Reading Notes: The Stonecutter, Part A

This week I chose to read the stories from the Japanese Fairytales Unit (Lang). The story that I focused on was titled The Stonecutter. I liked this story because it incorporated a a valuable lesson in the end. I did not think that the man should be turned back into a human after making all of the different wishes and being ungrateful. If I were to rewrite the story I would have the man be forced into staying a rock, because he ran out of wishes. He wished 5 times total because he was never satisfied, so I think the spirit should use his wish of being a cloud as punishment for being ungrateful. He will be forced to be a cloud, all droopy and gloomy, with only the purpose of showering the lands. He is still taught a valuable lesson, but all actions have consequences.

I'm trying to find new ways to tell stories so I may experiment with a different technique this week, but I will for sure change the outcome of the story. I want to try changing the setting of a story, but I don't know how I could do that with this story, without changing some of the important elements.

I would also like to make the spirit a more prominent figure. It is never seen throughout the story, only heard. The man will meet the spirit one day when he is working, and he will be in disbelief as he thought that the mountain spirit was a hoax. The spirit will find him each time he wishes for something and try to grant it.

Story Source: The Stonecutter, from The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

Stonecutter

Source: Wikimedia Commons