Reading Notes: Andersen's Fairy Tales, Part B

All about the Little Mermaid

• Split up into 6 stories
• I can't believe the Little Mermaid did all of that for the prince
• I wish she could have told him everything
• Maybe I could rewrite this by having male mermaids (mermen?) and a princess, instead of mermaids and a prince
• One of the mermen could seek the princess at land and everything could be reversed, OR I could have the princess realize the true story behind the merman and come to the seas to be with him
• There are many alternative endings I could implement since there are so many things that happened 
• Ex. the prince marrying the princess could be switched around and instead, he could marry the mermaid or he could already be married
• Ex. the five other sisters cutting their hair for their sisters, what if they all cut off their tongues and the singing ceased, and the era of the mermaids ended, and that's why there are no mermaids today?

Source: When the mermaid decided to give up her tail for two legs, to be with the prince.

Bibliography: Andersen's Fairy Tales, Part B. 

Reading Notes: Andersen's Fairy Tales, Part A

The Princess and the Pea

• I've read this story many times but I still thought it was fun to read again!
• I may actually rewrite this and have the girl NOT be a princess 
• I could have her say she slept very well, which tells the family that she is not a princess

The Emperor's New Suit

• This story is incredible as it shows you how some people will do anything to seem smart in front of others 
• It also shows how some people will lie in order to praise you and to boost themselves as well

The Wicked Prince

• I like that he was set straight by God
• I'm not sure why he thought he could conquer God in the first place, but that just shows his confidence levels
• Not sure how I could rewrite this, but I might tell the story of how God conquered the Prince in another way, instead of the little gnat

The Little Match-Seller

• This story was quite interesting because it was so different
• It was kind of creepy because of how at the end, the little girl died and her frozen body was found by strangers
• I thought it was really sad that she was forced to go out in the cold to sell matches and if she didn't, she would be punished at home
• I might rewrite this story but have someone come rescue her before she dies

Source: An image of a burning match.

Bibliography: Andersen's Fairy Tales, Part A. 

Reading Notes: The Brothers' Grimm, Part A

The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids

• I liked this story because it was cute and it showed how the wolf was cunning and how the way of the world is
• I loved that the mother was able to cut the kids out of the wolf's stomach without him noticing and fill it with stones.
• I don't think I've written a short, cute, fun story in this class so I could write one now if I wanted to rewrite this story in particular

The Seven Ravens

• I wonder who exactly or how exactly the boys got turned into ravens and back into humans?
• There is no character devoted to that task specifically, so I might rewrite this story and add a character, like some sort of magician or witch who is capable of transforming humans into animals

Little Red Cap

• This story is very similar to the Wolf and the Seven Young Kids in that the wolf tried to eat children in both, and at the end, everyone he swallowed was let out again and his stomach was filled with stones instead
• I like this version of Little Red Riding Hood since it is more of a happy ending than the original story

The Elves

• I really like this story and find it really cute that little elves came and helped a poor shoemaker without expecting anything in return
• This reminded me of the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire book, where Hermione makes all the elves little hats and campaigns for them because she hates the way they are treated
• I could rewrite this story with a little Harry Potter addition to it

 

Source: Hermione's campaign for elves in the Goblet of fire book.

Bibliography: Ashliman's Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales, Part A. 

Reading Notes: Italian Popular Tales, Part B

The Language of Animals

• I thought it was super cool to be able to understand the language of animals
• Why did the father ask to have his son's heart removed due to that? That's so inhumane and sad
• What's even more sad is that the servants killed a poor little dog instead
• Also, what happened to the two daughters that the son promised to marry in a year and three days? The story never mentioned those later

An Incident in Rome

• I was a little confused about this story, although it was super interesting and mysterious to read 
• Pilate sounds very mysterious and it's actually kind of scary that he can never take his eyes off the paper
• What does it mean when the story says he is neither saved nor damned?

The Cat and the Mouse

• I thought this was an amusing story
• If I were to rewrite it, I would change up the different objects in the story and give more reason as to why they were giving up certain things
• I thought the last line was funny because the King just went on about his daily life

Buchettino

• I like the aspects of the little poems in the story
• Maybe I can try writing a little poem or writing my whole story in the form of a poem
• I've seen some of these written by people in this class and if I have the time to sit down and think about it, I may try to come up with one

The Three Goslings

• This is a different version of the Big Bad Wolf story
• I could rewrite this in a different way and instead of houses, have something else that the Wolf took away from the first two characters but got stuck on and outsmarted by the third

Source: The story of the Big Bad Wolf (a different version of the Three Goslings).

Bibliography: Thomas Crane's Italian Popular Tales, Part B.

Reading Notes: Italian Popular Tales, Part A

Zelinda and the Monster

• This is a different version of Beauty and the Beast
• I love this fairy tale already, and this story was almost the exact same, with some minor changes
• This story was shorter, and the beast only had to get consent of marriage from a girl in order to be set free from the curse
• In other stories I've read or in the movie that came out recently, the Beast needed a girl to fall in love with him or kiss him in order to turn into the prince again
• I may stick to this version or the other versions I've read/watched if I decide to rewrite this story
• I'm trying to think of alternate endings that are not the same ones we have always known

The Fair Angiola

• This is a different version of Rapunzel
• The witch was more lenient than in the other stories I've read
• It was more cruel for the witch to make the woman give up Angiola at 7 years of age, instead of taking her as a baby (in my opinion) 
• If I were to rewrite this I may add some more elements of cruelty to the witch (I was surprised she let the dog save Angiola so easily)
• I like the parts of the talking furniture because it reminds me of Beauty and the Beast 
• I could rewrite this unit as a lot of fairy tales put together

How the Devil Married Three Sisters

• I've never read a story like this, and I loved it! 
• It was really interesting to read and I thought the third sister was really smart for getting her and her sisters out as she did
• I may rewrite this story and change up the way in which the sisters escaped the devil

Source: From the story How the Devil Married Three Sisters. It's a popular sculpture in Italy.

Sir Fiorante, Magician

• I've never read a story like this either and I thought it was interesting that the magician pretended to be a snake 
• Why a snake? Why couldn't he just be himself?
• If I were to rewrite this, I might add more elements of being yourself into the story

Water and Salt

• This story reminds me of Akbar and Birbal stories (some popular Indian tales) because it had that moral at the end of the story and sounded like a trick Birbal would play on someone

Bibliography: Thomas Crane's Italian Popular Tales, Part A. 

Reading Notes: Beowulf, Part B

Grendel Attacks

• I really liked the imagery in this story as well!
• It explained the way Grendel looks and why he was such a monstrous beast that everyone was afraid of 
• I could rewrite this by creating another monster or something that is equally feared 
• The main plot could be the same with just different characters

The Battle with Grendel

• This whole story uses a lot of imagery in it, making it really easy to visualize what is happening in the stories
• I could use this technique in my next story and try to explain every detail of what is happening, what the people and creatures look like, and what the area is like (trees, landscape, hills, mountains, prairies, etc.)
• I could twist the story around by making Grendel win and Beowulf lose, and see what turn that takes on the rest of the story
• I could even end it with Beowulf dying
• Or I could retell it in Grendel's point of view so we see a new perspective

The Arrival of the Dragon

• The story stated that many years passed since we have heard from Beowulf, and I was curious to know what he did in those years
• Maybe I could write a story in which I explain what Beowulf did in the past years
• I could write about how he went and helped other towns and villages around the world or how he went into hiding after a fight gone wrong or something

Source: The monster Grendel from Grendel Attacks.

Bibliography: Beowulf, Part B.

Reading Notes: Beowulf, Part A

King Hygelac of Geatsland

• Really good imagery in explaining what Hygelac and Hygd looked like and what the rest of the scenes in the story looked like
• The community in Geatsland sounds like one big, warm family

The Young Beowulf

• Why did his parents give him up?
• He had immense strength, but clearly it wasn't a good thing for him when he was young since he was made fun of and he broke everything he touched
• This reminds me of Hercules
• If I were to rewrite this story, I would begin with the backstory of Hercules and really try to outline the similarities 
• In both stories, the parents gave up their son and the son grew to be the strongest and most awkward child in the community

Beowulf's Resolve

• This is where he started becoming a true hero??
• Nobody paid attention to him or respected until he actually stood up and claimed he was going to defeat a monster? I find that very sad 

Beowulf's Journey

• Although he is going on a dangerous adventure, it seems like he is the most respected and cared for at this point
• I could rewrite this part of the story as well and describe the journey of someone through a forest and add some obstacles along the way
• This part reminds me of the Ramayana, when Rama had to journey through the forest during his 14 years of exile. 

Source: Beowulf about to trek on his journey to defeat Grendel.

Bibliography: Beowulf, Part A.

