Storytelling Week 14: Corpse Brothers

(Soldier)

One day a soldier is walking to his pickup location after the war is over. He finally can go home! It is a cold night and he is walking by himself when he suddenly hears something. It sounds like a voice. 

"Ohhhhhh naaaaaoooooo!!!!!," the voice yells. 

The soldier looks around, but sees nothing. Suddenly, he hears footsteps behind him. Before the soldier can turn around he is knocked to the ground. He sees it is a corpse that has come to life that knocked him down.  The corpse stick out its long tongue as it gets closer to the soldier. It keeps getting closer and the soldier has to make a move. He kicks the corpse in its leg causing it to fall. Boom! The soldier gets knocked down again by another corpse. 

This new corpse says, "Brother are you okay?" 

His brother responds, "Yes, just trying to catch us some supper."

They both look at the soldier and smile. 

The soldier looks at them and says, "Bring it."

The corpses run at the soldier, but he clotheslines both of them. They get up ready for more. They both jump at the soldier and tackle him to the ground. The soldier punches one in the face and kicks the other in the stomach. He makes it to his feet and both corpses let out a shriek that would rattle the gates of hell. 

The soldier gets a bewildered look on his face. Suddenly, all of the graves start shaking. One by one, corpses rise from each grave. The two corpses look at the soldier with a smile. The soldier now has a limp due to the beating he took. He turns around and makes a dead sprint for his camp he just came from. He's got a mile jog to out run the corpses. 

The soldier is running and looks behind him to pure terror with hundreds of corpses chasing him. 

The soldier yells to his camp, "Help!!!!! Help!!!!!" 

Nothing happens from his yelling. He is about one hundred yards aways. The soldier falls down. The corpses are feet from him. The soldier reverts to the fetal position. 

Instantly, corpses are getting shot down. 

The soldiers lieutenant yells, "Come on run! We have cover fire! Men fire at will!"

The soldier gets up and runs crying and screaming. Corpses inches from grabbing him, but getting shot down. 

The soldier yells, "Nooooo!!!!" 

He keeps dodging bullets and explosions. 

The corpses keep falling like domino's. The soldier makes it to camp  and jumps over the wire fence with a corpse still behind him. The corpse jumps after him, but the lieutenant shoots it in mid-air with a shot gun blowing it back to hell. The soldier made it and will wait to leave with his whole company to head home.   

Author's Note: I chose the third person narration style because its just easier for me truthfully. It feels more natural for me to write that way. My main goal for this story was to keep the happy ending with the soldier ending up alive, but make it much more difficult and dramatic for him to escape. 

In the original story,The Two Corpses, a soldier walks through a cemetery and gets chased into a church by a corpse. The corpse that chased him runs into another corpse in the church and they end up in a fight killing each other. Thus, the soldier escapes free easy. So, as stated above, I changed everything after the soldier's first confrontation with a corpse.  

Bibliography:The Two Corpses, Russian Fairy Tales, W. R. S. Ralston, (1887)

Storytelling For Week 12: The Tortoise and the Two Ducks

(15th Century Illustration)

One day a tortoise was walking and saw her two duck friends. They all walk up to say hello and see how each other are doing. The tortoise tells the ducks she doesn't want to have to walk to the market and might be late for her family dinner tonight. The ducks get an idea. They tell the tortoise that they can help. The offer to fly the tortoise. She responds to both ducks in laughter and looks at them like they are crazy. The ducks go and find a stick to show the tortoise what they mean. The tortoise tells them that she doesn't fetch like a dog. They just tell her to bite onto the stick and as she does so she slowly lifts of the ground.

The tortoise can't believe it. She looks down and all three start cheering, as much as possible, for what they accomplished. The ducks tell the tortoise she'll be back in plenty of time. Suddenly, something zooms past them. They look back, but se nothing. They look to their other side and see a group of hawks flying in attack mode. The ducks yell to hold on. The hawks fly by left and right causing the ducks to loose grip on the stick. 

The tortoise can't hold on any longer and falls screaming. She falls down, down, down. The ducks no longer see the tortoise and fear the worst. Suddenly, they hear a yell to the hawks telling them to go away. It's the tortoise riding a hawk fighting back! The tortoise gets in front of the ducks to help protect them on her hawk. Three hawks fly straight toward them. The tortoise drops down at last second and the three hawks are close lined by the stick. The hawks get angrier now and come full force. 

