Reading Notes: The Miser, The Last One.

I end on a story type that was my favorite throughout the year: Russian Folktales.

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A mean old man went walking and stumbled upon a beggar. He passed by without a word, and saw a poor man give him a copeck. The rich man was ashamed, so he asked the poor man for money to give to the beggar - he had money himself, but not anything small enough he wanted to give away. The poor man gave him one, asking when he should find him again for repayment. The rich man said the next day, but when they day came the rich man claimed to have no change. The poor man said he would try again tomorrow, and the previous events repeated. The rich man told him unless he could give him change for a hundred copeck, he could return in a fortnight. The poor man returned, and when the rich man saw him coming up the driveway he told his wife to pretend he was dead. The wife did as he said, and the poor man said he would wash the corpse for his money back. The wife let him, and the poor man washed the rich mans body with scalding hot water. The poor man instructed the wife to buy a coffin, and having to cover up the lie she did. During the funeral, robbers crept through the church and the poor man hid. He saw them sharing the stolen goods, but they all argued over who could take a golden sabre. The poor man jumped up and said "whoever will cut off the corpses head can have the sabre!" at which point the rich man jumped up, scaring off the robbers. The poor man offered to divide the money equally, and after the poor man asked for the still owed copeck. But alas, none of the money found was even close to the small currency of a single copeck - so the poor man became rich, but the rich man never paid him back.

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Reading Notes: The Dog and the Corpse

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A moujik went hunting with his dog ans found nothing but his own pain. He passed a grave having no game, and saw where two roads met a corpse. He was very frightened and did not know which way to go, or to turn back entirely.

He walked forth with his dog, and the corpse, sensing him, came alive. The corpse rushed him, but his dog grabbed the thing by its calves. The moujik saw his dog and was so happy that he was protected. In his rejoice he ran home but forgot the dog. The dog overpowered the corpse, and ran after his master. When he found him, the dog started attacking the moujik. Everyone in the house was confused, except the moujik's mom who said that the dog was upset he abandoned the dog. The next morning, the dog growled when moujik approached it. The family fastened the dog to a chain, and kept it there all year. Even after one year, the dog still would try to attack it's master so they killed it.

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Reading Notes: Friday, Part A.

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A woman did not pay her respects to the god Mother Friday. She made cloth and fell asleep, but the door opened and thus behold Mother Friday herself. She wore a white dress and was angry, stuffing the dust from her machine in to the woman's eyes. When she only had dust instead of eyes, Mother Friday left. The woman awoke and started screaming because she could not see. The others told her Mother Friday punished her for working on her holiday. The woman begged for forgiveness and offered a tapestry, promising to never herself or let others dishonor her. Mother Friday was a forgiving god and gave the poor woman her eyesight back, and now it is a sin to comb and spin flax on the holiday.

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Reading Notes: The water snake, Part A

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A girl went to bathe in the forest with others, but once in the pool there was a snake. The girl got out but found the snake was on her clothes, and upon trying to poke it with a stick to get it to leave the snake said it would leave - if shed marry it.

The girl did not want to, but upon peer pressure of the others she did. She got her clothes back and went home, telling her mother what happened. The mom said it was ridiculous as no one could marry a snake. They all forgot the weird event.

The girl came home one day, crying as she had been chased by a horde of snakes. The mom barred the door shut. The snakes broke the windows and stole her, which her mom followed the girl as she was taken by the snakes.

They went into the pond where they turned into people. The mom cried but went home, accepting her daughters fate. Three years went buy and the girl remained under the pond, having children with the snake. She begged her snake husband to let her see her mother, and one day he did. Before she left, she asked what to say when she needed him. He told her a phrase and she left with her children. The mother was so happy to see all of them. The mom asked how she would get back home, and she told her the phrase. After she went to sleep, the mom took and axe and called out the phrase, to which immediately the snake showed up. The mom cut off his head, and the pond water turned red. The daughter awoke saying it was time to leave, but the mom asked her to stay another night. The next day she left and said the phrase, but her snake husband did not show. She saw his head floating in the pond and guessed what happened.

