Wikipedia Trail: From Osiris to Bone Tools

For my Wikipedia trail, I started out with Osiris, the Egyptian god of the afterlife.  I wanted to start out with this topic because it was a character that I came across in someone's story and it really caught my interest as something that I wanted to look into further.  In this article I found that he was not only known as the god of the afterlife but he was also seen as a merciful judge that granted life by providing vegetation and the flooding of the Nile River.  I decided to click on Nile River as my next link.

In the article about the Nile River, it mostly talked about where it flows and its tributaries, however id did mention that it has been the lifeline of the Egyptian people since the Stone Age.  Curious as to what the Stone Age might have been like for the Egyptians, that was my next link. 

To my surprise, the Stone Age article gave a very wide definition of what it was.   This article simply described it as a prehistoric period where stone was used to implements with an edge. The period lasted about 3.4 million years.  The Stone Age was then followed by the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age.  During the Stone Age the article mentioned that "bone tools" were used and I was curious to what that meant so I clicked to find out.

Well, turns out a bone tool is simply just a tool that is made from bone.  Kind of unexciting.  However, some of the oldest bone tools that have been found are 1.5 million years old and come from African descent. 

Osiris- god of the afterlife.  Web Source. 

Tech Tip: Online Typing Test

This week for my tech tip I decided to take a couple different online typing tests.  The first test I took was from the website Key Hero, and the second test I took was from a site called Typing Test.  Both tests were similar in that it gave you a chunk of text to read/copy into a separate text box.  I personally liked the second website better because not only did I get to pick what text I copied (I picked a chunk from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" but you also only typed for 60 seconds whereas the first website you just kept typing until you got through the text.  According to both websites I am right in the middle of the typing scale as "fluent". Maybe I should work on my typing??

Colored Fingers. Web Source. 

Week 7 Story: Brer Rabbit and the Tar-Baby

One day Mr. Fox decided he wanted to play a trick on Brer Rabbit.  Mr. Fox went to the market and bought a large tub of the sweetest and stickiest molasses he could find.  He then went to a path that Brer Rabbit frequents often and constructed a Tar-Baby made from molasses.  Admiring his work, Mr. Fox retreated to the bushes to watch and wait for Brer Rabbit to come by. 

It didn't take long for Brer Rabbit to come along on his way. Brer Rabbit could smell the sweet molasses from down the road and was immediately intrigued by the Tar-Baby.  Coming nearer, Brer Rabbit saw that the Tar-Baby was indeed sweet, delicious molasses and he was tempted to taste a bite.  Brer Rabbit knew he shouldn't touch the Tar-Baby as he didn't know who he belonged to, but he couldn't help himself and decided one tiny bite couldn't hurt.  Sticking out his tongue he licked the Tar-Baby, however when he tried to pull away, he found himself stuck! The wolf jumped out of the bushes and burst out in laughter at the stuck Brer Rabbit.  "I've got you again Brer Rabbit!" exclaimed Mr. Fox.  "Have fun getting yourself out of this one!".  

Some say that Mr. Bear came along and helped Brer Rabbit free himself from the molasses prison, and others say he didn't.  

Mr. Fox constructing Tar-Baby. Web Source. 

Authors note: The original story is written in the dialect of Uncle Remus, so the first big change I made was simply telling the story in normal dialect from a narrators point of view.  This makes it much easier to read and understand.  I didn't want to change the story too much because it is a very famous and classic story, however in the original text Mr. Fox makes the tar baby from turpentine and Brer Rabbit ends up stuck in it after getting angry that the tar baby would not talk back to him.  I wanted to take the anger out of it and switched the tar baby to being made out of yummy  molasses that Brer Rabbit couldn't resist.  I decided to leave the ending up to reader's imagination like the original text. 

Bibliography:  The Wonderful Tar Baby from Uncle Remus: His Songs and Sayings by Joel Chandler Harris.

Reading Notes: Brer Rabbit, Part B

Part B consisted of more stories about Brer Rabbit and other various characters.  These tales were entitled, Mr. Fox and the Deceitful Frogs, Old Mr. Rabbit- He's a Good Fisherman, Mr. Rabbit Meets His Match Again, A Story about the Little Rabbits, Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Bear, Mr. Terrapin Shows His Strength, The Story of the Deluge, and Plantation Proverbs.

Something really unique about the Brer Rabbit Stories is that they are told in dialect from "Uncle Remus".  They are difficult to read on their own because of the dialect so it is important to either read them out loud, or listen to the recordings that are offered! For Part B, I chose the listening option and the story I enjoyed the most was Mr. Fox and the Deceitful Frogs.

In the story Mr. Fox is tricked into the pond where the frogs live and almost drowns but manages to escape.  I enjoyed it because the last story that I wrote about in Part A, Mr. Fox was doing the tricking, so it was fun to see him getting a taste of his own medicine.

Mr. Fox almost drowning. Web Source. 

Bibliography: Mr. Fox and the Deceitful Frogs from Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings written by Joel Chandler Harris.

Reading Notes: Brer Rabbit, Part A

I was excited to see Brer Rabbit as an option for the reading this week because I grew up with this tale! My parents used to read it to me all the time and I remember enjoying it very much as a child.  I was surprised however to see it under the "African Tales" origin.  I did not know that this story comes from African history. 