The ducks and tortoise decide to head back home because it is too dangerous. The hawks file in one after another after them. The chase goes on closer to the ground weaving through trees and bushes. The hawks no longer see the ducks or tortoise. Suddenly, the ducks family shows up out of nowhere and starts an all out attack. The hawks, although larger, cannot handle their numbers and are forced to leave. Everyone laughs in celebration and the tortoise jokingly tells the ducks she'll just walk next time. The ducks laugh back and invite the tortoise over for dinner since she wasn't able to make a trip to gather food. The tortoise agrees and enjoys a feast as well as the spoils of victory. 

Author's Note: The Tortoise and the Two Ducks I wrote in third person narrative form because it allowed me to focus on the action in this story more than I normally wanted to. That was the man goal for this story was to add more action to change the fate of the tortoise that originally dies from riding the stick with the ducks. The only change is the reasoning the tortoise falls. Originally it is because of the tortoise cheering to a crowd beneath her while she loses grip on the stick in her mouth. Everything up to the tortoise gripping the stick is true and the rest I changed. 

Bibliography:The Tortoise and the Two Ducks, The Fables of La Fontaine, Elizur Wright, (1882) 

Storytelling Week 12: Brotherly Love

(Sir Bors Illustration)

Sir Bors is a man that has lived his life completely pure and is on his way to recieve the holy graal. Bors runs into a man on the way though that is even more upright with righteousness than himself. The good man tells Sir Bors that in order for him to receive the holy graal he must confess his sins. Sir Bors does this and allows the good man to cloak him with some linen to remind him to stay pure. Sir Bors gets back on track and heads fir the holy graal. 

As Sir Bors travels, he runs in to his brother John by chance in a town square. Bors asks why John is not at home watching over the family. John tells Bors that he left to come help him on his journey to the holy graal. Bros breaks out in anger. He yells at him calling him a fool leaving the family with no protection when the enemy army katars lurks through the land without any warning. John tries to explain himself, but their voiced exchanges become even more heated. Bors commands John goes back home now. John refuses the command. 

John and Bors look at each other and run with all their might towards the other. They both throw their bodies in the air and collide. They fall to the ground and start hitting back and forth. Bors breaks John's nose. John gives Bors a black eye. Suddenly, an arrow lands at their feet in the ground. They both look up to see they are surrounded by hooded warriors. John and Sir Bors take refuge behind their shields. Once the warriors were out of arrows, the brothers looked at each other with a smile thinking the same thing, "our turn." The brothers charge and fight for their lives. Back to back they fight with enemies closing in on all sides. John rolls over Bors back to protect his weak side. Bors yells for John to duck as he throws a dagger at an oncoming attacker. There are three men left and both brothers throw their swords at two killing them. Sir Bors grabs his bow and with careful aim waits patiently for his shot to clear of the fleeing attacker. Its clear and he releases a perfect shot. The brother look on the cloak on one warrior to see why they attacked. They had papers that are Latin, but read "Graal Elite." The brothers continue on their journey. 

Author's Note: I chose third person narration as the storytelling style because it gives this parable a more epic feel. My main goal for this story was to change the way Sir Bors and his brother get out of fighting one another while keeping Sir Bors pure. 

In the original story, The Adventure if Sir Bors, Sir Bors (pure  in heart man) meets a good man that has him confess his sins so he can receive the holy graal. Sir Bors in his travels has his purity tested while getting into a fight with his brother. When Sir Bors was about to kill his brother without good reason, both brother's shields burn  falling to the ground. Both become unconscious and wake up with no memory of the event. Sir Bors then continues on his travels. 

The main difference my story had was just bringing the brothers together in my story through protecting one another (God's Plan). 

Bibliography:The Adventure if Sir Bors, King Arthur: The Tales of the Round Table, Andrew Lang (1902)

Storytelling Week 11: Not Your Typical Homecoming

(illustration from Baby's Book of Fable's)

One day a man showed up to his house and a dog was going through his trash outside. The dog stopped and looked up when he saw the man standing there. The dog started growling and the man walked by the animal carefully to get in his house. 

The man thinking the dog is hungry going through the trash, fixes him some food. The man starts bringing the food outside and the dog sees him. The man and dog stare at each other, but the man keeps stepping forward. The dog starts barking at him. The man leaves the bowl of food and goes inside. 

The man watches from the inside and watches the dog eat. He wonders what someone must have done to him to make the dog react to people that way. The man decided for safety he should stay inside a while. 

The man is sipping coffee later and he hears the dog barking again. He walks to the door to see what the commotion is. A man is standing out there trying to get control of the dog. The dog evades him as the stranger starts yelling mean thing to the dog. Finally, the man from inside goes on his lawn and asks the stranger what he's doing. The stranger tells the man to mind his own business. 

