Portfolio Guide

The Untold Story of Pyro- This tale focuses on the story of Phoebus the sun god, his son Phaethon, and the horses that pull the chariot of the son across the sky.

Ammon: The Wax Crocodile- This tale is centered around the story of an Egyptian scribe that brings a wax crocodile to life to exact revenge on a man that was sleeping with his wife.

Observations of Mr. Yamato- This tale focuses on the Tales of Yamato, but portrays the myth as if it was all a part of a patients imagination.

The Tale of Chen Zihan- This tale involves an emperor's pug and his quest to find the emperor's stolen crown.

The Destruction of Man- This tale focuses on a Giant Elk of North America that gives his side of a tale with his dying breath. The Giant Elk is clarifying his actions based upon the destruction brought by mankind.

Week 7: Storytelling

  The Tale of Chen Zihan

Gather around, children. Let me tell you the story of why we dogs have an innate dislike of all felines. It all began in the lands of China with one of your greatest ancestors called Chen Zihan. He was one of the emperor’s most loyal companions of the most noble pug breed. His face was as flat as stone, his fur as black and sleek as shined metal, and you knew he was of royalty when you saw the excess weight he had accumulated from a life of riches. Chen Zihan watched over the kingdom’s dog and cat population for many years alongside Emperor Wu. However, the emperor’s wife had a pet cat, named Lanying, that envied everything that Chen Zihan had dominion over.

(Pug & Kitten)

One day, Lanying went into the emperor's treasure room while Chen Zihan was walking throughout the city to see how his people were. Now, nothing was more important and held more power throughout the entire kingdom than the emperor’s crown. This was the most beautiful crown made throughout all the ages. It was embellished with every type of precious stone and gem, crafted of the finest gold, and with this crown came the luck of every previous Chinese emperor. Now, security measures had been taken to ensure that if the crown ever were stolen, the suspect found an irremovable gold residue fell and covered the thief. Lanying knew this would happen, but her hair was so fine that when she grabbed the crown the gold residue simply fell to the ground. Lanying collected all of the gold dust in a bag and took the crown. She gave the crown to her henchman, the squirrel Gen, and he took the crown far from the empire and hid it within a tree.

(Crown)

That day the emperor discovered the crown had been stolen and a search began for it. Chen Zihan was making his way back to the palace when he saw Lanying lying on a windowsill outside of the palace gates crying. He stood beneath her and asked her what was wrong. She told him that a horrible thief had stolen the crown and when Chen Zihan looked at the ground to process the information he felt something fall upon his back like snow. He looked up saw gold dust falling from the sky and then saw that his entire body was covered in gold. He immediately realized that Lanying had deceived him and was framing him for the theft. He attempted to rub off the gold powder, but his thicker hair would not allow the dust to be removed. At that moment, the emperor walked out of the palace grieving his loss and saw Chen Zihan covered in gold powder. The emperor was furious and called to his guards to capture the traitorous Chen Zihan, and he knew he had no other choice but to run for his life.

(Stealing Squirrel)

Luckily, he was able to escape the city without being captured, but he knew that he had no hope of ever returning to the palace unless he could find the crown. Chen Zihan had lost hope and felt he could never find such a small object without any direction. While lying next to a stream he met a Labrador, known as Biyu. She told him that she had seen a squirrel dragging a large object in a bag into the woods to the north. Chen Zihan knew that this was none other than Gen and he immediately began to head to the north woods. Biyu volunteered to help Chen Zihan in his quest for the crown and used her powerful sense of smell to track the exact route of Gen through the woods. They made their way to a large oak tree and could see that Gen was polishing the crown high in the tree. They immediately began calling him and told him to give the crown back to its rightful owner. It took a lot of convincing and many threats, but Gen finally realized that dogs were more loyal and useful allies than the cats.

(Barking Pug)

With the crown they made their way back to the palace and the emperor’s army captured them and brought them to the palace. In the presence of the emperor, Chen Zihan walked forward and removed the crown from the bag he was carrying. The emperor was in shock and realized that no thief would be foolish enough to steal his crown, be covered in gold dust, and then return the gold crown to him knowing the consequences of such treachery. The emperor asked Chen Zihan whom had framed him for such a heinous crime and he pointed to Linyang whom was lying in the empress’ lap. The emperor seized Linyang and executed her instantly. Chen Zihan earned back his position alongside the emperor, now shining as bright as all the treasures of the emperor. 

(Emperor & Pugs)

Children, we can never forget the treachery of Linyang and as a result we will never be friends with felines again. This is also the reason we constantly talk with the squirrels in the trees for an excessive period of time so that they may be reminded who their true allies are.

(Gold Pug)

Author's Note: This story was based off of the tale Why Dogs and Cats are Enemies from the Chinese Fairytale unit. The original story revolves around a family in China that is wealthy due to a lucky ring, but the humans do not know that is the source of their success. One day they sell the ring and they immediately begin to lose their wealth until they have nothing left. The dog and cat of the story work together to go to the jeweler's store and the cat threatens a mouse to make a tunnel through the jewelry box and to retrieve the ring. They make their way back to their owners and the dog carries the cat across a stream. However, when they are close to the house the cat uses the buildings as shortcuts and makes it to the house much quicker than the dog can. The cat presents the ring to the family and their luck is returned. The family praises the cat for bringing back their good fortune, but they beat the dog for not helping aide the cat in her journey. Ever since then the dog and cat have lost their friendship. I took this tale and made it into a tale of my own. I kept the overall theme of the cat and dog with this power struggle, but instead I made it so that the dogs were shown as the loyal companions. I also included a little extra bit that explains why dogs always bark at squirrels. 

Bibliography: The Chinese Fairybook, ed. by R. Wilhelm and Frederick H. Martens (1921).

Week 9 Storytelling: The Destruction of Man

                                                     The Destruction of Man

Since the dawn of man all the world and its creatures have ever seen is destruction. My name is Chuchip, but the humans refer to me as the Giant Elk. The people of this land tell stories to their children of how horrible a monster I am. They tell their children that I eat any human that crosses my path, because I am a savage beast controlling the southern lands under my tyranny. However, in my dying breaths I will let you know the truth of what has happened on this earth today.

(Ancient Forest found on Pinterest)

I remember a time when all animals lived in harmony and the cycle of life was perfect, but then one day a tribe of humans arrived to our beautiful land. These people brought with them a wave of destruction, famine, and death. I called a council meeting with the other greats: Mahpee, the Great Eagle of the West, Uzumati, the Fearless Bear of the North, and Kanuna the Wise Bullfrog of the East. The council came to the decision that we must protect our land and we declared war upon the human race.

One day I raided a village to the west of the great river Bimisi when I noticed a small child following me. I could not bring myself to kill the young hunter and I led him into the depths of my land. In this land I knew the young hunter would see the peace that was present without his species and hoped that he would finally understand why I have done the things I have. I laid in the field to rest and saw the young hunter hiding in the shadows.

(Giant Elk found on Pinterest)

Although many creatures loved me throughout my rule, there were those that could not wait until my rule ended. One of those creatures was the gopher, because I banished him and his species to live below ground for the rest of their days after they attempted to incite rebellion in my kingdom. The gophers had caused the death of many creatures and initiated a war that still continues between the carnivores that sided with the gopher and the herbivores that sided with me. You see this when the carnivores hunt down the herbivores.

(Wolf eating Elk found on Pinterest)

I napped in the field and I felt something pull at the hairs on my chest and I looked down to see what it was. I saw the gopher pulling some hair from my chest with his small daughter and he asked to take some so that his children would not freeze in the tunnels throughout the night. I pitied him, allowed him to have some of my fur and went back to sleep, but while laying my head on the floor I realized the young hunter had left and I believed that he finally understood the peace found in the animal world.

Suddenly, a deep burning sensation and large jolts of pain in my chest awakened me. I looked down and saw that the young hunter had used the gopher’s hole to position himself below my heart to slay me. I ran as fast as I could, but I could not keep my head held high and as a result I tore the earth and created the mountain ranges in the west. I now lie in what will be known as the Great Salt Plains and upon my death this land surrounding me will never be fertile again. I tell my fellow creatures of the world and send the warning that the human species is one bent on the destruction of the world. One day they will take too much from this land and will feel the fury of our mother earth.

(Symbolic Photo of Man Vs. Earth found on Pinterest)

Author’s Note: For this story I used The Attack on the Giant Elk and the Great Eagle, but the original Apache tale focused around a boy that had killed a Giant Elk and Great Eagle that mercilessly killed people throughout the land. This tale focused on a young hero and how he proved himself to his tribe by destroying these creatures that ravaged the land. I decided to place a twist on this tale and give the Giant Elk the voice to speak out with his dying breath about the injustices he witnessed and his reasoning for the violence. I believe that this gives the story another perspective that many may not even consider. I believe that this is a plausible tale in the eyes of the Giant Elk, because we have all seen what our species has done to this planet in the short time we have been on this planet. Our constant growth and technological advancement has caused global warming by such a large increase in carbon emissions, we have caused countless extinctions for such petty things as the ivory found in the tusk of white rhinos, and we constantly destroy the habitats of animals so that we can expand for our own. Hopefully this story will cause people to think about the things they do on our planet and be more conscientious of their actions.

Bibliography: The Attack on the Giant Elk and the Great Eagle in Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).

Week 6 Storytelling: Observations of Mr. Yamato

                                                         Observations of Mr. Yamato

Patient # 4002

Date: August 25, 1917

Observations: To protect the confidentiality of the patient I will refer to patient number 4002 as Mr. Yamato. Yamato has suffered fits of extreme delusion during his time here at the Tokigama Psychiatric Facility due to severe schizophrenia. I fear that Mr. Yamato has lost all sense of what is reality and fiction in his mind. I will describe any events that Mr. Yamato experiences in this journal.

(Psych Ward on Pinterest)

Date: August 30, 1917

Observation: While Mr. Yamato was roaming the halls, he saw another patient violently grab one of our nurses, Yoko Himata. Mr. Yamato insists in telling the story as Ms. Yoko being a princess known as Tacibana that was kidnapped by a group of bandits and taken hostage. He declared his love for the princess and gave details of how he slew the bandit that took her hostage. However, the true actions of Mr. Yamato were that he called the guards and they handled the situation peacefully. It is interesting to see how his delusions are progressing steadily each day.

Date: September 2, 1917

(Nurse found on Pinterest)

Observation: Mr. Yamato's condition is progressively declining and his ability to differentiate between reality and fantasy is fading. Today, the nurse Yoko that Mr. Yamato insists is truly the Princess he calls Tacibana took his vitals as usual. Mr. Yamato was not interested in talking with the nurse today, but he heard the yells of another patient down the hall that calls for help out of a desire to seek attention. Mr. Yamato was transfixed by this patient’s voice and insisted that she was in fact a siren calling his name. On September 2, Mr. Yamato left his room and travelled throughout the psychiatric ward in search of the patient calling for help. When he had at last found his “siren”, she asked him to bring her the medications that would help her. Mr. Yamato accepted this mission and believed that he was indeed searching for a “golden apple of immortality.” I can honestly say that Mr. Yamato has lost all sense of where he is and does indeed believe that he is on a heroic quest.

(Siren found on Pinterest)

Date: September 15, 1917

Observation: Mr. Yamato searched that day for medications, but every hospital employee that he asked refused to help him and directed him back to his hospital room. One of the other residents, named Goku, told him a story of a man that had made his way to the island of paradise full of golden apples, which in reality was the pharmacy.

Date: September 22, 1917

Observation: Mr. Yamato’s seemingly harmless delusions have now begun to become physical. Today, Mr. Yamato attacked a male attending nurse with a pair of scissors, cutting his stethoscope and he came to check vitals. Mr. Yamato shouted at the nurse calling him a demon boar and after cutting the stethoscope Mr. Yamato screamed in victory that he had slain the boar by cutting his tail. I fear that the medications we have given to Mr. Yamato have only worsened his condition.

Date: September 24, 1917

Observation: Mr. Yamato awoke in his hospital bed with a burning sensation throughout his entire body. He began to go into cardiac arrest and our medical team swarmed into the room to help him. Mr. Yamato screamed about a fire taking place in a field surrounding him and screamed as any employee touched him that he was being trampled by hundreds of deer. However, the nurse Yoko or in Yamato’s eyes Tacibana came into the room and gave him an injection of morphine. Mr. Yamato thanked "Tacibana" for bringing him the weapon needed to counter the fire and for saving his life.

(Morphine found on Pinterest)

Date: December 1, 1917

Observation: Days have passed without an incident, but today while Yoko was tending to Mr. Yamato he heard the cries of his “siren.” Mr. Yamato asked Yoko to leave him alone for a little while, but as she turned to leave he had swiped her keys and ID card. When he was alone, he travelled to the pharmacy and found a pharmacy technician who was just entering the pharmacy. He tied up the pharmacy technician and took with him a large amount of morphine and oxycodone. Upon questioning the technician remembered Mr. Yamato asking, " where is my sacred sword!" A visitor witnessed Mr. Yamato approach the door of his “siren” and show her his “sacred sword.” The "siren" tricked him into opening her door and she then stole his “sacred sword” to fuel her drug addiction and locked him in her hospital room. We found Mr. Yamato in the room and let him out of the room and discovered what happened. We locked down the hospital in search of the patient, but Mr. Yamato found her hiding in a storage closet. Mr. Yamato took the medications from the patient and reported her location to the guards, and upon his arrival the guard heard Mr. Yamato shouting, "I have recovered my sword and destroyed the demon deer." Mr. Yamato has given this patient two separate and unique identities of both the "siren" and "the demon deer." 

Date: December 12, 1917

Observation: Mr. Yamato was placed under surveillance since the incident that took place on December 1.  However, on this day he managed to escape his room in search of the "siren" that had deceived him. He was armed with a pair of scissors and witnesses recall hearing him muttering that he would slay the “siren.” Before anything happened Yoko stopped Mr. Yamato and he openly praised her for saving him from the "siren’s" grip. He awoke in his hospital bed and looked for Yoko, but she was nowhere to be found. The patient in the room next to Mr. Yamato recalled hearing Mr. Yamato screaming that a dragon had attacked his kingdom and he went to search for the dragon. I saw Mr. Yamato in the hall and asked him what he was doing, but based upon his physical agitation, rapid breathing, and perspiration that covered his body I knew there was going to be trouble. Mr. Yamato lunged at me screaming that I was the dragon controlling all of these evil deeds and stabbed me with the scissors in the arm. The guards tackled Mr. Yamato, but he was screaming in victory that he had slain the dragon. When we brought him to his room, we discovered the appalling truth that he had slit the throat of Yoko at the beginning of his psychotic break just before attacking me. However, Mr. Yamato will forever believe that his princess Tacibana sacrificed herself to save him from the grasps of the dragon. We then sent Mr. Yamato to a psychiatric facility in a high security prison where he will live the rest of his days as Yamato, unaware of the pain he caused in the real world.

(Solitary confinement found on Pinterest)

(Scissors found on Pinterest)

Author's Note: This tale is based from the Labors of Yamato, but I chose to place a wonderful twist on the story.  I chose to follow each individual tale in the same order, but chose to make the tales a hallucination of the doctor's patient. I believe that this is an interesting way to portray the story and can bring about a different interpretation of mythological tales.  This tale originally contained the hero Yamato who saved a princess and married her soon after. However, he began to be bored and craved adventure. He travelled by sea to another land and that is when he met the siren. She called to him and sent him on a quest to find the golden apple of immortality. A man told him where he could find this apple by a stranger and then set on his way to get it. Throughout his quest he defeated a demon boar and was trapped in a fiery field, but his princess saved him by bringing him his sacred sword which he used to create a counter-fire. He then traveled to the siren and told her that he could not find the apple, but she tricked him and stole his sacred sword for her father, the god of the sea. Yamato found his sword, took it back, and killed the siren's father who was in the form of a dragon. However, after defeating the dragon at land he was at sea and he angered the god of the sea. He was going to destroy their boat, but the princess sacrificed herself to save Yamato.


Bibliography: The Labors of Yamato from Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E.W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).

Week 4: Ammon: The Wax Crocodile

Ammon: The Wax Crocodile

My name is Ammon and I am a Nile crocodile currently living in a wonderful lake near the temple of the god Ptah. I want to tell you a story about how I came to be a part of this beautiful world. It all started ten years ago with a piece of wax that a scribe, known as Aten, carved into the shape of a crocodile.

Aten was an elderly man that lived a simple life, casting simple spells and worshipping the Egyptian gods. One day the Pharaoh came to visit the temple of Ptah and he had quite the following. One of the people following him was a young lad, known as Minkah, with devilish good looks and the ability to charm even the great serpent Apep, who wants to see nothing more than the destruction of all Ra has created. Aten brought the Pharaoh to the temple of Ptah, but Minkah stayed at the small shack of Aten the scribe and he flirted with the scribe’s wife, Anippe. Being a young woman that was forced to marry a much older man, she never felt fully satisfied and happy. However, Minkah seduced Anippe and they defiled Aten’s house for days. Aten found out about this injustice and abuse of his trust and this is where I come into the picture.

(Apep)

Aten loved to cast spells and on that day he cast a spell over the wax crocodile that he had carved bringing it to life and transferring some of his knowledge me. Aten gave me the greatest gift that anyone could ever give, the gift of life. I often hear people say that he threw me into the water when Minkah was bathing, but the truth is that he placed me in the water the night before and gave me instructions on what to do. Of course, I had to become accustomed to walking, swimming, and even catching prey, so I stayed up all night practicing and honing my skills so that I would not let Aten down.

(Crocodile)

The next day I saw Minkah bathing in the water and I slowly swam to the shoreline, hiding just beneath the murky water. I was within three feet of Minkah and without any hesitation I lunged at him. Oh it was such a fantastic experience! The boy screamed like a girl and as he continued screaming for help I took him to the middle of the lake and drowned him.

(Hidden Crocodile)

What they say of my story is the incorrect version that one day I took Minkah into the lake and he never resurfaced, but I will be completely honest with you. Aten was pleased with my work and wanted to show off his magical abilities to the Pharaoh. As a result, he asked me to rip Minkah into seven pieces and bring a different body part of Minkah to the shoreline for seven days as if putting him together like a puzzle. I did this without hesitation and on the seventh day the Pharaoh finally realized that I was no ordinary crocodile. In the end I ate the pieces of Minkah and the barbecued pieces of Anippe after they burned her at the stake, and Aten is living the life of luxury since the Pharaoh gave him a small fortune to practice magic.

(Hungry Crocodile)

Aten still lives next to the lake and he brings me cattle and chickens for dinner sent from the pharaoh himself. As for Aten, he was made head scribe of our area and his little shack is now a palace, and I cannot count the number of wives he currently has. The moral of the story is that life is a blessing and you definitely do not want to cheat on your spouse if they practice magic.

Author’s Note: This story is based off of The Wax Crocodile from the Ancient Egypt unit. This story follows the original story exactly, but is set in the perspective of the crocodile that brings it to life. This story is told in the third person and centers around the scribe and the boy. In the story the scribe took the pharaoh to the temple, but while he is gone the boy began fraternizing with the scribe's wife. The scribe then took a wax crocodile and brought it to life intending to murder the boy while he bathed in the lake. I did add a few extra things such as names and some gory details, but overall the story is the same. I wanted to show from the crocodile's perspective why he listened to the scribe's commands, that he was grateful for the gift of life. I believe that in stories like this people often only look at it from the human character's perspective, but they rarely look at the animals as more than a means to an end. However, every creature on this earth is a living being and every day we all fight for one more day to survive. Life is the greatest gift anyone can give and by being given the gift of life Ammon felt eternally indebted to Aten.

Bibliography:
Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907)
Source: UnTextbook