Week 14 Storytelling: From the Mouths of Tiger, Monkey, & Snake

Story of the Tiger:

Here I was just walking along the tall grass hunting for some dinner when suddenly I fell in a well. I tried with all of my might to get out, but I could not. There was nothing for my claws to grab onto and I was very deep below the ground. As I lay there resting, I felt a rather large plop on my back. I looked up and there was a monkey. I guess he had not seen the well and fallen in too.

I watched him as he tried to climb out, jumping and flipping about, until he finally exhausted himself. So we sat there at the bottom of the well and talk of our homes and told each other stories. He was just telling me something about a fruit or whatever, when something whacked him across the head. It was a snake. “Great!” I thought to myself. “Now there are three of us trapped in this stupid thing!!!”

The snake was very nice. He did not take up much room. The man who fell in after him did! He was not pleasant! The monkey, snake, and I huddled together to get away from the vicious monster…the goldsmith.

Thank god for that Brahman  saved me! Isuch a delight; he even came over to my cave later that day. It was just so kind of him to save me. If he had not randomly come across the well and pulled us out, I am sure we would have died. I decided to give him some gold jewelry and ornaments as my way of saying thank you, other than not eating him of course.

Bengal Tiger (Source)

Story of the Monkey:

I am not too fond of wells anymore. I fell into one the other day as I was swinging in the trees. I honestly thought that branch would be much stronger than it looked. Oh well. I made some pretty good friends out of it. Like that Brahman who saved me! He was a pretty swell guy, a little worn down though. It’s okay, because I helped him out. I brought him back to my home with me and fed him lots and lots of fruit! He was much more pleasant after that. I’m pretty sure he was hangry… get it? Hungry and angry…HANGRY!!!

Anyway, I hope that everything is okay with him. I invited him to come back and eat more fruit with me sometime, but I have not seen him since I took him to the tiger’s place. That tiger is a swell guy, you know? Let me sleep on top of him when that evil goldsmith fell into the well with us. That guy was CREEPY!

Indian Monkey (Source)

Story of the Snake:

Never again will I ever go hunting after frogs! Damn those things can jump!!! There I was lunging after this delicious-looking frog when all of the sudden I was falling into a deep, wet hole! What the hell!!! Then I begin to basically drown in this foot of water when a furry thing picked me up and put me on another furry thing. Once I finally got the water out of my mouth and eyes, I was able to see a monkey and a tiger just staring at me. It was a pretty uncomfortable situation to say the least.

I was stuck down there for what felt like an eternity, and those two would not shut up. No, don’t mind me, I’m just trying to sleep! They finally stopped talking when that man fell in the hole. Not really sure how they felt, but I did not get good vibes from that guy. I swear at one point I saw a blazing fire twinkling in his eyes.

That Brahman that pulled me out was a swell guy! He ended up getting into a bit of trouble, though.
Apparently the tiger (moron) gave the Brahman jewelry or something, and the Brahman brought the jewelry to the goldsmith. Well, the jewelry belonged to the Prince, and when the goldsmith saw it he went and told the King and Queen that the Brahman stole the jewelry. Obviously the royals were not happy with this and had the Brahman fettered. I had told him not to trust that evil man in the well, but does anyone listen to me? NO!!! So then I was forced to bite the Queen so I could save his sorry ass from the trouble he got himself into.

I do not enjoy biting people, but I promised the Brahman that I would help him out. My plan worked too. I bite the Queen so no antidote can save her except for the touch of the Brahman, Brahman tells them he can help, Brahman touches Queen, Queen is healed, Brahman is a hero, and I slither away scot-free. Thank god it worked! I am truly exhausted.

Naja Naja (Source) 

Author's Note. These three stories are based off The Ungrateful Man. In the original story a Brahman is kicked out of his house by his wife and told to go find food for his starving family. During his long journey, he begins to search for water and stumbles upon a well that his hidden in overgrown grass. In the well are a tiger, a monkey, a snake, and a man. The animals ask him to set them free and, after some debating, the Brahman does so. The animals let him know that they are indebted to him and they also warn him not to let the man out because the man is evil, then they go on their way. The Brahman becomes filled with guilt and lets the man out, discovering that he is a goldsmith. The Brahman visits the monkey, who gives him food, and then the tiger, who gives him a necklace and other gold. Then the Brahman visits the goldsmith so that the goldsmith may sell the fine objects he just acquired from the tiger. The goldsmith recognizes the necklace and tells the King about it since the necklace belonged to the Prince. The Brahman is then seized and going to be killed. He then asks for the snake's help. The snake decides to bite the Queen so only the Brahman’s touch can save her. The Brahman tells the King everything that happened and the Brahman is rewarded and made a hero, while the goldsmith is punished.

 I chose to write it from the three animal's perspectives because they were all included in the story, but not necessarily present the entire way through. It also allowed me to give more personality to the story through the three different personalities, as well as a back-story.

Bibliography. The Panchatantra of Vishnu Shama, translated by Arthur W. Ryder (1925).

Week 13 Storytelling: Anjika's Journey

I was once married to a man who did not love me. He decided to marry Yuktasri, who was younger than me. Yuktasri was wicked. Day and night she would spit criticisms and insults at me. I was constantly abused as she forced me to do all of the housework, smiling as she gave me just enough food to keep me barely breathing.

One day, while our husband was out of town, Yuktasri ordered me to check her hair for lice. I complied with her demand and quietly began my task. As I was tediously combing through her hair, Yuktasri sprang up and lunged toward me in a fit of rage! I looked up at her from the floor and in her hand was the entirety of my hair, which she had swiftly ripped off my head.

My eyes filled with tears as she kicked me out of the house. Now, both starving and bald, I took off in the direction of the forest. There was nothing left for me to live for.

As I shuffled along, I came across an unkempt cotton plant. I gathered together some sticks to fastened a broom and swept the ground around the plant. I did this again to a plantain tree, a very messy shed of a Brahmani bull, and a tulasi plant. I found it odd that each of them would bless me; I was just cleaning.

Continuing my journey I ran into the hut of a muni. I watched in from behind as he sat cross-legged in meditation.

Suddenly he yelled at me to stand in front of him. Needless to say I was startled that he even knew of my presence, and a little bit frightened. He asked me of my woes and I trembled as I told him of my home life. The muni told me to plunge myself once in the near by lake and then return to him, and so I did.

I immersed myself in the cool water and felt calm. I looked into the water for my reflection but did not it. Instead, I saw another woman staring back at me. This woman had long black hair and a perfectly fair complexion. She was young and beautiful. Staring down at the woman, I felt something brush against my heels. I turned my gaze to them and saw long black hair brushing against my ankles. I reached down to grab the hair and suddenly there was more, this time draped across my shoulder. I looked up, thinking that there must be someone standing above me, but there was no one. That was when I realized that the woman I was looking at in the water was me!

I returned to the muni all shiny and new. He told me to grab any whicker basket of my choosing from his hut. There must have been a hundred baskets, but I did as he requested and brought to him a modest-looking basket. When I opened it, the basket was filled with gold, pearls, and other precious stones! The muni said it would never become empty.

I bowed before him in gratitude and then he and I silently parted ways.

On my return home, I ran into the tulasi plant, the Brahmani bull, the plantain tree, and the cotton plant. Each stopped me and gifted me with something special. The tulasi plant told me that my husband would love me warmly. The Brahmani bull gave me two shell ornaments that, when shook, would give me any ornament I wanted. The plantain tree give me a leaf that, when moved, would give me all kinds of agreeable food. Lastly, the cotton plant gifted me one of its own branches that, when shook, would give me clothes made of cotton, silk and purple.

I shook the branch and sure enough a fabric of fine glossy silk fell across my lap. I put on the silk cloth and continued home.

As I approached the front of my house I saw Yuktasri. The look on her face was priceless when she realized who I was!

Honestly, I felt sorry for all of the wicked she held in her heart. I decided that I would tell her how I received all of my gifts and beauty. I then gave her clothing, ornaments, and other treasures using the gifts I had received. I did not expect her to say thank you, but I was not expecting her to just take off in a huff.

It was nice to be home again, and even more so to have the place to myself. I felt incredibly blessed and grateful to have been given such magnificent splendor.

As cleaned up the quite, empty house, I head the sound of heavy footsteps down the road. I looked out and saw Yuktasri, as bald as wicked as she looked before. She was pissed.

As she was approaching the house, so did my husband arrive home. I walked out onto our porch to greet him. The look on his face was of pure and utter shock…then he smiled. He ran and grabbed me in his arms and has not stopped adoring me since.

With Yuktasri as our maid-servant and our incredible wealth and resources still intact, my husband has loved me incessantly for all of these years and we have truly lived happily-ever-after.

illustration by Warwick Goble (Gutenberg)

Author's Note. This is the story The Bald Wife. The storytelling is basically the same from the original story, except I chose to write it from the elder wife’s perspective. The entire story is basically about how if you are kind on the inside it will shine through and if you are wicked on the inside it will show on the outside as well. In the original story, they did not have names so I decided that I would name them. Yuktasri is a Hindi name for wicked and disobedient, while Anjika means blessed for she was greatly blessed by the kindness of her heart. When I wrote it from Anjika’s perspective I decided not to place a lot of emphasis on her beauty except for when she discovers that she is now young and beautiful. By doing this, I felt as though it highlighted her kind heart and how that played a major role in her transformation rather than her physical appearance. By writing the story from Anjika’s perspective, I was able to add more detail and let Anjika’s voice have a part in the story. I was also able to better capture how awful her life originally was and how wicked Yuktasri was.

Bibliography. Folk-Tales of Bengal by the Rev. Lal Behari Day, with illustrations by Warwick Goble (1912).

Week 12 Storytelling: Quinlan and Quinton take a Quack at Migration

Two Ducks named Quinlan and Quinton lived with their father and mother and flock of Ducks near a lake. One day their father called them to him and said, "winter is quickly approaching and the Ducks are in danger. It will be best if you fly south for the winter, and you each must lead your own team of Ducks to take with you.”

“What’s the danger, Father?” they asked him.

“When winter arrives the harsh winds, frozen waters, and freezing temperatures will make it nearly impossibly to survive. These harsh conditions will destroy all of the food we eat and make it impossible for us to fly,” the father said. “Many Ducks have attempted to survive here during the winter, but none have prevailed.”

“Shall you go away with us?” Quinlan asked.

“No, your mother and I, and some of the other old Ducks have a location we migrate to every year,” said the father. “It is a small, warm pond with enough food for us, but there is not enough food for you and your flock. You must lead your team down south to a warm pond or lake where there is plenty of food for you, and remain there until the pond here is not longer frozen. Only then may you bring your flock back here. But you must be careful. You must travel high in the sky above the clouds, because the hunters will see you if you travel low and under the clouds. And you must not fly over the villages where hunters live.”

So Quinlan and Quinton and their flocks set out. Quinlan traveled high above the clouds and did not go near any villages, and at last he led his team safely to a small lake with a great deal food. Not a single Duck was lost under Quinlan’s command.

But Quinton forgot what his father had said. Early each morning he took off to the skies with his team, flying low in the skies so that he could see the sights below. When he saw a village, he led his team right over it. Over and over again the hunters saw the V formation in the sky, and they killed many, many of the Ducks in Quinton’s team.

When winter was nearly over and the pond was finally melted, the Ducks began their journey back to their home. Quinlan led all his flock back, but idiotic Quinton traveled low in the sky, and again flew his flock over the villages. When he reached the pond only a few were left of all Quinton’s flock.

Pair of White Ducks (Source)

Author's Note. This storytelling is based on the Jataka tale Beauty and Brownie. In the original story, Beauty and Brownie are two deer that have been instructed by their father to each lead a herd of deer to a safe location from the forest while the corn is being harvested. Their father gives them explicit instructions not to travel by day and not to travel near the villages. Beauty completely obeys his father’s instructions and does not lose a single member of his herd. However, Brownie was stupid and both traveled during the day and near the villages, doing the exact opposite of his father’s instructions. Brownie had very few of his herd still alive.

I keep the story almost completely the same for my storytelling. I changed the characters from deer to ducks because ducks migrate every year. I though of this story as the first time Quinlan and Quinton were leading the migration. Since they were ducks who were leaving for migration, I decided the conditions that required them to leave should pertain to that concept. I also changed the duck’s names from Beauty and Brownie to Quinlan and Quinton. I felt as though names that began with the letter “Q” were most appropriate for a story about ducks because quack.

Bibliography. More Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt, illustrated by Ellsworth Young (1922). 

Week 10 Storytelling: The Unknown Soldier

Day 1

It was pitch black outside. The only light came from that of the fires burning at the campgrounds as the rest of my unit begin to suit up for battle. With my sword in my left hand and a torch in my right, I walked over to the edge of Kurukshetra Field and just stared. Other soldiers began to join me. I turned around and saw what must have been at least a million men all gathered along the field in anticipation. 

I looked around some more and realized that dawn was growing near. It was not until sunrise that we could begin the battle. The next thing I knew, Arjuna and Krishna were standing five feet away from me in their beautiful gold-plated chariot. I could literally feel my confidence growing. I knew I had made a wise decision in choosing to fight alongside of the Pandavas.

