Week 4 Story: Sancus and the Dog

Author's note: This is a retelling of Mercury and the Woodman from Aesop (Winter) Part B. The Aesop is a collection of short children's stories that are all followed by a lesson to be learned. The purpose of the story is to show that honesty is the best policy. Mercury is the God of merchants and in the originally story a Woodman ask him to return an axe he has lost in a river. In my story I changed the characters to Sancus, the God of honesty, and Dog. Both the Dog and the Woodman loose something, and are rewarded by their honesty. 

(Dog and the Bone: by Creative Commons)

Once there was a Dog who was gnawing on his bone under a big shady tree. As he continued to gnaw, he grew thirsty and he and his bone went to a nearby river. When he set down the bone to take a drink, the bone fell into the river. The Dog whined and howled to Sancus. Sancus heard these whines and howls and emerged over the river. 

"I will do anything for you to return my bone Sancus."

"No fear Dog, I shall return you your bone from the depths of the river."

Sancus dived into the river and pulled out a gold bone.

"Is this your bone Dog?"

"No it is not, I cannot claim such a fine bone."

Sancus set the bone at the dog's paws and dived back into the river. Sancus pulled out a silver bone. 

"Is this your bone Dog?"

"No it is not, I cannot claim such a fine bone."

Again Sancus set the bone at the dog's paws and dived back into the river. Sancus pulled out the dog's bone. 

"Is this your bone Dog?"

"Yes Sancus, thank you so much, I am forever grateful."

The Dog picked up the bone and began to walk away.

"Dog, please take all three bones. It is a gift for your honesty."

"Thank you Sancus, I do not deserve them, but I shall do as you say and be infinitely grateful"

The Dog went back under the big shady tree with his three bones. Several other dogs passed the Dog and asked where he found such fine bones.

The Dog would respond to every dog the same. "I was gifted these bones by Sancus when I dropped my old bone in the river."

Many dogs went to the river that day and dropped their bones in the river. There whined and howled to Sancus. Sancus heard these whines and howls and emerged over the river. 

"Great Sancus, I will do anything to have by bone back" 

"No fear, I shall return your bone from the depths of the river" 

Sancus would dive into the river and pull out the gold bone. He would ask if this was their bone and they would confirm it was indeed. 

"This is no bone of yours, you lie and have broken my trust."

Sancus would then disappear again and again and take the gold bone. He never returned any bone from the many dogs. All the dogs passed by the Dog's large shade tree empty handed and filled with anger and sadness.

Always be honest 

Bibliography:

The Aesop For Children: Winter, translated by unknown, located from UN-Textbook. 

Reading Notes: Aesop (Winter) Part B

Notes: Aesop (Winter) Part B

(The Bear and the Bees: by Milo Winter)

Writing Styles and Examples

• These stories tend to begin with one animal or character doing something. (i.e. Once the Fox, a very young Mouse, a wolf, etc.)
• Tend to be short and to the point.
• Not much on setting, unless it is important to the plot (i.e a cliff that a goat falls down)
• Typically animals of prey and predators interacting.
• Ending of these short stories is abrupt and strong with direct ties to the lesson learned. 
• The lesson is listed under each story. I liked this because it made the objective of the story clear.

Lessons I would like to use:

Once a wolf, always a wolf.
Bluff is no proof that hard fists are lacking.
Greediness leads to misfortune.
Honesty is the best policy.
It is wicked to take advantage of another's distress.

Ideas:

• The Farmer and His Sons: combining a story like this with the lessons in Gone with the Wind "land is the only thing that last"

• The Mouse and the Weasel: you can utilize squirrels that keep acorns in their mouth rather than a mouse. Where an older squirrel tells the younger one that he must make trips, but the young squirrel thinking he is strong enough to make it either through a hole, over a river, or up a tree. Regardless the squirrel will lose all his acorns. 

• Mercury and the Woodman: using children and their toys to send the same message that honesty is always better than lying. Or dogs and bones. 

• The Mischievous Dog: use a muzzle or a cat who has been declawed. 

• The Eagle and the Kite: say anything for love

Illustrator:

Milo Winter: American illustrator (Alice in Wonderland, Gulliver's Travels, etc. )

I love these illustrations and they go well with the story!

(Brushtail the Fox: picture by Wikipedia)

Bibliography: 

The Aesop For Children: Winter, translated by unknown, located from UN-Textbook. 

Reading Notes: Aesop (Winter) Part A

Notes: Aesop (Winter) Part A

(The Dogs and The Hides: by Milo Winter)

Reoccurring or Interesting Characters:

[possible character or character story I would like to use in future are highlighted]

Kid: Young goat who is foolish initially and then outsmarts predators to survive. 

Wolf: A strong predator who thinks it is stronger and smarter than all others. 

Fox: Similar to the wolf. Is a wanna be trickster, but typically is deceived by prey. 

Dog and Dolphin: A loyal protector.

Ass: Foolish and stubborn. In attempt to cheat or take easy way out, typically makes situation harder or puts itself in harms way.

Wheel: "complains the loudest, but suffers the least"

Lion and Bear: Prideful and probably the strongest out of the characters. Values itself highly. 

Insects (gnat, fly, grasshopper, etc): Pesky, annoying, and always end up thinking they are going to benefit from a situation that will kill them. 

Monkey: Clown and uses the situation to its advantage. 

Wild Boar: Spends time preparing for the worst.

Lessons I would like to use:

You are judged by the company you keep.

We cannot expect any one to share our misfortunes unless we are willing to share our good fortune also.

Do not resent the remarks of a fool. Ignore them.

Do not let flattery throw you off your guard against an enemy

Do not depend on the promises of those whose interest it is to deceive you.

Do not stop to argue with temptation.

Likes:

• The Wolf and the Kid, The Wolf and the Lean Dog, The Dogs and the Hides
• How each character that was used had specific characteristics to its animal that were used in multiple different stories.
• I liked how to the point these stories were and the variety of messages they contained.
• They were easy to comprehend and quick to read.

Dislikes: 

• I do not like the multiple stories and how they switch in comparison to one long story overall. I could lengthen a story and use that for each page or even having the same story told twice (by two different view points/ characters).

Overall:

I loved this collection of stories more than I thought I would. It is definitely insightful for possible projects in the future and it has given me a wealth of possible stories to recreate. In this case I will utilize the characters and their personalities, along with the lessons told, to create my own story. My favorite story by far was the The Dogs and The Hides, but only because how cute I thought it was. I did not enjoy the lesson. With that said, I may utilize a similar story and change the lesson and the outcome slightly, possibly a never give up kind of lesson. I will have to do more brainstorming on that! 

Bibliography: 

The Aesop For Children: Winter, translated by unknown, located from UN-Textbook.