Week 3: Reading Diary- Jewish Fairy Tales

The Giant of the Flood

I like how this version of Noah has giants, unicorns, and a phoenix. It is strange that in Jewish fairy tales unicorns are huge, some are as large as mountains. I was not expecting for this story to tell us why men act foolishly when they drink too much wine. It is also surprising that the giant served Noah's family all the way to Moses.

The Beggar King

Basically, do not teat things out of the Holy Book. King Hagag was punished by a genie for ripping out a passage that was not to his liking. I really liked that the king went to be a beggar and was truly sorry for his sins. He even originally refused to retake the crown to take care of the blind beggars. It shows that a little humility is great for leaders . However, I think it is a little strange that the genie and Hagag were able to switch back and forth without brining any attention to themselves.

The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog

I love that there is a Jewish Fairy Tale to explain why cats and dogs do not get along. I am definitely a dog person, so it does not surprise me that it is the cats fault. I felt so bad for the poor dog, not able to find another creature for a companion until it came across a human. I guess that is why dogs are a mans best friend. Yet again it is the cat that throws a fit, when the dog did not mean to break the contract. The dog is pushed to go to a new home and this leads to the never ending conflict between cats and dogs. 

The Sleep of One Hundred Years

I cannot believe he slept one hundred years. I also cannot believe that Onias did not notice anything different. I feel like a lot more should change in one hundred years than the temple being rebuilt, and I guess more changed than he originally noticed because he felt so out of place later in the story. I do not blame Onias for wanting to go back to sleep. In a world that is so different and not knowing anyone I am sure it is hard to try to fit back in. 

The King for Three Days

I do not understand why Godfrey de Bouillon wanted to get a blessing from a rabbi. It does not make any since. He is killing all the jews and wants a blessing from one? Rashi, the rabbi, gave a pretty specific prophecy. I was interested to see how the story would unfold. I was thinking that Godfrey was going to be forced out of his role of a king after three days, so I was kind of surprised when he gave up the position willingly. I thought it was kind of funny when Godfrey thought the rabbi was wrong because he had four men instead of three and then a rock fell on one of them. It was almost like in the cartoons when a giant anvil or piano lands on the character. 

The Higgledy-Piggledy Palace

I really liked this story. I felt sorry for Sarah when Abraham put her in a box, but I guess it was for good reason since when she was seen she was taken to the Pharaoh. I was a little nervous for Sarah and Abraham and was relieved when the spirit showed up to answer their prayers. I thought it was kind of funny that the spirit did not stop when the Pharaoh was done advancing on Sarah, but kept at it for the entire night until he decided to let Sarah and Abraham leave. I feel like the spirit really enjoyed it's job that day. 

The Fairy Frog

This story is really weird for me. Most of the previous stories I could align with a traditional bible story in some way and I couldn't do it with this one. I would also like to know how this frog seems to know everything. I guess it comes with the height. I think the lesson of this story is to obey the wishes of the dying, but I am not quite certain.