Reading Notes: Hans Christian Anderson, Part A

Awake in bed by pixabay

A prince is looking for a princess, weird cause I feel a lot of the stories the girl is looking for a boy. A storm came and a beautiful princess stood at his gate. His mother put this princess to a test to see if she could sleep with a pea in her bed. Only a real princess is sensitive to that. She was real.

This emperor has a shopping problem, and so do I. Relatable. He spent endless amounts of money on high end clothes. He wants to look the freshest of fresh.

I feel like I’ve heard some sort of versions of these stories before. Not the exact same story, but definitely a form of it. All soldiers were alike, except one. He fell out a window. Rode a boat away. He melted away in a stove into the shape of a heart.

The prince was wicked. He thought he was all that and had a huge head. He wanted to conquer God. But he couldn’t even face gnats.

A little girl was cold and not covered up. She was hungry and poor. She thought burning a match would keep her warm. All the matches she lit brought up a new place or thing she imagined.


Bibliography: Fairy Tales and Stories by Hans Christian Andersen

Reading Notes: Inferno, Part A

Darkness by Edgar Jimenez

I honestly love how this starts off. There’s a mysterious dark ominous feeling. Virgil is his guide through hell. There was an intense quote on the outside of the gate. This is one of my fears. To end up in hell and full of sadness and punishments for all my wrong doings. There is so much despair. Another thing is being naked and afraid. Which the spirits in hell seem to possess that quality as well.

Charon is the demon with burning charcoal eyes. He is on edge. In a limbo. But they keep on moving. Even heroes and philosophers end up in hell. All the broken hearted and heart breakers are here. What a world full of pain…

Cerberus is a great worm? A monster of some sort. Plutus is an evil wolf. I keep thinking the name Phlegyas is the word phalanges, bones in the fingers, haha. Aw, fallen angels in hell. Didn’t think that was a possibility.

I chose to read this because of the captivating title, but I’m not sure if I should have picked it. I don’t like to think about this option as an afterlife because I'm a weenie… but it was a really interesting read!

Bibliography: Inferno by Dante Alighieri

Reading Notes: Europa's Fairy Book, Part B

Mountains by Pexels

This hunter easily sounds like a serial killer and not an animal killer. There’s a trend with cloaks changing people into something else, or just something with robes in general. The women always seem to be beautiful and radiate. The mountains have unique names. Crystal Mountain. Mountain moors.

There was a lion. The way he moved is explained in great details. Androcles is a slave. The slave was set free. The lion was set free.

I assumed a weary tramp was a girl. But it is a man from Paris. The lady is a bit confused. There is a lot of conversations back and forth. A robber broke in. There was a quarrel. They thought the sky was falling.

I like the title of this one. Inside Again. Why did the man life up the stone. Why would he check for a black snake. He’s a hungry snake. They are in a pickle on if the man deserves to be eaten or not for saving his life. They bargain the whole time.

There was once a poor farmer and his family. He let his sons starve in the forest. They found a place covered in candy. The old lady is sketchy. She welcomed these boys into her home and fattened them up. The lady drank all of a stream and burst, I thought she tried to eat them.

This woman wants a baby boy. Her beans turned into babies, and only one survived. He was tiny. A robber came into the home.


Bibliography: Europa’s Fairy Book by Joseph Jacobs

Reading Notes: Europa's Fairy Book, Part A

Cinder-Maid (Cinderella) by BagoGames

I like when it starts off like a typical fairy tale. I feel bad for the Cinder-Maid. No one cared for her when she was sad. I just realized this is a twist on Cinderella! The honey at the bottom of the stairs is a new part that I don’t recall in the original? Ah, how are the step sisters so clueless to not recognize someone whom lives with them? The story ends in the shoe fitting, marriage, and living happily ever after.

Beauty and the Beast is such a classic. Love rid him of his beast form and then they lived happily ever after as well.

