Extra Reading Diary: Czech Folktales

Extra Reading Diary: Czech Folktales

I like all types of folktales and since I don't know much about Czech culture I think it would be interesting to explore their stories. I'm hoping for/expecting witches or vampires to make at least one appearance!

The Bear, the Eagle, and the Fish: My favorite line of this story was: "All of them were young and as pretty as peacocks..." I loved this story! There weren't witches, but their was a magician so I was partially right. I like stories that happen in threes. There were three daughters. There were three animals who wed them. I thought the story was going to be over when the count gave away all of his daughters, but I was excited to see that was not the case. My favorite character in the story was the brother. He could have disregard what happened to sisters he did not even know, but he went after them and brought peace to the kingdom. This may be the best folktale I've read all semester.

Czech castle,
photo by B. Henak

Kojata: The first paragraph of this story had me laughing. The line, "he forgot that his wife was about to have a child," is hilarious. I like how the author incorporated numbers into the story. I really enjoyed this story. I'm going to have to read more Czech folktales. I like that there was a happy ending and I think the way the prince and his love escaped her father was perfectly told.

Reading Diary B: King Arthur

Reading Diary B: King Arthur

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the King Arthur unit. I've read some of these stories before, but there are a couple that I'm not familiar with. This second part of the unit looks interesting because it focuses more on the adventures or Arthur's knights.

Sir Galahad and the White Knight: I like the story of Sir Galahad, because he is such a worthy knight.   I feel like he is one of those people that so many prophecies are written about. He is a central character that is able to do many things that others cannot. I also like that the shield in the story can only be worn by the worthiest knight in the land, not the strongest or the smartest. Arthurian Legends, especially when it comes to the Grail Quest, are more focused on being worthy than being powerful. I think these concepts give the stories a very appealing nature.

Sir Galahad Opens Tomb
Source: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1902)

The End of Arthur: I really enjoyed this part of the Arthurian story. I think this story about Arthur is so interesting because it allows the legend to live on. Arthur goes off to some mystical land (Avalon) to be healed and now we're all waiting for his return. I think it's a perfect non-conclusion to such an epic story. Even Lancelot and Guinevere are given satisfying endings. But ARTHUR LIVES ON!

Reading Diary A: King Arthur

Reading Diary A: King Arthur

The Drawing of the Sword: I've read this story before in my Arthurian Legend class and I liked it just as much the second time. I think my favorite part is that Arthur did not even strive to become king, but rather fell into it on accident while trying to help his "brother." I really like that when Arthur found out that he was king, he was more upset that Sir Ector wasn't his father than happy to be crowned. I also like the character Merlin. He popped up for a bit in this story, but I'm hoping there are some more stories involving him in his unit.

The Drawing of the Sword
Source:  King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1902)

The Passing of Merlin: I like that even though Merlin knows the fate that will befall him he does nothing to stop it. He accepts his fate. I'm not sure if that shows how much he loved this woman or how foolish he is. I would have liked to see what Merlin's reaction was to the betrayal, but I suppose we'll never know. I like that Vivien, even though she was Merlin's apprentice was able to overpower the most powerful wizard. I have a thing for underdogs. I think that this would be an interesting story to use for my storytelling post this week. I think a woman using a man to get what she wants is a storyline that I'd like to explore.