Here are my favorites from the second half of the American Indian Fairy Tales unit:
The Boy Who Snared the Sun, Part 2: So far I've enjoyed this cute and intriguing tale. For one thing, the story mentions mastodons. I wonder if this was a part of the original story or if maybe this element was added by the author who compiled the stories. Obviously, the stories were translated into English, so it's possible that the traditional tale did tell of a giant creature like the mastodon and the translator or editor assumed this was the creature they were talking about. I also find it strange that there are only two people left in the whole world, a sister and a brother (who is a dwarf). What happened to their parents? What happened to everyone else in the world? How did humanity continue with just a brother and a sister? Hopefully these questions will be answered in the third part of the story.
The Boy Who Snared the Sun, Part 3: Well my questions about humanity were not answered, but I still liked this story. It was a bit sad that the Dormouse, who used to be the biggest animal in the world once the mastodon left, gave up his immense size while trying to cut the cord the boy used to snare the sun. It was a very selfless act to choose to lose his defining attribute so that everyone could reap the benefit of having the sun in the sky. This story does still leave many unanswered questions, though. What happened to the boy and his sister afterwards? Obviously human life in ancient North American didn't end. How did humans make their comeback? I wonder if the next stories will tell or if the answers are not in this group of stories but must be searched out in other places. My curiosity wants to be satisfied!
How the Summer Came, Part 1: I sympathize sooooo much with Morning Glory in this story! I much prefer summer over winter so I'm very tired of the winter weather. It always feels like the longest season of all. I had an epiphany while reading this story that the time when winter ruled the earth was probably the ice age! It's mind-blowing to think that there is a people who might actually have a consciousness that dates back to this far away point in human history. Not only that but they have a story about why they think the ice age finally ended, thanks to a man who could turn into an animal called a Marten. Another interesting thing about this story is that the marten man sacrifices himself to bring summer and, in fact, this animal is no longer found in the southern parts of North America (where the people who told this story likely would have lived). They now exist mostly in Canada (I found this out when I looked up what a marten is because I had never heard of it before).
The Fairy Bride, Part 2: This story reminds me a little bit of Pocahontas, the Disney movie. A parent of a free-spirited dreamer wants her to settle down and marry a man that is quite the opposite of her, very stern and concerned with killing (one is a hunter and the other a warrior). Even when you consider Grandmother Willow, The Fairy Bride involves more magic and magical creatures. The young maiden dreams of a world that is basically a paradise, where it's always summer and no one dies and everyone is always happy. The ending is kind of creepy, though. The hunter who spots her going into the enchanted forest says she looks like she is in a trance as she walks forward and then she disappears never to be seen again. Thankfully, this is something that she wanted and she has not been kidnapped like some girls in other stories have been. Although it is a bit creepy, it's actually a happy ending.
The Boy Who Snared the Sun, Part 2: So far I've enjoyed this cute and intriguing tale. For one thing, the story mentions mastodons. I wonder if this was a part of the original story or if maybe this element was added by the author who compiled the stories. Obviously, the stories were translated into English, so it's possible that the traditional tale did tell of a giant creature like the mastodon and the translator or editor assumed this was the creature they were talking about. I also find it strange that there are only two people left in the whole world, a sister and a brother (who is a dwarf). What happened to their parents? What happened to everyone else in the world? How did humanity continue with just a brother and a sister? Hopefully these questions will be answered in the third part of the story.
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| The large mastodon Illustrated by John Rae |
The Boy Who Snared the Sun, Part 3: Well my questions about humanity were not answered, but I still liked this story. It was a bit sad that the Dormouse, who used to be the biggest animal in the world once the mastodon left, gave up his immense size while trying to cut the cord the boy used to snare the sun. It was a very selfless act to choose to lose his defining attribute so that everyone could reap the benefit of having the sun in the sky. This story does still leave many unanswered questions, though. What happened to the boy and his sister afterwards? Obviously human life in ancient North American didn't end. How did humans make their comeback? I wonder if the next stories will tell or if the answers are not in this group of stories but must be searched out in other places. My curiosity wants to be satisfied!
How the Summer Came, Part 1: I sympathize sooooo much with Morning Glory in this story! I much prefer summer over winter so I'm very tired of the winter weather. It always feels like the longest season of all. I had an epiphany while reading this story that the time when winter ruled the earth was probably the ice age! It's mind-blowing to think that there is a people who might actually have a consciousness that dates back to this far away point in human history. Not only that but they have a story about why they think the ice age finally ended, thanks to a man who could turn into an animal called a Marten. Another interesting thing about this story is that the marten man sacrifices himself to bring summer and, in fact, this animal is no longer found in the southern parts of North America (where the people who told this story likely would have lived). They now exist mostly in Canada (I found this out when I looked up what a marten is because I had never heard of it before).
The Fairy Bride, Part 2: This story reminds me a little bit of Pocahontas, the Disney movie. A parent of a free-spirited dreamer wants her to settle down and marry a man that is quite the opposite of her, very stern and concerned with killing (one is a hunter and the other a warrior). Even when you consider Grandmother Willow, The Fairy Bride involves more magic and magical creatures. The young maiden dreams of a world that is basically a paradise, where it's always summer and no one dies and everyone is always happy. The ending is kind of creepy, though. The hunter who spots her going into the enchanted forest says she looks like she is in a trance as she walks forward and then she disappears never to be seen again. Thankfully, this is something that she wanted and she has not been kidnapped like some girls in other stories have been. Although it is a bit creepy, it's actually a happy ending.
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