Week 12: Famous Last Words

Week 12: Famous Last Words


This week was another stressful one! I had two tests at the end of the week. I don't understand how every single month, all of my tests end up being on the same day! How stressful! But luckily, the only big things I have left to do are finals and a paper and then it is Christmas!!! One more month and school is out for winter break. I am so excited! I dont know about anyone else, but this semester has flown by so fast. I just took my third tests in all of my classes, but it feels like just yesterday we were going over the syllabus. I guess I was just so busy that I blinked and it was almost over. I am really terrified for next semester because I have enrolled in capstone. (!!!!)  That is just the scariest thing in the world to me. I am almost a college graduate. What is even scarier is that now I have to figure out what I want to do with my life. I still do not know what I want to be "when I grow up." Hopefully I am not the only one who feels this way. I have always been so sick of school and just wanted to graduate, but now I am scared of what is ahead of me when I am actually out.

Bedlam

Well, it was another rough week for OU football. Hopefully we get it together soon and start winning every game again like we always did while I was growing up!!! I actually get to go to the bedlam game which I am super excited about, but I am kind of nervous now!! I just found out my dad had some tickets and he is giving them to me. I really just want to go to have fun regardless of if we win or not. Either way I know it is going to be a lot of fun!

Week 12: Essay

Week 12: Essay

This week I read the Celtic Fairytale unit and I really enjoyed it. I think I liked it a lot because a lot of these stories were really different from a lot of the other stories I have read for this class. There was one about a leprechaun, one very similar to Snow White, and there was even one about a ghost. One of my favorites was Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree. This is the story that is closely related to what we know as Snow White. It was different though because her mother was the one trying to kill her, not her step mother. The mother also tried three times to kill her until the mother eventually died. This actually reminded me of something that someone from class would rewrite. Like if they were to take the Snow White story we all know, and change it up in the way that this story was written.

Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree

  I also really enjoyed Beth Gellert because it really got to me emotionally. I think it is a story that a lot of people know. They at least have heard a story with a similar storyline and message. This is the story I chose to write this week for the storytelling assignment because I thought that it was a really good one and people should read it. This was the best unit I have read in a while. I really enjoyed doing the readings this week. Last week was pretty good too. I am looking forward to next week, though, because it looks like there are going to be a few more familiar stories that we get to read. I am looking forward to that, and also to reading other peoples stories.

Week 12: Storytelling: The Legend of Geller

Week 12: Storytelling: Beth Geller

The Legend of Geller

There once was a Prince named Llewelyn who loved to hunt. He also loved to take his many dogs with him to help him succeed. One day Prince Llewelyn was wanting to go hunting because it was such a beautiful day. When he blew his horn to let the dogs know it was time to go, his very favorite dog Geller did not answer.

Geller was a dog that his father, the king, gave to him. For this reason, he was very special to Prince Llewelyn. Geller was a very sweet and gentle dog in the home, but in the chase he was as mighty as a lion. In fact, he was the best dog the prince had ever had. The prince finally called him by name to hurry up, but he still did not come. He left without him and for that reason he had no luck hunting that day.

Geller

Prince Llewelyn was very angry at Geller when he got back to his castle. When he opened the gate, Geller was running towards him to meet him. As he got closer, Prince Llewelyn noticed that he had blood dripping from his lips and fangs. Llewelyn was still very upset with Geller for not coming when he was called and so he gave him a very angry and disappointed look. Geller was very confused and sad about the way he was greeted by his master.

Prince Llewelyn instantly had a horrible and tragic thought. He had a one-year-old son whom Geller played with on a daily basis. He wondered if maybe something happened to his son while he was away. He ran inside as fast as he could.

When he got to his son's nursery, the was a room covered in blood. The walls, the floor, and the crib were all painted red. In a panic, he tore apart the room. He saw that the cradle was overturned and drenched in blood. He could not find his son anywhere in the nursery. Horrible and terrifying thoughts filled his head. He could only make sense of it by putting two and two together. He knew that what must have happened was that Geller was killing his precious son while he was away in the woods. He realized that was why Geller did not come when he was called.

