Mythology & Folklore

  (Indian Tales by Carl Carmer: Wikipedia ) Iagoo, the Story-Teller There was a very wise man named Iagoo and he knew the secrets of the woods. Everything he knew was from the fairy tales his grandfather taught him when he was a young boy. The children loved Iagoo, for he would teach them to collect shells, weave baskets, and craft bows and arrows. Winter had come and this season was the perfect time for storytelling. The North Wind came howling through the land and this wind was fierce. A timid little girl asked, “Do you think he can hurt us?’ Iagoo told her to have no fear and be brave.  Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind A long time ago when only a few people lived on earth, a tribe of fisherman dwelt in the North. The North Wind froze the rivers so no fish could be caught, but luckily there was a limit to his power. The South Wind came in and melted the rivers and fields. The fisherman in the north knew they had to work fast before the wind would freeze the river over. The North Wind

(Corn grown by Native Americans: Wikipedia )  Iagoo, the Story Teller There was nobody ever as wise as old Iagoo for he knew the secrets of the woods and the fields since he lived outside for most of his life. He knew the fairy tales and wonder stories told by his grandfather from when he was a young boy. Iagoo was a favorite amongst the children for he knew where to find colorful shell necklaces for the girls and how to weave baskets from grass and how to make bows and arrows for the boys. The children loved his stories and winter was the perfect time to do storytelling. The wind would blow and sparks would jump up from the fire. One little girl came close to his and asked if he could hurt us and he told her to have no fear and to be brave.  Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind A long time ago when only a few people lived on the earth, there was a tribe of fisherman in the North. The King of this Land of Ice was a fierce man called Ka-bib-on-okka by the Indians meaning the North Wind. Th

Here is another classic story that everyone has heard about Rapunzel, the innocent girl with beautiful hair. The thing is though, I am not as innocent as I may seem. There is a reason I was locked away in a tour. Prison life is nothing for me and this isn't my first rodeo! The story of sweet Rapunzel being punished and can't be reunited with her lover isn't quite true. Let me tell you the truth on why I really was locked away by the "wicked" witch!  Once upon a time, my father and mother so desperately wanted a child, but by good faith alone, my mother's womb was barren. My parents continued to pray to the good Lord above from their charming cottage that looked out upon a perfectly splendid garden. This wasn't just any garden though. This garden was surrounded by a monstrous stone wall, and the garden belonged to an evil sorcerer, or a witch as many passerby's liked to call her.  One day, my mother noticed a lush harvest of rapunzel growing in the corn

  (Brer Rabbit's Dream: Wikipedia ) Mr. Fox and the Deceitful Frogs This story begins with terrapin talking and Brer Fox saying nothing. Then Brer Bull-Frog began to holler out until he began hoarse. When Brer Fox looked out onto the water, he saw another fox staring back at him. He reached out to shake his hand and he started to fall in, but he didn't drown. He managed to scramble out and survive.  Old Mr. Rabbit, He's a Good Fisherman Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit were always pranking one another, but the rabbit began to finally find peace in his life. One day when Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Coon and Brer Bear were clearing away ground to roast an ear patch until they became too hot and too tired. They went looking for a cool place to rest. Suddenly, the rabbit found a well with a bucket hanging from it and he was about to grab it when he jumped into the bucket and it began going down. He was very scared and when he hit the water he began to shiver. Brer Fox had his eye o

(Brer Rabbit and Tar-Baby: Wikipedia )   The Calamus Root Brer Fox had done all he could to try and catch Beer Rabbit, but one day he decided he would play a game. The fox asked the rabbit if he wanted to have some confab and the two agreed. They had been told they didn't get along well and weren't acting neighborly to one another. Brer Rabbit then invited Brer Fox to dinner and he agreed. The next day, the rabbit and his wife got up early and gathering some cabbages, roasting ears, and sparrows grass to make dinner. His children sat in the yard all day waiting for the fox to come. After a long time, Brer Rabbit goes and peeps around the front door to see the tip of the fox's tail and quickly slams the door shut. Brer Fox made up an excuse that he was too sick and that's why he couldn't make it to dinner, so the fox invited him to dinner. When he rabbit got to the fox's house, he was wrapped up looking weak. The rabbit looked around and saw no dinner on the tabl

  Progress Chart After looking at the progress chart, I currently have 240 points going into week 8, which means I will have an A in the class! I am striving to get an A in the class because I want to get a 4.0 in my last two semesters of college! I also want to maintain my GPA so I can graduate with honors! Looking Back Looking back at this semester, I am very proud of the progress I have made. The original schedule I made at the beginning of the semester hasn't been feasible for me most weeks, and I find myself just getting my work done when I have a free moment! This semester has been extremely busy for me and finding times to get my work done can be challenging some weeks! My planner helps me stay organized though! I have been enjoying the blog commenting assignments the most! I love getting to read everyone's stories and see their creativity through their writing! Looking Forward Moving forward, I want to try out some new writing techniques! I have gotten really into writi

 Comments and Feedback Feedback In I would give the feedback I have been receiving a 10/10! I get so excited to know people are actually reading my content and they really like it! I love how not only do they tell me things they love about my story/introduction, they give me insightful feedback on what areas need to be tweaked and improved upon! One comment I got was to go more in-depth with Cinderella and her mother's relationship and that is something I never would have thought to do on my own! Also, I am being kept on my toes when it comes to minor grammar mistakes! Overall, I think the feedback tool is very effective! Feedback Out I feel like I have been leaving really helpful feedback notes on my classmate's blogs because of the wonderful techniques I have learned like the WWW and TAG/Pretend. These techniques allow me to complement the work I am reading, but also it gives me the opportunity to ask questions and give suggestions! I think too often comments are praise only

 Looking Back Looking back at this semester, I have really enjoyed reading different stories from different cultural backgrounds and writing my thoughts about each one. I am happy with how the reading and writing assignments are working for! Each week, I write short summaries of each story so it is easier for me to go back and write micro-fictions later in the week! I decided to adjust the layout of my blog for a refresh, but overall I believe it is functioning well. My favorite reading unit so far has been the biblical unit! I loved this unit because I already have a significant amount of knowledge when it comes to traditional bible stories, but I loved reading more about them and I learned things I didn't know before. The women in the Bible stories were very interesting and pointed out some characters I wasn't familiar with. I also loved getting to read the Gospel of Mark through a translation I wasn't as familiar with as well! Through these readings, I have learned some

(The Monkey King by Yoshitoshi: Wikipedia )   The Lord of the Heavens The Lord of the Heaven sat in his castle and a saint presented the complaint of the Dragon-King and the Princes of the Dead. They told him about the wild nature of Sun Wu Kung and the Lord ordered a god to go down and take him as a prisoner. The Evening Star shared how this ape was of pure power and had gained the knowledge of eternal life. The Evening Star went to find Sun Wu Kung and told him to come with him to heaven. This made the ape feel joyful and the two mounted a cloud and went up to heaven. The ape didn't even bow before the Lord and this angered his servants. The Lord forgave him and he made the ape a stablemaster of the heavenly steeds Sun Wu Kung did his duties with great zeal. The Great Saint At the table, Sun Wu Kung began to question the level of his title and found he was serving a low position. This angered him and claimed he would do this job no longer. He drew the golden bar from his ear and

 This reading is from the Chinese folklore unit and I chose to read this story from the attention-grabbing title. I thought it could be a fun and lighthearted read about a crazy monkey. The story is about a monkey who wants to gain eternal life and rebel against heaven. Overall, it was a great start to this unit.  (19th-century illustration of Sun Wu Kung: Wikipedia ) The Handsome King of the Apes Away in the East there was an island with a high rock. This was a special rock for it had absorbed all the seed power of heaven and earth, and sun and moon. One day the rock burst and an egg came out and from the egg came an ape. The ape learned how to live and  grew older. One day, the ape went to a waterfall to cool off and plunged off a high cliff. The stone ape jumped off the cliff to challenge the bet of being king and he landed on a hidden iron bridge below. He came back and told the other apes the news and they all journeyed back down with him. The apes named the stone ape Handsome Kin