Storytelling for Week 13: The Fairy Godmother

Once upon a time there was an old little fairy named Nancy. She was flying high above the cloud with all of her little fairy friends. You see, that is where are of the fairies used to spend their days while waiting on their chance to help people. Nancy was minding her own business gossiping with the girls when all of a sudden she had a vision. Now to explain, visions are the sole thing that fairies anticipate most in this world. Getting a vision means that you finally get to become a fairy godmother, and that there is a girl out there who needs your help!

The vision came to Nancy so vividly that it was almost like a dream. She saw a young girl sitting on the floor crying. She was holding tightly onto a mop with soot covering her head to toe. However, through all the dirt and tears Nancy could see that she was absolutely gorgeous. Immediately she felt a connection to this young girl and knew that she had no time to waste. Nancy left to go see her that very second.

When she arrived on the scene she made the decision to stay hidden at first. She saw first hand that the pain that will beautiful young lady was going through. When she stepped into the light her startled this girl. It took a while for her to explain that she had come to be her fairy godmother. After all of the shock and awe was over, the girl explained that her name is Cinderella and that she lives with her stepmother and stepsisters. Cinderella said that they all treat her poorly and that they will not let her go to the Prince’s ball.

Nancy immediately knew what she had to do. It is her job to give this girl the night of her dreams and to make her feel special for once in her life. She would give Cinderella a night at the ball and a night to feel like royalty. She used her magic wand and without a second thought turned Cinderella’s raggedy outfit into a beautiful blue ball gown. She looked absolutely stunning and had sparkling glass slippers to match. Nancy turned a pumpkin into a carriage and two mice into drivers. Cinderella had everything she needed to have an amazing night at the ball, and she was eternally grateful to her fairy godmother. As Nancy watched Cinderella ride off in a carriage, she knew that she had done a great job. 

She had a feeling that Cinderella would live happily ever after.

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Author's Note: Everyone knows the story of Cinderella, but not everyone knows very much about the fairy godmother. I wrote this story to give perspective about who she was as a person and how and why she helped Cinderella in the first place. 

Bibliography: This story is adapted from the story The Cinder-Maid. This story is part of the Europa unit. Story source: Europa's Fairy Book by Joseph Jacobs and illustrated by John Batten (1916).

Week 13 Reading Diary, Continued: Europa's Fairy Book

As I continued reading through the European unit, I saw and read so many interesting stories. However, for this reading diary I decided to focus my attention to Europa's Fairy Book. The stories are written by Joseph Jacobs. This unit consists of stories taken from a fascinating book he wrote called Europa's Fairy Book. Here Jacobs has chosen some of the fairy tales that he saw repeated again and again in different European traditions.

The Cinder-Maid: Naturally I am very familiar with the story Cinderella because it has always been a favorite from my childhood. I was interested to see how the story altered in this version of it. In the story I head I don’t believe that Cinderella’s father was a noble of the king’s court. Also I found it very strange that it was not a fairy godmother who helped her get ready for the ball, but it was a little bird and that scene was very short lived. In the story I heard it is a much bigger deal but it this story they kind of just blow over it very quickly. Although it is a little different from the story I know it this has the same message and overall plot line.

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The Language of Animals: clearly this story caught my attention because of my love of animals. When I saw the title I had to know more, and I truly enjoyed reading it. It was a well told story that had a lot of vivid detail.

Week 13 Reading Diary: Italian Popular Tales

For the thirteenth week in my Mythology and Folklore class I was told to read stories from a European unit. There were many areas that I found to be very interesting. I decided to focus on my efforts on a particular country. Today I will be reading stories from Italian Popular Tales. This selection of stories from the Italian Popular Tales by Thomas Crane provides a great introduction to the fabulously rich tradition of Italian folktales and fairy tales.

Zelinda and the Monster: right away it was easy to tell that this was a different version of Beauty and the Beast. I had no idea that this was originally an Italian story. I really enjoyed the way that the story added in the culture of the people. It has been a long time since I have seen the Disney movie of Beauty and the Beast, so while I was reading this story it was jogging my memories and reminding me of my childhood.

The Fair Angiola: after I finished the story I was able to understand that this was a version of the story we come to know as Rapunzel. The beginning of the story was very different though. I do not remember the witch being Rapunzel’s aunt, nor do I remember the witch hurting and threatening her. It was interesting to read a different version to this story. I know learned much more background information about how Rapunzel or for the purpose of the story, Angiola, came to be.

Storytelling for Week 12: Amelia and the Baby

Once upon a time there was a woman living alone at the bottom a large hill. She lived in the countryside and all of her neighbors lived at least a mile away. Her name was Amelia and she was an older woman. For her whole life she was always pretty secluded and kept to herself. She rarely had visitors and fairly ever left her house. However, she was content. Amelia lived a simple and ordinary life and she loved it. Her life was just how she always pictured it to be. She was ready to grow old in her cute little house alone.