The man looks at the stranger and sees him holding a stick. He starts poking at the dog to get him to move. The dog starts barking again. The man finally asks the stranger to leave. The stranger tells him to get lost. The stranger get more aggressive and hits the dog. The man runs at him and tackles him to the ground. 

They roll on the ground left and right. The dog continues to bark. People around the neighborhood hear the noises and start coming to the man's front lawn where the fight is happening. Men start pulling the stranger off the man. They create a barrier between the dig and the man. 

The man turns around and finds the dog standing very close to him. The dog looks at him with a snarl. A moment of silence passes as they both look at each other. The dog jumps and starts licking the man all over his face. The man takes the dog inside. 

Author's Note: In The Faithful House-Dog, I chose to change it with use of third person narration because it gave me multiple options. I could get into conversation if I wanted, or I could picture it like a movie and have just narration with no dialogue. The goal was to make a feel good ending for dog lovers. 

This was a fable, so the story was not too long. All that happened in the original story, is that a dog kept an intruder out of his house. 

In my story, I wanted to flip roles and have the dog outside the house and be saved by the homeowner.The only thing about the original story that stayed true in mine, is that its about the concept of a dog trusting a man. 

Bibliography:The Faithful House-Dog, The Fables of Phaedrus, Christopher Smart, (1887)

Week 9 Storytelling: A Possum Tail

(possum)

One day a possum named John walks through town to show off his glorious tale. All of the animals stand and stare when the possum walked by. There was one possum though that did not like John very much. This possum's name was Tuck who happens to be John's brother. Tuck never had a full glorious full haired tail like John. John always gets the girls and all the attention. Tuck is not the most popular and feels he isn't noticed. So, Tuck comes up with a plan to take his jealousy out on John. 

Tuck told John to come over for dinner one night and to bring food. So, a week passes and the day has finally come for Tuck's plan to unfold. John shows up to Tuck's house and knocks on the door. Tuck has put a flammable grease on the mat outside his door. Tuck's goal is to have John's tail glide over the mat. John walks in, tail dragging in on the mat, and sits by the fire that Tuck has made that evening. They both share in conversation enjoying the evening. Tuck has placed John where his tail is directly in front of the fire. Tuck waits any moment now for John's tail to catch fire. 

All of a sudden, John smells something. Tuck sees smoke rising from behind him. John starts screaming realizing that his tail is on fire. Tuck acts like he is trying to help put out the fire, but does nothing. John runs outside rolling on the ground to put the fire out. Finally, after three minutes of rolling the fire and pain John was experiencing are over. John looks at his tail and starts to cry. Tuck talks to him letting him know everything will be okay (as he smiles on the inside).  Tuck takes John home to rest. 

Tuck finally got his brother back and now he will get all the attention. Tuck strolls into town one day and see John and his naked bare tail. Tuck is shocked though and fins he is surrounded by girls still that sympathize for the guy whose tale got burnt. Tuck then picks up the newspaper that day and sees a story about John surviving catching on fire. Tuck's plan did the opposite of what he hoped. Instead of getting his brother less attention, he managed to give him even more attention by setting his tail on fire. Tuck goes home and is defeated. John called to him though. John told him to come hang with he and the other girls. Tuck couldn't believe it. Both possum's became even better friends through this situation. 

Author's Note: I chose the third person narration style for this story because it helped me simplify my writing more. It didn't make things too complicated. My main goal for the story was to have the antagonist fail and for their to be a happy ending. 

Why the Possum's tail is Bare originally is a story about a possum that gets his tail burned because a friend doesn't like the main possum. The story ends after the possum's tail gets its hair torn off by a rat and explains that's why the possum's tail is bare to this day.

In my story, I made the animal that didn't like the main possum John another possum Tuck who is his brother. Instead of ripping hair off of his tail, Tuck burned John's tail. The last change is that John ends up getting more attention and Tuck's plan is foiled. John calls Tuck over to him though so he can hang with him. They both start to get to know each other better and become even closer family. 

Bibliography: Why the Possum's tail is Bare, Myths of the Cherokee, James Mooney, (1900)

Storytelling Week 7: The Cost of Love

(macaque)

One day a Prince walks to the market to get fruit for the feast his father would be having later. He gets apples, bread, meat, and grapes. On his way back he ran into someone. He sees a girl and is completely entranced by her beauty. He approaches her with confidence. 

The Prince says, "Excuse me, what is your name?"

The girl says, "Natalie."

The Prince replies, "Oh what a lovely name."

Natalie blushes. She hopes he will ask her to do something sometime.

The Prince goes on, "How would you like to have dinner with me?"

Natalie responds, "When?"

The Prince continues, "Actually, there is a banquet tonight. Would you like to join me?"

Natalie says, "Yes, I will see you tonight Prince."

Both part ways. There is an issue though. Natalie is the daughter of the King's arch rival, the Witch. The King is the Prince's father.

Natalie tells her mother, the witch, she is going on a date. The Witch is curious about this man she is seeing, so she spies on Natalie the whole night.

The Prince and Natalie meet up and head to the banquet. They arrive and the Prince's father sees him with a date and approaches him, "Who might this be son?"

The Prince says, "Father this is Natalie."

The King responds, "It is nice to make your acquaintance Natalie."

Natalie replies, "The pleasure is all mine sir."

All of a sudden, everyone starts dancing. The Prince takes Natalie's hand and takes her to the dance floor. They look at each other in absolute joy. They both flirt back and forth and do not leave the dance floor for an hour. The Prince in the final dance picks Natalie up and performs a huge lift. He finishes by dipping her. The scene is still and the y stare into each other's eyes. The Prince goes to kiss Natalie, but at the last moment Natalie's mother barges through the door.

The Witch yells to the King, "How dare you try and turn my own daughter against me!"

The King with a strange look on his face replies, "What do you mean Witch?"

"Natalie is my daughter," the Witch said.

The King looks at his son in disappointment.

"Witch we have no quarrel with you. Now, go on about your way and we can speak later," the King said.

The Witch does not waiver and starts performing a spell. Natalie sees what spell she is creating and decides to stop it.

The Witch yells, "This is what you get King. I hope it was worth it. With all the power I possess in me change this King's entire destiny!"

The Witch sends the spell towards the King with her hand as Natalie runs with a metal tray towards him. Natalie leaps in front of the King and deflects the spell. The spell bounces back and hits the Witch. The Witch is turned into a monkey. Everyone is safe and now needs attention. The entire crowd takes all precautions necessary and heads home.

Author's note: I chose third person narration style for this story because it allows me to write naturally. If I write another way it feels pretty awkward for me. My main goals for this story was to change the fate of the Prince. and to focus more on the connection between he and Natalie.

The Enchanted Prince originally has the Witch's daughter fall in love with the Prince. The Prince decides to marry someone else though because of pressure from his father the King. So, the Witch's daughter casts a spell on the Prince that turns him into a monkey. He stays a monkey for five centuries until he found a new love that broke his spell and loved him for who he was.

I changed it to where the Witch is the one casting the spell because of her daughter falling in love with the Prince. The Witch gets turned into a monkey though because it bounces off a metal tray her daughter put in front of the King to save him. So, the Prince and Witch's daughter got the happy ending they always wanted, but the Witch would stay a monkey for a long time.

Bibliography: The Enchanted Prince, Filipino Popular Tales, Dean S. Fansler, (1921)

Storytelling for Week 6: Bush Rats and a Bat

bibliography: Why the Bat Flies by Night, Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone                                  Dayrell (1910)
                     

(bush rat)

The Bat and Bush Rat were hanging out like normal one day. The Bat asked how the Bush Rat and his wife were doing. The Bush Rat replied with a normal positive gesture. The Bat has been lonely for a long time and has started to have resentment towards the Bush Rat.

The Bat thinks about what he is going to do and if he can find it in his heart to kill his friend. The Bat looks around his cave home, which the Bush Rat showed to him in the beginning, pacing back and forth in anxiety. Nothing changed the Bat's mind though. He decided he was going to take the Bush Rat's wife for himself too. 

So, the Bush Rat shows up one day to see Bat and notices something is wrong. The Bat gets ready to do his deed. He is going to bite Bush Rat in the neck until he's dead. Bush Rat goes to pat Bat on the shoulder. Bat is making his final decision. He is going to attack in 3... 2... 1... 

Right then Bush Rat steps aside to get Bat some water revealing a beautiful young female Bush Rat named Ariel. Bat is entranced by her beauty. Bush Rat told Bat to meet his niece. Bush Rat understood Bat had been lonely and thought maybe he could fix his niece up with him. Both Ariel and Bat blush at one another. The Bat is overjoyed! 

The Bat has told Bush Rat what he was planning though. Bush Rat is appalled, but takes a moment to think it over. Ariel witnessed the Bat's honesty and takes a moment as well. 

The Bush Rat forgave the Bat on one condition; the Bat must marry his niece and take care of her for the rest of his days. The Bat agreed without question and immediately picked Ariel up. He took her for a fly through the air neither of them would ever forget. 

