Indian Fairy Tales: Reading Diary A

My favorite story in this unit is The Charmed Ring. It was clever and wise of the cat to know exactly which animal to manipulate in order to get his way. The rats were able to steal from the ogress. The large bird was able to steal from the fish. Then the cat was able to kill the bird. Each animal had the ability to take advantage of the weaker species. The cat was definitely the wise character of this story.

The princess, on the other hand, was pathetic. She was fooled and did not try at all to correct her mistake. The women in this unit do not seem worthy of much. They are loved fiercely by the princes and men of the land, but they show no promise of heroism.  They cook sometimes but leave no legacy. It doesn't make sense to me why they are so valued as love objects. Maybe these are the first trophy wives.

The unit as a whole focused on trickery. Who could outsmart whom? The first eight stories ended with the underdogs winning. It seems that the Indian Fairy Tales are optimistic compared to some of the other units I have read that are more realistic. This could be due to the audience. When I think of fairy tales, I think of bedtime stories of magic and mystery told to small children. Adults tend to gift children with an absence of harsh reality. These stories seem to be tailored to a young crowd and therefore conclude with ponies and rainbows.

The Manipulative Cat. Indian Fairy Tales.