Week 3: Famous Last Words

Three weeks down, a lot more to go. This week was a busy one for sure! Between lab write ups, homework and studying I haven't had much free time. Working Friday, Saturday, and Sunday doesn't help either. Thank goodness for the grace period until noon!

This week I had an interesting lab in Physics where we drew out magnetic field lines by measuring voltage through a conducting sheet. It's interesting to talk about these magnetic fields, but it's really cool to actually draw out these invisible forces that we talked about so much in class. I did not have Organic Chem lab this week, thank you Labor Day!

 I also did quite a bit of reading and writing for Mythology and Folklore this past week. I selected another set of Aesop's fables to read this week, and expanded my analysis of "tricksters and fools" that are prevalent in Aesop's works. As you can see, a good portion of Aesop's fables involve one animal tricking or making a fool of another!

My best writing, however, was done in my storytelling post. When I read The Cat and the Birds this week, I was strongly reminded of the old Tweety Bird and Sylvester the Cat cartoons. In this tale, a hungry cat dresses up as a doctor to try to trick a family of birds into letting him into their house (to presumably eat them). I used this story as an inspiration for my storytelling post this week, The Cat and the Canary, also blending in elements from another one of Aesop's fables, The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox. The Cat in my story attempts to trick the Canary by dressing up in different disguises, such as a salesman and even a girl scout. The Cat ultimately fails, and instead is tricked by the Canary into meeting his bulldog friend.

 

 (Tweety Bird: Wikipedia)

Essay for Week 3: Tricksters and Fools of Aesop for Children (Winter)

In continuation of my essay last week, I wanted to further examine the element of tricksters in fools in the writings of Aesop. Looking into Aesop for Children, illustrated by Milo Winter, there are many examples of both fools and tricksters.

In The Wolf and the Kid, we see a rare instance in which an animal who is usually played for a fool takes on the role of trickster. When the young goat strays away from his flock, he is caught by the Wolf and faces certain death. However, the Wolf underestimates the Kid, and makes a fool of himself when he grants the Kid's request for the Wolf to play him a tune on the pipe before he eats him. Just as the Kid had planned, the Shepard's dogs hear this tune and recognize it as the Wolf's supper song. They quickly come running and chase the Wolf away.

In some of Aesop's Fables, a character can be a trickster for one animal, but a fool for another. In The Ass, the Fox, and the Lion, this is exactly what happens. In this tale, the Ass and the Fox are seemingly friends; they eat together, travel together, and generally get along. However, when they happen upon the Lion, the Fox offers to trick the Ass into a trap so that the Lion can eat him! After the Fox lures the Ass into a trap, the Lion reveals that he has tricked this trickster and eats the Fox instead.

The Monkey and the Cat provides another example of a trickster and a fool in Aesop's work. In this fable, the Monkey convinces the Cat to pull chestnuts out of a still burning fire by praising his skillfullness and downplaying his own. Although the Monkey promises the Cat that they can split the chestnuts when he gets them out, this trickster gobbles them up one by one as the come out. Their thievery is soon interrupted by their owner, leaving the Cat with burnt paws and no chestnuts, certainly feeling foolish.

 (The Monkey and the Cat. Wikimedia)

The Cat is once again made to be a fool in The Cat and the Birds. In this tale, the Cat tries to eat a family of birds by pretending to be a doctor and offering to help their sick. He even puts on glasses and carries a leather bag! In the end, the birds simply laugh him away.

Storytelling for Week 3: The Cat and the Canary

Once upon a time, in a small neighborhood, there lived a cat. Now this cat was well fed, mind you, but despite his regular helpings of both canned and dry food, his appetite was never quite satiated.

 You see, in this neighborhood there also lived a canary, and despite his many attempts, the Cat always fell short of reaching the Canary's nest far up in the trees. If you would have asked the Cat at the time, he would have told you himself: he would give anything to snatch that little bird up and eat him whole.

This cat was no fool, and he soon realized that if he could not get to the Canary, then his only option was to get the Canary to come to him.

It was a bright Sunday morning when the Cat appeared before the Canary's tree. The Cat rapped twice on the bark of the tree and waited for the Canary to appear. The Canary wobbled from his nest onto a nearby branch and yawned "Who is it?"

"Hello there!" yelled the cat enthusiastically. "I was wonderin' if ya' had a moment to talk about your life insurance policy. If ya'd like to come down and look at this pamphlet, I've got some great offers for ya'"

(Canary. Wikimedia Commons)

The Canary squinted at the creature below him through his tired eyes; this creature wore the attire of a human businessman, and stood on two legs as if it were such. The Canary however, was no fool either.

"Vewy smawt, awen't ya' puddy tat?" said the Canary, and with that statement returned to his nest.

"Thsufferin Thuccotash!" exclaimed the Cat. He had been confident that his plan would work. "Something musta went wrong." he thought to himself. "The disguise! That's it. It woulda worked if he hadn't seen my ears!"

The Cat once again set about creating a disguise. This time however, he would cover his head in a hat. That, he was certain, would be enough to fool the Canary into coming down to greet him.

The next day, the Canary once again woke to the sound of knocking on his tree. "Who is it?" the Canary asked once again.

"Why hello there! I'm here with the Girl Scouts of America and was wanting to see if ya' was interested in purchasing some cookies today." said the Cat.

"Suwe thing, I wouwd wove some cookies. Meet me awound the othew side of the twee." replied the Canary with a smile.

The Cat quickly ran around to the other side of the tree, and what he found was not the Canary waiting for him, but instead the Bulldog, who quickly snatched him up.


Author's Note: This story is an amalgamation of The Cat and the Birds and The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox from the Aesop for Children, illustrated by Milo Winter (1919). Web source. In The Cat and the Birds, a hungry cat attempts to trick a bird into coming out of his home by dressing as a doctor. In The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox, when the Fox attempts to trick the Cock into coming down from his perch, the Cock instead sends him to him to his friend the Dog.

Week 3 Reading Diary: Aesop for Children (Winter)

Here are a few of my favorite stories from Aesop for Children, illustrated by Milo Winter

The Wolf and the Kid In this tale, an arrogant young goat strays away from his flock and is caught by the Wolf. Surprisingly, this is not the end for the Kid, as he tricks the Wolf into playing a tune on the pipe before he eats him. Hearing this tune, and recognizing it as the Wolf's dinner song, the Shepherd's dogs race back to the Kid and run the Wolf away.

The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox Much like the Kid in the previous tale, the Cock in this story is saved through his own cleverness and the help of a dog. When the Fox feigns friendliness to the Cock and tries to lure him down from his perch, the Cock tells the Fox to meet his porter around the other side of the tree. The unsuspecting Fox is instead grabbed by the Dog the second he rounds the tree!

The Travelers and the Purse This fable illustrates a great lesson. As two travelers are walking down the road, one of them finds a coin purse filled with gold. His companion asks him to share it, but he says that he alone found it and he alone will keep it. They then hear an angry mob shouting about the stolen purse, and the man who claimed it has the nerve to say that both of them are in trouble! His companion says that the purse and the trouble with it is now his alone.

The Ass, the Fox, and the Lion Similarly to The Travelers and the Purse, someone treacherous gets there's in this story. The Fox and the Ass, seemingly friends, run into the Lion. The Fox tells the Ass that he will talk to the Lion, but when he does he offers to lead the Ass into a trap so that the Lion can eat him! After the Fox traps the Ass, the Lion instead eats the Fox.

The Monkey and the Cat In this story, the Monkey tricks the Cat into pulling chestnuts out of the fire by cleverly praising the Cat on it's skillfulness. He promises that they can split them between themselves after they get them out, but the Monkey instead eats them one by one! The cat finds himself in trouble with their owner, with burnt paws, and no chestnuts to show for it.

The Cat and the Birds I found this story pretty funny. In this tale, a hungry cat hears that a family of birds in town is sick and in need of a doctor. The cat decides to put on glasses, get a leather bag and go to the bird's house in the guise of a physician. The birds see through this and laugh him away. This reminded me of Tweety Bird and Sylvester!

The Shepherd and the Lion In this story, The Shepard find that some of his flock and missing and angrily seeks out the Wolf for vengeance. Praying to the gods, he offers to sacrifice one of his calves if he can find the one who is killing his flock. The Shepard soon finds the lion with one of his sheep in his mouth. Terrified of the Lion, the Shepard soon regrets what he sought out.

The Wolves and the Sheep In this fable, a flock of sheep are tricked into their untimely demise by a hungry pack of wolves. The wolves, noticing that the dogs always prevent them from eating the sheep, go to the sheep and instead blame the dogs for the hostilities between sheep and wolf! They claim that if it were not for the dogs, the wolves and sheep would be best of friends. Once the sheep send the dogs away, the wolves have a grand feast.