Week 14: Storytelling: The Faithful Unfaithful

(Mr. Shannahan walking in the night)

Where is my wife? Hmmmm...she should have been home with dinner ready an hour ago. Something is up, I just know it. I have to come up with a plan to catch what she is up to. Wait, you don't even know me. You see, I am an older gentleman in this great village of mine, who took a beautiful young maiden for my wife. My name is Mr. Shannahan. She wanted children, but was very disappointed when I could not give her them. I knew she confided in the other young women in town about how unhappy she was about it. I felt sorry for my incompetence in this area. I have noticed, however, that she has been staying out with her friends later than usual. I know a few of her friends' husbands and they would not allow their women to stay out as late as my wife claims they have been. She has to be up to something and I must get to the bottom of it.

And with that, the old gentleman was off into the night. He took a lantern, his coat, a scarf, and a his warmest hat. He quietly slipped off into the night on a search to find is wife. 

I believe I'll stop by the market first. Perhaps some of the shop owners have seen her....

The man walked into the first shop that sold fabric.

"Excuse me! Mrs. Jones...have you seen my wife?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Shannahan...I'm afraid I haven't seen her since this morning...She stopped by after having brunch with Mrs.Davis and Mrs. Linn."

"Thank you, Mrs. Jones! I'll move along so you can finish closing. I have good night!"

The man left Mrs. Jones' store and wandered next door to Mr. Davis' butcher shop.

"Mr. Davis! Mr. Davis, are you still here?"

"Yes! I'm in the back! Who is it!?"

"It's Mr. Shannahan! May I please have a word with you?"

"Of course! Come on back!"

Mr. Shannahan went to the back of the shop where he found Mr. Davis cutting meat for the next day. They chatted about their wives and Mr. Davis told him that his wife had stopped by earlier, but that was a long time ago. He was almost certain she had gone to see the priest after she left his shop. She definitely should have been home by now. Mr. Shannahan was starting to worry that something bad had happened to her. Feeling discouraged, he started his way back home to wait for her. 

That was a very weird encounter I had with the priest last night...I do not remember ever loaning him my winnowing basket....and why did he return it so late? This is all very strange to me. He seemed so nervous last night when he woke me up. If he really was just returning it, then why was he so nervous to do such a noble thing?

The old gentleman had it in his mind now that he was going to go ask the priest if he knew anything about where his wife was. He headed straight to the priest's house and knocked on the door...but there was no answer. However, the door was open. Mr. Shannahan decided to walk in and check on the priest to make sure he was okay. 

"Hello?! Is anyone home?"

There was no answer. The Mr. Shannahan made his way deeper into the priest's house. He looked into the kitchen and saw his wife's winter coat. 

Wait a second....that's my wife's coat!

And with that, the old gentlemen understood what was taking place behind his back. He ran into the bedroom and caught the two in an affair. 

"HOW DARE YOU! After all I have done for you this is what you do to me? I can't believe this!!! AND YOU SIR! HOW DARE YOU CALL YOURSELF A MAN OF GOD!"

And with that the man turned his collar up to the cold and stormed off door to door letting everyone know about his wife's infidelity and the priest's part in it. The two were banished from the village and never heard from ever again. 


Author's note: This story is based on The Villager, his wife, and the Priest which is out of the Heptameron unit in the untextbook. In the original story, the priest comes to tend to the older gentleman's sheep and has an affair with his wife while he's away. One night, the man comes home before the priest leaves so he has to hide. He hides up by the man's winnowing basket and stays there until the man falls asleep. When he goes to leave, he knocks the basket down and wakes the man up. The wife assures the man that the priest was only returning what he had borrowed from the man and the old man bought it. I chose to write about what happened when the man found out what his wife and the priest were doing. I was very upset while reading this and really wanted the man to catch them in their act.I definitely felt like the old man in this story deserved better and wanted to retell it so he caught them. I also went back into my original story when I added it to my portfolio and gave the characters names and made the Mr. Shannahan's hunt for his wife a little longer to build suspense.   

Bibliography: The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre, translated by Walter K. Kelly (1855).

Storytelling Week 6: The Fisher Maid

(Maiden and Fish)

As I approached the bright, glimmering arches, I could not help feeling a sincere amount of pride. Although I would not be able to be with the man I admired and loved, Takeuchi, I had used my last moment to honor him and fetch the Jewel of Heart's Desire so he could be back in favor with the Empress. Wait, I am sure you are all confused about me. My name is Tamatori. Let me tell you my story.

Once upon a time, there was a great minister named Takeuchi. I would constantly admire him from afar because, you see, I was just a lowly fisher maid. My heart belonged to him and he did  not even know I existed. I knew he would marry some beautiful princess someday, but still...a girl could dream right? One day, I saw Takeuchi climbing to the summit of a cliff. He looked very sad and defeated. I followed him so I could keep a watch over him. That is when I realized his purpose. He was going to take his own life. 

"Stay, my Lord!" I screamed as I watched him taking his sword off. I ran forward, almost as if possessed, and grabbed him around the waist.

"Let me die!" he yelled at me trying to break out of my hold. 

He then told me about how he had lost one of the Empress's great crystals and that he was disgraced and deserved to die. I was completely appalled! The man I loved was trying to end his life?! How could he do that? He has so much to live for. He is loved by so many! 

As I was trying to find a way to convince him to live, I noticed a glowing light in the distance out over the sea. 

"Behold!" I yelled, "yonder gleams a wondrous light. Can it be that some great star hath fallen into the sea?"

"Tis the palace of Benten!" he said in awe. 

He was staring out into the sea with amazement when he saw the glittering Jewel of the Heart's Desire. The look in his eyes told me that he wanted it and I just had to get it for him. I knew I was a very good swimmer and with that I had made up my mind to take to the sea. 

“Do not fear!"  I declared. "I am a very strong swimmer! I will swim out and attain the jewel so you may have your heart's desire!"

And with those final words, I dove into the ocean. I swam past all sorts of terrifying fish I had never seen before. All of them were there to try and frighten me away from taking my prize, but no amount of fear could ever keep me from saving my love. 

Once I made it to the magic crystal, I grabbed it to be on my way back to shore. When I turned around to swim back to shore to get out of the tumultuous waters, I came face to face with a dragon. I knew I would not make it back alive. At this point, I remembered my grandmother telling me all sorts of stories about dragons. One thing about dragons is that they will not touch a corpse. I knew my hour had come so I plunged my dagger into my heart and embedded the jewel there. The dragon fled as the last ounce of life was freed from my frail body. 

So now you understand. I died so my love would not. My lifeless body drifted back up to the beach were Takeuchi had been waiting for me to return. When he realized what I was holding in place with my arms over my heart he dropped to his knees. He took me back to the palace and bestowed some of the highest honors on me. My pride swelled when I saw how I had helped Takeuchi and became a hero to the people of the city.  This is why there was a beautiful smile that had spread across the face of my lifeless body. I believe my death was not in vain. Takeuchi regained his honor, and if I am not mistaken, married the Empress in secrecy. It seems I was not wrong all along about him marrying royalty. I could never be with Takeuchi for I was just a lowly fisher maiden. He knows my love for him, though, for I proved it when I plunged my dagger into my heart. However, I am not sad about not being with him. I am free. 

Author's Note: The story I chose to right about is from the Japanese Mythology Unit. It is called The Jewel of the Heart's Desire: The Quest. The story is originally told from a third person point of view. The story goes just like how I told it, only I chose to tell it from Tamatori's point of view. Tamatori was a fisher maid who was in love with a minister named Takeuchi. She watched him from afar until one day she saw him climbing a cliff to take his life. She could not stand to watch this happen and went to stop him. They both saw the Jewel of the Heart's Desire and because she loved him so much she went to retrieve it for him losing her life in the process. I chose to tell it from her point of view because I thought it originally sounded crazy for someone who had never really spoken to someone to give their life for someone because they were in love with them. I tried to give a little bit of insight into what she was thinking and feeling. I really like the way that Takeuchi told Tamatori's story and made her a hero. It helps give a little more insight as to why she loved him so much because it makes him seem like a decent person. 

Bibliography: Romance of Old Japan by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917)

Week 12: Storytelling: A Helping Hand

Brittany was not your average girl. She was strong-willed, determined, and destined for great things. Her father was a wealthy CEO of a Fortune 500 company. He knew his daughter was very bright, but he had always expected her to be a socialite who married into another wealthy family. Brittany, however, had a different idea.

"See you in a month, sweetheart!" her father called as he boarded their private jet.

He was on his way to Europe for business. Brittany had become accustomed to his long trips over seas and being alone. She was not really alone...She had her nanny, Gladys, who had taken care of her since she was little. You see, her mother died when she was very young. Ever since then, it was Brittany, Gladys, and her father.

The driver dropped Brittany back off at their very large mansion. Now when I say very large...I mean VERY LARGE. It was built on a hill top over looking the city. It was a castle in it's own right. There were many expensive things in the mansion and there was nothing that was off limit's to daddy's little girl. She was his only daughter. He was very protective of her.

Now Brittany, as I said before, was very strong-willed. She was also curious. This day, she decided to wander the grounds of her father's estate and see what new things she could find. She was taking her usual walk in the garden when suddenly, something caught the light and caught her attention. Brittany walked towards the overgrown vines and started to pull them away from the object. After about ten minutes, she revealed a large, antique mirror.

"Hmmm...what an odd place for a mirror." she thought.

She used the sleeve of her sweater and wiped the dust off of it. When she looked at her reflection in the mirror she was shocked to see what image it reflected. It was not just Brittany in the mirror, but many children in ragged clothes smiling and dancing with her in what looked like a small village. She knew she had to get out and make a difference.

"Gladys!"

"Yes, dear?" the nanny replied warmly.

"I want to leave the house. I have all of these dreams of helping people and I cannot do any of that here."

