Reading Notes: The Fairy Frog, Part B

For reading part B, I chose to look at the second part of the Jewish Fairy Tales because I enjoyed the part A stories greatly. My favorite story in part B was titled The Fairy Frog by Gertrude Landa. She was also the author of the story I focused on for part A, so I'm not surprised that I was drawn to both of the stories.

If I were to re-write this story I would make the main character be a single woman. When her parents die and give her the instructions she will follow them. Her wishes would be slightly different though. First, she would wish for the perfect husband because that is what she desires most in life. Next, she will wish for knowledge. And finally she will wish for wealth.

Another key part that I would change is the frog. When she goes to the market and is supposed to take the first thing offered to her, it will be a lamp. Inside the lamp of course, is a genie. The genie is supposed to grant her whatever she wishes, and she receives all that she has asked for. While reading the story, I kept thinking how perfect it would make sense if the genie was the character granting wishes, rather than a frog.

I like how happy the ending is, as most stories I've read so far have been. The story has great lessons incorporated depending on the reader's perspective. From one perspective, the lesson could be that doing what your told and being patient can lead to a positive outcome. A different lesson could come from a biblical perspective where God asks you to trust him and be patient. Although it's not the plan or outcome you had in mind, in the end the result is something wonderful. In this case, her parents have died and life isn't far, but she waits and trusts her father's word and is gifted in many ways.

 Genie in a lamp

Source: Flickr

Feedback Thoughts

Receiving negative feedback is something difficult for just about everyone. The best thing to do with negative feedback, is to take it and turn it into something good to help improve yourself; However, that's easier said than done. Any feedback in general is beneficial to your writing because an outsider is able to give their point of view. In my opinion, I sometimes think my work is perfect the way it is, but it's easy to overlook things that other people may be able to see. 

Two years ago in one of my classes, we were supposed to write a few short papers. We always had the option of bringing them in to the professor early to get feedback. I wasn't too sure what grade I would get on the first paper, so I decided to bring it to my professor. My feedback was relatively positive with some minor adjustments he suggested that I should make. I was proud of my work, and happy because I only had a few things to change. When the next paper due date came around, I decided to bring my paper in early once again to make sure I was on track. This time, I received mainly negative feedback. I was quite upset, and felt the need to just restart altogether. I felt like I would be doing more work just trying to fix it. I worked hard to improve my writing, and in the end I received a better grade.

One article I read, Using Harsh Feedback to Fuel Your Career, definitely has some good advice on taking negative feedback and turning it into something positive. In my experience mentioned above, I think I used some of the advice from that article at least to some extent. I was upset for awhile, embracing my emotions, and then I decided to just put it past me and finish the work, prioritizing. 

The other helpful article I hope to use is titled 6 Bad Mental Habits That Sabotage Your Success. One of my biggest problems come from thinking negatively when something goes wrong. Of all the different points the article makes about mental habits, I realize that I do them pretty often. I make excuses when things get rough, believe in self-doubt, and put myself down. I think I could improve these mental habits if I realized that I was doing them in the moment. Sometimes I use the bad habits without even realizing it. 

Feedback to a Horse

Source: Flickr

Topic Brainstorm

Mermaids: I chose mermaids for my first topic selection because it has always been something that I've been interested in and wanted to know more about. I've watched countless movies and read many books about mermaids. Although they only exist (for now) in folklore, people still claim to see sightings today. The part that makes the topic so interesting, is the fact that it hasn't technically been proven that they are fiction. My first knowledge of mermaids came from Disney's The Little Mermaid. Since then, I've watched movies and documentaries over the topic. I would love to learn more because it's something I have always had an interest for. I believe I have a basic knowledge over the topic, but with a little extra research, I would love to center my blog around mermaids. Of the different sites that I browsed, this one was my favorite, True Tails of Mermaids and Mermen.

Sea Monsters: I'm very intrigued by creatures living in water. In all honesty, I'm afraid of the ocean and all of the unknown things that live in it, which is probably why I find the topic to be fascinating. There are really so many animals and creatures that we don't even know exist that are living in the ocean right now, so why wouldn't these stories have at least a little truth behind them? This topic could go in all different directions, and it's really open to anything. I've heard quite a few stories about sea monsters, but I would love to research and learn more them. I would like to tell a story about Leviathan, like a story I read in this Sea Monsters blog, because this is a sea monster I'm somewhat familiar with.

Ghost stories: My love for ghost stories started when I was little. I've always loved hearing about anything scary. Scary movies, haunted houses, ghost stories, are all things that I've loved since I was about ten years old. In my old house, I had always heard different stories of a lady who lived there before my family. We called our house ghost "Old Lady Hudson", because that was her last name. She apparently had died in our house (either in my room or our basement), but the different stories we heard were conflicting. Some people claimed that she killed herself, and other people claimed that her husband Buck, who sold my family the house, had killed her. Today, the death is still a mystery. That's where my love of ghost stories came from. My personal favorite blog, Ghostly Adventures, explores some haunted locations in Oklahoma. I could definitely see this topic as one I would enjoy pursuing.

The Land of Oz: Lastly, I chose the Land of Oz because it seemed to be familiar to me. It was one of my favorite movies as a child, and today it's still one of my favorite old movies. The creativity in the books is amazing. I would love to center my blog around these stories. My prior knowledge comes solely from the movie, but reading the books would be very beneficial if I were to choose this topic. I would like to learn how different the stories are from the movie. The blog, Wizard of Oz Extreme Home Makeover, definitely makes an interesting story, especially for anyone who knows the basic aspects of the books or movie.

The Wizard of Oz movie

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Week 2 Story: The Basilisk and the Beauty

For as long as I can remember, I've looked in the mirror to see an ugly creature staring back. I've had this problem for most of my life, but I just can't seem to find someone who can help me get back to normal. I once had everything: a family, friends, servants, money, and a castle. And then it was all gone. I still live in the palace with one servant who cares for me, but things aren't what they used to be. You see, I was cursed and transformed into a basilisk long ago. Now, the only way to become a human again is to be kissed by my one true love.  Of course, that's what makes this problem almost impossible to solve. What human would love an ugly creature like me?

And that's when the solution came to me. I saw her with her mother and two sisters one bright, summer day. As they were passing by, I heard them speak of going to the market. They began to make a weekly trip to the market, and I would almost approach them every time until I remembered that I'm not a normal human anymore. I needed a plan.

My castle was once very beautiful with fruit and flowers growing abundantly. Roses were sure to attract the attention of the lovely woman I had been waiting to meet, so my servant and I planted some along the outskirts of my palace. Sure enough, the women stopped by the very next week to admire the roses. Listening carefully, I realized that her name was Mary. She became separated from her family, and I knew this was the perfect time to go through with my plan.

My servant and I set a trap in the woods allowing Mary to become confused on how to get home once she was separated from her family. They became so far apart and lost that when night fell, her family went home without her.  Hiding in the darkness, I said to Belle,"Hello, my name is Adam. You look lost, can I help you?"
"Oh yes. Please, I've lost my family and can't find my way home. Especially now in the dark," Mary sobbed." "Now, I don't want to scare you, but understand I look a bit different. If you aren't afraid, I can give you a place to stay for the night.

Later that night when I got Mary settled in the castle, we began to talk about their lives. I told Mary everything I could remember about my life before the curse. I heard of Mary's family, her dreams, and her love for roses. We became very familiar with one another so quickly and naturally. "I have a favor to ask of you, if you don't mind," I asked. "Yes, anything," replied Mary. "I'm in need of some care for the next three days while my servant is gone, and I think you would do a marvelous job. In exchange, I can help you find your family and you are welcome to take as many roses as you please," I said.

Over the course of the next three days, our relationship grew stronger. Mary was able to look past my looks, and treated me kindly as a normal human being. Our relationship strengthened so far that we began to develop love for one another. And finally, we shared a kiss, and I was transformed back into a handsome young man.

We had a tremendous wedding with many guests. We sang, danced, and had a grand time.

Basilisk creature

Source: Max pixel

Story source: The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis (1922)

Author's Note: In the original story I read, the story was told from an outsider's point of view. I chose to tell the story from the basilisk's point of view. In the original, the mother goes out to get stuff for her family, and one of her daughters asks for some roses. On her way home, the mother gets lost but comes across some roses in a garden. She then decides to get them for her daughter. This is when she encounters the basilisk, who demands that she gives him her daughter in exchange for stealing his roses. Mary, the daughter, agrees to go to the Basilisk and even enjoys herself. She must nurse the basilisk for three hours everyday. On the third day he tells her to cut his head off, and when he does he transforms into a handsome man with keys to his palace. They then get married and live in the castle.
So, I changed the point of view, how the two met, and they get to know each other. I started with changing the point of view because I thought that could be a new, interesting perspective in this story. I changed how they met because I thought she was a more important character to be involved than her mother. This also made it possible for them to get more familiar with one another, and later to get married.

Reading Notes: Anthology

While reading through stories, I selected two that stood out to me the most. The first story, The Supernatural, was very interesting. Indian folk tales that include ghosts seem to have a twist or surprise at the end, and sometimes they include teaching a lesson. In this case, it states that whatever the ghost said would happen ended up happening, and that's why people always believe what ghosts say. I liked this story enough, but if I were to change it in any way I would make it more suspenseful or scary. When I read ghost stories, I almost expect it to be shocking in some way.

The other story I enjoyed reading was the Fairy Tale: Beauty and the Basilisk. The story as a whole  relates to Disney's Beauty and the Beast, but it is still distinct enough for the reader to not know exactly what will happen next. The "Beast" is a different kind of beast known as a basilisk. I think that is the biggest difference in the two tales. I would change this story in a way that the daughter, who ends up marrying the Basilisk, would not be willing to marrying him so easily. She seems to go with the flow in the entirety of the story, which isn't what you would expect. In the end it works out because the basilisk is actually a handsome man with a palace, but she didn't know that before.

Legendary Creature Basilisk

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Options

Browsing through the UnTextbook leads to seemingly endless stories. There were many units that I explored and some that I hope to look deeper into as the semester progresses. The first unit that I decided to check out was the Alice in Wonderland unit. The story itself is one of my favorites, so it was no surprise that it was first on my list. I think this will easily be one of my favorite units.

Alice in Wonderland 

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The next unit I looked at was the Indian Fairy Tales unit. This one was selected at random, but I was pleasantly surprised. I think I will find some interesting stories in this unit sometime soon.
Lastly, I chose to explore the Native American Hero Tales. I chose this one because I've heard many Native American folk tales and I wondered if I would come across any that I've heard before. In my short exploration I didn't find any familiar tales, but I know in the future I will be looking more in depth at the stories. The possibilities are endless. These are a few units that sound interesting to me, but I would also like to look at some stories that I wouldn't normally choose to read. I want to look at a broad range of very different stories before the semester is over.