Extra Credit Reading Russia: Part B, The Fox-Physician

(Fox by Wikicommons)

Hi there guys!

So this story was very unexpected and quite jaw dropping to say the least. So get ready for a trickster fox and a dynamic plot.

Summary:
There was an old man and woman who planted cabbage. The old man's cabbage grew really tall...like to the sky. Actually, to the heavens. So, this old man climbs all the way up to the heavens and is super pumped. He comes back down and gets his old woman and throws her in a bag to take her up. They get halfway and he accidentally DROPS THE BAG. Aka....she dies. Oh but no fear because a fox physician is there to save the day. He tells the only man to give him oatmeal, butter, and her body. The fox demands that he should be left alone in a bathroom. The man waits outside while the fox "saves" the old woman. Well does he save her?.........Well......he eats her. Yeah. Plus this fox eats the oatmeal and butter. So, now the man is wifeless, foodless, and poor. The fox gets away.

What was my initial reaction?

(Screaming Hamster by Eurokek)

Was I surprised?
Okay to be honest I was expecting a trickster story because it includes a fox, but I was not expecting it to be that tragic. It was also kinda random in my opinion. Like why did they plant cabbages? Why did the old man not let his wife climb up herself? It is just a lot of whys. So, yes I was surprised by the ending and I wish it would have ended happier.

Would I retell?
Probably not. While yes it does contain a fluffy cute animal.....the animal eats someone and I just don't know if I vibe with that. If I did retell it I would be taking that part out. Maybe the fox would actually save the day. Who knows, but this story is not high on my retelling list.

Bibliography:
Russian Folktales: Russian Fairy Tales, Part B by W. R. S. Ralston. Retrieved from Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook.

Week 11 Story: Why The Deer Has Horns

Why The Deer Has Horns

(Red Deer by Wiki Commons)

Long ago animals would come from near and far to battle in games. These games could sometimes be winter agility games or summer endurance games. The winner of these games would receive a wonderful prize for their family.

One year a team of two elephants won a tug of war against two lions and earned tusk.

The polar bear earned its white coat after winning a game of hide and go seek with a chimp.

Another year the cheetah outran a wolf and earned spots.

One of the greatest prizes ever given was a pair of horns. The game was very simple. Run as fast as possible and leap over any obstacles. First one to the finish line wins. This game required an ability to jump high and maneuver through the thick brush.

There were only two animals left in the competition, one would win the games. The two animals were the deer and the bunny. Both had out run their competitors easily. It was going to be a huge match up!

Before the race started the bunny asked if he could go look at the finish line so he was aware of its location. He blamed his short memory for forgetting. The animals decided that was fair and let the bunny go. After several minutes, the animals grew worried the bunny was in trouble or lost. They sent a hawk to search for him. 

When the hawk found the bunny, she saw that the bunny was clearing a path under the brush! The hawk flew back and told the animals of the cheating scandal. The animals were in disbelief and extremely upset. So upset, that when the bunny returned they could hardly say a word. 

The animals finally told the bunny that they knew he had cheated, and he was disqualified. It was quite the scandal in the animal kingdom. The bunny stormed off and the deer was given horns. This is why the deer has horns!

Author's note:
Hey guys! Thanks for reading my story. This story was actually inspired by one of my extra credit readings, How The Deer Got His Horns by James Mooney. To create my story, I simply added another dimension to the original. I added the annual games. These games were inspired by the Olympic games! That was honestly the only big change, but I feel like it added a fun flare. I would love to imagine all the animals coming together and competing together. It would be awesome to see the most talented animal in the world! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this story! 

Bibliography:
Myths of the Cherokee: How The Deer Got His Horns by James Mooney. Retrieved from Un-Textbook. 

Reading Notes: Eskimo Folk-Tales, Part B

(Eskimo Family from World Atlas)

Hi guys!

So these notes will be about the Eskimo Folk-Tales, part B. Just as an overview of all of the stories, they are fairly violent. I was actually shocked at how many people died. There were many gruesome stories about killing women, men, and eating people. Compared to part A this was different, but even part A had some violence.

One story that really shocked me was The Wife Who Lied. Link Here

....um..... okay.... buckle up because this one is rough

So, a woman was raised by a tribe of people who eat other people, but she was taken away to be a wife at a young age. Like she left the people eaters, got a new mans, and a big happy family. I mean I would be grateful as heck at this point, but she was not. She wanted to go home.

Obviously, the only way to go home is to start a war. She put mittens on her feet and went back home so they believed she had not been taken care of. Her home tribe got really mad at her husband's tribe. So, when all the men left for hunting her home tribe went and killed all the women except three that hid. The home tribe stuck the dead women's bodies through long poles in the ground.

At this point I was shook.....like what even. How common was this? Anyways, the end is pretty simple and just as gruesome. The husband's tribe finds out that the wife lied and said she was being mistreated. They started a war and then killed the wife. Her death was pretty gruesome. If you are curious I suggest reading the story.

Moral of the story: DO NOT LIE

I will not be retelling this story. If I did, I would try to make it less violent for sure!

Bibliography:

Eskimo Folk-Tales, Part B by Knud Rasmussen. Retrieved from Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook 

Reading Notes: Eskimo Folk-Tales, Part A

(Polar Bear from Creative Commons)

Hi guys!

Okay so today I read some stories from the Eskimo Folk-Tales Part A. Of course I loved the story about the cute polar bear. This should be no shock by now......

On a real note, this story is so cute. There isn't a huge underlying meaning other than to appreciate what you have before it is gone. Something I noticed with all of the stories in this unit is that they all had a pretty blunt ending. There wasn't always a good sum up or a overarching meaning. Most of these stories are just stories to be told not teach.

The Woman Who Had a Bear as a Foster Son. 

• An old woman is given a bear cub (polar bear) from a bear hunter who gave her meat
• The woman defrost the cub
• The cub learns her language and she raises it
• The cub plays with the kids, then the adults, and then just the men
• When it is too big, the bear goes hunting with the men and help kill seals
• One day it kills a random man to protect itself like the old woman told it to do
• The old woman told the bear it had to leave her to protect itself from people coming to kill it
• She waited until there was a day without a cloud in the sky to send the bear off. 

So this story reminded me of this movie I used to watch a kid at my family's house in Colorado. My favorite part is that the bear would sniffle when it was hungry. It was repeated throughout the story and added a heart warming touch to it. I would love to retell this story so here are some story ideas:

• Tell the story from the Bear's point of view
• Change the bear to a wolf and modernize it
• Tell the story from a bear hunters point of view
• Retell the story how it is
• Retell it in a diary format over many years
• Year/ Day 1: getting the cub
• Year 2 entry: cub is playing too rough
• Year 3 entry: cub's first day hunting
• Year 4: cub attacks man 
• Year 5: saying goodbye

Here are some sources 

• Polar Bears 
• Time line of polar bears 

Bibliography:

Eskimo Folk-Tales, Part A: The Woman Who Had a Bear as a Foster Son by Knud Rasmussen. Retrieved from Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook