Reading Notes | Jakata Anthology B
The Foolish, Timid Rabbit
Jakata Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt
At the beginning of this story, the worrisome rabbit wonders what would happen if the Earth broke a part. As he wonders this, the mischievous and loud monkeys drop a coconut on the ground. Being as stressed as he was, the rabbit then assumes that the Earth truly is breaking. The rabbit starts hastily running; as he is running, animals start to ask why he is running in which he tells them the Earth is breaking. One by one animals join the rabbit on his run until the noble king lion stops them and asks why they are running. Each animal says they heard the Earth was breaking but from someone else. As the lion gets down to the initial rabbit, he suggests that they return to the initial place of breaking. When they arrive, the lion realizes that the Earth is in fact not breaking, but a coconut simply broke on the ground.
The Turtle and the King
Jakata Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt
In this story, the turtle is a smart trickster. The turtle is caught and assumed to be a demon, so it is destined to be killed by the king's men. They debate how to kill the turtle; one suggestion is to throw it into the lake where it will flow into the treacherous river. Knowing that this will keep him alive, the turtle puts on a show and begs to not be put into the lake. Due to the turtle's plea, the king decides to throw the turtle into the lake, and the turtle is pleased knowing he outsmarted them.
The Turtle and the Geese
Jakata Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt
In this story, the turtle is foolish. Two manipulative geese convince the turtle to be carried by them while holding a stick in his mouth. They promise to not drop him as long as he can keep his mouth shut. The turtle agrees to this deal, but as the fly over a group of children, he opens his mouth to tell them to mind their own business. Because of this, the geese drop him and he falls to his death.
The Cunning Crane and the Crab
The Crab and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse
In this story, a crane outsmarts the fish, but NOT the crab. The crane sees that the pond of the fish was drying up and gives a false promise to the fish that he will carry them one by one in his beak to the other, flourishing pond. He brings one fish along to show him the new pond and then back to convince the other fish to come along. Being naive, the fish one by one take advantage of the crane's promise only to be eaten by the manipulative crane! Finally, the clever crab took advantage of the crane's promise. However, he only agreed to be taken to the pond if he was carried by grasping his claw around the crane's neck. The crane tried to trick and eat the crab, but since he was at the mercy of the crab's grasp, he eventually agreed to take him to the pond. Just before entering the pond, the crab tricked the crane and snapped his neck and killed him.
The Monkey and the Crocodile
Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock
In this story, Buddha is a witty monkey living along the Ganges River. A female crocodile came across the monkey and wanted to eat his heart. Feeling the desire to please his wife, the husband crocodile went on his way to get the monkey's heart. He convinced the monkey to cross the river to a more plentiful area with many resources. All of a sudden, the crocodile tells the monkey he is going to kill him as they cross the river. Being the clever monkey that he is, Buddha convinces the crocodile that his heart is not inside of him and takes him to where he "keeps his heart". However, the monkey then escapes and climbs up the tree, outsmarting the crocodile.
The Crocodile in the River
Vanarinda Jataka translated by Robert Chalmers
In this story, Buddha is a monkey. The monkey hears that he is going to be betrayed and killed by Devadatta, which in the story is a crocodile. To manipulate the crocodile, the monkey yells out to the rock that looks different than usual. The crocodile, being perched on the rock, yells back thinking that this was what the monkey expected of the rock. Buddha, the monkey, then knew that the crocodile was indeed there to kill him. He yelled to Devadatta to open his mouth so that he could eat him, but knowing his eyes would close as he opened his mouth, Buddha was able to defeat him with his wit.
The Monkey Who Gathered Lotuses
Tayodhamma Jataka translated by Robert Chalmers
In this story, a wise monkey, Buddha, is set out on a deadly errand by his father. He is the son of his enemy, Devadatta. Devadatta hates all of his sons, for he knows they will grow to be stronger than him. Kept by his mother, Buddha eventually meets his father, giving him an incredibly strong hug. Devadatta sends Buddha on a mission to gather lotuses because he knows the ogres of the pond may kill him. The monkey sees the ogre and decides to jump around the water. The ogre notices Buddha's wit and goes back with him to deliver the lotus flowers. Seeing this, Devadatta dies of a broken heart, and Buddha becomes king.
Jakata Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt
At the beginning of this story, the worrisome rabbit wonders what would happen if the Earth broke a part. As he wonders this, the mischievous and loud monkeys drop a coconut on the ground. Being as stressed as he was, the rabbit then assumes that the Earth truly is breaking. The rabbit starts hastily running; as he is running, animals start to ask why he is running in which he tells them the Earth is breaking. One by one animals join the rabbit on his run until the noble king lion stops them and asks why they are running. Each animal says they heard the Earth was breaking but from someone else. As the lion gets down to the initial rabbit, he suggests that they return to the initial place of breaking. When they arrive, the lion realizes that the Earth is in fact not breaking, but a coconut simply broke on the ground.
The Turtle and the King
Jakata Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt
In this story, the turtle is a smart trickster. The turtle is caught and assumed to be a demon, so it is destined to be killed by the king's men. They debate how to kill the turtle; one suggestion is to throw it into the lake where it will flow into the treacherous river. Knowing that this will keep him alive, the turtle puts on a show and begs to not be put into the lake. Due to the turtle's plea, the king decides to throw the turtle into the lake, and the turtle is pleased knowing he outsmarted them.
The Turtle and the Geese
Jakata Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt
In this story, the turtle is foolish. Two manipulative geese convince the turtle to be carried by them while holding a stick in his mouth. They promise to not drop him as long as he can keep his mouth shut. The turtle agrees to this deal, but as the fly over a group of children, he opens his mouth to tell them to mind their own business. Because of this, the geese drop him and he falls to his death.
The Cunning Crane and the Crab
The Crab and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse
In this story, a crane outsmarts the fish, but NOT the crab. The crane sees that the pond of the fish was drying up and gives a false promise to the fish that he will carry them one by one in his beak to the other, flourishing pond. He brings one fish along to show him the new pond and then back to convince the other fish to come along. Being naive, the fish one by one take advantage of the crane's promise only to be eaten by the manipulative crane! Finally, the clever crab took advantage of the crane's promise. However, he only agreed to be taken to the pond if he was carried by grasping his claw around the crane's neck. The crane tried to trick and eat the crab, but since he was at the mercy of the crab's grasp, he eventually agreed to take him to the pond. Just before entering the pond, the crab tricked the crane and snapped his neck and killed him.
The Monkey and the Crocodile
Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock
In this story, Buddha is a witty monkey living along the Ganges River. A female crocodile came across the monkey and wanted to eat his heart. Feeling the desire to please his wife, the husband crocodile went on his way to get the monkey's heart. He convinced the monkey to cross the river to a more plentiful area with many resources. All of a sudden, the crocodile tells the monkey he is going to kill him as they cross the river. Being the clever monkey that he is, Buddha convinces the crocodile that his heart is not inside of him and takes him to where he "keeps his heart". However, the monkey then escapes and climbs up the tree, outsmarting the crocodile.
The Crocodile in the River
Vanarinda Jataka translated by Robert Chalmers
In this story, Buddha is a monkey. The monkey hears that he is going to be betrayed and killed by Devadatta, which in the story is a crocodile. To manipulate the crocodile, the monkey yells out to the rock that looks different than usual. The crocodile, being perched on the rock, yells back thinking that this was what the monkey expected of the rock. Buddha, the monkey, then knew that the crocodile was indeed there to kill him. He yelled to Devadatta to open his mouth so that he could eat him, but knowing his eyes would close as he opened his mouth, Buddha was able to defeat him with his wit.
The Monkey Who Gathered Lotuses
Tayodhamma Jataka translated by Robert Chalmers
In this story, a wise monkey, Buddha, is set out on a deadly errand by his father. He is the son of his enemy, Devadatta. Devadatta hates all of his sons, for he knows they will grow to be stronger than him. Kept by his mother, Buddha eventually meets his father, giving him an incredibly strong hug. Devadatta sends Buddha on a mission to gather lotuses because he knows the ogres of the pond may kill him. The monkey sees the ogre and decides to jump around the water. The ogre notices Buddha's wit and goes back with him to deliver the lotus flowers. Seeing this, Devadatta dies of a broken heart, and Buddha becomes king.
(Lotus Flower. Web Source: Pixabay)
The Self-Willed Deer
The Jataka: Volume 1 translated by Robert Chalmers
In this story, Buddha was born as a deer to teach deer. He was given the duty of teaching another deer how to live and behave. One of the deers he is set out to teach never attends any of his teachings, so he does not learn the way of life and is killed by a hunter.
Noisy Out Of Season
The Jataka: Volume 1 translated by Robert Chalmers
In this story, Buddha was born as a human to teach humans. The students that Buddha taught had a rooster that crowed to awake them for teachings. After its death, they searched for a new one. They find a replacement, but it was raised in a graveyard causing him to have no sense of time. Because of its inability to do its job, the students killed the rooster. Buddha used this as a lesson that the rooster's poor upbringing led to its death.
Goblin City
The Giant Crab, and Other Stories from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse
In this story, modern-day Sri Lanka is filled with mischievous, evil female goblins. One day, a shipwreck occurred causing all of the she-goblins to make their way to the shore in search for a husband. To lure the sailors in, they created a lively town full of people with their magic; however, the city was empty. After marrying, the captain spots a goblin eating up her husband in the night. As he told his shipmates, many believed him but many did not. A kind fairy appeared, however, who hated the goblins and brought a horse that carried them to safety. Those who remained were eaten.
Wow, it is great to see a reading notes post already, Camryn: fantastic! And for future reference, you don't have to write about every story (although you certainly can do that if you have time). The idea is to be thinking all the time about what kind of story you want to tell, so you can zoom in on the specific story / characters / episodes that you think you are most likely to retell. As you get used to telling stories week by week, that will all start to fall into place. Maybe you will want to do a Gossip-Girl-style story this week or something inspired by the stories you looked at when you were browsing the projects! Each week is a story/style adventure based on whatever sparks your imagination!
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