Week 14: Storytelling: The Headless Horseman

Week 14: The Headless Horseman

Dear Diary,                                                                                                          December 12, 1892

Today I came to the town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate the mysterious murders happening in this dark little town. The townspeople say that every night, one family dies. No one knows which one it will be, but it is sure to happen. Apparently every family is found with their heads cut clean off.  Tonight is going to be interesting to say the least. I am staying with a family that is letting me sleep on their bed and eat from their table. They are very kind, but they are so very terrified.

Wish me luck,

Ichabod W. Crane

Sleepy Hollow

Dear Diary,                                                                                                           December 13, 1892

Last. Night. Was. Brutal.
Who knew that the family I was staying with would be the ones with damned souls that night. I woke up to screams of horror and terror. I was not expecting such excitement my first night in Sleepy Hollow. When I came out of my room, I saw three heads laying on the floor. Next to them were the bodies of the mother, father, and their son. Blood was everywhere. I almost got sick, but luckily I kept my composure. I cannot imagine what horrid creature is evil enough to commit these gruesome crimes. Hopefully I figure this mystery out soon.

Traumatize and terrified,

Ichabod W. Crane


Dear Diary,                                                                                                           December 14, 1892

Well tonight I had to move into another family's house. The mother and father of the family have three young, precious daughters. I must find the murderer soon so that the innocent children of this community do not die. I know tonight will bring more murders if I do not do something. I have decided to stay awake all night and look out the window. That is the only way to get a clue as to who this monster is. Well, I guess I shall get to it then. I am going to grab a big cup of coffee, my sword, and look out the window 'til sunrise.

Tired but determined,

Ichabod W. Crane

The Headless Horseman

Dear Diary,                                                                                                           December 17, 1892

Last night was seriously insane. I was looking out the window when all of a sudden I heard a horse galloping in the distance. It got closer and closer until I knew it was right outside the house where I am staying. Before I could blink, I saw the monster. I was immediately excited and terrified all at the same time. You will never believe who the murderer is. It is in fact a headless horseman. I know it sounds crazy, but it is the truth. He was searching for my host family, but I had my weapons ready. The moment he busted open the door, I was in the corner hiding. He did not see me so when he turned to go towards the bedrooms, I stabbed him straight through the heart. He died right then and there and was never again seen in the town of Sleepy Hollow. I am so happy to have solved this horrible case, and to have even became a hero to the townspeople. Now I will travel to a town called Horrorland where there seems be another case of headless bodies appearing all over the place. Talk to you again tomorrow, diary. Wish me luck.

Ready for the next adventure,

Ichabod W. Crane

Author's Note:
So for this story I kind of combined ideas from two stories. I used a character (sort of) from The Headless Princess and the storyline from The Witch Girl. The Headless Princess had a woman who would take her head off her body to clean it, and a boy was peeping and saw her so she tried to take revenge on him. In The Witch Girl, a man asks to stay with a family for the night. They let him in, but tell him that every night a family dies in the town. He stayed up all night to make sure no one died, and saw that a witch all dressed in white was trying to sprinkle something in through the window. He cuts her arm off when he sees this. Later it is revealed that it is a girl from the town who was the witch and killing families. I kind of combined these two ideas and made my own little story.

Week 13: Storytelling: The Frog Prince

Week 13: Storytelling

The Frog Prince

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named Alexandria Rose. One day Alexandria was walking along the pond day dreaming about finding the prince of her dreams when all of a sudden her  diamond tiara fell into the water.

Alexandria started sobbing because her father had just given her that tiara for her 22nd birthday and it was very, very expensive. When she finally contained herself, she opened her eyes and right in front of here was a green little frog sitting on a lily pad watching her cry.

Blushing from embarrassment, Alexandria asked the frog, "Who are you? Stop watching me cry. It is very rude you disgusting creature."

The Frog Prince

The frog replied, "Hello princess, I am Robert the frog. Why are you so sad? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Alexandria replied, "I am crying because I  dropped my tiara into the pond. It was very expensive and now it is gone forever. My father is going to kill me!"

"Oh princess," replied Robert the frog, "I can surely help you with that. But first, you must make me a promise."

"Oh could you?" asked Alexandria, "I will make you any promise! You name it, and it is yours."

Robert the frog asked the princess, "Could you take me into your home? I would like to sleep in a warm but for one night. That is all I ask of you, princess."

Alexandria scoffed, "You really expect me to let some slimy, green, wet, gross creature into my home, let alone my bed? You are seriously mistaken, frog. Maybe in your next lifetime, or better yet, when pigs fly."

The Frog Prince

With hurt feelings Robert replied, "Well I guess it was worth a try. I see you didn't want your tiara back that bad after all. Goodbye, Princess."

"Wait a minute!" Thinking that the frog could never ever leave the pond, Alexandria agreed to the promise. She told the frog, "Fine I will promise to let you sleep in a warm bed tonight, but please just give me back my tiara."

Robert went to the bottom of the pond and fetched her tiara, and Alexandria went home a happy girl. That evening as Alexandria was getting ready for bed, she heard a tap at her front door. She thought to herself,  "It couldn't be the frog, could it? No, no, no that's crazy. He could never make it all the way here from that disgusting pond."

