Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata Part B

Mahabharata

• Vindura is not allowed to have control over the city
• Duryodhana is said to burn the city and murder the brothers, so they escape underground
• a demon named Hidimba wanted to eat Bhima, so they then fought
• the two get married
• Bhima kills Baka, a demon who eats people
• Draupadi is born, and the story of her previous life with several husbands is told.
• A competition for marriage takes place and Arjuna wins it, shooting an arrow through a wheel
• Duryodhana finds out that the Pandava brothers are still alive
• the brothers return to Hastinapura together and then rule over the city
• Arjuna exiles himself after breaking one of the rules, he then meets the Naga princess Ulipi, and they have a child
• Arjuna is bitten by an alligator, and brings it ashore. He finds out that the alligator is a water nymph
• Arjuna and Chitra want to get married, but they need an heir to the throne, who will stay in Manipur
• Agni wanted to eat the forest, so Krishna and Arjuna agreed to help if he provided celestial weapons. He did, and the forest was burnt down
• Yudishthira wants to become a supreme monarch, so he performs a sacrifice
• a Kshatriya is not allowed to deny a gambling match, so they gamble.
• Draupadi ends up losing a match, and everyone is angry with the result. The brothers are going to be exiled unless Bhima kills Duhshasana

Bibliography - PDE Mahabharata

The beautiful Draupadi 

Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata Part A

 Mahabharata

• A son and daughter were born from the king's seed falling into a river which impregnated a fish. The daughter, Satyavati, went on to be the mother of Vyasa
• Shantanu is a king and Bhishma is his son
• Bhishma finds three women to be the wife of his brother
• needs someone down the line to be king
• Karna is the son of Surya
• Pandu went hunting and shot a holy god who was disguised as a deer, he put a curse on Pandu and said that he would die in the arms of his wife
• Sons of Dhritarashtra are Kauravas
• Sons of Pandu are Pandamas
• this is what the story is mainly about
• Dhritarashtra and Pandu are brothers
• Bhima a Pandama is almost killed by his cousin out of jealousy. He is poisoned then thrown in the Ganges river, where he is met by snakes called Nagas. They find him holy and he becomes strong
• The cousins train to be warriors, and end up fighting

Bibliography - PDE Mahabharata

The Nagas 

Week 5 Story

The rakshasa sat there questioning if they should really do what they needed to do. They feared the mighty Kumbhakarna, as he was one hundred times their size. He had the capabilities of eating an entire village's people, their animals, their food, and their food's food. And it would only serve as an appetizer to his ferocious self. They sat there questioning if this was the right idea and all they could think about was his rage and anger, more importantly his desire to eat. 

"go and wake thee, before Rama kills us!" 

So a rakshasa went. 

"Wake up! Wake up! Rama is coming to kill us and we need your help!"

Kumbhakarna did not budge. The roar of a hundred lions could not wake him. The only thing to wake the giant was the smell of his favorite food, goat stew. 

The rakshasa went and told the tribe he would not wake.

"He will not budge! We need goat stew, his favorite food!"

Unfortunately in the town there was a shortage of goats, as they had all migrated due to changes in the climate. There was no other option but to create a fake stew, and let the aroma wake the beast. 

"Go make stew of some other animal, bear, deer, I don't know! Otherwise Rama will turn us to stew!" cried one rakshasa. 

"Let's just create deer stew and have the spirit turn its smell to goat. We have no other options." 

And so they did. 

The rakshasa went to wake the mighty beast, a barrel of his "favorite" stew propped up on his back. Kumbhakarna immediately woke to the aroma. 

"Ah you have woken me from my slumber with my favorite food, you know I do not enjoy being awake, but for this I will never mind."

The rakshasha was filled with fear that the beast would know it was all an illusion. His suspicions were correct, the beast in fact knew. The rakshasa informed him of Rama's intention to destroy the village, and how his mighty powers were needed to combat him and his army. He told the rakshasa to gather his army and meet him on the other side of the river. 

The entire village, loaded up with armor and weapons to fight Rama met with Kumbhakarna at the river and found him sitting at a massive table, one only a giant could sit on. Kumbhakarna called out to the people, "Play with my food, and I play with you. You all have come here to die."

