Week 12: Storytelling: Two stories about People

Two Stories about People

Once upon a time there was an old couple, who lived in a huge house outside of the city. They were both retired and extremely rich. Recently they purchased two luxuries cars and placed them into their garage. Little did they know, there was a thief who was watching their every move since they moved in. He was planning on stealing their cars from the couple. He just had to figure out the right time.

One day the old man had to go to a doctor’s appointment, and he left his wife at home. The thief seized the opportunity to break into the house and manage to steal one of the new cars. He took the car and drove away with it. Upon the husbands return, he saw his wife pacing back and forth panicking. He asked what was wrong, and she said that a thief came and stole one of their brand new cars. The two began to search everywhere for the car. As they were searching the wife recognized the thief who had stolen the car.  They began to chase him down until they reached his house. The couple questioned him about the car, and the thief said that he already sold it, so there is nothing they can do about it. Laughing while he said this the thief told the couple that there was no way of proving the crime he had committed. The couple realizing that they had nothing to lose now, the husband reached for his side and pulled out a gun, and shot the thief in the head.

Bully - Charles LeBlanc

One day there was a little boy. He loved to play with his friend on the playground, but recently a bully always came on the playground when the little boy was playing and beat him up. The little boy was tired of this and needed to find a way to put an end to this. He asked one of his friends at school what he should do. The friend told the little boy to go make friends with a bigger bully, and have that bully beat up the one who was bullying you. The litter boy thought it was a genius plan. Over the next week, the little boy made friends with a bigger kid who was also a bully. The boy eventually convinced the big kid to go beat up the bully for picking on him. He agreed, and on the next day out at the playground the bigger bully beat up the smaller one. The litter boy was so happy that he could barely even sleep that night!

The next day, the bigger bully who helped the little boy came up to him on the playground and beat him up too! The boy was shocked and asked what the problem was. The big bully said that he learned from one of the boy’s friends that he never wanted to be the big kid’s friend, and just used him for revenge on the smaller bully! 

Author's note

This week I decided to base my stories over Three Stories about Snakes. In the original story there are three separate, and quick stories about snakes. Each one is different, but all have a snake that plays a major role. In my version, I just wanted to try and come up with my own to tell, but instead of snakes I used people. If you haven't read the original, and you would like too, I based my two stories off the first in the original. They are completely two different tales, but I tried to base the situation in each story similar to its counterpart. 

Week 11 Storytelling: The Lesson Learned

James came running into the house screaming and crying. I had just gotten done with the dishes and went to go see what was wrong with. When I found him, it looked like he had some dirt on his knees and shirt. It must have been one of those bullies.

He wrapped his hands around my waist and said, “Mommy! Charley hit me and kept pushing me down! In front of everyone too. It is not fair; he is bigger than me!”

“Did you  tell Mrs. Carter?” I replied.

“Yes. She sent him to the office, but he still will push me around on the playground. He will not ever just leave me alone,” James said.

“Listen, James, let me tell you a quick story that you will be able to apply in your situation.”

“In the old days, there was more jungle than there is today. No cities, or towns. Wild elephants were numerous. Once upon a time a red ant and a black ant were burrowing in the ground. Suddenly, a wild elephant appeared and said, “Why are you burrowing here? I will smash all of your work to pieces.”

“Why do you talk to us like this?” the ants replied. “Do not despise us because we are small; as a matter of fact we are better than you in some ways.”

The elephant laughed and told the ants not to talk nonsense. "There is nothing that  ants can beat me in," the elephant said. "I am the largest and most powerful animal." The ants weren't bothered by his speech, and they challenged him to a race. Whoever wins will declare to being the supreme creature.

Once the elephant heard this challenge, he became enraged. He shouted, “Well, come we will start at once,” and he set off to run with all its strength. When it got tired, it looked down at the ground, and saw two ants.

Off the elephant went again, and when it stopped and looked down, there on the ground were two ants again, so it ran some more. Whenever the elephant stopped, it saw the ants, and at last it ran so far that it dropped down from exhaustion, never to bother the ants again. The End.”

“Now, you see James, ants are more numerous in this world than any other kind of living creature, and what happened was that the two ants never even ran the race. They stayed where they were, but whenever the elephant looked at the ground, it saw some ants running about and thought that they were the first two, and so it ran away and fell from exhaustion.

The End."

This story teaches you, James, not to worry about the bigger and stronger bully. God knows why He made all of the different animals and people of all different shapes and sizes. Some boys are fools, and you just have to outsmart them. Be the ant and not the elephant!

Ant Colony - Wikimedia

Author's Note

This week I decided to base my story off of the "The Elephant and the Ants" in the Santal Folklore unit in the Un-textbook. The reason why I chose to write about this story is that I believe that this story has so much meaning behind it, and so many lessons came be learned from it whether or you are telling the story to a child or a coworker.

The elephant is seen as the bully in the story. He sees the ants, and threatens to destroy their home for no apparent reason. I wanted the elephant to be a parallel character for Charley. In the story that is being told to James, the ants are supposed to represent him.

I kept the story about the elephant almost exactly the same. The only major change that I had was that instead of the elephant running itself to death, I decided to make him fall over from exhaustion. The reason I chose to do this was because since this story was being told to a child, I didn’t want to use the explicit of the Elephant (bully) dying. This could create problems in the real world that James is in if he goes to school saying that James is going to die one day! I think that it was more realistic to exclude that part from the story. Most parents do not want their kid telling others that they are going to die. 

Bibliography:
This story is from the Santal Folklore unit.
Folklore of the Santal Parganas by Cecil Henry Bompas (1909).

Week 10 Storytelling; The Shanti Parva

The Shanti Parva

After the battle it was time for the coronation of Yudhistira. Peace and tranquility came after, but the story was yet to end. Yudhistira found Krishna upset and moody. He said that he realizes with the coming of Urtarayana, Bhishma will sacrifice himself. Bhishma was the keeper of knowledge for the world. Also kingship and human conduct; so when he passes away it will be gone with him forever. Krishna warned him there was not much time left.

While Brishma was speaking his final words to Yudhistira he showed much affection and spoke to him on the duties that were necessary for a king. It lasted for several days, and when he was finished he told everyone farewell and took his last breath. Yudhistira took his body and took the arrows off of it. Then he performed the obsequies due the eldest member of the family. He cremated his body on the bank of the river Ganga. The Goddess who was Brishma’s mother appeared again to take his soul and send it to his original home in the place of the celestials.

Following his deaf, Yudhistira ruled for thirty-six years. At the end of his 36th year his uncle, Dhritarashtra showed a desire to to adopt vanaprasha and live out in the woods with Gandhari and his brother’s wife, Kunthi. Yudhistira made sure all of their requests were made and he visited them frequently. He watched over their belongings too. One day, there was a forest fire and somehow Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, and Kunti all died.

Meanwhile Krishna’s clan, the Vrishnis, destroyed themselves in a civil war, and nobody even remembered them because they left no trace of their existence. Krishna them left himself like he foresaw. While he was on the bank of the river, he was in deep thought. Lying on the sands, a hunter that was a distance away confused the soles of his feet for a bird and shot an arrow at them killing him. Depressed by all of the news the Pandavas decided to leave the world. One by one they died and Draupadi did too.

Yudhistira found himself to be all alone, and he was gifted the power to go to heaven in his eartly form. On his way there he saw many familiar faces. The last person that was there to take charge of Hastinapura was the son of Abhimanyu, who had protection of Krishna. He grew up to be the King and further continuing the Pandava lineage.

The Great Battle  by Ankush Bahuguna

Author's Note

This week I decided to retell the ending of R. K. Narayan's version of the Mahabharata. 

I chose to do the ending of this story because I like how in the end of the story when you thought that everything was over it actually wasn't. In the Epilogue, the story is contunied further on a bigger time scale and we learn of the deaths of everyone except Yudhistira. He went to heaven and there was only one person left to rule. It was neat how the Pandava line was still passed on in the end. It is a true never ending story. 

Week 9 Storytelling: The Eighth Son

The Eighth Son

There was a ruler of an ancient kingdom of Hastinapura. His name was Santanu. One day while hunting Santanu came upon a lovely lady by the river and he instantly fell in love with her. He asked her to marry him and she said yes, but under one important condition. She asked to be able to do whatever she liked, and at no like will he have the right to question her actions. Santanu accepted this offer without objection. To him this was only a small price to pay to marry the woman of his dreams.
After a while she brought forth a baby, but s. as soon as he was born she drowned him in the river! This shocked Santanu, but he was unable to do anything about it remembering his oath he made with his new wife. When the next child was born she did the same thing, and another and another again. The strangest part of it was that after she drowned the children she came back with a smile on her face. Santanu never said anything about her behavior because he feared that he might leave him if he did. Besides, she was a great wife otherwise.

The wife had an eight child, and she began to prepare the baby to be drowned like she usually does. Finally, the husband was unable to control himself and he cried out to her to stop the madness.
To his surprise she said yes. She was already doing to spare his life, but in return she was going to leave him. Santanu asked why she would leave him. She explained to him to her real identity was. She was Ganga, the goddess of the river. She took the form of a human only to give birth to eight babies. She told the husband that she married him because he was the only person worthy enough to father the children. The children were known as the eight vasus (a class of deities, attendatans of Indra). In another life they were cursed to be corn on earth by Nandini for stealing the Sage Vasishta’s rare cow. Appealing the accusations, seven of them were allowed to go back to heaven. The eight member who arranged everything just to satisfy his wife, and actually stolen the cow must continue to live his life on earth. He will have brilliant accomplishments, but he must live a life of celibacy.


After Ganga explained the story she told Santanu that she would take the child and return him later years later instantly vanishing into the river. One day while the King was at the river she came back to return the son. His name is Devavratha, and he mastered all the Vedas. Santanu was very happy to have his son back and he returned back to his kingdom and announced that the boy would be the heir.

Ganga the River Goddess

Wikipedia

Author's Note

I deciede to write about the first story in Narayan's version of The Mahabharata. I wanted to retell this small story because it was shocking to read if you have never done so before. I find it interesting to learn that the wife "Ganga" was drowning her babies to send all of them to heaven except for one, Devavratha. This story sets up the character, and it provides a background story for him. I kept the story the same as the original. 

The Man and the Brahmadaitya

The Haunted Tree and the Brahmadaitya

I once was a poor man growing up. I had no wife , no kids, and no friends. Everyone that I ever known or loved left me. I was alone and a helpless, homeless, man. Seven years ago my life changed forever. I was on the way to the new laird’s house and he was explaining to some of his servants that there was this supposedly haunted banyan-tree on the outskirts of our village was haunted by many ghosts. No one ever went to the tree at night and when they did the ghosts would come and kill anyone who disturbed the tree. The laird decided to make a challenge for anyone who wanted to attempt it. The challenge was that you were supposed to go to the tree and cut off one of his branches and bring it back in the laird. If you were to complete the take them we would reward you with 40 acres of land!

As a poor man, I saw that I needed to accept this challenge. I knew that it could have been potentially my last day to live, but what did I live for? I had nothing and I would have rather died tring to achieve a goal then die from starvation without doing anything.

I accepted the Laird’s challenge, and the other folks around laughed at me. They all doubted me, but I didn’t care. I made my trek the next night into the forest to find the haunted tree. Almost toward the tree I decided to take a break under a large vakula-tree. On my break, I began to have doubts. I was panicking and wanted to die. Little did I know, the vakula-tree was haunted as well by a Brahmadaitya who heard my worries.   He said he was there to help and I explained to him the situation and what I was trying to do. He offered his help and told me to go toward the tree. We reached the tree and I began to cut at the branch of it. Immediately a bunch of ghosts swarmed me and was about to kill be, but the Brahmadaitya stepped in to save me. He explained to them everything and they let me take a branch back home.

I was so excited that I raced back home to show the Laird what had been done and I asked for my part of the deal. He didn’t believe me at first, so he had to go to the tree and find the exact cut and see if it matched. It did, and the laird put together a contract and made it official. I had my 40 acres! It was rich with fruits and grain, but there was one problem. Since I was poor I had no tools to tend the land. I asked the Brahmadaitya if he could help me harvest all this food. He accepted and called out all the ghosts of the forest to tend the land at night. I woke up the next morning with the whole plot of land tended and a huge store house. I thanked the Brahmadaitya over and over again never fully expressing the joy and gratitude I felt. He said that it was time for him to go. He explained that befriending a good man like myself for a while enabled him to not be cursed as a ghost. It was time for him to go to heaven.

I lived happily for many years after that. I sold all the grain and corn from my land and became rich. I found a wife, had sons, and grandsons later. Together we got the tools and people needed to take care of our land, and this is where you see me today. 

Brahman and Brahmadaitya

Souce: Spirit of the Ages

Author's Note

This week I decided to base my story of off The Story of a Brahmadaitya in the Un-textbook. The reason why I chose to write about this story is because I liked that it had a good ending to it. Reading the story I thought that something bad was going to happen to the man, but nothing did. I also liked how the Brahmadaitya's spirit went to heaven after helping the man. It was his destiny  to help the man. I kept my story mostly the same the only differences were that I told it from the Brahman's point of view instead of a narrator. I wanted it to feel like he was talking to an audience asking him about his life. 

Week 6 Storytelling: The Tiger in the Cage

The Tiger in the Cage

Once upon a time I was caught within a trap. I tried my very hardest to get out, but I just couldn’t do it. I scratched and bit the cage with all my might until I bled. There was no escaping this cage.

Luckily, after a few days of being trapped in the middle of nowhere in a cage I saw a poor Brahman.

I cried out to him, “Let me out of this cage, oh pious one! Please!”

The Brahman replied, “No, my friend. You would just kill and eat me after I helped you escape."

I was thinking to myself; I was really hungry, and he does look tasty. Although, if he opens up the cage, he would be saving my life, so should I save his? I could not come to a decision at the time so I sighed and sobbed to the Brahman, begging him to open the cage up for me. By this time the Brahman felt sorry for me and opened up the cage to let me out! As soon as that cage came flying open, I pounced onto the man, getting ready to eat him.

“Whaaaa!”  I said. “How can you be such a fool?!  What is going to stop me from eating you now? I have been in the cage for so long that I am terribly hungry."

The Brahman was so pitiful. He pleaded for his life. He then asked me if he could go find three things to tell the situation to, and find out what they think of the matter. Then he would listen to their insight.
“Okay, okay, why not? You will be my dinner soon enough,” I said. “See what they tell you. It’s not like it will matter. I will eat you for dinner regardless of the decision by others.”

The Brahman, upset, went to find someone or something to talk to first, and I tagged along about fifty yards behind. The Brahman found a papal-tree and asked him what he thought of the situation.

“What are you complaining about?” the tree said. “I give shelter to anyone that passes by and what do they do?! Chop at my branches to feed their cattle. Be a man!”

The Brahman then went and found a buffalo, but he had no further luck talking with him. The bull said, “You’re a fool to expect gratitude. Look at me, I give up my milk and they just slaughter my young.”

I watched as the Brahman walked around with despair. I kind of felt bad for him, but I was just so hungry. I tried to speed up the process. “Hurry up! I’m waiting to attend dinner with you.”

The Brahman then stumbled upon a jackal that asked him what the matter was.  He explained and told the jackal how I tricked him into letting me escape so I could eat him. I thought this jackal was an idiot. He seemed to be confused as the Brahman explained the situation. I became tense and angry.

“Come! Let's go back to the spot this all happened so I can explain to you, jackal,” I exclaimed. “Here we are.” I and the Brahman explained the story to the jackal at least ten times, but he could not understand the part about the cage. In a blind rage, I decided to give him a play by play of what happened. I raced back to the cage and got inside to try and show the jackal what happened. As soon as I did this he closed the door and locked me inside the cage.


I was tricked by the jackal, for I thought that he was an idiot, but it turned out that I was the idiot. Now I sit here on my death bed, in a cage telling my story to anyone who will listen.

A Tiger in a Cage (Photo by: Matt Reinbold)

Foolish Tiger

Author's Note

I based my story off of The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal by Joseph Jacobs in the Mythology and Folklore Un-Textbook. I really enjoyed this story and wanted to retell it. The reason why I really enjoyed this story was because there were so many levels of trickery in it. I basically retold the story in the same way as the original. I left out the road as the third thing the Brahman came in contact with because I felt that the first two were fine enough. The only major difference I made was instead of telling the story with a narrator, I retold the story from the perspective of the Tiger. I think that telling it from his perspective put the reader in the eyes of the Tiger and the situation. Throughout the original story we learn the situation mostly from the Brahman's perspective. In my story the Tiger is the main character. Listening to his thought process you might feel bad for him or think that he is just getting his karma. If the Tiger would have let the Brahman live and walk away from him, then none of this would ever happen. He also has a temper. In a rage from the Jackal acting dumb he went inside to demonstrate what happen, and got trapped back into the cage!

Week 5: Storytelling: The Birth of Hanuman

The Birth of Hanuman

“Caesar, it is time for bed,” the mother monkey said.

“Awww man, but I don’t want to yet,” begged Caesar.

“Now!”

“Okay, okay, I’m coming, but will you read me a bedtime story?”

“Yes, I will Caesar. Now  get into your pajamas and come to bed. I will find you a story that you haven’t read before. I am quite tired of reading you the same bedtime stories over and over!” Mother said while smiling at Caesar. “Okay, let’s see here… Hmmm. Ravana and the Monkey...or Rama’s Exile. Sita’s Captu- No. AH! Here we are! I will tell you the story of Hanuman. Specifically the beginning.”

“This book is called the Birth of Hanuman,” the mother said while reaching for the book on the shelf. “He is a monkey like you! Do you want to hear this story?

“Yes!” exclaimed Caesar.

 "The story begins at the center of the surface of the Earth, Mount Meru. Since Meru is on the center of the planet, the sun will appear to just rotate circles around you 24/7! It is always bright there and  the bright sunlight had turned the mountain into solid gold. Luckily enough the solid gold ground didn't hinder the flowers from blooming, or the grass and trees growing. It was a beautiful place. There was water, animals, and birds that lived on the hill.

Lord Brahma comes down to earth whenever he wants to just relax, and the place he chooses to go is Mount Meru. One day while resting, Lord Brahma shed a tear from his eye and it fell down onto the solid ground. It was at that exact spot the first money was born.

Brahma called him Riksharaja. He decided to stay at Meru for a while to keep the Riksharaja company. The monkey played all day and ate fruit whenever he liked. Every evening he would put flowers at Brahma’s feet.

One day Riksharaja saw his own reflection when he bent over to take a drink of water. He thought that it was an enemy trying to steal his supply, so he jumped into the pool of water after the thief. There was nobody there, and when he came back up from the water he was turned into a female! She was the most beautiful monkey girl ever. When Indra, the god of Storms, and Surya the Sun saw her, they had to come down and met Riksharaja. Eventually she bore children from the gods, and they were two gold-colored babies. Riksharaja and Brahma named them Vali and Sugriva.

Brahma then gave the city of Kishkindhya to Vali. He became the Monkey King, and growing up he always got whatever he wanted. Riksharaja didn’t want Sugriva to be left out so she went and asked Vayu, the God of the Winds, to father a son. Vayu and Anjana,who was an apsara previously named Puñjikastalā then gave birth to Hanuman. He was a small monkey with white fur and a red face with brownish-yellow eyes. Anjana left Hanuman all alone by the mouth of a small cave.

Mango- Wikimedia Commons

Almost a whole day went by and no one came to feed Hanuman, and as the day began Hanuman stared at the sky and ran into the Sun. He thought that it looked like a giant Mango fruit. As soon as he saw this, Hanuman licked his lips and leaped up into the air after the Sun. On his way there, his father the Wind blew a steady cool breeze all over Hanuman so that be wouldn’t be burned by the Sun’s rays. As Hanuman approached Surya the Sun he smiled and opened his mouth nice and wide. Hanuman was spell-bound!  They all looked like fruits! Hanuman took off and bit Rahu’s ear, and went with his arms and legs swinging for Indra. Indra hit him with the flat side of his thunderbolt and he came crashing down back to earth breaking his jaw. Vayu was angry and raced to hold his son. Brahma came back to earth and healed Hanuman. Surya came down and smiled at Hanuman while giving him three large mangos for him when he woke up.

Hanuman would grow up to become a loyal friend to Sugriva and eventually help Rama on his quest to save Sita and vanquish Ravana. He just didn’t know it yet."

THE END

Caesar was already asleep.

Author's Note

This week I decided to re-tell the story of the Birth of Hanuman. If you noticed that I used the main characters stories name Caesar. I got the idea from the movie "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes." The reason I chose to write about this story was because I found it to be a very funny story within the Ramayana. Hanuman is one of the most important characters in the Ramayana, and I just wanted to remind readers how he came to be. It can be easily overlooked because there are many small stories in the Ramayana. I basically retold the same story from Buck's book, and I only left out some small details here and there like when Vayu and Anjana conceived,  and Hanuman's role on earth. One thing that I decided to do for my story was to tell it as a bedtime story. I got this idea from the Storytelling Ideas page and it stuck with me. I chose to use a bedtime story setting because I believe it is the best way to explain his story in a fun and innocent way to a kid. I wanted to focus most on Hanuman, so that is why I left out some dialogue and information of other characters in the story like Rahu. Besides kids ill just fall asleep if the story becomes too long or confusing.  

Week 3: Storytelling: The Brothers

The Brothers 

Once upon a time there was a happy family who lived in a small city in Oregon: a mom, dad, and two brothers. They had lived in Oregon their whole lives, and Mom and Dad were thinking about moving to the east coast in North Carolina. The brothers were older now: Vali was twenty years old, and Sugriva fifteen. Vali was a tall, strong, and outgoing young man who wasn't afraid of anything. Sugriva, on the other hand, was more reserved than his brother, and he liked to keep to himself. Either way, both were excited about moving to the other side of the U.S and experiencing a whole new lifestyle. Over the next few months it was decided. The dad got offered a nice job, and would begin within a week. The family would move out after Vali took care of some things with his friends in northern California.

 “I will be back in a couple of days, Mom, Dad, and Sugriva,” said Vali. “I am excited to move out, and when I get back we can go."

“Alright, bye, Vali! See you soon,” Mom and Dad said while giving him a hug and returning back into the living room. Vali approached the door and was on his way out.

He turned around right before he left and saw Sugriva standing there. He said, “Make sure you don’t leave without me! I will be back within a few days. One week max. “

Sugriva replied, “Okay, okay. I get it, bro. See ya soon.”

And with that Vali went through the door and was gone. Anxious to leave, the family decided to finish packing everything up and load it up in their truck. After only one day, the family was sleeping on the floor in anticipation of Vali returning soon.  After four days Sugriva became worried about his brother. Vali was not answering his cell phone, so they couldn't get in contract with him. 

“Come on, Sugriva, I’m sure your brother is fine,” Mom said. “We gave him directions  to get to North Carolina before he left. Besides, he is taking way too long and your father has to start his new job next week.”

Sugriva angrily said, “We cannot just leave him! He said that he would come back. I know it has been later than expected, but we cannot just leave him to be alo-“

Dad interrupted him, “Look. He is a growing young man. He knows his way there. Remember that we are meeting in Ohio on our way to North Carolina to visit your aunt for a week. Vali will be able to meet us there if worse comes to worse, so don’t worry about it, okay?”

Unsure of himself, Sugriva reluctantly replied, “Okay… But I still feel weird about it.”

And with that the family left the next morning without looking back. Vali would return the same afternoon that the family left. He couldn’t believe that his family decided to leave him behind, and especially after talking to Sugriva. He became enraged and went to find his family again. 

After searching for his family for days, Vali ended up at the address his parents gave him before. It was their new North Carolina house. He entered the house to find Sugriva sitting there, all alone, like he was waiting for someone to come home. Some of Vali's anger cooled of by now, but when Sugriva mentioned that Mom and Dad were not coming back he became confused. Sugriva further explained that after they arrived in North Carolina, Mom and Dad were involved in a horrible accident on a trip to the store. They didn't make it. When Vali heard this news he did not know how to feel anymore. His first choice of emotion was rage. He was mad at the fact that he never got a chance to say goodbye or spend those last couple days with his parents like Sugriva got to. Vali then wrongfully took his anger out on his little brother. Sugriva tried to explain, but Vali would not listen. Sugriva ran away from home, and Vali yelled to never come back or he would kill him. 

Gumpy Hill, Oregon

Taken by: McD22

Author's Note: 

Hello.

 This is my first story for my writing portfolio. I chose to make a writing portfolio instead of a storybook for this class. Last semester I did a storybook for the Mythology-Folklore class, but this time around I wanted to have some more freedom with different stories. I wanted to be able to work with a broad variety of stories that were not necessarily connected as well as work on my storytelling skills/revising.

I decided to write my story based off the story of Sugriva and his brother Vali. I chose to write about this because I enjoyed this part of the Ramayana. The story wasn’t really that long, but I think that it sends a big message. Sometimes you cannot let rage consume and control you from seeing the truth. Sugriva loved his brother deeply, and would never do wrong toward him. He was driven to a decision that was better for everyone during the time of Vali’s rage. I didn't tell the whole story, but there are some major changes I would like to note. First off I did not include Rama. I just wanted to get the main point of the story across exclusively with the two brothers.  I also changed the reasons for Vali to become angry at his brother. I wanted to try and make it more modern. I know that Vali and Sugriva's parents were gods, but I wanted to include them more into the modern story and have prominent roles. It is hard to give a god a main part into a story when you can't talk to them. 

Another major change that I added into my story is the reason for Vali's anger. In the original story Vali becomes angry because after a year, Vali returned to find that a stone was barricading the cave he entered. Also Sugriva was the king. He thought that he was trying to take over his kingdom. Vali took Sugriva's wife and vowed to kill him if he ever stepped foot in the city again. In the end Sugriva gets Rama to help him and Vali is struck down by one of his arrows, finally realizing his wrong doing. 

In my story I felt as if the parents had to die in order for Vali to truly be angry enough to take his rage out on Sugriva. His anger is not justified, but the parents' death makes it to where Vali cannot just blame his parents for leaving. Instead he can pin everything on Sugriva. 

The Story that inspired my own came from Narayan's version of the Ramayana. 

Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana.

Week 2 Storytelling: The History of the River Ganges

“I have never seen a river quite like the Ganges. It flows so violently. Why is that?” the boy said.

The man replied, “There are many different stories of the River Ganga. It is referenced in many different Indian works. Here are some of these stories.

“King Bali and Ganga”. First of all, you must know that Vishnu had ten different forms on Earth at different times and locations. Each incarnation of his life he helped get rid of the demon problems on Earth. One of the avatars came down in guises, of a dwarf Brahmin. His name was Vamana.

Bali was a rich asura king who had elephants, houses, and army and more! He was an avid devote of Vishnu. Since he devoted to him, it is said that his power grew exponentially. It got to the point that Indra, who was the King of the Gods, was scared of losing the Heavens from him.

Indra went to ask Vishnu for help. During a yagna, Bali, donated to the Brahmins, whatever they wanted. Vishnu, if you remember was in guise of a dwarf Brahmin, went up to Bali. Bali knew it was him beforehand because his guru, Shukracharya recognized Vishnu and told Bali. Bali bowed and asked “Vishnu” what he would like to have. 

The Brahmin, Vishnu, asked for three footsteps of land. Right away the king agreed and asked him to measure it out. And then something magical happened. The dwarf grew into a massive size — Trivikrama. With one footstep, he covered the Earth. With the second footstep he covered the skies. For the third footstep nothing was left. King Bali offered his head. With one foot on Bali’s head, Trivikrama pushed Bali into the patala loka (lower world of serpents and demons). While Trivikrama’s foot covered the skies, Brahma washed his foot (as it was a magnificent form of Lord Vishnu’s) and collected the water into his kamandala. This holy water became Ganga, Brahma’s daughter.

“This is one of the main stories of the river Ganges” the man said to the boy. There are many, many, many other stories out there, but I am sure you don’t want me to ramble on and on. Anyways, last but not least. You have to know that Ganga has always been referred to as a goddess. She was a godly form of four arms and 3 eyes to see the past, present, and future.” 

The Ganges River powered by Google sites

Authors Note:

I decided to base my first Storytelling post off of the history of the Ganges River. There are many different Stories of the Ganges like in the Ramayana. I Just wanted to tell some of the Origins of a few characters and also the Goddess Ganga. 

Week 1: Storytelling: The Hunters

The Hunters

Journal Entry #4: It has been 10 weeks since the outbreak, and civilization was destroyed. Life as we know it was changed. Cities became wretched places; filled with grass growing through the asphalt and buildings. Emptiness amongst the buildings gave you the feeling that you were alone. The countryside was barren. All that remains on the planet was the survivors and the hunters…

The hunters were the main reason for the almost complete destruction of the human race. Around 5 billion people have been killed already. What makes the Hunters unique is that they are an unknown species. From what is known, the Hunters are a type of organism that can infect any type of life form. Some of which include, plants, animals, people, and fish. What is most recognizable about them is that once something is infected they receive incredible strength and intelligence. Their main goal is to pursue and kill so that they can pass on the infection to your corpse.

Journal Entry #5: I just stumbled across and old abandoned cabin in the middle of a forest. It seems like a safe place to stay for now. There is bedding here and also food. Looks as if there may be some kind of camp here.

“I have no time to worry if there or others I must focus on my mission.”  Saying aloud to myself.

Later that night, I was awoken by the sound of leaves crunching near the cabin. As I peeked through the window saw 2 figures coming toward the cabin. I couldn't tell if they were bad, but I decided to hide inside a closest in the room. As they all came into the cabin I could her one of them shout, “Finally! We are back from that supply run and got some great stuff. I’m going to go put up.”

“AHHHH!!” he screamed. “What the heck are you doing in here? You almost got yourself killed. What is your name!”?

I answered. “My name is Clem and I’m the daughter of Dr. Richard Murphy. Sorry to intrude. I just needed a place to stay they night before I go back out on my mission. “

“Mission? The man responded. “What kind of mission are you on? Aren't you like 10 years old little girl?” “Actually I’m 12. What is your name?”

“Well my name is Kenny,” he responded. “Well anyways, what about this mission? What are you trying to do?

“Before my dad died. He found a way to kill of the Hunters forever. All I have to do is make my way up north east and find the castle that has the machine to detonate this special EMP bomb I have.” I said, with a bit of fright.

“Ok, lets go!” Kenny said, “I’ll help.”

As the two went start their journey, they headed north. A couple hours passed and there was still not anything in sight. Not knowing really where to go Kenny and I found a big bridge, which they could rest for the night. Once they there, as they started to sit down, a group of vampire bat came flying out. There were at least 200 of them and some of them started to circle us. We began to run. If they were to bit us then we could either die or become infected and turned into a hunter. We ran until they stopped chasing us. After, we came across a small cave where we stayed the night.

Journal Entry #6: After my crazy night with the bats, Kenny and I were forced to walk east because there was a big mountain in the way. We came across an abandoned laboratory 3 or so hours later. I thought for sure that this was the place I needed to be.

As we searched the Lab we continued to look for the machine needed to use, but it was nowhere to be found. I was split up from Kenny searching somewhere else. I went to go find him but he was gone. I raced to he entrance and I saw people tie him up and race on foot with him over the shoulder. There was nothing I could do they were so far away.

I am alone.

After walking for a few more days. I came across a huge house. It must have been the castle my dad was talking about but it looked strange. I walked up to the entry and opened the door. The squeak from the door echoed throughout the place. It was extremely dark and quiet inside.

Suddenly I heard a noise. It was a strange moaning sound. I couldn’t tell where it was coming from, but it was getting louder and louder. I tried to light up the room with a lighter I had but it was not working. As I keep trying to brighten up the room, the sound kept getting louder and louder!

“Flick…..Flick.. NO! Please! No! Flick…

Part 1

Winter Tree

(By: burzinski)

Authors note:

This story is inspired by Tom Gauld. He made the picture called the Map of the Area Surrounding Our Holiday Home. What I like the most about this picture is that many different stories can be told from it. This picture from Tom Gauld has the potential to tell an infinite amount of stories. In my point of view the area around the cabin looks almost apocalyptic to me. When I look at this picture I see a desolate place, with little hope. I also was thinking of the hit show “Walking Dead”.  This is where I wanted to derive my story from, and with all the other random scary items in the area, it seemed best to make it a thriller. One of my biggest goals for creating this story was to provide suspense. I wanted the reader to feel anxious and scared when reading my story. My story ends abruptly because I wanted to try and scare the reader.  I tried to evoke a sense of danger while reading. Hopefully sometime in the future I will be able to write a part 2 for this story!

P.S  This story was my first story ever posted in this class, and it is crazy to see how far I have come since this post.