Week 14 Storytelling: Chuck and Eva

Chuck Bass; Wikipedia

There once was a pretty girl in a village with her father in France. Her name was Eva. She had beautiful blonde her, blue eyes, and a kind heart. She wanted nothing but good for the world. In her free time, she would bake pies, and send the pies to the less fortunate. However, she wasn’t very fortunate herself. She had three dress she wore, and shared a room with her two not so kind sisters. Her father was her best friend. Her father was getting ready for his annual trip to the city, and asked each one of his daughters what they would like. His first daughter said a new outfit, the second daughter said new jewelry, and Eva asked for a rose.

 So the journey began. Eva’s father gathered the few things he had, and started his journey with his horse—Potter. As their journey continued, the weather started to get a little terrifying. It seemed like a blizzard. The father continued when he pulled up to a huge castle. In awe, he got down from the horse, and looked around. He found a rose lying in the snow perfectly untouched. He picked it up, and continued his journey.

Little did he know, a beast was watching from the castle of the name Chuck. Chuck used to be one of the wealthiest young gentlemen in the city. However, his fortune didn’t last long, and a witch disguised as a beautiful princess—Blair, cursed him. Blair told him he shall never have anything if he does not open his heart to goodness.

Chuck demanded his wolves to go find Eva’s father, and bring him back immediately, so that’s exactly what his minions did for their ruler. Chuck awaited Eva’s father to awake.

Eva’s father finally woke up scared, hungry, and lost. The beast looked at the father, and asked for his rose. The father denied giving him Eva’s gift, and Chuck asked to see a picture of this beautiful daughter of his, and when he did, Chuck fell in love. He had never seen such a beautiful young lady. He decided to let the father leave on one condition—bringing Eva to the castle for a grand dinner with the three of them.

The father didn’t see harm in a dinner, so he went back to the village, and brought Eva with him this. Eva was confused as she saw the castle, and wondered why a beast like Chuck would want to see her. She opened the large door, and was greeted with flowers everywhere, a chandelier, and a table filled with every food imagined, and sleek, suave, well-groomed young man at the end of the table. Eva believed in love at first sight, and this was truly that. They both danced away, and Chuck fell in love with her kind heart, and decided to give what’s left of her fortune to her village.

He placed the rose in her hair, and the rest was history. 

Bibliography:  Thomas Fredrick Crane's Italian Popular Tales: Zelinda and the Monster 

Author's Note:  

This story was inspired by the very popular tv show - Gossip Girl. I decided to use Eva and Chuck Bass from the show to put a twist on "Zelinda and the Monster." The original story is from Italy. The story included a dragon as the beast. I wanted my beast to be Chuck because in the show he plays a "beast like" with a heart. The original story ends with Zelinda possibly being the beast's wife after she finds out he was cursed by a witch. The witch in my story was Blair. Blair was the first girl Chuck falls in love with in the show, but the love could not be returned at the time. I hope you enjoy my twist on this tale of Zelinda and the Beast.

Week 5 Story: The Three Little Pigs

Three Little Pigs

Picture by Diane Michaud Lowry

Source: Flickr

Once upon time there lived three little pigs! One was a pinkish white, the other a very pink, and the last was a pretty dark brown. They lived in a really nice barn with the chickens, horses, and even spiders! The barn started to fall apart as time with by, and the the three little pigs had no place to stay once the barn was all gone, so they decided to go on their own adventure to find a new house! The three little piggies were now adult pigs ready to find their new homes.

The first pig was in search of a house made from straws, so he went to find some straw when a nice old man in the woods gave him his pile of straw, and said, “Don’t forget to say no, no by the hair of my chiny chin chin once you are inside your house.”

The little pig walked back the to the other pigs confused. The second  pig wanted a house made from furze, so he came across the same old man, and the man said,  “Don’t forget to say no, no by the hair of my chiny chin chin once you are inside your house.”

