Mythology and Folklore

The Foolish, Timid Rabbit There was once a foolishly naïve girl living along the Pacific coast. Each day, she would wake up, work out, grab brunch, get a massage, get dressed, go out, pass out and sleep, all to do the same thing over again the next day.  As Wednesday afternoon arrived, or hump day as she would call it, the girl, Cassie, waited in the lobby for her daily massage appointment. While taking the last crucial sips of her pumpkin spice latte, Cassie's name was called. Her ear's perked at the sound of her name and she eagerly jumped up to follow her usual massage therapist, Jolean.  Cassie went through the typical motions of getting a message: took off her clothes, got under the blanket face down and waited for Jolean to re-enter the room. Finally, she felt the warmed oil massaged throughout her body sending her into a conscious slumber. Still half awake, she felt her muscles relax one by one, feeling as if she had flipped to her side hours ago....

Jataka Tales: The Otters and the Wolf Jataka Tales, Reading B:  The Golden Goose  Greed often gets in the way of riches and success  Simple twist on the goose eggs  The Stupid Monkeys If you want something done right you have to do it yourself  The Cunning Wolf Gluttony, must like the Crane and the Fish  The Woodpecker and the Lion  Trusting Favor  Help thy neighbor  The Otters and the Wolf  Be thankful for what you have, you never know when it could be taken  Be generous/ weary  Trend of only three characters to keep the plot simple and not confusing  The third party is often leader to the moral of the story  How the Monkey Saved His Troop Respect sacrifice  Strong leader The Hawks and Their Friends  Be friends with the little guys too, they are often more sincere  The Foolhardy Wolf  Greed is often used a theme among these tails  The Stolen P...

From Jataka Tales: The Princes and the Water-Sprite Jataka Tales As I enter into week 5, I am still going to try and cut my note length. During week 4 I attempted to shorten my notes, however, I still found it difficult to take away main themes in the writing rather than story altering details. So, this week I am going to try and gear my focus towards writing technique rather than the story itself for the purpose of getting inspiration for my own writing efforts.  Jataka Tales, Reading A:  The Monkey and The Crocodile  Mostly dialogue driven  Straightforward with simple keen conflict   How the Turtle Saved His Own Life Simple tail, not much conflict  Ignorance runs the theme  The Turtle Who Can't Stop Talking  Most famous of the tails  Great imagery  Straightforward moral at the end of the story as part of the plot  The Ox Who Won the Forfeit  Kindness is the best motivator  All t...