Week 2 Essay: Foolishness and Vanity: Recipe for Misfortune

           After reading several of Aesop’s fables, I noticed a recurring theme: foolishness and/or vanity almost always results in misfortune. In the fables, “misfortune” as a result of foolishness could refer to several different possibilities. It could be something as simple as missing out on a meal such as in The Wolf and the Kid. In this story, the wolf found a kid who had strayed away from his flock. Realizing that he was about to be eaten, the kid cleverly thought to ask the wolf to play a tune on his pipe so he could at least be merrily dancing when he died. The wolf obliged, but as a result, captured the attention of the shepherd’s dogs. They recognized the wolf’s tune and quickly chased him away before he was able to feast on the kid.

In addition to simply missing a meal, foolishness could also lead to something as drastic as death as seen in The Tortoise and the Ducks. In this story, the tortoise was very upset because he was confined to the ground and was not able to fly like the birds. Then, two ducks offered to help him see the world from their point of view. The ducks grabbed a stick and told the tortoise to grab on with his mouth. The tortoise bit down on the stick and the ducks flew off, revealing a new perspective of the world to the tortoise. As the ducks were flying with the tortoise a crow flew by and said, “This must surely be the King of Tortoises.” Foolishly, the tortoise opened his mouth to respond to the crow. Obviously losing his grip on the stick, the tortoise fell to his death.

“Misfortune” as a result of vanity was usually associated with different consequences. For example, in The Eagle and the Jackdaw, vanity ultimately led to embarrassment. In this story, the jackdaw witnessed an eagle diving down and grabbing up a lamb in its talons. The jackdaw thought that he was strong enough to do the same thing, and attempted to carry off a ram. However, the jackdaw only succeeded in getting his talons caught in the wool of the ram. And in the end, he was seized by a farmer who clipped his wings and gave him to his children as a pet.

However, much like foolishness, vanity could also lead to death, as seen in The Wolf and His Shadow. In this story, a wolf was out looking for something to eat one evening, and he noticed his shadow being cast across the ground. His shadow was very large, and therefore so was his ego. Since his shadow was so large, he felt that he had no reason to be afraid of anything, not even the lion. Then, in the midst of his admiration of his shadow, the lion killed the wolf.

These recurring themes made it easy to predict what was going to happen in the story; whether that is good or bad, is up to the reader I suppose. I enjoyed having the recurring themes throughout the stories. I found myself almost creating a game out of it; I would try to guess what the moral of the story would be before I actually finished reading it, and that was all made possible by the recurring themes! 

Cain, after killing Able. Or, when Aesop's characters succumb to foolishness or vanity.
Sculpture by Henri Vidal, Tuileries Garden, Paris, 1896.
Source: Wikipedia

Week 2 Storytelling: Friendly Frogs

One hot summer day the Thompson brothers decided to go for a swim in the pond out behind their barn. The pond was one of their favorite places to hang out. The shade created by the barn, and the cool temperature of the water made it the perfect oasis for the boys. However, it also served as a home for a family of frogs.

The three brothers Carl, David, and Shawn raced to the pond, and without hesitation, jumped in head first, creating massive splashes and enormous waves. The boys cried out in laughter as they let the cool water wash over their heads.

Meanwhile, the family of frogs was terrified that they had been placed under attack. The bodies of the boys jumping in felt like massive asteroids had plummeted to Earth and crashed right into their backyard. The frogs tried to swim to the safety of the bank, but the brothers were splashing around making it impossible to swim through the choppy water.

Finally, Father Frog cried out, “HEEYYYY!” The brothers froze. Where had that voice come from? They looked around for a few moments, and then finally David shouted, “Guys come here!” Shawn and Carl waded over to where David was standing, and they all three stared in astonishment at the family of frogs.

Pointing at Father Frog David said, “It was him. He’s the one that yelled.” Shawn and Carl dunked their brother under the water in disbelief. They thought there’s no way a frog could have yelled so loudly. David resurfaced, gasped for air, and then began swinging his fists in retaliation towards his brothers.

Father Frog yelled out again, “Hey! Y’all need to cut it out!” Immediately the brothers broke up their scuffle and stared at Father Frog. Father Frog continued, “While you boys may be having a grand ole time splashing around and causing a ruckus, you are scaring my family half to death.”

In complete disbelief Carl said, “Frogs don’t have families!”

“Sure we do,” replied Father Frog. He motioned for his wife and daughter to swim over. As they swam up he said, “This is my wife, Meredith and my daughter, Lacey.”

For a moment, the brothers just stood there with their mouths hanging open in shock. Finally Shawn said, “Well, it is nice to meet you Meredith and Lacey. I would like to apologize on behalf of myself and my knucklehead brothers.”

“It’s quite alright,” said Meredith. “We understand that you boys were just trying to have fun and cool off on this hot day.”

The brothers all made their apologies, and vowed to be more careful when swimming in the pond. And from that day forward, the Thompson brothers and the family of frogs shared the pond in peace. 

Father Frog on the pond.
Source: openclipart

Author's Note:

This story is based on Aesop's Fable The Boys and the Frogs. The moral of this fable is "Always stop to think whether your fun may not be the cause of another's unhappiness." In the original story, the boys were skipping rocks across the pond. As one could imagine, this would be very terrifying for the frogs at the pond. Hence, the moral of the story. 

In my story, I chose to keep the same moral as well as the same basic characters. I thought the moral was very practical, especially for fun-loving college students! Also, I thought the use of a slightly unusual pairing of boys and frogs to teach a lesson was unique, so I wanted to keep that the same. However, I made the boys a little more personal by naming them after some of my closest guy friends. 

Bibliography

Book: The Aesop for Children

Author: Writer of the text is unknown; Illustrator: Milo Winter 

Year Published: 1919

Web Source: Project Gutenberg 

Week 2 Reading Diary: Aesop (Winter)

Aesop for Children (Winter)

The Wolf and the Kid

The moral of this story was "Do not let anything turn you from your purpose." Even though in this story it was specifically talking about the wolf and his purpose of killing the kid so he had something to eat, I think this is applicable to life in general...for humans that is! As a college student, we are often required to wear many "hats". For me personally, I wear the student hat, the employee hat, the organization leader hat; and then of course the friend, daughter, etc. hat. With all these different roles we are expected to play, it is easy to get distracted from our main goal(s). For me, right now, my main goal is to finish out my last semester of undergrad with good grades, and prepare myself for graduate school. The point of all of this is to say that I liked that such a simple story could be so helpful at reminding me of something that is important in my life.


The Boy and the Filberts

When I think of Aesop's fables, I typically think of the main characters as animals. However I liked that the focus of this story was a child. Because much like animals, children have an innocence about them that makes their actions more believable. It reminds me of watching shows like America's Funniest Home Videos. In some videos, you can tell that the people in the video were trying too hard to make something funny happen, and in my opinion, that isn't funny at all. But in other videos, particularly those involving animals or young children, you can tell that it was not staged at all, making it that much more funny.


The Ass and His Driver

This story reminded me of myself in some ways. I will be the first person to tell you that I am stubborn and hardheaded. However, I like to think that I am not as foolish as the ass in this story. I do make a concerted effort to follow the advice of my friends, even though some of them may not be wiser than me, ha!


The Travelers and the Purse


"We cannot expect anyone to share our misfortunes unless we are willing to share our good fortune also." I love this moral! I am beginning to feel like I am going to be obsessed with Aesop's fables because they offer such simple, but very practical advice. Probably one of my favorite thing about Aesop's fables is that sometimes I can predict, or at least get pretty close, the moral of the story. This was one of those stories. I would brag on myself, but I know from reading through various fables that vanity leads to misfortune...


The Boys and the Frogs


This is a story that almost anyone could benefit from reading. Given that we are now living in the "me generation", I think everyone could use a reminder that there are other people in the world, and that their actions can have lasting effects on those people.

The Two Goats

As I mentioned earlier, I am a very stubborn person. However, I also have friends who are very stubborn. So I like that stubbornness leading to misfortune is a common theme in Aesop's fables. After reading several stories with this theme, I feel better equipped to give advice to my stubborn friends!


The Ass, the Fox, and the Lion

This story held the common stereotypes for the Ass and the Fox, foolish and trickster, respectively. However, I have started noticing that the Lion has a few options for his stereotype; he could be wise, noble, violent, etc. In this story, the Lion is noble and protects the foolish Ass who is betrayed by the deceitful Fox. It makes me feel good and reminds me that there are powerful people in the world who can do the right thing!


The Mice and the Weasels

Although the moral of this story is "Greatness has its penalties," I think it can easily align with the "vanity leads to destruction" theme that can be seen throughout Aesop's fables. Despite the fact that this moral is rather accurate, I do not like the connotative it gives off. This story almost makes me feel guilty, or at least hesitant, about chasing my dreams and achieving greatness.


The Wolf and the Ass

I really enjoyed the twist in character traits in this story. Typically the Ass is very foolish and the Wolf is wise, or at least a trickster. In this story however, the roles were essentially reversed. As someone who tends to root for the underdog, I enjoyed this twist!


The Dogs and the Hides

"Do not try to do impossible things." The moral of this story serves me very well for a couple of reasons: (1) I tend to take on a lot of tasks because I feel like if I want it done right, I have to do it myself, and (2) I do not always think before I act.

The Fox and the Leopard 

Although the moral of this story was "A fine coat is not always an indication of an attractive mind," I found that it could also be interpreted as "you can't judge a book by it's cover." Despite the fact that these two morals have different meanings, I think they both fit the story very well.

The Farmer and His Sons

Something very similar to what happened to the sons in this story happened to me one time. I was visiting some family who owned a farm. All of us kids were told that there was treasure buried outside one of the garage buildings. Naturally we began digging in search of the treasure. After we had dug a decent-sized ditch, we discovered that we had been tricked into doing the groundwork for laying pipe outside the garage.

The Astrologer

This story, like many of the others, contains the theme of "foolishness leads to misfortune." However, unlike other stories, it is a man who could be regarded as very smart for being able to read the stars who is foolish. He is foolish, like many people today, for worrying too much about the future and, consequently, missing out on the present.

Mercury and the Woodman

Such a great story of honesty! Growing up, I was always taught that "Honesty is the best policy." However, as a child, and even as an adult, it is hard to believe that sometimes. When I was younger, I feared getting in trouble for telling the truth about who spilled the nail polish on the carpet. But as an adult, I often fear hurting people's feelings for telling them how I honestly feel sometimes.

The Wolf and the Shepherd

This story goes to show that hypocrites are nothing new to society. However, I like to think that in Aesop's day the biggest hypocrites only did things like the Shepherd and his family - eat the lamb after hating the Wolf for doing the same. The world would probably be a less hateful place if that was the biggest issue in today's culture...

The  Mischievous Dog

The Dog in this story is very similar to some people who I know - loves attention, no matter if it's good or bad! Perhaps I should invest in a wooden clog to tie around their necks...

The Fox and the Monkey

I have always been a firm believer in leading by example. Although it does not always work to my benefit, this is still the leadership style I like best. This story just goes to show that even though it may not happen right away, true leaders will be rewarded for their actions/false leaders will suffer consequences.

The Cat and the Old Rat

I have always been a fan of the phrase, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Even though I believe in and am fond of that lesson, it has not always been simple for me to follow that advice when making decisions in life. Hopefully I won't have to lose a portion of a limb to finally become as wise as Old Rat!

The Swallow and the Crow

As terrible as it is, I am rather certain that everyone has had a "fair weather friend" at some point in their life. I know I personally have had a few. When I was younger, I did not realize that quality really is better than quantity. So it took me a while to weed out the shallow friends, but now I am thankfully past those days!

The Fighting Cocks and the Eagle

This story goes along with the common theme among Aesop's fables: pride, vanity, and boasting will often lead to one's demise. Additionally, it also touches on the subject of humility. I consider  myself to be a humble person, and this story demonstrates how humility, rather than pride, will take you further in life.

Week 1: Introduction

Hello everyone!

My name is Shelbi Sutterfield. I am a senior majoring in Health and Exercise Science. I will be graduating in December. However, I still do not know the answer to everyone's favorite question, "What are you going to do after you graduate?' I do have a few things in mind though. I know I want to go to grad school, most likely here, to study Exercise Physiology. And as of right now, I am considering pursuing a career in cardiac rehab; but much like any other college student, I like to change my mind a lot!!

I am from Glenpool, Oklahoma, which is a small town outside of Tulsa. I graduated with a class of 150 people, so it was a bit of a culture change when I moved to Norman! Nevertheless I have adjusted quite well, and have been thoroughly enjoying my college experience.

Probably the main reason I have enjoyed college so much is because I have gotten to meet so many new people. I consider myself to be a social person, so making new friends is always something I look forward to. And one of the greatest thing about this university is there are so many different types of people here; I have really been able to branch out and broaden my horizons. As cheesy as that sounds, it is so true! I have friends who have a lot of the same interests as me, but I have also found that I can be friends with people who have completely different interests than me. Some of the things I like to do include: playing sports, working out, going out dancing, going to church, or pretty much anything with a group of friends. However, through some of the new friends I have made, I have learned to have a greater appreciation for things like playing video games and reading.

Personal photo of  me and my best friends at church from summer 2014. Note: Those are IBC root beer bottles in our hands :)

Although I love being independent and living on my own, I do have a dog back home, who I miss more than my family! Anytime I call back home my dad has to give me a report on how Jake is doing. Jake is 10 years old, but he still acts like a puppy. There is no better feeling than coming home for the holidays or a rare weekend visit, and having a furry friend who is excited to see you.

Personal photo of myself and Jake, taken March 2014. 

Anyways, I think that's enough about me...Hope everyone had a great summer and has a great semester!!

Week 1: Storybook Favorites

The first storybook that caught my eye was Lions of Aesop's Fables. Lions have always been my favorite non-domestic animal. I actually did my fourth grade research project over lions-impressive, I know.
I felt like the introduction was nicely put together. I loved the picture of the lion cub at the top of the page. Also, I felt like the author did a good job by leaving the end of the introduction as sort of a cliffhanger; that definitely sparked my interest in reading the other stories.
As far as design goes, I thought the website was very well put together, and easy to navigate; which is a huge plus for someone like me who is not the most tech savvy person. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the different lion pictures as well.

The second storybook that I was intrigued by was Happily Ever After? A Prince's Perspective. Much like any other girl, I loved Disney princess movies growing up...and still have a soft spot for them in my heart today. So I thought the idea of showing what happened after the "happily ever after" was a great idea, especially coming from the princes' perspectives!!
The introduction did prompt me to click through the other stories. I liked that there was a brief summary of what was going through the different princes' minds. The summaries did a nice job of setting the stage for the rest of the stories.
Much like the website for Lions of Aesop's Fables, I found it very easy to navigate in between the different stories on this website. I also thought the "author's note" was a nice feature to have on each story. Even though Disney princesses are well known throughout today's culture, one cannot always assume that everyone knows the story of Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty.

The next storybook that grabbed my attention was Nursery Rhymes Gone Wrong. I really do love it when people take well-known concepts, such as nursery rhymes, and put a new spin on things! I find these new spins even more interesting when they go against the norm. Since everyone expects nursery rhymes to be all rainbows and butterflies, it is slightly refreshing when someone stirs up the pot and makes the conflict go unresolved.
I thought the introduction was very creative. I liked that a character from one nursery rhyme was connected to characters of the other nursery rhymes. The introduction did a nice job of setting the stage, and providing just enough information about each nursery rhyme to make the reader continue reading.
The design of the website was easy to navigate, just like the other two websites I visited. I really liked the "Wrap Up" link. I thought it was a nice touch to provide some closure for the readers; because even though I liked the chaos, it was nice to know that all the "rhymies" will be okay.

Week 1: The Un-Textbook

I can honestly say that I am not well versed in stories that fall under the mythology and/or folklore categories. So I am looking forward to expanding my reading horizons, and possibly discovering a new genre of reading that I really enjoy. Despite my curiosity, this task is also a bit daunting. However, I am ready to take on the challenge. I can hear my dad using one of his favorite phrases, "Another opportunity to excel."


Week 2:
I really enjoyed looking through Aesop's fables for the first storytelling assignment, so I suspect that I will be reading through more of his fables for this week. I am also interested to see how the audio works, so I am inclined to choose the ones that are illustrated by Milo Winter.


Week 3:
As a Christian I am drawn in by the biblical stories. I am particularly intrigued by the Bible Women stories. As a woman of faith, I am looking forward to reading more about women in the Bible.


Week 4:
The Ancient Egypt section caught my eye right away. I have always been fascinated by the pyramids, pharaohs, and Egyptian culture as a whole. Noticing the icon representing their are pictures included has me hoping there will be several pictures of their drawings and hieroglyphics.


Week 5:
Growing up, Aladdin was always one of my favorite Disney movies. It is no surprise that the Arabian Nights grabbed my attention. As I was browsing through the table of contents, I noticed there are several stories about Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, so I am really looking forward to this unit.


Week 6:
One of my really good friends is originally from the Philippines, so I am naturally drawn into the Filipino Folktales section. I am hoping that this will be a section that will make me more well versed in the Filipino culture, and that I will be able to discuss my new knowledge with my friend.

Week 1 Storytelling: The Folly of the Wild Goats

It was a dark, rainy day in the Grand Valley. So a herd of wild goats decided to seek refuge in a nearby cave. The mother goats gathered to tell stories of what their kids had eaten that week. Molly, who was the mother of Timothy, boasted, "I caught my little Timmy chewing on Farmer Bill's work boots earlier this week." The other mother goats burst into an uproar of laughter, which then led to a competition of who could shout out their kid's eating accomplishments the loudest.

While the mothers told stories of their kids, the fathers told stories from their younger years. Rex, who was the husband of Molly and the father of Timothy gloated, "Yep, back in my prime I once had a grazing date with Sheila, and a frolicking date with Rebecca in the same day." It was no secret that Rex was quite the nanny's man back in the day; that is, until he met Molly. So at the mention of his "prime", the other father goats hounded Rex, and reminded him of how Molly came in and became his old ball and chain after only 4 days.

The kids, unbeknownst to their parents, were competing in an intense game of Tag-o-Ramma (wild goats' version of tag). Timothy was known amongst the other kids as the King of Tag-o-Ramma. He was very elusive, but on the rare occasion that he was tagged, he showed no mercy in passing off the tagging duty to another kid. Rumor was that he chipped off a piece of Ronda's horn from ramming her into a tree as he tagged her. Given that they were in a dimly lit cave, this made the game that much more extreme. The kids were frantically running about the cave when Timothy shouted, "Come at me, Parker! I dare ya!'

Parker was about to make a run at Timothy when all of sudden there was an awful screeching noise. There was a creature thrashing about in the cave, and wreaking all kinds of havoc. Some of the wild goats fled immediately; Molly, Rex, and Timothy leading them. Others, however, remained in the cave ready to fight. They circled around the jolting creature, and to their surprise, discovered it was only a donkey.

Realizing that he had been discovered, the donkey, Dustin, fled from the cave. His lion friend, Troy, promptly greeted him. Dustin realized that Troy had managed to slay a few of the wild goats that had ran from the cave. Dustin and Troy proudly drug their dinner under a nearby tree.

As they ate their dinner, Dustin and Troy speculated whether or not the three wild goats they were eating were the ones they had overheard bragging in the cave. Either way, they had full bellies, and a more humble outlook on life.

A very confident, yet foolish-looking goat.
openclipart

Author's Note:

This story is based on Aesop's fable "The Lion and the Ass".  In Aesop's fable, the lion and the ass team up as hunting partners. The role of the ass was to cause a commotion and run the goats out of the cave, while the lion captured and killed them. Similar to my story, in Aesop's fable, the lion and the ass were successful in their hunting endeavor. The moral of Aesop's fable was "The loud-mouthed boaster does not impress nor frighten those that know him.", meaning that the lion was not impressed or frightened by the ass. I slightly changed the moral of the story. The moral of my story can be seen as only cowards are boastful, or that prideful boasting can lead to very negative consequences. 

Bibliography

Book: Aesop for Children, illustrated by Milo Winter

Author: Aesop

Year Published: 1919

Web Source: Project Gutenberg

OU Email Tech Tip

I created a folder to separate emails regarding my shadowing position at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital. Previously, I was not using a folder system; so all my emails from professors, classmates, co-workers, and the endless OUMM were all just sitting in my inbox. I am hoping this will help make all my emails more manageable.

Week 1: My Favorite Place

I have never really been much of a traveler, so my favorite place is pretty basic...the swimming pool. I love being near the water, whether it's the pool, the lake, the ocean, it doesn't really matter to me. In my opinion, there is nothing better than a warm day spent laying out in the sun, and having a nearby body of water just makes it that much better. Although I have never been to a place that has a pool near a beach as shown in my picture, I definitely would not pass up the opportunity!

Pool near Ashvem Beach in Goa, India
flickr

New Blog Test

First ever blog post....