Reading Diary: Nigerian Folktales

Nigerian Folk Stories

Of the Pretty Stranger Who Killed the King

This sounds exactly like one of the laos folklore stories that I read last week! There is a king that everyone hates so they get a witch to kill him. She turns into a beautiful woman so the king will want to marry her and then she kills him in his sleep. No one suspects the beautiful woman. One thing that is different in this story is that the city gets invaded afterwards and because their leader is dead they lose. 

Why the Fish Lives in the Water

Poor leopard! Betrayed by his best friend! I think that it is interesting that when there is a problem in these stories, they report it to the king. I guess that is part of the culture here. I would like to know how the fish got to move around on the land. Did it used to have legs?  

Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky

I liked this story because it was different from the others so far. No one did anything bad and was punished for what they did. The sun and moon are in the sky because there is no room for them in the place they built the water. They were just trying to be good friends!

The Thunder and the Lightening

I never thought of thunder and lightening being a mom and her son. I think it is pretty creative that when lightening burns something the mom (thunder) get on to him very loudly. Now that I have heard that story I can relate it to reality. I might think of this instead of God bowling in heaven as the cause of the thunder and lightening. 

Why Dead People are Buried

Do people in Nigeria not like dogs? Apparently because of this story dogs are disliked and not trusted as messengers. It is a shame that the dog got so carried away with the bone that it forgot to tell the people the true message of the creator. I also wonder if this creator is the God of the christians or if it is a different deity altogether.

How the Tortoise overcame the Elephant and Hippo

I am starting to see, in Nigerian folktales, the tortoise seems to be the most cunning creature. Their fox character if you will. I am kind of disappointed that no one discovered how the Tortoise outsmarted the Hippo and the Elephant. I guess if you are cunning enough, you can fool just about anyone and everyone.

Typing Game Tech Tip

My favorite typing game is Type for Your Life. In this game you type to get your little guy to the next level so he does not fall. I will not lie, when it gets to space I start freaking out a little. I noticed I liked the games that you typed full words or sentences better than I liked the ones that just had you type a couple letters at a time. I think great typing ability is almost a required skill in today's high tech world. Therefore, this is definitely an area that I could always strive to improve.

YouTube Tech Tip

Kid Snippets: "Math Class" (Imagined by Kids)

Storytelling Week 6: That One Woman

Lights, Camera, Action by Kreative Essence Motion Pictures via Wikimedia Commons

"Welcome everyone to your favorite TV show That One Woman!"

"I am your host Dale Sky and today we follow our One Woman, Martha, where she finally picks a man. You see folks for the past eight weeks Martha has been getting to know these seven guys. All of them are super hot, wealthy, and sweet, but they do not know about the other guys! They all think that Martha is in love with them. Last week, Martha did not get only one but seven proposals! Isn't that something?? Without knowing about the other men they all proposed in the same week. We ended the show with Martha telling each man that she will marry them if they build her a rocking chair to rock their future children to sleep."

"Let's see what is happening now!"

(goes to camera with one of the men going to the department store)

"I am so excited for me and Martha to get married!" said Brody " I will build her an extravagant chair and whittle little farm animals into it so that our children, boy or girl, can be rocked to sleep in her beautiful arms!" He checked his pockets and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper that read "shopping list" and attempted to straighten it out. "Okay first on the list is: wood!" Brody went over to the wood to a strange sight. There were six men all fighting over the last piece of wood. Brody rushed over to calm the fight, "Woah guys break it up! What's all this about?" One guy looked like he was about to cry and says, "I proposed to my girlfriend and she said she would marry me if I built her a rocking chair, but there is one piece of wood and everyone else seems to think they need it more than I do." Brody, looking like he was just slapped in the face, replies "I am in a very similar situation my friend." Then one after another all the other guys in the group say that they are also doing the same thing. Then Brody asks the question they are all dying to know the answer to, "Is your girlfriend Martha?" Slowly every single man nods his head yes.

