Week 3 Story: The Kindergartner's of Troy Elementary

 

 

(image source: pexels.com)

Friday afternoon's at Troy elementary school are always wild — especially in Miss Theda's Kindergarten class. By the time Friday arrives, the students are tired from the weeks activities, and eager to go home for two sweet days of freedom.

The students, cranky from being weaned off nap-time, were playing amongst one-another when a kerfuffle broke out between two of the popular children: Atticus and Adrian.

Atticus, perfectly content to sit alone in a corner playing with a bear he named Brice, was stunned by the absolute gall of Adrian, who came over to the boy and declared "since Chris took back my Crisis Superhero Action Figure™, I'm taking your bear. It's mine now," and grabbing the bears arm, Adrian yanked it away from Atticus.

Rightfully angry, Atticus, once a great friend to the spiteful Adrian, proclaimed he would never again play with the boy, and by the God's did he mean it.

This event caused a rift to form in Miss Theda's classroom, and she took the matter to Principle Jupiter. Curious to know if he had any advice, she asked "do you have any idea as to how we could end this quarrel?"

Thinking it over, Principle Jupiter figured they would take the toys that were creating issues and send them to Mr. Sunny's Kindergarten class. 

This only enraged the class further.

Atticus' best friend Patrick pleaded with the angry boy to end this feud with Adrian. "The good finger paints are wore down, our dolls have no heads, our race cars have no wheels! Please Atty, let's all get along again! The kids in Mr. Sunny's room are making fun of us."

"I won't," exclaimed Atticus, "if you want to play with the other then go ahead, but I'm not going to."

And with that, Patrick left for recess, and Atticus sat and sulked.

If only Atticus knew what was to come, and that he wouldn't see his best friend ever again... until Monday. 

The playground was a war zone, and teachers aids were frantic trying to retain control. This was to no avail, as chaos reigned supreme, and chocolate milk fueled children were his minions.

Patrick walked over to his friends, and Adrian pointed to the children of Mr. Sunny's class.

"Look," uttered Adrian, "look what Atticus has done. They bring our toys onto the playground and shove them in the dirt."

"But that's not allowed," stated Patrick, "they can't bring the toys out here!"

Bravely, Patrick marched up to the biggest boy named Hector. He dangled Brice the Bear over a puddle of mud, jubilant at the thought of it's demise.

"Hey!" shouted Patrick, "those are our toys! Stop messing them up!"

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it," laughed Hector, but not really expecting Patrick to do anything about it, he left his guard down.

Patrick ran up to the boy, and hit him right in the face. Hector, shocked by the sucker punch, recovered quickly and hit Patrick so hard his two front teeth came out.

That was the end of recess. Everyone was ushered inside, and Patrick was sent home with a blood covered face and many regrets. 

News spread quickly throughout the school of the two 5 year olds duking it out. Fifth graders joked about how many they could take on, and teachers hurried to shut the talk of it down. 

Atticus, however, was enraged. His best friend had been hurt, and it was all his fault. He sent him away, alone to face the jeers of Mr. Sunny's students.

Atticus knew that Hector had a bladder problem, and he had to use the restroom every 20 minutes. He decided he must confront Hector. Grabbing a Styrofoam sword from the horse shaped toy box, Hector left the classroom.

Waiting outside the bathrooms, Atticus screamed "HECTOOORRR!"

This sudden shouting terrified Hector. He knew exactly who was waiting for him. He pulled up his shorts, forgot to wash his hands, and left the toilets to meet his adversary.

"Heeeyyy Atticus..." said Hector, "I know you're angry but —"

Hector was too slow in his explanation, as Atticus began to wail on him with the foam sword.

The cries of Hector echoed through the hallway, and teachers began to spill into the hallway.

The second five year old fight of the day was broken up, and Atticus was sent home. 

Miss Theda's class never did get their toys back, but the fifth graders of Troy Elementary gained a new respect for the homicidal kindergartners. 

Author's Note: When I was reading about the fight between Agamemnon and Achilles, all I thought throughout was that these two are throwing a tantrum like children. It made me laugh, so I turned them into children. I wanted to draw a picture of the two fighting, but I didn't have time. Writing this was kind of cathartic, as I used to work with children but I really hated. It was kind of fun to represent them I guess. I enjoyed writing it, and I make myself laugh at my dumb jokes.

Bibliography: Homer's Iliad (retold by A. J. Church)

Reading Notes: Homer's Illiad Part B

 

 

 

 

 Achilles dragging the body of Hector behind his chariot. Attic white ground lekythos, c. 490 BCE(image source: wiki)

 

 

 

 

Players:

Achilles - refusing to fight, let's Patroclus wear his armor to keep Greek fire from ships

Ajax - protecting ships, fights Hector but runs away

Hector - kills Patroclus; killed by Achilles

Patroclus - Dons the armor of Achilles. Dies in battle

 

 

 

Items:

Armor of Achilles

Pelian spear of Achilles

Bayard and Peibald, immortal horses of Achilles

Greek ships

Myrmidons, the soldiers commanded by Achilles

Cup of Achilles, given to him by Thetis and used only to offer to Zeus

Body of Patroclus

Body of Hector 

 

 

bibliography: Homer's Iliad (retold by A. J. Church)

Reading Notes: Homer's Illiad Part A

 

 

Oil flask (lekythos) with Achilles, Ajax and Athena. Greek, Late Archaic Period, about 500 B.C.

(image source: Museum of Fine Arts: Boston)

Characters:

Achilles - "Bravest and Strongest of all the Greeks; 

Agamemnon - Brother to Menelaus; Stealer of spoils

Brseis - Achilles' spoil; Taken by Agamemnon 

Allies to Achilles:

Patroclus - Friend/Lover of Achilles;

Calchas - Prophet; Told Achilles why Apollo is angry

Chryseis - Agamemnon's spoil; Daughter of a priest of Apollo

Apollo - Sun God; Angered by Agamemnon denying Chryseis' father his daughter

Thetis - Mother of Achilles; Pleas with Zeus to favor her son

Zeus - King of the Gods; God of Thunder and Sky; Helps Thetis in restoring Achilles' honor

Switzerland:

Ulysses - Returns Chryseis; Hero of the Odyssey 

 

bibliography: Homer's Iliad (retold by A. J. Church)

Week 2 Review

 

 (image source: wiki)

This mask is so cool. It's associated with Setsubun, which is a ceremony held the day before the start of Spring. I love masks! When I was in high school, I was in a sculpture class and I spent most of it creating masks. I'd love to have the time to explore that again!

I love learning about Japan — I was supposed to travel there with my friends last March, but... well... you know.

The video associated with this mask is also cool: Kyoto Festival: Spring Ogre Purification 

 

This is a cleansing ritual meant to drive away evil spirits for the year. Absolutely fascinating! I wish there were more events, and cultural ceremonies like this in America. The closest I can think of are St. Patrick's Day, Marti Gras, and Cinco de Mayo  — all of which have to do with drinking, and none of them are culturally American. I suppose they bring people together though lol

Feedback Thoughts

 

(image source: uxdesign.com)

 

 The two articles I chose were "How to Tame Your Inner Critic: A Simple Habit to Rewire Your Brain" and "Make Good Art: Neil Gaiman’s Advice on the Creative Life, Adapted by Design Legend Chip Kidd." 

I really liked these articles — especially the "Tame the Inner Critic" one. I have the tendency to be very self critical. I don't necessarily have a hard time taking feedback, and often welcome it. My issue is more that I am very self-damning when I make even the smallest of mistakes. It's something I've been working on, and I think this article offers great advice on circumventing those kinds of negative thoughts.