Kumbhakarna sprinkled salt all over the villagers and they had nowhere to run. He grabbed all of them and placed them in a giant pot. From the river he got water and added it to the bowl, lighting a fire beneath the pot letting it boil. 

"Deceieve me with my favorite stew, and you will end up as stew yourselves. Never play with a hungry man, especially if you do not plan to feed him. You all tried to take advantage of me, thinking I was a fat hungry fool! Alas! No goat stew, but rakshasa stew will do!" 

And with that the villagers cried out for help, burning one by one in the pot. Never again did anyone mess with the Kumbhakarna. 

The mighty Kumbhakarna 

Bibliography - Kumbhakarna from PDE Ramayana 

Authors note - I wrote this story based on the story of Kumbhakarna, as I was fascinated at how he was such a large being and how all that went through his mind was to satisfy his belly. The Kumbhakarna was actually said to be a smart being, so he tricked the rakshasa into thinking he did not know the stew was fake and lured them over to his dinner table. The Ramayana that we read did not focus too much on Kumbhakarna and he interested me more than any other character, so i decided to write a little extra story on him. 

 

Reading Notes: Sita Sings the Blues Part A & B

 Reading Notes: 

Bibliography - Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley

Sita pregnant with Rama's twins, Lava and Kusha

• Honestly, there was not much to note in this video in my opinion, but it was very interesting to see the plot played out in action. I had visuals in my head of what happened when reading the Ramayana before, but this helped me in transforming the words into images. I enjoyed how the story was told through the perspective of Sita, and her way of expressing herself in the video was through songs which was also different than the readings. I think this was a unique way of expressing the story. I also noticed the narration over the story in between the different scenes. This was a good addition as it gave more context as to what was happening and sometimes the narrators expressed their opinions on what was happening. Hearing another perspective and discussion between the three narrators was great to get a deeper understanding of how others may view the story, and how opinions on certain things that happened vary. 
• It was pretty interesting to see Nina play a role in the story, but I was not too sure of her significance in the whole thing. I guess she was trying to relate to Sita and draw similarities between their love lives. How Dave and Nina were in love similar to Rama and Sita, but then by the end the two had split and Sita begged for Rama back while Nina begged for Dave. It was a cool twist and related it to real life. Overall, it was interesting to see play out. 

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Holi 

    

Week 4 Lab

Story Book Research 

Festivals and Holidays:

Holi - 

• festival of colors
• celebrates good over evil
• originated in India, but due to people moving, has spread across the world
• the festival lasts a night and a day, and starts on the night of a full moon and continues into the following day
• The night Holi stars, people gather around a bonfire and perform religious rituals that are meant to cleanse the body of all evil.
• the morning after, people celebrate by throwing color stained powders at each other and wear colorful outfits. Friends, enemies, man, woman, children, everyone participates in the color fights, which makes for quite the aesthetic. 
• People celebrate with certain intoxicants, one being a drink that originates from cannabis, which leads to quite the jolly time
• after the day is over, families and relatives get together and enjoy the night with each others presence. 
• Krishna
• The history of Holi can be dated back to Krishna. When Krishna was a baby, he had been poisoned by drinking the breast milk of a demon named Putana. After drinking this, his skin color had gone dark. Krishna wanted to be with the goddess Radha, but feared she would not like him due to his skin color. Krishna's mother got fed up, and told Radha to color Krishna's face with whatever color she pleased. She did so, and after that they had fallen in love. This is why people across the globe today celebrate Holi by throwing colored powder at each other. 

Holi

Rama Navani - 

• this holiday celebrates the birth of Rama, the incarnation of Vishnu 
• celebrated by people reading The Ramayana and telling the tales of Rama
• some celebrate by going to Temples, others celebrate in their homes
• some people celebrate by playing music with their families
• others celebrate by decorating small sculptures of Rama and then placing them in cradles
• it celebrates the establishment of the Dharma
• the good over evil

Rama decorated and placed in a cradle 

Ganesh Chaturthi - 

• celebrates the arrival of Hindu Deity Ganesh to earth
• clay idols are placed around homes, and in public places
• chanting of Hindu texts and rituals, lasts 10 days
• some people fast, while others indulge in sweets
• in Mumbai alone there are about 150,000 statues that appear in the ten day span of the holiday
• on the 10th day of the holiday, a massive clay statue of Ganesh is taken to a nearby body of water, either a river or a sea, and is placed in it. The statue starts to dissolve, and signifies Ganesh's return to Mount Kailash
• the holiday signifies new beginnings, and the overcoming of obstacles.

