Wikipedia Trail - Rumpelstiltskin to Ghost

https://twitter.com/OnlineMythIndia

I originally found the idea to look up Rumpelstiltskin on the class twitter feed. I had kind of forgotten about this story but I remember finding it really interesting when I was younger. I think I was also a little afraid of Rumpelstiltskin because I think I had a hard time separating fiction from reality.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumpelstiltskin

I really liked getting to revisit this story as someone in my 20s now. I think there's kind of always this internal battle in my mind about who I feel bad for in this story because honestly they all kind of got tricked.

Depiction of Rumpelstiltskin
Source: Wikipedia Rumpelstiltskin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poltergeist

I got interested in the word poltergeist because I had definitely never associated it with the story of Rumpelstiltskin before! I love stories about creepy stuff like this although the stories always really freak me out and make me scared. One of my favorite creepy things I like to watch is Buzzfeed Unsolved on YouTube. I really enjoy this show because they investigate creepy places but they're super goofy at the same time so it makes it less scary for me to watch.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit

I was intrigued by the term spirit because I was wondering how it differed from the word poltergeist. Spirit is a more general term I feel like and a poltergeist is kind of specific in that it messes with you al little more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost

Finally I was additionally curious about the difference between the term ghost and the term spirit. These were more similar than poltergeist was to either of them. It's a more general term as well.

Extra Credit Reading - Reading Notes (Shibi)

Pashu; Animal Tales from Hindu Mythology. Devdutt Pattanaik. (2014)

Shibi

In this story there is a dove who is flying around one day when a hawk tries to kill it and eat it. The dove cries out to Shibi and begs Shibi to save him. Shibi does because he pities the dove however after the dove flies free the hawk is left without his meal. The hawk explains this to Shibi and asks what he should eat now. Shibi tells him to eat a different dove, the hawk asks him how that is fair. It isn't fair to the dove who was chosen instead of the one who was spared and it also isn't fair for the hawk not to eat and for him and his children to starve. Shibi then suggests that he eat a rat and the hawk counters again asking how that is fair for the rat. Shibi finally tells the hawk that he can have his own flesh of equal weight to the dove that was spared. When they weighed the dove however, it weighed more than Shibi so they couldn't do this either. It was then that the hawk explained to him that nature shouldn't be messed with. All animals have been equipped with adequate abilities and the strongest and smartest will survive. I really liked this story because I think it had a really important message, I have to remind myself of this lesson often because I tend to pity the victim even though it's just the cycle of life.

Shibi weighing himself, even though it appears that he weighs more than the dove (in the story the dove weighs more
Source: Wikipedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kindness_of_Shibi.jpg

Week 7 Story

          Bhima knew that he could never defeat Drona while Drona still believed Ashwatthaman was alive. He quickly came up with a plot to fool Drona into believing that Ashwatthaman was dead. Bhima went out and found an elephant named Ashwatthaman and he killed it, this way he could exclaim that Ashwatthaman was dead and fool Drona. Bhima went to where Drona was and shouted many times that Ashwatthaman was dead.

          However, Drona refused to believe this news immediately. Wisely, Drona went to Yudhishthira because he knew that he was incapable of telling anything but the truth. Once there, he asked Yudhishthira if it was true and he confirmed the news.

          "Ashwatthaman is dead!" Drona heard Yudhishthira say three times, but what he didn't hear was "the elephant" after each Ashwatthaman. Drona was fooled by this trick and was deeply saddened. His son was so much of his reason for living, he felt the energy leaving his body slowly the more he fell into his own thoughts. Drona was so distraught from the news that he completely forgot about his divine weapons, sat down in front of his own chariot, and laid down his weapons. Seizing this opportune moment, the Pandava general Dhrishtadyumna found his sword and started towards Drona. He had planned on defeating Drona in one to one combat. Strangely though, before he even had the chance the sky appeared to have two suns for a moment. These weren't able to stop the attack though and Dhrishtadyumna's sword came down on Drona and cut off his head. The moment it was cut, both Drona's head and body slowly disappeared into the Earth.

Ashwattaman the Elephant
Source: Wikipedia, Ashwatthama

Author's Note

          I think I liked this story so much because I like when people use trickery in these stories. It makes them so much more interesting even if it is kind of sad for whoever is getting tricked. I tried to stay true to the original story line so I didn't change any of the plot but instead wrote it in my own words instead. The only thing I changed was at the end I made Drona's head and body disappear back into the Earth because it seemed slightly less gruesome than his head being tossed back into the thick of things. 

