Storytelling Week 14: Cinderella's Diary

Dear Diary,

Okay, so I know I'm pretty and all with my golden hair but is that any excuse for my father to want to marry me?! Ugh I'm appalled! How gross is that? Everyone knows it is gross too, but he is the king and can do anything he wants. I look just like my mother; that must be why he loves me as he loved her... I don't know what to do though! I cannot let my father marry me. It would be a disgrace for our kingdom and I cannot bring myself to marry my own dad anyways! No, first I will tell him that in order for me to marry him, he must give me a dress as gold as the sun, as silver as the moon, and bright as the stars. Surely he will not get any that look like that and then I won't have to marry him! Perfect!


Dear Diary,

My plan failed. He got the dresses, so I decided to run away. I took my dresses with me, and was living in the woods, but them some men found me! I was covered in dirt though, so I did not look like a King's daughter and they took me in as a servant. Hey, that's better than being married to my dad! They work me to death though, but it is an awfully good cover in case my father tries to find me. And I still have my dresses in case I ever need them.

Dear Diary,

So the King had a ball the other night. Let me tell ya, that King is fine. I snuck upstairs, cleaned myself off, changed into one of my pretty dresses, and snuck into the ball. It was so much fun! I couldn't be gone long, but oh my goodness, I danced with the King! He was so wonderful. He doesn't know I work for him though... I wonder what would happen if he found out?


Dear Diary,

The King figured it out! I have been sneaking into all the dancing balls and dancing with the King. I knew he had fallen in love with me, and that was okay because I loved him too! I wanted so badly to be with him, so I put pieces of beautiful jewelry in the food I would make for him. He called me up there several times to ask where I had gotten the jewelry and what I was doing working for the King. I just said I was a poor servant. He tricked me though, and snuck a ring on my finger at the ball! Then I was called up and he saw that the ring was on my finger, dumped a bucket of water on my head, and saw that I was the girl he'd fallen in love with at the royal ball! I'm practically his Cinderella. Anyways, we're getting married tomorrow! I love him and we are going to live happily ever after.

Cinderella and her Prince
Source: Inside Croydon

Author's Note: This story is a retelling of "Allerleirauh" from the Household Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, translated by Margaret Hunt (1884). The retelling is not much different from the original story, but I decided to put it in a more modern perspective. She dances with the King three separate times before he slips the ring on her finger, and he calls her up but she forgot to cover the finger with soot, so he figured out it was her he had been dancing with.

Storytelling Week 13: The King's Lion

Once upon a time, there was a lion. He lived in a the castle of Bloomington, and was the pet of the King. He was a good lion, and the King always took care of him, keeping his fur beautiful and shiny, and keeping his stomach full with wonderful food. The King would often turn to the lion for advice; they tended to have some very deep and intellectual conversations, for he was a smart lion. One day, twelve men showed up on the steps of the castle. They were a little smaller than regular men, with thinner arms and a more petite stature overall. They claimed to be huntsmen, and requested that the King take the huntsmen in for service. The King approved the request, and the King acquired 12 new huntsmen. However, something was a little off with the huntsmen, and the Lion could smell it...

Some days later, the King and the Lion were sitting on the balcony, caught up in conversation; the King stroking the Lion's mane as they spoke.
"My King, I must speak with you on a matter concerning the new huntsmen." requested the Lion.
"The huntsmen? Yes, they've served me well the past few days haven't they? Dedicated men, they are."
"That is what I want to speak with you about, though. I sense that these men are in fact women," stated the Lion.
The King perked, "Women? No, thats impossible."
"They are, sire. test them tomorrow by throwing peas down on the ground before their step. They will play in them as no man would."

The servant of the King overheard the plan, however, and reported it to the huntsmen. The huntsmen passed the test.

"They are not women, Lion! They stepped firmly onto the peas. Why would you try to fool me?" said the angry King.
"I swear by it, my King! They were informed by someone. Please, place spinning wheels in their sight tomorrow and it will show they are but girls dressed as huntsmen."

But the servant, again, forewarned the huntsmen so that when they saw the spinning wheels, the huntsmen looked right past them.

"Do you think me a fool, Lion! They looked right passed the spinning wheels just as men do!"
"My King, I know they are women, please..."
The King interrupted, "No! Leave me be, Lion, for they are not women."

A few days passed, and the King figure out the secret... the twelve huntsmen were women, and the leader was his former wife. The King rejoiced, and repaired relations with his Lion. The Lion was a good, dedicated Lion until the day of his death.

A pet lion
Source: Pixabay

Author's Note: This story originated from The Twelve Huntsmen from LibriVox Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. The story is the same, only the background is that when the King was a prince, he fell in love and married a girl, but his father made him promise to marry another as he died. So the prince became King, had to leave his wife, and the wife got eleven other girls and took them to work for the King as huntsmen. The King eventually figured out it was her though, and they lived happily ever after.

Storytelling Week 12: How to Catch a Leprechaun

"And now may I present to you all your Class President, Michael Myers!" announced the school principal. 

The entire auditorium cheered, mainly due to the excitement of graduating, but also because Michael was the most inspiring Class President the Class of 1989 had had all four years. 

"Thank you, Principal Hawkins. Congratulations graduating Class of 1989!" 

The students nearly jumped out of their seats, screaming with excitement. 

"We've worked hard these past 4 years and now we've made it! So now, I'd like to tell you all a story. No one knows this about me, but I hope you all can take away from it a valuable lesson and apply it as we take the next big step into our futures."

The auditorium grew solemn and eerily quiet as the students and the audience anticipated the story. 

"As many of you know, my family is originally from Ireland, and I fly there every other summer to visit. When I went last summer, though, I experienced something that changed my life. My grandfather owns a lot of land up there, and I was playing with my littler cousins in the back yard. I was teaching them how to throw a football. One of them threw it, and boy did he have an arm! He threw it clear into the woods behind me. At about this time, the boys were called inside for dinner, so I went to get the ball as they ran inside. Then the most amazing thing happened... 

