Extra Reading Diary: Ovid's Metamorphoses (Books 1-4)

Extra Reading Diary: Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Books 1-4)

Ovid's Metamorphoses: Deucalion and Pyrrha

How did the guy in the row boat survive? I feel like waves of such intensity would have taken out a row boat easily.   I wasn’t expecting so many survivors.  I believe dying of starvation after surviving The Flood would be an awful way to go out.  Poor animals.  

“Believe me dear wife, if the sea had you, I would follow you, and the sea would have me too.” Though this is slightly morbid, I think it’s a really sweet thing for Deucalion to say. It would be tragic to be left alone in the world. I’m not sure I could blame him for giving in as well.  

If the Gods killed everything and everyone, I’m not sure I would be praying to them.  I’d probably be to angry and scared, versus thankful that I had survived.

Ahh! So this is where the story that we came from rocks is from.  Awesome!

Phaethon and the Sun

I want to visit the Palace of the Sun! Dang! It sounds beautiful.  Apparently I need to start traveling east.

I love the physical features given to the seasons.  

I’m pretty sure if my father was, you know, the Sun and all, I would listen to him when he said I wouldn’t be able to do something.  Phaethon is too eager to prove the truth to his peers.

Phaethon's Ride

He is called, “brave,” in this section.  I don’t think it’s bravery, but hard-headedness and stupidity.  If he was intelligent, he would have listened to his fathers’ multi-paragraph warning.

The pathway sounds worse than Rainbow Road on Mario Cart.

I feel like the horses are thinking, “Let’s set fire to all the things!”  

Callisto

Why the heck is Juno mad at Callisto for being raped by Jupiter? It’s not even close to being her fault.  You know, these gods and goddesses aren’t the brightest, or the most mature. Also, if I was angry enough to turn someone into an animal, I would probably make it something less terrifying than a bear. I would probably turn them into a sloth or something.

(Callisto, the Bear, not the Sloth.)

Storytelling for Week 3: The Ants' Revenge

The Ants’ Revenge

“Eugene! Eugene! Hurry! Sound the alarm!” said the ant on lookout.  “Gah,” he sighed, “not again.”

For the sixth time today the angry goddess, Venus, was stomping around all over the poor ants’ homes. She was getting closer, as heavy-footed and loud-mouthed as ever, shrieking about how betrayed she was by her own son, Cupid, for his marriage to Psyche. “He promised he would not marry her! The one girl I told him not to! She will pay for this!”

The ants were nervous as the walls of their home began to shake, and pieces of dirt kept dropping around them. All of the ants banded together and held on tight, holding the walls of their home up to reduce the amount of damage by as much as possible. Though they only stayed like this for under a minute, the stress and anxiety that came from being worried about losing parts of their home made it seem like they were stuck in these positions for hours.

As she stomped away, continuing to curse Psyche’s name, the ants began to relax and come out of their reinforced holes.  You see, just a couple of days ago there had been a cave-in in one of the main entrance halls, so the ants were more cautious when Venus stomped by now.  They couldn’t be too careful, especially with Venus on her rampage that wouldn’t seem to end anytime soon.

Just as the ants were getting back into the swing of their regular daily activities, their scout ant, Jan, came running back with an urgent request.  “Everyone! I need your help! Do you want to get back at Venus for making us cower in our own homes?!”  

“Yeah!” everyone shrieked back.

“Okay! There’s no better way to get back at her than by helping out the girl she despises the most, Psyche.”

Jan began to explain that the vile goddess, Venus, gave Psyche an impossible task.  The task was to separate an enormous pile of wheat, barley, poppy seeds, chickpeas, beans, and lentils by the end of the evening.  Though the task was impossible for just one girl, Jan believed that if their group of ants got together and helped her out, they could have everything separated out in no time!

