Famous Last Words for Week 14

I seriously can't believe that this semester is almost over. It really didn't hit me until last Tuesday, when one of my coworkers mentioned how much they had to do over dead week. I didn't realize why they were so stressed until I had that "aha" moment.

I think this week my best writing was my storytelling. I sometimes have no idea what to write about, which is why I haven't written a storytelling post every week, but this week I didn't over think anything and came up with a story I was happy with! I appreciate that this class required that I write something every week, because it has definitely kept my creative juices flowing.

I had the chance to check out some new Storybooks this week, and once again I was very impressed with the amount of work that went into each one. All of them are so different from one another and so great in their own ways. The finalists deserved the extra shout out because their work really is exceptional.

This week, we watched a movie in my cinema class that once again reminded me of all the Native American folklore I've read in this class. There were several references that I felt I understood better because of the stories I've read in this class.

So much is happening this time of year! The Memorial Marathon was this weekend and so was Relay For Life. Next weekend, something just as important will take place. The Autism Oklahoma Piece Walk and 5k will take place downtown, and I'm so excited about it. I'm on the committee for the event, and I've seen so many incredible people work really hard to make the event a reality. I'm excited to help in any way I can and see all of the people that come and support the cause.

(Autism Awareness Ribbon)

Week 14 Storytelling: No Canine Left Behind

One day, a hunter and his dog were out in the forest looking for game. They hunted all day, going all through the marshes and thickets, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Discouraged, the hunter decided to call it a day. As they had been going into the depths of the forest all day, their way home was a long one, and they got out onto the main road well after midnight. 

 (The hunter and his dog)

As they neared the village, they happened to pass a cemetery. The sight of the cemetery at such a dark, late hour frightened the man, and he picked up his pace. He had scarcely drawn his gaze from the cemetery when all of a sudden, a corpse in a white shroud appeared in front of him! The hunter’s chest tightened and his palms became clammy and cold.

“I’m going to make a run for it!” he decided out loud and broke into a sprint.

Unfortunately for him, the corpse happened to be just as quick, and in no time, the corpse began to gain on the man. Luckily for the hunter, his dog was right at his side. Just as the corpse was about to grab the man’s jacket, the dog jumped up and bit the corpse’s arm! A fierce and loud fight ensued between the dead man and the dog. The hunter, however, didn’t see any of this as he ran to his house on the outskirts of the village.

The next morning, the hunter woke up his whole family and told them what had occurred. He waited anxiously on the front porch, hoping that his trusty dog would show up. He waited all day, and when the sun finally began to set, he saw the dog slowly coming up the road toward the house.

He was overjoyed! He had almost lost hope and realized he would never find a dog as loyal and good as the one that had protected him from the fierce corpse. He ran out to the dog and began to embrace him, when all of a sudden, the dog’s appearance began to change.

The once lean, somewhat mangy dog began to transform into a handsome young man. His fur changed into lavish clothing, and he soon stood looming over the hunter.

“Foolish hunter,” said the prince once he had finished transforming, “You should not have left me back there to defend you. The corpse came there to challenge you to a wrestling match to see if you were worthy of his blessing. If you had stayed and won the fight against the corpse, he would have bestowed upon you great riches and power, but because you fled, I was the one that showed my strength and courage to the dead man. We fought all night, and at the first light of the morning, he praised my efforts and turned me into a prince with great riches.”

The hunter begged his former pet to share some of his riches with him, but the prince refused to give him anything because the hunter hadn’t stayed to help him out. Not long after, a lavish carriage pulled up to where they were standing, and the prince climbed in and rode off to his new life. 

Author's Note: This tale was based off of The Dog and the Corpse in the Russian Folktales unit. In the original tale, the dog is left by his master to fight a corpse that has appeared before them and wants to kill them. The dog and corpse fight all night, and in the morning, the corpse fell motionless to the ground. The dog then held a grudge against his owner because the owner didn't try to help the dog. In the end, the dog had to be killed because it kept trying to kill the owner out of anger. My version of the tale is loosely based on the original, but I wanted the dog to get some kind of reward for fighting the corpse. 
Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore by W. R. S. Ralston (1887)
Web source: UN-Textbook

Reading Diary B: Russian Folktales

The Russian Folktales unit has kept me very entertained the past few days! Some of the stories I recognized from when my grandma told them to me as a child, but some of them were new to me. The variety in the tales was great! One thing that I liked about a lot of them is that I couldn't tell what would happen next. I'm usually good at predicting plot twists, but this time, some of these threw me for a loop!

I did notice that most of the stories dealt with death. It seems like death and/or transformations were important to convey to the people reading or hearing the stories. Death was also used in many of these stories to teach some sort of lesson. For example, The Shroud tells the story of a lazy girl that takes advantage of others in order to get what she wants. She takes things too far, however, and angers a dead person by taking their shroud and not returning it. In the end, she disappears and only her hair is left. Her death is brought about by her disobedience and laziness, two things that are never looked upon in a positive light.

(Tales involving death and cemeteries)

Another story about death that also provides a sort of lesson is The Dog and the Corpse. The dog in the story defends its owner from an angry corpse, but the owner abandons the dog. The dog, in turn, holds a grudge and tries to get back at its owner for abandoning it instead of helping defeat the corpse. It's sad that the dog has to die in the end, because it really was the owner's fault. The lesson that I got from this tale is that you shouldn't abandon someone when they are trying to protect you. Also, all of these stories paint a pretty bleak picture of Russia in the old days. It seems like the dead really didn't like to stay dead back then.

Reading Diary A: Russian Folktales

This week, I decided to read the Russian Folktales unit. I'm Russian, so this was exciting for me! I was familiar with some of the titles in this unit, but I thought it would be interesting to see how they were translated. Some of the stories, I had never heard, so it gave me the perfect opportunity to learn more about the tales of my homeland.

The tales started off on a very dark note. When I first started reading European fairy tales, I was kind of surprised by how gruesome some of them are. Since this wasn't the first unit with especially creepy tales, I think I was more prepared. Still, The Dead Mother was quite chilling. I especially didn't predict that the baby would be dead in the end when all of the people saw that it was the dead mother feeding her baby. I shouldn't have read that story so late at night.

Most of these stories were actually a little sad! The Water Snake was a tale that was particularly depressing. From the beginning, I couldn't tell where this story was going. I hoped that the snake turned into a prince or something, but when I got to the part about all of the snakes taking the girl from her house, I thought they were going to kill her or something. It was nice to read that she had a happy marriage, but then her mother had to go and ruin it! That definitely killed the mood for me. I wish I knew the motive behind her killing the girl's husband, especially since the girl seemed to be happy. I thought her turning herself and her children into birds was a bit random, too. Nevertheless, I'm excited to read the second half of the unit to see what kind of crazy stories that part has.

(The Water Snake)