As the Bat and Ariel enjoy their flight, they are suddenly attacked by a hawk. The Bat holds on to Ariel tight and is completely focused on saving her. The Bat flew left and then right. The Bat flew backward and then forwards. The hawk missed him at every turn since he is smaller and can make quicker turns. The Bat finally took a dive seeing he had enough space between he and the hawk. The Bat is flying faster than ever before aiming straight for his door at the cave. The hawk is closing in. Bush Rat has the door open and is yelling for them to hurry. The Bat and Ariel fly through the door and Bush Rat closes the door at the last second. The hawk smashed into the door. They were saved! 

Bush Rat asked about when lunch was. They lived happily ever after.   

Author's Note:Why the Bat Flies by Night, I chose to tell this story in third person narrative form. I chose this strategy because it allows me to be more descriptive and focus on the action of a story. So, it allows to tell the story more with visuals rather than dialogue. 

My main goal for the story was to make the Bat a good guy because in the original he is the villain. 

In the original story, the Bat tricks the Bush Rat. The Bush Rat asks how the Bat makes his meals so tasty. The Bat said that he jumped into the the boiling pot of water and said his juices from his skin give his food great flavor. He said anyone can do it. So, the Bush Rat went home and jumped into the boiling water and died. Bush Rat's wife sent out a warrant for the Bat's capture. As a result, the Bat started hunting at night and that is why you never see them during the day. 

In my story, I make the Bat keep his original plan, but it is foiled when he sees Ariel Bush Rat's niece. The Bat, now seeing Ariel and Bush Rat's thoughtfulness, told them the truth about his plan. Bush Rat forgave Bat since he agreed to marry Ariel and take care of her the rest of her days. Lastly, Bat rescued Ariel from a hawk. The Bat turned from the antagonist into the Protagonist. 

Storytelling Week 5: Crows and Their Gifts

Bibliography: Eastern Story Legends by Marie L. Shedlock (1920)

Author's Note: The Crow that Thought It Knew. I chose to retell this story in third person because it allowed me to be more descriptive without having to use dialogue in the story. It helped me be more creative. My main goal for this story was to show that all people have certain gifts. It is not a matter of who has the best ones, but how you use them that defines you. I changed this story from the original in a few ways. First, the names I used aren't the original. Second, the hunting crow does not save Lyle. Lyle went into the water by himself and drowned in the original. Third, the scene where Lyle saves Tim never happened. That was all added by me to emphasize my goal listed above.

(crow in Assam, India)

One crow Lyle and his wife Jen were out flying and a terrible thing happened. As they were flying, they saw many dead animals and people. As they flew up to each thing to check it out, they realized everyone was suffering from this black bumpy skin that was a disease. It had spread to the trees and all plants also. Lyle knew he was not a hunting crow so he became worried. He didn't want to scare his wife though, so he acted like he had a plan. He and his wife flew throughout their land looking for food when they saw a crow dive into the water and bring fish out. Lyle knew this crow could help so they approached him. 

They flew to the hunting crow called Tim and asked if he might mind helping give them food since they are not hunting crows. Tim agreed and went to get them some fish. This made Lyle feel worthless. He couldn't even feed his own wife. He has to rely on a stranger to feed himself. So, one day Lyle decided he would try and go into the water to catch some fish. 

Lyle, after Tim and Jen fell asleep, went sky high and came back down as fast he could towards the river. He plunged into the water and caught the fish! Something went terribly wrong though. He could not pul himself out of the water. He started thrashing his wings screaming for help. Tim and Jen wake up to the horrifying scene. Tim goes to save Lyle and succeeds! 

Once back on land, Tim told Lyle never to do that again. Then Tim walked back to bed and saw an apple on the way there. Tim hadn't eaten fruit in a while and he wanted a change of taste. Tim leaned over to start eating the apple when out of nowhere Lyle swooped in and knocked the apple away from Tim. Tim did not like that and inquired of Lyle why he did that. Lyle told him all the fruit is bad and filled with the black disease in these parts. Tim, in shock, told Lyle that he owed him one.  Lyle expected no such thing and was glad he could be of assistance. Lyle had finally seen where his true gifts can be used and that sometimes being a man just means swallowing your pride. 

The three crows started their own colony when they found others. They salvaged what they could and continued to live in peace. 

Storytelling for Week 4: The Elephant and Dog

(Elephant and Dog, Illustrated by Ellsworth Young)

An elephant was being transported to a king in the jungle. The men had been traveling with the elephant for many days and started to get tired. It was time to stop and eat, but they all heard a sound. It was tree branches breaking on the ground and all fell silent for fear that it might be a jaguar. The sound kept getting closer and closer while everyone fell deathly still. The elephant keeps walk though. 

