Week 10 Reading Diary: American Indian Fairy Tales

The unit I decided to read this week is American Indian Fairy Tales. One of my favorite stories from the first half of this reading is the story about the little boy and girl who fell asleep on the mountain called The Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds. After they fell asleep, the mountain began to grow until the top of it was unable to be seen. The parents, worried about their children, went looking for them in the valley. When they ran into all the animals, they asked each one if they knew where the little boy and girl were. The coyote was able to help by sniffing out where the children were, but the mountain was too high to reach the top. Many animals including the jack rabbit, lion, and bear tried to jump or climb as high as they could to reach the top. All of them failed, until the measuring worm came along. All of the animals doubted he could reach the children, but much to their surprise, he was able to. His patience and perseverance allowed him to excel in something everyone doubted he could do.

The last story of this unit, and one of my favorites from the second half of the reading is The Fairy Bride. This story tells of an Indian girl who loves to spend time alone in the meadow rather than doing typically girl things. She enjoys time alone adventuring through the beautiful nature around her. This troubles her mother because her mother wants her to marry someone who will take care of her. A hunter has been selected by her mother for her to marry, but the girl, Neen-i-zu, does not want to marry someone who lives, breathes, and sleeps hunting. On her arranged wedding day, she wanders off into the meadow before her doomed marriage, and when she is there, she finds a fairy man and never returns home again.