Reading Diary B [Stories of the Congo]

The Antelope and the Leopard:

• The leopard bet his life that the antelope would not be able to find him if he hid but he was able to find him. Then it was the antelope's turn to hide. 
• He searched and searched everywhere but could not find him. He called upon his people to help find the antelope. 
• Upon cracking a nut, a dog came out. He went to each of the leopards wived and they shooed him away until they killed it. As the dog lay dying, it turned into a beautiful maiden.
• The leopard was taken with the maiden and asked her to be his wife. She told him to kill the women who killed the dog, he did. 
• She also asked him to take out his nails, ears, and teeth. As he lay dying, the maiden turns into the antelope. 

"My dear leopard, you thought to kill me to avoid giving your life to me, as promised, when I found you. See now how I have outdone you. I have destroyed you and your whole family." Source

• This is why the leopard always kills the antelope. 

The Turtle and the Man:

• A turtle and a man build a small town. As there was nothing planted yet, their was nothing to eat. So the turtle and the man decide to build a trap. Because it was too large, they decided to split up the trap but the turtle got the better one. 
• The man ended up not getting a catch but the turtle caught an antelope. Because it was too large for him to carry, he asked his friends to help him. Alas, he found a great ox to carry the antelope back to his home with the promise of sharing it with him. 
• Once the ox set out to grab some leaves to wrap the meat around it, the turtle shut him out. The ox told him that he was going to destroy his trap but unfortunately, it killed him instead. 
• He called his people to dance and sing again, gaining the attention of a leopard.
• The turtle did the same thing to the leopard as he did the ox. Only this time the leopard was able to destroy the trap and act like he was entrapped. When the turtle came to boast, the leopard bit the turtle's head before he could go back to his shell. 
• He returned to the turtle's shimbec and when questioned by the man, he believed he was right in doing so. 

The Gazelle and the Leopard:

Source

• The gazelle, mad that the leopard killed his friend the antelope, set revenge on him. 
• The gazelle then kills the leopard and sends his skinned head for his wife. 
• She then eats it, not knowing that it was her husband. The gazelle taunts that she had eaten her husband's head and she curses the gazelle. 
• It is odd to see that the usual prey is now the predator. 

The Fetish Sunga:

• Basa, was a great fisherman but would always lie about his catches. He would tell people he caught nothing when his house was full of fish. 
• The Sunga was tired to his lies so she set a big feast for him and told him to drink all the wine he wanted. 
• The Sunga then deprived him the power of speech so he could lie no more. 

The Leopard and the Crocodile:

• A man was not able to feed himself and his many wives so one day he came up with a plan. He presented a leopord with palm nuts and he told the man that if he were to only supply him with palm nuts, he would give him fresh meat.
• The man then went to a crocodile and offered him palm nuts. The crocodile made a deal with him, if he were the only one to be supplied palm nuts, he would supple the man with fresh fish. 
• This went on for a while but both animals were getting tired of palm nuts and both craved dog. They both bothered the man tremendously about it. The man finally got fed up and told the animals if they went to a place, they will find a dog.
• Not knowing what a dog actually looked like, the crocodile and leopord thought they were dogs and killed each other as the man and his town looked on. They feasted in the food the animals supplied until the next day. 

Why the Crocodile Does Not Eat the Hen:

• The crocodile really wants to eat the hen that feeds by the river daily. However, every time he attempts to eat it, she calls him "brother".
• He asks his friend for advice and he says it is because they all lay eggs, making them brothers in a sense. 

The Three Brothers:

• A woman had three babies and could not take care of them so she left them in the grass. The little ones were hungry and found a river with fruits they did not dare eat. However, the river spirit called to the children and told them to eat the fruit. 
• The children grew up to be big and strong. They even had their own town to multiply. 
• A man approaches the town. He happens to be their father and goes to tell his wife. The wife goes as far as she could to go see them but went to rest.
• The children of one of the three brothers finds her and they go to kill the intruder but the river spirit tells them not to for she is their mother. 

Reading Diary A [Stories of the Congo]

How the Wives Restored Their Husband to Life:

• Husband: Nenpetro, Wife 1: Ndoza'ntu (the Dreamer), Wife 2: Songa'nzila (the Guide), and Fulla Fulla (the Raiser of the Dead).
• Nenpetro, went hunting in order to satisfy his wives hunger. An ox was the only animal to do that but he was killed before he was able to come back to the women. 
• Wife 1 had a dream that their husband was dead, Wife 2 brought them to his body, and Wife 3 brought him back to life.
• The wives had a competition to see which pot the husband would eat from. Wife 1 and 2 had chicken in theirs while Wife 3 had some pig in her meal. The husband decided that Wife 3 had the most important gift in bringing him back to life but he should have mixed all the meals together. 

Source

How Nsassi (Gazelle) Got Married:

• Nenpetro had one daughter with both Wife 1 and 2. Since they were wealthy, they decided to have their daughters marry a man that knew their names: Lunga and Lenga. 
• An antelope came to offer his presents for their hand in marriage but was denied until he knew their names. 
• Nsassi does the same and Nenpetro tells him the same thing. Nsassi had a loyal dog who kept getting the daughter's names but kept forgetting. 
• He finally remembers and tells his master who forgets one time before offering their hands in marriage.
• The antelope declares war, Nsassi wins and they eat him. 