Reading Notes: Native American Marriage Tales, Part B

The Dog-Husband

• Quite odd story, just because I wasn't expecting a dog to turn into a human and get a young girl pregnant
• This reminds me of animagus from Harry Potter (where a wizard can learn to switch between animal form and human form)
• Sirius Black transformed into a dog whenever he wanted to escape a situation undetected
• I could incorporate this into my story if I decide to retell this one

The Girl and the Turkeys

• Valuable lessons about being kind; good karma
• I found it sad that she was kind of outcast from the rest of the group - it's like the story "The Ugly Duckling"
• It also reminds me of Cinderella, because she really wanted to go to the ball and never thought she would actually be able to go. The only reason she did is because of the fairy godmother. The turkeys are like the girl's fairy godmother since they provide her with all the clothes and fancy garments needed to go to the dance.

The True Bride

• I can't believe the stepmother threw down the wife's infants down a hole and replaced them with random animals to look like she is an odd person who gives birth to odd things
• I also can't believe that the husband believed the stepmother and actually went through with a plan to kill his wife 
• I wish the wife didn't go back to her husband after everything was over and after everybody knew the truth, because he tried to kill her and she still went back!
• I would have taken the two sons and left to go somewhere else. Maybe I'll write a story in which the woman doesn't go back and stays independent and true to herself.
  

Source: Native American Tales.

Bibliography: Native American Marriage Tales, Part B.

Reading Notes: Native American Marriage Tales, Part A

The Piqued Buffalo Wife

• I was really confused by this story and what actually was going on
• Did the father leave before the child was born? 
• Did the child ever know his father before he went out to find him?
• How were they able to switch forms?
• I might write a story about the part where the father had to identify his son with four distinct traits four different times, and just change it up to someone trying to overcome an obstacle

Bear Woman and Deer Woman

• I thought this one was really interesting because it showed conflict between two wives, and the children were really smart in figuring out that one of the wives killed the other one
• The children were also loyal to their mother, it seems, since they realized Grizzly was a monster who killed their mother and decided to run away

Splinter Foot Girl

• A child born from a leg??
• Reminds me of a child born from the blood clot of a buffalo (Kut-O-Yis stories)
• Was weird that a buffalo wanted to marry a girl, and that a rock wanted to marry a girl
• Had some origin stories in there:
• (about the buffalo); they will be overcome by human beings and they'll have horns, but will be afraid when anyone comes to hunt them)
• (about the rock); they should not trouble people ever again and be found where there are hills

Source: A killer whale sculpture from the story The Woman Stolen by Killer Whales.

Bibliography: Native American Marriage Tales, Part A.

Reading Notes: Native American Blackfoot Stories, Part B

The Smart Woman Chief

• I thought it was interesting that men and women didn't know of the other gender for a while
• I also liked the part where the woman taught the man a lesson
• "If they can't handle you at your worst, they sure don't deserve you at your best"
• ^^ Basically the vibe I got from the end of the story

Bobcat and the Birch Tree

• Two origin stories in this one!!! Why bobcats look the way they do, and how birch trees got their pattern.
• Also.. how does the Old Man have powers? Where did he get them from? Was he born that way or did he do something to get those? In either case, an evil man like that shouldn't be able to have powers.

The Red-Eyed Duck

• Another origin story! 
• I can't believe the Old Man was going about on his way and the ducks asked him to stop for a song and dance, and he did that to them!
• If they hadn't asked him to dance and sing, would he have just gone about his way?? 

Source: The Horned Grebe, from the Red-Eyed Duck.

Kut-O-Yis, The Blood Boy

• This was a really interesting story!! It was split up into 5 parts and I was drawn in immediately 
• Seemed like some sort of super-hero, who killed all the bad guys (and girls) and saved all the people in distress
• I may retell this story and make a super-hero story out of it! 
• The way Kut-O-Yis was born was a little weird and confusing, so I could focus on just that part if I wanted.. we'll see!

Bibliography: Grinnell's Blackfoot Stories, Part B.

Reading Notes: Native American Blackfoot Stories, Part A

Two Fast Runners

• Origin story!!! - I love those
• Maybe I could write about other aspects of animals, such as how or why cheetahs got to be so fast, or how certain animals or insects got the pattern of fur that they did
• Also reminded me of the tortoise and the hare a little bit, but with each side outsmarting the other once

The Wolf Man

• A little hard to follow - maybe I could rewrite a part of this to make more sense
• I thought it was a bit messed up that the two wives treated their husband so unfairly and that they even tried killing him
• I may write a story that goes into more depth about each situation with the women
• Ex. Why did the women hate him so much?
• Ex. Why did the man get married to each woman? What drove their relationship? Because apparently they didn't love each other, soooo
• Ex. What actually happened to them at the end?

