Week 13 Reading Diary: Brothers Grimm LibriVox Cont.

This week I am continuing to read Brothers Grimm LibriVox version.

I am still busy so I am doing another overarching summary of the stories! Each of the tales again seems to focus on a moral or main point. There are also a lot of talking creatures in these stories.The second story in the reading even has a majestic lion that gives advice!  There is a lot of enchanted food used in the stories to further the plot as well. In my favorite story of this half of the reading, the Twelve Dancing Princesses, a sleeping pill is used in the wine given to each man every night. This allows the girls to escape and go dance with their princes in the underground castle. However a soldier who has been wounded is told how to avoid their tricks and is able to tell the king all about his daughters dancing escapades. He then marries the eldest of the twelve daughters. I really enjoyed reading these stories this week and can't wait to read more!

The Twelve Dancing Princesses from deviantart

Week 13 Reading Diary: Brothers Grimm LibriVox

This week I chose to read the Brothers Grimm LibriVox version because it had a lot of cool stories in it and some of my favorites. However, I don't have much time this week so I will just be giving a general summary of thoughts for each half of the reading assignment.

The Frog Prince, Rapunzel, Briar Rose, and a few other unique tales are included in the first half of the reading. Each of these seems to focus mainly on a specific moral. There is also a large amount of enchantments, fairy tale creatures, and kismet involved in each story. I particularly liked one of the unique stories: Clever Elsie. This story is focused on a girl that has no common sense. She instead focuses on unlikely events to occur well off in the future and chooses the most 'efficient' path. I think that this story reminded me that I don't have to worry about every little detail going wrong in the future, but rather focus on the present.

Clever Elsie from Crisp

Week 12 Reading Diary: Celtic Fairy Tales Cont.

I am continuing to read the Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. 

The first story is about a King and his beloved goose. They both become ill and the Saint Kavin saves the goose in return for whatever the land the goose flies over after being healed. The king keeps his word and is blessed by the saint. I liked this story because very rarely do you see animals like a goose becoming mans best friend.

The next story is about a fairy who marries the kings daughter, but in order to do so must make a laughing goblin laugh. The reason he has stopped laughing is quite horrific and filled with riddles/puzzles. I liked that element of the story because it makes you think about the situation and what you would do in their shoes.

The third story is very sad for me because Gellert the greyhound dies in it. However, it does show a good moral of trust and checking everything before making judgements.

The next story is about a man who sets off to find work to support himself and his wife. He finds a farmer who gives him advice instead of wages. The three pieces of advice come into play as the man returns home to his wife which end up saving his life and making them known to the lord of their land. This one certainly has a strong moral of "Honesty is the best policy".

The fifth story is about an old man named Andrew Coffey an he is terrorized by a ghost in a nightmare. When he wakes up from the nightmare all is as he left it!

The last story is about twins being stolen and replaced by elvish children. The mother finally figures it out with the help of an old wise man in the village. All of these stories have very interesting names for locations and they seemed to be named after exactly what happened there.

Gellert the Greyhound from Tales and Tails

Week 12 Reading Diary: Celtic Fairy Tales

This week I chose to read the Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs.

The first story in this reading is about the son of a king disappearing with a fairy woman! It is a good story and reminds me of snow white due to the apple element. The son only ate this one apple that kept regrowing for an entire month!

The next story is about leprechauns! A man meets a leprechaun that tells him his beer is made with heath and that it is a family secret. Tom, the man, tries to get the beer but can't and instead spills it all over the place. The leprechaun tricks him then by taking him to a place where his gold is supposed to be, but it is not!

The third story is about witches who trick a woman into letting them weave and scare her family. The woman receives help from the Spirit in the Well and saves her family. She also scares the witches away and creates enchantment to keep them out the next time they try to come in. It appears that tricks and magical creatures are a large part of the Celtic Fairy Tales.

The next two stories are about a man who marries a lake deity and a tailor. The marriage story has the woman marry the man, but will leave if he hits her three times for no reason. He ends up accidentally hitting her three times and so she leaves. The tailor story is about a tailor having to sew a pair of trousers in a graveyard as a dare by a lord. He wins the bet and receives the award, but he had to sew while a great scary spirit tried to keep him distracted and even chased him all the way back to the lord's castle!

The sixth story is a cumulative tale, which was interesting to read. It builds on itself and every time the man is looking for something new he adds it to his list. I liked this style, and might try to include it in another storytelling!

The last story in this part of the unit is a Celtic version of Snow White about Silver-Tree and her daughter Gold-Tree. It has a lot of the same elements but was fun to read because it shared another narrative style on the classic story!

Silver-Tree trying to poison her daughter from sacred-texts

Week 11 Reading Diary: Faerie Queen (Cont.)

I continued to read the Faerie Queen by Mary Macleod!

I really enjoyed reading Britomart's story this week. She has so many adventures and holds up her legendary tales with ease and strong character. This set of readings also included a few tales of some of the knights she ran into on her adventures. Particularly Sir Scudamour, whose wife Britomart had rescued and then disappeared. I was really glad to see that Britomart finally met her knight, Sir Artegall.

Reading through all of the adventures they kept mentioning Sir Artegall and that he was the true purpose to Britomart's quest. All of the side stories allowed for the reader to stay interested, while also learning more about her and Sir Artegall. He is also known as the Savage Knight during one of the tournaments, which he and Britomart participate in, so they pass over one another due to disguises! There are a lot of elements in this tale that rely on fate and kismet, which was something else I enjoyed.

Sir Artegall and Britomart from sacred-texts

Week 11 Reading Diary: Faerie Queen

This week I am reading about the Faerie Queen written by Mary Macleod.

The reading I selected for this week is all about Britomart, a young girl searching for the one she has fallen in love with. She is well trained like a knight and has an enchanted spear. I really enjoyed reading the stories for this first half because they showed a brave woman chasing her dream. She had seen the man of her dreams in Merlin's magic mirror one day and decided to hunt after him. 

Each of the stories continue her tale and move it forward just a little bit. The last one does not have a completed ending and makes it very difficult to stop reading! I am excited to continue reading more about Britomart and the knight she seeks, Artegall. It is also interesting because there are several stories with women falling in love with Britomart due to her masculine appearance in armor. The gender-bending elements of these stories have added another level to the Arthurian legends!

Britomart by Walter Cane from pinterest

Week 10 Reading Diary: Sioux Legends (Cont.)

Today I am continuing to read the Sioux Legends by Marie McLaughlin.

The first story is about a many covered/made up of buffalo fat and another of ground beef. A large man named Unktomi (spider) and his family chase them down and eat the ground beef man. The other man escapes and hides himself in a tree. I think that the ending is very sad for the poor spider-man because he ends up drowning in a river. The different animal titles are a good theme throughout these stories.

The next two stories are also about men named Unktomi and they all seem to be tricksters of some assortment! The trickster archetype also seems to be prevalent in a lot of these stories.

The next few stories are about Iktomi, a spider-fairy. Iktomi is also described as being mischievous and wily. The first of multiple stories shows Iktomi killing ducks and then having them stolen away from him by a pack of wolves. The next is about Iktomi offering a blanket to the Great Spirit and then taking advantage of it! The third story is about Iktomi and his interactions with a muskrat, where the muskrat teaches him a valuable lesson of friendship and food. The last two stories are about Iktomi and a coyote and a turtle. All of these stories showed some cool things about Iktomi and the Sioux's perspective on the spider-fairy!

Iktomi sketching from wikipedia

Week 10 Reading Diary: Sioux Legends

This week I chose to read the Sioux Legends written by Marie McLaughlin.

The first few stories are about a rabbit and his grandmother. In the first story the rabbit tries to catch a bunch of grouse in a bag, but the grandmother lets them go. In the second story the rabbit needs flint for his arrows and ends up killing a bear chief to get it! I think it is interesting how clever the rabbit seems to be in both of these stories. It is also interesting that the Sioux explained how few bears they have in the area by saying a rabbit killed them with a club of flint...

The third story in this selection is about a woman that lives with wolves for a while to escape from her abusive husband. I do not like the ending of this story because she ends up going back to him and they 'reconcile'. Which I am not sure is a good thing.

The next few stories are all about mischief and seeing unnatural things! One a boy tricks his friends that he is a dead medicine-woman come back to life. Another a boy sees a little army of men swimming in a lake. These stories all seem to focus on a young boy.

The next story is about the discovery of corn. This was very interesting since it mostly focuses on a hermit that prepares medicine. This was cool to see the Sioux's legend on how corn was found and taught about.

I enjoyed reading the next story about a future-telling butte. Several Indian warriors would visit it to see if it would actually tell the future. I think it is cool to see this side Indian culture because the more magical elements are sometimes left out due to the importance of historical elements. This story also pointed out the importance of buffalo for the Indians.

The final story for this reading is about a turtle. The turtle is extremely wise and the chief of the Sioux uses his wisdom to help make decisions with an unbiased opinion. I liked this story because it was interesting to see the animals wisdom being revered above others. It was sad that the turtles wife had a child with another man, but realistic because the turtle decided to sleep for an entire winter!

A beautiful turtle painting from creating sacred communities

Week 9 Reading Diary: Eskimo (cont.)

This week I am continuing to read the folktales from the Eskimo/Inuit area by Knud Rasmussen.

The opener for the reading for today was very powerful. It is about a two men who go hunting together and one always catches things while the other does not. Finally the man who is unable to catch anything kills the other. The dead man's mother revenges his death by dying and coming back as a bear ghost to kill the man. At the end Rasmussen comments that this was a traditional belief. They believed that if you killed a man without reason a monster would come and strike you and shred you to pieces.

The next story follows a similar plot line. I think that it is interesting that the ghosts of the people come back as animals of their amulets. This reminds me a bit of Brother Bear, where the people are given a wood carving of an animal that represents their spirit.

The next few stories are a bit gruesome for even my taste to read. They discuss a lot of men eating men, gory deaths, and force-feeding a man to death. The very long names continue, which it is interesting to see some of the common parts of names in each story.

The last stories all have very good morals at the end. Mostly about lying, killing, or helping others in times of need. I particularly liked the last story about the man who helped another man from a different village in his time in need. At the end the man in need returned the favor for him.

An Arctic Fox from esceimages

Week 9 Reading Diary: Eskimo Folk Tales

I have always been interested in Eskimo Folk Tales and chose to read those collected by Knud Rasmussen. One of my favorite movies growing up was Balto, and although I'm sure it is not very representative I have once again been reminded of those memories!

The first story is about the creation of earth and I like how the author talks about how man was created out of the earth and then he created dogs from the earth. It is an interesting twist from other versions I have heard growing up. It appears that animals are important in these stories.

Another story that I really liked from this reading was about a woman that fostered a bear. The bear became like a child to her and helped the men hunt for seals in the ocean. It was very sad to see the bear have to go away at the end. This story definitely pulls at the heartstrings!

The next story was about a boy whose family all died and left him to live with others. Eventually they visit him and he decides to pass as well because he is paralyzed. Another key thing I have noticed with these stories is the characters names are very complicated!

Another theme throughout many of these stories is wifeless men! I don't know if there are few women in the Eskimo lands, but finding a wife seems to be quite the task! There are also a lot of elements related to hunting throughout the last few stories in this reading. I really enjoyed reading all of these stories though, and am excited to choose one to rewrite.

The Polar Bear Son from Danforth Art Museum

Week 7 Reading Diary: African Stories Lang (cont.)

The first story in this round of tales is about a boy who who grows up and decides he wants to become a physician. He somehow gets stuck in a hole because some of his friends leave him there to die! I like the part of this story that relates to the King of Snakes, although he is killed in the end. He helps make the boy a success. This story also reminds me of some of the Turkish fairy tales I've read previously.

The next story is about a monkey and a shark. The shark receives fruit from the monkey and the become quick friends. I do always enjoy stories about animals! But this one takes a twist when the shark tries to take the monkey to his home so that the shark sultan can have his heart. The monkey bravely convinces the shark that he left his heart back at the tree they became friends at and tells him a story to try and distract him. The story proves the monkeys point and he gets away at the end.

The last story is about a man who defeats many giants and sets off to find a place to call home. However, he ends up getting caught in a battle with someone of equal strength and power. Eventually, Mulimo, the Great Spirit, sends them up to the skies to become gods because they are too good to remain human.

the monkey and shark tale from Andrew Lang illustrations

African Stories by Andrew Lang

Week 7 Reading Diary: African Stories Lang

I decided to read the African Stories by Andrew Lang to get a view at the African fairy tales.

Jackal from Wes Phalan

The first story is about a man and wife and their child. The wife is very thin and frail and the husband runs many errands to fetch things for her. They then switch places and the wife bumps into an ogre, that she promises her first child to. The child however, is a wizard. He uses bones to tell him what he should do to escape the ogre. He collects the village children his age and prepares them like his mother prepared him. I like that the child is outsmarting the ogre, although I feel bad that the ogre has been cheated out of a meal. In the end the ogre accidently eats the father, because the child switches their blankets. I like that the moral of the story is that you must pay the consequences of your actions.

The next story is about a Jackal and other animals collecting water. It reminds a lot of the story about the chicken who bakes pies and everyone helps, but one animal. That animal then doesn't get any because they didn't help. But in this story the Jackal tricks the rabbit and the hare to tie themselves up so he can get water. The tortoise is the only one smart enough to not believe the jackal.

The third story is also about a Jackal, but is also about his friend the hedgehog. It is also about the jackal tricking a panther! However, in the end the panther gives up trying to chase them. The jackal gets his punishment though, because he is killed by a greyhound after being tricked by a shepherd. The hedgehog knew it was a greyhound, but the jackal wouldn't believe him. I liked this tale because it shows that you are not always the smartest person in the room and being overly confident can kill you.

The next two stories are about the jackal's sons. The elder won is in a fight about a green cloak. He manages to escape with it though. I liked this tale because of  where he meets another lion and hyena. He is clever enough to learn from the death of the hyena that he should give all of the food to the lion. I did not like the ending of the story though, because the elder son also gets killed by the hedgehog, who crushes him with a big stone! The younger son seems to get a better deal in the long run! He tricks a sheep into doing the work for him while growing corn. He tries to give the sheep only one share, but the sheep gets the greyhound to scare the jackal. This works and the sheep gets her fair share!

Week 6 Reading Diary: Japanese Fairy tales Lang (cont.)

For the second week I chose to read more from the Japanese Fairy Tales by Andrew Lang

This round of stories is off to a good start, more animal stories! I liked that this one was about dogs and cats fighting. I think that it is a cute rivalry but also shows how bravery can help any situation.

The next story has a more direct moral in the story. It is about a crab who takes care of her home and is wise to take a seed and let it grow into a tree for more food. The monkey steals food and is disrespectful, leaving the crab for dead. However, the crab and her friends get revenge on the monkey and kill him. Although it is a bit brutal for my tastes, it clearly shows the moral that those who give and are kind are rewarded and those who steal and are mean will be punished.

This third tale seems a little more on the cheesy side. I like that the kettle turns into a tanuki, which appears to be a very cute little raccoon dog, but the tale itself is a little overdone. The overall moral of this story however seems to be that being honest will bring you fortune and luck in your life. And both of the owners of the kettle live a long, happy life to prove that moral.

This next tale is also centered around tanuki. Although this time there is an evil tanuki who kills the mother fox. His son is able to deceive him however and revenge his mothers death. I liked this tale because it shows how cleverness is always useful, but one must must be careful with how confident they are and how prideful they become.

The fifth tale is also about tanukis (sensing a trend here) and they are apparently not always nice creatures! This one kills a mans wife and then eats her! A hare and the man plot revenge and eventually kill the tanuki. I think that this stories main point is to try and show that you must never trust tanuki! Although, I feel a little bad for the tanukis...

This last story is about a man who saves a turtle and is thanked by the turtle later by saving the man's life. The turtle then takes the man to a palace and meets a princess. This leads to the man marrying the princess. I liked this part because of the illustrations shown in the story. I think that it is sad though because the man doesn't realize that his parents have died because he has stayed underwater for so long! This is truly about love and I think that it makes me think about spending more time with my parents because you never know what could happen in life!

The illustration from the last tale from the stories

Week 6 Reading Diary: Japanese Fairy Tales Lang

The first tale about the two frogs reminds me of the city mouse, country mouse folk tale. Although it also has a moral that sometimes your perspective can change everything!

The next tale about the stonecutter had a very good moral as well. It shows a man how he should value his normal life, because it can quickly be taken for granted.

After the stonecutter was a story about a woman who had great beauty. It is a reminder to stay humble and that good things will come your way in time. I liked this story because it showed how hard work is valued just as well as outer beauty.

The next story is about an envious neighbor. I like that it starts with a dog, because I love animals and love when they are included in tales. However, I was very unhappy that the dog was killed by the evil neighbor. I think that the overall moral of this story is if you are patient and treat others with kindness you will be rewarded, whereas if you allow your hatred to overflow you will be punished.