Because an enemy of Venus was a friend of the ants, all of the ants agreed to help out and surely, soon enough, they had everything separated in no time like Jan had said! Psyche was so pleased with their help, and because she was good-hearted, she thanked them profusely. She made them feel so at home, that they almost wanted to stay in Psyche's company, however, not wanting to get caught by Venus herself, the ants quickly scurried away into their homes, feeling good about what they had done.  That is, until the stomping grew even more intense over the next few days as the goddess grew even angrier.  

(Psyche and the Ants)

Author’s Note:  For this story, I wanted to give more of a background for the ants in the story of Venus and Psyche.  They played such a small role in the story, so it left most of the details up to my imagination, which I like.  I tried to imagine what it would be like living as an ant near people prone to throwing temper tantrums, and this is the story I came up with! My main goals were to give a better explanation of why the ants helped Psyche out, to show things from an ant’s perspective, and also write a lesson about how revenge isn't the best answer.  

The original story, Venus and Psyche, is about how Venus gives Psyche the task of separating the pile of food, knowing she won’t be able to. Venus is jealous of Psyche's beauty, and upset that her son "betrayed" her by falling in love with Psyche. Therefore, Psyche was completely innocent and did not deserve to be treated like this. In the original story, an ant was just passing by and felt bad for Psyche, so he called the rest of the ants to come and help.  I gave more of a backstory from the ants’ perspectives, and changed their reasoning for helping into revenge.

Story: Venus and Psyche

Book Title: Apuleius’s Golden Ass

Author: Tony Kline

Year of Publication: 2013

Reading Diary B - Cupid and Psyche

Apuleius’s Cupid and Psyche

Venus and the Goddesses.  Props to Juno and Ceres for an awesome speech.  Too bad Venus was too hardheaded to actually listen.  I really liked their speech, though.  Very open minded and wise.

Psyche’s Prayer. I understand why Ceres wouldn’t want to hide Psyche, because of Venus, but wouldn’t Venus become just as enraged at the fact that she talked to Psyche and didn’t capture her? And Juno, too! Goodness, Psyche can’t catch a break.

(Psyche Kneeling at the Shrines)

Venus and Psyche. I know Venus is angry, but geez, it takes an evil person to beat up a pregnant lady, especially one that isn’t even fighting back.  What the heck. Also, I the task of separating all of the grains from one another sounds like a pretty awesome challenge.  Obviously it would be extremely hard to get done in time, but at least it’s a possible one. Except for maybe separating out the poppy seeds, that’s just evil.  

The ants helping her separate the grains and things reminds me of Cinderella.

The Sleep of the Dead.  If Venus hates Psyche for being so beautiful, why would Psyche think she should try a drop of beauty? Also, hasn’t she learned that curiosity killed the cat?

I think it’s awesome that Jupiter is going to help Cupid and Psyche!

Lucius and the Robbers.   I totally forgot about the girl who was kidnapped! Dang, the old woman can tell a good story.

After reading it all, it seems like the story with the robbers, ass, and girl is kind of out of place. I still enjoyed it, though, and now I’m curious about what happens to the girl and donkey.

Reading Diary A - Cupid and Psyche

Apuleius’s Cupid and Psyche

The Captive Woman:  I love that the story is told from the point of view of the Donkey.  I feel bad for the girl who was kidnapped.  She seems very weak-souled from the way that she’s already lost hope and is trying to commit suicide.  It seems a bit early to go to such extreme measures, especially when she hasn’t even tried to escape herself.  I suppose it makes sense, since she’s lived a privileged life, but it’s still very sad.  The old woman is mean, but I understand why she would be so harsh. I could possibly do a story about exactly why the robbers kidnapped the girl.

Psyche’s Beauty and the Anger of Venus

I think it’s interesting that Cupid was known to have, “wicked ways and contempt for disorder.” I suppose I’ve always seen Cupid as a loving, sweet person, and apparently that’s not the case! It’s also disgusting that Venus is such a jealous and hateful god.

The Mysterious Husband

If I was Psyche, I don’t think I would be okay with never actually seeing my husband.  Also, though the place may have rich things in it, it still seems like a very sad, scary, and lonely place to be.  Especially if you barely get any time with your husband.  How are you supposed to fall in love with someone you barely know?

Psyche’s Husband Revealed.  I hate the line, “acting a man’s part in her boldness.”  If anything proves that this was written in a different time, that is it. Poor Cupid, having to obey his vile mother even though he was in love with Psyche.  I think it’s strange that Psyche wasn’t able to tell that Cupid wasn’t a monster by embracing him.  You don’t always need sight to see.

(Psyche and Cupid)

Possible Storybook Topics

Topic: Aesop’s Lions.  

Comments: I really love Aesop’s stories and the morals that go along with them. I’ve read a couple of sections of Aesop’s stories from the Untextbook, and I’m hooked! I already know quite a few of the stories about lions, so I do not think it would be too difficult to pull together a story about them! I think it would be fun to use the morals of a few different lion stories for the perspective of one, hopefully well-rounded lion by the end of it! I would like to gain a better, in depth understanding of Aesop’s stories as a whole, and better understand the morals associated with my stories.

Possible Stories: Fortunately for me, Aesop’s lion stories are all bunched together in the Untextbook, so it would be really easy for me to find four stories to go in my Storybook.  It just depends on what morals I want my lion to learn! I’ll have to read figure out exactly what direction I want to take the Storybook before I pick my specific stories, but once I do that, finding stories will be easy!

Sample Story comments. Androcles and the Lion.  I really like the moral of the story, “Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.” Also, I like that this shows the Lion in a good light, whereas in some of the other stories, the Lions aren’t the nicest of creatures. On wikipedia I found the original story by Aulus Gellius as well, for better background information.

Bibliography Information:

Title of the Story: Androcles and the Lion

Title of the Book: Attic Nights

Author of the Book: Aulus Gellius

Online Source: Wikipedia

(Androcles and his lion)

Topic: Cat Myths.

Comments:

I think it would be fun get different cat stories together to show how awesome cats are, and maybe even show their downfalls, too! I love cats, so expanding upon a cat’s perspective and point of view would be really fun! I can use my two cats as a good reference for the personality and mannerisms that I add to my cat stories. :) I’ve read a few stories about cats, but I would like to read even more myths about them!

Possible Stories: Wikipedia has a good section where it has a bunch of mythological feline stories!  There are some stories from Aesop’s fables about cats that I could use.  But there are multiple different options on Wikipedia as well!

Sample Story: Through Wikipedia I found a story called Cactus Cat.  I like that this shows the cat as a beast, described to have spines that it used to slash cacti at night.  Part of the myth is that the cat would shriek throughout the night, and I think it would be cool to give a backstory as to why he shrieked and maybe form a story of how, what could have once been a normal cat, transformed into the Cactus Cat.

Bibliography Information

title of story: Cactus Cat

Website Name: Wikipedia

Topic: Nursery Rhyme Songs.

Comments: I think it would be fun to expand upon the nursery rhyme songs that we’ve all heard growing up.  Also, maybe even expand upon the ones we have not heard! I’ve heard a few, but I have not heard them all, and I would like to know more about the nursery rhymes I’ve always been told! I think it would be really fun and interesting to get in depth with simple nursery rhymes.

Possible Stories: I think it would be fun to intertwine the characters of the songs from Little Bo-Peep and Three Blind Mice, maybe also mixed in with the songs London Bridge is Falling Down.  I’m not sure how I would intertwine them just yet, but I think that makes it more fun!

Sample Story: Three Blind Mice.  I liked this nursery rhyme song because It’s so common, everyone has heard it. It’s also simple and short, which leaves a lot of room for interpretation!

Bibliography Information

title of story: Three Blind Mice

title of book: The Nursery Rhyme Book

author of book: Andrew Lang

year of publication: 1897

Topic: Characters of the Brothers Grimm.

Comments:   I want to take the popular stories from Grimms fairy tales and put my own twist on it, while intertwining their stories.  I think it would be a fun and challenging storybook to make! I don’t know much about these stories, but I would like to better know the originial versions of most of the common stories we hear today.  It seems like currently, these stories are very popular in modern movies and TV shows, so this should be fun!

