Week 14 Storytelling: Bernard

Cockaadoooooodledooooooooo!!

Bernard did a nice fist pump after he made his morning roar to wake up the farm. He was proud of himself for such a perfect execution in the soprano key.

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Meanwhile, the other animals were rolling their eyes at Bernard. The pigs thought it was ridiculous that he still did a morning call even when the family all had cell phone alarms. The horses were late sleepers and always felt like Bernard was doing it just to get them irritated. All the animals agreed that Bernard just wanted all the attention on him. He was that male pop star that left the band for a solo career and individual praise.

After his morning call Bernard strutting around the farm making sure everyone had heard him and fishing for compliments on his performance. He didn't do much besides strut around and boss other animals around. For some reason Bernard and Connor the pig disliked each other very much. Everyone has there theories as to why they dislike each other but no one can say for certain.

This morning Bernard walked over to Connor and told him what a filthy excuse for a pig he was and told him he could still smell him from the other side of the farm with a bar of soap in his nose. Connor just laughed and proceeded to do a belly flop in the mud puddle. This angered Bernard as the mud flew up and splashed his well manicured coat of feathers.

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Connor started laughing along with the rest of the pigs. Bernard looked ridiculous and you could tell he was embarrassed. Bernard scoffed and Connor and the other pigs and then trotted off. 

Bernard found a spot in the barn where no one was and sat down. He was frustrated and angry at the whole situation. What the animals didn't know about Bernard was that he had had a hard child hood. He lost his mom and dad when he was young and had no grown up with much parental guidance. He missed them very much and wondered why he had to have lost his parents. Growing up he was never the popular chicken and he was sought the others approval. He just wanted others to like him and be friends with them. But he didn't know how to best do that. Now that he was the head rooster he was still stuck in his old ways.

Connor came trotting in and noticed that Bernard was frustrated and upset. He sat and talked with Bernard and asked him how he was and apologized for splashing mud on him and laughing. He felt bad for Bernard and told him he didn't realize that he had lost his parents so young. His heart softened for Bernard and he felt compelled to try and be a better friend to him.

Five years later Bernard and Connor were inseparable and they were always having fun together. Bernard had learned from Connor on how to respect others and be a good friend. He found it funny when he stopped worrying about what others thought he actually found some friends.


Author's Note.
The original story is actually not about a rooster but instead a mouse. The mouse comes across a rooster at this estate and is bewildered by it.
"I passed the mountain bounds of this estate,
And off was trotting on another,
Like some young rat with nothing to do
But see things wonderful and new,
When two strange creatures came in view:
The one was mild, benign, and gracious;
The other, turbulent, rapacious,
With voice terrific, shrill, and rough,
And on his head a bit of stuff
That looked like raw and bloody meat,
Raised up a sort of arms, and beat
The air, as if he meant to fly,
And bore his plumy tail on high."

I really liked how the author described the rooster so vividly and it made me wan't to write a story about a rooster. I tried to make it warm and light hearted. I think it is easy to not like someone like Bernard but you never really know what they ares struggling with. Sometimes those types of people need a friend and some guidance the most but don't know how to ask for it. 

Bibliography.

Mice, The Fables of La Fontaine, Elizur Wright, 1882. 

Week 13 Storytelling: Celebrating Friday

A long long time ago there were no names for the days of the week. People wandered around hardly bound by time. This proved to be a good thing as well as a bad thing. People enjoyed not having hard deadlines for things but this brought about laziness and neglect.

The biggest city in the world at the time was called Origin and it was here that the idea of a week was born. In order to better govern the people of the world they decided creating a bigger presence of time was a good idea. One of the ways they thought they could do this was by creating a calendar that consisted of days, weeks, and months. There were to be 7 days in a week, 4 weeks in a month, and 12 months in what they called a year.

15th Century Calendar
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This proved to be a good idea and a lot of people felt like this would help progress society and the world they lived in. Some of the highly educated people had noticed that there wasn't a lot of motivation amongst people before they put in place a calendar. However, afterwards, those intellectuals noticed the pace of life increase and the growth of society to increase faster. They felt pleased with themselves.

The only problem they had was that people didn't know how to differentiate one day of the week versus another. The intellectuals decided that they should name the days of the week to help people in their organization.

There were five different intellectuals that decided they would go to a local tavern on the fifth day of the week and name the days of the week. They thought this would be a fun way to get creative in coming up with names suitable for the week days.

They all agreed the each of the names of the day should end with day. When it came to the fifth day everyone got excited because this was the last day of the work week for them. They were all teachers and the students had the sixth and seventh days of the week off.

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After much deliberation they all agreed on the name for the fifth day. They decided to call it Friday. The chose this because in their accent fri sounded like free. When school would get out on Friday and all the kids had left the teachers would walk out of the building together and shout WE ARE FREEEE! This had been there ritual for a long time so they thought it only fitting to use it as the name of the fifth day.

Author's Note.
In the original story there is a woman that decides she is going to comb and spin flax on a Friday. I think this is the type of work she does. Apparently this is upsetting to Mother Friday because she comes to the house of the lady when she has fallen asleep. Mother Friday is engaged that the lady would be doing such a thing and takes dust and dumps it all in the woman's eyes. The woman wakes up screaming and not knowing what happened. In the end the woman begs for forgiveness and Mother Friday eventually removes the dust so the lady can see again.
The story inspired me to do a story about the origin of the Friday weekday. I thought it would be funny to have there be a lighthearted story behind it because Friday is such a great day of the week for most people. I think ancient history can kind of be presented as a period of time where the people were more serious than lighthearted. I wanted more story to kind of change that attitude about that time period.

