Week 13: Storytelling - The Party Girls on the Twelfth Floor

The RA on the twelfth floor of the freshman residence dorm had had it! She knew, she knew that her girls were regularly breaking the dorm's strict week-day curfew, but she didn't have any solid proof. She had spent hours watching their door and she had people watching their windows, but no one had ever seen one of the girls leave her room after curfew. But come on, it was completely obvious that the girls were spending every night out partying.  Every morning, every single girl on the hall emerged from her room donning a giant pair of sunglasses and reeking of frat party -  the smell of cheap beer mixed with vomit and sweat couldn't be mistaken for anything else.  The RA was determined to figure out how these party girls were getting past her every night.

Eventually, everyone in the building wanted so badly to know the secret of the Twelfth Floor Party Girls that it became a contest as to who could discover the truth. If someone could just manage to get into one of the girls' room before curfew, he could witness how they were able to get out of the building undetected. However, these attempts to infiltrate the twelfth floor were ultimately unsuccessful. Many a frat boy had been invited in secret to pregame on the twelfth floor but every boy came back with the same story - he had passed out too early in the night to see where the girls went. Each boy who accepted an invitation to the twelfth floor in hopes of discovering for himself the mystery of the party girls suffered a fate worse than death - facing a walk of shame down to the lower floors knowing that everyone knew that he had been outwitted.

One day, a new boy moved into the building. He had just transferred from a rival college where even its student body was buzzing with gossip about the Twelfth Floor Party Girls. This new boy had it in his mind to discover the secret which eluded everyone else. As a member of a top frat on campus (he had been in the frat at his previous school), he quickly received an invite to one of the infamous twelfth floor pregames. However, as he did not drink (no matter how much the girls pressed him) he did not blackout before the time of curfew. He pretended to consent to a drink, which he feigned drinking, until he'd had enough for it to seem reasonable that he was rather drunk and ready to pass out.  Once he had pretended to do so, the girls in the room pushed a button hidden on the frame of a lofted bed. Suddenly, a  door popped open revealing a stairwell. Each room, the frat boy observed through his half shut eyes, appeared to have its own door to the stairwell and the girls from the other rooms began to come through. Once all the girls were gone, the frat boy decided that he should follow the party girls to discover where it was they went at night. However, the boy did not want anyone to see him. He took of his Polo shirt which was embroidered with his frat's letters. There. Now he was practically invisible.

He slipped through the door and down the stairs behind the girls making sure to stay a few paces behind so they wouldn't detect him. The stairs went so far down that when they finally reached the bottom, the frat boy was sure they were underground. Now they were walking through a narrow tunnel, the girls talking and giggling about which house had the cutest guys and which would have the best punch. Finally, the group had reached the end of the tunnel and began to climb up a ladder to reach the surface through a hole overhead. When the frat boy himself came through the hole, he found himself on a street in the middle of Greek Row. The girls were already hurrying to the first house. The frat boy decided he may as well join them as he was invisible without his letters and could finally see what happened at other frat parties. He hurried after them.

All night the Twelfth Floor Party Girls bounced from house to house. The frat boy was thoroughly enjoying himself but he remembered to collect evidence from every frat they went to - Solo cups and empty Keystone cans, and he even managed to grab a few paddles. The girls didn't decide to head back to their dorm until at least four in the morning and by then, the frat boy was more than ready to pass out for real. He hurried ahead of the girls so they would see him still passed out on the floor of the girls with whom he had pregamed. They walked back in and snickered at his apparent snoring thinking that they had bested yet another dumb guy and soon they were snoring themselves.

The frat boy pretended to sleep until the whole hall had left for their morning classes, giant sunglasses and all, then crept out of the room to get the RA. He showed her the secret button on the bed frame and how it opened the door to the secret stairwell and then supplied his evidence from the party. The RA was delighted and wasted no time in calling the dean of the college as well as the girls' parents. The girls returned from their classes for the day to find their parents waiting for them, having lost permission to leave in the student dorms, to take them home. The frat boy became widely famous as having discovered the secret of the Twelfth Floor Party Girls and essentially became king of the campus. Every now and then, when he felt like being anonymous, he would take off his letters and hop the frats just as he had that night with the Party Girls.

Author's Note: this story is a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses from The Brothers Grimm (LibriVox) Unit. I wanted to retell the story in a modern context so I decided to use the idea of twelve girls sneaking out of their dorm after hours to go frat hopping. In the original, the princes who are recruited to discover where the twelve princesses go at night are killed when they fail to discover the secret, but this was a little too grim (no pun intended) for the purposes of my story so I decided to make the punishment for failure be to do the walk of shame - a fate worse than death. The prince that does end up discovering the secret of the twelve dancing princesses is given an invisibility cloak so that he can follow the princesses without being seen. I wanted to keep the story somewhat realistic so I came up with a way for the frat boy to become "invisible."

Bibliography: "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Translated by Edgar Taylor and Marian Edwardes, illustrated by R. Anning Bell. 1912


Image information:
Dorm Hallway (source: The Prospect )
Frat Party (source: The Stanford Flipside )

Week 12: Storytelling - The Three Little Wolves and the Big Fat Pig

Once upon a time, there was a little village called Wolfville right in the center of the forest. Really, Wolfville was just like any other animal village one might find in any old forest - there was a baker, a blacksmith, and there was even a little market where all the mother wolves sent their wolf-children to pick up milk and eggs. The wolf-children liked to play hide-and-seek, Red Rover, and all of the other silly games that children like to play, but they especially liked to run about the woods on the edge of the village. All children knew that one could not go too deep into the forest, for there were horrid creatures that lurked in the shadows. There was not a wolf-child in Wolfville who had not heard of the Big Fat Pig who gobbles up naughty little wolf-children. The story of the three wolf-children and the Big Fat Pig made even the bravest of the wolf-children unwilling to venture deep into the woods!

There were once three wolf-children, brothers, who decided one day that they were old enough to go out and live on their own. Their mother pleaded with them to stay, for they were still very young, but saw that they had set their minds on leaving. With a sigh, she consented to their journey, but before the brothers left, she gave them each a lunch basket and a piece of advise:

Now, the woods be mighty lonesome
The woods be mighty big
Venture, ye, not deeply
Else you'll meet the Big Fat Pig

The brothers each picked up his lunch basket and went on their way.

Once they reached the woods where they intended to build their houses, a great debate arose concerning the material for the house and it was decided that each brother should build his own house out of whatever material he chose. The wolf brothers all went their separate ways in order to find the building material they wanted.

