Story Week 14: The Frog Kiss

Long ago there was a Princess named Hannah wandering through the tangled woods. She was a free spirit and loved to go off on her own. She always felt lonely and longed for something more in her life. One day, when she was playing with her ball in the woods, she accidentally dropped it into the murky waters down below. Devastated, she sat there and cried thinking about if she would ever get it back. The ball was expensive, and she had taken it from the King, her father. Worried what he would do, she cried for help. Maybe someone would come to her rescue..

Splashing the waters to look for signs of life she yelled, "HELLOOO is anyone out there?"

After waiting for a few minutes, Hannah hadn't heard anything from down below. She thought maybe she had frightened all the creatures... That was until all of the sudden a frog hopped up and sat beside her.

"What's wrong? You seem so sad my dear", the Frog exclaimed.

"Wretched creature I have lost a precious treasure that I took from my father."

*Hannah was grossed out at the sight of the ugly and slimy frog, but she was desperate*

"Oh my! Well, you are just in luck. I can help you solve your problem if you can help me solve mine.."

"I'm begging you Frog! You are my only hope. I will give you whatever you want."

Remembering this, the frog dove deep down into the waters to fetch the ball and return it to the beautiful Princess. Ever so thankful, she jumped with joy with all of her excitement. As she thanked the frog and was about to leave the frog began to speak.

"Princess, will you kiss thy lips of mine?"

Hannah thought about how gross the frog kiss would be, but was very thankful for what he had done. She lets her fears go past her and leaned in for a kiss.

*boom*

Long story short, after the kiss, the frog turned into a handsome young man. The Princess was in disbelief. She had never seen anything like him in all of her life. Falling head over heals for him, she asked him how he had become a man. Before this, she was grossed out at the thought of him.

"With your kiss I have come back to my human life. I was a human long ago until a spell cast me into an ugly frog. All I needed was the kiss of a beautiful Princess to grant my wish."

Princess Hannah was starstruck. She wanted to bring back the handsome man back to meet her family and thank him for what he had done for her. Although the man had wanted to go back with the girl, he had to tell her some bad new.

"Princess I must not go with you. For I am bound to the woods by the spell. You have restored my humanity, and I wish more than ever that you would stay with me here."

Not sure what to do, the Princess looked for signs all around her. She knew that if she stayed with the man she might not ever see her family again. She also knew that if she left, she might lose the love of her life...

(The Frog) 

Author's Note: The original story that I got my inspiration from was called "The Frog Prince".  I kept some of the storyline about the princess losing her ball, but changed the outcome for the most part. I added some dialogue as well just because I wanted to try something new. I changed the ending to where all it took was a kiss to change the frog back into a handsome man.


Bibliography: Brothers Grimm LibriVox

Story Planning Week 13: The Headless Prince

For my story planning post I wanted to focus on the story called, "The Headless Princess". There is a lot to this story that I think I would do to change it. For starters, I would call it, "The Headless Prince". After reading the original story, I thought that the boy should end up getting his head chopped off and that he should be of higher status, such as a prince. Most of the stories in this series had to do with some bad fortune to women most of the time, so I felt like the roles should be reversed.

In the original story, there is a Princess who is able to take her head on and off. She only does so in the privacy of her castle. The boy catches her taking her head off. This is where I would change things up a bit. After the boy catches her doing so, he goes and spreads the word. This is then where I would make things a little more interesting happen to the prince. In the original story the princess dies, and tries to get revenge on the boy for watching and he called her a witch. I think that I wouldn't make her evil, but just have her teach the boy a lesson not to invade other's privacy.

For the beginning of the story,  I think I should also talk about why the princesses head is detachable. Was she born that way? Maybe. I feel like it could be some type of legend. Maybe the princess caught someone else doing that so it could end up being some type of spell that is cast upon whoever watches. Maybe the king and queen were evil to the princess in the earlier years of her life.

I also thought may be this could be some type of love story between the princess and the boy. Maybe they somehow end up together after both of their heads are chopped off. I think it could be kind of romantic in a way. They might end up different from everyone else that they know, but at least they have each other.

(Headless princess)

Bibliography: Russian Fairy Tales by W.R.S. Ralston

Story Planning: Week 12

I've never done a story planning post before so this might be a little interesting... I have included my notes from the first story that I read with more detail. The story I chose from my section was "The Rose Tree". The story started off very subtle, then got a little interesting.