"Oh no! Your father would never approve of that. Come now, let's go get you ready. Your father has arranged for you to attend a party at the Smith's."

"Sighhhhh...I suppose you're right, Gladys. I'll go upstairs and shower."

Gladys absolutely knew it was never that easy to convince Brittany to do anything. Something was up and she had a very good idea what it was...

"IF YOU'RE GOING TO SNEAK OFF AND CHANGE THE WORLD YOU'RE GOING TO NEED AT LEAST A NAP SACK AND ACCESS TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, DEAR!"

Brittany stopped in her tracks and turned around to see Gladys running down the street after her with two suitcases in hand.

Brittany smiled and said, "I should have known you wouldn't buy my agreeable act...I can't say I blame you either. I have never been the most agreeable person!"

"No, dear, you haven't. But that, and your huge heart, is what makes you special. Besides, I am over due a vacation and there is no better person I would love to take one with than you."

And with that, the two made their way off to the nearest volunteer group in the city and dedicated the rest of their lives to helping others.

(Volunteers helping people at Greenpointe Soup Kitchen)

Author's note: The story I read this week was the Britomart Unit from The Faerie Queen. I definitely admired Britomart because she had her own kingdom, but instead of living the cushy life of a lady, she went out and saved people. Her father goes away from the castle for a while and Britomart and her nurse, Glauce', steal armor (that was originally stolen from a fallen enemy) from a war memorial in the church in their kingdom. They do this because Merlin left a Magical Mirror in the hands of Britomart's father. Britomart looked in this mirror and saw Sir Artegall who is a very noble knight and fell in love with him. She went to Merlin after crying for days over never meeting him and is told to go on a quest to find him in the land of the Faerie Queen. She and her nurse set of disguised as a knight and a squire and fight many foes. She goes out of her way to help many people in need and that is the aspect of her character that I chose to focus on in my story. I chose to rewrite the story in a modern setting because I think it makes it more relatable. 

Week 11: Storytelling: An Uninvited Guest to my Un-Birthday.

(Mad-Tea Party)

Oh. What a terrible day. Today is my un-birthday. My friends the Dormouse and the Mad-Hatter have shown up and ruined my tea party by dirtying all of my dishes. I set all of these places just for me so I can rotate and not have to do dishes. Now that they're here I do not have the freedom sit anywhere I please. Oh well.  I suppose it wouldn't be a celebration if... WHAT IS THAT CURIOUS LOOKING CREATURE COMING TOWARDS US?! No! It can't join our tea party...There is no room! 

"No room, NO ROOM!" we all cried out.

"There's PLENTY of room." retorted the creature as it plopped down in the large arm chair at the end of the table.

What is she doing? Why did she just sit down. She clearly isn't wanted. I don't understand. I know! I will offer her something not here so she knows she isn't wanted. 

"Have some wine!"

Oh no. I ruined it. That was my chance. I said it too encouragingly. What have I done! Get it together, Hare!

"I don't see any wine..." remarked the creature.

"There isn't any."

HA! There you go, Hare. You nailed it. You got this train back on track. 

"It wasn't very civil of you to offer it..." the creature said angrily.

IS THIS CREATURE SERIOUS?! It sat down at my table uninvited and then has the audacity to tell me that I am not civil?

"It wasn't very civil of you to sit down without being invited..."

BOOM. Very nice, Hare. Very nice. 

"Do you plan on leaving anytime soon?"

"No." said the creature.

"Then we should at least know what you would like to be called."

"I am Alice. And you are???"

So the creature's name is Alice. Intriguing. 

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" inquired the Mad-Hatter.

"I believe I can guess that!" shouted Alice.

"You know the answer to it?"

"Exactly so."

This Alice, she is so wishy washy. She doesn't make any sense. Why not say what you mean?

"Then you should say what you mean."

"I do." she said firmly.

"No you don't! You just said that you could guess the answer then when I asked if you knew it you said that you did! It is not a guess if you know it!"

"Do you know the answer?" interrupted the Mad-Hatter.

"No, I give up! What is the answer?" concedes Alice.

"I haven't the slightest idea..." answers the Mad-Hatter

Hmph. This day just gets curiouser and curiouser...

Author's Note: This week I chose to write about the Mad-Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland. I wrote the story almost exactly the same. I omitted some details to make the story go along faster, but for the most part it is the same. However, the difference lies in the italics where I tell you what the March Hare is thinking. I wanted to tell it like this because the original story is already magnificent. I really just wanted to know what the other character's beside Alice were thinking when she just waltzed in to their party uninvited. I really love the character of the grumpy March Hare so I chose him as the character whose thoughts I added into the story. I also love the concept of un-birthdays so I had to include that in my story as well. 

Storytelling Week 9: The Terrapin's Escape

(Turtle)

"Hello, Mr. Possum! How is your day going?"

He responded with a slow yawn.

"YAAAAAAAAAWWWWWNNN! Why, Mr. Terrapin, it is going well. I have been asleep up until you woke me. I am hungry for some persimmons though...would you care to join me in my hunt?"

"Why, I thought you'd never ask..."