Then, one morning as she was drinking her coffee she heard a very strange noise. It startled her so much that she almost dropped her coffee cup on the floor. She had never heard a noise so shrill. It sounded like a person or animal crying out. Amelia was very scared to go check on the noise because it was so unusual for her house. She was never disturbed. She tried to go on with her morning but the noise was so unbearable and sad that she decided she must go check to see what or who was so upset.

She walked out of her house, but she did not see anything. Luckily she was able to follow the cries in hopes that it would lead her to the source. As she followed the sound the cries grew louder and louder she knew she must be close. Then all of a sudden, she heard the noise above her, and as she looked up she saw a bassinet in a tree with a baby inside! She was so speechless she did not know how this baby got there, who it belonged to, or how she was going to get it down. All she knew was that she had to rescue this baby. 

First to calm it she sang…

HUSH-A-BYE, baby, on the tree top;

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock;

When the bough bends, the cradle will fall;

Down will come baby, bough, cradle, and all. 

She sang this over and over again until it calmed the child. Then she was able to climb the tree. With a lot of effort, she was able to get to the top of the tree and grab the bassinet. She then climbed safely down the tree. As soon as she got safely to the ground she picked up the child to hug her and make sure she was alright. She was a beautiful baby girl. She had no idea where the parents were and no idea how to start looking. She decided to take her in as her own for the time being.

Amelia’s quiet little life was now full of love and joy.

Author's Note: For this story I took a simple nursery rhyme and built a story around it. I gave it meaning and a background story. I always sang rock-a-bye baby but I never truly knew what it meant. 

Bibliography: My story was based off of the nursery rhyme, Hush-a-bye, baby. This story is part of the Nursery Rhymes unit. Story source: The Nursery Rhyme Book edited by Andrew Lang and illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke (1897).

Week 12 Reading Diary, Continued: Welsh Fairy Tales

As I continued into week 12 of my Mythology and Folklore class at the University of Oklahoma. I continued to read more from the British unit. As I did this, I decided to focus this blog on Welsh Fairy Tales. These Welsh Fairy-Tales and Other Stories were collected by Peter Emerson in Anglesea during the winter of 1891-1892.

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Three Short Tales of Fairies: Here I learned about three very unique fairies and their lives. Fairies have always been very interesting to me and I was very eager to learn more about their origin. By reading these tales I was able to hear three very different stories which allowed me to have a greater understanding of the fairies. My favorite of the three stories was The Craig-Y-Don Blacksmith. I found it to be a very intriguing read that kept my attention the whole time. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about fairies.

Crows: I began reading this story with great caution. I really do not like birds at all. I especially dislike crows because I think they are very scary and they remind me of a scary movie. I just think they give off really bad vibes. As I imagined, this story was not happy at all. In fact, it was very sad and surrounded by death. However, it was written very well. I think that all of the detail really helped me sympathize with the crows. To my surprise I actually found the story quite interesting.

Week 12 Reading Diary: Nursery Rhymes

During our 12 week on this class we were told to read from the British reading units. I decided to focus on Nursery Rhymes. I found these interesting because it allowed me to revisit my childhood, but it also gave me a brand new perspective, as well as broadening my horizons. The collection of stories I read are from The Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang with illustrations by L Leslie Brooke.

Charms and Lullabies: there were a wide variety of lullabies in this section. Many that I had heard before and some that I had not. The one in particular that I would like to focus on is “Hush a bye Baby.” I had always heard it as “Rock a bye Baby.” However, in this version there were many more verses to the story. The one I am familiar with stopped after the first verse. This story went on for quite some time and I found it very interesting to hear the rest of the story. It was like finally figuring out the ending after such a long time.

Tales: once again some of these stories were familiar and others were not. I really enjoyed two songs in particular. They were, The Man in the Moon and There was a Crooked Man. Both I had heard once but they were a little different. I think they are both really fun short stories. They are great for children and go a great job of rhyming. I think tales are interesting to read.

Portfolio Index

The Ant and the Dove: This is a story about an unlikely pair of creatures helping each other out when they are both in a time of need. It is a story based solely on kindness.

Vote for King: This story is a prequel to a story I previously read. It is a story based on how a tiger was chosen to be the king of the jungle. In the original story, you get a sense of what life is like with the tiger as king, and in my story, you learn how the tiger became king.

In Search for Love: This a story about a lonely cat who is longing for love in his life, and how he finally finds it.

FIRE: This is a story that centers around a group of animals who learn what fire is for the first time.

The Girl and the Frog: This is a story that focuses on a lonely girl whose life is changed when she happens upon a friendly frog.

Week 11 Reading Diary, Continued: More English Tales

As I continued into week 11 I decided to stick with reading More English Fairy Tales in the British unit. I really enjoyed all of the stories I read yesterday so I thought I would just continue to learn even more about the unique fairy tales. The readings for this unit come from More English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, published in 1894 as a sequel to his English Fairy Tales of 1890.