I don’t understand what a dozen at a blow means… Throughout this whole story I’m lost. There are a lot of animals mentioned, and I think he’s hunting them. There’s some sort of marriage mentioned. He was a hero. Happily ever after ending.

A miller had three sons. They refer to the Earl of Cattenborough by his full title and not just his name like the rest of the characters. This story does not end in a happily ever after, instead it ends in death.


Bibliography: Europa’s Fairy Book by Joseph Jacobs

Reading Notes: Brothers Grimm (Crane), Part B

Snow White and Dwarfs by MediumHero6

So many stories include some sort of deal with forced marriage. I’m not fond of those stories… why can’t they just magically fall in love upon meeting somewhere instead of it being a deal breaker. The new wife hates her husband’s former children and turned them into swans out of jealousy. She was a nut job.

This next story is about a girl being too good for anyone. She was too picky. Her father made her marry a ballad-singer, and she was horrified. If she wasn’t satisfied why didn’t she just refuse? Unhappy marriages seem to be the common thread here.

There aren’t really names of characters so far.

Growing up, I was not fond of the story of Snow-White. I was forced to take hand me downs from my cousins and dressed like her for Halloween one year. Eh, let’s just say I was not a happy trick or treater. I forgot a lot of the story, so it’s nice to read this again. The dwarfs and their personalities are my favorite part. The queen has such terrible intentions.


Bibliography: Brothers Grimm (Crane) by Lucy and Walter Crane

Reading Notes: Brothers Grimm (Crane), Part A

Cottage by STVIOD

I love stories that deal with the sea. There’s just something about them that are interesting to me. I like how you can’t really tell what decade this takes place in. He caught a flounder and the wife wants him to go back and ask the flounder for a cottage. The fisherman then says a little chant. She is not satisfied and keeps asking for more. First a cottage, then a castle, then a request to be king, emperor, pope. She is frankly asking for too much. The flounder had enough of her shenanigans and left her back in their hovel.

The next story starts off sounding sad already. Stories that start off with death just makes me not want to continue. I like how there is like a verse or chant occasionally. Rhymes are the best, but hard to comprehend sometimes. Go and shoe does not rhyme?

The next story also has a verse that is repeated throughout. This is very descriptive of the actions happening. It’s easy to imagine. “The robber, who during the story had grown deadly white, sprang up and would have escaped.”


Bibliography: Brothers Grimm (Crane) by Lucy and Walter Crane

Reading Notes: English Fairy Tales, Part B

Goose by Diliff

The story starts off with a word all in caps. Henny-penny is so upbeat and fun to read. The names Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Goosey-poosey and all the others are cute. It’s such a play on words. The names however did start to get confusing to read after a while. The ending reminded me of Chicken Little.

Oh gosh, the illustration set the mood for the rest of the story. These stories start off in a generic way. Once upon a time. One day. Etcetera. Actions seem to be repeated for emphasis. The dialect for Molly is unique. Would be interesting to make a modern twist on this story.

Why doesn’t Mr have a period after it? I’m bothered by the lack of it. I like the message throughout this. Be bold. Be bold, but not too bold.

The only person who has a name is Johnny-cake in this story. Very descriptive of his actions. Dialogues are giving the characters a lot of personality. Redundancy in his words.

I honestly love how this story starts off. It reminded me of Santa Clause immediately. Next, story about a queen, princess, and magic. A lot of unique titles for places and people. I like how the story after this refers to the guy as a lad. That word alone makes me imagine the type of person he is.

Fairy ointment? The word ointment… bleh. What are pixies in this sense? She got into a house of pixies. Wow, she was hit in the eye and was blind till she died… that is tragic.


Bibliography: English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

Reading Notes: English Fairy Tales, Part A

Cat and Mouse by Niels Hartvig

Oh my gosh, the first image that you scroll down to… I don’t know what to feel. The characters are written with distinguishable accents. She was embarrassed and made her daughter out to be someone else. The girl got married to a guy that was impressed by a quality she did not possess. Someone offered to help the damsel in distress. She had to guess the name of the someone/something that helped her. The name was Tom Tit Tot.