I went looking for the ball and hidden in the bushes was a little man. I'm not talking midget little, I mean he could not have been more than 6 inches tall!

Yes, now I realize you all think I'm crazy, but keep listening. 

He was wearing a little green hat and was shining shoes with... beer. Yes, beer. Then it hit me... He was a leprechaun!"

Students in the crowd began to snicker at how far fetched his story was sounding.

"I know, I thought they weren't real either, but I stared and stared and sure enough, it was a leprechaun! Being from Ireland, I know the tricks of those little devils, and one rule of thumb when you catch a leprechaun is to never take your eyes off them, or they will disappear. So I stared at him as I moved toward him, and yanked him up! We had a nice little conversation about shining shoes, but then I got to the real point of the conversation. I told him to show me where his gold was. I had a firm grip on him so he really had no choice! He told me the directions to a field and off we went. I had to keep my eye on him, though, or else he'd disappear, so I kept tripping and stumbling; sometimes I'd even smack into a tree or two."

A roar of giggles grew from the crowd. 

"But! I never took my eye off that little guy; I was determined. When we got to the field, there were poles stuck in the ground, a couple for each acre for about 40 acres. I had a red ribbon with me, and tied it around the pole where he told me the gold was hidden. Then I let him go so I could run home and get a shovel to dig up the gold. But when I returned, the little devil had tied a red ribbon (identical to the one I'd had) to every single one of those dang poles..."

The crowd burst into a fit of laughter. 

"With that said! I just want to say good luck to your futures, and if you ever find a leprechaun, never take your eyes off of it, and just try not to let it trick you." 

Learn How to Catch a Leprechaun!
Click HERE

Author's Note: This story originated from "The Field of Boliauns" from Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1892). The original story is told in 3rd person, mainly from the boy's perspective. I rewrote it in more modern times as a graduation speech from a Class President, who is supposed to be the little boy in the original story. I tried to build it up like he was going to make some big, important life lesson from the story, but make it ironically turn out to be just a plain old, ridiculous story about a leprechaun that all the audience think is fake. 

Storytelling Week 11: The Most Generous Man

The professor walked into the classroom and set down his things. The high school students, chattering away at their desks, became quiet and pulled out their notebooks for class to begin.

"Goodmorning everyone!" said the professor as he leaned back, barely sitting at the front of his desk. "Now, you all should have read Franklin's Tale last night from the Canterbury Tales. So today, we are going to discuss the question posed at the very end... Which one of the three generous men was the most generous?"
"As an overview, the woman, Dorigen, was head over heels for her husband and mourned nonstop while he was away." The professor rolled his eyes and sighed at the ridiculousness of the subject, and all the students laughed.
"She swore to never leave him, but, when she learned a poor squire was in love with her, she told him that she would only leave her husband for him if they could no longer see the large rocks poking out of the water just off the coast. Of course, she thought this could never be done so she wasn't worried about it. Well that squire, boy, when you talk about doing anything for love, this kid did it all! He went to a magician, and... can anyone tell me the deal between the squire and the magician?"

"The squire would owe him 1000 pounds if the magician could make the rocks disappear for just a little while!" shouted Mary from the back of the room.

"Yep! And so it was, the magician got rid of the rocks, and the squire led the lady to see. Her husband honored her promise by allowing her to leave, but after seeing her mourn (because Lord knows she did it relentlessly) the squire stated that he would rather suffer his whole life without her than break her away from the man she truly loves. What does this mean for the squire then? He still owes the magician. However, when the magician heard of what happened, he released the squire from his debt because the squire was so honorable. Now, which is the most generous?"... "Jayton?"

"I think the magician is, because he did this and worked hard expecting to be paid but he allowed the squire to go without paying," explained Jayton.

"Except the magician said the squire had already housed and fed him, so that was compensation enough! The magician didn't exactly give up anything; he simply didn't make a profit!" said Sally.

"Good point," said the professor, "So what about the squire?"

"I think he was the most generous because he put in so much work and so much effort, and he finally completed his task and won the girl... but then he gave all of it up because she was unhappy," said Doug.
Sally piped up again, "But don't you think it was selfish for him to do that in the first place? It's not like he didn't know that she was head over heels for her husband and would be unhappy with anyone else. He was trying to steal her. That's completely selfish of him."

"Alright, well Sally, do you think Dorigen's husband was the most generous then?" asked the professor.

"No. I don't think any of them are generous. The magician got free food and housing for performing magic, the squire was selfish trying to take away the woman from her husband, and the husband obviously doesn't love her enough, because any rational man would not simply let their wife, who is bawling her eyes out and would almost rather die than live without her true love, just go off with this selfish boy who tricked the rocks into disappearing for a while!"

The whole class stared, and the professor? Speechless. Some of the students began to snicker.

"Well... that was a wonderful argument, Sally. You're going to be a great lawyer some day." The class laughed.
"Well, class, since Sally completely destroyed any points I was about to make about this story, let's move along!"
The class roared with laughter and the professor moved on and taught the rest of the Canterbury Tales.

Dorigen and Aurelius, from Mrs. Haweis's, Chaucer for Children (1877)
Source: Wikipedia

Author's Note: I wrote this story based off "The Franklin's Tale" from The Chaucer Story Book by Eva March Tappan (1908). When I originally read the story, I thought it was neat how it had the question at the end about who was the most generous man. Then I thought it would be fun to make it a classroom discussion. The professor gives the overview of the story, and how it ends. The rest is obviously all made up. I thought about making the husband the most generous, but then I thought it would catch the reader off guard to argue that none of them were generous. Anyways, I tried to add as much dry humor as I could, but I'm tired so I don't know if I succeeded all that well! Hope you enjoyed it!