When she opened the door, there was Robert the frog. He said, "Princess, you promised to let me sleep in a warm bed for tonight, so here I am! Let me tell you, I am so unbelievably excited!"

Alexandria rudely said, "Couldn't you tell I was lying? I am not about to let you into my home. Now go away! Don't you have some mosquitos to eat or something?"

Truly hurt, the frog started to tear up. He was hopping away when he saw an open window in Alexandria's house. The window being on the first floor, Robert easily made the large hop inside and found Stephanie Jewel, Alexandria's younger, more beautiful sister.

Stephanie exclaimed, "Oh my! Who are you, you cute little thing?"

Robert replied, "I am Robert the frog, and I am sorry to bother you, but may I please sleep in your bed tonight? I have been longing to sleep in a warm, cozy bed for sometime now."

Stephanie replied, "Well of course! How could I say no to such an adorable little frog! You can even cuddle up to me if you get too cold."

It finally came time to go to sleep and Stephanie said, "Goodnight little froggy. Sweet Dreams!" She even gave him a little kiss on the cheek.

A Kiss Goodnight 

When Stephanie woke up the next morning, she saw laying next to her the most handsome man she had ever seen. His hair was dark and wavy, he was tall,  his eyes were the most beautiful shade of chocolate brown, and wow those perfect lips. Even just laying there he had some sort of glow to him.

Stephanie was startled, but quietly questioned Robert. "Excuse me Robert," she said, "I am confused. Were you not a frog just yesterday? What is happening?"

Grabbing his face Robert shouted, "It worked? I am human again? This is wonderful! You see princess, five years ago an evil witch put a spell on me. She turned me into a frog and the only way to reverse the spell was to sleep in a bed inside a home for one night. Your sister promised to let me sleep in her room because I saved her beloved tiara, but she took back her word. What a mistake that was. Luckily for me I found you."

"A mistake?" asked Stephanie, "Why was it a mistake? I know she can be very hateful sometimes, but you found me! So in the end it is all okay right?"

Robert chuckled, "Actually, princess, the one funny part about the spell is that if someone makes me a promise, but then takes it back or lies, they get turned into a frog the second I turn back into a human."

"Oh my goodness," screamed Stephanie, "my sister is a frog. Well that's just great. My dad is going to kill her. He always tells us to never take back a promise. I guess she got what she deserved then. She should not have been so hateful."

The Frog Princess

When they went downstairs the found Alexandria sitting on the living room chair. She was green, slimy, and wet. Just like Robert only a few hours before. Robert and Stephanie told her everything. Alexandria was so upset and jealous of her sister, but she learned her lesson and never made a promise she could not keep again.

Stephanie Jewel and Robert went to live in Roberts palace as prince and princess and husband and wife. They lived happily ever after in a love greater than all other loves.

Author's Note: For this story, I kept most of the beginning the same and changed up the end. However, there was a difference or two in the beginning as well. I decided at the end of the original story that I hated the way it ended so I changed it. In the original, the frog turns into a prince and then him and the princess live happily ever after even though she was horrible to him and tricked him. I decided that I would not let someone who was so mean and hateful, win in the end. So I decided to add in a sweet little sister and let her have the happily ever after. Then I had the main character (who I named Alexandria) turn into a frog because she was so hateful to the frog throughout the story. I thought she deserved it. I also decided to have her tiara fall into the bond, not a ball. I thought a tiara would be more precious and meaningful to someone than a ball. That also made the trade for sleeping at her house more equal.

Bibliography:
Book: Brothers Grimm (Librivox)
Author: The Brothers Grimm
Year: N/A
Websource: Un-Textbook

Week 12: Storytelling: The Legend of Geller

Week 12: Storytelling: Beth Geller

The Legend of Geller

There once was a Prince named Llewelyn who loved to hunt. He also loved to take his many dogs with him to help him succeed. One day Prince Llewelyn was wanting to go hunting because it was such a beautiful day. When he blew his horn to let the dogs know it was time to go, his very favorite dog Geller did not answer.

Geller was a dog that his father, the king, gave to him. For this reason, he was very special to Prince Llewelyn. Geller was a very sweet and gentle dog in the home, but in the chase he was as mighty as a lion. In fact, he was the best dog the prince had ever had. The prince finally called him by name to hurry up, but he still did not come. He left without him and for that reason he had no luck hunting that day.

Geller

Prince Llewelyn was very angry at Geller when he got back to his castle. When he opened the gate, Geller was running towards him to meet him. As he got closer, Prince Llewelyn noticed that he had blood dripping from his lips and fangs. Llewelyn was still very upset with Geller for not coming when he was called and so he gave him a very angry and disappointed look. Geller was very confused and sad about the way he was greeted by his master.

Prince Llewelyn instantly had a horrible and tragic thought. He had a one-year-old son whom Geller played with on a daily basis. He wondered if maybe something happened to his son while he was away. He ran inside as fast as he could.

When he got to his son's nursery, the was a room covered in blood. The walls, the floor, and the crib were all painted red. In a panic, he tore apart the room. He saw that the cradle was overturned and drenched in blood. He could not find his son anywhere in the nursery. Horrible and terrifying thoughts filled his head. He could only make sense of it by putting two and two together. He knew that what must have happened was that Geller was killing his precious son while he was away in the woods. He realized that was why Geller did not come when he was called.

He turned around and saw Geller was standing behind him with a bloody face. He screamed to Geller, "You monster! How could you destroy my son in this way?" He took his sword and plunged it into Geller's side. Geller, looking into Prince Llewelyn's eyes, let out a dying and saddened yell as he slowly lay down and died.

Baby and Wolf

This yell led to a baby's cry. The noise came from underneath the overturned cradle. His son had woken up because of Geller's dying scream. Prince Llewelyn found him, and there was not a scratch on the baby anywhere. Right next to him was a beast of a wolf shredded to pieces covered with blood.

Llewelyn had assumed the total opposite of what happened, and acted too quickly upon it. Geller did not answer to his name hours before because he was protecting the child from a wild beast who was trying to destroy him. Llewelyn was heartbroken, but he could not take back the evil thing that he had done. He buried Geller right outside of the castle where all who passed by would see the grave.

Author's Note:
The only little thing I changed about this story was change the name from "Gellert" to "Geller." I just thought that sounded better and was easier to say. I chose to rewrite this story because it is truly heartbreaking. I cannot read a story about a dog who gets killed and not get emotional. For some reason dog stories always get to me. For this reason I could not change the ending. I just reworded the story and left it alone and did not change anything at all about the storyline because I loved, but also greatly hated the story just how it was. As much as I wanted to, I could not touch or change the ending because it would take away the meaning from the rest of the story. I felt that the reason this story was so good was because it was so tragic. If I just had the prince realize what the dog had done then said "Good boy, Geller" it would have been boring. I hope I get the message across as well as the original did.

Biblioraphy
Book: Celtic Fairytales
Author:Joseph Jacobs
Year: 1892
Web Source: Un-Textbook

Week 11: Storytelling: Alice in Horrorland

Week 11: Storytelling

Alice in Horrorland

Haunted Forest of Horrorland

Once Alice had finally landed at the bottom of the rabbit hole, she fell to the coldest and hardest ground she had ever felt. She quickly stood up and looked all around her. 

All around Alice were dark trees and fog as far as she could see. She had no idea where she was or why she was there. Alice decided to walk until she found someone or something that could help her get back home. 

An hour later, she could finally see a house in the distance. She walked and walked until she eventually came up to the dark and rundown old house. She made the questionable decision to knock on the door.

Haunted House 

When she knocked, the door automatically opened. Alice quickly walked in and immediately the door slammed shut. She hurried into the next room and found a black cat with such large teeth showing a grin beyond evil. Alice thought to herself, "I did not know that cats could grin so evilly."

The cat screeched and ran off leaving Alice alone. Immediately, Alice heard the cackle of what sounded like a witch. When she turned around, Alice saw the most horrible-looking woman she had ever seen watching her. She was quite a tall, chubby woman and she was wearing a long white dress. The dress looked like it had hearts painted on with blood.

Alice closed her eyes and shook her head. "Surely I am dreaming. This cannot be real life," she thought to herself, terrified. When she carefully opened her eyes, the evil woman was still standing there in her blood-painted dress. "Welcome to my house, little girl! If you didn't already figure it out, it is haunted!" exclaimed the woman. "I am the Queen of Hearts, and I am ready to take yours," the queen screamed. 

Horrorland

Alice had never felt her stomach drop like that before. She started running towards the front door to escape the murderous queen. She slammed the door behind her but that did not stop the queen. The queen started chasing after Alice through the haunted woods of Horrorland. Alice finally found a large tree to hide behind. 

Everything got real quiet for a few minutes. Alice had a slight feeling of hope when all of a sudden she heard what sounded like a branch crack. She held her breath and tried not to make a sound, but the queen was getting closer and closer. 

Alice started to cry and could not contain herself. The queen heard a noise and followed the sound. She found the tree which Alice was hiding behind. The queen of hearts screamed "OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!!" and took an axe to Alice, cutting her head clean off. She started laughing and used the blood to draw another heart on her white dress. She went home and waited for another victim to come knocking on her door.

Author's Note: I changed this story a lot. I decided since it is the week of Halloween, I would do a horror themed story. My goal was to make the queen like someone we usually see in horror films. I was thinking someone similar to Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees. I was initially going to just add Michael Myers into the story as the killer, but after I chose my reading unit I thought the queen would be perfect. I did not describe Alice falling down the rabbit hole because I felt it did not need to be explained, and it was not that important to my story. I really wanted to focus on the actual haunted woods and the chase. I added little things such as the cat who I changed to have an evil grin instead of a happy one. I also wanted to add in the haunted house because there are a lot of times where Alice goes into a house or is trying to open doors. I turned the meaning of queen of hearts into a very gory one. I thought it would make for an interesting twist while still having her keep her name. I changed the name of the story to "Alice of Horrorland" instead of "Alice in Wonderland" because it fits the story better, and also because of my Halloween theme. I felt that since this story is very well known, I could really change it a lot, even just simple details, and people would know the differences I made to my version. 