(commercial break)

"You know what?" says Brody, "This is not okay. Not okay at all. She should not be allowed to treat us like this!"  The first man that spoke no longer looked sad, he looked very, very mad. He responds to Brody with a crazy look in his eyes, "I say we give her a taste of her own medicine. Make her pay for what she has put us through." A lot of the other men give a rugged yell in agreement.

So they created a plan to make her feel the same pain they did. Or so they thought. Martha was in the security room watching this whole scene unfold on the security tapes.

Brody went up to Martha and says "Hey babe!" with a hug and a smile hoping that Martha wouldn't suspect a thing. He then grabs her and puts her in a choke hold. Martha screams "What are you doing Brody!?" Then all the other men come out and circle around them. One man brings out a chair and Brody sets Martha down in it. "So you found out my secret."says Martha, bowing her head in shame. Brody, clearly the leader of the group, approaches Martha. "What you did to us was vile Martha. So we need an answer. Which one of us will it be?" asks Brody with a steel voice. Martha replies, "Can I talk to you guys separately? I feel like I owe each of you an explanation."  So they each went in to see Martha and she told each of them "You are the one I really love. The others were mean to me so I didn't know how to tell them no. Can you please defend me so we can run off together and get married?" Each of them said that they would.

After they all talked Martha said goodbye and ran home. The men, not knowing they were being deceived again, broke out in a huge fight. This ended badly putting each of them into the hospital. Only later did they discover that Martha had tricked them yet again. Meanwhile, Martha moved to a different city and laughed to herself on how easy it is to manipulate men.

(goes back to Dale Sky)

"Well that was a very unexpected turn! I would hate to be on the other side of that! Martha really had no mercy for those men. Tune in next week to meet our new One Woman Betty. Goodnight everybody!"

Author's Note: This story is based off of The One Woman from the Folktales of Laos. I kept the same idea of the story of the woman outsmarting the man but made my own version of it. Unfortunately I was not able to finish out the original storyline and have the woman kill off the men and then trick another man into burying all of them for her and him killing another man in all of the confusion.

Bibliography: "The One Woman" from "Laos Folk-lore" by Katherine Neville Fleeson (1899).

Essay for Week 6: Polly Want a Cracker?

Ara Macao via Wikimedia Commons

The Laos Unit was a pretty good read this week. I love all the separate stories. They were really all so different from one another. One was explaining why there were huge rocks in a plain, another explained why there was a man in the moon, and yet another explained why parrots only repeat what people say and do not say what is on their minds. I think that the diversity of stories of this unit is why I liked it so much. Every story was just so different. My favorite story was most definitely The Fortunes of a Lazy Beggar. Starting off this story I was not sure if it would be one I would like. Then I was able to relate to the beggar with his laziness. His is of course more extreme than my own, however, I definitely have those days where I would be perfectly content to stay in bed and do nothing all day. I could not believe that the chow's daughter ended up marrying him, but I was really impressed when he started working. I could not believe how vain the daughter was. She did not like the man until he looked great. Then she was fine with everything. Looks are not everything. With time they fade. When that is gone, what kind of a marriage will you have? My least favorite story of this unit was by far The Fortunes of Ai Powlo. That kid was creepy. I can not believe that anyone could be that evil to your own parents. To make your parents believe that their other half is dead is just wrong. Ai did many terrible things to a lot of people. I also thought it was creepy weird that when he died his skull would laugh and mock. As you can tell, I am not an Ai Powlo fan.

Reading Diary Week 6: Laos

Laos Unit

Enchanted Mountain

I really enjoyed this little story. The imagery is amazing and it seems truly beautiful. I like that you have to stumble upon this place and that you cannot find it if you search for it. However, what I really love about this story is the ending. I love that it says that the grown ups have to see to believe, but the children do not have to. They believe in the beautiful place on the mountain without ever seeing it. 

The Mountain Spirits and Stone Mortars

I really like that this story is to explain why there are huge random rocks in the Plain of Jars in Laos. I think the people in this story were pretty smart. I have read other stories where the offend the sprits or gods and it does not turn out well for them. It was a lot better to just pay the dues the spirits wanted and to not use the mortars than if they had offended the spirits. I would not like to experience that kind of wrath and I guess they did not either.