Possible Stories: Because there are so many versions of all of these stories, I  just used Wikipedia and the Untedtextbook to look up some of these stories! It would be fun to intertwine the stories of  Hansel and Grethel, Snow White, The Seven Dwarves, and Cinderella!

Sample Story: Snow White. I chose this story because it’s such a common one that has been twisted into so many different things over the years. I like the original story, and it should be fun to mix it into a story within the same universe as the other Grimm stories I’ve chosen.

Bibliography Information

title of story: Snow White

title of book: Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm

author of book: Lucy Crane

year of publication: (1886)

Extra Reading Diary - Aesop for Children (Winter)

Reading Diary Extra: Aesop For Children (Winter)

The Tortoise and the Ducks.  All I keep thinking is how is this supposed to be for children? “...where he was dashed to pieces on a rock.”  I suppose it depends on the age of the children, but goodness!

The Boy and the Filberts.  I liked the moral, “Do not attempt too much at once.”  I have a tendency of jumping headfirst into too many things, which usually hurts me in the end.  This is a good moral to continue to learn! If only I had figured it out by trying to grab a fistful of nuts!

The Ass and His Driver. The moral is a long one, but a very great one! Pretty much, those who are too stubborn to listen to those wiser than them are on “the road to misfortune.” I’m a very open-minded person, and from now on when I run into stubborn close-minded people, I will want to share this story with them!

(Illustration by Winter)

The Gnat and the Bull. I love the quote, “We are often of greater importance in our own eyes than in the eyes of our neighbor.”  Sometimes, especially during college, maybe even more so in high school, it’s easy to be extremely worried about what others think of you, when really, it doesn’t really matter.

The Farmer and the Stork.  The moral, “You are judged by the company you keep,” is too true! I think this one is a good story for children to read and learn early.

The Boys and the Frogs. Since this series of stories is for children, I really enjoyed the moral of this one. “Always stop to think whether your fun may not be the cause of another’s unhappiness.”  Especially with children, I see this a lot.  It’s easy to forget about others around you, but it is important to always think of everyone, not just yourself.

The Travelers and the Sea.  I love this for the moral, “Do not let your hopes carry you away from reality.”   Sometimes it can be easy to get lost in your hopes and dreams, especially in college when it seems like everything is possible.  Reality may be harder to deal with sometimes, but it’s important to remember.

The Monkey and the Dolphin.  I think it’s kind of sad that the monkey was left alone! Granted, he did lie, but who wouldn’t in a situation where you were trying to survive? Hopefully the monkey made it to shore!

Reading Diary B: Aesop's Fables (Jacobs)

Reading Diary B: Aesop’s Fables (Jacobs)

The Fox and the Crow.  I liked the advice the fox gave the crow after he tricked her, “Do not trust flatterers.”   I think that quote is extremely relevant to everyday life, especially in todays society.

The Crow and the Pitcher.  The moral of the story, “Little by little does the trick,” is an important thing to remember.  Especially with the everyday craziness of being in college, sometimes it can be daunting to look at a stack of homework or readings, but as long as you keep moving forward you will succeed.

The Swallow and the Other Birds.   I loved the moral, “Destroy the seed of evil, or it will grow up to your ruin.”  This is so important.  Too many people just sit around and watch as evil happens, doing nothing about it, because it does not affect them.  This is so unacceptable.  If all people listened to the moral, I believe the world would be a much better place.

The Ant and the Grasshopper.  I think you wrote the moral of this story as a hint to get ahead on my homework. ;) “It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.”

The Belly and the Members.  This tale amused me, mostly because I love the human body, so to think of each of the parts as having a mind of their own is funny and intriguing.

Hot and Cold.  I enjoyed this tale! And I think the illustration is pretty cool, too :)

(Illustration by Walter Crane)

The Shepherd’s Boy.  I’ve always heard this story, but I had never actually read it! The boy who cried wolf!

