I chose to read Apache Tales for my extra reading diary this week. It was the first time that I have ever read any Native American stories outside of the Cherokee ones from my Cherokee class. They offer such an interesting outlook for explaining why things are the way they are. It is also great to read about animals that are indigenous to the united states. It makes me think about these stories could have very likely been spread around amongst my much older relatives.
Coyote Secures Fire: I really enjoyed the Coyote in this story. He was so determined to get the fire from the Fireflies regardless of what would happen to him. I thought it was interesting touch to add the part about petrified wood being the only thing to withstand the great fire that happened after the Coyote stole the fire. I also thought it was a weird mishap with him losing his skin after playing the hoop game. It was a very interesting that they made the correlation between the similarities of fur on the Badger and the fur of the Coyote.
The Swallowing Monster: I honestly chose this because I had no idea what the swallowing monster could be when I started reading it. I am very glad that I chose to read this confusing gem of a story. I was hoping that the monster would actually be some type of animal. Then it completely transition into the spiders coming into play. The little girl turning into a frog at the end came out of nowhere. This story was definitely all over the place.
I decided to go with Myths of Cherokee for my reading this week. It was a fantastic read from start to finish; all of the stories were filled with rich, dynamic characters. I also love seeing the personalities that they give to the animals in all of the stories.
The Crane and the Hummingbird: This was a very surprising story to say the least. It seemed like it would be a classic story of winning a lady's hand in marriage by besting the other suitor. I really liked how the hummingbird was still able to keep the race a little interesting for most of the race since he had such a fast travel speed. I thought it would have been way more lopsided from the first night of the hummingbird resting. The twist with her not marrying the crane after he won was great. I still don't quite understand why she would have agreed to setting the whole thing up if she did not plan on keeping her word.
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The Owl Gets Married: This was another very interesting story to read. I honestly was curious where the owl was going to come into play during this. I never knew that owls would fish for their food before this; I always assumed they ate a vast array of bugs instead. I still am kind of unsure what the story meant by him permanently changing to his owl form where you can only see the flesh on his face. I had assumed they were feathered all over before this too. It was still a great story despite some of the confused moments that I had.
I was really excited to see that we were on Native American stories this week! It is crazy to think how these stories have been around us for so long but are still unknown by most people. I decided to go with Myths of Cherokee for my reading since that is my tribe.
Tobacco and Strawberries: This was a really interesting story to read. I have never seen tobacco portrayed in such an important light before this. I think I am too used to seeing all of the adverse effects that tobacco has to ever think of it like that. It was also really interesting to see how they wanted to use it to cure the old woman before she died of not having it. This might be the most interesting story that I have read all semester just for that reason. It was great to see how the small, nimble hummingbird was able to save the day. That was especially great since everyone doubted him because of his size.
How the Rabbit Stole the Otter's Coat: I really loved reading this story from beginning to end! I loved how the animals having fur coats was kind of like a fashion battle between them all. They all have unique accents that make their coat their own and original. I had never thought about how this could be a fashion statement amongst animals before. I definitely did not see the explanation of why the rabbit doesn't have a full tail before this. I am definitely interested in writing about the trickster rabbit for my storytelling post this week.
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