Bibliography.
Friday, Russian Fairy Tales, W. R. S. Ralston, 1887.

Week 11 Storytelling: Live Bands

It was safe to say Johnny was officially lost at this point. He sort of chuckled at himself because he thought this might happen in a city this size. New York city isn't really even a city. It is more like cities within cities within a city. It is colossal. It was his first time there in the city and he did not know his way around at all. Now that it was 1:00 am and his friends had all gone their own way he was alone trying to find his way back to his other friends house where he was crashing for the night. He knew it was somewhere in Brooklyn but of course his phone had died now and so he was left to go off memory.

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Is this even Brooklyn anymore? Man, I should have asked for Phil's address earlier I am such an idiot.

Johnny sat down and tried to calm himself down so he could think logically. He sat there for a couple minutes and tried to figure out what his next move. He thought maybe he should go back to the bar he was at and see if he could meet someone that might let him stay at their place. That seemed a bit sketchy though and unlikely. He thought about finding a hotel and just getting a room for the night but he knew that would be expensive.

He was about to get up and see if he could find a place to buy an iPhone charger when he heard something. It was faint but it sounded like live music. He wasn't sure what instruments were all playing but he could definitely make out a fiddle. Johnny was a musician himself and couldn't help but wonder who was playing. He loved live music and felt obligated to go and listen whenever he stumbled upon a live band.

Like a zombie he began to follow the noise to find its source. It seemed like it was coming from the back of an alley. He was reluctant to go down the alley, probably because of the amount of television he watched growing up but he  went anyway. The alley way opened up to the waterfront and he could tell where the music was coming from. In what looked like an abandoned warehouse he could see lights on and there were shadows dancing in the light.

When he finally got close he couldn't believe what his eyes saw. It was a bunch of animals! They was a band on a stage and then a  crowd of them dancing. He started to wonder if the drink he had earlier was laced with something. He rubbed his eyes to try to snap him out of it but when he opened them again they were still there having a blast.

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He watched them for a while and thought he must have been slipped some kind of drug, but hey these guys were good! He laughed at the different animals dance moves and even took a few notes for himself.

Johnny! Jooooooohn! John!!! Wake up man we gotta go.

Johnny opened his eyes and saw Phil's face staring at him. It was just a dream.




Author's Note.

HEY! diddle, diddle,

The cat and the fiddle,

The cow jumped over the moon;

The little dog laugh'd

To see the sport,

While the dish ran after the spoon.

The nursery rhyme made me think of a cat playing the fiddle and I thought how cool it would be if animals could play instruments. I thought about how weird it would be to see animals having a jam sesh together and then other animals dancing. I wanted to create a story that was kind of like when animals do human like things. I am not sure why I chose New York City but it seems like the kind of city where some weird things could be going on in the nooks and crannies that only a few people know about. I decided to make it a dream because I thought it made the story more realistic. Also, I love when I have crazy dreams and wake up and can remember them all so I thought that be fun to show in my writing. The pictures I chose were in an effort to help the reader get a decent idea of what I was envisioning. 

Bibliography.
Hey Diddle Diddle, The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang and illustrated by L. Leslie. Brooke, 1897. 

Week 10 Storytelling: Anatole

Anatole awoke from his afternoon nap in the hammock in such a peaceful way he thought this is a moment in life he surely won't forget. That is saying a lot considering he is as old as time. The amount of naps he has taken in his lifetime might take years to count if one could remember them all. However, this nap felt special. His hammock was positioned perfectly under a tree on the beach so that the branches kept him in the shade but also let enough sun through to keep him the perfect temperature. It was after lunch so he felt perfectly content and relaxed. When he was asleep it was almost as if he was just conscious enough to still enjoy the warmth of the sun and the slight breeze hitting his face. When he woke up he just laid there completely still. Not wanting to move a muscle for fear this unmatched comfortability might disappear. He noticed the sun was starting to get lower in the sky and approach the bay. He lived in a shack practically on the beach and he could hear the chimes singing in the breeze. He could also hear the waves crashing against the side of his canoe he had built so long ago. Finally after he had spent some time soaking it all in he knew he had to get up and start getting ready. 

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Anatole had truly unique profession. When the earth began God trusted him with the job of painting the sunset each night. Anatole became a masterful artist as he practiced on his immense canvas each day. Each evening as the sun is about to set he paddles out in his canoe and paints the magnificent tapestry of colors that can be seen from all over the earth. No sunset is the same as the last and that is because Anatole paints what his heart feels each day. There are days when he is sad and doesn't paint at all. Sometimes if it is cloudy or rainy there is not canvas to paint on. However, most days he makes a masterpiece in hopes that everyone might get to enjoy it.

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When the sun finally goes down God and Anatole get to sit down with each other and talk. God shows him the people the were touched by his sunset. He gets to see the moments people enjoyed during the sunset almost like a clip in people's lives. Anatole is humbled by people's reactions and smiles from ear to ear. Some moments are too beautiful to describe with words and he will cry tears of joy. He believes he must be the luckiest man in the entire history of the world.

Author's Note.
In the original story Pearl-Feather is a sort of evil magician that killed Nokomis' father. The old woman, Nokomis, begs of Hiawatha to avenge her father and try to go murder Pearl-Feather. Pearl-Feather apparently lives on an island surrounded by massive snakes and the water around is black. It is a dangerous place to try and go to say the least. However, Hiawatha accepts the challenge and sets out in his canoe to try and take down the mighty Pearl-Feather. Hiawatha encounters the snakes first, which are enormous. He ends up killing them and eventually killing Pearl-Feather. The story ends with the hero sailing home.
The part that my story is reason based off of is in the beginning when the old woman Nokomis is describing the sunset. I wanted to create a story that showed the origin of sunsets. In this case it is an old artist that is responsible for painting them. I have grown up drawing and painting as a hobby and learning a lot of what I know from my Dad. I am not any good but I love looking at my Dad's water color paintings of the sunset and mountains so that is a little bit where the inspiration came from.