The eldest wolf wanted to build his house of straw and took off into the woods in one direction, gathering bits of straw along the way. He was so consumed with his task that he didn't realize how deep into the woods he was. Once he had enough straw, the eldest wolf built a fine house and when it was done, he decided to go in and take a nap. While he was sleeping, who should find this neat little straw house but the Big Fat Pig! The Big Fat Pig walked right up to the door and called sweetly,

Oh, wolf, oh wolf!
Are you about?
I want a word
Won't you please, wolf, come out?

The eldest wolf was not to be fooled that easily! He replied,

Away with ye, Pig!
You not be so clever
You ask for a word
I give you one: Never!

At this, the Pig was very angry so he simply knocked the house down and gobbled up the eldest wolf for breakfast.

The middle wolf wanted to build his house of sticks and took off into the woods in the other direction gathering sticks along the way. He was so consumed with his task that he didn't realize how deep into the woods he was. Once he had enough sticks, the middle wolf built a fine house and when it was done, he decided to go in and take a cup of tea. While he was having his tea, who should find this tidy little stick house but the Big Fat Pig! The Big Fat Pig walked right up to the door and called sweetly,

Oh, wolf, oh wolf!
Are you about?
I want a word
Won't you please, wolf, come out?

The middle wolf was not to be fooled that easily! He replied,

Away with ye, Pig!
You not be so clever
You ask for a word
I give you one: Never!

At this, the Pig was very angry so he simply knocked the house down and gobbled up the middle wolf for dinner.

The youngest wolf was the most clever of the three brothers and wanted to build his house out of brick. So he ventured into the heart of the woods to gather mud and water to build his bricks. He was so consumed with his task that he didn't realize how deep into the woods he was. Once he made his bricks, the youngest wolf built a sturdy house and when it was done, he went inside and locked the door. After he locked his door, who should find this study little brick house but the Big Fat Pig! He walked right up to the door and called sweetly,

Oh, wolf, oh wolf!
Are you about?
I want a word
Won't you please, wolf, come out?

The youngest wolf, being quite clever answered

Aye, Pig! I'm here!
But you cannot come through
This door here be stuck
So here's what I'll do

My chimney be wide
It may sound absurd
But down my wide chimney
You'll have your wee word

The Big Fat Pig climbed up on the roof and took a peek down the chimney. He saw that the youngest wolf had a pot of water boiling over the fire - what a clever trick! So the Pig waited and waited on the roof until finally the youngest wolf unlocked his door and poked his head out to see where the Big Fat Pig had gone. The Big Fat Pig jumped down from the roof onto the wolf and ate him up for supper.

Of course, when the wolf-children of Wolfville got older, they realized that the story was nothing but an old fairy tale - something the mother wolves told their wolf-children when they thought they were getting too smart for their own good. The story, though frightening, was far too absurd to be real. I mean honestly, a pig that eats naughty little wolves - everyone knows that such awful creatures as pigs are nothing but make believe!

Author's Note: This is a retelling of the story of The Three Little Pigs from the English Fairy Tales Unit. I thought it would be fun to completely reverse the roles in the story, making the pig the "bad guy" instead of the wolf. I tried to use the repetitive structure used in a lot of the fairy tales in this unit and used rhymes for dialogue to give it more of a fairy tale feel. I changed the ending of the story making the third wolf get eaten because I wanted the story to be seen as somewhat frightening from the perspective of children such that the story would be a good story for mothers to tell their children to keep them from being naughty, which is the way I've set up the story.

Bibliography: "The Story of the Three Little Pigs." English Fairy Tales. Joseph Jacobs, illustrated by John D. Batten. 1890.

Image Information: Three Little Wolves (image source: Daily Motion )

Week 11: Storytelling - The Never-ending Tea Party

Alice shuddered nervously as she stood before the high garden walls only able to imagine what could lie inside. She couldn't help but feel deterred from the whole mission at the idea of facing down one mad person, let alone two! Well, technically, it was one person and one animal, a hare to be exact. At least, that's what the grinning cat had said. Alice shook her head trying to clear it and focus on what she needed to do. This was certainly one of the most risky assignments she'd had working for the Correctors, but it was extremely important that she did the job that she had been sent to do.

The Correctors were a division the top secret Maintenance of the Magical and Supernatural program within the FBI. MMS dealt with everything from control of mythical creatures (so many people had spotted that nuisance, bigfoot, over the years and it really was a hassle to make all of those people look crazy in order to cover up his existence. He was now under close supervision of the Creature Wranglers) to coordination and supervision all interactions between Muggles and wizards to, of course, the overseeing of all the magical realms. Alice had really drawn the short straw on this assignment - no one wanted to visit Wonderland on purpose. It was bad enough that you might fall asleep and wake up in Wonderland in a dream, but venturing intentionally into a land in which a raving queen could cut off your head at any time seemed ill-advised. Perhaps things wouldn't be so dysfunctional in Wonderland once the Queen of Hearts had been stopped. At any rate, Alice thought, she wouldn't know anything standing on this side of the wall.

She expertly scaled the wall and peered over the top edge before pulling herself up onto the wall where she sat hidden by a tree. What she saw below inside the garden walls surprised her. A tall man with an enormous top hat sat across a from an oversized hare at one end of a very long table. It looked as though they were siting down to tea as there sat a tea kettle between the odd pair. There were also settings for tea about every two chairs all the way along the table. The man who Alice could only assume was the Mad Hatter took a sip of his tea.

 "Well, dear, are you going to join us or are you going to rudely creep about in the shadows? You're making us very nervous, you know."

Alice was so surprised at being addressed she nearly lost her balance and fell off the wall. She quickly composed herself.

"I apologize, sir! I'm here on assignment for work, but I'm afraid I didn't expect anyone to be having tea in the garden after midnight," she said, absently checking her watch (as many people are in the habit of doing when talking about the time even when well aware of what time it is) and the words that she had been about to speak died on her lips. She knew for a fact that she had arrived at the garden walls belonging to the Mad Hatter at five minutes to midnight, but now the face of her watch declared it to be six o'clock in the evening.

"Yes, yes, it is always tea time here," said the Mad Hatter tiredly but again without looking up from his tea, "now are you going to join us or not?"

Alice remembered the words of her assignment officer: Don't be surprised by anything that happens there. She shook her head once again at a futile attempt to clear it and jumped off the wall landing silently. Neither the Hatter or the Hare, who had yet to speak a word, seemed impressed. Alice quietly took a seat next to the silent Hare.

"Why doesn't he speak?" Alice asked

"He's a Hare," replied the Hatter in a tone Alice found rather condescending, especially considering the fact that she had apparently just entered into a time warp in which an oversized rabbit was sipping tea. She was about to say so but decided it better to just do her job so she could get out of there.