This fifth story is about a man and his wife, who is very greedy. He saves a little sparrow (again animals in the story makes me happy!) and is later rewarded for his kindness. The sparrow turns into a woman, who later offers him a present at her home. He takes a small chest and it is full of gold and jewels. The wife seeing this sets back to the sparrow/woman's home and takes the largest chest, but is rewarded with poisonous serpents instead of gold. The moral of this story similar to the one above, appears to be if you let your greed and hatred consume you then you will be punished for it.

The last story of this unit was about two cats. I particularly liked this story because it discusses the love story of two cats who find a home with a princess. I think that I like this story mostly because it is the only true love story of this batch of readings and one of the first true love stories I have read in our readings total. The two cats looked so happy in some of the images for this story!

A picture from the cat story from the stories

Japanese Fairy Tales by Andrew Lang

Week 5 Reading Diary: Turkish Fairy Tales (cont.)

The Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignacz Kunos

The first tale in this section is about a girl meeting her husband through kismet! I have always loved that word, but never truly appreciated its origin. One aspect of this story that I like is that the girl is not unafraid to explore even after being told that her fate is with death. I also notice that a bird is being used as a mode of communication.

The second story is about a wood cutter and his wife. I liked the aspect that the husband felt bad about leaving his wife and then was surprised by pulling out an imp! There are not many fairy tales that I know of that include imps, so this is an interesting twist. The imp reminds of Rumpelstiltskin and has to be outwitted himself to leave a poor princess alone. The ending is a good one because it is not just about love or happily ever after, but about healthy living too.

The third story is about a man and his wife who wants him to become a soothsayer. I thought it was cool that they mention a coffee house for the man and his friend to meet at. I knew that coffee/tea houses were a thing in certain Arabian cultures, so it is cool to see this in a story. The pathway for him to become a soothsayer is entertaining and I feel bad for the goose that died in the end.

The last few stories all follow similar story lines that have previously been mentioned. I really liked all of the stories from these readings and am really glad that I chose to read these fairy tales for this section. I look forward to recreating the elements from these stories for my own storytelling.

Turkish Fairy Tale Illustration from sacred texts

Week 5 Reading Diary: Turkish Fairy Tales

Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignacz Kunos

The first story for this reading diary is about a young boy trying to find fear. I liked the different elements trying to teach him about fear in this story. The maidens were an interesting twist and I liked that the widow of the first Shah creates fear in the boy. I also like that he is brave enough to keep searching for it throughout all of the trials presented in front of him.

The next story is about a wizard monk and a prince. I am starting to see a trend with the birds turning into three maidens, this is the second time that has been used in these fairy tales. The plot thickens when the maidens are offered to the prince as a bride and one of them has been chosen to marry him! I liked the small details of how the maiden and the prince escaped the witch, it added some humor  to the story. I also am seeing a pattern in marriage celebration of 40 days and 40 nights within these stories.

The third story is about a fish turning into a maiden and a man having to fight for her love with the Padishah. I like these stories because they all have an element of whimsy to them. I also love this story because of all the challenges and tasks that the youth has to accomplish to keep his maiden and marry her. In the end it is good to see the Shah get what he deserves!

The last story for this diary is about a boy who becomes a bird catcher and also has to face challenges from the Padishah. In this story, much like the one before, a mystical creature (crow) helps the boy face the challenges. After completing the challenges the crow (shockingly!) turns into a maiden! I do like these fairy tales, but they all have very similar story lines. I'm interested to see what the rest hold in store!

The boy catching the crow in Crow-Peri from genius

Week 4 Reading Diary: Egyptian Myth and Legend (Cont.)

For this assignment I will continue reading the Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie.

The second part of this reading starts out with the tale of two brothers. This opens introducing the two brothers, Anpu and Bata, and Anpu's wife. I like that the two brothers have a close connection and work together to make a good life for themselves. This story quickly goes downhill though because of Anpu's wife. She seems very slimy and lies to Anpu about Bata coming on to her. This creates a rift between Anpu and Bata, but doesn't last long because Bata tells the truth of what happened.
After Bata and Anpu separate I think it is an interesting detail that Bata's soul is placed inside a tree. It certainly came in handy once Bata's wife is stolen and he is killed. His brother's revival of him is very cool and allows Bata to enact revenge. Although it takes multiple reincarnations for Bata to gain power, the ending comes full circle. 
The next story is of the Book of Thoth. I like this tale of adventure and quest. Nefer-ka-ptah has a great curiosity for knowledge and goes to find the Book of Thoth, no matter what gets in his way. I think he is very creative in how he kills the 'un-killable' snake. Although Thoth ends up killing Nefer-ka-ptah's whole family, he still prevails in keeping the book away from Thoth. He has it buried with him, preventing the god from getting the book back.
The last story of this section is a fable of two brothers who steal treasure from the king. I like this story because it creative and different than previous stories. It also has a moral ending, but the brother who survives is rewarded for his cunning and creative thinking. 

