Week 14 Story, Telephone

 The Foolish Timid Rabbit Ellen C. Babbitt

One day walking down the hallway of John Adams Middle School. Stacy heard a kid say "I'm having a party tonight." But what Herbert Walker actually said was "I'm gonna have the farts tonight." See that day the cafeteria special at John Adams was enchiladas and refried beans. All of Herbert's friends bet him one dollar that he could not finish 5 plates of beans. Boy did he prove them wrong. But in the act of protecting his honor he had upset his stomach. 

When Stacy heard that Herbert was having a party she went straight to Shayna to find out why she hadn't been invited. Shayna and Herbert had been "talking" for almost two months now. Which in middle school terms mean they said hi to each other in the hallway and texted "good morning" and "goodnight". Shayna was upset when she found out about the party because she had not been invited either. She really thought they would last forever. 

So Shayna marched up to Matt, Herbert's best friend and asked about the party. Matt was shocked he hadn't been invited either. This went on all day. One student would tell another about the party only to find out neither had been invited. When Herbert got to science lab Matt wouldn't talk to him at all while they were dissecting an earthworm. When Herbert passed Shayna in the hallway and said the obligatory "Hi" Shayna just kept walking and pretended she didn't see him. 

Before Herbert knew it, no one in the school would talk to him. Herbert The only thing Herbert could think of that might be happening is that his farts smelt too bad and were upsetting people. Finally at the end of the day before an assembly. Herbert asked the nicest boy in their grade, Robert, why no one was speaking to him. Robert then explained to Herbert that everyone was upset because they were not invited to him.

Robert walked straight to the gym floor and grabbed a microphone.

"I'm not having a party tonight I'm just really gassy". He announced. 

Everyone looked really confused but they all started talking to him again.

This story is based on "The Foolish Timid Rabbit." Where the rabbit mistakes a coconut for the world breaking up and gets everyone worked up until a lion sets them straight. This story a girl mistakes words and gets worked up until Herbert sets them straight.

Refried Beans

Extra Credit Reading, Week 15, Why the Owl in Not King of the Birds

Why the Owl is Not King of the Birds 

All species had a king so the birds decided to pick one too

The birds all wanted the owl to be the king except for the crows

The turtle dove became king of the birds

and the crows and the owls became enemies

Owl

Week 15 Reading Notes, The Crab and the Crane

 The Crab and the Crane, Ellen C. Babbitt

There was a summer with very little rain

One pond was almost dried up and a crane was talking to the fish in that pond

The crane offers to transfer the fish to another pond

they think the crane wants to eat them

The crane took one fish on his back on his back to the other pond 

and then the fish told all the other fishes about the pond

The crane came to take one fish but took it to the woods and ate it

He did this until there were no more fish

The crane came back the next day to see if he left any fish

There was only a crab and the crane offered to take him to another pond

The crane took him to the place he took the fishes

The crab realized what had happened

And pinched the cranes neck off

The Crane

Week 15 Reading Notes, The Foolish Timid Rabbit

 The Foolish Timid Rabbit ,Ellen C. Babbitt

A rabbit has a coconut fall on his head and thinks the world is ending

A rabbit ran after him to find out what was wrong

He told him the world was breaking up

This continued until there were many rabbits all running together

This continued, with a deer, an elephant and more

a lion thought there must have been a mistake and roared 3 times to make them stop running

The lion asked who said the world was breaking up

The animals talked until they got to the original rabbitt

The lion asked the rabbit to take hime to the original spot he thought the earth was breaking up

The got to the tree and realized it was a coconut

Without the lion they might still be running

Rabbits

Week 14 Extra Credit Reading Notes, The Quarrel of the Quals

The Quarrell of the Quails , Ellen C. Babbitt

Their was a leader quail who had a specific calling for his group

A hunter of quails learned the calls and used it to capture the with nets

The leader of the quails tells his brethren to stick their head through the net and fly away together