The intro was very descriptive. It was easy to imagine the girl. She had to sing a song over and over again.

The writing in this is very confusing to keep up with. Too many run on sentences. There were many animals involved. Rats, cats, dog, ox, and pig were mentioned.

A harp was made out of Binnorie. The harp sang, then it snapped and broke.

The cat and the mouse are talking with repetitive words. “The cat came and ate it, my lady, my lady. The cat came and ate it, my lady.”

The legendary three little pigs is always fun to read. This is definitely a class story many people know and have heard before. There is an ominous feeling for the last story, and I like it.


Bibliography: English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

Reading Notes: Nursery Rhymes, Part B

Jack and Jill by Dorothy M. Wheeler

Jingles: Deedle is very cute. It’s simple and easy to understand. Other stories are quite a tongue twister and plays with your thoughts. Oh, I know Hey Diddle Diddle! There are a lot of unique words being used such as deedle, jiggety, and tweedle.

Love and Matrimony: Ah, I like how the first one is the infamous Jack and Jill. There are a repeat in actions, possibly to put emphasis on it. What is a minikin pin? The rhyme about Jack Sprat made me giggle. They even each other out in their flaws and preferences haha.

Natural History: The first illustration is adorable. Good use of a dog as the spotlight of the rhyme. Every rhyme so far has a great flow. Not too long of a sentence. Good length of a verse. More dialogues in these kinds of rhymes. Oh my gosh, the next page starts with a dog as well. I love animals in case you can’t tell. I think I knew Baa, Baa, Black Sheep as a hand game/dance.

Accumulative Stories: I like how each part builds onto the next. It’s a good way to make it cohesive and not all over the place.

Relics: I read most of these with a tune in my head. Overall, many of these have a certain flow to them that make it easy to hum to.


Bibliography: Nursery Rhymes by Andrew Lang

Reading Notes: Nursery Rhymes, Part A

I LOVE rhymes. Being an ad student I love play on words, alliteration, and rhyming. I know quite a few nursery rhymes already, but I enjoy reading more.

Tales: there are many that follow the AA - BB - CC pattern. Element of nature and outdoors. The crooked man is fun to read. The fat man of Bombay is very imaginable. I can put some sort of a spin on the three men of Gotham. Writings that include the sea always intrigue me. The events on certain days of the week in Solomon Grundy would be a great starting ground for a story as well.

Proverbs: There is a redundancy in actions. The sneezing proverb could also be used for a story since in incorporates action on certain days too.

Songs: I looked up the beat to some of these songs because I wanted to sing it (Little Bo Peep in particular). Songs are always fun, they’re easier to remember because there is a beat to it. I sang Sing a Song of Sixpence for middle school choir! I remember most of it instantaneously! Four and twenty blackbirds~ Baked in a pieeee~

Pie by Jessica Spengler

Riddles: Long legs, crooked thighs, little head, and no eyes. Haha, I had no idea that was a pair of tongs. These are very clever. I do not possess the cleverness for this. It’s mindboggling at the same time.

Paradoxes: All these nursery rhymes are very long to get through. Since it’s not in a story element, you have to really think it through as you are reading.

Charms and Lullabies: Oh, Peter Piper. The butter one does not make sense to me. The swimming rhyme messed with my head so much.

Games: The Jack be nimble rhyme reminds me of the Geico commercial! That was an intelligent twist to the original version! They added an extended version of what happened to Jack. Some of these include noises instead of words.


Bibliography: Nursery Rhymes by Andrew Lang

Reading Notes: Alice in Wonderland, Part B

Cheshire Cat by Wikipedia

Alice is quite sassy. There's a lot of dialogue. The characters are having an analogy debate. More caps is being used for emphasis. Everything said is very inquisitive. The choice of words are written in a specific and unnatural style of speaking.

