Week 6 Storytelling: Did You Hear?!

Jessica and Gabby gossiping (source: Google)

One day, during their weekly brunch gossip session, Jessica and Gabby discuss the coming and goings of the daughter from the big house down the road. They don't see her much, but have heard so much about her parents, what with them being in the entertainment business and all. The daughter, Rose, seemed like a nice girl, but no one really knows much about her. So when this juicy bit of gossip came through the grapevine, both Jessica and Gabby pounced on it and didn't waste time discussing it with each other.

"Oh my gosh, did you hear?! Rose, you know, the daughter of those famous directors from down the road, yeah, that couple, I heard that she eloped this past weekend! I don't know what she was thinking, marrying that young, I didn't even know she was going out with someone! I wonder what her parents think about this!" started Jessica, immediately giving her opinion.

"You know, I did hear about that. I also heard that the guy, yeah, the one little Rosie eloped with, is actually some long lost childhood friend or whatever. Apparently they grew up together or something in the town they were in before they moved here, but then they moved here, and they lost contact or something! Isn't that sweet?! It's like a fairy tale!" replied Gabby. "Little Rosie is all grown up and married now! I know, I know, I'm only a few years younger than her, but I'm 31, I have a right to call anyone is their 20s little."

"That's what you heard? Really? I heard something completely different! I heard that he got her pregnant! Yeah! Can you believe it? I can't believe her parents would let something like that go on in their house! I would never!" exclaimed Jessica.

"Who did you hear that from? I heard it from Janet, and you know Janet, she always checks her news. I trust her gossip."

"I heard it from Lauren."

Gabby can hardly believe Jessica when she said that. "Lauren! You believe Lauren! That woman only listens to half of what everyone says and then makes up the other half herself! Trust me, Janet never gets anything wrong. I wonder how she gets all these juicy gossip. But whatever, back to the point. Little Rosie's totally going to pop out some kids in the next year. Her parents should make her life into a movie! Can you imagine?! Having to move at a young age and trying to keep in touch with your friends back home, losing contact after years of not seeing each other, but then, surprise! Your childhood sweetheart appears to audition for your parents' movie and the spark is reignited! You fall in love with each other again as if all those years were never spent apart, and finally, your dream wedding. Oh well, I guess that part isn't so fairy tale, since they drove to Vegas and got married by Elvis."

Jessica gives in, "Alright, alright, fairy tale, blah blah blah. I admit Lauren isn't always reliable. I still think she's pregnant though!"

In the end, of course Lauren was wrong, and Rose didn't have a baby until a few years after their wedding, both waiting until they were financially stable before agreeing to bring another life into the world.

Author's Note
I chose to base my story this week from the Cat's Elopement story from the Japanese Fairy tales unit. In the story, the two cats meet each other one day, fell in love, and ran away. One day, they faced a dog, and while the female cat went up the tree, the male one stayed to fight. It finally caught the attention of the princess's servants, and they took him to the palace. The female cat was being bullied one day, the male cat heard and came to save her. She almost didn't recognize him since they've been separated a while and the princess obviously took care and fed him well. They went back to the palace, explained their tale to the princess, got married, and had plenty of babies.

I thought the format of a gossip would be good, since eloping has a negative connotation these days, especially when the people involved are fairy young. I edited it a bit so that the characters (Rose and the guy) met while young, Rose moved, and meet again years later down the road. They had loved each other all this time, so they decided to elope (like the cats). Since I don't gossip, it was a bit hard to come up with a "gossipy" dialogue, but I think it went well.

Bibliography: The Cat's Elopement from the Japanese Fairy tales unit.

Week 6 Reading Diary, continued: Japanese Fairy Tales

The continuation of Japanese Fairy Tales.


Schippeitaro

• It is custom that when a Japanese boy reaches manhood, he would leave the house.
• A young man set off from his village, determined to never come back until he had done some great deed that would make him famous.
• He finally saw a mountain covered with a dense forest, thinking that there would be a high chance for adventure, he headed towards it. He got lost and couldn't get out.
• He found a chapel and took shelter there for the night. 
• There suddenly was a loud noise that woke him up.
• He went to look and saw a troop of hideous cats, dancing furiously. At midnight, they all vanished.
• It's weird that the creatures come on time every night for the next few nights to come.

The Crab and the Monkey

• There's a crab that lives in the hole on the shady side of a mountain.
• She was carrying rice back when a monkey came down and bargained with the crab. 
• The monkey came by another day and ate most of the good fruit. The crab asked him to do somersaults and when he did the fruits fell out of his pockets.
• The monkey got what he deserved.

The Magic Kettle

• An old man live in his little house on the mountain.
• He was just standing there one day when he turned around and saw a kettle. He took it and cleaned it.
• He boiled some water and while he was watching, the kettle changed into a tanuki.
• He sold it to Jimmu, a tradesman. When he got home, the kettle once again turned into a tanuki. When he told his neighbor, he recommended Jimmu take it around and show it off, he could be rich. 
• After a while, he grew rich. He felt guilty, so he returned the kettle to the man with gold pieces in it. The kettle brought them both luck.

How the Wicked Tanuki was Punished

• The hunters had killed all wild animals until only 3 remained. They hid in the thickest part of the forest, high up in the mountain. They were tanuki, his wife the fox, and their little son.
• They were wise and cautious animals. 
• They were starving when the tanuki came up with the idea to play dead while his wife transformed into a man and sold him. 
• He managed to escape from the buyer. They were starved again, and this time it's the foxes turn.
• While bargaining, since fox's skin don't sell as well, the tanuki had a thought --that he and his son would have more food if the fox were gone. He told the buyer that the fox wasn't really dead. The man hit the fox in the head.
• The little tanuki waits for his mother to return. He knows magic from the fox.
• He challenged his father. He went to the middle of the bridge. A king came by, and the father, thinking it's his son, didn't hide. 
• The soldiers thought the king was in danger and seized the tanuki. 
• The little tanuki avenged his mother.

The Slaying of the Tanuki

• A man and his wife lived in a cottage. He made friends with a hare.
• The tanuki hated the man. The tanuki would cause a lot of trouble. The man got mad.
• The man waited for the tanuki and finally one day had him bound by the legs. 
• The old woman pitied him. The tanuki got free.
• How gruesome! The tanuki put the woman in the mortar and pounded until she was fine, and planned to cook her and feed her to her husband!!
• The man was on the way back. The tanuki transformed to a woman and put the clothes on.
• When the man had eaten half the meal, he turned back. He told the man he ate his wife.
• The old man and the hare worked together to kill the tanuki.

The turtle bringing Uraschimataro to the sea god (source: Google)

Uraschimataro and the Turtle

• An old couple lived by the coast. They had a son, Uraschimataro, which means son of the island.
• He was daring and brave. 
• He caught a little turtle one day. He let it go back to sea. 
• Years went by and he saw the turtle again. To pay his debt, the turtle asked Uraschimataro to climb on his back and bring him back to land.
• The turtle brought him to the sea god instead. The princess begged him to stay and he did. 
• He really wanted to see his parents one day. The princess was convinced he would never come back. 
• Uraschimataro said he would return. There is one way to bring him back safely, and he said he'd do it. 
• The princess went to get a tiny golden box from her shelf, telling Uraschimataro to keep it and never open it. If he can do this, the turtle will bring him back. 
• He arrived back and realized everything has changed. Three hundred years have passed by. His parents died the day he disappeared. 
• He opened the box. Purple vapour came out. He realized his hand grew old, and saw his face as a mummy. 
• No one recognized him when he went back to the village. He went to the shore and called to the turtle, but it never came. 

Week 6 Reading Diary: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang)

This week, I chose to read Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang), found here.

The Two Frogs

• The two frogs lived far from each other and wanted to visit each other.
• They set off to meet each other.
• On the way, there was a mountain they had to climb.
• They started talking once they met each other. They both wished to explore more. They rose on their hind legs and held onto each other. 
• When they rose, their eyes pointed backwards. Since they forgot, they turned their noses to their destinations, which means that their eyes are in the complete opposite.
• Each saw their own town without realizing and decided not to visit after all.

The Stonecutter

• There was a stonecutter who went everyday to a big rock to cut it. He used it to help others build houses and gravestones. 
• It was said that there is a spirit that would appear to men and helped them become rich. The stonecutter didn't believe so. 
• He was walking one day when he wished to be rich. A voice said that his wish will be granted.
• He became a prince. It was not enough.
• He became the sun. It was not enough either.
• He became a cloud. It was not enough and he poured rain until the rivers overflowed and the crops of rice stood in water. 
• He became a rock. One day he looked down and saw a stonecutter. He got mad.
• He became a man. He was finally satisfied.

