Essay: Tricksters and Fools in African Stories (Lang)

One common theme in the unit of African Stories from Lang's Fairy Books was the theme of tricksters and fools. Basically every story presented had this theme, and the tricksters and fools were most often depicted by animals.

In the first tale, for example, the trickster is Motikatika, and the fool is the ogre trying to eat him. Motikatika tells the story that promises an ogre that he can eat her son in exchange for some water. When the magical child finds out about this, he figures out how to outsmart his mother and the ogre several times using magic items and his powers of transformation. In the end, he fools the ogre into eating his father instead of him because he says that his father is the one that deserves to be eaten since he was the one that wanted the water.

(The ogre and the mother)

In some stories, the trickster is also the fool. For example, in Jackal and Spring, the jackal both tricks others and then himself gets tricked. He fools the rabbit and the hare into letting him drink from the well because he wants to offer them honeycomb and will only do it if they tie themselves up first. The jackal is the fool in the end, however, because the tortoise guarding the well doesn't fall for his tricks and latches onto his leg when he tries to get a drink of water. He then gets shamed by all of the other animals that come to see if the tortoise has done his job.

The trickster also becomes the fool in Adventures of a Jackal. The jackal and his hedgehog friend trick the panther, then the panther tries to trick the jackal. Failing to do so, the panther gives up. Then, the jackal ends up getting tricked by the shepherd from whom he tries to get a sheep. The shepherd disguises a dog with sheep's wool, and when the jackal tries to eat him, the dog kills the jackal.

Reading Diary A: African Stories (Lang)

This week, I chose African Stories from Lang's Fairy Books. This unit is comprised of longer stories from Africa. I like that the stories were easy to read and were a little longer. Length isn't an issue when the writing is easy to read.

One thing I noticed was that the jackal was used throughout the unit. The jackal was the trickster, which kind of made me think of Loki. In Jackal and Spring, the jackal was the one that didn't want to work for the water and tried tricking animals into letting him drink from the well that they worked so hard to dig. I liked that the antagonist was so clever, because it made the story more interesting than stories where the bad guy is just dumb and easy to beat.

Another story that used the jackal was Adventures of a Jackal. This story was longer and more intricate than the previous one, which made it more detailed, I thought. I got confused on some of the details throughout the story, but overall I really enjoyed the plot. I didn't really understand why the hedgehog betrayed the jackal in the end. I also thought it was sad that the panther didn't get the happy ending he deserved and that the shepherd got it instead. I guess what matters in the end is that the jackal got what he deserved.

(Jackal)

I like how animals are the primary characters in this unit, and I look forward to reading the second half of this unit. I'm especially excited about any story involving monkeys.

Famous Last Words for Week 6

This week has been such a whirlwind! This is evidenced by the fact that it is almost 3 in the morning, and I'm writing this.

I think my best writing this week was my storytelling. The unit that I did, Chinese Fairy Tales, was so great for inspiring me to write. I also liked how detailed and action packed most of the stories were in the unit. I had an epiphany this week about my writing. If I go in and make a blog post and just add the title and labels, I focus more on what I want to write. It's funny how that works. I did that with several assignments this week and noticed that just doing that little thing made me want to brainstorm and concretely plan out my writing more.

The writing that I got to read this week was awesome. I didn't read any other stories based on the unit that I did, so it was interesting to get a glimpse of all of the other units that everyone read. I also liked reading the Storybook projects. It's fun seeing those start coming together. I'm sure that by the end of the semester, they will all be fantastic.

My other classes are getting a little crazy, but that's mostly because I procrastinated. I ended up going to bed at 4 in the morning the other night because I had so much to do and had also put off a drawing that I was supposed to finish for one of my classes. I learned the hard way that I really shouldn't do that again. Oh, well. You live and learn, I suppose.

I had the chance to go to a gigantic book sale in the city this weekend, and it made me want to read even more than I already do. So this is just a shout out to books - Go read them!

(Personal photo of my friend and me at the book sale, Feb. 2015)

Storytelling Week 6: The Three Goods

Once upon a time, in the old days, there lived a man by the name of Tschu Tschu. He was the kindest man in the region, and he just so happened to live in the vilest town in China. This town belonged to the Triad, one of the fiercest Chinese gangs, and the town served as the headquarters for this profoundly wicked organization. The town thrived on its reputation as the most inhospitable and cruel settlement in all the land, and Tschu Tschu was constantly ruining their bad name by doing good.