Storytelling Week 10: The Wolf Man

Michael walked through the front door after a long day of hunting in the grasslands. He was exhausted from dragging home the massive buffalo he'd shot. He placed his gun in the corner of the kitchen and walked around, looking for his wives. The old, wooden house was dark and cold.
He sighed, "They must be out with their friends... again," thought Michael. He then scavenged through the cabinets to find something to cook for dinner. All of a sudden, he went into a rage, punching in one of the cabinets which split in half and fell to the ground.
"That's it. I'm done with this," He cried aloud. "The house is disgusting, my wives don't ever clean, cook, nor do they appreciate me, and it's about time they started."
Around 10:30 that evening, his wives stumbled into the house slightly tipsy after partying and drinking with their friends all afternoon. Michael was waiting.
He stopped them and firmly stated, "We're moving. Go pack your things and have them ready to go at sunrise tomorrow."
The wives simply stared at him, nervous to say anything since they could tell their husband was upset. The wives immediately went packing, without a question as to the reason for their move.

The following day Michael and his wives travelled a hundred miles into a small cabin that sat lonely on the top of a rolling hill, out in the middle of no where. Every morning, Michael would go hunt and bring back food. In the evenings, he sat by the house at the top of the hill on a buffalo skull, watching to see where the buffalo were feeding.
The wives were finally doing their spousal duties. They were bored considering Michael had dragged them away from all their friends, so they had no other option than to keep busy by cooking and cleaning.

After three months of being out in their little country cabin, the wives began to get anxious.
"Sue, I'm bored out my mind. I hate living out here. I miss being able to hang out with all our neighbors! We always had such a blast with them, and now it's as if Michael is punishing us for our enjoyment there!"
Sue replied, "Karen, I completely agree. And honestly, Michael is starting to drive me crazy. He's so annoying, requesting us to clean and cook for him now that we have nothing else to do. Why do we need him anyways? We should just... get rid of him somehow. Then we could go back to how we were living our lives before."
For the rest of the day, the wives schemed as to how they were going to kill their husband. They decided they would dig a massive pit underneath the spot he sits every evening, then cover it so that he would fall straight in when he sat down.
It worked.
That evening, Michael fell into the hole, breaking an ankle, an arm, and a few ribs. As soon as they saw him tumble down, his wives packed up and went back to their old camp.

Michael spent the next week trapped in the hole, unable to find a way out. Severely depressed, Michael gave up trying to live, deciding he'd lay there and wait to die.
He eventually heard a whimpering, and opened his eyes to see a wolf peering down at him. It kept circling the opening of the hole and whimpering.
"Great. Now I'm going to be eaten by wolves," thought Michael. The wolf began to dig, and eventually dug to where he could reach Michael. Michael, unable to move from his injuries, was mentally prepared for the wolf to eat him. Instead, the wolf bit him by the collar collar, and dragged Michael out of the hole and all the way back to the wolf's camp.
By now, Sue and Karen had returned to their home town. They entered sobbing and wailing about how their husband got lost and died in the woods, but on the inside they were happy and relieved that they had succeeded in murdering their husband. The town was extremely sympathetic towards the two women, and adorned them with gifts of all kinds. The two wives finally had back their freedom.

A month passed, and the town's buffalo supply began to dwindle significantly. A trap was placed by the entrance to capture any animals that try to eat the buffalo. The trap had been broken.
Word was spread around the town concerning a new animal thought to live in the nearby woods... They called it the Wolf Man.
The town decided they needed to capture the Wolf Man and therefore protect their food supply.
A few men posted themselves outside the entrance to the buffalo gate, and sure enough, the Wolf Man appeared to hunt their buffalo. The men captured the beast and dragged it back to the middle of the camp.
"It's me, it's Michael!" cried the Wolf Man, "Please do not kill me!"
The men holding him down jumped up and away from the Wolf Man, partly surprised, but mostly terrified.
Michael stood up. He was a large, healthy man, and looked nearly the same with the exception of his massively large paws that had replaced his hands!
"Oh no! How could this be, I thought we'd killed him for sure!" exclaimed Sue to Karen. The two women stared at Michael, horrified, as if they were looking at a ghost.
Michael immediately began explaining to the town that his wives had attempted to kill him but he was saved by a pack of wolves.
The men that had captured Michael began to move towards Sue and Karen, both of which began screaming that Michael was lying, and they would never try to kill their husband.
But it was too late.
The men grabbed the two women, and dragged them away as they kicked and screamed. They were never seen again.

A Wolf
Source: Clipart

Author's Note: This is a retelling of "The Wolf Man" from Blackfeet Indian Stories by George Bird Grinnell (1915). The storyline is generally the same, except I told it from a different point of view, with more detail than in the original, and I changed it to a modern, more colonial time period. Also, I left out the part explaining what happened to Michael (who is left nameless in the original) when he got taken by the wolves. I kind of wanted to leave that a mystery for the reader in my story, but in the original, the wolves could talk. There was a blind, magical wolf who healed the man completely and gave him wolf hands and feet. So that's the story!

Storytelling Week 9: The Boy Who Laughed at Winter

Once upon a time,
In a land far away,
The warmth would not linger,
Only the cold would stay.

And in this land, there lived a boy.
Owanu was his name.
He was not too fond of the cold,
but in the snow he would linger,
For it did not frighten him away.

Owanu's friends thought,
But what's the matter?
You'll die if you stay in the winter.
But Owanu just laughed, as he always did,
And said no, I will bring back the Summer.

Owanu's friends left, and said their goodbye's
to their friend who had sealed his fate.
But Owanu was true,
He would rid of the cold,
And summer would never be late.

So he taunted the cold
With his hot fire and wood,
And said, "Try, oh Winter cold,
to get me this day."

The Winter was offended
At Owanu's cruel words,
And thought, "Oh this boy's day has ended.
I will freeze him to death, in one second flat,
Then winter will be always in season."

Then the Winter brought up
A storm so very great
That any man would have shivered in fright.
But Owanu just laughed, and he always did,
And tended to his fire deeper into the night.

