Week 6 Storytelling : The Kakis Tree (Revised)

Once upon a time, there was a crab. This crab was such a beautiful lady and a wonderful house wife.

One day, she met the monkey. The one with grumpy face and behavior of amateur. She exchanged her rice with the seed of kakis tree because she was a nice woman. She did not complain although it was certainly this monkey who took advantage of her kindness. Instead of getting angry, she decided to plan her seed. With her skills and love, a kakis tree was raised fast and healthy. By the time, the grumpy monkey came back to the town, a tree was fully grown with huge and delicious looking kakis fruits on its branch.

The kakis tree was thankful. He knew without the Mrs. crab's helps, he would never had grown this big.

"One day, I will be able to provide delicious fruits for the crab."

Although some of his fruits were ready to be served, he decided to wait for all of his fruits to be ripped. He knew if he started to drop fruits for the crab, some of the bad ones might be placed in her hands as well. However, the monkey came by and noticed the beautiful kakis from the tree. The tree knew who he was. After all, monkey was the one who gave him up.

"At least, he gave me to Mrs. crab. For that reason, I shall not hate him."

In fact, the tree did not mind him at all. He knew if he would have been nothing but a trash to the monkey. He was thankful that the monkey gave the seed of kakis to Mrs. crab regardless of his intention. So without the hate, he decide to just ignore the monkey. However, that was until the monkey decided to climb up his body and started to eat some of the kakis fruit. 

He thought about taking him down with his branch but he saw Mrs. crab, who was waiting for the monkey to drop ripe fruits. 

"As long as this monkey delivers my fruits to Mrs. crab."

He though to himself. However, it did not take a long time until he realized the monkey was taking advantage of the crab. Once again! It was that moment, Mrs. crab decided to act smart and fool the monkey. She tricked monkey to lift his hands up while he was holding all the fruits. When he did, he dropped all of them! Mrs. crab swiftly took fruits and threw all of them to her house. The tree saw what she did and laughed about it. 

"Oh, no!"

But suddenly, the angry monkey started to beat up Mrs. crab. 

"How dare you!"

That was the action that the tree could not stand. His mind started to filled with anger and hatred towards the monkey. 

"You shall be selfish! You shall trick others and take advantage of others! But you shall not hurt Mrs. Crab!"

The tree yelled. His branches grabbed the monkey. The monkey started to scream with panic. 

"Are you okay?"

The tree asked the crab. She could not answer. Fortunately, her friends came to help her. 

"You are going to pay for what you did."

The tree spoke while he was squeezing the body of monkey with his branches. The monkey cried and tried to escaped. A kakis tree made sure he would not escaped. With all his attitudes and behaviors, the monkey died in pain.

(Kakis Tree by PTorrodellas)

Author's note : This story is originally from the crab and the monkey from Japanese Fairy Tales. The main story is basically the same. The monkey exchanged his seed with rice, the crab planted the seed, and she got the big kakis tree by the time the monkey came back to visit her. The monkey asked the crab if he could have some of the fruits and the crab agreed as long as she would get good fruits from the tree as well. However, the selfish monkey started to take good fruits for himself and throwing down bad or unripened fruits to the crab. The crab was angry and decided to fool the monkey. The monkey was fooled by the crab and he actually beat the crab almost to where she would have died with her friend help. Even in original story, the monkey was killed by the friends of the crab. The main thing I focused was the personification. I was thinking if they would personify the animals why not plants? So I decided to write the story with personification of the kakis tree. Because the kakis tree was the one who actually punished in my story, the importance of the friendship and kindness is less emphasized in the story. 

Bibliography: Andrew Lang's Japanese Fairy Tales : The Crab and The Monkey

Week 6 Reading Diary : Japanese Tale Continued

From the second part of reading, what I have paid attention to most was the personification of the animals. Animals such as monkey, crab, or etc were treated just as a person.

From plot, of the story The Crab and The Monkey, this personification could be observed easily.

"There was once a crab who lived in a hole on the shady side of a mountain. She was a very good housewife, and so careful and industrious that there was no creature in the whole country whose hole was so neat and clean as hers, and she took great pride in it."

I thought this was interesting. I have seen animals act as humans in other mythology I read, so far. However, for Japanese Tales, it was more direct and more specific. The crab was even described as "a very good housewife" just like human. I think this is very interesting technique of the Japanese Tale, and I would like to use the method to rewrite any of the story for my future writing.

"One day she saw lying near the mouth of her hole a handful of cooked rice which some pilgrim must have let fall when he was stopping to eat his dinner. Delighted at this discovery, she hastened to the spot and was carrying the rice back to her hole"

I like this story because he expressed so many characteristics of human in one story.
From monkey, you could see selfish and ignorant person who takes advantage of others. From crab, you could see a viewer who are disgusted by his selfishness.

"In another moment he was swinging himself from branch to branch, eating all the ripest kakis and filling his pockets with the rest, and the poor crab saw to her disgust that the few he threw down to her were either not ripe at all or else quite rotten. 'You are a shocking rogue,' she called in a rage, but the monkey took no notice and went on eating as fast as he could. The crab understood that it was no use her scolding, so she resolved to try what cunning would do."
 
However, I was also surprised by how detailed explanation even on such a brutal scene.
"He peered about for the crab, but in vain; however, his eyes fell on the egg, which he snatched up and set on the fire. But in a moment the egg had burst into a thousand pieces, and its sharp shell struck him in the face and scratched him horribly. Smarting with pain, he ran to the bucket and stooped down to throw some water over his head. As he stretched out his hand, up started the wasp and stung him on the nose. The monkey shrieked and ran to the door, but as he passed through, down fell the mortar and struck him dead."

I could really use some characteristic that I observed from this reading.

(Crab by Rushen)

From Andrew Lang's Japanese Fairy Tales

Week 6 Reading Diary : Japanese Tale

From the stories of the Japanese Tale. I like about the story of the stonecuttter because the message it is conveying is so powerful.

While I was reading this story, I could agree no more that I wish to be someone else sometimes.

"One day the stonecutter carried a gravestone to the house of a rich man and saw there all sorts of beautiful things of which he had never even dreamed. Suddenly his daily work seemed to grow harder and heavier, and he said to himself: 'Oh, if only I were a rich man and could sleep in a bed with silken curtains and golden tassels, how happy I should be!'"

This is about satisfaction. Sometimes, I feel like I could be more happier with something that I do not have right now. When I get tired of studying and working, I just want to wish that I am rich so I do not have to do anything. It could be just me, but people dream about what they do not have, just like the stonecutter.

However, although you get what you wanted to, you will never be satisfied. That is the message of the story. In the stories,

"And a prince he was. Before his carriage rode one company of men and another behind it; servants dressed in scarlet and gold bore him along, the coveted umbrella was held over his head, everything a heart could desire was his."

He was not satisfied with being rich so became a prince.

"And the sun he was, and felt himself proud in his power. He shot his beams above and below, on earth and in heaven; he burnt up the grass in the fields and scorched the faces of princes as well as of poorer folk."

Then he came sun to be mightier, then cloud, then rock. He desired more and more as he obtained the strength of his desire, but the stories lead the stonecutter back to what he was.

"And a man he was, and in the sweat of his brow he toiled again at his trade of stone-cutting. His bed was hard and his food scanty, but he had learned to be satisfied with it and did not long to be something or somebody else."


The important message from the stories was the real happiness is not about being rich, not about being mighty, not able to being strong, but real happiness lies in the heart of himself/herself. This story had a lot of meaning.


I would like to rewrite the story based on the message of this story, but more straightforward with different materials.

(Rocks by Jos van Wunnlk)

From Andrew Lang's Japanese Fairy Tales

Tech Tip Google Site Title

I have changed my page titles but I would like to keep the site title as Fred's Storybook for now.