Storytelling Week 13: Marko the Miser

Author's Note: The Miser is about a man, Marko the Rich, who will go to great lengths to not pay back his copek. This story is about why he is so cheap, and how that made him rich. 

~~~

There was once a very poor man named Marko. Marko had never had much. He was born into to a poor family which had perpetuated itself due to the lack of social mobility, support programs and wealth inequality. However, Marko was a very hard worker and one day desired to be at the top of the social ladder. Marko saved everything he had, and did not spend any money unnecessarily in case one day an opportunity for investment presented itself. 

One day, an opportunity did present itself, and Marko jumped at it. A man came up to him, offering him incredible wealth if he could complete this one task for him. The man wanted Marko to safely deliver a package in a town nearby. The road to that town was a favorite place for bandits, and the strange man and Marko both knew this. However, the potential wealth was enough to motivate Marko to attempt to deliver the package. 

So the next day, Marko awoke after a long nights rest, eager to make the journey. He got the package, it was small and very heavy, and set out down the road on foot. Time passed rather uneventfully, as Marko did not run into anyone. About halfway through his journey his luck ran out. A man in all black jumped out from behind a rock with a sword in hand. The man demanded that Marko drop the package and all other of his belongings. Marko had worked too hard to lose like this. In one swift move, Marko threw the package at the man, hitting him in the head and knocking him unconscious. Marko grabbed the sword and package, and began to run to the next town. He made it safely there since he was armed, and delivered the package. 

On the way back he took a different road to make sue that he did not run into the same bandit. Since he was now carrying a sword, bandits did not attempt to rob him as there would be easier prey coming along the road later. Marko made it home with no problems, and delivered the news to the strange man. The man seemed surprised that he had made it, however did give him the large reward he had promised. Marko then used his economic and financial intuition to invest the money and move his way up the social ladder to become Marko the Rich. 

What I imagine Marko to look like

Source: Wikimedia

Bibliography: This story is based off of The Miser from Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

Storytelling Week 12

Author's Note: This story I have written is based on the fable below. The fable below just does not elaborate enough on such a promising story. 

The Faithful House-dog

A Man that's gen'rous all at once

May dupe a novice or a dunce;

But to no purpose are the snares

He for the knowing ones prepares.

When late at night a felon tried

To bribe a Dog with food, he cried,

"What ho! Do you attempt to stop

The mouth of him that guards the shop?

You're mightily mistaken, sir,

For this strange kindness is a spur

To make me double all my din,

Lest such a scoundrel should come in."

~~~

Spudz and his owner Ryan had the best relationship. They did everything together, spending every moment they could together. Spudz absolutely adored Ryan, and would do anything for him. So whenever Ryan asked that Spudz do a favor for him, it was without hesitation that Spudz said, "Yes". Spudz could also talk, which made communicating this need that Ryan had to him much easier. Ryan then explained that he had stolen a large sum of money from someone very wealthy, and that people would be coming after him very soon. Ryan needed Spudz to help him guard the money whenever he wasn't home. Spudz knew that theft was wrong, but his loyalty overrode his morals, so he happily agreed.



Ryan then led Spudz to a small shack on the back of their property where he had hidden the money. A large wall surrounded the shack, and the wall had a gate. Ryan instructed Spudz to stand by the gate, and not allow anyone through until he returned. Apparently Ryan had another heist to do. Ryan also used the motivation of higher quality dog food to motivate Spudz, like he needed more motivation.



Spudz had been by the gate, standing at alert for several hours when the sun began to set. As it did, naturally, Spudz began to be able to have trouble seeing far. He also began to grow very tired, and very hungry. However, his determination for guarding the cash overrode these feelings of fatigue. Suddenly, he began to hear some footsteps. They were very far away, however drawing much closer. Spudz perked up, and began to prepare himself for either Ryan, or a confrontation. Since the shack was so far out of the way, this was the only reason that anyone would be approaching.



