Week 10 Reading B: The Forest Fire

For this reading, I chose to read from Twenty Jataka Tales by Noor Inayat (Khan).  I read The Forest Fire, which is about a real bad-ass little quail.

This story, like The Quarrel of the Quails, involves quails.  I think that is rather interesting because birds are shown differently in American and Western folklore.  It is obvious that quails are much more popular or well-known bird in India than perhaps an eagle would be.  I really loved this story, because it was firstly, beautifully written with such gorgeous strong imagery, as well as reminding me of the Ugly Duckling.  There is the same childish innocence yet emphasis on bravery that makes this story really appealing.

The description of fire is great.  The “fiery red clouds” is a really appealing image, and the language could really persuade my imagination to capture the visualization of flames “hovering over the distant trees.”  But it wasn’t simply exposition or something the narrator was describing.  The description was placed in a question, bringing in the characters in a way that made this story feel more tangible.  Also, because of this, I feel like it’s about the seventh baby quail’s point-of-view although it is written in the third person.  Another thing about the fire is that the rest of the family seems unaware almost of what the clouds are until the baby quail points out to the father that it is fire.

I don’t know how India views veganism but the seventh quail really seemed to be a vegan because he only ate the seeds as opposed to the insects and worms.  His wings didn’t grow, which is what left him stranded during the fire.  However, his lack of wing growth isn’t viewed negatively as it might have been in a tale from Western anthology.  Instead he becomes extremely brave and stands against the flames.  He tells the fire to go away, and IT SLINKS OFF.

I love how punk he is, which is why I would be interested in exploring his character deeper – but also exploring the character of the fire itself.  It seems to be sentient and outlined with morals (in a way) or at least with a capacity for understanding, which is why I would really like to describe its feelings about this punk little quail with “small twinkling eyes” and a “soft chirping voice” who gazed steadily at his flames without fear.

This Badass Bird from HugeLol