"So, why-?"

"Why does time stand still here?" the Hatter finished for Alice. He didn't seem mad, Alice noted, just extremely sad and distant, like he wasn't fully aware of his surrounding. "We were asked to do a recitation at one of the Queen's garden parties, but she quickly got angry and accused me of murdering Time, her consort, with my long-windedness. I assured her that my verse may be a bit long, but I was by no means a murderer. It was too late, however, because Time had already become angry, which of course is undesirable because everyone desires to have Time on his side, and he cast a spell on my pocket watch so that the time would never move past six o'clock in the evening."
The Hare sighed and nodded sadly.

"So it's always tea time," Alice said, slowly beginning to understand.

"Precisely."

"Why do they call you the Mad Hatter?" Alice asked somewhat cautiously. The Hatter didn't really seem to be one to follow normal social cues, but it was still a rather rude question to ask someone, "you don't seem mad to me."

"Isn't that what you'd say about a man who never leaves his garden and is always having tea?" replied the Hatter, not seeming the least bit offended. "Now, my dear, why are you here?"

"I've actually come for the watch," said Alice suddenly remembering the goal of her mission. "We believe it is the key to stopping the Queen of Hearts." Alice began to consider. "What will happen to you and the Hare if I take the watch?" she asked.

"I haven't the faintest idea," replied the Hatter, "We cannot leave our party and we do not get many visitors, let alone any who are interested in the watch."

"But what if you die?"

"It would be a change, my dear, and I would welcome any change at all," he said this with a sad distant smile. The Hare nodded in agreement. The Hatter took a very ordinary looking pocket watch out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Alice. "Good luck, my dear. Remember to keep your head about you should you encounter the Queen. People always seem to lose their heads around her."

"Well I'd say my head is on pretty straight," Alice replied somewhat haughtily starting to head for the garden gate.

"Yes, you do seem to have a good head on your shoulders," said the Hatter sipping his tea and with his eyes fixed upon nothing, "but all who meet the Queen seem to lose their heads."

Author's Note: This is a retelling of A Mad Tea Party which is a part of the Alice in Wonderland unit. I decided to use the same setting and characters from the original story but to change up the plot a little bit. I thought it would be interesting to give Alice a reason for visiting Wonderland and the Mad Hatter rather than have her just stumble upon them both. I changed a lot about the Mad Hatter's character. I didn't want him to be outlandish and eccentric but rather I wanted to paint a picture of a man who is slowly coming unhinged by his circumstances and whose lack of sanity is mostly speculation. I tried to convey the idea that his mind is intact, but he has a way of drifting in and out of reality which is why it is not strange to him that he is taking his tea with a giant Hare. The story about the Queen accusing the Hatter of murdering time is basically the same as the original except for the part about Time being the Queen's consort and Time actually casting a spell. In the original, Time simply refuses to move for the Hatter anymore but I thought it would add to the mystical element of the story if there was an actual spell involved. I also tried to use a bit of word play in the banter between Alice and the Hatter, just for fun!

Bibliography: Chapter VII: A Mad Tea-Party. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll. 1865.
Image Information: Alice in Wonderland (image source: Ben Curtis Jones Gallery )

Week 10: Storytelling - The Maiden and the Mad Magic Man

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young maiden. She had many young suitors throughout the land, but the maiden was very picky and had her heart set on marrying the king's son. However, she knew that she was not a suitable match for the young prince because her parents were but humble peasant farmers and had nothing to offer in terms of a  dowry except for a few skimpy sheep and a sick looking cow. Every night, the maiden wept into her pillow, wishing that something or someone could change her circumstance so that she may be eligible to marry the prince. One night as she sat weeping on her straw tick bed, there was a great flash of light and there suddenly stood before her a strange looking man with a top hat and erratic green eyes. The maiden was so surprised she couldn't even scream. She stared at him open-mouthed until the man finally spoke.

"Hee-hee-hee! Goodness, milady, you spend so much of your time jabbering jabbering jabbering that you can't catch a man, and now you don't have a word to say. Hee-hee-hee!"

The Mad Magic Man (image source: 32 Learning Journey)

The maiden blinked. He had said all of this so quickly that it took a maiden a moment to process what he had just said.

"Who-who are you?" she asked slowly

"Me? I'm just your average, everyday, run-of-the-mill magic man. And you, I presume, are an owl? Who-who-who! Hee-hee-hee!"

The maiden was so stunned by this strange little man that she could not find her voice to speak. The man seemed to sense this and continued.

"Could it be that I am the answer to your sad little prayers? I am here to make all of your dreams come true, missy! I can not only make you into a princess, but I can also make the princey-boy fall in love with you. For a price, that is."

At that moment, the maiden finally found her voice.

"Name the price! Anything I have, it's yours! Just give me my prince and my happily ever after!"

"Hee-hee-hee!" The magic man laughed maniacally, "My my, aren't we desperate. Alright then, dearie, here's my price: your first child with your little princey-poo belongs to me."

"Done!" said the maiden almost before the magic man had finished speaking. She smiled to herself, commending herself for striking such a deal. What did she care for children? She would have her prince and that was all that truly mattered. The magic man smiled deviously and gave one final cackle before snapping his fingers. The maiden suddenly found herself standing before her beloved prince as he knelt down in front of her with a ring in his hand. The maiden smiled, triumphant, certain that she now had everything she had ever wanted.

Some time after the now queen and her prince, now the king, were married, the queen gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Much to her surprise, she loved the boy instantly - no mother loved her son better - and the promise she'd made already far from her mind, was forgotten completely in the midst of the all consuming love she felt for her child.

The next day, it was announced that the queen had a visitor. The queen ordered that the visitor be received in the throne room. She entered the room holding her child, whom she never let be more than a few feet from her, and much to her horror and surprise, there stood the mad little magic man with a malicious grin stretched across his face. At once, the memory of the man and the promise that she had made to him flooded the queen's mind, and she let out a scream. The mad magic man only smiled wider. The queen turned on the spot and ran as fast as she could, clutching the baby to her chest. She ran from the castle and through the woods as fast as she could. Finally, when she felt that she couldn't run anymore and was sure that the magic man was not following her, she slowed her pace. It suddenly occurred to the queen that the sudden flight may have frightened her poor child. She looked down at the bundle in her arms, ready to comfort the baby, before realizing that the baby was gone - all she held was a bundle of blankets. The queen let out a choking gasp and collapsed right there in the middle of the woods. She never returned to her husband and was never seen again. It is said, however, that if you go to the woods where the woman lost her child, you may catch a fleeting glimpse of an old woman  wandering the wood and singing a lullaby to the wind.

