Storytelling Week 12: Tribe 321

Lauren is putting up the tree,

Hoping that underneath soon there will be,

Presents for her and all of us to see.

She has asked day and night,

Waiting for all of us to say without a fight,

Yes we will put up the Christmas tree tonight!

She claims to be Cindy lou hoo,

But the Christmas lights she chose were the color blue.

However, you won’t see a frown from Lauren

Not unless you catch her snoring

After all, a moment with her is never boring.

Then there is Hannah,

Who really likes to eat bananas,

Never does she swear,

Because after all she really does care.

She really likes to dance,

In her Mario Pajama pants,

She also likes to do hand stands,

Even though she can barely land.

She often causes a clatter

Which makes our downstairs neighbor wonder what’s the matter.

Occasionally she ends up on the bar

Because she thinks she is a star

Last but not least there is Shelbi

You never know where she will be,

Often she is hiding behind a dark corner

Ready to scare the living daylights out of a foreigner,

She too likes to dance,

Usually late at night,

Is the best time to see such a sight.

Watch out for her on the floor,

there she sleeps but she will never snore,

However when she is awake,

Everyone knows she is not fake.

Upstairs there is one that doesn’t belong,

He bangs and clangs all day long,

His steps are heavy,

His name is probably something like eddy,

We often bang on the ceiling,

Trying to make him understand our feeling,

We put up with the noise,

At least until august,

We’ve made our self that promise,

In our moments of despair,

We just have to scream it is not fair!

Now that you have met the tribe of 321,

You know how these rhymes once begun.

It all started from scratch,

That is when this sisterhood began to hatch,

For each other we would fight,

Against each other sometimes we just might,

Through burnt dinners and undone laundry,

We have learned to just laugh and have a party,

Different paths we may take,

Because after all life is no cupcake,

However I know that I can always count on my tribe,

Even without a bribe.

Author's Note:

I had a hard time trying to retell a nursery rhyme so I decided to make my own rhymes. The rhymes are about my roommates. Don't worry I read them all out loud to them so they know exactly what they say. While trying to write the rhymes I realized how difficult it can be. I also included what we go through with our upstairs neighbor. I hope that my rhymes at least give someone a good laugh!

Personal Photo of Tribe 321

Since one story did not inspire me more than the other here is the link to the Nursery Rhymes

Bibliography 

The Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang (1897).

Storytelling: Week 12 The Mistress and the Witches

There was a knock at the door.

When she opened it she was surprised to see a dark shadow with a tall pointed hat and a broom near the side of the figure.

When the lightning struck she saw a horrifying face to the figure, which led her to scream at the top of her lungs and run backwards. While running she felt her leg hit the back of the sofa forcing her to fall and hit her head. It was then that the mistress lost her vision.

Meanwhile, at the door the witch took it upon herself to come into the mistress’s home. She found a few pastries the mistress had baked. She carried them to the couch by where the unconscious mistress lay. The witch had a seat on the couch and began to eat. She sat there slowly rocking back and forth slowly counting to eleven.

She was counting to for her sisters. After about five minutes one by one they showed up at the door.

“Hello sisters! It is time that we came here to finish our business. Someone get the kettle boiling!” said witch number one.

Witch number three and four each grabbed a leg that belonged to the mistress and started dragging her towards the fire place. They laid her there while the others gathered supplies for the pot of boiling water. They put different spices, leaves, and hair all in the water. One of them ran around the pot chanting a curse.

Slowly the mistress started to regain consciousness. She realized what was happening. The man she had been seeing had warned her that they would come for her. He was married to a woman that would not let him go. He rebelled by sleeping with women, but every time his wife found out he had another lover she would cast a spell. The spell involved one witch at first, but since the first day the man cheated the numbers have grown.

The witches gathered the body of the mistress and put her in a chair.

“It is time!” said witch number one.

Then the twelfth witch brought over a bowl that the witches had been cooking.

The first witch looked down at the mistress and said “This won’t hurt a bit. It is time you became one of us.” She then splashed the concoction onto the mistress’s face. Her smooth clear skin then turned to wrinkles and she began to grow a horn on her head.

