Week 10, Reading Diary: Cherokee Myth Units Continued

I loved the second half of the Cherokee Myth Unit (by James Mooney) just as much as the first half! I loved the rich culture, traditions and legends embedded within these stories. I can imagine a group of Cherokees sitting around a bonfire explaining these stories to their families and friends.

In the second half of the readings, I loved all of the stories that dealt with animals. In these stories, I noticed that the animals all wanted to help each other do their best (for the most part). One story I loved was called "The Owl Gets Married." In this story, a young woman thought she married a skilled hunter. Little did she know, she actually married a man that could transform into an owl! For my story this week, I think having a character that could transform into an animal would be a fun plot twist.  

The Owl

Another story I enjoyed was the "Bullfrog Lover." This particular story had many small stories within in (this was a writing format that I thought was very clever and entertaining!) All of the mini stories dealt with women falling in love/marrying a bullfrog that could transform into a human.

After reading the stories within this unit, I noticed the pattern of the importance of animals, nature and family. For my future story, I would love to emphasize animals and/or nature as the main characters. Overall, I absolutely loved reading this unit!

Week 10, Reading Diary: Cherokee Myth Units

For week 10, I decided to read the Cherokee Myth Units by James Mooney. I really enjoyed these stories because a lot of them dealt with animals and nature. In addition to the characters, the stories were also very mystical and dealt with supernatural legends.

It was really cool getting to read stories from this unit becaause I am apart of the Cherokee tribe. Reading these legendary stories made me feel more connected to my long lost ancestors.

One of my favorite stories was called How The World Was Made. I really enjoyed this story because it opened my eyes to other stories/opinions on how humans came to earth. In this story it says that there is "another world under this one." For my story this week, I want to have the setting take place in this unkown, mystical world that is found below earth.

Another story I absolutely loved was called The Moon And The Thunders. In this story, the moon, stars and sun all had personalities just like humans. It is also a famous legend that the moon is actually a ball that was thrown up into the sky during a game many many years ago.

The Moon

For my story this week, I would love to write the background story on how the moon got into the sky! If I didnt want to write about the moon, I could also talk about the thunder and how they are actually talking to eachother during a thunder storm.

Overall, I loved this unit and I am excited to read the second half later this week!

Matty's Portfolio: The Lost Princess

“No one will ever find me here,” thought Ling. “How am I going to survive in the forbidden land of China with no food or water?”

A few days earlier, the servants of Ling's evil stepmother had kidnapped her and left her in the forbidden land of China all alone. Ling was the King’s daughter and was only thirteen years old at the time.

Almost five years earlier, Ling’s birth mother passed away and her father, the King of China, suddenly remarried an “evil witch” (as the young girl described her). Ever since the two married, Ling’s stepmother, Wen, had always despised her husband's daughter.

The young, innocent girl could never figure out why her new stepmother despised her. Although she could never pinpoint the reason of her hatred, she was certain that she wasn’t making it up.

As a young girl, Ling remembered her stepmother constantly trying to hurt her. One time, her stepmother even tried to poison Ling, but accidentally poisoned her own son instead. It took a lot of effort for the princess to hold back her laughter in that specific scenario.

The worst part about the whole situation was that the King thought Ling was being a typical teenage girl and was making up these horrible stories to gain attention. She distinctly remembered him saying, “Oh, Ling… you have an imagination just like your mother did.”

As his little girl sat in the wilderness all alone, Ling wondered if her father would believe her “stories” now.

Ling in the Forbidden Forest of China

Back in the King’s castle, everyone was losing their mind trying to search for the lost princess.

“Why would Ling run away?” asked the King. “She has everything that she could ever dream of right here!”

“It is okay, honey,” said Wen calmly. “I am sure she will come around sooner or later.”

Without another word, the King sent his military to search the entire country. The troops were given orders to enter every house and to question anyone who looked suspicious. The military met as a group and decided to split up their search for the lost princess. Out of the entire Chinese military, there was only one man brave enough to search past the Great Wall of China. This man went by the name of Lyn.

Everyone in the country knew Lyn as a man who had no fear. He was a mighty warrior who was a master at sword fighting and archery. The warrior always wore his military uniform and was never caught without two swords in his hands. Needless to say, Lyn was up for any battle that came his way.

Lyn: The Warrior With No Fear

When Lyn arrived at the wall's gates, he drew his swords and crossed over to the unknown land without flinching. On his search, he saw cannibal goblins sleeping in their caves, massive dragons with fire breath and a ginormous centipede with razor blade spikes.

After searching for several hours, Lyn grew tired and took a break on a nearby tree stump. The warrior closed his eyes and began to drift off into a deep sleep. Only moments later Lyn heard a noise and jumped to his feet. Determined to kill any creature that came his way, Lyn drew his arrow and was aiming to kill.

Due to the blackness of night, Lynn could not see clearly. As he crept closer to the noise, he saw what looked like a forest dwarf. Lowering his arrow and clearing his eyes, he realized that the figure was not a dwarf… but was a little girl!

“I am the King’s loyal warrior,” yelled Lyn. “Please present yourself.”

Without saying a word, Ling appeared from behind a large willow tree.

Realizing who she was, Lynn swooped her up and took her back to the King’s castle immediately.

Upon their arrival, the King ran from the castle and swooped his little girl into his arms.

“My little princess,” exclaimed the King. “You are safe!”

With these words, Ling knew her father finally believed her stories because she never saw her stepmother again and lived happily ever after.




Author’s Note: My story idea came from the the Japanese Fairy Tale Unit that was written by Yei Theodora Ozaki. I got the idea of the “lost princess” from the story named The Story of Princess Hase. In the original story, a young girl had an evil stepmother. The stepmother tried to kill her a numerous times. At the end of the story, she sent her into the wilderness and told her father that she had run away. I got the idea of a brave warrior from the story named My Lord Bag Of Rice. I loved the idea of having a brave warrior save a young child. At the end, I wanted the picture of the little girl running into her dad's arms to reflect the way God searches after us no matter what situation we are in. To end the story, I wanted my reader's imagination to run wild. In order to do this, I did not say exactly what happened to the evil stepmother. (I wanted my reader's to have their own ending in a way!) In conclusion, I had a blast writing this story. All of the mystical creatures came from a variety of ancient Japanese fairy tales found in this unit.

Bibliography: Japanese Fairy Tales written by Yei Theodora Ozaki in 1905.

Week Nine Storytelling: The Woman And The Fox

Once upon a time there was an old widowed woman named Sue. The elderly woman lived in a small cottage in the woods all by herself. Her only son had passed away from a hunting accident when he was only five years old. 

In order to keep her occupied, Sue would take long walks around the forest every afternoon. During her walks, she would sing with the birds, swim laps in the river and gather berries and nuts to eat for her meals.

After Sue’s walk one afternoon, she turned the corner to head home and saw a small fox running from her house.

Sue's Cottage

“Hmmmm… that’s strange,” thought Sue. “I have never seen any foxes in these woods before.”

Not thinking much about it, Sue went home and fell asleep.

The next morning, she practiced her exact routine and entered the woods once again. When she returned home, the fox was asleep in her living room.

“What a cute little creature!” thought Sue. “I could use a friend in these lonesome woods.”

That night, Sue made a bed out of leaves for her new friend and went to bed.

The next morning, Sue woke up and her house looked completely different! All of the dishes were sparkling clean, the floor had been vacuumed, the toilet scrubbed, the light bulbs had been replaced and there was even fresh deer meat sitting on the table! Sue stood staring at her tiny cottage confused and in awe.

“Do you like what I did with the place?” asked a small voice from behind her. 

The Mysterious Fox

In shock, Sue slowly turned around and saw the small fox staring directly at her. Convinced she was sleep walking, the old woman gave herself a big pinch and realized it was not a dream.

“Who are you and how can you talk?” asked Sue.

“I am your son,” said the fox. “When I was killed by the hunters many years ago, a fox saved me and nurtured me back to live.”

The next moment, there was a huge bolt of light and the fox transformed into a small child. After a few seconds, the woman noticed that the little boy was wearing an old gray t-shirt, light blue jeans and a red baseball cap. Sue immediately recognized the little boy because he was wearing the exact same outfit her son had on the day he was killed in a hunting accident.

“Danny! It really is you!” screamed Sue.

“Yes, it is! I am here to protect you and promise to never go into the woods without you again, mom,” said Danny.

Bibliography: My story idea came from "The Fox-Woman" in the Native American Marriage Tale Unit by Stith Thompson. 

Author's Note: I created my story after the original version of "The Fox Woman" by Stitch Thompson. This story is a part of the traditional "Native American Marriage Tales." The original story was about a man who would leave his house to hunt everyday. When he returned, his house was always cleaned and prepared for the evening. One day, the man saw a fox enter his house. When the man looked inside his window, the fox had transformed into a beautiful woman. The man and "woman" ended up staying together for a long time. For my story, I wanted to incorporate a fox that could transform into a human. Instead of making a man the main character, I decided to use an elderly woman who needed a friend. In the end, I wanted the fox to stay with the woman so she would never be lonely again. 

Week 9 Reading Diary: Native American Marriage Tales Unit Continued

The second half of the Native American Marriage Tales Unit  by Stith Thompson was just as interesting as the first half. The stories were a little confusing for me to understand due to the extreme story lines and life lessons. This unit consisted of stories regarding humans that could transform into animals. All of the stories dealt with marriage or relationships. 

Tales of North American Indians by Stith Thompson

In the second half of my readings, there were two stories really grabbed my attention. The first story I found myself engaged in was "The Dog-Husband."  This story was unlike anything that I have ever read before. The main character in this story was a young woman. This woman had a dog that turned into a man at night. Half way through the story, the woman became pregnant and gave birth to five pups. Her parents were furious and killed the dog. In the end, the pups turned to humans and actually became "chiefs" of her village.

This story grabbed my attention because I thought it was ironic how the child pups eventually became heroes. I liked the idea of dogs being able to turn into humans. For my story this week, I would like to incorporate an animal becoming a hometown hero.

The other story that really grabbed my attention was called "The Youth Who Joined The Deer." In this story, a hunter leaves his two wives to join an "indian family." This family had the power to turn into deer. This family was especially unique because they had immortal powers. If a deer was killed, all they had to do was throw their bones into the water and they would come back to life. In the end of this story, the hunter left his human form and also became a "magical deer."

In this story, I loved the idea of being able to come back to life. For my next story, I want to incorporate a character that has the power of coming back from the dead.

Week 9 Reading: Native American Marriage Tales Unit

For my week nine reading, I decided to explore the “NativeAmerican Marriage Tales Unit" by Stith Thompson.This unit was a lot different than what I expected it to be. The stories involved humans that could transform into animals (or vise-verse), unique families and hidden morals and/or life messages.

After reading the first half of the unit, I was surprised how violent and sad the stories were. Many of the stories dealt with death or killings.

In contrast, one aspect that I loved was the idea of animals being in-control of humans. I laughed when I thought about animals bossing us around.

One story that really stuck out to me was “The Fox-Woman.” In this story, a man would leave his house to hunt everyday. When he returned, he noticed that his house was always clean and different than the way he left it. One day, he saw a fox go into his house. After peering through the window, he saw the most beautiful woman cleaning his house.

I love the idea of animals transforming into humans. I feel like this could be a really fun aspect to include in my personal story for this week.

Another story that caught my attention was “The Woman Stolen By Killer Whales.” In this story, a wife and husband were fishing and accidentally caught a whale. After killing the creature, the wife went to wash her hands off and a whale dragged her down into the deep blue ocean. In the end, sharks came to their rescue and saved the man and wife!

Killer Whale by Bill Reid

I loved the idea of a man following his wife when she was in danger. I thought it was so cool how the sharks were on the human’s side and killed the whales so that they could be safe.

For my story this week, I would love to write about a wife or husband that could turn into an animal. I think it would be fun to incorporate talking trees or the mystery of the ocean such as the stories I read. I am interested to read the second half of this unit tomorrow.

Future Readings

For weeks 9-10, I think it would be so interesting to read stories about the Mississippi/Great lakes. These stories sound so interesting to me because they deal with animals, the northern lights and “Star creatures.” I have always wanted to see the Northern Lights so I think reading stories about them would make them come to life in my head and make me feel like I was actually there! I have also been to the Great Lakes and fell in love with them. I feel like these stories could take me back to some of my favorite memories and relive my days at the beautiful lakes in Michigan!

The Great Lakes

Another unit that I found very interesting in the Native American section was the “Marriage Tales." I laughed when I read that this unit was about “animal brides and husbands.” I have never thought of animals as being married to one another. The idea of the animals living a human-life fascinates me and makes me excited! I think this unit would be so much fun to escape to.

I am very excited about the readings in weeks 9-10 because I am a Native American. I feel like these stories will help me understand my ancestors and my culture on a deeper level. It was hard narrowing down what stories I wanted to read because they all looked so good! I feel like I will read a lot of these for enjoyment and to better immerse myself in my family’s culture. I am thrilled to start the second half of the semester after we return from Spring Break!

Blog Ideas

After looking through some of my classmate’s blogs, I found myself being drawn to the simple, easy-to-read layouts! I love the sharp and organized look. I found myself enjoying backgrounds that revolved around nature or were lighter color schemes. These type of blogs made me feel relaxed and at peace while reading. One background that I loved can be found on Steve's Blog.

Another aspect I loved was white text-boxes! I noticed my eyes being drawn to these type of blogs because their stories were very easy to read for me. I saw that darker text-boxes made it harder for me to focus on the story. One blog that really grabbed my attention was Nicole's Blog. Her text-boxes and font choices were very sharp and made navigating very easy.

The last thing I found myself drawn to were stories that were broken up into smaller paragraphs. I found that I was more willing to read stories that didn’t look as “text heavy” as others. Breaking up paragraphs made stories look more organized and interesting! One great example of story formatting can be found on Ally's Blog. I loved the way she made a long story look short and captivating! 

I would love to do a better job incorporating these blog formatting techniques in my future stories to keep my readers engaged and focused!