The Vanishing Wife:

• In a town lived two brothers. Swarmi was married and well taken care of. He did not treat his brother Buite, alone and despised. in a warm and welcoming fashion. One day, Buite decided to leave, live his life out in solitary in a deep valley.
• One night he had a dream that a wife had come to him. All he had to do was tap on the ground three times, a canoe appears, and he were to fish and carry them to this beautiful girl who called out to him. The only thing he had to do was to cut off the fish's head for the girl could not stand it. He awoke, to find that the dream was true. 
• His wife had servants who would help him carry the fish back. One day he decided not to cut off the head of the fish. When the servant protested, the man scolded him for talking back to his master. At last minute, he decided to chop off the head of the fish. This happened 8 different times to 8 different servants.
• The ninth time, Buite could not catch the servant on time. He arrived home to nothing but Swarmi, who could not believe his prosperity and wanted to see for himself. 
• Swarmi despised him even more and Buite wept. 

Another Vanishing Wife:

• There were two brothers and a mother. One brother was handsome while one brother, Mavangu, was not. He was treated poorly so he ran away. He found his way to a big tree. 
• He pulled off leaves of the tree until one became a beautiful woman, his wife. She also had him become more handsome with better clothes. 
• She told him not to tell his people as to how this came to be but he did not listen. He told his mother and brother and after each detail a piece of cloth was stripped from him until he was naked. 
• Mavangu was foolish for wanting to please his people, enemies, rather than please his wife, who had been so good to him.

The Jealous Wife:

• A man went to go on trade for six months, while his two wives take care of his children. Each took turns fishing and taking care of the children. 
• When the younger wife went off to go fishing, the elder wife was to take care of their children. However, she was a jealous woman who wanted to murder the younger wife's child for they were much more intelligent than her own. 
• She stabs the child in the place they were most known for sleeping. The following day she finds out that she has killed her own child and takes of in the woods. 
• When the husband comes back, he makes it a mission to find her. When he does she was rocking the dead child and singing a sad lullaby. 
• The husband has her killed, burned, and sets her ashes into the wind. 

Ngomba's Balloon:

• Ngomba was cursed with sores but she has a gift for fishing. As she was fishing for he mother, Mpunia (murderer) tells Ngomba that if she does not come with him, he will kill her. She tells him to cure her. He does and the two get married.
• Mpunia was very fond of dancing. 
• Ngomba pined for her mother and starts plotting a way to go back to her. She tells her people to vut the leaves of the Mateva tree and set them to dry so she can make a big ntenda, or basket. 
• Her husband grows suspicious of the smell and plots to kill her with a burning hot cork crew. 
• He could not for he gets side tracked into dancing. 
• Ngomba decded it is time to escape and floats the ntenda back into her town. 
• Mpunia comes looking for her and the people tell him that he should be thanked for curing her.
• They kill him.

How Kengi Lost Her Child:

• Kengi and Gumba were married to the same man but had separate lands to farm their crop.
• Kengi got mad at Gumba for taking some seeds from her. 

After some time they came to an agreement that all that was born on the farm of the one should belong exclusively to her, and that the other should have no right to take it for her use. Source

• One day Kengi goes to Gumba's home to ask her for some tobacco. She was in great pain. Gumba tells her to stay while she smokes it. Meanwhile she has a baby on Gumba's property. She takes the baby stating that it was born on her property.
• Kengi, upset, takes her plea to the Malinombi and states her case.
• After deliberating, the Malinombi states that Gumba was acting within her right and that the child does, in fact, belong to her.
• I would be so angry. 

The Twin Brothers.

• A set of twin brothers, Mavungu (older) and Luembra
• Mavungu wanted to marry Nzambi's daughter and used the power of his charms to do so. On his first night with her, she tells him about a town where no one returns. He ofcourse goes but is killed by an old lady.
• Luebra, concerned about his brother, goes to find him but Nzambi's daughter mistakes him for his brother. Luebra finds out about the town.
• He goes to find the town and kills the old lady. He brings back the bodies of his brother and the rest of the prisoners. They fight over the others. Mavungu claimed that they were his because he was the oldest while Luebra believed that they were only alive because of him. 
• Mavungu kills his brother but Luebra's horse brought him back to life, thirsting for revenge against his brother. 

Reading Diary B [Arabian Nights]

         In order to save her own life  Scheherazade continues to tell her husband, the Sultan, charming stories.

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 1:

• One day, a man claiming to be Aladdin's uncle came forth to visit him. The man, a magician, tells Aladdin to tell his mother who knew his father had a brother but thought he was dead.
• The uncle tells his mother that he had been out of the country for 40 years. He lavishes Aladdin with presents, as if to gain his trust.
• The man takes him on a long journey. He gives him a ring and tells him to find a lamp. When he did the Uncle demands the treasure but Aladdin denies him. It turns out that he was no uncle, he was just a magician using Aladdin as a pawn for this great lamp. He leaves Persia forever but forgets the ring needed to control the genie in the lamp. 

