Week 11 Reading Diary: Indian Fairy Tales

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Indian Fairy Tales 

Part A: Chapters 1-8
*s = stories that I found particularly interesting and want to note for possible use in my storytelling assignment 

• The Lion and the Crane
• As a lion is eating, a bone gets stuck in his throat and it's up to Bodhisatta (in the form of a white crane) to retrieve the bone so long as the lion does not try to swallow him up. The lion promises not to eat him and the crane removes the bone. Then, one day the crane asked what the lion would do for him in return for saving his life. the lion replied that him not eating the crane was thanks enough. The crane scolds the lion and leaves. Then, we found out that the lion was Devadatta the traitor and Gautama was the crane. 
• The Broken Pot *
• A Brahman named Svabhavakripana is sitting on his couch musing about how much rice he has collected from begging. Surely he can live on it for quite some time! In fact, he could sell it to buy some goats, then they will multiply and he will sell them to buy cows who will have calves that he will then sell to get buffaloes and mares who will foal and then he will sell them so that he will have plenty of gold. This pleases the Brahman who felt so clever. He continued musing about how much gold he will have, and the huge house he will buy. He daydreams of a Brahman presenting him with a beautiful daughter to wed and a large dowry. She would surely produce a son, but when she does not respond immediately to her husband he gets angry and kicks her. Of course this was all a daydream, but in real life, the Brahman kicked his foot and broke the pot, spilling rice all over himself. 
• The Magic Fiddle
• There were 7 brothers (who were married) and a sister who all lived together. The sister did all the cooking, which made the wives resent her and treat her poorly. They cursed her so that whenever she tried to fetch water, the water would suddenly dry up or not go into her pitcher causing her much distress. She eventually turned into bamboo which a Yogi came to chop down to make a fiddle. She called out to him, begging him to not cut at the root as it will harm her. The Yogi thinks a trick is being pulled and becomes angry, so he cuts the bamboo at the root and takes it away to make a fiddle. The instrument was superior and when the brothers heard it being played, they immediately wished to purchase it, but he Yogi would not sell it. However, while drunk, he sold the fiddle to a village chief. The chief's son took great care of the fiddle and played beautiful music with it. So, the sister would come out and make his meals every day before hiding back in the fiddle. This mystery confused the chief who decided to keep watch to find out who was doing the attending. He caught the sister, and they fell in love. They married and she was happy. Her brothers became poor and when she saw them later, she told them of the torture she suffered at the hands of their wives. She accused them of knowing about it and not saving her. That was her revenge. 
• The Cruel Crane Outwitted *
• A crane tries to outsmart some fish by telling them that if they jump in his beak, he will not eat them but take them to a beautiful, lush pond where they can live happily. To show them he is trustworthy, the crane safely transported many fish to a glorious pond. This pleased them, and they gave him permission to take and old, blind fish to the pond; however, he ate the fish instead. This happened over and over again until the crane saw a tasty looking crab and offered to take him to the pond. The crane tried to eat the crab, but he gripped his throat with his claws and threatened to behead him unless he safely let him go in the pond. The bird agreed and stepped down into the pond to let the crab go, but with one swift slice, the crab cut through the bird's neck. Justice is served. 
• The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal *
• A tiger is caught in a trap. A brahman comes by and is hesitant, but lets the tiger out. He is not thanked, and as he continues to do things for other creatures, he is still not thanked. No one shows him gratitude. A jackal asks him what's wrong and he tells him, but the jackal has trouble understanding so he goes to the scene of the events. When they returned to the cage, the tiger was ready to eat the Brahman, but he gave the Brahman time to explain what was going on to the jackal who simply could not understand the situation. The jackal tells the tiger to go on with his dinner, but the tiger is enraged at how dumb the jackal is and cannot focus on eating until he makes the jackal understand. The jackal asks the tiger to show him how he was when it all happened so the tiger hopped back into the cage and asked if he understood now. The jackal said, "perfectly" and shut the door to the cage. 
• Harisarman
• This story bored me to tears so I chose not to write much about it. It just didn't catch my attention early on and that made it hard to stay interested. 
• The Charmed Ring
• A merchant gave his son 300 rupees. The son spent 100 on a dog that would have been killed otherwise. Then, he spent another 100 rupees on a cat that otherwise might have been killed. This again happened with a snake, and so another 100 rupees gone. He then went home and was scolded by his father and banished to live in the stables. The animals can all talk and they all want to repay the young man for his kind nature and unselfish ways. The Raja (the snake's dad) gave the man his right-hand ring which had special powers. It gave him a house and a beautiful princess to marry as well as plenty of food to eat. An old woman introduces herself to the princess as her long-lost aunt. She convinces the girl to keep the ring with her so her husband wont lose it while hunting, then steals the ring and turns back into an ogress. She gave the ring to the snake prince who was delighted and immediately asked to marry the princess. She told him to wait 1 month. He agreed and the dog & cat tried to calm the merchant's son when he found out by saying that he should give them a month to fix everything. The cat gets the ring, but the dog refuses to help unless he gets to carry it. He drops the ring and a bird swoops down and carries the ring off. The dog cries and whines then the cat sneaks up into the tree where the bird is and kills it, getting the ring. The dog and cat return the ring to the merchant's son who gets his ring, wife, house, etc. back and is happy again.

