The Piqued Buffalo-Wife
This was an interesting and entertaining story to read because it was very unique from anything else that I have read thus far for the purpose of this class. I have a lot of ideas about what I want to do for a rewrite of the tale, but my favorite is the idea of changing the ending to where the father does actually guess his son correctly. However, as a remaining consequence for his distrust in his wife, the family would remain as buffalo instead of reuniting as humans.
The man had to look for his son in a herd of a bunch of buffalo
and had a hard time picking him out. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Bear-Woman and Deer-Woman
This story was also interesting, but also slightly predictable. Because of its predictability, I think I would like to do a rewrite in which the Doe actually overcame the Grizzly instead of the other way around. I think this would add a level of surprise to the story because it would not be the expected outcome but the underdog would instead be victorious.
Splinter-Foot-Girl
I hadn't ever really read a story like this either but I really enjoyed it. Something that might be fun for a rewrite is combining both this story and the story of Jacob trying to earn Rachel as his wife in the bible. This would be fun because the stories are already slightly similar so it would be interesting to try to change the outcome in such a way and see where it leads.
The Eagle and Whale Husbands
I didn't feel like there was a whole lot happening in this story, partly because of the fact that it was written in only 600 words. For that reason, I would want to use the rewriting assignment as an opportunity to expand on the details given. I think I would format it in a series of letters that is written by the two wives as they update their long lost friends on their new lives as they are separated from each other.
The Fox-Woman
I like how all of these stories seem to have a transformation take place that wouldn't normally be expected. For a rewrite of this one, I think I would change her reaction when the hunter inquired her of the smell. I would somehow make it more of a punishment instead of getting away with making such a rude comment.
The Woman Stolen by Killer Whales
This story didn't really seem to have any type of ending but instead just kind of left everything up to interpretation and assumption. For that reason, I would want to somehow tie it up to where there aren't so many questions about what happened in the ending of the short story. I might would make it to where the man somehow got confined to the water as a punishment for killing the whale's friend and not taking better care of his own wife.
The Rolling Head
Even from the title of this piece, I was intrigued to say the least. The piece was a little bit creepy but honestly, I am not entirely sure how I would even go about doing a rewrite of a piece like this. The only thing that I can think of is further explaining the consequence of the children or making them pay a greater price for their actions but I am not sure that I like that alternative so much as the way that the original work is written.
The Bear-Woman
This story vaguely reminded me of the Disney movie, Brother Bear. I'm not sure how to go about a rewrite of this unit but I feel like the men didn't ever have to pay for what they did to the bears so that might be something to take into consideration were I to decide to take a second look at this specific section and try to change it up a bit.
Bibliography
Stith Thompson's Native American Marriage Tales
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