"What wouldst thou with me? I am the Slave of the Ring, and will obey thee in all things." Genie

Source

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 2:

• Aladdin goes home to his mother, whom he tells about the lamp. She begs him to sell it for she believes that its evil. He refuses and they live without poverty for many years.
• One day, the Sultan orders everyone to stay at home so his princess can go for a bath. With the desire to see her, Aladdin hid behind the door, saw her unveiled face, and fell in love instantly.
• He tells her mother to ask the Sultan for Aladdin to marry his daughter. She goes to the palace every day for a week bearing magic fruit inside a napkin. She goes unnoticed until the sixth day. 
• She finally is able to show the Sultan her gifts but the vizir wanted the princess for his own son. He told the Sultan to withhold her for three months, hoping his son would make for a better present. 
• Aladdin waited patiently but one night, they find out that the princess is to marry the vizir's son. Desperate, he asks the genie to bring him the bride and groom. 
• He brings back the bed containing the pair and Aladdin tells her that he is her rightful husband while sending the vizir's son out in the cold. The genie then puts them back in the palace.

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 3:

• The princess and the vizer's son break up in fear of another night. At the end of the three month mark, Aladdin's mom comes back to remind the Sultan of his promise. 
• The Sultan, displeased buy his impoverished life, asks that before he to marry his daughter, he bring 80 slaves bearing treasure. He asked the genie to do so. He also asks him to build a palace suitable for the princess.
• He was made captain of all the Sultan's armies, won wars, and lived in content for many years. Meanwhile, the vizir's resentment grows.

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 4:

• The magician hears of Aladdin's triumphs and comes for his demise. He devises a plan to sell new lamps for old in which the princess hands him the genie.
• Everything is gone, the magician sends Aladdin back to poverty while the palace and the princess are whisked to Africa.
• The Sultan gives him 40 days to find the princess.
• Aladdin asks the genie after rubbing the ring to save his life. He hesitantly tells him that he cannot, he must ask the slave of the lamp. But he is able to transport him to his wife's window.

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 5:

• Aladdin and the princess reunite and she tells him what happened. The magician carries the lamp with him. 

"He wishes me to break my faith with you and marry him, saying that you were beheaded by my father's command. He is forever speaking ill of you, but I only reply by my tears. If I persist, I doubt not that he will use violence." Princess

•  He tells the princess to play like she has forgotten China and will make things right by the magician. She asks to taste the wines of Africa. He goes to his cellar, she puts powder in his cup, and he dies. 

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 6:

• The magician is dead and Aladdin has the lamp again. All is well but not for long, turns out he had a brother, more evil than he. The brother travels to China to avenge his brother's death. 
• He disguises himself as a holy woman, Fatima who tells the princess of a Roc egg. Wanting to give his wife everything she desires, he asks the genie.
• The genie tells Aladdin of the evil brother's plan. Aladdin fakes a head ache and kills the brother claiming he is Fatima.
• All is well, he even succeeded the Sultan and they lived happily ever after. 

Reading Diary A [Arabian Nights]

Scheherazade:
         The Sultan loved to shower his wife with extravagance. However, she had wronged him so deeply, he found it best when less women were in the world for they were all wicked at heart. The story says that he almost lost his mind over the deceptiveness but I honestly think he lost his marbles. Every night, he would marry a new wife just to have her strangled by the grand-vizir the following morning, a fate he also reserved for his first wife. As you can imagine, this caused havoc all throughout town, The grand-vizir had two daughters:

•    Scheherazade: the oldest of the two who had both intelligence and beauty
•    Dinarzade: the youngest deemed average at best

         In a shocking turn of events, Scheherazade asks her father to bring her to the Sultan in order to stop his barbaric practices. After many protests from her father, he finally obliged, offering her to the Sultan with a heavy heart. Scheherazade comes up with a plan to ask the Sultan if her sister can sleep in their chamber the night of their wedding. She asks Dinarzade to do her a favor: ask her to tell her a charming story one last time.

 Scheherazade Source

The Merchant and the Genius 
          Scheherazade begins to tell a story about a merchant who has to cross the desert. He brought with him dates and biscuits for he knew that there would be no food to be had. On his fourth day he came across a fountain of water and decided to rest. A genius (genie) came to him saying that he killed her son and she will do the same to him. The man speaks of his wife and children while begging for forgiveness but the genius was not impressed.
          This concludes the end of the first night and  Scheherazade asks the Sultan to give her till tomorrow to finish the story. He agrees and lets her live. This goes on and on.
         The following morning the Sultan grew eager to hear the continuation of the story. The merchant asks to say goodbye to his wife and child one last time, claiming that he will be back in one year. Surprisingly, the genius agrees. He settles his affairs and comes back to the desert. As he waits, he is greeted by some bystanders. After hearing his story, they all stay to see the outcome. When the genius arrives, the merchant tells him a story, delaying the inevitable.

