Famous Last Words Finishing the Class

 This week was a great week to finish up with. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table was a very interesting topic and something that I have been intrigued with for many years. Young boys seem to always be interested in the Knights of the Round Table, but I never really had a chance to explore deeper into their history until this week. This class was overall a very interesting class that challenged me in many different ways from typically structured classes. The online aspect required me to keep on top of the class work instead of relying on the instructor talking about assignments during class time. I also love to read, so getting the opportunity to read all of these different fables and tales was super fun and expanded my typical genres that I read. The project was very daunting at first, but I grew to enjoy building on my site after initially got it all set up. It was also very interesting to read everyone else's projects and get to interact with other people in the class. This helped to make the class feel very involved despite it being completely online. I also really enjoyed how involved professor Gibbs was with all of our projects. I felt like she was really trying to help me succeed in the class.

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Wikipedia: Week 13

 King Arthur: (King Arthur Source)

I was really intrigued by the stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round table, so I decided to start with reading about King Arthur.

Merlin: (Merlin Source)

I then chose to go to the page about Merlin because he was an important figure in the tales about King Arthur. Merlin was known as an enchanter or wizard throughout most of the tales.

Round Table: (Round Table Source)

I chose to go onto the Round Table because I was interested to see what that meant. I wondered if it would be just about the Round Table itself or if it was about the knights as well. It ended up being just about the table.

Knights of the Round Table: (Knights Story Source)

I chose the Knights of the Round Table because the last page I chose was just about the table. The Knights of the Round Table are the knights that were in fellowship with King Arthur bringing this whole trail full circle.

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Microfiction: Two Small Autobiography stories

I was born a larger than average baby. Before I was born, my family consisted of my mom, dad, and two sisters. I ended up being the final piece to our family. We grew up very close and are still close to this day. I believe that this is due to how my parents raised us. they instilled in us the value of family as well as Christian values to live by. This allowed us to see each other as more than just a brother or sister, but as one of God's children. I will forever be thankful for the life I grew up in. 

My early childhood can be summed in very few words. I was blessed to grow up in a house full of love, respect, and laughter.

These two stories are about my childhood and I wanted to write a 100 word story and then boil that down even smaller into a 25 word story.

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Week 13: Extra Credit Reading: King Arthur

 King Arthur: The Sword of Excaliber (Story Source)

• King Arthur is in a hard battle with a tall knight and would have died if Merlin did not save him
• King Arthur does not have a sword
• They stumble upon a lake with an arm that is holding a sword
• King Arthur asks the Lady of the Lake if he can have the sword
• She says yes if in return he will grant her a favor when she asks
• King Arthur and Merlin row out to the sword and take it from the arm
• Merlin tells King Arthur that as long as the scabbard is on him, he will shed no blood

King Arthur grabbing Excaliber (Picture Source)

Week 12: Storytelling - How Mr. Rabbit Was Too Sharp for Mr. Fox

 How Mr. Rabbit Was Too Sharp for Mr. Fox (Story Source)

    Brer Fox was sitting around his house one day thinking of ways to trap ol' Brer Rabbit. He was going through every thing he could think of from traps and snares, to riddles and games, but try as he might, Brer Fox just couldn't think of the perfect way to trap Brer Rabbit.

Out of nowhere, Brer Fox came up with the idea to create a tar baby that would trap ol' Brer Rabbit. 

The tar baby was very sticky so Brer Fox had to be careful to not get stuck to it himself, but after a little while he finally had the tar baby in the perfect spot to get Brer Rabbit. The tar baby was set up on the side of the road heading into town, and it was positioned to hide its face from anyone passing by. Brer Fox knew it was only a matter of time until Brer Rabbit came on down the road heading for home.

Just as Brer Fox thought, Brer Rabbit came strolling on down the road and stopped once he got to the little tar baby.

"Why are you sitting on the side of the road young sir?" asked Brer Rabbit.

The tar baby stayed sitting in the same spot.

"Um excuse me, it is very rude to ignore someone young man" said Brer Rabbit with a bit of annoyance. 

The tar baby still did not move from its spot. 

"Now you listen here!" yelled Brer Rabbit. "Who do you think you are? I am trying to help you and you won't even look up at me. Well let's have a look at who you are."

And with that Brer Rabbit grabbed the tar baby's shoulder to look at his face and his hand became stuck.

"Unhand me you scoundrel" cried Brer Rabbit as he put his other hand on the tar baby.

This hand became just as stuck so he tried to kick the tar baby off of him but to no avail, he was as stuck as they come. 

At this moment Brer Fox, who had been watching the whole ordeal, comes strolling out of the brush and begins laughing at Brer Rabbit. 

"I am gonna have so much fun cooking you up Mr. Brer Rabbit" said Brer Fox.

"Why would you wanna cook me up?" asked Brer Rabbit. "It would be such a bother to gather the wood for a fire. Do whatever you want to me Brer Fox but please just don't throw me in the briar patch."

"You make a good point. I won't cook you but I think I'll just hang you" said Brer Fox.

"You can hang me if you want to drag me to a tree seeing there isn't one in sight" said Brer Rabbit. "Do whatever you want to me Brer Fox but please just don't throw me in the briar patch."

"Why must you keep pointing out flaws in my plan?" yelled an angry Brer Fox. "You are the fool. I caught you because I am smarter than you. And because I am smarter than you, I will do the one thing you dread the most."

With that, Brer Fox hurled Brer Rabbit into the briar patch and the tar baby went flying off of him. 

As Brer Rabbit landed, he bounced right back up and laughed at Brer Fox. 

"You fool, I was born in a briar patch" yelled Brer Rabbit. "I have outsmarted you once again you dumb fox."

With that Brer Rabbit ran off and lived to fight another day.

Brer Rabbit and the tar baby (Picture Source)

Reading Notes: Celtic Fairy Tales

 The Shepherd of Myddvai by Joseph Jacobs (Story Source)

• The shepherd is lying by a lake and three maidens rise out of the lake and he loves the one closest to him
• He gave them bread but then laughed and said it was bad and ran off
• The next day he gave them more bread and they said it was undercooked
• The third day he gave her bread and she liked it and said she'd be his wife if he could pick her out from her sisters the next day
• He could tell it was her by her sandal
• She said she would be a good wife unless he struck her without cause three times
• She tricks him into the first one after they had 3 kids
• She tricked him into the last 2 by him tapping her on the shoulder
• She went back to the lake and only came back for her sons to give them gifts of healing when they reached manhood
• They are now called the physicians of Myddvai

Shepherd of Myddvai (Picture Source)

Week 11: Storytelling - The Attack on the Giant Elk

  The Attack on the Giant Elk and the Great Eagle by Jicarilla Apache (Story Source)

    In the olden days, the people feared the great beasts that roamed the earth and did as they pleased. They would kill for sport any human that they desired, and there was no way for the people to protect themselves. One of the most powerful and ruthless of the great animals was the Great Elk. 

The people began to wonder what could be done if anything about the problem of the Great Elk. Some said they should move the tribe to another region away from the Elk. Some said they should offer to make peace. And lastly there was a small group that chose to pray towards the gods.

The woman who lived in the west heard their prayers.

She decided to have a son and send him down to help out the people. Jonayaiyin was his name and he came to earth as a child.

Within four days he had grown to manhood and the people went to him for help defeating the Great Elk. Jonayaiyin was more than happy to help and could not wait to get started.

"Where does this Great Beast live?" Jonayaiyin asked.

"In the vast desert out west," replied the village Chieftain. 

The moment the Chieftain told Jonayaiyin where the great beast lived, Jonayaiyin was off to slay the beast. Within four steps he had reached the vast desert and started looking for the Great Elk. 

The Great Hawk was flying overhead and saw Jonayaiyin on the outskirts of the desert and decided to fly down and see what he was up to. 

Jonayaiyin told the hawk that he was here to kill the Great Elk. At first the hawk was taken aback by the thought of one of the other great beasts being killed, but then thought of how much he despised the haughty Elk and decided to help. 

They came up with a plan for the hawk to take Jonayaiyin up over the elk and drop him from above onto his back. 

With Jonayaiyin clutched in the hawk talons, the duo began nearing the spot where the Great Elk was grazing. When they were directly above him, the hawk released Jonayaiyin and he began falling through the sky headed right for the unsuspecting elk. 

Jonayaiyin landed directly on the back of the elk. The Great Elk suddenly began bucking wildly trying to rid himself of this nuisance, but Jonayaiyin was too nimble and strong. With one great swoop of his hatchet, he lopped off the head of the elk and they fell to the ground. 

Jonayaiyin had done it. The Great Elk was no more. 

He then lopped off the hind quarters and gave them to the hawk for his help, took the front quarters back to the people, and lastly kept the antlers for himself. 

Giant Elk (Image Source)

Week 11: Reading - The Attack on the Giant Elk and the Great Eagle

 The Attack on the Giant Elk and the Great Eagle by Jicarilla Apache (Story Source)

• Great beasts used to prey on the people
• Jonayaíyin, the son of the woman who lives in the West, was sent to help the people
• He grew to manhood in 4 days
• He went out to the desert where the elk lived and reached it in 4 steps
• A lizard asked if he needed help and offered him his cloak to help disguise himself
• A gopher burrowed beneath the elk to help him
• The son shot the elk 4 times in heart but he was still alive and followed in pursuit underneath the earth
• The elk got trapped in by the webs of the great spiders and he died of exhaustion and his wounds
• He then made a coat from the hide of the elk and gave meat to the gopher and lizard
• He then set off for the eagle

Giant Elk (Image Source)