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Reading Notes: Persian Tales Part A, "The Wolf-Aunt"

(She Wolf by Hchom.)
  • "The Wolf-Aunt" 
    • This story tells the tale of a poor man, his wife, and his seven daughters
    • The man cuts thorn bushes to sell as firewood to support his family
      • they are still very poor and were always on the verge of starving
    • one day on the way to the bazar he ran into a woman who claimed to be his lost sister
      • was sing with no children, but very rich
      • offered to take care of the man, his wife, and 7 daughters
    • the man hurries home and tells his wife
      • the man has them all pack up and move to his sister's house
      • the wife says they should cook the sister something nice to show their appreciation
      • send the husband to buy a liver
      • cooks the liver and sends one of the daughters to deliver it to her aunt
      • daughter catches her aunt in wolf-form and faints
        • mother rushes to her aid
        • daughter comes around and tells what she saw
      • mother tells her husband about what his sister really is
        • a wolf
        • says she moved them all there to fatten them up - to eat them
        • husband does not believe her - shames her 
          • scolds her for calling his sister a wolf after her hospitality 
      • mother waits until everyone is asleep and moves herself and the daughters back to their old house
        • husband tells his sister what his wife had said and that she had left with the children 
        • his sister says nothing and waits until evening
          • she comes to her brother in wolf form and says that since everyone else had escaped she will eat him
          • asks if he wants to be eaten head first of feet first
          • he replies whichever way suits her
          • he is eaten by his wolf-sister
    • "if he had listened to his wife this would never had happened"
    • Storytelling possibilities: I really like the structure and premise of this story but I want to make either the wife or one of the daughters a heroine of sorts. I think I may end up re-writing this story in a way that includes strong female characters and a vanquished wolf-aunt. I may also end up updating the time period a bit. I just like playing with different historical eras in storytelling. 
    • Bibliography: Persian Tales translated by E.O. Lorimer, Illustrated by Hilda Roberts (1919)

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