Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Reading Notes: Babbitt's More Jataka Tales: Part B

How the Monkey Saved his Troop: Monkeys eat the mangos from the tree that fall on the ground. More fall into the river where the king discovered it and wanted more. They went to the tree, ate the ones on the ground and decided to camp to get more. The monkeys came during the night handpicked the fruit, but made noise that woke the king. The king wanted the monkeys shot. The chief of the monkeys saved them by turning himself into a bridge across the water for them to cross. The king saw and decided he should be taken care of forever.

The Hawks and their Friends: Hawks lived on an island surrounded by a lion, a turtle, and a Kingfisher. The hawks decided they needed friends, and befriended all 3. hunters came and napped under the tree and made a fire. It disrupted the birds sleep and the littles made noise, bringing the hunters attention. One hawk went to the kingfisher for help. Help came and kept putting out the fire as the hunter got close to the nest. Kingfisher got tired so they asked the turtle to come help. Turtle came and put the fire out with mud. hunters decided they wanted the turtle instead. The tried by make a net from vines and their clothes but were unsuccessful, they decided to go back to the hawks. Then the lion was asked for help. He came roaring and the hunters ran. The friends saved the Hawks.

The Brave Little Bowman: He was little and crooked but good with the bow. He wanted to join the army, so he finds a big strong man to be the face, and the will split the pay. He agreed and the king accepted. They were sent to kill a tiger. The little man was successful and the king was happy. Next they were sent to kill a buffalo. They succeeded and the big man got more praise. He was then mean to the little man. A few days later the kingdom was threatened by another king. The king gathered an army and the big man was prepared for battle. Little man knew he couldn't shoot so he sat behind him. Big man was scared and ran back into town while the little man went forward and won the battle. The king made him chief and praised him.

The Foolhardy Wolf: Lion killed a buffalo and went for a drink. On his way back he ran into a wolf who asked to be his servant. He agreed and said the wolf has to go to the mountain to check for prey, and in return he would share the meat. The wolf did and ate well. He got bigger and wanted to switch roles and kill an elephant. He asked the lion and the lion said no, after a while he gave in and said ok. He went to the mountain and told the wolf when an elephant was there. The wolf ran, jumped and missing the elephant. The elephant stepped on the wolf, killing him.

The Stolen Plow: 2 traders were friends. one from a small town, one a large town. Small town took a plow to the large town to be fixed and left it with the friend. The friend ends up selling it and keeping the money. When the small town came back he was told the mice ate the plow. The small town trader thought it was strange. STT took the LTT son and left him at another house until his return. When LTT asked him he said a bird took him and he couldn't stop it. LTT said it couldn't be true and he would take it to a judge, STT agreed. The judge questioned and STT verified that's what he had said. Judge asked for proof, STT asked if mice could eat a plow. He explained and the judge said plow for boy. The next day they had them back.

The Lion in Bad Company: Young lion met a wolf who asked to be the servant. He was always told wolves were bad but agreed. The Young Lion's dad didn't like it, but YL didn't listen so the wolf stayed. W wanted horse meat and asked, and told the lion where to find it. Lion went, took one, and brought it back. Father said they belong to the king who will hunt lions who take it. YL liked horsemen and went for more. King said to build a tank in town, YL still killed them. Same with the stables. When lion and wolf came again, the lion went over the wall and an archer killed him. Wolf went back to his old home.

The Wise Goat and the Wolf: Goats live in one cave, wolves in another. Wolves killed all except the wisest. The wolves planned a trap. He would pretend to be dead and his mate would ask for help. When the goat comes to help he would jump up and kill her. His mate did as told, the goat said no but was eventually convinced. But she was still smart. She told the mate to go in front of her. The wolf thought he heard them and raised his head so the goat ran back into her cave. They decided to try again, but the goat knew better. They had invited her to a party, she said she would bring friends. They asked who and she told them of several dogs. They ran and she never saw them again.

Prince Wicked and the Grateful Animals: Wicked prince was cruel. He went swimming with servants and a storm started. The servants left and hoped he would drown. The king asked where he was and the servants said they thought he came back. The king sent out a search party. The Prince and gone downstream crying and grabbed a log. He was joined by a rat and snake that homes were flooded. Then a parrot joined them. A poor man lived nearby and heard the prince and went out to save him. He got the log to land and then took the animals in since they were weaker. The prince was angry. The animals offered the man what they could in thanks, and the price followed suit offering riches. Later the king died and the prince became king. The poor man went to each to see if they would keep their promises. The animals followed through but the prince wanted him killed before the poor man could tell everyone their history. They caught the man and the man told the story, and they went and killed the prince instead. The poor man became king. He went back to the animals, took what the promised then brought them back to the city and took care of them all.

Beauty and Brownie: 2 deer lived with parents and others in forest. Father said when corn is ripe its dangerous, must each take their own herd and leave. Parents and old deer will stay, but others need to go high in the hills for food. Go by night so no one sees. Beauty listened and his heard was safe. Brownie didn't listen and lost many. When they went to return brownie only had a few herd left.

The Elephant and the Dog: Dog went to stable to visit king's elephant. First to eat leftovers, then for friends. Farmer saw and wanted the dog and bought it. The elephant was sad and wouldn't eat or bathe. The king was told. A servant checked everything was fine, but the elephant looked sad. He asked the stableman was there a playmate and learned of the dog that was who knows where. The servant told the king who said to have an announcement to let the dog loose and he would return what was paid. The farmer listened, the dog returned and they loved together always.

(Wolf from Flickr)

Gibbs, Laura. “Overview. Babbitt. More Jataka Tales.” Overview. Babbitt. More Jataka Tales, 1 Jan. 1970, http://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2015/05/free-book-babbit-jataka-tales-and-more.html.

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