Week 13 Reading Diary

I have read Jacob for this week's reading. From the first part of the reading I really enjoyed The Language of Animals. Here are some parts that I really enjoyed.

"Well I must say," said the father, "that does not seem much for three years' schooling. But let us see if you have learnt your lessons properly. What does that bird say just above our heads in the tree there?"

This is one of father's line. He never trusted his son's words of Jack understanding the animal's language. Jack told the truth, and his father started to hated Jack. This was his words.

"Then the boy said, "The bird kept on saying as clear as could be, 'The time is not so far away when Jack's father will offer him water on bended knees for him to wash his hands, and his mother shall offer him a towel to wipe them with.'"

I think the father's hatred came from his arrogant. His pride probably did not allow him to understand what Jack was saying. That is why he did such a request to bandit.

Jack lived because Bandit told him a truth. Over some adventures he had, he eventually became a Pope.

"Now this was, in those days, a great honour, and people wondered why Jack's father and mother should be so honoured. But after Jack's father had offered him the basin of water and his mother the towel, Jack said to them, "Do you not know me, mother? Do you not know me, father?" and made himself known to them and reminded his father of what the bird had said. So he forgave his father and took him and his mother to live with him ever afterwards."


He eventually became what a bird told me so. I think it was interesting story.

(Bird by Peter Miller)

Bibilography : The Language of Animals from Europa's Fairy Book by Joseph Jacobs and illustrated by John Batten

Week 12 Storytelling - The Young Beowulf

The young Beowulf arrived at the camp to train his battle skills and survival skills. There was a lot of skills he could learn. Masters of the camp trained him to be more strong. Beowulf learned a lot from them.

One day, he realized that he was not learning anything from masters. He tried his best to learn, but he just could not see anything new from the lessons. Beowulf started to get bored. It was no longer fun when he could not learn a new thing.

Beowulf started to skip his lessons. He thought there were nothing more he could learn from others. Instead he decided to test our his strength. Beowulf bought some foods and went in the forest nearby.


"I will fight against the beast of the forest"


The forest was known for the beast. Nobody knew what kind of creature this beast was because nobody survived after seeing this beast. Beowulf entered the forest. He walked slowly and carefully as he approached the center of the forest.


"Is that it?"


After few days of walking, Beowulf finally reached his destination. He saw a huge cave. Inside this huge cave, there was a bear. A bear with white fur and red eyes. It was three time bigger than a normal bear.

Beowulf grabbed a stone from the ground. As he prepared his weapon, he slowly approached the cave and threw a stone inside.


"I got him!"


Soon Beowulf could hear the angry roar of the white bear. The bear was swift. With less than a second, the white bear was already in front of the young boy.


Beowulf swung his sword. However, his sword was easily destroyed by the claws of the bear. Beowulf decided to run away since his weapon was broken. However, he was not a fast runner. He was clumsy and the bear was much faster.

Soon the white bear caught Beowulf. Without an option, Beowulf charged. He decided to fight against the giant bear with his bear hands.


"He is not that strong!"


Beowulf grabbed the white bear's hands. They were surprisingly weak. Beowulf was surprised. The white bear was trying to get its hands out of Beowulf's hands but it was not working. The bear got frustrated and tried to bite Beowulf's head.


"He is really weak."


Beowulf slowly added his strength to his hands. The white bear started to cry because Beowulf's hands were slowly crushing the white bear's hands.

Before even giving the full strength, the white bear's hands were crushed completely. It could not use its hands no longer. The white bear realized it could not harm Beowulf, so he started to run away from him.


Although Beowulf was strong, he was slow. He could not chase the white bear. In fact, he did not think about chasing the bear. He was just surprised and speechless how strong himself was. Even the might beast of the forest which killed many strong men, could not fight against Beowulf.


"This is boring."


He was expecting more excitement. He was expecting to use his full strength against this beast. However, Beowulf was not able to use his full strength at all. The young Beowulf was bored of his own strength.

(The white bear by Tambako The Jaguar)

Author's note: The story is based on The young Beowulf part from the tale of Beowulf. In the original story Beowulf grew up within few sentences. The original story was based on how the young Beowulf competed with other people. However, I thought it was interesting how Beowulf later was able to fight against the creature like Gremlin. So I was thinking about the story. A story that would be similar to the battle between Gremlin and Beowulf, but instead I wanted to write about the fight that happened in the childhood of Beowulf since it was not mentioned in the original story. In the original story, Beowulf was sullen in his strength. He was never able to use his full strength. I wanted to write a story about how the young Beowulf finds out he is a strong and became very disappointed about how he could not use his full strength.