In grief, she turned herself and her children into birds.

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Reading Notes: The Two Corpses, Part B

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A soldier was going home to pray and pay respect to his parents. On his way home, when it was dark, he passed a graveyard and heard someone running and crying saying he couldn't escape. He saw a corpse running after him with lashing teeth. The soldier ran and found a church, hiding inside. In it, there was nothing but another corpse on a table. The soldier hid in the corner, waiting to see what would happen. The first corpse ran inside and the second asked the first why it was here. The first said he wanted to eat a soldier he found, but the second argued the soldier was in his home so he should get to eat the soldier. They argued and fought, and fought so hard they fought to death (super death I guess). The soldier went home, and praised god.

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Reading Notes: Fairy Ointment, Part B

English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

Goody was a nurse who helped the ill and infants. One night she found an ugly old man at the bottom of the stairs who asked her to help his wife who was too sick to help their baby. She didn't trust the man but she needed the money. When she went down the stairs, she saw outside a black horse with fiery eyes and they sped away.

They rode a very long time and when they reached the house Goody took the baby boy. The mother gave Goody ointment and told her to stroke the baby's eyes as soon as they opened with the stuff. She was curious, so when the parents weren't looking she put some of the stuff in her own eye. Suddenly, the poor cottage was elegant. The mother was beautiful and the baby's clothes were made of fine silks. She noticed other children with pointy ears messing with the sick woman, and realized this goo gave her the ability to see pixies. Eventually, the woman became well and could take care of her baby and the lady left without saying a thing. The old man paid her more than she had ever received for her service.

The next day Goody went to buy some things she needed. But while shopping she saw the old man, stealing openly but no one seemed to notice. She didn't think she should interfere, but she wanted to be a good customer so she approached the old man hoping to stop him. She started to talk, and the old man interrupted her in shock that she could see him.

He asked her which eye she could see him with, and she said her right. That is when the old man realized she had used the ointment - enraged, he took her right eye and she was blind on that side until she died.

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Reading Notes: The Old Woman and Her Pig, Part A

English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

An old woman was cleaning when she found some spare change, enough to buy a little pig. Once home the pig refused to go over the stile. The old lady asked a dog for help, but he too refused. She walked farther and found a stick, asking it to beat the dog as it would not bite the pig and the stick also refused. Eventually she met fire, and demanded it burn the stick - but the element would not. She found water, asking it to put out the fire. She asked an Ox to drink the water. She asked a butcher to kill the ox. She met a rope that she asked to hang the butcher. She asked a rat to gnaw on the rope. She asked a cat to kill the rat.

Up to this point, everything she asked was denied, but this time the cat agreed if she would bring the cat milk. So the old lady found a cow, who offered milk in return for hay. The cow ate the hay, and she gave the milk to the cat. The cat killed the rat, as it was dying the rat gnawed at the rope, which began to nag the butcher, who began to kill the ox, which started drinking water, which put out fire, which burned the stick, that beat the dog, who bit the pig - scaring it over the fence.

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Reading Notes: Robin Hood's Death, Part B.

The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child (1882-1898).

Little John was sitting at a tree with Robin Hood, when Robin said he wanted to shoot an arrow across the pond, but that his arrow was broken. Yet, he had cousins living down there, and.... "she bleed me"?

Robin ran, and before he got to where he was going, he became very sick. When he got to Kirkly hall, he rang the doorbell and no cousin answered. Robin let himself in, and found his cousin. She asked him if he wanted beer, and he said he would not eat or drink till he was "blooded by thee". 

She told Robin that she has a room he can never see, but if he walks into it she will blooded him. She lead him to the private room where she blooded Robin, and locked him in the room. He bleed all day, until the next day at noon. His horn, hanging to his knee, took and blew three weak blasts from it. Little John heard this and knew he was near death. 

