Reading Notes: Native American Marriage Tales, Part B

For the second half of the reading notes I chose to continue to just use the characters from the source and create my story from there. This time, I chose to take character from the story, “The Dog-Husband”, where the man who is seeking to find his lover on the dating game show will be.

Being that the man is now half of an animal too, there is more of a similarity between each contestant. So by ramping up the challenge, during the game show there will be physical tasks or obstacles that each contestant will be performing so that their strengths and weaknesses are revealed.
The man-dog is not only looking for a wife but also a companion who can assimilate to each other’s lifestyles properly and without conflicts. Throughout the dating show the man-dog will soon find out which contestant suits him best. Through the physical challenge and the mental challenge (blind interview).

However, it is not only the man-dog who needs to approve his companion. Both, the fox-woman and bear-woman will decided whether they can see themselves being with this man-dog and if there will be a happily ever after. Maybe the characteristics of a dog and fox won't match up or vice versa. Perhaps a bear and a dog would not work out in the long run.

I still think that writing a dating game show will limit the story in details but could be a fun quick read. I think it would be a clever idea to have an animal dating game show and decided whether which animals match up best depending on that animal’s traits.

Bibliography: This story is part of the Native American Marriage Tales unit . Story source: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).

I found a picture of this cute, nerdy dog, which I would assume the man would look like when transformed into his animal-self.

Link to picture