Week 6 Storytelling: A Mother's Instinct

Jack and Charlie met a few years ago at a mutual friend's birthday party. They immediately hit it off and became the best of friends. Even though Charlie was twelve years old and Jack was ten, they didn't mind the age difference. Jack really looked up to Charlie since he was an only child. They became inseparable. All seemed perfect, except for the fact that Jack's mother was skeptical of the friendship. One day Jack couldn't take it anymore and decided to ask his mother why she didn't like Charlie.

Jack: "Mom, why don't you like Charlie?"

Mother: "It's not that I don't like Charlie honey, I just don't think he's a very good influence on you."

Jack: "What do you mean by that?"

Mother: "I'm not sure how to explain this to you, but I just don't get a good vibe from him. I just get a feeling that he's not a good person, and that he's going to end up hurting you."

Jack: "Don't worry about me mom. I know Charlie, and I know he would never do that to me."

Mother: "Whatever you say, just don't say I didn't warn you."

A few months passed by and everything was fine. Charlie's sixteenth birthday was coming up and the two of them had big plans to go car shopping. They went on the day he turned sixteen and found the perfect car and drove it around all weekend laughing and blaring music. They were still the best of friends.

A couple weeks went by and it was time for school to start again. Charlie was a freshman this year and Jack was in eighth grade. They were at two different schools, Charlie was at the high school and Jack was at the middle school. After a few weeks into the semester, Jack hadn't seen or even heard from Charlie very much. Charlie said he was busy with schoolwork and football, and claimed that high school was a lot harder than middle school. One Friday night Jack and Charlie had plans to go see the new X-Men movie and Jack could hardly wait! Jack had his mom drop him off at Charlie's and told her that Charlie would bring him home after the movie. When Charlie answered the door Jack was surprised to see a small group of friends in Charlie's living room. Jack was bummed that it wasn't going to just be the two of them, but he also didn't mind making a few older friends.

Jack: "Are you ready to see the movie?! I can't wait! You didn't tell me you we're going to invite some of your friends to go with us."

Charlie: "Actually Jack, they invited me to go with them and I told them I would. I asked if you could come with us, but they said they don't hangout with middle schoolers. I'm really sorry, I can go with you tomorrow if you want to see it still?"

Jack: "Don't worry about it. Have a good time with your new friends."

Jack turned around and started walking home. He knew it was a long walk, but he forgot his cell phone at home so he couldn't call his mom. He was so mad at Charlie there was no way he was going to ask him for a ride either. By the time he got home the anger had passed and he burst into tears. His mother answered the door surprised to see him home so early.

Mother: "Honey, what's wrong?!"

Jack: (sobbing) "Charlie ditched me for his new high school friends."

Mother: "I'm so sorry Jack. Why don't you ask one of your other friends to go see the movie with you?"

Jack: "None of my friends except Charlie like X-Men. That was our thing."

The next day Jack walked into the kitchen while his mom was cooking lunch.

Jack: "Well aren't you going to say it?"

Mother: "Say what?"

Jack: "I told you so."

Mother: "Jack, I'm not going to be cruel. I'm sorry that Charlie treated you that way and I hope it never happens again. I love you and I would never want anyone to mistreat you. That's why I tried to warn you, so you would have your guard up."

Jack: "Thanks mom. Next time you tell me something like that I will. I love you too."

(Mother & Son)

Author's note: This week I read some South African Folk-Tales. There was one in particular that really caught my attention. It was about a lion that thought he was smarter than his mother. In the story the mother told the lion to beware of the man. The lion thought to himself, I know the man so why should I be afraid of him. He did what his mother warned him not to and went to the field where the man was. The man and his dogs attacked the lion and the man speared him. The man let him go and he went back to his mother. His mother told him again what she had said before. I decided to make my story about a childhood friendship. Growing up my mom would always tell me if she didn't have a good feeling towards one of my friends, and sometimes she would be right about them. No mother wants to see their children hurting, and no child wants their mother to tell them what to do. It's an on going battle, but I think most people can relate to this story.

Bibliography: This story is based on readings from South African Folktales by James Honey (1910).

Week 6 Reading Diary, continued: South African Folktales

South African Folktales by James Honey (1910)

The Dance for Water

• There was a drought
• All of the animals came together and decided to dance in the riverbed to stomp the water out
• Rabbit refused to dance
• They danced until there was water and told rabbit he could have none
• Rabbit snuck down at night and drank from the riverbed
• He bragged the next day so the others decided to trap him
• Turtle acted as a stone by the river and rabbit stuck to him
• He took rabbit back to others and they decided he should be killed
• The lion swung him by his tail and the fur fell out and rabbit was free

Jackal and Monkey

• Jackal would steal lambs from the farmer's corral
• One day the farmer set a trap and caught the jackal
• Monkey saw the jackal and went down to mock him
• Jackal convinced the monkey he was not in a trap and that he was just hanging for his enjoyment
• He convinced monkey to trade him places
• Monkey was caught and the farmer came
• The farmer killed monkey