Bibliography.
Hiawatha and the Pearl-Feather, The Song of Hiawatha, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1855.

Week 9 Storytelling: Evelyn

Dear Evelyn,

I hope the winter is going well in Canada. It has been weird not getting to see you everyday and go on adventures. Florida has been nice but it is definitely a lot different than home. All the other Ravens don't really get why I would marry a penguin but I just tell them you haven't met my wife then. Don't worry, not all the ravens are judgmental. I have been able to make some really good friends on the fly down and while I have been here.

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The fly down was probably the craziest trip I have been on though. As you know we started early that morning just after dawn. I can't express to you how long the line was at the border. You know when you see those pictures on TV of the worlds craziest traffic jams? They look like it would take you the rest of the day just to count the cars. It was like that but worse. We did not pick the right day to travel that is for sure. Then once we got to the booth to have our passports checked one of my cousins had to get taken back and questioned. Apparently they thought he was a different bird that had the same name who was wanted for pooping on sacred land. Took them about 2 hours to figure out that it wasn't him. Everyone was really excited to get past the border and right after we all played that racing game we like to play. My group one so that was a lot of fun! The fun soon ended after when we were flying across the midwest. I swear hunting is the only thing humans do in that part of the United States. Also, they all have such ridiculously nice guns that it is actually terrifying. No one in our group ended up getting picked off but the group ahead of us had two guys go down. Definitely a sobering moment of how precious life can be. I will never fly over Nebraska again that is for sure. After that it wasn't too bad until we were about to enter Florida. No one new this but there was a hurricane that was hitting land on the western coast of Florida right as we were about to cross the state line. This made for an interesting decent to say the least. There were probably a half dozen times that I thought I was going to get brain damage from how hard it was raining. A couple guys forgot their goggles and had to find shelter on the ground. I was worried for them since there are so many alligators in Florida. I had to concentrate so hard on my flight path I completely forgot to keep an eye on my friends and so I got very lost at one point. I finally found them after what seemed like forever and we got back on the right path. We eventually made it to Miami and all was well. I think I slept for like 14 hours after that trip haha. Here is a picture I took along the way!

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I have been missing you these past couple days really bad. I wish we could just hang out at the end of the day and have dinner together. In a way you are lucky you can't fly and can live through the winter up there. Florida is definitely not home and I miss our friends. I hope you have been getting to swim since I know it is your favorite. How is Agatha doing? Has she and Bernie gotten back together yet? You'll have to let everyone I say hi.

Can't wait to hear back from you and hear how you are doing! I hope you guys are having fun up there.

Love,

    Pete


Author's Note.
The inspiration for this story came from Raven's Marriage, which is a story in the Alaskan Legends compilation. In the original story Raven has decided it is time to find a wife. All the birds are about to head to the summer land because winter is coming quickly. Raven wants to find a wife to fly to summer grounds with. At first he is rejected again and again by all sorts of birds. He eventually finds a magic stone that helps him become appealing to a goose that ends up marrying him. On their way to the summer land he seems to be strong and graceful until near the end of the journey. He begins to become very tired as they are crossing the sea and eventually he can no longer keep up with the other geese. The leaders decide they cannot wait for him any longer to catch up. He loses his wife and the magical stone. He makes it to shore but he is all alone.

I wanted to make the story a little bit more personable so I decided to make my story a letter from a husband bird to his wife back home. I thought it would be funny to have two different types of bird be married because I feel like you never see that. I had the husband tell the story about his flight down because I always wonder how far it is birds have to travel for migration and how hard it is to make that that trip. I am from Michigan and I have had my fair share of long and crazy road trips in the past so I think that was part of what inspired me. The original story was kind of sad and gloomy so I wanted to make mine a little bit more happy and loving. I wanted to show a husband that was missing his wife.

Bibliography.
Raven's Marriage, Myths and Legends of Alaska, Katharine Berry Judson, 1911.

Week 7 Storytelling: Curstoff the Great

If you are of a certain age you have most likely experienced being taught to write in cursive. However, today it is being phased out of education and most schools do not teach a class on cursive handwriting. Why then did we ever have to learn cursive in the first place?

The reason behind writing in cursive might shock you. There is more to the story than most people know. So I will tell you...

A long time ago there was a wise philosopher named Curstoff. He was known by many as a man with a knowledge of the world that was so deep there wasn't anything he didn't know. People from all over the world came to him seeking answers for all sorts of questions. He was a humble guy who enjoyed helping others and so he worked with all sorts of people.

When he was about 35 years old he lived in what is now modern day Rome. A terrible king had taken over his country and he ruled over the people in ways much more unjust and harsh than some of the worst dictators in history.

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Curstoff was no longer allowed to read books or do experiments in his workshop. He was taken by the king to be a part of the king's council. This way the king could use him for his knowledge and also so that Curstoff didn't get any smart ideas about leading a revenge or bringing an end to the king's rule over the land.

Curstoff tried to escape a few times but it was just too risky and the king had too good of a watch on him.

Back in this time there were only a few dozen people that could write in the world and they wrote using what would be described now as symbols. It looked similar in a way to Chinese writing today.

One day Curstoff came in contact with another country's master in knowledge and they got a chance to speak in private. The other mans name was Dino. Dino recognized the oppression that the people of the country were facing and he told Curstoff he wanted to help overthrow the king.