The curse was now complete. The witches’ numbers had grown to thirteen and the wife was completely happy that the woman had become one the thirteen ugliest people in the world.

The Horned Women

picture source

Bibliography 

The Horned Women by Joseph Jacobs from Celtic Fairy Tales (1892).

Author's Note: 

The original story made me think of how the witches would have appeared. I thought of how strange it would have been to be the mistress. It made me wonder why the mistress deserved this treatment. that inspired me to write of a cheating mistress and how the wife was able to seek revenge on every woman the helped her husband cheat. I thought the Celtic tales were very entertaining and could be interpreted in many different ways.

Storytelling week 11: The Birth of Robin Hood

There once was a boy that had no family. He was raised by the wolves in the woods. He grew from a small boy into a man that respected the woods very much. It was his home.

When he was old enough to separate from his wolf brothers and their den he set off on an adventure to find a new home. He walked through the forest talking to the birds and other animals he met along the way.

He thought he would never run out of the dirt path through the magical place he lived. It was getting dark and he thought he should find a place to sleep. He climbed a tree and found a nice spot to rest his head. He gave a quick howl that echoed through the forest so his brothers could hear that he was safe for the night.

He drifted off to sleep when he heard a ruckus coming from below the tree. He opened his eyes and to his surprise there were others like him. There was a man and a woman having an argument below his tree. Robin Hood listened to what they were saying.

“Give me that purse or I will bring harm to you!” said the man.

“This is all I have and I am better off dead without it,” she screamed back.

The man then threw the woman against the tree Robin Hood was in.

Robin didn’t know much about humans. He had only been raised with wolves. Something inside him told him what was happening was not right. He had to take action against the man that hurt the lovely lady. He then grabbed a tree branch and let out a cry of war that he and his brothers used.

He then swung down from the tree knocking the man off his feet. He grabbed the bag and through it back towards the girl who was laying below the tree. He then crouched down like he did with his brothers before they were about to fight. The man pulled out a knife and pointed it towards Robin. He was not afraid he knew his brothers would be on their way. He then howled the war cry again and growled at the man.

The man did not know what was happening. He was scared because he had not seen this behavior in a human before he then dropped the knife and started running towards the town he had snatched the girl from.

When he got back to town he told the town about the boy that lived in the woods. The towns people wanted to know what he looked like and he told them about how he mostly wore leaves for clothes and had a funny shaped hat on his head. The towns people laughed at the thief and began calling the boy in the woods Robin Hood for his behavior of giving the poor girl her purse back, and for the way he dressed were you could not see anything but his eyes.

picture

Author’s Note:

I liked the original story of Robin Hood. The unit I read made him seem like someone else to me. I wanted to create a new image of him as well, which is why I created the wolf brothers. There isn’t much about how Robin Hood was raised so I wanted to explain his actions. I thought this would be a good time to make the audience see that he was not familiar with how to act with humans but he knew the difference from right and wrong. I also wanted to create a connection between the woods and how that life is all he had ever known. 

Bibliography:

“Robin Hood’s Progress to Nottingham,” by Francis James Child from The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (1882-1898).Story Link

Storytelling Week 9: The Deer Ghost

There once was a man that decided to split from the tribe and attempt hunting on his own. His pray was deer that would feed his family for a couple weeks through the harsh winter ahead. He climbed up high in a tree and waited patiently with his bow and arrow for a deer to walk by.

Time went on and he did not see a single deer. He decided he would make camp that night and try again in the morning. When he went to rest for the night he heard some wrestling in the leaves near his camp. He thought it might be an intruder that could be dangerous. The man grabbed his knife and bow. He hid behind a large tree trying to hold his breath so the enemy could not hear him. By the light of the moon he saw a shadow on four legs.

The man was relieved that it was not a warrior of the woods that was there to take his belongings and kill him. However, when he studied the shadow it grew closer to camp, grazing on the acorns that were on the ground. Finally the shadow was close enough he could see the tall horns of a deer that would feed his family for at least 3 weeks.

The man thought he could manage a shot in the dark. He then pulled back on his bow string to let an arrow fly. The deer had no idea he was there and kept eating acorns. Soon the man let go when he had the perfect shot and the deer did not even flinch. How strange the man thought and he loaded his bow to try another shot. This time the deer looked up at him. The man and the deer made direct eye contact and it was if the deer could see directly into his soul. The hunter put down his bow and thought he would wait until the morning.