Bibliography:

Book: Alice in Wonderland

Author: Lewis Carroll

Year: 1865

Web Source: Un-Textbook

Week 10: Storytelling

Week 10: Storytelling: Creation of the World

Once upon a time when people lived beyond the skies, there was a girl named Serena who lived in a wonderful land and was daughter of the King and Queen. In this land were mystical creatures who walked the land, and everything was magical. Everything.

Serena's World

Doors opened automatically, the stars twinkled even during the daytime, animals spoke to humans, and humans could fly to wherever they wanted to go that day. For Serena, this land she called home was paradise.

One day Serena was riding her silver unicorn through the enchanted sunflower field so that she could find the perfect sunflower to dress in her golden hair for her birthday extravaganza that evening. She jumped off of her unicorn, Moonlight, and walked the field searching for a marvelous sunflower.

As Serena was walking, she felt the land disappearing underneath her feet. She had walked onto a faulty piece of land and fell through the land. She began falling, falling, and falling for what seemed like an eternity. On her way down, she was passing glistening stars, falling through fluffy white clouds, and finally fell into a large body of water.

Jeremiah the Turtle

As she was falling, some of the oceans creatures saw her and were so confused as to what she was.  When she fell into the water, they realized she could not swim and they helped carry her back to the surface so she could breathe. She was very thankful to them, but they could not hold her forever so they had to come up with a plan.




Jeremiah, the sea turtle decided that someone would have to go to the bottom of the sea to get some sand to create an island for Serena to walk on. First to search for sand was the seahorse, but the seahorse was too little and could not make the deep, deep trip to the bottom so he came back and apologized to Serena.


Next to search for sand was the mighty shark. The shark was strong and fast, but he got distracted by fish along the way. He stopped to eat every fish he crossed and never returned. Finally the frog, the smallest and oldest sea creature of them all, decided she would come forth and nominate herself to do the job. Everyone laughed and thought that there was no way possible that she could ever fulfill such a tough mission.

It took the frog an hour and twenty minutes to complete the task, but she accomplished it. She came back with a mouth full of sand and Jeremiah rubbed the sand all over his shell. Before they knew it, the sand was multiplying and growing faster and faster by the minute.

Serena's Island

An hour later, the island was large enough for Serena to walk upon it. She finally had a place to rest, and found the island very beautiful. A year later the island had turned into a land as big as the world today. That is how planet earth came to be.

Serena loved her new land, but greatly missed the land where she was born and grown up. She missed her parents and the magic that surrounded her each day for in this world there was no magic. Although her parents searched for her day and night, they eventually searched their entire land but could not find her. They never would have dreamed she was living by herself in a whole other land made just for her. Serena spent most of her days crying because she was alone and had no friends or other humans to talk to.

One day a man was falling through the sky and landed in the same spot that Serena had a year before. He swam to the shore and him and Serena would be partners from that day on. Serena no longer spent her days lonely. This is how the world and its people came to be.

Author's Note: For this story, I changed the beginning the most. I also did change the end a little bit just to make it more realistic and make it make sense. In the original, there was nothing said about the girl being sad or that she missed her family. I feel like if I was the only person on an island, I would be so lonely so I added that. Also, there was no man in the original. It ended just saying that that was how the earth was made so I felt that it made more sense to put a man with her to show that that would be how the earth was populated. I made the land where the girl came from magical with mystical creatures to give it a little more excitement and mystery. In the original she did not have a unicorn or ride through sunflower fields. She was laying on the ground when some men were digging and dug too deep and she fell through the land. I also changed the part where she falls in the water. Turtles helped break her fall and I think it was more of a lake because they searched for dirt not sand. 

Bibliography:
Book: British North America
Author: Katharine Berry Judson
Year Published: 1917
Web Source: Un-textbook

Week 5: Storytelling: The Broken Pot

The Broken Pot 

There once was a man named Miser. This man was very greedy to say the least. He had started a collection of rice that he had acquired while begging over the last few months. This rice was in a beautiful pot that he decided to put next to the fireplace so that he could look at it all day and night and dream of what would come of the rice. In his day dream this is what he thought:

Miser thought that if there ever was to be a famine, he would sell all of his rice for a hundred rupees. This rice would make him enough money to do something great. With this money he would start a little restaurant on the poorest street in town. It would be something small, and only the poor would step foot inside. Here Miser would sell dishes such as vegetable soup, bread, and the scraps of meat that no one else wanted. After a year he would sell the small restaurant making just enough profit to buy something bigger and better.

With five hundred rupees, Miser could afford to buy a restaurant in the suburbs of town. This restaurant would be twice as big and twice as nice. This restaurant would attract a middle class clientele, and he would make double the profit. Here he would serve people such as doctors, soldiers, and priests.  The typical menu would be mushroom soup, two different types of bread, chicken, and trout. After a year, Miser would make enough profits to sell the restaurant and end up with twice as much money.

With one thousand rupees, Miser would buy a restaurant in the center of the city. His restaurant would be three times bigger and better than the last one. Here he would serve his food to only the richest people of the land. Kings and Queens would regularly stop at his beloved restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. After two years Miser would have made twice as much money on profits and twice as much on selling the restaurant.  All together he would now have four thousand rupees.

The Broken Pot

With these rupees he would buy a mansion with a stable and many horses. Then he will marry a woman who would give a large dowry to him. He dreamed that would have a son who he would name Sarmon. Sarmon would love his dad very much, and he would always love to play with their horses. One day Sarmon would get to0 close to a horse and Miser will call to his wife to go get him. However, his wife would not be listening because she was cleaning the house. So Miser would get up and give her a large kick to get her attention.

As Miser was thinking about kicking his wife, he gave out a large kick and kicked the pot of rice. He kicked so hard that it went into the fireplace. The pot broke into a million pieces and all of the rice went into the burning flames along with his greedy dreams.

Author's Note: For this unit I decided to keep the story the same, but change the details of it. In the original story Miser dreams about buying animals and selling them when they reproduce and keeps buying nicer and nicer animals and selling them until he buys a mansion with four separate wings. When he is daydreaming this is what he does in the future: he starts by selling the rice to buy goats, when the goats reproduce, he sells them for cows. When the cows have calves, he sells the calves and buys buffalo. When the buffalos reproduce, he sells them for horses and he eventually will sell them for gold. He did not really even have to work for his fortune in the original. He just sells animals, but in my version he actually hast to work in order to gain money. I did not want him to just sit back and not have to do anything since he was such a greedy man. He deserved to have to work. In the original, Misers name is actually Svabhavakripana which means "born miser" so I just changed it to Miser for convenience, and also because miser means greedy.  I kept everything about the wife and son the same except the son's name is actually Somasarmon. I also changed that for convenience. Since he really does kick his wife, I had to keep that in there since that was the reason for his lost dreams. If he kicked his wife, he deserved to lose the rice into the fire.

Bibliography:
Book: Indian Fairytales
Author: Joseph Jacobs
Year Published: 1912
Web Source: Un-Textbook

Week 9: Storytelling

Week 9: Storytelling: The Fairy Bride

 A long time ago, there was a young Indian girl named Nini who lived off of Lake Superior with her loving parents.  Nini was a special girl who was different from all the rest. She was quite small and slender. She never grew much taller than a child, and some would even say she was no bigger than a fairy. She was also a dreamer, she was always daydreaming about one thing or another.

Nini was not always happy with the way things were in her life. Every day Nini would run off to the forest to escape her life and daydream about the things she had always wanted. Nini would daydream about the blooming flowers in the spring, the warm sun waking her up every morning, and swimming in the river. She hated the cold weather and wished that she could find some place where it was summer all year long. This is what she dreamed about. 

The tribe members thought it was very strange that she ran off into the forest every day. What was she doing? Was she talking to fairies? Was she seeing mysterious creatures? She was always a little bit different when she came back home from her visits to the forest. 

They were in fact correct. Nini had an incredible gift of talking to fairies. They trusted her, and they kept each others secrets. She talked to them about her daydreams of a wonderful land, and also about her dream husband for when the time would come and she was ready to marry. She pleaded for them to grant her her dreams and wishes. As she was leaving the forest that night, Nini saw a small and slender shadow in the shape of a young man off in the distance. By the time she investigated, the shadow was gone, but somehow she knew there was something special about him. 

Forest Fairy

Although Nini was at the age when it is time to marry, she always had her head in the clouds and never thought twice about marriage. She was not interested in marrying who her mother thought was best for her, . Her mother wished that she would get her head straight and settle down for marriage. She wanted Nini to marry the tall hunter of the tribe. However, Nini was the least bit interested in this man because he was too tall, she barely came above his waist. He also only cared about killing animals which she hated. She knew that all he thought about and talked about was hunting, killing, and skinning animals. Her mother on the other hand thought that he would make a perfect husband for her because he could take care of her, protect her, and they would never starve.

Ultimately, Nini's parents set a date for her to marry the man she hated so much. On the wedding day, Nini's mother dressed her black hair in red flowers and long curls. She had put on the dress that her mother made specially for her wedding day, and held the bouquet of flowers her grandmother had put together for her. Her one last wish was to go to the forest one more time before she was married.

When she left for the forest, the guests noticed the sky went dark. They were all worried a deathly storm was coming so her parents went looking for Nini. When they got to the forest, they saw Nini in her wedding dress, holding flowers, and walking with a mysterious man. The young man was very close to Nini's size and was slender, just like her. The only thing different about him was that he had wings, he was a fairy. 

The fairies had granted Nini's wish of finding the husband she had always dreamed about. Although they wanted different for their daughter, Nini's  parents could see by the smile on Nini's face that she was truly happy for once in her life. She was in love. They decided that they would be happy for their daughter despite what their wishes for her were. Nini became a bride after all, a fairy bride. 

Author's Note: I did not change very much about "The Fairy Bride." The only part I really changed was the ending, but just a little bit. When she went to the forest before the wedding, she actually disappeared for a whole day. Also, Nini's parents did not find her in the woods, it was a hunter and his dog. They knew the man was a fairy because he was so little, and because the hunters dog, who was not scared of even bears, was tucking his tail when he saw the man. That meant he must be immortal. All other aspects of the story stayed the same, I just reworded most of it or shortened it a bit. I shortened the part about her visits to the forest a little bit just because those parts were a little drawn out. I did not change this story too much because I really liked it. I liked how in the end she got what she always wanted because she deserved it. 

