Week 8 Growth Mindset

I think a weakness that I have for this class is definitely playing it safe. I feel like I have some creative thoughts, but for readers, it would not come across the way I meant it too. My biggest concern is confusing someone, or someone not seeing it from my perspective. I think I am going to try and write a wacky post. Although the comments on the story might be kind of scary, I want to be as creative as I can!

Image: Flowers from Floret Flower.

Week 8 Reflections

This class has been quite the interesting experience! I am not really sure what I was expecting, but I love how it has turned out. My favorite story so far has been... all of them! But especially the Sultan and the Fish, and Aladdin! It was super interesting to go back through my reading notes and see where they creative process started. It is so amazing how an in depth story can come from such a small spark! I am excited for the rest of this semester and all of the stories we have left to read. Since this class focuses on storytelling, it makes every week exciting!

Image: Flowers from the Floret Flower.

Story: Why Dog and Cat Are Enemies

Long ago, the dog and the cat were the best of friends. They lived comfortably together with their owners and they were happy. They spent all of their days together. Little did they know their lives were about to be flipped upside down. Their owners, Jim and Marie, were struggling to make ends meet. They were able to have food on the table for every meal, but they were not able to buy new clothes. They were barely making ends meet. Marie decided her wedding ring was worth more than anything else they had, so it would be a good idea to sell it.

So the next day, Marie headed down to the market to sell her most prized possession. This ring was not an ordinary ring though. The second she sold it, she immediately felt a change of pace. Something was not quite right anymore. This ring had magical powers that made sure families were always well fed and had the bills paid. It helped families stay afloat and they did not even know it.  The only ones that knew of this power were animals. The dog and the cat knew the family was going through hard times, but they had no idea what was about to hit them.

Marie sold her ring and was so excited. She knew they were going to have money that would last them for weeks. But when she arrived home, Jim had lost his job. Their only source of income was Jim’s job since Marie had to stay home with the kids. Without his job, they were completely lost. The cat and the dog overheard this conversation and immediately started brainstorming.  “How can we possibly get this back, Cat?” The dog questioned.  First, they had to find out who bought the ring.

The cat and the dog hurried out of their house and hoped their owners would not notice they were gone. They went down to the market and saw the shiny gold ring shimmering in the window.

The next step was getting it out of the store. The cat had an idea to get a mouse to grab it for them. The only possible creature that could fit into the crack would be a mouse. Cat walked down the street and looked for the first mouse she could find. After a small chat about how she would kill it if he didn’t get the ring, he agreed to sneak it.

The mouse worked his magic and successfully got the ring. There was only one small drawback: the alarm. Almost like a scene from Indiana Jones, the alarm went off the second he picked up the ring from its spot. The mouse grabbed the ring and sprinted back out the door. The three animals ran as fast as they could back home. Mouse and cat easily made it back to their house, but the dog was not so lucky. The dog tripped while running and broke his leg. He limped all the way home, to find the cat getting all of the praise from the owners.  Jim and Marie realized how much impact the ring had on their lives.  They were sadly mistaken though because they thought the cat had done this all by herself. The dog was so betrayed by the cat that he swore they would never be friends again. The cat took all the credit while the dog was left in the dust. And that’s why the cat and the dog can never be friends.

Author's Note: This weeks story was a little difficult for me to get creative with. In the original, it is based a long time ago. I wanted to give it a more modern twist. It gets a little confusing trying to tell the difference between each character, but I tried my best! For the ending, the dog got stuck behind the house and the cat climbed the roof, thats how she beat him home. I thought that was a little too confusing though, so I gave the dog an injury instead.

Image: Golden Retriever from Pinterest. 

Bibliography: The Chinese Fairy Book by R. Wilhelm, link to Why Dog and Cat are enemies. 

Reading Notes: The Two Little Cats

The Two Little Cats is a story about two cats who run into a rabid Handre. It would be interesting to write about the village they live in and how scary a Handre is. I am going to talk about how the Handre's took over their land and only a few animals remain. The land is overrun by these cruel Handres, but I am going to talk about how the innocent animals took back their land.

Bibliography: Tibetan Folk Tales by A.L. Shelton, link to the Two Little Cats.

Image: Cartoon Town from Google Sites.

Story: The Enchanted Prince

Long ago, there was a boy named Peter who was destined to be King. In a land full of bad, Peter was the good.  Peter was born to make the world a better place and be the ruler his kingdom so desperately needed. The kingdom was filled with evil and witches, many who wanted to see the kingdom burn. The witches wanted to take over the land so they could rule. The head witch, Martha, thought of a brilliant plan. Since they can’t just swoop in and take the kingdom without an uproar, they would have to take the long way around. Martha would have a daughter and this daughter would catch the eye of Peter. Peter would fall madly in love with her, but would not know she was a witch, of course. Martha’s daughter would get so close to Peter and suddenly destroy him. Not kill him, because that is too evil. But she would turn him into a small animal that no one would think about… how about a monkey! So, Peter would turn into a monkey for five decades. He would only return to his human form if he found true love while as a monkey.

Martha thought her plan was brilliant. Surely enough, everything went according to plan. Martha’s daughter, Anna, tricked the king into falling in love with her. Anna turned Peter into a monkey and the whole kingdom into a witch’s paradise.

During this time, Peter had a lot of thinking to do. Was he going to age? Was his family going to forget about him? He sat at the top of the tallest tree over looking the kingdom. He watched the witches slowly ruin everything he had ever known. Little did they know, he had a secret plan. Seeing as monkeys still have hands, Peter was able to write. He wrote letters to his family warning them of what was happening to the kingdom. He told them that he was safe and not to worry, because they would be reunited one day. Unfortunately, Anna and Martha found these notes. They did not know which monkey was Peter, but they did know how to punish him. Anna and Martha froze Peters entire family and hid them underground so no one would ever see.

Peter was devastated. His only form of help and he had ruined it. So, Peter sulked and sat. He waited for a sign, for someone to help him. One day, a girl bumped into his tree. She was crying and crying, begging someone to hear her. Peter climbed down his tree in an attempt to help. This girl was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Her ice blue eyes looked right at him, and she instantly felt okay. The girl, named Sophie, was grateful for the little monkeys help. She talked to him and suddenly felt at peace. Peter did not want to frighten her by talking, so he simply sat. Sophie kept talking and talking, until the next time she looked at Peter, he was a handsome young man. Sophie was so taken aback and asked what happened to the poor monkey.

Peter explained the situation and informed her of his family. She agreed to help free them. After Peter and Sophie successfully freed the family, they overtook the kingdom once again. They married right away, and lived happily ever after.

Author's Note: Since this story was a little wild, I wanted to keep adding to it. When I first read it, I was so interested to see if he aged when he was a monkey (he did not). I wanted to talk more about who the prince was as a person and not just a one dimensional character. It was really fun being able to give him such a nice and calm demeanor. All he wanted to do was help!

Image: Castle from The Cripple Gate. 

Bibliography: Filipino Popular Tales by Dean S. Fansler, link to The Enchanted Prince.

Reading Notes: The Enchanted Prince

The Enchanted Prince was a short, but interesting story. I would like to write about what the prince did for 4 decades and what happened once he became a man again. Did he age? I think it would be kind of creepy for a 60 year old man to marry such a young girl. My story will describe more of the events that happened and how the prince started his life once again where it left off. Since they said the kingdom was basically gone, I also want to write about how people kept it alive and well.

Bibliography: Filipino Popular Tales by Dean S. Fansler, link to The Enchanted Prince.

Image: Tree from SF.

Story: Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

Hundreds of years ago, there lived a boy named Gene. Gene was sarcastic and hilarious, meaning people loved to have fun around him. He lived his life to the fullest and was a friend to everyone he met. Gene married his wife and eventually had many children. One day while Gene was walking to the store, a huge thunderstorm covered the town. He began to jog a little to avoid the rain, but made his situation worse. Gene was struck by lightning and it shook every ounce of his being. The lightning electrocuted him and turned him into a superhuman. He quickly evaporated into a nearby lamp and fell asleep.

A few hours later, Gene woke up to a large jolt. “Where am I? What is going on?” He walked around in this dark place until he found a match. Striking the match on the wall, he guided himself around the room until he found an oil-burning candle. Inside the room, there were a million books and jewels. Gene picked up a notebook that was on the bed and began reading. The journal described what had happened to Gene. Essentially, Gene was chosen to be a Genie. Genies were known to be the nicest and most helpful people on the Earth. In a way, he was happy, but he was also very sad. The book told him that he would be stuck in the lamp until someone rubbed it and asked for something. The genie knew he would be here for a while, so he studied the journal and books more.

A few hours later, the storeowner was cleaning the lamps. He reached for the genies lamp, but noticed something different about it. Once he started to clean it, the genie appeared. Frightened, the store owner shouter “Who are you?” The genie calmly responded and explained who he was. The storeowner was delighted to hear of the wishes. He wished for money so he could stop working. The genie immediately granted it. He then wished for a boat so he could travel. The genie walked him to the ocean, where the storeowner saw his new boat. The owner then asked for the boat to take him to the most exotic places. The genie granted this wish and said farewell to owner.

Genie returned to his lamp and once again picked up a book. After 30 days, the genie was finally released again. This time was different. The boy, named Aladdin wished for the genie to be his forever and always grant him wishes. The genie agreed because Aladdin was so kind. Genie and Aladdin shortly became the best of friends. They spent every hour of everyday together. Aladdin told the genie of the princess that lived in the palace and how much he loved her. One day, Aladdin and the genie plotted out a brilliant plan. Aladdin would dress up as a prince and fool the princess into thinking he was royalty. After this, the princess would want to marry Aladdin. Their brilliant plan worked, and no one ever learned the truth about Aladdin. Even if he was a poor boy from the streets, no one ever knew. Aladdin lived to be the greatest ruler of all time with his best friend, Genie, by his side the whole time.

Author's Note: It was really hard to differentiate this from Disney's Aladdin and the story Aladdin. Something I have always wondered is where did the Genie come from? I know that him being struck by lightning was a little dramatic, but I wanted to show how he got his super powers. In the original story, Aladdin finds the genies lamp in a cave. I left that part out because most people have their own idea of Aladdin and how he found the lamp. 

Bibliography:The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang, link to the reading online.

Image: Inside the genies lamp from Domythic Bliss.