PDE Mahabharata: Death of Drona

Source. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914)

http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/pde-mahabharata-death-of-drona.html

Reading Notes Mahabharata (D)

PDE Mahabharata: Bhishma Falls

Source. Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)

http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/pde-mahabharata-bhishma-falls.html

Bhishma is destroying things. Yudhishthira speaks to Krishna tells him that Bhishma will be defamed if he slays a woman. Krishna says that Arjuna must go with Shikhandin to Bhishma. Shikhandin was born a woman but was made male by a yaksha. Arjuna is really upset about Bhishma's fate because he loves him like a father but Krishna explains it has to happen. 

PDE Mahabharata: Drona in Command

Source. Mahabharata, Epic of the Bharatas, by Romesh C. Dutt (1898)

http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/pde-mahabharata-battles-rages.html

Drona is now leading Duryodhana's army, he also says he is going to take Yudhishthir captive. 

PDE Mahabharata: Death of Drona

Source. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914)

http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/pde-mahabharata-death-of-drona.html

As long as the son of Drona was alive, Ashwatthaman, it was said that Drona could not be defeated. So Bhima knew that he had to trick Drona. To do this Bhima killed an elephant named Ashwatthaman and yelled in front of Drona that Ashwatthaman was dead, which he was technically just not the Ashwatthaman that Drona was thinking of. However, Drona still refused to accept this news until he heard it from Yudhishthira who is unable to lie. Yudhishthira confirmed that Ashwatthaman was dead but after every "Ashwatthaman" he said (indistinctly to Drona) "the elephant."

Depiction of Drona's Death
Source: Drona's Death

Reading Notes Mahabharata (C) - Week 7

PDE Mahabharata: Life in the Forest

Source. Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)

http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/pde-mahabharata-life-in-forest.html

The Pandavas were understandably concerned about having to live in the forest. Yudhishthira discusses all the potential perils of the forest to the brahmins and one of them told him that he should call upon the sun god for aid. He did and Surya appeared and gave him a copper pot that always had food available for them. 

PDE Mahabharata: Arjuna and Shiva

Source. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914)

http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/pde-mahabharata-arjuna-and-shiva.html

Arjuna is told he needs to be the one to go up the mountain are receive a vision from the Great God. One day while up there, he was performing his morning worship. A boar came at him seeking to slay him. He shot his arrow at the boar but someone else's arrow got there first. He was angry at the person who shot it because he believed the boar to belong to him. He turns his arrow on the man who shot it and shoots but none of his arrows have any effect on him. So he says they should wrestle but that doesn't work either. Finally he realizes this is the Great God when he throws a garland of flowers at the image of the Great God and it appears on the person's neck immediately. He is given the divide bow and told not to use it until it is a last resort and not to use it against "feeble foes."

PDE Mahabharata: Bhima and Hanuman

Source. The Mahabharata, A Summary by John Mandeville Macfie (1913)

http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/pde-mahabharata-bhima-and-hanuman.html

Hanuman is back! Here he has an encounter with Bhima which is crazy because they are actually half-bothers. They talk for quite a while, Hanuman tells Bhima about his adventures with Rama, the duties of different castes, in the "first-age" there is no need to perform any religious act, he shows Bhima his true larger form, and many other things! When it was time to depart from each other they hugged each other a lot. 

Statue of Hanuman
Source: Hanuman Image

Tech Tip - Embedding Music

StoryLab TEDed Videos: Language

How languages evolve:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIzFz9T5rhI&index=2&list=PLrWYQjLLbXchDJp7Z_BzshUOT7tuk845Q


This video was interesting to me because it briefly discussed the story of the tower of Babel. I have heard this story many times in church and I always wondered about its credibility. The credibility is still unknown but it's an interesting theory that's fun to think about. I didn't realize how complicated languages were until I watched this video. For instance, I didn't know that Chinese had so many different dialects and that two people who speak "Chinese" but with very different dialects can often times not understand each other enough to communicate. I have seen a very small part of this in the Spanish that I have studied throughout my life. Mostly, I see it when we look at how some countries use the "vosotros" form like in Spain. In Latin America people do not use the vosotros form.

