Week 13 Storytelling: An Unfortunate Circumstance

Once upon a time there was an average-looking guy who lived in a normally sized house. This average-looking guy was named Chuck and he had a cool mom, Donna, who was his total BFF. Donna and Chuck did a lot of cool stuff together pretty much everyday, and on this particular day they decided to power walk through the forest. Once they were about halfway through the forest, they saw something strange.

"Hey, Mom, check out that rose garden over there! Let's have a rose picking contest!" Chuck called out to his mom.

Donna replied, "Good thing this isn't a nose picking contest, or you would definitely win. HA!"

Rose Garden

The pair entered the garden and were instantly freaked out. The ground started to rumble and the sky became filled with dark storm clouds. An incredibly tall and stately lady walked into the garden. "How dare you enter my garden!" she screamed. "You, cool mom, you better fast walk away from here, and you, average-looking guy, you better not follow her."

If there was one thing Chuck and Donna were good at, it was following instructions.  Donna left as quickly as she could while following the guidelines for power walking (exaggerated but controlled swinging of the arms and never allowing both feet to be off the ground at once). Chuck was left alone with the huge lady. "What do you want from me?" he asked while craning his neck to look her in the eye.

The huge lady didn't answer. She just walked away and left Chuck to wander through the rose garden and into the castle on his own. He found that everything inside of the castle was enchanted. He just had to think something, and it would appear. Also, all the dishes, clocks, lamps, and everything else could talk! He quickly became friends with them, and he slowly became friends with the huge lady who would drop in to talk to him almost every day.

After almost a month living in the strange castle, Chuck went out to the rose garden for a casual fast walk. He missed his mom, of course, and it was weird being trapped in a house with a giantess and talking teacups, but he was really enjoying his time here for the most part. As he was swinging his arms and enjoying the beautiful roses, he came upon the huge lady prostrate before him. 

Seeing her lying there on the ground, he suddenly realized how much he had come to care for her! He cried out, "Are you hurt? Please don't be dead! If you're dead then I'll never get to tell you how much I love you!" With those words, the huge lady grew even taller. Chuck was astounded. He couldn't understand what was happening.

The extra huge lady stood up and said, "You may now leave my garden and my castle. Long ago, I put a spell on myself in order to grow into the huge and tall lady that I always wanted to be. Every time a man professes his love for me, I continue to grow. Because it became increasingly difficult to live in the every day world with my huge size, I've now resorted to trapping people until they fall in love with me. You've served your purpose. I do not love you back, and now I would like you to leave."

Chuck was devastated. He had truly loved the huge lady, but he also realized that starting a relationship while being held prisoner was probably not a recipe for success. He began to power walk in the direction of home, and more importantly, his cool mom, Donna. 

Author's note: I wanted to take the well-known beauty and the beast story and do something a little different with it. This version of Beauty and the Beast was very similar to the Disney movie. It was just a little simpler and with less singing. Beauty is traded as a prisoner for her father's freedom, and she eventually falls in love with the Beast. This breaks the spell and turns him back into a handsome man. They live happily ever after.

I decided to make the originally male characters female and the originally female characters male in order to give the story a different feel. I didn't think it made much sense for Beauty and the Beast to end up happily together since he had originally kept her against her will, so I changed up the ending quite a bit. I really liked how important roses are in the original, so I chose to keep that aspect with a rose garden playing a large role in the story.

I also wanted to make the story more lighthearted. This was the first time I've done a storytelling post on a story that I originally knew as a Disney movie, so I wanted to include the more magical aspects such as talking plates, clocks, and lamps that weren't in the original story that I read for class.

Bibliography: This story is based on Beauty and the Beast from Europa's Fairy Book by Joseph Jacobs and illustrated by John Batten (1916).

Week 11 Storytelling: BBF: Best Brother Forever

To whom it may concern:

Hi, I'm Jordan, and I'm writing this to tell you about my awesome and talented brother Jackson. We're twins, so I've literally known this guy for longer than I'll ever know anyone else, which is a real treat because I don't know of a single person who I think is better than Jackson. He and I were both dancers, but a few years ago I gave that up to start choreographing other dancers in small productions around New York City. I started to gain some fame fairly quickly, but after I had three shows that were reviewed really well, I had one that kind of tanked. Jackson was always the better choreographer, but he really wanted to make it as a dancer, so I just asked him for a few pointers on how to return to the glowing reviews I had gotten in the past. Jackson totally went above and beyond for me and he choreographed almost an entire show for me!

As much as I appreciated my brother helping me out so much, I told him there was no way I could just take his work like that. I could tell this was much better than any work I had ever done, and I didn't want to take away attention from Jackson when I knew he deserved to be praised for his tremendous work. We argued back and forth for a while, and ultimately I agreed to put my name on the choreography on one condition, that Jackson danced the main part. Since I was just starting out, we were on a smaller stage than Jackson was used to, so he was a little hesitant. But I knew that if he danced in this show that he had created, we wouldn't be on a small stage for long.

Finally, the big premiere night came and it was a roaring success! Everyone loved the choreography just as much as I suspected, and Jackson had never danced better in his life. After the premiere, the show quickly moved to a larger stage. On the first night in the new theater, I went on stage and announced that the choreography was actually entirely done by Jackson. This really made the critics wild, and Jackson finally got all the fame and recognition he had deserved. And since we tend to do our best work when we're together, I was back on the up and up again as well.


All this to say that I think my brother is a great dancer and man who truly deserves to be on a Wheaties box. I've included in this letter a mock-up of what I think a really great box would look like.

Thank you in advance for your consideration,

Jordan

 

Author's note: In the original King Arthur story, Arthur gets a sword out of a rock because he promised his brother he would not return without a sword. However, Arthur's father realizes that this sword actually signifies that Arthur is the rightful king because he is the only one in the whole kingdom who can release the sword from the rock. Even though Arthur immediately gave the sword to his brother and his brother initially (wrongly) thought that he was the king, his brother gladly gave the sword back to Arthur when his father told him Arthur was the one who was the king. I thought it was really cool that Arthur's brother wasn't jealous that Arthur was the king. He was genuinely happy for him. Most stories with brothers holding some sort of power involve a jealous brother who ends up killing the other (Claudius and Hamlet, Romulus and Remus, Cain and Abel, etc). I liked the supportive attitude that Arthur and his brother had, so I decided to make that the theme of my story. I have a brother, and although the sibling rivalry can be very real, we try to focus on building each other up and supporting each other whenever we can.

Bibliography: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H. J. Ford (1902).

Image Information: first picture: Les Twins; second picture I created using two images: Wheaties Box, Les Twins in Air

Week 9 Storytelling: The Hope of a Warrior's Mother

There once was a mother with an extremely small son. The mother was worried about her son’s future; she knew that he could never grow up to be a successful warrior unless he became taller and stronger. They lived in a village where the only way for a man to be successful was for him to become a warrior. The mother had heard about a powerful magician who lived in the village next to hers, so she decided to pay the magician a visit.

When the mother told the magician of her small son, the magician said that she had just the thing that would cure this boy of his tiny size forever. “Oh thank you so much! I will do anything you say as long as it will help my son to be a successful warrior one day!” exclaimed the mother.

The magician said, “Tomorrow, send your son to my house. I will be on a trip, so he will need to care for my garden and ensure that everything runs smoothly in my absence. But just be sure that he stays away from the hall closet.”

The mother ran home. She immediately told her son that he should take care of the magician’s plants the next day and to be sure to avoid the hall closet. He agreed, and the next day he arrived at the magician’s home.

There was a note left out that said that the magician would return the following week with detailed instructions for the boy. The boy followed the instructions carefully but with each passing day, he became more and more curious about the hall closet. He listened at the door, peeked underneath, and finally he was so curious that he convinced himself that there was no way that the magician could possibly know whether or not he opened the door.

Closet Door

On the final day of his time within the magician’s home, he pulled the door open and to his surprise, the closet was empty. The boy walked inside, and immediately his entire body started to grow. He felt very strange, and he decided that he should go home immediately and show his mother the evidence of his growth spurt.

As soon as he arrived home, his mother shouted with joy, “Oh, my son! You have finally grown, and now you can be a successful warrior!”

In response to his questioning gaze, his mother explained how she had only sent him to the magician in the hopes that he might grow. The boy was very excited because he had always wanted to become a warrior as well. The boy became one of his village’s most respected warriors, and his story was told for generations. He gave small boys everywhere hope that they might grow one day, but of course, no one knew his secret of how the magician had helped him.

When he had his own small boys, he sent them to the magician with a warning about not opening the hall closet. And one by one, each of his sons became so curious that they too opened the hall closet and grew into a large and powerful warrior.

Bibliography: This story is based on The Legend of the Head of Gold from Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by Katharine Judson (1913).

