Essay: Evaluating the Indian Fairy Tales Reading Unit

I had the pleasure of reading another wonderful unit this week: Indian Fairy Tales. I was a little apprehensive at first because I don't know a lot about Indian culture or storytelling traditions, but I successfully made it through this unit without needing much foreknowledge about the subject. However, there were a few things I would have liked to have had clarification on. They are mostly small things that didn't really detract from the reading or make it more difficult to complete. For one thing, I didn't know what some of the professional titles of certain characters meant. There were several men called Brahmans (Brahmen?). Even after reading the stories, I don't know what they are, but not knowing didn't really factor into how well I understood the stories. Since information can't be added into the stories themselves, I would suggest adding just quick notes before the stories to let unfamiliar readers know a little bit about culture-specific characters before they encounter them in the tales.

While being unfamiliar with the Indian stories was a small snag, it actually played a part in why I enjoyed this unit. I like discovering new stories and types of literature that I like to read. I haven't had a lot of experience with Indian mythology or fairy tales, but my first encounter with them has been a positive one. There were stories that made me laugh, stories that made me upset (the big fake Harisarman gets away with everything!), and stories that might just become some of my favorites from the whole course.

Another thing I liked about this unit was the fact that it included stories from the Panchatantra and Jatakas. When I was trying to decide which units I would be reading for weeks 4 and 5, I had a tough decision to make because I wanted to read Panchatantra and Jataka stories but I was also interested in the different fairy tale units. This unit proved to be a happy compromise; I got to experience all three kinds of stories.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading and learning about Indian fairy tales and I would definitely recommend the unit to anyone who is interested in it. If I had an extra semester (I graduate in May), I would have loved to have been able to take the Indian Epics course.

Cover of Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, with illustrations by John D. Batten, (1912)

Week 4 Storytelling: The Considerate Child

Luna arrived at the restaurant early, put her name on the waiting list, and sat on the polyester bench to wait for her siblings to arrive. The first to do so was Apollo, looking just as he always did: cellphone attached to his ear, impeccable suit and tie, and dark, expensive sunglasses that he likely would not take off until they reached the table. He greeted his sister with a swift peck to the cheek, never ceasing his conversation with whatever important person on the other end of the line. Wendy showed up just before they were seated, her cool, grey dress drawing appreciative stares from all the men in the room. She didn't seem to know they even existed. Luna had long gotten past her insecurity about her appearance compared to her siblings'. She was a pale, full-figured, plain girl, but her kind heart made her more beautiful than either her handsome brother or stunning sister.

The hostess called for Luna's party and they followed her to a secluded booth at the back of the restaurant. They gave their drink orders to the tiny waitress and silence descended upon them once they were alone. Finally ditching his phone and glasses, Apollo took it upon himself to get the conversation started.

A fancy and very kitsch dinner table
(Wikimedia Commons)

"Well, how are my favorite sisters doing?" he asked, although he hardly seemed interested.

"I just got in from Paris," Wendy offered. She was always traveling, ever since her mother and father had decided she was old enough to go on her own. Once they had set her free, she blew from one place to another, never staying anywhere for long. She was only here, in their hometown, for the same reason the other two were: to see their mother, Estelle, on her birthday. If Estelle weren't so old, she would be here having dinner with them and moderating the conversation much more effectively, but she insisted her children continue the family tradition of eating at her favorite restaurant even though she hardly ever left her bed anymore and their father had died five years before.

"I've just been working, as usual," Luna explained, keeping the conversation going. "We're doing Carmen this season." Luna, like her mother, was an accomplished opera soprano. She didn't even need the immense trust fund her parents had established for her when she was born, as they had for her siblings as well.

"Fascinating," Apollo commented, clearly feeling the farthest thing from fascinated a person could be. He had always been a selfish, shallow person. His concern with outer beauty had made him one of the most sought after fashion photographers in the world and whenever he did manage to come home, he was usually accompanied by a wafer thin model he had done a shoot with recently. None of them came with him more than once.