He turned around and saw Geller was standing behind him with a bloody face. He screamed to Geller, "You monster! How could you destroy my son in this way?" He took his sword and plunged it into Geller's side. Geller, looking into Prince Llewelyn's eyes, let out a dying and saddened yell as he slowly lay down and died.

Baby and Wolf

This yell led to a baby's cry. The noise came from underneath the overturned cradle. His son had woken up because of Geller's dying scream. Prince Llewelyn found him, and there was not a scratch on the baby anywhere. Right next to him was a beast of a wolf shredded to pieces covered with blood.

Llewelyn had assumed the total opposite of what happened, and acted too quickly upon it. Geller did not answer to his name hours before because he was protecting the child from a wild beast who was trying to destroy him. Llewelyn was heartbroken, but he could not take back the evil thing that he had done. He buried Geller right outside of the castle where all who passed by would see the grave.

Author's Note:
The only little thing I changed about this story was change the name from "Gellert" to "Geller." I just thought that sounded better and was easier to say. I chose to rewrite this story because it is truly heartbreaking. I cannot read a story about a dog who gets killed and not get emotional. For some reason dog stories always get to me. For this reason I could not change the ending. I just reworded the story and left it alone and did not change anything at all about the storyline because I loved, but also greatly hated the story just how it was. As much as I wanted to, I could not touch or change the ending because it would take away the meaning from the rest of the story. I felt that the reason this story was so good was because it was so tragic. If I just had the prince realize what the dog had done then said "Good boy, Geller" it would have been boring. I hope I get the message across as well as the original did.

Biblioraphy
Book: Celtic Fairytales
Author:Joseph Jacobs
Year: 1892
Web Source: Un-Textbook

Week 12: Reading Diary

Week 12: Reading Diary

Celtic Fairytales
Connla and the Fairy Maiden:
I didn't really get this story. The maiden kept trying to get Connla to go with her to the land where she is from, but nothing ever really happened. He eventually went, but that was it. I was thinking maybe she was tricking him or something. That would be a fun way to rewrite the story.

The Field of Boliauns:
This was a fun story I thought. I have not read a story until now about leprechauns so that was a nice change! I thought it was strange how Tom simply seemed to be a normal, nice enough guy, but then he turned into a jerk immediately.

The Horned Women: If I were going to redo this story, I would change almost everything about it. It definitely was not my favorite. I guess I was just expecting something totally different.

The Shepherd of Myddvai:
This story reminded me of the story I read at the beginning of the semester about the delicate wives. She told him if he strikes her three times she will leave him, but she counts little taps and barely any touching at all as strikes. I kind of liked this story because it was a little different than a lot of the other ones I have read.

The Sprightly Tailor:
This would have been a great story for me to redo for my Halloween story! Anyways, I really liked this story. I liked that it was supposed to be like a haunted church/graveyard type of thing. I really wanted more ghosts and scary things to happen, but I loved that it had that type of feel to it.

Munachar and Manachar:
This story was kind of annoying because it repeated itself like 50 times, but the ending was kind of funny. He went through all that trouble, and then Manachar burst. I am assuming because he ate all of Munachar's raspberries. Every one.

Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree:
This is supposed to be a type of Snow White story. I definitely saw the connection. Man, the mother tried to kill her daughter 3 times! At least in most of the Snow White stories, it is her step  mother, not her real mother. I really liked this story. I am glad that the evil mother finally died in the end. What I did not like is that the prince ended up having 2 wives at the end. I would definitely change that.

King O'Toole and His Goose:
This story was kind of strange in my opinion. I thought it was so sad that after ALL that, the goose ended up dying. I wasn't in love with this story so I probably will not rewrite it.

Beth Gellert:
This story literally broke my heart. I have stories about dogs because they ALWAYS die. This was such a sad, sad story. Gellert, the dog, saved the Kings son from a wolf, but the king did not waste any time assuming he actually killed the son when he saw blood everywhere. He killed the dog only to find out seconds later that he was still alive. I would love to redo this and make everything different.