I decided to go with English Fairy Tales for my extra reading diary this week. I was honestly surprised that I had never read any of these before since they were English. I thought for sure that English fairy tales would be much more prevalent here, but I was mistaken. It was full of rich stories that were definitely a little more twisted than I had though; they were still great nonetheless.
The Rose Tree: This was definitely a peculiar story to read. I had no idea where it was heading for the first half of the story. It actually left me with numerous questions about the plot. Did everyone know that the stepmom actually killed the little girl? I also was wondering if the stepmom killed her for losing the candles or if it was an entirely different matter all together. Another lingering question for me is what kind of bird did she turn into since she was able to carry a millstone heavy enough to kill her stepmother. I actually kind of liked how open the story was for interpretation.
The Three Little Pigs: I really enjoyed reading this since I had never read the English version of it before. It is really intriguing to think about how the same story can be told differently depending on where you are at in the world. This version was definitely more grim than the versions I read in school. The most intriguing part to me was the constant back-and-forth that the wolf had with the last pig. I wonder now why the versions that I have read omit that part. It was great to actually see more characteristics of the wolf and the pig.
I read English Aesop for my reading diary this week. Aesop has so many great stories to choose from involving every animal. I also really like how you can see so many sides of one character in Aesop stories since they have so many different tales about them. I do like how the stories can be a little more crass than other folklore stories.
The Wolf: I think that the wolf is one of the most dynamic characters around. He usually has that villainous element about him in most stories. I have always wondered why there is usually that negative image about them. It was refreshing to read about a different perspective of the wolf in The Dog and the Wolf. I loved how he realized that being hungry was better than being an obedient dog that was restricted. The wolf would rather die being free than serve anyone. That is such a unique way of thinking about wolves and why they are not domesticated animals; it really gives them such a unique stance. I am thinking about writing about this independent wolf for my story this week.
Cats and Weasels: I chose to write about the Cats and Weasels segment since they are not the most common animals for these types of stories, especially weasels. The Man and the Weasel really put it into perspective as to why they are in the same category. I had never thought about weasels being an alternative for a cat to get rid of mice in the house. It makes sense for the weasel character to be similar to the mischievous ways of a cat in the stories. I especially liked how it had to use trickery in Weasel and Mouse to catch the mouse since he was too old to use physical means of catching it.
I decided to go with English Aesop for my reading diary this week since there are so many tales from it that I have never read before. It has a trove of great stories to featuring every type of character imaginable. I really am surprised that I had never read any of these before taking this class.
Foxes: I have always been a fan of the trickster character in every story. The fox is able to fit into that mold of the character that you love to hate. One of the fox stories in particular that stood out to me was the Fox and the Crow. I loved how it showed the smooth talking skills of the sly fox. It really showed how cunning he was since he could not physically get the cheese from the crow in the tree. He knew how to play the situation to get exactly what he wanted. I think I will probably write about the fox for my story since he is such a devious character.
Lions: The lion character has always been interesting to me since he is such a dominant character. The lion usually has an air of dominance about him since he is the king. I really like reading stories where the arrogance of the lion proves to be his downfall. In the Lion and the Goats, he automatically assumed that he could trick the goats into coming to him to graze. I loved how the goats just respectfully declined him and went on their way with eating; they were not even phased by that deceitful offer.