Robin broke down the locks of the room, and fell to his knees. John cried. Robin swore he never hurt a woman or man in in woman's company in all his life.  He asked John for his bent bow, and set it loose to land wherever his grave would be. He asked for green sod under his head and feet, and is bent bow at his side. He asked for his grave stone etching, and then died. 

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Afterthoughts - 

I'm pretty confused by every bit of this, but that's probably because I read the last story. 

Reading Notes: The Horned Woman, Part A.

Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1892).

A rich lady was up late when a knock at the door demanded to be let in. The lady asked who it was, and the reply was that it was the witch of one horn. The lady assumed someone in the neighborhood was needing help, and opened the door to a woman with a horn on her forehead. The woman sat down and asked where the other women were. A second knock came and demanded to be let in. The lady once again opened the door, and this time a witch with two horns entered. This repeated until there were twelve women each with one horn more than the last. They wove wool and sank songs but would not speak to the lady of the house. She was worried, and felt afraid. She suddenly fell ill, and realized a spell had been cast upon her. She was now under the witches control, and the lady was forced to make a cake - but could not find a vessel to make the cake in. The witches told her to use a sieve, and so she did. The water poured and she cried. A voice suddenly spoke, saying to take yellow clay and moss and bind them to the sieve, because before this the sieve was leaking. She did as told and the sieve held water, she returned as commanded by this new voice - but was told when she returned to the north angle of the house to cry loudly three times a chant. 

She did as told by this new commander, and the witches flew away. The spirit that helped the lady protected her home with magic so the witches could not harm her again. To break the spell the witches put on the lady, she sprinkled water on her feet, and outside the door. She took the cake and made a meal mixed with blood from her sleeping family. She placed a portion in each of their mouths and they were restored. The cloth woven by the women was used by the lady to create a padlock, and she secuded the door shut so they could not enter. She now waited. 

Not long after, the witches were back. They cried against the water that blocked the lady's path, and the jam also kept her from opening the door. The cake was unable to be used by the witches too as it was eaten by her family. Defeated, the witches left. 

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Reading Notes: The Witch Girl. Part B.

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A Cossack asked for help and to spend the night at a house, the homeowner said to enter if he wasn't afraid to die. The Cossack thought why he would say such a thing, and went to feed his horse. In the stable, he saw men and women and children praying for help. The Cossack asked why they were all upset, and the homeowner said that in their village Death comes at night and whichever cottage she looks into, those people must be buried alive. Tonight is the night this house gets buried. The Cossack says he wont allow that to happen, and keeps an eye out.

At Midnight, the window opens to a white witch. She tried to enter the house and Cossack cut off her arm. He picked up her arm and hid it under his cloak, finally going to sleep. The next morning saw that everyone was alive and were happy. The Cossack said he would show them death and that they should all gather tonight so they can find her. The family went to gather the town, but everyone was gone. They reached the last house where they found a man who said his daughter was ill. Inside, they found a girl with a missing arm. Cossack was rewarded and the witch was drowned.

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After thoughts -

so it wasn't death but a witch who was killing town after town, possessing or posing as a normal person. This time, she got to all the families but one, and when her arm was taken off she could not take them. She returned home, and was found by the people as not the girl they thought they knew but a witch/demon.

Reading Notes: The Bad Wife, Part A.

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A wife never listened to her husband when he spoke, and did the opposite of anything he said. If he asked for food, she said he didn't deserve any; but if he said he didn't want food, she made a feast. If he told her to relax, she did chores. 

He was so fed up, he went to the forest to look for berries. While searching he found a bottomless pit and contemplated if he should put her in it to teach her a lesson. So when he returned home, he told her not to look for berries. Then - she jumped into the bottomless pit. The husband returned home happy, and for 3 days it was bliss. On the fourth day, he visited his wife and dropped a rope, and when he pulled it back up a demon was attached. 

The demon begged for mercy and to not be let back down, as some evil woman has been killing them. He promised to repay him for mercy. The man let him free, and the demon asked him to follow as the demon was going to torment people while the man helped them. 

In the town, the demon possessed other's wives and daughters, who went crazy. Then, the man would show up and as soon as he did the demon would leave and a blessing would fall on the house. Everyone started to think the man was a doctor and gave him money for making the demon leave. 

Once the demon made him alot of money, he said he was finished and off to go posess someone else but did not want the man to be there. If the man showed up, the demon threatened to eat him. The town people looked for the man when the next woman went crazy, and he came. He asked them to leave him alone, and he told the people to crack the horses whips and scream "the bad wife has come!"

When the man entered the house, the demon came out and said he would eat him. The man said, I just came to warn you my wife is back. The demon looked out the window and saw the townspeople shouting about the bad wife, and asked the man where he could hide. The man told the demon to hide in the pit since she was gone. The demon returned, to where the wife still was. The girl was free and her family made her the mans new wife and gave him land. To this day, the bad wife still is in the pit. 

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Afterthoughts 

What a roller coaster - I loved this story. The picture is of a demon from the TV show Disenchantment - if you liked Futurama, the writers made this new show on netflix! 

Reading Notes: The Land of the Dead, Part B

A young woman died, and when she found herself dead she went to sleep. She awoke to someone shaking her, saying you are not asleep - you are dead so you must get up.

She realized she was in her grave and it was her grandfather shaking her. She went with him back to the village, but the homeland was gone. Now it was a new village, weird and different. The old man told her to go into one of the houses, and when she did the homeowner picked up a stick and asked what she wanted. The young woman ran away crying, and her grandfather said this is a village of dog shades - she has just been in the experience of a stray dog, and now she knows how they feel when people beat them.

In the next village she saw a man laying on the ground, but with grass growing through his joints. He could move but the grass tied him down, not allowing him to get up. This realm was where people were punished for pulling up plants when they didn't need them. The grandfather disappear.

The girl wandered into a new village, but found a river blocking it. This was a river of tears from people on earth who wept for the dead. She could not cross the river, and her own tears fell into the river as she cried. Suddenly, a boat floated down the river and using it as a bridge, she crossed the stream. The other dead could smell her, and openly wondered who she was and where she was - as they could only smell not see her. Her grandfather reappeared, leading her into a house where her grandmother resided.  The grandma asked if she was thirsty and thats when the girl noticed the water vessel was one from her village, one she had been given when she was alive during a festival. The old woman gave the young woman a piece of deer fat, which was something else she had received at the festival. The grandma explained her grandfather was her guide, because he was the last person she thought of as she died and he hurried to meet her crossing over. Peoples living thoughts are heard by the dead in the other realm.

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For whatever reason, coffin pool floats are a thing. 

Reading Notes: The Buffalo Stone, Part A

Blackfeet Indian Stories by George Bird Grinnell (1915).

A small stone, usually a fossil or some unknown thing in a weird shape, is called a buffalo stone. It has magic powers and gives good luck when hunting buffalo. The rock can make a sound similar to a bird, usually alerting the person who finds it that it is in fact a buffalo stone. These are usually found in prairie plains. 

One weird winter all the buffalo disappeared. The snow was too deep for anyone to try to find the, so they walked the river bottoms and ravines, killing other grass grazers as they went. Eventually though, they ran out of small game and began to starve.  

A man had killed a prairie rabbit, and ran home fast to tell his wife to hurry up and cook it - excited at the rare find. She went down to the river to clean it but stopped, hearing a song but seeing no birds. She located the source of song to a tree, with a weird stone jammed into the roots. She noticed some buffalo fur had been caught in the tree. Frightened at the thought of being alone and weaponless with wild buffalo, she went no further. As she turned away, the singing stopped. The stone spoke now, and asked to be taken to her village where she should teach her people the song she heard. The stone told her to pray for this starvation to end and for the buffalo to return. 

