Reading Notes: Lang Unit 1, Part A: A Handy Cat

Hi there! For this weeks reading I chose to do the first Lang Unit because the stories come from all across Europe. I was immediately drawn to the first story in the unit, "The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots," because I have seen Puss in Boots as a character in other works but had never heard his story. The picture to the left, is an illustration for the Mother Goose Story Book version of the story. This is the moment that the cat calls for the kings carriage to stop and save the "Marquis of Carabas" from drowning. I would like to use this picture and others of a similar style if I use this story for my writing this week. Speaking of which, here are my reading notes for this story:

A miller left his property to his sons
The mill to the older son, a donkey to the middle son, and a cat to the youngest
The youngest says he will likely starve since all he can do is make a muff out of the skin of the cat
To save his own skin, the cat comes up with a plan and tells the youngest son not to worry
The cat asks for a bag and some boots so the son complies
The cat heads out and catches a rabbit with the bag by tricking it
He delivers this rabbit to the king and says that it is from the "Marquis of Carabas," a made up tittle for the young son
The king is pleased and the cat continues to bring him game of different kinds occasionally
One day when the cat knows the king and his daughter are going out he tells the son to go bathe in the river at a certain spot
The cat steals the son's clothes and then shouts to the king that the "Marquis of Carabas" is drowning
The king sends his men to help him and gets him some fancy clothes to wear and lets him ride with him and his daughter
The cat runs ahead to tell the people working in various fields to tell the king that the Marquis of Carabas owns those fields
The cat also runs ahead to trick an Ogre that owns a nearby castle into transforming into a mouse which the cat then eats and tells the king that the Marquis of Carabas owns the castle
The king was so impressed by the Marquis of Carabas's charm and wealth that he offers his daughter in marriage to him
They get married

Bibliography

The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H. J. Ford

D J Munro, after Gustave Doré [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Comments

Introduction

Hello! My name is Cat and although this will be a blog about mythology and folklore, today I want to tell you all a little bit about myself and my summer. So, to start off I am a civil engineering student here at the University of Oklahoma. I will be graduating in December, but I will be staying on for another year to complete my master’s degree, also in civil engineering but with a focus on structural engineering. Civil engineering includes the design of buildings, infrastructure, water supply systems, waste water treatment systems, and traffic control systems to name a few. Over this summer I had the opportunity to work as an intern for a civil engineering company and learned a lot from the experience. I learned to design pump stations, outline drainage areas, how to do the runoff calculations for inlets, culverts and drainage ditches, and a bunch of stuff about low impact development, but most importantly I learned that I don’t like doing any of those things. Admi

Famous Last Words: Migraines

Hey there! As you may have guessed already because this is an extra credit post, I fell behind last week. This time partially due to procrastination and partially due to a migraine. It was great. Let me tell you about it. I had been feeling really great all week, getting my work done, not too stressed, and like usual I was planning to do the three weekend assignments on Sunday. Yes, I know I shouldn't wait until the last day to do them. Yes, I know this whole thing could have been avoided by doing them early, but hey, hind sight, spilled milk, you know the drill. Plus, I didn't have any other homework due on Monday, unlike usual, so I thought I would have plenty of time. (Here is where the ominous music should play.) However, that afternoon I started having a migraine attack. This quickly spiraled into me sitting and staring at the wall until it stopped later that night. Sadly, I didn't get much work done, as you can imagine. Luckily I am back on my feet today, alth

Week 2 Story: The Stone Woman

Author's note: I wrote this story after reading Pygmalion and wanting to develop on the statues story. So this story gives the statue a back story, and rewrites some of the original tale, in the form of my character named Ivory. I hope you enjoy it. In ancient Greece there was a woman named Ivory that had grown up in a village far from any city. Her family farmed the land around their home and raised livestock. When she was older, her father would take her with him on the long journey to the city when it was time to sell their crops at the market. One year at the market, Ivory met the most beautiful man she had ever seen. This man’s name was Deveron, and he was known widely for his charm and beauty. Soon after they met, Deveron and Ivory fell in love and were married. They built a small home on the land Ivory’s family owned and continued to farm the land and live good lives that seemed to be blessed by the gods. They were so happy in their love and in their life that th

Mythology Blog

Search This Blog