Bibliography:

Book: American Indian Fairy Tales

Author: W.T. Larned

Year Published: 1921

Web Source: Un-Textbook

Week 7: Storytelling: The Cave of the Beasts

Week 7 Storytelling: The Cave of the Beasts

Once upon a time there was a man named Todd who was married to his wife Francesca, and together they had seven beautiful daughters.The names of his daughters were Elizabeth, Charlotte, Annabelle, Christina, Penelope, Catherine, and Alexandra. 

One day when Todd was out looking for firewood, he stumbled upon seven golden duck eggs. He brought home the eggs, but had no intention of sharing them with his seven daughters. He desired to share the deliciously golden eggs with his wife for breakfast the next morning. 

Golden Eggs

Todd's oldest daughter, Elizabeth, woke up early the next morning and asked her mother was she was cooking that smelled so delicious. Francesca admitted that she was cooking golden duck eggs, and she would let her have one if she did not speak a word of it to her six younger sisters. 

Next, Charlotte woke up and asked her mother what she was cooking. Francesca replied that she was cooking golden duck eggs. She agreed to let her have one if she did not tell her sisters. This went on and on until all of the golden eggs were eaten by all of the daughters. 

Todd finally woke up around ten-thirty that morning only to find that his precious eggs were gone. Todd was so angry that he cooked up an evil plan to rid himself of his daughters whom he now despised. 

His plan was to trick his daughters by telling them they were going to visit their grandparents who lived beyond the dark forest, but he was actually going to sneak away from them in the middle of the night and leave them to be eaten by the wild beasts in the forest. 

Dark Forest

That afternoon, Todd and his seven daughters left their house to travel through the dark forest. When nighttime came upon them, the daughters turned around to ask their father if they were close yet. When they turned around, they realized their father was gone and had left them to fight the night alone in the dark forest. 

They found a stone which they would make into a pillow. All together they moved the stone to the ground to rest their heads on it in the night. When they moved the stone, they saw that it was really a door to a glowing, eerie cave. 

The girls curiously went into the cave and found that the glow came from a collection of priceless gems, stones, and jewels. They also found feather beds with golden silk sheets, and helped themselves to a luxurious night of sleep. 

Cave Jewels

During the night, the owners of the cave, a fox and a wolf, came home to find the girls sleeping in their beds. They were too tired to eat them that night, so they decided to wait until the morning. Since their beds were occupied, they decided to blow out the fire and sleep in the pot above the warm firewood.

When the girls woke up, they saw that the owners of the cave had come home and they were sleeping in a giant cauldron over still warm firewood. Four of the girls tiptoed over to the cauldron and slammed the lid onto it while the other three collected rocks and stones to put on top of the lid so the fox and wolf could not escape. 

The Fox and the Wolf

An intense warm feeling woke up the fox and wolf, and minutes later they were dead. The girls had started a fire to cook the animals and save themselves from being eaten alive. A few days later, Todd went out to the woods in hopes that his daughters were still alive. He realized he had made a mistake in leading them to their death and wished to bring them home. 

When he smelled something delicious cooking, he followed his nose. Finally, he reached a glowing cave. He slowly crept inside and much to his surprise he saw seven young women. He felt relieved and started crying tears of joy. 

Todd said, "Oh girls, I am so glad to see you! I am so sorry I left you out here alone. Please come home to your mother and me."

The daughters replied, "Oh father, we are indeed happy to see you, too. We are quickly cooking up breakfast, and then we all shall leave this cave together. We can take all of these precious jewels with us and become rich!"

Todd said, "Oh daughters it does smell delightful. If I may ask, what are you making that smells so delicious?"

The daughters replied, "We are actually making golden duck eggs. That is your favorite right? Come here take a look. Do you think they are golden enough?"

As Todd looked into the burning cauldron, he saw nothing but a dead fox and wolf. He was very confused, and just as he was turning around to ask his daughters what they were talking about, all seven of them pushed him into the cauldron and shut the lid tight. 

The daughters said: "That is for leaving us out here to die alone. This is what you deserve!"

Burning Cauldron

The daughters then gathered up all of the jewels and gems, headed home, and forever lived a life full of luxury and happiness with their sweet mother. 

Author's Note: For this story, The Cave of the Beasts, I kept almost everything the same, except for the ending. In the original story, the daughters did not kill the father at the end. The girls in the original let the father take them home and they let him take the jewels so they could all live a happy, rich life. I was expecting the ending that I wrote to happen, so when it didn't, I decided I must change it! This ending makes more sense, and is much more interesting! Also, only the youngest daughters went with the father to the grandmother's house because the older daughters knew better. They knew it was a trick. I thought that was pretty wrong because if they knew, why did they not warn the other sisters? So I decided all of them should be tricked. In the original they traveled into the mountains, but I thought a dark forest sounded scarier. It reminds me of something out of a horror film. The same events take place in the cave with the fox and the wolf except that the animals did not see the girls when they get home. The fox talked the wolf into sleeping in the pot instead of the bed because it would be warmer. Also just for fun, I gave everyone names. None of the characters have names, but I decided to make it more interesting and give everyone a name. I chose Todd for the father because leading your children into the woods to be eaten is evil, and if you have ever watched "Breaking Bad," the character Todd is pretty darn evil. For the daughters and mother, I chose really feminine, long pretty names because they are sweet (for the most part).

Bibliography:

Book: Chinese Fairy Tales
Author: R. Wilhelm
Year Published: 1921
Web Source: Un-Textbook

Week 6: Storytelling

Week 6: Of the Pretty Stranger who Killed the King

There once was a king named Botu who was very successful, but everyone hated. He was very successful and rich because of his wonderful leadership skills, but he had many enemies.This is because he went to war too often and killed far too many people, and because he often turned prisoners into slaves.

In a town nearby people were becoming very aggravated with Botu and they wanted him killed. Since he was very good at battling and fighting, they would not be able to beat him in a fight. They came up with a scheme that would surely work. They had a very old witch in their town who could shape shift into whatever she pleased. The people of town offered to pay the witch, Ursula, to kill the king.

Ursula the Witch

Ursula took the offer and changed herself into the most beautiful young woman that anyone had ever seen. She had long hazelnut brown hair and dark green eyes with rosy red cheeks and candy apple red lips. When Ursula set off to visit Calabar, where the king lived, she brought a very sharp sword that she had hidden in her boot. She stumbled into the Halloween festival that was being held in Calabar that night.

Everyone stared at Ursula when she walked by. They were in awe of her beauty and she quickly became the talk of the town. Less than an hour later King Botu had gotten word of this beautiful creature and had to meet her. It was well known that Botu had quite a thing for pretty girls. He searched the festival for less than twenty minutes when he found her and when he did, he was speechless.

Botu knew he must make Urusla his wife immediately. He proposed to her right there in the middle of everyone. Ursula, knowing this just made her job one hundred times easier, said "Yes!" before he even finished asking. They headed to the palace that second to be married and then consummate the marriage.

After the wedding, Ursula slipped some sleeping pills into Botus wine so he would fall asleep very quickly and then she could kill him and get on with her life. When they finally got back to Botus bedroom, the second he hit the pillow, he fell asleep instantly. Ursula slid the sword out from her boot and without hesitation, she sliced his head right off.

To prove that she had indeed killed the king she brought his head with her back to her town so that she would receive the money she was promised. When the king was discovered dead, no one even thought to consider that his new, young, beautiful wife had done it.

"Never marry a stranger, no matter how pretty she may be."

Authors Note: For this story I did not change much because I did not want the moral of the story to be lost. I changed the names from Mbotu to Botu and Oyaikan to Ursula. I left out the ending of the story where the witches town ends up attacking the kings town and killing almost all of their people. This is because it did not really go with the theme/moral I was going for in my retelling.

Bibliography:
Book: Nigerian Folktales
Author: Elphinstone Dayrell
Year Published: 1910
Web Source: Un-Textbook

Week 4: Storytelling

The Three Delicate Wives

Once upon a time in a far away sea there was a merman prince named Comet and he had three beautiful princess mermaid wives. The first wife's name was Stardust. She was beautiful with long wavy platinum blonde hair, dark pink eyes, a turquoise tail, and lips the color of a blooming peony in the spring. The second wife's name was Aurora. She was a beauty with straight bright red hair, deep purple eyes, and a green tail. The third wife, Moonstone, was a lovely brunette with sapphire blue eyes, fiery red lips, and a purple tail that was faster than both of the other wives'. 

The wives of Comet escorted him to an elaborate summer celebration given by the king, and that is when things started to go wrong.  The four had a great time feasting on all of the delicious foods the kingdom provided. They then danced the night away to the song of the summer which happened to be "Under the Sea." They were having such a wonderful time that Comet leaned in to kiss Stardust's cheek and when he did, a pearl from her hair fell to land into her lap. She screamed out in horrible pain and then passed out from her agony. She was taken home to be comforted by the palace's nurses. She went to bed and woke up the next day still a bit sore from the tiny pearl that had hurt her so badly the day before. 

While Stardust was away resting, the other three stayed at the celebration and danced until the sun came up. During sunrise a slight sun ray peeked through the water onto the dance floor and found Aurora's skin. When she felt it touch her body, she started crying and screaming. Comet asked her what was wrong and she told him it was a sun ray that hurt her so badly. When he looked upon her skin, she had severe blisters and burns all over her skin. The palace's nurses came to take her away and put magic burn paste onto her burns and she was much better the following morning. 

While Stardust and Aurora were sleeping away their pain, Moonstone and Comet stayed to enjoy the marvelous desserts and wine at the celebration. While they were enjoying their time at the party, a little fish swam by Moonstone. The fish was swimming so fast that he caused a bubble to appear in front of Moonstone's face. Just as she was taking a bite of her dessert, the bubble popped and she threw down her fork and plate. The little bubble "pop" had made such a noise that Moonstone's ears had bruises inside and out. Comet decided it was time to go home and gave Moonstone some ice to put on her ears. 

The next morning Comet contemplated on whether these princesses were too delicate for him or not. He could not believe that a pearl, a sun ray, and a bubble could hurt his lovely wives so badly. He ultimately decided that he loved all of them so very much that he could not let them go. He would have to take better care of them for the rest of their days together so that he could always be with his three true loves.

Author's Note: For this story, The Three Delicate Wives, I changed the characters from humans to  mermaids. I have always been obsessed with mermaids and I thought this would be a fun one to get creative with since there are three women. I also really elaborated on their looks. In the original, they did not do this at all, but I think it really helps your mind to visualize the story better when characters are described. Then I changed their names, but still kept them outer-space-themed because I really love outer space and anatomy. Their original names were Crescent, Star, and Moon. I also made the ways the women get hurt different to fit in with the sea theme. In the original, the first wife gets hurt by a flower petal, the second one by moonbeams, and the third by hearing a pestle. I thought being underwater would really express how delicate the women actually are. Underwater, everything is so much lighter and quieter, so this really intensifies the amount of delicateness these women have.They do not all get hurt at a party, but in different situations throughout one or two days. I took away the part about the goblin telling the story to the king because it would not have made sense unless one were to read the whole unit. The point of the story was originally to see if the king could solve the riddle of who was the most delicate, but I chose to not incorporate that into my story because I really wanted to focus on them all being equally delicate so that Comet could still love them all equally. In the original it is the one who is hurt by sound because she did not even have to be physically touched to get hurt.

Image Info:
Disney's Mermaid Lagoon as The Under the Sea Summer Celebration 

Bibliography: 

Book: Twenty-Two Goblins

Author: Arthur W. Ryder

Year Published: 1917

Web Source: The Un-Text Book

Week 3: Storytelling

Week 3 Storytelling: The Beggar King

A long, long time ago a mighty proud man named Hagag reigned as King. As the priest read to him the scripture from the Holy Bible, just as he did every day, King Hagag became very angry. The scripture claimed that wealth and riches are not forever, and that power and the crown makes its way through every generation. King Hagag was so conceited and proud that he was offended by these words. He thought no one and nothing was above him, and that nothing could take away his wealth and power. He snatched the Bible from the priest and ripped out the pages that spoke these words. Then he tore them up into a million pieces and threw them into a nearby flame and threw the Bible straight to the ground. He had committed a horrible act, but felt absolutely no remorse for his actions.

The Beggar King

Later that afternoon, King Hagag left the palace on his fastest unicorn to spend his day hunting the wild animals in the enchanted forest. In this forest there are ogres, unicorns, fairies, and flying monkeys. King Hagag immediately hears the flapping wings of a flying monkey and starts to hunt it down. He chases down the monkey and gets close, but cannot catch up because his unicorn is not fast enough. Just as the monkey was getting away, his wing got caught in a massive spiderweb. When the king caught up with the creature, he pulled out his sharpest sword, but he realized he was just a man dressed in a winged monkey suit. He claimed to be a genie who will teach the proud king a fine, much needed lesson. The genie then snapped his fingers, and was all of a sudden dressed in Hagag's clothing leaving Hagag naked. He rode off back to the kingdom while leaving the king behind in the dust. 

Along came a woodcutter who called Hagag a fool for claiming to be king. The man gave clothing and food to the king who had nothing, but left him to find his way back to the kingdom by himself. The king lived the next few months as a poor, homeless man on the streets of the kingdom he used to rule. People would walk past him and either give him food or clothing out of pity, or they would mock him for being a beggar. He was miserable and lonely but he finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Hagag realized that he could do some good even in his powerless situation. Hagag remembered passing some blind beggars a couple days before. Hagag decided to be a kind man and help the blind beggars by guiding them through the streets. He became very close to these people, and started to feel happy again. He knew that he could make a difference and bring joy to those who were worse off than he ever was. 

When the genie decided to hold a huge feast after a few long months of reigning as king, he invited all of the beggars of the city. He talked to each one individually and searched for Hagag. When he finally laid his eyes upon Hagag, he was very pleasantly surprised. He knew that he had finally learned the very important lesson that he was waiting for all of these months. Very much pleased, the genie offered Hagag his kingdom back, but Hagag refused. He told the genie that he was ashamed that he was ever such a wicked and cruel man, and he felt that he could do much more good to the world by staying a guide to the blind beggars and helping others who need it. The genie, however, could not be king forever and would not let Hagag deny his destiny. From that day on, King Hagag was the most kind, wise, and forgiving King the land had ever seen. 

Author's Note: For this story, I thought I was going to change a lot of it, but I decided to stick mostly to the story because it taught a pretty good lesson to the King and I did not want to take away from that. Instead of changing the story line I decided to have fun with the animals in the story. Instead of "normal" animals such as deer and horses I decided to use the kind of animals you hear about in fairytales. I thought this gave a fun little twist to the story while keeping true to the storyline. I also elaborated on a few things and made them more dramatic to keep the reader interested. 

Bibliography:

Book: Jewish Fairytales and Legends

Author: Gertrude Landa

Year Published: 1919

Web Source: Un-Textbook