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

Reading Diary A: Brer Rabbit

Brer Rabbit it is this week! What a challenge! I am doing a rabbit-themed Storybook this semester so I figured it would be worth it to do one of the Brer Rabbit units, since he is going to be a character in my storybook post in a few days!

Due to a booked schedule and some unexpected events, I was only able to read the first half of the unit. I will say this was a challenge for me because of the dialect used. I ended up having to read it out loud a few times before I could understand what each character was saying.

My favorite story was a bit of a cliché for Brer Rabbit, but it is called The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story, and it is just that: wonderful. Brer Rabbit had previously played a trick on Brer Fox, so Brer Fox is in retaliation mode. He crafts a baby out of tar, and up walks Brer Rabbit. Getting frustrated at the lack of animation from the tar baby, he tried to attack it only to find out his arm got stuck in the tar! He gets even angrier until both arms and his head is caught in the tar! Meanwhile, Brer Fox is in the bushes watching all this transpire, and eventually he can't handle it and bursts out laughing.

I just liked this story because it was one of a good prank. If you know me, you know I love pranks. Granted, I have never crafted a tar baby, but the idea is the same. I love a good trick!

London version of a dapper Brer Rabbit.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons