Week 2: Famous Last Words

As of today, the third week of class has started! I am thankful for the labor day holiday, it has given me some extra time to study and work ahead in some of my other classes. It hasn't all been work though! It's definitely been a fun weekend spent with friends and family.

Looking back at this past week, I've done quite a bit. I wrote two labs for Organic Chemistry Lab and another for Physics lab. My physiology class also kept me busy with reading and studying. For Mythology and Folklore I read lots of stories, wrote some of my own, and starting brainstorming for our big storybook project. I also started a twitter account this week so that I could interact with other mythology students and share cool things I found.

I've written a lot this week, but I think my best writing was once again done in my storytelling post. This week I examined the story The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, an Aesop fable that I found in the Un-Textbook. The particular version was retold by Joesph Jacobs. I retold this story, calling it, "The Country Mouse and the City Mouse." I thought the city would work better for modern times, as the word "town" is now usually used to describe rural locations. I added more detail to this work, but since I really enjoyed the moral of the tale, I decided to leave the story framework
unchanged.

        (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

 One of my favorite stories that I read this week was The Hares and the Frogs. In this fable, the hares are so terrified of everything that they decide to drown themselves than live in their miserable state. However, when they get to the lake, they see that the frogs are even worse off than themselves. I think this fable is a great reminder that our problems are relative, and that our "first world problems" aren't problems at all in the eyes of some.

Essay for Week 2: Tricksters and Fools of Aesop's Fables (Jacobs)

     Tricksters and fools are a common theme in Aesop's writings. Often, the character of the Fox is represented as a clever trickster. However, this is not always the case; sometimes the Fox can be seen as a fool to a more clever animal. Looking specifically at the The Fables of Aesop rewritten by Joseph Jacobs, we see many examples of both tricksters and fools.

     In the fable, The Lion in Love, we see the lion made to be a fool by some tricky humans. When the lion falls in love with a beautiful maiden, he approaches her parents and asks for her hand in marriage. The maiden's parents convince the lion that if he removes his claws and teeth, the maiden will marry him. However, when he returns with his claws and teeth removed, the parents laugh in his face! They had tricked the lion into removing the only things that could get him his way.

     Although the Lion was seemingly a fool in The Lion in Love, in the story The Lion, the Fox, and the Beasts, we see the Lion take the role of trickster instead. In this fable, the Lion feigns sickness and summons all the animals to hear his dying wishes. It is only the Fox who notices that all the animals who enter the Lion's den never come out again!

(Red Fox: Wikimedia Commons)

     In The Fox and the Stork, we see the Fox play a trick on the Stork by inviting him over for dinner and serving soup in a shallow dish from which the stork cannot eat. It is ultimately the Fox, however, who ends up looking like a fool when the stork in turn serves the fox dinner in a long narrow-necked jar.

    This isn't the only instance we see the Fox's tricky ways turned around on him, either. In The Fox, the Cock, and the Dog, the Fox attempts to lure the Cock down from his perch by saying that a universal truce has been declared between all animals. The Cock responds to this by telling the Fox to wait for his owner's dog to come congratulate the Fox on the news. The Fox wisely decides to leave instead.

     We see the Fox's true trickster come out when he makes a great fool of another animal in The Fox and the Goat. In this fable, the Fox finds himself stuck inside a well. When the Goat passes by, he claims there is a drought coming and that he sought out the well to insure he had water. After he convinces the Goat to join him in the well, he climbs the Goat to get out! He then leaves the poor goat trapped in the well, even mocking him as he leaves.

Storytelling for Week 2: The Country Mouse and the City Mouse

Once upon a time, in a large red barn far into the outland, lived a country mouse. He lived a quiet life, keeping to himself, eating what seeds and stems he found and sleeping in a simple bed of hay. One day, the country mouse received a letter from his cousin in the city.

"Dear cousin," the letter read. "It has been far too long since we have seen each other last. I'll be leaving the city tomorrow to visit you! I expect that this letter should arrive a day before myself so that you can make preparations for my arrival."

The country mouse was ecstatic. He hadn't seen his city cousin in years! He set out gathering seeds, roots, leaves, and stems to prepare a feast for the city mouse.

        (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
 

The next day, the city mouse arrived at his country cousin's home. They exchanged hugs and greetings and soon were chatting like they had never spent time apart. After a time, the country mouse invited his cousin inside to see the feast he had prepared.