Finally, the last pig wanted a house made from bricks. He too went on a search to find some bricks when he came upon the same old man in the woods, and once again the kind old man said, “Don’t forget to say no, no by the hair of my chiny chin chin once you are inside your house.”

As the three little pigs were building their house they were all wondering why the man told all of them the same thing.  Perhaps it was a little riddle he told everyone they thought. Little did they know, this rhyme was going to save them from a big bad wolf. 

Bibliography:  Joseph Jacob's English Fairy Tales: The Story of the Three Little Pigs

Author's Note:  

  This was one of my all time favorite tales to hear and read as a kid. The original story was about an old sow that had these little pigs, and told them to go seek their fortune when she was unable to keep them anymore. The three little pigs went to go build their new homes after that. The man in the story gave them straw. The second man in the story gave one of the pigs furze, and finally the third man in the story gave the last pig bricks. Each time the house was built by the pigs a wolf would knock down the new homes except for the one made from bricks. I changed the story to have one nice man telling the pigs a riddle that will come in handy when the wolf tries to knock down their homes. The riddle is supposed to be magic to save the pigs, but the pigs have no idea about that until they are wanted by a bad wolf.

Week 11 Story: Love and Happiness

Tiara

Picture by Unknown

Source: Flickr

The updated version of this story is available in my portfolio. The link is included below. 

Love and Happiness   

 

There once lived a king and a beautiful queen in a small village. The couple was very much in love. The villagers adored their love for one another, and admired their work in the village. From feeding the underprivileged to welcoming in new residents to the village, the kind and queen were always the kindest, most generous couple.

The king and queen struggled having kids. It was important for the king to have a son in order to rule the village in the future, but there was no son or daughter. On a bright sunny day in the village, the king was watering his plants in his lavish garden filled with the most beautiful flowers, and every possible vegetable you could think of. As the king was thinking of what to order for breakfast this fine morning, his wife came rushing to him saying he was going to have a child! He dropped his coffee and picked her up in joy. They danced the day away. He treated her to a lavish dinner in their palace. She could have not been happier. They slept in peace knowing they were finally going to have a child.

As the wife was giving birth, she passed away, and the baby girl survived. Her little angel had bright blue eyes, and golden hair. She asked her husband to remarry because their daughter would need a mother to raise her.

The king remarried a beautiful brunette with a beautiful smile. They soon had two kinds—a boy and a girl. The new mom treated Elizabeth, the stepdaughter, terribly. She made her clean the whole palace by herself as her stepbrother and stepsister watched her clean from morning to night. Elizabeth wasn’t allowed to have any friends or leave the palace. As she was cleaning one day, she found a note from her mother.

The note said, “Dear Elizabeth, I hope you are all grown by now. I hope you are happy, and living like the princess you are. My one wish as I looked into your eyes was for you to have an adventure, fall in love, and do all things that make you happy.”

As Elizabeth continued to reread her note, she decided she was going to escape the miserable life her stepmother put her in. One bright an early morning, she escaped and left with three things—her mother’s note, a flower from the garden, and water.

As she continued to travel, she ran out of water, and stopped at a nice coffee shop. Her worn out clothes, pulled back hair, and worn out boots embarrassed her. She came to the register for some water. The young man handed her water, and looked at her in awe. It was love at first sight. Elizabeth said thank you and left.

The man ran after her, and asked her where she was from, and he soon realized she was a princess. He took her to his house immediately. Gave his spare clothes to her, and asked her what else she needed, and she asked for nothing. This was the most anyone has ever done for her.

She stayed at his house for weeks. They cooked, cleaned, danced, and gardened together. They traveled the world together. They soon fell in love. Her mother’s one desire came true, and Elizabeth lived a happy life with the love of her life. 

Bibliography:  Stith Thompson's Tales of the North American Indians: The True Bride 

 Author's Note: 

The original story was based on a story about a stepmom treating her stepdaughter badly by making her pick berries that are impossible to find in the cold. She comes across family as she is looking for berries, and they give her the power of spitting out gold. She comes back to her stepmom and has the ability to do this, and the stepmom asks her to go back and find berries. She then returns to the same place, but this time her power is gone, and she no longer able to change her old, worn out clothes into nice clothing, and spit out gold. I put a twist on this story by making it a love story with somewhat of the same concept—a stepmom mistreating her stepdaughter. I used love as the symbol of happiness in my own story. I hope you all enjoy reading my twist on this fairy-tale like story as much as I liked writing it for you. There may not be any magical powers, but love is a power in itself, and that is what I am portraying in this story with my main character not really knowing what love and happiness are. Enjoy!

 

Week 10 Storytelling: World

 

Creation

Picture by David

Source: Wikipedia 

The updated version is available in my portfolio: World

Earth was on a mission that seemed impossible—making the world a place of beauty. He was going to need help. Earth God decided to ask his two best friends for help. His two best friends were Sun and Moon. Sun was a jolly man ready to take on any task. On the other hand, Moon was a calm, gentle man with a lot of wisdom. Moon and Sun decided to take on the challenge with Earth, but each one of them had one condition. Sun wanted to be in charge of the world during the day, and Moon wanted to be in charge of the world during nighttime. This is the story how three friends created the world.

The first task on the agenda was creating a forest. Earth twirled around in a constant motion till he was completely dizzy. Suddenly, there were bright, green, and tall creations coming out from a field of dirt. He twirled again and there was something blue and wet coming down in straightforward motion. If you tried to touch it, the blue storm would knock you right down into a clear, slow moving wave. There were rocks, frogs, and fish in this new creation.

Next, was a giant hill! There was a hole in top of the hill. It would take years to climb it, and if you were there at the wrong time, the hill could explode, and shoot bright red lava!

Earth twirled again, and there were some light brown grains on the ground. They were so tiny, but when piled together in a giant pile, the grains were soft. You could make castles, bury things in it, and even lay in it!

One more swirl, and there was a giant rock the skyrocketed up! If you looked down, you might get a little scared because of high this giant rock that split in the middle was.

Earth was really proud of his creations, but Sun and Moon still had their own jobs they needed to get done. Sun saw everything that the Earth just created and smiled real big. His smile was so big that he shined on everything Earth created. The blue waves sparkled like crystals; the giant green branches looked even greener, and the grains on the ground shined a little like tiny brown diamonds. 

The Moon looked around at everything Earth and Sun created together, but once Sun stopped smiling there was nothing but darkness, and nothing the two created could be seen. Moon closed his eyes, and suddenly he lit up light a light bulb. Sun and Earth looked up, and there were tiny little dots that sparkled in the sky. The dots looked like glitter that brightened the creations. Everything was perfect. The Earth, Sun, and Moon created nature. Nature was to be admired by all in the future, and they hoped this would last forever because it was such a pretty sight to see. The world was finally created with the help of some light and darkness. Earth was very happy. 

Author's Note: 

The original story was a little different from what you just read that I wrote. The original story’s main character was Earth Doctor that made water, mountains, trees, grass, and weeds. The story started off with a lot of darkness, which Earth Doctor changed with a little magical song. The song Earth doctor sang when he made the creations was how the world came to be. It was a beautiful story of how nature came to be. Stars, trees, water, and everything else is something that was explained in such a creative way. I was inspired by this story to write my story where Earth was accompanied by Sun and Moon. Earth was in charge of creating nature, Sun was in charge of light, and Moon was in charge of darkness. Instead of a song, I made the Earth twirl around until trees, a lake, a canyon, and sand was created. I did not want to say what exactly he created because I wanted my readers to put the pieces together, and see nature coming together in their minds as they read. I love nature because its unexplainable beauty that should be appreciated more, so I had a blast writing this story. I hope you enjoy it as much as I loved writing it!