And with that they were off. The trail they went down to get to the persimmons tree was extremely treacherous...or so they liked to pretend. 

"Shhhh...Do you hear that, Mr. Possum? It sounds like there is danger up ahead! Proceed with caution, good man!"

"Yes, yes, Mr. Terrapin. I do hear that. You too should proceed with caution! Watch out! There is a trap!"

Of course there was no trap... but the two friends proceeded on like there were. They continued their brave, heroic quest until they reached the persimmon tree at the end of it. 

"Ah! Here at last, Mr. Possum! Why don't you climb on up and toss the fruit back down to me!"

"That sounds like a great idea!"

Mr. Possum scaled the tree and found the ripest fruit he could possibly find. He then threw it back down to Mr. Terrapin. However, hungry Mr. Wolf had heard them and followed the noise to the tree. As soon as Mr. Possum threw the fruit down, the wolf jumped out and ate it before Mr. Terrapin could get to it.  

"Hey!" shouted Mr. Possum. "Those persimmons were for my good friend, Mr. Terrapin!"

"What are you going to do about it? If you come down here to stop me, I will eat you! If you refuse to throw me any more, I will eat your friend!" threatened the Mr. Wolf.

At this point, Mr. Possum decided that he had to do something. He always had a bone that he carried with him in case of emergencies. This...he decided, was an emergency. He threw the bone down to the wolf. The Mr. Wolf ate it and immediately began choking. He could not get the bone dislodged. In a short amount of time, the wolf crumbled to the ground dead. 

"Very good idea, Mr. Possum! I think I will cut off his ears and use them as hominy spoons since this little monster caused me so much trouble!"

And with that, Mr. Terrapin removed the wolf's ears. Now you see, Mr. Terrapin was not a dumb creature. In fact, he was about as clever as they come. He knew that if the other creatures thought he had vanquished a wolf they would be very impressed by him. He was going to use this to his advantage from now on. He bragged to other creatures about how he had killed a wolf. The word spread quickly through the forest. The pack of wolves, who were mourning their fallen brother, caught wind of what Mr. Terrapin had done. They hatched a plan to trap him and make him pay.

"Hmmm....What is this hero going to do today?" Mr. Terrapin asked himself. "I know! I will take my spoons and go down by the river! Maybe there will be some otters who will fish for me after they hear my story!"

Mr. Terrapin made his way down to the river. When he got there, he knew something was not right. It was dead silent and there was not one creature to be found. He knew there was trouble afoot. 

"Hello Mr. Terrapin...what do you have there?" growled a menacing voice behind him.

Mr. Terrapin turned around slowly and came face to face with the leader of the wolves. As he looked for some sort of escape, he noticed that there were more coming out of the forest and slowly surrounding him. 

"Um, I just have some plain ole hominy spoons. Nothing that you could possibly be interested in I'm sure!"

"I'm not so sure..." said the leader of the wolves. "Those sure look a lot like wolf ears to me. I'm not sure if you know this or not...but we lost one of our brothers a few days ago and we found him missing his ears. There was talk about how a terrapin killed him and took them. I didn't believe it was true until I saw it with my own eyes..."

Mr. Terrapin was in trouble. He was cursing his big mouth. The rest of the wolves kept getting closer and closer to him until they snatched him up. If Mr. Terrapin was going to make it out of this, he needed to act fast. 

"Hey, boss, I know! Let's boil him in one of our clay pots!" suggested one wolf.

"Go ahead," said Mr. Terrapin mustering every bit of fake bravado he had. "I'll just kick the pot to pieces."

"Well, maybe we should just burn him in the fire..." said another wolf.

"HA!" laughed Mr. Terrapin. "I would put that fire out so fast you would be disappointed you put all that effort into making it."

"I KNOW!" yelled another wolf. "We'll throw him into the deepest hole in the river and drown him!"

"NO! YOU FIENDS! I can think of no worse death than that! PLEASE! I'll do anything as long as you do not do that!" cried Mr. Terrapin.

"Haha!" laughed the wolves. "No! This will be your punishment! You will get no mercy from us!"

And with that, they threw Mr. Terrapin into the river. Mr. Terrapin had been waiting on this. He dove under the water and disappeared. This is the story of how the Mr. Terrapin outsmarted and escaped from the wolves. 





Author's note: I chose to write my story about the The Terrapin's Escape. The terrapin was trying to get dinner from the possum in the original story when  the wolf intervened. The possum threw down a large persimmon(or a bone) and killed the wolf with it. The terrapin took the wolf's ears and used them as spoons when dining with other animals. He did this to get free meals from others and to gain their admiration. He does this for a while and it puts a huge target on the terrapin's back. Other wolves hear of this story and make a plan to kill the terrapin. They catch him and take him prisoner. They then hold a meeting and decide what to do with the terrapin. This part of the story follows closely along with the original.  I chose this story because it reminded me of the Jataka I wrote about earlier in Week 4. I chose to make the terrapin out to be clever in this story because in the other one I omitted the part about how the turtle persuaded the men to throw him in the lake. I really like how turtles (and terrapins) are portrayed in these stories as cunning and clever. 

