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).

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).

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).

Storytelling for Week 9: FIRE

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There it was, lying in front of them. This was the mysterious phenomenon the animals have all been waiting for. It flickered constantly, was a bright orange color that they had never seen before, and moved so elegantly in the wind as it blew. The water spider had just brought back fire in her bowl, and now all of the animals were sitting in a circle around the fire and just staring blankly into the flames. They all heard of the great flames that arrived and knew they must have it, but no one really understood why they were all obsessing over it. They had accomplished their goal of obtaining the fire but what was next? No one knew what to do with this so called “fire.” So they continued to stare at it for hours and hours. They were amazed by the glory of the flame and the bright future that it represented. They did not realize it at the time but at that exact moment they were having the very first campfire.

Finally, the water spider stepped forward and proposed they investigate the fire. This came as no shock to the other animals because the water spider was the only animal able to successfully return with fire, and was therefore seen as the bravest animal. It seemed only fitting that she was the one who tested out the fire and figure out its capabilities.

All of the other animals watched the spider with suspense as she approached the bowl, and everyone stayed silent as she did. She reached out one of her legs and slowly moved it toward the fire. Moments later she shot backwards with a scream. It did not take her long to figure out the that fire was extremely hot and would burn things. The animals knew then that fire was not something to be messed with. Fire was dangerous but it was also curious to them because it the colors and the way it flickered was so beautiful to them. It was the first time that they had experienced something that was both dangerous and beautiful.

After being burned the spider talked about this hot feeling the fire provided. With great caution the spider approached the fire again. She knew to not get close enough to touch it but just close enough to feel the heat. She described the feeling as being the sun at night. She said it was comforting and warm. This immediately provoked the other animals to want to feel the heat. They all lined up for the chance to get close to the fire. Each time a new animal stepped up to the fire they seemed very nervous but then every time they walked away from the fire they had this calm look of happiness on their face.

It did not take them very long to realize they could grow the fire in size to serve more creatures at once. There was a lot they still had to learn about the fire, but they were excited to do so. Everyone was amazed by the effects of the fire and were instantly grateful they had it in their life and for forever.

Author's Note: I wrote my story, FIRE, is based on and created for the story, The First Fire. The original story is about fire being place on Earth for the first time. In the story there are a wide variety of animals who take turns to go to the fire and try to retrieve it from a far away place. After a lot of attempts, a water spider is finally successful, and she brings back fire for all of the animals. The original story ends by just saying that she brought fire and they forever have fire. We never learn much detail about their life with fire. In my story I wanted to show how the animals reacted to the fire and what they first thought of it. I realized that it would be absurd to just assume that the animals would know what to do with the fire. The readers needed to know how the dealt with it. So I did not decide to change anything in my story, but instead I wrote an explanation and detail to make the original story a little bit more credible. I think readers will be able to understand the original better after reading my story.

Bibliography: This story is part of the Cherokee Myths unit. Story source: Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900). It is based on the story, The First Fire.

Storytelling for Week 7: In Search for Love

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One dark and gloomy day there was a very particular beautiful cat named Gon, who was pondering his existence. He lived with his young master whom he loved most dearly. His master was a musician and Gon liked to spend his days listening to him play. Their house was very nice and cozy, and it was right in the middle of a very small town in Japan. Their house was not particularly big, but it was in no means small. Got and his master lived very comfortably. Gon had a very good life. He was given treats whenever he pleased, he had a roasting fire to lay by, birds to chase, constant attention and petting from his master, and most importantly a roof over his head to sleep. In fact, Gon was treated like an absolute king by his master. However, he was never truly happy because it always seemed like something was missing from his life. He tried desperately to make himself happy, but he could not figure out exactly what was missing from his life until that gloomy day at home.

As Gon sat inside his nice house, he curled up near the window and watched the outside. He sat there for hours upon hours seeing people come and go all day. He did this most days so it was not a special occasion. Then it happened.