A dog all of a sudden, runs out of the woods and starts playing with the elephant. Everyone breathed regularly and acted normal again. The dog joined them for the rest of the journey. 

It was time to sleep so the dog and elephant rested with one another while the men kept look out for anything dangerous. The sun came up the next morning and they started the journey again.

As they kept walking the dog started sniffing in the air and then barked. The men were looking around to see what was going on. A man looking around said, "Its too quiet." The jungle was silent. Everyone looking around had their heads on a swivel. The elephant and dog stuck together side by side. Boom! a Jaguar jumped out of a tree trying to attack the men, but when it saw the elephant, it started heading towards it. The dog got between the jaguar and the elephant. Both growling, they leaped at each other. They fought and fought until both were in such bad shape they stopped. The dog couldn't walk. The elephant saw this and picked the dog up with his trunk and sprinted him the rest of the way through the jungle to the king so that he might be healed. 

When the elephant was doing so well, all of a sudden their was a drop off in front of him. It was wide and the elephant didn't know what to do. The elephant decided in his mind that he is going to save the dog or die trying. The elephant takes many paces back from the drop off and stares down his running path. With a serious face the elephant sprinted down the path and jumped over the drop off. Th elephant could see the king's palace in sight.

Th elephant made it and the king has the doctor come look at the dog. Time passes and the doctor shows the elephant the dog will be ok now that he has medicine. The dog just needs to rest. 

Finally, the dog healed. He and the elephant were reunited enjoying one another's company. 

Author's note: Elephant and Dog , I chose to tell this story in third person because its easier to give good descriptive detail in this way rather than first person. My main goal for the story I wrote above was to make it difficult for the dog and elephant to reach their destination and to make them build a relationship. Instead of the dog and elephant being friends for a long time and staying in one place, I changed the story to the two main characters taking a journey developing a deep relationship with each other in one moment. 

Bibliography: The Elephant and the Dog, Ellen C. Babbitt (1922)

Storytelling For Week 3: Jesus Escapes the Prophecy

(6th Century Icon)

John was baptizing people one day and all of a sudden the man he heard about starts walking towards him. He said, "Jesus is that you?" Jesus replied, "Yes, I seek to be baptized." John feeling unworthy steps back. Jesus says all are worthy in my eyes. So, John baptized Jesus. Out of nowhere, the Romans started rushing at them. John and Jesus were surrounded and Jesus looked at John fearing for his life. Jesus looked at him and everything slowed down, "John do not be afraid I am with you." The Romans were within striking distance when Jesus snapped His fingers and all were paralyzed standing up. Jesus said, "Why do you persecute me? Don't you know I am here to help you?" The Romans in disarray are released by Jesus and flee from His site. 

After a little while, Jesus gathered disciples so He could teach them his ways.  Judas and Peter were two of his disciples that struggled the most with His teachings. The teaching Jesus loved was to put others before yourself. The reasoning He has was that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Peter and Judas didn't like this because they were concerned with their needs more.

So, finally the night had come that Jesus foretold for many days. Jesus was to be taken by the Romans and betrayed by one of his disciples. As they sat at their last dinner together Peter and Judas said, "Surely it is not I Lord?" The time passed and Peter nor Judas were seen. The Romans showed up to take Jesus away for his blaspheme. "You are not the son of God and have no authority to claim so," they said. Slowly the Romans walked toward Jesus step by step. Everyone is staring at Jesus wondering what He will do. All you can hear is heavy breathing. One Roman guard took his last step to Jesus and said, "Get up." Jesus looked up at him. Boom! The cloth they were all eating on collapsed thanks to Peter and Judas. They both yelled, "Run!" Everyone got out and headed for the hills. Finally safe, went into the woods by himself. 

Jesus was praying to God saying, "Father what am I to do? The prophecy did not come true." God replied, "Son live and keep living. A new time of my creation has come. Your prophecy has changed and I need you to search for men who can spread your word." Jesus did so and lived until he died from old age. People did not like that He proclaimed He was the son of God. He was tortured, but his legacy lives on. Christianity spread all over the world and Jesus learned that sometimes you get a second chance; no matter how short the time is. 

