Week 7 Storytelling: The Little Jackal's Nightmare

“Oh, Ma!! I had the most terrible dream!” whimpered the little jackal as he scurried to his mother. He fought back tears as he nestled into his mother’s bosom.

“You’re alright, sweetheart. Tell me about your dream,” replied his mother as she gently licked the fur on his head.

“Oh, Ma. It was terrible. I dreamed that all of the animals were cruel to me just because I wanted a drink of water!” cried the little jackal.

“It’s OK, honey. It wasn’t real. Tell me all that you remember about this dream so that you can get it all out of your head and go back to sleep,” soothed his mother.

“OK, well, here’s what happened. I was all grown up and living around a whole bunch of other animals. Animals of all kinds, Ma! There were giraffes, and rabbits, and tortoises! One day, they all decided that they were so thirsty that they needed to dig a well for more water. Well, they asked me to help, but I’m so small and young that I didn’t think I would do much good helping them! They all saw me as this strong adult jackal, and I tried to explain to them that I’m just a little kid, but they didn’t believe me!"

"I think that’s why they all started being super mean to me, Ma. They dug their well and everything, but they wouldn’t let me drink from it! I remember feeling super duper thirsty in my dream, like I was thirsty in real life! It was crazy! So I thought maybe I could offer them something in return for their water.

"After they had dug their well, they had a rabbit hang out by the well, and I think it was because they didn’t want me drinking their water. Well, I went up to him and offered him some honeycomb, but I was afraid he might hit me because he had a big, scary staff, so I asked him to tie his paws behind his back, you know, just in case. Well, he did it, and I was so excited about the water that I ran up and drank and ran away before he could catch me! It was only then that I realized that I hadn’t offered him any of the honeycomb!"

"The next day, I decided to go back and give him some because I felt really bad, Ma. You always taught me to share, and that’s what I was trying to do! When I went back, I saw that there was a hare there instead of the rabbit! Then I started feeling really thirsty again."

"So I tried to offer the hare some honeycomb, but he had two giant clubs right beside him, which really scared me. It was like something out of the horror stories Dad always tells us. So I asked him to tie his paws behind his back so I wouldn’t be so scared, and then I would feed him the honeycomb. Well, he did it and I was so excited that I drank some water and ran off before I could give HIM some honeycomb! Oh, I felt rotten, Ma. I just kept forgetting! I know you get onto me for being forgetful, and I’m trying really hard to be better."

"I decided that I would go back again the next day to try to give everyone some of my honeycomb, but that day they had the tortoise standing by the well. I greeted him just like I did all of the others, because you’ve always told me that being nice to animals is the right thing to do, but he just ignored me! It was so rude! So then I did something mean. I was getting really thirsty again, and the tortoise was just standing there being a bully, so I just kicked him over and got my drink!"

"Then came the scariest part, Ma. Oh, it was so scary it made me want to cry! I had barely had any water when I felt something latch onto my leg. It was the tortoise!!! He was biting my leg, Ma!! I told him I would give him the honeycomb and everything else I had on me, but he wouldn’t let go! Then all the other animals came and started making fun of me. I finally got my leg free and ran far away! That’s also when I woke up.”

(Young jackal playing with his baby brother)

“Oh, honey. I’m so sorry!” Ma said. “That does sound like a terrible dream, but you know that we jackals pride ourselves on being honest and polite, so that was just a nightmare, OK? Don’t worry about anything. If we ever have to help our fellow animals dig a well, we will dig the most and be the nicest and most helpful animals there! I love you, honey. Go back to sleep.”

With that, the little jackal curled up next to his mother and drifted off, dreaming of more pleasant things.

Author's Note: This week, I read the African Stories (Lang) unit, and one of my favorite stories was Jackal and Spring. In the original, all of the animals decide to combat a drought and dig a well, but the jackal offers no help. To get back at him, they decide not to let him drink any of their water and ask animals to stand guard by their well. The jackal outwits the rabbit and the hare by offering them honeycomb, but in the end, the tortoise gets the better of the jackal and bites him on the leg, successfully guarding the well. I chose to make that story a nightmare for a young jackal because I know that when I was little, I always loved coming to my ma and telling her about my bad dreams so that she could hug me and tell me that it was all OK.
The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H. J. Ford (1903)
Web source: UN-Textbook

Famous Last Words for Week 7

This week was such a blur! I can't believe another week is just around the corner. This week, I read the African Tales (Lang) unit. I really enjoyed it, although I only did half of the reading. I enjoy stories that feature animals as their main characters.

I think my best writing was my storytelling for the week. I've developed a habit of taking stories and re-writing them from a different perspective. It's always interesting and challenging thinking of how to tell a story from another angle. I was worried that I wouldn't meet the length requirement and ended up being afraid I would write too much! That's always a cool feeling, I think. 

I really loved the Storybook projects I got to read this week. All of the ones in my group were really well-written and clearly organized. It's nice being able to see everyone's progress throughout the semester. It seems like the semester just started, and here we are, with all of these stories and whatnot under our belts. It's all flying by so quickly!

I'm having a hard time waking up for my morning classes. Spring Break can't come soon enough! In my film class, we had the opportunity to observe how animals enhance a film. I thought it was a funny coincidence since the unit I worked on dealt primarily with animals!

Lots of things happened this week in terms of news! The llamas that escaped were my main entertainment for a day last week, so I appreciated that. Then the dress debacle surfaced and made me want to delete all of my social media accounts forever. Very glad that has blown over. 

(The majestic llama)

A prominent Russian figure was murdered this week, and that was significant to me. I'm Russian and have family and friends overseas, so I like to keep up with any and all news from the other side of the globe. It's unsettling that such events happen. Overall, I would say the news this week was very diverse, and I'm glad I have so many outlets that let me stay in the loop.

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.