That morning the man had high hopes of seeing the buck he had encountered the night before. Instead the hunter saw several does that all had fawns. The tribe had always agreed to not shoot a doe that was able to reproduce or needed to provide for a fawn. The hunter waited patiently just hoping he would come back with meat. Soon a doe that was abnormally large walked out from the woods. The man pulled back and let the arrow fly from his bow. He climbed down from his tree to go harvest the deer. He suddenly felt the urge to look towards the woods in which he saw the big buck standing against the tree line.

When he went back to the tribal grounds he told all of the men about his journey. One of the elders of the tribe spoke up, “There is nothing wrong with your arrows son that is the deer ghost. He roams the woods at night to distract hunters that may be breaking the codes of the tribe by taking a deer when it is not daylight. He was struck once with an arrow while asleep by a white man. Your great grandfather nursed him back to help with certain native potions that made his life eternal.”

Author’s Note:

While reading The Man Who Shot a Ghost I thought about taking a different approach to the story. Several Native American tales have to do with animals or nature and how they are spirits. I wanted to make the deer a spirit. Another influence of this story was what is recently in the news about a young girl that shot a trophy buck. People tend to think that hunters are only about killing an animal for it to be a trophy. I think this attitude is shameful because our ancestors had to hunt for their food as well. Deer are harvested, not gunned down. If the meat is not used by hunters there are donation banks where the meat can be given to people who are in need. I also used the elder telling about the ghost story to imply that hunting is something that is passed down from generations. It should not be lost because there may be a day when every person has to provide for their own family.

The Man Who Shot a Ghost

Bibliography: “The Man Who Shot a Ghost” by Katharine Berry Judson from Myths and Legends of the Great Plains (1913).

Personal photo from my deer camera. I thought this foggy picture would represent a deer ghost well.

Storytelling week 7: Eddie's first date

Eddie was a tremendous football player. He was well liked by all of his coaches at the university. He was the fastest running back that any of them had ever seen in their careers. Athletically he was at the top of the food chain, but with the ladies he was not as popular. He only knew how to play football. He hadn’t had a father figure to tell him how to treat a woman.

His teammates teased Eddie about his awkwardness around girls. Prom was coming up soon and Eddie figured he just wouldn’t go. He thought he would pick up an extra shift at the local 7/11 where he worked on the weekends. His teammates wanted to help Eddie get a date. They knew he wouldn’t do it on his own.

 They knew Eddie had his eye on Sabrina. She was captain of the cheerleading squad and the most popular girl in school. The boys knew exactly how they were going to get Eddie a date. He needed a new sense of fashion. Eddie looked like his mother still picked out his clothes because he wore clothes from the local thrift shop. 

The boys thought they could help Eddie if they created him a new image. So they took Eddie to the mall and bought him new jeans and a collared shirt. They also took him to get a haircut and got him some gel to put in his hair.

 The next day the boys encouraged Eddie to ask Sabrina to prom. Eddie was super nervous and did not even know how he would talk to such a pretty girl. Finally he found the courage and he walked up to her on his way to class.

 “Hey Sabrina! How’s it going?” Eddie said.

 Sabrina turned around shocked at Eddie’s appearance. “Um.. good.. Eddie?” she asked.

 Eddie knew by the look on her face she was shocked that he could clean up well. “Would you like to have dinner with me tonight, around 7?” Eddie asked. 

Sabrina still had an astonished look on her face but she managed to mumble a “sure.” 

That night Eddie and Sabrina went to the Dairy Queen for dinner.

 “Sabrina, there something I wanted to ask you…” She turned her head and looked at Eddie “ask away,” she replied. 

Eddie took a deep breath, “Would you go to prom with me?”

Sabrina looked at Eddie confused “is that why you went and bought new clothes?” 

Eddie looked at his plate, because he knew for sure her answer was no. 

Sabrina continued the conversation, “because you could have asked me with that dorky haircut and I would have said yes. Appearance isn’t everything Eddie.”