The intro starts off descriptive. It is very easy to imagine the entrance of the garden. Here the characters are named after numbers. Two did this. Five said that. The queen wants to behead people. The only person that has a name is Alice. Everyone is just named after their titles. Rabbit. Queen. Cheshire Cat.

This jury is very irrational. Everyone is so quick to judge. There's a variety of long paragraphs and short ones. Yelling equals all caps. The illustration of the Alice and the cards is cool to see.

Bibliography: Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Reading Notes: Alice in Wonderland, Part A

Alice and Caterpillar by Dawn Hudson

I chose to read this because I know the general idea of the story already! I’ve read a bit and watched the movies. I feel like it should be mostly the same right?

There are emphasis on words like VERY. Descriptive of feelings and actions. For quotes there’s only ‘ instead of “ ? Alice fell and is confused where she went. She went down, down, down the rabbit hole. I can imagine the movie at this part. Accents are prominent and words are typed like they sound, “Dinah” for dinner. It is very easy to imagine everything happening, and the illustrations are spot on. Everything is odd sizes or a little off. A table only has three legs. The door is tiny. She drank the potion. It was not labeled poison so she felt it was safe.

Fast forward and she ran into a caterpillar. More word EMPHASIZED. There are many quotes to keep the story interesting and cohesive. The caterpillar gave her some advice. He is very inquisitive like a therapist. She was attacked by a pigeon who thought she was a serpent.

There are parts I do not recall in the movies. The Footman seems new to me? But the Cheshire Cat is familiar! His distinctive smile. She ended up taking care of a pig, which grunted a lot. Again, the illustration is amazing.


Bibliography: Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Reading Notes: Marriage Tales, Part B

Dog in bed by Vincent Garcia

Ooh, I like how this story starts off a little scandalous. A girl slept with her dog at night, and in the midst of the night the dog changed into a boy. Over time she became pregnant. Everyone abandoned her and even killed the dog. A crow was willing to help her, lowkey. She gave birth to five pups. They could transform into humans and the mother caught them. The crow came back and spilled the beans.

There once was a land full of turkeys. There was a kind and humble poor girl. The turkeys worshipped her basically. They surprisingly talked to her. They cleaned her up she was a beauty. She did not return to them in time and frantically rushed to them. As she went away she was dirty yet again.

These stories start off with such a twist in the first paragraph. Not really sure where this last one is headed. There is one paragraph that has the word “she” starting every sentence. I think this is for emphasis. Occasional dialogue to make the story cohesive and more imaginable. Ends with a strong quote.

Bibliography: Marriage Tales by Stith Thompson

Reading Notes: Marriage Tales, Part A

These stories start off in such a strange way sometimes… a boy is in search of his father. He called for all the men to assemble. He chose one? Not even sure it he was the one. The mom was a buffalo cow, and changes to a woman. With a strike of a fire, she turns into a cow. She was struck and ran away with the boy.

Chickenhawk had two wives. They bite each other’s heads off?

Trying to swoon girl. Girl’s parents said no. but finally they said yes to it. She moved in. Then she was convinced to leave. There are various animals playing messenger in this story.

Killer whale by NOAA

Two girls were playing with different animal bones. An eagle appears and swoop a girl up, and a whale dragged the other girl into the sea. The girl with the eagle escaped but the eagle felt lonely and was hovering. This got him shot. The girl in the sea also escaped.

Someone was in a hunter’s home. A fox appeared but was actually a woman. She claimed to be his wife. He accepted that idea, and they lived together. The woman gave off a smell. The man pointed it out. She slipped away and never came back.

A fisherman caught a fish and asked his wife to prepare it. She went to wash her hands and was dragged into the water as revenge. A killer whale was doing this in honor of his friend. A shark volunteered to help the man get his wife back. The man got his wife back and caused the shark and whale to fight.

A woman was cheating on her husband with a snake. The husband caught them at the lake and stabbed the snake. Then he proceeded to kill his wife. He took her meat home and let his children eat her up unknowingly. Gross! They seek revenge for something I don’t understand. Then the children sent out lions to kill their father.

A young woman lived with her seven brothers, little sister, and father. The sister ran off into the woods alone, and her younger sister got curious one day. The young woman was in a relationship with a bear. The little sister went back and tattled. The bear was killed. The woman was angry at her siblings, and turned into a mad bear. A bird told the children to shoot her in the head. All the brothers and sister turned into stars.



Bibliography: Marriage Tales by Stith Thompson

Reading Notes: Tales of the North American Indians, Part B

Why do these start off with murder of children? Ah, so frazzled. A killer came into a home and killed a pregnant woman and found twin boys. One was put hidden in curtains, another in a spring. This is slightly demonic. The boys found their way home to the father, went to revive the mother, and she rose from the dead.

The boys constantly did not obey their father’s commands.

There was a woman that had many husbands. This story is more descriptive of the Native American culture.

Walrus by NOAA's Ark

Aioswe had two wives. There is some sort of incest happening, and I’m uncomfortable. The father left his son, and a walrus is taking him back. The walrus had to go under if there was thunder, but the boy lied and caused the death of the walrus. He also caused the death of two older women. They elbowed each other to death.

Aw, the brother and sister’s name are Sun and Star. The title of these stories are usually named after a character in the story, such as Dirty Boy.


Bibliography: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson

Reading Notes: Tales of the North American Indians, Part A

Woods by unsplash

The Jealous Uncle starts off with a gruesome sounding murder. He only kills boys. Child had to pretend to be a girl, but accidentally exposed himself. The uncle took him to the woods… and the boy got trapped in between wedges of wood. He escaped through sour berries and surprised the uncle with not dying. There is something demonically wrong with this uncle, oh my goodness.

Next day, the boy had to meet the uncle again. They went to get some duck eggs. The uncle pushed him to his supposed death trap. The third day, they went to fetch clams. I still don’t understand why this uncle is trying so hard to kill his nephew.

After this, Unnatural Uncle made a box and set him off into the sea. He finally landed on land and two girls appeared before him. They took them to the village chief, their father. The boy provided a whale to the land, but selfish uncle kept it for himself and wouldn’t give to the boy’s parents. He took revenge in a civil way; dropped the uncle into the ocean.

Grouse wasn’t appreciated, and received no good pieces of seal. So he tried to trick them into thinking a wooden one was a real seal? Bluejay wasn’t nearly as interesting as the murderous uncle story right before this.

Granddaughter dug up a stalk and a baby appeared. The baby claimed her as a mother. The old woman took care of him, and the young woman refused to accept this fate. The young man set forth on an adventure and made a few friends in the process.

Animals preyed on humans. Every movement seems to be happening in fours.


Bibliography: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson

Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales, Part B

Puppy eating by Max Pixel

People showed up at the scholar’s room and their horses and dogs killed all the pesky bugs. The people left but didn’t realize they were missing one pup. This was now his pup forever. The pup will continue to kill off/eat all bugs for him. I’m not sure if he smashed the pup or the pup was smashing more vermin at the end? I think he flattened the pup… this is so tragic.

A fox preparing an elixir? And a farmer ate it. He was now possessing powerful features. Then he burps it back up and the fox took it back. Another story about foxes, except this one is about foxes that talk like humans. The story is very descriptive.

Oh my goodness, this man accidentally killed the water carrier and the boy was a witness. The boy was seeing ghosts. He also killed a man like his father did… by mistake and not owning up to their accident.

Pagoda, ogre, stuck up above, thrown old clothes, disbelief. Next story, the monk was deceived and the girl was actually a scheming flying ogre. Story that talks about pupils a lot.

I liked the quote, “Revolt is seething round about us like boiling water in a kettle.” Whoever the mandarin is sure knows how to influence someone with his words…. For Dschou Tschu took everything he said to heart.

Many festive items spoken of. Stories usually includes sobbing and tears, but not much about laughter and true happiness.


Bibliography: Chinese Fairy Book by Wilhelm

Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales, Part A

Panther by fotshot

I enjoy the beginning of the story because I am unlucky as well. I also like the twist in the beginning. The princess left to go live with the lucky beggar. He left for eighteen years to find fortune? She was faithful throughout the time he was gone. He came back wealthy, they celebrated, and of course she falls ill and dies because she is unlucky.

All the stories start off “ONCE ___” or “THE”, all caps first words. The story took a wild turn when the father wanted to leave his children in the mountains to be eaten by wolves. This is a family of selfishness and survival.

The panther was deceiving. This reminds me of another story, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. Is this story usually told with a wolf? Like the big bad wolf!

Son went to fetch water for his mom, but she passed away and withered in the process of him being gone. I was confused the rest of the story.

The girl with the horse’s head or the silkworm goddess… what an interesting title.

Prince Guan, King Guan, Helper of the Heavens, God of War. Numerous names and many spiritual descriptions.

I love when stories start out homely/humbly. Pear farmer was tricked. The story ending with the ants gave me the chills because I can just imagine it.


Bibliography: Chinese Fairy Book by Wilhelm

Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales, Part B

Monkey in a Tree by Anthony

I wonder what age Japanese consider as reaching manhood. It got a little confusing because when they said man I wasn’t sure if they were referring to the young boy or another guy in the story. Slightly confused on who Schippeitaro bit and who was killed… but yay for saving girls.

The monkey is using the crab’s kindness. Karma will get back at him. He attempted to murder the crab for being smarter than him. Friends always have your back. The wasp helped the crab get back at the monkey. The monkey fell dead. He deserved it for treating the crab so terribly.

The kettle changed forms. Actually, the kettle was a creature? A tanuki. The tanuki brought fortune and good luck. The man was humble enough to do the right thing and return it to his seller.

Tanukis are clever little beasts full of magic. He and his fox sidekick used their abilities to trick people into giving them money.

The tanuki pretended to be a woman. Then he revealed his true identity. The tanuki cooked up his wife’s body and let him eat it without him realizing. The man took revenge and killed the tanuki. He fell into the water and held down by a hare. Tag team killing.

Uraschimataro is a cool name. Going to call him Taro for short. Taro sailed every morning. The turtle he saved is now saving him as his boat shattered to pieces. They went to an island. Met a princess that promised youth for a lifetime. He missed home and decided to go back. But everything has changed. 300 years passed. He opened up the box from the princess and shriveled up immediately. He slowly passed away by the shore.


Bibliography: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang) by Andrew Lang

Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales, Part A

Puppy Dog by George Hodan

First off, frogs creep the heck out of me. I really did not want to read this first story. However, it wasn’t bad at all. It’s a cute idea. Two frogs wanting to go see the world. The idea of holding onto each other is also kind of cute. It’s like a trust exercise.

Be careful of what you wish for. This seems too good to be true. First rich, and now a prince? Now a sun?! Why is this man never content on what he wants to be. In the end he wished to be a man again. The story is slightly predictable, but it was very entertaining. It would be fun making a different version of this somehow.

It is always so sad reading about people getting ill. It doesn’t help that they keep talking about tears and more sadness. The story took on a happy slope. The ending half was more joyous to read; sad stories aren’t my favorite.

The Envious Neighbour has the best intro yet! I love dogs. Dogs are human’s best friend. So the dog found a box full of gold. NO. THE DOG WAS KILLED?! WHAT A TERRIBLE TWIST! I am outraged. How can a neighbor be so rude? This had me feeling some type of way.

The lady was full of despair and anger. She was too much for them to handle so they essentially killed her off.

I’m imagining a very elegant cat. Musical element is mentioned a few times. Aww the cats found each other. It was fate.


Bibliography: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang) by Andrew Lang