THE END

 

Author's Note: This is a retelling of the story An Indian's Vow to the Thunder Gods from the Legends of the Pacific Northwest Unit. In the original, an Indian woman is told in a vision that she must give up her first born child to the Thunder Gods. When she fails to do so for love of the child, the Thunder Gods strike the child dead, claiming his life for their own. I decided to put the story in a fairytale setting because the original reminded me of the story of Rumplestilskin. In fact, I even used the Rumplestilskin character from the show Once Upon a Time as the inspiration for the magic man character. I added on the entire first part of the story about the woman wanting to marry out of her class in order to give a reason for her to owe her child to someone. I also changed the part about the child being struck dead when the woman did not comply with the agreement because the idea of a child dying was a bit too macabre for me.

 

Bibliography: "An Indian's Vow to the Thunder Gods."  Myths and Legends of the Pacific Northwest, especially of Washington and Oregon. Katherine Berry Judson. 1910.

 





Week 9: Storytelling - The Rabbit Brothers

Linus the rabbit had a large family. He had eight brothers and five sisters. With all those siblings, Linus often felt overlooked and unimportant, especially when his brother, Alexander, was around. It was no secret that Alexander was the favorite child of all Linus' siblings. He could jump the furthest and the fastest, he had the most beautiful, sleek coat that seemed never to get dirty, and he was very clever. It was well known in the forest all of the tales of Alexander outwitting and escaping all manner of predator. Mother and Father were always bragging to the other rabbit families, and any other animal that would listen, about what brilliant son they had, and you could be sure that they weren't talking about scrawny, perpetually muddy Linus.

Alexander the rabbit (image source: Grit)

"You would think that they had only one son!" Linus grumbled to himself, bitterly, as he watched his father animatedly retell the latest of Alexander's triumphs to his other siblings, who seemed content to worship Alexander like everyone else he knew. He burned with rage and envy and resolved to kill Alexander.

 "Let them brag on their dead son then!" he said with a smirk.

Early the next morning, Linus went deep into the woods to work on his plan. He decided that, rather than get his own paws dirty, he would create a helper that would kill Alexander for him. There was said to be an enchanted tree in the heart of the woods that not only itself had magical powers, but gave magic to everything that fell under its shade. Linus used the dirt from under this tree mixed with water from the little brook at its base to create a monster that he would be able to control. When the monster was finished, it had the face of a rabbit, with the sharp teeth of a wolf, the deadly talons of a hawk, and the long, muscular tail of a snake.

"Since this monster has the qualities of many of our natural enemies, Alexander will shake with fear!" Linus cried happily, "There will be no brave triumph in this story! He will die a coward's death begging the beast not to rip it apart with its claws, impale him with its teeth, or strangle him with its tale."

Now Linus need only command the beast what to do! He approached the monster with confidence, and no fear - why should the thing that owed its creation to Linus turn on its master? Just as Linus was about to open his mouth to give the command, however, Alexander appeared out of nowhere, jumping from his hiding place in a brush to surprise his brother.

"Ho-ho, so you aim to kill me, do you?" cried Alexander, "We shall see about that!"

Alexander prepared for a fight, but the shock of the sudden appearance of his hated brother combined with the fury at having his plan discovered was too much for Linus' weak, bunny heart. He died instantly. Seeing that his brother was dead, Alexander hopped quickly back home, leaving Linus' monster behind him.

When Linus didn't return later that day, his family began to wonder where he had gone. Not wanting to disgrace his brother's memory by telling of his planned betrayal, Alexander told his family that Linus had mentioned something about visiting the Enchanted Tree. The family set out to the tree to find the lost rabbit. There under the tree, they discovered the lifeless body of Linus while his very own monster nibbled at his remains. Not wanting this beast to harm the rest of his family, Alexander quickly sprang into action, catching the distracted monster off guard, and killed the thing. For weeks, all anyone in the forest was talking about was Alexander's heroic defeat of the dreadful monster. What a shame, though they said, that he did not discover the creature before it killed his brother, Minus. What a shame for Minus, indeed.

Author's note: this is a retelling of the story Nukunguasik, who Escaped from the Tupilak from the Eskimo Folk Tales unit. In the original, Nukunguasik one day discovers one of his brothers whispering to a Tupilak, a monster of the wizard brother's own creation, to go and bite Nukunguasik to death. I decided to make the characters animals just to give the story my own little twist. In the original story, it is not stated explicitly why this brother is bent on killing Nukunguasik so I decided to fill in the holes using a classic Cain and Abel type rivalry, telling the story from the perspective of the jealous brother so you could really understand how he felt about his brother. I also added the last bit, about Alexander's triumphant defeat of the monster being the talk of the community to create an element of irony in that Linus' plan to destroy his brother ended with the exact opposite of the desired result - Alexander continues to be great hero, and Linus is barely remembered.

Bibliography: "Nukunguasik, who Escaped from the Tupilak." Eskimo Folk Tales. Knud Rasmussen. 1921

Week 6: Storytelling - Crying for Nothing

One day, I was taking a walk in the park when I found my path blocked mother and her young child. From the looks of this mother - young, utterly exhausted but trying to appear as if she had it all together - I gathered that this was her first child. She was squatting down next to her child, a toe-headed cherub girl of about three or four years old, who had plopped herself down in the middle of the walking path and was wailing, loudly, and refusing to be comforted.
"Are you hungry? Are you sleepy? Are you hurt?" the mother moaned, as if she had already asked these questions several times before I'd approached. The child did not answer, only continued to weep and wail as if she had not heard her mother at all. "I don't understand," continued the unfortunate mother, "what are you crying for? Why won't you tell me?"

(image source: BlogSpot)



Sensing the woman's desperation, I chose this moment to step in.
"Oh she's just crying for nothing," I said to the mother kneeling down so that we were eye level.

"What?" replied the woman in utter exhaustion. She looked at me as if she had genuinely forgotten that there other humans on the planet apart from her and her daughter at that moment.