Author's Note: 

I wrote this story based on the idea of Anansi and Nothing. In the West African Tale, Anansi and nothing set out to find wives. Nothing was dressed in fancy clothes and Anansi was not because he was poor. Anansi convenience Nothing to switch him clothes, and of course Anansi received all the attention. Later when they brought their wives home the ones of Anansi soon realized they were fooled and had picked a poor husband. Nothing's wife tried to share the wealth with the others and Anansi got jealous and killed Nothing. I thought this story was a good representation that looks may make a person appealing, but they are simply not everything.  

Bibliography:

“Anansi and Nothing” by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair from West African Folktales (1917).

Anansi and Nothing


I thought this picture was important to remember because Anansi is supposed to resemble a spider in most West African Tales.
Picture Link

Storytelling: Week 6: The three boys, Marley, Eddie, and Jaxon

One day Marley, Eddie, and Jaxon decided they wanted to go on an adventure. Now the three had never been in the woods by themselves before, but Eddie was confident that he could find his way back home.

They decided they should pack a lunch in case they got hunger or did not make it back in time for dinner. Even at the age of five they knew that their parents would be worried so they wrote them a note to let them know where they had went. After the note was placed on the kitchen counter of Eddie’s house the three boys grabbed their lunches and headed towards the backyard.

They decided they were going to look for treasure. Of course all little boys want to find something hidden in the woods. They had heard from their friends that if they found a circle of stones in the middle of the forest, in which there were no trees, only the stones and grass that there would be a treasure underneath. They found a trail to follow on the nice fall morning. It wasn’t long before Jaxon was hungry. He decided he would hang back and eat his peanut butter sandwich while the others went on ahead.

 Marley and Eddie continued on the trail. They finally came to a spot that was very wooden and the trail was getting smaller. Marley started to get nervous looking at the dark and narrow path. Eddie turned around to say “Come on Marley!” Quickly Marley thought of an excuse to not go in to the dark woods. “Eddie I think I will sit here and eat my lunch and wait for Jaxon to catch up.” Eddie was fine with Marley’s excuse and went on about his marry way.

Soon Eddie noticed it was getting dark and the woods were starting to look scarier. He heard a noise coming from behind him. He thought maybe it was his friends but he heard a growling noise. Eddie started to run through the woods. Soon he heard a snap and WAM! Fell to the ground.

 He then discovered he had fallen in a hole and was trapped. He was so scared he did not know what to do but cry. Then an old woman appeared over him. She was the lady of the woods from the legends Eddie had heard. She raised Eddie from the trap and said she was looking for that old Buñgisñgis that killed her friend, the dog, and lamed the carabao, and spared that witty monkey. 

Image I thought this image was fitting from the original story.

Author's Note:

I wanted to take a different approach to this story. I found it a little difficult to connect to the story I chose by using the same plot or characters. Instead I used what the story made me think of, which was one of my children that I work with. He always wants me to tell him a story, generally about an adventure, In the original story, The Three Friends: the monkey, the dog, and the carabao the animals went to the country to hunt because they were tired of the city. Each day one animal would stay behind and cook. During that time the Buñgisñgis would come and bully them out of their food. One day they trapped him but then he was able to escape. That is when he killed the dog, harmed the carabao, and the monkey was able to get away. He met up with the monkey again but was outwitted.

Stroytelling Week 5: The Old Oak

It stood tall above the street right in front of the Palmer’s old green house, providing shade to the pedestrians on the sidewalk and a home to the creatures around it. It was almost time for the leaves to turn, the best time of the year.  It was time for the tree to shine beautiful colors of orange and red, just in time too, since there was a big debate in the town over the tree’s existence. Eufaula used to be a growing community. The town had several ups and downs throughout the years and local businesses were hard to come by anymore. However, there was a rumor that the town would be getting several businesses in the near future with the removal of the big oak tree.

 To some folks this was okay. They had not lived in Eufaula long and thought the tree did not show any significance. To others and older folks the tree had really made the town. It was a place where several generations of families had watched town parades in the shade of the tree.

Now the town mayor thought the business was a good idea, it would bring more people to Eufaula and it would help the town grow. He planned to promote the issue and make the townspeople see that it was necessary to cut the tree down and bulldoze the old green house.