"What is this?" asked the city mouse.

"Why it's your feast!" replied his cousin.

"This? This is nothing but twigs and grass! Do you have no cheese or bread? No meats?" questioned the city mouse.

"I've never heard of such things. These seeds are some of the finest in the whole field!" said the country mouse with a frown.

"Oh cousin, how do you eat this trash? Soon I will have you come to visit me and the city and I will show you what real food is."

Soon the city mouse left to return to his city home, and his country cousin followed shortly after. When the country mouse arrived at his cousin's home, he was greeted by a fantastic smell.

"Come in, come in." said the city mouse.

Inside, the country mouse found something like he had never seen before: cakes, cheeses, breads and meats of every type. The two mice began devouring the cuisine before them.

"See cousin! Isn't this better than grass and sticks?" the city mouse asked.

The country mouse was about to agree with the city mouse when a large booming bark interrupted his thoughts.

"What was that?!" the country mouse asked, very startled.

"Ah, it's only the dogs of the house. You'll get used to it."

"Only!" shouted the country mouse.

With the country mouse's shout, the door flew open as two dogs stormed inside. Quickly, the two mice scurried away for safety.

"I'll be going now!" said the country mouse.

"Why? What's the problem cousin?" inquired the city mouse.

"I'd rather have sticks and leaves in peace than meats and cheeses in fear." retorted the country mouse.

Author's Note: This story is based on The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse from the Fables of Aesop by Joesph Jacobs. Web source. In the story the "town mouse" goes to visit his country cousin and is displeased with the food, saying it can't compare to the great food that he eats in town. However, when the "country mouse" goes to visit the town mouse, he discovers that there are loud noises and dangerous animals, and returns to his country home.

Week 2 Reading Diary: Aesop's Fables (Jacobs)

Here were some stories that stood out at me from Aesop's Fables (Jacobs) 

Lions, Part 1 From this section, The Lion and the Statue in particular caught my attention. In this fable, a man and a lion debate the relative strength of men and lions. The lion goes on to say that the statue of a man defeating a lion proves nothing, as it was made by man. This story reminded me somewhat of a well known saying "History is written by the victors."

Lions, Part 2  I particularly liked the story The Lion, the Fox, and the Beasts in this section. In this story many animals go to visit the supposedly sick and dying lion, but never come out after they enter his cave! Only the fox notices that the paw and hoof prints only lead inwards and not out. You never be to careful!

Foxes, Part 1 I thought the story The Fox and the Stork presented a good tale with a moral that applies universally. In this story, the fox plays a prank of sorts on the stork by inviting the stork over for dinner and serving soup in shallow bowl that he was unable to eat from. The stork then returns the favor by serving dinner to the fox in a narrow necked jar. Don't dish it out if you can't take it!

Mice In the story The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse the "town mouse" goes to visit his country cousin and is displeased with the food, saying it can't compare to the great food that he eats in town. However, when the "country mouse" goes to visit the town mouse, he discovers that there are loud noises and dangerous animals! I think this can describe a lot of "country" and "town" people as well! Some people would trade convenience for quiet and others can't stand it.

Hares I think the story The Hares and the Frogs is especially applicable to many people in the 21st century. In this fable, the hares are so terrified of everything that they decide to drown themselves than live in their miserable state. However, when they get to the lake, they see that the frogs are even worse off than themselves. What you may perceive to be a major problem in your life may actually be very minor problem when compared with other peoples' troubles.

Birds, Part 2 I really liked the The Fox, the Cock, and the Dog from this section. In the story, the fox tries to trick the cock into coming down from his perch by saying that all animals now have a truce. The cock, however, turns this around on the fox and tells him to wait for the farmers dog coming up the road. It's satisfying to see someone's own trickery turned on themselves!

Humans and Gods I found the tale The Man and the Satyr particularly funny. In this fable, the Satyr sees the man blow on his hands to keep them warm, and then blow on his soup to cool in down. The Satyr is seemingly freaked out and sends the man away, saying he will have nothing to do with creature who can blow both hot and cold! I guess it is odd when you think about it.

People Wise and Foolish, Part 2 I think the fable The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey presents a particularly wise message. Throughout the tale, each person they pass criticizes the way the use or don't use the donkey. To make a long story short, you can't please everyone! Trying to do so will only harm you.