Owano cried, Winter,
The fire only grows larger!
Your storm is no match for my skill.
So come into the tent,
and fight like a man,
And we'll see which of us will be killed

The Winter, so proud,
Could certainly not turn down
The challenge Owanu had made.
So with a great frozen wind
He flew right on in,
Determined to freeze Owanu.

But as Winter just stood there,
In the midst of the fire,
He felt his nose beginning to tingle.
Then as he looked down
He saw wet on the ground,
And realized that he'd be a puddle!

Winter ran out as quickly as he'd entered,
and cursed the hot fire that burned him.
But Owanu just laughed, as he always did,
Happy he'd weakened the Winter.

Owanu was sure, yes he could win,
He'd beat the bitter cold,
And the heat would move in!
So Owanu, warmed by the fire, went out,
And challenged the Winter to battle again.

The two fought on,
In the bitter ice cold,
But Owanu, so warm,
Grabbed Winter ahold.

The warmth of Owanu,
It just couldn't be beat,
The Winter had to give way.
So Owanu stood proud
In the bright morning light,
And Winter?
He ran away.

Today, we all know
The North, it stays cold,
While the South is where people stay.
This is only because,
Great Owanu, yes he,
Had frightened old Winter away.

The North Wind
Drawing by xLapinasx
Source: DeviantArt

Author's Note: This poem was based off the story "Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind" from American Indian Fairy Tales by W.T. Larned (1921). So I've written one other storytelling post as a poem and I really enjoyed it, and I got a lot of great feedback so I decided to do another! In this one, i stuck to the main story the entire way. The story is about the North Wind and the South Wind, and how they are always at odds with eachother. Shin-ge-bis and his friends are out fishing, and the South Wind decides to take a break, so the North Wind steals his chance to move in. The friends leave but Shin-ge-bis stays. That's where my poem picks up, and the story is the same from there! I changed the name of the main character to Owanu, and in the original story they mention how he laughs at everything, regardless of if anything is funny or not, and I wanted to highlight that in my poem by repeating the "Owanu just laughed as he always did." Besides that, the storyline is the same as the original. Hope you enjoyed it!

Storytelling Week 7: The Thoughts of A Monkey

The following script includes the recorded thoughts of a monkey living in Nigeria. This monkey was last seen going to the head chief after a fight broke out between a bush cow and an elephant in the middle of the street, which blocked much traffic in and out of the town.

-(In song) I'm swinging through the forest, I'm swinging, oh I'm swinging.
-Wait, look there, it's a fight. Fights are so entertaining. I must stay and watch. Oh yes, I remember now, that bush cow and that elephant were supposed to fight, but gosh, they're scaring everyone away! *Gasp* The elephant just knocked over a few houses too! Oh, this is not good. Not good at all. I must go tell the head chief.
- (In song) I'm swinging through the forest, ohhh, how I love to swing!
- Wait.. Where am I going? Oh, yes, to the chief.
- (In song) Just keep swinging, oh keep swinging, and I'll be there soooon.
- Wait... I'll be where soon? Oh yeah, to tell the chief about those two animals who are fighting and causing destruction. I'll keep swinging now.
- Ah yes, here I am, on the roof of the head chief's house. Hey, it's a spider. I must eat it. *Crunches on spider* Boy, that was a good spider.
- I'm going to jump on ground now. This is a funny stick, just laying here on the ground. I shall play with it. *Begins playing with stick* I love drawing things on the ground with sticks. I very much enjoy that. I like to make pictures of trees, and vines, and more trees. Ouch! I just poked myself in the eye with the stick! Stupid stick... *Throws stick away on the ground*
- Oh, hello stone. What a soft stone you are. *Rubs stone on the ground, and begins to look around* Yes, very soft. It is a nice day out here, isn't it... What a smooth black stone this is.
- *Looks down at fur, gasps, and drops the rock* Look at my fur! It's quite dirty. I must pick the dirt out. All the dirt, yes. Oh look, there's a bug. And another! *Eats bugs from fur* 
- Mmm I love those kinds of bugs. *Continues examining fur and skin, for quite some time*
- Woah, look at that massive praying mantis over there! What a cool little creature... *Stalks near the praying mantis* I'm gonna get you Mr. Mantis, I'm gonna get ya... *Pounces like a cat on to the mantis* Got ya!
- You're legs are long, they will hurt if I eat them. *Pulls off legs of mantis, and eats it* Yes, what a good tasting mantis you are!
- Now I will sit here. *Mind goes blank for some time* 


(The head chief steps outside.)


"Monkey! What are you here for?" shouted the chief, who had just walked outside and noticed the monkey sitting in his front yard.

- *Monkey jumps a couple feel high*  Oh my gosh, he just terrified me. Oh, yes, it's the head chief! I have something to tell him. Wait, what did I need to tell him? Shoot...

"Yes, head chief, I am here to see you, but I cannot remember why..." stated the monkey.

"Okay, well take a plantain and see if you remember," said the chief.

- I do love plantains.

"Oh, yes, Thank you!" said the Monkey.

-Oh what a wonderful plantain this is!

"Well, that bush cow and elephant were supposed to fight here today, I wonder where they are," said the chief.

-Oh my gosh, that's why I came here! I must tell him what I saw. 

"So I was up in the trees swinging away as usual and I was swinging and swinging and saw the bush cow and the elephant, and I thought I had to tell you what was happening, so I started swinging more towards you, but then I saw a spider and I ate it; it was a good spider, and then when I got on the ground I saw a stick, and a praying mantis, and some other bugs on me. Oh, and there was also a stone, it was a very pretty stone too. Then I stopped playing with things and sat here and forgot why I came and then you opened the door and scared me! Then after you said something about the elephant and bush cow I remembered that I came here to tell you that I saw the bush cow and the elephant; they are fighting as we speak. They are tearing many things down and stopping traffic in and out of the town."

Thus is the train of thoughts that went through the monkey's head as he went to tell the head chief about the events concerning the bush cow and the elephant.

