Reading Notes: The Three Hunters

Three brothers lived in a mountain village. They were hunters and each brother had a wife and a sister that lived with them all. One day, the brothers went out to hunt and brought back a deer. After they each ate all the meat they wanted, they gave the rest of the leg bone to the sister. She then took the bone marrow inside and toasted it. It was a delicacy and the other wives of the two brothers got very angry watching her eat it. They were so angry in fact that they planned on killing the sister to get her out of the minds of the other brothers.

Once the brothers went out for another hunt, the women decided the time was right to make their plan a reality. When the brothers were on their way back from the hunt, they stopped to rest and noticed a bird was singing a repetitive tune nearby. One of the brothers thought that the bird had a message for them. He speculated the bird might be his sister because it sounded similarly to her. He asked the bird to hop in his hand if he was their sister and the bird hopped into his hand. All the brothers began to cry because they knew that meant the sister was dead.

When they came home, they found the wives but not the sister and no one said anything about her being gone. They found the younger wife crying. The brothers told the wife they knew what had happened because the sister's soul went into the bird and the bird found them. The wife told them the story and the brothers were so angry that they killed the two wives.

The Three Hunters by A.L. Shelton

Man holding bird. Source: Flickr

Reading Notes: Covetousness

A long time ago, there was a pool where all the animals drank at in a deep valley hidden in the mountains. A hunter had set up a trap where a bow would shoot a spear into the animal that rigged it across a road near the pool. A bear tripped on the trap and the spear killed him instantly. A fox came along and cut the string attached to the trap so the hunter wouldn't come back and kill him while he ate the bear's meat. As he was doing so, the trap was triggered and the fox was killed.

An elephant was sleeping nearby where the bear and the fox lay. A rabbit came along and hopped on the elephant until he woke up. When he woke up, he wanted to jump like the rabbit and jumped up and down. When he did, his big jump loosened a big rock and it fell on him and killed him.

Seven robbers came near all three animals and were excited about all of the meat they were going to get. They needed water with each of their meals and designated a group to go get some. When the group left, the others who stayed behind poisoned the meat they set aside for the other group to have when they got back so they could have more of the meat and the bones.

The other group who had gone to get the water knew that the other group was bad. They planned on poisoning some of the water they were bringing back for the others so they could have all of the meat. When they got back, the other group drank some of the water and eventually died.

The group knew they had all of the meat to themselves. They ate it and eventually died too. This story shows that there can be plenty of riches and food for all and you should not be greedy and you should not do what you can not do.

Covetousness by A.L. Shelton

Quote about greed. Source: Flickr

Week 6 Story: Tortoise Bowl-On-The-Back and the Fox

There was a Tortoise who was known as Bowl-on-the-back. He was a farmer and was sowing seeds when the Fox passed him saying, "may God give you strength."

Later in the year when the seeds sprung in the summer, the Fox passed the Tortoise again saying, "may God give you strength" and then went on his way.

Harvest time came again and the Tortoise was busy sowing his corn. The Fox appeared wanting his share of the corn. The Tortoise was in dismay. "Your share of what?"

The Fox said, "God give you strength right?" The Tortoise responded, "because you said 'God give you strength' doesn't mean you have a right to a share of my crops."

The two started fighting over the subject and challenged each other to a race. Whoever wins will get all of the crop. The two set off.

The Tortoise immediately hid in a nearby bush to throw off the Fox. The Fox felt confident that he was running so far ahead. He stopped and took a break to get something to eat. He took so long that the Tortoise eventually passed him. The Fox still thought the Tortoise was so far behind. When the Fox reached the finish line, the Tortoise was there waiting for him. The Tortoise knew that because he was greedy, he was eventually going to lose. The Tortoise kept his entire crop and his dignity too.

Tortoise Bowl-On-The-Back and the Fox by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O Lorimer

Author's Note: When I read this story, I knew I wanted to write a little spin off from the Tortoise and the Hare: the story we all knew and loved growing up. Merging them together was easier than I thought. The original story ended with the two in a race but it wasn't the same as the Tortoise and the Hare story.

Greedy Fox. Source: Max Pixel

Reading Notes: The Story of the Wolf-Bride

A rich man was able to have a son and went to the akhund to get the boy's horoscope. The akhund told him, "your son is fated to be torn in pieces by a wolf." In order to prevent the horoscope, the father went home and built a chamber underground to put his son. He then brought the akhund in to teach the son.

Over time, the son learned how to read and write as he grew up. It came time for him to get married. The father's brother had a daughter and they were to marry. When they did, the families celebrated for a week. The families brought the girl to the son's underground chamber.

When the two were alone, the son put his arm around the girl's waist and she suddenly turned into a wolf and tore him to pieces. She turned into the same girl after she was done. She had no idea how it happened at sat alone until the next morning.

The akhund came to get her in the morning and ask how it happened? She girl said she didn't know. They buried the body together and said, "whatever is willed by fate, that verily comes to pass."

The Story of the Wolf-Bride by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer.

Wolf. Source: Max Pixel

Reading Notes: The Sad Tale of the Mouse's Tail

The story starts off with a mouse falling into a trap and losing its tail. She asks a Cobbler to sew her tail back on and the Cobbler say's he will if the mouse finds thread. The mouse finds a Jew and asks for thread and the Jew asks her to find him an egg first. The mouse finds a Hen and asks for an egg and then Hen asks for a grain of corn. The mouse goes to the Corn Heap to ask for a grain of corn and they say they want a sieve. The mouse then goes to the Tinker to ask for a sieve and the Tinker says to bring him goat skin. The mouse then goes to the goat and the goat asks for grass from the farmer in exchange for the skin. The mouse then goes to the farmer and the farmer asks for a spade in return. The mouse asked for all of the things in order to get his tail sew back on by the Cobbler.

The Sad Tale of the Mouse's Tail translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer.

Mouse. Source: Pixnio

Week 5 Story: The Merchant and His Wife

As twilight fell just like any other clear night, Khojisteh approached the parrot with despair in his eyes. He asked the parrot, "every night I come to you asking when will be my time to meet my lover, and every day I sit here with patience." The parrot admired the girl listening to his stories every night. If this was the night she was to meet her lover, then she should go. But at first, she should listen to the parrot's story about the merchant and his wife before she made her decision. So she listened...

In a city far away, there was a very rich merchant and his wife. The merchant often went away for business far away. One day, he left with no telling of when his return would be. His wife waited and waited and eventually got very lonely. She did something very unexpected and unheard of but since she was wealthy, she called upon a companion to keep her company until her husband returned. The night the companion came to the wife, the merchant returned to find them in bed together. The merchant was very offended; he loved his wife very much and only wanted to provide a good life for her. He left her for good and went to find a mistress that would keep him company for the meantime.

Author's note: The original story had the merchant leaving his wife for business and when he came back, he couldn't get into his own house. He found lodging somewhere else and called for a mistress. The mistress he got ended up being his wife. I changed the story so that the wife ended up getting a mistress of her own and instead of him being her husband, I had her husband find her with another man to make it more interesting.

The Merchant and His Wife by Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi

The Merchant. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: Of the Merchant and the Barber

Khojisteh went to the parrot at twilight, draped in gold and jewels, and asked him if she could leave saying, "I want to go to my lover at midnight; now tell a short story." The parrot responded with, "There was a merchant in a city that didn't have a child. One day he thought to himself, 'Even though I have gained a lot of riches in this world, I have no child to share my wealth with once I'm dead. Maybe I should share my wealth with the poor and orphans.' He then gave away all his wealth to charity.

He had a dream that night in which someone came to him and he asked them, 'who art thou?' The someone answered with, 'I am the form of your destiny. You have given so much of your wealth to charity that you didn't leave any for yourself. Tomorrow, I will visit you again and you will hit me several times. Once I fall to the ground, I will convert into gold. Take any body part that you require and it will be replaced.'

The next day, as the merchant was getting his hair cut, the brahmin appeared. The merchant got up and started hitting him on the head. As he fell to the ground, he changed into gold. He took the gold, gave some to the barber that was cutting his hair, and told him not to tell anyone.

The barber thought that anyone who hit the brahmin, would turn him into gold. He invited several brahmins to his house and cooked them a feast. He then hit all the brahmins to the point of cracking them open so blood poured out everywhere. They did not turn to gold.

Other brahmins got together to drag the barber in front of the magistrate. The judge then asked him, 'why did you beat the brahmins?' He answered that he thought they would turn to gold because he saw it happen in his own home.

When the merchant was approached by the magistrate he asked if the barber was telling the truth. The merchant said that he went crazy and he was his servant and not his barber."

The parrot then told Khojisteh, "now go." Khojisteh wanted to, but dawn was appearing and her departure was delayed.


Of the Merchant and the Barber by Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi.

A barber shaving his client. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: The Old Lion and a Cat

Late at night, Khojisteh asked the parrot, "why are you reflecting?" The parrot then responded, "you are making me sad even though I'm not receiving any care of my own. You listen to my stories all the time and one day, you husband will show up and you will not go with him and end up regretting it." Khojisteh then responded, "why was the cat full of regret after killing the mice when he is the one that should be eating them?" The parrot responded by telling him a story about a lion in the desert who was routinely disturbed by the mice who picked out the meat in between his teeth at night. He looked for a way to keep the mice from bothering him and a fox suggested that a cat could come and protect the lion while he sleeps. The cat that watched over the lion never killed any mice but only scared them away. One day, the cat wanted to have the day to do business and left her kitten to protect the lion from the mice. The kitten killed every mouse she saw and then they were all destroyed. The kitten was unaware that she wasn't suppose to kill the mice, only scare them away. The lion had no job left for the cat to do and ended up dismissing her. The parrot's story was to warn Khojisteh that she may regret the day her husband comes.