The Three Wishes: When I first looked at the title I imagined something like a genie. I soon learned that I was kind of right in thinking it was a genie. The story is about a fairy granting a person who is less fortunate three wishes. However, the wishes the man asked for were not nearly as extravagant as I was expecting. I think that the ending was kind of a let down, but I still found it to be enjoying to read.

The King o’ the Cats: This story really excited me because I saw that it was about cats. As I have already explained, I love stories about animals. This story took a bit of a depressing turn with the death of someone in the story and the cats crying together in a depression. It was not really that happy story that I was expecting when I first began reading it.

Week 11 Reading Diary: English Fairy Tales

For week 11 we were instructed to read stories from the British unit. For my reading diary I decided to focus on English Fairy Tales. The readings for this unit come from English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, published in 1890, which he followed with More English Fairy Tales in 1894.

The Story of the Three Little Pigs: I am sure that everyone has heard the story of the three little pigs at some point in my life. For me it has always been my favorite. I have two older sisters and we used to always call ourselves the three little pigs. That is why this story was one of my favorites in the unit. What was particularly great about this story is that it gave me the chance to hear the story a lot more in depth. I had never realized how violent it is. It talks about eating the pigs and boiling and eating a wolf. I am now surprised it is such a popular children’s story.

Mr. Fox: This is a story that I was not familiar with already, but it turned out to be a very interesting one. I assumed Mr. Fox was an actual fox and I was surprised to find out otherwise when I began reading the story. The story was tragic and gruesome. It reminded me of a serial killer. It was not at all what I expected when I began to read this story. I am glad that she confronted Mr. Fox in the end for killing all of those women.

Storytelling for Week 10: The Girl and the Frog

It was a cloudy evening and all of the tribe was gathered around among the trees in the forest. Iagoo was on the outside pondering the past. He was the wisest and the oldest of the tribe. He was the reason that the whole tribe was in the forest because he was about to lead a tradition. It was time that he told the sacred stories to pass them on to the younger children. As he turned around he could see that the tribe had already circled up around the fire. There was a place left for him right in the middle as a sign of respect. As he sat down he already knew what story he would share tonight. He would tell the tribe about the girl and the frog.

Once upon a time a girl sat on the very edge of a lake and she was very sad. Her name was Kimi, and no one in the tribe could figure out what was making Kimi so sad because she would not speak to anyone. Day in and day out she sat there pondering. She thought about how lonely she was and that she wanted a friend. However, Kimi felt like she didn’t fit in with the rest of the tribe. She thought she was different from everyone else.

Then one day as she was sitting there like she always did, she spotted a frog in the water struggling to swim. He was grasping onto a nearby rock and and looked to be fighting for his life. Kimi knew she had no choice but to save him. She jumped in the water and reached out to save the little fellow. She scooped him up in her hands and returned him safely to land. She feared he might not make it and she was so worried. After a couple minutes his little eyes opened and he thanked Kimi for her kindness and introduced himself as Lenape olelu. Then, something amazing happened. Kimi spoke back to Lenape olelu and without hesitation. In fact, the talked the whole rest of the day. She didn’t even realize until a couple hours later that she had made her first friend in this frog, but for some reason Lauren felt so comfortable with Lenape olelu. 

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They spent a lot of time together over the next couple of weeks and they grew closer and closer. Everyone else in the tribe had taken notice. The girl who would never talk to anyone was now inseparable from a slimy little frog. It was all anyone could talk about because no one quite understood it. Then, one day as Kimi and Lenape olelu were alone together down by the lake where they met, Kimi began to express herself to Lenape olelu. She spoke of her great feelings for him and how much these past few weeks have meant to her. Then without even thinking she picked him up and planted a kiss right on his head.

Something magical began to happen. There were sparks of light and glitter and she could see Lenape olelu changing, and then it happened. There before her stood a handsome young man and Lenape olelu the frog was gone. Kimi was scared because she didn’t understand. Lenape olelu explained to her that her had been cursed and turned into a frog only to wait for true love's kiss. Kimi could see that he was still the same Lenape olelu he’d always been. The two were to be married the next day. And they lived happily ever after.

“The End,” said Iagoo.

Author's Note: I wrote this story by coming up with a new kind of story for Iagoo to share with his tribe. In the original story it sets up who Iagoo is as a person. It explains his purpose of storytelling, and it is the basis for the rest of the book because the remaining stories are the ones being told be Iagoo. Since I had been reading about American Indian Fairy Tales I decided to add in some more aspects from the traditional fairy tales I heard growing up. Most of the stories I read in this unit were not ones that I have previously read so they were still a very foreign for the most part. I wanted to add in some of my post knowledge. I tried to add in a little bit of the frog prince. I found this to be a particularly interesting story growing up and for some reason it just seemed like a good fit in this unit and this situation. My story is a different take on the princess and the frog and also a new edition to Iagoo’s stories and stories for the tribe. It is intended to teach a lesson to the tribe.

Bibliography: This story was created based on Iagoo, the Story-Teller. This story is part of the American Indian Fairy Tales unit. Story source: American Indian Fairy Tales by W.T. Larned, with illustrations by John Rae (1921).