The gruesome part really disturbed me. It had a stepmother chopping off her stepdaughter's head. The stepdaughter seemed a little naive. I think in my story post I would include more dialogue and more of a reason for the stepmother to do so. I also though about having the children (since the stepmother also had a son) change identities.

Even though it would be really sad, I think the boy should dress up like the girl to make it seem like they are playing a trick on the stepmom. She was very fond of her son, so I think it would be interesting to add a part about her thinking it was the daughter instead of her own son. I think I could build some type of moral out of the story that way. The stepmother would then feel really guilty about learning the truth of what she had done to her son.

The stepmother also had them eat the daughter for dinner, so I was really disturbed by that part. I think I would get rid of that and maybe have something more evil happen to the stepmother. I do like the idea of her just regretting what she had done to her own son though.

Another idea I had to have the father more involved and go after the stepmother for doing that to a child. I know revenge isn't always the best, but if someone did that to my child I would be mortified. I also wanted to add some more dialogue and description to the story.

(The Rose Tree)

Bibliography: English Fairy Tales

Week 11 Story: Grendel

Far away in the land of Daneland, lived an unusual creature. Not many knew what to think of him, for he was unlike anyone people had ever seen before. Rumors flooded the land that it was an evil beast out to get everyone. The monster-like human was known as Grendel. Hair grew from every inch of his massive stature. His build was mighty and although he did not intend to scare people, the way he looked frightened those around him. Grendel was an outcast, and for that he stayed isolated.

His isolation made him a more reserved character. Grendel never thought of himself as mean, but the people of Daneland made him more protective over himself. There were many days and nights that people came after him because of what he looked like.

Grendel's mother knew what her son was going through, so early on she taught him how to defend himself. He trained unlike any other and had to always be prepared for battle. Grendel tried to do nice things for the town and offered to defend Daneland, but the people were still too afraid of him and ridiculed him for the way he looked even more.

With low self-esteem and no friends, Grendel resorted to his isolated home. Grendel and his mother had to build it far away from civilization so that they would not get terrorized on a daily basis. The house was cozy to them, but to outsiders, it was dark and cold. It looked as if it was an uncompleted puzzle. The house was patched together with parts from all over and gave off a feeling of fear to those that were around it because it wasn't exactly like their home.

As years went on, Grendel got extremely lonely which transitioned into his anger for people that weren't accepting of him and the way he looked. He didn't understand why society was so fearful of him and even after trying to change his appearance, nothing worked. He grew back his hair after shaving almost immediately and his build wouldn't change no matter how little he ate. The combination of people afraid of him and him not being able to change had a huge impact on his life.

What triggered his rampage was the people of Daneland taunting him. Grendel then devised a plan. He thought that maybe he could terrorize the people so that they would stop making fun of him and not allowing him to do the things he wanted to do. In planning out what he would do, he hoped that in doing this no one would get harmed, but that they would make him the protector of their land instead.

Well... things didn't go as well as what was anticipated for Grendel. He was right about the people being fearful, but that made them dislike him even more. They wanted Grendel dead, and would do whatever it took to make that happen. This is what led to the people of Daneland to send the wanderer off to find someone to fight the mighty Grendel.

This is also what led to the Beowulf coming to fight Grendel. Maybe if Beowulf really knew what Grendel was going through things might have turned out differently for him...

(Grendel the mighty)

Author's Note: After reading the story of Beowulf, I was inspired to tell the story from a different perspective. In the original story, we do not learn much about Grendel or why he is causing havoc towards the Danes. In this story I wanted to explain why Grendel was so angry. I feel like for every underlying anger there is a reason behind it. Grendel was feeling like an outcast and society didn't help him to be a part of it. The moral of the story is to be accepting of other people and to not judge a book by its cover. Although Grendel went around terrorizing people, the whole situation could have been prevented.

Bibliography: The Story of Beowulf by Stafford Riggs

Week 10 Story: The Girl and the Wild Dog

Ever since Molly was a little girl, she longed to have a companion. She wanted someone to make her feel safe and secure no matter what she was going to. As a child, however, she was not allowed to have a companion among her people, as they were thought to be dangerous and it was not allowed. Because of this rule, Molly lived an unhappy lifestyle filled with sadness.