Author’s note: The original story featured a father with a lazy son who visited an old woman because he was worried about his lazy son's future. The woman said that she could help. The lazy boy watched over a house and some horses, but he was instructed to stay away from a pot of gold. One of the horses he was watching told him to dip his head in the gold, and then the boy became extremely well respected. 

I wanted to keep some of the same details, especially that the son was ultimately rewarded for going against the instructions he was given. I decided to make it about a boy in a warrior village because I thought that his mother would be equally as worried as the father with the lazy son. Both parents would have no hope for their sons because of the lack of career prospects the sons faced. I also wanted to have a happy ending since sometimes stories with magicians end in trickery that leaves many people unhappy. I had the boy take care of plants instead of horses because I wanted to have the boy break the rules because of his own desires, not because he was following a horse's instructions.

Week 7 Storytelling: Allie, Cali, and Sally

There were once three friends named Allie, Cali, and Sally. They had been living in different states since they graduated college, and now they were on vacation together in a rental house in the Colorado mountains. One day, these friends decided to have a meal together. Allie had a new recipe she was dying to try out, so she said, “Don’t worry, guys; I can stay home and cook today. You two can go shopping and enjoy your day together; I will have dinner ready when you come back!”

Cali and Sally were grateful for Allie’s gesture of kindness, so they thanked her and went to the mall for the day.

Allie began to cook a meatloaf, but she realized that she missed her friends. However, she knew they would be having a great time shopping, so she buckled down and finished cooking the meal for her friends.

When Cali and Sally returned, Sally said to Ali, “We had a lot of fun and bought a lot of new clothes, but I missed getting to talk and have fun with you! What have you cooked for us?”

“Oh, I missed you as well, but I think my new meatloaf recipe is a great one! I’m glad I could cook a meal for us to enjoy together,” Allie said.

Meatloaf

Cali and Sally looked at each other. Cali said, “Oh, Allie, I forgot to tell you that we no longer eat meat! You should still enjoy your meatloaf though. Sally and I can eat cereal!”

The next day, Cali suggested that her two friends go to see a movie while she stayed home and cooked. Allie and Sally saw the high school horror rom-com that was sweeping the nation, and they were excited to tell Cali all about it while eating the meal she had spent all day cooking for them.

When Cali saw her friends walking through the door she said, “Hey guys! I had so much fun cooking macaroni and cheese for you today, and I can’t wait to hear about the high school horror rom-com! I missed you guys while you were gone!”

Macaroni and Cheese

Sally looked a little embarrassed and said, “Oh no, yesterday when I told you that I don’t eat any animal products, I meant dairy and eggs as well; I’m a vegan!”

That night, Allie and Cali ate their mac and cheese while Sally had cereal. The next day was their last day together, and they wanted to visit an art museum.

Technically, it was Sally’s turn to cook for the three of them for their last day, but Allie and Cali didn’t really want to leave her alone all day for their very last day.

“I’ve got an idea!” said Allie. “We can just all three stay home today and cook together! That way we can be sure it’s something that we all want to eat, and no one has to spend the day alone.”

Cali looked at her friends and said, “That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard! Plus I never really understand the art in museums, but I always understand food!”

On their final day together, Allie, Cali, and Sally made a vegetable risotto that they all enjoyed. More importantly, they enjoyed their day together and realized that there was strength in unity.

Risotto

Author's note: I really liked reading The Three Friends: the Monkey, the Dog, and the Carabao, a story from the Philippines. I wanted to keep some of the main aspects, like having three friends cooking for each other. In the original story, there is a monster-like creature, the Buñgisñgis, that tries to steal the food of a monkey, a dog, and a carabao, and the three friends try to outsmart him so they can keep their food. A carabao is a type of water buffalo that is the national animal of Philippines. In this story, each animal stays home in turn to cook, and eventually the Buñgisñgis steals all of their food. Finally, when it is the monkey's turn to cook, he traps the Buñgisñgis. Unfortunately, the dog and carabao are foolish and set the Buñgisñgis free and he attacks them. Eventually, the monkey is able to kill the Buñgisñgis with the help of a boa-constrictor.

I thought that it would be fun to add the twist of having vegetarians and vegans into the story because that perfectly fits my two best friends! One of the messages from the original story is that there is strength in unity, so I wanted to maintain that message. I think it’s really important for friends to spend time together, and cooking is always more fun with more people in the kitchen! When friends no longer live in the same place, some details about their everyday life, like eating habits, can fall through the cracks. That’s why I think it’s important to find strength in unity when you can be with your friends. 

