Reading Notes: Free Reading 15 More Jataka Tales Part B

Today I read about the little bowman. The little bowman was talented with the bow more than anyone in the land. He wanted to work for the king but he was too small and would be passed up because of his size. So he decided to find a big man that would be chosen and the little bowman could do all the work. So he searched until he found a big man digging. He explained his plan and the big man agreed. They were accepted by the king and agreed to split the money they earned. Their first job was to kill a tiger that had been roaming the forest. Once they completed that, the king was pleased and gave them all kinds of riches. Then there was a buffalo that was running up and down the roads. The little bowman once again shot and this time killed the buffalo. The king was pleased again and gave them more riches. The big man decided that he no longer needed the little bowman and said very mean things to him. The king received a letter from a far away kingdom threatening to take all the land in battle. The big man was made the leader of the army and was sent towards the camp of the intruding kingdom. Riding on an elephant, the big man approached the camp but he was unaware that the little bowman had slipped behind him on the elephant. The big man began shaking in fear once they got closer to the camp. The little bowman said not to fear because he would be with him. The big man slid down anyways and ran all the way back to his home. The little bowman pressed forward and pushed the other army all the way back to their kingdom. The little bowman lead his army back to the king and the king praised him for leading the army to victory. The little bowman was made the chief of the army! In the end, the little bowman should have had faith in himself because he had what it took to not only win with his bow but he was also a great leader!

Onward to victory!

Source:More Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Back

Reading Notes: Free Reading 15 More Jataka Tales Part A

Today I read of the wise goat and the wolves! A family of goats lived in a cave in the side of a hill and not far from them lived a couple wolves. The wolves enjoyed the meat of goats so they decided to feast on the family of goats until there were no more. One by one they ate all the goats until one wise goat remained. They tried and tried but could not catch the wise goat. Finally one wolf said to the other they should trick the goat. He would lay down and pretend to be dead while the other wolf made the goat feel sorry and come to help bury the dead wolf. When the goat came near, the wolf would jump up and attack! So they tried their plan and the goat would not go. Finally the wolf convinced the goat to go but it had taken so long that as they neared, the “dead” wolf raised his head to see if they were coming. The goat saw this and ran away! They tried again but instead, the wolf said that they wanted to be friends because the goat made the other wolf better by walking near it! The goat got smarter and said that she would go but she was bringing her friends to celebrate with them. She would bring all the hounds she knew! The wolves got scared and were never seen again! I liked how the goat was wise enough to outwit the goats but I wondered why didn’t she save her friends? If she were that wise, I would imagine that she would have at least tried to save her friends!

Wise Goat!

Source:More Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Back

Reading Notes: Free Reading 14 More Jataka Tales Part A

As I read about the hawks and their friends, the story had a great value to teach. Those in need who have great friends will bear through the hard times together. Those in need without friends will not last very long at all. The hawk made friends with all the animals on the shores the lake and when he needed help they were there. When the hunters were about to get the young hawks, the kingfisher was soon there to help. When the kingfisher has been worn out, the turtle was right there continue the fight. When the turtle had done his part, the lion came along and finished the fight! The young hawks survived because of the hawks friends! I’ve always said that who you surround yourself with will either uplift you or bring you down. Having good friends will be a great help through life in the good times and the bad times. But having bad friends can be just as bad if not worse than having no friends at all. It is important to choose friends wisely and ensure that when you need help just like the hawk did, your friends will be there to help win the battle! Of course this story did make me wonder, if the lion had come in the first place, wouldn’t that have gotten rid of the hunters sooner? I’m other words, know your friends enough to know which one can be the best help in the right situation!

Making friends can be Hawkward!

Source: More Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Back

Reading Notes: Free Reading 13 Jataka Tales Part B

The story of the otters and the wolf is something that I can soon relate to. The wolf and his mate were resting one day when the girl wolf said she wanted fish as her meal. The guy wolf said he would go and get some fish for her to feast on. So he went to the river where he found two otters. The otters were waiting on a fish when a great big fish swam by and one of the otters grabbed its tail. The otter was not strong enough so he called for the other otter to help pull the fish in. They were able to bring the fish out of water and began to divide it. One otter said I’ll take the head portion and you take the tail. The other otter thought it was not fair so he disagreed. The wolf approached the two otters and the otters asked the wolf to decide for them. The wolf cut the head off and gave it to one otter while he cut the tail off and gave it to the other otter. The wolf took the middle portion and left the otters. The otters were speechless and realized they lost the best part! The wolf grout the fish to his mate and she asked how he got the fish. He said he found the otters couldn’t make a decision so he made the decision for them. He took the middle portion as his payment! This reminds me of an arbitrator in law. Being a pre-law student, I can relate to the wolf!

Lead the pack!

Source: More Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Back

Reading Notes: Free Reading 13 Jataka Tales Part A

After all of the reading I've done in the Jatakas, I've been waiting for that plot twist and this story gave me close to what I was expecting. In the story of the Woodpecker, the Turtle, and the Deer, there was a hunter who found the tracks of the deer and decided to set a trap near the pond so that he could catch the deer. All three of the animals were great friends and also stuck close together. While the deer was going to the pond to catch a drink, he was caught by the trap and let out a shriek that signaled he was trapped. The woodpecker and the turtle heard the shriek and went to the deer to find out what had happened. The woodpecker told the turtle to chew through the leather trap and she would fly to the hunters home and distract him so the deer could be set free. The turtle began gnawing and the woodpecker waited at the hunter's home. When the hunter had awoken, he grabbed his knife and went out the front door to see what he had caught. The woodpecker flew in his face and struck him in the head! The hunter went back into his house and laid down for awhile longer. Again, the hunter grabbed his knife and decided to exit through the back door to avoid the woodpecker. The woodpecker knew the hunter would try this, so the woodpecker waited and once again flew into the hunter's face. The hunter went back inside and laid down for just a little longer. When the sun had come up, the hunter grabbed his knife and went out the door determined to get his catch! The woodpecker flew to the deer and said "hurry, the hunter is coming!" The turtle had gnawed through all but one of the straps. The turtles teeth had become weak and the turtle was bleeding from trying so hard to free the deer. When the hunter had arrived, the deer used all of his strength to break the last strap and get away. The turtle was so tired though, that he was unable to get away and the hunter grabbed him and tied him in a bag to a tree. The deer grabbed the attention of the hunter and stayed barely ahead of the hunter while leading the hunter deep into the forest. The deer then quickly lost the hunter and went back to save the turtle. Knowing the hunter would eventually be back, the three split up and the hunter could not find them. I expected the deer to be set free by his friends but I did not expect the turtle to be caught and need saving! I was almost ready to accept that the turtle gave his life for the deer to be free, but then the deer came back to save him!

Stick Together!

Source: More Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Back

Tech Tip: Canvas Calendar

This tip was really helpful! I haven't really used Canvas Calendar so it was great to learn how I can use it to help me! I usually tell Siri to remind me or set something in my calendar and that's about the only digital calendar that I use. It syncs up with my google calendar so that makes it nice when I'm switching between my Iphone and my gmail account. I have been working so much this semester that it has made it difficult to actually adhere to the schedule I set at the beginning of the semester. I think the biggest thing that I missed was adjusting my schedule to work better rather than trying to force the schedule I thought I would have from the beginning. I'll definitely use this for the remainder of this semester and for next semester!

Week 12 Reading Diary: The Kings White Elephant

As I was reading this story, I was expecting some kind of plot twist to happen or change the attitude of the elephant. The story goes that the elephant was walking in the forest and limped up the the workers on three legs. The elephant lifted his hurt leg to the workers and they pulled a large splinter from the injured limb. They cleaned it and it healed quickly because of their actions. The elephant was so grateful that he decided to use all his strength to help the workers. He would pull up trees with his trunk, or he would roll the logs down to the river for them. The elephant had a son that was white all over and they called it the white elephant. The white elephant was taught by his dad that the workers took care of him in his time of need and that they should lend them their strength. The dad elephant grew too old to work and the white elephant took over as the helper to the workers. One day while the white elephant was playing in the river with the kids, a king came by and saw what work the white elephant was capable of. The king bargained with the workers and offered them a hefty sum to take the white elephant to his kingdom to work for him. The white elephant looked back as he saw the kids he grew up playing with and went on to serve the king as he had served the workers of the forest. I thought it was quite interesting to see that the story went so smoothly. Even when the king took the white elephant, it was implied that the elephant would miss his friends but he still went on to serve the king with no resistance. I also wondered what happened to the white elephant's dad. Overall it was a nice story that didn't have a crazy ending!

Mad Skillz

Source: More Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Back