Where do new words come from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytr28t5VzAs&list=PLrWYQjLLbXchDJp7Z_BzshUOT7tuk845Q&index=5

A lot of times words are borrowed from other cultures. Especially if that thing being described was brought over by that culture. Software is used across the world although it was originated as English. Another way is if multiple words that are already known are mixed together to create a new word. Often times this is easy for a native speaker to piece together new meaning on their own. Sometimes a word isn't new at all, it is just an old word that has been forgotten and is being brought back to use now in present time. Villain used to meant peasant farmer then it started to mean someone not bound by the knightly code. Sometimes words take on completely opposite meaning if they are used with irony or something similar. For instance, sick and wicked have come to mean things more like amazing.

Representation of the Tower of Babel from How Languages Evolve
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIzFz9T5rhI&index=2&list=PLrWYQjLLbXchDJp7Z_BzshUOT7tuk845Q

Mahabharata Reading - Part B

PDE Mahabharata: The House of Fire

Source. The Indian Heroes by C. A. Kincaid (1921)

http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/pde-mahabharata-house-of-fire.html

Prince Yudhishthira was very wise and noticed that all the tapestries and furniture were soaked in oil and the entirety of the palace and its roof was built only of wood or material that is easily burned. Thankfully Prince Vidura gave Prince Yudhishthira his warning and Prince Vidura repeated the dark words to his family. Prince Vidura sent for a skilled miner who could dig a passage from the floor of the lac palace to the forest outside. The very day that the miner finished his work, the Pandavas escaped but not before Prince Bhima set fire to the guard-house as revenge. The guard and Purochana, the wicked captain both died. The flames were pushed by wind and the lac palace also took fire, killing a low-caste woman and her five sons who were sleeping there. The people of Varanavata awoke and assumed the low-caste woman and her sons were actually Queen Kunti and the Pandavas. The people were very sad about this and grieved their apparent deaths. However, evil Prince Duryodhana and King Dhritarashtra were both happy about this. 

PDE Mahabharata: Bhima and Hidimba

Source. Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)

http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/pde-mahabharata-aswatthamans-rage.html

The Pandavas traveled through the dangerous forest until they finally found a place that seemed safe to sleep for the night. Bhima stayed awake and watched after them while they slept. While he was watching over them a brother and sister rakshasa smelled them and went to devour them. However, the sister rakshasa thought that Bhima was attractive and wanted to be his wife. She offered to save him and his family if he made her his wife but he said no and then her brother came to attack all of them and attack his sister for trying to foil his plan. Bhima fights him.

Bhima fighting Hidimba
Source: http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/pde-mahabharata-aswatthamans-rage.html

Mahabharata Reading - Part A

PDE Mahabharata: Vyasa and Ganesha

Source. The Mahabharata, A Summary by John Mandeville Macfie (1921)

http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/pde-mahabharata-vyasa-and-ganesha.html

Vyasa wrote the Mahabharata, he was very specific that no one on Earth was worthy to write it down. Instead, Brahma told him Ganesha would be his scribe. Vyasa agreed but only if Ganesha would not stop writing until it was complete. 

PDE Mahabharata: Bhishma at the Swayamvara

Source. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914)

http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/pde-mahabharata-bhishma-and-amba.html

Similarly to how Rama won Sita, this story discusses how Bhishma takes three daughters from the king of Kashi. He was an amazing archer and used his arrows to shower those surrounding the daughters until they admitted defeat. Then he took them back to Hastinapura so that they could be brides to Satyavati's son, Vichitravirya, the king. 

PDE Mahabharata: Kunti and Her Son

Source. Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)

http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/pde-mahabharata-kunti.html

King Pandu married Kunti (chief) and Madri (who he loved the most). Kunti had a son by the god of the sun, Surya. His name was Karna and he had eyes of a lion and shoulders of a bull. She was shameful and sent her baby down a river in a basket. He was found by Radha and Adhiratha and they raised him. 

Bhishma obtains the three daughters
Source: http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/pde-mahabharata-bhishma-and-amba.html

Week 5 Story - Nina and Fred

Nina had just been promoted at work, she was having the best day. 

Before the email. 

A million thoughts ran through her mind at once as she contemplated what this meant for her future. Five years felt so meaningless all of a sudden. Her anniversary with Dave was coming up in less than a month, where did it all go wrong. 

She closed her computer and walked over to the bed where she found her and Dave's cat-

or just her cat now, she thought. She laid down next to the cat.

"Lexi, what are we going to do?" she asked the cat who lazily rolled over and looked at her with sleepy eyes and meowed. 

