Reading Notes: Hans Christian Andersen, Part A

The Princess and The Pea by Hans Christian Andersen

(Twenty Mattresses)

There once was a prince who really wanted to marry a REAL princess. Unfortunately, he never knew if the princesses he saw were real or not.

One night there was a storm, and a princess knocked on the door to get out of the bad elements. She told them that she was a princess.

To test this, the queen placed a pea under a bunch of mattresses that the princess was to sleep on. In the morning, they asked her how she slept. She complained that she didn't sleep well because she slept on something hard. This is how they knew she was a real princess, and she and the prince married.

Reading Notes: Hunt, Part B

Grimm: Snow-White and Rose-Red 

(Snow-White and Rose-Red)

Snow-White and her sister, Rose-Red, both lived with their mother in a cottage in the woods. The cottage had two rose trees in the front: one red, and one white. The two sisters were very close. Every morning, Rose-Red would make a wreath of flowers and place it at her mom's bed for when she woke up. Snow-White would light the fire and prepare the kettle. One night, the girls and their mother were sitting by the fireplace reading a book together. There was a knock on the door, and when Rose-Red opened the door, it was a big bear. The girls and their mother were all scared, but the bear told them that he would not harm them. He only wanted to be let in out of the cold.

Reading Notes: Hunt, Part A

Grimm: Thumbling (1884)


A poor peasant and his wife were very lonely and upset that it was so quiet. Other houses were loud and active with children. The peasant and his wife decided to have one. But when the baby was born, he was no bigger than the size of a thumb.

When he got older, his father wanted to cut wood but was upset that he wouldn't have his cart to carry all the wood. Thumbling told his father that he would take care of it. So Thumbling went to the horse who pulled the cart, and sat up in his ear and directed him to his father in the woods.

There were two men who saw this horse that seemed to know exactly where it was going without any direction from a human. When they saw Thumbling climb down from the horse's ear, they offered the father a good amount of money for him. The father rejected the offer, but Thumbling assured his father that he will make his way back to him, for he was wise. The father then agreed.

While on the journey back with the two men, Thumbling asked to be set down. He then suddenly "slipped and fell" into a mouse hole. The men tried to help him out with sticks, but he only avoided them. He urged them to continue on without him, and so they did.

(Thumbling on the Brim of a Hat)

Week 13 Story: The Magic Mirror

Once upon a time, there was a king who had a wife and a daughter. The Queen, Stella, took her daughter, Piper, down to the local market to spend some quality time together as they browsed the stands. They came across a shop of beautifully crafted wooden antiques. But there was one thing that really grabbed their attention. On an easel sat a spectacular oval-shaped mirror with iron trim. Regardless of price, Stella was ready to buy it because she just knew it would look perfect above her vanity. She paid for the mirror, and once they were back home she hung it in its new setting.

(The Mirror)

That evening, Stella sat at her vanity while she watched herself brush her hair in the mirror.

"Oh, mirror. Aren't I the most beautiful woman you have ever seen?" She asked.

A cloud of black and purple consumed the glass, and out came a voice. "Oh heavens no. Your daughter, Piper, is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. " And it reverted back to its normal form.

With this response, Stella was infuriated with jealousy. She suddenly hated her daughter, and wanted her dead. She became sick with this anger, and spent the next month in bed. Every night, the mirror gave her the same answer as before. In this time, Piper had married a handsome man and went off to live with him across the lake. The concerned king asked his wife what she needed to feel better again.

"Oh, my husband, I just want to see my darling daughter again. I miss her so. I believe a hug from her will get me out of this bed and walking around again."

"Of course, my dear. I shall send some men over to bring her home for a day." And off he went.

Stella was excited. She was excited to finally get a chance to act out her plan she devised during that month. Without the king noticing, she quickly got dressed and left the grounds wearing a hat, a large coat, and sunglasses so that she would not be noticed.

She arrived at the alchemist shop. Inside, making sure she hid her identity, she asked the alchemist if he had anything that would kill a large animal.

"I think it's a boar that has been ravaging through our crops and killing our livestock." She lied.

"Oh, yes!" he exclaimed. "I have the perfect thing that will kill anything or anyone who consumes it."

The queen handed over a pouch of gold coins. In exchange, the alchemist handed over a small glass bottle. She thanked the man, and quickly hurried back home and crawled into her bed. The next morning, one of the king's men notified the queen of Piper's arrival.

"Please do bring her up to see me, sir. I would also like a kettle of tea to be prepared and brought up to my room so that my daughter and I could enjoy some."

"Of course, my queen." he said, and left the room.

A few minutes had passed before Piper arrived at Stella's bedside.

"Oh, mother! I am so sorry you have been sick for so long! I do really hope you get to feeling better soon."

"My daughter, I believe I am feeling better already with you by my side," the queen stated.

There was a knock on the door, and in came the man with the tea for the queen and princess. He set it on a small table, and left.

"Dear Piper, can you please help mother up and over to the table?"

Piper happily helped her mother out of bed, and walked her over to the table to sit. She proceeded to pour two cups of tea, one for each of them.

"Before you sit, dear, can you please open the shades. I would love to see the sunlight shine through."

Piper stated, "Of course! Anything for you, mother."

As Piper turned around and started toward the windows, Stella took out the poison and poured it in Piper's cup of tea. When Piper was finished, she returned to the table and sat across from her mother. Before she took a sip from her cup, Piper perked up at the sight of the beautiful mirror above the vanity.

"Wow, mother. That mirror looks perfect above your vanity," she said.

"Thank you, my dear. I do love it. Take a sip of tea. I bet the journey over here was rather exhausting."

Suddenly, the black and purple cloud consumed the mirror again, and the room flashed with darkness. But Stella and Piper dismissed that flicker of darkness as the beginning of a storm. Piper picked up her cup and started to slowly bring it up to her lips, making sure not to spill it. She took a sip, and placed the cup back down on the table.

"Thank you, mother. That tea is delicious," Piper stated. Stella waited a few seconds to see when the effects of the poison would kick in. But they didn't. Perhaps it took a few minutes to do its work. As Piper asked her mother a question, Stella took a sip of her tea. But before she could answer the question, Stella gasped and fell out of her chair, dead.


Story source: Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree by John D. Batten

Author's Note:
In the original story, the queen and princess were wandering in the glen when they came upon a well with a trout in it. The mirror in my story substituted the trout, giving it the more "classic fairy-tale" feel. Also, in the original story, each time the queen thought she killed her daughter, she would go to the trout. The trout would tell her that her daughter was the most beautiful. But when the queen would tell the trout that her daughter was dead, he would say that she is very much still alive. It was a longer story, so I decided to shorten it up and keep the same outcome using a different storyline.

Reading Notes: Celtic Tales, Part B

Beth Gellert by John D. Batten 

A prince once received a greyhound from his father-in-law. This greyhound was his best hunter, and his favorite dog of all. One day, he went to go hunting. He blew his horn and all his other dogs came but the greyhound. He even called the greyhound by name, but he still didn't come. He decided to continue on the hunt without him. On this hunt, he wasn't very successful as he didn't have his best dog out there. When he arrived back home, the greyhound greeted him. However, the greyhound seemed ashamed. The prince notice that blood was dripping from his mouth. He had a bad feeling and went to check on his infant son. The infant son was not in his crib, which was overturned with blood everywhere. The prince assumed his dog killed his son, so he took the sword and killed him. As the dog died, the prince heard his son, unharmed, cry out from underneath the overturned crib. Next to the child was the dead body of a wolf. 

(The Unharmed Son)

Reading Notes: Celtic Tales, Part A

Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree by John D. Batten

A king had a wife named Silver-Tree, and a daughter named Gold-Tree. One day the two were out in the glen when they happened upon a well with a trout in it. Silver-Tree asked the trout if she was the most beautiful queen in the world, and he said no-Gold-Tree is.

(Who is the Fairest of Them All)

This made her angry, and so she decided to pretend to be sick until she was able to eat the organs of Gold-Tree. She told her husband, and he got organs from a goat, She ate them, got out of bed, and went back to the well to ask again.

The trout said no, and when Silver-Tree said that Gold-Tree was dead he replied that she was very much alive. By this time, Gold-Tree had gotten married to a prince. 

Silver-Tree persuaded the king to take her to see Gold-Tree. When she did, Silver-Tree pricked Gold-Tree's finger with poison through a key-hole. Gold-Tree fell dead, and the prince kept her body in a locked room. He remarried, and one day his new wife found the key to the room and opened the door. When she saw the poison stab in Gold-Tree's finger, she took it out and Gold-Tree came back alive.

In the meantime, Silver-Tree went back to the well to ask again. The trout replied that Gold-Tree was the most beautiful and was very much alive. 

Again, Silver-Tree went to visit her daughter. When she arrived with a poisoned drink for Gold-Tree, the second wife of the prince told her that it was custom in their country for the person who brought a drink to take the first drink. As the mother brought the drink up to her lips to pretend to take a sip, the second wife hit it so that some of the drink went down Silver-Tree's throat. Silver-Tree died, and the three lived happily ever after.

Week 12 Lab: Storylab Research for Atalanta

Atalanta wiki Notes:

• Daughter of Iasus and Minyas
• Her father wanted a son, and when she was born he left her on a mountaintop to die
• a she-bear suckled and cared for Atalanta until hunters found and raised her, and she learned to fight and hunt as a bear would
• she was later reunited with her father
• slew two centaurs, Hylaeus and Rhoecus, who attempted to rape her
• When Artemis was forgotten at a sacrifice by King Oineus, Althea was angered and sent the Calydonian Boar that ravaged the land, men, and cattle.
• Atalanta joined Meleager and many other heroes on a hunt for the boar
• Many of the men were mad that a woman was hunting with them, but Meleager lusted after her and persuaded them to include her
• Atalanta was the first to hit the boar, but Meleager was actually the one who killed it
• He gave the hide to Atalanta, and his two uncles were mad and tried to take the hide from her- this made him mad so he killed them
• This is when Atalanta's father rediscovered her
• He wanted her to get married, but she didn't want to
• She agreed to marry the man who could beat her in a race
• Hippomenes, the grandson of Poseidon, went to Aphrodite for help. She gave him three magic apples that were irresistible to Atalanta and would slow her down
• He won the race, and they married

(The Race)

The Story of Atalanta-James Baldwin Notes:

• The she-bear was out looking for her cubs, who were taken by hunters, when she found Atalanta
• Atalanta was wearing a gold chain around her neck
• Atalanta's cuteness lured in the she-bear, and she started to protect her
• The she-bear would bring Atalanta food every day and play with her
• No other bears tried to harm Atalanta, as she was a "cub"
• The she-bear would not allow Atalanta to venture out far from the den
• One day, a bunch of hunters came to search for game. One saw Atalanta sleeping in the den. She woke up, saw the man, and started running. All the hunters were chasing her. They caught her, and carried her to their house on the other side of the forest.
• She cried a lot-she missed her she-bear mama.
• She soon started to like her new home because the hunters were very nice to her, and gave her "pretty" things to play with
• When she got older, the hunters made her a bow and arrows, and taught her how to shoot. They also gave her a spear, and taught her how to use it. 
• The hunters started taking her hunting with them, and she loved running around in the woods chasing the animals--she became very fast and could outrun the men
• Her eyes were so sharp, and she was so quick that she never missed her target when she shot her bow and arrow or her spear
• The "Fleet-footed Huntress"

THE HUNT:

• When King OEneus saw Atalanta at the hunt, he suggested she put away her weapons and go play with his daughters, or go sit with the queen and learn to spin and weave- in which she rejected
• The hunters hid behind of climbed into trees when they saw the boar, because it was so scary
• One of the bravest men threw his spear at the boar, but was killed. Another man threw his spear at the boar, and it only grazed his side. Atalanta then ran up on the boar, threw her spear, struck the boar in the back, and a bunch of blood started coming out. Meleager then ran up and stabbed the boar in the heart-it then died
• The boar's head was cut off, and it took 6 people to carry it.
• "You ought to have seen the tall huntress maiden then, as she stood among the trees with the boar’s skin thrown over her left shoulder and reaching down to her feet. She had never looked so much like the queen of the woods"
• uncles of Meleager snatched Atalanta’s spear from her hand, and dragged the prize from her shoulders, and pushed her rudely and bade her go back to Arcadia and live again with the she-bears on the mountain side
• Atalanta became so popular that her father could no longer ignore the recognition of her. He reconciled with her and offered her a place at his palace