Week 6 Storytelling: West African Folktales

It was a normal day for Karen on the morning of June 12, 2015. She woke up, took the dogs out for a walk, and was getting her day started. As the day progressed on, the weather became worse and worse. The wind was blowing and the sky was starting to turn different colors. She had seen this before since living in Oklahoma; a tornado was possible. Karen stayed by the television and listened to updates from the weather newscasts. As the weather became worse, she got ready for the worst. At around four in the afternoon, a tornado had formed south of where she lived. With southern winds, the tornado made its way further north and straight for Karen's town. With the sound of the wind blowing, the tornado siren blaring, and the dogs barking, Karen and her dogs made way to their bunker. What came next was a lot of banging, scratching, and crashing outside of her bunker down that continued to rattle. Moments later when everything was silent and still, Karen opened her door with much struggle. She opened her door to see ruin. Her house was no where to be found, except for pieces scattered throughout her street. 

Tornado (wikipedia)

Instead of breaking down, she immediately ran from house to house to check on neighbors and friends. For hours she relentlessly made sure that everyone else was okay before she even worried about herself. She was accompanied by local volunteers to help pick up the trash and give warmth to those who lost their homes. One of the volunteers, Jack, noticed her generosity and wanted to make sure she was taken care of as well. Jack, not being able to do much, called his buddy, Ron, who owned a department store to fetch Karen some blankets for the night. When Ron came to visit Karen, he himself realized that she deserved more. Ron called his wife's friend, Lorena, who owned a restaurant nearby, and asked if she could make a good care package for Karen. After hearing of Karen's generosity and making a care package, Lorena called up her friend, Harold, who worked at the news station to see if he could help out in any way. Harold, being impressed by Karen, convinced the news team to cover a story of Karen and her selfless deeds for the community during this tragedy. The news team did a cover story on Karen and put it live on the television. 

After Karen's story being aired, for days more and more people came to care for Karen and her work. The video of Karen's story became one of the most played videos of the week, which grabbed more attention. Karen was trending on Facebook and Twitter and made it far enough to the studios. One day, Sofia, who works on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, saw Karen's story and knew that Ellen would want to help. Ellen watched the video and immediately asked to bring Karen to the show. Three days later, Karen was on live television telling her story yet again, but to Ellen and the rest of the nation. Ellen was so moved by Karen's generosity and love for helping others, that she gave her $20,000 to help start up a new home. Since, Ellen knew that Karen would probably use the money to help her community, she also gave the gift of another $30,000 to the community and the people who helped clean it up. 

Ellen (wikimedia)

Karen did not mean for any of this to happen. She did what she knew was right and hoped that people would benefit from her help. It took one person to notice her generosity to get her to this point in life. The world is incredibly connected and word travels fast. Good things happen to good people, and the world likes to see it happen. 

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Author's Note: This week I decided to read the West African Folktales Unit. One of the stories in this unit is called How Mushrooms First Grew. This is the story that I decided to base my story after. In the original story, it was about these two brothers who are trying to make a living but are having very bad luck. A bird noticed their bad luck and wanted to help but ended up with bad luck itself. The silk tree felt bad for the bird and an elephant feeling bad for the silk tree. It continues with a hunter feeling bad for the elephant then a tree stump feeling bad for the hunter. Finally the white ants feel bad for the tree stump but are wise and grow mushrooms for everyone to feed from. It is a waterfall story that leads to good. In my story I wanted a main character who went through a tragedy and made it positive. I wanted to have people notice her positivity and eventually become an event where they can give back to her. I love the Ellen show because she tends to notice the people who don't mean to be noticed. She brings awareness to people of individuals who sacrifice their own time to do something for someone else more in need than themselves. 

Bibliography: How Mushrooms First Grew. West African Folktales. By William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair. 1917.

Week 6 Reading Diary: West African Folktales

This week I decided to read the West African Folktales Unit! This is from the West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair.

The Moon and Stars - When you help friends and put yourself in danger for them, they will trust you with the world. This is how he became the sun, his father the moon, and his friends the stars.

How the Tortoise Got His Shell - When life gets crazy and you can sometimes take it too far, you are left with a burden for the rest of your life. In this story, the burden is the shell on his back.

The Hunter and the Tortoise - This man loved this tortoise's song so much that he wanted it for himself. He then wanted to show off his singer, which led him to death. He wanted too much and was punished for it.

The Leopard and the Ram - The leopards were very curious of the rams and how they lived their lives. The day that the rams discovered that the leopards were spying, the leopards ran into the forest and never came back out. This is why they live in the jungle and the rams live at home in the open.