The elephant and bush cow. Photo take by UNESCO
Source: UN News Centre

Author's Note: This story was originated from The Bush Cow and the Elephant, by Elphinstone Dayrell in Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria (1910). I chose to write the story from the mind of the monkey. The original story starts off talking about how the dispute between the bush cow and the elephant was ongoing, and so they set a date with the head chief to fight it out in a designated spot. Instead, they ended up fighting where all the traffic was at, and a monkey saw this and went to tell the chief, but got very distracted along the way. The rest of the story matches what went on the original story. At the end of the story, the chief killed both the elephant and the bush cow with his bow and arrow. The bush cow and elephant still fight to this day, but only in a big bush, not in a public space.

Storytelling Week 6: Froggy Bedtime Story

"Grandhoppa, Grandhoppa, please tell us a bed time story!" cried the little grandfroggies. The old frog grabbed his cane and lifted himself off of his sofa chair, then slowly hopped over to his grand-babies.

"I have a grand story for you two tonight," said grandfather frog. "Have I ever told you about the time I pretended to be a king?" 

     "No, Grandhoppa, you haven't! Please tell us!"

"Alright, well, one day I was minding my own down by the river, and in the distance I saw a massive tiger. I knew he was hungry; he was practically trying to attack patches of grass just hoping there would be an animal there for him to eat! I was terrified, but I hoped to figure out a way to trick the tiger into not eating me. I shouted, 'Hey Tiger! Where ya going?' and the tiger said, as I knew he would, that we was going to find something to eat, but now that he had found me, he was going to eat me!"

     "That's terrifying, Grandhoppa! What did you do?" exclaimed the little frogs, bundled up under their covers in fear. 

"Well, I puffed out my chest, stood up on my back legs, and said 'Well Mr. Tiger, you are talking to the King of the Frogs!'" 

       The little frogs burst into laughter. 

"But it worked!" said the old frog. "I dared him that I could jump further over the bank than he could. Of course he accepted the challenge, and when he jumped, I grabbed his tail and it flew me much further than where he jumped! You should have seen that tiger's face, he was stunned! He had no idea how I had jumped that far!"

      The little froggies burst into another fit of laughter. 

"I dared him to another competition; I told him we should both vomit."

      "Ewww!" cried the frogs in disgust. 

"But when I threw up, I just spit a little of his hairs out of my mouth, and he couldn't throw up anything! He asked how I did that and I told him that I was so mighty and strong that I gobbled up a tiger the other day, and I would do the same to him if he didn't leave me alone... He sped off quicker than ever!" 

      The grand frogs continued to laugh at the crazy story. 

"Oh, but then, you should have seen it, he came back! But this time he was with a fox, and they had tied their tails together! It was so hilarious. I pretended I was still the Frog King, and said to the fox, 

'Oh hello fox, thank you for coming; you hadn't paid your toll to me today, so that must be my dinner you've got tied to your tail?' The tiger's eyes tripled in size and he sprinted away so quickly that the poor fox could hardly keep up; he was just being yanked and dragged behind this terrified and fooled tiger. Goodness knows they are still tied together and running, even today."

Frog King
Source: Clip Art

Author's Note: This story, originally called "The Tiger and the Frog," is from the book Tibetan Folk Tales by A.L. Shelton (1925). The story is the same, only I wrote it in a first person format as a grandfather frog telling his grandchildren frogs a bedtime story. The original story has a little more information about what was going on in the mind of the tiger, but the storyline is the same! I hope you enjoyed reading it! 

Storytelling Week 5: The Fisherman and the Genie

Dragging himself out of bed, just after the rooster crowed at dawn, the old fisherman yawned and stretched, ready for another day of fishing. He changed into his black goulashes and old, worn out overalls, and placed his forest green fishing hat upon his peppered gray hair. "Let's see if we can catch a some food today," he thought as he grabbed his lucky red and white fishing pole and threw the heavy rope net over his shoulder. He stumbled out the door.

When he got to his fishing hole, he cast out the net, and he plopped down on the bank, mostly consisting of mud and a few patches of bright green grass. He sunk into the mud just a little and made himself comfortable for a long day of fishing. As he looked over the still blue-green lake, he hoped and prayed to God that he would catch just one decent fish to take home and feed his family with. He sat for a few minutes, taking in the morning sun and feeling the slight breeze while the birds sang good morning, then he stood up to pull in the net. It was getting increasingly difficult for him to pull, making the old man's hopes rise that it could be a school of fish. He continued to pull, with all of his might, until his net and its contents were up on the shore. The old man's face dropped as he examined the rotting, broken donkey carcass he had pulled ashore. The old man bent down to disentangle it, but held his breath as to not pass out from the stench of the dead animal. He moved the animal aside. Disappointed with his catch, and upset at the gaping holes the donkey's carcass had made in his net, the old man cast out the net again.

This time, he pulled in the net with ease, which meant he must not have caught anything. But as he pulled in the net, he noticed a shiny gold object caught in the netting. He pulled out a pot. He examined the beauty of the details and bright colored gems decorating the pot, then felt that it was full of something. He pulled open the lid, and a bundle of thick, black smoke rolled out, causing him to drop the pot and stumble backwards a couple of steps. The smoke continued to roll into a massive black cloud, which slowly took a shape... The fisherman realized it was a genie. The genie was massive, over 15 feet tall and as wide as an elephant. Its eyes glared red, and its teeth were gray spikes, and the hands were in the shape of claws. Every inch of the fisherman's body froze, and he nearly burst into tears with fright.

