Week 14 Story: A New Partnership

(Image Information: Report Card

Amboo Who Source: Flickr)

Two girls in their Organic Chemistry class had not done well on their past exam. They decided to go visit the professor during office hours but little did they know they would walk out forming a new partnership. While walking out, one of the girls, Ally,  asked, "Okay, so let's make study guides for the next exam and share them over a Google Drive?" The other girl, Anna, replied, "Sure, and I'll even make practice questions that might help prepare!"

This plan was followed, and it was 2 weeks before the exam. Both girls had already created a study guide, practice questions, and even uploaded handwritten notes. They both had every desire to pass this next test with an A. Anna and Ally walked out of class that day, and Anna asked, "So, when do you want to study together?" 

Ally hesitantly replied, "Well, see, I have to go to my parent's house this weekend. It's my mom's birthday. But, you could keep the stuff that you prepare for the exam in the drive! I'll take a look at it." Anna had no idea that Ally was actually just making up an excuse to go study with a different group of people. 

Ally avoided Anna the whole weekend and studied with another group. This group had an old test file for the upcoming exam, and Ally knew she needed to have a copy in order to do well on this next exam. 

Anna and Ally met up after class the next week. Anna said, "So, I don't think the SN1 and SN2 reaction mechanisms will be asked on the test." Ally, having seen an old test file replied, "You know, I actually think we should know it. I heard it would be on the test for sure." 

Confused by how Ally was so confident with her answer, Anna replied, "Well, alright. I will make sure to upload my handwritten notes about those tonight. Want to study together tomorrow?"

Ally hesitantly replied, "Uhhh, well. I have to go to my friend's birthday dinner tomorrow night. So, I don't think I'll be able to study. But, you go on ahead. I'll just take a look at what you put in the drive."

Ally had overheard a separate group earlier that day talk about how they had a more recent test file. Hearing about this, Ally made arrangements to study with them the next day. Ally was going to do anything she could to do well on the next test. 

After class later that week, Anna asked, "So, how was your friend's birthday?" 

"Oh, it was, you know. Just like any other birthday dinner," replied Ally. 

"Well, hey, I was looking through the notes and I doubt the professor will ask any questions about E1 or E2 mechanisms," said Anna. 

"Uhh.. you know, I think I heard that this test actually will. I mean it's such a common mechanism," said Ally. 

Confused again as to Ally's weird tone in her response, Anna began to think something was going on. "How do you happen to be so sure about what's going to be on this test? Do you old test files?" asked Anna. 

"Yes, I do. Doesn't mean I have to share them with you," said Ally.

Disbelief was shown all over Anna's face. Anna worked long and hard to create all that was in the Google Drive, thinking that Ally would be her partner in studying. Instead, Ally was selfish about her own grade and just used other resources to gain her own grade. You see, that is the way of the world. 

Author's Note: In the original story, "Cat and Mouse in Partnership", a cat and a mouse become acquainted and decide to get a pot of fat for the upcoming winter. They knew it would be long and hard, so they decided to share it and wait to eat it. However, the cat got greedy and started eating the fat before time even came to eat it. Every time the cat went out to go eat the fat from the pot, the cat made an excuse as to why he was leaving the mouse. He would say that he was going to visit his godchildren, and upon his return, would tell the mouse the new god child's name as a result of how much fat he ate from the pot (e.g. Half-Gone, All-Gone, etc). The mouse caught on that the names of the godchildren were actually representing how much the cat had eaten from the pot. Winter had arrived, all the fat was gone, and the mouse was in shock. The cat told the mouse not to utter another word, and ate the mouse. In my story, I decided to take a modern approach with studying and showing how the same greed can be represented among students trying to make good grades.

Bibliography: Dan Ashliman's Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales Reading Guide

Week 14 Reading: Brothers Grimm (Ashliman) Reading Guide Part B

(Image Information: Mt. Fox and Mt. Dawson with Dawson's Glacier

Photocrom Prints Collection at Library of Congress Source: Wikipedia)

Here are some notes of the some of the stories I really liked in Part B of Ashliman's Brothers Grimm unit!



The Fox and the Cat

• Short, sweet, and simple - I like how this story is able to deliver a great message to children about character and humbleness without directly stating it
• I think it would be interesting to make this story using people, different animals, etc. This story could easily be retold from a various amount of perspectives - all while still delivering the same message 

Simeli Mountain

• I am still confused as to when the rich brother was in the mountain why he said "Open up" instead of "Close". The whole time we have read that they say "Open up" before going in and "Close" on their departure. Maybe this would be something I could clarify in my retelling.
• I like, again, how the story was short, simple, sweet - and left a great message regarding greed and its consequences. 

The Duration of Life

• I absolutely LOVED this story - what a cute way to talk about how different animals and people live different lengths of life
• It would be fun to somehow incorporate cats and their nine lives in here, or make the story adhere more to my religion and somehow bring in reincarnation 

The Peasant and the Devil

• I certainly did not expect the peasant to be the one who had the good luck and was the one who taught the life lesson in this story - I certainly thought the devil would cause some harm but this had a happy ending
• I might retell this story and twist it to where it's not a happy ending and has to do with the devil!

Bibliography: Dan Ashliman's Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales Reading Guide Part B

Week 14 Reading: Brothers Grimm (Ashliman) Part A

Below are some notes for the stories in Brother Grimms Part A of the Ashliman Unit that I found interesting, and would probably consider using in my storytelling post this week.

(Image Information: House Cat with Bow

Free Vintage Illustrations Source: Flickr)

Cat and Mouse in Partnership

• This title was interesting because for once, I thought it would be a story about a cat and a mouse getting along - but it was to catch the attention of readers
• To create a new story, I would have to use two animals that supposedly don't like each other - cat and dog, mouse and elephant, snake and mouse, etc. 
• The story was predictable the whole time, and using the amount of fat eaten as names for the godchildren was hilarious - this would be a fun story to retell!

The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids

• This story was nothing I had expected from the wolf disguising himself to pulling out whole children goats and replacing it with rocks in the wolf's stomach 
• It would be fun to completely turn the story around with baby wolves fearing a goat, and just seeing how that would play out. Usually, wolves are deemed as the "villain" characters but it would be interesting to make them the "good guys" for once.
• I liked how unpredictable this story was the whole time from the beginning until the end and included a great amount of detail to allow for imagination 

The Seven Ravens

• I am still in disbelief how casual the daughter just cut her finger and gave it to get the door open
• We also never really find out what happens to the bone, so if I were to rewrite the story, I might include more detail on that 
• I would also want to make this story more reflective and have some type of take-away message instead of just ending. 

Little Red Cap

• I have never heard of a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood in this way, and it's hilarious how they call her Little Red Cap
• The story also gives background information about why her name is that way, and I'm not too sure if in the story we are accustomed to that we are ever told why her name is Little Red Riding Hood
• It's also nice that the ending concluded with what happened to everyone in the story
• I might want to change up the name just as this story did - Little Red Hat, Little Red Scarf, etc.

Rumplestiltskin

• I was really excited to read this story because I wanted to compare it to Tom-Tit-Tot
• There were quite a few differences as there wasn't much of background story to developing the mother and daughter scene as in Tom-Tit-Tot, and in Tom-Tit-Tot, there wasn't any mention of the girl giving anything in return for the services provided. 
• After reading Tom-Tit-Tot, and this story, I might just even consider making my own version and keep some of the same elements from the stories of both. I can now understand why different fairytales are interpreted differently around the world. 

Bibliography: Dan Ashliman's Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales Reading Guide Part A

Week 12 Story Planning: Tom-Tit-Tot

(Image Information: Rumplestiltskin-Crane

Project Gutenberg Source: Wikipedia)

I decided to write a story planning post for the story I want to retell from the readings I read this week. Below are my detailed notes and some research I did regarding the story "Tom-Tit-Tot".

Notes:

• There is some really old English language in the beginning with the mother and daughter conversating. They talk back and forth about the pies not being ready to eat, but it turns out the daughter ate them. I think I would want to change up the language here to a more modern approach maybe use texting and insert a custom-made text message graphic with the two conversating, even though they're in the same house! 
• Then the king walks by and hears the mother talking about how her daughter ate the pies, and she changed it to where the daughter had made five skins. In my story, I was thinking to have the mother go to text her friend but ended up selecting the king's number. She types that her daughter ate all the pies, but AUTOCORRECT comes in the way and says that her daughter made something else. I am not sure what she would say here that would entice in the king in this modern tale.
• The king will read the text message and end up texting the daughter that he has liked her for a long time and would like to take her on a date. She agrees, and when the king comes to pick her up, he has a conversation with the daughter's mother about how if he asks her to marry him she has to make the items she had previously stated she had made (still not sure what I would do here).
• When the daughter is locked up for a month, I would make it to where the king lived in a hi-tech house so that when the king comes to see the girl, he must use a fingerprint scan to open the door and see that she is making what he wanted. 
• I will make Tom-Tit-Tot have the power to teleport, so he would randomly arrive. This is where I would connect the mother back into the story. I want the mother to be friends with Tom-Tit-Tot and send him to help the daughter since she's been keeping track of the months and knows that the daughter would be making items like the king had requested. 

Research:

I realized through Googling Tom-Tit-Tot that this is an English variant on the famous Rumplestiltskin tale. So, since the stories were similar, I decided to look up a critical analysis of this story to learn more about the themes in this story. On a website (click here), I found that there were multiple themes in this story: the law of two's (two characters being involved in each scene), greed, and power. In my retelling of this story, I will still have the law of two's, greed, and power present. 

Bibliography: Joseph Jacob's English Fairy Tales Reading Guide

Week 12 Reading: English Fairy Tales Part B

Today, I read Part B of the English Tales reading. Below are the notes I took on stories that I found interesting and, possibly, wanted to retell this week's story

(Image Information: Fox with Almost Eyes Closed 

Tambako the Jaguar Source: Flickr)

Henny-Penny

• This story makes the fox out to be the evil character, which is always assumed since foxes are sly
• It would be a great way to retell this story where the fox is innocent and another animal is masked as "evil"
• I have never heard this tale before, but this was an interesting read 

Molly Whuppie

• In this story, we never really know what happened to the giant's wife
• If I were to retell this story, I would extend the plot line and talk about what happens to the giant's wife 
• I also might include a different ending that involves Molly Whuppie and all three sisters getting married because at the end of this story, they just say that she marries the youngest son after getting the king the giant's ring 

Johnny-Cake

• It seems that the fox is used in many English tales to serve as the sly character, as it was in this story as well
• We never are really told the meaning behind Johnny-Cake or why it was named that way so if I retell the story, I would want to include background information or somewhere in the story get the information in there 
• It would also be a good story to make more 21st century type of story 

Mr. Miacca

• I like how this story develops the boy to be clever, and how he got away
• I would want to retell this story from the boy's first-person perspective
• We only see the boy's mother once in this story warning about Mr. Miacca so it would be nice to include her more and her role in explaining the background story about this myth regarding Mr. Miacca

Fairy Ointment

• The language in this story was very peculiar, and it helped to have the notes before the story that talked about how certain words like squinny or poll to mean squinty or head, respectively 
• This would be a fun story to tell from a 21st-century perspective 
• Dame Goody is the main character in this story, so it would also be a good way to give her more of character development and talk more about her background story when introducing her to the story. 

Bibliography: Joseph Jacob's English Fairy Tales Reading Guide Part B

Week 12 Reading: English Fairy Tales Part A

(Three Little Pigs - Third Pig Builds a House

Leonard Leslie Brooke Source: Wikipedia)

I found myself engaged in Part A of the English Fairytales, and below are the notes I took while reading some of the stories:


Tom Tit Tot

• I really enjoyed this story, however, it's so interesting that this English fairy tale resembled Rumplestiltskin, which I believe is a German fairy tale. It was interesting to read another version 
• The main characters end up being the daughter and Tom Tit Tot - I think it would be interesting to retell this story from a futuristic point of view with updated technology, etc.

The Rose Tree

• This story was not what I had expected at all
• The little girl ends up being a bird that becomes the main character of this story
• If I were to retell this story, I would make it where the girl is not killed but that her hair is chopped off. I was thinking to take a more modern approach and have the girl in pain due to lack of self-confidence, but soon she is discovered by a model agency in which she becomes a famous model. 
• She can then be asked to travel the world and can bring her family with her on this journey with her career and she chooses to take her dad and brother, only. 
• I'm not sure where the girl's birthmother ever played a role in this story as they never really develop her character. It would also be interesting to retell the same story, but also include the girl's birthmother and her role in the story. 

The Old Woman and Her Pig

• This story was like telephone in that there were a chain of events that had to occur to achieve the result desired 
• Just to get the pig over the stile so the woman could get home, all of these events occurred 
• It would be fun to retell this story and completely change the chain of events 

Mouse and Mouser

• This story seemed more like a nursery rhyme 
• I'm not sure how I would retell this story, but the style of writing in this story was very unique
• The two main characters banter back and forth with witty remarks - so it might be fun to just completely retell this story with my own made up remarks 

The Story of the Three Little Pigs

• The ending on this story is completely different from the way I was ever told this story
• It's interesting to see how across different cultures that the same nursery rhymes or fairy tales are tweaked
• If I were to retell this story I would try to make the ending more modern and different from the one I have heard of before, and this one in this story

Bibliography: Joseph Jacob's English Fairy Tales Reading Guide Part A

Week 11 Tech Tip: Typing Test

(Image Information: Computer keyboard

Gflores Source: Wikipedia)

It was interesting to see that my WPM was 92 and I had an accuracy of 96%. I believe that this test is accurate, but also, keeping in mind that some people may type this quote better than others or vice versa. Something that I do is use Caps Lock instead of the Shift button when I type. I shouldn't do this because I know that doing so allows for more errors to be made. On average, I get about 80-85 words per minute as I have taken other typing tests on other websites before. But, I believe in general, that typing is an essential part of life. I think it's very hard to function in today's date without being able to use technology or type accurately. I'm not really sure what has contributed to my ability to type so fast. I think the fact that I have been using a computer since the age of 4 has something to do with it I guess. But, maybe one day this skill might be something that will be useful. 

(Image Information: Personal Screenshot of Result)

Week 11 Storytelling: Dirty-Girl

(Image Information: Wedding Party

The Smithsonian Institution Source: Flickr)

The people of the Great Plains were one of the richest. They lived in in a large camp full of crops and machinery to conduct business. However, there was a problem. There were more men than women in this area. It was time for the chief's two sons to be married, but there were no suitable women. Many women were already taken, and those that were left were not of appeal to the chief's sons. 

Sun and Star, who were brother and sister, were noticing the problem. Sun said to his sister, "These two boys are struggling to find their future wives. Maybe we should go down there and help them." With this, Star agreed, and the two dressed and went down to Earth. 

One night, two women came to the camp. Both looked as if they had been traveling for days. They had ripped clothes and a sack on their backs. Sun and Star sent these two poor women. They needed a place to spend the night, so the two of them slept on the ground of the camp until morning arrived.

When morning came, the chief's wife noticed these two men on the ground and went to her husband to report her findings. "My dear husband, two poor women have arrived on our campgrounds. They are sleeping on the ground. Should we help them?" asked the chief's wife. 

"Let me speak to them," said the chief. 

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"What has brought you both here?" asked the chief.

The older sister replied, "Well, we have come from our old campgrounds. Everyone was killed in a fire. We were only to escape. We come with treasures that could be saved from the fire in order to pay you for your hospitality."

"Do not worry. You may stay here. But, you must contribute to our campgrounds businesses. Find a place to work, and I will house you here," said the chief.

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Days had passed and the two women were now a part of this society. One afternoon, the chief called all single women to the center of the campgrounds for a brief meeting.

"Hello everyone. I come with you today a challenge. My two sons are seeking wives and in order to settle who should marry them, I have set out the next two days for contests to prove your abilities to be one of their wives."

The two poor women decided this might be a chance to prove their worth. For they had lost everything, and while they did not have a family or riches, they knew they could be the best wives the chief's sons could ever marry.

The two sisters looked at each other and decided they would compete. 

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Day 1 had arrived. The chief began to gather all of the potential wives and began explaining the first-day contest rules.

"Today, you all will be making a cooked meal for my two sons. You will be judged on presentation and taste. Your dishes will also be given a comparison to my wife's cooking. These two men will be looking for the women who can cook like their mother. Please bring your dishes by sundown."

The women ran back to their kitchens and began cooking. The two sisters had luckily been housed by the chief, so they had been eating the chief's wife's cooking for the past few days they had arrived. The two sisters began making all they had eaten while at their time here. This was going to be an easy win.

What these two women didn't know was that the sons had already had their desires to be with the chief's friend's daughters. These two daughters also really knew the cooking of the son's mother due to being invited to several dinners. 

Sundown had arrived and the women brought their dishes. The two sons began tasting, and a decision was made. 

"Thank you, everyone, for your dishes. They were all very good. However, there are 4 women who are going to proceed to tomorrow's contests," said the chief.

The chief announced that the two poor women and the two daughters of his friend were moving onto the next day's contest.

Before parting, the chief announced the next day's contest.

"The two women who can weave a basket with the best design will be the ones to marry my sons," said the chief. 

Excited to hear about this, all 4 women left to sleep and prepare for the next day. 

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The next day arrived and having already known the challenge the women began to weave.

People around the campgrounds began to gossip about who they think would win.

"Haha, those poor women do not have a chance. I doubt they have had any practice weaving," said one. 

"You are right. Those poor women don't have a chance against the other two women. We have all known all along that those two were the ones made for the chief's sons," said another. 

Sundown came and was time to face the decisions made by the chiefs and his sons. 

"While it was a hard decision to make. I stand before you today to announce that the newcomers of our campgrounds will now be wedded to my sons. These women have proved themselves to be the best caretakers and will contribute great success to the businesses of this campground with the skills they have," said the chief. 

The people of the campground were shocked. How could these two poor, filthy women be the winners? 

The two sons began to read the expressions held by the people around them and realized this decision had shocked everyone. The older son stood up to speak and said, "Now, I can see that many of you are surprised. But, we must think about how we got to be one of the most successful camps in the Plains. We did not judge each other. We supported each other. These two women here have proved themselves, and we know the future of our people will be in great hands with these two women as our wives. We mustn't judge from the outside."

People began to see what the elder son was saying, and over time, began accepting the two women. The people of the Great Plains became the most successful, and the past of the two poor women did not matter. They were in a better place now. They had a family. This was their home. 

Author's Note: This story was based on the Native American Hero tale titled "Dirty-Boy" where a poor grandmother and her grandson arrive at a campsite and the chief's daughter eventually marries him. I decided to change the gender roles and made it where the sons were looking for women to marry. The original story had one daughter marry against the chief's will and the other daughter married the "dirty-boy", but in this story, I had two poor women arrived and the two sons marry both of the "dirty-girl". The contests used for story involved the roles that most Native American women must have played at this time in this story - cooking, taking care of a family, and involved with making clothes, baskets, and jewelry. 

Bibliography: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson Reading Guide 

Week 11: Reading Notes - Native American Hero Tales Part B

Part B of the Native American Hero Tales presented some pretty interesting tales. Again, it was really interesting to relate these stories back to Indian tales I have read before. From character development to the plot lines, there were lots of similarities. Below, I jotted some thoughts regarding the stories I really found interesting in Part B.

(Image Information: Native American Chiefs

Author not indicated Source: Wikipedia)

Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away

• This story made me think of Dr. Seuss's "The Cat in the Hat". The boys kept doing the opposite of what their father told them and came to prove him wrong. I am not entirely sure the meaning behind this. But there was symbolism in trying to explain things like "why snakes heads are flat". 
• We merely meet "Red-Woman" for a short scene. There is no background information about her, and her story. I think it would be interesting to retell this story by adding some background information regarding Red-Woman and character development. This would also make sense later when the father realizes who had killed his wife - as I still don't understand how he knows just looking at his wife that Red-Woman did it. 

The Son-In-Law Tests

• I thought this story really had a plot that was hard to follow. I found myself getting lost at times, and finally, at the end, the story concludes with "and that was the origin of the pike". I guess I wasn't really able to follow this story.
• If I were to retell this story, I would do the opposite gender. I would name the story "The Daughter-In-Law" tests and create different scenarios for this gender change. 

Dirty-Boy

• This story reminded me of the Ramayana when Rama was told to break Shiva's bow in order to be suitable for the King's daughter
• This story also had its own plot line as to what the men must do to marry the King's daughter. I think it would be a great way to tell this story by changing the gender as well. It would be interesting to see how this story could be different with women trying to gain acceptance from the queen for her sons. How fun would that be?
• I like how this story gives the message that 1) in order to find the one you're supposed to be with you have to look past superficial things 2) the person who you end up being with may not be who you expected. 

Bibliography: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson Reading Guide Part B