"You see," I began, "there was once a princess who lived in a small kingdom so small that she was able to walk to the kingdom neighboring her own on either side to visit her princess friend regularly. The two princesses often spent time together in one of the two kingdoms. One day, the princesses were visiting in the first princess' palace when two men were brought into the great hall. One of the men was adorned in fine clothing inlaid with gold and fine jewels. The other wore a threadbare garment that looked to be made from sackcloth. The first man announced that he and his companion, Nothing, had come seeking wives to take home to their native land with them. Despite his unimpressive appearance, the first princess suddenly felt a burning love for this Nothing that she herself could not explain. Nothing felt the same burning passion for the princess the moment he laid eyes on her, and the two decided to be married. The other princess laughed at the foolishness of the first princess for surely she would only know misery and poverty if she married this pauper. They chose to become the wife of the first man, cloaked in all his finery. 'His wealth must be greater than that of my own father,' she said to herself, 'I will live a very comfortable life, indeed, with this rich man!'" By this time, the child had stopped wailing and was merely sniffling as she stared intently at me with wide eyes. I continued.

 (image source: Boston.com)

"After the two princess were married to their respective suitors, they all began the journey to the men's native land. When they arrived, both princesses were surprised to find that the man adorned in the fine clothing lived in a dirty, ugly, run-down hovel while Nothing, in his peasant garments, lived in a lush palace. It seemed that the two men had switched their clothing for fun! The second princess was greatly distressed to discover how she had been tricked as well as inherently wicked nature of her new husband and wept openly when the first princess visited as they were accustomed to doing. The first princess, troubled by her friend's misery, decided to ask her husband if the second princess could come to stay in his palace for a time. Nothing, being a kind-hearted and sympathetic man, obliged, so the second princess came to live at the palace.
"After living at the palace for a few days, the second princess sent word to her husband that she would not be returning to him. Her husband grew very angry and blamed Nothing for stealing his wife away. In his rage, the jealous husband killed Nothing while Nothing was visiting the man in his little hut. When the first princess discovered that her beloved had been killed, she wept bitterly. Not wishing to stay in the palace which held nothing but memories of her fallen husband, she began to roam the countryside. As she roamed, many of the children in that region noticed the princess as she walked and wept, and they inquired of her why she mourned. She told her sad story to the children and they, in their childish empathy, began also to weep aloud with the unhappy princess."

The child gave one final sniff and finally allowed her mother to pull her to her feet.
 "So you see," I concluded standing up straight, "whenever a child is crying for what appears to be no reason, it is said that the child is crying for nothing. Isn't that right?" I asked with a wink, turning to the child. She nodded solemnly, wiping her eyes.

"The princess appreciates your sympathy," I said to the little girl, "but she wants you to be happy now."
The girl nodded again and reached for her mother's hand. Thank you, the mother mouthed over her shoulder, a look of the sincerest gratitude in her eyes as the two walked away. I smiled in reply. I turned and walked the direction from which I had come, suddenly not much in the mood for a walk. I pulled out my cellphone and dialed my neighbor's number.
"Hey Chrissy," I said when she answered, "I actually don't think I will be able to babysit your daughter today."

The End

Author's Note: This is a retelling of the story Anansi and Nothing from the West African Folktales Unit. I used the storyteller perspective in order to use the story to explain a phenomenon - the inexplicably inconsolable child - and in a somewhat humorous manner. The original story is told from the perspective of the jealous husband, Anansi, who is a known trickster. It is not stated explicitly that the women that he and Nothing find to be their wives are princesses, but I figured if anything could get a little girl to stop crying, it would be a story about princesses.

 

Bibliography: "Anansi and Nothing." West African Folktales. William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair. 1917.

Week 7: Storytelling - The Fish Monitor

"Mrs. King, as much as it pains me to say this, your son is out of control."

Mrs. King sheepishly looked across the conference table at her son's school principal. He met her gaze with a look of both exhaustion and utter contempt. This was the third time she had been called to the school this year because of her son's "issues". Even though it was her son, Reese, that was causing all the problems, she couldn't help but feel that she was the one being called to the principal's office to get reprimanded. For this particular meeting, there were five teachers in addition to the principal seated around the table as if there for an intervention of some sort. She knew each of the teachers quite well. She'd had at least one phone conference with each one, all concerning Reese.

"He's just a very spirited little boy," she finally replied, but with no real conviction, trying to avoid eye contact with everyone in the room. Even she was tired of hearing the same excuses time and time again.

"There are plenty of 'spirited little boys' in the first grade, Mrs. King," interjected Ms. McKay, the art teacher, curtly, "they're seven years old, for goodness sake! Your boy is a menace!"

Mrs. King bristled. "I wouldn't go so far as to call a little boy a menace. I mean, he's not perfect, but-"

"Not perfect!" shouted Mr. Donnahue, the gym teacher, indignantly, "Your kid set my hair on fire!"

"He stole the toys we collected for the toy drive!" added Mrs. Mead, the librarian

"He locked me out of my own classroom and tried to teach the day's lesson as if he was the teacher! I don't know how you allow him to act when he is at home, but we have rules here that we expect to be followed even if he is a 'spirited little boy' as you put it. He should be expelled!" cried Ms. Blanchard, the first grade teacher.

Mrs. King looked as though she were about to cry. She looked frantically about the room, trying to find an ally. Finally, Ms. Starr, the guidance counselor. who had remained silent all this time, spoke up.
"I don't think we need to throw the poor child out on his ear," she said calmly, "and I don't think you're being very fair to Mrs. King. She is obviously doing the best she can and is likewise distressed by her son's conduct." She gave Mrs. King a sympathetic look before continuing. "I think it is true that Reese has a lot of energy," there was a snort from somewhere in the room, "but I think, if funneled into the correct activity, all that energy could serve a purpose."

"What do you suggest, Ms. Starr?" asked Mrs. King eagerly.

"Well, perhaps if we give him some sort of small charge or responsibility, he would focus his energy on that."

"What sort of responsibility could you give a boy like that?" said Ms. Blanchard under her breath.

"Ms. Blanchard," said Ms. Starr suddenly, turning to Ms. Blanchard, who nearly jumped out her seat at the abruptness of Ms. Starr's address, "I believe your classroom has a pet fish, correct?"

"Yes a goldfish. I thought it would be fun for the children to have a class pet. They've named him Batman."

"Well maybe you could send the fish home with Reese over the weekend and he could take care of it and -"

"Forgive me, Ms. Starr," interrupted the principal, "but you want to give this child, this child, charge over the life of a living creature? Do you think that wise?"

"I think he will be excited to have such a grown up job, especially if we explain to him what an important job it is." Ms. Blanchard looked skeptical but said nothing. "And if it doesn't work out, you can always go pick up another goldfish at Wal-Mart, Nancy," added Ms. Starr venomously.

