Week 6 Reading Diary (Extra): Folktales of Bengal

 Folktales of Bengal

• The Evil Eye of Sani
• gods turning to humans for advice...they definitely don't have the same concept of deities as we do!
• love the loyalty between Sribatsa and Chintamani
• Chintamani's abduction, Sribatsa's search 
• a big pile of brick-like gold poop...cool...
• Lakshmi is mean - rather than making Chintamani ugly to save her, SHE SHOULD HAVE JUST SAVED HER
• Communicated through signs and gestures, these folks really are smart!
• Possibly a cursed garden which Sribatsa fixed with his presence?
• The Boy Whom Seven Mothers Suckled
•  WHAT?! Infanticide and cannibalism...this is definitely not your average folktale (although the original folktales of Grimm fairytale are usually pretty gruesome).
• This little boy is awesome. 
• Even if some rakshasis are evil, they have some pretty cool magic 

Poppies! (Source)

•  The Origin of Opium  
•  Oh boy, I don't trust this mouse. He's like the mouse in that book "If you give a mouse a cookie..." - always wants more more more! 
• This mouse is crazy! First he ridicules women and then wants to be one?
• I did not see the end of that coming! What an interesting story of how opium was created. Do people really have those characteristics when they smoke it?

•  The Ghost Brahman
•  Cowboys are so clever. Classic.

Week 6 Reading Diary B: Tales of Bidpai cont'd.

Tales of Bidpai

• The Hare, The Fox, and the Wolf - first time I can recall a female animal being the trickster
• The Sparrows and the Snake - am I the only one who read this and immediately thought of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets?? Guess birds and snakes have never gotten along! Interesting that the sparrow didn't actually kill the snake himself. Brains over buff
• The Frog, The Crab, and the Serpent - why do the frog and the crab live in the same area?? Was there no separation of climates back then?
• The Blind Man and the Snake - moral of the story: being blind sucks

Adder (Source)

• The Camel Driver and the Adder - that Adder was a bitch! Although he did have a point, as did the cow and the tree. But hey, for once the trickster fox used his wit for good and not evil! Glad to see the Camel driver get away. 

Week 6 Reading Diary A: Tales of Bidpai

Tales of Bidpai

• Intro - the four paragraphs summarizing all the kings books? Genius! Basically what any story is always about

A rose tree (Source)

• The Rustic and the Nightingale - there should have been a purpose for the bird ripping at the roses. And why does the Rustic get a pot of gold just for letting her go??
• The King, The Falcon, and the Drinking Cup - this was good! Definitely a favorite. Could be fun to expand upon. Humans suck. 
• The Two Travelers - Salem is my kind of guy, I would second guess this inscription, too! People in tales always make foolish and rash decisions, but he's thinking clearly. 
• The Poor Man and the Flask of Oil - oh my god, seriously? This would happen to me...
• The Merchant and his Iron - LOL! That asshole got served 
• The Gardner and the Bear - oh, this could definitely be rewritten as a funny misunderstanding