"I can't be in here right now," Nina said, "everything reminds me of him. I'm going for a walk."

Nina grabbed her keys and walked out the door. Not really sure where she was heading, she ended up at the park close to her apartment. She sat on a bench in the sun and watched people walk by. 

This isn't the end of the world, she thought to herself. Maybe this could be a good thing. She had been wanting to move to a smaller town anyways, but Dave always shut down the idea when she brought it up. She had also always wanted to get a dog as a friend for Lexi and Dave also always shut that idea down. The more she thought about it, the more Nina realized that there were a lot of things that she had been wanting to do that Dave had said no to. A smile slowly started to appear on her face. 

- 6 months later - 

"Meow" 

"I know Lexi, isn't it nice?" Nina said as she placed Lexi on the ground of her new apartment. 

Lexi meowed again and ran over to jump on the wagging tail of their new puppy, Westie.

"Well aren't you two just the cutest best friends." Nina said. 

Suddenly she heard a knock at the door. 

"I wonder who that could be." Nina thought out loud as she went to answer it.

She opened the door to find a tall dark haired stranger. "Hi!" she said, "Can I help you?"

"I'm sorry this is so random!" he said, "my name is Fred, I moved here last week. I am desperately trying to find where everything is in this city. I was hoping I could ask you if you know any good bookshops near by?"

"Oh, I'm afraid I won't be much help in that area!" Nina said, "I just finished moving in my last moving box today!"

"You just moved hear too?" Fred asked surprised.

"Yes! I don't know where anything is either..." Nina said laughing "which is probably an issue because I'm getting hungry and don't have any groceries yet!"

"I'm starving myself" Fred said, "maybe we could go do some exploring since it's such a nice day outside today?"

"I would love that!" Nina exclaimed. "Where do you want to go?"

"How about you pick?" Fred said.

Nina stopped. Smiled. Then said "Sure, I would like that."

Nina and Lexi
Source: http://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2015/05/week-1-of-1-paleys-sita-sings-blues-b.html

I just really wanted things to end up okay for Nina. Dave was awful and selfish and really took her for granted! I liked this ending more because Fred sounds like a hunk who actually has a kind heart and hair unlike Dave. I just picked up where the story had Dave breaking up with her over email and then changed everything else after that. 

Sita Sings the Blues

Nina Paley

http://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2015/05/week-1-of-1-paleys-sita-sings-blues-b.html

Reading Notes - Sita Sings the Blues - Part B

In this second part of the movie, we watch as Dave emails Nina and breaks up with her and this obviously makes her very sad. I am kind of happy because Dave is the worst. There is a part where Sita tells Rama that she is pregnant and he is initially happy with the news. This part was interesting to me because in the public domain version that I read it sounded more like Sita was banished and Rama didn't know she was pregnant until he met his sons many years later. It made it even worse that he banished her because she's pregnant...with his sons...but yeah. I also don't remember reading about Sita wanting to end her life but she doesn't because she is carrying Rama's children. Which is really sad and adds to the depth of her life while she is banished. I don't think the original version I read went very far into that.

Throughout this whole movie it is impressive how many times Sita has different topics to sing about, almost all of them being about how she is in a bad situation because of something Rama has done. I think the narrator did a great job explaining her motives behind this by simply explaining that's what unconditional love means. Even though it doesn't make sense and Sita's life is really hard because of things out of her control, she never blames Rama for any of her problems. Even though they are almost all his fault.

screenshot from when Rama meets his sons for the first time
Source:Rama Meets His Sons

Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1196&v=RzTg7YXuy34

Reading Notes - Sita Sings the Blues - Part A

This was an amazing (and very entertaining) retelling of the Ramayana. I appreciated a lot of things about it. For one, it was relieving to hear that other people struggle with the names and small details about the Ramayana. Also, their humor with some of the aspects of the story. For instance, their frustration with certain characters decisions reminded me of how I felt when I first read the story. I also liked the parallels between the modern story occurring in New York and India. It helped me see different perspectives that I could relate back to the Ramayana. It also made me feel so good about myself when I was able to remember what happens next in the story before they said it. Also, when they were discussing how they thought Rama's dad died when Rama left and I knew he hadn't died at that point.