The Story of Hare

• Five animals were appointed to guard the animals food one at a time, each one failed and each one was killed
• The sixth time the hare was appointed to guard the food
• He killed the animal that was stealing the food
• He then ate its tail
• The others told the chief the hare ate the tail and the chief wanted him dead
• They chased the hare into a hole
• They set a trap but he escaped
• The hare found another animal cooking meat
• He stole his meat and killed him
• He went into the forest and monkeys threw leaves on him while he was building weapons
• He called the monkeys down and killed them

The White Man and Snake

• The white man came across snake who was stuck under a stone
• White man lifted the stone off of her and she wanted to bite him
• They went to wise men to see if she should bite him
• Jackal wanted to see how she was stuck with his own eyes
• They reset the scene
• Jackal told white man to leave her under the stone because she wanted to bite him

Jackal, Dove, and Heron

• Jackal tricked dove into thinking he could fly so she would give up her young ones
• Heron told dove that jackal could not fly
• Jackal came back for another child and dove told him what heron had said
• Jackal went and beat heron's neck and broke it in the middle
• Since that day heron's neck is bent

Elephant and Tortoise

• Elephant told rain he didn't need him so rain went away
• There was only one lagoon left and elephant told tortoise to guard it for him
• All the animals came and asked for water but tortoise told them it was elephants
• The lion beat tortoise and then all the animals drank the water
• The elephant returned and learned of the news and so he swallowed tortoise
• Tortoise tore off elephant's liver, heart, and kidneys
• Elephant died and tortoise lived

The Judgement of Baboon

• Baboon assembled the animals to figure out who did the crime
• He was foolish and couldn't figure out who did
• Today he walks on all fours

When Lion Could Fly

• Lion could fly
• Lion kept bones in a corral that he didn't want broken
• Frog went and broke the bones
• Lion could no longer fly and went to find frog
• Frog was too quick and lion couldn't catch him

Lion Who Thought Himself Wiser Than His Mother

• Lion's mother warned him to beware of the man
• Lion thought that was foolish since he knew the man
• Lion went where his mother told him not to and man and dogs attacked lion
• Lion returned home
• Lion's mother told him again

Lion Who Took a Woman's Shape

• Women went to gather food
• A woman and lion hunt each other
• The lion eats the woman but saves her skin
• He wears her skin and returns home
• Her family retrieves her heart
• Puts her heart in milk
• Her heart grows into the daughter

(lion)

Week 6 Reading Diary: South African Folktales

South African Folktales by James Honey (1910)

The Lost Message

• Each of the different species of ants come together
• They all want to find a way to better protect themselves from their enemies
• In the end they all disagree on how to solve their issues and end up no better off than before
• Each species tries to solve their problems their own way and none of them are successful
• The insect king sent them the secret of unity to solve their problems, but he sent the beetle as his messenger and they have yet to receive the message

The Monkey's Fiddle

• The monkey was given a bow and arrow, and a fiddle by his uncle
• The monkey met a wolf who was trying to catch a deer
• The monkey killed the deer with his bow and arrow
• The wolf became jealous of the monkey and threatened the monkey to give him his bow and arrow
• The jackal came by and the wolf claimed to the jackal that the monkey stole his now and arrow
• They decided to settle the matter in the court of the lion, tiger and other animals
• The monkey lost and was sentenced to hanging for his crime
• The monkey asked to play his fiddle one last time
• Everyone began dancing uncontrollably
• They begged the monkey to stop
• He requested to be set free and be given his bow and arrow back
• They did as asked and then they all fled to different parts of the world

The Tiger, The Ram, and The Jackal

• The tiger came across the ram, whom he had never met
• He ran home to the jackal in fear
• The jackal told him not to fear and that they would go back tomorrow to slay the ram
• The ram saw them coming and asked his wife what to do
• His wife said to take their child out, pinch him to make him cry so the tiger and jackal will think he's hungry
• The ram did so and then yelled to the jackal thanking him for bringing the tiger to feed his child
• The tiger took off in fear again and drug the jackal behind him all the way home

The Lion, The Jackal, and The Man

• The lion and the jackal were discussing business when the lion began boasting about how strong he was
• The jackal told him he wasn't the strongest
• The jackal took him to a man
• The lion tried to attack the man
• The man stabbed him a few times and shot at him
• The lion retreated and told the jackal he was not the strongest

The World's Reward

• A dog was getting old and his owner wanted to get rid of him
• So he decided to set off on his own
• He met a bull, ram, donkey, cat, cock, and goose
• They all came upon a house of robbers eating dinner
• They were all hungry so they decided to scare off the robbers
• When the robbers fled the animals ate and then decided to stay the night
• One robber came back to see if the coast was clear and the animals attacked
• The robber ran back terrified to the others and said the coast was not clear

(South African veldt, Mpumalanga)