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Week 13 Story: The Escaping Snake

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 There was once a young mother who adored her children. She had four children, two boys and two girls. They absolutely adored the outdoors. Each day, they would spend hours and hours out in the yard, running through the dirt and laughing with one another. They were not kids who enjoyed watching TV or playing nicely with toys. They wanted to be loud, dirty, moving, and in the sun. Always. This happened to work out perfectly for their family because they lived out in countryside. They were constantly surrounded by animals and nature, which made all of the kids very happy.  One day, the young mom came home from work with a very sad look on her face.  "What wrong, Mommy?" the kids asked, noticing she was not herself.  "I have to tell you guys some bad new," she started, hesitating as she saw their concerned faces. "We have to move away for my job. We have to move to an apartment in the city," she explained.  The kids did not say much. They were disappointed, b

Week 13 Reading Notes Part 2

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  The King's White Elephant Carpenters lived on a river bank near a forest They noticed a wounded elephant They tended to the elephant, and he was so grateful that he helped the carpenters with their work He would bring them tree trunks, fetch their tools, move logs into the river and more As the elephant grew older, he started bringing his son with him to show him the ways of the work One day the king spotted the beautiful white elephant The king paid the carpenters a lot of money to keep the white elephant for his own                                                                                         Wikimedia: White Elephant 

Week 13 Reading Notes Part 1

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  How the Turtle Saved His Own Life A king built a lake in his backyard for his sons to swim and play in The boys swam and sailed their boats in it The king then asked some of his workers to put some fish into the lake The sons ran to the lake to see these new additions and they noticed something they had never seen before, a turtle  They thought it was a demon so they got scared They ran back to the their father and the king ordered for the turtle to be killed  when the workers caught the turtle and brought it back to the house, the boys ran away from it and cried  The king, very empathetic of his sons, demanded that the turtle be killed  The workers thought of many ways to kill it  Pound it, back it in hot coals, or throw it into the lake  The workers agreed to throw the turtle into the lake where it will be smashed to pieces by the rocks The turtle hearing all this talk, thrusted his head out of the shell  He demanded to know why they would do such a thing when the turtle had not do

Week 12 Story Lab

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 For my lab this week, I explored the Writers Write website. The website includes many different articles and tips on how to enhance your writing. My favorite article was " 7 Things You Can Do With Dialogue In A Story ." I found this particular article interesting because dialogue is something I have been trying to work on with my own stories in this class, and especially with my portfolio. It is much easier to write a story without dialogue. It is a lot faster and simpler to just tell an entire story in the third person. However, dialogues greatly enhances storytelling and makes the story much more interesting. Dialogue helps the reader get to know the characters and feel like they are being pulled into the story. The article covered this, as well as many other points about dialogue. The article informs the reader that dialogue advances the story, makes you show instead of just telling, introduces conflict, reveals character and setting, gives information, and increases the

Week 12 Reading Notes Part 2

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The Fairy and the Hare A young hare lived in a small forrest between a mountain, a village, and a rive and was the sweetest hare of all  He was friends with a jackal, a water-weasel, and a monkey Every night they would meet to talk and the hare would teach them many things One day, the hare said that they should not eat but instead give the food they find to others The jackal found a piece of meat and a jar of curdled milk The water-weasel found the hiding place of a fisherman and took his golden fish The monkey found some ripe mangoes The hare did not find anything, and was sad because he had nothing to offer Then he decided he would give them himself to eat An all-knowing fairy lived nearby and changed herself into an old beggar man She first went by the jackal, who offered her the stolen meat and milk  She then walked by the water-weasel and the monkey, who offered her their food as well Finally, she walked by the hare who offered himself up and told her to make a fire  She made mag

Week 12 Reading Notes Part 1

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The Guilty Dogs A king drove through the city with a horse-drawn chariot  When he returned, the horses were returned to the stable and the chariot was left in the courtyard Everyone was asleep in the palace and it was raining, so the palace dogs wanted to have fun They went to the courtyard and chewed up the horse's harnesses  When the King learned what they had done, he ordered all of the dogs in the city to be killed All of the scared dogs in the whole city went to the chief dog for help The chief dog vowed to make sure only the palace dogs got punished  The chief dog marched into the palace and told the King his order was unjust  The chief dog told the King to bring the palace dogs to him and feed them kusa and buttermilk When they did this, they threw up the leather from the harnesses  The King was impressed with the chief dog and ordered all of the dogs of the city to be treated like royalty                                                                                     F

Week 11 Story: The Restaurant Owner

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Lily and her mother were incredibly poor. They were all on their own, living in downtown New York City, with no family or friends nearby. Lily's father had left when she was only a baby, and her mother had trouble keeping a job. She had never gone to college and did not have much experience in the working world. Therefore she typically had to work at least two jobs just to make ends meet. They lived in a small, dirty apartment behind a hamburger restaurant. It always smelled of grease and drew in bugs and rodents. Lily knew they were poor, however she loved her mom and knew they would be okay. She often went to school in clothes that were far too small. The other kids often made fun of her for the way that she looked or the way that she smelled. These things hurt Lily, but she never complained to her mother because she did not want her to feel bad that she could not provide for them.  One day, the owner of the hamburger restaurant caught a glimpse of Lily coming home from school. &