The intermittent songs sung by Sita were also great because they gave me a deeper view into how Sita was impacted by each decision made by Rama. I also thought it was a great representation of how blinded by love she was and how "unconditional" her love was like one of  the narrators said. Overall, it felt extremely accurate to the original story while still putting a fun entertaining twist on it. This has been one of my favorite assignments so far and actually made me laugh out loud a couple times when the narrators were discussing things amongst themselves.

screenshot during one of the songs Sita sings in Sita Sings the Blues
Source: http://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2015/05/week-1-of-1-paleys-sita-sings-blues-b.html

Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1196&v=RzTg7YXuy34

Comment Wall

https://sites.google.com/s/1p6kWPmEx_FejuA8IvZqE5qX8ILNFmey0/p/1LnWr768Zoptw7hcKbxsE7GGK8cKRKr-h/edit

Elephant common character in Hindu mythology
Source: Google Images

Thank you for stopping by. Leave your comments below, I'm excited for the feedback! ☺

Reading Notes, PDE Ramayana - Part D

Rama Departs depicted
Source: http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/pde-ramayana-ramas-ring.html

1) Valmiki's Heritage
http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/pde-ramayana-indrajit.html
Source. Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)

Sita cannot catch a break. She was kidnapped and held against her will and she still stayed completely faithful to Rama even when Ravana threatened her with death. She wouldn't even let Hanuman CARRY HER back to Rama out of modesty and respect to Rama and somehow he is still questioning her purity. So instead of listening to the love of his life, Rama listens to gossip and exiles Sita because overreactions seem to be a repeating pattern here. Sita gives birth to two sons of Rama's and raises them basically by herself. 

2) Sita Departs
http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/pde-ramayana-epilogue.html
Source. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914)

Rama finally realizes how dumb he is, albeit only after listening to other peoples opinions again. A little confused on why Rama can't just have an opinion on a matter without needing the whole town to chime in, he would really have saved himself from a lot of troubles. Sita departs to the heavens and I am honestly glad because frankly I don't feel like Rama deserves her right at this very moment, he needs to do some serious priority reevaluation. 

3) Rama Departs
http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/pde-ramayana-ramas-ring.html
Source. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914)

Lakshmana departs with the gods to go to heaven and Rama decides that it is his time to go as well. He appointed life to many of the bears and monkeys to the end of the Kali age. Rama enters heaven in his true form of Vishnu.

Reading Notes, Ramayana Part C

Hanuman just continuing to be the coolest monkey ever
lighting the town of Lanka on fire
Source: http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/pde-ramayana-burning-of-lanka.html

1) Hanuman's leap
http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/pde-ramayana-hanumans-leap.html
Source. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914)

Jambavan wisely urged Hanuman to complete the task by telling him about his origin. He boosts his confidence by reminding him about how he was born from the wind god and how he was invulnerable. Hanuman was given the boon of choosing his own death. Jambavan also tells him about how he would be the champion of them all if he could complete this. Hanuman then gets excited about being able to do this and he does it. He is almost stopped by a Rakshasi but bounds into her mouth and through the other side to defeat her and continues on. 

2) The Burning of Lanka
http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/pde-ramayana-burning-of-lanka.html
Source. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914)

In one of the most selfless acts ever, Hanuman UTILIZES the torture from the rakshasas to BURN a majority of their city to the ground. What a beautiful slap in the face to the rakshasas, I like Hanuman more and more with each story. Thankfully Sita prayed to the fire and Hanuman's sire kept the fire from hurting Hanuman. He went all throughout Lanka burning down the town and killing a lot of rakshasas. Thankfully Sita is fine and found refuge in a tree away from the flames and she meets back up with Hanuman after where they discuss Rama and their next move. I think it is a little silly that she won't let Hanuman just carry her back, but to each their own. It does make for a much more intense story. Hanuman returns back to Rama and the others to tell them the good news. Ravana is SUPER angry at this point. 

3) Vibhishana
http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/pde-ramayana-vibhishana.html
Source. The prose portion comes from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)

Big props to this guy! He's the only one who is smart enough and brave enough to tell Ravana that he is basically making the worst mistake ever. In return he gets to join ranks with Rama which is definitely the side I would rather be on.

Feedback Strategies

1) Try Feedforward instead of Feedback
http://www.marshallgoldsmith.com/articles/try-feedforward-instead-feedback/

I really liked this article because it took a very interesting approach to feedback that I had never heard about before. It made an interesting point that most of the feedback we hear focuses on the past and what errors we made. Instead we should try to make an effort to focus on all of the possibilities, positives and things we would rather see in the future! I think instantly turns a situation that could be viewed at as negative by the person being critiqued, into a positive situation. This makes the person you are critiquing feel more confident and prepared for the future.