King Chameleon and the Animals - The chameleon tricked the other animals and held on to the hare. He disguised himself and sat down on the stump before anyone else. All the animals didn't accept him as king and he climbed up to the tallest tree in embarrassment.

Elephant and Wren - The spider was being selfish and wanted to save all the food to himself. He tied up the elephant to go catch a small wren instead. Both had escaped and he had nothing to bring back to his family.

The Ungrateful Man - The hunter saved all in the pit. The animals were very thankful for him and gave him gifts. The man became jealous of the man and framed him. The hunter ended up using the animal's gifts to save the prince with help from the ungrateful man's blood. The hunter was then rewarded for being trustworthy.

Why Tigers Never Attack Unless They are Provoked - The tiger was abused by his friend's friend. The friend told the tiger to never trust a man that puts him into harm.

How Mushrooms First Grew - This story is a waterfall story. One thing affects the next thing and so on. Mushrooms were created because men were trying to make money and things kept on going wrong. The white ants were the ones who officially paid their debt.

Farmer Mybrow and the Fairies - The wife did not keep her promise and caused a great mistake for her husband and their crops. They ended up suffering from her forgetfulness. 

West African Folktales 

Week 6 Reading Diary: West African Folktales

This week I decided to read the West African Folktales Unit! This is from the West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair.

How We Got The Name "Spider Tales" - This story is about a spider who wants all the stories to be named after him. In order for that to happen he is wise and smart and fulfills all of the chief's wishes. He tricks the bees to get inside the jar, the stick to wrap around a stick, and the tiger to be caught. All of the stories are named after this spider for his cunning creativity.

How Wisdom Became the Property of the Human Race - There was once a man who had all the wisdom in the world. He tried to hide it from the world when his son was wise enough to outsmart him. The father threw the pot down on the ground, which broke and then spread throughout the world. Now everyone has some wisdom.

Anansi and Nothing - There were two men, Anansi and Nothing. Anansi was poor and Nothing was rich. They both went to the next town to find wives. Anansi pretended to be rich and Nothing seemed to be poor. The wives they chose were both confused when they saw the truth. Anansi was so mad that Nothing had everything that he planned to kill him. After killing Nothing, Nothing's wife brought out stew to all the children in the town to help her mourn her husband. This is why when a kid cries and people saying that he or she is 'crying for nothing'.

Thunder and Anansi - A starving man went to a near island to find food for his starving family. After not having any luck he found the god Thunder. Thunder heard his tale and gave him a magic pot that would bring everlasting food. He was selfish and hid the pot to himself. His son found it one day and his family tried to get back at him and feed the whole village. The pot melted and Anansi was very upset. He tried to go back to Thunder, but after this he gave Anansi a stick that beat him instead. Anansi learned his lesson.

Tit for Tat - Anansi's son found where all the animals lived. Anansi was jealous that his son was becoming rich off meat. He tricked Anansi and was able to follow him to his spot. Anansi's son got back at him by pretending to be the gods and making Anansi give up all the meat. 

Why White Ants Always Harm Man's Property - The leopard, the tiger, and the spider were all tricking each other. In the end, the spider ended up tricking the leopard and the tiger the most making the family of white ants mad. This is why the ants are the ultimate pests of mankind. 

The Squirrel and the Spider - A squirrel had harvested a whole field. The spider and his family tricked the squirrel and took all the harvest. In the end a crow took all the harvest and the spider family gained nothing from thieving. 

Ants and Their Bundles - Anansi killed the king's dwarf and the king was so mad he made him carry a load. The ant was a nice fellow and held the box until Anansi would come back. He never came back and the ant was left to carry twice his weight for the rest of his life. 

Why Spiders are Always Found in Corners of Ceilings - A farmer was selfish and was going to steal all of his harvest for himself and not his family. The son saw that some of the harvest was gone and had the town come and help try to find the thief. The father got stuck in the trap and changed into a spider so they would not know that it was him. That is why spiders are generally in the corners. 

The Grinding-Stone - The spider tried to steal the stone that was providing his cousin with food. He tried to carry it and got stuck under it. This is why we often find spiders underneath rocks.

West African Folktales

Thoughts About Comments

When looking back over the comments that people have left me over the past couple of weeks, I have noticed that everyone is so helpful. I noticed a pattern with the stories that involved me changing the characters in my stories from animals to humans was greatly liked by all. I think they agree with me that writing a story about people is very relatable and can be applied to each of our lives more easily. I also noticed that on the comments on my introduction are so welcoming and nice. For those who really paid attention to my introduction and mentioned main points, I was very thankful for their encouragement. I read comments as they come in but it is nice to go back and look at all of them! There are way more now I am noticing than when they first starting coming in! I also think that I have been doing a good job with my comments. I like for the writer to know that I spent the time to read their story or blog.