One day, when Molly was older, she decided to leave her tribe to see what the world had to offer. She knew that if she stayed cooped up with the same people and same rules, that she would be filled with regret. With that thought in mind, Molly packed up her essentials and vanished from all of the people she knew to seek her companionship that she desired. She didn't entirely know what she was doing, but Molly thought that the unknown would be better than what she already had.

The first several days on her own were rough. Molly was lost and didn't know exactly what direction to go or what she was going to encounter. She slept on the cold rigid floor of the outside world through the dark nights and was afraid of the creaky noises. She questioned her decision to leave her tribe, as loneliness was starting to creep back in to her life. There was no way she could go back, too, even if she was able to find her way. The people would not be so forgiving. In her thoughts as Molly continued her journey, she noticed from the corner of her eye that there was a creature following her. A little bit scared, Molly knew not to make any sudden or quick movements as to scare off what was behind her. Devising a plan, Molly was able to climb a quick tree to get out of harm's way. Once up the tree, she noticed the most adorable little animal lost in her tracks.

Molly called out to the creature and he seemed timid and unsure of what to do, so she became brave and climbed down from the tree to get a closer look. When Molly locked eyes with wild dog, she immediately knew that she had found what she was looking for. The calmed the dog down and asked it what it's name was. He told her his name was Charles, and that he got separated from his dog tribe. He seemed to have had a hurt leg and asked Molly for some assistance in helping him to get back home, saying that there would be some type of reward if she was able to. She agreed and the two were on their way.

Searching day and night, the two companions were able to finally reach their destination and find the dog's tribe. The wild dog gave the girl a slobbery kiss and wagged his tail with excitement for helping to find his family. Molly was unsure of what to do now, but Charles comforted her and asked her to make a wish. After she made the wish, a special ceremony was performed and she became a dog with Charles. They lived a long and happy life together with puppies and security.

(Wild puppies)

Author's Note: I was inspired by one of the stories from the Native American Marriage Tales called "The Dog-Husband". The original story was way different then the one I am telling and had to do with after the dog and the girl were already together. I also changed the original story, but still isolated the girl from the tribe like she had been. Molly is looking for a companion throughout the story and encounters a dog when she is lost. She helps the dog find his way, and is welcomed with open arms into his tribe. I like happy endings as well, so I gave the story one!

Bibliography: Native American Marriage Tales by Stith Thompson

Week 9 Storytelling: Mescal Pecker

Long ago, woodpeckers used to be Indians. Hidden among the tall rugged trees in the Texas woods, there was a noise heard throughout. The noise was loud and sounded almost as if someone was knocking on a door.

"Tap! Tap!"

The sound made many ponder what was actually happening. What were these tiny birds and why did their pointy beaks make constant sound on just the wood of the trees? Legend has it that these birds were part of an Indian tribe whose parents went out looking for their children, but what they don't entirely know is what happened to their children.

In the Texas woods, lies a plant known as the mescal plant. The plant had magical powers that the Indians did not know about. When people were around them, the world would be much more lively. Things would happen that people did not know about and could not remember. After much observation over this plant, it was told that people should not go near it for fear of what would happen to them. If they did, however, there would be many consequences faced.

The Indian children played among the woods, and knew the rules of the woods. One child, however, took it upon herself to not follow the rules. She was curious and wild, with a heart that wandered. He careless mind took her to the mescal plant. It was so vibrant and green with a mind of its own too. The pointy leaves from the plant tempted the small child to go even closer. The child had also brought with her a group of friends to also see the plant. Some were more reluctant than others.

"Are you sure we should do this?", yelled one little boy.

"I think we should ask our parents", screamed another girl with brown hair.

"Will we get magical powers?", asked another curious boy.

The girl whose idea it was lied to her friends and told them that she had received permission from their parents and that the plant would give them magical powers. What the girl did not know, however, was that there was a magical spell that was put on to the mescal plant.

The children heard the sound of knocking and followed closer to the plant where they thought it was coming from. Soon, they were in another world of their own. Life was a as carefree as the girl anticipated, but a little too carefree at that. They saw things they never thought they would. It was like a never ending dream. Anything they that they were thinking was brought to life.

Everything was going just fine until the children started to hear the knocking sound appear to get louder and louder. All of the sudden, the children started to feel feathers appear and their nose began to lengthen. In the blink of an eye, the children were turned into woodpeckers. They thought it was still part of the dream that they were in so they went along with it.

