Learning by HEART: Read an article about reading- Preserving Deep Reading

A common problem I used to have.
Source: Pinterest

The Case for Preserving the Pleasure of Deep Reading

• The one thing that the article confirmed it that less people are reading deeply. Most people now days read online, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but like the article said, it causes people to become more distracted when reading, which does not fully allow them to immerse themself into the book. One thing I did not know before reading this article was that people who read online are less-likely to be above-average readers. I honestly never thought about this, but it makes sense. More reading online leads to greater potential of becoming distracted. Also, I did not know that people who read online were more likely to not enjoy reading. I found this fact interesting. One thing that I would like to try more is reading in my spare time. I remember in high school and middle school, you would never catch me without a book to read whenever I had time. I remember countless AG and softball trips, were I would read the whole way to our destination. The school librarian knew my name and would practically have books waiting for me when I came in. I would really like to pick this habit back up. What I am going to do is challenge myself to read at least two books a month.

Week 14 Reading A: The Fairy and the Hare

The Fairy and the Hare:

The Hare jumping into the fire.
Source: Hathi Trust 

• Summary:
• In this story, a beautiful hare and this three friends, a monkey, a jackal,  and a water-weasel, vowed to not eat all one day and give the food they found to any poor creature that wonder buy, and so the animals did. First thing the next morning, all the animals headed out in search of food. First, the jackal wandered into an empty hut and found a piece of meat and a jar of curdled milk. The jackal called at three times asking whose meat and milk this was. When no one answered him, he took the meat and milk and fled back into the forest. When he arrived, he praised himself and tomorrow that he would eat what he had found if no one comes his way. The water-weasel came across found some fish buried in the sand. After calling out three times asking whose fish they were, the water-weasel took the fish into the forest with him. He too praised himself and said if no one came by today, that he would eat the fish tomorrow. The monkey climbed the mountains and found some ripe mangos. He too praised himself and said that if no one came by, that he would eat the mangos tomorrow. The hare however, realized that he could not offer grass and he did not have nuts or rice to give, so he decided that if someone in need came by that he would offer himself to eat. Now in the forest live d a fairy who knew everything about every animal in the forest, so she knew the promise that each animals had made and she decided to test them. The fairy went one by one to each of the hare's friends and they offered her the food they had found, but when she reached the hare, he offered himself to eat. The fairy was so touched and when the hare jumped into fake flames that she had made, that she etched a picture of the hare on the moon.
• My ideas:
• I would put this story directly into the hare's perspective. I want to know what made him willing to sacrifice his life so someone could eat. Was he that kind? Had some creature done that for him? I feel like putting this in his perspective would make the story more intense.
• Bibliography: "The Fairy and the Hare" from Twenty Jataka Tales by Noor Inayat (Khan). Source.

Week 13 EC Reading: The Magic Food-Bowl of the Sun

The Magic Food-Bowl of the Sun:

The Magic Food-Bowl
Source: Farang

• Summary:
• One night, Kauravae tempted his cousin, Yudhishtir, the oldest of the Pandava brothers into a night of gambling. You see, Yudhishtir has a weakness for gambling, so when he was offered the change, he could not resist. Yudhisthir was on a serious losing streak and eventually gambled away everything, including his kingdom. Once it was lost, Yudhisthir and his brothers went away into the woods where the laws and robbers lived. They ate nothing but fruits and roots, and whatever they could hunt. They were starving. Yudhishtir prayed to the sun telling the sun how miserable they were and that they lived on barley nothing to eat. He requested that they get to move into the bounty of the Gods to relieve some of the distress. The son had pity on then and gave them a magic food bowl. This was not just any magic food bowl. This food bowl had the power of producing whatever food was asked for. This is how the Pandavas were able to endure their exile.
• My ideas: 
• I would change the story and put it in Yudhishtir's perspective. I feel like this would make the story more powerful. I want to feel what Yudhishtir felt when he was gambling. I want to know why gambling was worth risking everything that he owned. Had he won a lot previously brining about his addiction to gambling? Or was he just addicted to chance itself? I want the reader to be able to feel how Yudhishtir felt when he lost everything. I want to know if this changed his views on gambling. I also want to know how the Pandava's felt know that their brother was the reason they had to live off nothing in the woods. I wonder if they ever tried to plot against him for revenge? I wonder if the brother's tried to help Yudhishtir out of his gambling addiction.
• Another idea would be to change the story in the perspective of Kauravae. Was this his evil plan all along? To make Yudhistir lose the kingdom? Why would he do this? Did he want the kingdom for himself? Was he the one who got Yudhistir addicted to gambling in the first place?
• I feel like there are a lot of things I could do to this story. For sure, I will add dialogue.
• Bibliography: "The Magic Food-Bowl of the Sun" from Indian Fables and Folklore by Shovona Devi. Source.

Week 13 Story: The Confession

A man in handcuffs.
Source: Express

The room was quiet and dimly lit. I could feel the metal cuffs around my wrists. My heart was beating rapidly. I knew what I had done was wrong and I knew that I must pay the price. The guilt I have felt over the last few months is enough to drive any normal person insane, but I am not normal. I am a cold blooded criminal and today is the day I will pay the price for my sins.

I was interrupted out of my deep thought by the sound of footsteps approach the room. This was it. This was the moment I was going to confess everything. I do not know if I am ready, but ready or not, the time was approaching. I questioned myself  daily in the days leading up to my arrest. I knew that I was going to turn myself in eventually, but what I did not know was why? Was it the constant guilt that I felt or was it my conscious returning?

This time I was interrupted by a stern voice saying, "Mr. Robinson, do you know why you are here?"

Of course I knew why I was there, but do I admit it now or do I wait? The decision was tough but I decided to go with my gut or maybe it was my conscious. I replied, "Yes," in the coldest voice I could. The look on the officer's face was priceless. I could not tell if it was a smirk knowing I was about to confess or if he was utterly in shock at my response.

After a few seconds of silence, the officer asked, "Are you confessing?"

Again, in the most evil tone, I replied, "Yes."

The officer asked, "Do you want a lawyer?"

"No. I am going to confess my sins and I will pay my price," I responded hastily.

The officer was in shock and left the room. I knew my moment of freedom were coming to an end, but for some reason this did not bother me. I guess my conscious really was returning. The next thing I knew, the officer returned, but this time, he brought another officer, a pad of paper, and a tape recorder with him.

The new officer said, "I am detective Morgan and I hear you have a confession..."

I interrupted before he could finish his sentence, "Yes, I do."

Let's rewind three months back. I had just lost my job. My boss fired me for getting in a fight with a coworker. The guy was  a real jerk and he had it coming. I begged to keep my job, knowing that someone with no high school diploma would have a difficult job finding a job that paid as much as this one. The boss refused and I was irate. Not knowing what else to do, I headed to the bars and drank the day and most of the night away. I do not know what came over me, but I decided to head to my ex-boss's house. 

I was livid and I wanted the boss to feel what I felt. I wanted him to have something good taken right from his hands for no apparent reason. I wanted him to lose something. I wanted him to hurt. Perhaps it was my drunken state combined with my rage, but what I did next will cost me the rest of my life. I marched into his house not knowing what I was going to do. When I wondered in, I saw his two kids playing in the living room and I took them. I kidnapped his kids. No one saw me, no one would have ever expected this from me but this night is the night that changed my life for the worse. It was the night I became a kidnapper. 

I knew I would eventually get caught and I knew it was just a matter of time before I spent the rest of my life behind bars.

I was brought back into reality by the officer saying, "We are ready for your confession."

I uttered the last words I spoke as a free man, " I did it. I kidnapped Mr. Buchanan's kids."

Author's Note: The original story was about two sparrow that had just had kids. The happy father sparrow flew away from the nest to go and get food for his family. Upon returning home, found his wife flying around frantically crying. He asked her what happened and she told him that while he was gone an evil snake crawled into their nest and devoured their children. The two sparrows were devastated and determined to get revenge, but the snake told them that they were mere sparrows, so what could they do to a big snake like him. The sparrow began pondering a plan and one night, the man who lived in a house below their tree came home with a lantern and he just so happened to set the lantern in an open window. The sparrow's then saw a way to avenge the death of their children. The father sparrow went and got the lantern and set the nest on fire. While the snake was escaping the nest, the man who lived in the house had climbed the tree to try and poke the nest out of the tree before the whole tree caught on fire. When poking the nest, he stabbed the snake and he died. The moral of this story was karma in my opinion, so I wanted to carry this idea to the retelling of my story. From the moment I read this story, I knew I wanted to add it to my portfolio, so I decided to change the characters to humans, so it would fit the theme of my story. I then decided to put the story in the villain's perspective, which in my opinion made the story more intense. 

Bibliography: "The Sparrows and the Snake" from The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai by Maude Barrows Dutton. Source.

Week 13 Reading B: The Rustic and the Nightingale

The Rustic and the Nightingale:

A Nightingale in a rose tree. This image is used for a fairy tales by Oscar Wilde titled,
"The Nightingale and the Rose." I thought it was fitting for this story.
Source: Memoria Press

• Summary:
• There once was a rustic who had a beautiful garden that was filled with beautiful plants, but the rustic's prized plant was his rose tree that grew the most beautiful and fragrant blossoms in the garden. This was his pride and joy. Every morning the rustic would walk among his flowers and bring the tree water. In the winter, he would even cover the ground beneath the tree with straw to protect its roots. One morning when the rustic was bringing the tree water, he noticed a nightingale playing with a bloom on his rose tree. He became angry and ran the bird off. The next morning, the nightingale was back in the tree, but this time the rustic noticed petal on the ground. He was livid and ran the bird off, but this time, he decided to set a snare to catch the bird and prevent further damage to his beloved tree. The next morning, he saw the nightingale was caught. She was flying around the cage frantically. The rustic carried the nightingale to his home. When they arrived, the nightingales asked why he had captured her. He told her it was because she was plucking petals from his roses. She told him that it was foolish to lock her up for life when she was thoughtlessly picking petals. She told that if he did not let her go, she would die of a broken heart. The rustic's heart was touched and he let the nightingale go. To show her thanks, she told the rustic where a pot of gold was so he could use it for his garden.
• My ideas:
• I really liked this story. I liked how an animal was incorporated and that dialogue was involved. I also liked how the rustic showed mercy on the poor nightingale. I feel like a lot of the stories that I have read this semester, a person that shows mercy is usually rewarded, and this story continued to follow the pattern. I think it would have been cool if the nightingale was a god and she would have made the rustic god of roses or something cool like that. I think I will change the perspective of the story and have the nightingale tell it in her perspective. Maybe she will be a god. There are a lot of options with this story.
• Bibliography:  "The Rustic and the Nightingale" from The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai by Maude Barrows Dutton. Source.

Reading Notes Week 13: The Sparrows and the Snake

The Sparrows and the Snake:

The mother sparrow flying around frantically.
Source: The Baldwin Project

• In this story, two sparrows have a nest in a tree next to a man's house. Soon after building their nest, the mother sparrow laid eggs. When the babies hatched, the happy father flew away to find food for his new family. On his way back home, he ran into the mother sparrow who was flying around frantically. He asked what was wrong and she told him that why he was gone a snake had crawled into their nest and devoured their babies. I told him that you would come for him and pluck his eyes out, but he said what is a tiny sparrow to do to me. The father sparrow was livid and after comforting his wife, began devising a plan. One night, he saw the good man who lived in the house returning with a lamp. He just so happened to leave his window open and the father sparrow went and got the lamp and decided to burn the nest down. When he lit the nest on fire, the snake had awoken from his sleep to the sound of crackling twigs from the fire and when he went to flee the nest, the good man came out and he stabbed the snake while trying to put the fire out and keep his house safe. 
• My ideas:
• I want to use this story for my portfolio, but currently, I do not have any animals in my project. I want to keep the stories consistent, so I want to change this story and make the characters human. I would keep the same story line, but make the character humans and add dialogue. The story is sad and powerful as it is, but I feel putting it in human perspective will make the story more intense. For ethical purposes, instead of killing the bad person, I will simply make him go to jail. Maybe I could even make a remorseful ending. 
• Another thing I could do is to make the characters human, but I could also make the story in a villains stand point. This would be a very intense story.
• Bibliography: 
• "The Sparrows and the Snake" from The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai by Maude Barrows Dutton. Source.

Week 11 Story: The Deserving King

The Deserving King:
**Latest version can be found here.

The poor man caring for the four caught in the storm.
Source: Whispering Books

"Daddy! Daddy! Tell us again how you became king." shouted the three princes.

"Not again boys!" said the King.

"Please Dad!" said the boys in unison.

"Alright, but after this you have to go to bed. Promise?" asked the King.

"We promise!" said the boys.

"It was nice day. The birds were chirping, and the sky was blue. Suddenly, the sky turned dark, the winds began to roar and the river became a choppy, rough mess. You see boys, before I became King, I was a very poor man. I lived in a ragged shack down by the river. The storm had been raging for a while when I began to hear a man shouting. I went outside my shack into the rain and saw a man floating down the river on a log. I knew that I had to rescue him, because if I did not, he might drown. I bravely went into the raging river and began swimming toward the log. When I finally reached it, I found the current and safely pushed it to shore. When I safely reached the bank, I realized that the man was not alone. Accompanying the man on the log was a snake, a rat, and a parrot, all which were unconscious. The man was just happy to be on land, so I quickly took the animals into my shack and placed them by the fire to warm, and then I went back out and drug the now unconscious man into my shack. I checked each being over and concluded that the animals where in much worse shape then the man, whom I determined to be the prince was.

 I began to nurse each of the animals one by one and then I moved onto the prince. It took a few days, but when each gained strength, they began to thank me, and eventually it was time for them to leave. When the snake left, he was so grateful and he told me that he knew where some gold was buried and whenever I needed it to just go to him home and call out to him, and he would tell me where it was buried. He then went on his way. When the rat left, he was also thankful and told me that he too knew were gold and money was buried and to come to his home and call out to him when I needed it. When the parrot was departing, he told me that whenever I needed rice to come to him and he and his family and friends would gather the best rice they could find for him. Finally, when the prince was leaving, he told me to come to him when he was king and he would give me riches.

 Time went on and eventually the king died and the evil prince became king. I then decided to test each of the creatures that I rescued that day. I first visited the snake. When I got to his home I called out and the snake emerged from his home and he said, "Kind sir, I will tell you where the gold is," and he told me. I thanked him for holding his end of the promise and told him I would go get it when I needed it.
I then visited the rat, then the parrot. Each animal showed that they were still so grateful for me saving them. I was pleased and felt happy that they were so grateful.

 Finally, it was time to visit the king. When I approached the king in court, he acted like he did not know me and ordered me to killed for asking for money. The guards were in shock. As they took me into their grasp I began to tell them the story of how I rescued the king from the river. The guards looked at each other and then charged the king, killing him. They then placed me on the throne and crowned me king." concluded the king.

"Thanks dad." nodded the eldest prince as he rolled over in his bed and joined his brothers in a deep and restful sleep.

The king smiled as he watched his sons sleep.

Author's Note: The original story is much like this one. It was titled, The Wicked Prince and the Grateful Animals. The original story focused more on the wicked prince versus the poor man. The story line stayed the same. I simply changed the perspective of the story from third person to first person by making the poor man (the deserving king) tell his sons the story of how he became king. I personally thought that the story would become so much more powerful hearing the story in first person and would add another dimension making the king's sons proud of their dad. I also liked the idea of the king's sons thinking that the story of how their dad became king was the best story he ever told. From this, I feel like there could also be a lesson,which is what the king's sons were taking away from the story. During the original story, I felt that the main theme was about being selfless and caring for the well-being of other and also, most importantly being grateful, honest and truthful. The moral of the story was do not make a promise that you do not intend to keep. This was a very indirect lesson and takes some thinking to understand.

Bibliography: "The Wicked Prince and the Grateful Animals" from More Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbit.

Week 11 Reading B: The Wicked Prince and the Grateful Animals

The Wicked Prince and the Grateful animals:

The poor man caring for the four caught in the storm.
Source: Whispering Books

• Once there was a Prince who was very evil and cruel and he was called Prince Wicked. One day, Prince Wicked and his servants were swimming in the river when a great storm approached. The servants swam away from Prince Wicked hoping that he would drown. When they arrived on bank, the other servant who did not go into the water wondered where the Prince was. The servants acted clueless. They went back to the king and told him what had happened, the king set out a search party for the prince, but had no luck. You see, the Prince, worried about drowning found a log and climbed on it to avoid drowning. He was yelling for help the whole time. While floating, a snake, a rat, and a parrot also sought refuge on the log. Eventually, around the bend of the river, there lived a poor man. When he heard the prince calling, he knew that he must rescue them and so he did. When he got them ashore, he took them into his home and he first tended to the animals, as they were in much worse shape then the prince. He continued to care for everyone, but overtime, the prince grew angry that the poor man was taking care of the animals first. When they regained their strength and left, the snake and rat were so grateful that they told the man they knew were gold was buried, and he could have it all whenever he wanted. The parrot promised the man rice whenever he needed it. The Prince, still angry told the man to come to his when he was king and he would give him riches. The old king had died, and Prince Wicked became king. The poor man then decided to test each of the animals lives he had saved that day. All the animals held to their promise, but when the poor man went to the king, he told the guards to behead him, as he did not want them to know that the poor man saved him. The guards and the people. being very leery of the wicked kings, decided to kill him and make the poor man king. When the poor man became king, he went to each of the animals he saved that day and brought them into the palace to live happily ever after for their gratefulness and selflessness.
• My ideas
• My first idea is to make the poor man a god and when the prince does not keep his promise, the man makes him pay for his evil heart. 
• Second, my idea is to put this in the poor man's perspective and still make him a god. I want to make this like a last chance type story for the prince. Like this particular experience, getting caught in the storm and cared for by the poor man makes him change his life. I could make the prince so touched by a man with so little caring for him that it causes him to changes his ways or I could leave the story the same and make the poor man keep giving him chances until he does not keep his word and tries to kill him.
• Bibliography: "The Wicked Prince and the Grateful Animals" from More Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbit.

Week 11 Reading A: The Golden Goose

The Golden Goose:

Golden Goose
Source: Storyberries

• The story is about a goose who has golden feathers. One day, the goose sees a very poor woman and her two daughters. The goose feels bad for the women, and out of pity decides to visit them and give them one of his feathers so they can sell and live comfortably. The goose went to the family and told him what he would do. They sold his feather and lived  comfortably. Every once and while, the goose would come back, each time leaving another feather for the family to sell. One day, the mother had an irrational thought that the goose would not come back, so she decided that the next time he came back, she would take all his feathers. What the woman did not know was that if the feathers were plucked instead of simply lost, they would turn white and have no value. She plucked the feather, learned this. When the goose finally gained enough feathers back to fly away, he flew away and never came back.
• My ideas:
• This story was a typical story of greed, but is is so true about what happens. I have several ideas of ways I could retell this story.
• First, I could set it in modern time, and maybe make the characters human. This story would be very relavent and would still contain the life lesson about greed.
• Second, I could put the story directly in the goose's point of view and also change the ending to where the daughters stop their mother and the goose continues to provide for the girls.
• Another idea would be to make the goose an undercover god. In this version of the story I would let the family stay thankful and would eventually let the god reveal himself and give the family an ultimate reward.
• Overall, there are a lot of ways to retell this. Ultimately, I want to keep the same message about greed.
• Bibliography: "The Golden Goose" from More Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbit.