Read the excerpt from The Metamorphoses by Ovid.
[Deucalion] soothes [Pyrrha] with these gentle words, and says, ". . . The oracles are just, and advise no sacrilege. The earth is the great mother; I suspect that the stones in the body of the earth are the bones meant; these we are ordered to throw behind our backs.” Although she, descended from Titan, is moved by this interpretation of her husband, still her hope is involved in doubt; so much do they both distrust the advice of heaven; but what harm will it do to try?”
Read the excerpt from the adaptation "The Flood” by James Baldwin.
"What did he mean?” asked Pyrrha.
"Surely I do not know,” said Deucalion. "But let us think a moment. Who is our mother, if it is not the Earth, from whom all living things have sprung? And yet what could he mean by the bones of our mother?”
"Perhaps he meant the stones of the earth,” said Pyrrha. "Let us go on down the mountain, and as we go, let us pick up the stones in our path and throw them over our shoulders behind us.”
"It is rather a silly thing to do,” said Deucalion; "and yet there can be no harm in it, and we shall see what will happen.”
How does the adaptation differ from the original?
In Ovid’s original, the tone is playful, while in Baldwin’s adaptation, the tone is confident.
In Baldwin’s adaptation, the tone is lighthearted, while in Ovid’s original, the tone is serious.
In Ovid’s original, the characters have more respect for the deity, while in Baldwin’s adaptation, the characters are rude to the deities.
In Baldwin’s adaptation, the characters are unsure of the advice, while in Ovid’s original, characters follow the advice without question.