Name Class:SS D

Date "The CraneMaiden"/"AuntyMisery"CompareandContrast

"TheCrane
I. Read and"AuntMisery."
Maiden"
questions
II. Answerthemultiple-choice on the pageafterthe stories.

T H E,

C R A I { E,
Usethesemarksto monitor
yourreading:

MAIDE,N W hen you seeth is pencil

you' l l be askedto m ar k up
the text. Y oucan alsowr it e
i n thi s book i n any way you
fi nd useful .

T h iss e le c t iois
n a re t e llin g
of a Japane sf o
e lkt a lea b o u ta c ra n e .
Cranes aregracefulwhite birdswith long
necks. Theywadein the waterlookingfor
fish,grainsa, n ds ma lla n ima ls o n wh ic h
to feed.InJa p a nt ,h e c ra n eisa s y mb ool f
longlife.Because cranepartnersstay
r:.i;.' togetherfor life,theyarealsoa symbol
' of loyalty.

nce, long ago,an old couple lived all alone near rhe e
7 A s you readthe beginning
edgesof a marsh.l They were hard-working but poor. of thi s fol k tale, you'llf ind
out w hat happenswhen
One day the man had been gathering marsh plants, cartails, a man encoun t er sa wild
and such for his rvife to cook. As he walked back along the creaturethat n eedshelp.

traii, he heard a sharp cry and the soundsof someone-or

something-struggling. Parting the long grassesby the traii's
edge,he walked carefully into the marsh. The sounds-a
clacking and a flapping, whirring n6i5s-62me from up
ahead.Frightenedbut still curious, he steppedforward and
looked. There on the ground beforehim lay a great white
crane. Its leg was trapped in a and it was flapping
desperarelr' about trying to get free. Its beak was clacking
open .1r-.r. ':ur. Irs eyewas r,vildwith pain and fear.Its wings
\\'er. ::---,,,-.
:,- \-'r-er had the man seensuch desperationin

\?,\
 a \r,iidcrearure.
His heart\1'ainloved.Speakingsoo:h1ng,-,
he drew closer.Somehowthe craneseemedro sensehis ixe _ .
and grewcalm. Gentleand slowwerethe man'smo\:emenri
ashe approached. Then, bendingdown, he loosenedthe snir:
from the crane'sleg and backedaway.
The cranestoodup. Flexingits injured leg, it stoodthere
gazingdirectiy at the man. Then openingits wings, it flappec
Complete the itemsbelowto
once,twice, lifted up off the muddy ground,and flew away.
sumupwhathashappened in The man srood gazingafterthe greatwhite bird as it made
the folktalesofar.
its way acrossthe sky.Tearscameto his eyeswith the beautr-
of it. "I must seethis clearly,and rememberit, everydetail,"
he saidto himself. "How my wife will enjoyhearingof this
adventure.I shall weaveeverydetail into words for her, so she
too will see."
"You arelate,"his wife saidwhen her husbandreturned."I
havebeenworried.Are you all right?"
"I am betterthan all right, dearwife. I havehad an
adventure.I haveseensucha sight.\Vait, let me removemy
sandalsand sit down. I shalltell you all."
Then he told her of his finding the trappedcrane,of
the bird's panic and pain, and of the greatjoy he felt ashe ':.
watchedthe white bird fly away.'
"Dear husband,I am so gladyou heipedthat wild creature.
tuly it must havebeena wondroussight ro seethe cranerise
.:.
.,:1r. ,:.j. tj):'

up from the muddied ground and soarinto the heavens."

Whatqualityor qualities "ft was.It was.i havetold it ro you asbestI could.For
dotheoldmanandhis
wife demonstrate? when I sawit fly I knew it was a sightyou would haveloved.
And I wantedto shareit with you."
"Thank you, husband."Then shesteamedthe plantshe had
gatheredand they atetheir rice and drank their teaand,when
it grewlate and the moon roseup in the blacknessand sailed
Underline detailsin the
folktalethat supportyour
acrossthe night sky,they let the fire sink down and they siept.
t,; . ,.,1
":::.ir.t, t._r
answer. !

1 30 T . I N I T 6 : I V I Y T H S ,L EGENDS, AND T AL ES
 The next morning they hearda knocking at the door. The ) ,n"next day,a stranger
woman opened the door and there stood a young girl. knockson the old couple's
door.Readon to find out
"I am lost," she said. "M"y I come in?" is,and
who the stranger
,i, "Of course.Come in, dear child," the old woman said. what shewants.
"Have a cup of tea. Sit down."
So the girl came in. She was aione in this world, she said,
"Let me confess,"she added, after drinking the tea and eating
the rice the old coupie gave her, "I would like to stay here
with you. I am a hard worker. I no longer wish to be alone.
You are kind people. Pleaselet me stay."
The old couple had alwayswanted a daughter, and so it was
agreed.
"Thank you," the girl said."I do not think you will regret Completethe sentences
below.
it." Shepeeredcuriouslyaroundthe house.Shelookedinto an
adjoining room. Her facelit up. "I seeyou havea loom.2May
I useit from time to time?"
"Daughter,"the woman said,"all that we haveis yours.Of
courseyou may usethe loom."
"I am a shy weaver,"the girl said."Please,Mother, please,
Father,when I am weavingdo not look into the room until I
am done.\Will you promiseme this?"
"It will be asyou wish, chiid."
The next day their new daughtersaidshewould go into the
weavingroom. The door wasto be shut and neitherher father
nor her mother wereto look in until her work wascompleted.
All day the girl sat at the loom. And all day the old couple
heardthe clackingand the whirring of the shuttle,the
spinningof the bobbins3of thread.
\fhen the sun was setting the girl emerged,pale and worn.
But in her handssheheld the most splendidcloth the old
couplehad everseen.The patternwasperfect,the colors

loom : a devi c efo r m a k rn gc i o th b y w e a v i ngstrandsof yarn or threadtogether.

s hut t le. , . b o b b i n s ,,!s ' -:i l e :s a d e v i c eu sedi n l oom w eavi ngto carrythread
'S :::f:
:-::, Z - a t l .:. :::,.,:n - ::- :.:- .t3 a S 1 - 3 ij ;t:1i -;..,i : .::a3:.- :-3: \j t
 glowing.imagesof the marsh,the sun, the flight of cranes
flowed elegantlythrough the fineiy woven material.
Doyouthinkthegirliswho
to be?Whyor
sheappears "Mother, Father,pieasetake this cloth to the market and
why not?
sell it. Vith the monev vonr lifc wili becomeeasier.I want to
do this for you."
The old people were astonishedat their daughter's
skill. The next da;'the man brought the cloth to the town.
Immediately people began to bid for the beautiful cloth,
which was sold at last for three ryo4 of gold-an unheard of
su m.
doesthe girl
Whatqualities That night the old coupleand their daughter,dressedin
anythat
Circle
demonstrate?
apply:
new kimonos,sate a wonderful meal-all boueht with a smail
bit of the gold. For severalmonths life was easy.But then the
generous loyal
money was gone.
critical loving
Once more the daughter enteredthe room, closedthe
secretive greedy door, and began to weave. Clack clack clacb,uhirr uhirr uhirr.
Hours later she emerged,pale and worn. In her arms was a
cloth that shonelike silver,filled with patterns of the moon
and stars,patterns of sr-rnlightand moonlight shining on
water. The old couple had never imagined a material of such
stunning beauty.
But once again the girl said, "Mother, Father,do not keep
the cloth. I can make more. Pleasesell it and use the money
to care for your old age."
So again the man took the cloth to town. The merchants
were astonished.They bid furiously, one against the other,
until the cloth had been sold for six r1.oof gold.
For manl' months the family lived happily together.But
in time, that money too was gone. The daughter rvent once
again to the loom. But this time her mother and father were
curious. Why must thel' n61 look? They couldn't bear it.
The,v decidedthat they r,vouldtake just a peek through a

4 . ry o (ryo):a gol d pi eceusedas currencyi n Japanunti l the mi d-i 8oos.

t (ke-mo'rroz): Japanese
long,wide-sleeved wornmostoftenby
robes
ilffiff:

13 7 r\rr 6 : I { YT Hs, L EGDNDs, AND T AL Es

 .,.,.;+:!'rt

crackin tire wall. if their daughtercoulcinot seethem, they

reasoned.it would not disttlrb her at aii.
Clack clack clack, whirr whirr whirr. The rnan and the
woman walked softly along the wall, knelt down, and peered
through a tirin crack in the paper wall. At the loom sat a
white crane pulling feathersfrorn its own breastand wings
with its long bill. It rvasweaving with those feathers.The 'Q'ffi
crane turned toward the crack and looked with a great biack The i magesth e gir l wove
eye.The man and the woman tumbled backward. i nto the cl oth in linesr zo-
rz5 reflect
But it \,vastoo late. They had been seen.
the beautyof the marsh
Later,when the door of the room opened,their daughter the cranem aiden's
emerged,pale and worn. In her arms sheheid a most departur e

magnificent cloth. On it were imagesof the setting sun, the the gl owingm oon
al l ofthe above
rising moon, the treesitr autumn, the long migrations of the
cranes.On it too were the images of a man ancla woman A test may askyou
about an eve ntin a f olk
watclring a white crane fry away. tal e. R emem bert hat in
"Father,Mother," she said, "I had hoped to staywith you fol k tal es,eve nt sar e of t en
repeated. Thegir l in t his
aiways.But you have seenme as I trull' am. I aln the crane storyspi nsth r eedif f er ent
you saved,Father, from the trap. I wanted to repay you for cl othsand cre at est hr ee
di fferenti mages.Evenif you
your kindness.I shali never forget you, but now that you thi nk you know t he answer ,
kno'w this truth, I cannot stay witir you." rereadthe linesreferredto
i n the questiont o be sur e
The man and the woman wept. They beggedand pleaded, you arethi nk ingof t he r ight
"\7e iove you. Do not leaveus. \7e do not care that you are a cl oth.

cranel You are or-rrdaughter.\7e shall tell no one."

"It is too late," whisperedthe giri. "The marshescall to rne.
The sky calls to me. The wind in the treeswhispersmy name.
D raw a box aroundt he
And I must follow. Perhapsall is as it shoulcibe. The debt has paragraphthat explainswhy
been repaid. I shall never forget you. Farerveil." the cranemai d enwent t o live
w i th the ol d cou ple.
She walked from the hr-rtand stood out in the open air.
-fhe W hat qual i ti esdoest he cr ane
man and the woman watched in wonder as before their
mai denseemto suggestar e
errestheir beautiful pale daughter becamea beautiful white i mportant?
crane.Fiapping her wings once, twice, three times, the great
.rene roseslorvly r"rpoff the ground and, circiing the hut,
a

It :lex- ax.a\t
l

\i'l
..!i
 "Farewell,"said the man and the woman, watching the
Whatqualityor cranedisappearoverthe marsh."We shall missyou, daughter.
mightthe crane
.ralities But we are glad that you are free."
:*resent?t4d{r rtulE*d'Ai{::l:.$
After that, every yearwhen the cranesmigrated, the old
coupieleft a silver dish of grain out beforetheir door. And
everyyear abeautiful cranecameto eat that grain.
So the story goes.
Whatdoyouthinkthe
:upleismeantto learnfrom ffi
li
l*'*J"{"t.*
reirexperience?

ereadthe BigQuestion on
agerz7.Why is it imPort.ant
rrthecouple to letthe
'anemaidengo aftertheY
iscoverheridentitY?+t*r;r
-, t " i , t 1 ., \ , t! t

\ }4 UNIT 6: MYTHS, LEGENDS, AND TALES

 * '* =:'-
tt.ut
*.*:
:'-alil l
,
+
.ir. 't*""J" ;",
-:

Rcrolii bi'Juiiiih (.)rtiz ilolcr

BACKGROUND Legends of strange - F ocus

',
z
andsupernatural forceshave Asyou read,find out
t:
happenings j what AuntyMiserylearns
beenpart of PuertoRicanstorytelling , aboutusingsupernatural
traditionsfor centuries.
'Aunty Misery"is , powerto solveeveryday
a retellingof a PuertoRicanfolk tale about 1 problems.
a crankyold womanwho meetsa sorcerer.
Thesorcerer's magicsolvessomeof her
problemsbut alsocreatesnew ones.

V O CA S UL A R Y
his is a story about an oid, very old woman who lived Whatisthemostlikely
alonein her little hut with no other companythan a meaningof the wordpilgrim
in line9?
beautiful pear tree that grew at her door. Shespentall her
, settler
time taking careof her pear tree.But the neighborhood . colonist
children drove the old woman qazy by stealingher fruit. : Cfane
They would climb her tree,shakeits delicatelimbs, and run '
. traveler
awaywith armloadsof goldenpears,yelling insultsat 'Aunty TIP Atestmayaskyou
Misery," asthey calledher. the likelymeaning of a
word.Toanswer, reread
One day,a pilgrim stoppedat the old womant hut and the sentence the wordis in.
ra askedher permissionto spendthe night under her roof. Thensubstituteeachanswer
choicefor that word,and
Aunty Misery sawthat he had an honestfaceand badethe seewhichchoicemakes
travelercome in. Shefed him and made a bed for him in front sensein the sentence. For
thisquestion, onlyoneword
of her hearth. In the morning while he was getting readyto makessenseasa substitute
leave,the strangertold her that he would show his gratitude for pilgrim.Thatisthe correct
answer.
for her Fsjgitalil5 by granting her one wish. +F

l :cspi tal i ty !ras'pi- t ai'r iei

rr " .hefri endi y,gener ous
trratment cf guests

/ eunrv MISERy
r:Hr cn:i.NnMATDEN 135
 "Thereis onlyonething that I desire,"
saidAunty Misery.
'Ask, andit shallbeyours,"repliedthe stranger,
who wasa
sorcererrin disguise.
"I wish that anyone who climbs up my pear rree should not
be able to come back down until I permir it."
"Your wish is granted," said the stranger,touching rhe pear
tree as he left Aunty Miseryt house.
And so it happened that when the children came back to
..-.r::,
, the old woman and to stealher fruit, shestood at her
window watching them. Severalof them shimmied2 up the
trunk of the pear tree and immediateiy got.stuck to it as if
with glue. She let them cry and beg her for a long time before
lentifythe characteristics
of
rlk talesthat havebeenin she gave the tree permission to iet them go, on the condition
re storysofar.
that they never again steal her fruit or bother her.
character:
rpernatural Time passedand both Aunty Misery and her tree grew
bent and gnarled with age. One day another traveler stopped
at her door. This one looked suffocated and exhausted,so
upernaturalevent: the old woman asked him what he wanted in her viliage. He
answeredher in a voice that was dry and hoarse,as if he had
swallowed a desert: "I am Death. and I have come to take r-c*
haracter a
who represents
with me."
uality:
Thinking fast,Aunty Misery said,'All right, but before
hequalitythe character I go I would like to pluck somepearsfrom my belovedpear
lemonstrates:
tree to rememberhow much pleasureit brought me in this
life. tsut, I am a very old woman and cannot climb to the
'i:iit}-q"#j tallestbrancheswherethe bestfruit is; will you be so kind ;'
)raw a starnextto the
nragraphthattellshow to do it for me?"
\untyMiserytricksDeath.,',';
-With
a heavy sigh like wind through a catacomb,3Deati-
//hat doyouthinkthe long- climbed the pear tree. Immediately he becamestuck to it
:ermeffectsof preventing as if with glue. And no matter how much he cursed and
reoplefrom dyingwouldbe?
yVritetwo predictions. threatened,Aunty Misery would not give the tree permissi'-
to releaseDeath.

1 . s o rc e re r:
a wi zardor magi ci an.
2 . s h i m m i e d rshi nni ed,or scooted.
c a ta c o m b(kdt' e-kom' ): an undergroundcemeterymadeup of tunnel sfr, :'
graves.

1 36 UNI T 6 : M Y T H S , L E GENDS, AND T AL ES

 $.
Many yearspassedand therewereno deathsin the world.
The peoplewho make their living from deathbeganto proresr
loudly. The doctorsclaimedno one botheredto comein for
examinationsor tr€atmentsanymore,becausethey did not
fear dying; the pharmacists'businesssufferedtoo because
medicinesare,like magicpotions,bought to preventor
postponethe i*;*x.i-ei{-A}$e;
the priestsand undertakersa were i n e v ita b l e ri l r - ::;,.,',.tr :' '
i rri ;:r::si * l r: l.{r ii1lr,';i:i r.'. t:.,..1
unhappywith the situationaiso,for obviousreasons.There
werealsomany old foiks tired of life who wantedto passon
to the next world to rest'fromthe miseriesof this one. ,,'w
'i. What qualitiesdoesAur";
Aunty Misery realizedall this, and not wishing to be
Miseryrevealby making
unfair, shemadea dealwith her prisoner,Death: if he her dealwith Death?.:;,1
Jlvr!#r.6irr_5
6il promisednot everto comefor her again,shewould give him
his freedom.He agreed.And that is why so long asthe world
is the worid, Aunty Misery will alwayslive.

?. D o yout hink'Aunt y
Misery"is a good namef*r
the old woman?Why or wi
not?,ttA,ff"rUDfildFi!.ri

)u

Whywasit soimportantf
AuntyMiseryto let go af
Death?A4Ai{r
J{J$$iri-ni: ,;

4. undertakers:funeral directors.
\T
TH E cR A N E MA TD E N / aur.rrv Mi s E R Y
 --. - i..+.1

.:: Reading
Comprehension
DIRECTIONS
Answerthesequestions abo,;! -.,e CraneMaiden"
and'AuntyMisery"byfilling in the correcto',,dis.

In the firstfolktale,"TheCraneMaiden," 5. Of the characters in bothfolktales,

what doesthe old ma nd o t o h e lpt h e whichonedemonstrates gratitudeby
crane? re p a y inag d e b t ?
' Hewelcomesit into hishome. AuntyMisery
He caresfor it until it canfly. t h e c ra n ema id e n
, He helpsit find its way home. t h e o ld ma n
, He setsit freeout of kindness. , the old man'swife

2. Howarethe beginn in ag n de n do f " T h e 6. Whichof thesecharacteristics of

CraneMaiden"simila r? traditionalstoriesappearsin "TheCrane
,. Thecouplegai n sa d a u g h t e r. Maiden"but not in 'AuntyMisery"?

, , Themaidenspin sa c lo t h . supernatural
events

, Thecraneisfree. a n ima cl h a ra c t e rs

.: Theold mango e st o t h e ma rs h . lessonaboutlife

, focuson realpeople
3. Whatsupernatura e vl e n to c c u rsin lin e s
r38-r43of "TheCraneMaiden"? 7. What isthe mostlikelymeaningof the
A cranetransformsitselfintoa girl. wordhearthin line13of 'AuntyMisery"i
' cupboard
A girltransforms
herselfintoa crane.
A craneweavesa beautifulcloth hut
from its feathers. heart
, An old coupleadoptsa strangegirl. fireplace

4. Whichof the followingis not a lesson 8. What isthe mostlikelymeaningof

'AuntyMisery"teaches? gnarledin line3rof 'AuntyMisery"?
Miseryis alwayspresent. cranky
Deathcannotbe avoided. angry
S upernatural
bein g sa red a n g e ro u s . t all
' Hospitality
canresultin rewards. twisted

r3 8 UN IT 6 : M YTHS, LEGENDS, AND TALES

III. Use the graphic organizer below to compareand contrast"The Crain Maiden" and
"Aunt Miserv."

Similarities Differences
 IV. PROMPT

BothAunt Miseryandtheold couplein "The CraneMaiden"facea situationin which

theymustlet somethinggo.Writea compare-contrast
essayin whichyou discusshow
arealikeanddifferent.
thesetwo situations

In your answer,be sureto

. Show how the situationsare alike
. Show how the situationsare different
. Use detailsfrom both stories
. Use transitions