Source: The Wolf Man, or at least how I imagined a wolf-man to be like if he could switch between the two forms.

The Dog and the Root Digger

• Why did the man hide all the buffalo from everyone else? Just so his family would have something to eat at all times? Or was there an alternative reason?
• Kind of reminded me of the animagus characters in Harry Potter, who could change shape into an animal form whenever they wanted to. Both the dog and the root digger could be like Harry Potter characters in my story, if I decide to re-tell this one.

The Theft from the Sun

• This was an interesting story just because it personified the Sun so much and had the main character not realize that the whole world was encompassed by the Sun at one point or another.
• If I were to retell this story, I would personify something else, such as the Earth, or the grass, or another planet, or even a type of food or something. Something that is very abundant and common and something that I could write a whole story about.

Bibliography: Grinnell's Blackfoot Stories, Part A.

Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales, Part B

The Goblin of Adachigahara
This story reminded me of some of the Jataka tales, especially the ones about the goblin city. In it, the goblins presented themselves as women and gave home to sailors journeying through the city. Eventually they got married and one of the men realized his wife was a goblin, so he told the others. Half believed him and half didn't; the half that didn't got eaten up the next day. The half that believed him were able to get away. I could rewrite this Japanese fairy tale that I read by combining it with the Jataka tale I just described. Or I could make it to where a man is the goblin, instead of a woman.

I could also make up another name, like "The Monster of Lake _____." Just because we have two stories that describe a monster and where they are from. The Goblin of Adachigahara and the Ogre of Rashomon. I could make up a similar story that talks about a monster from somewhere else, and have a man not believe it. The man could venture out and then come across it and defeat (or not defeat) it. For example, I could do the Python of Pune.

Source: Tatsuta River from The Story of Princess Hase.

Bibliography: Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki) Unit, Part A.

Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales, Part A

My Lord Bag of Rice
If I were to retell this story, I could create another origin story and talk about how two groups came to hate each other, or I could make up a hate story between two groups of insects, animals, or people! I loved the way the story was told and I could imagine it very clearly while reading. I may also incorporate some of the presents in my re-tell, like the pot that always cooks something fantastic, the silk that never stops, and the bag of rice that always refills itself. I love objects like that in stories so I may make another one! An idea I had is the never-ending hair of Rapunzel; maybe the witch that took her could use that to keep her looking young (like in the actual) and then I could change the rest of the story to coincide with My Lord Bag of Rice.

The Adventures of Kintaro
This story was really interesting because it reminded me of a Hindi movie called Krrish. In it, a man has extreme strength and intelligence. He can do just about anything! His mom keeps him sheltered for fear that someone will try to take advantage of him and make him use his strength in violent ways instead of helpful ones. I could write a story in which these two stories are combined into one! Maybe the disguised woodcutter could be an evil person, instead of a great general, and he could turn Kintaro evil or something (or at least try to). 

Source: From The Adventures of Kintaro, the Golden Boy.

Bibliography: Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki) Unit, Part A.

Reading Notes: West African Folktales, Part B

Most of these stories include a theme which centers around a character in the story not listening to directions given by another character. These all end in "told you so" or "should have listened" moments. If I were to rewrite one of these stories, I would try to come up with a story that could incorporate that same theme. 

How the Tortoise Got Its Shell

• I thought this was an interesting story because once again, I LOVE origin stories! I didn't even know where this one was going until the end, but I loved it regardless. 
• If I were to rewrite this, I would either talk about another drug or just something else that people are greedy with. 

The Ungrateful Man 

• This story was weird just because I was thinking to myself: Would someone actually do that?? Get helped by a hunter and then turn around and become jealous?? Would someone would ever think of it or try it...? 
• Hopefully not, but that's a serious question because I feel like everybody could use a little more gratefulness in their lives. 

How Mushrooms First Grew

• This story was funny because it kept passing on the responsibility of paying debts to another person or group. I liked the idea of that because that kind of stuff will never happen nowadays. You can't just transfer your debt to someone, because they will most likely not take on that responsibility. 
• If I were to rewrite this, I would think of another thing that people don't like, and make that the thing that people pass on to one another. 
• I could make it in a school setting, and have someone fail a test, and then think of who they talked to last, and blamed them. That person failed the next test, and blamed it on someone else or a particular group. This would keep happening until they blamed NHS (National Honors Society), who decided to actually study instead of blaming someone else for their failed test.

