Essay for Week 10: Once upon a time...

Apache Bride via Wiki Commons

This week I read the last half of the American Indian Fairytales unit. I really liked what I was able to read of this unit and wish I would have had the time to read the entire unit. I liked that it was very different from the Native American Marriage Tales. In the Marriage tales, it was a lot about relationships, but it also had a weird thing of having part human/part animal creatures. In almost ever tale someone fell in love with one of those creatures. Since there were so many of those in the week before, I assumed that there would be a lot in this unit as well. I was pleasantly surprised that there were no weird part human/part animal creatures in the stories I read for this week. One thing that I liked about last week, and was not in this week was in the notes. In the marriage unit, I was told what tribe each story was from. In this unit, I was not given that luxury. I know that there are a lot of different tribes, and I don't see them all telling the same stories. I would have appreciated the ability to know so that I can associate each story to that tribe. I could also get a better understanding of what is important to each tribe based off of the values they teach their children through their fairytales. I really liked that this unit was a lot different than the other Native American unit I read last week. It let me see a different style of stories that they would share. This definitely had a childlike appeal to it, which could be why I liked it so much. The length of the stories and the pace of them made it really easy to read. Overall, I really liked this unit.

Storytelling Week 10: Evergreen

"Emily! Where has that child gone off to? Emily get out of that forest right now! It is not safe! Besides, it is time for your play date with Rob."

I laugh to myself while hiding behind a tree. My mom was starting to get really pushy about spending time with Rob. She thinks that we will grow up to be married. I am twelve. I just want to hang out and have fun. Not to mention boys are super gross.

"Fine. Don't come out let the fairies eat you!" My mother hollered. "Dinner will be at seven-thirty if you are still interested Em. Be home before dark."

I cannot believe she is letting me stay out here! I jump for joy and run off to explore the forest. I come across a grove of pine trees and look around. The trees are old and rather large. If me and Rob put our hands around the tree and tried to hold hands, we wouldn't be able to even touch each others fingers. I turn around and see a strange boy. Stranger than most boys I mean. He was dressed in leaves from the forest, he had a headdress made of branches, and his eyes were as green as the pine trees. After a couple moments I realize I have been staring at the boy. I compose myself and say, "Hello. My name is Emily." His green eyes pierce my own as he replies, "My name is Evergreen."

I had to control myself from laughing. Evergreen? What kind of a name is that? However, as I look at him, the name seems to fit him. Definitely doesn't look like a "Craig" or a "Drew." He smiles and says "Wanna see something?" Evergreen takes me to a clearing and tells me to look up. There were so many lights. At first I thought it was the stars, then I realized it was a bunch of fairies. They were lighting up the sky as they flew from place to place. Evergreen had taken me to the home of the fairies. Before I could process everything, he grabs me by the waist and flew to a nearby home. I definitely had not seen any wings when I first saw him. I do not necessarily want to know where they came from either. We spent the rest of the evening in his house playing different games. Fairies play a lot of the same games we do, but they like a lot of nature themed games. For instance, a game of memory was not pictures. They had different bowls covering different types of plants and you had to be able to identify them in order to get a match. Before I knew it, I had to leave for dinner.

Abstract Colorful Universe by TTDesign via Flickr

I arrive at home just in time. My mom says, "Em, are you okay? You were out later than I thought you would be. I was about to send a search party!" I nod my head and assure her that I am fine. Am I though? I feel like I have been in a dream. The home of the fairies was so beautiful. I will have to go back tomorrow to see if it was all real.

Author's Note: This story was based off of the Fairy Bride story from the American Indian Fairytale unit. In the beginning of the story, it says that Neen-i-zu's (my Emily) mother was very concerned that she was spending so much time wandering off by herself. I thought I would take that part and expand upon it. I wanted to know exactly what Neen-i-zu had been doing, so I created a place where she would go spend time with the fairies. I chose for her to meet Evergreen because she marries him at the end of the story. I thought it would be cute if they were childhood friends.

Bibliography: The Fairy Bride from American Indian Fairy Tales by W.T. Larned with illustrations by John Rae (1921).

Reading Diary Week 10- American Indian Fairytales

American Indian Fairytales

I only read the second half of this unit.

The Boy Who Snared the Sun

I am curious as to what exactly a Iagoo is. Is it a tribe storyteller? I had no idea that in Native American lore the Coyote gave the people fire. I don't usually think of them as heroic or significant. They are just scavengers. What is a Mastoden? Sounds huge! It is really weird to think of a dormouse being as big as a mountain. He must have been gnawing on the trap to free the sun for a while for him to shrink to the size of a normal mouse. 

How the Summer Came

So a wild goose brings the summer in Native American lore? I really like the idea of the Summer world. It sounds fantastic. I loved the phrase "that the sky was not only the roof of our own world, but also was the floor of a beautiful world beyond." To me, that was just really great writing. A storm that covered the whole earth with water? Are the Native Americans familiar with the story of noah?

The Fairy Bride

I like how the fairies in this story are described as mischievous. Sometimes they are really nice, but I like the stories where they are a little devious. I can definitely understand Neen-i-zu's concern about height. I am not the tallest girl and am one of the shortest amongst my friends. I dated a guy that was over a foot taller than me and that was always a little strange to me. I am glad that Neen-i-zu found someone that she liked rather than marrying someone her mother wanted.