Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

Several of these stories were interesting and entertaining to read. The infantile subjects brought about great emphasis in the lessons that were meant by these stories. I felt as though I learned a lot not only as life lessons, but also how to write as a writer. Many of these stories were capturing in terms of the beginning. Others provided pertinent information that was more useful later in the story.

Two stories caught my attention: the Crane and the Crab, and the Goblins. Several of the animal stories had similar life lessons/story lines as the Crane and the Crab. The main takeaway from the crane and the crab was to be careful of who you trust. It is not always that one can trust their enemy or predator simply by taking their word. Three characters were present in this situation: the crane, fish, and crab. This allows some flexibility and the setting can also be changed up.

The story of the goblins reminded me a lot of the Odyssey. The story of the men who went into the cave and were lured in by the singing women who turned out to be sirens. Surprisingly enough, typing that out gave me a brilliant idea. This story can be changed around in many ways, as the Odyssey and this story are two different yet similar stories. Here there were also three main groups of characters and an easily changeable setting. A way to rewrite this Jataka would be to turn the goblins into Starbucks (trust me this will make sense), and make the sailors the common consumers. The flying horse and fairy that save the day could vary depending on the situation and what one would consider "saved from coffee" (LOL what a concept).

Flying horse. Source: Giant Crab

Bibliography:

Goblin City by W. H. D. Rouse
The Cunning Crane and the Crab by W. H. D. Rouse