Bibliography: Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).

Week 10 Storytelling: The Spirit of the Sea

Once upon a time, there was a princess who lived in a palace with her father, the king. She found herself daydreaming constantly about an adventurous life outside of the palace. You see, the princess had always been inside the palace walls. Her father was going out of the palace on business the next week. She made the decision to sneak out and wander the forest.

The day was finally here. She was ready to act on her plan to sneak out. She walked passed the guards at the back door and told them she wanted to spend a day alone in the garden so they should not disturb her. Once she had made her way into the garden, she went straight for the tall tree in the back corner that grew over the castle wall. She climbed to the very top of it. Once there, she slid off the branch and onto the wall. From here, she reached into her satchel and withdrew a long rope made of sheets she had tied together. She tied it around a decorative gargoyle on the castle wall and then propelled herself down. When her feet touched the ground of the forest below, she celebrated! She had done it! She had made it out of the palace!!!

The princess began to explore the forest. She wandered past rivers and waterfalls. She saw wonders that she had only read about in books. She kept going deeper and deeper into the woods until it began to get dark. She realized it was time to head back. However, when she tried to make her way back to the palace she was lost. She tried to retrace her steps, but she kept ending up back were she began to retrace her steps. The princess began to cry. In the distance, a handsome young man heard her crying. He wondered up to her and introduced himself as a handsome prince. He told her that he would take her back to her palace if she would promise him her hand in marriage when the time came. The princess said she would and they began their trek back to her palace.

They had been walking for some time when the princess suddenly realized they had been walking much longer than they should have to get to her palace. She began to fear that this handsome prince was not as nice as she originally thought. She was right. They came to the end of the woods and the prince grabbed the princess by her arm and pulled her into is kingdom. You see, he was the prince of the rival kingdom and he had successfully kidnapped the princess.

The prince made the princess work hard and did not treat her well. She wanted to go home very badly. She regretted her decision to leave her palace tremendously, but no amount of regret could change what had happened. One day, she went down to the river to get water for the prince and his friends. She saw a man in a canoe and begged him to help her. The man came ashore and offered to take the princess away from their. She agreed.

This man was not just any mere mortal, he was the spirit of the sea. He took the princess to his palace in the sky and treated her very well. She was very happy with him, but she still missed her home. She begged him to allow her to take their son back to her kingdom were he would be trained as a great warrior. He knew this is what would make her the happiest so he said he would let her go, on one condition...she had to make him a blanket of how he courted her and their life together. She did. And this is the story of the first blanket.

(Chilkat Blanket)

Author's note: The story I retold was that of The Origin of the Chilkat Blanket. This story is of the daughter of a chief who is gathering with the women of her tribe when she is asked for her hand in marriage by a member of the Bear tribe. She becomes very unhappy there and the people won't let her leave. The Spirit of the Sea rescues her and takes her away from there. He treats her well, but she still misses her home. He agrees to let her take her son  and go back to her kingdom as long as she makes him a blanket. This is the original Chilkat blanket. 

Week 7 Storytelling: The Unruly Boy

(Screaming boy: Flikr)

There once was a little boy who was very unruly. He liked to break things and cause a lot of destruction. His poor mother was at her wits end with him. Everyday, she dropped him off at school in the morning. Everyday she always got a call for her to come get him. One day, the school called and told her to come get the boy and to never bring him back.

"Oh what will I do!?" fretted the mother. "I cannot miss work and keep him!"

She turned to the mischievous child and scolded him.

"Son," she said sternly, "you cannot keep breaking things and acting up at school. I cannot take off work and keep you and schools will not take you if you continue to act up."

This made the son angry. He began to thrash about and destroy things in the house. The mother called out very loudly for him to stop, but he didn't. He broke all sorts of things. He broke the lamps, he broke the table, he broke the arm chairs, and he wouldn't stop. His mother got louder and louder yelling at him, but his fury just had to run its course.

Once he stopped, the mother knew she had to do something. She called a strict military school and asked them to take in her son. They agreed so she packed his things and sent him off. She hoped he would come home a changed boy when she saw him next.

A few weeks passed with no word from the school or her son. Then one night, while she was eating dinner alone and thinking of him, the phone rang. The commotion she heard on the other line was insane. She could hardly hear the Sergeant because of all of the noise and chaos.

"Your boy...." was all she heard the man say. She knew what was going on. Her son was having one of his fits and causing all sorts of destruction at this school. She told the man to put her on the phone with him.

"SON!" she boomed, "You calm down this instant!!!"

But it was no use. She could not control him when she was right next to him. She was even less powerful to stop him from a distance. The pattern continued on. The boy would throw a fit and his mother would desperately yell and try to calm him down, but with no avail.They were like lightning and thunder. Hardly ever one without the other.

Author's note: The story I chose to write about was the an old Nigerian folktale called The Story of Lightning and Thunder. I chose to tell the story with the characters as humans. In the original one, they are a ram and her son. The son is destructive and does damage to the village while the mother yells at him. The king tries to banish the son further and further away until he is forced to banish them to the sky. And that is where we get lightning and thunder from. 

Week 5 Storytelling: The Story of the Third Old Man

(The Sultan, Scheherazade, and Dinarzade listening to stories)

My sister had just finished telling the stories of the first two men who were asking the genie to spare the man who had accidentally killed his son. Upon hearing the first two stories, I could tell the Sultan was eager to hear the third. However, my sister did not know the third story. Fearing for her life, I knew I had to do something!

"But Sire! I know the story of the third old man! Please allow me to tell it since my sister, Scheherazade, has never heard it!"

"Of course, do tell," said the Sultan.

And with that, I began the story of the third old man...

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There was once upon a time a man who was a rich Sultan. He was very happy and had a wonderful kingdom and family. However, one day a wretched old beggar found her way to the palace.

"Please help me," she said, "for I am poor and have no shelter for the evening."

The palace guards called for the Sultan at once. Looking down upon the woman, he initially was not going to let her stay. But you see, the Sultana had followed him to the palace door and immediately felt sorry for the poor old woman.

"Please, Sire," she begged, "let her stay. She seems so hungry and cold. We have so much wealth and warmth to spare. What could one night hurt?"

The Sultan could not deny his wife anything. So he decided to let the woman stay. He ordered the guards to have her bathed and adorned in silk. She was also given some gold so that she might start her journey elsewhere the following day. The old woman was very grateful. However, as she lay in her chambers that night she became increasingly bitter towards the Sultan and the Sultana.

They have so much here and I have so little. They gave me the bare minimum to get by on when they could have given me much more. Why, they think I am just a lowly beggar not worth anything. I'll show them. I'll take everything from them and more. 

And with that thought, the woman started to plan.

The next morning after breakfast, the woman thanked the Sultan and Sultana for their kindness and headed out. She set out for the four caves that were home to many genies. After a long day's journey, she found herself at the foot of the first hill. She called to the genie who was said to make his home there.

"Oh genie! Hear my call!!! If you are there, help me for I have been treated so poorly by the Sultan and his wife. I seek your guidance to exact my revenge!"

The genie upon hearing this appeared. Now you see, genies can be nasty little creatures and the thought of seeking revenge on someone always sparks their interest.

"Poor beggar woman, I hear you. Please... I implore you to tell me more about why I should help you seek revenge on the Sultan and his wife."

The woman spun a very believable tale about how the Sultan and Sultana ridiculed her and refused to feed her or give her shelter. She told him about how they had locked her up and only allowed her to be bathed and put in silk right before she left because they wanted to keep up appearances for their subjects. She told him about the night of torture they put her through.

"Your story is very touching to me. I hear your plea for revenge and I would help you take it...However, the story you told me is not true. You were treated well and you were even given some gold to help you find a place to stay for the next few days. I do not take kindly to liars."

So you see, genie, once upon a time I was an old beggar woman who was given a second chance by a very kind Sultan and Sultana. I became greedy and tried to pull one over on a powerful genie. And with that the genie turned me into an old, decrepit, little man and cursed me to forever wander the Earth in search of a place to call home. I am never allowed to stay at a place for more than one night. Would you agree that this story is a marvelous tale and that I should also be granted the third part of this man's punishment? 

"Yes..." the genie agreed. And with that, the genie allowed the man who killed his son to live. 

"That is the end of the story of the Third Old Man. Sire, did you like it?"

"Yes I did!" exclaimed the Sultan.

"Wonderful! But you see, my sister, Scheherazade, has one that will top it! Do you care to hear it?"

"Of course!" said the Sultan.

And with that, Scheherazade began...

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Author's note: This is the story of the Third Old Man from the tale Arabian Nights. In Arabian Nights, a Sultan is wronged by his wife and then he has her killed and decides to take one woman from his kingdom as his wife every night and have her killed the following morning. The grand vizir's daughter, Scheherazade, is clever and cunning and begs her father to allow her to be the Sultan's next wife. She comes up with a plan to keep herself alive and asks that her little sister, Dinarzade, be allowed to sleep in their chambers since Scheherazade is set to die the next morning. Just before dawn, the sister wakes her up and asks to be told a story. However, the story is never finished and the Sultan is so intrigued he allows Scheherazade to live another night to finish it. This is one of Scheherazade's stories. She tells of a man who crosses a genie by accidentally killing the genie's son. He is set to be killed in one year's time, but three old men come to his aid with crazy stories. Scheherazade tells the Sultan that she does not know the story about the third old man, but that she knows another crazier story. I chose to tell this story by having Dinarzade chime in and tell it to her sister and the Sultan since her sister did not know it. 

Bibliography: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).

Storytelling Week 4: The Mighty King and the Turtle

(Group of Men Discussing Turtle)

FATHER, FATHER, FATHER, FATHER, FATHER, FAAAAATHERRRR!”



The cries of my sons could be heard up and down the long, winding corridors of my palace.



“What is it ,my children?!” I called back to them.



“There is a demon on the bank of the lake!” they yelled back simultaneously.



Now I should have known then that the boys were just being overly dramatic as usual, but being the overly protective father I am…I assembled the guards.



“GUARDS!” I yelled. “Come at once! We must come up with a plan to rid the lake of a wretched demon that is terrorizing my sons! This is absolutely unacceptable!”



All of my mightiest men assembled in the banquet hall. We began brainstorming ideas left and right. Some of the ideas were great...others...eh not so much.



“We can vanquish it with our swords!” one man yelled.



“We can ambush it with cannons!” interjected another.



"We can just let the devil have the lake and build a new one!" exclaimed one.



“How about we send the priests in with sage?!” offered another.



Hmmmm. They were all mostly valid ideas. How was I, king of this kingdom, supposed to decide what to do next!? I knew! We must get a closer look at the wretched thing!



“SILENCE!” I declared. ”I know what we will do! Ready your armor, men. We are going to get a closer look at the demon.”



So I readied my men and we drew our blades and took off on a journey down to the courtyard. We went through all of the different golden rooms until we reached the large wooden door to the courtyard. There, we took a brief pause to muster our courage.



“Alright, men, beyond these doors is the monster…Once we go in, there is no going back. Whatever happens, I am glad that I have you all, the most courageous men in all my kingdom, by my side.”



And with that we thrust open the doors. Down to the lake we crept with cat-like stealth. Looking right, looking left, looking behind us, then eyes back to the front. As we approached the lake I saw what my sons had been talking about. I was staring the demon right in its cold, unforgiving eyes.



“AHAHAHAHA!” I let out a huge laugh which confused my guards tremendously. “It’s a turtle. The demon of which my sons speak is a turtle!!!”



And with that, I scooped the little devil up in my hands and tossed it into the part of the lake that had a current so it was flushed out into the river. When I returned to my throne room, I found my sons still shaking and hiding behind it.



“My sons, your father has vanquished the demon by the lake so you have nothing to fear there any longer.”



“Oh thank you, father! Thank you! We hope to be as brave as you one day!”



“You will be. Now off with you, go play some more before dinner.”



And with that, they were off. I slumped down in my throne to get a little rest before they came back with another “demon” for their father to vanquish.

Author's Note: The story I wrote about is from Jataka Tales and is called The Turtle Who Saved his Own Life. The original story is about two princes who are playing by a lake and see a turtle (which they've never seen before). The boys panic and go to their dad, the king, and tell him that they've seen a demon. The king then demands his guards bring it to him and they go over ways to kill it. An old man who is afraid of water says to throw the turtle in the current because that is the worst fate. The turtle hears this and chooses to speak and begs them not to do this because it is a very cruel fate. When they toss him down there he smirks and makes a comment about how he will live a happy life now that they let him free. I chose to write this story from the perspective of the king. I did this because after reading it from a third person point of view left me thinking about what the king really had to be thinking about when he found out his sons were freaking out about this turtle. 

Bibliography: Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt, illustrated by Ellsworth Young (1912).

Heart and Soul

“I want you to make her pay!” shouted my mother. Ugh, here she goes again, all mad because some girl is supposedly more beautiful than she is. Women can be crazy like that. She called me in here to ask, no, command me to ruin this poor girl’s life. Oh! I should probably introduce myself, I am Cupid. You know…the God of Love? And my mother is Venus. So now you see how crazy it is that she’s worried this girl is more beautiful than her because she is the Goddess of Beauty! How can anyone be more beautiful than the Goddess of Beauty! That’s just crazy! However, my mother asked me to do something so I shall do what I can for her.





Cupid descended down from the clouds with a few great bursts from his angel-like golden wings and perched on a tree outside of the girl’s house. The girl he was looking for was inside her room sobbing uncontrollably about how unhappy she was.





Oh my Jove! This girl is beautiful! (Please don’t tell my mother.) I wonder why she is crying. With looks like that she shouldn’t be lonely…she should have many suitors! None that would be as fitting to her as a god…wait.





And with that thought, Cupid took out an arrow and pricked himself with it. He immediately fell more in love with the girl, whose name was Psyche. He hatched out a plan to take her as his bride. He had commanded the oracle of Apollo to tell the family that the family that in order for the girl to be happy, they must lead her to the cliff top and leave her there alone. Once her family left her on the cliff top, Cupid sent Zephyr to carefully bring her from the cliff top into the beautiful, flower-filled valley below. She looked up and saw the gorgeous divine palace and heard voices that led her inside. Cupid chose to hide in the shadows, but spoke sweetly to the girl he wanted to take as his wife.





She is so scared. Maybe I should say something to her to help calm her down.





“Dearest girl, the servants here cannot be seen, but are merely voices. Do not fear, though, because they will cater to your every whim. Go on to the chambers just beyond this door and sleep. Once you have your strength you can bathe and then eat all that you desire.”







And with that Psyche went into the other room and slept. When she awoke she went and bathed and had a grand feast. After she ate, she retired to the bed chambers. Once she was in bed, Cupid slipped under the covers beside her.





"Dear Psyche, do not be alarmed. I have come to take you as my wife, for I will be the most loving of husbands. Please have me, darling..."






Psyche was so moved by the speech of the unknown God that she of course said yes and after many trials, mishaps, and clashes with Venus, Jove made her the Goddess of Soul and she and Cupid lived happily ever after.

(Cupid and Psyche) 

Author's note: The story I chose to write over is Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche. I took this story and made it from Cupid's point of view in some parts and wrote it from an outside point of view to help further along the plot a little quicker. The original story is written kind of from Psyche's side of things and I did not think it did a great job explaining why Cupid chose to defy his mother's orders, so I tried to include that in my version. I think it is very important to include that detail. I felt it really added a depth to the story that the original was missing. The mother/son relationship has always been very intriguing to me because even though they love their mothers, they still are defiant boys who do things that go against their parents' wishes. I really enjoyed this entire story and I recommend it to whoever is looking for a nice and interesting classical read! It is a lot longer than what I wrote here and the second half of the story(I wrote on the first) has a lot of action and excitement! I created the title "Heart and Soul" based on the fact that Cupid is considered the Roman God of Love and Psyche is the Roman Goddess of Soul.






Bibliography: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche

Storytelling Week 2: There Once was a Man from Tannuckett

(Precious Potion: Flickr taken April 29, 2009)

There once was a man from the town of Tannuckett. He had a steady job and a warm home, but he always longed for something more. One day, he decided to give up his steady job and chase his dreams of being a traveling entrepreneur. He traveled far and wide and went on many adventures along the way. One day, he was in a town called Rhodes. As he walked around the busy streets, he noticed a little side shop that had no customers. He decided to see what was in there. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. He immediately was hit in the face with cool, musty air and as he looked from left to right he noticed the shop was decorated as a perfected replica of a medieval dungeon. This frightened him. So he turned on his heels to hurry out of the shop, but as he spun around there was a frail, old woman blocking his way to the door. This startled him and he ran backwards and tripped over a small side table knocking various bottles of elixir into the floor.



“Why did you do that for!?” exclaimed the old woman. “Now I have to clean all that up and make new potions to go in them because some nosy, clumsy, mouse of a man was wondering what was in my shop…” she continued to rant and rave over how much inconvenience the man had caused her.



Not wanting to be such a burden to her, the man spoke up. “Excuse me ma’am, but I never meant to break anything. I was making my way out of your shop without touching anything when you snuck up behind me and scared me. I am very sorry that I broke those bottles. Is there anything around here that I can help you with so that I may make it up to you?”



The old woman’s eyes lit up. “Why yes young man. I do have something I need you to do for me. You see, there is a special flower up in the mountains that surround this city. As you can see I am old and fragile and I cannot make the trip. But YOU are young and able. I will warn you though, the flowers are located across a large canyon. You will have to jump it.”



“JUMP A CANYON?” the man yelled in disbelief. “I cannot even jump a mud puddle much less a canyon!”



“Silence. You did not let me finish. I will arm you with a powerful potion that will allow you to leap the canyon. You have to take it right before you jump and it will carry your jump far enough to make the jump over and back.”



So the man packed his supplies, making to be very careful about grabbing the potion. He ventured up into the mountains and finally, after hours of walking, came to the canyon. He reached into his pack and took the potion. He ran and jumped and sure enough, he cleared the canyon with ease. He quickly scooped up as many of the flowers as he could and took off back across the canyon. The man hurried down the mountain and to the old woman’s shop. She thanked him many times and said he was truly forgiven for knocking everything off of that table. The man could not wait to get home to tell everyone about this adventure he had. He walked to the town square and was bragging about the great “Leap of Rhodes” he made. Everyone scoffed at him because no one believed that someone could clear a canyon. One of the bolder member of the doubters told him, “If you made that leap in Rhodes, you can make that leap here also.” The man hung his head and let it go. He knew without the potion that the old woman had supplied him with, he would never make that jump again. He had learned his lesson. It was that day that he learned that deeds count, not boasting words.







Author’s Note: This is based on the story, Leap of Rhodes. In this story a man is always boasting about his great feats when he is abroad on adventures. However, the townspeople get tired of listening to him talk about how great he is and tell him to stop talking and show them these great feats. I chose this story telling style because when I read the original story, I knew that their needed to be a back story to it. The original story implies that the man is lying about his great feat, but I wanted to spin it in a way that made him tell the truth. However, because the truth was so unbelievable no one would ever believe him. I did this to show that no matter if you do something great, there will always be people who don't believe you. Just because no one believes you can do something as great as jumping a canyon, does not mean you shouldn't do it. There will always be people who doubt your abilities to accomplish tough goals.

I also chose the title because I always thought the old rhyme, "There Once was a Man from Nantucket" was super catchy.

Bibliography: Aesop (Winter) unit. Story source:The Aesop for Children, with illustrations by Milo Winter (1919).