Suddenly a figure emerged into his field of vision. It, in fact, was not Ryan but rather some grungy looking man. The man approached the shack quickly, seemingly knowing what was in it. Spudz began to yell at the man, warning him that he should turn away or Spudz would be forced to attack. The man stopped, staring at Spudz. He then reached into his backpack and pulled out the most delicious looking turkey leg that Spudz had ever seen. "How could he have known that turkey legs are my weakness??", Spudz thought to himself. The man began to brandish the turkey leg, holding it out in front of him as protection and deterrent from being attacked. This tactic was working, because Spudz was incredibly conflicted. He was starving. And turkey legs were his favorite. He really, really wanted that turkey leg. He had to make a decision because the man was getting close.



Suddenly, in one quick move, Spudz jumped towards the man, biting his forearm that was holding the turkey leg. The man yelled in shock and pain, dropping the turkey leg, and turning and running. Spudz chased him for a bit, then turned back to the shack. He knew the man would not bother him again anytime soon, so he returned to the shack to his prize. The turkey leg was awaiting him upon his return. It was one of the most satisfying meals that Spudz had ever eaten, because of how delicious the turkey leg was, and he knew that he had done his job and Ryan would be proud upon his return. 

 

Dog that is ride or die like the dog in the story

Source: Wikimedia

Bibliography: This story is based off of a story from Aesop's Fables by Sir Roger L'Estrange, written in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries and. 

Storytelling Week 11: Punch Punches Judy

Author's Note: This story is based off of the following nursery rhyme. 

PUNCH and Judy

Fought for a pie;

Punch gave Judy

A sad blow on the eye.

~~~

Punch and Judy were the best of friends. They did everything together. Since they were the same age, they had all of the same classes. They studied together, and got along famously. Their families even lived by one another, so they spent their time away from school together. They would go on adventures together all of the time, and hung out at each others houses all of the time. Because of this, both of their parents were fond of the other child, and treated them as their own.

After one particularly exhausting adventure, Punch and Judy were nearly starved. They felt they could hardly make it back to their houses for they were so hungry. On their way back, the most delicious smell reached their nose. It smelled of apples, and baked sweet bread. "Surely they could not be so lucky, surely it could not be an apple pie", they thought to themselves. For each knew how much the other loved apple pie. It was their absolute favorite, the only food they would quarrel over. Apple pie was the only thing that caused strife in their relationship, and the only thing that could make them not get along. As much as they wanted one of their mothers to be making apple pie, they also knew of the impending conflict if their mother was. It always was like this, for their uncontrollable love for apple pie made them violent. 

As they topped the nearest hill, they saw it. There it was sitting on Judy's mothers windowsill, the most beautiful apple pie they had ever seen, still steaming from being pulled out of the oven. They both stared in awe. As the surprise began to wear off, they both began to think about how much they wanted the apple pie entirely for themselves. They slowly looked at each other, and then began to fight, pulling hair, biting each other, rolling all over the ground. If Punch and Judy's parents only knew what their apple pie did to their children they would surely never make it. For hours it seemed like they rolled around on the hill, both giving the fight their all, for they each wanted the pie so badly. After some time, they finally got some separation, and Punch landed quite the blow on Judy's eye. 

After landing the essential finishing blow, he stood up and looked at Judy. She was just laying on the ground, sobbing, but Punch did not care. He quickly turned and ran back to the pie, his reward for punching Judy. As he began to eat the entire pie in one sitting, letting the apple and sweet baked crust dribble down his face, he felt no remorse for Judy. The pie was so good that it made him savage, losing all sympathy and feelings that separate man from beast. 

What a punch looks like coming at you

Source: Wikimedia

Bibliography: This story is based off of a poem out of The Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang which can be found here. 

Storytelling Week 9: The Gars Revenge

Author's Note: This story is a continuation of Grandmother River's Trick, where the river causes it's banks to overflow, trapping the gars that were eating all of the fish that she liked in a pool that was not connected to the river. I am going to write about how the gars get their revenge. 

~~~

Finally! It was done. Grandmother River had never felt better. She had saved all of the small fish that she liked, and gotten rid of the nasty gars that had been feeding on them. She and all of the little fish rejoiced! Finally they could relax.