Author's note: -John The Baptist and Jesus

                        -The Miracles of Jesus

                        -The Teachings of Jesus

                        -The Last Supper

-I chose fiction (considering I believe what happened to Jesus was real) and portions of the actual story were changed. I chose fiction because it allowed me to change this story in a subtle yet huge way. My main goal to the story was to give Jesus a little more power that still stayed true to his character and to change Peter/Judas's outcomes. Jesus really got baptized by John the Baptist, but did not get attacked by Romans. I chose the paralyzing Roman power so that Jesus did not harm anyone and still was accountable to his teachings. Also, Judas actually betrays Jesus and Peter denies he knows Jesus three times in the original story. I changed this because I wanted to create a very subtle difference that showed just how easy the other way this story could have gone. Imagine if they all fought and made it free like they did in this story? What would they have done? Imagine the adventures. 

                        

Bibliography: John The Baptist and Jesus, King James Bible (1611) Mark 1

                       The Miracles of Jesus, King James Bible (1611) Mark 6

                       The Teachings of Jesus, King James Bible (1611) Mark 9

                       The Last Supper, King James Bible (1611) Mark 14

Storytelling Week 2: Alice and Rabbit in Eden

(Illustration  by Sir John Tenniel)

Alice walks into Wonderland and runs into her friend Mr. Rabbit. Alice realizes what Mr. Rabbit is running from, a wolf. So, they both run to the nearest rabbit hole falling down. They look around and see that they are in a garden. It is a completely new place and they can't believe it. They are in a new world. Why though?

A voice speaks from the heavens, "Mr. Rabbit and Alice, welcome to the Garden of Eden." Mr. Rabbit and Alice ask why they are there and who the voice was.

The voice replies, "I am God and you are here to make my newest creations, Adam and Eve, perform good choices. You are my creations as well and your job is to make sure that Adam and Eve do not eat from the tree of knowledge or know anything outside what I tell them. You all have knowledge since moving into my world; I am starting a new one. Okay, you have all you need. Goodbye!"

"Wait!" they yell, but it's too late. Alice asks Mr. Rabbit, "How will we know what Adam and Eve look like?"

Mr. Rabbit replies, "They are the only things in this world; we'll know them when we see them." 

Over the hill, they hear something.

Mr. Rabbit grabs Alice and says, "Dear Lord, I think I found Adam and Eve."

Alice says, "What? Oh my God!"

Adam and Eve are completely naked while running up to them.

They say, "Hello."

 They try to hug Mr. Rabbit and Alice. They both push Adam and Eve off them.

"Okay you all, God wants us to tell you two never to eat from the tree of knowledge and to know nothing outside of what God has told you."

Adam replies, "But I already knew Eve before you all got here."

Rabbit says, "What?"

Adam says, "Yeah, three times."

Alice thinks about the logic Adam uses.

Rabbit replies, "How do you know someone three times?"

Alice chimes in. "Yeah, how?"

Adam says, "Through the power of the Holy Spirit." 

"Okay enough jibber jabber," Rabbit says.

"Hey, do you all want some fruit?" They all hear this, but see nothing. They all look up in the tree and there lies a snake who is Satan.

Alice says, "No, that is the tree of knowledge and Adam and Eve are not to eat from there."

Satan says, "Do you always do what you are told? You all are hungry. I can see it in your eyes." Again, they all refuse based on the Lord's commandment. Satan finally threatens, "You all could be more knowledgable than God and if you choose not to eat, I will bite you infecting your body with venom. Then I will feed myself."

Adam replies, "No! Everyone get behind me!" Satan starts to rear up his head as he looks for a good striking point. Satan's ready to strike and right when he does Mr. Rabbit jumps in front of his bite. Mr. Rabbit lies on the ground still from the venom. Satan gets ready to strike again when boom! Mr. Rabbit starts thumping Satan's head up and down with his foot because the venom doesn't affect creatures from other worlds.

As he does this, Mr. Rabbit recites, "In the beginning, God didn't make snakes. Feel the power of seven days of creation bouncing your head in where you came from. P.S. Watch out for birds." Satan is struck down and now Mr. Rabbit with Alice heads back to Wonderland.

Alice and Mr. Rabbit start walking back, but everyone hears God's voice.

"Alice and Mr. Rabbit, it is not time to return home. As a matter of fact, you will be new disciples along Adam and Eve to save all creation from the war to come." Eve, Adam, Alice, and Mr. Rabbit have curious looks on their faces.

Alice says, "I thought all we had to do was save Adam and Eve."

God replies, "Yes, I know, but the world needs you now. I am sending you all into the future to stop Satan's reign over humanity."

Mr. Rabbit responds, "Why should we? I just want to go home."

God says, "If you do not, your home will have never existed for I see the future and what it holds."

Satan shows up with an army of snakes.

Alice yells, "Look!"

Mr Rabbit yells, "Run!" God opens a black hole to transport them to another world. They all jump at the last second just outrunning the snakes and the black hole shuts. All four yell as they jump into a black abyss. They land and see the world they are in is extremely different. 