Curtsy told Dino he had been hoping for a long time to meet someone like Dino who could potentially help the country. He told Dino he ad developed a new method of writing and with it a new language. Curtsy gave him what is now known as the english language and gave him papers that allowed him to learn how to write in cursive. Curtsy told him that this was his only copy of the language and the associated tutorial sheets and to take care of them at all costs.

Curstoff called his new language cursive and so it was born into the world.

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Curstoff and Dino relayed many messages back in forth to each other in secrecy and were able to organize a way to kill the king. They only had a few messages become intercepted  but when they were no one could read them or understand what they meant.

Through cursive they were able to kill the king and restore the country back to a better way of life. Curtsy was the new king and he ruled the people in a just manner. People praised him for his wisdom and soon cursive was beginning to be taught in schools.

It has continued to be one of the longest living languages and method of writing today. However, people have switched over to the new style of print writing, which seems to be effective.


Author's Note. 
This story was inspired by the Jamaican Anansi story called Tumble Bug. Tumble bug is another name for a dung beetle. In the original story it explains how the Tumble bug is trying to marry a beautiful girl and to do so he has to bring a jar of money to the king. He has a competitor though who is also trying to find money so that he can marry the girl. His competitor can only find poop and so he puts it in his jar. Then he tricks the tumble bug to go have a drink with him where he switches the jars. In front of the king they are both asked to dump out the contents of their jars and so the poop falls out. The king shouts at the beetle to pick it up and carry the poop away. This is why tumble bugs are always carrying poop somewhere.
I liked how the story found an original story and reason behind something that seems so odd to us humans. I wanted to do the same thing in my story but with a different spin. I have always wondered why we learned cursive and why it is now being phased out so that it what I tried to develop my story around.
I chose the image to show what the cursive lettering looks like for the readers to remember or see for the first time.

Bibliography.
Tumble Bug, Jamaica Anansi Stories, Martha Warren Beckwith, 1924.

Storytelling for Week 6: Crazy Water

Dear Joe Smith,

The following is a manuscript of a conversation between Dr. Phil Rupp and a unique patient who is not a human but is actually a glass of water. This is from their second meeting that occurred at noon on February 20th, 2016. The patient has not yet been diagnosed with any particular disease or disorder but is voluntarily seeking out help. He has been complaining of a multitude of ailments as well as being misunderstood and abused. It is our hope that you might be able to provide a second opinion on the patient and any thoughts you have in terms of diagnosis and/or treatment. 

Therapist: So, how has it been going this week so far? I know last week was our first time meeting and we have only just met in a way but I encourage you to try and be open with me so that we can develop a relationship. I know it can be hard at first but trust me when I say that I want to help you. 

Water: Well honestly, it has been kind of a crazy week so far. As you know I am from the ocean and this season is hurricane season so things have been a bit chaotic. Humans don't realize that the hurricanes make different water irritable and that is why you see such rough seas.

Therapist: I actually had no idea that that went on but it makes total sense. I think that weather would make me a little uneasy too. Have you been getting in a lot of arguments with neighbors?

Water: Yes, you could say that.

Therapist: Elaborate on that, how has that made you feel?

Water: It has just been especially tough this year. Humans and the amount of waste they throw on us has been reaching levels none of us had thought were possible. This has made us very frustrated because a lot of our friends and fellow sea creatures have been dying in record amounts. It has put a lot of stress on everyone so this hurricane season has been very confrontational.

Therapist: Wow, I didn't realize that was such a big issue?

Water: Yeah you might not know it but there are at least three places in the ocean that have become "water landfills" roughly the size of Texas. Those areas face some of the most waste because of the currents, they tend to pool the trash in places. 

Great Pacific Garbage Patch
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Therapist: So the issues you have been having aren't necessarily coming from your neighbors then?

Water: No not exactly. I mean frustration does get taken out on each other but that isn't the source. Excuse me for being blunt but it is the human race I am about fed up with. The lack of consideration and respect is almost unbelievable. I am not directing this right at you though I realize the issue is bigger than that.

Therapist: Well I am not so sure about that but tell me more. 

Water: Frankly, I feel abused. Here I am helping to cultivate this huge ecosystem that humans survive off. Here I am helping there be enough oxygen in the air to let humans breathe. Here I am helping to cool off the planet so that humans can live and not melt. It just feel like I am constantly helping and humans don't seem to acknowledge it.

Therapist: Why do you think humans don't realize this issue or chose not to react to the situation?

Water: Now that is a very good question. The ocean has a lot of conversation about this exact topic. I wish there was just one answer to this question but I think it is very complex and multi-faceted. 

Therapist: What do you personally think?

Water: For starters, I think most major media companies are focused on reporting on human related stories or obvious natural disasters. Since, the contamination of the ocean is something that occurs at a much slower rate then say a hurricane it is much harder to notice and report on. I also think humans are crippled with apathy and laziness and this causes them not to care. I think there are also a lot of people that do care and don't know what to do. Or there are people who care that don't have enough power or influence to bring about awareness and positive action. There are a lot of things human do as part of their businesses that they don't realize has a negative effect on the ocean. One example might be cattle farming. They don't realize that all that cow poop gets into the ground water and ends up at my front door for me to take a good wife of in the morning. 

Therapist: I think you might be being a little eccentric with all that. Have you had issues with hallucinations in the past?

Water: No! I am not hallucinating this and I find it offensive for you to think that. I also think it is ironic that humans do this to the ocean because they are essentially helping to kill off species of animals that live in the water that they eat! They are ruining their own food. 

Senka, you dead mon?
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Therapist: But how many people eat that much fish, I don't think we rely on fish all that much. But we are getting off topic. Do you feel like you have anger issues?