The Story of the First Old Man and the Hind
          This is the story of the first bystander to come across the Merchant. Apparently the hind (female deer) is his wife and he adopts the son of his favorite slave. His wife does not care for the mother or the son. The merchant asks her to look after them in his year long absence. During this time, she learned magic and turned his son into a calf and the slave into a cow. When he returned he finds his slave dead and his son missing.
          During a feast, he asks his servant to bring forth the fattest cow. But just as he was about to slaughter it, he found pity on the cow and asks for another. His wife was annoyed at his compassion for alas, he could not kill the second cow after seeing tears run down her face. The steward ended up killing the cow he did not know was his slave. Upon opening it up, their was nothing but bones despite its girth.
          He then tries to kill a calf but couldn't so he asks the steward to take care of it. His daughter, who practices magic informs him of who the calf and slaughtered cow really were. The daughter returns the boy to normal and in exchange will marry her in gratitude. She also turned his wife into a hind.

The Second Old Man, and the Two Black Dogs
        The two dogs are the old man's brothers. They used the sum of their father's estate to become merchants. The eldest brother sold his share to travel foreign lands. A year later a beggar comes to his shop; it was his brother asking him to not speak of his misfortunes. He shuts down his shop, gives his brother half of his profit and tells him to start over.
        The second brother also decides to travel but comes back in the same state as his older brother. Later both brothers convince the old man to travel together. He looks at the 6,000 profit and gives each man 1,000, burying 3,000 close to his house. Two months into their journey he finds himself a wife but the two brothers become jealous of him. They end up throwing the couple over board. Turns out his wife was a fairy and transported him to an island. Upset at his brothers, she turns his brothers into dogs for 10 years. Pleased with his story, the genie grants him a third of the merchant's punishment.

The Story of the Fisherman
         A poor fisherman could not support his family. He makes it a rule to not throw his nets more than four times a day. One day he finds himself catching nothing but junk. He finds a big yellow pot in his fourth throw and decided to sell it back to the owner. Turns out he found a genie who tells him the only favor he will grant the man is choosing the way he dies. However, the cunning fisherman tricks the genie back into the bottle. This transition as the fisherman as the story teller.

The Great King and the Physician Douban
         Scheherazade is telling a story about a fisherman who is telling a story to the genie about a king who is about to tell a story to his vizir. Can you wrap your head around that? A clever physician tells the King with an unknown disease that he can cure him. Turns out he did and the physician received the highest honor. The vizir grew jealous and tells the king that the physician is trying to assassinate him.

The Story of The Parrot and Ogress
         The King's story is of the parrot and the Ogress is the vizir's counter story to the king. The story of the parrot is about a king who's bird was telling him the truth about his wife. but his wife cleverly devised a plan to trick the bird into thinking that it was raining when it wasn't causing the king to believe that it was crazy. He found out that that was not the case after accidentally killing the bird. The vizer's counter story was about a young prince who got lost after hunting with his vizer. He came across a woman crying on the road. She claimed to be an Indian princess but really she was an ogress wanting to eat the prince. The prince ran away, told his father, and had the vizir strangled for his carelessness.

The Physician's Revenge
           After the jealous vizir convinces the king that the physician was an assassin, in irony, he became one, killing him with poison after learning about his execution.

The Sultan and the Fish
            We go back to the story of the genie and the fisherman who says that he will make the man rich if he lets him out of the lamp.

Because Every Story Needs a Villain: Brain Storm Styles

Topic: Every good story has a villain so absolutely horrid, the reader is compelled to cheer on the protagonist. But what if evil is just a relative term; If the story was told in the antagonist point of view, would the reader feel the same way about the character? My goal is to put a voice behind the character most people are inclined to hate. Are they the true definition of a villain or were they just a victim to circumstance?

Bibliography:
"Adam and Eve" by Louis Ginzberg, from The Legend of the Jews (1909)
"Ovid's Metamorphoses" translated by Tony Kline from Poetry in Translation (2001)

Possible Styles:

        This is kind of obvious for what better can telling your side of the story be from the perspective of that person? It also seems like the obvious choice for this theme. This can also obtain intimacy between the reader and the character which helps regain trust for we get an insight into their feelings and emotions instead of just their actions. I would like to go through an anthropology of different styles in order to keep the integrity of each character.

The Evil Squad
         It would be interesting to do something similar to a crime show type story book. I can either do an episode of a show that already exists like Law and Order or Snapped (woman villains). Or I can do a completely made up show. Or I can do something like the Suicide Squad, where a band of super villains come together for a good cause in exchange for a shorter prison sentence. Sort of like a antihero turned hero story.
       
Memoirs of a Villain
         I could also do a more memoir/diary style. This would be a great way for the characters to really get into their emotions as to why they did the things that they did. It would also be a good way for the reader to decide whether or not they agree with the villains' motive.
       
Evil is the New Black
        I really like the idea of merging two different concepts, especially when it is involving old legends with modern ideas. I find a spin off of Orange is the New Black would be a good idea for these characters for it shows them in the present but also has flashbacks of their story.    
     