Bibliography: Katharine Berry Judson's Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest:  The Creation of the World

Week 9 Storytelling: River God's Bride

River God

Picture by Unknown

Source: Flickr

The River God wanted the most beautiful bride. Every Spring the River God asked the three witches that lived in a hut next to him to find him a beautiful bride. The witches go on a journey every Spring when the flowers bloom, the sun shines, and the rain pours. However, everyone in the kingdom knew of the River God, and his plans to capture a beautiful girl. They knew if that their daughter was to be the chosen one, she would die in the river. They know a river would never be able to provide for her, and take care of her, and most importantly love her because the River God is not human.

There once was a beautiful girl—Elizabeth. She had long beautiful brown hair, blue eyes, and a smile that could cheer anyone up. She was at the bakery making pies, breads, and other delicious pastries when the witches noticed this beautiful human figure. They immediately went into her shop. They told her they were new in town, and didn’t have many friends.

Little did Elizabeth know they were actually witches looked for a bride for the River God. Kindly, Elizabeth invited them to her house! They all walked up the hill to her tiny little blue palace, and she treated her guests with a wonderful meal consisting of chicken, mashed potatoes, carrots, and beans. The witches were disgusted because all they liked to eat was nasty soup. They continued to eat, and also ate her apple pies.

The witches then took Elizabeth to the River God after dinner for a little walk. She was stunned to see that they knew the river God, and immediately sensed a fear. The River God fell in love at first sight. The waves started to crash and the wind started to blow when a fine gentleman appeared from the water.

He said, “Hello, I am the River God. You may know me as someone to be afraid of, but I am not someone to fear. I had to fall in love to be human. Elizabeth, take my hand in marriage, so we can live happily ever after. 

She accepts the proposal, and they live happily ever after in her little blue palace. However, Elizabeth did not want to be married to a God. She asked that he just be a normal man in the kingdom. 

The River God was so in love with Elizabeth that he was ready to take off the thrown, and live as simple life with his simple, elegant fiancé.

Bibliography: R. Wilhelm's The Chinese Fairy Book: How the River God’s Wedding Was Broken Off 

Author's Note: This story was very different and had many traditional aspects to think about. the original story portrayed the River God as evil, greedy, and dangerous. No one wanted their daughter to have to be the bride of the River God. The mayor of the town helped stopped this terrible tradition of forced marriage by have the River God's helpers being placed in the potential bride's shoes. I made this story different from the original by giving the River God a bigger purpose than just having a bride. In my story, the River God had to fall in love in order to become human and show everyone that he is not evil. He falls in love with Elizabeth, and turns into a human. Elizabeth accepts his proposal. However, in order for him to have her as his bride, he had to let go of his status. My story was based on love, and how strong love can be. Enjoy!

Week 7 Storytelling: The Cony Who Got into Bad Company

Bad Company 

Picture by: Rakel Franco

Source: Flickr

Bananas were the biggest treasure to the kingdom. They provided food for all the seasons including the terrible thunderstorm that strikes every year. Roger and Pete, the two most unliked monkeys in the jungle had the most bananas piled up for just them too. Little did the jungle know, they stole all these bananas, along with other fruits from all the other trees when the entire jungle was asleep.

There was a gorilla in the jungle that was about to be the new big dog in the kingdom. Everyone liked Gary. He looked scary, but had the kindest heart. Gary had a giant tree that made unlimited amounts of bananas. He shared his unlimited amount of food with all the other monkeys. Roger and Pete heard about Gary through a mutual friend, and decided to go visit Gary and check out this tree for themselves.

They reached Gary’s tree, and Gary kindly introduced himself, and gave Roger and Pete a banana. Roger and Pete had never eaten such a yummy banana. They were so surprised they asked for another one. Pete suggested Gary come join them for a feast during the weekend. Gary was super excited for this feast. He knew Roger and Pete were some of the most well known people in the entire jungle, but he didn’t know the reason why.

Gary showed up to the feast in his finest suit. He had a wonderful time. He talked to everyone, ate bananas, peaches, grapefruits, kiwis, grapes, strawberries, and oranges! He wondered where all this food came from. Roger and Pete told Gary that if he hung around them enough, he too would have the most delicious meals.

Gary, Roger, and Pete started to do everything together. They would climb trees, go on runs, and eat! One day, it was late and Gary decided to stay the night with Roger and Pete. Roger and Pete had other plans that Gary was unaware of. They told him they were going to go for a walk in the jungle at night, and Gary must join them because he’s never seen the jungle when its silent. They packed their bags and started the journey.

Roger and Pete started their mischievous plans at the Kelly’s tree. They took the bananas when Gary wasn’t looking and placed them in Gary’s bag. Gary kept on walking and talking, and didn’t even realize when either Roger or Pete would climb and tree and steal bananas. Gary started to notice his bag getting heavier eventually.

Mr. Kelly woke up and noticed some of his bananas were missing! He noticed some animals on a walk, and decided to go after them! Roger looked back and saw that Mr. Kelly was after them! He signaled to Pete with his tail that someone’s on to them! They continued to walk, but Mr. Kelly was one step ahead of them and climbed the biggest vine to where they were, and jumped down in front of them.

He took their bags and found all his bananas in Gary’s a bag. Gary was confused and immediately told Mr. Kelly he didn’t take his bananas, but Mr. Kelly knew he was friends with Roger and Pete—the biggest thieves in town. Gary lost his tree, and all his bananas because he was hanging out with wrong people.

Bibliography: Tibetan Folk Tales, "The Cony Who Got into Bad Company" by Albert Shelton

Author's Note:

“If you are without kindness, you will meet no kindness in return.” Tibetan Proverb. This was the moral behind this short story. The phrase caught my attention, and I interpreted it as if one is associated with someone without kindness, then he/she is also not kind. The end lesson in this story was that the people you surround yourself really do matter more than people think. The cony associating himself with the rats because he just wanted friends portrayed this concept. The rats were known to be thieves. I had monkeys and a gorilla in my story show the consequences of being friends with the wrong group of people. I also included bananas as the prize being stolen. I feel the original story does a very well job in making people think about the people they are around, and if they’re worth the consequences. I think this is a good lesson to teach at a young age because then people grow to choose friends, wisely. In other words, surround yourself with people that bring out the best in you. I hope my story makes you think about the people in your lives as you read about two deceiving monkeys and one kind gorilla.

Note: The updated version is available at my portfolio!

Week 6 Storytelling: The Most Beautiful Ruby

 

Ruby 

Picture by Unknown 

Source: Wikipedia

The three most beautiful girls in the entire kingdom were dancing around in their garden created with tulips, roses, daisies, and every flower you could ever imagine. There was so much beauty in this garden; one would never think these girls could ever have anything more beautiful. In fact, people from all over the kingdom would wait in lines that lasted miles to see the exotic place.

Rebecca, Rainy, and Rosa were always wanting more—more flowers, more dresses, more jewelry. They loved their magical garden at first, but as the time kept going, so did their interest. Rosa, the most adventurous of them all, decided to convince her sisters to go to sea with her and skip school! Rebecca, the smartest of them all was of course, against this silly idea and said no. Rainy, the most creative of them all said yes! Rosa and Rainy eventually convinced Rebecca and so their adventure to sea began!

They bought a boat with their unlimited amount of money, and sailed away looking forward to adventures they had never encountered. The boat continued to sail smoothly as the girls ate they ate their dinner of fresh fruits handpicked for them when suddenly the boat came to a stop! They were on an island with palm trees, light brown sand, and mountains. Rebecca noticed something in the sand-seashells! They had never seen anything like that. The girls picked their favorite seashells when Rebecca noticed something deep in the sand. It was shiny, red, and sparkled from far. She picked it up, and the girls looked at in awe.