Day 3

Thus far there has not been one clear victor. It has pretty much gone back and forth. Each day the battle commences at sunrise and ends at sunset. I like that everyone has a strict understanding of this because it keeps things fair and honorable and it allows me to get some rest. After everyone ceases fighting at sunset, we normally retreat back to our tents so that we can relax. At night some of the men will play music, sing songs, dance, and generally be merry. Personally, I prefer to sit back and observe the jolliness. I find it best to conserve as much energy as possible. I can have my big celebration after this war is won and the Pandavas are seated in their rightful kingdom.

Day 4

I am hopeful about the outcome of this war. The losses have not been too great thus far and we have been fighting tirelessly. Many of the Kauravas have been slain, while we have only lost a few. My entire unit is still intact! My commander has been wise in his strategies. Our formations have been complex and difficult for the Kaurava's army to counterattack. Our counter-moves have also been strong, especially with Bhima and Arjuna by our sides. Yesterday, as I was engaged in a sword battle, I had the privilege of fighting right alongside of Bhima! Well, it was not directly next to him, but it was pretty close.

Day 7

A devastating blow has occurred to our army. I do not think that even the God of Death, Yama, could have predicted such devastation. In only two days our losses have been thousands. Twenty men from my unit perished at the hands of the Kaurava army. And today I was informed of the death of Nehru, my closest and dearest friend. I feel hopeless to continue. Not even the encouraging words of Krishna can keep my spirit alive.

Day 12

The once beautiful ground of Kurukshetra Field is now soaked with blood and the stench of rotting corpses is almost unbearable. I lie awake at night unable to sleep through the screaming and moaning of mutilated men left behind to succumb to their extensive injuries.

Each day as I head into battle I pass thousands of mangled corpses stained crimson. The mercy of quick death no longer comes to those defeated, only slow suffering and agony. Even the fading colors of the sunset seem to reflect the gore of the battleground.

I could feel the warmth of crimson cascading down the side of my face. The scarlet droplets rhythmically tapping on my shoulder. I did not know whether this warm, ruby liquid was mine or if it belonged to that of my enemy. The faint sounds of gasping and wheezing echoed in my ears as I trudged through the sea of butchered bodies on the long journey back to my tent.

I have no way of knowing if I will survive this war.

Indian Soldier Walks Alone (Source)

Author's Note. This storytelling is based solely on page 149 of "The Mahabharata" by R.K. Narayan. That one page gives a very brief introduction of the war, but it had enough for me to think about how the war would have been for a random soldier. Since that page did not go into great detail about the war (unlike the pages to follow) I felt as though my storytelling should reflect just that. I wanted to make the storytelling more about what a regular soldier would have experienced – how he felt, the things he saw, what he smelled – which is why the detailed elements of the Pandavas and Kauravas were excluded. A young, low-ranking soldier would not have know about any of the intimate details of the war unless he was directly involved.

I chose to make each day a different aspect of the war: Day 1 – preparation and anticipation, Day 3 – free time, Day 5 – hopefulness, Day 7 – despair (Day 5 and 7 are descriptions of the see-saw that is discussed on page 149), and Day 12 – the description of what the war looked like. Each day, while representing different components of the page, includes the thoughts and emotions of the Unknown Soldier. Since he was of low rank, he did not know much detail as to what was going on and he only knew the things he could see, smell, and feel. I chose to leave the story open-ended so that the reader could decide the young soldier's fate.

Bibliography. Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata

Week 9 Storytelling: Santanu Goes to Therapy

"Good afternoon, Santanu. It's good to see you again. How are you today?"

"I'm doing well. I have been doing a lot of thinking since the last time we met."

“Good, good! Why don’t you take a seat and we can get our session started, okay?”

“Alright, Doc.”

“Now, this is your fifth therapy session with me. We have talked about quite a lot thus far, but last week you mentioned something about the women in your life. Why don’t we talk about that?”

“Okay. Well, you see, Dr. Nezbin, I have fallen in love at first sight twice. Each time I have asked these women to marry me, and each time they have required me to agree to some sort of condition before saying yes.”

“Ah, I see. And how do you feel about that?”

“I... don’t know. Not great. I just wanted to marry them. Why would they even need conditions? I am the king for goodness sake! But for some reason each time they gave me conditions, and each time I agreed to them.” 

“Why don’t you tell me more about these conditions you speak of? Start from the beginning.”

“Well, the first time it happen was when I met Ganga. She is my psycho ex-wife.”

“Ah, I see. Please, continue.”