The genie then began to speak with such boldness that it shook the earth beneath the fisherman's feet. The genie was to kill the old man because the genie was sworn to kill the man who released him from the jar. The fisherman became shocked and upset at the genie's intentions, but then the old man had an idea to trick the genie. The fisherman consented to the genie's request, but on the condition that the genie answer a question. "Did you actually come from that vase?" asked the old man. The genie replied yes, but the old man threw his head back just a little and scoffed. "It's not possible that a genie as large and powerful as you could fit into that jar." The genie was instantly offended, but was determined to prove to the ignorant man that he could fit into the jar. The massive genie's figure then disintegrated back into a cloud of smoke, which swirled in a massive circle over the lake, then sucked very quickly back into the pot. The old man walked over to the pot, and leaned over to peer inside. Only seeing the terrible face of the genie, the genie asked if the old man now believed the genie could fit in the vase. The fisherman said he did believe, but as he said this, he pulled the lid to the jar out from behind his back and thrust it upon the pot, sealing it shut once again.

Old man fishing
Source: Wikipedia

Author's Note/ Bibliography: This story originated from Andrew Lang's "The Story of the Fisherman," found in his book, The Arabian Nights' Entertainments (1898). The original story and mine are actually almost the same, I just chose to make it descriptive, as to paint a picture of what I would imagine the story being like. The only thing I changed was that in the original story, the fisherman cast his net out four times before getting the jar, and I only made him cast it twice. Also, the very beginning I have is not in the original, I added the 'getting out of bed' scene to set up the rest of the story. I enjoyed writing this though; the original story did not have any descriptions, but I think they make for a more relatable and entertaining story.

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Storytelling Week 4: Katie's Diary

May 4, 2011
Dear Diary,

I just married the love of my life! I mean I know we've known each other for only a week but I knew he was the one the moment I saw him and I'm so happy! His name is Michael and he's so rich and handsome; I am obsessed! And honestly, we are inseparable. We are with each other nonstop, all day, everyday. Really though, he's sitting beside me right now watching me write in my diary. He's so amazing. I love him so much. We will have a forever perfect marriage, and he will never cheat on me, nor I on him... It's going to be wonderful.

November 15, 2011
Dear Diary,

I know it's been a while, but I've been too obsessed with Michael to write! We have a wonderful marriage and I love him more than anything in the world@ But the real reason I'm writing is because Michael went out to town today and he.... bought a parrot. Not just any parrot. It talks. Weird right? It doesn't repeat things; it talks like a human! Michael said it was a special bird, it cost a lot of money, and we should be happy to have it. I figure that's true... It's still really weird though, and kind of creepy. Also, Michael thought this bird would be lonely in his cage, so he bought another talking bird. When the heck did birds learn to talk?? Whatever, I love my husband and he loves me so it's okay. :)

December 10, 2011
Dear Diary,

Michael had to go on a three month business trip and I'm so upset about it... How am I ever going to live without him? I'm so depressed. I cry myself to sleep every night. I can't get in touch with him because he's out in the middle of nowhere... On the bright side, though, I have the birds here. Turns out they're really cool to talk to. The parrot is really nice, and I enjoy the conversations we have. He helps cheer me up sometimes. I try to keep busy around the house, but I just can't seem to get out of bed sometimes. I think it'll take some time, but I'll learn how to cope, and just keep looking forward to the day he returns.

December 12, 2011
Dear Diary,

So I met this guy yesterday. Actually, I didn't technically meet him; I was at the window looking forlornly outside, and he saw me. He moved in across the street, into the most magnificent house I've ever seen, and looked over and saw me in the window. He stopped what he was doing and just stood there. Staring. It was kind of creepy, but he's super handsome. Is it bad that I think that? Anyways, I'm not sure how he found out, but he dropped off a letter today saying he knew my husband was gone, and if I needed any company, I could come over whenever. He also said that he's in love with me and thinks I'm the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. I am extremely flattered, but I'm wondering... Is that... a booty call? Maybe I'm reading too much into it; we'll see.

December 15, 2011
Dear Diary,

Concerning that note I mentioned earlier... it was definitely a booty call. He keeps asking me to come over after dark, but I keep turning him down. It is the middle of December though, and it's quite cold at night... maybe someone to snuggle with would be okay?

December 16, 2011
Okay Diary,

Let's be real here. If I go over there, I'm totally going to sleep with him. He's way too attractive not to. And honestly, I think him and I would make a great match! Yeah, I know I have my husband, but he's not exactly here at the moment and I've sort of fallen for this guy! He's way richer than my husband, and he is such a charmer.
So basically I've decided I'm going over to his house tonight. I'm so excited! There is one caveat though... one thing my husband made me promise was to ask the parrot if I could leave the house. Yes, I know that seems super controlling and odd, but it was his only request, and honestly, how hard can it be to convince a parrot to let me leave the house?

December 17, 2011
Dear Diary,

You know how I had to ask the parrot for permission to leave? Well late last night, I asked the first parrot if I could leave and it said no, so I yanked him out of the cage and smashed him and killed him! I know it's cruel, but I really wanted to visit this guy! Then I asked the second parrot. He said yes, but then he mentioned some story... and I got curious. By the time he was finished with the story though, it was daylight! I guess I'll just have to wait until late tonight to visit my lover...


January 20, 2012
Dear Diary,

So every night I ask this parrot for permission, it says yes, but then he mentions a story, and I can't keep myself from asking him to tell me the story! Next thing I know, it's morning and I can't visit my future lover. So frustrating.

March 2, 2012
Dear Diary,

Michael, here. I just returned from my business trip and the parrot told me my wife had fallen in love with that guy across the street, and she killed him with her own two hands?! Not sure how she did that, being as little as she is, but the bird said it, so it must be true. Anyways, Katie is dead now. I killed her. She won't be returning to write in her diary. Turns out she's a mean, selfish, bird/people killing whore. Oh well. Maybe I'll find a wife one day that will actually be faithful.

Katie asking the Parrot to let her visit her lover.
"Nude with a Parrot" Painting by George Bellows
Source: Wikipedia

Author's Note/Bibliography: I originated this story from "The Tooti Nameh or Tales of a Parrot" by Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi (1801). I chose to write this story from the point of view of the wife through a diary. The original is written in third person, and the events from the above story are the same as the actual one. I also changed the era of the story, to be as if it were written in today's time. I attempted to highlight the strange events that were dismissed as normal occurrences that happened in the original story (such as buying a talking parrot, marrying within a week of meeting someone, and having to ask the parrot's permission to leave). The parrot tells the wife many stories on purpose to keep her from cheating on her husband, and he succeeds in doing so. Except, when the husband gets back, the bird tells him that his wife had fallen in love with and killed a prince, then the husband kills his wife. It was quite the shocking ending as I was reading it, and I tried to induce the same kind of sudden shock in my story. 

