Storytelling, Week 7: Why Wolves Howl

          Legend has it that in the lush forests of Minnesota, where the pine trees grew tall, lived a pack of magnificent creatures. The natives of this area called them wolves. No one bothered these animals because they were in control of the forest since the beginning of time. Each day this particular pack of wolves hunted, scaled the forest floor, and tended to their young in silence. The pack coexisted in peace for many years until the king of the pack grew older.

          This king was different than the ones before him because he had a hunger for power. He could not sleep at night knowing that other packs lived in forests adjacent to this one. Even though this pack controlled the forests for nearly a hundred miles, this did not satisfy the king. He wanted more land. Days came when he would attempt to drive the other packs away, but didn't have the strength to overthrow their lands. This frustrated him because he knew that he was the strongest wolf in all the land.

          The wolf king cried for days. Days turned into months and the wolf began to neglect his very own pack that loved him dearly. The crying continued until a being felt sorrow for the wolf's story. One night, a mysterious being came down from the stars and stood before the wolf king. The king pleaded his wishes and the being agreed to grant them, but only under one circumstance. In two years the wolf must leave this world and live among the stars.

          The king agreed to this vow and soon enough the rival wolf packs disappeared. For two years the wolf king lived in harmony and adored his wondrous land. The food and land was plentiful, almost too plentiful for such a small pack of wolves. Exactly two years later the being came back from the stars and reminded the king of their agreement. When this time came, the king refused to retreat into the stars and leave his beautiful kingdom. 

          The being grew angry from this deep betrayal and, out of spite, took the king's closest brother into the stars. This greatly saddened the wolves because everyone admired everyone. The wolves began shouting into the night sky. The story was heartbreaking to all packs of wolves living on this earth. To this day, the wolves still howl at the stars in hope that the king's lost brother will someday find his way back home.

Wolf Howling

Author's Note:

     I based this story as an adaption of stories based within the Nigerian Folktales unit. The unit is full of origin stories explaining why things are they way they are today. It is always great to hear an interesting back story to concepts. For instance, many of these stories were "Why the Bat Flies by Night," "Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky," and "Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes." When reading these stories I immediately knew I was going to use this concept. I thought of wolves and why they howl at night. I took this idea and went with it.

Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria

Elphinstone Dayrell (1910)

Reading Diary A: Nigerian Folktales

Here are my favorite stories from the second half of the Nigerian Folktales unit. I enjoyed reading the first half of the unit for my extra reading diary last week and wanted to finish the unit this week.

Lightning and Thunder: I enjoyed the story of The Lightning and the Thunder. I really liked that the storyteller made the thunder a sheep and the lightning a ram. It provided excellent imagery as I was reading. The ram gets angry and creates damage within the town. Soon after, the sheep yells and punishes her son by making loud noises. This irritates the entire community so the king banishes them into the sky. It is interesting that the ram still gets mad and creates lightning while his mother still punishes him with noise.

Why Dead People are Buried: I liked the story of Why Dead People are Buried. It was interesting to glance at the Nigerian burial story. It was almost amusing that the entire message on how people should be laid above the ground with wood and they will rise again the next day was lost in translation. Instead, the message changed to that people should be buried below the ground, but this way they cannot rise again. I found this a very different take on why a community buries their dead.

Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes: I really enjoyed the story of Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes. I always like stories of the moon and thought this was a great one. I found it interesting that the moon came down to give a starving woman food from her body, which is why the moon gets big and small. So in a way the moon is a being that eats more or less at different times of month. The moon is constantly changing its weight.

Tortoise, Elephant, Hippo: I liked the story of How the Tortoise overcame the Elephant and the Hippopotamus. I enjoy stories where the smaller character outsmarts the large confident characters. In this case, the small turtle outsmarted both the elephant and the hippopotamus. Also, this story gave the origin of why some turtles live on land and why some live in the water.

Hippopotamus

Extra Reading Diary: Nigerian Folktales

Here are a few of my favorite stories from the Nigerian Folktales unit.

