Storytelling Week 6: Mittens and The Beast

Often on beautiful days like this, Mittens would go for a walk and soak in the suns rays. It gave the hero time to reflect on the people he’d saved and the savage creatures he’d conquered. While walking through the forest, he heard a whimper-like sound coming from a bush nearby. Confused as to why something could whimper on a day like this, Mittens peered into the bush to see another cat. He was in awe. He did not understand why a cat as beautiful as she was upset, and on such a beautiful day too.

“What is the problem? Why do you whimper on a day so beautiful?”

“I’m sorry,” she replied. “I am afraid for my life; I am the only member of my family left.” She went on, “In the last two weeks, I have lost my mother, father, and my three brothers.”

Shocked and confused, Mittens replied, “What evil has caused this? What can I do to help?”

“Again, I’m sorry but there isn’t a thing you can do that will change my fate.” Dejected, she went on to explain that there was a mighty wolf who had caused the fall of the rest of her family. “But there’s something I haven’t mentioned,” the cat continued, “This wolf who has destroyed my kin and ruined my life, is a wolf from the supernatural. Instead of one head with one mouth, this wolf bears eight heads with eight mouths.”

“Well,” Mittens began, “You’ve come to the right place. I will take great pleasure in seeking out this beast and putting a stop to him.”

“I see that you have no lack of confidence, but that may be your greatest folly.”

Mittens told her of his past and the creatures he had defeated before. Then, he claimed that he was so confident that he would be successful in his quest that when he returned, she would marry him. She agreed, and Mittens got right to work. He had once heard a story of a god, Susa-wo-no, who had defeated an eight-headed serpent using his wits and a sacred sword, so he knew that his task was doable.

(Image Information: Mittens searching for the beast;
a personal photo from 2014)

After several days of searching, he heard what sounded like the growling of an entire pack of wolves. He snuck into a nearby bush and peeked through to the other side. There, in a small opening, was the eight-headed wolf preying on three rabbits at once. Mittens decided he would stalk the beast until the sun set, then put his plan into action.

Just after the sun set, Mittens let out a little meow, and the beast turned its sixteen eyes towards him. The eight-headed wolf chased the hero through several bushes until the cat climbed up into the highest tree in the forest. The creature tried to climb, but the cat was up so high that the wolf would try to get up there, only to lose his grip and fall back to the ground. The wolf, knowing Mittens would have to come down at some point, decided to simply wait at the base of the tree. One day passed, then another, and as the sun set on the third day, the beast was growing tired. It had to stay alert while the cat could comfortably nap up in the safety of the trees many branches. So when the beast had dozed off, the cat finished his plan. Using his claws, he had cut a branch almost completely off of the tree. This branch was right above the eight-headed wolf. So that night, with the creature fast asleep, Mittens finished sawing off the branch and it struck the beast on all eight of his heads, knocking it out cold. He then climbed down the tree and plucked out all sixteen of the beast’s eyes, so that it could never again see prey to chase.

Triumphantly, the hero returned to the female and informed her of his success. After relief washed over her, she was enamored with the cunning of her hero. The two spent the rest of their days together, comfortably walking through the forest on beautiful days.

Author’s Note: This story is based on The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi. In this story, Susa-wo-no comes across a maiden with her two parents, and all three of them are visibly upset. Susa-wo-no learns that the family has lost many daughters to an eight-forked serpent, and soon they will lose their last daughter. The maiden is so beautiful that Susa-wo-no says he will slay the monster in he can have her hand in marriage. The father agrees, and Sus-wo-no holds up his end of the deal. In this version I included cats because meow meow.

“The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi” from Romance of Old Japan, Part 1: Mythology and Legend by E.W. Champney and F. Champney (1917)

Reading Diary B: Japanese Mythology

Here are some notes on Japanese Mythology.

(Image Information: A statue of Yamato Takeru; Web Source: Britannica)

The Golden Apple (Yamato)

Yamato has been infatuated with a siren since before he married his princess. After finding the siren again in the grotto, Yamato says he will do anything for her love; the siren tells him to bring her a golden apple. In this story, the siren tells a story of old Jofuku. This man went to the island of eternal life and successfully returned with a golden apple.

The Demon Boar (Yamato)

Not much to say about this story other than Yamato is officially the Japanese Hercules (that rhymes). He just uses his sheer awesomeness to defeat terribly things and preform inconceivable tasks.

The Grass-Cleaving Sword (Yamato)

Here, the great Yamato is actually successfully deceived, but when all seems lost and the fire that encloses him and his comrades inches closer to burning them. Princess Tacibana runs through the fire with a sword that Yamato uses to save them. Tacibana risks her life to save the man she is so devoted to.

The Sacred Sword (Yamato)

Returning to the siren proved a great mistake for Yamato. She deceived him and took his sacred sword. Then lost, the great goddess Kwannon came to his aid. She told him that the sacred sword would be found in the antlers of a stag. With the goddess’s help, Yamato slayed the stag and got the sword back.

The Dragon (Yamato)

Yamato, happy to have the sacred sword in his possession, returned to the siren one last time to charge her with her deception. But the siren was waiting for him, and claimed that he would never leave her until the love of another was greater. Fortunately, that love was Tacibana, and Yamato was saved. When he awoke in his home, Tacibana was nowhere to be found; he waited, but still there was nothing. Finally he found Tacibana trying to protect the city from the evil dragon, Susa-no-wo. It didn’t take long for Yamato to slay the dragon and profess his love for the princess.

One last time, Yamato set out to sea. Tacibana was unsure of how the sea god would react, but Yamato had no fear. He had already defeated Susa-no-wo once, so why not again. Unfortunately, the god was angered by these words and raged a monstrous storm that would kill Yamato unless someone took his place. Of course, ever-faithful Tacibana did, and Yamato was heartbroken.

Reading Diary A: Japanese Mythology

Here are some notes on Japanese Mythology.

The Eight Forked Serpent of Koshi

I felt that this story was a lot like the story of Perseus and Andromeda. Susa-no-wo came across a beautiful maiden in peril, and he offered to save the girl if he could have her hand in marriage. Much like the Greek myth, it was up to the parents of the girl to decide whom she should marry. Obviously, willing to do anything, the father agreed and Susa-no-wo used his wits to kill the serpent and gain a wife.

The Fortunate Fish-Hook

Two brothers, Ho-weri (hunter) and Ho-deri (fisherman) were both very skilled in their arts. But one day, Ho-deri grew impatient and decided that he should swap duties with his younger brother for a while. After a day of less than no success, he met with Ho-weri and asked to return to his role as fisherman. Ho-weri had the same problem and desired to be a hunter again; however, Ho-weri had lost his brother’s fish-hook. Ho-deri was inconsolable. Ho-weri, grieving, went to search for the hook and ended up marrying the daughter of the sea god.

In the second part, the sea god helps to find the lost fish-hook, and after several years, Ho-weri decides he must return the fish-hook to his brother. Ho-deri is incredibly grateful for his brother and thanks him one-thousand times over. Then, the daughter of the sea god meets Ho-weri and births a son. The son spends all of his time with his father, until Ho-weri passes. Then, he spends his days at sea.

The Rescue of the Princess (Yamato)

Yamato, much like a Japanese Hercules in that he is a very strong, very skilled warrior with high intelligence too, saves his princess from a large group of bandits using his skill and deception.

(Image Information: Yamato dressed as a woman; Web Source: Wikipedia)

Essay: Animal Wit

(Image Information: A fox; Web Source: Wikipedia)

In every case, the last man, or animal, standing was not the strongest, or the fastest, but was the most intelligent. This week was a nice shift of gears from mythology and into some shorter fables. The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai had plenty of stories, and almost every story, at the end, included a “winner” who was more cunning than his peers. Also, it is interesting to note that, in each story, there was usually one person who thought he was the smartest, but ended up being bested by another who was better than him.

For example, in The Hare, the Fox, and the Wolf, the hare intends to use the wolf as a means of removing the pesky fox from the hare’s worries. The hare devises an entire plan to have the wolf kill the fox; however, in the end it is the fox (commonly recognized as a cunning, or sly, animal) who emerges victorious, and the wolf who the hare was going to use to kill the fox, actually killed the hare. The fox was the smartest of the three creatures, so he survived in the end, capturing both the hare and the wolf.

Again, in The Camel Driver and the Adder, wit wins out. And this time, a fox is again involved in the victory. The camel driver, out of the goodness of his heart, saves the adder from certain death, only to be told that the adder still must kill him. He tries to wiggle out of it, but is unable to do so multiple times. Finally, before it’s over, a fox comes along and helps the camel driver. The fox tricks the adder into returning to the tiny bag he was saved in, and the camel driver closes the bag and kills the adder. Again, the fox (and the camel driver) wins.

Finally, there was the story of The Three Fish. This story blatantly says that wit is a most important quality. The fish who always used his wits was able to escape, the fish who sometimes used his wits was able to survive, and the stupid fish… he died. The moral of the story is be smart.

Storytelling Week 5: The Merchant and His Cat

There was once a merchant who was sent by the king on a daring mission. Afraid he would not return, the night before he was scheduled to depart, the merchant went to his old friend to ask a favor. The two had been friends for so long, that the merchant knew he could trust his friend.

“My old friend,” began the merchant, “I have known you for as long as I have been able to walk. You have stood with me through thick and thin. Now, I must ask you to do me one favor more. I am going on a mission and it may be awhile before I return. I need you to watch over my two tons of iron so that nobody will steal it while I’m gone.”

The friend, seeing this as an opportunity to gain immense wealth, replied that he would be happy to keep an eye on the merchant’s iron. “I’ll watch it as if it were my own.”

Once the merchant left, the friend sold every last piece of iron and grew extensively wealthy. The friend, expecting the merchant to perish on his travels, was shocked to see him return several fortnights later.

Upon his return, the merchant paid a visit to his friends house, expecting to be returned his iron. “Good friend,” the merchant began. “I have returned successfully from my mission and am glad that you have watched over my iron while I have been away. You have watched my iron, haven’t you?” To his dismay, the friend said that it had been lost, but the merchant knew that the friend had come into a large amount of money recently and expected that he sold the iron to accomplish this.

After telling the friend that everything was ok, the merchant left the friend’s house, but not before stealing the friend’s most prized possession, his cat. That night, when the friend went to bed, he called, “Kitty, kitty, kitty. Come here kitty, kitty,” but the cat did not come. Suddenly, the friend heard someone open his door. “Who is there? Reveal yourself you coward!!” the friend screamed. Then, the merchant appeared in the doorway.

“Return me my iron,” the merchant said defiantly.

“What have you done with my beautiful kitty?!”

“Your cat will be returned to you once you give me my iron back. I know that you sold my iron for your own gain, and for that you will be punished.” And so the friend was punished. The merchant retook all of the profits from the iron and let the cat walk right out the front door. His kitty was never seen again.

(Image Information: A collage of cats; Web Source: Wikipedia)

Author's Note: This story is similar to The Merchant and His Iron, except instead of abducting the friend's child, the merchant takes his cat because cats are better than people meow.

"The Merchant and His Iron" from The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai by Maude Barrows Dutton, with illustrations by E. Boyd Smith (1908).

Reading Diary B: Tales of Bidpai

Here are some notes on the Tales of Bidpai.

The Hare, the Fox, and the Wolf

It is becoming apparent that, in almost all of these stories, the most wise creature is the one who survives. What is interesting is determining who is the wisest. In this story, it seems as though the hare is going to get exactly what he wants by manipulating the lion. Unfortunately, it is the fox who is the smartest, and the hare dies (spoiler alert).

The Camel Driver and the Adder

Again, it is a twist at the end when we learn that the camel driver used the fox to outwit the adder. Although the camel driver seems doomed because he saved the evil adder, he uses the cunning of the fox to defeat the adder. Yet another story where the fox outsmarts the others.

The Crane and the Crab

I remember hearing this story when I was little. The crane outwits the fish, and so he makes quick and easy work of them; however, the crane gets greedy and tries to kill his enemy, the crab, too. The crab realizes what the crane has done once he sees the fish bones and kills the crane at once.

The Three Fish

This story explicitly says what I have been discussing throughout this half of the reading diary. The fish who always used his wits got away, the fish who sometimes used his wits survived, and the fish who never used his wits was killed.

(Image Information: A snapshot of three characters
from Fish Hooks; Web Source: Fish Hooks Wiki)

Reading Diary A: Tales of Bidpai

Here are some notes on the Tales of Bidpai.

The King, the Falcon, and the Drinking Cup

This story was crazy interesting. It turned out that the falcon was actually trying to protect the king from drinking the poison. The king was left to live with his harsh punishment. The moral to this story is to not make any rash decisions, but to give everyone a chance to prove their innocence.

The Merchant and His Iron

I guess there wasn’t much thought about it then, but that was a very odd way for the merchant to get back at the friend. I don’t really see how it would make sense to abduct a child ever, but it did make for a very interesting, serious twist to the story.

(Image Information: An iron ingot; Web Source: Minecraft Wiki)

The King, the Hermit, and the Two Princes

Another story that seems so weird. The wise king has a plan to make his two sons more humble and careful with money, but the hermit he leaves the money with dies. Then, by some insane luck, one prince finds the gold and ends up as the king after the other prince is killed in a battle because his army had no money. It was just very weird.

The Ass, the Lion, and the Fox

This story reminds me a lot of the donut experiment in psychology (in which a child is shown an old donut and says he/she may have that donut now, or if they wait, a fresh one in several minutes). The fox could have food for many days if he let the lion eat the ass unfortunately, he couldn’t resist the old donut.

Famous Last Words: Week 3

Second week of school out of the way, and as I had hoped, I am beginning to settle into the semester. Thankfully, I have had a chance to get ahead in this class, and now if I need to dedicate more time one week to another class, I can do that without worrying about falling behind here. I have now finished reading the fourth weeks reading (Ancient Egyptian Mythology), and just began to work on the introduction of my storybook.

I feel like I am starting to get a better feel  for this class, and it is becoming easier for me to do all of this reading and creative writing. Not that there is an overwhelming amount of work in this class, it is just that, as a biochemistry major, I do not spend much time in my classes reading stories or doing any creative writing activities. Actually, I find this class to be a nice break from my other scientific coursework.

This weekend, I am a little bummed out that there isn’t a home basketball game, but OU does play Baylor at Baylor at five o’clock today. It is another top 25 matchup for Oklahoma. It seems like that’s all they do now, but it is good preparation for March. My cats got a couple new toys this week, and they seemed very curious about them, but it did not take long for them to lose interest. Fortunately, their toys came in boxes. Annie, my not fat cat, is obsessed with these boxes. It seems like almost every single time I come home, she is sitting in one of the boxes.

It seems like this semester is going very quickly already. A week from wednesday I will have my first exam. It is for genetics, and I feel like we have hardly done anything in that class yet, so I am pretty nervous, but it’s still a little ways away I guess. Anyways, another week down.

(Image Information: Annie peeking out of a
suitcase; personal photo from January 2015)

Essay: Women of Egypt

(Image Information: Depiction
of Isis; Web Source: Wikipedia)

This week, I moved from Greek Mythology to Ancient Egyptian Mythology. The last two essays have been over the role women played in part one and two of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and while the women in part two had more of an influence than those in part one, still no women were happy at the end of their stories. This week, I focused on the stories of Osiris and Isis as well as “The Two Brothers”, and analyzed the role women play in these stories.

Osiris, an Egyptian god, begins his story as he takes over the throne, after Ra ascended to heaven. Osiris built a glorious and honorable Egypt where he was known as “Osiris the Good” because he was so widely loved for his success. Unfortunately, he had an evil brother, Set, who desired the power Osiris held and plotted to take it from him. Enter Isis, the wife of Osiris. While Osiris was away, Isis successfully protected the throne from Set and his servants. Then, upon Osiris’s return, Set put his final plan into motion and successfully killed the king. Isis heard this news and was heartbroken. With Set on the throne, Egypt was thrust back into turmoil, so Isis set out to find her husband’s body. After searching for years, she finally found the body. She also gave birth to a boy, Horus, who was destined to overthrow Set and return peace to Egypt. On her way back, Set happened across his brother’s body and was so furious he had it cut into pieces and thrown into the Nile. Isis, determined to help her love find peace in the afterlife, went and found every piece of his body and gave each piece a proper burial. While she was not happy, her passion for her husband and the sympathy of Ra allowed her to successfully find Osiris’s body twice and give it a proper Egyptian burial. This is the first story I read where a women succeeded without going mad in the process.

In the tale of the two brothers, much like before, the women play a much less honorable role. The wife of the older brother, Anpu, attempts to seduce the younger brother, Bata, and then lies to Anpu about her doings, placing all the blame on Bata. This leads to Anpu attempting to murder Bata, and Bata’s decision to leave. Then, the gods create a wife for Bata, and this wife eventually decides to give Bata up and has him killed. These women, in the end, were both unsuccessful (Anpu’s wife was slain, and Bata’s wife gave rebirth to Bata so he could become king of Egypt) in their attempts to deceive their husbands.

In these Ancient Egyptian stories, mortal women played much of the same role as before. They are far inferior to the powers of gods and men. In this section, however, there was Isis, who did succeed in laying her husband to rest.

Storytelling Week 4: The Green Jewel

There was once a king who ruled over the entire world. His father, the king before him, died when he was just a boy, and being the only heir to the throne, the boy was thrust into the limelight. As the years past, he became more calloused to the many extravagancies he was capable of getting his hands on. He could have anything he wanted.

One day, the king woke up and could no longer smile. He was so depressed that nothing could make him happy. He watched the jester with disdain, and he ate his world-class food with disgust. Then looked out of his palace and saw several bricklayers whistling and joking while they worked. There was so much joy in their eyes, the king thought. Then it hit him. What he really wanted was someone he could share his experiences with. Someone he could spend his days growing old with, so he had one of his servants round up twenty of the most beautiful women in all of the land. He had his choice of the lot, tall ones, short ones, thin ones, fat ones, blonde ones, black ones. Unfortunately, after looking over the women, he felt no connection to any of them and had them returned to their homes at once. This search continued for a fortnight. Every morning and every evening, the servant would bring twenty of the finest women in the world for the king to behold, but every time, the king sent them all back home.

When his mother asked him what was wrong, the king dejectedly responded, “Mother, I am alone in this world. Because all of the others have lived in fear of me all their lives, I have no friends to call my own. And I’ve been shut off from the bourgeoisie for so long that I do not desire any of their women either. I am completely and utterly alone.” Upon hearing this, the king’s mother set out in an attempt to find something to make her royal son smile. She looked for almost three months, sending her findings back to the palace with servants, but nothing could please the king.

Then, one day when the king was solemnly looking out his stained glass window, contemplating putting an end to his misery, he saw something crawling along a rooftop in the distance. It was a little green blob. The king was intrigued by this thing and told his servants to fetch it. When the servants returned, the king finally found what he was looking for. He gazed into two eyes that seemed to stare right into his soul. It was a beautiful green cat.

The king spent the rest of his days with the now royal green cat. He named her Jewel. The king and Jewel lived happily ever after.

(Image Information: A green cat; Web Source: Messy Beast)

Author's Note: This story is loosely based on The Green Jewel from Donald Mackenzie's Egyptian Myth and Legend. In the story there is a king who is sad, and in an attempt to cheer him up, one of his servants attempts to cheer him up by suggesting him to go on a boat on the lake with a bunch of beautiful virgins. The king, thinking that this may work, decided to go. Enjoying the fanciness of the boat and the beauty of the girls and how the girls sing with their sweet voices, the king's sadness fades, and he begins to cheer up. Suddenly, one of the girls lost a beautiful green jewel, and deeply upset, stopped her rowing. The king, confused by why his great day was slowing, demanded an explanation. After the girl finally said what happened, the king's scribe used some magic to retrieve the jewel back from the bottom of the sea.
In this story, I threw our the girls and the boat and inserted the mom and the cat. By making the king younger, it makes sense that he would find happiness in a green cat. I would be super happy if I found a green cat because meow.

"The Green Jewel" from Donald Mackenzie's Egyptian Myth and Legend (1907)

Reading Diary B: Ancient Egypt

Here are some notes on the Ancient Egypt Unit pt. B

The Two Brothers

This is a story about two brothers, one older and one younger. The older, Anpu, and his wife take care of the younger, Bata, and in return, Bata does many chores for them. One day, while Anpu is out in the fields with Bata, Bata returns to the house to get some seed, and comes across Anpu’s wife. She tries to seduce him, but he quickly refuses. That night, when Anpu gets home, his wife pretends that Bata was the evildoer and wanted to harm her. Now Anpu is furious.

Anpu planned to slay Bata, but the oxen gave Bata enough of a warning for him to escape. Praying to Ra, Bata asked to be saved, and between the two brothers Ra created a crocodile infested river. Then, Bata told Anpu what had happened and said he could no longer return to live with Anpu. Anpu, in rage, returned home and slayed his wife. Then he grieved for his brother.

Bata, during his travels, came across several gods who felt pity for the boy and made him a beautiful wife. He protected her as long as he could, but one day the wife gave Bata up. Once it became apparent to Anpu that his brother had died, he returned and searched for his soul for four years. Once he found it he restored his brother and they embraced. Now, Bata, disguised as a bull, is going to get his wife back with the help of Anpu.

Upon entering the kingdom, Bata told his wife who he was, and she had the Bull put to death, but where the blood spilled, two trees were grown. Then, she had the trees cut down, but a piece of wood was stuck in her throat, and not too long after that, she gave birth to Bata, who ruled over Egypt for 30 years, and when he died, Anpu took his place.

(Image Information: Anpu bringing Bata
(the bull) to the king; Web Source:
Perankhgroup)

The Book of Thoth

In this story, Nefer-ka-ptah seeks the legendary Book of Thoth. This book is supposed to hold many secrets of magic and anyone who reads it will gain amazing abilities. Nefer-ka-ptah, ignoring the advice of his wife, goes in search of it. He successfully reads the Book of Thoth and gains all the powers. Then, he brings it to his wife and she does the same. The two feast and rejoice and head for the Northern Land.
Eventually, Thoth discovered that his book was stolen and got revenge on Nefer-ka-ptah. First by killing his son, then his wife, then him. It was a very cyclic story (Part III) and was almost word for words for both the son and the wife. In the end, Nefer-ka-ptah was buried with the Book.

Reading Diary A: Ancient Egypt

Here are some notes on the Ancient Egypt Unit pt. A

The Secret Name of Ra

This story is actually quite interesting compared to the other Greek Mythology stories I read the last two weeks. Isis, the female god, tricks the almighty Ra into giving her his secret name (which basically holds all of his power). Isis leaves a venomous snake to bite Ra, and then says she can heal him only when he gives her his secret name. She is very cunning and smart.

Osiris

This little piece talks about when Ra ascended to heaven and Osiris took over. Osiris the Good, as he was fondly called, took Egypt from nothing to a very stable life. People grew crops and planted trees. People built temples and praised the gods. Osiris was just the leader the people of Egypt were looking for. Peace was in the city, but there is always someone looking to stir up trouble. Osiris’s brother, Set, was far more evil and desired the power his brother had.

The Death of Osiris

Set successfully trapped Osiris in a coffin, had his minions seal it shut, and tossed it into the Nile. Set was ruler of Egypt now and he did as he pleased. Egypt became a place of danger. Even queen Isis was not safe. She spent her days inconsolably searching for Osiris. Ra felt pity for her and offered up Anubis to help her.

Journey of Isis

On her journey, Isis gave birth to a boy, Horus. This boy was destined by the gods to return to Egypt and kill Set. Although Set knew of this boy, he was well concealed and Set could not find him. Even when the boy was bitten and killed by a scorpion, the gods brought him back to life. His destiny had already been written. Also, a determined Isis found Osiris’s coffin only for it to again be stolen by Set. In anger, Set had Osiris cut into pieces and thrown into the Nile. Then, Isis went and gathered every piece, burying it where she found it. Isis’s determination for Osiris’s body to find peace is driven by her deep love for him.

(Image Information: The Eye of Horus; Web Source: Wikipedia)