Storytelling Week 3: The Girl Who Couldn't Die

There was once a girl, a beautiful girl,
Renowned for her great beauty in all of the land.
Though her beauty was great, and many men loved her,
Still none would ask for her hand.
So she cried and she cried, and she pondered as to why,
The reason she could not find a man,
And thought, if I can't find a man, I'll die if I can, so she flung herself off of a cliff.

On her way down, she hit a soft branch,
And the tree braced her safely to ground.
She then realized that she, oh no, was still breathing!
So she set off to find her a hound.
She searched and she searched, till she found the dog Stan,
And asked, please help me end my life, if you can.

The dog stared for a moment, then quickly ran up,
Giving puppy kisses from her head to her toe.
The girl stood in shock, and slightly frustrated,
For this dog would not help to escape her cruel woe.
So she looked and she looked, till she came to a river,
Where she shouted, goodbye cruel world!
And she jumped right in, only to see
The water's depth hardly reached to her knee.

She stood in the water and began to cry.
Why could she not find a way to die?

So she cried to the gods, Oh Venus, please hear,
I no longer wish to live; please find me a cure!
Then Venus sent down a small clear glass vile,
Filled with a liquid that was ever so pure.
And the girl smiled and thought finally, my days are at an end,
I will never have to see the light of day again.
But as she drank, she realized what potion it was; it extended her life, and the great Venus had lied!

The girl scorned the goddess, then stomped firmly away,
Determined to figure out some other way.
And as she was trotting, she found a small dwelling,
A shed that was covered with hay.
So she peeked just inside, only to find
A sharp blade that could end her today.
So she drove the sharp blade deep in her bosom, and cried gods please carry me away!

She felt as if she was breathing her last,
When an old man came round to help the poor girl out.
He was a witch doctor, and a witch he sure was,
For he mended the girl, there's no doubt.
The girl opened her eyes and let out a scream,
Wondering why he needed to save her,
Then the man said, my son, he's in love with you;
I could not let you die, or my son would try to die too.

The girl's interest was piqued, a boy, you dare say?
Are you sure, old man, that he loves me this way?
The man nodded a yes, and the girl, she was sold,
She would marry this boy, and with him, grow old.
So off she ran, far across the land, looking for the boy she'd been promised,
But then all of a sudden, despite all her luck,
The girl, by lightening, was struck.

The lightening bolt that struck and killed the lovestruck girl
Source: Wikipedia

Author's Note/Bibliography: I originated this rhyme from Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche, translated by Tony Kline from the book, Golden Ass (2013). The actual story is not much like the rhyme at all, but in the story, Psyche is constantly trying to commit suicide but all the gods keep saving her, so that's where I got the idea from. In the story, Venus actually hates Psyche because of her beauty, and wants to kill her, but here I was just trying to use a goddess in the rhyme so I used Venus. In addition, in the actual story, Psyche only tries to die from jumping off cliffs and into rivers, so I added a few other different attempts as well. Also, Psyche actually lives happily ever after with her husband, but I thought it would be ironic and a little funny to have her die by a lightening strike at the end.

Storytelling for Week 2: The Last Melon

This story begins in the land of the Ice Age, where Dodo birds once roamed, and Saber-tooth tigers wandered. One flock of Dodo birds lived in the area of Dreece, while the other flock lived in the land of Ploy. The Dodo birds were going extinct, and these were the only two flocks left on earth. In order to live, the Dodo birds ate the Green Melon; a rare fruit that could only be found in the frozen land in between the two flocks. As the years went by, the fruit became more and more scarce, until one day, the Dodo birds figured out that there was only one melon left. They all loved the melon, needed the melon, and had to have the melon. The chiefs of the two flocks came together one day, and made a pact saying that the flock of Dreece could have the melon since it was closer to their property, and no bird from Ploy was to come and try to steal it. 

 

One day, however, a bird from Ploy came and stole the melon in the middle of the night, and caused a great war to happen between the two flocks. The whole flock of Dreece came together to try and take back the melon that was rightly theirs. One bird in their flock, Adilles, was half Bald Eagle and could fly and do things the other Dodo birds could not do; he was the key to taking over Ploy and reclaiming their precious melon. Unfortunately, the chief of Dreece was a jealous, selfish and mean bird who had insulted Adilles' Bald Eagle origin, so Adilles refused to help the Dreece flock. After a little convincing by his best friend, Drocaltus , Adilles decided he would help Dreece fight Ploy and take back the melon. 

Adilles sent his friend Drocaltus to aid in the battle until Adilles decided to show up. When Drocaltus went to Ploy to fight, something was stirred up inside of him, and he tried to take over Ploy even though Adilles had specifically told him not to. The payment for this was death. Drocaltus was killed by a bird named Wector, who was a mighty fighter and the brother of the bird who stole the melon. 

When a Dodo bird dies, the whole flock comes together, sings a beautiful song, and then makes a pair of large wings for the dead bird (since we all know Dodo birds can't fly) in order to help it fly away to heaven. The Dodo birds could not do this however, since they did not have the poor body of Drocaltus! So the war raged over which flock would have the flightless bird's body. Dreece won the battle, and gave Drocaltus a proper Dodo funeral. 

Adilles was still angered over the death of his friend, so he decided to go after Wector and fight him. Adilles was quite the intimidating bird, which his large wings, distinctive white patch of hair upon his head... When other birds saw him, they would tremble in fear. Wector reacted similarly, except Wector was so nerve-wrecked when Adilles approached him, that he simply had a heart attack and died! This was not all that surprised to the other Dodo birds, since they all knew regular Dodos had very weak hearts anyways. 