The people of Eufaula had a different idea. Mrs. Matthews had heard from Mrs. Smith, the mayor’s mother, about the dismissal of the old oak. Mrs. Mathews soon spread the word to Mrs. Callaway, who was the town gossip. Soon there was a march of upset townspeople in front of city hall. The mayor, Mr. Smith, finally made an appearance to address the angry mob. “It has come to my attention that many of you disagree with the decision to remove the old oak and bulldoze the green house; since the councilmen and I have already voted for the new business the only way to reverse the decision is to have three hundred and thirty people sign a petition against the Palmer residence and save the old oak. You have one week before termination of the property.”

Now most people would think three hundred and thirty signatures would be easy to come by. However, most of those people have never been to Eufaula. There was one woman who was very enthusiastic about saving the tree, Mrs. Daniels. She spent her Sunday afternoons sweeping the streets of Eufaula and making sure the flowers around the town had water in a drought.  

Mrs. Daniel set up a committee of volunteers of which section of Eufaula they would cover each day. Soon the group had three hundred and twenty nine signatures of the good people in Eufaula. It was Friday afternoon and if they did not find one more citizen’s signature they were going to lose and the oak would be gone forever. One of the young volunteers in the group, Hannah said she knew the one place they had not covered but it was on Twin Mountain.

 There was a reason of course; ole hateful Mrs. Maragret Schmit lived on that mountain. Her dad used to own most of the town of Eufaula before the lake was built. People say she’d been bitter about it since 1964 when the government took her father’s businesses and most of their wealth. Hannah thought maybe she could talk some sense into Margaret and she would help the town keep the tree.

 Hannah and her committee were soon outside Margaret’s old mansion. They knocked on the door and were let in by a butler. Hannah was soon face to face with Mrs. Schmit. “Ma’am we really need your help! We only need one more signature to complete this petition and it will save the old oak tree,” begged Hannah. “When I was your age I had all I ever wanted, and then the lake was put in and it hurt my daddy’s businesses, why would I help people that wanted that lake. It destroyed farmer’s homes and crops, and here we are, a poor community fighting over saving a tree.” Hannah soon turned for the door knowing that Margret wanted to make the people of Eufaula suffer like she had many years ago. “Thank you for your time Mrs. Schmit, I guess take a good look at the Palmer house before Monday,” Hannah said hatefully. “Wait! You just wait right there child. You say it’s the big oak in front of the ole Palmers’ green house? Give me that paper!” Margaret shouted. Hannah quickly ran the paper over to Mrs. Schmit before she changed her mind. Hannah had forgotten that Margaret and Mary Palmer had been best friends in high school. That is why when you drive through Eufaula today, you can see the tall branches of the old oak tree.

Author's Note: 

My writing was influenced by the story of the Spirit that lived in a tree. The tree was supposed to be cut down in order to make room for the King’s Palace. The people of the community loved the tree and would worship it. It had stood for sixty thousand years. The tree spirit convinced the king that he wanted to be cut one branch at a time. When the king heard this remark he decided the tree could stay and it would be the only thing he would build his castle around. This story relates because even after everything the town had been through it had always been there. It was based on actual facts of Eufaula because not long ago there was a debate over the tree being cut down. Thankfully the tree is still standing.

All are personal photos from my sister Caleigh Montgomery who was willing to go take pictures of the Oak tree for this assignment!

Week 4 Storytelling: Billy and Mr. Nutty Nut

 He crouched down as he prepared to take off as soon as the squirrel turned his back. The weather is so lovely today, he felt like he could run for miles. The squirrel had almost picked the perfect pecan, wait there he goes making a run for it. Bentley took off at that instant to try and beat the thieving squirrel to the tree. WAM! Bentley hit the tree almost as fast as the squirrel. “You come down here, Mr. Nutty Nut!” Bentley ferociously barked at the squirrel. “That’s Mr. Squirrel to you, Billy.”

Bentley had been after Mr. Nutty Nut since he was a pup. Now that he was a mature four year old dog, he felt that it was his duty to protect all of the pecans on the orchid. He had watched his master and his family take such pride in the orchid to let a pesky squirrel carry off the precious pecans. “Just you wait; my master will come out with that fire rod and light up that fluffy tail of yours!” Bentley howled at the squirrel.