Soon, the children got tired of being a bird and wanted to go back to their original life... Little did they know that they would be trapped as a woodpecker knocking on trees to find their way out. Their lives became more of a nightmare than a dream from disobeying the orders.

This is why you hear the tapping of woodpeckers trying to find their way out.

(Mescal Plant) 

Author's Note: My inspiration for this post was from the Tejas Legends story, "Why the Woodpecker Pecks". I liked the idea of the story leading up to a greater meaning. I changed the original story up a bit and gave it new ending. In the original story, the children go near the mescal plant that they are not supposed to go to. The parents of the children also go looking for their children and are turned into woodpeckers. I thought it would be a fun twist to have the children be punished and trapped as woodpeckers.

Bibliography: Tejas Legend by Florence Stratton

Week 6 Storytelling: Zarro and the water

Tiki was King of the land for hundreds of years. He was very well known and had eternal life. He had lived to see lives changing during his time as king. Tiki also enjoyed the finer things in life, such as the prettiest women, great big feasts, and commanding his servants around. What Tiki enjoyed the most was the array of women he was allowed to chose from. He was allowed to have multiple wives, but wasn't entirely satisfied as his wives would soon get old and eventually die, while he stayed young and everlasting. The king called upon his servant to find him an eternal love.

"Zarro", the king yelled, "If you can find me eternal love, then I will denounce my thrown unto you. Your fate lies in the hands of my happiness."

Not sure quite what to do, Zarro was off to find what the king was looking for. He hiked up mountains and through the desert storms, asking, hoping, and praying for any sort of sign that would lead him to what the king was wishing for. Zarro was poor servant, and this was a once and a life time opportunity for him to become something other than that. He loved the people of the land, and desired fame.

Twenty nine days passed, and the servant still had yet to find someone for the king. He thought to himself that there must be someone else out there with eternal life. Although he thought this, there was nothing he could do except wait for a sign.

Suddenly, Zarro was stopped by an old man on the streets who said he could help with him with his problem. Without hesitation, Zarro agreed.

The old man was a fisherman and had many tricks up his sleeve. Not many people had heard of him, but he felt bad for the servant and wanted to offer up his services. He led Zarro to his boat and took him on a fishing adventure.

Zarro had never been to the water or on a boat, so he was nervous. All his life, he only knew of the land to be safe. He didn't know what the waters contained so people of his kind stayed away from it. Trusting the old man and wanting to be successful, he went on the boat anyways.

While on the boat, Zarro and the fisherman had a nice conversation. The fisherman told him stories about the water and what lies beneath. All of the sudden, the fisherman threw his fishing rod into the water. They waited ten minutes to before something finally caught the hook. Reeling it in with all his strength, the old man pulled a fish out of the water. Zarro was in shock. He had never seen anything so wonderful, he did not want to let that moment go.

What happened next was magical to Zarro. The fisherman somehow was able to turn the fish into the most beautiful lady in all of the land who had eternal life, or so he thought. Zarro was so thankful for what the fisherman had done and he led the girl back to the king for him.

The king, Tiki, was overwhelmed and happy that he had finally found someone to share life with. Zarro was then made the king of the land, while Tiki went off to be with the girl.

Little did Tiki know that the beautiful girl would lead him to the water where he would later die and drown. The king didn't know much of the water, but saw how the girl transformed into a fish and thought he could do the same...

(Fish in water)

Author's Note - I got the idea for my story after reading multiple stories from the Nigerian Folk stories. I thought they all very interesting and different at the same time. Most of the stories began with a king having several wives, so I thought I would make mine similar in that way. The moral of my story is that looks can be deceiving. The fisherman isn't who the servant thought he was going to be and the girl isn't who the king thought she would be. The servant and the king had no idea what the water was like nor had they ever really explored it. The story worked out well for the servant, but the king was unsuccessful at living eternally happy with the fish. I though I would include some type of animal my story because most of the folk stories did and twisted things to where I didn't think something was going to happen.


Bibliography - Nigerian Folk Stories by Elphinstone Dayrell

Week 5 Storytelling: The Buddha(s)

It came through a mystical dream on a breezy summer night. Unlike any other dream before, the mother, Maya was awoken. Maya had that gut wrenching feeling that something great was coming. She had waited all her life for this one moment...