So it was decided that the fish would go home with Reese over the weekend. Mrs. King was overjoyed that a solution had been reached that didn't involve expelling her son. Just as Ms. Starr predicted, Reese felt very important with his little job. Ms. Blanchard even gave his job a title - Fish Monitor - and Reese was very pleased indeed. He took his title very seriously - Mrs. King entered her son's room several times that weekend to find him counting out individual specks of fish food while he talked to Batman. Once the weekend was over and Monday arrived, Reese continued to watch Batman to make sure that his bowl was always clean and that he had enough (but not too much!) food, and after a few days, it was decided that Reese should be named the permanent Fish Monitor for the class. In the weeks that followed, Mrs. King eventually grew to stop expecting the principal to call her back to his office. It came to  be that all of the boy's teachers found him a most charming and well-behaved child.

Reese and Batman (image source: FamilyCorner)



The End

 

Author's Note: This story is adapted from the original The Lord of the Heavens story  from the The Monkey King Unit. In the original telling. The Monkey King, Sun Wu Kung, has angered several celestial beings who complain to the Lord of the Heavens. All those in the Heavens wish to condemn the rogue Monkey King and sentence him to prison, but the Evening Starr speaks up for him and suggests that Sun Wu be brought up to Heaven and given some small charge to keep him occupied. He is named the stablemaster, which Sun Wu sees as a great honor, and he excels at his job and keeps out of trouble for a time. I decided to represent the Monkey King as a rambunctious child because that is what I was reminded of the entire time I was reading of his adventures.

 

Bibliography Information: "The Lord of the Heavens." The Ape Sun Wu Kung- The Chinese Fairy Book. ed. R. Wilhelm, trans. Frederick H. Martens

 







Week 5 Storytelling: Knowing Things

I've always felt like I was different from the other kids. I never watch cartoons. I don't understand why all the other kids find them so entertaining. If you dropped an anvil on a coyote's head, its skull would be crushed and it would die almost immediately - what is funny about that? I've also never had much interest in playing dress up or make-believe. If the whole point of life is to discover who you are, why would you want to waste time pretending to be something or someone you know you're not? It just doesn't make sense. To be completely honest, many of the mundane practices of my fellow third-graders seem nonsensical to me. I've explained to my parents dozens of times that I could learn more staying at home and reading books, teaching myself than I could ever learn in school. They insist, however, that, though they retain full confidence in my abilities and my affinity for academia, that I must attend school in order to be "adequately socialized." Their words, not mine. I told them that I knew that they just didn't want to be known as those people with that weird kid who's too smart for his age and doesn't have any friends. They didn't tell me I was wrong.

So I continue to go to school, against my will, mostly for the sake of my parents. Today, the teacher says that we are going to begin preparation for our big third grade standardized test at the end of the year. We begin with math. We are to know our times tables as well as be able to do long division with decimals. I quickly grow bored because I knew how to do long division in the first grade so I decide to try to expand my current knowledge. I inquire of teacher the theories and the history behind arithmetic as a subject - I'd heard it dated back to Ancient Egyptian civilization - but she merely looks slightly flustered and answers that I wouldn't need to know those things for the Big Test. Puzzled I reply:

"Yes I realize those things won't be on the test, but I would like to know."
"Why?" teacher asks, mystified.
"Because I like to know things," I say simply.
"Well," begins teacher, becoming slightly indignant, "at this time, we are going to focus on the things that will be on the Test. If you wish to 'know things' you may do so out in the hall where you will not disrupt your classmates who wish to well on this Test."

I rise from my desk, unfazed - this is not an unusual occurrence, teacher does not seem to particularly care for me - and exit the classroom deep in thought.

Is the concept of knowledge for the sake of knowledge so foreign? Must learning only be worthwhile if it can be quantified by a standardized test? I begin to realize how little learning is done just for the love of learning. My older sibling who are in high school are constantly talking about grades and scores and GPA and class rank. I don't think I've ever heard one of them talk in depth about anything they're actually learning in school. Well, I think, I certainly don't care for grades or test scores. I would just like to learn things. Things beyond "what will be on the test". With that, I walk down to the library, locate a book on Ancient Egyptian civilization, and sit down to read. I resolve to tell my parents that I will not be returning here tomorrow.

Author's Note: Disclaimer: this is NOT meant to be a commentary on academia or standardized testing. The original story from which my retelling derives, Arata Kalama, from the Buddha Unit, addresses the question of why we do certain things. In the story, Buddha questions the practices of the hermit Arata Kalama and his disciples which include denying themselves more than basic sustenance in order to achieve a great position in their next lives. Buddha views the cycle of rebirth as an undesirable curse, therefore to pursue actively is insanity. I chose to portray Buddha as a precocious third-grader because one of the attributes of children is to see things as they really are, just as Buddha did. I compared the cycle of barely living in hopes of desirable reincarnation to the process of striving for grades rather than knowledge because I believe that they are analogous in that in both situations, one is given a spectacular opportunity, but if too focused on the reward for one's labor, the ability of one to enjoy the experience is greatly diminished.

Siddhartha - the Buddha (image source: Wikipedia/Siddhartha)

 

Bibliography: "Arata Kalama." The Life of Buddha Andre Ferdinand Herold. 1922

Week 4: Storytelling - The Cheer Captain

There were some that said that Jenna Clare was the best cheer captain that had ever come through the University. Since she had become captain as a sophomore, the team had won back-to-back championships at UGA Nationals. She worked her team hard, but she was right there with them running suicides, lifting in the weight room, and conditioning. She didn't ask of them anything she wasn't prepared to do herself. When they ran, she was always at the front of the pack - that is, until she saw someone lagging behind the group (usually Carrie) then she would circle back and run with the girl, encouraging her to the finish. Jenna had a strict "no drama" policy: all problems were to be left at the door and your teammates were to be as your sisters. It was she who'd advocated for bi-monthly team bonding nights in which the team got to know and care for each other in a non-practice environment. For this reason, the team was strong, stronger than any team that had ever existed at the University. The girls worked well together because they genuinely cared for one another, and no one loved a group of girls more than Jenna loved her team. In return, the girls worshipped the ground on which Jenna walked.

 

(Image source: CheerleadingLT)

 



 

 It was Jenna's senior year and the fall semester had just begun. The team had picked up a few new recruits from the spring tryouts and it looked liked this year, they'd be stronger than ever.  Some of the new freshmen were pretty green, but they had a lot of raw talent. One girl in particular stood out among the rookies. Eliza executed her tumbling and stunting with a precision that couldn't really be taught. Her straight-legged scorpions and over-extended heel-stretches nearly rivaled those of the reigning captain. Some of her teammates even began to jokingly refer to her as the "mini-Jenna," and much like Jenna, she began to gather her own set of worshippers among the rookie set. But Eliza wasn't content being mini-Jenna. Back home, she had been the best of the best - she was not used to coming in second place, and she always seemed to be runner-up whenever Jenna was in the room. Well, thought Eliza, its high time Madame Jenna be knocked down a few pegs. She and her minions devised a plan to do just that.

