Week 11 Reading Diary continued: Nursery Rhymes

This week I decided to read the Nursery Rhymes Unit from the The Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang in 1897.

Jingles - cock-a-doodle-doo, hey diddle diddle, fat pig, rub a dub bub

Love and Matrimony - jack and jill, sylvia and simon, Canterbury, pippin hill, woman who loved swine, Willy

Natural History, Part 1 - pigeon, dog buffy, grey goose, pussy-cat, cuckoos, toad, robin,

Natural History, Part 2 - ladybird, Mary's bird, black sheep, little pony,

Accumulative Stories - the house that Jack built, key of the kingdom

Relics - little miss muffet, little boys, King Sutton, selling eggs, Daffy, Rain rain go away, little tommy tucker, wind in the mill

Love and Matrimony 

Week 11 Reading Diary: Nursery Rhymes

This week I decided to read the Nursery Rhymes Unit from the The Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang in 1897.

Tales:
- Babes in the Wood - Kids got lost and died then the birds cried over them.
- There was a Crooked Man - Everything in his life was crooked
- Simple Simon - Rhymes about different people in the town
- The Lion and the Unicorn - They were fighting over the crown.
- Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son - Different people in the town.
- Three Wise Men of Gotham - Story about cows
- Chaucer's Little Hugh - Goose and the boy who bought him
- Taffy was a Welshman - He is also a stealer
- Little Jack Horner - Little boy eating a pie
- Solomon Grundy - Life and death of this man by the week

Proverbs:
- St. Swithin's Day - Raining for 30 days
- If Wishes were Horses - luck, sneezing, sunshiny shower, early to bed/early to rise

Songs, Part 1 - story of the fox, selling everything of his father's, sheep, story about Johnny, London Bridge,

Songs, part 2 - story about the crow, three blind mice, fruit when dad comes home, frog and the cat, three birds, I'll sing you a song, queen of hearts, three ships,

Riddles - tongs, wind, sunshine, walnuts, egg, star, candle

Paradoxes - kids sliding on ice, guinea pig, sailing ship, jumping Joan, tobacco

Charms and Lullabies - peter piper, bunting, dancing with daddy, rock-a-bye baby, hiccup,

Games - hunters, Jack nimble, queen ann, bat, hickory dickory dock, little piggy, blackbirds

Games

Week 10 Storytelling: What Goes Around Comes Around

"Why won't the car start?" I asked myself as I was leaving the house to head to my buddy Chase's house. The Thunder game was starting in the next ten minutes and I definitely did not want to deal with my car now.

"I'll just go on and walk. It's a nice day and he doesn't live far," I told myself and started on my way.

I briskly walked passing one house after another until I arrived at an intersection between two larger streets. I was almost to Chase's house by this point and the game was about to start. However, I noticed this older lady who was having difficulty stepping down from the curb to cross the street. I thought to myself, "I might as well help her across the street; I still have time till the game starts." I offered her my arm and she took it gladly.

Street Crossing (Pexels)

"What a nice man you are," she said to me when crossing the street. 

"Not a problem, ma'am. I figured you could cross the street on your own, but I thought you might like the company anyways," I teased. 

"What is your name, sweet young man?" she asked me. 

"My name is Tom. And what is yours?" I asked her. 

"My name is Louisa Potters, but you can call me Louisa," Louisa said.  

"Well, Tom, you look young and full of possibility. How old are you, son?" continued Louisa. 

"I am twenty-two, Louisa. I am a senior here at the University of Oklahoma. You may not answer, but may I ask how old you are? I'd say you are twenty-four tops!" I joked. 

"I'm too old for you, that's for sure!" laughed Louisa as we made it across the street safely on the other side. 

"Where are you headed, Louisa?" I asked still laughing over her last comment.

"Well.....I....uh.....over there I think. I am meeting my son for lunch somewhere around here," Louisa stood puzzled. 

