Reading: Jataka Tales Part B

  For this week's reading, I have chosen to read the Jataka Tales retold by Ellen C. Babbitt. I am going to write up some notes over part B today.

The Elephant Girly Face

• there was a king who had an elephant
• he named it girly face because it was so kind, good, and gentle
• one night some robbers came by to the area where girly face slept
• they spoke of how they were going to break in and kill someone
• they said that robbers so no mercy or pity and are cruel
• as girly face heard this he thought that this is the way that he should be acting
• the next morning when the keeper came to feed girly face he picked him up by his trunk and killed him
• another keeper came to help and girly face killed him as well
• no one dared to go by girly face anymore
• the king knew something was up
• he found out that girly face was listening to bad men talk
• he decided to send some good men so that he would overhear them talking and become good once again
• after he overheard the good men talking about being gentle and not hurting anyone, girly face was gentle and good once again and forever

The Princes and the Water-Sprite

• there was a king who had three sons
• there was the prince of stars, the moon prince, and the sun prince
• the third son promised to give the queen any boon she wanted
• on his 21st bday she wanted the sun prince to take over the kingdom
• the king refused and said the kingdom must go to the oldest son
• the queen left but the king feared she would harm the older sons so that the sun prince could become king
• the king ordered his two oldest sons to go live in the forest until his passing and then they would come back and reign
• the youngest son overheard and insisted that he come with his brothers
• the sun prince went down to the pond to bathe
• he ran into a water sprite and it asked how what good fairies are like
• he answered they were like the moon and sun
• the water sprite cried out and took him to his cave
• the brothers wondered what was taking their youngest brother so long
• they went looking for him
• the water sprite asked the moon prince the same question and he answered...like the sky above us
• he dragged the moon prince into the cave as well
• then the prince of stars went looking for both of his brothers
• the water sprite came in the form of a woodsman
• the eldest brother knew it was the water sprite and did not fall for his tricks
• he said he would answer the question correctly
• the water sprite brought back his brothers
• they lived in the forest until their father died
• they came back to the kingdom and ruled

Bibliography The Jataka Tales. Ellen C. Babbitt. part B

( Image of the elephant Girly-Face by Ellsworth Young)