Why the Bat Flies by Night: I thought the story of Why the Bat Flies by Night was very interesting. I also like reading stories that speak of an origin or why things the way they are. It gives the animal or subject told great depth. I found it interesting that the bat tricked the rat and the reason he flies at night is because he is still searched by the community during the day. Overall, the story was an entertaining read.

The Fish and the Leopard's Wife: The story of The Fish and the Leopard's Wife was also interesting. Just like the story of the bat, this is also an explanation why fish live in the water. I like that the theme of the story is that adultery is bad, because most Hollywood films also follow this similar theme. Something horrible always happens to the person committing adultery. I also found it interesting that the story states the reason people and animals now hunt fish is because of this act and betrayal towards the leopard.

Why Hawks Kill Chickens: I liked the story of Why Hawks Kill Chickens. I found it amusing that the hawk refused to ever walk on the ground because he was too noble. Also, it was interesting that the story explains that it is the custom of the parents to repay the husband for the wedding if it does not work out like in this case. I wonder if this is true for the actual society or it is just a fictitious theme in the story.

Sun & Moon: I thought the story of Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky was a great story. I liked the idea that the sun and moon were married while the sun and water were best friends. It was entertaining that the water kept warning the couple that he will not fit in the large compound. The two continued to ignoring the water's warnings because they were excited he was visiting. It is actually a rather sad story because the sun and moon were forced to live in the sky far from the water.

African Leopard

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Storytelling, Week 6: The Tragedy of Termites

          In the broad African veldt, thousands of creatures coexist to create the perfect balance of life. Herds of elephants and buffalos graze the plentiful foliage. Crowned cranes soar over the savanna catching each change of wind. A family of meerkats poke their heads out of their underground homes to feel the breeze lifting off the tall grass. Noble lions yawn under the sun among the pride lands. However, the veldt is also home to the most odd of animals. Under the treetops and, more specifically, under the tall grass walks massive colonies of strange legged creatures. Lets call these small bizarre creatures termites. These tiny bugs are disliked by nearly all members of the veldt and have many enemies. The termites have much more enemies than any other animal on the savanna. Each day, various animals consume colonies of termites. Birds from the sky swoop down and snatch up hundreds of termites, while snakes and meerkats attack the colonies from the ground. The fate of these termites seemed hopeless until the new queen termite had a solution.

          One day, the queen termite stood in front of her entire colony and suggested an idea. She told the termites that they shall have no predators no more and divided them into three groups. Each group went to establish their colony in a new habitat. The first group found refuge under a giant baobab tree. This colony climbed up the tree and made it their new home. They burrowed and ate the tree's bark for many weeks. As the colony grew large, the termites needed more food. Since the termites ate so much of the bark, holes began to form throughout the entire tree. Flocks of birds from the sky noticed this unusual site so they came down and consumed the colony within minutes.

          The second group of termites formed a colony within a nearby village. They entered homes and began their lives living in the walls. This colony grew even larger than the colony within the baobab tree. The colony was ecstatic that they found a permanent habitat. However, as predicted, man discovered the termites were living in their homes. These termites created such a nuisance that man decided to burn down their homes and rebuild from the ashes. So one day the homes caught fire and the entire colony perished. The queen termite was saddened when she heard the fate of both the baobab and village colonies.

          The final group of termites decided that they would not find refuge within a giant tree or a homestead. The queen informed them that they would build a massive fortress, one that cannot be destroyed by any being in the world. The colony worked days and nights collecting soil to build this magnificent fortress. Once it was finished, the fortress stood at nearly twelve feet tall. Each day, the termites left the fortress in pairs to find food and brought it back to their home. They lived in harmony for many months until one evening a creature almost as bizarre as the termites discovered their home. An aardvark burrowed under the termite mound until he dug a route directly into the fortress' core. Within hours, a majority of the colony was consumed.

          The termite queen grabbed many of the survivors and retreated into the veldt's tall grass. They were saddened that none of their colonies survived to live a long life like many of the animals around them. The queen came to the conclusion that they must constantly migrate and build mounds throughout the savanna to survive. The remaining termites separated and formed colonies of their own within giant fortresses. The life of a termite is a cursed tragedy.

African Termite Mound

Author's Note:

     I based this adaption off of the South African Folktale story, "The Lost Message." I immediately enjoyed the story after I read it. The original story shows how unfortunate the life of ants is. I thought it was interesting that a story focuses on how harsh and unrewarding it is to be an ant. Ants are described to have many predators and cannot find a solution to defend themselves against the larger creatures throughout the forest. I replaced the role of ants with colonies of termites to provide a deeper sense of the African setting.

South African Folk-Tales

"The Lost Message"

James Honey (1910)

Reading Diary A: South African Folktales

Here are a few of my favorite stories from South African Folktales.

The Lost Message: I enjoyed the story of The Lost Message. I found it interesting that the story describes ants as small and destructive with many enemies. I liked how no matter what solution the ants used to escape predators, such as birds or anteaters, they never found one that fully escaped these animals. The conclusion of the story almost felt like each colony of ants is cursed forever and forced to live a life in fear of becoming consumed by a predator.

Tink-Tinkje: I really liked the story of the Tink-Tinkje. It showed that using your intellect always prevails in the end. I found it interesting that the small bird took refuge under the vulture's wing to "fly higher" into the sky than it. I found two aspects of the story pretty fascinating. First, I enjoyed how the birds used the flaws of each species of bird to state why they are unfit to be the bird king. Lastly, liked how all the other birds were disgraced by the tink-tinkje's intellect and thought it was cheating.

Jackal Fools Lion Again: I enjoy the tales about the Jackal, especially Jackal Fools Lion Again. I like how the jackal is portrayed as a witty and mischievous animal, while the lion is described as always noble, big-headed, and basically the leader of the savannah. It is always entertaining when the mighty lion is fooled or misguided by a more "inferior" animal.

The Lioness and Ostrich: Honestly I enjoyed the story of the Lioness and Ostrich because the ending took me by surprise. Throughout the entire story I thought the lioness would somehow betray or kill the ostrich, but this did not happen. The lioness challenges the ostrich to a fight and the bird quickly kills the lioness. It was interesting that the reason they fought was because the lioness' cubs said the ostrich had no teeth so the lioness could easily kill the bird.

Jackals

Extra Reading Diary: Jatakas (Babbitt)

Here are a few of my favorite stories from the first half of Jatakas (Babbitt) unit.

How the Turtle Saved His Own Life: I enjoyed the story How the Turtle Saved His Own Life. I found this story to be humorous, especially that the children were scared of a small turtle. I thought it was great how the turtle outsmarted all the men. Even though the title suggests that the turtle would live, I was almost sold on the idea that the turtle might be killed at the end. It is great when a fable has a happy ending because many of them don't.

The Quarrel of the Quails: I thought the story of The Quarrel of the Quails was very interesting. I really liked that the theme of teamwork was present within the story. The quails work excellently as a team to escape the hunter until they have a quarrel. Their teamwork quickly falls apart and they fall victim to the hunter. The story definitely shows that people work best as a team instead of by themselves.

The Banyan Deer: I liked the story of The Banyan Deer. This was another fable that had a happy ending. The king of the Banyan deer herd agreed to take the place of a mother (who recently had a baby) and be killed by the town's cook and King. The cook and King see this as such a good deed that they agree to stop hunting the deer all together. I liked how the king of the Banyan deer showed such bravery and sacrificed himself for a deer he did not know. It shows how good of a leader he was to his herd.

The King's White Elephant: My favorite story from this unit was The King's White Elephant. I enjoyed how the elephant and carpenters coexisted in the jungle. The carpenters fed the old elephant and his son, while the elephant helped the carpenters tear trees down. In addition, the old elephant teaches his son how to exist with the people. Later, the young elephant would play with the carpenters' children everyday in the river. The King sees this and gives the elephant a wonderful life. This story shows how closely this culture was with elephants. It portrays them in a great light.

White Elephant