As they were looking at this sparkling find, a young boy comes up to Rebecca and says, “Well, look at what we have here…three beautiful girls, and one beautiful gem.

Rosa rolled her eyes and took the gem, and put it inside her dress. The young man wanted a trade. She told him how they had the most beautiful garden in the world, but this little treasure of theirs was a symbol of their adventure and their desire for anything and everything beautiful, and they would by no means give something so precious away.

The young man smiled and said, “Well, then I know you will not take this beautiful crystal for granted.”

The girls sailed away, and the gem was placed in the garden surrounded by flowers. People come and gone enjoyed looking at it, but the girls always shared the beauty behind the ruby. 

Bibliography:  Folk-Tales of Bengal: "The Origin of Rubies" by Rev. Lal Behari Day

Author's Note: "The Origin of Rubies" is a story of how the first ruby came to be set in Bengal. The beauty is of this simple yet elegant crystal is appreciated at the end of the story when a king's daughter puts the ruby in her hair. Treasure was shown in the story when a prince catches half a dozen of these gems. The story's characters are shown to be kings, queens, and princesses. This explains the worth of such a crystal. I put a twist on this story by having three sisters of high class and equal amounts of favoritism in the family show how this beautiful gem came to be. I feel sometimes the most beautiful things have a bigger meaning behind them, and in my story the meaning was of an adventure as sisters.

Week 4 Story: Never Judge a Book by it's Cover

The World Awaits

Picture by Lisa L Weidemier

Source: Flickr

There once lived a puppy named Tommy. He was the nicest, most hyper, and most curious little puppy to exist. Tommy was ready to make new friends, and have an adventure into the unknown.

Wow, the sun is so bright, the trees are so green, and the clouds look like cotton candy! Tommy was finally on his first ever adventure to the unknown world—the backyard!

Tommy looked at something moving in the bushes. He was amazed, and a little scared. It had big eyes, a fluffy tail, and long ears!

“I think I should go talk to the fluffy little creature,” he said.

He kindly walked over to the animal with a big tummy, and a cute little nose.

Tommy introduced himself, and the animal said nothing. Tommy figured the big guy was having a bad day, so he decided to leave, and come back later.

On his walk back he ran into a slimy, scaly, with itty-bitty eyes. He’s never seen such a creature. He introduced himself, and the creature hissed at him. Scared, he ran back to his mother and told her everything!

She scolded Tommy for talking to the bunny, but not the snake. The bunny’s name is Jim, and he was known to be the meanest bunny in the entire neighborhood. He ate everyone’s yummy vegetables, and hopped from home to home stealing carrots! Little did Tommy know, this bunny was actually the nicest bunny of them all. He took the carrots and vegetables to all the baby bunnies in the neighborhood because they didn’t have a home, family, or a place to live.

Tommy didn’t see the scar on his face that made him look scary to others. Tommy and his new friend decided to plant a garden for all the other bunnies in the neighborhood. Tommy went back home to tell his mother “never judge people by their looks.” His mom was so proud of her son that she joined them to plant the garden. Soon after, all the animals living in the backyard wanted to be Jim and Tommy’s new friends. 

Bibliography: 
The Aesop's For Children's with illustration by Milo Winter, "The Cat the Cock, and the Young Mouse"

Author's Note:
The moral of this story was to teach kids to never judge people by their looks. The original story portrayed a mouse's adventure seeing the world for the first time. The mouse encounters a cock and a cat. At first, the mouse is frightened by both because he's never seen anything like a cat and a cock before. His mother tells the mouse that the cat is actually bad, and will eat him. He just looks "gentle." I wanted to portray the moral of the story in my own way by changing the characters, and intentionally putting a scar on the bunny to represent blemishes every individual has. "Never judge a book by it's cover" is a saying everyone is familiar with. Even adults make the mistake of judging someone by how he/she dresses, looks, and acts. In my story, the character that everyone thought was bad turns out to be good. This was just another reminder to "never judge a book by it's cover."