Little did the small fish and  realize, the gars were plotting their revenge, for they were not far away. The pool they were trapped in was just over a bank from the river, which they felt surely they could get back from. They were debating how to get back. Some suggested that they should attempt leaping over, however if they did not make it, this would surely spell death for them, for they would be stuck out of the water. Some others suggested that they try to burrow their way straight through, but this was a just a dumb idea. Finally, a viable suggestion came up. It was spring, surely the spring rains would cause their little pool to flood, allowing them just to swim back into the river. The gars all agreed that this was the most sensible solution. They just hoped that they would not starve before this rain came. 

After several days of waiting, it finally began to rain. The gars rejoiced! Surely this rain would give them their freedom back. Meanwhile, Grandmother River began to worry, for she too had thought about this. If it rained, and caused the pool to flood, there was nothing she could to keep the gars out. She worried, and told all of the small fish to hide. They began to panic, for they too realized what could happen if it began to rain heavily. 

The rain drummed on for several hours, and the gars pool had nearly tripled in size. This would surely be enough to make it back. The gars began to peek over the edge of their pool, and they could see that they were nearly up the bank. They just needed a little more rain! Shortly after this, the rain stopped. The gars were left with a choice. Jump over the bank and risk death, or attempt to wait for more rain and risk starvation. The gars opted to jump, and after lining up at the back of the pool, they got to full speed and easily leapt over the bank, landing safely in the river. Grandmother River began to weep, for she knew that there was nothing she could do to save the little fish that she liked so much. The gars feasted that day, and order was returned to the river. 

Gars feasting

Source: UnTextbook

Bibliography: This story is a continuation of a story written by Tejas Indians, published in the book When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and other Indian Legends. 

Week 6 Storytelling: The Stones and the Ring

Author's Note: This story is a continuation of the story titled Three Brother's of Fortune, which is about three brothers who all are gifted items that have supernatural powers. Suan, the brother who eventually ends up with a wife when the other brothers do not, has two stones which will reunite what is of similar kind. Suan uses this to restore his wife together again, and will use them in the story that follows.

~~~

After Suan and his wife had been happy together for many years, Suan still had the stones that he had used to restore life to his wife. Their life had been hard since bringing his wife back to life, for they were very poor. Suan worked very hard each day, as did his wife to provide for themselves, but they were both struggling to makes ends meet. The only hope that Suan had was his stones. If he could find a way to profit off of their usefulness, surely he and his wife would be happy for he was sure that the potential for a large profit margin was there. He had hung onto them, but they really had not been much use. He had used them on occasion, for very minor things such as fixing broken pots, and repairing other things around the house. But, it seemed that their defining moment had already happened. 

Suan spent many years thinking on this, pondering on what to do with them, even considering selling them. He could make a lot of money off of them, money that he could use to buy him and his wife a new house or more livestock. But just as he got to seriously considering this, the opportunity to use them again presented itself! The head of his village had been recently married to a gorgeous woman, and had given her a beautiful ring. However, the ring had already been broken! The stone had been separated from the ring, and no jeweler within one hundred kilometers had been successful in repairing it. Suan saw this as an opportunity to both earn favor with the head of the village, and prove the usefulness of his stones!

So Suan brought his stones to the head of the village, and offered his services. The head of the village was very suspicious at first, but then eventually submitted for there was nothing to lose. To his amazement, Suan fixed the ring right in front of him! The head of the village was amazed, and began to send out letters, telling all the surrounding villages about these wondrous stones and their powers. 

Suan soon had a huge clientele, who would bring him items each week to have him repair them. He earned a living for himself and his wife through this, and again the stones secured his livelihood. He and his wife were both happy and wealthy, with their future secured. 

Stones

Source: Pixabay

Bibliography: This story is based on The Three Brother's of Fortune out of Filipino Tales written by Dean Fansler, published in 1921.

Storytelling Week 4: The not so Lean Cat

Author's Note: In Bidpai's story, the lean cat meets the fat cat, who hears his story about how he got so fat. The fat cat has been stealing scraps from the king’s table. The lean cat develops a huge interest in this, and seeks out food from the king’s table. This fable goes into how the lean cat's master did not want the lean cat to go to the kings palace, for surely the lean cat would get caught. And the king had just issued a decree that if he caught a cat stealing food from his table that he would make sure that the cat got hung.

In the original story, he gets caught stealing food from the king's table. I thought this was no fun, and am going to rewrite the ending of the story on how the lean cat actually got away. I wanted to try to create a story where the cat got rewarded by his master for bring food home, and give a happy ending. This is the original image from Bidpai's story that I have included, because I thought it did a really good job of helping me imagine what the lean cat would look like.

