Week 6 Storytelling: A Tree's Suitors

One sunny day, a carpenter was walking alone in the woods. He stopped when he saw a tree made from the most beautiful wood he had ever seen. Not wanting to risk such a great opportunity, he stopped immediately to carve a large piece from the tree. He wondered what he should design. He decided to carve the most beautiful woman he could imagine as only that would be fitting for the most beautiful wood. When he was done, he went into town to find men who could help him carry his statue.
Next came a jeweler who saw the beautiful carving. "A woman so beautiful is worthy of the finest jewelry." he adorned the statue with his greatest pieces. Seeing no owner in sight, he went into town to find some men who would help him carry it.
Next a tailor came down the rode. Upon seeing the statue beautifully carved and bedecked in fine jewelry, he thought "A woman so beautiful is worthy of the finest clothes." When he learned there was no one near to claim the prize, he headed towards the town to find some men who could help him carry the woman made of wood.
Lastly came a man who had lost everything in a fire. He had no home, money, food, and only rags to cover his body. He saw the beautiful statue with beautiful clothes and jewelry from afar. Looking around for an owner of the statue and seeing no one, he jumped for joy at his luck. He ran towards the statue in order to take her finery and sell it. Looking at the face of this beautiful woman, he was reminded of his wife he had lost in that destructive fire. He remembered how he had never been a rich man, but he had always been happy when he had his wife at his side. More than possessions, he wanted someone to spend his days with.
"Oh gods of life, love, and mercy! I beg you pity a sad, starving man. Though I may crave sustenance or wealth, I need to not be so lonely. Give me someone who will love me, and whom I can love as I once loved my wife." And with that he fell at the feet of the statue, weeping.
When the woman opened her eyes, she was surprised to find she had been given the gift of life. Having watched passerby's wonder before her tree for years, she had always wanted to take part in life the way they could. She looked down to see the man crying and her newly formed heart opened for him.

"Mrs Richard Brinsley Sheridan". Painting by Gainsborough
Source: Wikipedia

"Dear sir, please tell me where I might be able to find somewhere to sleep for the night."
The man looked up in shock. Once the awe had faded enough to plan, they decided that they should go into town, pawn her finery, and find an inn for the night.
However when they got to town, they found a crowd of people. At the center of the crowd, three men were arguing.
"Let me take my men to bring it home for myself!" the carpenter shouted. "I created it originally from the tree!'"
The jeweler and the tailor began shouting about how they had both given up their finest goods to ornament it in the beauty it deserved.
"Wait," the carpenter said. "Isn't that the statue?"
The whole crowd turned to see the most beautiful woman in the finest jewels and clothes walking along side a man of obviously no fortune.
"What is the meaning of this?" they all demanded. The poor man explained how the gods had granted her life at his supplications.
"Well she should be mine!" The four began shouting.
The woman was appalled at the ferocity of the men who demanded to possess her based purely on her appearance. So she devised a plan.
"Gentlemen, might I solve this problem? I shall marry whichever man has the most to offer me."
The carpenter, the tailor, and the jeweler immediately began running home to grab their most valuable items to impress the woman. The poor man stood silently, puzzled at what to do. But soon he fell to his knees and began praying aloud. He asked the gods to grant him whatever he needed to win this woman he had fallen in love with. He did not ask for money or finery, merely whatever was necessary, calling for the wisdom of the gods.
After they had all returned, each man took his turn presenting what he thought would most impress the woman. She stood stoically, not betraying a hint of emotion. Three of the men had had their moment, leaving only the poor man left to present his case.
He stood before the woman, shoulders slumped, but hope in his eyes. "Madam, I am all I can offer," and he held forth his empty hands. "I only pray I can ever be enough for you."
Suddenly, a gold mist surrounded the man, shielding him from the gaze of everyone there. When the mist disappeared, the man was left standing. But now, he was dressed in simple, clean clothing. His face was shaved and hair trimmed. In his hands that were just before empty, he held a red rose in full bloom.
" I have made my decision." The woman said boldly. She pointed to the fourth man and merely said, "I'm yours."
The first three men shouted their protests. The crowd stood in awe. "Why?" several shouted. "He has the least to offer!"
"He has a humble heart. This is the most beautiful, most worthy thing which someone could offer."