They continued to make small talk all through their meal, seeming more like business associates than bother and sisters. When Luna ordered a whole meal to go when they had finished, Apollo and Wendy shot each other a knowing glance. She was always the plump one the look said. To-go box in tow, the three siblings donned their coats and once outside, hailed a taxi to take them to their family estate.

Victorian house
(Pixabay)

The ride there was silent, having spent all their filler conversation at dinner. When the yellow car stopped in front of the wrought iron gates of the Nox estate (5 miles outside the city), they filed out of the car, up the winding lawn path, and into the ancient house. After hanging their coats, they wordlessly ascended the stairs and paused before the floor-to-ceiling wooden door on the third floor. This time all three of the siblings shared a silent look, an awkward and uncomfortable one. Behind the door, buried under the covers of an immense bed was their mother, living out the rest of what few days or weeks she might have left. The question of their inheritance sat thick in the air, for though they assumed it would be an equal, three way split, their mother had revealed nothing about the subject. Least concerned and most at ease, Luna raised her hand to knock on the thick wooden door and the three of them entered together when a quite voice behind it told them to.

The frail woman on the bed smiled up at her three children, resting on a mound of plush pillows. They each came up, kissed her on the cheek, and wished her a happy birthday. Luna's kiss was full of warmth and love, and Estelle's eyes shone when her daughter presented her with the to-go box containing her favorite dish from her favorite restaurant. She called the other two forward indicating they should sit on her bed.

"I know what you wish to know," their mother told them. "On the matter of your inheritance, I have thought long and hard. Apollo, my son, you shall receive the summer house in India and enough money to maintain the property for as long as you live. Wendy, you shall receive the house on the plains and the money to maintain it as well. You both will still have your trust funds, of course." She paused to let the message sink in, neither child looking particularly pleased. Clearly they had expected more.

"And you, Luna, my youngest, I leave you the Nox estate and the remainder of the family fortune to do with what you please. You have always been the kindest, most caring, and most selfless of my children. I'm sure that amount of money in the right hands can do wonders for this world."

And she was right. When the fortune passed to Luna, she donated a set amount annually to several charity organizations. In memory of Estelle, she also set up a scholarship in her mother's name for a talented soprano opera student at their alma mater, Julliard.

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Author's Note: This story is based on How the Sun, the Moon, and the Wind Went Out to Dinner from the book Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1912). I changed the celestial bodies to actual people with names indicating the character they're based off of (Luna is the moon, Apollo the sun, Wendy the wind, and Estelle is mother star). The punishments given in the original story were hot rays for the sun and to blow in hot dry weather for the wind. Both sentences ensure that the two will be despised by those who are subjected to their powers. The moon is rewarded by being kept "ever cool, and calm, and bright." Unlike her siblings, the moon is to be beloved by all.

Reading Diary B: Indian Fairy Tales

Here are my favorite stories from the second half of the Indian Fairy Tales reading unit:

The Talkative Tortoise: I thought this story was very funny. The main conflict of the plot is humorous: the king talks too much and his adviser doesn't know how to tell him so or teach him a lesson. Thankfully (and comically), a tortoise who also talks too much lands dead in the courtyard of the palace, a victim of his own inability to stop talking. And ta-da! Lesson learned for the king, the lesson being "if you talk too much, bad things will happen to you!" Besides the death of the tortoise, this seems very much like a children's cautionary tale: "Don't bother your mom by talking too much all the time or you might end up like the tortoise."

The Gold-Giving Serpent: This story reminds me of an Aesop tale, The Man and the Serpent. In both stories, a man wishes to reconcile with a snake after his son has done the snake harm and the snake killed the man's son. The man comes to the snake to try to make amends, but the snake says that they can't be friends anymore. I can't decide if the snake is showing wisdom or stubbornness. It is true that it is hard to forgive and forget, but the man seems to have done so and when, I believe, he was the more injured party (the snake killed his son!). While you probably can't go back to the way things were before you hurt each other, you could at least be able to be civil to one another.

Why the Fish Laughed: This story was a bit long but actually quite interesting. At first, you don't really understand what is going on. You don't know why the fish laughed and you don't really understand the vazier's son's odd sayings either. However, once you meet the farmer's daughter and she explains everything, things begin to make sense. I think the test to figure out which maid is actually a man is a tad sexist. "Men are better athletes so if a maid can jump over this ditch then she must actually be a man." So because women are weaker than men, they aren't as good of athletes? Why didn't they just check each one for, you know, sings of being a man? What if they killed an innocent women simply because she could jump really far??

How Sun, Moon, and Wind Went Out to Dinner: I liked this story because it was very different from all the others. However, I'm not so sure I agree with its logic. Mother Star punishes the (son?) Sun by making its rays hot and people dislike it. I, personally, like the sun even when it is unbelievably hot outside. I'd much rather be really hot than freezing cold (like it is now), but this is just my personal preference. I don't live in Indian where the sun might be a good deal more punishing than it is even here in Oklahoma. She punishes the Wind by making it blow while it's hot and making people dislike it, too. Where we live, though, the wind is greatly appreciated in the summer because it usually provides a cool reprieve from the hot sun (but sometimes blows waaay too hard). Again, the conditions may be different in Indian where the wind might not be a cool breeze. Finally, Mother Star rewards the Moon (who brought her back food unlike the other two selfish beings) by putting her in the night sky to be "beloved." I don't really like nor dislike the moon. It is nice that it keeps the world from being totally dark at night, though.

The sun, the moon, and the wind at dinner
(John Batten)

Reading Diary A: Indian Fairy Tales

Here are my favorite stories from the first half of the Indian Fairy Tales unit:

The Lion and the Crane: This story reminds me very much of an Aesop fable that I read in my week 2 reading unit, The Wolf and the Crane. In both stories a crane removes a bone lodged in a predator's throat and asks for a reward for his good deed. Both predators reply that the cranes should be grateful that they stuck their heads in the mouths of predators and were able to bring them back out again without being devoured.While I understand the "be grateful" message, I feel like you deserve at least a "thank you" for helping someone out, especially if the one being helped is an enemy because the helper could have let their enemy suffer but chose to help them instead. I think the lion and the wolf are both very ungrateful themselves for the crane's help.

The Broken Pot: This story also reminds me of another Aesop fable called The Milkmaid and Her Pail. In both stories the main character is daydreaming about what they will do and buy once they sell their sole resource (i.e. a pail of milk in Aesop and a pot full of rice). However, while daydreaming, the two main characters accidentally lose their resource by spilling or breaking it. These stories seek to teach the reader not to count their chickens before they hatch. While you're busy dreaming about the future, you may overlook important details or be careless with your actions. However, it is best to stay focused on the task ahead and not rely too heavily on a certain resource for the root of future success; you never know what might happen. I wonder which of these stories came first. 

The Cruel Crane Outwitted: I'm glad the crane in this story gets a taste of his own medicine. His fatal flaw was his greed; if he had quit while he was ahead, he would have had a happy ending. However, he coveted the crab in the water and it is this crab that ends up taking his life. I think he deserves this fate, though, for tricking the fish and eating them all (although, I don't like the graphic mental imagery of a crab decapitating a crane. Yeesh).  BUT the fish should have known better than to trust the crane. One fish made it back to safety, one time. If it were me, I would have wanted some kind of proof that the previous fish had made it to the pond alive and were still alive there.

The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal: Dr. Gibbs was right! This is a wonderful fairy tale! I love that the jackal tricked the tiger into going back into the cage trap. I couldn't understand what the jackal was trying to accomplish by pretending to be confused but his plan worked perfectly. What I like about this story is that the trickster used his cunning to save an innocent person, in this case the Brahman. Usually, tricksters use their cunning to trick innocent people into making themselves vulnerable so that they may be devoured or taken advantage of. This is a great story and I would highly recommend that everyone read it, even if you don't read the whole unit. Just take a minute to read the one story and you won't regret it.

The Jackal tricks the Tiger into going back into the cage
(John D. Batten)