The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet

• There lived a man and his wife. They have a beautiful daughter. They moved to the country.
• The women would clean, but the man would sit and think. One day he died.
• The girl grew even more beautiful. The mother was worried, so she taught her to always be busy so that she would never have time to think about herself. 
• The mother got ill one day and told her daughter to go get the wooden helmet and to wear it low, so almost all her face was covered. Her beauty was hidden. 
• She went to look for work and found one with a man that owned fields. She never took the helmet off.
• Many young men tried to lift her helmet. She didn't talk to people much. 
• One day the man watched the girl. He reassigned her to tend to his sick wife. 
• The man's oldest sun is back from out of town for studies. He saw the girl and immediately took interest to her. 
• He walked by her one hot day when she was splashing water on her face, her helmet off to one side. He caught a glimpse of her beauty. 
• When he told his family he wants to marry her, they got mad. She refused him, thinking it wasn't worth it for the family to fight over her.
• Her mother appeared to her one night, telling her to marry the man. She went to tell him the next day. 
• When they tried to dress her for her wedding and tried to pull off the helmet, it would not come off. 
• When they were married and finished drinking, the helmet suddenly burst with a loud noise and fell in pieces on the ground. The people turned and found precious stones which had fallen out of it. The guests were more surprised at her beauty.
• They were married till they died and had many children.

Cherry blossom tree in Japan (source: Google)

The Envious Neighbour

• There once was an old couple. Since they didn't have anyone to care for, they cared for a little dog. 
• The dog was grateful to them for their kindness and never left their side.
• One day out in the field, the dog was scratching and barking at the ground. He followed to where the dog led him. The husband began to dig and pulled out a large box filled with gold.
• A neighbor grew envious of their luck. He begged the couple to lend him the dog. 
• He was so persistent the couple finally agreed. The dog just ran around.
• The next morning the dog ran to the foot of a tree and started scratching.
• He started to dig but only found old bones. He was so mad he killed the dog. What a mean person. It's not the dog's fault you're greedy and lazy. 
• He told the couple that the dog fell down dead, that he took care of it and gave it everything. 
• The old man buried the dog under the tree he found the treasure. 
• He woke up the next morning having a dream of cutting the tree. The wife, trusting the dog's instinct, told him to do it. 
• They made a mortar from the tree. When they gathered rice and put it in the mortar, it turned into gold. 
• The neighbor asked for the mortar. The rice instead turned into horrible smelling berries. They were mad and smashed the mortar. 
• The dog appeared in the dream and told the couple to go get the ashes from the burnt mortar. He was to carry the ashes to the high road, climb the cherry-tree and sprinkle the ashes on the procession, and they would bloom.
• When the procession approached, the old man didn't bow. Before the messenger could reach the old man, he climbed the tree and scattered the ashes. Daimio was so happy that the flowers bloomed he gave rich presents to the old man. 
• The envious neighbor then went to gather the ashes, and waited for the procession. When he threw the ashes, the flowers didn't bloom but instead got into Daimio and his warriors' eyes. 
• The prince ordered the envious neighbor to be seized and thrown into prison. By the time he was free, everybody knew of his wickedness. 

The Sparrow with the Slit Tongue

• An old couple lived on a high mountain. A sparrow flow into him one day with a giant bird chasing him. He comforted the little bird and put it into a cage where it soon recovered. 
• The next morning he let it out but it would quickly return when it saw other big animals.
• The wife grew jealous of the husband's affection for the bird. She threw her broom at the bird. She finally caught it after a while. How mean. She stilted its tongue, and the bird flew away into the forest.
• The old man came back and asked for his pet. The wife told him what she did. At least she's honest and didn't try to get out of it. 
• He left the house to look for the bird, but never found it.
• One hot summer day he came upon a beautiful garden and a little house. The woman who came out was lovely and immediately invited him in. She turned out to be the sparrow. How weird.
• The woman brought out 2 chests and told the old man to choose one. He chose the small one. 
• His wife was mad. The husband took out the chest, opened it, and discovered gold and precious stones in it. 
• She asked him where he was and he told her. She put on her best clothes and went to find the woman/sparrow.
• When it was time to choose, the woman chose the bigger chest and returned home. When she opened it, she found poisonous snakes who bit her.
• She died. 

The Cat's Elopement

• Gon the cat. He belonged to a music teacher. 
• Near the music teacher's house is a woman who has a cat named Koma.
• The two cats fell madly in love with each other.
• Neither owners would sell their cats to the other.
• The cats ran away together.
• A dog appeared. Gon stood to fight, but Koma, with her loud screaming, finally drew the attention of a servant of the princess. He drove off the dog and took Gon to his mistress. 
• One day, a snake slithered up the princess. Gon saw this and bit its neck. The princess treated him great, but he only wanted Koma.
• Koma was being bullied one day when Gon came to her rescue. She almost didn't recognize him. 
• The princess got married. 
• Gon and Koma had many children, as did the princess.