Source: How Mushrooms First Grew.

Bibliography: West African Folktales, Part B.

Reading Notes: West African Folktales, Part A

His Wisdom Became the Property of the Human Race

• I could write about how something else became a part of the Human race
• Ex. How Driving Became the Property of the Human Race
• This is something practiced by humans, but not other animals or insects

Anansi and Nothing

• This story exemplifies the theme of "don't judge a book by its cover"
• I could do a re-tell of this story in modern times
• A college boy with old, raggedy clothes who seems to be poor vs. a boy with a lot of money; later on we find out that the boy who seems to be poor only wears low maintenance clothes because they are more comfortable and he doesn't want to get them dirty. The boy who seems to be rich could go bankrupt, as he spends all his money on alcohol.

Why White Ants Always Harm Man's Property

• This story's theme of not trusting anyone is very relatable today
• Sometimes when you expect help, you get the opposite and that can be very disturbing and change your outlook on life, just as it did for the white ant in the story 

Source: A picture from the West African Folktales.

Many of these stories seem to involve the spider outsmarting the rest of the animals, so I could write a story in which the spider is the victim all the time. The story could contain many scenarios in which the spider was the one being outsmarted and conned repeatedly.

Bibliography: Barker's and Sinclair's West African Folktales, Part A.

Reading Notes: Folktales of Bengal, Part B

The Story of a Brahmadaitya
This story was really cool and I wasn't expecting it to end on a great note! I'm glad it did, but I was expecting something bad to happen, such as the Brahmadaitya not helping the Brahman at the end or the ghosts doing something to mess up the Brahman's plans. I'm glad it ended nicely, but if I rewrite it, I could end the story at a cliffhanger or with an unhappy ending. I love happy endings, but just to mix things up a little I could change it around!

The Ghost who was Afraid of Being Bagged
I really liked this story! However, I didn't like that the wife treated the poor Brahman as she did. She complained about everything and made the Brahman feel terrible about himself; a spouse should never make their significant other feel like that. If I were to rewrite this story, I think I would change it to where the Brahman left the wife or made her apologize for everything before accepting her again, because he should not have been treated that way! I could also set this story into present day, such as in a college or high school. 

The Bald Wife
I liked this story because it portrayed the life of someone who was loved very much, and one who wasn't. The one who was loved did not try to console the other; instead, she was rude and treated the other like a maid. When the loving one went to get help and was transformed into a beautiful woman with lots of gold, jewelry, and other riches. When she went back, she treated the other woman with kindness, even though the woman was mean to her. When the meaner woman got jealous and wanted to get as beautiful as the other, she didn't listen to the instructions and ended up staying the same. I like this theme of patience and obedience, so I may incorporate that into a story if I decide to rewrite this. 

Source: The ghost from The Ghost who was Afraid of Being Bagged.

Bibliography: Bengali Folktales, Part B. 

Reading Notes: Folktales of Bengal, Part A

The Boy whom Seven Mothers Suckled
This story was really interesting because it reminded me of the Indian Epic, the Ramayana, a little bit. The new queen demanded something ridiculous of the king, and he did it. Another similarity between the two is that the son of the king came back and straightened things out near the end. If I rewrite this story, I think I will tell it in the point of view of the son. Usually stories like these were third person omniscient, but I think it would be cool to do one in the first person to see the journey and the thoughts of the "boy whom seven mothers suckled." I could also retell this story in modern times, and have the boy find his mother through a computer system to see who his real mom actually is. There are many ways I could retell this, so we'll see which one works out best.

The Origin of Opium
Like I mentioned in Week 2, I love origin stories! This one was specifically about the drug opium. It reminded me of the Origin of the Moon stories, where the blacksmith wanted to be numerous things. The moon was the last one that he requested before the wise man got annoyed and made sure he stayed as the moon. In this case, the Rishi never got annoyed at the person that started off as a mouse and wanted to be like ten different things. That showed patience and kindness. If I were to rewrite this story, I may add a moral of the story at the end, just to recap a life lesson. I could create another origin story with how other drugs got started or just pick another object and create the origin story of that, while keeping the same theme of a person wanting to change themselves until they become the thing.

Source: The bird who contains the boy's mother's life in The Boy whom Seven Mothers Suckled.

Bibliography: Bengali Folktales, Part A. 