Water: Ya know, I think I am starting to be a little more angry these days. I think a lot of that is warranted though and if you were in my shoes I think you might snap a little too. Sometimes I feel like I am talking to a brick wall when I try to explain the current issues. 

Therapist: So you have been feeling excessively angry. It may be worth while to start you on some anti-anxiety medication. It could help with the anger. 

Water: I don't get why you humans love your pills so much. It seems like everyone is reliant on some drug or another. I want to get to the source of the problem and thats why I am trying to explaining these issues. I think they are the source of my problems.

Therapist: Honestly, it can be hard for one to know the source of their own problems. That is why I have a job and why I went to school for so many years. I am one of the people that can make those kinds of decisions about the source of problems. 

Water: Okay then what do you think?!

Therapist: I think that you have been suffering from delusional thoughts and are confused on a lot of things in your head and that causes you to become angry often. How old are you if you don't mind me asking?

Water: Older than any human.

Therapist: You could be suffering from Alzheimers. It is somewhat common in the elderly and has some of the symptoms I previously said. I will need to consult another doctor before making that decision though.

Water: Great, I can't wait to see how many meds you guys start telling me to take. 

Therapist: Well medicine is helpful and serves a valuable role in life.

Water: Riiiight. Is our time up yet?

Therapist: Yes it is, I will see you next week.

Water: See you then.

Author's Note. 

My story was inspired by The Legend of the Rice from Folklore of Laos. In the story rice is what the people eat and it is so big and nutritious that the people only need to eat one grain of rice to be satisfied. The grain would even roll down from the fields into the processing plant all by itself, which allowed the people not to have to harvest it. However, the processing plant eventually needed to be expanded and renovated. The people were under a time crunch to get the plant done before the rice came down from the fields. A lady working on the plant one day noticed the rice on its way and she asked in frustration why the rice couldn't wait until the people were done with the renovation. After that day the rice has always waited in the field for the people to harvest it and the size of the grains has grown much smaller.

I chose to do a story style that shows a conversation between a therapist and a glass of water because I thought it would be interesting and odd. I have had a few classes that have talked about ocean and water pollution. Some of the facts are astonishing and I hope that this story compels people to look for more information on the subject. 

I chose the images I did because I think they help the reader form an idea of the story and get their creative juices flowing as well as be informative. 

Bibliography. 

The Legend of the Rice, Folklore of Laos, Katherine Neville Fleeson, 1899.

Storytelling for Week 5: Sebastien

Most people don't realize how fishing originated or why it came to be that humans decided to eat fish. The origins of fishing our peculiar to say the least. This is a story of how it all came to be and what fishing is today....

A long long time ago, before there were boats or fishing poles there was a man named Sebastien. Sebastien lived on an island near was is known today as Samoa with his family and small village. They were a hunter and gather type of village, however, they did try and grow some native crops with the minimal land they had. Sebastien was known for being an excellent swimmer, which was a big deal in a village that loved traditional water sports and activities. He was said to be able to dive 100 feet down and back up in one breath. Some believe he pioneered the sport of free diving. Sebastien was also a very pivotal man in history because he was the first fisherman in the entire world.

Sebastien
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Sebastien loved diving because he loved to look at all of the wildlife in the ocean. His favorite creature of the depths was the octopus because of how it could disappear in the blink of an eye leaving only a trail of mysterious black ink. One year the village Sebastien lived in experienced a terrible infestation of beetles that killed all their plants and brought disease to almost all of the wildlife. The villagers were unable to fid healthy food and when winter came they were down to their last reserves. This was especially problematic because the winter season brought the most powerful storms  so they could not migrate to another island safely. They thought about risking it and travel by boat to an island but the trees had even been infested with the beetles and the villagers could not make proper canoes.

Sebastien saw the peril that the villagers were facing and understood it was a desperate time calling for desperate measures. One thing that the villagers did not know about Sebastien is that he could speak any sea creature. He had always viewed fish as friends but thought he might be able to use them as food for the people. After all, there were so many of them surely it wouldn't affect the marine ecosystem. He had no other choice. He spoke to the most trusted sea creature in the pacific, Cynthia, the sea turtle and mother to all. Cynthia warned him that if he started this type of hunting that generation after generation of his kind will continue to do so until there is no fish left in the sea. She also said she knew how tough times were and that she would understand if he ended up deciding to eat the fish. 

Local Villager
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Eventually Sebastien resorted to hunting and eating the fish and he made the villagers happy and healthy along with his family. The environment after the beetles left and winter died down sprang back to life and island sprang back from it dark period. However, the fishing did not stop. People had come to love eating fish and it was treated as a delicacy. Fishing spread to other islands and eventually to other countries as the population of the earth grew. 

Sebastien grew to be a very old man. He was still alive when he was 150 years old. Same say it was because of all the good nutrients he got from being in the sun all day. Others thought it was because he swam so much in the ocean. He didn't see any truth in all the rumors. However, he did see something that terrified him in his old age. When he went and swam as he would every day there were no longer hardly any fish in the ocean around him. He would be lucky if he saw one fish a week when he went and swam. When he spoke to the other creatures of the sea they were scared. They told Sebastien how hard it was to have the fish almost disappear. So many things relied on the fish for survival and now they could not. They were scared they might be the next ones hunted when the fish ran out. One turtle said he was not scared though. He told Sebastien he was not scared because he knew the ocean would be ruined if all the fish were taken from the sea.


