Reading Notes: Babbitt More Jataka, Part A
the
otters
and the
wolf
This story got my interest firstly because of the context. I have always been interested in the depiction of wolves as my tribe usually characterizes them as tricksters (as confirmed in both this story and the other one I'll talk about later). This story also got me because I love otters. Did you know they keep a rock? Like they hold a rock and use it to wash themselves. Amazing. This story is about a wolf couple and the girl wants fish. The guy wolf is like sure babe I'll go get you fish. He then happens upon two otters arguing over how to get this huge fish and then how to split it. This reminded me of that biblical story about the king who said he'd cut a baby in half. I understand that a baby and a fish are different, but this is what it brought to mind. The wolf then helps them, but takes the meatiest bit for himself. He brings it to his girlfriend and explains to her what happened.
the
tricky wolf
and the
rats
This one interested me, like the one above, because the title reminded me of stories I would hear when I was a youngin. The rats part made me wary as I am easily creeped out by those things, despite being a hamster mom. The tails are what gets me. Anyways. This story really freaked me out. It reminded me of the Princess Bride with the RO... RoUS? Rodents of Unusual Size? The wolf basically wants to eat some rats but can't really so he decides to trick them. He pretends to be hurt and the rats help him. However, as the rats leave, he eats the trailing one. The rats discover this and the chief kills him.
. . .
biblio
Ellen C. Babbitt
. . .
image
. . .
Comments
Post a Comment