~~~

As the fat cat turned away, the lean cat was not to be discouraged. He could smell the food in front of him, more food than he had ever seen in his life. He had heard the king's decree, that any cat caught stealing food from his table would be hung. But, desperation prevailed, and the lean cat could not turn away from such delicious smells. 

As he approached the dining hall, he remained in the shadows. He knew how risky this was, and wanted to make sure that he would not get caught. He also wanted to make sure he got the most food possible. As he scanned the table, trying to decide what he wanted, he spied an entire roasted chicken. He knew it was ambitious, to escape with an entire chicken, but once he had laid his eyes on it, he could not turn away. That could feed him and his master for a week! He decided that that is what he would try to take. 

The cat watched the servants carefully, trying to monitor their movements, and decide when the best time to strike would be. The king had not yet been seated, but that would be soon so the cat knew his time was running out. As soon as the servant in front of him exited the room, the cat bounced on top of the table. He had it! The chicken was in his mouth. As he was about to jump down, he heard shouting behind him. He had been seen! Quickly, motivated by the fear of death, he jumped down and scurried away to where the servants could not find him. 

The Lean Cat

Source: UnTextbook

He had done it! He had the chicken and was outside of the gates. As he made his way home, he could not stop thinking about how excited his master would be when he delivered an entire chicken to her. Upon arriving at his doorstep, he bounded inside to see his masters face light up. "Wonderful" she exclaimed, both excited for the food and that her cat had returned to her, for she thought that surely her cat would be killed. 

After this successful run, the lean cat was no longer the lean cat, he joined the other cats and became quite fat. He was an expert at stealing food from the masters table, and did it on a regular basis. His master was more than taken care of, and both had never been happier. 

Bibliography: This story is based on Bidpai's story The Lean Cat and the Fat Cat, written by Bidpai and published by Maude Barrows in 1908. Link

Storytelling for Week 3: The Failed Heist

Authors Note: In Apuleius's story, the scene opens up to Lucius, who is a man turned into a donkey, in a bandit camp with a girl who got taken hostage by bandits from the night before. His story gives no details on how this came about. The bandits are all sad about their fallen friends, and lamenting about how the heist did not work out. So I felt like this gave me enough details to write a background story on how the heist happened. I knew from the few details in the story what I needed to include, and also what I needed to elaborate on. While I understand why Apuleius did not add this in his original fable, I thought that it would be fun to write and a good addition.

I chose the image because it had the donkey in it, who's perspective I wrote the story from. I thought it was a good image that helped to personify the donkey, and give the reader something to imagine as they read my story. In this image, he looks not willing to eat and work with the person, which is kind of how he is made out to be by the author.

~~~

As soon as the sun set, the bandits began to break camp and pack up their things. Lucius, the donkey, could feel the excitement in the air, for they knew that the potential for a huge payout was in front of them. He had seen them scouting the area for weeks, trying to find where the owners hide their valuables, and planning how the best way to approach would be. 

As they began to ride out, their large group of about twenty men grew silent, for stealth was absolutely necessary. Lucius was also a vital part, because they were going to use him to carry out the valuables. He really would've rather stayed at the camp, but he had no choice. As they approached the estate, they readied their weapons. They got to the back door of the house, and forced their way in. Lucius was wearing saddle bags on his back, so they brought him inside too. A few of the robbers immediately went upstairs to make sure that the guards were taken care of. The others began filling my saddle bags. 

Soon, a loud commotion from upstairs was heard. There was lots of yelling and then several guards came down. The robbers who had gone upstairs apparently had not done their job. Most of the robbers around Lucius immediately began to panic and drew their weapons. They engaged in battle with the guards while a few others began to explore other parts of the house in search of more loot. 

Screaming was soon heard as the robbers returned, one of them carrying a girl. "She tried to club me!" the robber yelled. Apparently she had been hiding and tried to strike the robber in order to defend her parents estate. He grabbed her because he could not bring himself to kill this girl. He threw her on the back of Lucius, in the process knocking off the saddle bags, and hit Lucius on the behind to make him move while more guards amassed in front of him. Soon he turned and ran, with a few others that survived the attack. The spoils had all be lost. It was an utter failure, all they had to show for the raid was a single girl. But, there was hope, for she had rich parents who would surely pay a ransom for her. 

Donkey from Apuleius's story

Source: UnTextbook

Bibliography: This story is based on Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche written by written by Apuleius and translated by Tony Kline. Link

Storytelling Week 2: A Very Brave Mouse

A Very Brave Mouse

Against Cat sat a Council of Mice.

Every Mouse came out prompt with advice,

And a bell on Cat's throat

Would have met a round vote,

Had the bell-hanger not been so nice.

~~~~

As the council concluded, suddenly a very small voice rose up from the back.

"I'll get the cat to wear the bell, for the cat and I are friends" said this small mouse "See, the cat doesn't eat me because I am so small, my meat is not even worth it."

The whole council stared in shock. The small mouse began to explain how he and the cat were actually friends, and regularly conversed. The council debated about how they could let such a small mouse take such a big responsibility. The debate went on for some time, but then the council decided that he was their best, and really only, option to getting the cat to wear the bell. So, after deciding this, they entrusted the bell to him. The mouse was excited to have an opportunity to prove himself. 

Picture from the fable "Belling the Cat"

Source: Wikipedia

After receiving the bell, the mouse had to think of a way to convince the cat to wear the bell. He knew that the cat would not wear it if it knew the mouse's original intentions, to make sure that all of the mice could hear the cat coming. So he had to think of a different way to reason with the cat, to convince the cat that there was another motive.

The mouse decided the best way to get the cat to wear the bell is if he could convince the cat that it was the cat was special, and such a good friend, that he had found this bell and thought the cat would love it. He would give it as a present to the cat, which he was sure the cat would love. 

Having the bell in his hand, he began to approach the cat like he always did. Cautiously, but not too worried because he would talk to the cat on a regular basis. The cat immediately noticed him approaching, and greeted him with excitement. As they conversed, the mouse explained how he had found the bell, and thought it was perfect for the cat.

At first, the cat was skeptical, but the longer the conversation went on, the more he imagined how pretty he would look with the bell. Eventually, the cat decided that he wanted the bell, and the mouse fixed it around his neck. Now, the cat could be heard walking around at all times day or night, and through this the little mouse had saved the lives of many mice. 

Bibliography: This story is based on a "Belling the Cat" from The Aesop for Children, written by Aesop, published in 2006. Link 

Week 1 Storytelling: Sour Fox

The Generally Sour Fox

There was once a fox who tried very hard to get some grapes that were out of his reach. Upon realizing that he could not have them, he ultimately decided that they were sour, and that he did not want them anyway. The moral of the story is " there are many who pretend to despise and belittle that which is beyond their reach." The story below is a continuation of his day.

~~~

Shortly after giving up on the grapes that he could not reach, the fox began to walk home to return to his den. He was excited to return home because he had a den that he was very proud of, one that he had spent much time on. Foxes take pride in their dens, as it is the only thing they can call truly theirs.

A fox in his den. Source: Flickr

So because of this, he had worked hard, and dug his den very deep. He did this on purpose, because he wanted to have a den deeper than any other fox. This was his den, and it was better than all of the others.

Upon returning home he noticed a mound of fresh dirt close to his home. This was odd, since he did not have any foxes close to him. He soon found that he had a new neighbor, with a den twice as deep as his own! The mound of dirt outside of the den was incredible, it was obvious that this new neighbor had put a lot of work and took a lot of pride in his new den. 

"This is impossible, how could another do this" the fox thought to himself “I will dig my den even deeper, deeper than my neighbor!”

As he began to dig deeper and deeper, he ran into a rock. This rock hindered him from being able to dig his den any deeper. This rock kept him from being able to make his den deeper than his neighbors, and this made the fox sour. He quickly gave up, and went to his neighbors to make sure that they realized that having a deep den was not important, and that he did not want one anyway, for if he wanted a deep den, he would have one.
 

Bibliography: This story is inspired by the fable "The Fox and the Grapes" written by Aesop in the book The Aesop for Children, published in 2006. Link