Ganesh 

Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana Part D

  Ramayana Part D:

• Ravana tries to trick Sita into thinking Rama was killed, fake
• Garuda heals Rama and his army, they too are enemies of Ravana's people
• Kumbhakarna is woken from his slumber once a year
• eats lots of food
• destroys people 
• drinks wine
• is then killed by Rama's arrow
• Hanuman is sent to the Himalayas to acquire a healing herb for the army
• Ravana's son is slain, he seeks vengeance
• wants to kill Sita
• Laksmana is pierced with an arrow by Ravana, Hanuman arrives with the himalayan herbs and saves him
• Rama gets assistance from the God's above and is sent backup to kill Ravana
• Rama uses a flaming bow that was given to him by Brahma and kills Ravana. The city and the God's rejoice
• Rama questions taking Sita back because she resided in the house of Ravana for so long
• Sita is sent into a fire as a test, to see if she is still pure.
• her loyalty is proven
• Rama takes her back
• Rama returns after 14 years and is finally crowned King
• Sita was exiled by Rama because people in the community did not believe she was faithful while staying at Ravana's house. 
• Sita has two sons with a poet named Lava and Kusha 
• Rama is taken back by this
• Rama departs the world as Vishnu

Bibliography - PDE Ramayana

The mighty Ravana

Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana Part C

 Ramayana Part C:

• Sugriva, a monkey-king, will now help Rama find Sita
• Sugriva and his brother Vali are enemies now after an incident where Sugriva accidentally trapped Vali because he believed he was dead.
• Vali stole his wife in hatred
• Vali's mother does not want him to fight knowing Rama will be there
• Rama ambushes Vali while he fights Sugriva
• violent death for Vali 
• arrow kills him
• Rama sits in the forest, his heart longs for Sita
• Jatayu's brother (bird) tells Sugriva's monkeys that Sita is in Lanka
• Sampati and Jatyu
• my favorite story
• Hanuman finds the palace of Ravana, filled with jewels and women, but no Sita
• Sita is found in some trees, guarded by demons
• Ravana threatens to torture Sita and kill her if she does not obey his commands
• Hanuman is captured
• Hanuman's tail was set on fire
• Hanuman sets fire to Lanka, but finds sita safely at the trees. 
• Vibhishana, the brother of Ravana, advises that they return Sita to Rama otherwise Lanka and its people would die. Ravana scolds him and so he joins forces with Rama instead, leaving Lanka. 

Bibliography - PDE Ramayana

Hanuman 

Feedback Strategies

My favorite topic from the feedback gallery was fill in the gaps. I sometimes struggle with leaving important pieces out, or putting too much unnecessary stuff in, so it would be nice for someone to let me know. I also like the idea of asking questions, as it engages the authors mind towards putting more thought and reason into their story. The 

Be a mirror - 

I liked this article because it emphasized the growth mindset, and how we should be trying to let go of a fixed mindset. I have read this same idea many times across multiple different courses now, so it is really starting to stick in my head. I personally have been trying to take on hardships as challenges from a positive perspective rather than a negative. 

The difference between praise and feedback - 

This article focuses on as the title says, the difference between praise and feedback. When we emphasize how hard someone works, it can help them grow rather than telling them good job. The article says, “Kids are thrilled by the idea that they can grow their brains through their effort and strategy." This idea emphasizes that there is more growth in praising someones efforts rather than their results. This can lead to more growth in people, and it is something i will attempt. 

Be a Mirror

Topic Research

Holi - 

This is the popular Hindu festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil, and is known by a variety of different names such as the "Festival of Love" and the "Festival of Color". Its celebration can be attributed to history that involves both Krishna and Vishnu. 

Rama Navani -

This is the Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Rama. I will focus on the history of what they used to do on this holy day and the deeper significance that the day has. 

Ganesh Chatruthi - 

This is the Hindu festival that celebrates the arrival of famous deity Ganesh to earth. The holiday includes many things such as the formation of clay models of Ganesh, prayers, and sweets. I will focus on the origination of the holiday and why it is so celebrated. 

Sources are in blue

Holi - The Festival of Color 

Week 3 Story

 The avatar ran aggressively deep through the dense and thick forest, chasing after the cursed demon who posed a threat on his wife. 

"Thee won't receiveth her o'er mine own dead corse!" the avatar called chasing the demon. The demon had run down to the river waiting for the avatar to arrive so he could kill him.

"Thee doth not standeth a chance 'gainst me, thy existence is a disgrace and thou art not fit to beest a king.  Cometh h're to kicketh the bucket!" called the demon, holding three large spears and a mouth full of fire.

The avatar attacked the demon from behind, propeling the two into the flowing river. The demon's fire was extinguished but he was still stronger than the avatar. The avatar stole a spear from the demon and attempted to lodge it into it's heart. A demonic spirit came sweeping through, taking the spear out of the avatar's hand and picked up him in mid air right above the water. 

"Thy fath'r hadst curs'd us, that gent wast a filthy sir! anon i planeth to killeth thee since i wast unable to killeth that gent!" 

The people of the forest had been cursed by Dhasharatha previously for attacking an innocent boy for trespassing onto their lands, in seek of divine medicine. The curse had stayed with them for centuries.

The avatar's companions had come and distracted the spirit, releasing him back into the water with the demon. He had landed right on the demon's head, stole his spear, leaped up into the air with the spear pointing down and came right down through the center of it's skull, his body passed down through the river bank. The spirit was now on a mission to abduct his wife, so he faked the avatars voice and cried for help.

"Help me! help me please for i am in grave danger!"

The avatar's wife heard his plea for help and her heart sank. 

"I am coming f'r thee my love! Stay putteth!"

And with that she set out into the hands of the cursed spirit.

The Rakshasa or Demon 

Authors Note: The story I retold was The Chase from the PDE Ramayana. The avatar in the story was Rama, the demon was Rakshasa, and the wife was Sita. The story focuses on the fight between the demon and Rama, and results in a holy spirit trying to lure in Sita in the hopes of punishing Rama by taking away his love.  

Bibliography: PDE Ramayana, The Chase

Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana Part B

  Ramayana Part B:

• Everyone around town is mourning the death of Dasharatha, his son Bharata held a funeral service 
• This resulted in weeping for 10 whole days
• recited japa
• performed sacrifices, fire
• Jabali tried to convince Rama to depart the forest and head back to the town, using reasoning that his father is dead and there is no use to please those who are now dead and how there is no hereafter. 
• argument about hereafter, Jabali does not believe in it but Rama does
• Bharata gave Rama gold sandals, to put on his throne, then Bharata went away for as long as Rama's exile lasts
• Rama and Sita fought a mighty Viradha, and no worldly weapons were able to pierce him because he had been cursed. Once they dug a hole and threw him in, he told Rama that he had been freed of this curse and then later attained heaven.
• Rama encounters Agastya in the forest, and he gives him a variety of weapons. 
• Shuprankha tries to convince Rama to leave Sita for her
• theme of loyalty
• Rama was loyal to Sita
• Shuprankha is testing his faith
• Shuprankha calls her brother and an army on to kill Sita, the mighty Rama slays them
• To punish Rama, they want to torture him by killing Sita
• she is his only weakness 
• Ravana in a deer disguise is used to lure in Sita, even taking the voice of Rama saying that he is hurt.
• Sita wants to help but is not allowed
• she would rather die than live without Rama
• Jatayu, a bird, saves Sita
• Ravana is to die soon
• Jatyu can signify that you are always being watched by someone, he was in the trees during the whole exile just silently watching
• Ravana was cursed due to a prior rape
• Rama encounters many people leading him on a quest to find Sita

Bibliography - PDE Ramayana 

The beautiful Sita

Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana Part A

 Ramayana Part A:

This week I will attempt to do my notes in bullet points rather than the traditional paragraph.