Tschu Tschu had a heart the size of Xinjiang, and no matter where he went, good emanated from him and seeped into the hearts of all those nearby. He was calm and disciplined, and no evil could get done in his presence. This infuriated all of the residents of the village, but the elders just couldn’t bring themselves to punish him for his good deeds.

He wore a high hat on his head, adorned with two peacock feathers. His garments were made of humble materials, yet he looked more put together than even the head gangster himself. At his side hung a bag full of candy, and each child he passed became a recipient of one of the sweets. He was given to helping the poor and feeding the homeless, and he tended to give away anything of value almost as soon as he got it in order to provide for others. Anybody that was wronged by the gang came to him for aid. Thus he kept this up for years and was a real party pooper on the town known for its cruelty.

Then the new Mountain Master came to the town.

When he arrived, he first went about to the homes of all of the gang families and listened to their complaints. Being the new head of this criminal organization, he wanted to make sure everything was running smoothly. Going from house to house, it soon became clear to the Mountain Master that there were three goods in that area. This was three good things too many.

Mountain Master knew what he must do. He immediately went to Tschu Tschu and confronted him with a sword pressed against his throat.

(Mountain Master at work)

“Why are you doing this?” asked Tschu Tschu.

“I am the new Mountain Master,” replied the other. “I have come to uphold the standard of evil in the area. All of the residents here are cruel and selfish people, and yet they cannot be completely evil because of three good things in this area. I have come to ask that you do away with two of them, and in time, maybe you’ll do away with the third as well.”

Tschu Tschu was deeply afraid, and his only wish was to get out of the situation alive.

“What are the three good things?” asked Tschu Tschu. “Tell me so I can try to make everything how you want it to be.”

“The first good,” said the Mountain Master, “is a meadow full of Bengal tigers that brings good luck to everyone that comes to them. The second good is a dragon that spews gold coins out of his mouth when he comes to the banks of the river at the first of every month. See to it that these good things stop happening.”

“What is the third good thing?” asked Tschu Tschu.

“That you will realize in time. Now go and see to these things.” said his intimidator.

Tschu Tschu made haste to the meadow, where he scared the tigers off by shooting fireworks all around the pasture. Then he waited until the first of the month, at which time he ran down to the banks of the river where the dragon was raining down gold coins on everyone that came near. He charged at the dragon with a team full of giant oxen, and the dragon was so scared that he vowed never to return.

After he did these things, Tschu Tschu had an epiphany. He ran to the residence of the Mountain Master and found him sitting in his garden, plotting the routes of his money laundering operation.

“Mountain Master!” he cried, “I know what the third good is! It’s me!”

“You are correct,” replied the man. “What do you make of this?”

Tschu Tschu, looking long and hard at the Mountain Master, said with earnestness and ferocity, “I have been doing good all my life, and I realize now that I have not had time to focus on myself. Being good meant giving and giving, and in return I was getting nothing. I’m done with that life. Train me up in your ways, so that in time I may be your right hand man and maybe even your successor.”

Pleased with what he heard, the Mountain Master replied, “Wonderful. I was hoping you would say this. Follow me. We will begin the initiation ritual.”

From that day on, Tschu Tschu became the most evil Triad in the region, and the town fully prospered as a land of evil and corruption.

Author's Note: For this week, I decided to read Chinese Fairy Tales. The story that stood out to me most was The Three Evils. In the original, the main character is awful and terrorizes the town in which he lives. After some time, a new mandarin appears and pleads with him on behalf of the people to get rid of the three evils that plague the residents. The evil man agrees, and after getting rid of two of the evils, he finally realizes that he is the third and leaves the town forever. For my story, I decided to make the character the complete opposite of the original. He starts out as the only good person in town, and after getting rid of the two good things, he realizes that the evil life is the life for him.
The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921) Web source: UN-Textbook

Reading Diary B: Chinese Fairy Tales

The second half of the Chinese Fairy Tales unit was just as good as the first. I like that the stories aren't too long and that each one is different from the last in at least one major way. Some of the units with longer stories got to be a little burdensome towards the end of their respective unit, but with these stories, I'm entertained and don't get overwhelmed by the amount of material.

For some reason, the stories with the tiny characters in them are my favorite. The last story in the first half of the unit and the first story in the second half of the unit both have tiny people in them, and I think that's just precious. It reminds me of Gulliver's Travels. In particular, I like the plot for The Little Hunting Dog. The scholar being protected from the pesky insects by a super tiny dog is just so cute! I really like that the little army rode around and killed so many of the bugs for him and then also left behind a dog to protect him. Reading that story made me smile and say "aww" more than I could count.

Some of the stories didn't really make sense to me. For example, in The Talking Silver Foxes, the talking foxes are the antagonists, yet in the beginning they aren't portrayed as such. The story starts out on something completely different, namely what the villagers did when their children were sick. It was only after that part that the story about the foxes really started. I thought the story could have been better had the author either taken out some of the story or separated it into two different tales.

(Bay of Kiau Chau)

Reading Diary A: Chinese Fairy Tales

For this week's reading, I decided to do Chinese Fairy Tales. I was excited about doing this unit because it's one that I had initially expressed an interest in when looking around the UN-Textbook. The unit so far has not disappointed!

One thing I noticed that was kind of funny to me are the similarities of some stories to the stories in Grimm's Fairy Tales. For example, the tale of The Panther is very similar in some aspects to Little Red Riding Hood. The main difference in antagonists is that one is a wolf and one is a panther, but overall the story lines are quite similar. I thought it was particularly gruesome how the panther started combing the mothers hair and then gradually pulled the skin off of her scalp to eat it. I'm not much into gore, and that kind of touched my gore threshold.

The Favorite of Fortune and the Child of Ill Luck was a tale that I had mixed feelings about. Firstly, how weird is it that the beggar has dragons going into his ears and coming out of his nostrils? That's an odd way to show that someone is lucky. To each their own, I guess. I thought the time that the beggar was gone from his wife was just awful. The poor woman had to live without her husband for 18 years! That broke my heart. I also didn't like that he tested her after he became emperor. She gave up everything to be with him, so I thought that was enough to prove her love. Characters in these stories can just be so distrustful sometimes.

(Lucky Twin Dragons)

Overall, I've enjoyed this unit so far. I can't wait to see what other legends I will get to read about tomorrow.

Famous Last Words for Week 5

I think my best writing for the week was my Storytelling assignment, which was the unit Twenty-Two Goblins. The unit was challenging to write about because of how it was a story within a story. Also, the stories were somewhat redundant, so I had a hard time coming up with some variety for my version of the tale. Overall, I think having to really brainstorm helped me come up with some strategies for future writing.

I really enjoyed reading this week's stories on several different blogs. It always amazes me what kind of stories people can come up with! It's definitely inspiring to read other material, and I think I'm amongst a great group of writers. One of my favorite parts of each week is getting to read what my classmates have written. It was interesting also to see how many people did the same unit as me. Their spins on the stories made the unit much more enjoyable for me overall.

I have one other online class, and I realized that my writing in that class has benefitted from this class because of how writing intensive this one is. I'm also taking some art history classes that have been showing works that deal with mythology somewhat, so it's been interesting to see how that all ties in together! For example, in my Cinema of the American West class, we are dealing with mythological landscapes and characters. It's been fun watching the movies and seeing how the directors made use of Native American mythology in order to make their films more authentic and captivating.

Outside of school, I'm pretty much just looking forward to Spring Break. I'm going to Oregon, so I've just been on Pinterest for hours on end looking at waterfalls to hike to. That's been the most interesting part of my week, I think.

(Personal photo of Tamanawas Falls, OR, summer 2014)

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Storytelling Week 5: The Four (Ant) Brothers

There is a city called Great Ant Hill. In it lived the great Queen Ant. In her kingdom, there lived a worker ant in one of the finer enclaves of Great Ant Hill, and this worker ant had four sons.

One day, the worker ant was busy hauling a bread crumb back to the kingdom when a torrential downpour occurred and swept him away, never to be seen again. The relatives of the worker ant took all of his meager possessions, leaving his four sons with virtually nothing.

The sons, seeing that there was nothing holding them in their area of the kingdom of Great Ant Hill, decided that they would seek out their ant grandfather in another enclave in order to live with him. When they got to their grandfathers little ant home, they found out that he had become trapped in tree sap and was now enclosed in it forever. Just when they were about to turn back and return to their father’s home, they saw their uncles and decided to stay with them for a while.

The four brothers stayed with their uncles for a while, but before too long, things started getting tense. Their uncles became fed up with them on account of their unwillingness to help out around their part of the ant hill, so they started keeping food from them and forbade them to sleep on the soft leaves, instead forcing them to sleep on the ground.

The brothers were deeply troubled by these events, and the older brother even admitted to the younger brothers that he wouldn’t mind getting stuck in some tree sap himself. The younger brothers, however, told him that he should pursue knowledge instead of wallowing in self-pity, and as a result, the four brothers decided to travel to four different ant hills in order to study with other ants and gain their knowledge.

After a very long time apart, several days, they reconvened and excitedly shared what they had learned.

“I can take a skeleton of any animal in the world and put the right kind of flesh on it!” exclaimed the oldest.

“I have learned how to put the appropriate skin and hair on any flesh covered skeleton! excitedly said the second oldest.

The third brother chimed in and said, “I know how to put the appropriate eyes and organs into a body after it is covered with flesh, skin, and hair.”

The youngest proudly proclaimed, “When all of the organs are there, I can give the creature the breath of life!”

The four ant brothers excitedly decided to venture into the forest in order to put their knowledge to the test. It just so happened that they had not walked for two hours when they came upon a massive skeleton.

“Woah. Let’s bring this one to life.” said the oldest.

Not knowing what kind of skeleton it was, the brothers began to do their work. The oldest brother fitted the skeleton with the right flesh. The second oldest added the appropriate skin and hair, the third brother added the right organs and eyes, and the youngest gave it life.

Alas! What the brothers didn’t know was that the creature they had brought back to life was an anteater! When the anteater looked around and saw the tasty ants, he immediately at them and went on his merry way into the forest.

(Anteater eating ants)

Thus, the four ants died because they made the worst kind of animal. Who could think that ants creating an anteater would be a good idea? For this reason, it’s important to see that something acquired that goes against fate shall not benefit the one that acquired it.

Author’s Note: I chose to tell the story of The Four Brothers from the point of view of ants because, quite frankly, I couldn’t really come up with anything else. In Twenty-Two Goblins, the goblin that the king repeatedly has to get from a tree in order to bring to the monk tells the king a story in the form of a riddle while the king carries him. At the end of the story, if the king cannot answer the riddle correctly, he is told that the goblin will kill him. One of the stories is the story that I chose to write on. In the original, the tale centers around four brothers that go and study a science after the death of their father and then meet up to show each other what they have learned. This part of the story I kept essentially the same. However, in the original they revive a lion that kills them, and in my version, it’s an anteater. I noticed that the stories in this unit tended to be very grim, so I thought maybe my version would be less grim because it was centered around ants.

Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder, with illustrations by Perham W. Nahl (1917)

Web source: UN-Textbook

Reading Diary B: Twenty-Two Goblins

By the second half of the Twenty-Two Goblins unit, I was thoroughly annoyed with the fact that the goblin would magically go back to the tree upon which it was discovered after the king answered his riddles. I started feeling sorry for the king because of how much he had to walk in one night. I also admired the king for his patience and perseverance.

Some of the actions of the characters in the story I just did not understand. For example, in The General's Wife, the general burns himself alive because the king died from being love sick over the general's wife. Didn't the general offer his wife to the king? Why should the general die because the king wouldn't take his wife? It is explained that servants must protect the lives of their masters, but I didn't see how the general killing himself was him protecting his superior. I liked that the king explained his reasoning to the goblin, though, because it helped me understand what was going on in this particular story.

I really liked the story of The Four Brothers, namely for this quote: "No matter how carefully won and guarded, three things are fickle and bring sorrow at the last: evil friendships, a flirt, and money." That's such a great thought! I have liked all of the little bits of wisdom scattered throughout these stories. Although some points are harder to understand than others, I appreciate the lessons that the reader can learn from this unit.

(The Four Brothers)

Reading Diary A: Twenty-Two Goblins

The unit I chose for this week was Twenty-Two Goblins. I chose this unit because I'd never heard of these tales before, and I liked that every story had a riddle in it. The author did a great job in terms of character development throughout the stories.

I liked how the king was introduced in the Introduction, how he was described as a very impressive man that was both noble and kind. I also really liked how the payment was placed in the fruit brought by the monk. That must have made for mountains of jewels when all of the fruit was broken apart! I thought it was interesting how the goblin was introduced. The introduction to this character was very dark, and it's not the sort of introduction I'm used to reading about in stories. Reading about a hanging body that was possessed by a goblin was a little bit unsettling, but I thought it was just sinister enough to be intriguing yet not sinister enough to be horrifying.

(The King and the Goblin)

While reading every story, I couldn't help but be anxious to get to the end just to see how the king would respond to each riddle. In The Three Lovers, his answer surprised me because of how he analyzed it. I honestly didn't even know how to begin to answer such a riddle, especially under the threat of death, but his answer made sense within the context of the story and the culture that these stories came from. Reading the king's answers and thinking about them made the stories even cooler for me.

Reading Diary B: The Voyages of Sindbad

The second part of The Voyages of Sindbad was even more incredible than the first! It started to frustrate me, though, how Sindbad would go on voyages still even though he knew that something bad would happen since it always did. I guess that's just the overly cautious side of me talking. My adventurous side thought all that he did was pretty great.

Fifth Voyage was a very interesting tale because there was so much going on. I was frustrated with the crew in the beginning when they stumbled upon a roc's egg and wanted to destroy it. The rocs had every right to throw those large rocks at the ship afterward, I thought. They were just protecting their young. The old man frustrated me with how he just would not let go. How did he survive when he wasn't being carried by someone? Sindbad's way of getting rid of the old man was brilliant. I thought it was kind of cute that Sindbad always got home safely and always had more treasure than he could carry.

(Old Man)

Sindbad's Seventh and Last Voyage offered a good ending to the tales of his voyages. Initially, I was annoyed with the Caliph because Sindbad wished to just live out the rest of his life quietly in Bagdad. The Caliph must have had many people he could have sent on this voyage, but then it wouldn't turn out to be as amazing of a voyage as it was. I also wondered how Sindbad made it there safely since it was so close to the place where all ships are destroyed. The part with the elephants was interesting to read. I especially liked how they took him to the graveyard of elephants and that stopped the poaching for a while.

Week 4 Storytelling: The Real Story Behind Sindbad's Third Voyage

I would like to consider myself a giant of routine. Up until recently, I would leave my humble castle every day at the crack of dawn, and I would go for my morning stroll around the island. This allowed me to mentally prepare for the day and to enjoy my beautiful surroundings.

I would then go and visit my cousins and discuss the weather and what the tide had brought in that morning. Afternoons and evenings were spent hiking and catching my evening meal.

I’ve always prided myself on my exquisite taste. I love fresh, locally grown produce and meats, but my guilty pleasure is humans. Call them my cheat meal. Since they don’t come around the island very often, I really feel like it’s my birthday when I get to have one, but I digress.

One day, after doing my usual activities, I returned to my castle to find the biggest surprise of my life. On the ground in my dining room was gathered a whole group of humans! I would have to count my calories for months after eating so many, but...WORTH IT. I decided to only eat one a night in order to at least somewhat keep up with portion control.

Upon examination, I discovered that they were all pretty measly. I at last found one that didn’t look like he would taste like uncooked rice, and after dining, I drifted off into a peaceful slumber. Life was looking really good.

I was able to enjoy some more humans over the next few nights, and I was beginning to think that eating one daily wouldn’t be such a bad thing at all! I began to get used to my routine of having one every night; eating dinner had become my favorite part of the day.

One night, everything changed. After I had supped, I lay down to go to sleep, as usual. The next thing I know, my morsels are stabbing me in the eye with the very spits I had used to cook them on! I was overcome with pain. It was with horror that I realized that I could no longer see! I got up, stumbled around, and after not being able to crush one of those evil creatures, I fled my castle in order to find some shelter from the monsters in my very home.

By some miracle, I got to the house of my two older cousins, who comforted me any way they could think to. They tried salves, organic eye drops, and just plain old ice, but nothing seemed to ease my eye pain.

“Those parasites! How inconceivable that our food would turn on us and treat us like we are the bad guys!” they cried.

The next morning, they decided to go over to my place and show those devils who’s boss. My cousins called up their friends, and, putting my arms around their shoulders for support, they took me to my castle. Not finding any humans there, they quickly guessed to run to the shoreline, where we suspected they would be trying to make their escape. We were correct. They had fashioned rafts and were quickly getting away! My fellow giants hurled large rocks at them and managed to destroy all rafts but one. Score! I was sad that we hadn’t gotten rid of all of them, but I took what I could get.

(Giants Hurling Rocks)

After these events, my routine became quite different. I can no longer enjoy my beautiful surroundings, and I get around with the help of my family. I struggle to hold my head high, but I know that deep down, I did nothing wrong. I’ve also sworn off humans completely and am now a strict vegetarian. Those humans have left a permanent bad taste in my mouth.

Author's Note: I chose to retell the story of Sindbad's Third Voyage from the point of view of the giant. In the original tale, Sindbad's crew is left on an island after a group of vicious red-furred savages overtake their ship and force them on to the island. They then take shelter in a castle that ends up belonging to a giant that has an affinity for human flesh. Every night, the giant eats one of the crew members for dinner, until one night the crew blinds him and makes their escape. They attempt to escape the island using rafts they had built during the day, but the only members of the crew that survive are the ones on Sindbad's raft because the others are destroyed by the rocks that the giants hurl at them. I tried to stick to the original as much as possible, but since virtually nothing was written about the giant's background, that gave me a lot of freedom. I especially liked that I could describe his daily activities and show why he ate the way he did, because I thought it would make him a little more relatable.
The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898) Web source: UN-Textbook

Reading Diary A: The Voyages of Sindbad

I chose this unit because I had heard about these tales often growing up but never got to read them. I'm so glad I chose this unit! I love tales involving lots of adventure, so this was the perfect pick for me. The Voyages of Sindbad are the incredible tales of the merchant Sindbad and all that he sees and experiences.

I loved how the setting and character were introduced in First Voyage. The story provided vivid imagery but didn't overdo it. I also enjoyed learning about the back story of Sindbad because it allowed me to connect more deeply with the character. The part about the island being a giant sleeping whale was so entertaining to me! I love how imaginative the story was from the very beginning. That was something that really pulled me in and made me want to continue reading.

(Sindbad, Illustration by Dulac)

The second voyage of Sindbad was even more incredible than the first, which was pleasantly surprising. In Second Voyage (cont'd), Sindbad explains how he escaped from the valley of the snakes. I again marveled at the imagination of the author because I wouldn't be able to think up something so incredible. Tying himself to a piece of meat so that eagles could get him out of the valley was so clever! Sindbad's ingenuity is inspiring. These stories focus on thinking outside the box, which is something I appreciate because I like seeing how different people solve problems. These tales, although crazy and tell of Sindbad being in danger, are nice because all of the people he interacts with end up treating him well, and he is kind to them in return. That aspect of the tales makes them heartwarming to read. 

(Valley of Diamonds)

Pacific Northwest: Styles Brainstorm

Topic: My Storybook will be about the myths and legends of the Pacific Northwest. My goal is to find four different stories from four different tribes that lived in the region. One story that I would like to include is Falls of the Willamette. Another story that I would be interested in working with would be The Memaloose Islands. I chose these to to start with because they appeal to different aspects of life in the region, and I would like for my Storybook to hit a variety of topics in the lives of different tribes. I don’t think finding material online should be a problem, since just the UN-Textbook offers plenty of material.

Bibliography:

1. Falls of the Willamette, from Myths and Legends of the Pacific Northwest, especially of Washington and Oregon, by Katharine Berry Judson (1910).
2. The Memaloose Islands, from Myths and Legends of the Pacific Northwest, especially of Washington and Oregon, by Katharine Berry Judson (1910).

Possible Styles:

Storytelling from the animals’ point of view: Native American tales typically rely heavily on animals and nature, so it would make sense that a legend about salmon could be retold by the salmon, for example. Another way to incorporate animals would be to take an eagle and tell it from the point of view of him sitting on a high perch and observing the goings-on below.

The point of view of those not native to the land: Native American stories sometimes talk about the presence and actions of the white man, or just someone not native to the land, so it would be interesting to tell the story from that point of view. Since those that aren’t native aren’t usually as familiar with the landscape and customs, it would present a different perspective on already developed stories.

The Sun/Moon: The Sun and moon see everything during their respective times, so this could be good in terms of detail and things that maybe were supposed to be kept a secret. This could also be used to contrast good versus evil in stories. For example, the good parts of a story could be told by the sun, whereas the bad or evil parts of the story could be told by the moon.

Spirits of people or animals: The spiritual life is a very important element in Native American legends, so it’s important to not overlook that aspect when retelling the tales. Telling the story from the angle of a ghost would be one way to acknowledge this important storytelling element.

(Memaloose Island)