“Well, she was so beautiful. When our eyes first met, I knew I had to make her my wife. With my gaze still fixated on those crystal-blue eyes of her, I marched right up to her and proposed on the spot! That was when she told me of her conditions.”

“And what were those?”

“She said that she would only marry me if she was able to be free and do anything she wanted without me asking about it. I could not waste another moment without her being mine, so I agreed. I mean, what was the worst that could happen?”

“And what did happen, exactly?”

“Ganga was bat-shit crazy!!! What’s the worst that could happen, indeed? That woman, that deranged lunatic, drowned seven of our children!!! Each time she had a kid, she would take it and drown it in the river. At least she spared the life of my son Devavratha."

“Mmhmm. Interesting. So what happened to Ganga? I am assuming that you two split up after that.”

“Apparently she was the deity of that river who had taken human form. She told me that there were these eight men who had harmed a cow or something, and she was required to birth them and then drown them. I didn’t really understand her, to be honest. After that, she vanished into the river with Devavratha, promising she would return him to me. Eventually she did bring him back, although it had been a few years and Devavratha had grown into a young man. After that she just disappeared and I haven’t seen or heard from her since.”

“Fascinating. Now, tell me about this other woman you mentioned. What about her?”

“It was only a few days ago, so about four years after Ganga brought Devavratha back, that I met Satyavathi. I was out hunting deer in the woods when suddenly, I saw the most beautiful creature. She was like an angel! I knew I had to have her, so I asked her father, the fisherman, if I could marry her. That is when he told me of his conditions.”

“So this time it was the father who had conditions, rather than the woman herself. Hmmm. So what were those exactly?”

“He told me that the only way I would be able to marry Satyavathi would be if our firstborn son would be my heir. Well, I already have a son, obviously. Needless to say I was very upset. I went back to my castle and have been thinking about the future of my kingdom ever since. I just don’t know what to do. On the one hand I would do anything to marry Styavathi, but on the other hand I don’t want to take something away from Devavratha that is rightfully his.”

“It seems to me that the best thing to do would be to talk to your son. In our first session you told me about how caring and understanding he is. Why would this situation be any different? Open and honest communication is the only way to resolve this.”

“That’s a good point. If I tell him that I'm worried about the future and how I do not have enough children, he might figure it out and come to a decision of his own! Thanks, Dr. Nezbin!!!”

“Anytime. It appears that's all the time we have scheduled for today. I will see you next week!”

Therapist Couch (Source)

Author's Note.

This is based off of the first three pages of Narayan's Mahabharata. This is when we first learn about King Santanu. He first falls in love with a woman. He asks her to marry him, and she tells him she would as long as he allowed her to be free and do anything she wanted without him ever questioning her. He agreed and they were married. Every time she give birth, she would drown the baby in the river. She did this seven times and on the eighth time Santanu could no longer control himself and told her to stop. She explained that she was Ganga, deity of the river, and that she had only taken human form in order to give birth to the eight babies because in their past life they had harmed a rare cow and were cursed. She disappeared with the eighth child and it to Santanu later. She had named the child Devavratha. Then she disappeared forever. The next woman he met while he was hunting. Santanu saw her beauty and became love-stricken. She was the daughter of a fisherman. When Santanu asked her father if he could marry her, the fisherman said that he could only if her firstborn son would be Santanu’s successor. Santanu felt as though he could not accept this because of Devavratha. He returned to the palace frustrated and in a melancholic state.

While reading this I saw that Santanu fell in love with two beautiful women the first time he ever saw them and then he asked them to marry him. I immediately thought, “This guy needs therapy!” That is how I came up with the idea! I honestly thought it would be funny hearing Santanu complain about all of his lady problems.

Bibliography. Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata.

Week 7 Storytelling: The Diary of Ka Mattah the Snail

Day 1

Today is the day I begin my travels.  It is a month before Luri Lura Fair, so I must begin my long journey, which is made even longer by me being a snail. The fair is such fun, although it is really more like a giant market than a fair. It will be good to see all of the other animals and the rest of my family.

Day 10

Journey is taking longer than expected. I became delayed when I reached a raging river. I found a way over it, but it set me back two days. Must continue on.

Day 17

Taking a nap under a giant leaf. I think I will eat it when I wake up.

Day 25

I am almost to the large Rubber grove in the forest where all of the animals meet before the fair. I can hear other animals racing ahead. They must be tired from all of that work.

Day 30

If I keep moving all night I will finally be able to make it. I can almost feel the breeze from the groves cool shade.