• King Dasharatha is a very noble and widely respected man, but he has longed for a son to rein over his empire after his passing. He has multiple wives and not one of them was able to give him a son. 
• In the strive for a son, they conduct a sacrifice that involves a horse. The village people all attend and there are chants and various other spiritual tasks performed.
• After the sacrifice he ends with four sons. One being Rama.
• I want to focus on how Rama and Sita were able to wed
• There was a sword that any man needed to bend in order for them to have permission to marry Sita
• Rama was able to bend the sword, or break it, causing a stirrup with a man from a forest
• The theme that was exemplified was jealousy and spite, showing that even when you do something amazing there will be many people who are happy for you, but there will always be those who shun you and are simply jealous of your achievements.
• There are many themes in the stories, my favorites were jealousy, love at first site, destiny, and hatred
• They were all very prominent throughout the stories, especially hate
• When Rama was banished from his land all because Manthara convinced Kaikeyi he was a bad man. Manthara had a personal grudge against Rama and wanted him banished. This idea of hatred led to the exile of Rama, his brother, and Sita. The hatred that one had for Rama had eventually led to him being confined from living the dream life that he was just about to live as a newlywed.

Bibliography - PDE Ramayana 

The great Rama 

Feedback Thoughts

 Feedback Thoughts:

How to get past negativity bias - This article definitely stood out to me the most, more than any of the others because of the way that the author describes the brain as something that is extremely moldable and fixable. I like to support the theory that our brain can be rewired to look at the world in a different way. The author focuses on a method that forces us to relive a happy moment and then attach it to a negative emotion in order to hardwire the positive experiences in our head. This in turn will make us happier and less critical of ourselves. Often times we focus on the small bad over the larger good. This is the wrong way to live, and rewiring our brains can help us leave this habit behind. 

Why it's so hard to hear negative feedback - This article talks about how we as humans tend to shy away from someone or something that will critique us in a negative manner, and how we should instead crave these critiques to better ourselves. The idea is that we avoid certain people sometimes in the workplace or classroom that will tell us that we are doing something wrong, or will tell us how we can do something better. I have definitely found myself doing this throughout my life whether it was in basketball practice or the chemistry lab. In basketball practice I would try and shoot at the goal farthest from where the coaches sat so they could not critique me, maybe because I feared what they would have to say. In chemistry labs I used to shy away from my TA and never make eye contact while doing an experiment because i feared the TA would walk over to my desk and tell me I was doing the experiment wrong or I could do it better another way. The idea that we should crave rather than shy away from positive criticism is something that I will now try and incorporate in my life, and hopefully it will make me better at whatever that is i do. 

Diagram of the human brain - a very complex organ

Topic Brainstorm

Brainstorm Ideas

Reincarnation: The topic of reincarnation has always fascinated me but I have never known truly what the details of it are and how these beliefs differ across different cultures and religions. My interest in reincarnation was sparked back in high school, where one of my Spanish teachers had believed in reincarnation, claiming that he would become a musician in his next life. The idea has been around for centuries and was held by profound historical figures such as Plato, Socrates, and Pythagorus. I would definitely like to learn more about the topic throughout the semester. 

Temples: I find Hindu Temples extraordinarily interesting. They take many different shapes and forms but always have the universal theme of connection between man and the divine. The concept of temples and architecture being used as a supplement to worship is fantastic and it is something I would enjoy diving into. Many temples incorporate all aspects of life from fire and water down to femininity and masculinity, among many many more. 

Vishnu and Lakshmi: Vishnu and Lakshmi are two major components of Indian Epics, being some of the major deities of Hinduism. Vishnu is known to protect the Dharma and their principles in times of destruction and chaos, while Lakshmi is known to lead you to your ultimate goals. I think the story of these two deities will be something interesting to learn about over the course of the semester. Their reach also goes beyond just Hinduism, with their stories transcending into other religions such as Buddhism. 

Krishna: Krishna is one of the most prominent and widely known deities of Hinduism and is celebrated every year by Hindus. He is referred to as a supreme god, and is respected amongst all Hindus. There are many stories about Krishnu and I would like to learn more about his legend. 

Krishna

Week 2 Story: The Malnourished Forest

My Portfolio  

Deep in the dense forest there lived a community of the most respected grasshoppers, beings that were widely respected all across the lands far and wide. The grasshoppers had been there for centuries, far before any other animal had lived there. Being veterans of the forest, they had become friends with all other species that resided there. One day an intense storm hit just above the forest, leaving many animals displaced with some of them arriving in the forest, a peculiar place for any foreign species. Of the displaced animals, one was a colony of green tree frogs. In their previous habitat, they were the most feared species, partly due to the fact that they were such talented hunters, using their green bodies to hide within the depths of trees and shrubbery. The frogs came into the forest, and encountered a family of pythons. Initially worried that they would be swallowed up, they decided that they first should try to befriend them.

