Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

Origin stories are stories about the beginning of the world and how things came to be (in this case: how the images that people see in the moon, lunar pareidolia, got there.
First story: The Man in the Moon: Story source: Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson (1899).

the blacksmith continually complained about an inconvenience with his current circumstances
the "wise man" told the blacksmith to be what he wanted to be, and so the blacksmith did just that
the blacksmith then decided that the new object he was wasn't the ideal thing to be and wanted to change again; the wise man told him to change again, and so he did just that once again
finally, when the blacksmith was the moon, he wished to be the blacksmith again because it "is the best life"
the wise man was fed up at this point and told him that he would remain as the moon: hence, the man in the moon

Repetition was present in this story, as the blacksmith was always unhappy with his current situation and wanted to be someone or something else.
The story also came full circle, where the blacksmith ended up wanting to be himself after exploring other things.
I like the surprise twist at the end where the wise man didn't allow the blacksmith to return to his normal self, and that is what caused the man in the moon image.

Second story: The Hare that Was not Afraid to Die: Story source: Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock (1920).

the story begins introducing the main characters: the Hare (Buddha), and his three friends (Monkey, Jackal, and Otter)
at the beginning of the story, the Hare told the others to feed any beggars that came to them by sharing the food that they caught themselves through hunting
the next day, the Monkey, Jackal, and Otter each found food, however it was not the food that they had hunted for themselves
the Hare, however, had nothing to offer the beggars, so decided to offer up himself if anyone came
here, another character is introduced (the Sakka - King of the Gods) and is sent to put the Hare to the test
he first went to the "unwise" three and told them that he would return
when he went to the Hare, the Hare attempted to sacrifice himself in the burning coals, however, he instead got icy cold
then Sakka declared the Hare (Buddha) a virtue for ages to come and created a print of the Hare on the moon

In this story, I liked the apparent contrast between the three "unwise" characters and the "wise" Hare.
Repetition was present, especially with the actions of the three "unwise" characters.
The story also used a combination of dialogue and regular wording, which made it make more sense.

(Photo of hare in the moon; Source: Wikimedia)

Myth & Folk