Reading Diary A : Czech Folktales

Czech Folktales 

The Bear, the eagle, and the Fish : 

• there were three daughters and they were very beautiful 
• the youngest daughter was the most beautiful 
• the father liked to go hunting but one day while he was hunting he got lost and a bear rushed to him 
• in order to spare his life the bear said that he would help the count out of the forest and give him riches if he could have one of the count's daughter in marriage 
• the count was pleased and said yes but he ran out of money again and decided that he needed to to go hunting again 
• he went to the forest and got lost again and then came an eagle and said once again that he would help and show him the way out and give him more money if the eagle could have the second daughter in marriage 
• only the last daughter was left but only for a little while as the count sold her to a fish 
• the count was sad and all alone until he had a son 
• the son then went out after a long time and said good bye to his parents 
• on his journey he found his eldest sister who was married to the bear and the bear gave him three hairs to aid him in case he ever needed help 
• the eagle gave him three feathers 
• and the fish gave him three fish scales 
• on his journey the brother found out that these animals were actually all related and they were brothers, the son of a king but were turned into animals after the work of a magician 
• the brother made it his purpose to find this magician and get rid of him and when he found him he use all the gifts from his brothers in law and they all cam against the magician 
• then there was a house filled with joy, princes, wives and children 

The Waternick :

• there were a pair of sibling, a boy and a girl and their father was dead 
• the mother sent them one day to get wood for a fire but they had to find a way to make sure that they knew how to get back to their home 
• the girl said that she would use thread from her ball of wool and tie it to a tree so that they could come back 
• they went walking but when they looked back they realized that some animals had cut the thread 
• they were lost and were taken by the Waternick 
• the waternick took the children to his wife and she was happy and made the kids her servants 
• the children were there for years and did not want to be there anymore and took advantage of a day were the Waternick's wife fell asleep while he had gone out to get more human souls
• they were only able to run so far until get got caught and in order to prevent them fleeing again the Waternick's gave them a lot of more work so that they could be busy 
• one day the children decided to release the souls of those humans in the cups and the Waternick's were not happy 
• One day the decided to try escaping again and so they let the wife fall asleep and they ran until they were tired and fell asleep under a tree where the forester found them and thought that they were the children of the widow that had lost her children 
• the children were once again back home again and they lived with their mother until she died 

                                                  

A statue of a waternick in the Czech Republic 

Thoughts about Comments

What do I think about blog comments? 

I personally love that we are allowed to comment on each other's blogs. I think that peer criticism is the best. Every individual in this class has different opinions and I think it is very good to get people's opinions on one same topic. My favorite comments are probably the ones on storytellings. I really enjoy these comments because they help me focus on areas that need to work on. Also, by reading these comments I can see if my objective in my story was accomplished and if my readers took away from my story what I intended for them to take away. 

In the beginning, my comments were very broad and general. However, I realized that I enjoyed the comments that were more thorough so I then decided that I should do the same in return. For the past assignments I have been working on being more specific in my comments and I sure do hope that my colleagues appreciate these adjustments that I have made. 

Tech Tip Website : The Demons of Latin America

The Demons of Latin America 

I am so excited about this! At first I was skeptical about taking this approach to my project but I decided I should go for it. I was afraid that it would be a harder task but it was actually easier to make the site than what I thought. 

Ladies and Gentlemen....... Here is my storybook! 

A screenshot of my site 

Storytelling week 5 : The revenge of the Brother

The revenge of the Brother 

There was once two brothers named Jake and Justin. Justin was very humble and sweet and he owed his loyalty to his brother since his brother always looked after him. Jake on the other hand was very handsome,strong and mighty. He had a wife and she was very beautiful. Jake would always stay home with his wife and while they would stay home and wine and dine, Justin would be out in the fields taking care of the animals and the harvest. Justin never complained about his work and he always brought food back home. He did this out of love for his brother and his wife. Justin worked day and night and although taking care of the oxen and the grain was very tiresome work he would come back home every night and take care of Jake's and his wife's needs.

Justin taking care of the oxen 

One day Justin was surprised to see Jake come out to the field to help him out with the herds. As Jake was walking around the land he noticed that there was still a lot of land that needed seeding so that more grains and harvest could grow. Justin without disobeying Jake's order went into the house looking for the seeds that Jake had told him about. Now, when Justin went into the house he noticed that these seeds were not any ordinary kind. He went into the house thinking that he was only looking for a small bag of seeds. Instead, he found himself in a room full of big heavy sacks filled with seeds. Jake's wife came into the room asking Justin if he needed any help. Justin replied, "No, it is okay I must do this as my beloved brother has sent me in to look for these". Jake's wife was very surprised to see Justin pick up these sacks without any difficulty and she noticed his strong biceps and abs compress when he picked up these sacks. She noticed his beautiful structure. She immediately desired Justin. "Justin, how strong you are", she said. "Wow, your biceps are so nice, it must be so easy working out in the fields with your muscular build. Unfortunately your brother is always here at home with me so his body is not built like yours". 

She started caressing his arms and said "Come be with me tonight. I will take care of you forever". Justin immediately saw an opportunity to make his brother pay back for all the work that he had made him do. You see, Justin's heart was filled with love for his brother until he noticed that all he was for his brother was someone to do all his dirty work while he stayed home doing nothing but enjoying the luxury of life with his wife. Justin heart immediately turned dark and his heart sought revenge.
"Wait for me tonight and I will come and get you. My brother was like a father to me until I realized that I was not a son to him but a free worker. I am hurt and now I will take what he loves the most."

Author's Note: 

I have used the story The Two Brothers: Part One  from the Ancient Egyptian Unit. I chose this story because it caught my attention how this brother did everything from his brother Anpu out of love and loyalty. I was impressed with his actions whenever he had an opportunity to lay with his brother's wife and she desired him but instead he rejected her and she was embarrassed. In the end of the story however, Anpu's wife accuses Bata of sleeping with her against her will as Anpu found her in the room distressed. Anpu was furious even though Bata had not committed any harm against his brother. In my story, I wanted to portray Bata's kind and working heart until he noticed who he was for his brother and the moment the his heart turned dark. In the original story Bata is accused of acting against his brother and in my story I wanted to make the "innocent" brother guilty. I think that these stories such as Joseph's story in the bible depict us stories of men that flee temptation and do not act against the people that they respect. I think that in our time it is harder to come across men that act in that manner. 

Reading Diary B : Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories

Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories Part B 

The Two Brothers Part One : 

• there were two brothers, Anpu and Bata 
• Anpu had his own house and a wife 
• Bata lived with them and he did all of the hard work such as taking care of the animals and working in the harvest 
• White Bata did all of this Anpu and his wife would just wine and dine 
• One day Bata and Anpu worked together and they were pleased with their work
• Anpu one day ordered Bata to go get some seed in the house and Anpu's wife observed Bata's strength as he gathered all the seed 
• this made her want to desire Bata but Bata refused and he was ashamed at her actions and thoughts as she was like a mother to him and his older brother was a father figure 
• left in such embarrassment she laid on the floor and Anpu came in ad found her that way 
• he asked what has happened and Anpu's wife accused Bata of acting violently against her 
• Anpu was enraged and went after Bata with a dagger 

The Book of Thoth Part One : 

• Bata is now a bull and Anpu sat on his back 
• Bata went to the girl wife and let her know that he was Bata and that he was alive but that he was now in bull form 
• the king was one the one with all the power and the wife immediately left Batta's location and went to the king and told him that she really was wanting some bull liver 
• the king was troubled as he knew that this meant that he would have to kill Bata 
• when the bull was on his way to be killed two drops of blood fell and where each the blood fell tress grew people viewed this as a miracle 
• the wife was always after something that had to do with Bata and she wanted the king to do away with anything that she wanted against Bata 
• the wife's true colors were exposed by Bata when he became the one in power 
• Bata wanted to make sure that even after he was gone that his brother Anpu would also have power and made him the heir

the sacred bull 

Reading Diary A :Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories

Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories 

the woman's green jewel 

Creation: 

• The water is called Nu and the world was filled of Nu 
• Khepera was the Sun God at dawn, Ra at high noon, and Tum in the evening
• There was a system of hierarchy between all of these different Gods and Ra had higher power than Nu 
• Shu was the wind God
• Tefnut, sent the rain and was called "The Spitter"
• Tefnut and Shu were often called "The Twins" as they were two stars in the heavens
• Seb was the earth God
• Ra called for the beginning of Creation 
• He created everything that moves and lives on Earth
• Ra became the first king of Earth 

Osiris : 

• Osiris sat in the throne when Ra grew old and went into the heavens 
• Osiris then rules over Egypt 
• Men did not really respect Osiris and acted as savages 
• Men's desires were very evil and they were sinner 
• Osiris then took over all of this chaos and he brought peace among the land 
• Isis was the queen and was very wise
• Osiris then, under the instruction of his queen showed men how to share crops and how to make them grow
• praise and worship was also something that Osiris brought unto the land
• Osiris in a sense, reminds me of Jesus and his actions on Earth 

The Green Jewel : 

• Sneferu, the king was very down and he would try different things to become happy but he could not 
• his scribe recommended that he go out and enjoy nature accompanied by beautiful women
• he took twenty virgins with him on this trip and these girls would all sing together and the king was having a good time 
• the women were rowing together but one suddenly stopped because she had lost her green jewel 
• the King offered to give her another Jewel but she wanted her own 
• his scribe then mumbled some magic words and the waters parted and the green jewel was found and then the waters were back together again 
• the King then was content as all the women started singing and rowing again 

Demons of Latin America : Styles Brainstorming

Topic : I have decided that My Storybook will be about the tales and myths that I was told as I child growing up. In Latin America many children grow up hearing and fearing the monsters and demons depicted to us. This topic is very personal to me and I think that it would be great to also talk about something that I have had personal contact with. The stories that I think would be great and original to Latin America is El Cucuy , La Llorona, and El Chupacabras. I do not think I will have a hard time finding other stories if I choose not to go with any of the following. There are many other creatures that have originated from different countries of Latin America. 

Bibliography:

El Cucuy: "Coco (folklore)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 31 July 2015. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.

La Llorona : "La Llorona." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Sept. 2015. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.

El Chupacabras :"Chupacabra." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Sept. 2015. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.

Possible Styles:

1. A witness as a storyteller : In this story style I would tell the stories from the perspective of a villager or such narrating the events that he/she saw unfold in front of them. I think that this is my first option as it is how many of these stories get told to us. These stories are passed down our generations from our elders. I think a villager as the narrator suits the culture the best too. Given this idea, first-person would be the method of narrating his/her experiences but the stories themselves would be third-person storyteller style. 

2. The demons/monsters  telling the reader about what they did and why they act that way : I like this style as well too. It could be something to the effect of the diary of the demons. This would also be a first- person style. I think that this style would give the reader and in- depth look at the intentions and thoughts of these creatures. I think this style would also give me the freedom to contribute my own ideas to the story but I am not sure if we can alter the stories in some way and expand on them in a way that we want to. If we are allowed this freedom then I think that this is definitely the style that I want to take. 

3. A tourist book : This style would present these stories in a marketable setting. Since Latin American is a very touristic region it can be a journey to the different countries where these stories originated from. My Storybook could be a guide and in the guide the tourist would find pictures, areas of where this creature has "been seen" and of course, the famous story behind the creatures. 

I think this style is very creative, fun and different from my previous styles. 

4. Children's Book : Lastly, this style would be geared towards children. Although, this storybook would probably not be the best bedtime story, I think that it could engage children in Latin American culture. This style would use child geared vocabulary and of course a lot of cartoon images. The horror of these creatures would probably be toned down too. However, to make this style unique, I would make it sort of fable style where there would be a saying at the end of the stories such as the moral of the story. Example, " No te portes mal, si no El Cucuy vendrá por ti en la noche" " Do not misbehave or The Cucuy will come for you at night". 

"El chupacabra"