Part B: Chapters 9-15

• The Talkative Tortoise
• There's a king who never shuts up and a Buddha who wants to fix this problem. In a pond nearby, a talkative tortoise befriends 2 ducks who agree to carry him by a stick to the hills. However, the tortoise couldn't stay quiet and opened his mouth to talk as they passed over the palace. He immediately fell to the courtyard ground and split into two where he was found by the talkative king and the Buddha. The buddha uses this as an example for the king who goes on to learn self-restraint and common decency. 
• The Gold-Giving Serpent**
• One day a farmer sees a snake sneaking through his fields and he comes to the conclusion that the snake must be a deity who's in charge of protecting the fields and producing good yields. He immediately brings a bowl of milk to the snake and worships it. The next morning, he finds gold in the bowl. The farmer assumes there is more gold in the anthill that the snake lives in so he plans to kill the snake and get the gold, but when he tries to kill the snake he gets bitten and dies. The snake gives the farmer's grieving father a pearl and tells him what happened then instructs the father to leave and not come back. 
• Pride Goeth Before a Fall
• `10 cloth merchants get robbed in a forest and are then ordered to dance for the robbers' amusement. The lead merchant sang a song instructing 3 men to take each of the 3 robbers and hold them down so that the 10th man can hog-tie him. The merchants get their crap back and leave. 
• The Prince and the Fakir
• A childless king goes and lays in an intersection. A Fakir asks him what he's doing and the king explains his sadness. The Fakir asks what the king would give in return for children. The king replies, "anything you ask." The Fakir agrees to grant the king 2 sons, but he must give 1 of them to the Fakir. The king agreed and had his sons, but when the Fakir came for his payment, the king tried to trick him by presenting the sons of 2 slave-girls. The Fakir knew they were not his sons and demanded they show themselves. The king's son then goes on to marry his daughter.. I think. I'm not sure, but the story was strange and lost on me. 
• Why the Fish Laughed
• There is a fish that laughs. It drives the queen nuts. The king tried desperately to figure out what the fish was laughing about for 5 months. I quit reading after this because honestly I didn't give a crap. 
• The Demon with the Matted Hair
• A man fearlessly attacks a demon, but his weapons all get stuck in the demon's hair. The demon asks why the man is not afraid and he replies that if the demon eats him, the thunderbolt in the man's stomach would rip the demon apart, and both of them would die. The demon believes him and lets him go. He tells everyone he subdued the demon and becomes king. He rules righteously and dies a hero. 
• How Sun, Moon, and Wind Went Out to Dinner  
• Sun, Moon, and Wind went out to dinner with their uncle and aunts, Thunder and Lighting. They left their mother at home waiting all alone. Sun and wind were selfish and the ate all the food without saving any for their mom, but the moon did not forget her. He brought her back a small portion of every dish. His mom then cursed the others which is why the sun is so hot and why the wind in hot weather is so sucky. The moon, however was blessed. This is why the moon's light is soft, stunning, and cool.