The woman did what the rock said to do, telling her husband of the events that just happened. The wife taught the chiefs the song, and they all prayed. Soon after, they heard noise of trampling buffalo and that the stone was magic. This was the first buffalo stone found. 

The buggalo are a fictional creature that are sort of like the buffalo to the native americans as the buggalo are to the native martians on the TV show Futurama. Image source. I had a typo when I first wrote buffalo and wrote buggalo, so why not include a picture of them. 

Reading Notes: Inferno: Satan, Part B

Dante's Divine Comedy, translated by Tony Kline (2002).

the demons of hell are coming toward Dante and his guide. The guide asks him to look forward and try to recognize Satan.

He looks and notices a tall structure with massive winds, he tries to hide behind the guide because there is no shelter here. Absolutely doused in fear, he looks around at what lays in Hell. Many bodies are frozen in stone, some laying, some standing, some on their head and some bent so that their head touches their feet. Finally, they reached Lucifer.

Though he thought he could fear no more, a new wave of terror struck like a tsunami. He became so enveloped in horror that he did not die, but he was no longer alive. He was suffering in limbo while looking upon the once beautiful angel, now a hideous devil.

The devil stood waist high in ice, but know he was by no means small. The average man was closer to a giants height than a giant was to just one of lucifers arms. His body was as massive as he was ugly.

Three faces were on one head, each with a body being chewed in the mouth inflicting unique pain and suffering. The eyes - one fiery red, two joined to it on either side- sat above the center if each shoulder, which were linked at the neck with one white and one black eye on the center of the throat. On the faces where the eyes should have been were large wings like a bird but leathery as a bats. This was the source of the wind creating the frozen wasteland that surrounds them - hell is not on fire, but burns hot from the frost, so cold it splits lips and cracks the skin. Regardless of the cold, Satan wept from all his eyeless sockets, weeping blood that fell down three chins.

The three sinners he chewed were Judas, Brutus, and Cassius, They were stripped of skin. Judas flailed wildly while Brutus quietly squirmed. Cassius was very long limbed and endured the torture still.

Night was coming, and now they had to climb up Satan's body to leave hell.

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Reading Notes: The Rabbit Goes Duck Hunting, Part B

Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).

The rabbit is being a jerk again, this time boasting on himself and the abilities he has. He lies and deceives all about things he sees others doing. This time, he lies and says that he can eat fish just like the otters. The otters say, well I can eat ducks too and to this the rabbit says he can also eat ducks. The otter challenges the rabbit to prove it, and accepting the challenge they go to a river where some ducks are. The otter effortlessly gets a duck, and while he is hunting the rabbit makes a noose to catch a duck (basically cheating). The rabbit goes to catch a duck, and the duck flies away carrying the rabbit until he cant hold on any longer and falls. He falls into a hole with no way out. Several days go, and he hears children playing outside. He sings a song to attract them to him, and they bring their father to cut a hole in the tree. Eventually the hole is big enough that the rabbit can run through and escape the people - free again to terrorize the animal community. 

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Speaking of bunnies, there was a children's book I read in school about a family that got a bunny and the cat didn't trust it - finding that it was sucking the juice from all the vegetables. He conspired with the dog, and I don't remember all that happens, but at the end they find the bunny is harmless and just a new friend with a weird diet. 

Afterthoughts. 

It seems for the Cherokee that the rabbit is their trickster animal, a spot normally reserved for a fox or coyote. I like the idea of changing he challenge and animals, where a platypus challenges a a crocodile to an arm wrestling contest and wins by hiding a needle in his hand - which becomes his poisonous spike that males have and he gets thrown across the river or something. I could also join the two stories I read this week, where the possum walks by the rabbit trapped and doesn't help him so the rabbit has to rely on tricking the humans to help. 

Reading Notes: Why The Possum's Tail Is Bare, Part A

Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).

A possum had a beautiful tail that, either to his bragging or because it was so beautiful (or both), the rabbit conspired to have it altered. It didn't help the rabbit no longer had his tail. as a bear took it. He invited the possum to a dance, where he would showcase his pretty tail. The possum agreed and was told the barber would come beforehand to spruce up his tail. What the possum didn't know, was that the barber was going to cut all the hair off of it and wrap it in a ribbon. The possum went to the dance, unwrapped his tail without looking, and started dancing. Eventually, he looked to see why all the others were laughing and saw with horror his beautiful tail was ugly as a lizards tail. So freaked, he fell on his back with a grin, helpless, as possums do when surprised. 

I think I've posted this before, but here is a photo I took of a possum that got stuck behind the grill in our back yard (he did not move when I moved the grill, so I poked him with a broomstick and after a hiss he left - totally fine). 

Afterthoughts.

Well, I am caught between thinking the rabbit is a jerk and that this is a story to warn children of being hubristic. How could I alter this story for my own? Maybe the bear could come back to eat the rabbit for being mean. Or I could change this to birds and how the peacock got his beautiful colors, that he stole them from the ostrich and made the ostrich ugly. This story seems like the reverse of the ugly duckling who grew up to become a beautiful swan. 

Reading Notes: The Elves, Part A

The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales translated by D. L. Ashliman (1998-2013).

A poor shoemaker only had enough leather for one pair of shoes left, so he made the stencil and went to sleep, intending on finishing them in the morning. He awoke to find the shoes made perfectly, and done so well that the first customer to walk in paid more than the normal price for them.

He now had enough money for two pairs of shoes. He went to bed again with the stencil cut out for four shoes, and woke to the shoes made as perfectly as the last. A customer once again paid more than the original price and he had enough money to buy leather for four pairs. This pattern continued and he became very wealthy.

One night, before Christmas, his wife and himself decided to stay up and see who was making the shoes. At midnight, two streakers appeared and started making the shoes.

The wife said they should show gratitude to the naked men, and sewed them some clothes while the husband made them shoes. They set the presents out and waited to see what would happen. They were so happy that they left and never returned, but the shoemaker still prospered and had a good life.

Elf on the Shelf: Halloween Edition

Afterthoughts 

I decided on the elf on the shelf for my picture, but since Halloween is around the corner I chose this version of him. 

Why did the little men come, and why did they leave once they had clothes? At first my mind went into horror story mode and they would find that the shoes were made of human skin instead of cow. Then I had an idea, maybe the little men were cursed to perform good acts until they were given a gift of gratitude - after that they could stop. It also reminded me of the whole elves-steal-your-left-sock thing and that's why your socks always go missing. This story doesn't provoke too many ideas for a rewrite, so I hope next week's A and B stories do.

Reading Notes: The Sorcerer of the White Lotus Lodge, Part B

The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

A sorcerer was very powerful and developed many students as many wished to learn his powers. One day, he left with a bowl covering another bowl and told the students not too look what was inside but to watch it. As soon as he was out the door, the students uncovered it to only find clear water with a mini boat on it. They touched it, and it fell over. They quickly fixed it and recovered the bowl. They turned around to see the sorcerer asking why they disobeyed him, to which they tried to lie and say they didn't. He told them because of this, his ship capsized at sea.

The sorcerer left again, this time with a candle and told them to watch it to make sure the wind does not blow it out. After two days, the students became sleepy and when they awoke they saw the candle was out. They relit the candle, only to see the sorcerer asking why they disobeyed him again. He told them because of this, he was forced to walk 15 miles in the dark.

A student insulted the sorcerer, and he told the student to go feed the pigs. As soon as he walked into the pig room, the sorcerer turned him into a pig and sold him to a butcher. The son's father came looking for him, but the sorcerer said he left along time ago. Another student told the father what happened. Fearing the sorcerer, the father did not have him arrested but had him surrounded and seized by a thousand soliders who took the sorcerer, wife, and child to the capitol.