Since it was fall and the pecans were just right for the picking he was sure someone would notice his barking soon. Bentley barked and he barked, he thought surely someone would come out of the house. He then realized his master’s truck was missing. I bet he is at work Bentley thought to himself. He then decided that he needed to keep the squirrel where he could see him in the tree until his master got home.

He started asking the squirrel questions. “Why do you take my master’s pecans? I know they taste good but I only eat them when my master gives them to me.” The squirrel snickered back “well Bentley, this just proves that I am smarter than you. I do not wait for a human to give me food.” Bentley was outraged and he showed his teeth to the squirrel. He let out a growl of “My master is the best human there is. She gives me food, water, buys me cool toys, oh have you seen my duck?” As soon as Bentley realized that he did not know where his neon duck was he took off to find him and show him to Mr. Nutty Nut.

 Bentley looked around the shed, underneath the deck, and finally he spotted his duck in the hole he had dug in the flowerbed. Now I can show that nutty nut what humans are capable of he thought. He started toward the tree with his duck and he stopped, he heard his master’s truck coming down the driveway. Quickly Bentley ran towards the tree the squirrel was in and he started to bark to let his master know there was an enemy in the tree. Bentley looked and looked, but he did not see the squirrel in the tree. Soon he saw his master was behind him look up the tree. “Silly Bentley, there isn’t anything in that tree. Nice try though,” his master turned to walk towards the house. Bentley looked at the tree in disbelief, from the very top on the highest limb, he saw the squirrel clinging for dear life with a smirk on his face. Bentley had fell victim to the squirrel’s tricks once again.

Author's Note: 

I tried to mimic the plot of the Monkey and the Crocodile. The first thing that came to my mind was my dog and his obsession with chasing squirrels. I thought I would tell this story form a dog's perspective because I feel like if he could talk this is what his day would consist of, which is entertaining to me. In the story of The Monkey and the Crocodile, the crocodile is trying to catch the monkey because his mother wants the monkey’s heart. The crocodile tries to outsmart the monkey and has his chance to capture him, but the monkey quickly realizes how to fool the young predator. Once the monkey uses the crocodile to get across to the island with the ripe fruit he tells him that his heart is in the tree in which he lives. The crocodile returns the monkey home and is unable to bring the heart to his mother because the monkey was safe in the tree. Bentley relates to the crocodile because he is easily tricked. The squirrel represents the monkey because he can often get away from Bentley and sometimes a squirrel will sit on a high branch and snicker down to him on the ground.

Story source 

Bibliography: 

“The Monkey and the Crocodile” by Ellen C. Babbitt from Jataka Tales (1912).

Personal Photo of Bentley. How I would picture his facial expression to be after he lost a squirrel.

Storytelling: week 3 How the Crane Found the Wolf

It was a cold winter night when the wolf met up with the Crane. The wolf had been walking around for days looking for food but the snow had made it difficult to find any prey. Finally the Wolf caught a whiff of a deer that a hunter must have lost because it smelt a few days old. Luckily the cold weather had preserved the deer and it was just right for eating to the wolf, so he began his feast. Being a few days without food made the wolf eat so fast he was practically inhaling the meat. He noticed that there was something caught deep down his throat. He tried to cough but it would not budge. He looked at the feast and realized he must have swallowed a deer rib. He decided he needed help getting the bone out so he started his journey up the cold mountain side seeking help. He came across a pack of coyotes. “Brothers!” the wolf cried. He made motions to the bone stuck in his throat. “Is there something we can do for you?” asked the leader of the pack. The wolf managed to say “Yes! Please help me with this bone,” as he opened his mouth. The coyote laughed and said “Remember that time you told us about the farmer’s calf and how he never checks on them at night? Well you were wrong. We lost one of our strongest pack members to the farmer’s buckshot. Why would we help you when you only want to help yourself?” The wolf hung his head and went on to look for more help. He soon came across a shepherd guarding his sheep. The shepherd ran towards the wolf with his staff and wacked him on the head. The wolf again pleaded for help. The shepherd responded with a laugh, “Why on earth would I help you, think of how many sheep you have stolen from me.” The wolf couldn’t help but understand why his enemies would not help him. He went away from the shepherd to lie down and prepare to die with the deer rib in his throat. Suddenly he heard a noise; it was a crane that had landed right beside him.  “Are you the wolf with the bone stuck in your throat?” asked the crane. He had heard all the animals telling of how the wolf was in desperate need of assistance. The wolf nodded. “Well I think I could be of some help to you, but you must make me a promise? You must never eat a single crane.” The wolf agreed on the terms of the crane and soon the crane had pulled the bone out with his large beak. “Thank you!” the wolf exclaimed. “Now as for that promise, I do not see any one else with you, therefore I did not eat a single crane,” with that the wolf turned and ran up the mountain side to find the deer he had left and finish his meal. 

Author's Note:
I chose the story The Wolf and the Crane because I thought it was entertaining the first time I read it. I thought it would be a good idea to take a different approach, which was that the wolf did not have any friends because he was so greedy. I wanted to show that he was not concerned about others well-being. I decided to show the wolf's journey to finding help from the crane to remove the bone in his throat. I tried to make my retelling of the story very descriptive to give the reader a good mental image. In the original story, the wolf tried to get anyone he met to take out the bone from his throat. The wolf came across a crane that said if the wolf would make a promise then he would take the bone out. He had the wolf lay on his side and he stuck his head inside the wolf’s mouth to get the bone. The wolf had said he would do anything to have the bone out and after it was out the crane asked for his reward. The wolf responded with how the crane was lucky he stuck his head into his mouth without the wolf ending his life.

Bibliography
"The Wolf and the Crane." by Joseph Jacobs from The Fables of Aesop (1894).
story source



picture source
I think this picture does a good job of indicating the Wolf's character.

Storytelling week 2: Katrina the Cat

There once was a girl named Katrina. Everyone in the neighborhood called her “Kat” for short. Kat had few friends and was socially awkward. She was a freshman in high school and had never had a boyfriend, or a boy who was even a friend. Walking home from school one day Kat was contemplating how to make more friends. She was very intelligent; she had never received less than an A in any class. She decided she was going to put her brain to good use and offer tutoring to her peers to gain friends. Kat made flyers that read “Free Tutoring,’ she knew that several people were struggling in her chemistry class and thought she would ask the teacher if she could advertise the flyer for the students that needed help. The next day before class Mrs. Ridge, the chemistry teacher, stood in front of the class and informed them that Katrina was giving free tutoring and everyone who was having difficulties should seek her for guidance. Katrina waited in the library after school for three hours and not a soul showed up to study with her. She told herself that since it was the first day people probably needed time to rearrange their schedules. There was a certain boy Katrina had hoped would show up, which was Jeremy. Jeremy was the captain of the football team, student body president, and the cutest boy in school. Every day they passed each other in the hallway, but they never spoke. After three days of waiting for people to show up for tutoring, Kat was ready to give up. The library closed at six o’clock so at 5:45 she started to pack up her things for another unsuccessful day, when she heard “excuse me, Miss?” Katrina froze because she had heard that voice so many times but it was never directed to her. She turned around to see Jeremy staring back at her. “Do you think I could get some help on my chem homework?” Jeremy asked. Katrina managed to utter a “surrre” out. Jeremy exchanged his schedule with Katrina and made plans to meet her the next day to go over a study guide for the next test and do his homework. They continued the tutoring into the next week. After a week other football players started to show up and Katrina found herself almost too busy to do her own homework. Katrina thought she would talk to Jeremy about feeling stressed because she thought he would understand she needed to focus on her own grades too. “Hey Jeremy I think it would be best if we only studied a couple nights a week, instead of every day because I have homework too,” Katrina casually mentioned during their study session. Jeremy responded with “Well actually Katrina, I really need you to study with me every day because if I don’t pass this class I won’t go to a Division 1 school to play football and then I will never have a shot at the pros!” Katrina then felt obligated to keep studying with him. Weeks went by and Jeremy was passing chemistry with flying colors. Prom was coming up and Katrina was sure that Jeremy was going to ask her because he had been asking if anyone was taking her. Katrina passed by Jeremy in the hallway with Tiffany, captain of the cheerleader squad. She heard Jeremy ask Tiffany to go to prom with him. Katrina was devastated. She could not believe that she had given up so much for him and he could not even see it. She was constantly there for him when he needed something. Right then and there Katrina realized she was not helping Jeremy any longer. She also lost all of her love she had once felt for him because of his personality.