Adilles would then move on to conquer Ploy and take back the last melon. 

A shot from the movie Ice Age where the
Dodo birds are protecting their melon
Source: Animated Views

Author's Note: This story was based off Homer's Iliad retold by Alfred J. Church (1907). The story is originally about Achilles, a demigod who lived in Greece, and was called to help take back the fair Helen who had fallen in love with a prince of Troy. I changed the characters to Dodo birds to the story, mainly because when I was thinking of ideas the scene from Ice Age popped into my head, when all the Dodo birds are going after the last melon. So I combined the two ideas and the result was this story. In the original story, there were many interferences from Greek gods, but I left those out of my version to make it a little simpler. The storyline as a whole is generally the same. 

Week 1 Introduction: The Life of a Militician (Military/Politician)

Hi there everyone! My name is Savannah, I'm 21 years old and I am currently in my Senior year at OU. I'll start you off with a little background about me: I was born in Macon, Georgia, but I'm also an Army brat so I moved all over the place while I grew up. I moved 11 times until I was in 6th grade, but most of my childhood years were spent on the East Coast: South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. That's also where all of my extended family live as well, so I'm extremely southern at heart. In middle school my dad was stationed in Edmond, OK from South Carolina, and retired when I was a freshman in high school. I graduated from Edmond North, came to OU, and am now a Political Science major with a minor in French.

Standing in front of the Capitol,
this is my first day living in DC starting my 3 month internship.
Source: Personal Photo May 2014

I fell in love with politics in high school, volunteering much of my free time with organizations like Americans for Prosperity, and paging at the State Capitol. I continued my political involvement in college by interning on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC for a summer, in addition to other local Congressional and Senate offices here in Oklahoma. I did, however, begin another adventure by joining the Air Force ROTC and pursuing a career as an Air Force Officer. Being a Senior, I've completed the majority of my training, and now I just have to finish up my degree and I'll be on my way to becoming a 2nd Lieutenant. In addition to that, I recently got into campaigning over the summer, and am currently working full time on staff for a Congressional campaign. Yes, that means full time school and full time work. It's a blast though and I really couldn't ask for anything more.

For fun, well... I'm a country girl. I love hunting, fishing, shooting; anything along those lines. My family lives out by a lake so I fish all the time when I go home, mainly just bass and catfish, and every year I look forward to deer hunting season. My little brother is 14 years old, and is my partner in crime for all of these activities. I also have an 18 year old little sister, but she's never been too keen on touching a fish or holding a gun, so her and I love to hit up the mall and have some coffee at Starbucks.

My prize out of our neighborhood lake:
 An 8 lb Largemouth bass
Source: Personal Photo May 2012

More fun facts about me: I adore children and babysit as often as possible, I love the beach more than anything in the world (Charleston, SC to be exact), I'm saving up to hopefully take the backpacking trip of a lifetime to Europe next summer, I'm a born and raised Baptist with a heart for serving the Lord, and last but not least, I am a die hard, no kidding, born and raised Dallas Cowboys football fan for life.

My little brother and I after a few hours of paint-balling.
Source: Personal Photo March 2015

Storytelling Week 1: Bo-Peep and Her Sheep

"Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,

     And can't tell where to find them;

Leave them alone, and they'll come home,

     And bring their tails behind them."

(traditional nursery rhyme)

Once upon a time, there was a young lady named Bo-Peep and she owned many, many sheep. You see, Little Bo-Peep's parents were sheep herders and raised her to love and care for all of her sheep for every moment of every day. One day, however, Little Bo-Peep had a visitor; it was the handsome young man from next door. Bo-Peep, being single and available, couldn't possibly turn down the chance to get to know her future husband. As a polite host, Bo-Peep went inside for a few minutes to get the young man a glass of lemonade and a tart, and figured the sheep would certainly be fine being by themselves for only a few minutes. Before she knew it, over an hour had passed since Little Bo-Peep had gone out to check on her sheep; you see, falling in love can make a person lose track of time. When Bo-Peep noticed the time, she jumped out of her seat, sprinted outside, and stared forlornly at the empty green field before her... all of her sheep were gone. She pondered for hours about what she could do in order to find her sheep. She then decided that if they loved her as much as she loved them, then they would come back. So, she decided to leave them alone, and wait. 

"Little Bo-peep fell fast asleep,

And dreamt she heard them bleating;

But when she awoke, she found it a joke,

For they were still a-fleeting."

As she waited, the hot sun beating down, Bo-Peep thought she would take a short nap since the heat and stress of losing her sheep had exhausted her. As she slept, she also dreamt that all of her sheep had come safely back to her. She was leaping for joy and hugging her sheep, when she suddenly awoke and realized... oh, it was only a dream. Bo-Peep proceeded to stare out the window for many more hours, at the sheepless pasture behind her home.

"Then up she took her little crook,

Determin'd for to find them;

She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed,

For they'd left all their tails behind 'em."

As Bo-Peep stared, hour after hour, she kept thinking to herself that maybe she should go search for her lost sheep. Then it suddenly occurred to her that maybe the sheep became thirsty and went down to the creek for a sip of ice cold water. So she pulled on her walking boots and trekked through the woods, into a valley towards the the nearby creek. As she was nearing the creek, she saw little white puff balls prancing around just over the next small hill. Bo-Peep became ecstatic at the sight of her sheep and ran up the hill as quickly as she could to meet them. Once she finally reached her flock of sheep, she nearly fainted when she noticed their tails had fallen off! From that moment on, Little Bo-Peep kept a close eye on her sheep, and made sure they never again went near the water in that poisonous little creek that had made their tails fall off.

Litte Bo-Peep looking for her sheep
Source: Wikipedia

Author's Note & Bibliography: Based on the original nursery rhyme "Little Bo-Peep" sourced from The Nursery Rhyme Book  by Andrew Lang (1897).