Bibliography: The Three Friends: the Monkey, the Dog, and the Carabao from Filipino Popular Tales from Dean Fansler's monumental Filipino Popular Tales, published in 1921.

Week 5 Storytelling: Dan and Gladys Forever

Lightning struck the giant tree not even thirty yards from the house, and it immediately burst into flames for no more than five seconds before the torrential downfall extinguished the fire. Dan was scared. “I don’t want our house to catch on fire, even if it is only for a second,” Dan said to his fat grey cat, Gladys.

Gladys said nothing in return; she was only a cat.

The storm stopped in the early morning, and Dan went outside to look at his yard. There was more than one tree damaged by the lightning, but there was no damage to his house. He looked at Gladys and said, “I’m glad that you, me, and the house are safe. But I wish the place looked nicer since my brother will be here before too long.”

Dan was a laid-back guy with not much going on in his life. He loved his cat, he liked his job as a book critic, and he didn’t like things that made him have to leave his house or go out of his way. He was happy when family members, like his brother Brian, came to visit him because it meant that he didn’t have to go to visit them.

Around lunchtime, Brian knocked on Dan and Gladys’ front door. “Hey bro, how’s the hermit life?” Brian asked his older, shorter, and balder brother.

“No complaints,” said Dan.

Before an hour had passed, the brothers slipped into their routine. Brian was looking around the house, fixing little things that he found that had fallen into disrepair since his last visit, while Dan was cooking dinner and playing with Gladys.

“How old is that cat getting to be?” Brian asked Dan.

“Oh, she’s old alright, but she’ll probably hold out for a few more years at least. She likes it here better than she did at the old place,” Dan answered. He tended to be more motivated to talk when he was talking about Gladys, something his talkative brother never understood. Dan continued, “Oh and by the way, I’ve got to go to the post office tomorrow to pick up this quarter’s new book releases so I can start reviewing them. Will you be okay here with Gladys?”

Brian looked at Gladys and said, “Oh sure, me and the cat will be just fine. As long as she doesn’t croak on me.”

The next day while Dan was gone, Brian heard someone yelling outside. He looked out of the window and saw a woman with a basketful of kittens. Brian asked her what she was doing.

“I’m just exchanging any old, grey cats for brand-new white kittens. I thought I saw an old cat around here. Do you want a kitten?” the woman said.

“Yeah sure! That would be great!  Here, go ahead and take this old one. We won’t be needing it any more!” Brian was excited about doing something nice for his brother.

Once Dan got home and saw the new cat, he asked where Gladys was, since it was her usual dinnertime.

“Check out this new kitten!” was Brian’s only reply.

“Yes, I see the kitten, but where is Gladys?” Dan persisted.

Brian explained, “I exchanged her for a brand-new little white one! There was just this woman walking around offering to switch, and I thought it would be nice to have a new pet.”

Dan was shocked. “What? Why would you do that? What is your problem? Gladys was my best friend! You can’t preemptively replace her with some kitten from the street!”

Brian really didn’t understand anything about his brother. Who would rather have an adult cat than a cute little kitten? “Hey man, I’m really sorry. I really thought I was doing you a favor. I’m sure I can find your old cat. The woman trading them out can’t be that far away,” Brian said, trying to placate his brother.

Brian did eventually find Gladys, and she and Dan continued to live together for many years. A few months after Brian left Dan’s house, the two brothers made up. Dan and Brian had been brothers for all their lives after all, so they were fairly accustomed to never understanding anything about each other.

Author’s Note: The original story of Aladdin and his magic lamp with the genie inside has an interesting plot point where his wife falls into a trap set by someone jealous of Aladdin. The jealous sorcerer decided to advertise that he’s exchanging old lamps (like the one with the genie inside) for new lamps. When Aladdin finds out that his wife has traded his valuable lamp for a new, genie-less one, he sets out to bring back his genie and endless wishes. I thought it was really funny that the jealous sorcerer thought that the lamp-switch was a good idea, and it was even funnier that Aladdin’s wife fell for such an odd trick! I also wanted to tell a story with a lot of dialogue that begins in the middle of something exciting, like a thunderstorm. Although Aladdin has a lot of interesting magic, I wanted to tell a more realistic story. And who doesn’t love cats named Gladys? I also wanted to give a shout out to adult pets, since puppies and kittens usually get so much attention. I think that adult pets are more fun than young ones because then you can really get to know their personality and you don’t have to train them or spend all of your time entertaining them!

Bibliography: This story is part of the Arabian Nights unit. Story source: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).

Image Information: Grey cat