Author’s Note: I read the Aesop (Winter) Fables and enjoyed the lessons from them. I feel like this was a lesson taught by many fables. In The Cat and the Monkey, the cat was being played by the monkey to get him roasted nuts out of the fire. Katrina was the cat in this story because her feelings were being hurt, much like the cats paw. Another lesson taught here is that popularity is not everything. I used this fable because I thought it was something everyone has experienced and can relate to. source

 

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Bibliography 

"The Cat and the Monkey." Joseph Jacobs. From The Aesop for Children (1919). 

Week 1 Storytelling: The king of the playground

There once was a boy named Thomas. Thomas had long shaggy hair, wore the latest version of KDs (Kevin Durant's shoe line), and was athletic. He was the king of the playground being in the fifth grade and a head taller than the other children. He enjoyed picking on other kids by making fun of their insecurities. Then there was Jep, a small kid for being in the second grade.  Jep had glasses and usually wore second hand clothes from the local thrift store. Thomas knew how to manipulate Jep to get him in trouble at school. After recess the children were lined up in the hallway for a bathroom break and to get a drink. Thomas had just got a new pair of KD shoes and Jep was admiring them on the way to the bathroom. “Hey Jep! Do you like my new shoes?” asked Thomas. “I love them, they are my favorite color!” exclaimed Jep. As they were walking into the bathroom Thomas got the bright idea to make Jep a deal. “I would give you these shoes, IF you can manage to go into the girls’ bathroom without getting caught and put toilet all over the floor and sinks,” said Thomas. Jep was so amazed that he did not even think before he answered yes. The two went back to their separate classrooms. Later Thomas heard a scream from down the hall. His teacher ran out into the hallway to see what was wrong and the students followed. Thomas then saw the principal holding Jep’s hand marching to her office and in his other hand was a wad of toilet paper. Thomas let out a smirk and proudly walked back to his seat. The next day at recess Thomas saw Jep on the playground. Thomas yelled, “Hey four eyes, how was the girls’ bathroom?”  All of Thomas’s friends chuckled and Jep walked by with his head hanging low, realizing he had fallen for another one of Thomas’s tricks.  Thomas went on to the monkey bars, which were his favorite thing to play on at the playground. He thought he would show off and do a flip off the last monkey bar. As he went to flip he missed the bar and a thud was heard across the playground.  Unfortunately, the bell to go inside was ringing about the same time that Thomas fell. All his friends abandoned him because they did not want detention for being tardy. Thomas couldn’t move the only thing he felt was pain in his leg. Suddenly Thomas saw a pair of very used spiderman sneakers in his view, which would only belong to Jep. Thomas could hear Jep’s voice telling him he was going to get some help and everything would be okay.  The ambulance was called and they took Thomas to the hospital to check on his leg and his head. A few days went by and no one saw Thomas. Finally Thomas entered the school doors with the help of his crutches. All of his friends greeted him but Thomas couldn’t help but notice that Jep was standing all alone. He pushed his friends aside and pulled out a shoebox from his backpack. “Hey Jep! Could you please come here?” asked Thomas. Jep walked over towards Thomas as he pushed a shoebox toward Jep. A look of excitement crossed Jep’s face as he opened the box to find a pair of Kd’s his size and just like the ones he wanted that belonged to Thomas.

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Image from scene on Max Keebles Big Move showing the bullies he faced,

I used the fable The Old Lion to create this story. I found the fable easy to relate to a real life situation because bullying happens every day with children. The lion is said to be “the king of the Jungle,” just like Thomas was the king of the playground. In the fable the lion was attacked when he was down by other animals showing their hatred toward him. In my story the plot took a turn to show Jep was a better person when his bully was injured and showed his true colors by seeking help for an enemy. 

Bibliography 

Aesop for Children, by (anonymous), illustrated by Milo Winter (1919).