Week 5 Storytelling: Who Would You Choose?

"You look beautiful!" I said to my good friend, Hannah, on the day of her wedding. Here I, Emma, was again at another friend's wedding with no prospect in sight. I always have to bring Tony, my longtime best friend, to all of these weddings because I can never find someone to bring myself since I am hopelessly single. It's the same thing every time; I do the motions of being in the wedding like being in the bridal party, meet up with him afterwards since he can't be a part of that, and then get drunk together at the reception to forget how we are both ridiculously single. For those of you wondering, no, this is not the point of the story where you all go,"Oh, it's because y'all are meant for each other!" This is definitely not the case, I promise. 

Wedding (wikimedia)

In the tradition of drinking and dancing too much at weddings, I run into this good-looking man named Samuel. Supposedly, he is one of the groom's friends from college and we dance and talk for quite a while at the reception. We talk over the next couple of days, get along pretty well, and he's going to take me out to dinner sometime next week, which I'm actually pretty nervous about! 

To make life even more hilarious, I was antique shopping today looking for a set of shelves for my bedroom when I bumped into this very attractive man that was looking for a new desk for his apartment. I learned his name was Greg and he helped me look for shelves while I helped him look for a desk. We went to lunch afterwards and talked for hours. It was an instant connection and I would very much like to see him again as well. 

Antique Shopping (wikipedia)

How is it that a week ago I had no prospects and today I have two? I'm just going to see where each relationship goes over the next week or so. For months, I was talking to both Samuel and Greg, meeting up with them for dinners, and becoming more and more confused about who I wanted to keep around. 

During this time is also when I realized that I was becoming more tired and losing my appetite. In the beginning I thought it was because I was stressing out too much and worrying about who I was going to choose, but Tony actually made me go to the doctor and I'm thankful that he did. It turns out I have leukemia. When I got back I immediately told both Samuel and Greg of one, my condition, and two, of each other. 

What I really don't deserve is for both of them to continue to care for me and want to fight to be with me. They both had fallen for me and wanted to be with me forever. They are both fantastic, wonderful, and the most amazing men in the world and how could they both want me? So here I am, stuck in this hospital for months trying to get better. 

Hospital Bed (flickr)

Samuel will drop by the hospital to visit me pretty often. He is the best and has made it his responsibility and his goal to spread awareness of my disease. He started an organization to raise money for leukemia. He spends all of his time and efforts being charitable and reaching out to people all over the city. I am so thankful to have someone that cares so much for me that he is doing everything he can to save others like me. I really do love him!

Greg also visits me quite often, but he is also a busy businessman. I asked my doctor about the medical bills today to see when they were due. He looked at me with a smile and said to me that they were already taken care of and I didn't need to worry about it. Turns out that Greg has been paying my medical bills this entire time! I am truly so thankful for him and can't imagine my life without him. I love him and all that he has done for me!

My best friend from the beginning, Tony, actually, has been the one to stay by my side throughout this whole sickness. He was the one who sent me to the doctor, sat with me in my appointment, and really hasn't left my side ever since. He leaves when he needs to but comes back as soon as possible. We often fall asleep watching movies together every night and I now realize how much he means to me. He makes me laugh and feel better when the doctor comes in with bad news, he lets me cry on his shoulder, and he is the one that understands the pain I have been going through all this time. As I look at him now sleeping in the chair next to my hospital bed, I realize that I have loved him this entire time without knowing it. I think he has realized it too because normally he would go do his own thing by now. Sometimes the hardest times in life make you think about if you have a future, what you will do with it. 

So, if the doctor comes in and tells me that I am cured and I have the rest of my life to live, who do I spend it with? Do I spend it with my long time best friend who I have been with through thick and thin? Do I spend it with the gentleman who loves me enough to change his life and spend it raising awareness about my disease? Or do I spend it with the man who took responsibility for me out of love and has made it his goal to make sure that I have a life full of life without debt? 

Who would you choose?

Crossroads (flickr)

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Author's Note: This story is inspired by the riddle of The Three Lovers in the Twenty-Two Goblins Unit. In the original story, a goblin riddles a king with a story about a beautiful girl that is being pursued by three suitors. The girl ends up dying and being cremated. The first suitor lives on her ashes and becomes a beggar just to be with her ashes. The second suitor takes her bones and dips them into the sacred Ganges River. The third suitor becomes a monk and wanders until he finds a spell book that would bring her back to life. He returns and brings the girl back to life in her full beauty. The goblin then asks the king who the girl should pick as her husband. The king, being a wise man, tells him that the first suitor who stayed with her ashes should be the one to have her for he acted as a husband would, when the other two acted as if a father or a brother would. The king guesses right and the rest of the unit continues. In my story, I decided to make it more modern with a confusing love story. Tony represents the first suitor, Samuel represents the second suitor, and Greg represents the third suitor. In the end, though, I decided to leave it as an open question for you to answer yourself, who you would choose. I also chose to write it in a way where we are in Emma's mind as the couple of months paths so we can see her own heart change in the process.

Bibliography: The Three Lovers. Twenty-Two Goblins. By Arthur W. Ryder. 1917.

Week 5 Reading Diary continued: Twenty-Two Goblins

This week I decided to read theTwenty-Two Goblins Unit by Arthur W. Ryder. I thought it was interesting to read about a bunch of riddles and to see if the King would get them all right! 

The Snake's Poison - A man died from accidentally consuming snake's poison in his food. He tried to blame all others for his death, but in reality he was the one who accidentally killed himself. The others did not know what was happening or were just trying to be charitable. 

The Girl and the Thief - A girl fell in love with a man who was being put to the stake. He both wept and laughed when seeing his fate. He was brought back to life to fulfill the rest of his life and marry the merchant's daughter.

The General's Wife - A beautiful woman had married a general and the King had fallen in love with her. The husband offered his wife to the king but the king refused saying that that was against his virtue. The king is the hero in this story because he deprived himself of having everything that many kings wouldn't have done in his place.

The Four Brothers - These four brothers all learned different skills. The first three were making the lion but not realizing what they were making. The fourth brother is the one who realized what animal it was and brought it to life. The fourth brother is the reason why they all died. 

The Old Hermit - The hermit saw that a young boy had died and he decided to take over his body and continue his life. He was sad to leave his old body but excited for the future. 

Father and Son, Daughter and Mother - The riddle of where the son married the mother and the father married the daughter was finally the riddle that stumped the King. He could not answer. Because of him being able to answer so many riddles and take up so much time, the goblin them saved his life by telling him of the monk's plans. Without the goblin, the King might have been hurt. 

Conclusion - He did as the goblin had told him and killed the monk. The goblin and everyone else was happy and the king told him that he wanted all of these stories to be heard. The king was now the god of fairies. 

God of Fairies

Week 5 Reading Diary: Twenty-Two Goblins

This week I decided to read theTwenty-Two Goblins Unit by Arthur W. Ryder. I thought it was interesting to read about a bunch of riddles and to see if the King would get them all right! 

Introduction - A monk had been giving the King fruit for many years as an offering. One day the King realized that gems were inside all of these fruits and asked the monk why he was so generous. The monk needed the King's help and here starts our story. When taking the body down from the tree like the monk had asked, a goblin is what the King had to bring back to the monk. The King is very wise and answers all of the riddles correctly

The Three Lovers - Three brothers all were in love with the same girl. When the girl unexpectedly died, the three brothers dealt with it in different ways. The first boy laid on her ashes and was with her always, living a beggar life. The second brother dipped her bones in the sacred river. And lastly, the third brother became a monk and found a spell that could bring her back to life. After bringing the girl back to life they all fought over her again. The King knew that the first brother was the one who deserved her love since he was the one who acted like a husband would.

Brave, Wise, Clever - A girl had said that she would only marry a wise man, a clever man, or a brave man. When she was kidnapped by a giant, they all helped save her. In the end she should end up with the brave man because he is the one who physically saved her, the others just helped.

The Girl, Her Husband, and Her Brother - This girl had married this man and she and her husband went and visited the house of a goddess with her brother. The husband had sacrificed himself to the goddess by cutting off his head. When the brother went inside, he himself also sacrificed himself. The girl prayed to the goddess and was allowed for both of them to come back to life. She accidentally switched the heads. She should stay with the one with her husband's head because that is the most important part of the body.

Food, Women, Cotton - Three men were trying to get out of removing a turtle from their father. The first brother impressed the king by saying that the food tasted like ashes. The second brother said that the woman spelled of goat milk. The third brother had the scar of a hair in the couch cushions. The man of cotton was the most clever because the other two could have researched before talking to the King.

The Four Scientific Suitors - The girl said she would marry the man of science. Out of all of them she should choose the warrior who does true science.

The Three Delicate Wives - This man had three wives and all of them were hurt. The first was hurt by a lotus flower, the second was burned by moon beams, and the third was bruised by just the sound. The third is the most delicate because she didn't even touch anything and she was hurt.

Brave, Wise, Clever