Regarding that, I think Neil Gaiman offers great advice in welcoming mistakes. His speech is fantastic (he's just fantastic in general), and I especially like his statement, "Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life."

I find that I will put off doing something, or just not do it because I'm afraid I will mess it up. I have perfectionist tendencies that I need to let go of, because I have stopped doing things I loved if they don't turn out to be 1000%, irrevocably perfect. If I'm not great at something right away, I give it up which is a shame because I don't believe people are naturally talented (unless you're Mozart).   Jake the Dog gives excellent advice regarding this.

I respond well to feedback from others, but I need to learn to respond well to my own feedback. It's a learning process to make mistakes, and I would do well to learn to make them.

 

 

(image source: giphy.com)

Topic Brainstorm

 (image source: teenvogue.com)

The Mythology of Astrology:

I like this because it rhymes. I would like to research the stories behind zodiac - specifically the myths associated with the names, and the constellations. I don't know a lot about astrology, so I doubt I would include any horoscopes or anything like that in the project. Instead, I would retell the stories associated with zodiac signs. There are 12 signs, and I would like to include them all but I understand this may not be possible. If not, I would narrow it down to signs that mean something to me (Cancer, Taurus, Aquarius, Scorpio). I also thought about including astrological ages, but I'm not sure how I could implement that just yet.

https://www.astrology.com/article/astrology-mythology-zodiac-signs/

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrological_age

 https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Zodiac/zodiac.html

 

 Famous Treasure:

There are so many myths and legends involving treasure: The Ark of the Covenant, Blackbeard's Buried Treasure, Oak Island. I've been interested in buried treasure for so long, and I would love to research the legends and recreate the stories, possibly explaining their origin or someone finding the treasure. I have knowledge about many different lost treasures - real and legend. Recently the history channel started showing Beyond Oak Island which discusses lost treaures of the world. I think the show on history channel is a bit silly (it's been ten years guys, you've found nothing), but the story itself is fun to think about.

 https://www.history.com/news/6-famous-missing-treasures

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_missing_treasures

 

Food in the Bible:

There are many mentions of food in the bible. For example, in 1 Kings 19:3–9, and angel gives Elijah a cake and water which keeps him full for the duration of his journey. I'm interested in what kind of cake they ate back then. They didn't have sugar, so I suppose it was sweetened with honey. But what was the rest of the cake structured out of? 

Another example is bread. Bread is mentioned in so many biblical stories, and differs from the bread we eat today. How did they make it, what are the ingredients and process behind biblical bread making? I'm interested in this topic, because I like food and baking, and I wanted to learn the processes of early baking, and incorporate that into storytelling.

biblicalarcheology.org  

trueleafmarket.com 

 

Cake in Greek Mythology:

Another food centered idea. There are three Greek myths having to do with cake (that I can find in short research) - Fornax, Pirene, and cakes adorned with candles for the Goddess Artemis. Like the topic above, I would be interested in researching the type of cakes made by the Ancient Greeks, and what their ingredients and process of baking was. Like the topic above, I want to learn the techniques and processes of baking. Is the process for the Greeks the same as Isreal and Judah? I would want to somehow incorporate that into a story, be it retelling the story and adding the recipe or something else.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirene_(mythology)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fornax_(mythology)

https://hankeringforhistory.com/the-history-of-the-birthday-cake/

 

 

 

 

Week 2 Story: The Tiger, The Brahman, The Jackal

 

 

The Jackal

 (image source: storiesguide.com)

 

 

Deep into the countryside, outside of a tiny village sat a dusty, old road. The road had long known the traffic of humans, and had seen its fair share of feet — the current set of which belong to a jackal.

 

The jackal ambled down the dirty road in search of an easy meal. A dead snake made for easy prey, or perhaps a small rodent. However, instead of the mouth watering delicacies the jackal dreamed of, he came upon a human. 

 

Stood in the middle of the road and weeping as pitifully as a babe, the human was a man — albeit, a very small one. He was lanky, thin — not at all what one would want as a meal. 

 

Yet, as put-off as the jackal was by the man's lack of meat, he was curious as to what plagued the man. Sauntering up to his form, the jackal inquired thus:

 

"Kind fellow, pardon my intrusion — I can't help but to notice your distress. Is there anything I can do to help?"

The man started at the sudden appearance of the jackal, but sensing no threat from the beast he answered, "Oh jackal, thrice I've told my tale, and thrice been spurned. I don't suppose your advice would benefit me, anyway."

The jackal thought on this, and answered "you never know —  my advice could very well be to your benefit."

"Oh jackal, I asked this very road for it's opinion and was told of humans who tread upon it with no regard, and leave it in worse shape than before. I asked the buffalo his opinion, and was told of a life of hard labor forced upon him by humans. I asked the forest for it's opinion, and was told of a life of peace, stretching toward the sun, only to be cut short by humans. All three told me I should go to my grave."

At this, the jackal found himself to be ever more curious. 

 

"Forgive my prying sir, but why on earth would the road, the buffalo, and the forest tell you to go to your grave?"

The man looked at the jackal with the utmost fear, and with a shaky voice he told his tale,

 

"I come from a quiet village just down the way. We are a peaceful and happy group, but have had to resort to disgraceful deeds. A tiger had been killing our children, stalking our people. He was captured, and caged, and set to be killed come morning.

 

I felt for the beast, as naive as that may be. I brought him food to comfort him on his journey, and sat with him as he begged and pleaded for me to free him. He promised he wouldn't harm me, and would no longer use the village as his hunting grounds.

Against my better judgment, I freed the brute and he pounced upon me in an instant. It was my turn to beg for my life, and he promised he would abide by the judgment of three that would question the tiger's natural instinct."

"Hmm," thought the jackal, "I suppose I don't quite understand. The road and the buffalo wish you dead, but the forest is in agreement with you?"

"No, no," said the man, "the forest wishes me dead."

"Ah so the road and the buffalo disagree with the tiger — got it."

"No, no," said the man," they are all of like mind —  they all wish me dead."

"My, I'm afraid I've lost my head. I just don't quite understand. Perhaps the tiger could better explain to a poor, dense jackal. Take me to him!"

The two traveled back to the village, and came upon the tiger sitting next to his open cage.

"Finally, you've returned," said the tiger, "now I can have my dinner."

"Indeed, you may enjoy your dinner," stated the jackal, "I am, however, curious by this situation, and was wondering if you could explain it. You see, I've lost my wits, and just can't understand this man's story. Could we interrupt your dinner a moment to get the story straight?"

With this, the tiger rolled his eyes and said "oh very well then," and the man told the whole story again from start to finish.

 

 "Oh bother," cried the jackal, "how did it go? The man was in the cage, and the tiger fed him —"

 

"No, no, I was in the cage," claimed the tiger.

"Ahh yes, now I understand!" said the jackal, "The tiger met the road, and I was in the cage and —"

 

"No you remarkable buffoon!" roared the tiger, "I was in the cage. The man was standing just there. Do you understand?"

The jackal, seemingly frightened, stated "No, I'm sorry to say. I must seem quite foolish. Perhaps you could demonstrate?"

"Fine! The man was stading there, see?"

"Yes, yes I see,"

"And I was in the cage, like so," and the tiger stepped into the cage, but before he could continue his demonstration, the jackal slammed the door shut and locked it.

 

"And there you shall stay," laughed the jackal. And the man, with the utmost relief, began to laugh too.

 

 

 

 

 

Authors Note: I didn't change the story up —  just a traditional retelling I suppose. I would have liked to add a twist to it, but I unfortunately didn't have the time to come up with anything creative. There's always the next story! I really enjoyed this story when I first read it, and tried to make the jackal as clever as the one in the original story.

 

 

Bibliography: Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1912).