Portfolio Index

Welcome to my portfolio index. I have included the links to 6 of my favorite stories. You can read about each one in the blurb under the link and decide which one sounds the best to you. My personal favorite is Lakshmana's Letters. I hope you enjoy!


Lakshmana's Letters

Blurb: Lakshmana misses his mom while wandering the woods with Sita and Rama. He writes her several letters to which he receives no response. See how he is feeling about the situation he has gotten himself into.


Manthara's Revenge

Blurb: While reading the Ramayana did you wonder what had turned Manthara wicked? Find out what it was in this tale of ignorance and revenge.


Ravana's Story

Blurb: Think you know the real reason Ravana steals Sita from Rama? Read what Ravana has to say about it in this tragic love story.


Vision Quest

Blurb: Don't miss this exciting tale about visions and fighting.


Yashoda's Diary

Blurb: In this story we get a first-hand look at Krishna's amazing power and how his mother begins to realize it.


Vishnu's Karma

Blurb: This is the story of how King Bali was raised above the gods. Find out how the gods respond in this exciting story.

Week 12 Storytelling: The Magic Jewel

Once upon a time a man named James was riding on a ship from India to a far off island. About half way through the journey the ship was caught in a huge storm and was crushed beneath the waves. James managed to find the door to the captain’s quarters floating in the waters among the chaos. It was the only wooden door on the ship. The captain himself was already floating on it but when James swam closer he noticed the captain had been knocked unconscious. When James tried to get on the door it sank under the weight of the two men. He pushed the captain off into the water and climbed on top of the door alone. Then he fell asleep.

James woke up to see the sun peeking out through the clouds. The waters were calm. He could see an island no bigger than large pasture about half a mile off. He paddled over to it to check for food and water. The island was covered in white sand and almost completely bare. James could see one tree at the far side of the island so he decided to go to it. After an hour of seasick stumbling, he reached the tree. He was surprised to see a pic taking a nap in the tree’s shade. His first thought was to kill the pig for food, but then he noticed a small jewel in the sand only six inches from the pig’s mouth.

He reached down and picked it up. As soon as the jewel was in his hand James began floating in the air. It now made sense how the pig had gotten here. He let out a quick holler of excitement, which woke the pig up. The pig, not seeing the jewel in the sand, began frantically searching for it. Then he noticed James floating in the air above him.

“Hey that’s my jewel! Can I please have it back?” asked the pig.

“No, I think I’ll keep it,” said James.

James decided he needed a good meal before flying to the island he had been headed to with the ship. He flew over to the tree and broke off a branch that would make a good-sized club to beat the pig to death with. Just as he did lightning struck the top of the tree and James was thrown to the ground. For a moment he was stunned and is muscles failed to move when he told them to. He watched the pig walk over and grab the jewel out of his hand with its mouth.

“You know, if you would have given it back to me when I asked, I would have given you a ride anywhere that you wanted to go” said the pig as he flew off and left James there to die.

Flying Pig from Wikipedia

Author's Note:
In the original story the man washes up on shore after the ship wrecks and he finds the jewel. He realizes its power and drops a branch of the tree on the pig. This wakes the pig up. The pig sees the man with his jewel and runs into the tree killing himself. The man then flies to three men's houses, kills each of them, and takes their magical treasures as well. He then takes over a kingdom and rules for the rest of his life.

In my version I focused on the shipwreck and the controversy with the pig on the island. I gave the pig the ability to talk so that he could ask for the jewel back. James responds with a cocky answer, which makes the reader dislike him more. I switched the roles of who ended with the jewel and who died.

Bibliography: Jataka Tales (The Magic Treasures) by H.T. Francis and E. J. Thomas (1916).

Week 12 Reading Diary cont: The Magic Treasures

Jataka Tales (The Magic Treasures) by H.T. Francis and E. J. Thomas (1916).

The Magic Treasures is great story about an evil man that lucked upon the tools to make himself king. He was shipwrecked and floated to the shore of an island on one of the planks of wood from the ship. Upon arriving he spotted a sleeping pig with a jewel near its mouth. When he stole this jewel form it he realized that it gave him the ability to fly. He woke the pig up in an effort to eat it, and the pig realized his jewel was gone and killed himself. Then the man flew far away until he spotted a hut. The owner of the hut possessed an axe that would go cut and return whatever it was told. The two men traded objects. When the evil man received the axe he told it to kill the man who had just traded it away so that he could get the jewel back. This is where I think he was lucky that the other man didn’t have the same idea and kill him first for his jewel. Evil men take advantage of the kindness of others. He went on to do the same thing to the owners of the next two houses and acquired a drum that could scare away the enemies or make them your friends and a bowl that could flow a river of curds. With these four objects he was unstoppable and killed a king to take over his kingdom. The story ended with the evil man living a great life and dying a happy ruler. I feel like it should have an ending that is not so favorable for this man.

King Henry I from Wikimedia Commons

Week 12 Reading Diary: The Valiant Dwarf

Jataka Tales (The Valiant Dwarf) by H.T. Francis and E. J. Thomas (1916).

The Valiant Dwarf was by far my favorite story from the first half of this weeks reading. I always hear that first impressions are very important and apparently the dwarf knew it too. Even being the most skilled bowman in the land, he did not think a king would accept his services because of his appearance. He was also very smart and devised a plan to have a more acceptable looking young man serve as the appearance he needed while he focused on the tasks he was good at. This reminds me of the movie Ratatouille where a mouse has a great talent for cooking, but would never be accepted as a great chef because of who he is. So he makes an unlikely bond with the newest chef at a top tier restaurant who has no talent for cooking. This worked out well for the young man and the dwarf until the young man decided he didn’t need the dwarf anymore. At this point the young man is asked to defend the castle from an army that is attempting to take it. The dwarf doesn’t help the young man wiggle his way out of this situation. He is so scared he leaves the battle while the dwarf wins it. Everyone’s true colors are shown and the king takes the dwarf into his guard. This story could be put into so many different settings with a different skill set that is fitting for each one. For instance, I could make it about a professional athlete in modern day America. Or I could use animals as the characters and have a rat show a lion how to be a great hunter.

Dwarf form wikimedia commons

Week 11 Storytelling: The Crane's Revenge

There once was a young crane that lived at the edge of a small pond with his parents. He loved his home because there were tons of other animals around to play with. He was friends with turtles and frogs, but his best friend was a young crab that was the same age as him. The one species that the cranes had never gotten along with was the fish. This was because the cranes ate the fish. One spring day the crane’s parents were teaching him how to catch the fish. He watched as his mother and father tossed a dead bug into the water and stood very still at the waters edge waiting for a fish to spot it. All of the sudden the largest fish that the crane had ever seen shot out of the water and pulled both of his parents under with it. He waited horrified by the event, waiting for his parents to come back up, but they never did. He ran straight to the crab family home where he explained to them what had happened. They took him in and raised him as one of their own. That summer the crane hit puberty and grew to his full size. It was a hot dry summer and the pond slowly got lower and lower until it was so low that the fish were struggling to survive. The crane blamed all of the fish for what had happened to his parents and hated them all equally. He stood next to the pond one day thinking of how he could get back at the fish. A small fish poked his head out of the water.

“What are you thinking about crane?”

“I feel bad for all of you fish. I am thinking about how I can help you. There is a larger pond just across this field that I could take you to in my beak.”

“You’re lying! You just want to eat us!”

The cranes friend the crab who had been swimming in the pond swam over.

“I’ve seen that pond before. Does it really still have a lot of water?”

“Yes, it has tons of water! Come with me and I’ll show you.”

The crane leaned down to the water so the crab could grab his neck to hold on. Then he flew to the other pond and back and dropped the crab back off at the pond.

“Wow! There is tons of room for everyone at that other pond. I would go with the crane unless you want to dry up here.”

Not knowing that the crane and the crab were good friends the fish agreed to go with the crane one by one, and one by one the crane took the fish to a tree where he dropped them into a fork in the branches. He killed each one of them and he and the crab ate them all together. He finally got his revenge.

Dried Up Pond from Wikipedia

Author's Note:
In the original story the crane tells the fish that he will take them to the bigger pond, and when they don't believe him. He takes one of the larger fish to see it and brings him back so that he can convince the rest of the fish that it is alright to go with him. The crane then takes them all and kills them one at a time. Then he returns to the drying up pond to find a crab. He decides to try to trick this crab the same way he did the fish, but the crab is a little bit smarter than the fish. He convinces the crane to let him ride on his back and hold on to his neck with a claw. When the crane tries to make his move the crab decapitates him.

In my version the crab and the crane are friends that are trying to get revenge on the fish for killing the cranes parents. They work together to trick the fish and end up convincing them to go with the crane. The result is the same as the original story.

Bibliography: Jataka Tales (The Crane and the Crab) by H.T. Francis and E. J. Thomas (1916).

Week 11 Reading Diary: The Crane and the Crab

Jataka Tales (The Crane and the Crab) by H.T. Francis and E. J. Thomas (1916).

I love the story of the crane and the crab! It starts off with a small pond full of fish that is drying up in the summer heat. This crane sees this and plans a way to eat all of these fish. One of the fish asks him what he is thinking and convinces them that he wants to take them to a larger pond where they will have more room. The fish are obviously skeptical, but the clever crane agrees to show one of them the pond and bring him back to assure all of the other fish. Sure enough they all trust him and one by one are taken to a tree where he kills them and eats them. When no fish are left in the small pond the crane seeks out a crab that is still living there. The crab is skeptical of the crane as well and only agrees to go if he can hold on to the cranes neck on the trip over. This is where the crane gets tricked and lets him ride while holding onto his neck with one of the crab’s claws. When the crane tries to make his move the crab lops off his head. Karma is so sweet! This story could be told by using different animals or switching the animal’s roles in the story. I could also make the character backstabbing humans rather then flesh-eating animals. There are a lot of ways that I could go with this story that would be a lot of fun.

Crane from Wikipedia

Week 10 Reading Diary cont: Shiva

Shiva by Edmund Charles Cox (1887).

Shiva and Brahma get in a disagreement and Brahma sentences Shiva to the wilderness to live without shelter until he is deemed free of blame. It said that he must withstand the heat, the cold, hunger, and thirst. His wife Uma accompanies him through this harsh journey, but not without getting a few words in about it. Several times Uma asks Shiva if they can find shelter, but each time he explains that he does not have the means of obtaining shelter and that they will just have to wait it out. However, he does eventually tell her that they will be covered by a cloud that will shield them from the rain. This happens shortly after he says it will. He is then pardoned for his actions and he and Uma are able to settle down in a house in the mountains. Then the king of death steals Uma from Shiva and he is filled with sadness. Vishnu feels bad for Shiva and seeks to make him feel better. He allows Uma to be reborn and she grows up to be the most beautiful woman in all of the land. She has to prove that she is worthy of being with Shiva, but after many long tests she succeeds. The leader of the Asuras drove the gods out of their places and claimed himself ruler of heaven and earth. The part of this story where Shiva and Uma are in the woods without shelter could easily be put into a modern day setting in which a wife is unhappy with what her husband has provided her with.

Shiva Street Art Ron Mader Flickr