The Old Lion and the Cat by Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi

Sleeping Lion. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Comment Wall

Source: Max Pixel

Week 4 Story: The Fall of Satan

Adam was blessed with extraordinary qualities on the outside and in and led all the angels to envy him. They wanted to kill him and rid him of these qualities, but God protected him at all costs and established a line of peace between them. There was one person who was jealous of Adam most of all, Satan.

Satan was one of the great angels in heaven and possessed other extraordinary qualities just like Adam. God invited all the angels to visit with Adam after he gained a soul to congratulate him. Satan went with a smile on his face to pay his respect too. 

He challenged Adam to a battle of wits to see who was more superior. Satan believed he was the most extraordinary of the angels and therefore he would win. God appeared saying, “I created all the life on this planet, every animal and creature and they shall all come before us for this battle of wits.” God assigned them the tasks of creating places for every animal and creature will inhabit. If they are unable to respect their new assigned habitats by Adam, they are subject to Satan and his ability to place them accordingly. Whoever comes out on top will have a place in God’s garden.

Adam began respecting God for all his creations.

Adam incorrectly assigned homes to the first two animals he was presented, the cow and the ox. God led two others before him, the camel and the donkey, and once again, Adam assigned incorrectly.

God then turned to Satan, questioning if he could correctly execute the task; God gave him clues and framed His questions in a way that Satan could decipher the correct answer. Satan gave the proper homes for the animals and Adam was forced to acknowledge the superiority of the first man.

Adam was outraged and reached for the heavens because he was furious he was beaten by Satan. The angels no longer respected his superiority. Satan was who they now followed because he was the more intelligent of the two. God kept Adam down at earth and let Satan continue to be worshiped by the angels.

Author's Note: I decided to let Satan be the winner in this story. In the real story, Satan fails at assigning names to the animals and it's Adam who comes out on top. God helps Adam correctly assign names and Satan is the one punished down to earth and will forever be enemies with Adam. I decided to have Satan win because he is never shown in a positive light and he should have his moment to be glorious. I also changed the fact that they assigned the animals places to live rather than their names just to change things up a little more. 

The Fall of Satan by Louis Ginzberg

The Fall of Satan. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: The Third Task

The story starts off with a character, Pysche,  reaching for her goal of climbing the mountain and if she doesn't accomplish it, she thinks there is no point to her life anymore. She is climbing a mountain and approaches a dreadful wall that seems difficult and deadly. The walls has spikes and and jags that don't seem to end until the gorge below. On the sides of the walls, snakes pop out and slither down the side. The water is warning her that if she attempts it, she will die. Psyche's entire body becomes stone because she's overwhelmed with the task she is about to accomplish. Suddenly, Jupiter's eagle was there to help with its wings outstretched to aid her. He saw the trouble she was facing and knew he needed to help. He asked her if she really thought she would be able to accomplish the task and get a drop from the water below. He went to fill the vial she was holding for her. He dodged all the obstacles, spikes and serpents, and got the water even though it threatened to harm him. He accomplished the task to help Psyche. 

The Third Task, translated to English by Tony Kline. 

Psyche and the Eagle. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: Her Dream

The girl in the beginning of the story seems shaken and is speaking to her mother about how she should forgive her for her misfortune. She explains how her cousin who is three years older than her grew up together and shared many memories. Eventually, they got were engaged to be married. The night before their wedding, he and her and both of their families participated in different ceremonial sacrifices. The girl was held tight by her mom for wants of grandchildren and fear of letting her go. All of the sudden, a gang of men with swords bound through the door. They took the girl out of her mother's arms and nobody fought to get her back. She didn't get to marry her cousin. She saw the images of her wedding and her future ripped away from her. One of the thieves took a big stone and threw it at her future husband killing him in the process. Then, she woke up from her dream. A woman speaks to her saying don't let the dream disturb you. She says the dreams and nightmares have meaning and are usually the opposite of what they seem. The girl learned a lot from this endeavor.

Apuleius: Her Dream, translated to English by Tony Kline.

Woman sleeping. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Feedback Strategies

When giving feedback to other people in my life, I try to think about their side of the story and how they're going to take it. I'm generally a very honest person, but the honest answer doesn't always give the best feedback. If someone's paper is not written very well, I never tell them it's not good enough. I always give them specific ways they can improve.

When working as a dance instructor, I was taught a great way to give feedback: sandwich the comments. Start out with a positive comment, give them constructive criticism or a way they can improve, then finish with another positive comment. Therefore they're leaving on a high note.

I ready both "What Kinds of Messages Helps Kids Grow?" and "Be a Mirror" and I learned a lot from both articles. In the first one, I didn't realize how important the feedback process was especially to younger children. If you comment on the ways they can help learn a skill, they will be more motivated to do it instead of giving saying, "try again!" The second article gives ways of how evaluators can give feedback in ways that won't reflect back judgement which has a really positive effect on a person's mindset. These articles were really helpful in learning new and different ways for giving feedback!

Proverbs 18:15 Source: Flickr