Day 31

Made it! It is good to see all of the other animals. I am so glad that we all meet here to rest a few days before the fair. I love chatting with everyone.

Day 32

Well I probably did the dumbest thing I could ever think of. Today, for some reason, I challenged the stag to a race… And he said yes! What was I thinking! I can’t possibly beat him in a race. He does need to be taught some respect though. The buffalo, stag, and other animals were all bragging about being the “swiftest” animals in the jungle. I don’t know why you would want to be swift covered in that much sweat!

Day 33

Everyone has begun to head into the fair. I am still annoyed with that stupid stag. He revved me up, that’s what happened. I was fine with the laughter, but when he started showing off by cantering around the grove I just lost it! How think could you be? The whole thing was like an outer-body experience.

Day 34

The other snails approached me at the grove today. They said that they had heard about how the stag and I were to race once the fair was over. Some of them called me foolish, but they are family and they can’t let me lose. We decided that all of us snails would form ourselves into a long line edging the path all the way from the Rubber grove to the finish line at Mount Shilong. If we hide ourselves in the grass no one will be able to see us. We might actually win this thing.

Day 40

Well, everyone has sold his or her wares at the fair. That’s the only way to get into the fair you know: everyone must bring merchandise if they want entrance. I didn’t get to go in this year. The other snails and I decided it would be best if we stayed at the grove and prepared for the race. I guess I better take off this shell and get ready to face the stag. He should be along any minute now. Let’s do this thing!

Day 41

You won’t believe it! I can barely believe it! Snails won! Snails won!!! That race was amazing! As soon as that signal was given I dove into the grass, just as we had planned. The stag ran off towards the mountains. After a little while he stopped and called out my name. One of the other snails hidden along the path answered him, and the stag began to run more swiftly. Again the stag called out for me, and again a snail answered. The stag tore off at a terrific pace. He kept calling out my name only to hear one of the snails answer him each time, and he began running faster and faster until he was panting and quivering from exhaustion!

The stag could barely move his legs. Then, just before he reached the finish line, one of the other snails started yelling, “I win, I win” from the other side of the finish line. Exhausted and shamefully defeated, the stag threw himself on the ground. I guess he had put too much strain on his body because when I got to him he was all green and had this pathetic look on his face. That’s when the stag spit out his gallbladder! It was disgusting, but I didn’t mind. We won! I will never forget the look on his face.  

Snail on Railing (Source)

Author's Note. This story is based off the Indian folktale The Stag and the Snail. It is a story about Ka Mattah the snail and how she challenges a boastful stag to a race and she wins. In the story Ka Mattah does not like that the stag is bragging about being the swiftest animal, and so she challenges him to a race. The snails gather together and decide that the only way to win is if they line up along the edge of the race path, so as to stay hidden and teach the stag not to look down on others simply because they are an insect. During the race the stag calls out for Ka Mattah and he hears a reply. This causes him to run even faster. The stag continues to do this over and over again until he is so exhausted that he can barely move his limbs. Once the stag nears the finish line, one of the snails crosses the finish line and yells, “I have won.” This causes the stag to collapse from exhaustion and sickness, and the stag then spits out his gallbladder.

I chose to write this from the perspective of Ka Mattah because I thought it would be interesting to hear it from her perspective. I was also curious what a snails journey would be like, so I thought it would be fun to include that.

Bibliography. Folk-Tales of the Khasis by Mrs. U. K. Rafy (1920).

Week 6 Storytelling: Dinner Party

I understand that siblings don’t always get along, but my brothers are complete assholes! Seriously! 

Sun, Wind and I (I'm Moon!) were invited to dinner at our Aunt Lightning and Uncle Thunder’s house. The boys and I were totally up for it! Free food, right? So we went off to their house, leaving Mother home alone.

When we arrived at our aunt and uncle's, there were a bunch of others there. Orion was there, Mr. Big and Mrs. Little Dipper were there, and even Halley was there, in her flowing sparkly dress.

Well, I thought that my childish brothers would stay and hang out with me, their little sister, but those selfish greedy boys ditched me the second they laid eyes on Virgo and Libra. Of course they would ditch me for “the ladies.” Yuck!

Aunt Lightning was so nice. She let me sit next to her and some other girls at the head of the table, and then the great feast began. I had never seen so much food in my life!

As I watched my brothers shove food into their mouths like little pigs, obviously forgetting all of the table manners they had learned, I thought about my poor mother. Even though she was one of the most beautiful Stars in the sky, she was still home all by her lonesome. That was when I decided that I would bring back some food for her.