He watched as a man sat upon a bench and Gon saw his look at the town and watch the people, just like he was doing from behind the window. The man looked content but not necessarily happy. Then, a young woman approached the man and sat down next to him. She looked at him kindly before grabbing his hand and giving him a kiss. This young woman completely changed the man's emotions because now he was filled with joy and smiling ear to ear. It was clear to Gon that this man and woman were in love.

It was that very moment that Gon realized what was missing in his life. He wanted another cat to love, and he was sure that would make him happy. Now he just needed to figure out how to make this a reality. He meowed by the back door day in and day out for over a week in hope that his master would let him outside to explore the town. Gon knew there was no way he would meet a pretty cat just lying around the house.

A few days later he got his chance! His master had walked out the front door to pick up his mail. He did it the same way he did every single day. However, this specific day he accidentally left the door a little cracked open. Gon was ecstatic and pushed through the door with his nose. He trotted around the perimeter of the house and it wasn’t long before he saw her. Standing a little way down in front of the neighbor’s house was the most beautiful cat he had ever seen. She had white fur that looked like silk. She looked like an angel, and to his surprise she was staring at him too, with a twinkle in her eye. It was fate. He ran towards her and it was love at first meow. He had found Koma, and the rest was history.

Author's Note: This story is based on a story from that I read in the Japanese Fairy Tales, called The Cat's Elopement. The original story was very interesting and enjoyable to read. It is about two cats Gon and Koma. A handsome cat named Gon, belonging to a music teacher, and a lovely cat named Koma, belonging to a lady, met and fell in love. Neither of their owners would sell one of them to the other owner, and they finally decided to elope. In the evening, they were threatened by a dog; Koma fled up a tree, while Gon stood his ground to protect her; a servant came by and carried off Gon to his mistress, the princess. A snake had fallen in love with this princess, and annoyed her with its visits. One day, when it came to annoy her once again, Gon pounced on it and killed it. After, he saw a large cat harassing a smaller one. He went to rescue the small cat and found it was Koma. He brought her to the princess and told her their story. She wept with sympathy and kept them with her; when she married a prince, she told him their story, and the prince agreed to keep them always, so they lived happily, with their many kittens playing with the prince and princess's many children. I decided to write this story to explain how he met Koma and why he needed her in his life. I decided I wanted to make the need for love and affection in Gon’s life a little greater. I did not feel the need to tell the rest of the story because the original did such a good job of that in the first place. It was very hard to make an already great story any better. I though instead of changing a big part in the story, that instead I would just write a great amount of detail to the beginning of the story.

Bibliography: This story is part of the Japanese Fairy Tales unit. Story source: The Pink Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1897). It is from the story The Cat's Elopement.

Week 6 Storytelling: Where Do I Belong

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Once upon a time there lived a little ape. He was not just like any ape in jungle. He was unique and very special. He lived on an island very far east and close by to the Great Sea. The island that he lived on was called Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. In fact, it was on the main rock mountain of the island that this special little ape was born. The main thing that made this little guy so unique was the fact that he was literally hatched form an egg.

As a young ape he was so full of life. He spent everyday enjoying himself and playing around on the mountain tops. His favorite things to do included rolling down the mountains and chasing all of the tropical birds and butterflies that flew around the jungle. He thought he was on top of the world. He grew up alone in the jungle but he loved his life there.

He didn’t realize he was different until he met some other apes on the island and came to find out that they were not born from eggs. He suddenly felt very ashamed of himself and was embarrassed that he was not like everyone else. He struggled with the fact that he felt like he did not fit in with the rest of the apes. He would try to hang out with them, but he always felt judged and unwanted.

One day all of the young apes were spending time with their mothers, and that was the moment he decided to give up trying to fit in because he did not have a mother. All he had was a lonely cracked egg shell. That’s when he made the decision to go away and go back to his hill. This ape was done trying to be like the other apes in the jungle. However, now that he was alone again he still was not happy, but he did not know why.

A couple of weeks went by, then one day he had a visitor. One of the other apes had come looking for him. He said that they had all noticed his absence and they missed him and they wanted him to come home. He was so shocked by this! He had never been missed before nor had ever though of a place as home. He immediately hugged the other ape and agree to go back down the mountain with him.

Authors Note: I wrote this story to give a deeper explanation of how life was like growing up for the ape in the story the Handsome King of the Apes. I thought the soon to be king needed to be understood a little bit better. 

Bibliography: This story is based on the story Handsome King of the Apes. This story is part of the The Monkey King unit. Story source: "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" in The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

Storytelling for Week 5: Vote for King

Once upon a time there was a huge jungle, and it was filled with hundreds of animals running around in the foliage. Now these animals were of all sizes and had the freedom to do and say as they please. Throughout the years the jungle had many arguments between the different animals. These arguments were usually solved through physical fights, which always got pretty intense and brutal. The worst fight was when a cheetah was caught stealing food from a tiger. Or these disagreements were never solved, and that was even worse because it caused the jungle to become divided.

After many years of spending their life like that, day in and day out, some of the animals found themselves beginning to have hope for change, especially those animals that were both small and weak. The animals wanted peace, and they wanted to be able to walk about the jungle without having to fear their enemies. It didn’t take long for the whispers of peace to travel through the jungle, and very soon it was a single wish that almost all of the animals in the jungle collectively possessed. Peace was in their mind and nothing would stop them from making it a reality. They were just not sure how to make it happen. All of the different types of animals in the jungle were in disagreement on how best to gain peace, and no one was stepping up.

A few weeks of disagreements went by and there had still been no change, and the animals were still fighting amongst each other. Up until now there had only been hopeful rumors of change. Finally, the monkeys decided to take charge and they called a meeting in the center of the jungle. They requested to have one representative from each type of animal attend the meeting. The meeting took place the following day. All of the animals sat in a circle with the monkeys in the middle. Each animal sent to the meeting was the most respected and wisest of its kind, and they were all confused about what they were doing there because there had never been an organized meeting in the jungle before.

The monkeys opened the meeting by explaining that this group was the elite of the jungle and would now be known as the council. They made it clear that this was how they proposed that the council made the decisions for the jungle from now on because it was the only way to have a representative from everyone in the jungle. Everyone else agreed unanimously. However, they still needed a king among the council, and everyone had an opinion about who this leader would be. 

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After a lot of disagreements, the council settled on three nominations. In the running for the king was the head monkey, the tiger, and the turtle. The monkey was an option because some of the animals thought the monkeys were smart enough to come up with the idea of the council, so they should be able to lead. The tiger was nominated because he was strong and would intimidate against enemies or thoughts of rebellion or attack. Finally, the turtle was nominated because he was one of the oldest in the jungle therefore he was the wisest and the most experienced.

The decision was set to a vote. All of the animals raised their paw for the animal they thought was best fit to lead. It was a quiet vote without too much discussion because there was a winner by a large majority. By the end of the vote they had a king. King Tiger made his debut as the leader and everyone finally saw peace in the future.

Author's Note:I wrote this story, Vote for King, as a prequel to the story "The Tiger and the Monkeys." It was my way of showing how the tiger became the king of the jungle. The original story just simply stated that there was a council in the jungle but never told how this came to be. I wanted to bring this part of the story to life in order to give the original story more substance and make it a little bit more believable. The original story focused on rebellion and trickery from the monkeys. The king heard a beautiful singing voice and made it known that he would marry the woman the voice belonged to. The monkeys tricked King Tiger into believing the voice belonged to one of their sisters. Once the king decided to marry her he found out it had all been a trick, and that the monkeys had been plotting to attack the king. The story ended with yet another bloody fight in the jungle and King Tiger being forever afraid of the monkeys. I would think the next part of the story would tell about an impeachment of the tiger and a new vote for king.

Bibliography: This story is based on the story, The Tiger and the Monkeys. This story is part of the Khasi Folktales unit. Story source: Folk-Tales of the Khasis by Mrs. K. U. Rafy (1920).