Week 7 Reading B: Japanese Mythology

The story of Urashima seemed very familiar to me, even though I had never read it before. I have read stories following the exact same pattern, only with fairies instead of a sea goddess. The fairy stories I had read previously were from the UK, but they followed the same pattern of a person going into another realm and falling in love with someone there, living for generations but not noticing the passage of time, asking to visit home, and then realizing how much time had passed and dying. I find it interesting that this story structure would appear in two cultures so far removed from one another.

                                     
                                                                          (Urashima)

Week 7 Reading A: Japanese Mythology

The story of The Miraculous Mirror is kind of confusing to me. I don't understand why Amaterasu would run away from her brother Susa-no-wo. Even if he's evil and was there to harm her in some way, it seems like she would be able to take care of the situation. She's literally the queen of heaven, so shouldn't she be more powerful than her brother, not to mention have body guards or an army to protect her. I also don't understand how she could be tricked into thinking her reflection was a rival and coming out of her cave to fight it. Again, she's the queen of heaven, not a dog who doesn't understand how mirrors work.

                                 
                                                                          (Amaterasu)

Week 6 Story: Custody

Clarissa the witch was not a cruel woman, but she also wasn't given to doing things purely out of the goodness of her heart. After all, if she helped someone out there was no reason they should't do something for her in return. She didn't think this was a bad thing. It didn't change the fact that she had helped someone, it just meant she had something to show for her troubles.

So when the king came to her, begging that she find a way to give him an heir, she agreed only on one condition. She had longed for a child of her own, and the king only needed one heir. Modifying the spell to guarantee the queen would give birth to twins wasn't too terribly difficult. The king tried to trick her into taking the child of some servant who hadn't agreed to her terms, but she saw through that easily enough. She took the elder twin, a little girl, to raise as her own, naming the baby Fern. She left the king and queen with the younger boy, a perfect heir to the throne. Everyone had what they wanted, and everyone was happy.

At least, everyone had been happy until a demon decided to break into Clarissa's house in the middle of the night.

Clarissa had gone to check on her daughter after an unnatural chill spread through the apartment. She recognized the figure stooping over Fern's crib as a demon instantly, from the creeping sensation it's presence gave her as much as the horns and tail.

Without hesitation Clarissa threw a ball of energy into the creature's chest, slamming it backwards into the wall. "Stay away from my daughter," she said, hurrying forward to stand between the demon and the crib.

Forced himself away from the wall and snarled at Clarissa. "That is my child, foolish mortal."

That...was not the answer Clarissa was expecting. "What?"

The demon rolled their eyes before repeating themself. "I said, the child is mine. The mother promised me her first born years ago, in return for saving her father's life. I have the right to raise the child due to blood oath, so hand them over."

Clarissa crossed her arms impatiently. "Oh for the love of...I made a magic contract with the father, promising the baby to me. That's every bit as binding as your blood oath, so I won't be handing anything over."

The demon's glowing yellow eyes widened at that, and they stuttered wordlessly for a moment before settling on a retort. "I was promised the child first."

"That would only matter if we'd both dealt with the same parent and you know it."

The demon let out a howl of rage and sparks shot from their hands, though Clarissa noticed they seemed to be trying not to actually light anything on fire. They also cut off their howling when Fern started crying.

"Great job, you woke her up." Clarissa took Fern out of her crib and rocked her.

"Look," the demon said. "Why don't we just split custody? You can keep the child here with you for a month, then I'll take her with me to-"

"Absolutely not," Clarissa cut them off. "For one thing, children need stability. Hopping between parents in different planes of existence every other month is not conducive to healthy development. And besides, how do I know whatever dimension you came from is even safe for a human baby?"

The demon growled. "Then what do you suggest?"

"Well," Clarissa started, already halfway regretting what she was about to say. "You could stay here with us. That way we could both raise her, and she wouldn't have to go back and forth all the time. Everyone would be happy." Clarissa actually wasn't that happy about inviting a demon to live with her, but if it kept her daughter safe and meant she wouldn't have to fight said demon, she could learn to live with it.

Seeing that the demon looked ready to continue arguing, Clarissa added, "I really think this is what's best for the baby."

Finally, the demon let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine, I'll stay here if I must," they conceded.

Clarissa nodded. "All right then," she said. "We'll be one big, happy, really weird family."

                                                 
                                                              (Witch and Baby Devil)

Author's note: This story is loosely based on the Indian fairy tale The Prince and the Fakir. In the original story, a Fakir agrees to help the king have an heir in return for one of his children. He then tries to cook the child he took, but is instead killed himself. The story then follows the prince who was taken by the Fakir. I decided to use the idea of a magical being wanting a human child, but switch it so they wanted to raise the child. I also wanted to explore the idea of what would happen if the same child was promised to two different supernatural beings, in this case a witch and a demon.

Week 6 Reading B: Indian Fairy Tales

The plot of The Prince and the Fakir doesn't make a lot of sense to me. It might be some sort of translation error, but the timeline just doesn't work. At the beginning of the story, the Fakir tells the king that he will be back for one of his sons, who haven't been conceived yet, in a year. But when he takes the prince, he is able to gather fuel for the fire, talk, and fight. He also says that he used to fight when he was young, and then gets married, implying that he's an adult. I also don't understand why he didn't just tell his father-in-law that he was a prince, rather than staging an elaborate hunting trip where he used his pet tigers to kill a bunch of animals for him.

                                
                                                                   (The Prince and the Fakir)

Week 6 Reading A: Indian Fairy Tales

I was really surprised in the story of Harisarman that he was able to pull off his deception. I feel like a lot of times, in that type of story, a person who lies about having some sort of fantastic power would get found out, and the story would serve as a lesson about not lying. But Harisarman manages to fake his way out of situations that should have required magical powers through mostly good luck and coincidence.

                                  
                                                                       Harisarman

Week 5 Story: The Calf

Inaya had taught herself magic at a very young age, much younger than most people would consider advisable. Her father had fretted constantly, and tried to persuade her to wait until she was older. Her mother had hovered and reminded her to be careful at least five times a day. Alishba, Inaya's childhood friend, had been gratifyingly excited whenever Inaya successfully pulled off a new spell, but had mostly sat by and complained about being bored she was while Inaya tried to practice.

It occurred to Inaya, as she stared at Alishba in horrified shock, that the other girl would probably be glad soon that she had practiced so much when they were younger.

Inaya was looking at a calf. It was pretty, as far as calves go, but there was nothing very special about its physical appearance. Most people wouldn't see anything out of the ordinary about it.

                                      

But Inaya's skill with magic allowed her to catch glimpses of people's spirits, and she clearly saw that the cow was unmistakably Alishba. The two had been inseparable for nearly their entire lives, and recently had started dating. Inaya would recognize Alishba in any form.

"Alishba, dear, why are you a cow?" Inaya asked.

Alishba mooed in response. Inaya wasn't sure why she had expected anything else.

"You can explain when you're human again. Give me just a moment."

Inaya laid her hand on Alishba's furry forehead and, closing her eyes, chanted a spell to reverse transformations. When she opened her eyes, however, nothing had changed.

Alishba gave the saddest moo Inaya had ever heard.

"Don't worry," she said. "I know what went wrong. The spell was cast specifically to fool one person, probably your father, so it can't be lifted until he realizes you've been transformed. I'll just tell him, then turn you back."

Inaya sent her father to tell Alishba's father what had happened. When the two men arrived, Inaya recited another spell, this time over a pitcher of water that she threw on Alishba, washing away the curse that had been put on her. In an instant, Alishba was fully human again.

Alishba's father immediately pulled her into a long hug. The moment he let go Alishba ran and threw herself into Inaya's arms, giving her a kiss before pulling her into a tight embrace. Inaya held Alishba, filled with relief that she had been able to change her back. In a little while, Inaya might turn her thoughts toward getting revenge against whoever had transformed Alishba, but for the moment she just enjoyed their reunion.

Author's Note: In the original story, The Hind, from the Arabian Nights, an old man tells the story of how his wife turned their adopted son into a calf and tried to trick him into sacrificing the calf. He refuses to do so, and then the daughter of one of his employees tells him that the calf is his son and reverses the spell in exchange for the son's hand in marriage and permission to place a curse on the old man's wife.

Image: Calf photo

Week 5 Reading B: Arabian Nights

Aladdin was one of my favorite Disney movies growing up, so I was excited to read the original story this week. I was surprised by how different this version was, and especially how differently Aladdin was characterized between the two. In the first part of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, Aladdin is described as careless and idle, and there is never any indication that he has gotten over these qualities. Although he is given various positions of power that would have required a lot of responsibility later in the story, there is nothing in his characterization that would suggest he could handle these responsibilities. He was also chosen to retrieve the lamp because the magician thought he was foolish, not because he possessed any special qualities that allowed him to get the lamp.

                                             

                                                               (Aladdin and the Genie)