The Elephant and the Ants I immediately knew I would like this story due to the fact that it had elephants in it. However, due to my past experiences reading stories about elephants, I guessed that this one would be no different in the way it portrayed the elephants. It seems as all stories leading up to this portray elephants and the largest beasts that are unruly and unkind to others. When I began reading, it was no surprise to me that this is how the elephant was once again displayed. The story begins with an elephant walking up on two ants burrowing and tells them he will trample their work. The ants take a stand for themselves and tells the elephant to not be rude to them just because they are small, and there are surely other things that the ants are better at than the elephant. The elephant says that this is nonsense and ends up accepting a challenge from the ants to have a race. They end up starting the race right then and there and the elephant storms off. After spr...
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The Killing of the Tiger This story intrigued me because of its title. I love stories with animals in it, but this one did not seem to be a happy ending for the tiger just based of the title. However, when I began reading it I quickly found myself intrigued in the story and wanting to read more. The setting for this story was in India in a period where all animals and men shared the same language. There was a road that many villagers would travel down, but a tiger was attacking the people and killing anyone that passed. As a result, the road became abandoned and no one dared to travel down it. The townspeople pleaded to the king in order to send soldiers to kill the tiger, and he acknowledged that something must be done. He first asked the soldiers but not a single one dared to go face the tiger. He then gave the same offer to everyone in the town. A poor man was the only one that accepted the request, knowing the prize would be half the kingdom. The king signed the deed but figur...
Elephant's Revenge A snake heard the loud footsteps of an elephant walking towards him. He became excited because he had been waiting for this moment for days now. A mother elephant was venturing to gather some food and stopped by her usual 'itching tree'. Every couple of days she would use the tree to itch her back where pesky flies and bugs would bite her. Although she would shake the tree, and the animals in it, no damage ever resulted from it as she was careful not to harm the residents that lived there. However, the snake was evil and knew he could use her size and actions to cover up his own agenda. When she began to shake the tree, the snake slid over to a bird's nest and wacked the nest with his tail. This caused all the eggs to fall out and smack against the ground. The parent birds were just arriving back to the nest when they saw the eggs fall. The snake slivered away before he was spotted and the birds automatically assumed it was the elephant's it...
The Frog, the Bee, and the Bird, who Killed the Elephant The story began in the same format as all of Nakhshabi's others. Where Khojisteh and the parrot are talking and then the parrot goes into a story. In this instance, Khojisteh is wanting to leave to go meet her lover, and the parrot says that he will help unite them. However, Khojisteh does not know how the parrot would do so, so in response the parrot tells a story of how three small animals took down an elephant. His point being, if those three can accomplish their 'impossible' task, then why can the parrot and Khojisteh not do the same? The story the parrot told began with a bird that had recently laid eggs in a tree. An elephant, unknowingly, brushed up against the tree and knocked down all of her eggs-killing them all. Understandably, the bird was distraught and wanted revenge on the elephant. After rounding up friends and venturing to see the wise frog for a plan, the bird, bee, and frog were prepared to take do...
The Old Lion and the Cat This article immediately caught my eye because the title mentions animals. However, when I first started reading I was confused why it started off with talking about people. I then realized this was a 'story inside of a story'. The main idea is that there is a parrot that lives with Khojisteh, and gives her advice about different situations. Khojisteh noticed the parrot was deep in thought and asks him what he was thinking about. The parrot responded how he was thinking about Khojisteh and her husband and how she might repent her actions. He then began to tell her a story of a mouse and a cat. That is where the title comes from. In this story, an old desert lion would get shreds of meat stuck in between his teeth. Mice then would scurry up to him when he slept, and eat the pieces of meat out of his teeth. This caused the lion's rest to become disturbed and not sleep well. A friend of the lion, a fox, said that he should 'hire' a cat to...
Storybook Plan The main theme I would like to explore in my storybook is elephants. As of now, I am thinking there there will be an overarching story that connects the stories together, but I am still not set in stone on that yet. I would like to give readers a fun read about elephants, while also presenting them as gentle giants. For creatures so big, they are capable of strong bonds and gentle demeanor. I want to portray the elephant as a sensitive, understanding being instead of the huge, inconsiderate, clumsy one that I have read in many folklore stories. Three possible stories that I have researched before and really liked are listed below. Some of these stories displays the elephant as a source of trouble-making and I would want to change that narrative so elephants are displayed in a better light. Story 1: The Elephant has a Bet with the Tiger Story 2: Hare and the Elephants Story 3: Why the Elephant has Small Eyes Links to stories attached above.
Advice to Writers - Jon Winokur I chose this topic because I thought I could learn a lot from Jon Winokur's advice and from people who have contributed to his website. Not only educational, I saw this as an opportunity to look into the mind of an author and see what creative processes happen while they are at work. Expecting everything on this site to be from Jon Winokur, I was surprised when the home page was filled with quotes from other people. I then saw that this page was a collection of various writers, all sharing information to help enrich other's writing experience. That made me become even more interested in this website. The very first piece of information that I found very helpful was about setting up the characters and plot. A lot of the time in my writing, I feel as if I need to explain every aspect- leaving nothing unclear to people who may be reading it. However, I learned that that is not necessary to be a good author and have an interesting piece of writing. I...
The Fairy Frog From the title I did not know what to expect from this story. However, as I started reading I really enjoyed the story. It started with a son, named Hanina, going home because of news his parents were sick. His parents, on their deathbed, gave a request for their son to obey following their death. He was to wait seven days after their death then go into the local market and buy the first thing presented to him- no matter the cost or burden. He agreed to obey their request and after their death, he mourned them for seven days and then on the eighth he went into town for the market. An old man approached him and told him to buy his product for 1,000 gold pieces. The cost was so high, basically everything he owned and he was not allowed to even know what the man was selling him. Agreeing to the purchase, the man told him not to open the product until the feast later on. Once the feast came and Hanina and his wife finally opened the product and were disappointed when a ...
The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog Having seen many "quarrels" between cats and dogs, this story intrigued me. In my experiences, dogs have always been interested in cats and have tried to be friendly, while cats are the ones that swat and hiss the dogs away. Before reading this story, I predicted that the cat would be the villain and the dog would be the good character. I was surprised when the story began as the cats and dogs originating as friends, having an inseperable bond. However, when winter came and food was scarce, it was the cat that decided the two should part ways. The dog tried to resist the separation, however the cat was not going to change her opinion. On top of splitting ways, the cat insisted that they never cross paths again- as it was 'bad business'. Reluctantly, the dog agreed and went on his way into the cold wild. The cat found her way straight to Adam's house where she caught mice for him and ended up getting fat. The dog was not so lucky. He ...
[Feedback. Image Information ] Article 1: What Kinds of Messages Help Kids Grow? I liked this article because it good points that every parent should read. With a simple replacement of a generic praise with process praise, significant differences can be noticed in the child's mindset and success in the future. This article also commented on incorporating the word 'yet' into the child's vocabulary. I can see how this would instantly help kids change their mindset and see challenging tasks as obtainable in the future. Article 2: Be a Mirror This article mostly applied to the educational setting, however it has lessons that can be applicable to everyday life. Being a mirror requires knowledge about the growth mindset and helping kids achieve it for themselves. I wish my teachers had used this method with me in the past because it seemed that more often than not, I felt like it was me vs. the classroom and learning, instead of me using the classroom and teachers to my ...
Topic: Elephant Fables [Elephant Family. Image Information ] Story 1: The Elephant has a Bet with the Tiger This story stood out to me because of the contradictions it makes with present day facts. The elephant and the tiger have a bet that consists of whoever wins-the winner gets to eat the loser. It makes sense that the tiger might want to eat the elephant, but everyone knows that elephants don't eat tigers. However, this story does not address that inconsistency and actually writes as if it were normal. If I were re-telling this story. I would make sure to include the same kind of 'confusing aspect' that might be interesting to readers. Story 2: Hare and the Elephants This story is about a herd of elephants losing their water supply and needing to go to another one. They successfully find a new watering hole, however every time they come to get water they step on and kill some of the hares in the area. The leading hare then converses with the elephant king and the tw...
The Outsider Owl Ollie the owl was not only the best performing student in his class, but he was also the nicest. Since he was young, he learned the value of working hard and respecting his elders. Although he was beloved by his flight instructor, he was hated by his classmates for his success. The yearly owl flight convention was coming up, and they wanted to ruin his chances of qualifying for it. One night, when Ollie was showering, three boys from his classmate replaced his feather shampoo with glue. Once Ollie noticed, it was too late. His feathers were stuck together and he knew he would be unable to compete for this upcoming qualifier if they remained glued. Thankfully, Ollie was not one to give up easily. He went to his local library and researched ways to unstick the glue. After searching through dozens of books, he found that vinegar would do the trick. With only an hour to spare before the beginning of the qualifier, he rushed to f...
The Fish Who Helped Saint Gudwall From the title of this story, I was anticipating some sort of event that put Saint Gudwall in danger and a fish that would come and save him. It turns out that is basically what happens. Two men find a new place to live near the sea, secluded from the rest of society. The men lived in peace watching the sea every day. However, one day a storm came and the men's home was no longer safe because the harsh waves were given access to it. This part of the story was the most interesting to me because it depicted the sea as a living creature, describing it as having a rage and being cruel. The men were finally able to escape the sea, but were stranded with no one in sight to help. However, the fish noticed the men's helplessness and acted together to save them. So, each fish carried a single grain of sand until they had build a barrier in the sea blocking the harsh waves from the men. The barrier would last through every season so the men could live i...
Saint Kentigern and the Robin: From reading the title, I thought that the robin would play a larger role in the story than it did. However, from reading the story I quickly realized that the focus of the story was not on the robin, but what it represented. This story is about a group of boys who are constantly trying to find a way to get the favorite boy, Kentigern, in trouble. Kentigern is kind, smart, and obedient. Despite all the boy's attempts, they are never able to succeed in their mission of getting Kentigern in trouble. In their last attempt, they decided to kill Saint Servan's robin and blame the death on Kentigern. Saint Servan believes that it was Kentigern that had done the terrible deed, until Kentigern revives the bird by praying to God. The boys are then exposed at the culprits and are punished for their actions. This story reveals how kindness and honesty prevails and how evil deeds will be caught and punished in the end. If I were to re-tell this story, I would...
[Feedback. Image Information ] Article 1 : Rewire Your Self-Critical Brain I enjoyed reading this article and wish I had read something similar when I was in high school. Although I am still a hard critic on myself, I used to criticize myself for not reaching perfection and constantly compare myself to others. I like the idea of REBS (reality-based self-congratulation) and how it can be helpful in avoiding harshly self-criticizing. Whether its utilizing this method or another, I think mindset and acknowledgment of failure is very important when it comes to healthy living. Article 2 : How to Get Past Negativity Bias Although negativity bias has been useful for biological/survival reasons in the past, it is now leaving people with negative mindsets and outlooks on life. I like how this article talked about the plasticity of the brain, and examples on how to link positive experiences with negative ones. Mindfulness is an important quality when dealing with challenges, and I th...
[Elephant. Image Information. ] Topic 1: Elephant Fables Elephants are remarkable creatures, and are among my favorite animals. I currently do not know of any folklore stories about elephants, so I am interested in reading some. I would like to learn how elephants are portrayed in the storytelling world. Are they gentle giants? Are they beasts? A combination? I would love to read different stories to see all the ways the elephant is represented. Topic 2: Dog Fables In my experience, dogs are such sweet and kind animals. I am aware there is an abundance of dog fables, however I do not know much about them. I am interested in seeing how the representation of dogs in stories has evolved over the years. Maybe in the beginning they were seen more as beast, and then slowly throughout history their image changed to become more of 'man's best friend'. Topic 3: Feral Children Besides the legendary Tarzan, I am not aware of any other stories of children raised by animals. This...