The quails plan worked and the hunter was angry

The quails start fighting with each other and take sides

The fowler caught them while they were quarreling

Quail

Reading Notes Week 14, The Ox Who Won the Forfeit

The Ox Who Won the Forfeit, Ellen C. Babbitt

A man bets a bunch of silver that his ox can pull 1000 wagons

The ox gets hooked up to the wagon

The owner whipped the ox and talked mean to him

The ox had never been talked to that way and it hurt his feelings so he stood still

The owner was embarrassed and that night the ox explained why he didn't pull

The owner promised never to whip him or talk mean to him again

The ox told him he would pull the wagons the next day

The man got all his silver back

Ox pulling wagon

Week 14 Reading Notes, The Merchant of Seri

 The Merchant of Seri, Ellen C. Babbitt

There were two merchant who sold brass and tinware

One of the merchant was greedy

They would divide up the streets and sell there goods

There was a poor family that used to be rich

And the only nice thing she had was a gold bowl that her husband used to use

They tried to sell it to the greedy merchant but he said it was worth nothing with plans of coming back

The second merchant then passed their house and told them the bowl was full gold and worth a lot of money

He bought the bowl and left across the river

                        Golden Bowl

Extra Credit Reading, Week 13, Grannie's Blackie

 Grannie's Blackie , Ellen C. Babbitt

There was a lady named Granny with an elephant named Blackie.

Blackie didn't work and Grannie did

Blackie saw Grannie getting old and decided to get a job to help her out

Blackie got a job pulling wagons for 2 pieces of silver

The man under pays everyone with 1 piece of silver

Blackie stand up to him and gets a bunch of silver

Grannie got to retire

Blackie

Week 13, Story, Cutie Patootie and Paris Hilton

 The Elephant Girly Face , Ellen C. Babbit

Cutie Patootie and Paris Hilton

In a city far far away lived the sweetest kitty-cat there ever was. She lived in a mansion in Beverly Hills. The cat’s name was Cutie Patootie. Her owner, Paris Hilton named her that because of her sweet demeanor and white fluffy fur. Cutie Patootie was beloved by all of Paris’s friends and the celebrities who met her. Cutie Patootie never miss-behaved and people would seek her out at parties because she was such a joy to be around.

One day Cutie Patootie was napping and she awoke to heat two-men dressed in black talking. “Yes, we are going to steel all of the Hilton’s jewels… we will be so wealthy we cans start our own hotel chain hahhahahah” 

“What do we do if we run into a security guard?” Asked the other

“Kill them and be as viscous as possible, there is no room for mercy in the crime business.”

 

Cutie Patootie heard them talking and thought she should also become viscous like the crooks.

So, the next day whenever her caretaker came to get her, she mauled them in the face until they were unrecognizable. Paris was concerned but thought it was just a fluke accident, so she still had her party that night. When the guests came looking for Cutie, she growled at them and reared her teeth. Lindsey Lohan thought Cutie would be nice to her because she had known Cutie for so long, but when Lindsey picked Cutie up, she scratched her right on the money maker.

The next day Paris was distraught so she called in a Psychic to see if they could find out what was wrong with Cutie Patootie. The psychic asked if Cutie had been exposed to any evil people that could have left her chakras unbalanced. Paris remembered the thieves who attempted to rob her and mentioned them.

“Yes, the psychic says, you should have people speak kind things around Cutie Patootie the next time she is sleeping, that should do the trick”

The next day Paris had Harry Styles come over while Cutie was sleeping and he sang, “Kill with Kindness” and Cutie was never mean again.

Synopsis:

Cutie Patootie is girly face and Paris is the King.

Cutie Patootie

Week 13, Reading Notes, The Measure of Rice

 The Measure of Rice, Ellen C Babbitt

There was a dishonest king and an honest person who decided the prices of things

The king knew he could make more money with someone dishonest

so he fired the valuer and hired a peasant

The king was able to buy a bunch of horses for the value of rice

The horse-seller went to see the old valuer and asked what to do

The old valuer told him to bribe the new valuer

so he does just that

The valuer says his measure of rice is worth the kings whole city

both the valuer and the king are embarrassed

horses

Week 13 Reading Notes, The Elephant Girly-face

 The Elephant Girly Face, Ellen C. Babbit

There was king with an elephant named Girly Face

She was named this because she was nice and wouldn't hurt anyone

one night robbers came to break in and woke girly up

Girly hears the robbers say they should be merciless and kill anyone in their way

and Girly decides she shall also act this way

The next day Girly kills her caretaker

Girly face continues to act crazy

The king sends a wise man to find out whats wrong with her

He finds out about what the robbers said

So his diagnosis is to have good men say nice things around her

Girly listens to them and behaves nicely after that

Elephant

Week 12 Story, The Hunger Games

 The Banyan Deer , Ellen C. Babbitt

The Hunger Games

It was reaping day. The day everyone dreaded all year long. I had been entered an extra 30 times this year so my family could have more food. This was also the first time my little sister prim had ever been entered into the drawing. This was the first time she was old enough to be entered, only 12 years old.

The Hunger Games was the Capitol's way of punishing us for rebelling 74 years ago. Now each of the 12 districts had to have a boy and girl enter the Hunger Games where they would fight to the death. There could only be one winner. My family and I live in district 12, one of the poorest districts. We had not had a winner come from our district in nearly 30 years.

I got my sister and I ready for the reaping. I did her hair in too pigtail braids and she wore a white dress. My dark hair was in one single braid that wrapped around my head, and I wore a light blue dress. My mother always thought the blue brought out my eyes.

The crowd of people walking to the town square was silent. Every single person afraid of a loved one's name being called or even their own. We had to stand in our own age groups so Prim and I were separated as soon as we got their.

A woman from The Capital stepped onto the stage. Her whole outfit probably cost more than many people made in a year in District 12. She had huge blonde hair, a pink velvet suit, and blue eyeliner. She cleared her throat into the microphone. 

"Hello District 12" she said in her high pitched voice

The crowd was silent. No one amused by what was about to happen.

"Okay well lets get this rolling." She went on as she reached her dainty manicured hand into a giant bowl filled with a bunch of names. My name at least 30 times.

"Primrose Everdeen."

My whole body went numb as the crowd distanced themselves around my little sister. Her name was only entered one time how could it be her. As the guards went to grab her something over came me.

"I VOLUNTEER!" "I volunteer as a tribute." I yelled desperately.

This story is based of the Hunger Games and the Banyan Deer. Katniss is the equivalent to the King deer who chose to sacrifice himself for the mother deer. Primrose is the equivalent to the mother.

Katniss Everdeen

Reading Notes Part B, The Banyan Deer

The Banyan Deer, Ellen C. Babbitt

 There is a Gold Deer

He was the king of 500 deer

There were also monkey deer who had a king

That king liked killing and eating deer

The King always had townspeople come with him

and the other townspeople didn't like that because while they were gone no one did their work

the king wouldn't kill the deer kings though

the deer were being injured at high rates

so each day they started picking a deer to be slaughtered

One day a mother deer lost and it was her turn to be killed

The banyan deer king felt so bad he took her place

When the king came to hunt and saw the golden deer laying with his head on the block he was confusxed because he granted this deer his lofe

The banyan deer explained why he was there and the king thought it was so nice he decided to not kill any deer ever again

The Golden Deer

Reading Notes Part A, The Sandy Road

The Sandy Road , Ellen C Babbit

Merchant is going on a journey

He and his men stop and camp

They start to journey across the desert

On the last night they threw away their water bc they thought they would be there soon

The oxen took them the wrong way

The merchant goes to look for water for his men and for the oxen

He finds grass and thinks there must be water near

They dig but hit a rock

A man smashes the rock and water floods the well

The men and Oxen are saved

Ox

Extra Credit Reading Notes, Week 11 The Otter and the Wolf

 The Otters and the Wolf, Ellen C. Babbit

A wolf wants to eat fish

Otters are catching fish

The otters cant decide how to split up the fish

They ask the wolf to do it for them

The Wolf splits it into 3 pieces

He takes the middle and best piece for himself and runs

Otters

Week 11 Story, The Hippo and the Bird

 

    A hippo waded in the water at a waterhole in the African wilderness. The hippos name was George he was a young teenager insanely bored with life in his ecosystem. He would sit and watch the birds. Overtime George became jealous of the birds, and the way they flitted and floated above the trees. George wanted to feel weightless and fly above the tree line, but he was bound by his weight to the ground and bound by his family to this specific watering hole.

    Eventually George's jealously got the best of him and he wanted to punish the birds for their freedom. He began to devise a plan to catch a bird and kill him. 

George called to the Bird "Hey tommy come here." 

Tommy flew to George and circled around his head.

George started "Tommy have you ever wanted to now what its like to swim under the water?"

"Well no I've never really thought about it. This watering hole seems so small compared to the giant sky."

George immediately became irritated and defensive. "Well its actually really cool its full of all kinds of fish and other animals you've never met before."

Tommy's face showed that he was trying to process that there was this whole underwater world he wasn't familiar with.

"Yeah  actually George I would like that!" exclaimed Tommy.

"Perfect" George said with a smirk. "All you have to do is hop inside my mouth and I'll take you for a spin."

George opened his mouth wide revealing a mouth full of very big teeth. It made Tommy kind of nervous just looking at them but he went ahead and sat on George's tongue. To George's surprise he started to feel regret. He had never had a true friend at the watering hole. All the other animals were scared of his massive jaws. So he was careful when he took Tommy underwater to not crush him. When he came back up Tommy stayed sitting on his tongue. They carried on their strange friendship for many years.

This story is based on Ellen C Babbit's, "The Monkey and the Crocodile" Jakata Tales: The Monkey and the Crocodile. I went for a happier ending because I am a romcom regular. The Hippo in this story is the parallel for the crocodile and the bird is a parallel for the monkey. Instead of the bird outsmarting the hippo like what happens in the regular story he trusts him. I think this a great life lesson to because sometimes when we open up and allow ourselves to be vulnerable like Tommy was we can make great friends. Added Inspiration was the codependent relationship hippos and birds have in real life.

Hippo With Bird

Week 11, Reading Part B

 Jakata Tales: The Wise Elephant and the Foolish Merchant Ellen C. Babbitt

There is a foolish merchant and a thrifty merchant

they decide they shouldn't leave at the same time

The foolish merchant goes first

A demon sees the foolish merchant and wants to control him so he turns himself into a noble gentleman

The demon tricked the foolish merchant into emptying all his water jars

The wise merchant cam through a month and a half later.

He knew the gentlemen was a demon because he didnt cast a shadow

He got to the next town and made bank.    Shadow

Week 11, Reading Part A

 Jakata Tales: The Monkey and the Crocodile Ellen C. Babbit

monkey lives on a tree by the river bank

all the crocodiles watch him

A little crocodile wants to eat the monkey

The crocodile offers to take the monkey across the river on his back

The crocodile reveals that his mother wants to eat the monkeys heart

The monkey tricks the crocodile by telling him he left his heart at the tree

the crocodile take the monkey back to get his heart

Part 2

The monkey moved to a new tree but the crocodile found him

The monkey hops over the river bank on a rock and the crocodile has been waiting for him

The crocodile reveals his plan again

The monkey tells him to open his mouth wide

The monkey jumped on top of his snout and got away

The crocodile says he will now leave the monkey alone and the monkey says he doesn't believe him

Crocodile and Monkey