The game started in five minutes and I could probably make it to Chase's house in time if I left now, but part of me knew that I needed to make sure Louisa got to where she was meant to go. 

"Do you know the name of the restaurant that you are looking for?" I asked Louisa. 

"I knew it five minutes ago, but couldn't tell it to you now. I just can't remember. I know that if I am on this block, though, that it's probably one of these restaurants," giggled Louisa. 

"How about I help you find it so I'll know that you there safe and sound?" I assured her. 

"I know you probably have something better to do than helping this old lady," Louisa teased. 

"Maybe I just want to have a pretty lady on my arm for a little while longer," I said while giving her a wink. 

We spent the next twenty or so minutes walking from restaurant to restaurant asking for her son David. The entire time she asked me about my family, my studies, and where I was heading after graduation. I told her that I had not found a job quite yet and that I was searching for a great opportunity that I could excel in as a businessman. She told me of her past and said that she looked forward to the future as well. We walked up to the last restaurant on the block and walked inside. A man jumped up from his seat and gave Louisa a great big hug. We had found the right restaurant and I introduced myself to her son, David. 

"Tom, thank you so much for helping me find my son. I am most grateful and even happier for a new friendship," said Louisa.

"You are most welcome, Louisa. I'm lucky to have met you!" I responded.

I started to turn away when I heard her yell after me.

"Tom! Would you mind giving me your contact information?" she said with a glimmer in her eye.

"Are you going to take me out on a date?" I joked as I wrote down on a piece of paper that the waitress had brought over. 

"Oh, you're too young for me!" Louisa joked as we made our final goodbyes.

I left the restaurant and finally headed to my buddy's house. I arrived in the middle of the first half and had a great rest of the night. A week or so later I received a call from David Potters, Louisa's son. At first he thanked me for helping his mother and joked about how friendly she can be with everyone she meets.  

"I met you at the restaurant and you seemed pretty personable and you went out of your way and helped my mother when you most likely had other things to do. I would like you to come in for an interview with my business company," said David. 

A couple of months later and I had finished school, graduated, and officially started my first job at David's business company. It turned out that Louisa's son was a very successful businessman who had an incredible company where any of my classmates would have loved to land as a job. Louisa dropped by one day to give me a "Happy First Day of Work" gift. This was the first time I had seen her since that afternoon I helped her cross the street. 

"Oh, it is great to see you, Louisa!" I said as I gave her a big hug.

"Us friends have to stick together, you know. You helped me so I thought I'd help you," said Louisa with a twinkle in her eye. 

From that moment, I realized that it wasn't just David meeting me for the first time and seeing my potential. Louisa had made it her goal to give back to the person who helped her. From this moment in time, we were forever friends. It's the little things in life that can make a difference in the end. 

Louisa (Pixabay)

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Author's Note: For this story I used the story, The Pecan Tree's Best Friend, from the Tejas Legends Unit. In the original story, a family of orioles, a type of bird, saw a hurricane getting closer and closer to them. With not having enough time to escape, they were frightened. The pecan tree told the orioles that they could hide in the holes in his bark to keep them safe during the storm. The orioles ended up surviving the hurricane and were grateful as they continued south after the storm. Later the father oriole noticed that a last minute winter storm was headed towards the pecan tree in the beginning of spring. The bird flew back to the tree to warn him not to bud quite yet so that he would be able to produce pecans later. He was the only tree that listened and ended up being the only tree that season to produce pecans. From that moment on orioles and pecan trees became friends forever, which is why we often see orioles in pecan trees today. In my story I decided to make it about a boy who helped an old lady cross the street and help her find her way. In return the old lady ended up helping that boy in his future by helping him find a job. It is a story about caring for others and having lifelong friends. 

Bibliography: The Pecan Tree's Best Friend. When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends. Retold by Florence Stratton in 1936.

Week 10 Reading Diary continued: Tejas Legends

This week I decided to read the Tejas Unit. This unit is composed of stories from When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends retold by Florence Stratton in 1936.

Why Hummingbird's Only Drink Dew - The heron and the hummingbird used to share a lake. They made a bet who could get to the other side first. The hummingbird was faster but couldn't last as long. The heron won and the hummingbird can now only drink out of the dew in flowers. 

The Maiden Who Loved a Star - A maiden fell in love with a youth star in the sky. Instead of letting her life be cast away, the witch turned her into a bush so that she would always be under the stars with him. He leaned down and fell from the sky and made her flowers purple in the middle of the desert. 

Old Quanah's Gift - Quanah was a warrior that got hurt in battle and could not fight anymore. He became a blanket maker and was the absolute best. People from all around came to watch him make his blankets. He worked on this one blanket for many years. He died and the people wrapped him in it because he was the one who did the most for the community. His body turned into the fire wheel flower as a gift to the people. 

How Sickness Entered the World - The messenger from the god to people was killed. They tried to make it better but the snake's mate came back mad. All of her eggs hatched and brought disease and illness. 

Why the Irises Hold Hands - The storm god loved this one indian tribe because they were smart. They, however, started not praying towards him and he became mad. He flooded them out and turned them into irises. They live in swampy areas and always look up to the skies. 

The Pecan Tree's Best Friend - The pecan tree saved the orioles from a hurricane by putting them in his bark. Later the bird noticed a winter storm coming and told the tree not to put out his buds yet. He didn't and he was the only one to bear pecans that season. This is why orioles can be found in pecan trees because they are friends. 

When the Rainbow was Torn - The rainbow never reached down to the flowers in the cacti because it was scared of the thorns. One day it didn't notice it there and the thorns reached out to catch the rainbow. The flowers took in the red and orange colors before the rainbow got loose. 

Paisano, Hater of the Rattlesnake - The bird and the snake both wanted to be the messenger for the great spirit. They both got back at each other by eating each others babies. This is why both make nests and watch where they are going. 

Maidens Who Broke the Drought - The girls wanted to sacrifice themselves to save the rest of their tribe for rain. They all jumped in bravery and the gods turned them into honeysuckle bushes so that they could live. The rain came and saved their tribe. 

The Cottonwood Remembers - The owl tried to swim in the lake but couldn't. The pigeons laughed at him and he got mad and killed one of the them. The great spirit made it to where the owl could only come out at night and only say "who" while the pigeons were never accepted by the cottonwood. 

Why the Dog's Ears Flop - The dog became a friend of the indians but always was proud. One night the wolves tricked him and stole all of the meat. The indians beat the dog and for the first time his ears flopped and hid his tail in-between his legs. This is the relationship dogs and humans have today 

Dog's Flopped Ears

Week 10 Reading Diary: Tejas Legends

This week I decided to read the Tejas Unit. This unit is composed of stories from When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends retold by Florence Stratton in 1936.

When the Storm God Rides - The storm god would fly to the towns to pick up feathers for his cloak. A group of killing indians would kill all of the birds. The storm god was angry and made a huge storm to where the birds would live on islands away from the indians from now on. This is why the Texas Gulf coast has a bunch of many islands along it.

How the North Wind Lost His Hair - The North Wind and the South Wind were often angry with each other. After a long, long winter the South Wind finally decided to fight the North. When fighting the South Wind pulled out some of the North Wind's hair. In celebration he threw out the hair, which created spanish moss on all the trees.

The Plant that Grows in Trees - Mistletoe started off growing on the ground but a bird took pity and started making it grow on trees. The seeds would stick to the limbs and forever grow. This way birds can ever be plentiful with lots of mistletoe berries.

Why the Woodpecker Pecks - The indian tribe went against the medicine man's orders and ate the magical berries. They stopped hunting, gathering, and caring for children. The children had wandered away and the medicine man took pity on them and put them in the hollow trees to save them from the sun and wolves. When the indian tribe realized that the children were gone they pleaded and he turned them into birds so that they could look for their children. This is why they continue to knock on the wood.

The Woodpecker's Stumpy Tail - A frog had told an indian tribe and the birds that a flood was coming. The indians and the woodpecker were the only ones that didn't pay attention. When the flood came he tried to get to higher trees but a fish had seen him and bit off the bottom part of his tail. That is why the bird's tail looks like its been bitten off.

Old Woolly Bird's Sacrifice - Drought had come across the land. A group of elders went out to find new land for growth. There was none and death came upon them. The spirits saw their bravery and turned them into magnolia trees instead.

The Tribe that Left Its Shoes - An indian tribe lived on this island until a volcano erupted. They were forced to leave and found another land. They left their painted shoes behind so that they could find their way back. The medicine man turned them into flowers that pointed south. The children finally were able to find their way home by the flowers.

The Cloud that was Lost - The clouds hang out during the day but in the morning and evenings become fog to rest in the clouds. The little cloud got lost and went to sleep on the ground. The flowers were tired of being white and drank up the colors of the cloud, which is why they have soft pale colors.

The Swift Blue One -There was a horse that was very majestic and the people feared it. They tried to ride it but then respected it enough to let it roam. Other horses finally joined him after escaping.

Grandmother River's Trick - The garfish were eating all the little fish. The river did a trick and raised her waters to where the gar started searching for food on land. She brought back her waters and made the gars live in the puddles making her fish safe from them.

Grandmother River's Tricks

Week 9 Storytelling: Need of Help

"Be careful on the slide, honey," said Molly.

Molly is a single mother of a beautiful daughter named Elizabeth. Elizabeth had curly blond hair and a smile as big as the sun. Today, in the gorgeous New York City, she decided to take her daughter to the park nearby their house. 

"Mom, look at me!" Elizabeth squealed while climbing up the rock wall. 

The weather had been so nasty recently with thunderstorms and hail that Molly decided to get some fresh air the second the sun peeked out. Molly sat reading a book she had just bought at the bookstore a couple of days before. 

New York City (pixabay) 

"Watch me, watch me!" yelled Elizabeth from the swing. 

The park was fairly small but there were many other kids there as well. Everyone had been so cooped up because of the weather that everyone was wanting to enjoy the sunshine. Molly sat on her bench watching Elizabeth, reading her book, and enjoying the fresh air.

"Is anyone sitting there?" asked a woman looking for a place to sit. 

"No one is sitting here. Please, sit down!" said Molly. 

Molly started a conversation with this other woman who had also taken her kids to the park to play. They talked of mutual friends, life in the city, the struggles of being a parent, and more until Molly noticed that Elizabeth wasn't calling out for her like she usually did when playing at the park. Molly searched for Elizabeth and she wasn't in sight. She had been so distracted meeting a new acquaintance that she didn't check on her daughter for quite some time. 

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth! Where are you? Can you hear me?" shouted Molly. 

As much as Molly screamed there was no answer. In panic, she asked all of the children and adults who were at the park if they had seen where she might of gone and no one really knew. 

"I think she was on the swings. It looked like she was with her dad. They left a little bit ago going towards the hot dog stand," said a little boy named James. 

Hot Dog Stand (wikipedia)

James' father, Roger, heard his son and graciously told Molly that they would help her find Elizabeth. 

Roger was a single dad who's wife had died the past year. He took his son James to the park to get him away from the television in this nice weather. Roger grabbed his son and asked if he had seen a little girl named Elizabeth while playing in the park. 

"Ma'am, I will help you find your daughter; she must not be far." reassured Roger. 

They first called 911 and told the police officers the whole story, but Molly could not wait around. Molly, Roger, and James all took off towards the hot dog stand and asked pedestrians as they walked by if anyone had seen Elizabeth. There wasn't much luck at first but a man had recognized a picture of Elizabeth and said that they had turned down the next block to the right not took long ago. 

"I am going to run ahead to see if I can catch up. Look after James and continue on this way. Give me your number so that if I find them I can give you directions. We'll find her." said Roger. 

They exchanged numbers and Roger took off running and turned onto the next block to the right. He ran and ran, searched and searched, until he saw in the distance a man holding a little blonde, curly haired girl's hand a couple of blocks ahead. He took off on a sprint and gradually caught up to Elizabeth and the man. He followed them down the street for a little while so that he could come up with a plan to safely retrieve Elizabeth while not losing the man as well. 

He called Molly and told her of the news. Roger told her of his location and a rough estimate of where they were headed. 

"Call the police back and tell them of where we are so that the man will not get away," Roger told Molly. 

Police (flickr)

After a couple of minutes when the police were in sight driving down the street, the man holding Elizabeth's hand noticed the sirens. Before trying to maneuver and go a different way, Roger grabbed Elizabeth and forced the man to let go. Roger safely held Elizabeth in his arms and told her that he was a friend of her mom's and that she was on her way. While the man was trying to run away the cops caught up to him and arrested him on the spot. Minutes later Molly and James came running down the street in search of Roger and Elizabeth. Elizabeth ran into her mother's arms being happy to see her. 

"I'm sorry!" cried Molly to Elizabeth. 

Because of the help of Roger, Elizabeth was safe and back with her mother. He didn't have to be the one to help them, but he did anyways because he knew that if it were him in that situation he would want the help. 

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Author's Note: This week I read the story, The Woman Stolen by the Killer Whales, from the book, Tales of the North American Indians, located in the Native American Marriage Tales Unit. In the original story, a woman is stolen from her husband by killer whales and taken into the ocean. She was captive there underwater. Her husband found the help of a shark to save his wife. The shark came up with a plan to save the wife and tricked the whales. The husband and wife swam to safety while the shark stayed behind to fight off the killer whales. This story is about a person giving up his or her freedom and helping people in need. It is not their job to but they do it anyways. In my story I decided to make it about a mother who lost her child at the park. A kidnapper steals the child and the mother is hopeless by herself. Roger becomes the shark in the original story and goes out of his way to help Molly, the mother, find Elizabeth, her stolen daughter. In the end they find Elizabeth making it a happy story, just like in the original story. I decided to also not hurt Roger as much as the shark probably was in the original. 

Bibliography: The Woman Stolen by the Killer Whales. Tales of the North American Indians. Stith Thompson. 1929. 

Week 9 Reading Diary continued: Native American Marriage Tales Unit

This week I decided to read the Native American Marriage Tales. I always think cultural wedding traditions are so interesting because they are way unique and have very important, symbolic aspects to them. These stories can be found in Tales of the North American Indians, by Stith Thompson (1929).

The Dog-Husband - A girl had a dog who would become a man at night. She became pregnant and the village left for her to die. The girl gave birth to four boys and one girl that were dogs. Later she found that they as well could be human and burned their dog clothes. The children grew up to be whale hunters and great men. The village heard of them and returned. They all became chiefs of the people. 

The Youth Who Joined the Deer - This hunter followed a deer but she turned into a woman. She brought him back with her to her deer people. They taught him that he must preserve all meat and bones when killing a deer. Putting all the bones in the water will revive them and bring them back to life. He taught his human family that as well but lived the rest of his life as a deer. 

The Girl and the Turkeys - A poor girl had a herd of turkeys that she took care of. There was a dance in town that she wanted to go to but was too poor to attend. The turkeys helped her and did a Cinderella type of story to her. She went to the ball and for a moment forgot all about her turkeys. They left to the mountain to spend their lives in the canyons away from the Turkey herder. 

The True Bride - She was hated by her stepmother. Good luck found her and was married to the chief. The stepmother tricked both the chief and her and got her killed. She was cared for by her dog, the four brothers, the bird, and the sun. Eventually, all was restored and the stepmother and that daughter were killed.