The leader of the frogs, Jeffrey, called out to the pythons, “Hey! My colony and I are new here, I’m Jeffrey, do you mind showing us around?” To his surprise, the python called out “Welcome to the forest Jeffrey and friends! It would be an honor!” The python showed them around, but when Jeffrey laid eyes on the grasshoppers, he felt a rush of excitement knowing that he and his colony would be eating good tonight. The grasshoppers had heard tales of these frogs and how their favorite meals were grasshoppers, but they thought “surely these frogs will respect us just as every other predator in this forest.” Jeffrey called out to the grasshoppers, “Hey! So nice to meet you, I have heard many things about this beautiful forest.” The grasshopper called back, “Welcome! We hope you find comfort in our beautiful forest.” As the night went on, the python was becoming seemingly hungry. The python pulled his friend, the leader of the grasshoppers aside, “I am getting hungry, and I do not believe the colony of frogs has good intentions for you and your people.” The grasshopper replied, “I hope you are not planning to eat those frogs, my friend. We have become so respected in this forest, do you know how? Because we respect every creature that we come across, predator or not, our kindness for them blinds them from their hunger.” The python and the grasshopper carried on. At dusk, the Jeffrey informed his colony of his plans to murder and eat the grasshoppers for dinner. The colony of frogs was taken back, shocked with Jeffrey’s intentions, especially after how kind the grasshoppers had been thus far. The rest of the frogs did not tell Jeffrey they were against his plan, but everyone in the colony had felt the same way. But Jeffrey was overcome with hunger. The colony had set out to go to the house where the grasshoppers had resided, but a couple of the frogs had snuck out before departure and informed the grasshoppers of Jeffrey’s intentions. Jeffrey and the frogs had reached the estate, and Jeffrey was keen to eat the leader of the grasshoppers that had shown him such a pleasant time earlier in the day. Jeffrey asked to speak to the leader, and the younger grasshoppers had told him to head up into his secluded home above the leaves of the tree. As the other frogs had not agreed to take part in such evils and eat the grasshoppers, they stayed down on the ground. He exclaims “Grasshopper, I came to tell you how beautiful your forest is, thank you for showing my colony and I the warmest welcome!” he replied, “you are very welcome Jeffrey, the whole forest is excited to have you here.” The grasshopper had noticed that Jeffrey was inching closer with every word. The grasshopper had known Jeffrey was getting ready to eat him, so he exclaimed, “I heard you were hungry!” Jeffrey, now confused replies “ah yes, I had just come to ask you what the best restaurant in the forest was” still inching closer and closer. The grasshopper, “oh Jeffrey, I was not speaking to you, you don’t need to worry about that anymore.” Behind Jeffrey in the room was the hungry python, his mouth watering at the sight of a delightful and tasty grasshopper. “That is right, I am!” exclaimed the Python. With a blink of an eye, Jeffrey was in the stomach of the python, shredded into pieces. The grasshopper said, “stupid frog, never trust an animal who cannot control his stomach, let alone his mind.”

Authors note: The story is based on one written by W.H.D Rouse, with some various differences. 

Bibliography: The Giant Crab - W.H.D Rouse

Green Tree Frog 

Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

 Reading Notes

The Cunning Crane and the Crab

    This story was probably my favorite of all of the stories. I am not exactly too sure why that is, but maybe it is because i have a pond right by my house and could picture a crane sitting there and eating the fish. The common theme between all the stories is deception, and the fish in this particular story were deceived by the crane. The story says a lot about desperation, and how when you are at your lowest point, in this case for the fishes near death due to the pool drying, that you will trust anyone to help you out of that hole. It shows that we do not look twice to see if the person helping us is trying to take advantage of us, or is really doing it out of the kindness of their hearts. I like how the crab knew from the very beginning what was happening and was able to see through the crane. It was also interesting how the crab did not think twice about the crab getting on his back, and shows that sometimes greed and ego can take over ones self. In the crane's case, his ego was through the roof because he felt like he just deceived an entire colony of fish and was unbeatable, but in doing so his ego caught up to him and pushed him away from using logic, just because he had been on a large winning streak. The greed caught up to the crane because he kept wanting more and more. I really enjoyed this particular story, as well as the image that was provided. 

The crab who deceived the Crane