The Book of Thoth from Marvel wikia page

 
 

Week 4 Reading Diary: Egyptian Myth and Legend

I am excited to learn more about the creation stories from the Egyptian culture. I grew up loving this culture and am intrigued to read more in detail about their beliefs. These stories are from Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie

Reading through the creation of the gods and goddesses is very interesting, because it is very different from a Western christian creation story. I liked the idea of the gods all having a mother figure as their overarching beginning and that they were created in pairs.
The next part about Ra and Isis is funny because Isis just wants Ra's secret name to gain power. She creates a situation to try and get his name and when she does she heals him of the serpent's bite she had given him.
After this it is noted that Ra has aged poorly and many men have made fun of him (not the best idea to insult a god). Ra enacted a revenge plan and slaughtered many of those that made fun of him. I also liked in this part they discuss how the fermented alcohol became a sacrifice for the gods. And how the gods created the alcohol for this purpose.
During this story they detail a lot more of the minor gods during Ra's transformation to Ptah. My favorite of these listed in Anubis!
I also liked the discussion of Osiris and Isis and how they transformed the kingdoms of people below. Following is Osiris' death and how Isis mourns him and is on the run because of his brother Set. I think that Isis is a good, strong female character and proves herself worthy of ruling.
The last few stories were interesting because they talked about how Osiris becomes the god of the dead. They also cover some stories told to Prince Khafra which were a little odd and sad, because of their endings!

Anubis from Wikipedia

Week 3 Reading Diary: Ovid's Metamorphoses II (cont.)

I selected the stories from Ovid's Metamorphoses II by Ovid.

I enjoyed the story of Procne and her sister Philomela. It had a lot of gruesome details in it, but also showed that women can be powerful! I also think that it was cool that the sisters got revenge on the man who had taken advantage of them! I also thought how sad it was for the father, which the author did a good job of characterizing, that his daughters would have to lead such a tragic life without his knowledge. As a whole I liked the story, but thought some of it was a little confusing to read through. Particularly the ending was a little off, for me, because the characters are randomly turned into birds without any explanation!

The next part of this story is about Jason and Medea. I love Jason and the Argonauts because of all the adventures they must go on searching for the golden fleece! I also liked that the story opened up with Medea's struggles and how she could justify her love for Jason. I had not heard that part of the story before and was glad to see her thoughts. I also like that Jason is thankful for Medea's help, the story also shows powerful women. I really liked the part that Medea used magic and helped save Jason's father's life! Again I think that the story was wrapped up very quickly, but overall I loved the adventures that were included and the idea of Medea (like the sisters previously) was able to get revenge!

Medea's Escape from Cleveland Museum of Art

Week 3 Reading Diary: Ovid's Metamorphoses II

I have always absolutely loved the story of Persephone and Hades. There was something about how a woman getting stolen away into Hell and then her mother fighting for her right to have time on earth that just inspired me. Persephone, although silly for taking the pomegranate seeds (or apple in some versions!), is extremely persistent in trying to get home. Eventually, though she makes their relationship work, which was the coolest part to me. Making a relationship that anyone would have hated/dreaded work as at least a friendship. But Hades adores her, thanks to Cupid, so I suppose having the King of Hell at beck and call would be nice after a while.

Persephone and Hades by sandara from deviantart

I also love Arachne, not because of her stubbornness, but because of the skill she had and that she was willing to fight for that. I also think this tale was interesting because it shows that the gods are not unbeatable, but should be showed respect to prevent any kind of transformation!

The other stories with the first half of this unit were not quite as interesting. I thought Niobe's story had some interesting elements because I had not heard of that story before. The other two were not as straight forward, and did not have as many interesting characters. I'm looking forward to reading the next section of readings though!  

Ovid's Metamorphoses II by Ovid