MLLL 4993

(Zeus and Indra; this picture was taken from an article comparing Greek and Indian mythology. Image can be sourced  here .) I thought the CrashCourse videos might be fun even though it is aimed more towards the other class because I enjoy mythology. The first video explains how myths are not based on truth, but interpretations. When reading mythology, we should be looking at how the stories define/shape one's culture rather than focusing on "truth".If we focus on the "truth", we miss the cultural discussion potential. Also, many myths date back to thousands of years ago, when technology was limited so it is easy to critique in retrospect. Years from now, there will surely be things future generations will be surprised about what we believe in. The different version of stories is cool because we can see similarities horizontally and vertically between and within cultures. The second video draws a connection to how myths have helped with psychology. It...

The Foolish, Timid Rabbit In this story, the rabbit awakes to a coconut hitting the ground. The rabbit does not know this is a coconut, so he begins to run out of fright. He passes other rabbits and animals telling them of the earth is breaking inaccurately because of the coconut. The word passed on from animal to animal, scaring everyone. Eventually word got to the Lion, who was "brave" enough to check the area. He went to the spot the rabbit was at when the coconut fell. He realized it was nothing and told the rabbit he was foolish to believe so and get everyone caught up. (Photo of a cartoon bunny eating a carrot. The image can be sourced  here  and is actually available for purchase as a vinyl decal). BIBLIOGRAPHY: Title: Babbit Jakarta Tales Part A,  The Foolish, Timid Rabbit A uthor: Ellen C. Babbitt

There was a mouse that found gold on a farmer's property. The mouse liked the farmer so everyday he would bring him a gold coin. The farmer would use these to buy a lot of meat and share with the mouse. One day, a cat saw what was happening and wanted to eat the now plump mouse. The mouse told the cat he would give him his share of meat if he would spare his life, which the cat did. Because the mouse kept giving the cat food, he lost weight. The farmer noticed and asked the mouse about this-to which the mouse told him what was happening with the cat. The farmer came up with a plan to put the mouse on a inkstand. When the cat ate the mouse, he died because of the inkstand, to which the mouse crawled out after. (What I imagine the cat and mouse look like, image can be sourced  here .) Author: W.H.D. Rouse Title: Jakarta Tale:  The Mouse and the Farmer

(This is sort of how I imagined Pickle looking like when I wrote the story.) Long ago, there was a little dog living in a small town named Pickle. Pickle had a family, but he had always been the runt. Everyone still loved him and assured him that his size did not matter. Still, Pickle always felt very insecure about this. One day while Pickle was drinking water from the lake, a magical genie appeared. "Why hello little man" said the genie. "I'm not little" answered Pickle. The genie responded, "If you so desire, I can grant you a wish. It can be anything." Pickle replied without hesitation, "Yes please sir. I would like to be bigger." The genie questioned, "Little one, it is not my place to judge your wish, but are you sure? I find in past experience that this does not bring as much happiness as you think" "You are right, my wishes are not your personal concern and I would still like to be taller" said P...

Bibliography: Title:  Granny's Blackie Author: Ellen C. Babbitt (What I imagine Granny and Blackie look like together. Photo can be sourced  here .) There was a rich man that gave an older woman a baby elephant. The baby elephant was nicknamed Granny's Blackie by children. The woman cared and loved the elephant, as did the village children. They would ride him and give him food. The woman worked a lot to provide for the elephant. One day the elephant wanted her to accompany him to the forest but alas- she had work. The elephant noticed her aging and how it affected her work. To counter this, he wanted to devise a plan to prevent her from growing old. Blackie saw a man pulling wagons in the forest and thought this might help his situation. The man agreed to pay Blackie two pieces of silver for every wagon he pulled. The man tried to cheat Blackie but Blackie was relentless. He didn't let the man pass until he got his earnings. He ended up finally paying Blackie and B...

Title:  The Ox Who Envied the Pig Author: Ellen C. Babbit (Bullock cart-racing in Tamil, India. Photo can be sourced  here .) Big Red is the older ox brother of Little Red, also an ox. Their owners have a daughter who was about to be married. As a result, the family wanted to fatten one of the pigs they  had for a feast. Little Red saw the pig getting special food and treatment and felt jealous. He told his brother of his jealousy. His brother informed him that the pig was just being fattened up to be killed for the wedding feast. Later, the pig was killed as planned for the wedding feast. Little Red then appreciated his plain food and long life. This story's message is to be grateful for what you have and not jealous of others.

Why Method Writing Makes You A Better Author  by Amanda Patterson I didn't want to click the first article but it stood out to me because of the title. I consider myself a good  writer but not a great one. I can grammatically make sense and use good vocabulary time to time. But there are some works that just captivate you. I actually never saw the "art" in writing before 9th grade of high school, to me words were just developed visual tools to help understand concepts. After reading some of Mark Twain's work (he is not necessarily my favorite author but his style of writing), I really saw how beautiful writing can be. The pattern of consonants, structure of sentences, realistic descriptors, etc. can really transport you. I do not expect myself to be on the same tier as renowned authors even among those who dedicate their lives to studying literature, but I still want to be a better writer. I think anyone can benefit from it- it can help us articulate our thoughts an...

(Photo of the author who retold this story, Noor Inayat Khan. Image can be sourced  here . This link also has a biography of her life which is pretty interesting.) Sarabha is a deer that lives deep in the story and hasn't been seen. A king on a hunting trip sees a glimpse of the deer. Knowing what a rarity this is, he continues after the deer leaving behind is crew. The deer kept going at it and jumped over this rift. The king's horse stopped at the rift and the king flew off the horse into the rift. The deer notices the king has fallen into the rift, and decides to help him. He goes back to help. The king is kind of surprised because the whole reason he is in this situation was chasing the deer. The deer carries the king out of the rift, making the king feel happy and loved. The king offers the deer anything he wants and to come back to him to his palace. The deer denies coming back, but asks for no one to hunt. The king does not allow anyone to hunt in the fore...

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Title: Twenty Jakarta Tales:  The Swan Kingdom Author: Noor Inayat (1939) (These are meant to represent King Dhritarashtra and Sumuhka. The king is supposed to be silver so this isn't a perfect match. The image can be sourced  here ). Lake Manasa was ruled by King Dhritarashtra and Sumuhka (both swans). The lake had thousands of swans. They were all so beautiful but the king swam was the most beautiful. He had "feathers of shining silver". Another king, King of Benares, wanted to see this lake and the swans because he had heard how beautiful it is. His plan was to create a bigger late and have the swans flock there so he could see them every day (and for people to move there). He did this. Some swans saw how big and beautiful it was so they went home to inform the other birds of the lake. Word eventually reached King Dhritarashtra who now wanted to see the lake for himself. He went, but was captured by royal guards. Sumuhka was not caught, a...

(A picture of some very cute 'Guernsey' cattle. Guernsey is a type of cattle. Image can be sourced  here ). The most updated version of this story can be found here:  https://sites.google.com/view/indianepicsgalore/the-magical-cow Long ago in a village lived a grandmother, granddaughter, and their. The three were once part of a larger family that had a lot of wealth, but lost it when their village. The mother had given up many possessions for food, but she was running out of ideas. She was too old to work and her granddaughter too young. She realized she would have to give up their beloved cow as it was the only valuable thing they had. She did consider using the cow for food, but she could not imagine doing so as the cow was like a second grandchild. The grandmother took the cow to a local merchant. The merchant carefully inspected the cow, ensuring there were no defects. He fed the cow some lettuce, and notice while the cow was eating some of its saliva got on hi...

Summary of Part B of the Krishna series of the Epified Videos series. (Photo of Balram, Krishna's brother. There were honestly not many images of him as you would expect considering he accompanied Krishna during the Mathura journey and was a large part of his life. Image can be sourced  here ) Episode 11:  Krishna is out enjoying his day when Brahma appears. Brahma finds it funny a god would share his food with mere commoners (elitist much). Krishna then decides to do a social experiment where he creates cows and their herders from himself. No one notices and Brahma was impressed. Brahma realized Krishna is omnipotent and had respect (this is a kind of fundamental part of Hinduism, divine omnipotence). Episode 12:  Krishna's brother wanted to kill a bull named Hastin (it would be a feat and a benefit for the community). I guess the bull was not nice so the reader is supposed to be on Balram's side (Krishna) to kill which I thought was interesting because a l...

I watched the Krishna series from the Epified videos. Part A does a good job discusses his birth and upbringing. These give good insight into who he is and why. (Image of a toddler Krishna. Image can be sourced  here ). Episode 1 : Krishna is to help the Pandavas and help end the ongoing war. Kansa was a cruel king that no one liked. One day he heard a voice that he was going to die, and that his cousin's child would slay people. Kansa, probably out of fear, threw his cousin in prison and killed their children. He killed 6 kids, the 7th was a miscarriage, and the 8th was a reincarnation of Vishnu. Being Vishnu, he was protected and therefore incapable of being harmed. Word would eventually get to Kansa.  Episode 2 : Vasudev is holding the newborn, wondering what is to happen. Something mysterious happens, his cell opens up and his son is taken from him.  He hears a voice telling him to go to Yamuna and when he gives himself to the rivers a serpent appears t...