 

It just so happened that Jenna and Eliza had a class together - one of those gen-ed courses that students save for their senior year to lighten the load of Capstones and 4000-level classes. Jenna made it a point to sit with her teammates whenever they happened to shared a class, especially if that teammate was a  young, frightened freshmen, so the girls were accustomed to sitting next to one another. On exam day, the two sat together as usual, the exams were passed out and time was started. Eliza, who was deviously inclined, wrote a little note at the top of her scantron in light pencil. She nudged Jenna with her elbow and gestured to her paper. The note was simply an inquiry about the exact time for practice later that afternoon. As Jenna looked intently at Eliza's message, Eliza suddenly erased it and shot her hand into the air. The TA happened to pass by just in time to see Jenna apparently studying Eliza's scantron rather intently. Before Jenna even knew what was happening, the TA snatched up Jenna's exam and signaled to the professor. The entire class watched as a very confused Jenna Clare was escorted out of the room.

(Image source: WikiSpaces)

 

 

There was, of course, no for Jenna way to prove to the University Integrity Council that she had been reading a note written by her teammate and not attempting to copy her work especially when Eliza denied profusely ever having written any note. Several of Eliza's minions came forward as well to attest to the good character of their new queen. There was nothing Jenna could do when they cited her for academic misconduct and suspended her for the semester.

 

 The team was devastated by the loss of their beloved captain. The coach was forced to appoint a new captain and despite her lack of seniority, it seemed that Eliza was the best suited for the position. But the team wasn't the same after Jenna's fall from grace. The fact that Eliza and her cohorts had betrayed a teammate created animosity within the group. It seemed there was always a tension in the air and the team's performance began to suffer. In fact, that year, the team placed 6th at UGA Nationals. It was the lowest the team had placed in over a decade.

 

Author's Note: This is a retelling of the story The Death of Osiris from the Ancient Egypt unit. In the original telling, the god Osiris brings about peace, prosperity, and order to a world of chaos during his reign as king, but his throne is usurped by jealous Set. Set and his followers actually kill Osiris in order to gain the throne and after Set ascends to power, the world descends into evil and destruction. I changed the literal death of the leader to a metaphorical death for the purposes of this retelling - getting suspended for academic misconduct would be pretty damaging to one's academic career - so as to not make the story excessively morbid. I used college aged cheerleaders as counterparts to the story of Osiris because the actions taken by Set reminded me of those of jealous, catty women.

 

Bibliography: "The Death of Osiris." Egyptian Myth and Legend. Donald Mackenzie. 1907

Storytelling for Week 3: The King's First Wife

In the far off land of Lizbet, there ruled a beloved King. He had been ruler of the tiny nation  for as long as anyone could remember and it was generally accepted throughout the kingdom that King Darius, as he was called, possessed some supernatural quality that caused him not to age. Few questioned this quality or from whence it came, and the few that knew kept quiet, for the entire kingdom was content with the King's eternal reign. At his right hand sat his beloved Queen Mellrose, who was almost as much loved throughout the kingdom as the King. Like the King, the Mellrose had been Queen for as long as most could remember. However, the same few that had knowledge of the secret of the Kings immortality could also remember a time before the reign of Queen Mellrose, for the stories were intertwined...

The King's Castle

Long before Mellrose was even born, when Darius was but a young prince of 22 or 23 years of age, it was decided that he should take a wife, for his father, the King, was getting along in years, and it was ordained in the law of the land that a prince could not receive the Crown until he had taken a wife. Maidens from neighboring kingdoms were brought before the young prince, but none seemed to awaken in him feelings of love. In the midst of this processional, a young woman suddenly appeared as if from thin air. She was radiantly beautiful and moved and spoke with such grace and charm that she almost immediately ensnared the young prince's heart. The bewitching creature, who introduced herself as Madeline, charmed also the King and Queen so it was decided that Darius and Madeline would marry immediately.

Madeline

After the wedding celebration and the passing of the old King, it began to become clear that Madeline would not be the wife or queen that anyone, least of all Darius, had expected. She demanded rights equal to those of the King - to be able to command her own army, the right to make her own ordinances and decrees, and the power to grant or take land away from her subjects - when everyone knew the role of the Queen was merely that of a figurehead. Several years passed and Madeline bore Darius several children (some of whom were illegitimate, but Darius never need know), but she remained fixated upon obtaining power equal to that of Darius. One evening, she flew into a fit of rage, screaming that if she was not granted equal power in the kingdom, Darius and all his subjects would live to regret it. Alas, unmoved by her impassioned speech, Darius refused to give into Madeline's demands and she, in her rage, revealed the secret power she possessed but had long kept hidden from her husband, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Stunned and sputtering, Darius called for his royal guard to search for the witch. The search lasted nearly three months until Madeline was finally found living near the sea. The guard, having caught the witch unaware, was able to restrain her with ropes. They demanded that she return to her husband immediately or the illegitimate children, the identity of whom she thought she had succeeded in concealing from her husband, would be put to death. Furious, Madeline demanded to be let go, for she would rather lose her dear children than be kept as a pet to a fool king, but vowed to bring a curse upon the king and his guard for treating the witch as they had. Reluctantly, the guard released her, and Madeline spoke a terrible curse unto them, indeed:

"Every child born to you,

on the eighth day of his life,

will I take for my own

that I may ease the sorrow

of my children lost.

And may you live forever

and see each son borne you

snatched from his mother's arms

and brought to my own breast."

Saying nothing more, Madeline vanished for a second time in a cloud of smoke, never to be seen again.

Thus it came to be that King Darius and the members of his guard were cursed with immortality and the burden of watching each and every male child born mysteriously die when he reached eight days old. No one else in the kingdom knew about the terrible curse, and those who fell under its power vowed never to reveal its nature. So many years passed and the King ached for the companionship of a new wife - a wife that would know her place in the kingdom. Mellrose had been brought up for just such a purpose and was brought to Darius to be his wife. Darius delighted in his new queen, and most of all the fact that she didn't question why they must never have children.

THE END

Author's Note: This story is adapted from the story Lilith, from the Adam and Eve unit. The original story tells of Adam's first wife, Lilith, who was created from the dust as Adam was. Because they share the same origin, Lilith demands to be seen as an equal to Adam rather than helper and when she was refused, she flew away from her husband. I made the story about the King of a nation because Adam is often referred to as the Father of Mankind and made the Lilith character into a witch because it is said that Lilith has taken her revenge out on babies by injuring them on certain nights of their lives, which I found made me think of a witch's curse.

