Mythology by Courtney

Merlin the wizard spent his afternoons walking through the woods, looking for inspiration. One day, he met a beautiful woman named Vivien. She was tall and had long, flowing hair. Merlin was immediately taken with her, and hoped to spend more time with her.  Vivien, intrigued by Merlin, began to inquire about his purpose for being in the woods where she lived.  Merlin answered, "I come here to find inspiration. You see, I am a magician, and I try to find magic everywhere I go." Vivien responded, "How fascinating. Would you be willing to teach me something?"  Taken by her beauty, Merlin said, "Sure! Let me teach you the smallest trick, that anyone can do." They spent the rest of the day working on Merlin's trick, and Vivien caught on quickly. Many weeks passed, and Vivien and Merlin began to spend much time together. Vivien would ask to learn something new, and Merlin would find new things to teach her. All this time spent together created a bond betwee

The story I found the most interesting in this section was  The Adventure of Sir Percivale because the ending confused me quite a bit. It feels as though the story just changes right when it should have wrapped up. So, if I were to rewrite this story, I would change the ending and finish the original storyline.  Ideas:  When the woman gives him the horse to find the knight, he is able to get revenge on the knight who stole the horse from the poor man. Sir Percivale can go through a fight with the knight at the end of the story to bring justice back to the man. He can also retrieve the horse and bring it back to its original owner. In return for his good deeds, the woman may gift him her horse, or maybe offer her hand in marriage. There should be some reward for his returning the man's horse and putting someone else above himself.  ----- Bibliography: The Adventure of Sir Percivale by Andrew Lang Image Information: Sir Percivale by N. C. Wyeth

The story that I found the most interesting in this section was of Merlin's passing. I thought it had the most elements of plot than the other stories, and I felt that I could do more with a retelling. I would keep the plot relatively the same, but I would not allude to her betrayal as the original story does. I would keep it as a plot twist at the end of the story. Ideas: Make the lovers seem completely compatible. Don't give any idea that Vivien has anything up her sleeve. When she tricks him, it should be a surprise that no one saw coming.  Add to the story after he is buried. Have King Arthur mourn his loss and declare revenge on Vivien.  But, she has learned all of Merlin's power, so she can successfully evade the king's attempts for vengeance. End the story with her never being caught, and causing mischief for everyone in the area.  ----- Bibliography:  The Passing of Merlin by Andrew Lang Image Information: Merlin and Vivien by Speed Lancelot  

The story I enjoyed the most from this section was King O'Toole and His Goose . I enjoyed the light-hearted nature of this story, and I am always happy to see a human/animal friendship. For the story, I wouldn't change much of the plot, but I would add more detail to the relationship between the king and his goose and take out some of the dialogue between Saint Kavin and the king. This part of the story, though necessary, felt longer than it needed to be, so I would add to the beginning and shave off some of the middle for better flow.  Ideas:  The king and goose go on hunting adventures. They share a friendship and maybe even bond over a traumatic experience on one of the hunts. Instead of Saint Kavin being in disguise, he can be up front with the king, and offer him his goose's safety in return for all of the other geese. They can work out a deal quicker than in the original story, but still come to the same conclusions.  Instead of the king dying soon after the goose is

Tuesday Night Wikipedia Trail I started at the general Louvre Wikipedia page . I started my trail when I saw a retweet on the Twitter stream from the Musée du Louvre. This jumped out at me because I have been to the Louvre and I am itching to travel again! It has also been a while since I visited, and of course, there is a ton to see, so I thought I could re-learn some things! Next, I went to the Louvre Pyramid page because I've always liked how distinct this feature is. People far and wide know that pyramid belongs to the Louvre. I found it interesting that there was once a theory that the sides of the pyramid contained exactly 666 panes, which led people to believe it had ties to Satanism. I had not heard this! Although, it was later shown to have more like 673 panes in total.  This led me to a page on The Da Vinci Code , the novel by Dan Brown, because it once again brought up this theory of the panes in its mystery genre. Having never read this book, I kind of knew what it was

 The story I found the most amusing in this section was The Sprightly Tailor . I thought it was funny that the tailor was completely unphased by the monster as it came out of the ground. If I were to retell this story, I wouldn't change much in the plot, but I would add more detail to add to the characterization. Ideas: Give the monster a personality - He is known as the scariest monster in the village, and he acts like a hot shot. When he pulls out more limbs from the ground, add dialogue to lean into this character.  When the tailor remains focused on his work, have the monster be genuinely concerned and shocked at how little the tailor notices him. Have the tailor shrug him off because he is focused on the work and his reward. As they go down the hill, add new elements that keep the tailor oblivious to the monster, like a rock in his path that he has to get around or an old friend that he stops to talk with. Let the monster feel confused at why this little man has no interest in