On their way, they encountered a giant angry monster. The sorcerer said only his wife could stop him, so they unchained her, only for her to be eaten by the giant. This happened to the son, and then the sorcerer. Suddenly, the monster was calm and walked away - leaving the soldiers to realize they had been tricked.

Tim the Enchanter

After thoughts

A lot could be done with this story. The kid turned into a pig could have been the one influencing all the other students to disobey the sorcerer, and that is why he was turned into a pig. The sorcerer could have been testing if he could trust the students with a simple task, and if not then they could not handle magic. The sorcerer didn't seem to be taking his job to seriously, and it made me think of the ridiculous Tim the Enchanter from the Holy Grail.

Reading Notes: The Cave of the Beasts, Part A

The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

A father of 7 daughters goes to the woods and finds 7 wild duck eggs. Selfishly, he shares them only with his wife. The next morning, a daughter asks the mom what shes cooking and the mom says eggs, and that she will give her one if she does not tell her sisters. This happens with all 7 sisters, and the father is furious there are none left. He asks if they want to go to grandmas house, but he really plans to leave them in the woods to be eaten by wolves. The older daughters saw through his ploy, but the younger did not and agreed to go. He abandoned them, and they were left to seek shelter.

They found a cave behind a boulder, lit inside with many jewels owned unknown to them by a fox and a wolf. The two sisters settled to sleep on the two golden beds. When the fox and wolf returned home, the wolf swore he smelled human flesh but the fox said this was nonsense since they locked up the cave too well. They settled down to sleep near the fire. When the girls woke, they were terrified of the animals. They stoked the fire and put the boulder back, locking them inside to burn to death.

The daughters lived in the cave for a few days, and when the father started to miss them he went looking for them. He found them and the jewels, brought them home, and they became a happy family.

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After thoughts

I chose this one because the title reminded me of the first Lovecraft story I read, The Beast in the Cave. It was honestly a let down, and I guess the girls get their murderous nature from their father. The wolf/grandma element made me think of red riding hood. Then you have a little bit of goldilocks thrown in, sleeping in someone else's bed. I don't like the ending, where the only message I can find is the opposite of the Beatles song, becoming "money can buy me love". Why didn't the older sisters warn the little sisters? Why were the little sisters so quick to forgive their father? How was the mom too stupid to see what was happening in her house? What a horrible family.

Reading Notes: The Night on the Battlefield, Part B

The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

A merchant travels and becomes weary, a storm comes and the sun sets, and suddenly he sees the lights of an Inn flicker on of a building he did not notice before. He goes to the inn and asks for board and food and wine. The inn says they have a spare room for him, but all their food and drink must be saved as a battalion is coming in later.

Later that night, he could not sleep. He heard weird noises and looks through the crack in the door to see the all the men drinking and eating on the floor. Then, in walks the general. He commends them for their hard work and says he is going to rest. With his assistant in tow, he goes to his room which is adjacent to the merchant. Through another crack in the wall, he looks into the Generals room and sees the general take off his head. His assistant helps him by taking off his arms, then legs, and turns off the light.

The merchant tried to sleep, but he could not from the hunger, thirst, and crazy thing he just witnessed. He awoke to the sound of a crow, and realized he was outside. The inn was no where to be seen.  He runs to the nearest Inn he finds and recounts what happened, asking what that Inn owner thinks. The inn owner says that the entire forrest he was in was a battleground, and strange things happen after dark.

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After thoughts

Well I really enjoyed this story because of the supernatural element and twist. This will make an awesome rewrite. The general dismemberment scene reminds me of something that occurs on the show Supernatural, where sometimes ghosts become stuck in loops and keep reenacting their death (called a death echo). Maybe this general was dismembered during an ambush, maybe this inn was one that once stood before treason. I like the idea of the time loop happening every night on that ground, or maybe the man had ingested something like a mushroom that made him hallucinate or able to see the dead.