Reading Diary A: Aesop's Fables (Jacobs)

Reading Diary A: Aesop’s Fables (Jacobs)

The Four Oxen and the Lion.  I  liked this story because of the quote at the end, “United we stand, divided we fall.”  I think this is extremely relevant in most aspects of life.

The Fox and the Mask. I love the quote, “ Outside show is a poor substitute for inner worth.”  This was my favorite quote from the readings.  I also think it’s funny when the fox, talking to a mask says, “You look very fine; it is a pity you have not got any brains.”

The Fox and the Grapes.  The moral of the story was, “It is easy to despise what you cannot get.”  I know even I am sometimes guilty of this, though I do my best not to.  It’s an unhealthy mindset that far too many take on.

The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.  I enjoyed this story, because I had always heard the expression, but never understood where it came from.  Awesome! Also, I like the moral of the story, “Appearances are deceptive.”

The Dog and the Shadow. I like that this story makes dogs look unintelligent.  Cats rule, dogs drool. =^. .^=  (It’s a cat face)

(Illustration by: Walter Crane)

The Ass in the Lion’s Skin. I enjoyed this one because the moral of the story was, “Fine clothes may disguise, but silly words will disclose a fool.”  It reminds me of the saying, It is better to be quiet and thought a fool, than to be loud and known as one.

The Ass’s Brains.  This one made me laugh! After the ass ate the brains of the fox, and the lion asked what he had done with the brains, the ass said the fox had had none, or it would have never fallen into the lion’s trap. Wit is indeed a valuable thing!

The Hare and the Tortoise. I’ve always heard this story, but I had never actually read it before.   I’m glad I got the chance to now!

Untextbook - So Cool!

Looking through the Untextbook I was super interested in some of the stories by Grimm. The first I chose was Hansel and Grethel. I have always heard the story, but I had never had the chance to read it before.  

I’m very interested in reading the stories by Grimm, so for my second story I chose Rapunzel. I’ve watched movies and heard many stories about Rapunzel, so I really want to read Grimm’s version as well.

The third story I chose was Rumpelstiltskin.  I have heard of the story, but I’ve never had the opportunity to hear it or read it, so why not take that opportunity now?

The fourth story I’m choosing is probably a fairly common one! I’m interested in reading Alice in Wonderland.  I’ve seen movies and plays, but I’ve never actually read the story itself.

Image information: Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland

I chose this image because I love how dapper the rabbit looks. Also, I enjoy that style of drawing.

Storybook Favorites

The first storybook I looked at the Ghostly Adventures Storybook.  It was pretty fun to read! It was set up as if you were actually on a ghost tour, and it took you to three different haunted locations.  Each different location was a new page where the “tour guide” gave a history of the haunted spot, and wrote what you would experience as if you were actually on the tour.  I enjoyed it, but I didn’t like that there wasn’t a ‘next button’.  I had to scroll back up to the top and click the next location, which made it seem less real and it wasn’t as easy to pretend like I was on the tour that way.  It was really enjoyable, though! I liked the page setup, with the white font and black background.  It really made the stories even more creepy!

The second storybook I looked at was Monsters or Misunderstood?.   I really loved this one! I was smiling the whole time I was reading it.  It is set up from the point of view of a guy sitting in on a psychiatric doctor’s day, who happens to specialize in monsters.  It took us through the story of Nessie, Yeti, Bigfoot, and Chupacabra.  This was extremely well written, and I was engrossed in the story.  This was my favorite read of the three! I definitely recommend it to anyone. It was almost too easy to become wrapped up in the monsters’ lives, and you truly begin to see them as misunderstood, except for Yeti.

The third storybook I looked at was called A Cat’s Tale.  I chose this one, because I love cats so much.  It was pretty fun to read! It just went through a few stories from a particular cat’s life.  I enjoyed it. I think the set up for the background was really awesome as well!

Image Information: Angry Cat

Source: Vi.suakize