Maya was married to King Suddhodana. They lived happily and healthy in their castle ruling over the land. They were good people and did much for their people. The King and Queen were connected on a spiritual level as well and could feel what each other were thinking.

King Suddhodana could feel the excitement that his wife was feeling and knew they were destined to have something great join their little family in their lavish lifestyle.

Although the King and Queen were good people, they lived their life enjoying all things wonderful. From fine dining to maid services to everything in between, they never really had any struggles. They helped the poor and worked with communities, but were never challenged like others that lived in the towns they ruled over. They had power and felt that what was coming would make them even stronger.

Just after the dream had come, Maya learned that she was pregnant. The King and Queen were ecstatic.

"This is a God sent gift to us. He has chosen us as the worthy ones to be the bearer of all things great through our child", the King exclaimed to Maya.

As the birth neared, all the sudden Maya had another dream. This dream was not like the coming of something great experience she had in the first dream. She woke in fear, as tears trickled down her face.

"What is wrong?", Suddhodana whispered.

"God came to me in a dream. He said where there is good, there is also evil. I fear for my pregnancy and what is to come", Maya cried back.

Weeks went on and Maya was nearing her pregnancy. The King wanted everything to be wonderful and for Maya to be showered with gifts and all things great. He ordered the servants to prepare for the birth of what they thought would bring them great glory.

It happened... But not quite as how they anticipated things would go.

A maiden came running to King Suddhodana yelling, "We come with some news. Two sons have been born, twins."

In a world of shock, the King did not know what to think or what to do. How should she feel? These dreams his wife was having had to have meant something. He went to go see his beautiful baby boys and give names to them. Gazing into their eyes and addressing them for the first time he said, "You shall be called Siddhartha and you shall be Hiddhartha."

As a great hermit came to welcome their sons into the world, he had a worried look on his face. He picked Siddhartha up and smiled. When he picked Hiddhartha up, he got a bad vibe from the child and set him back down. The hermit said, "Be careful, for life isn't always what it seems."

Not sure what to do or what that meant, Siddhartha and Hiddhartha were raised in the lavish lifestyle that the King and Queen provided for them. They knew eventually, that only one of the boys were going to be destined for greatness.

(Siddhartha and Hiddhartha) 

Siddhartha wasn't like his brother, he rejected the nice things and was always helping the people. He wanted to get away from the life he was provided and to get out into the world on his own. Hiddhartha, on the other hand, was a greedy boy. He enjoyed the expensive things in life and wanted nothing more than to take over with power.

The King and Queen were became very worried. Their sons were nothing alike. One wanted nothing to do with their fancy offerings and merely wanted to help the people. The other wanted power and was only worried about himself.

King Suddhodana called for God, "What must we do? We are lost and want our people to be safe under the chosen Buddha. Give us some guidance and we will be ever so thankful."

Siddhartha spent his days meditating and searching for the true meaning of life. He found that through prayer and practice life and death were connected. Hiddhartha thought he knew everything already and that he would be the chosen one. He didn't care about the connection or the people.

When the time came Siddhartha became the chosen one, the true Buddha. Although Siddhartha did not want the lifestyle, he had a way promoting peace and prosperity. Hiddhartha was sentenced to live under the teachings of his brother. Siddhartha would eventually come to teach the world nirvana. Only the good will prevail the evil.



Bibliography: "The Life of Buddha" by Andre Ferdinand Herold; Web Source 

Author's Note: The original story was about the life of Buddha. Siddhartha was born to a King and Queen who wanted nothing but the best for their son. He was hidden from the bad parts of life, but ultimately wanted to adventure. Although his parents were not pleased, Siddhartha went on his journey as a hermit and found nirvana through meditation. In the original story, his mom passed away and he was left to her sister. In my story, I made a twist in the fact that two sons were born instead of one. They were sort of competing to become the Buddha, but it is a chosen position. Siddhartha was the good son and his brother Hiddhartha was evil. In the end my story has the message that good outweighs the evil in the world, but that good and evil are accompanied by eachother.

Week 4 Storytelling: The Unknown

Once upon a time, there was a little family living in among the woods. Through the creaking trees, snapping branches, and water trails the family was well hidden and secure. Their castle consisted of brown and rusted wood piled together to make shelter. It was built by the dad, Billy, who did almost everything for them to help them get by. Other members of the family included the mom, Molly, and the only child, Mike.

Mike was different... He was not like other children his own age. That's part of the reason their family moved to stay hidden in the woods. Mike was primarily a happy and brave young lad. Before hauling out to live in the woods, Mike went to school, played and learned as much as he could. One day, his parents discovered something peculiar after Mike left for school. Molly, his mom was cleaning his room and noticed ruffled under his bed, was a large red box. She assumed it was his special toys at first, but when she opened it, it was nothing she had anticipated.

Scattered in the box were well drawn out plans and papers written by Mike. They always knew he was a smart boy, but didn't realize his mental capacity was well beyond his age, and even theirs. They knew he was planning something big, but weren't quite sure how to handle the situation. Billy and Molly needed to appear neutral as to not scare off their son Mike. They wanted to know what he had planned. Mike seemed to show some signs of his grandfather, and Billy was willing to do whatever he could.

They eventually went searching for help at any place they thought might guide them in the right direction to help with their situation with Mike. After searching for what felt like a lifetime, Billy came across an only lady who sparked an interesting conversation. Billy stumbled upon her at a store and eventually the two got to talking. She said she could help, and for some reason their gut instinct trusted the wise words she delivered to them.

"Come to my place at the edge just before the woods right outside of town. Bring nothing but the boy and yourselves. Do not tell him anything other than you are just visiting an old friend." whispered the little old lady as she slid past Billy on her way down the spice isle.

As interesting as it seemed Billy replied, "I will do just that. This is our last resort to help our son not to let things get out of hand."

Billy and Molly told Mike they would be going on a little vacation and to pack some things. Mike was interested but seemed to have some questions.

"What do I need to bring?" said Mike.

"We have already packed your bag for you. Are you ready to go?" his mom yelled across the house.

Mike annoyingly replied, "I suppose so."

The three went on their way to the woods. They met with the old lady in the woods. Who had a lot of wise words to give to them. She asked about their family life and how things were with the boy. Mike seemed to think something was wrong, but trusted his family. The old lady asked if they wanted to see the rest of their property. Without hesitation, the family was interested because of its beauty. Also, how could they not trust a cute little old lady.

They went on their way and after crossing a creek, Billy, Molly, and Mike began to felt like something was wrong. They didn't know where they were or where they were going. It felt like they were on a never ending trail that just went around in circles. The old lady disappeared.

Suddenly, Mike's persona had changed. He became scared and let go of his brave persona. He realized what had happened and blamed his parents for not understanding what was to come.

The old lady came back when she heard Mike whimper. Out of the woods she appeared. She stated, "You have come to realize, my smart child. This is where you will be afraid. For your parents came to me because they feared you and what you had planned. You shall live the rest of your days out in the afraid of your own ability."

With that, the family was left to fend for themselves..



Bibliography:
Forty-four Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignacz Kunos, link to web source 


Author's Note: My idea for this story was from one of the Turkish fairy tales that were written by Ignacz Kunos. The fairy tales in his books were very different than ordinary tales. The story I got my idea from was about a boy looking for fear and eventually someone scaring him. Although it was a lot different, my story is also about a boy. However, the boy in my story does not posses fear. His parents are trying to figure out what is wrong. They eventually stumble upon an old lady who knows what she is doing. She traps the family into her woods where the boy is becomes scared and isn't able to process things like he usually is.

Week 3 Storytelling: The Dog and the Egg

There was a Dog and a Chicken that were the best of friends. They did everything together, from frolicking around the chicken coop to playing in the mud. Nothing could separate their bond... or so they thought. The Dog was always getting into things that he shouldn't be and he was always hungry.

One day, the Dog noticed his friend, the Chicken, laying some eggs. Although he did not know what they were, his senses were off the charts. They smelled so delectable, he asked the Chicken if he could have just one of his many eggs. The Chicken replied, "Are you crazy? No you may not have one, I am waiting for them to hatch. You may never take from me." Not sure what to o, the Dog respected his good friend and attempted to stay away from what the Chicken was watching.

As the Dog and the Chicken were hanging out one day, a farmer came and scared the Chicken off of her eggs so that he could take some for himself. The Chicken was not happy to say the least. The Dog whimpered, "What is happening? Why is the farmer taking your eggs from you?"

The Chicken cried back, "He is taking my eggs to eat. They will never become my children. The farmer will turn them into scramble."

Curious to help and friend... and find out more information on these eggs, the Dog took off after the farmer to see what he would do to them.

The farmer walked to the inside of his rickety house with haste and the Dog trailed not far behind. The Dog, unlike the Chicken was allowed to go inside the house. He wandered through the intricate and delicate furniture to follow the farmer to the kitchen. Wondering what he would be doing to the egg, his eyes stayed glued to every move that the farmer made. The Dog watched him heat up a pan on the stove and glob a slice of butter on to the pan. Then, it happened.

All the sudden, the farmer grabbed a bowl out of the cabinet and cracked the egg. "Woof woof", the Dog attempted to exclaim to the farmer. The farmer did nothing but hush the dog up and began to whip the eggs. The Dog had never seen anything like this before.

A few minutes later, the farmer had made what he called "Scrambled Eggs" and began eating it immediately after it was on his plate. After the farmer was all done, he set the plate down and called the Dog over to eat. He too lazy to rinse the plate off, so he let the Dog lick off the remainder.

The overly excited Dog scrambled over to eat the scraps as they tasted so delicious. Although he felt guilty about his friend and betraying him, he continued to eat this magical meal.

Still curious after finishing, the Dog still wanted an egg all to himself. He waited until the farmer wasn't looking and swiped an egg off the counter and ran off with it. Hiding from the Chicken and the farmer, he looked at the shiny white round thing that lay before him. Feeling guilty, he put the whole egg in his mouth and swallowed it whole. It was painful, but the Dog did it and didn't feel any different, nor did he really enjoy eating the egg. Not wanting to tell the Chicken what he did, he tried to keep it a secret from his friend as they continued about their business. About three days later, the Dog was not feeling great at all. He was sweating profusely and sick to his stomach.

The Chicken tried to help his friend, but didn't know what was making him feel this horrible. The Dog's fever would not go away. Thinking he wasn't going to survive, the Dog exclaimed to the Chicken that he had eaten a raw egg and betrayed him. He was apologetic to his dear friend and vowed never to betray their friendship again...

(The Dog and the Chicken, Web Source) 

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Author's Note: 
After reading through some of the stories by Milo Winter, I came across an interesting one called, "The Dog and the Oyster". As interesting as it sounds, it was about just that. In the original story, the Dog would go around eating whole eggs. When he was out by the sea one day, he ate what he thought was an egg, but was really an Oyster. The Oyster upset his stomach and the lesson was that if you act too quickly, you'll end up being sorry. For my story this week, I added a different twist to the story. I left out the oyster part and elaborated on the egg that the dog ate. The lesson here again is that the dog acted too quickly without realizing what could happen.

Bibliography: 
Aesop for Children by Milo Winter, link to source 

Week 2 Storytelling: Adam and Eve

You all know the classic story of Adam and Eve, right? The one where God creates man out of his own image and places him perfectly into the Garden of Eden. He then gives this so called perfect man, Adam, a distinct set of rules to follow and creates a woman from the man himself. Her name is Eve.

Side note... It still baffles me that man wasn't created from a woman. The things I would do to see a man go through childbirth these days. 

Anyways, back to the story. God says, "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil..." First off, why would you tempt someone with food when they are hungry? Adam and Eve were just created. Their stomaches were probably rumbling. Second off, God said this tree had knowledge. Again, Adam and Eve were just created, how could they have known what God was really saying. Eve is tempted by the tree of knowledge and indulges into its goodness and even gives it to Adam. God sets new rules as sin enters into the world.

You probably think you know the rest of the story, right? Wrong. Here's what really happened... 

The apple? Not entirely an apple. You see, the "tree" of knowledge in the Garden of Eden was actually a giant mushroom. Eve was vegetarian and the Garden of Eden was everything that she had dreamed of. God warned them that something would happen if they ate the mushroom, but they proceeded to without hesitation. 

Satan was the one who provoked Eve to eat the mushroom. His intentions weren't bad, he just wanted them to relax and mellow them out. Essentially, Satan was a drug dealer. 

Without hesitation Eve devoured the mushroom. She exclaimed, "Adam try this! I've never had anything like this." 

Adam tried it like any good male companion would. He followed love over his creator. It wasn't the best thing they'd ever tasted, but boy did they begin to feel it soon after.

Adam and Eve went about their day, until all the sudden something hit them. Their minds and souls began bouncing around in a world of something they had never experienced. Everything felt completely different and they thought they were having an out of body experience. 

The first of it was bad. Very bad. 

They wandered out of the Garden, betraying what God had commanded. They went into a place of darkness and paranoia. Their bodies were numb to movement as they let their mind wander to the evil. Beginning to feel nauseous, Adam stated, "God what have we done? I ate from the mushroom and feel the wrath of the Earth." 

God wasn't very sympathetic. For he had known what they had done and was going to let them figure it out on their own. 

After wandering through darkness for a little bit, Adam and Eve finally reached a euphoric feeling. They were giddy and restless. 

(Adam and Eve euphoria, Web Source) 

Adam exclaimed in the midst of everything going on, "As God did not plague us with darkness, behold, He has caused this sun to rise and to plague us with burning heat."

Adam and Eve were wandering around the Earth and took into account all of the good and bad things they saw. Without a worry, they wandered back to find God to tell him their feelings of happiness.

Their eyes were open. They were in search of more of this magical feeling forever. When they told God their news, he was not thrilled...

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Bibliography: Adam and Eve, link to unit section 

Author's Note: In the original story, Adam and Eve eat from an apple tree and God punishes them. The stories from this section also included things I did not know about the original story of Adam and Eve. One thing the story included, but I did not add in my story was about another woman named Lilith. She was a companion given to Adam, but refused to accept. In my story, I decided to make a twist on a lot of things. I added a mushroom in the Garden of Eden as opposed to an apple. This mushroom took Adam and Eve on another journey of what it is like to be "high". They just wandered around and explored their new world.

Week 1 Story: Cake Master

"PAT-A-CAKE, pat-a-cake, baker's man! 

(So I will, master), as fast as I can:

Pat it, and prick it, and mark it with a T, 

Put it in the oven for Tommy and me"

(Nursery Rhyme Book) 

---

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Henry who worked in a kitchen. Although not aware of his ability, he loved to experiment on his own. His boss was very precise about things that could and could not be done in his kitchen, however, so the boy had to wait until the wee hours of the night when he was cleaning to go behind his back.

"What is this disaster?" the owner of the shop proclaimed one evening finding the boy making a mess out of his kitchen.

(Henry working in the kitchen)

Henry, afraid of what would happen to him, made up a slight fib about his friend Billy making the mess and him having to stay behind and clean it. Billy was also the chef that worked in the kitchen. The boss was livid, and fired Billy immediately the next day, leaving the kitchen without a chef.

Panicked and afraid of what would happen to his business, the boss sent Henry into extensive chef training. He was very unaware of what Henry had done to his fellow friend and chef...

Henry, on the other hand was overjoyed at the chance of a lifetime to do what he loved to do, not even thinking about his Billy and his feelings. Little did he know how hard the boss would have him work to become a chef.

"Work harder", the boss yelled at Henry at every mistake he thought he made.

As the training continued, he felt overwhelmed and like he had made a huge mistake. Henry turned to Billy for help and gave him an apology. Lucky, Billy was forgiving and even helped Henry to perfect things and worked behind their boss's back to do so.

When Henry was finally put to the test, he made the most fantastic cake for his boss's approval and carved a "B" in the icing that drizzled over.

(cake for the boss)

Befuddled, the boss questioned Henry's intentions and abilities. Although he loved the cake, he didn't believe that is was his doing in his training. He asked Henry to explain what was going on.

Henry, afraid to get in trouble, but knew he had to do what was right, exclaimed, "Billy helped me with everything and I lied about him working behind your back in the kitchen. The "B" on the cake represents my appreciation for him."

The boss teared up about the situation, and eventually admitted that he shouldn't have been so hard on them. He allowed Billy to come back and work, and even gave Henry the opportunity to work in the kitchen as well. 

---

Author's Note. After reading this nursery rhyme, it made me thing of my childhood. It also made me think of all the food network channel shows that I watch in the kitchen. I was inspired by the cake so I made my own spin off of the rhyme.


Bibliography. This story is based on the nursery rhyme "Pat-A-Cake" in The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang.


A little extra... 

I stumbled upon this different edition of "Pat-A-Cake" and it is a little weird, but fun for children. It was very catchy and might get stuck in your head.