Week 7 Storytelling: Anansi and Nothing

Author's Note: In the original story of "Anansi and Nothing," Anansi and Nothing were on their way to town to find wives. Anansi persuaded Nothing to change clothes. Now that Anansi was dressed in fine clothes, he found many wives while Nothing only found a wife because a woman felt bad for him. They all walked back home and when the wives saw Anansi's shack they were all disappointed. They decided to live with Nothing and his wife. Anansi was furious and decided to kill Nothing. After many attempts, Anansi finally succeeded. I decided to rewrite it because I didn't like the character Anansi or how the story ended. I don't like how Anansi took advantage of his friend and then got mad at him and tried killing him multiple times.

Anansi and Nothing
Anansi was a very poor man. He lived in a little run down shack while his friend, Nothing, lived in a lovely palace nearby. One day, they decided to go a few towns over to find some wives.

Nothing was dressed in a very nice, velvet jacket while Anansi wore a ragged cotton one. On the way to town, Anansi asked, "Do you mind if we switch clothes for a bit? I'm starting to feel a bit chilly."

"Well of course!" replied Nothing. "You don't want to catch a cold on the way to meet our future wives." So they switched clothes and on they went, continuing their journey.

As they were nearing the town, Nothing asked to switch clothing again. Anansi evaded the question and said "Actually, I'm still a little cold..." Nothing felt sorry for him and let him continue wearing the jacket.

By the time they got to town, it was too late to trade clothes. Anansi was dressed magnificently and didn't have any troubles finding a wife. In fact, he found multiple wives to take home with him.

Poor Nothing was stuck in the ragged jacket and was being overlooked. Until a sweet woman came towards him and started talking to him. They talked for ages and she decided to be his wife. She didn't care that he looked poor. She liked him for him.

So Nothing and his wife and Anansi and all of his wives all walked back home together. At the split of the road, where Nothing and Anansi would part, Anansi took off the jacket and said, "Thanks for the jacket Nothing! I really owe you one!"

Anansi continued walking but instead of going towards the palace, he walked straight to the run down shack. Nothing and his wife walked hand-in-hand towards the palace. Anansi's wives were furious.

They went with Anansi anyways, but the six wives and Anansi had to share one small bedroom and they barely had anything to eat. Nothing's wife felt sorry for her friends and invited them over for dinner.

The wives joined Nothing and his wife for dinner and saw how great he treated her. He surprised her with flowers, pulled her chair out for her at dinner, and looked at her adoringly.

The wives realized that Anansi didn't treat any of them like that and that they deserved better. After dinner, they marched back to the hut and told him that they were all leaving him.

Anansi was furious. He thought of many ideas to kill Nothing, but none of his plans worked. He decided to dig a hole in front of Nothing's door and fill it with sharp knives.

He banged on the door and shouted for Nothing to come out. But Nothing's wife begged him to stay inside.

After a few minutes, Anansi grew impatient. He was so frustrated that he started pacing and mistakenly walked right into the hole. He was so wounded that he died almost immediately.

(Velvet Jacket, Source:Dark Brown Hairs) 

Bibliography: "Anansi and Nothing" from West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair (1917).

Week 6 Storytelling: The Wittiest Wins

Author's Note: I wanted to rewrite "The Tiger and The Frog. I thought that the story was very interesting. I really liked how the frog was able to outsmart the tiger in multiple ways. The tiger was looking for a meal and found a frog, but the frog tricked the tiger into thinking that he had eaten a tiger the day before. The tiger became spooked and ran away. He ran into a fox who laughed at the thought of a tiger running from a frog. So they tied their tails together and went back to the frog. The frog once again tricked the tiger and the tiger went running again with the fox dragging behind.

The Wittiest Wins
There once was a bully who ruled the school. His followers worshipped him and everybody else feared him. Since he first started going to the school, not a day went by that he didn't bully somebody. All of the kids cowered in terror when he passed by.

He bullied two or three kids a day. Whether it was giving them swirlies or taking their lunch money, he enjoyed every minute of it. But one day he became extremely bored. He had already bullied the entire student body more than once.

He felt that it was starting to become boring. He hadn't had any 'fresh meat' in a long time. He fell into a slump. He decided to stay home from school for a couple days.

A few days later, a new kid enrolled at school. The other kids looked at him with pity. "Another kid that gets to be bullied," whispered a girl. "At least, we'll get a break for a little bit..." retorted a boy. "I think we should warn him though."