Author's Note: This is a combination and retelling of two different stories, both in the Parrot's Tales saga. The Parrot Tales is a frametale in which a parrot must distract the lady of the house from going to meet with her lover. He tells these stories so she won't leave.
The first story I used is the The Goldsmith, the Carpenter, the Taylor, and the Hermit. Very similar to my story, each of the four men contribute their own specialty to creating a statue until the fourth hermit brings her to life by praying to the gods. However, she never talks. When they argue, they go back to the tree to see if that can judge who should have her, she returns to the tree. The moral is all things must return to where they belong/where they are from. 
The second story I borrowed from was the The Merchant whose Daughter Was Lost. In this a beautiful girl is asked to choose a suitor. In this she says that she will only choose the most wise/skillful suitor. She goes missing and each man uses his best skill to save her. After being saved, she is asked to choose. 
So for this, I stuck mostly with the first story, but rather than her returning to the tree, I made her in charge of her own fate. She puts them to the test and is confident in her choice. 


The Merchant whose Daughter Was Lost: The Tooti Nameh or Tales of a Parrot, by Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi (1801).

Tales of a Parrot: The Goldsmith, the Carpenter, the Taylor, and the Hermit

: The Tooti Nameh or Tales of a Parrot, by Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi (1801).

Reading Notes: Lost Daughter, Part B

• There is a beautiful daughter of a rich merchant
• He says that she can choose her husband
• She says she wants one that is either very wise or skillful
• Word spreads of what the beautiful, rich daughter wants in a man
• Three suitors
• one essentially knows all "knows what is lost, and the future"
• Second can build a floating wooden horse
• third is a great archer
• Daughter says she will sleep on it
• goes missing in the night
• Father asks all three for help
• The first knows what happened to her
• she was kidnapped by a fairy and taken to the top of a mountain
• Second builds horse to go to the mountain
• Third rides the horse and shoots the fairy, brings the girl home
• Parrot tells mistress that she will know if her lover is wise if he can say that the third suitor should marry the daughter

Photo author: dreamypixel.com Source: Wikimedia

The Merchant whose Daughter Was Lost: The Tooti Nameh or Tales of a Parrot, by Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi (1801).

Reading Notes: Parrot Tales, Part A

Source: Maxpixel

• The parrot is trying to keep the woman of the house from cheating on her husband
• Every night he drops the name of a story, she is intrigued enough to stay and listen
• By the time he finishes the stories, the sun has risen and she can't go
• This time he tells of four men who were in the woods. 
• Each man has a different specialty. 
• As each keeps watch, they use their specialty to create a beautiful figure.
• The last prays that the wooden figure because a real woman (very pygmalion)
• The men fight over who gets her and everyone they go to to ask for advice ends up trying to claim her. 
• They come up with dumb excuses. 
• We never hear her speak up for herself. In fact she never speaks. Can she speak? Does she have thoughts and feelings of her own?
• When they go to the tree for judgement...
• Tree first splits open. 
• She "ran" to rejoin the tree
• Went back to where she belongs, where she came from

Tales of a Parrot: The Goldsmith, the Carpenter, the Taylor, and the Hermit

: The Tooti Nameh or Tales of a Parrot, by Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi (1801).

Week 5 Storytelling: Her Story

Ancient Egyptian woman.
Photo by Florence Hornblower
Source: Flickr

Jezebel felt terrible complaining about her life. She knew she was lucky. There were women, even some of her sisters, who hadn't found kind men to take for husbands. They lived at home and dreaded the day their fathers would no longer be there to provide.
It seemed that in many ways, the gods had smiled on Jezebel and belssed her. She had a husband who never shouted without cause. She had a home and a farm. She had a brother-in-law who was kind to her. She hardly wanted for anything.
Yet her life felt so empty. All day long she either weaved, cooked, or lounged. She took no pleasure in these activities and longed for something more. Something meaningful in her life. She had hoped to have children who would fill her days with liveliness and laughter, but she and her husband had not been blessed by the gods in this way, though she still hoped.
This feeling of emptiness had merely tugged at her heart for years, and she pushed it away, reminding herself of her blessings. But a few days ago, a few travelers had come through and stayed at her husband's home for dinner. They regarded her ad asked if she was a sister or wife.
"She is my wife," her husband said.
"A beautiful one," a traveler said.  And after that, no one said a word to her. She served them food, she danced, and she tried to start interesting conversations. But no one looked her in the eyes again. No one asked her a question. And at the end of the night she realized no one had bothered to learn her name.
"Jezebel!" she wanted to shout. "My name is Jezebel and I have thoughts, feelings, and a life of my own!" Though she was beginning to wonder if this was all true.
After that dinner, she was unable to remember why she should be happy. She couldn't recall a singularly happy moment in her life that wasn't tainted by a feeling of a lack of purpose and meaning.
It was upon one of her moments of deep reverie that her brother-in-law walked in. His skin glistened from his work in the fields and he shook the dark hair out of his eyes to reveal his deep brown eyes. So lost in her thoughts, she did not recognize him at his entry.
"Get me some corn," he said.
Her mind couldn't make sense of his words, so mangled were her thoughts.
He wanted something, is that right?
She mumbled something about how he should get it so that she wouldn't haver to ruin her hair.
He left and she silently berated herself for being so unlike herself.
When he returned, she was taken aback by his strength. Had she never noticed before how handsome and strong he was? Is he different than she had always thought? Perhaps they're both different. Maybe they've both been hiding who they truly are.
Maybe he is what's missing. 
"Dear, won't you come lay beside me? We could make each other so happy. Your brother never needs to know. Please, come be with me."
"How dare you!" he shouted. "You are like a mother to me!" He began hurrying away.
"Please don't leave me alone here!" She rushed to stand and chase after him, but she was restrained ad tripped on all the refinery she was expected to wear each day. "There is so little left of me! Please help me!"
But he was gone. All those time she had felt empty before did not compare to this absolute hopelessness she had now.
I won't let this one moment of weakness ruin everything. 
She could hardly remember how she did it, the pain she felt, or why she did it. But before she knew it, she was lying on the ground, bleeding, a black eye, and a broken chair at her side. She lay there, giggling nonsensically as she awaited her husband's return home. She seemed unaware of her surroundings, staring at the door.
She couldn't tell  if hours had gone by, days, or merely a few moments. She didn't even hear her husband come in, but heard him suddenly shouting.
"He beat me. When I refused to sleep with him, he beat me."
"Who beat you?"
Don't lose everything you have. He can't know. 
"Your brother."