Every time a plate from Aunt Lightning’s beautiful china set was placed in front of me, I placed a small portion under one of my beautifully pink polished finger-nails so I could bring some back to Mom.

Why Aunt Lightning was using her good china I will never know. Seriously, those boys are a menace! But I digress.

Anyway, we got home and the three of us were completely stuffed from dinner. I had no idea those boys could ever be full! So our mother "all bright-eyed and smiling" asked us if we brought anything home for her.

My eldest brother, Sun, scoffed and said, “I didn’t bring anything home for you. I went out to enjoy myself with friends – not to fetch dinner for my mother!”

Then, my other brother Wind, the arrogant jerk he is, said, “I didn’t bring you anything either, Mom. You could hardly expect me to bring you back anything good when I merely went out for my own pleasure.”

I could tell Mom was getting upset. After all, she had stayed up till the late hours alone to make sure that we were safe.

That’s when I stepped in. I told her to grab a plate and when she brought it to me, I shook my hands so that all of the food I had collected showered down in front of her. She looked so happy after I did that! Unfortunately it did not last long.

My brothers, who had now started their stupid shenanigans, had no idea what they were in for!

Mom whipped her head around and glared at Sun. She took a deep breath and said, “Because you went out to amuse yourself with your friends, and feasted and enjoyed yourself, without any thought of your mother at home – you shall be cursed. Henceforth, your rays shall every be hot and scorching, and shall burn all that they touch. And men shall hate you, and cover their heads when you appear.”

My brother had the audacity to look shocked. I mean he had it coming. He knew better than to push Mom like that. But that is why Sun is so hot to this day. It makes it difficult to see him sometimes.

Then Mother slowly turned her head and looked at Wind. With a look on her face so terrifying it would make the bravest man run in fear, she said, “You who also forgot your mother in the midst of your selfish pleasures—hear your doom! You shall always blow in the hot dry weather, and shall parch and shrivel all living things. And men shall detest and avoid you from this very time.”

The look on Wind’s face was absolutely priceless! It took everything inside of me to hold back my laughter. But that is why Wind is so disagreeable, even in hot weather.

Suddenly Mom turned around and looked at me. I was afraid, for myself. I was the good kid; I had done nothing wrong. Why was she looking at me?

The look of anger fell from her face, and in its place was a warm, kind smile. Then she said to me, “Daughter, because you remembered your mother, and kept for her a share in your own enjoyment, from henceforth, you shall be ever cool, and calm, and bright. No noxious glare shall accompany your pure rays, and men shall always call you ‘blessed’.”

I could feel her love for me with every word she spoke. I always knew I was her favorite. And that is why I, Moon, have a light that is so soft, and cool, and beautiful, even to this day.

The bright side of the Moon (Source)

Author's Note. I chose to do my storytelling from the story How the Sun, Moon, and Wind Went Out to Dinner. In the story the Sun, Moon, and Wind go to a great feast at their aunt and uncles, leaving their mother (who is a distant Star) home alone. When the three of them return, neither the Sun nor the Wind brought anything back to the Star, but the Moon had saved some food for her mother. Due to their actions, the Star decides to curse the Sun and the Wind and gift the Moon, this giving them the characteristics that we know of them: the sun being extremely hot, the wind being horrible, and the moon being calm and beautiful. Keeping the wording from the mother's curse and blessing the same from the original story allowed my retelling to have some of the same feel as the original, thus keeping to the same basic frame of the story. It also allowed for a more dramatic contrast between the mother's way of speaking and her children's, thus demonstrating that the mother is older and more sophisticated. 

I chose to write the story from the Moon’s perspective because I thought that playing off of sibling competition would add a fun element to the story. We are able to see motherhood, and how mothers reward and punish their children, in the original story, but hearing it from the daughter’s perspective gives the story more life and a humor. I added more details, like the zodiac stars (Libra and Virgo), constellation names (Orion), the description of Moon's nails, and the overall dinner party. I believe that the added elements of humanity demonstrated through each character's specific personality made the story seem more life-like. 

Bibliography. Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1912).

Week 3 Storytelling: Halloween Mystery

It was Halloween and Richard was having a Halloween party at his house. He had bought decorations, chips, candy, soda pop, and had invited all of his friends. Since it was Halloween, everyone was required to wear a costume. Richard decided to be an aviator. He put on his leather pilot’s jacket and aviator sunglasses and headed downstairs to finish putting up the decorations before his guests arrived.