Why the Elephant's Lip Droops

I have to say, based off this story, I am terribly happy that the elephant's lip droops. Originally I thought this was going to be kind of like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, however, it took some twists I was not expecting. I was not expecting the girls finding the garden to be a positive thing. Their curiosity saved them which is something I am not used to seeing in these stories. I think it is interesting that the cannibal woman cursed the elephants lips to look like garments. Does she have special powers? Also, what happens after she cursed the elephant? Do the girls escape? Or does the cannibal woman get them?

Parrot and Minor Bird

I feel so bad for the saos bird. It only spoke the truth and was later punished for all eternity because of it. It is so sad that they could corrupt the bird and make the saos bird feel an obligation to warn the parrot and the minor bird. Because of man, the parrot and minor bird now feel like they have to repeat what we teach them and nothing else in order to protect themselves.

One Woman

I love the quote at the beginning of the story. I am sad to say that I do know a few girls who are pretty crafty and might give Chum Paw a run for her money. I do not quite understand why she would not just pick a guy to be with. I also despise girls that play boys.  It is not a good thing to do. I do not know anyone that fooled seven guys at once though. That had to be difficult. I hate that not only did she kill those men, but she had the neighbor kill another man who had nothing to do with the story. The neighbor thought that the woman's husband kept coming back to life so he buried and burned the bodies of her suitors. Then a poor charcoal man was killed because the neighbor thought it was Chum Paw's husband. Meanwhile, Chum Paw is living in her newfound riches.

The Boys Who Were Not Appreciated

These poor boys! I would gladly take them in! I am so glad they found that magic grass not only to cure them but to cure the chow's daughter. This made the older brother able to marry the daughter and for them to live richly. I am really proud that the boys were generous with what they had gained and wanted to share it with their parents even though they were abandoned as children. It's good for the parents that the widow had them cut into the wood to find their gold. Only when they were given riches did those parents learn to appreciate their children.

The Fortunes of a Lazy Beggar

This was a really good story. I have to say sometimes I have my lazy days. My brothers like to accuse me of being one of the laziest people they know, but they are full of it and are just being annoying brothers. Anyway, the laziness of that beggar was flat out ridiculous. I could not believe that he ended up marrying the chow's daughter. It was a good thing for him though because for the first time he started working. His wife and father in law did not love him though until he became a beautiful man. How vain is that? I really love the point that he makes that he is just as lazy as he was before. However, when you are rich and do not work you are not treated the same as you are if you are poor and do not work.

Storytelling for Week 5: The Bus

There once was a man, a very rich man. His name was Mark and he had everything. Literally. He owned the best house in the state, a job everyone wanted, and so much money he would not have to work for thirty years and still live extravagantly. However, the thing he kept closest to his heart was his beautiful wife, Mary. Mary was the most beautiful woman in the world. Her eyes reflected her own soul. They were pure, trusting and happy. Her hair was black as night and her skin was as fair as a porcelain doll. Until one day she disappeared. 

Mark was completely distraught. He could not believe that she was gone. He went into his house and refused to come out. After a full week his best friend, Michael, went to talk to him. He said that instead of moping around his house he should man up and go out and look for his wife. So that was what Mark did. He sold everything he had and gave away all of his money and went to search for his wife. 

A homeless man sleeping in a parking lot by Franco Folini via Wikimedia Commons

A year later Mark was no closer to finding his wife. He found himself in a busy town and resorted to begging on the street. One day a nice woman came and gave him a sandwich and he went to cross the main street to go sit at his favorite bench to eat his dinner.

Meanwhile, there was a bus that was going to a museum down the street. There was a passenger that was crazed and drunk. With an insane look in his eyes he went to the bus driver with a gun in hand and told him to drive and not stop unless he told him to. So the bus driver with not only his life but everyone's life in that bus in mind, did as he was told. As he was speeding down main street the driver noticed a man that did not look either way as he was crossing the street. He was too involved in eating his sandwich. The driver tried to avoid the man, but it was too late. The bus hit Mark and killed him. 

