making the baby almost undetectable to IT.

Doing this ensured that Baby Mouse grew up healthy and strong. He kept growing and growing, so much that it made it difficult to conceal him as the family traveled. One day, he lagged slightly behind and Cat spotted him! Outraged that something had slipped right under his nose, determined was he to make this Baby Mouse turn out like the last two!

Cat went to work on rigging up traps and coming up with various schemes on how to catch Baby Mouse. First, he decided to set out some cheese underneath a propped up stack of books. Whenever Baby Mouse came near, he would tug away the prop and the books would fall on top of Baby Mouse. He waited patiently for his foe to come near.

Baby Mouse was and extremely brilliant. He noticed the peculiar placement of the books and the cheese. Wanting the cheese badly, but wanting his life more, he decided to make a lasso-of-sorts and grab the cheese away from the books. Before cat knew it, the cheese had disappeared as he heard a few contented squeaks from Baby Mouse's direction. 

Cat kept making traps similar to these, and Baby Mouse kept fooling him. Until one day, when Cat came up with a foolproof plan. He decided to make a slide going straight from the Mouse residence to the drain in the bottom of the sink. Baby Mouse knew it was a trap before he stepped onto the slide, but he also had a plan.

Going down the drain he slowed himself so that the landing into the sewage system would hurt less. There, he wandered until he found a giant Mouse neighborhood! His parents had told him of its existence, and he knew it was time for them to band together and defeat IT. 

In the middle of the night they coated their paws with the remnants of a rubber cement can that had floated its way down the river of sewage. Using its adhesive properties, the band of mice climbed their way up the drain into the battlefield. Huddling up behind the coffee maker, they waited until dawn to execute their... plan.

The next morning Cat came out to remove the slide from the drain on the sink, and right when he bent down to unfasten it, the mice bombarded him. Cuts and slices from teeth all over took Cat down in an instant. Right as he was drawing his final breaths, Baby Mouse came up and told him that he knew about all of the attempts on his life. He told him family would stick together and help family, and it was time for the terror to end once and for all! Cat breathed his last as his vision of Baby Mouse blurred through his slowly closing eyes, the words swimming in his dizzy mind.

Perhaps one of the most famous cat and mouse couples around! 

Image Cred: Animated TV

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Author's Note: This story is loosely based on one from Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson in 1929. In the original story, titled The Jealous Uncle, there is an Uncle who kills his nephews for no reason. After he had killed two, his wife tried to conceal the third-born by pretending he was a girl. Eventually, the uncle found out and tried every way he could to kill the boy, but the boy was too smart. Outwitting the uncle, he eventually gave in and was put in a box to drift out to sea. The boy landed in a far away, receptive land and built up strength. He later went back and defeated his uncle for treating him and his parents so poorly. This story is kind of similar in that I have a rivalry between two characters, one on a power trip and one that is humble and seemingly unable to defeat the other. It was the first thing that came to mind for a story, and whenever you've been trying to come up with an idea for almost an hour, you go with the first thing that comes to mind!

Reading Diary A: Native American Heroes

One of the things I like about the Native American Heroes unit is that the myths and tales tell a story about something relatable or something known to me. For instance, in The Attack on the Giant Elk and the Great Eagle Part 1 and Part 2, tells a story about how the bald eagle used to be a giant man-hunting bird, but the main character of the story, Jonayaíyin, kills the mother and the father. Then he hits the baby eagles on the top of the head to stunt their growth so they could no longer attack man, this makes them the size they are today!

By far the weirdest stories in this unit were The Jealous Uncle Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. This story is about an Uncle who kills his nephews as soon as they are a few years old. His wife hated that he did this, so the next boy that was born she lied and said he was a girl. Eventually, his uncle found out and tried to kill him, but the boy always outsmarted the uncle and eventually got revenge. There was one quote from the boy that struck me:

"I can forgive him the killing of my brothers, the attempts on my life, but I will revenge his treatment of my parents."

This kind of shows his mortality, that he has a breaking point. I find the boy extremely strong to be able to forgive his wicked, prideful uncle for murdering his brothers and even trying to kill him. I think that most people would agree that it's usually worse to watch the people you love be wronged than to be wronged yourself. Everyone has at least a little selflessness in them! Great unit, I'd recommend it for sure!

 Image Credit: Southern Blogspot

Storytelling Week 9: That's a Sappy Story!

A long time ago there was a people group called the Sapitun tribe. They lived deep within the forest in the eastern part of modern-day Texas. They were large in number and even larger in pride.

The hunters of the group would go out every morning with their hand-crafted arrows and tusk-mounted spears to catch that night's meal. At the time, there was a famine in the land and food was the most precious commodity- something every warrior was reminded of when they heard the deep cries of their children as bellies would rumble incessantly. 

The most respected of the hunting group was a man called Tibaro, and he led his pack of warriors deeper than they had ever gone before into the forest. Every once in a while, they would catch a bird or a spare hare, but nothing substantial enough to feed their people.

Tibaro was in the lead, and he spotted a thicket of brush off in the distance from which smoke was rising up into the atmosphere. That's strange, there are no people for miles around here. But his curiosity led him to go inside.

Immediately upon entering his head started spinning as the thick smoke filled his lungs. After a few minutes of being paralyzed by the fumes, he heard a booming voice.

"Tibaro, you have led your people well. But this famine is strong and will not end for many more moons. I have a proposition for you," the voice offered.

"Anything to spare my people," the desperate tone showed through Tibaro's voice.

"I can make sure your people are provided for every day for the rest of their lives as long as you and your warriors agree to protect my forest every day for the rest of your lives," the booming voice got louder as it spoke.

Thinking that protecting the forest is something to which his warrior tribe was already accustomed, he agreed immediately. 

"Good. Tonight at moonlight you will see the forest change in a way you have never seen," said the voice, "there will be new fruit and places for animals to come feast."

Tibaro led his group back to their home sites, going to sleep soundly knowing that when he woke up that there would be new fruits that would have appeared.

That night, however, as soon as moonlight struck, Tibaro and all of his warriors were transformed into countless varieties of trees, sprouting fruits and berries this forest had never seen. When the women and children arose the next morning they were delighted to discover this transformation!

They looked at the biggest, thickest of the new trees and discovered a thick, amber substance that leaked from around the bark. These are the tears of Tibaro as he realized he would be protecting the forest by providing it from his branches. This is where tree sap originated.

Tibaro's tears, also known as tree sap.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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Author's Note: I wrote this story based on the Tejas Legends Unit  from the book When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends from the early 20th century. This particular story is not based on any one story from the unit, rather, I chose to follow the same style of all of the story. Each legend tells the story behind a different nature phenomenon, such as woodpecker's tails and the colors of certain flowers. I chose to use the same theme, but twist it to tell a story about where tree sap comes from!

Reading Diary A: Everything is Bigger in Tejas

Tejas Legends it is for the week! I've developed this nasty habit of skipping my first reading diary for the past few weeks, so hopefully this won't be forever. I felt obligated, and also interested, to read the Tejas legends because I am from that very state!

To give an overview, the stories (at least in the first half) give the Tejas background to all kinds of legends, such as why woodpecker's peck wood and why they have short tails. There is a story that accompanies each, so it is fun to read the creative background.

My favorite story was The Cloud That Was Lost. It is about how clouds get tired from carrying heavy rain, so they enjoy resting in the mountains at night. One cloud, though, went too far one day and had to bed down in a grassy area for the night. The flowers in the area saw that this cloud was pink and wanted its color, so they drank the cloud up that night! This is how the Phlox flower got its color!

I loved this story because I think it is just an adorable tale. I could easily see this being made into a really cute short film with a fluffy pink cloud and petite white flowers drinking it all up!

I also liked Grandmother River's Tricks. In this story, Grandmother River protects the river fish from the harmful gar fish by tricking the gar outside the edges of her banks. I liked it because it reminded me of Grandmother Willow's protection in Pocahontas!

Grandmother Willow from Pocahontas!

Image Creds: DisneyWiki

Commenting Review Week:

The commenting portion of the course is probably the one with which I have had the most trouble! I think part of it is wanting to be sensitive to the people writing. They have spent time and effort creating a story, and I don't like trying to find a way to criticize, even if it is constructive! That being said, I do truly see the value in doing so. I like when I get comments back that tell me a way I can change my writing, even if it is something as small as fixing a quote or a comma.

The biggest problem I've found with this set-up is, and this is me being 100% honest and transparent, nobody goes back and fixes the suggestions if it isn't required, myself included. For the storybook, these suggestions are helpful, because it is an evolving piece that builds on itself. But for the storytelling posts, I never went back to fix them because I didn't really need to. I get that those comments were for practicing so we could give constructive feedback for the storybook, but I think it might be worth an extra credit assignment (maybe one point a week?) to go review the comments on the storytelling posts and fix the suggestions from the other students in the class. Maybe this is my way of putting a big scarlet "A" on my forehead because I am calling myself out at the slacker student, but I am trying to be helpful. I have no incentive to fix my writing if it isn't the storybook! Phew, that feels good to get off my chest.

What I do like about this, though, is that I feel praised for the work I do get done! In my other classes, for instance, the only acknowledgement I get from my work is a grade. I get no feedback from the professor or from other students. Here, I have people telling me "good job" and "well done" at least once a week! Even though those comments are required, they make a difference. I think it is important in life to feel like the things you invest your time into (for this class it is reading/writing) are valued and noticed! This idea reminds me of another Mother Teresa quote:

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.

I think this class allows me to feel like the things I do have a place- even if it is on a smaller scale.

As far as pictures go, I was at a loss on which ones to include, so I decided to scroll through my camera roll from the weekend and put the best ones on here!

Given the snow in Norman this past weekend, I walk outside at midnight on Saturday night to discover my best guy friends barricaded our front door with a truckload of fresh pow-pow. I couldn't stop laughing- pranks are my favorite!

Image Credit: Self-photographed February 28, 2015.

 I'm on a jeep kick. This is my dream car. Two-door white Jeep Wrangler with top off, wench on the front, and manual steering. The beach is optional, but I wouldn't complain.

(Image Creds: Pursuit of Preppiness)

 My best friend sent this to me on Friday. Please, Lord, let me be like this when I'm sixty. Preferably, like the fine-lookin' lady on the left.

(Image Creds: Chronicles of a Trophy Wife)

Writing Review Week: Write or Wrong.

Bringing fresh eyes to my work really gives me a different perspective about my writing style. One of my weaknesses in writing is dialogue. I don't feel like I know how to develop dialogue really well, or when I can skimp on the formal writing rules to make it flow more easily. One of my strengths is the voice I use in writing, keeping the diction fresh and enjoyable. I'm not perfect at this, but I try!

This has definitely challenged me in both the structure of my writing, such as grammar and writing development, as well as creativity. How do you read one story and completely rewrite it to completely change the story, yet still keep it the same? Coming up with an idea on how to rewrite a story from my reading is the hardest part for me. I like when ideas come quickly- such as the avocado story, but others do not come nearly as quick- such as the story about Ody.

I think the best thing for my writing is honestly just reading more. The more I read of original works and works of other the people, the bigger sample size I have, per say. With that, I can take ideas, formats, etc. from others' writing and make it my own!

My favorite picture so far, as I'm writing this at least, is the one of Santorini, Greece. I have a hunch that this has something to do with the fact that I just looked up $120 round-trip tickets to go from Athens to Santorini (which is a Grecian island) during my trip Summer 2015. For grins and giggles, I'll include a few more of Santorini, as I am hoping to instill intense FOMO (fear of missing out) in all who read this post!

(BlogLovin')

(99TravelTips)

Amoudi Bay

(Travel + Leisure)

Reading Review Week: Remi"missing" the Best Stories!

I love how this class is structured; I really do. At times I get frustrated because it has something due every single day, but really all that does is force me to be disciplined. Everything about this class is exactly opposite from any of my other classes: the teacher actually cares; I am allowed to be creative; there is no "right" answer; I get to tailor the course to my interests; I am on my own time. It's been a very 'stretching' experience, but a very rewarding one.

Looking back to my reading diaries, I honestly just laugh out loud. It is like reading a note from a friend in 7th grade, but slightly less dramatic. I remember writing each of the posts and they took me back through the readings, highlighting my favorite parts. Nostalgia. I also noticed a trend in my writing. The first half of my posts included a favorite quote or two from the stories I read, and some of the last few posts just provided a short review of what I had read. I like when I include quotes, because it allows me to remember my favorite parts of the original text. I think from now on, I'm going to try and include my favorite quotes from the reading for my diaries.

I didn't typically use my diaries in conjunction with my storytelling posts, but I truly do think that would be helpful. It would allow me to know the individual story that I am rewriting on a more thorough level. I still stand by my loving the units that flow from story to story, though, because to me it just seems more like a book! 

Overall, I've enjoyed the class so far. It's challenged me to become a more creative writer, as well as become more tech savvy! (Which I really needed!)

My favorite pic from my readings was the one of Mother Teresa. In fact, I almost posted it again on the reading for this past week just because she was on my mind! She is a woman whose life is worth studying. One of my favorite Mother Teresa quotes is this:

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.

 Image Cred: Wikimedia Commons

Essay: Do You Believe in Magic?

When it comes to folklore and mythology, there is an important role that magic and mysterious supernatural influences plays. In my humble opinion, whenever everything in a story is completely realistic within the mythology realm, it really discredits the "myth" part of it. If everything were completely believable, it would just be a story. In The Monkey King Sun Wu Kung this is no different.

First of all, the fact that the Monkey King was born out of an egg out of a magical rock? The story's magical element is starting off strong. He becomes king and eventually goes on a journey to try and gain immortality. He becomes an understudy of a saint, eventually gaining all sorts of magical powers (such as the ability to change himself into a tree, or gaining the ability to fly or even creating hundreds of little monkeys to attack a devil).

In this particular story, I feel like magic plays an irreplaceable role. Whenever someone obtains the ability to perform magic, in this case it is Sun, her or she automatically gains in authority and leadership. People, or apes, will be in awe of your ability to do something they can't. In my opinion, this is true of anything in life- although no I do not believe in magic, for the record. Whenever you possess a talent or an ability that someone else does not, that person will automatically respect you in a new way. Typically, respect is needed in order to have authority and leadership.

Basically, what I take away from the magical element of this story, is that if I possess a talent or a skill that the person next to me does not, I have the choice to use it for good or for bad as a leader. Sun does both in this story. He uses it to protect his ape kingdom in The Devil-King but uses it as a means of entitlement in The Dragon Queen. Personally, I would rather use the gifts or abilities I have to help the people around me!

One of the ways I hope to use my talents for good is to build water wells, or at least help institute sustainable water systems in underdeveloped countries!

Image Creds: Charity Water

Storytelling Week 7: The Repercussions of Entitlement

The daughter sat under her cream-colored, lace curtain as she heard a soft knock at the door. Her princess room was a dazzling shade of magical pink that made her skin look a little softer as the paint reflected off the walls. She opened the door to her father standing there as he scooped her up and asked if he was late to the tea party.

Delighted, she hurried to prepare a tea party for her handsome 'prince,' for she did not know he was coming today! She carefully set out the plastic china that she had received for her seventh birthday, and pulled out a way-too-small chair for her father to sit on. And so the tea party was in session!


The daughter wanted to make sure that her father had the warmest reception, so she offered up her finest Earl Gray, gave him the choicest of biscuits, and gave him her favorite lace handkerchief. He seemed pleased with the honor she showed him.

                                   

Earl Grey tea in raw form.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Conversation flowed, pleasantries exchanged, and the father asked his daughter if she had any books he could read her. She happily ran to her white bookshelf and picked up her favorite picture book, proudly holding it out to her father.


Little did she know that in the time it took her to pick out the book, something had shifted in her father, as it always did. He was no longer smiling.


"Not that book."


Terror entered as the tone shifted in her father's voice; she walked back to the bookshelf and picked up a different book, desperately hoping that he would snap out of it.


"You've got to be kidding me. No one wants to read that book to you. You have the worst taste in books."


She hated when he lost patience. She never knew when she would get her 'prince charming' or her 'worst nightmare' father. She tried once more to hand him a book they had read together a thousand times.


"Whatever, I'm done with you. You aren't worth my time."


Inwardly pleading for the prince charming part of her father to come back she fought back tears, praying that if nothing else he would at least leave before it escalated.


“Wwhat do you want fwom me, Daddy?” the daughter trembled.


“Oh now you ask what I want? I want you to shut up and stop bothering me.” the father boomed.


He took one more glance around and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The daughter gasped a sigh of relief and desperation. She didn’t know what it was that he wanted, or how she was to please him; all she knew was that she was terrified and that she shouldn’t play around with her father.

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Author’s Note: This story is based off The Dragon-King story from The Chinese Fairy book ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens in 1921. In the original story, the ape king has secured his immortality and he goes to find a weapon worthy of his greatness. He goes to the dragon-king that lives nearby, and the dragon-king receives him well and shows Sun Wu Kung his best weapons. None of them satisfy Sun, and he demands better. He then finds a weapon he likes, and then demands a set of armor. This story really changed my opinion of Sun because I felt that he was extremely rude, showing up to a stranger and demanding that the stranger give him the best of the best gifts. The dragon-king did his best to satisfy, but at the end of the story he was left trembling in fear of Sun Wu. In my story, I set it up as a father and a daughter as the main characters. The daughter represents the dragon-king and receives her father (Sun) really well, but at the end he turns selfish, rude, and causes the daughter to fear his volatile actions.

Reading Diary A: The Monkey King Sun Wu Kung

The firs half of The Monkey King Sun Wu Kung was a delight! I really like the progression of this story because there is no choppiness between stories. Each story generally picks up where the last one left off.

The Monkey King is about a monkey who was born out of a magic egg that was in a magical rock under the heavens. He grew up in "unconstrained play" just like a normal ape, but quickly he was unable to hide his greatness. He became king after finding the ape community a cave they could dwell in forever. He then grows unsatisfied when he realizes that at some point he will have to die, so he goes on a journey to find immortality. Eventually, he gets trained by a saint to be great in mysterious and magical ways. Sun then returns to his ape kingdom and is greeted with favor. He then goes on other adventures, invoking fear in any who dare to challenge him.

I think one of my favorite parts of this story is at the beginning in The Great Sea whenever The Monkey King has an internal crisis over seeking truth. He is told," That you have hit upon this thought, O King, shows the desire to search for truth has awakened you!" So he goes on a journey to find truth. I think a lot of people can relate to this because there are a lot of moments where the tasks to which we have set ourselves seem futile in light of the grandeur of life! I find it very important to seek truth about the world and how it works- whatever that looks like for you!

I also like the part in Sun Wu Kung Gets His Name where, like the title says, he gets his name! I just think names are so important. Names define you in a way, makes you someone and when people call you by name it screams familiarity! So of course Sun was full of joy when he got his name! He was a Sun, not just an magic rock monkey anymore!

Hey, I found Truth! Taken in San Francisco.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Extra Reading Diary: African Stories

SO GLAD I chose the extra reading unit. I read African Stories (Lang) Unit for my extra readings this week. I've discovered that I enjoy units where stories continue from one to the next as opposed to them being individual works.

Overall, this half unit was mainly about the trickster, Jackal. It shows him being clever, being shamed, and eventually being defeated. The adventure continues with stories of his two just-as-clever sons.

Jack-attack-al.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

At the very beginning of the unit, however, there is a story from Mozambique (one of the countries I am in love with) called Motikatika. This story features a family with a mother, father, and baby son. One thing I found crazy was that the mother was caught by an ogre, and in order to get away from it, she offers the ogre her son to eat. Wait, what? You were scared of an ogre so you told it that it could eat your son? Ya CRAZY! Worst mother award. 

I also thought that for such a good trickster, the jackal had a pretty lame death in The Adventures of Jackal (end). He was with his good friend hedgehog, who had actually warned him that the sheep was a vicious, jackal-eating greyhound, but he didn't listen. So then the hedgehog ran and the jackal got eaten. Outtricked the trickster, eh greyhound? 

Pretty sweet stories, these are! I'd highly recommend them if you need a quick read. 

Week 6 Storytelling: Tar-Baby Fights Back

Author's Note: I am choosing to put this at the beginning because I think it will really help whoever is having to read this! I chose to rewrite The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story (from the Brer Rabbit unit) from the story Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings written in dialect by Joel Charles Harris in 1881. I attempted to write in similar dialect, which was an extreme challenge. In the original story, Brer Fox makes a baby out of tar and Brer Rabbit comes up and tries to talk to him. He ends up getting mad and hitting him and getting his hands stuck. My story was the same up until this point, but then I made Tar-Baby come to life and teach the rival pair of Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox a lesson by leaving them with their hands stuck together with tar at the end!

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Brer Fox was tired o Brer Rabbit playin all dose tricks on him all da time, he got 'im an idea. He know Brer Rabbit was gon be com hiss away, so Brer Fox got hisself som dat tar en made a baby.


First he crafted some dem legs en arms, en den he placed dem onto da body. He made a lil baby face en even put a hat he got from ol Sis Hen on topo da baby. He quickly placed da Tar-Baby on da sido road jussin time. Brer Fox hid in da bushes behind da Tar-Baby so he could see er'din happen.

Brer Rabbit was com down da road when he see da Tar-Baby sitting der.


"Mawnin fren! Goodun wedder today righ?" No response from de Tar-Baby. Brer Fox lay low in de bushes silent.


"I said mawnin' to yer..." Brer Rabbit sezzee. "Can you not talk er nuttin?" No response from de Tar-Baby. Brer Fox lay low still.


"Are yer deaf? Do yer need me to talk louder? I kin if yer wan'!" yelled Brer Rabbit. Tar-Baby sez nuttin. Menwill, Brer Fox still lay low.


"Are yer one o dem rich ones? Are yer too gerduh talk to simple folk like me?" sezzee him. Tar-Baby jus sat der silent. Brer Fox lay low even still.


“I’m gon lern yer a lesson, yes I am. You need ter lerna talk to ‘spectubble folk like me!” So Brer Rabbit reared back as far he cud, tryin ter lern Ter-Baby a lesson by stickin him a good un.


SLAM! An jus like dat Brer Rabbit wen an got his hand stuck right der in da Tar-Baby. He got so mad dat he slam his other fist righ in de odder side o dat Tar-Baby. Whadduyer know dat Brer Rabbit gon get his odder fist stuck too! Menwill, Brer Fox is tryin ter keep all his chuckles inside as he watch all dis happen.


Brer Rabbit had his last nerve and reared back ter smack de Tar-Baby right in der head with his own. Jus as he was bout ter do dis, Tar-Baby stood up. Brer Fox watch in ‘stonishmunt. Tar-Baby stood a whole head higher den Brer Rabbit.


Tremblin’ Brer Rabbit sez, “Tar-Baby, I’m sorry I din know yer wer listnin der whole time ter me. Why din you respond?”


“I know yer wuz gon try to hit me cuz I know bout yer temper. Dis way after yer hit me I would have yer hands all tied up!” sezzee Tar-Baby. And lo and behold he wuz right! Brer Rabbit couldn’t move his hands cuz dey were all caught up in de tar.


Jus den Brer Fox comes out of de bushes. “How did dis happen, Tar-Baby? I was tryin ter play a trick on ‘im and yer gon played one on me!” sezzee.



Den Tar-Baby grabbed Brer Fox and pulled ‘im over ter where Brer Rabbit was. Tar-Baby took bo der hands and sum of his ver own tar and put it right der in tween and ‘roun der hands. Den he wriggled loose from both Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox.


Tar-Bab walked away from bo dem and left dem standin der in middle of de road, walking han-in-han an hatin err secon of it.

Brer Rabbit and Tar-Baby

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons