Extra Credit Reading: Rouse. Giant Crab

For this last extra credit reading I read from a group of stories by Rouse. I particularly enjoyed one story called "The Lion and the Boar." This story begins with a lion drinking from a pond and he sees a boar drinking on the other side of the pond. Since the lion had just eaten, he wasn't hungry but still didn't want to scare the boar away so that he could come back later and eat him. As the lion snuck away, the boar saw him and took that to mean that the lion was scared of him. With a big ego, the hog challenged the lion to a fight. The boar went back to his home and told the other boars that he was going to kill a lion. they all laughed and informed him of a lions massive power and told him their is no way he would win. An old wise boar told the foolish boar to roll in mud before the fight because lions are very clean and the lion wouldn't fight him if he was dirty. He did this and when it came time to fight, the lion smelled him and told him he would not fight because he was too dirty. The boar returned to town and bragged of his victory. The other boars decided they would still run to a new home because, even though the boar won the fight, there was still a lion nearby.

Bibliography: Rouse. Giant Crab (Link)

Boars (Source)

Reading Notes: Francis and Thomas Jataka Tales

For my last reading in this class I decided to do one more Jataka tale, this time from Francis and Thomas. One that I really enjoyed was titled "The Ass In The Lion's Skin." This is the story of a merchant who went town to town selling goods. He had a donkey that would carry his goods with him. When he got to a town, he would take the goods off of the donkey and send him out alone to eat. HE would cover the donkey in a lion's skin so no one would bother him. Farmers would see the ass, think it was a lion and stay away. This worked until one town saw the lion and tried to scare it away by shouting and beating on drums. This scared the donkey and he let out a "hee-haw" and the villagers realized it was not a lion. They beat the ass and stole the lions skins. I'm not sure what lesson this story teaches but I found it very amusing to read.

Bibliography: Francis and Thomas Jataka Tales (Link)

Donkey (Source)

Reading Notes: Inayat Twenty Jataka Tales

For this weeks reading I stuck with the Jataka tales that I have enjoyed so much. I read from tales by Inayat. I particularly liked a story called "The Forest Fire." This is the story of a family of quail that lived in a tree. There was a mother, a father, and 7 babies. Each day the parents would go out and collect worms, insects, and grass seeds to feed the babies. Sic of the seven babies ate the worms and insects, but the seventh only ate the grass seed. As a result, the six who ate the bugs grew and had bug, strong wings, but the seventh didn't grow at all. One day, a forest fire was traveling toward their nest. The parents and the six strong babies flew away to safety, but the small seventh baby could not fly. As the fire got close, the helpless bird spoke to it, saying he was small and couldn't fly. He asked the fire why it was coming to hurt him. As he spoke, the fire stopped and retreated, leaving the small bird and their home safe and unharmed. This was an odd short story but I enjoyed reading it.

Bibliography: Inayat Twenty Jataka Tales (Link)

Quail (Source)

Extra Credit Reading: Francis and Thomas Jataka Tales

I decided to continue my reading of Jataka Tales for this extra credit reading. I read from a selection of stories by Francis and Thomas that I hadn't had a chance to read yet. From these stories, the one I found most interesting was one called "The Choice of a Husband." This is the story of a amn with four daughters and he is trying to decide which man to give his daughters to as wives. He asks a wise teacher for advice on which man to chose. The teacher tells him that although all of the men have good qualities such as beauty and years, the best man to chose is the one with virtue. He explains that virtue is the true measure of a man and a man should be despised is he fails at virtue.

Bibliography: Francis and Thomas Jataka Tales (Source)

Rings (Source)

Reading Notes: Shedlock Eastern Stories and Legends, Part D

For this reading I read more Jataka Tales from Shedlock Eastern Stories and Legends. From the part D selection, I really enjoyed the story "The Dreamer in the Wood." This is the story of a reincarnation of Buddha living alone in the forest. He lived in peace with all of his surroundings, making sure not to harm any creature for his own well being. He ate fruit when it grew on trees, leaves when there was no fruit, and bark when there were no leaves. One day Sakka, the King of Gods, came to test the man. Sakka asked the man what he wanted for himself. The man asked to be free of hatred, malice, and greed. Sakka was surprised that the man didn't ask for anything related to food and gave him another request. The man asked that no creature ever be harmed for him, body or mind. These requests were granted because they were all selfless acts.

Bibliography: Shedlock Eastern Stories and Legends (Link)

Forest (Source)

Reading Notes: Shedlock Eastern Stories and Legends, Part C

For this weeks readings I chose to read more Jataka Tales. I read a selection from Shedlock Eastern Stories and Legends for extra credit last week and decided I would read some more for week 14. From these stories I particularly liked one titled "How the Antelope Was Caught." This is the story of a gardener who works for a king. Every day an antelope wanders into the garden and eventually is gains confidence and is no longer scared of the gardener. The king asks the gardener about the garden and he tells the king about the antelope and says he could get the antelope into the palace. The king tells him to do it. The gardener starts by putting honey on the grass that the antelope eats. The antelope loves the taste and eventually has no fear of the gardener at all. The gardener then makes a trail of honey soaked grass that leads into the palace. The antelope follows it because he lusts for the taste and wanders right into the palace. The king speaks about how the antelope would never have come near the palace, but his lust for taste took over and he did. This story has a moral against lust and I enjoyed it very much.

Bibliography: Shedlock Eastern Stories and Legends (Link)

Antelope (Source)

Extra Credit Reading: Shedlock Eastern Stories and Lengends

For this extra credit reading I read more Jataka tales. From this selection I particularly enjoyed the story of "The Mallard Who Asked for Too Much." This story tells the tale of a man who dies and is reincarnated as a golden mallard. In an attempt to care from his family, he gives them one of his golden feathers every so often so they can sell it and have money. This worked for a while until the mother got too greedy and decided to pluck all of the feathers at once instead of receiving one at at time. As she plucked them, the feathers turned to normal bird feathers and were no longer worth anything. This story warns against greed and selfishness and I really enjoyed it.

Bibliography: Shedlock Eastern Stories and Legends (Link)

Mallard Ducks (Source)

Reading Notes: Francis and Thomas Jataka Tales, Part B

For this weeks part b reading I continued with the Jataka Tales that I have been reading for the past few weeks. I read the part b selection of the Jataka Tales by Francis and Thomas. Of this selection, I really enjoyed the story The Foolish Friend. This is the story of two men. A mosquito lands on one of the men's head and stings him. The man asks his friend to kill the bug and his friend attempts to do that with an axe. He hits the mosquito and splits the mans head open, killing him. The Bodhissata was watching and after seeing what happened speaks about it. He says that is it worse to have friends with no sense than to have enemies with sense. I thought this story was very interesting and the end really surprised me.

Bibliography: Francis and Thomas. Jataka Tales (Link)

Mosquito (Source)

Reading Notes: Francis and Thomas Jataka Tales, Part A

For this weeks reading I decided to continue with the different versions of the Jataka tales like have I have for the past couple of weeks. This week i read a collection by Francis and Thomas which focus on the Jataka tales of the most general interest. Of these stories I particularly liked the story "The Cold Half of the Month." This story is very short, only about half of a page, and tells an odd but interesting story. A lion and a tiger live together in a cave and are arguing about when the "cold half" of the month is the "dark half" or the "light half." I assume they are talking about day and night. Their argument is settled by the Bodhissata that also lives in the cave who tells them that the wind is what causes the cold. So whenever the wind blows is the cold half of the month, whether day or night. The Bodhassita declares them both to be right and "makes peace between those friends." I'm not sure why this story stuck out to me but I enjoyed the read.

Bibliography: Francis and Thomas. Jataka Tales (Link)

Lion and Tiger (Source)

Reading Notes: Inayat Jataka Tales, Part B

This week I read more of the Jataka tales. Of the selection I had for this week, I liked the story The Patient Buffalo. The is the story of a very large buffalo and a monkey that is constantly trying to make him angry. The monkey jumps on his back, swings from his horns, stomps on the grass he is eating, and hits his ears all in an effort to make the buffalo angry. The buffalo remains calm the whole time and never reacts to the monkey. A fairy appears and asks why he never got angry and the buffalo says it is because he is big and could easily hurt the monkey but the monkey is not very smart so he sees no reason in hurting him. The fairy gets rid of the monkey and gives the buffalo a charm that will make sure no one could ever make him suffer again. This story teaches the lesson of patience and composure and I really enjoyed it.

Bibliography: Twenty Jataka Tales by Noor Inayat (Link)

Buffalo (Source)

Reading Notes: Inayat Jataka Tales, Part A

For this weeks reading I decided to read more Jataka tales. I have really enjoyed these stories so far and the new ones I found for this week are just as good. I particularly liked The Master's Test. This is the story of a man and his young pupils. The master asks his pupils to go steal money from someone for him. As the young pupils admire their master, they all go out to steal except one. The one who does not go says he will not steal even if no one is watching because he will see himself do it. This is the answer to the master's test that none of the other men see. The master was essentially teaching his pupils integrity and to be good people. I really enjoyed this story and it's moral.

Bibliography: Twenty Jataka Tales by Noor Inayat (Link)

Thief (Source)

Extra Reading: Twenty Jataka Tales

For this extra credit reading I decided to stick with the Jataka tales that I read for the assigned readings this week. I have really enjoyed these stories more than any of the other readings for this class. From this selection I specifically liked the story The Empty Lake. This story told the tale of fish in a lake that was almost completely dried up. the king of the fish prayed to the Queen of Rain and she answered with enough rain to completely refill their lake. The story used great personification of the fish as well as the elements with characters like Queen Rain and King Thunder. I really enjoyed this reading just as I have enjoyed all of the Jataka Tales I have read. 

Bibliography: Twenty Jataka Tales by Noor Inayat (Link)

Thunder Storm (Source)

Reading Notes: More Jataka Tales, Part B

For part B I stuck with Babbitt More Jataka Tales. I enjoyed the story of The Wise Goat and The Wolf. This tale tells the story of a herd of goats that is picked off one by one by a pair of wolves. The wolves are able to kill ad eat all of the goats except for one who is wiser than the others. They try to trick her a couple times but both times the goat outsmarts them and is able to escape. I also enjoyed the story Beauty and Brownie. I found it fairly interesting because it is kind of dark and has a not-so-happy ending of Brownie's entire herd of deer being killed. I really enjoy these Jataka tales. I like how they are short and to the point and how they mostly focus on animals.

Bibliography: More Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt (Link)

Deer (Source)

Reading Notes: More Jataka Tales, Part A

For this weeks reading I decided to continue with the Babbitt readings because I really enjoyed the first stories I read for last week. I read from The Jataka Tales last week so I chose More Jataka Tales for this week. From this selection I particularly enjoyed the story The Stupid Monkeys. the title immediately caught my eye on the list and I thought the story was pretty funny. I also liked the story The Otters and The Wolf. The wolf pretty much just played the otters and took their catch for himself which I found funny. I really enjoy how these stories are all told through animals.

Bibliography: More Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt (Link)

Wolf (Source)

Reading Notes: The Jataka Tales of India

From the Part B reading of the Jataka Tales i really enjoyed the story of The Wise and Foolish Merchant. I found it very interesting and it tells a good story about wisdom and trust. The foolish merchant wishes to make the journey first because he thinks it will best for him; he would get the first pick of food, water, and prices for his goods. The wise merchant allows him to go first because he knows that the foolish merchant will smooth his path and take all of the old food and water leaving only fresh food and water for him. I also enjoyed the story Why the Owl is not King of the Birds. i found it interesting that this story was so short and non-violent which is different than the other stories we have read involving kings. 

Bibliography: The Jataka Tales of India by Ellen C. Babbitt (Link)

Desert (Source)

Reading Note: Babbitt: Jataka Tales

This week I read the Babbitt Jataka Tales. I specifically like The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking. The title stood out to me at first glance so I chose to read it and I was fairly entertained. It as very different than I thought it would be but I enjoyed it. I liked the style this story is written in and I may try it out for my next story. Short and to the point and a lighter plot even though the turtle ends up dying. Most of my stories has been more serious so I may try to switch it up.

Bibliography: The Jataka Tales of India by Ellen C. Babbitt (Link)

Turtle (Source)

Week 9 Reading, Part B

In this part of the story the Pandavas and Draupadi go under cover into the kingdom after 12 years of living in the forest. They are in the kingdom for a year disguised as cooks, teachers, maids, and cowherds. Kichaka tries to rape Draupadi and Bhima kills him. Draupadi tells the queen that she is married to a celestial husband called a ganharva and the queen beleives her. The Pandavas reveal themselves and they go to battle. I found it interesting when Arjuna used a shikhandi which is a man dressed like a woman. That part of the story kind of caught me off guard but I thought it was very interesting. Bhima fulfills his vow to break Duryodhana's thigh. Yudhishthira is tested to get into heaven with a dog and his family but passes.

Bibliography: The Princes of Elephant City (Link)

Arjuna (Source)

Week 9 Reading: Part A

This story tells the Marabharata with the focus on the five Pandava brothers. It begins by giving some background information on the leadership history of the kingdom of Hastinapura. It began with King Bharata and long after that there was a king named Vichitravirya who died and left two sons name Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Dhritarashtra was blind so the throne went to Pandu. Pandu had 5 sons, the Panadavas, who were said to be sons on gods. Pandu dies and Dhritarashtra becomes kings. Duryadhana becomes jealous and tries to kill the Pnadavas but they escape through a secret tunnel. They go on an spree of battles with demons and end up fighting for the hand of Draupadi and Arjuna wins the contest for her hand.

Bibliography: The Princes of Elephant City (Link)

Draupadi and Pandavas (Source)

Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part D

The part of this story about the sacrifice of the horse really stuck out to me. It was very intense when Bhima chopped off the horses head and and it immediately disappeared in front of everyone. I think this may be something I can incorporate into my story. Maybe as the characters are journeying through the Himalayas they come across a horse and have to do something or maybe the horse is a disguise that their enemies are using (like a trojan horse) and then a battle ensues. I have a couple of ideas for this and will need to brainstorm more to come up with my story.

Bibliography: Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan (Link)

Trojan Horse (Source)

Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part C

This story was very interesting in the beginning and seems to be getting even more interesting. I enjoyed the part of the story where Draupadi and the four Pandava brothers venture into the Himalayas. I think this is a great setting for a story and I am excited to finish reading and see what happens. I think I may use a mountain range setting for my story this week. I can think of dozens of ways to take a story like that and there are a ton of possibilities for things that could happen. Anything from a realistic issue like an avalanche or injury to a more far fetched situation. Since the Mahabharata has been more realistic than the Ramayana was, I think I'll probably stay in a more realistic plot line for my story.

Bibliography: Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan (Link)

Himalayas (Source)