June 3
Today is the day! By tonight I will be Mrs. Caleb Harrison. I am so nervous I am shaking as I'm writing this. I still cannot believe how lucky I am to have found Caleb. He really is the most perfect, kind, loving man. I cannot wait to be his wife and to build a family with him.
June 4
First day as husband and wife. Caleb told me something very shocking. I didn't believe him a first, and then he showed me, and I about lost it in front of him. This is going to sound crazy even to write, but I have to get it out somehow. This morning, Caleb sat my down and said he needed to tell me something. "This is too long overdue," he told me, "but I was afraid I would scare you away, and you wouldn't want to be with me. But now that we're married, you deserve to know the truth." I was so incredibly confused as he took my hands. "Hannah, this isn't easy to say, but I haven't been completely honest with you. You see, I have this ability, it's been in my family for generations. I'll just say it. I can turn into a dog."
I thought he was insane. I remember I pulled my hands away and stared at him. "What did you say? Are you feeling well, Caleb?
"I am Hannah," he said. "I know it's really weird, but I have the ability to turn into a dog. I've had it since I was a child. I know this is hard to process."
I still didn't believe him. So, he then proceeded to change into a freaking German Shepherd. I about lost it. I tried to smile and then just bolted into the bedroom, where I am now. Caleb hasn't tried to come in. I don't even know what to think. My husband, a dog. What if we have kids?! Am I going to be the mother of German Shepherd puppies?? Is his whole family canines? I feel like I'm going to throw up.
June 5
We've haven't even been able to enjoy our honeymoon since yesterday's "announcement." Caleb's tried to talk to me, but I am still in shock. I woke up today hoping it was a dream, but it isn't.
I love Caleb. I really do. I wouldn't be married to him if I didn't. So why can I not get over this? So my husband can turn into a dog. Maybe that could be useful. We certainly would never need to get a dog. He would be a good protector of our home.
No, it's still too weird. Why would he not tell me this before we tied the knot? This is not something you wait until your married to tell. Maybe that's what I'm most upset about, that he didn't tell me. Apparently he wanted to wait until he had me forever before he revealed his deep dark secret. What am I going to do?
June 6
Something… interesting happened today. It may have changed everything.
After two days of this, I needed to get out of the hotel. We were supposed to be exploring New York for our honeymoon, but Caleb has ruined that plan. I needed to get out and think clearly alone, so I decided to explore I my own. Caleb told me I shouldn't go alone, but I said if he wanted things to get better, I needed to be alone.
I walked through the streets of New York for about an hour. I was still trying to process everything (and getting no where) when someone grabbed me from behind. There weren't very many people around and the person dragged me into an alley. I tried to fight him off, and I was doing alright, but he was a lot bigger than me. I really feared at that moment that I would be raped or murdered or both.
Then something came on the man and he let go of me. I back away and watched as a dog, a German Shepherd, bit the man. The dog stood in between the man and I and growled at the man. The guy took off running. The dog turned around and changed in Caleb. "I told you not to go alone," he said, smiling slightly. All I could do was hug him.
It's still weird that my husband can turn into a dog. I'm not sure where that will take our lives. But I saw then that Caleb really cares about me, and that he will always be there for me. So I think we'll be alright.
Author's Note: I read a Native American story called The Dog-Husband. It was about a woman who had a dog she loved. The dog could actually turn into a human, and well, she got pregnant. The story was a little messed up, but I liked the idea of a human being able to turn into an animal, so I decided to write about a woman who marries a man who can turn into a dog and to write about her reaction. I chose to write it in diary form to make it even more personal and informal.
Bibliography: This is a retelling of the story of "The Dog-Husband" from Tales of the North American Indians collected by Stith Thompson. From the unit Native American Marriage Tales.
Image information: "Buck the German Shepherd" taken by Nicky Hannaway, 2008. Web source: Wikimedia Commons
Continuing with the bizarre Native American Marriage Tales unit, part B began with the story of The Dog-Husband. A question I have is why is being with an animal suddenly weird in this story? Perhaps it is the circumstances surrounding the "marriage" to the dog. Plot wise, I actually really like the idea of people being able to change form, so that would be a lot of fun to write. I could make this a normal thing, or it could be normal for all but a special few. I am not certain yet.
I cannot tell if the story of The Youth Who Joined the Deer is cannibalistic or not. The youth can turn into a deer, and so can his wife and child, and he kills his brothers-in-law, who are deer and eats them. I still like the idea of being able to change into an animal, but I'm not sure about killing that animal and eating it too. If I created a story like this, I would make it less morbid.
The story of The Girl and the Turkeys is like a cross between Cinderella and the Goose Girl. I really enjoyed it until the end. I didn't want the girl to lose her turkeys and I would have liked it to end differently. I loved her sweet relationship with her turkeys, and I was sad when they left. I still enjoyed this almost rags to riches story and it would be fun to write a story like this.
I enjoyed the story of The True Bride a lot actually. I love happy endings and I love when good things happen to good people. The story has suspense and drama and is really good. It definitely reminded me of the story of the girl who has jewels coming out of her mouth, and the girl who has bugs coming out, which was a story I enjoyed as a child. Writing a story like this, with a poor girl who becomes royalty, would be fun, or even to add a twist like being able to spit gold. Even though most of these stories were really odd, I enjoyed them and found a lot of inspiration from them.
Biography: Native American Marriage Tales collected by Stith Thompson. Source link: Part B
Image information: White Tailed Deer taken by skeeze, 2012. Web source: Pixabay
For this week, I chose to read the Native American Marriage Tales unit. The stories in this unit are so bizarre, but also entertaining. The story of the Piqued Buffalo Wife is so weird, that I am not sure if I like it. Perhaps aside from the bestiality and the question of whether or not the child is human or a calf, this story is entertaining. I am glad it ended happily, even if it began horrifically.
The story of Bear-Woman and Deer-Woman is just as weird, maybe more so. Are these women animals or humans or a combination? I think it is sad that almost everyone dies, and I wonder where the husband was through all of this and what he thought when he arrived home.
The story of the Splinter-Foot-Girl is also extremely bizarre. So a man gets pricked by a thorn and a little girl pops out, and then how old is the girl before the bull wants to marry her? And then a rock once to marry her, which I'm not sure how that would work physically. I do, however, like the idea of a girl being forced into marriage but then saved. Perhaps she could save herself though.
I'm beginning to get used to animals and humans "marrying" in these stories, such as in the story of The Eagle and Whale Husbands. The only part I do not understand is that the girls wanted the eagle and the whale as their husbands, but then they try to escape. Perhaps it wasn't what they thought it would be or they were just joking.
The story of The Fox-Woman is actually kind of sad. The two should have remained together.
The title of the story of The Woman Stolen by Killer Whales is what caught my eye in this unit. I find this story so hilarious actually. First the woman gets taken underwater (how does she breathe?), and then the man goes underwater also (how does he breathe?). And then there is a fire underwater and they need water to put it out. It's almost as if the creator of this story forgot that this is set underwater. I found this so comical and entertaining.
The story of The Rolling Head is all kinds of messed up. It features bestiality and cannibalism and homicide. I'm not really sure how I feel about it.
The story of The Bear-Woman does not make complete sense plot wise. Why is the eldest sister trying to kill her siblings? Is she still upset that they killed her lover? It seems like an overreaction. It was still an interesting story to read. I am sure I could write about some kind of animal or a person who can change into an animal. So far, these stories have given me a lot to think about.
Biography: Native American Marriage Tales collected by Stith Thompson. Source link: Part A
Image information: "Fuzzy Freddy" taken by Rob Lee, 2006. Web source: Wikimedia Commons
