Reading Notes: More Jatakas Part A
The Girl Monkey and the String of Pearls - It's an interesting change to have both animals and people speak in the same story. Usually, it's just one or the other.
The Three Fishes - That was quite a twist - I expected the fish named Thoughtful to do better, but instead, he was the same as the fish named Thoughtless.
The Tricky Wolf and the Rats - Moral of the story - Don't trust anyone.
The Woodpecker, Turtle, and Deer - That determination - man, to keep going and chewing even when your mouth is on fire and is filled with blood. That's the kind of stuff you want to write stories about.
The Golden Goose - This is very much like the story of the Goose that laid golden eggs. Same character/same message/same hubris
The Stupid Monkeys - Sometimes, it's hard to tell who's the bad character. Is it the gardener for leaving the trees in the care of the monkeys? Is it the chief of the monkeys who told them to pull out the trees? Or is it the monkeys who pulled up the trees? The story's named after the monkeys but I would think the blame laid with the gardener.
The Cunning Wolf - I feel like Western stories have either all animal characters that talk or all people characters that talk or the people don't know that animals can talk. It seems as though jatakas intermix the two to kind of emphasize the good traits of animals and the bad traits of people.
The Penny-Wise Monkey - This is kind of like the opposite of the ending of the parable with Jesus and the lost sheep and the lost coin.
The Red-Bud Tree - I really liked this story - It was a good way to express the message of how perspective can differ.
The Woodpecker and the Lion - This jataka seemed as though it was similar to the story of the Mouse and the Lion, but this one was different because the lion doesn't pay back the woodpecker.
The Otters and the Wolf - I feel like while fables and jatakas are similar, there are many times when they end up differently. I think this particular jataka demonstrates one of the ways well - the wolf still was awarded with a good thing (the fish) even though he was kinda dishonest. Fables are more cut and dry, and I don't know if this tale would end the same in a fable.
Bibliography - More Jataka Tales. Ellen C. Babbitt. Link
The Three Fishes - That was quite a twist - I expected the fish named Thoughtful to do better, but instead, he was the same as the fish named Thoughtless.
The Tricky Wolf and the Rats - Moral of the story - Don't trust anyone.
The Woodpecker, Turtle, and Deer - That determination - man, to keep going and chewing even when your mouth is on fire and is filled with blood. That's the kind of stuff you want to write stories about.
The Golden Goose - This is very much like the story of the Goose that laid golden eggs. Same character/same message/same hubris
The Stupid Monkeys - Sometimes, it's hard to tell who's the bad character. Is it the gardener for leaving the trees in the care of the monkeys? Is it the chief of the monkeys who told them to pull out the trees? Or is it the monkeys who pulled up the trees? The story's named after the monkeys but I would think the blame laid with the gardener.
The Cunning Wolf - I feel like Western stories have either all animal characters that talk or all people characters that talk or the people don't know that animals can talk. It seems as though jatakas intermix the two to kind of emphasize the good traits of animals and the bad traits of people.
The Penny-Wise Monkey - This is kind of like the opposite of the ending of the parable with Jesus and the lost sheep and the lost coin.
The Red-Bud Tree - I really liked this story - It was a good way to express the message of how perspective can differ.
The Woodpecker and the Lion - This jataka seemed as though it was similar to the story of the Mouse and the Lion, but this one was different because the lion doesn't pay back the woodpecker.
The Otters and the Wolf - I feel like while fables and jatakas are similar, there are many times when they end up differently. I think this particular jataka demonstrates one of the ways well - the wolf still was awarded with a good thing (the fish) even though he was kinda dishonest. Fables are more cut and dry, and I don't know if this tale would end the same in a fable.
Bibliography - More Jataka Tales. Ellen C. Babbitt. Link
An actual monkey wearing pearls [Source]
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