Later in court, they tried to determine who exactly was responsible for the death of Mark. Was it the crazy man on the bus? Was it the bus driver? Or was it the lady who gave Mark the sandwich? After much deliberation, the jury decided that it was Mark's fault. He lacked to look both ways before crossing the street. However, they did all agree that the crazy man on the bus deserved punishment, but not for murder. 

Author's Note: This story is based off of The Snake's Poison riddle from the Twenty-Two Goblins unit. I really liked this story and I liked the answer to the riddle. In the riddle a man dies because he ate food that had snake's poison in it. The question was who killed the man? The lady who gave him the food? The eagle that was killing the snake? Or the snake who, while dying, got some of it's venom into the man's food? The answer was the man himself because he was not paying attention. So I stayed pretty close to the original storyline. 

Bibliography: "The Snake's Poison" from the "Twenty-Two Goblins" translated by Arthur W. Ryder (1917)

Essay for Week 5: How About a Riddle?

Kobold by JNL via Wikimedia Commons

I absolutely loved the Twenty-Two Goblins unit! It was a really great read! I like to try to solve puzzles and this was a lot of different riddles I had never heard before. One of my favorite things throughout this unit was the similes and metaphors. In the Introduction there is great metaphor, "A brave man's heart is harder than a diamond, and nothing makes it tremble." I thought that was beautiful writing. It is saying that nothing can frighten a brave man. One of my favorite stories in this unit was The Snake's Venom. I really liked the king's answer to the goblins riddle. There really was no one to blame for the Brahman's murder than the Brahman himself. The women was just trying to feed him, the hawk was just doing it's job, and the snake was dying and had no control of his actions.  The Brahman was not paying attention to what he was eating so he truly could not blame anyone for his untimely death than himself. One thing I did not like about this unit is we never figure out what exactly happened to the Brahman's wife. She just disappears and you never hear about her again. My guess is that she did end up dying. My least favorite story from this unit would probably be The Old Hermit. I do not like that the hermit took the body of the dead boy that everyone loved. I thought that was really inconsiderate to the family that was in mourning because he basically said "hey I am alive, now I have got to go." I mean if that was one of my family members I would be in complete shock and at first not believe what I was seeing. Then I would probably start crying and hug him and never let him go. Him taking that body also sounds very invasive and selfish. He only took that body so he could be young again and continue learning magic. He should have just let nature take its course and when God was ready for him, He would take him away.

Reading Diary Week 5 - Twenty-Two Goblins

Twenty-two Goblins

Introduction

I wonder why there are gems inside of the fruit the monk gives the king? I liked that the monk's name is Patience. I definitely feel like there is some significant meaning with that name. I was really confused when the goblin was in the dead body. Originally I did not realize that there was a dead body. I just assumed that what the king thought was a dead body was actually a goblin. Nope. I was definitely wrong. The goblin was just inside of the dead body. 

Three Lovers

I definitely would have not guessed the correct answer for this riddle. First of all, I think what all the brothers did after Coral's death was weird. Making a hut on her ashes and begging for food is obsessive and scary. Dipping her bones in a river is also a bit strange. Honestly becoming a monk was not too bad, but seemed a little extreme. When the monk brought her to life, I was a little confused. I thought monks were like nuns and could not marry. So I didn't think that marrying Coral would be an option for him when she came back to life. I was kind of shocked to hear that the answer to the riddle was the brother that built a hut on her ashes. Like I said before, I think that is scary obsessive. However, I couldn't have come up with a better answer.

Brave, Wise, Clever

I think it is interesting that yet again there are three lovers fighting over the love of one girl. I thought the kings response to the riddle was very interesting and I agreed with it. In this story, the Brave man deserves the girl because the other two only assisted in helping the Brave man save her. 

Three Delicate Wives

This goblin really likes to do things in threes. Is delicacy a trait of beauty in this culture? If so then these women must be gorgeous. I am actually pretty proud of myself because I answered this riddle before I read it! The most delicate wife is the one that got bruises from a sound because she was not touched by anything and still got hurt. Both of the other wives were still delicate but they were at least touched by something to give them their injury.

Snake's Poison

I am kind of sad that we never find out what happened to his wife. I think it is interesting that the answer to the riddle is that the man himself is to blame for his death. However, I guess that makes sense. You can't blame the snake because it was dying and had no control. Cannot blame the hawk because it was just doing what it is supposed to do. You most certainly cannot blame the sweet lady that gave the man the food to begin with. There was no malice toward the man in any of their hearts.

The General's Wife

This story briefly reminded me of the story of David and Bathsheba from the Bible. David was also attracted to the wife of his general. However, he did take advantage of Bathsheba. The king in this story would rather die than not be virtuous. I also agree that the king deserved Passion more than the general. The general was just willing to hand over his wife to the king. Obviously he did not care for his wife very much. 

Conclusion

First of all I completely respect the king for going back to get the goblin every time he ran off. That is real dedication. I am also kind of surprised that the monk was evil the whole time. I am glad that the goblin respected the king after all of those riddles and told him the monks plans. I also thought it was weird that what the king wanted was for the whole world to know the riddles the goblin shared with him.  

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Essay for Week 4: A Rich Voyage

Sinbad by Rene Bull (1898) via Wiki Commons

This week I was only able to read half of the Sinbad Unit. I really liked what I was able to read though! I did something different this week and actually listened to the story from Librivox and read along in another tab. I thought it was a really nice change and it really helped me stay focused on the reading. However, there is a difference in the story from the untextbook and what they were reading. The Librivox recording had extra about a guy named Hinbad that was hearing these stories from Sinbad itself. I personally liked that little extra part of the story and think it would be cool to add that to the untextbook. My favorite story was the Fifth Voyage. I thought it was pretty funny when Sinbad was attacked by the old man that turned out to be the "old man in the sea." However, I felt kind of bad for the mommy and daddy roc and definitely understood why they destroyed the ship. I probably would have done the same in their situation. I also did not know what a roc was, that might be a helpful thing to put in the notes. Apparently it is an enormous bird of prey that is in different cultures myths. If I had to choose a least favorite story this unit it would be the Seventh and Last Voyage. I really did not like that he killed an elephant and just buried it afterward. Elephants are huge and if you are going to kill them I feel like you should be using every single part of them, otherwise it is a waste. This unit met my expectations by being about Sinbad and his crazy adventures he went through, but I did not realize that Sinbad became extremely wealthy from all of these life threatening voyages. That might explain why he kept going on voyages even though he had terrible luck with shipwrecks.

Storytelling for Week 4: The Katherine

This has been the worst vacation of my life.

I started planning this trip like a year ago. A cruise with dream destinations and once in a lifetime excursions. I arrived at the dock and the sight nearly took my breath away. There she was, The Katherine. I had never seen a more majestic ship! She truly had no equal seen by man. I reached my room and soon after we departed on our journey.

Kalamitsi Beach in Greece by Ggia via wiki commons

We spent all afternoon at sea. I played mini golf, watched them make an ice sculpture, and ate half of the all you can eat buffet. Just as I was eating what seemed to be my forty-second chocolate chip cookie, the captain announced, "Good afternoon we are now entering the legendary bermuda triangle!" I run up to the top deck to look around and take a selfie so I can post about it on my blog when I return. After I take my selfie, I look around and enjoy the view. It is amazing how all you can see on every side! I can definitely understand why people used to think the world was flat. Right after I finish that thought, I suddenly see an island close by. I swear that it wasn't there five minutes ago.  The closer we get to the island, the slower the boat becomes. By the time we are within one hundred yards of the island our boat comes to a complete halt. The captain comes on the speaker again, "Hey folks, we are having a few issues, but we are going to fix it. In the mean time, we are going to lower the life boats and have you guys over on the island and we will get you when we are done! I am so sorry for the inconvenience, but you get more beach time this way!"

I change back into my swimsuit really quick and get on a boat. This water is beautiful. It must be fifty feet deep and yet I could probably count the pebbles on the ocean floor. The sand on the beach was white as snow. There is a hiking trail close to the beach so I decide that I would go look around the island. After I had been walking for about thirty minutes I hear a banging noise. There are a bunch of kids hitting this rock. It made this ringing sound, almost like a bell. Suddenly, the rock broke. There was a dead bird inside. The wind picked up and the sky darkened. One of the young girls screams and points at the sky. Above me there were two enormous birds the size of small house that could only be this dead bird’s parents. We all beeline it back to the shore and yell at everyone to get on the boats and head back to the cruise ship. We can hear the birds cries as we get on the ship. The ship starts to move but the birds have already reached us. They are each carrying rocks the size of a car. One throws theirs at us and it misses the ship by inches. The other, however, had better aim and hit the ship in the side. The Katherine was going down and going down fast. We all run back to the lifeboats and manage to return to the island unscathed. So now we are all stranded on an island in the middle of no where, hiding so that the birds will not find us.

Needless to say, I will definitely be asking for a refund when we get rescued.

Authors note: My story is based off the Fifth Voyage of the Sinbad Unit. In this story Sinbad goes on another voyage and land on an unknown island. The merchants he was traveling with decided to destroy a roc's (huge bird) egg and eat the baby bird. The parents of the bird get really mad and throw rocks at the ship and destroy it leaving the ship completely wrecked and abandoning them on the island. As you can see, I pretty much stayed with the plot of the original story. I just put the story in my own terms by making the ship a cruise ship.

Bibliography: "The Fifth Voyage" from "The Arabian Nights' Entertainment" by Andrew Lang (1898) Web source: Untextbook

Week 4: Reading Diary- Sinbad

Sinbad Unit

Fifth Voyage 

I am really enjoying Sinbad's adventures this far! However, I do not really know what a roc is. I am assuming it is some type of huge bird. When the rocs threw the blocks of stone, I immediately thought of the huge fight scene in the Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe (movie). During the fight scene there are these griffons that throw things at the opposing side so I imagined that part to be a lot like that movie. I also love that they are smart enough to make the monkey's do all of the hard work. As the story says there would have been no way for them to actually get the coconuts if they did not get the monkeys to help. 

Sixth Voyage

Sinbad must really love to go on his voyages. I mean he just keeps getting shipwrecked and still keeps going out there every time! That is called dedication and having a passion for something. Also guess what? He did end up in another ship wreck. I love the little pep talk the captain gives to everyone. "we may as well begin to dig your graves at once." I think it is really cool that the king of the island was so impressed with Sinbad's stories that they were written in gold and put in the king's archive. I am however confused as to why it is so important that the Prince is really as rich as he claimed. Especially because after Sinbad tells the king he talks about how wise the Prince is and not about his riches.

Seventh Voyage

It sounded like the journey there was pretty smooth and on the way back it got a little rough. When Sinbad kills the elephant it kind of made me mad that they just built a trench to bury the elephant with. They are such huge and magnificent creatures! Just burying the elephant seemed very wasteful. I became much happier when Sinbad created the idea to use the tusks that are already in the elephant's burying ground. This way it will save more elephants from being killed. I like that Hinbad agrees that Sinbad has suffered and he spends his money well, so therefore he truly deserves what he has. I agree with that statement because if you are not going to use your money responsibly than it could be gone in the blink of an eye. Seeing that Sinbad has taken care of it for so long must mean that he deserves it. 

Essay for Week 3: Not Your Average Bible Story

Cat Meets Dog (1865) authored by Laura Valentine published by Scibner, Welford and Co. via Wikimedia Commons

I really liked the Jewish Fairy Tales Unit. One of my favorite stories this unit was The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog. I was surprised that this story existed because up to this point every fairy tale in the unit was loosely based on traditional bible stories or linked to a story in some way. I am very much a dog person. Actually, I hate cats. So I was not surprised when the cat was the one to ruin the relationship between the two best friends. Another of my favorite stories this unit was The Higgledy-Piggledy Palace. First things first, I love the title of this story. It is so goofy and you know that something crazy is going to happen. I could just imagine the confusion on the pharaoh's face as something that he cannot see is beating him for trying to touch Sarah. The poor pharaoh must have been thinking that he was losing his mind! One of my least favorite stories was the The Fairy Frog. I just could not really get into this story. I don't think that I could spend all my money on a box with a frog in it. Even if it was my parents dying wish. I also don't understand how they kept feeding it and spent all of their money on the frog when they were starving. Honestly, I probably would have cooked me up a giant frog's legs. Things only got weirder when the giant frog started talking and giving the people all of these weird gifts and abilities for taking care of it. One thing that surprised me in this unit was the unicorns. When I think of unicorns I think of something about the size of a horse with a horn on its head and is usually white as snow. In the Jewish Fairy Tales, the unicorns were huge. In one story they were as large as a mountain. Definitely not the typical unicorn you read about and see in movies.

Storytelling for Week 3: Best Work Day of the Century

Dear Diary,

Today was one of the best days I have had at work in a really long time!

This morning I was running so late I had to skip breakfast. I flew to work as fast as I could and made it right on time! I get to my office and the big boss was waiting for me. I mumbled a quick excuse as to why I wasn't there sooner and he brushed it off like he had bigger issues than my rushed arrival. God said, "I have an important job for you on earth Gabe." I almost literally started jumping up and down. It had been so long since I had gotten a field job! I kept my cool though, I didn't want God to think I wasn't capable for the job. Straightening up I ask, "What would you like from me sir?" God looked at me and with a sad smile said, "Sarah and Abraham have been taken to the pharaoh. He would like to make Sarah his queen. We cannot let this happen. We must not forsake them. Do whatever it takes to make the pharaoh release Sarah and Abraham." He turns toward the door and pauses, "Good luck Gabe. I believe in you!" then he exits without another word. I am not going to lie. After God left I did a little victory dance in the office.

I packed up everything I would need for the journey as fast as I could. As an after thought, I decided to bring with me my staff. I do not know why, but it felt right. I then stretch my wings. Safety first right? How awful would it be to pull a muscle when flying down to earth? I go to the launch pad and make it to earth in record time.

Once I get there I see Sarah. She is so brave as she stands up to the pharaoh and attempts to keep him away from her. I make myself so that only Sarah can see me so that I might bring her a bit of comfort. She looks at me in shock so the pharaoh turned around and saw nothing. He attempts to touch her and I did the first thing that came to my mind. I grabbed my staff and hit him with it. The pharaoh's face was priceless. He came back to his senses and tried to touch Sarah again. So I hit him again. For a third time the pharaoh attempted to touch Sarah and this time I just put my staff on his arm. He could not move it! The look of terror on his face as he asked Sarah to go was fantastic. However, the pharaoh still had Sarah and Abraham in his home. I recalled that my orders were to make sure that both Sarah and Abraham were released and that has yet to happen. I decided I would just keep bothering the pharaoh. I made him trip on things, run into walls, I even hit him a few more times until finally the pharaoh decided that he was sick because of Sarah and Abraham and had them leave. After making sure Sarah and Abraham made it out okay and were safe on their journey, I flew back home just in time for dinner.

I would love to have more jobs like that one. Definitely the highlight of the century so far!

-Gabe

Angel by Michelangelo from Wikimedia Commons 

Author's Note: My story is based off of the Jewish Fairy Tale The Higgledy-Piggledy Palace. In this story Abraham puts his wife, Sarah, into a box because she is so beautiful. He was afraid of the attention she brought to them. She was found by some egyptians who brought her to the pharaoh for her beauty. The pharaoh was so taken by her that he offered to make her his queen. Meanwhile, Abraham posed as Sarah's brother in fear of the pharaoh killing him. The pharaoh makes advances toward Sarah and then is beaten by this invisible figure until he releases Sarah and Abraham. I decided to write my story from the invisible figure's point of view because I felt like if I had that job I would be having so much fun teaching that jerk a lesson or two.

Bibliography: "The Higgledy-Piggledy Palace" from Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa (1919). Web Source: Untextbook

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.