Author's Note: One of my pet peeves in stories is when women are demonized and everything that goes wrong is blamed on them, but they don't even get so much as a name. More than that, when reading the story of the two brothers, what struck me what that the death of the wife is covered in one sentence. We know nothing about her, and all we get is a sentence in regards to her murder by her own husband. The brothers are considered perfect.
So for this re-telling, I stuck to the same story, but it is completely from her perspective. I wanted to show why she may have done what she did. I often think about how life as a woman in most every ancient society would have been horrible, and this was my attempt to imagine what exactly it would have been like for a woman who had nothing going on except being a wife and sister-in-law.

The Two Brothers Part One: Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).

Reading Notes: The Two Brothers Part 1 and 2, Part B

The Two Brothers: Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).

• There were two brothers who lived together
• The older had a wife 
• The younger was single, taking care of his brother's farm and animals
• His brother and sister-in-law were like family to him
• The younger brother could understand the animals talking
• One day he needed to go inside for some supplies while his brother was out
• While grabbing the supplies, his sister-in-law starts hitting on him
• she is amazed by the strength that he displays
• She offers to sleep with him while her husband is away
• he refuses
• The brother returns and finds his wife on the floor, beaten with bruises
• He demands to know what happened
• She lies and says that the younger brother was coming on to her
• She said that she refused her and in retaliation, he beat her and told her not tell the older brother
• She says that to avenge her, he must go and kill his brother
• The brother goes out to kill his brother
• Before the eldest can reach him, the animals warn him of what's coming
• Just as the eldest brother is chasing him, the youngest cries out for help from the god Ra. 
• Ra sends down a pond of crocodiles to separate the two brothers
• The younger brother is able to explain the truth and the god Ra is a witness of his testimony. 
• The younger says he must go on a long journey for seven years and that his brother must stay here
• The older brother goes back to the house, kills his wife, give her dead body to the dogs o be eaten, and he mourns his brother

Ra in his solar boat.
Posted by Ausir Source: Wikimedia

Reading Notes: the Death of Osiris, Part A

Greek marble Statue of goddess Isis
Photo by Tilemahos Efthimiadis Source: Wikimedia

• Osiris is a great king of Egypt and has been ruling with such effectiveness that he leaves on a mission to help other peoples and make them good
• Set, the brother of Osiris, is so jealous that he conspires to remove him
• Iris is queen and rules while Osiris is on his mission. 
• While Osiris is away, Isis must work to foil Set's plans
• Set comes up with a plan to kill Osiris when he comes back
• Osiris comes back and hosts a large banquet
• Set bring a large, beautiful box and says whoever can fit perfectly gets to keep it. 
• No one fits except for Osiris. 
• Osiris can't get out of the box. Set's followers all close the lid, locking him in there
• Osiris floats down the river Nile in the box. 
• Grief stricken, Isis wonders the land trying to find Osiris. 
• Seven scorpions find her and become her protectors
• Set ascends to the throne and rules by tyranny. 
• Followers of Osiris are persecuted
• Ra, having pity on Isis, sends the son of Osiris, Anubis, to be her guide
• Isis comes to a house and upon arrival,
• The mother fears the scorpions, so she closes the door, not allowing the goddess to enter
•  a scorpion kills the son while trying to enter
• Isis pities the grieving mother and brings the son back to life. 

The Death of Osiris: Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).

Wikipedia Trail: From Saint Juliana to Indulgences

Juliana of Nicomedia: I started with this article because I really enjoyed reading about the female saints and found their stories so compelling. Saint Juliana is the martyr who was killed because she refused to marry a man who wasn't a christian.  According to this article, she is recognized by both Latin and Greek churches, but is particularly venerated in the Netherlands as the saint of sickness.

Saint Barbara: This saint's story is very similar to that of Saint Juliana. However, the accuracy of her story is so doubted that she was removed from the Roman calendar in 1969. Due to the lightning that killed her fire, she is associated with protection from lightning and fire and the patron saint of artillerymen.

Fourteen Holy Helpers: These are fourteen saints who are believed to be particularly strong helpers against  illness. The idea of this group of saints was created in the 14th century with the rise of the bubonic plague in the Rhineland. It started with three virgin martyrs: Saint Barbara, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine.

Painting of the Fourteen Helpers.
Restored and photographed by Alois Lieberwein Source: Wikimedia

Indulgences:  In the Catholic church, it is believed that there are punishments for sins. Indulgences are a way of lessening the punishment of a sin. At one point there were indulgences when one showed devotion to the Fourteen Helpers, but those no longer apply.

Learning Challenge: Happiness

Confirmed: Exercise leads to a happier life. I knew this was true from my own experience. For example, last week I started teaching dance. I was so stressed that I would be extra tired all the time from this added responsibility. Instead, I sleep better at night, feel better and more energetic the next day, and I don't feel like such a potato all the time. I definitely miss being active, especially as active as I was in high school. I am hoping that I can commit to the 7 minutes a day of exercise!

Trying to be as happy as this Golden Retriever.
Photo by Kevin Sando Source: flickr 

News: Planning a trip can make you happier. It is hard for me to believe that this is true, but I am going to try and implement this as well. I often go on google flights, just to check out how expensive flights are and I come away from it more nostalgic than before. But perhaps if I followed through with the plan, it would make me happier. So excuse me while I plan Thanksgiving in Budapest.

Curious: Exist the app. The author just barely mentioned that this expert created an app which "connects all of your services to turn that data into insights about your life." How cool is that? I definitely want to check it out! My life could be changed from this little app they couldn't be bothered to add a second sentence about. 

Just kidding, I looked it up. It costs money. Probably not worth it. 

Growth Mindset: Multiple Intelligences

I am a Peer Learning Assistant (tutor) for the Student Learning Center this year. This semester, they wanted all tutors to learn about the theory of multiple intelligences and implement it in our sessions. So I have heard a lot about this theory, and really like it.

The two intelligences that I would like to develop are visual-spatial and interpersonal. My visual intelligence is particularly lacking.

Photo rights from Creative Commons CC0 Source: pxhere

This year I moved into an apartment with my friend and she was always getting mad at me because I had absolutely zero input on how to decorate and organize it. I just couldn't find a vision, much less know what to put where to make that vision a reality. To develop this, I think it would be good practice to try and visualize what I want before I take action. For example, I think I am far more kinesthetically inclined. I would rather begin and keep trying to fix it. But if I don't allow myself the process of trial and error always, I will have to develop my visual skills.

While I think I have good interpersonal intelligence, I would always like to develop it further! It's still not great, and we definitely need great interpersonal skills to excel.

Tech Tip: Blogger Profile

I started my Blogger profile years ago in order to comment on Gail Carson Levine's blog. (Which side note, not only is Gail Carson Levine an amazing author, but she has a blog with writing tips that could be extremely useful for this class! Here is the link). The only thing I have ever messed with much for my profile is the picture (how vain). I've never truly understood the point of the profiles, mainly because they always seem so hard to get to. I really have a problem with how it's not easily accessible, you have to go through the link on your blog.

However, I am glad I did this tech tip because I finally figured out how to put the introduction fro my profile underneath my picture on my blog! So much more pressure now to come up with a great introduction!

I have often thought about my online presence because I think I grew up in a strange time. My age group remembers before the internet and social media took over, but we were also so young when it did that it feels natural. We have had an online presence since we were at least 13, often younger! My Webkinz are out there are probably starving!!

I try to be careful with privacy, especially for future jobs and professional opportunities. It is popular in France to not even have your real last name and sometimes first name on Facebook so future employers can never find it. I haven't gone that drastic, but it is creepy how much a stranger can learn about you!

Week 4 Review

The most interesting part of the announcements from this week was the suggestion of retelling the stories by changing the characters from humans to animals. I loved the inclusion of the trailer of Disney's Robin Hood. That was one of my favorite movies growing up! I've never thought of writing a story like that, but now I definitely want to try it.

Thursday September 14 Announcement

Robin Hood (1973) Trailer