Part A consisted of 8 parts including Brer Rabbit and the Calamus Root, The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story, Why Mr. Possum Loves Peace, How Mr. Rabbit was too Sharp for Mr. Fox, Mr. Fox is "Outdone" by Mr. Buzzard, Mr. Wolf Makes a Failure, Mr. Fox Tackles Old Man Tarrypin, and finally The Awful Fate of Mr. Wolf.

The tale that I could see myself retelling this week would be The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story.  I like this story because it one of the specific stories that I really remember as a child.  It turns out that is is also the most famous of the Brer Rabbit stories so that makes sense as to why its the one I remember the most. 

In the story, Mr. Fox creates a tar baby from "turkentime" a sticky substance resembling tar.  Mr. Fox then hides and waits for Brer Rabbit to come along.  Eventually, Brer rabbit comes along and tries to talk to the tar baby, and of course the tar baby doesn't respond because it is made of tar.  Brer Rabbit becomes frustrated and ends up punching the tar baby and getting stuck in the tar.  Mr. Fox comes out from the bushes and laughs and the story ends with the narrator saying some say that the Judge came and freed Brer Rabbit and others say he didn't.

I am excited about potentially retelling this story, as it brought up sweet memories from my childhood!

Brer Rabbit and the Tar-Baby. Web Source. 

Bibliography: The Wonderful Tar Baby from Uncle Remus: His Songs and Sayings by Joel Chandler Harris.

Week 6 Story: The Ungrateful Mother

Once there was a Brahman who lived with his wife and mother.  It is traditional in the Indian culture that the son continues to take care of his mother into old age.  However, the Brahman's mother was a real witch and made life unpleasant for The Brahman and his wife. 

One day as the mother was out on a walk cursing to herself about daily inconveniences, Sarita a friendly nature dwelling ghost came to her.  Sarita asked why the mother was so unhappy and the mother just continued to complain.  Sarita saw that the mother was ungrateful for her son and daughter-in-law and took the mother in law and locked her up in her woodland house.  Sarita then dressed like the mother and made her way to the Brahman's house.

At the Brahman's house Sarita was a completely new version of the mother.  She helped around the house, thanked the Brahman and the daughter-in-law, and was pleasant to be around.  Both the Brahman and his wife were relived with the mothers new change of character.  However, after some time the wife started to notice strange things about the mother.  She was able to do things more quickly than a woman her age should be able to do, and she would stay up all hours of the night.

One day the Brahman saw his mother swimming and singing in the nearby pond and he knew he had to confront her, because all of her life she has never been able to swim.  The Brahman asked his mother who she was and Sarita confessed saying that she came across his real mother in the woods and was burdened with her negativity and wanted to make life better for both him and his wife.  The Brahman, thanked Sarita but said that as nice as its been to have her pleasant spirit around, that he must have his real mother back.  Sarita agreed to let his mother go if as long as she promised to change her attitude towards life and be thankful for her son and daughter-in-law. 

Back in the woods Sarita took The Brahman to his mother who was quite afraid.  The Brahman told his mother that Sarita has agreed to let her go as long as she changes her outlook on life.  The mother, willing to do anything to be free once again agreed and was let go by Sarita.

Back at their house the mother became much happier, helped with chores and made life pleasant for the Brahman and his wife just like Sarita had done.  They all lived happily together for quite some time. 

My character Sarita, the friendly woodland ghost. Web Source. 

Author's note: In the original tale entitled The Ghostly Wife, the wife of the Brahman is replaced by am evil ghost.  At first neither the Brahman or his mother know what has happened but eventually the mother notices the wife doing strange things such as sticking her limbs through walls and into fires.  The mother and Brahman call upon and exorcist who burns turmeric and expels the ghost from the wife's form.  The ghost takes them to where she has thrown the wife into a hole and they rescue her short from death.  After recovery, the Brahmam, his wife, and his mother live happily ever after.  I changed the story to have the mother be the one replaced and I also reversed the roles of the evil ghost and nice wife- to having the ghost actually be a friendly ghost and the mother being evil.  I used a name generator to come up with the name of Sarita. 

Bibliography: The Ghostly Wife from Folktales of Bengal written by Rev. Lal Behari Day.

Reading Notes: Bengal, Part B

Reading B of Bengal was just as enjoyable to read as Part A.  The folk tales in Part B consisted of The Ghostly Wife, The Story of Brahmadaitya, The Origin of Rubies, The Ghost who was Afraid of being Bagged, and The Bald Wife. 

My favorite of these tales was The Ghostly Wife.  This tale was very much like The Brahmin-Ghost that I wrote about from Part A.  However The Ghostly Wife had some significant differences that I found enjoyable. 

In the The Ghostly Wife, the wife of the Brahman is thrown into a pit by a woman ghost and the woman ghost takes her place. 

At first the Brahman and his mother don't notice any differences but eventually the mother starts to notice the wife doing strange things such as doing chores too quickly and sticking her limbs through walls to deliver objects to her. 

After the mother caught the wife with her foot in a fire she knew she had to be a ghost so called upon and exorcist.  The exorcist burned turmeric and immediately the ghost came forward and confessed telling them where they could find the real wife.  The real wife was rescued and they loved happily ever after. 

I thought this story was interesting because in The Brahman- Ghost story no one knew that he had been replaced by a ghost and even when he tried to tell people they did not believe him.  In this story I liked that they mother began to pick up on that the wife had been replaced by a ghost. 

The Ghostly Wife. Web Source. 

Bibliography: The Folktales of Bengal by Rev. Lal Behari Day.