Reading Notes: Folklore of Laos, Part A

A Child of The Woods

Usually I prefer to write stories which are based on elephants, or animals in general, as the main character. However, after reading this story I found I really enjoyed it and wanted to write notes so that I could remember and refer back to it again in the future. This story begins with a stranger that visits a large village in the middle of a jungle. There is one elderly woman that is loved by all the people, so he asks her why everyone admires her. She then answers by telling him the story of how she arrived here.

When she was young, she grew up in a typical village surrounded by people with whom she did not like. She describes growing more angry the longer she lived there. So, one day she fled to the forest to escape the feelings of hatred and the men in her village. She ran fast and far, never tiring. Eventually she laid down to go to sleep under a tree- not afraid of the beasts in the forest. She awoke in the middle of the night to a tiger standing over her, however, she was not afraid. She went back to sleep and when morning came the tiger left. The beasts of the forests watched over her every night from that point on, and all the hatred faded away as she spent time in the forest. She once arrived at a village and told the people about her experiences. They were in awe and they brought her gifts. She stayed in that village for a year until it was time for her to return to her own village in the jungle. The people ended up going with her and they have all been happy and protected by the wild animals ever since.

[Tiger. Image Information.]

Bibliography

Fleeson, Katherine. A Child of The Woods. Laos Fold-Lore. 1899. Link.

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Reading Notes: English Fairy Tales, Part A

The Old Woman and Her Pig When I read this story, it seemed as if this was written to be more of a riddle than a story. The way the story flowed and the sentences were structured was a bit unusual compared to most stories. However, I really enjoyed reading it because it seemed like something I might have heard in my childhood. The story began with introducing an old woman. She lived in a little house and she noticed one day that it was dirty and needed to be swept. So, she decided to clean the house and while she was sweeping, she came across a crooked sixpence. After discovering the pen, she decided she wanted to use it, however, she had no animals to put in the pen. To solve this dilemma, she went into town and bought a piglet. On her way back from the market with her piglet, the piglet was hesitant and would not go over a stile on the ground. So, in order to fix the problem she goes and finds a dog and asks the dog to bite at the pig so the pig would go over the stile. Af...

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Topic Brainstorm

[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...

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