Bibliography: The Young Beowulf from The Story of Beowulf by Strafford Riggs with illustrations by Henry Pitz (1933)

Week 12 Reading Diary - continued

The second part of the reading for Beowulf, I decided to focus on the battle scene in the story. I have already decided what to rewrite about so I want to get some general ideas that possibly would help me rewrite.

The part that I observed the most was the first battle that Beowulf had with Grendel.

"SILENTLY they fought in the fog-strewn hall of Heorot. Silently their bodies twisted and bent, this way and that, and Beowulf kept Grendel's huge hands with their long claws of sharp bone from him, and Grendel in turn sought to tear apart the quick body that slipped so easily through his arms and legs."

It was most definite that Beowulf had a strength to fight against Grendel, which is a huge monster. I could use similar situation to tell how strong the young Beowulf was because I believe he was strong when he was young as well.

There were a lot of detailed and examples in this part of the story that would definitely help me in rewriting.

"And the mighty arm of Grendel gave way in the terrible hands of Beowulf, and, with a piercing shriek that shook the gilded rafters of Heorot, Grendel stumbled forward, leaving in Beowulf's hands the gory arm."

Later in the part of the reading Beowulf actually fought against Grendel with bare hands and was able to rip his arms off from his body. What a incredible strength. This gives me a idea how young Beowulf fought an enemy of greater size than he is but he could easily defeat him with his strength which would lead him to be sullen in his strength because he was never able to use full strength of him.

(Grendel and Beowulf by N.C. Mallory)

Bibliography:  The Battle with Grendel from The Story of Beowulf by Strafford Riggs with illustrations by Henry Pitz

Week 12 Reading Diary - Beowulf

I have picked this tale because I was familiar with the name Beowulf but have never read the tale about him. I think it was an interesting story to read for sure. I really enjoyed the part 1 of the Beowulf tale.

The first and the most favorite part of this tale was the young Beowulf. It was interesting to read about not the grown Beowulf who is famous and well-know but about the young child who would soon become a hero.

"As a small boy, Beowulf had shown such strength of body that Hygelac had early named him one of his thanes. So his mother and father gave him up, and young Beowulf went to live with his uncle to learn the arts of war and the handling of ships."

I like how he was so strong that he would have to leave the life of comfort in order to be more stronger.

"For several years he led a lonely life for so great was the strength of his limbs that even among those men of vast vigor he was a youth to be marveled at. As the years slipped by and he grew to manhood, he became more and more sullen in his strength."

For sure I want to write about what happened during these several years that would make him sullen in his strength.


"He accepted the challenge because he had been called lazy, and, in his heart, he was angry that his strength had never truly been tried."


It could be because he never had a chance to fully performed at his best because it would hurt someone. That is why he became sullen in his strength. I would really like to write about what happened and few episodes about his strength as a young boy.

(Beowulf by Herry Lawford)

Bibliography: The Young Beowulf from The Story of Beowulf by Strafford Riggs with illustrations by Henry Pitz

Week 11 Storytelling - Arthur's death

Arthur's body collapsed on top of the pile of many deaths. He was wounded. He knew he would not recover from his injuries. Arthur saw his dear friend Sir Bedivere. Arthur gave his precious sword Excalibur to Sir Bedivere. The sword thought to itself while it was handed to Sir Bedivere.  

'You would not recover.'

Excalibur Arthur's wounds would eventually lead to his death. In fact, Excalibur was the thing that was holding the last breath of Arthur. He would have died long time ago if Excalibur was not there. But that was it. The power of healing belonged to scabbard. 

'If you had my scabbard, you would have recovered.'

Excalibur thought, but its scabbard was stolen by Morgan. Excalibur had to admit Arthur would no longer be with him in the battle. It knew that this was the end. 

'Fair well, my friend.'

Although Arthur could not hear, Excalibur said good-bye to Arthur. Excalibur did not want to leave the side of its friend. But that would be too cruel to Arthur. Even without the scabbard, Excalibur has its own power to continue the life of Arthur without curing him. Arthur would live with his wounds and pain if Excalibur stayed. 

Sir Bedivere left with Excalibur in his hand. However, he did not return Excalibur to the lake right away. He hid Excalibur and went back to Arthur to lie. Excalibur waited. Arthur would knew if it was returned to the lady of the lake, so Bedivere's lie would not work. Eventually, Bedivere picked Excalibur and threw it to the lake. The hand came out of the lake and caught Excalibur. It was the hand of the lady of the lake.

"Welcome back, my child."

The lady of the lake spoke. She knew Excalibur would be returned. She was waiting for Excalibur. 

"How was your journey?"

Excalibur answered with its thought. The lady of the lake could understand what it was thinking. She smiled. 

"I am glad you enjoyed your journey, my dear."

She gently touched the blade of Excalibur. The work of Excalibur was done. It was born to be wielded by a king Arthur. Since Arthur's journey was done, Excalibur's journey was done as well. The end of Arthur was near so the end of Excalibur was near.

"Farewell. Rest yourself in Avalon."

Excalibur slowly disappeared from the hands of the lady of the lake. Excalibur joined Avalon where his friend, master, and king Arthur joined after his death. 

(The lake by Mouser Williams)

Author's note: The story is based on the tale 'King Arthur'. It was really interesting story to read and I really enjoyed it. There were many parts that I really enjoyed but I think the most impressive and memorable part was the end of Arthur. I was thinking since Excalibur is not just an ordinary sword, it might have it own 'I' or ego. So I decided to write the story about how Excalibur would have felt during the end of Arthur. The original story is same. Arthur was wounded and he wanted to return Excalibur to the lady of the lake. Sir Bedivere lied twice before returning Excalibur to the lady of the lake. 

Bibliography: The End of Arthur from King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang 

Week 11 Reading Diary - King Arthur

I really enjoyed the second part of this tale as well. Overall, this reading was very interesting and fun to read. The most interesting story of this second part of the tale was The end of Arthur.

"'Alas!' said the King, 'My time flieth fast. Therefore, Sir Bedivere, cease moaning and weeping, and take Excalibur, my good sword, and go with it to yonder water side, and when thou comest there, I charge thee, throw my sword in that water, and come again and tell me what thou hast seen.'"

I really enjoyed the battle but I think it was more interesting to read about how he died. From the paragraph above, I think it was interesting how words are so unfamiliar to me. Moreover, I think it was interesting how a king Arthur wanted to return his Excalibur to the lake because he obtained the sword from the lady of the lake.

The most interesting part about Arthur's death was returning Excalibur. Arthur wanted to return Excalibur to the lady of the lake.

"My lord,' answered Sir Bedivere, 'your commandment shall be done,' and he departed. But when he looked at that noble sword, and beheld the jewels and gold that covered the pommel and hilt, he said to himself, 'If I throw this rich sword into the water no good will come of it, but only harm and loss,' so he hid Excalibur under a tree, and returned unto the King, and told him his bidding was done. 'What did you see there?' asked the King. 'Sir,' answered Sir Bedivere, 'I saw nothing but the winds and waves.' 'You have not dealt truly with me,' said the King. 'Go back, and do my command; spare not, but throw it in.' But again Sir Bedivere's heart failed him, and he hid the sword and returned to tell the King he had seen nothing but the wan water."

I think this may be related to the power of Excalibur. Arthur could not die because of the power of Excalibur that is why he wanted to return the sword so he can rest in peace. This is my assumption so I would like to write everything about the sword Excalibur for this week.

(Arthur by Moyan Brenn)

From : The End of Arthur from King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang

Week 11 Reading Diary - King Arthur

From the beginning of this class, I wanted to read this tale. I have heard a lot about King Arthur yet have never read his tale. I really like the first part of this story. It was hard for me to pick which part I would write about. However, If I have to pick, my favorite part of the story would be The Sword Excalibur.

Until now, I thought the sword that Arthur drew from the rock, that made him a king of Britain, was Excalibur. I was surprised when I was reading this part of the story because this story explained that Excalibur was in fact from the Lake.

"In a little while they came to a large lake, and in the midst of the lake Arthur beheld an arm rising out of the water, holding up a sword."

So the sword that he had was broken and he need a new sword. Merlin took Arthur to where the lady of the lake lived and she gave him Excalibur.

""Well," said the maiden, "get into the barge yonder, and row yourself to the sword, and take it and the scabbard with you." For this was the sword Excalibur. "As for my gift, I will ask it in my own time."

I was more surprised when Merlin said the sword is not as worth as the scabbard of the Excalibur. I wonder how this would have affected the fights of Arthur in the future.


""You are not wise to say that," replied Merlin, "for the scabbard is worth ten of the sword, and as long as it is buckled on you you will lose no blood, however sorely you may be wounded.""


I think this was a great story. I really like this part because I learned a new thing about the tales of king Arthur. I would like to pick a part to rewrite after I finish reading this tale completely.

(Excalibur by Matt Rye)

From: The Sword Excalibur from King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang