Week Fourteen Storytelling: The Letter of the Golden Goose

Dear Ananda,

                I could not be blessed more than what I have been.  Over the past twenty-three years you have given me two amazing daughters and a warm home filled with laughter and love.  You may not understand why I have chosen to leave you, but I feel that I must serve a greater purpose.  I could not bear hearing neither you nor our daughters crying during the night because there was no food in our cupboards; and I hated the sight of looking at you knowing that all hope was lost in your eyes.  I hate that the king had dismissed me of my job duties.  I was his most faithful worker. I must tell you that I was given a grand opportunity from a lady who I came across in the woods on my way home.  She is an elderly woman and she hurt herself while she in search of her runaway mule.  There, near the tree where we crave our initials she lay crying out for help.  I rushed to her aiding her to stand tall.  She told me she had watched the sunrise a total of three times, and two men passed her not wanting to help.  They took her staff and bag of fruit, and told her that she would not live long. When she saw me, I gave her hope.  I walked her three miles away from our home and sat with her as she instructed me to bundle some herbs for her.  She placed those herbs around her ankle and immediately I saw her ankle become normal.  She walked to her kitchen window and saw her mule and began to curse.  I never heard such words come from an old woman’s mouth! She wandered around and started to look at me aimlessly.  As I started for the door, she told me that she knew I was in trouble.

“What do you mean?” I asked. 

“You’ve lost your job and you’ve been shoveling pastures near the king’s land, correct?”

She handed me a vial of liquid and told me that it would be of help to us. 

She said “Those who are work hard and help others should be blessed, and this was a blessing in disguise.”

She dismissed me from her home and never gave me her name. I was given clear instructions to take the liquid by nightfall away from our home, and I would find my way back home.  I hope I find myself back into your arms Ananda. 

 

Sincerely,

Madesh

Wondrous Water Bird

Author’s Note:  This story is based off of the Jataka tale “Golden Goose”.  The story is about a family whose luck begins to change.  One day the father leaves home and turns into a golden goose to help change his family's wealth. When he finds his way back home, and his wife becomes excited when she finds out the gooses feathers are made of gold.  She plucks the feathers frugally until she becomes greedy. 

Bibliography: Twenty Jataka Tales retold by Noor Inayat

                     Illustrated by H. Willebeek  Le Mair (1939)

Week Fourteen Reading Diary Continued: Twenty Jataka Tales, Noor Inayat

Banyan

The second half of Twenty Jataka Tales was much more interesting.  I enjoyed reading the stories as I found the moral of the stories to be more direct than the first half. 

The Patient Buffalo

The buffalo experiences annoyance by a small monkey who takes advantage of his patience. A fairy visits him, and tells him of his strength.  The buffalo refuses to act out in anger towards the monkey and is blessed with a charm.

The Goblin Town

Goblins portrayed themselves as women to lure men into their city.  They fed them and chained them with their magical powers.  Only a few were able to break away, with the help of a large horse flying down from the heavens to save them.

The Great Elephant

An elephant came across men who were dying of hunger and thirst in a desert.  He told them of a place where they would be able to find food.  He quickly left and sacrificed himself.  When the men found the place the elephant referred to, they cried knowing that he sacrificed his self for them to live.  

Bibliography: Twenty Jataka Tales retold by Noor Inayat

                     Illustrated by H. Willebeek  Le Mair (1939)

Week Fourteen Reading Dairy: Twenty Jataka Tales, Noor Inayat

Twenty Jataka Tales 

Similar to More Jataka Tales written by Ellen C. Babbitt, Twenty Jataka Tales features a few different stories as well as some previously written by Babbitt. 

The Tortoise and the Geese

Two geese who were friends of the tortoise wanted to take him on a trip.  Both geese held a stick between them and the tortoise held on to the stick with his mouth.  When they were flying in the air the tortoise heard children laughing and yelled with anger.  He fell onto the palace grounds and broke his shell.

The Guilty Dogs

A king’s royal chariot was ruined due to his dogs chewing on the leather straps.  He ordered that all dogs in his city were to be killed except his own.  A chief dog from the city found a solution to opening the king’s eyes of his royal dogs’ wrong doing.

The Golden Feathers

Is a similar to Ellen C. Babbit’s The Golden Goose. However, this story is much grim. The father is able to help bring fortune to his family.  He turns into a goose with golden feathers, but his wife becomes filled with greed. 

Bibliography: Twenty Jataka Tales retold by Noor Inayat

                     Illustrated by H. Willebeek  Le Mair (1939)

Portfolio Introduction

Woman Overlooking Her City

The stories in my portfolio are recreations based off of the epics tales that I have came across during this semester. The past lives and internal thoughts of many characters is left unknown to the readers.  I want to bring the characters to life and give them more than what previous authors have offered.

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Sita's Secret

Sita Sitting

For twenty plus years, Sita has kept a secret to herself wondering how people would react if they knew the truth. She often contemplated about whether or not there was something internally wrong with her.  The decision that she made in her past has affected her negatively to the point that she believes no one will ever believe the words that fall from her tongue.   

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Lakshmana

Lakshmana with his eldest brother Rama

Dependable and loving brother he is indeed.  Lakshmana lives within the shadow of his eldest brother Rama.  He soon becomes fed up with Rama’s entitled behavior and begins questioning his motives.   When Rama commits an act of ultimate betrayal, Lakshmana then questions his respect for Rama.  

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Yudhistira 

The Pandava Brothers with Wife Draupadi

Being the eldest is not always easy, and being stubborn does not help. Yudhistira acts on impulse and this action leads him facing harsh consequences.  Maybe this time Yudhistira should have consulted his brothers before he decided to sneak out of exile.
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A Father with Unknown Intentions

Father and Child Walking

Bajra portrays himself as a  loving husband and father, however he secretly envies his wife's devotion to the Goddess Chandi.  He wants to prove to his wife Hema that Chandi does not exist.  He will do anything to prove that he is right even if it means hurting those who are close to him.  

Tech Tip: Mobile Template

I often find myself checking my blog on my phone when I am not on a computer, and I found a way how to change the template settings for a mobile phone.

When you log into your blog, on the left-hand side under New Post, click on Template.  From there you will see Live on Blog and Mobile view.  Click the edit button under the Mobile template.  Blogger will prompt you choosing a mobile template style.  You have the choice of keeping the default mobile template style for mobile devices, of showing the desktop template on mobile devices.  

Growth Mindset: Positive Vibes Only

As I encounter these last few weeks of school, I have come to the conclusion that I should have done more of the Growth Mindset posts.  These particular posts are a visual reminder of how much a person has developed and changed over a short period of time, and within the past few months I can see things that I have allowed to become a part of me should be let go.  Although, I am much calmer now in comparison to how I was a few weeks ago, I feel that negative energy has had a large impact on me within these past few weeks.  I am a believer in taking in the energy that surrounds you, and possessing intuitive feelings. So as I count down the days to the end of this semester, I will prepare myself to becoming a more positive person and surround myself with positive people and things. It’s time for a change and I’m ready for it.   

Have A Positive Outlook

Week Thirteen Storytellng: Eye of the Beholder

Queen Elizabeth and King George

“We have to marry our son’s off soon David.  I have met with a midwife, and there is a baby to be born later this afternoon.  I shall travel to the child’s home and speak to Sarah the mother about arranging a marriage with her child and one of our sons if it turns out to be a girl.”

King David wondered about his wife Queen Mary.  She was eccentric most times, and believed in preparing for their sons future. A girl had not been born in the past twenty years in their kingdom and she did not want to search elsewhere.  Whenever she hears of a child being born, she ends her daily tasks and waits to find out if the child is a boy or girl. She was known around the kingdom as “Crazy Mary,” but no one would dare say the name outside of their homes.

King David and Queen Mary shared three sons, James, Mark and Jacob.  James was fifteen years old, Mark was eleven and Jacob was eight. They were very different from each other and did not have marriage on their minds.

“Father, where is Mother off to?” asked Mark. 

“Witch hunting,” King David replied.

The boys understood what their father meant by witch hunting. There were forty-eight births within the last three years, and all the babies turned out to be boys. Their mother Queen Mary attended every birth.  She even encouraged families to reproduce more children and if they successfully bore a girl, she would give their family wealth and nobility. 

Many hours passed, and Queen Mary returned home.  She walked up the grand staircase that led to her room, and collapsed on the bed.

“Any luck?”

“Yes. There were twin girls but one did not survive.  I was able to name the child and I named h- - ”

“You did no such thing Mary! You do not take away the privilege of naming a child from its parents.  I am starting to believe that you are crazy!

“Excuse you sir, but I named the young child Rebecca with the Sarah’s approval. She was going to name the girls Rebecca and Ann, so I suggested naming the surviving child Rebecca Ann Smith.  The child who died was named Bethany, after her husband Jim’s deceased mother.”

The two lay in the bed not speaking to each other until King David became curious.

“Who is this child to marry?”

“I will have each of our sons meet her, and they can decide. Goodnight Sir.”

Years passed as Rebecca Ann became older.  When she was twelve, James met with the Smith family.  He was not happy to marry such a young girl and decided against the act. He noticed that she had not received all of her permanent teeth, and it bothered him greatly. Without his mother’s approval, James found a wife in the next kingdom. 

At the age of fifteen, Mark saw Rebecca Ann getting fruit out of the town’s market. 

“She’s ugly he protested! Her face has all of these red bumps, and her hair…I would never want to look upon anything that looks that disheveled. I would rather die.”

Queen Mary did not know what to think of Mark’s opinion of the young girl, so she visited the Smith family to get a peak of Rebecca Ann.  When Mary arrived at the Smith’s home, she was greeted warmly.

“What brings you to our home Queen Mary?” Sarah asked.

“I just wanted to see how things are going for you and your family.  How is Rebecca Ann?”

“She is out in the garden.  Let me escort you back there.”

The Queen looked at Rebecca Ann’s face and chatted with Sarah a bit longer before excusing herself before they began dinner.  When Queen Marry arrived home, she marched into the dining area and yelled

“She’s becoming a woman Mark.  There is nothing wrong with her face.”

“I don’t care she’s ugly, and I will not marry her.”

It was Jacob’s twenty-eighth birthday and Queen Mary decided to throw a ball in Jacob’s honor.  She invited the Smith family and hoped that Jacob would settle for Rebecca Ann. As Jacob greeted his guests, his fell upon a young woman who was more ravishing than any other woman he had seen.

“What is your name my lady?” Jacob asked.

“Becca.”

Rebecca

Author's Note: This story was inspired by Ellen C. Babbitt's The Red-Bud Tree from the book More Jataka Tales. The story is about three brothers who come across a red-bud tree during the different stages of its life.  On brother visits the tree during the winter wondering why the tree is not red, while the other two brothers visit the tree when the red buds begin to grow and bloom.  Each brother compares their story of the tree, and it is the father who tells his sons that they did visited the same tree. 

Rebecca represents the tree in this story.  As she becomes a woman, the boys are able to see her at different times as she matures into a woman.

Bibliography: Written by Ellen C. Babbitt 

                       Illustrated by Ellsworth Young (1922)