They walked over to the boy and introduced themselves. "This is Mary and I'm Luke," said the boy. "Hey, I'm Jake," replied the new kid. They filled Jake in about the bully and how he loves it when a new student comes because he has a 'new toy' to play with.

"Hm... Thanks for the warning, but I'll think of something," replied Jake. Word spread that there was a new kid at school. All the kids were secretly happy about there being another kid for him to bully.

When his followers heard of the new kid, they immediately went and told the bully. He was ecstatic when he heard the news. He had been thinking of new ideas to do to the kids at school.

The next day at school, the bully finally returned. He searched everywhere for the new kid. He didn't find Jake until lunch time.

He marched into the cafeteria and spotted the new kid. He stormed over but when he neared Jake, he could hear him yelling at Luke. "You stupid kid! You made me drop my tray!" Jake then punched Luke in the face.

"Ahhh!" yelled Luke clutching his face. Luke pulled his hands away and saw that his nose was bleeding. "You broke my nose!" The bully was surprised.

Jake turned around and saw the bully standing right behind him. "What're you looking at?" snapped Jake.

The bully not knowing what to think, took a few steps back. He didn't want to mess with another bully. While walking backwards, he tripped over a chair and fell on the ground.

The kids in the cafeteria who witnessed the altercation started laughing. The bully was so embarrassed that he ran out of the gym with his followers running behind him.

All the kids cheered when he ran out! Luke wiped his nose and said, "Yuck, I think there's some ketchup in my nose still." Mary giggled, still holding the empty ketchup packets that she had squeezed into Luke's hands earlier.

Rumors have it that the bully transferred schools and never bullied anybody again.

(Bully, Source:Vegan Bits)

Bibliography: The Tiger and the Frog from Tibetan Folktales by A.L. Shelton (1925).

Week 5 Storytelling: The Wolf Aunt

Author's Note: I decided to rewrite the The Wolf Aunt because I didn't really like how it ended. While reading the story, I immediately thought of Little Red Riding Hood. In the Wolf Aunt, a man meets his long lost sister and she takes in him and his family. The man's wife is so grateful that she has her youngest daughter deliver some food to the aunt. When the youngest daughter gets there, she sees that the aunt has turned into a wolf and was eating a man. The little girl ran home and told her mom, but when they were trying to tell the man, he just blew it off and thought they were crazy. The wife took her daughters and left the man. When he told the aunt about what happened, she turned into a wolf and ate him. If, he would have listened to his family and believed them about the 'aunt' he could still be living happily ever after with his family. Also, if he would have taken some precautions when meeting a stranger, he wouldn't have been in this situation to start with.

(Wolf, Source:UnTextbook)

The Wolf Aunt 

There once was a family who was just scraping by. The father worked hard every day in order to provide for his wife and seven daughters. One day, while out gathering food, he came home very late. 

On his way back to his house, he ran into a woman who claimed to be his long lost sister. "Dear brother, is that you? I haven't seen you since we were young, but I know it is you. Come in! Catch me up on your life!"

He spent a few hours with his sister and she knew almost everything about him. She knew about his family and all of the hardships he had overcome to support them. "Well, dear brother, I am very well off now and I do not have a family of my own. So I insist that I provide for you and your family. It is all I can do since I have missed being in your life. Go. Tell your family and bring them here."

The man was ecstatic. He ran all the way home to tell his family the great news. "Darling, girls! I have amazing news to tell you! We will never have to worry about where our next meal will come from! I have met my long lost sister and she has graciously offered to provide for us! Come, I will take you all to meet her."

The man and his family went to the aunt immediately. The aunt was delighted to see the family. She took them all home and tucked them in for the night. 

The family loved staying with the aunt. She bought them all brand new clothes and gave them plenty to eat at every meal. The youngest daughter wasn't used to having so much food to eat that she overindulged and got sick. 

Over the course of a few weeks, the family started to put on some weight due to the good eating. The mother was so happy that her family was well taken care of. She decided to make the aunt a lovely dinner to express her thanks. 

The mother sent her husband to the market to buy a nice piece of liver. She made an elaborate dinner with nice-looking vegetables to go with it. When it was done cooking, she sent the youngest daughter to deliver it to the aunt. 

The youngest daughter ran it over to the aunt's house, but when she got there, she heard a funny noise coming from inside the house. She peeked through the window and saw the aunt turn into a wolf and eat a man. The little girl shrieked and ran back home. 

Luckily, the 'aunt' was too busy with her meal to notice the little girl.

When the youngest daughter arrived back home, she was out of breath and as pale as a ghost. "My child, what has happened?" cried the mother. The little girl told her mother about her encounter. "Oh dear! We must tell your father!" So off they went to find him.

When they found the father and told him what happened, he thought they were kidding. After a few minutes of listening to them ramble on, he realized they were being quite serious. He was furious. "How could she take us in like that and treat us like family and still plan to eat us?!" He went to the town and alerted the people.

The townspeople were also furious. They devised a plan to catch the wolf. They would sneak into her house while she was sleeping and they would tie her up and take her to the middle of the market. There the townspeople would stone her to death. 

They waited until it was late at night and all the lights in the wolf's house were off. Three of the strongest men snuck into her house and tied her up. It wasn't that easy when she awoke and started struggling. They carried her to the market and tied her to a pole. All the townspeople stoned the wolf to death and nobody was in danger of the wolf again.

Bibliography: Story: The Wolf Aunt from The Persian Tales by D.L.R Lorimer (1919).

Week 4 Storytelling: Scherahazade

Author's Note: In the original story, the Sultan was betrayed by his wife so he had her executed. She had an affair which made the sultan very untrusting of women. From then on, he married a girl in the evening and by the next morning, he had his new wife executed. This cycle repeated until he married Scherahazade who had a plan to tell him a long story in order to keep him from killing any more women. By the end of her story, the Sultan had fallen in love with Scherahazade and made her his queen. I wanted to retell Scherahazade because I think that if the Sultan was so intent on killing every girl that he married, I don't think that he would have constantly waited for a story to end for him to kill Sherahazade. I wanted to change it up because I didn't think that is how the sultan would have actually reacted. I also wanted to show what a father's love could do when he is protecting his children or others that he cares for. I chose this picture because it shows Scherahazade telling her sister, Dinarzade, and the Sultan stories.

(Scherahazade, Source:UnTextbook illustrated by H.J. Ford)

Scherahazade
In a kingdom far off, a sultan and his lovely wife lived together, ruling side by side. He loved her with all his might. He took every moment that he had and spoiled her with the most wonderful riches in the land. One day he found that she deceived him for the past several years. She was having an affair behind the sultan's back. He had no choice but to have the grand-vizir put her to death.

He was so overcome by the treacherousness of his wife that he believed that all women were vile. He believed that the fewer there were the better.

Every evening he married a new girl and the next morning he would have the grand-vizir strangle her. The cycle repeated and every morning the vizir "would see a girl married and a wife dead" the next day.

Everybody in the town was horrified and grieving. They were grieving for the daughters and sisters that were lost and they were horrified that someone in their family would be next. They were all afraid to see who the sultan would choose as his wife next.

The grand-vizir also had two daughters, Scherahazade and Dinarzade. Scherahazade was clever and her father loved her very much. She went to her father and begged him to let her be the next girl to marry the sultan. The vizir was furious with her even suggesting the idea; he knew that she would be killed.

Scherahazade pleaded with her father and told him that she wanted to end the Sultan's barbaric practice. He eventually agreed and hoped that it would work.

So the following day, the grand-vizir went to the Sultan and told him that he wished for the Sultan to have his own daughter as a wife. The sultan was stunned. "You do realize what will happen to her? Very well. If you cannot end her life tomorrow, then your life shall end too."

The vizier went back and told Scherahazade that the sultan had agreed. Scherahazade had called to her sister and said, "As a wedding gift, I will ask the sultan to allow me to have one last night with you. In the morning, you will wake and ask me to tell one of my stories for the last time."

That evening, Scherahazade was married to the Sultan. She begged him to allow her to say goodbye to her sister one last time and he sent for Dinarzade. An hour before dawn, Dinarzade did as she was told and woke her sister. Scherahazade told a wonderful story but stopped when it was time for the sultan to begin his day.

He asked her to continue, but she said "It is time for you to get ready. If allow me to live another night, I can finish the story." The sultan laughed. "I'm sorry but I cannot. I must marry a girl in the evening and have her killed in the morning. It was an entertaining story though."

So the sultan summoned the grand-vizir and commanded that Scherahazade be killed. The grand-vizir reluctantly did as he was told. "I'm sorry, my darling daughter. If only you had listened..."

Sadly, Scherahazade's plan did not work. The sultan was so overwhelmed from what his first wife had done that he could not allow for another one of his wives to live another day to (maybe) betray him.

The grand-vizir was so upset that he mourned for her all day. News spread that Scherahazade's plan had failed. Another bit of bad news had also spread. The sultan chose Dinarzade as his next wife.

The grand-vizir was furious. "How can the sultan take both of my daughters away from me?" he cried. He knew what he had to do to save his daughter.

Before the marriage, a feast was set up for the sultan and his future wife to enjoy. The grand-vizir snuck into the dining hall and poisoned the sultan's drink. Before Dinarzade was to meet the sultan for dinner, the grand-vizir stole his daughter away and ran.

The sultan had no idea that Dinarzade had left. He continued to dinner and sat down to wait for her. While waiting, he took a sip of his drink and died.

News spread that the sultan had died, but the grand-vizir and Dinarzade were long gone before the palace guards knew what had happened. But thanks to the grand-vizir, there weren't any more women being slaughtered.

Bibliography: Scherahazade from The Arabian Nights' Entertainment by Andrew Lang (1898).

Week 3 Storytelling: The Beggar King

Author's Note: In the original story, a king was forced out of his luxurious palace and forced onto the streets having to act as a beggar because of a genie who tricked him. In the end, the king learned his lesson. He was given his kingdom back and was an even better ruler because of his experience. I decided to retell the story of "The Beggar King" because I don't feel like a king who acted like he did all his life would change his life and thoughts so drastically. I know some people who have gone through some pretty life-changing things who have changed for the better. I also know some people who changed for the worst or didn't even change at all. I think that the king would be ticked off and would want revenge on the genie, especially since the king was beaten by a man who he refused to serve. I think the genie forcing the king would have made the situation even worse, which is why I rewrote the story to have the king act the same after he gets back. But in his defense, I don't think I would be too happy about having to live on the streets for an entire year after being in a nice home and having plenty to eat for all my life...

(The Beggar King, Source:UnTextbook)

The Beggar King
There once was a king who thought he belonged on a high horse. His people thought the worst of him (and they weren't wrong). He was greedy and selfish. The High Priest was reading out of the Holy Book when he came across a passage that the king didn't like. The king snatched the Holy Book out of the High Priest's hands and threw it across the room. The Priest was stunned. The king shoved past the priest and stormed out of the room. He ordered his men to saddle the horses and informed them that they were going hunting.

The king owned the fastest horse in all of the lands. When the king saw a deer, his horse easily outran his men's horses. He followed the deer into the woods and saw it cross the water. There, he dismounted and waded through the water to follow the deer. When he came towards the deer, it transformed into a man.

The man spoke to the king and explained that he was the deer and that he was actually a genie. "Because you are so haughty, I am here to teach you a lesson." And with that, he transformed himself into the king's look-alike, swam across the river, and mounted the horse.

By this time, the king's men finally caught up and believed that the genie was the real king. "I lost the trail of the deer. Let us return," said the genie. The genie and the king's men rode away back to the palace.

The king was so shocked. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He wandered all over and found a wood-cutter. "You there!" cried the king. "I am the king. You shall escort me back to my palace."

The wood-cutter laughed in the king's face. "You must be mad," cackled the wood-cutter. "You're in ragged clothes. You cannot be the king. Work for me and I will give you food and clothes." The king refused and the wood-cutter beat him.

The king wandered away and reached the palace late at night. He told the guards who he was, but they didn't believe them. He went away and blended in with a group of blind beggars. He had decided to be their eyes.

After a few months, the royal heralds went by and announced that the good king would give a feast to all of the beggars and that the beggars would have a chance to speak with him. The king was overjoyed. He would be able to convince the genie to change him back.

The time came when it was the king's turn to talk to the genie. He begged for forgiveness and said that he would never act that way towards the Holy Book again. He repented his sins. The genie realized that the king had learned his lesson and transformed himself back into the genie's body. The king had regained his clothes and was now sitting on the throne.

The king was overjoyed. He then looked to the genie and swore. "How dare you?! Who do you think you are making me act as a beggar and forcing me to live on the streets while you live in my palace! Guards! Exile this man!"

As the guards were dragging the genie away, the genie sighed, "I guess you haven't learned anything at all." The king went back to his old ways and was haughtier than ever.

Bibliography: Story: "The Beggar King", Jewish Fairytales and Legends by Gertrude Landa (1919).

Week 2 Storytelling: The Affair of Mars and Venus

Author's Note: In the original story, Vulcan finds out that his wife, Venus, is having an affair with Mars. Vulcan is the god of metalworking and the forge. In the story, he creates a bronze net to catch Mars (the god of war) and Venus (the goddess of love) in the act. When they are eventually caught, Vulcan and all the other gods laugh about it and they say it was the best-known story known in the heavens. I decided to retell the story of Mars and Venus because if I was in that position, I would have reacted differently than Vulcan. I don't think that after finding out my spouse was cheating on me and going through all the trouble to catch them in the act, that I would be so cool with it in the end. I definitely would not have been able to laugh about it. I would have been furious and been demanding a divorce. I chose this picture because it represents the story and shows Mars and Venus in bed together.

(Mars and Venus, Source:Top of Art)

The Affair of Mars and Venus
Long ago, on Mount Olympus, Vulcan was in his shop, creating the most magnificent weapons and armor in all the world. Many of the gods entered Vulcan's shop to view the prized weapons, but none would look him in the eye. After a few days of the gods acting strangely in his shop, he called for Mercury, the messenger god.

Moments later, Mercury arrived at Vulcan's shop. Mercury was acting the same as all of the other gods. He wouldn't make eye contact with Vulcan and he would try to keep the conversation short. He was very uncomfortable in Vulcan's presence. Vulcan grew angry with this and demanded Mercury to tell him why everybody was acting so strange.

"Well... You see... There have been some rumors going around..." stammered Mercury. Vulcan just stared. "There have been whispers that Mars has been sneaking around with your wife, Venus..." Vulcan was outraged. He started throwing everything in his shop. Mercury had to hold him back before he destroyed the entire shop. "Wait! It is only a rumor! We have no proof that they have been seeing each other!"

"Proof... I'll get proof," growled Vulcan. He started rummaging through his shop and found what he needed. He cleared the space on his work bench and went to work. Mercury stayed with Vulcan to make sure that Vulcan wouldn't destroy his shop anymore. He waited in the corner and messed with some of the trinkets in the shop. Vulcan worked for four days straight. He had created the most magnificent net that Mercury had ever seen. His creation was wonderfully fashioned. It did not look like a net at all which made perfect to hang over the bed without anybody being able to recognize what it was. It was created to fall at the slightest movement.

Mercury took the net into his hands and looked at it in awe. "It's wonderful! It doesn't even look like a net!" Vulcan told Mercury how the net worked and how he would set it up. He and Mercury went to Vulcan's home and set the net above the bed and they hid in the next room. Vulcan was anxiously waiting for the 'culprits' to strike. He paced the room for what felt like hours. Mercury grew nervous watching Vulcan. He didn't know what to expect if the rumors proved to be true.

They waited for hours when they heard a scream. They ran out and saw the net covering Mars and Venus. Vulcan was furious. He started toward Mars and Mars went running. Because Vulcan could not run, he set his dogs on Mars and they chased Mars for miles. They only stopped when they heard Vulcan whistle for them. They had ran Mars out of town. Vulcan and the others could see that Mars hadn't stopped. Chuckling to himself, Mercury asked, "I wonder when he's going to stop running?" Vulcan laughed like crazy.

Eventually, Mars came back to Mount Olympus. He and the other gods now knew not to mess with Vulcan's wife. The other gods laughed like crazy whenever they saw Mars. It would be a long time before they would let it go.

Bibliography:
Story: "Mars and Venus", Ovid's Metamorphoses, translated by Tony Kline (2000).

Week 1 Storytelling: Little Miss Muffet

Little Miss Muffet

BY MOTHER GOOSE

Little Miss Muffet 

Sat on a tuffet, 

Eating her curds and whey; 

Along came a spider, 

Who sat down beside her, 

And frightened Miss Muffet away.

Little Miss Muffet, Source: Simply Daycare

There was a little girl named Miss Muffet. Everyday at half past three, she would go up to the hill behind her house to meet her mother. They had this cozy little spot under a huge oak tree where they would sit around and waste time away, day dreaming or telling each other silly stories. Today, her mother had lay down a blanket and set out some pillows for them to lean on and had a big bowl of curds and whey for them to share. In the middle of her mother's story, Miss Muffet felt something tickling her arm. She looked down and saw a spider crawling on her arm towards the bowl of food. Miss Muffet screamed, threw the bowl, and went running back to her house. Her mother hadn't seen the spider so she was upset because she thought that Miss Muffet had disliked her bowl of curds and whey. Her mother started to clean up the spilt curds and whey and gathered the pillows and blanket in her arms. She was carrying them back to the house when she had an odd feeling. She looked down and saw a big spider on top of her pile. She dropped the pillows and blankets and went screaming after her daughter.

Author's Note: I chose this nursery rhyme from The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang (1987). I rewrote this story because I thought it was a little odd that Miss Muffet was eating curds and whey all by herself, so I added in a mother to tie in the story a little bit.