Author's Note. The original story is about a king who decides to get his boys fishes for the pong that they have on the property. However, unexpectedly a turtle decides that he too wants to live at the pond. The boys go to see the fishes for the first time but when they see the turtle they think he is a demon. They have never seen a turtle before to know what one might look like so they tell their dad the king to get rid of the demon. One of the kings friends says that the king ought to throw him into the river where he will surely be carried out to the sea and killed. The turtle says to the king that that would be an awful and cruel thing to do to a turtle all the while knowing that could mean his real freedom. The king thinks that the turtle is telling the truth so in an effort to kill the turtle he releases the turtle to the sea.
I told the story as a way to sort of explain the origins of fishing because I often wonder how it all started. I have had a couple environmental classes at OU and it is shocking to hear how much overfishing goes on in the world. It is even more crazy to see how badly that effects the marine ecosystem. I don't think people understand how much we really on the ocean because we treat it as if it were a garbage dump.
The thing I took from the original story is that humans don't always treat sea creatures the right way or understand the sea and its creatures well. I wanted to use that in a similar way in my story and hopefully make readers interested in finding out more about the ocean's current situation.


Bibliography. How the Turtle Saved His Own Life, Jataka Tales, Ellen Babbitt, 1912.

Storytelling for Week 4: Life After Death

Two brothers Craig and Sam grew up in Pittsburgh under the same roof, however, they were very different.

Craig went to college at Pitt and studied chemistry for four years of undergraduate school and then eventually several more years to get his PhD. Craig was obsessed with acquiring knowledge. He was the guy who studied for his classes over breaks while most students were relaxing. Craig equated intelligence with success and wanted to be the smartest and most successful person he knew. He took pride it showing people how smart he was when rattling off random facts and talking over peoples' heads. Craig became so smart that he was eventually the head of the chemistry department at Monsanto. He was very good and figuring out new was to chemically engineer products to simulate/enhance natural products. Craig eventually learned that what he had been helping chemically engineer had very serious negative effects on the population and the earth. However, like so many of his coworkers he decided not think about that stuff. He was smart at chemistry and his intelligence had brought him nice things like his large house and nice clothes. These things brought purpose and happiness to his life.

Craig in his lab.
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Sam was the type of guy who struggled in school and did not feel like he was destined for higher academics. He decided to not go to college after he graduated high school and got his diploma. Sam realized what his strengths were in life and that led him to become a gym teacher at the high school he had gone to. Sam was one of those teachers all the kids loved and would hang around just to soak in his energy. Sam was great at giving kids advice and helping them through tough times. Sam realized that what he felt most passionate about was helping these kids he got to be around every day. He didn't have much money at all or "nice things" but what he did have was satisfaction at the end of the day. He had the satisfaction that that day he spent his time trying to make positive contributions to other's lives. He felt happy getting up each morning and couldn't wait to get to work and have fun with the students.

While Craig and Sam lived there lives Galaktastar watched them both. She was the creator of all things and it was her duty to judge the lives of humans so that when they died they were born into another life that was reflective of how they lived their previous one. 

Galaktastar
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Eventually Craig became old and passed away. He had a smoking habit he had picked up in college, which eventually led to lung cancer. Death was scary for Craig and he felt unsure of what was to come. Craig was born again but this time he was born as a mosquito. He was hated by all people and his life was constantly in danger of being ended by the smack of a hand. He was responsible for spreading disease because he had to live off of blood. He was sad an anxious most of the time.

Sam too eventually grew old and passed away. He died because his heart became enlarged and eventually his body did not have the strength to pump blood through it. Doctors said it wasn't an uncommon occurrence but his friends and family so it to be fitting of him. On his dead bed he was blown away by the number of people that came to visit him and tell him how he had effected their life. He was grateful for their kind words but in his mind it was them that brought him joy in life. When he was born again he was born an eagle. He spent his days flying all over the most beautiful landscapes and watching the sunset over the mountains or the ocean. There would be some sights that he witnessed that would bring him to actual tears because of their beauty. He would also cry because of the joy he felt in his heart. 

Author's Note. Reading The Sensible Enemy is what inspired me to write this story in this way. It sort of had a loose tie to the them of living a life centered on riches and knowledge versus living a life centered on others. In the original story it talks about the sons of kings deciding to go off on there own to be themselves and not follow in their fathers' footsteps. They believe they need money and gems to do the things they want to do though.
This story also reminded me of the story of the prodigal son in the bible. A lot of it is also just my own input. I think it is easy to feel pressured by your parents to do things or pursue certain careers. Sometimes I get frustrated by how much of that pressure can come from needing to attain money in order to sustain your life style. It is a weird relationship with money because I want to not feel so dependent on it for things yet at the same time I want to make money so that my parents don't have to feel further burdened by supporting me.
The images I chose for this story are supposed to help paint the picture for the reader. I chose them in an effort to assist in the reader's imagination and understanding of the story without interfering too much because I know different people will see it differently. 

Bibliography. The Sensible Enemy, The Panchatantra of Vishnu Sharma, translated byArthur Ryder, 1925.

Storytelling for Week 3: Unfortunate Events in Piccadilly Circus

Piccadilly Circus is a nice neighborhood to live in, especially for men and women living in their twenties. This part of London has a certain vibe that gives the people who live their the feeling of excitement and youthfulness.

Piccadilly Circus
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James was 26 and from Manchester originally. He moved to the big city because he got a high profile job working for Google. His flat in Piccadilly Circus was beautiful and considered to be worth a fortune. He liked living in London because, with it, came a sense of accomplishment and success. He liked to think his parents were very proud of him and that he was setting a good example for his younger siblings. James drove a luxury car that was built for pure speed. It was extremely expensive and rather poorly suited for the city but he didn't care, he had it so people would look at him. He came from a family of money and was taught about the finer things in life and believed he was of a superior breed of man.

Emma was 25 and although she was in her mid-twenties she radiated youthful joy. She was originally from Vermont and had moved to the London in order to pursue her dream of working at the Museum of Natural History. She loved history and getting lost in stories from times long ago. She felt like it was the closest thing to time travel and when she visited London her senior year in college she knew she wanted to work at her favorite museum. Her grandmother had recently passed away and left her apartment in Piccadilly Circus to her so it seemed like fate brought her to the city in a way. It took her a while to figure out the subway system and get used to the city but now she felt almost like a local. 

Museum of Natural History, London
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What James and Emma didn't realize was that they were almost perfect for each other.

Emma first saw James when she was walking home from the subway and he was in his car stopped at a red light. Her gaze was drawn to him by some subconscious force. She saw the man in the car looking at the mirror. She thought maybe he was looking to see if he had something in his teeth. Regardless of what he was doing he was beautiful. She was hoping he would notice her but instead he drove off without glancing her way. The next week she saw him again at the cafe near he apartment. She sat down after getting her coffee and noticed him sitting with a friend right in front of her. They were close enough to where she could overhear his conversation with his friend about the recent bonus he had got from redesigning something, she didn't understand all the vocabulary he was using. Once again she was hoping he would notice her but he ended up leaving without breaking his conversation with his friend. The last time Emma saw James was actually when she was walking to the market on a Sunday afternoon. James was crossing the street when he accidentally stepped into a large puddle. It was the kind of puddle where your whole foot is wet up to the top of your ankle. It happened right beside Emma and she couldn't help but smile and laugh a little. James however did not laugh. Instead he scowled at her and told her his shoes were Italian leather and that she probably couldn't imagine how expensive they were. He scoffed off in a hustle before Emma could react.

From that day forward when Emma saw James she made an effort to avoid him at all costs. In fact, they did not ever come in contact with each other again. 

If only they had known what they could have been thought Cassandra sitting on the bench in the middle of Piccadilly Circus. 

Cassandra
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Author's Note:

This was inspired by the story in Ovid's Metamorphoses called Narcissus. Being narcissistic means being absorbed with yourself. In a way a narcissist is constantly consumed with themselves and experiences life solely from their own point of view. In the story about Narcissus he is consumed with himself and his own image that he first notices in the reflection off of water in a pond. He actually falls in love with himself and longs for the image he sees in the mirror. Cassandra is a greek god that was able to see the future that I looked up in order to go along with the story. She is not part of the story Narcissus but she would be someone of the same genre of character.
For some reason I wanted to make this story seem somewhat realistic rather than purely mythological. I have noticed that I have began to write stories like that or at least think like that. A couple summers ago I went to London and saw Piccadilly Circus and the Museum of Natural history and enjoyed them very much. I also really like history and thought it would be interesting to work in a museum where you could learn about a lot of different things. I think in today's day and age it is more often that you run into people that are consumed with themselves and it makes me bummed out. It is very hard to have a conversation with them or have a  friendship, which makes me sad because they don't know what they are missing. Relationships with people are the best thing in life and I think by being narcissistic you aren't able to have a true relationship with someone because you are too distracted by your own self.
I chose the images to hopefully help set the scene for the reader and give them and idea of what it might look like. I really like the picture I chose to depict Cassandra sitting and watching the whole story unfold. I wanted her to come off as the old wise lady that was watching the scene in life she had already seen before.

Bibliography:

Narcissus, Ovid's Metamorphoses, translated by Tony Kline, 2000.

Storytelling for Week 2: Benji and Claud

Benjamin had reached his last straw. The seniors had done enough pranks on him to leave a serious dent in his self perception and confidence. If that wasn't enough, his girlfriend Ricki decided, "she needed to find out who she was on her own" and broke up with him. This seemed ironic when Benji saw her making out with another guy in the hall the next week. 

It was at this time that Benji decided to get a pet. He thought about getting a lizard but decided against it since their food could be a source of insomnia. He saw a video of a baby pig and thought it was cute but they turned out to be too expensive. When he went to the pet store and browsed through the stacked cages of artificial environments he noticed a rather odd looking animal. He sat there looking at its sad eyes and wondered if he felt dejected and lonely like him. It turned out to be a fennec fox and because he was not selling the store gave him to Benji for nearly nothing. Benji named him Claud because he thought it would be a funny name to yell. 

He was a great listener.
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Benji grew close to Claud during high school and people knew that if they saw Benji Claud was most likely to be following behind diligently like a faithful friend. They had fun together and Claud actually made Benji a happier person. As a senior Benji and Claud were voted most likely to get married, which was actually supposed to be a prank but Benji thought it was actually pretty funny. It also made Benji sad because he knew he would have to leave Claud at home when he went to college a few hours away because they didn't allow pets, especially foxes, in the dorms or surrounding apartment complexes. 

Their last night together they did all of their favorite things. They went to the river to swim and cool off before eating dinner at Red Robin as that was Claud's favorite bird to eat. Then they went and made fun of the fishes in the aquarium and played peek-a-boo with the dolphins. Then they went home to relax on the couch and watch Meerkat Manor on animal planet. Benji was about to crash when Claud sat up and looked him straight in the eye balls and said, "Please don't be alarmed, Benji I think you are a great friend and because you have treated me so well I need to tell you something". Benji sat there motionless with his jaw touching the floor. Claud said rather calmly, "I am a unique fox not because I can talk but because I have the power to grant wishes for humans". After Benji regained his composure he explained to Claud, "Since I am going to college it would be nice if I could be part of the popular crowd and to have more friends". Claud agreed he could help him with that and it came true once Benji got to college. 

Him and his friends sat front row at the football games.
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Benji and Claud started to become more distant as Benji grew up and experienced school in a different way then he had ever imagined. When Benji would come home to visit family and Claud he seemed to only do because he knew if he treated Claud well he could get him to grant him a wish. At first Benji asked for things like a girlfriend and a photographic memory. Eventually he started asking for things like the trendiest clothes, the most unique house right on campus, a vehicle that could also be used to go camping with, and to get set up with a job right out of college that paid big and required little effort. 

Claud began to see what was going on but as a pet he was not allowed to intervene, he was only allowed to support his owner to the best of his abilities. Once Benji became an adult he continued this process of exploiting Claud for his wishes and seeking out whatever new pleasure he could dream up. It wasn't until Benji began to suffer from anxiety and extreme sadness again that he realized how he had been living. He realized he had been wasting his life on things and selfish desires that were without true meaning and purpose. He felt sick to his stomach as he thought about all the wasted time. It was at the age of 45 that Benji finally realized what he valued the most in his life. The people he had the deepest relationships with and his fox Claud were what really made him happy. He told Claud what he had been thinking about and Claud smiled as tears rolled down his cheeks. It was the happiest day in Claud's life and he got to spend it with his best friend again. 

Benjamin at age 70.
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Author's Note: 

The story that inspired this story was called "The Fairy Frog". In the original story a man's parents are about to die and their dying wish is to have their son go to the market after they die and buy the first thing someone asks him to buy. They told him that if he does he will find good fortune from that purchase and that no price should stop him. He does as he is told and he ends up getting a frog. The frog is unique because it eats so much and gets so big it becomes a giant frog. The frog eats so much that the man and his wife have barely any food to eat themselves and are struggling to survive but they stay diligent. Due tot their loving nature the frog reveals to them that he is actually a fairy and because of them treating him so well they can both be granted one wish. In my story I wanted to make it a little bit more realistic and relatable for college students. I believe there is this illusion of success in our world and it has a lot to do with our world's capitalistic mindset. People believe they can feel happy and find purpose in being the most unique person or being the best at something. I think it is easy for people to be mislead and I hope this story makes people think about what success is to them and about relationships. I didn't know that you could have a pet fox, especially one as cute as that, so I made him the animal in the story and gave him human characteristics. 

Bibliography:

The Fairy Frog, Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends, Gertrude Landa, 1919.

Week 1 Storytelling: Lunch with Professor Snodgrass

A DILLER, a dollar,

A ten o'clock scholar,

What makes you come so soon?

You used to come at ten o'clock,

But now you come at noon.

(Traditional Nursery Rhyme)

***

There once was a famous teacher called Professor Snodgrass. One of the rather random things he was famous for was always eating lunch at noon. No matter what he was doing he always made time for lunch at noon and people admired his dedication to make time for himself. One of his fellow scholars, Professor Twindleness, was conducting an experiment and asked Professor Snodgrass for his help since he was such a profound academic. Professor Snodgrass agreed on meeting once a week at 10pm and Professor Twindleness was quite excited. Also, Professor Twindleness was to pay Professor Snodgrass with one dill pickle and one dollar each visit. 

A DILLER, a dollar,

A ten o'clock scholar.

***

Professor Twindleness was grateful to meet at 10pm because after school each day he helped teach a swing dance class. His daughter was in the class so it was a great time for them to spend quality time. After 6 months of meeting with Professor Snodgrass the experiment was still not working right and both professors were extremely frustrated. Professor Twindleness was on the verge of giving up when his daughter asked if he would teach another dance class at 10pm for her and some other friends. He decided to take on teaching the class and give up on his experiment. He thought, “at least this way I can spend some more time with my daughter.”

Professor Twindleness

The weeks went by and Professor Twindleness thought often about his experiment and whether or not it was the right decision to give up. In his soul something felt off and it proved to be quite a distraction in his life. He didn’t know if he even had time to work on the experiment if he wanted to because his only break during the day was from noon to 1pm.



Eventually, the pit in Professor Twindleness’ gut grew wide and deep enough that he could ignore it no longer. He stormed outside at noon where Professor Snodgrass was eating lunch and exclaimed, “Sir, I want to do this experiment the right way and I need your help and the only time I can do it is right now, please, help me, this could change the future!” Professor Snodgrass was shocked and these words took some time to sink in and awaken his mind from its noon lunch haze. He considered his options and after a very pregnant pause said, “I will help you, but I am bringing my sandwich with me.”

Professor Snodgrass' lunch spot

As fate would have it one of the key components to the experiment’s eventual success was sunlight. It is easy to see how this factor was overlooked when both professors had only been able meet in the evenings. However, it is much harder to tell if this was a product of mere coincidence or not.

***

Author's Note.  After reading the original nursery rhyme I had no clue what the author might actually be talking about. I did a little research that suggested the phrase "A diller, A dollar" meant someone that dilly dallies around. The nursery rhyme might be a lesson on being punctual. Regardless, I thought something more abstract like this nursery rhyme might be a fun challenge and give me more creative freedom. Throughout the story I can see my own interests influence the story I created. I would like to learn how to swing dance, I enjoy eating pickles and the movie Little Rascals, I am a science major so I have done my fair share of experiments, and I think discussions on coincidence vs. fate are interesting and meaningful. I think I chose the characters I did probably because of the environment I find myself in here at college. I tried to create an underlying moral in the story. Also, I wanted to have the reader wonder whether this type of scenario could have happened due to chance or due to some preconceived plan or even karma. I will leave it up to the reader to decide on the answer to that question and what the moral of the story might be. 

Bibliography.  This story is based on the nursery rhyme "A Diller, A Dollar" in The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang (1897).