Reading Notes: The Voyages of Sinbad, Part B

The seven voyages ended and started the same way; Sinbad would go on an adventure, he would live through a near-death experience, he would collect money and become rich, go to distribute his wealth among the poor, stay at his home in Baghdad for a while, and then decide that home is too boring and would go on another adventure. If I rewrote this, I could perhaps change up the role of each character, or even have Sinbad be a sort of lifeguard for the oceans he travels. Since he has been on so many adventures, he is familiar with many islands and the dangers that come with them. He could be a sort of ocean god, who can direct sailors in the right direction if they seem like they are sailing towards the island with the Giant, the Old Man, or any other evil creatures.

I could also make the main character a girl if I wanted to, such as in the Disney movie Moana. She sailed across the oceans to restore the peace and balance in the world. She set out by herself to complete this task, although she had help in the middle. There could be a female who ends up seeing all of these islands and their different inhabitants. Or, I could tell the story in first person of one of the female characters already in the stories (such as Sinbad's wife in the fourth story or his mom and how she has to cope with Sinbad leaving on an adventure every year).

Another idea I had was making a companion for Sinbad the Sailor. He could have a person with him at all times, who doesn't get killed like the other merchants that Sinbad sails with normally. This would kind of give the story a "Doctor Who" vibe, as the Doctor in that show always has a companion with him. I could even make this whole story a Doctor Who themed story, in which the Doctor comes and rescues Sinbad from his near-death experiences every year. 

Source: A scene from Moana, as she is about to sail.

Bibliography: Andrew Lang's The Voyages of Sinbad, Part B.

Reading Notes: The Voyages of Sinbad, Part A

I like how each story in this unit, which Sinbad is describing, gets more ridiculous with each voyage. 

First Voyage - The Island
Sinbad is talking in the first person, which I really like, since it draws me in immediately. I may do more first person stories in the future, since they are very engaging. I also liked how much detail he had while describing objects, animals, places, etc. The vocabulary in this unit was advanced and the story flowed really well!

Second Voyage - Valley of Diamonds
This story was a bit confusing, but I was surprised at the honesty and morality of the merchants. Sinbad describes how one merchant contented himself on simply one diamond, even though he was offered many. What if the merchants were greedy? Would Sinbad have ever been rescued? So many questions! It reminds me of Lord of the Flies, where the kids were trapped on an island and became more savage as the time went on.

Third Voyage - The Giant
This part reminded me of the Pirates of the Caribbean scene where the main characters are about to get roasted and eaten by little creatures. Perhaps I could write a story in which the main characters are the characters from the Pirates of the Caribbean series. There are many conflicts in that movie, including conflicts between ship captains, friends, etc. I could write about one of those, and expand on it in my story.

Fourth Voyage - The Wife
This story was definitely the weirdest, but also very interesting. If one person in a marriage passed away, the spouse HAD to be buried alive. What Sinbad did after his wife died, which was kill the other spouses as they went down, was extremely difficult and out of character for him (in my opinion). I'm glad that he stayed with his family after this one and didn't immediately get bored after!

Source: Part of Sinbad's first voyage.

Bibliography: Andrew Lang's The Voyages of Sinbad, Part A.

Reading Notes: Arabian Nights, Part B

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
These six stories were fun to read because I have always loved the Disney Aladdin movies! There were some differences between this story in Arabian Nights and the Disney movies, but I loved it nevertheless. I like that there was a magic lamp and a magic ring in this story. If I were to retell it, I might make the princess have the magic object, and it could be a jewel, such as a necklace or hair jewel. The roles could be switched, to where the girl sees a prince and asks a genie to help her build a palace or something so that the prince acknowledges her and marries her.

Another way I could retell this story is set it in a different time. It could be set in the future or on OU's campus. If it were on OU's campus, I could make a boy wanting to be Homecoming King find a magical object (such as a magic football or magic pen) and have President Boren appear out of it, as sort of a genie who can grant wishes. The boy could gain popularity by doing things the genie/President Boren said, and eventually win the vote. The antagonists could be the runner up Homecoming King, another random boy that is jealous of the new popularity of the main character, etc. 

If I wanted to write this story in the future, it could be all technology based. The magic lamp could be a sort of computer in the form of a magic sphere that floats around. There could be numerous companies trying to get ahold of this magic sphere, but it falls in the hands of a poor businessman or something and he could rise to fame with it and the wishes he is granted with it.

Source: The ring genie in Aladdin.

Bibliography: Arabian Nights, Part B.