Bibliography Information: Lilith. The Legends of the Jews. Louis Ginzberg. 1909.

Storytelling for Week 2: Mercedes St. Romane

You could say she had that "It-girl" quality about her. All of the girls wanted to be her, and the boys - well they didn't so much as hope as to date her, but rather vied to be near her. Yes, Mercedes St. Romane, with her long dark hair, cerulean eyes, and full red lips, was strikingly beautiful. Her beauty escaped the notice of no man - young or old - so that she felt the constant gaze of her male classmates and her male professors alike. However, though her beauty was exceptional, Mercedes lived  her life alone on an unpopulated island, for her female peers resented her trance-like effect on men, and her would-be suitors were far too intimidated by her charm to deign to approach her. One such female classmate of Mercedes, Johanna, hated Mercedes with a vehemence which surpassed all reasonable understanding. Before the arrival of Mercedes to St. Olympia High School, Johanna had been the object of the envy and affection of her fellow classmates, but in the presence of Mercedes St. Romane, she was made a pauper in the company of a princess.

A Beautiful Looking Girl

Johanna sought to undermine everyone's high opinion of Mercedes, so that she too would experience a fall from grace. She bullied her meek stepbrother, Charles, into assisting in a plan that would humiliate Mercedes in front of the entire school.
"We'll Catfish her!" exclaimed Johanna deviously, "You'll pose as her secret admirer and contact her through her Facebook. You'll make her fall in love with you, invite her to Senior Prom, and then stand her up! She will be humiliated in front of the whole senior class!" Poor Charles, forever seeking to avoid his sister's anger and wrath, complied.
Charles did as he was told and messaged Mercedes, expressing his secret love for her, and Mercedes, who had begun to view her beauty as curse and was desperate for affection, replied gratefully.What his vindictive stepsister did not know, however, was that Charles was playing no part -he indeed harbored deep feelings of love and passion for Mercedes, but had been to shy to ever even speak to her. So out of this initial exchange blossomed a deep and caring friendship and eventually, a romantic relationship. The two never met - Charles deterred every request of Mercedes' to meet in person, and Mercedes was so happy to have a true friend, that she never pressed the issue. Mercedes didn't even know the name of her new found love, for Charles had set up a fake Facebook profile that bore a false name and a profile picture of a cat. St. Olympia was so big a high school that the two never crossed paths accidentally, but every now and then Charles would journey to a part of the school to which he would not normally venture in order to catch a glimpse of his beloved. It did not escape the notice of her fellow classmates that Mercedes walked with lighter step and smiled more frequently and the boys mourned at the prospect that she must have, at last, taken a boyfriend. The girls whispered fervently, supposing this boy must be in college or go to school in another town for no man in St. Olympia would accept the honor of dating Mercedes St. Romane and keep quiet about it. Thus, the whole school was a-chatter with speculation about the nature of Mercedes' mysterious boyfriend.

Mercedes' Invisible Boyfriend

Author's Note: This is a retelling of The Mysterious Husband, an installment found in the Cupid and Psyche unit. In the original story, the goddess Venus becomes enraged because people have stopped worshiping her and her beauty in favor of that of the young girl Psyche. Venus demands that Cupid, her son, make her fall in love with some vile creature but he takes pity on Psyche and instead shoots himself with one of his arrows, enticing him to fall in love with Psyche. He takes her as his wife, but she is not allowed to look upon his face. I changed this to a Catfish-esque hoax to give the story more modern context and also to make it more relatable. The entire unit deals with the main themes of the destructive power of both envy and curiosity. Both cause untold misery for Psyche as the story progresses.

Bibliography: "The Mysterious Husband."Apuleius' Golden Ass. Trans. Tony Cline. 2013

Week 1: Story(Re)Telling - The Okie Mouse

Author's note: This story is adapted from the Aesop Fable The Town Mouse and the CountryMouse. In this fable a simple country mouse learns after visiting her cousin in a big town that it is better to have little and feel safe than to have plenty and live in fear.

The Mouse Cousins The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

Mavery Mouse had never been anywhere outside of her little farm in Oklahoma, and that was just fine with her. Life in Oklahoma was simple - she ate simple things, she enjoyed simple fun like snooping around the Farmer's fields, and she lived in a simple roundish hole in the wall of the Farmhouse. Mavery began to wonder, however, whether her cousin Millicent - a big-city mouse from Dallas - would be equally satisfied with the simplicity of country living when she came to visit the next day. Mavery got her answer the moment Cousin Millie saw Mavery's bare little mouse hole
"But where's all your stuff?" Millie asked rather tactlessly
"It's all here," replied Mavery evenly
"Well what is there to do?" Millie practically whined
"We can explore the House. Or the fields. Maybe give the Farmer's wife a good scare," answered Mavery with a snicker.
"Oh you should have come to Dallas, Maves!" began Millicent excitedly, "There's lots to do! They have these gigantic parks where humans go and climb on all these metal contraptions for fun. Some of them spin really fast and some of them look like trains only they go a lot faster than any train I've ever seen! I don't see what's so fun about it because they're always screaming and yelling. But the main thing is that these places have the best food and the humans are always dropping it all over the place! You gotta come see it!"
Mavery didn't have the heart to disappoint her cousin (who really did mean well) so she agreed that they could make the trip to Dallas the next day.
After several days journey, the Mouse cousins arrived at the Big Park in Dallas. It was enormous! And there were all types of food that Mavery had only ever heard about - bread that was twisted up and salted, some sort of sweet that looked like a pink cloud, and puffy white stuff that tasted like butter. Mavery was just about to enjoy some of that pink stuff when she heard a scream.
"EEEEEKKK!! It's a rat!" a woman screamed. Soon there were multiple screams coming from every direction. A man appeared with a giant net and began to run toward Mavery and Millicent. The cousins ran for their lives! Millicent ducked into a small space between two food carts and Mavery followed her. The man with the net had not seen them and ran past. Once the mice had caught their breath, Mavery turned to Millicent.
"There may be more excitement and more to eat here in Dallas, Millie, but I think I like it better in Oklahoma. It's quiet and there's not as much to, but by Golly there's nobody chasing me around with a net!" Millie nodded appreciatively.
"And another thing!" Mavery added indignantly, "We Okies know the difference between a mouse and a rat!

Aesop for Children, illustrated by Milo Winter (1919).Web Source:Project Gutenberg