Author's Note: I chose third person narration as the storytelling style for this story with emphasis in farce. I chose this style because I feel like a large amount of the time when it comes to Bible stories they are always so serious. So, I decided to lighten the mood and make people laugh showing them a story they have always heard in a way they have never seen. So, I chose one of my favorite stories as a kid (Alice in Wonderland)  and incorporated it into the Adam and Eve story in the Bible. My main goal for this story was to present Adam and Eve's ultimate decision in a funny way. I wanted the reader to understand this was a work of fiction and that it is okay to laugh in certain sensitive areas for people. I want people to know from this story that they should enjoy life, laugh, and take it easy. Lastly, I am making a series of time traveling stories and this is the first one. I decided to take many famous stories and mix their characters. Mr. Rabbit, Alice, Adam, and Eve now must figure out how to help God save the world from Satan one world at a time.  

In the original story in the Bible, God created Adam and Eve. God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge. Eve is tempted by a snake and started eating from the tree of knowledge. Adam and Eve then knew they were naked after eating the fruit. They each started getting knowledge they never had before. That part of the story is known as the fall of man where sinning started. As a result, they were forced to work for everything.

In Alice and Wonderland, Alice chases a white rabbit, Mr. Rabbit, into Wonderland. There she discovered she must stop the queen. So, she took back Wonderland with all of her friends.  

Link to Story: Alice in Wonderland, Link to Story: Adam and Eve

Bibliography: Eve- King James Bible (1611), Un-Textbook

                       Alice in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll (1865), Un-Textbook

Week 1 Storytelling: Got Off On The Wrong Horn

(Edited by Andrew Lang and illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke)

Nursery Rhyme Book 

There once was a lion and a unicorn that did not get along. There was an election in their home town Clantersbee five years ago. So, they were both running for mayor at the time and happy together without a thought about time. Election day came though and ended in an odd way. 

In front of a crowd of their peers, the lion and unicorn began to debate with each other. The lion told the unicorn to prance back to Black Beauty. The unicorn told the lion to go back to ruling Narnia. All of a sudden, a fight broke out between them. Their were undecided voters watching, and then everyone heard a giant roar! It turned out that the unicorn's horn got stuck in the lion's hindquarters. Thus, voters gave their allegiance to the lion after seeing the unicorn act in such a manner. 

One year later when the lion was still mayor, he ran into the unicorn. They both stared each other down in the town square and neither forgot their last meeting. The lion just laughed at the unicorn, turned around, and kept walking. The crowd watched and when the lion thought all was well, he let out a roar that shook the ground! The unicorn had ran and again stuck his horn where the sun did not shine. A lovely walk about the town turned into an all out brawl. 

The lion jumped at the unicorn and threw him into the apple stand. The unicorn chewed up an apple and spat it in the lion's face while stamping him into the dirt. Both had caused so much damage to the town square that residents soon made a decision to stop the fight by getting rid of the lion and unicorn completely. One man offered the lion and unicorn white bread, but it did not get there attention as they ripped through the arts and crafts tent. One woman offered the lion and unicorn brown bread, but it still had no effect on them. Right when the lion and unicorn almost ran into a bakery, the baker, trying to save his shop, offered them plum-cake. The lion and unicorn were entranced by its smell.

Both the lion and unicorn asked where more of this plum-cake was. The baker said he ran out, but the town baker in Cliptonsville a mile away has some. So, the lion and unicorn left together to get the plum-cake, were unknowingly kicked out of town, and became friends again over dessert. Who knows if they lived happily ever after with their ongoing quarrels. 

Author's Note. This story was based on the nursery rhyme "The Lion and The Unicorn."  It reads:

The lion and the unicorn 

Were fighting for the crown;

The lion beat the unicorn 

All around about the town.

Some gave them white bread,

And some gave them brown;

Some gave them plum-cake,

And sent them out of town. 

You can find this rhyme in a book edited by Andrew Lang (1897) called The Nursery Rhyme Book.

My initial thought when writing this story was the book "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis (1950). I made the lion and and unicorn fight each other like the White Witch and Aslan (the lion) do in Narnia. They both wanted to rule a kingdom. The major difference I created at the end. I once had to lure out a possum from my garage with some bread and apples. It took the bait so I figured I'd implement that as a way to get the lion and unicorn out of town in a comic way. Serious fighting was diminished in seconds because of plum-cake. So, the lion and unicorn became friends through mutual love of plum-cake and were outwitted by the townspeople. It was a bittersweet and fun ending.