In this week's reading, I read through more of Babbitt's Jataka Tales and have taken notes on ones that I think would be options for me to write stories about for my project portfolio. All of the stories in part A show some kind of karmic action, but I wanted to chose my favorites and the ones that would inspire me to write an original story using the plots and/or characters.
The Girl Monkey and the String of Pearls
In this story, the girl monkey steals the queen's pearls and the chief guard is put to the task of finding out who stole them. He uses a unique way to prove who he thought had stolen them was indeed the girl monkey. He basically caught her in a trap by offering up other string beads for grabs and catching her not wanting them. This story could be a useful as it shows an occurence of karma on the girl monkey and I can work with the plot in a way to change the setting and time frame to college.
The Golden Goose
The story of the golden goose shows 2 sides of karma: what can happen to a good person who gets taken advantage of and what happens to a greedy person. The golden goose offered to help a poor woman and her daughters by letting them sell his golden feathers. Soon the mother became greedy and wanted all his feathers. When she started pulling out all his feathers, they were no longer golden and special.
The Woodpecker and the Lion
This story shows an example of doing a good deed and not getting any reward, or the reward wanted, back in return. The lion had a bone stuck in his throat, and upon much thought, the woodpecker helped him get it out. The woodpecker feared that the lion would try and eat him while in the lion's mouth so he put sticks in to keep his mouth open. The woodpecker got the bone and exited the mouth without harm. The next day, the woodpecker demanded something from the lion since he had saved his life. The lion simply said he already gave him something in the form of not eating him when he was in his mouth.
Bibliography: Ellen C. Babbitt, More Jataka Tales, More Jataka Tales
The Girl Monkey and the String of Pearls
In this story, the girl monkey steals the queen's pearls and the chief guard is put to the task of finding out who stole them. He uses a unique way to prove who he thought had stolen them was indeed the girl monkey. He basically caught her in a trap by offering up other string beads for grabs and catching her not wanting them. This story could be a useful as it shows an occurence of karma on the girl monkey and I can work with the plot in a way to change the setting and time frame to college.
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| (Monkey on a tree representing the monkey's looking for the strings of beads; Source: Needpix) |
The Golden Goose
The story of the golden goose shows 2 sides of karma: what can happen to a good person who gets taken advantage of and what happens to a greedy person. The golden goose offered to help a poor woman and her daughters by letting them sell his golden feathers. Soon the mother became greedy and wanted all his feathers. When she started pulling out all his feathers, they were no longer golden and special.
The Woodpecker and the Lion
This story shows an example of doing a good deed and not getting any reward, or the reward wanted, back in return. The lion had a bone stuck in his throat, and upon much thought, the woodpecker helped him get it out. The woodpecker feared that the lion would try and eat him while in the lion's mouth so he put sticks in to keep his mouth open. The woodpecker got the bone and exited the mouth without harm. The next day, the woodpecker demanded something from the lion since he had saved his life. The lion simply said he already gave him something in the form of not eating him when he was in his mouth.
Bibliography: Ellen C. Babbitt, More Jataka Tales, More Jataka Tales
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