2) The Difference Between Praise and Feedback
https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/34778/the-difference-between-praise-and-feedback

This was a fun article to read because it made me rethink a lot of the ways that I normally give people feedback. I have always liked to give very positive feedback and I think that oftentimes I probably overpraise the person who I am critiquing. This not only devalues the praise I give, it can negatively impact the person that I am trying to help. It is more important to give more detail oriented feedback, like instead of saying "great job!" which someone has probably heard hundreds of times. Recognize what hard work lead them to the moment where they achieved that feat. Value the work that it took to get to that moment more than the moment itself!

Feedback in it's simplest form
Source: Google Images

Topic Research

The topic that continues to interest me the most seems to be stories surrounding animals, whether they be natural or supernatural. My favorite organization of these stories so far has been in the book Pashu: Animal Tales from Hindu Mythology. I really like how the stories are organized by type of animal because then they are easier to compare and contrast. I checked this book out at Bizzell this weekend so I plan on using one of the stories it has. 

https://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2014/06/overview-pattanaik-pashu.html


1) Manu

This is a really sweet story about the first human being who had compassion for a tiny fish. The tiny fish ends up saving the man. It is also an interesting parallel to the story of Noah's Ark in the bible so that is also kind of cool. 

2) Jaimini

This is an interesting story about four parrot eggs that fall to the ground when a pregnant parrot flies over a battle field and an arrow hits her belly. The eggs survive when a bell covers them. They learn many things from the hearts and minds of the warriors that had been around them and they are blessed and told to share their wisdom with the world. 

3) Shibi

This is a story about understanding the cycle of nature and how it is wrong to interfere with the circle of life. I really liked it's message!

4) Jatayu tries to save Sita

I liked reading more about this story because I just read it last week. This book mentioned how it is an important lesson about sacrificing ones own life to save one unrelated to him which I think is a very beautiful message. 

5) Kamadhenu

I like this story because it has a good message about greediness. 

6) No Dogs in Heaven

This has been my favorite story so far. It is about considering the needs of others.

Cover of Pashu
Source: https://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2014/06/overview-pattanaik-pashu.html

Week 4 Story: The Deer with the Crooked Tail

Rama knew that nothing would make Sita quite as happy as this golden deer and he decided that he had to go out to capture it. He set out in the morning, asking Lakshmana to watch over Sita in his absence. It hadn't been very long at all when Rama spotted the deer around a pond. He watched it for a moment because he was thoughtful of Lakshmana's warnings. The more he watched it, the more curious he became. This deer did not act like any other deer that Rama had seen around the forest before. Rama figured that maybe this was because it was a special golden deer that he was unfamiliar with. Rama stepped forward to approach the deer but right before he did he noticed the tail on the deer, was crooked. He wondered to himself, how could a perfect deer have such a striking feature out of place, for every other feature on the deer was immaculate. Rama was wise and he retreated once more to the bushes. After a few more moments had passed he noticed an aura around the deer grow larger and larger. Suddenly the light was consuming and it was all Rama could see and then it was gone. In the place of the golden deer was Maricha who had grown tired from the power the disguise was draining from him and switched back to his natural form for some reprieve.

Rama quietly retreated and went back to Lakshmana and Sita immediately to tell them what had happened.

"How foolish of me." Replied Sita as she quickly apologized to Lakshmana for brushing off all of his earlier warnings.

Lakshmana was only happy that everyone was safe. They decided that it was time to move to another location in case Maricha came around again with a new plan. So they traveled for three nights eventually resting upon an area nestled into the bottom of a mountain. The dense trees surrounding the cave created adequate shelter and disguise. Here they rested, preparing for the next inevitable encounter.

Author's Note:

This story was a spin off of the Golden Deer story from part B reading. I didn't like how Maricha kind of won this one. I wanted to create a story where none of it happened in the first place so that's where this one came from! Here, Rama catches on to Maricha's tricks (thanks to Lakshmana) and no one gets kidnapped.

The Golden Deer
http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/pde-ramayana-golden-deer.html
Source. The prose portion comes from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)

The Golden Deer
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:19th-century_
Ramayana_manuscript,_Rama_Thagyin,_Myanmar_version,_Ravana_(Dathagiri)
_sends_Gambi_as_golden_deer_(Shwethamin)_to_deceive_Sita_(Thida).jpg