On the walls of the kitchen were fake spiders and some cobwebs. The kitchen table had a tablecloth with little ghosts on it, and there was a goofy-looking skeleton hanging from the front door. He had everything he needed for the party.

It was ten o’clock and his friends began to arrive. "Ding-dong" went the doorbell as the first guests arrived. It was his best friends Sam, Jason, Ned, and Harry. They were all dressed in super cool costumes. Sam was a pirate, Jason was a fireman, Ned was a caveman, and Harry was a soldier. Their cheers of excitement roared throughout the house as they ran into the living room and kitchen. Soon other guests began arriving and the party really started to be a hit.

Guys and girls were dancing to Monster Mash in the living room while others were conversing and drinking in the kitchen. All in all, everyone seemed to be having a really great time. Richard was very happy that everyone was enjoying themselves.

Richard was in the middle of a drinking game with his buddies when all of a sudden the doorbell rang. He walked over to the door, opened it, and there, standing in front of him, was the most elaborate zombie costume he had ever seen.

“Hey,” said the zombie. “It’s me, Vince.”

Shocked, Richard had no idea what to say.

Richard was one of those guys who got along with everyone. All of the girls liked him, parents loved him, and the guys enjoyed his company as well. The only person Richard did not get along with was Ray; you could say Ray and Richard were mortal enemies. Ray tormented Richard. He would go out of his way to make Richard's life miserable, whether it was stealing Richard's girl friend, spreading rumors about him, ruining Richard's parties, or trying to take Richard's job.

Well Ray had a brother and that brother was Vince. So Richard was very confused as to why the brother of his enemy was standing at his door step.

“What are you doing here?” Richard asked.

Solemnly Vince replied, “I can't be around Ray anymore, he's gone crazy. Please let me in.”

Wondering why their friend had not rejoined them, Sam, Jason, Ned, and Harry appeared at the door to see what the commotion was all about.

“What’s going on?” Jason asked.

“It’s Vince,” Richard said. “He wants me to let him into the party. What do you guys think?”

“Dude! Don’t let him in!” Sam began. “He’s a traitor and will always be a traitor!”

“Yeah!” Jason exclaimed, chiming in. “How will be able to trust him? We all know he is just going to tell Ray where our party is and ruin it!” 

Richard patiently listened to each of his friends as they spoke their minds.

“This does not fly with me,” Ned stated. “How can we trust him when he is Ray's little brother?”

Richard looked at his best friend Harry and said, “You have not said anything. What do you think?”

With a deep breath Harry said, “I hesitate to say anything because I disagree with everyone else. Vince is not evil-minded, he just made a mistake. We all make mistakes in this world, but is it worth hurting someone over? I say let him in and we can have some fun!”

After listening to what Harry said, Richard knew what he had to do.

“I agree with Harry,” Richard declared. “After all, Vince did come here knowing he was betraying Ray, which took a lot of guts. No matter what happens later, he still deserves a second chance. And even if something bad happens, I will sleep well at night knowing that I did the right thing.”

With smiles upon their faces, Richard and the guys welcomed Vince into the party. Everything was right again, and they partied the rest of the night.

Happy Halloween (Source)

Author's Note. 

This is based off of the “Across The Ocean” in the book The Ramayana. The Halloween party was used as a way to pull focus on the situation between Vibushana and Rama. In the story the men are at an army camp, so making the story at a Halloween party allowed for the confrontation to still be on Rama turf while also making Rama’s virtuous decision the main point of the story. Halloween is generally a time where goals and goblins come out to scare people and integrity and virtue essentially go out the window, much like in war. Having those personal traits during a time when they are usually absent draws ones attention to their importance and rarity. I also felt as though Halloween would just be fun and silly. 

In the story Rama is unsure of what to do, so he seeks the opinions of his advisors. Three advisors tell Rama to send Vibishana away, but Hanuman believes that they should protect and accept Vivishana because he can tell that Vivishana has a good heart, pure soul, and should not be punished. After hearing this, Rama is pleased and decides to accept his enemy’s brother, exclaiming that it is the right thing to do.

In my story, I chose to change the character’s names, with the first letter of the character’s name from the original story being the same for the character’s name in the retelling. Instead of Rama, he is Richard, and instead of Vibishana, he is Vince, and Ravana, who is Rama’s enemy, is Ray. The quote, "knowing I did the right thing," is right out of the book. It is actually what led me to choose this story in the first place. Rama’s integrity is a lesson that can be learned by all.

Bibliography. Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana.