Mikayla's Epics of India

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Week Thirteen: Extra Credit Microfiction

Drabble: The fluorescent light filtered down from the overhead lights and cascaded down my shoulders, my feet created a sharp shadow upon the linoleum floor. I turned in the aisle, my breath quick and hot in my mask. I took a bag of medium roast coffee from the shelf, sparing myself a quick sniff before tucking it under my arm and heading back the way I came. I took in a satisfied breath as I turned the corner and jumped when my hand made contact with the back of an elderly man. His back was contorted and his gnarled hand gripped tightly on the top of an oak cane. I yelped in surprise and sheepishly apologized, "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't see you there." The man made no effort to excuse my surprise and instead let out a fractured moan instead. My eyebrows pursed in confusion and I stepped around him towards the bustling lines of college-aged kids and tired adults waiting to pay. ' I hope that man makes it home alright. He doesn't seem like he should be dr

Microfiction: Empty Chairs and Running Dogs

Drabble: And after a long day of laying around the house and chasing the neighbor, the brindle lab mix stretched out as if to say she worked hard today. She had accomplished a lot, despite what you might think. The overactive pup got in two naps, an hour of tug of war with her dad, and even threw up on her mom's new rug because she ate too fast after running as fast as she could along the fenceline. The mutt finally rests her head on her father's lap as she lets out a long puppy groan, "it ain't much, but it's honest work" the dog thinks to herself. 6-Word Story: Newly empty chairs haunt Christmas dinner Authors Note: For my Drabble I was inspired by my dog, as per usual. She is seriously the light of my life and I do not know what I would do without her if anything happened to her. She also happens to be a very easy topic to write about, as she is sort of a clown. As for my 6-word story, I was inspired to write about something many people acro

Week Thirteen Reading Part B: MORE Jataka's

For these reading notes, I wanted to zero in on The Lion in Bad Company . I have yet to focus on too many stories that feature lions, but this title really called out to me and I felt compelled to find out what this story was really about. Like I have said previously with my reading notes, I have determined what all of my storybook stories are going to be about so this one is just another bonus reading if I find myself needing it. With all of the other Jataka's, this story is packed full of morals, compassion, and fable-like stories. This story is shocking to me, however, because the lion actually dies. I have not encountered many stories in the Jataka tales where there is actually a significant death. There is usually more of a lesson to be told with the story. Despite the death of the lion, I really liked this story and would consider using it in my classroom or my storybook if I had room for it. Image information: Babbit's Jataka's

Week Thirteen Reading Part A: More Jataka's

For this reading of COURSE I wanted to do more of the Jataka's. They have been my favorite stories by far because they are the most easily digestible. The story I chose is The Penny Wise Monkey naturally because of the name. I really caught my interest so I had to know what the story was about. I have already selected my stories for my storybook project but if I need another story to fall back on I would love to use some of the money jatakas because they are so sweet and easy to recreate into something of my own. All of Babbit's Jataka's tell a very powerful story in a very short language. They are easy for young children to learn lessons from, as well as being very simple to put a twist on. I am definitely going to continue to explore the Jataka's further for the rest of my "free reading" because they are the most relevant to my storybook, as well as where my interests lay within the class. That said, I love the fable-esque stories from India and how they

Week Twelve Story: Leave It to the Rabbits

"Huh, so it is really happening." I sighed as I looked up at the sky. "The sky is actually falling". All of us in the rabbit community knew that this day would come. Global warming has been an issue since the early 1990s, and well, we are way past the point of return nearly 200 years later. Humans are long gone. All that remains is the technology that they put in place to mitigate the harmful effects of the UV rays. We have heard jokes and tales of people mistaking falling objects for the sky falling, but it appears that the human's attempt at rebuilding the ozone has finally collapsed in on itself. I guess we knew it would happen, that the bubble would burst, but no one knew it would be this soon. I stand and watch on the muggy street corner near my childhood rabbit hole as thin slices of some sort of engineered plastic fall from the sky. The sun shines through the holes in the bubble that appear small to the eye but must be half a mile wide. The rays are

Week Twelve Reading Notes: The Hermit Cat

The story that I have chosen to write notes about is The Hermit Cat . This story is about a cat that has grown too old to catch his own prey. This story is from The Orient Pearls: Indian Folklore by Shovona Devi. This story is all about an old cat who has grown too weak to catch his own prey, so he pretends to be a pious, rule-following, and staunch pilgrim. He hopes that this will help him catch some mice to eat so that he won't have to work so hard. This story was a really good read even if it is not something I am planning to use in my own storybook. I really enjoyed reading this story, it was so fun and whimsical and a nice break from my regularly scheduled readings for the week. I am glad that I got the opportunity to read this story because it was a really good way to find more materials. Image information: prayer beads