Extra Reading Diary: Cupid and Psyche B

Venus and the Goddesses:
           Psyche continues to search for her husband. Meanwhile, Venus finds out about the two and things get pretty heated. She finds where he is hiding out and basically tells him that he is worthless, that she is going to adopt a servant boy and grant him his powers, and that she will never grow to love a woman she hates, even when she is titled as her daughter in law. After her little episode she meets up with Juno and Ceres who try to calm her down with reason. However, the damage had been done and Venus insists that she is being ridiculed.

You’re a mother and a sensible woman besides. Stop spying so keenly on your son’s pursuits, blaming his self-indulgence, scolding him for his love affairs — in short, finding fault with your own pleasures and talents in the shape of your handsome son. Source

Venus and Mercury

God of financial gain, commerce, messages/communication (divination), travelers, boundaries, trickery and thieves Source

God of financial gain, commerce, messages/communication (divination), travelers, boundaries, trickery and thieves Source

                 Venus asks Mercury to help her find a runaway servant but really she is just looking for Psyche, who is currently shipwrecked. As a reward for finding the girl, Mercury offers a reward of seven sweet kisses from Venus or one really passionate one, which roused the mortal men to find her. Familiarity finds Psyche and with Venus, threatens to kill her. I would have hated being a mortal female at this time period. They all seem so.....fragile?

Venus and Psyche

                Man, Venus is such a cranky Goddess. How is she really supposed to be the Goddess of love and beauty when she is so ugly on the inside? She uses her servants Anxiety and Sorrow to torture the poor girl and threatens her unborn baby and Venus essentially beats her up. She then heckles the girl by telling her that the only way she can attract a man now is by hard work. Venus calls for wheat, millet, barley, poppy seeds, chickpeas, lentils, and beans into one pile and tells Psyche to sort them all out. But Psyche gets a break and the ants took pity on her and decided to help. 

Psyche's Task/ The Third Task

                Upset that she completed her task, Venus throws a loaf of bread at her and goes to bed. Meanwhile Cupid is still under guard, partly because of his injuries and partly because he is not to see his wife. The next day Venus gives her another task: obtain the precious wool from the sheep that glistens the purest gold. Psyche runs off but instead of completing the task, she tries to commit suicide (is this a reoccurring theme? see Adam and Eve) but instead a simple reed instructs her to wait for the sun's heat to fade and the flock to settle. 

 Then while their savagery is assuaged and their temper eased, just explore the trees in the wood nearby, and you’ll find the golden wool clinging here and there to the bent branches. Source

                 When Psyche came back to Venus in triumph, the Goddess was not unnerved. Instead she gives Psyche her third task: fill a jar with the liquid that feeds the swamps of Styx (river that forms the boundary between earth and hell). When she sets off into her journey, Psyche can see how unbelievably dangerous it would be. Serpents hissed their warnings of death and the terrain was jagged and inaccessible. Psyche, again receives aid to complete her task. Providence, Jupiter's royal eagle filled the vial for her.

“Simple and innocent as you are, do you really expect even to touch, never mind steal, a single drop from that most sacred and cruel of founts? Jupiter himself and all the gods fear these Stygian waters." Providence

Jar of Beauty/ The Sleep of the Dead/ The Wedding Feast
           You had one job Psyche. Actually you had many impossible tasks but honestly you didn't do them yourself. All you really had to do was not look in the jar. So when you completed everything you had to do, you greedily thought it would be a good idea to open the jar for yourself?  Beauty was her curse to begin with and now she is doing things she was specifically told NOT to do..AGAIN. I just can't with this girl right now.
           Oh she gets stung by something. Of course she did and now she's sleeping. Cupid finds her and completes her task. Upset by his mother's antics, he asks Jove for support. To which he agrees but only if he pays for another girl with outstanding beauty. During their wedding feast, Psyche was made immortal and their marriage was made legitimate. She also gives birth to a daughter names Pleasure. The story of Cupid and Psyche end and we come back to the band of thieves and the kidnapped girl.

The Escape
           The robbers want to kill the donkey but it showed the courage of man and ran off. The captive girl helps him in their pursuit of freedom.

Reading Diary A: Cupid and Psyche

           I knew I wanted to read Cupid and Psyche the second I read that it is similar to Beauty and the Beast. The overview as a whole actually reeled me right in and if I had actual free time (reading for pleasure is a lost cause these days) I would love to read the recommended Till We Have Faces.

The Captive Woman/ Her Dream
           A young woman is held hostage by a band of thieves hoping to receive a handsome ransom from the girl's wealthy parents. She is struck with guilt as she realizes she too, is in a prison with her kidnappers. They try to sooth her worries by saying that they will let her go as soon as she is paid for. This was not enough for the girl for she threatens to commit suicide. The old lady grows tired of her self pity and tells the girl that her cries meaningless, if she even attempts to do the deed, they will roast her alive. The girl begs for forgiveness as the magical donkey feels sorry for her.
          The girl tells the old woman about her plans to marry her cousin (to everyone's consent, times were different back then). It seems as though she was kidnapped a day before her wedding to this man. A man, whom she had a dream where he was killed by one of the thieves. The old lady tells her that dreams and nightmares that occur during the daytime, often renders the opposite premonition.

Psyche's Beauty and the Anger of Venus
             The old lady tells a story to calm her down. It begins with a King, Queen, and three beautiful princesses. However, the youngest was seen to be the most beautiful of them all, for everyone was mesmerized by her beauty. They held her in the highest regard, almost as if she was Venus herself. Some even interjected that she was another Venus, a virgin Venus. Apparently this girl was so pretty, men sailed the deep seas just to ogle at her. She was so beloved, the love and adoration which was once meant for Venus, now lay at her feet. Venus was not pleased, in fact, she was bursting with violent anger and vowed to make Psyche regret things she had no power of.

"I’ll soon make her regret that illicit beauty of hers.” Venus

             The Goddess sends her audacious son Cupid to make the girl fall in love with the most wretched of men. Just to prove how much of a diva she is the old lady describes her elaborate entourage.

The Oracle of Apollo/ Magical Palace
            Pysche is upset for everyone looks at her like a piece of meat art? Everyone wants to gaze at her beauty but not marry. Even her plainer sisters are married into royalty. Her father goes to visit Apollo but he only had omens for the poor girl. If she were to have children with her future husband, their children will basically be the spawn of Satan. On her wedding day, the people wept at her misfortune and left her at the top of the summit where she fell into a deep slumber.
            When she woke up, she was seduced by the attractions of the magical palace. Servants were there to greet her even though none were to be seen. She heard voices in her head urging her to relax, eat, and she was even serenaded by an invisible choir.

The Mysterious Husband/The Jealousy of Psych's Sisters/Psych's Husband Warns her
           ***Random thought: If anyone has seen Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon, this is how I imagine her husband. So creepy*** So she and her husband consummated their marriage, but she doesn't even know what he looks like. He tells her her sisters are coming but he does not want her to interact with them or it will bring him pain. She agrees but becomes remorseful for doing so, she wants to see her sisters. He finally agrees but warns her not to listen to their advice on wondering about his appearance.
          When the pair come to visit Psyche, they were full of morning for they did not know if their sister was okay. Once she sees their agony, she invites then into the palace with happiness. In order to prevent being asked questions about her new husband, Psyche lies about his appearance, lathers her sisters up with gifts, and rushes them out the door. The sisters, envious of her life, complains to each other about their old husbands. They vow to not tell their parents that she is alive and well, and plan her demise as punishment for her arrogance. If they only knew.
          Still filled with a jealous rage, the sisters plan to murder her. Her husband also tells her she is pregnant with a mortal child. Even though he warns her about her sisters, Psyche seduces him in
allowing her to see them once more.

Fears and Doubts/ Psyche's Husband Revealed
          The sisters visit once more and Psyche forgets that she told them that her husband was young and instead describes him as middle aged and going gray. The sisters, now knowing the truth of her husband, come up with a deceptive plan. They remind her of Apollo's omen and as soon as she gives birth to her child, she will be eaten by her husband, a beast. They tell her to kill him while he is lying asleep next to her.
           As her husband is asleep next to her, she tries to do the deed but she finds out that it is Cupid himself. She pricks herself with his arrow and falls even more in love with him. She wakes him up, and he flees after knowing he had been found out. As she clung to him for dear life, he explains to her that he shot himself with an arrow and made her his wife, disobeying his mother, Venus. He punishes her by leaving and tells her he will be taking revenge on her sisters.

Source

Storybook Brainstorming

Topic: Because Every Story Needs a Villain
Topic Comments: 
After writing my story this week on Lilith, I have decided that I like to put a voice behind the character most people are inclined to hate. Are they truly a villain or were they just a victim to circumstance. It would also be cool to maybe have a trial by the Gods of Mt. Olympus.
Possible Stories: The best stories for this idea would come from the Ovid's Metamorphoses Unit.
Sample Story Comments: My first choice of villain was sort of an obvious choice. Medusa. After all a woman that bitter has to have her side of the story told.
Source: Medusa



Topic: Alice in Where am I? Land
Topic Comments: I love Alice in Wonderland so I thought it would be an interesting spin for the Rabbit hole to be a vortex of time travel. Each place lands her in a different stories of mythology.
Possible Stories: I could really intertwine a lot of stories into this.
Sample Story Comments: Alice finds herself lost in the woods after chasing a cotton tail rabbit. She loses track oh him but in his place where she last sees him is a hole in which she enters another world. A world of the unknown. I would like to add characters in Alice in Wonderland but in different roles. Aphrodite as the Queen of Hearts, perhaps?
Source: Alice in Wonderland

Source

Topic: Brother vs Brother
Topic Comments: I really wanted to include a Grimm brother story for I really like the unconventional fairy tale.
Possible Stories: There are so many different stories to choose from. I am definitely drawn to the ones with Disney remakes but I would like to give the lesser known ones a chance.
Sample Story Comments: I chose Hansel and Gretel because to me, it is sort of underrated.
Source: Hansel and Gretel

Topic: Creatures of the Night
Topic Comments: I really prefer the mythical creatures and demons to actual protagonists in mythology.
Possible Stories: There are many storied that contain such but I found this I found this site on Celtic demons and thought it would really be incorporated with Celtic Fairy Tale unit.
Source: The Horned Woman

Extra Reading Diary: Aesop for Children (Winter)

       As I was looking into the reading diary assignment of this week, I almost went with the Aersop for Children (Winter) unit. When I browsed its content, I realized that I really liked that each story had a moral attached to it. Here are some of my favorites from reading B.

The Bear and the Bees
       Who hasn't thrown a fit when something didn't go there way or when they were provoked, only for the situation to get worse? Unfortunately, so did the bear. When the bee stung him as a warning to not go for their sweet honey, the bear became enraged and destroyed the log only to disturb the bee's nest who thirsted for revenge. Moral of the story: It is wiser to bear a single injury in silence than to provoke a thousand by lying into a rage.

Control that temper! Source

The Bull and the Goat
        I think children should learn from a young age not to take advantage of other people, especially when they are in trouble. A lion was chasing a bull but was not able to get him for the bull ran for shelter. However, when the bull found what he though of to be safety, was rammed by a goat. In order to stay safe from the lion, he had to keep his mouth shut. Moral of the story: It is wicked to take advantage of another's distress.

"Do not think," he said, "that I submit to your cowardly treatment because I am afraid of you. When that Lion leaves, I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget."

I need to remember that it is  not nice to steal other
 people's fries when they go to the bathroom Source

The Cat and the Old Rat
        I liked this story because it reminded me of that saying, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." A cat hungry for his food knew he had to play smart to get his prey. So he pretended to play dead and the usually careful mice let their guard down to celebrate only for the cat to pounce on them. As the mice became even more suspicious of the cat, the cat figured out another scheme: cover himself in flour and the mice will come. Sure enough all but one mouse stayed in his den. The old rat was not to be fooled again. Moral of the story: The wise do not let themselves be tricked a second time. 

Poor guy Source

Week 2 Storytelling: The True First Lady

The True First Lady

Lady Lilith in the image of God source

               I always knew that Eve was a pathetic shell of a woman. She was the exact opposite of the powerful being I am. I always thought God created her in spite of me; the light to my dark I'd like to think. From her fair hair compared to my raven. She was after all created from the bone of man, causing her to be a lesser being, thus, her subservience to her mate. I almost felt sorry that she is too dim to understand that she is nothing more than a case for Adam's offspring. Almost.
              But even I cannot deny that God made this perfect creature for my former misogynistic mate. When word spread that she was the reason for their banishment from paradise, I could not say I wasn't pleasantly thrilled. Surprise, however, no, she was made to follow the direction of man, even if he was a serpent. Beguile as she was.
             The news of their eviction has made me nostalgic of what little happiness I had before I renounced his Divine name but the thought of Adam's actions towards me during our last days together will always bring about my rage. We were supposed to be equals, we were from the same dust that breathed in life, after all. The way the animals and angels looked at him with complete envy and awe, it was clear he was the favorite and I will never understand why. I will never forget the day I left. It was the most exhilarating moment of my young life. It was the first time I found actual paradise.
             It was the day Satan was struck down to Earth. I could feel a buzz in Adam's demeanor. I know now that this is called the male ego and his was filling up the entire garden. I remember feeling so annoyed at his happiness. An angel had fallen, I thought. We should have been remorseful for the disloyalty, not rejoicing in what everyone already knew: Adam was supreme. This had always annoyed me to no end because I never saw him as my superior, only an equal. He wrapped his arms around me but I pushed him away. I was not in the mood to concede to his cockiness. He was not happy with my behavior. "Lie beneath me, woman!" he exclaimed. His words were the ultimate betrayal for it cemented his sense of entitlement. An entitlement that should have belonged to me as well. So i ran, actually, I flew away from him, as far from the Garden as I could muster. I belong to no man and I was second best to no one.
             When God's peasants, i mean angels, found me in my relaxed exile, they threatened to kill 100 of my children a day if I did not return to Adam. I refused, I could not go back. Adam's pride got him a place on the figurative golden throne, while my pride depicted me as a monster. So I became one by declaring my allegiances to the Darkness of Night. Every day I get my revenge on the fair woman's children. Everyday I seek vengeance from the lives of their descendants. I'm just glad I got to see Adam kicked off his pedestal while I'm at it. Actually, now that I think about it, I think I'm starting to like this Eve character.

Demon Lilith Source

Authors note: This is a retelling of Adam's first wife Lilith. According to Jewish legend, the two were born at the same time from the same dust. As Adam became the clear lead in hierarchy, Lilith stuck to the idea that the two were equal and later renounced her duties as his wife and a follower of the divine. God's wrath involved a punishment of Lilith losing 100 of her own children each day. She takes revenge by raping male descendants of Adam and murdering the female's babies. After some outside research, I have found that she is either labeled as the first female vampire or an evil succubus. Satan was struck to earth after not paying homage to Adam as the divine right, thus was punished by God's wrath. Please also note that this is not intended to offend anyone or their beliefs, it's honestly just a story. For more info on Lilith, Click here

Reading Diary B

           I decided to continue the Adam and Eve unit continued from Reading Part A. We left off with the first couple being evicted from the Garden of Eden after eating the forbidden fruit (fig). The majestic serpent seduced Eve into eating the fruit from the Tree of good and Evil and thus, all involved were punished.

           Adam and Eve wandered the earth for five and a half days. On that half day they stumbled upon the gate to the Garden of Eden. As they walked towards it, the two were met with a soldier wielding a sword of fire. Trembling in fear, the two fell on their faces and the guard took mercy on them. God, being a merciful God, also took pity on the first couple and guided them to the cave of treasures. Adam compared the cave as their prison in this world for it did not hold the beauty of their garden. They entered the cave with great grief and broke down in pity onto themselves. This curse was part of their punishment for their transgressions.
           The pair was afraid that the animals of earth would come visit them in perish so in his mercy, God told all of the animals to be familiar to Adam and to not bother the two. They then stumbled upon a fork in the river that watered the garden. It was than that Adam blamed Eve for his misery and two came for their own death in the river. An angel swept them up unto the seashore and God resurrected them and told them if they were to fulfill a promise to not drink the water of the river, he would let them back into the Garden.
            Adam and Eve returned to the cave of treasures but the two  were unable to see each other, just communicate. Adam so struck with grief flew himself onto the cave's walls and died. God brought him back to life but the two were still plagued with darkness. When dawn came it, they found the serpent that brought about their exile, withering on the ground. He attacked the two, placing blame onto them for his misery but God sent an angel to keep him away and was struck dumb and sent to India. The two went to search for the garden but two were so overcome with guilt the committed suicide (again, really). God took mercy onto them and told them they will be saved and told Adam not to kill himself again.

Then Adam remained silent. And the Word of God came unto him, and blessed him, and comforted him, and covenanted with him, that He would save him at the end of the days determined upon him. This, then, was the first offering Adam made unto God, and so it became his custom to do. Worship and Blessing

 source

Reading Diary A

           I decided to do Adam and Eve because I already mentioned it on my Myth and Folklore UnTextbook post. I also really do believe that no matter where one is on the theology spectrum, they will most likely know of Adam and Eve and the story of Creation. It would also be nice to get reacquainted with the story for I can only remember the gist of it.

The Creation/ Lilith, Eve, and Paradise
          It took God six days to create Heaven and Earth along with every foul, fish, and beast. However, on the seventh day, he decided to rest and sanctify it. God wanted to create man in his image and wanted them to have control over Earth. God decided to plant a garden in Eden where trees, good for sight and nutrients, were place along side a rivers for water. God decided to place man inside the garden so he could take care of it. It was there he could eat freely. However, the fruit on the tree of Good and Evil was strictly forbidden.

For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. The Creation

          God did not want Adam to be lonely so he created Lilith as his companion. Lilith did not say with Adam very long for she wanted to be equal. She vanished from Adam and as punishment she would lose one hundred of her demon children daily by death. It was then Eve was created to be his true wife and live in paradise.

              The woman destined to become the true companion of man was taken from Adam's body, for "only when like is joined unto like the union is indissoluble." The creation of woman from man was possible because Adam originally had two faces, which were separated at the birth of Eve. Eve

While Adam was created from sand, Eve was created from his bones. Source

         Though Adam was in Eden to maintain it, his true purpose was to fulfill the commandments of God. It was here that animals knew the language of man and feared God.

 The Fall of Satan
         Adam was extraordinary and soon gained the envy of the angels, especially Satan, the greatest of all angels who had twelve wings to the regular six. Satan wanted to challenge the wit of man and God asked him to recite the names of his animals. When Satan was unable to and Adam was able to recite the first letter of the animals, Adam was divined the proper name and superior to Satan. However, Satan was unable to pay homage to Adam and experienced God's wrath for he was flung out of heaven and onto Earth. Thus began the enmity between God and Satan.

The Fall of Man
        The serpent was notable and resembled man and because of his mental capabilities, he, like Satan, was very jealous of Adam. He hatched up a plan to ruin man but decided to deceive Eve, for women are easier to beguile. The serpent pushed Eve into the tree to make her see that merely touching it would not cause her to die so how bad would it be to eat the fruit it bears? In order to make his point, he took a bite out of the fruit. It was then Eve took the skin of the fruit, then the actual fruit did she see the Angel of death. It was then her mission to make Adam and all other living beings to eat the forbidden fruit. However, Adam and Eve did not die, they stood ashamed in their nakedness and had to scrounge around for cover. It was only the fig, the forbidden fruit itself, that allowed them to use it as cover for the other leaves would not allow the wicked to touch them.

The Punishment
         As punishment, the serpent had its hands and legs cut off and Eve was subjected to ten curses, but it was Adam who suffered the most. He had his celestial clothing stripped from him, and in his short remainder on earth, animals were now in power. However, they were not the only ones punished. Earth was made to become dependent on rain, give trees with no fruit. God would have let Adam and Eve stay in the Garden of Eden but they were not repentant and therefore were evicted from Paradise. 

Woman covers her hair in token of Eve's having brought sin into the world; she tries to hide her shame; and women precede men in a funeral cortege, because it was woman who brought death into the world. And the religious commands addressed to women alone are connected with the history of Eve. Adam was the heave offering of the world, and Eve defiled it. Eve