Week 12 Story: The Jealous Cheerleader

It was a Monday morning at Sunnydale High School. It was like any other morning except today was the first day of the new school year. You could see everyone excited to see each other after a long and hot summer. Especially Jennifer and her cheer-leading girls. Jennifer was the captain of the cheerleaders at school. She was top of her class and was liked by all the students, even teachers, at Sunnydale. Boys would go crazy over her. That all changed when Molly showed up. She was a transfer student from the north side. She was everything Jennifer, but even better. This got Jennifer very angry. She became obsessed with becoming the most popular girl of the school again. She became jealous.

Jennifer devised a plan to get rid of Molly once and for all, so that she could sit atop of the popularity scale in the end. Given Molly's rapid popularity at school, she was almost forced to join the cheer-leading squad. This wall all a part of Jennifer's devious plan. Now that she had Molly right where she wanted, all she had to do was wait till their first practice.

The day had come. Sunnydale's first cheer-leading practice took place after school. All was going well and everyone seemed to enjoy the practice so far. The girls then proceeded to the lifting portion of the practice and the girl of choice was none other than Molly herself. Jennifer was very eager to be one of the girls to lift Molly. Everything was going smoothly. All the lifters, including Jennifer, got Molly in the air, but once it was time for them to catch her everything went wrong. Jennifer was suppose to catch her, but instead "slipped" away and this leaded to Molly crashing down onto the grass. Molly was rushed to the school infirmary and was diagnosed with a broken foot from her landing. Jennifer was so excited to her about Molly's injury because that meant her plan to take her out was coming to fruition.

Little did Jennifer know that this injury caused the whole school to feel sympathy towards Molly. They teachers even took time out of their lectures and had all the students write "get well" cards for Molly. Many students even went to visit Molly in the infirmary and signed her foot cast. Jennifer's planned had totally backfired. Eventually by the end of the school year, all the students had found out that Jennifer was the one who purposefully didn't catch Molly and gave her the broken foot. Jealous Jennifer was never heard from again. Some say she transferred schools.

(Cheerleaders, Source: Forever Twenty Somethings)

Author's Note:
In the original story there was an uncle who took the every son that this family bore and killed him. He had killed 3 before a 4th child came into this world. He was kept a secret and the uncle's wife told him that they had bore a daughter and not a a son. However, the uncle found out anyways when he saw what was underneath his clothes. The uncle asked for the son and took him out to get some logs. They wandered out far into the forest where the son got caught in one of the logs. The uncle left him there to die and rot however he had tools with him that led to his escape. He gathered the log and left them in front of his uncles tent. The uncle was furious and tried to kill him many more times. Next was with ducks and eggs, then it was with clams, and then finally he made the nephew a box. He trapped the son inside this box and threw him into the ocean where he drifted from island to island until finally he halted. Two daughters found him on the shore and brought him back to their village where the chief decided to care and raise him. However, he began to miss his previous home and his parents, so with permission from the Eagle people, he flew back to the previous village. He brought them back a huge whale, but the jealous uncle took it all for himself and left none for the nephews parents. He was furious and took the uncle up into the sky and dropped him into the ocean. He couldn't swim for he drowned and died. The nephew got his revenge and took his parents back to his new found home where they all lived happily. I wanted to modernize this story and placed the setting in a high school and centered the story around two girls. One was the popular cheerleader of the school, Jennifer, and the other was a new transfer student who won every one's heart, Molly. My retelling changed a lot of things, but the main story is the same with the jealously playing a huge part.

Bibliography: "The Jealous Uncle" by Stith Thompson. Web Source

Week 9 Story: Wukong The Strongest Of Them All

My name is Yang Oerlang. Son of the Lord of the Heavens. There have not been many in my lifetime that have come close to matching my strength. That held true for thousands of year until a monkey born from stone came into this world. I'm here to tell you his tale leading up to his unfortunate death.

Long ago on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, there laid a rock. Undisturbed for years until one day the rock split in half and there laid a monkey in the core. He was destined for greatness. He lived among the apes and monkeys of his kind until one day they proposed a challenge. One who could pass through the waterfall in the middle of the mountain, come back alive, and tell them what was on the other side would be named their king. And so the monkey, born of stone, took this challenge upon himself and made it to the other. This is where is tumbled upon a cave within and an iron bridge to walk across. He went back to tell the other apes and they named him their rightful king. He then proclaimed himself the Handsome King of the Apes. 

One day as he sat on his throne in the cave beyond the waterfall, he thought to himself that he would die one day. Scared of the day to come he sought out immortality and ventured off to find it. He ventured far and wide until one day he stumbled upon a wood cutter who showed him the way to a saint. This saint was his key to immortality and many other magical gifts and abilities. This is where the monkey born from stone got his famous name: Wukong. He studied under this master as his apprentice and soon learned the ways to immortality. That was not the only thing he learned. He learned to somersault half way across the world in one jump, incantations and spells, and other to shape-shift into 72 different forms. But this was the beginning of his downfall. He began to become arrogant. This lead to his expulsion from the temple. 

After this event he became worse and worse, but at the same time stronger and stronger. He defeated many foes such as the Devil King, the Dragon-King, the Ten Princes of the Dead, and even Notscha the son of our beloved general Li Dsing. With every win he gained he became more and more arrogant. This came to an end when he met me. 

One of the gods from the heavens, Guan Yin, came to grandfather and suggested that I go down and put an end to Wukong's reign. I accepted this challenge immediately since it been while since my last battle. I went down to the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit and called for Wukong. He came to me with confusion for he did not know who I was. I told him that I was Yang Oerland and that I had come to apprehend him. He immediately began to attack me, but I fended him off easily. He stood no chance against me. Our battle took hours with over 300 rounds. Soon Wukong realized that he couldn't defeat me and tried to make a run for it. Foolish was he for I had the gods from above help me in his defeat. One of the gods, Laotzse, has a circlet of diamonds that he used to knock Wukong in the back of the head. He fell to the ground where he took his last breath. I stood above him and told him of all his wrong doings. After I finished up his lengthy list, I put an end to his life. The battle had come to an end and I emerged victorious. 

That the end of the infamous stone monkey, Wukong. 

(Yang Oerlang, Source: Ali Express)

Author's Note: 

In this reading, the story of Wukong is told in third person but I changed it up and decided to tell the story from a first person perspective. It is told by one of his foes, Yang Oerlang. Wukong is born on a mountain from a rock and it named the king of the apes on that island. After many years he begin become restless and seeks out immortality. He does so with a saint he finds and learns of other great abilities. He is then banished from this temple for his arrogance. Soon he defeats many enemies such as the Devil King and the Ten Princes of the Dead. He also acquires his golden rod from the Dragon King and Queen. After letting Wukong roam freely on Earth, the Lord of the Heavens takes notice to him and wants to have him punished. However, his advisers suggest otherwise and appoint him a lowly position in the heavens of stable keeper. He finds out the meaning of his position and rebels. He goes back to his mountain and the heavens send down Notscha and Li Dsing to bring him back. However, Wukong is too strong for anyone and defeats all his opponents. That is until Yang Oerlang, the grandson of the Lord of the Heavens, comes down and catches him. They bring him back up to the heavens and try to burn him to ashes but he escapes and reeks havoc in the heavens. Buddha is recruited and after tricking Wukong, traps him in a mountain and seals him away. I didn't want to include the latter half of the story and opted to end Wukong's life because of his arrogance. 

Bibliography: "The Monkey King Sun Wu Kung" by R. Wilhelm. Web Source

Week 7 Story: Finding His Happiness

In the distant past, there once lived a stonecutter. He was a well-renowned craftsman who knew exactly what was needed for certain items. Although he worked day and night t gain the reputation he had, he went to bed every night with a certain emptiness to him. 

One morning as he was chiseling away at the mountain for stones, he overheard two weary travelers talking. One said to the other that there was a ancient spirit that lived in the form of a woman. She lived atop the very mountain the stonecutter had been chiseling away at! She granted the wishes and brings happiness to anyone who seeks her help. When the stonecutter had heard of this he immediately gathered his belongings and started traveling up the mountain in search of filling his empty void. 

Eventually the stonecutter reached the top of the mountain. There lied a cave and inside was the very woman that the travelers were speaking of. The stonecutter introduced himself and asked the spirit to become a rich prince who had everything in the world. Alas, the spirit made the man a rich prince and when he returned home he returned to a castle as high as the skies with everything he could imagine. 

One day, the sun above scorched the lands he lived in. It was so hot and bright that the stonecutter reused to go outside and stored himself away in the depths of the castle. Every day he would look outside to see people up and about, embracing the heat. This made him yearn to become the sun, so he trekked back up the mountain and asked the spirit to make him the sun. And so he became the sun above all. 

His happiness soon faded when the day came where the clouds hid the suns rays. He had begun to become very bored of shining down on the lands, so when the clouds came to hid his might he became very upset. He cried from above to the spirit to make him a cloud, so that he may always be seen in the sky. The spirit below heard his cries from above and granted his wish and so he became the clouds.

Days and weeks went by and the man became weary again. Becoming the clouds between the lands and sun was not enough for him again. He became sad and rain poured down on the land for days. Towns and villages were destroyed by his unhappiness. When he looked down and saw that the mountains held their shape through all this rain, he began to wonder. He wondered if the immovable, strong, and calm mountain was the key to his happiness. And once again he begged the spirit to become the mountain below him. Once more the spirit turned him into a mountain. 

He stood tall and mighty every day. The sun and and rain could not move him one bit! And so he finally found his true happiness... but not for long. One day as the sun was bright the man heard something beneath him. He looked down and saw the very man he used to be: a stonecutter. He then began to realize that nothing he wished for would bring him true happiness because the stonecutting man was the key to his happiness. He took for granted his occupation and life and never appreciated what he had. Although he knew that he had asked so much from the spirit, he tried once more and asked to be reverted back to the man he once was. The spirit having realized that he discovered his true happiness, turned him back to a stonecutter in an instant. 

The stonecutter awoke back inside his household. Everything was the same as it used to be, as if nothing had changed except one thing: his happiness. He felt very grateful and in debt to the spirit, so he traveled once more to the top of the mountain. When he reached the top he expressed his gratitude and thanks to the woman. She was happy to help the man find his true happiness and disappeared back into the mountain in the form of a spirit and the man lived his days in eternal happiness. 

(The Stonecutter, Source: Pinterest)

Author's Notes:

The original story was very similar to my own. There was a stonecutter who also wanted to be something more. At first he wanted to be rich, then a prince, then the sun, the clouds, the mountain, and finally back to being a stonecutter. The spirit of the mountain granted him his wishes and turned him into whatever he desired. In the original, the stonecutter felt very selfish and didn't appreciate what the spirit had done for him, so I changed that in my own story. Also I gave the spirit a physical form and gave it a place atop the mountain. This rendition was more about finding the stonecutter's true happiness and provided a more detailed background and ending for the reader. 

Bibliography: "The Stonecutter" by Andrew Lang. Web Source

Week 6 Story: Bedtime Story Lesson

The father put his son to sleep, but after he tucked him into bed and headed for the door the son asked for a bedtime story. The father reluctantly agreed to read his son one and only one bedtime story before bed. The father knew that the son was giving the mother difficultly this morning and decided to teach the boy a lesson through one of the oldest stories in time. It began...

There once lived Sun, Moon, and Wind. These were the children of their mother Star, who had just sent them off to dine and feast with their beloved friends. Sun and Wind were the oldest of the three children and were at times greedy and thought only of themselves. Moon on the other hand was humble and selfless. All three had enormous amounts of fun with their friends all the while eating exquisite foods. Sun and Wind ate until their stomachs gave out, but Moon was humble and selfless. Moon knew that their mother, Star, was waiting at home all alone for her sons to come home. With this in mind Moon brought back a little bit of everything for their mother. When the sons arrived back home, their mother asked them what they had brought back for her. In ignorance, Sun and Wind told their mother that nothing was brought back for her because they were out with their friends to have a good time and not think about home or what to bring back. Moon, on the other hand, brought back a little bit of everything for their dear mother. Star saw what kind of children she had brought to this world and cursed Sun and Wind to all of eternity. Sun was to be high in the sky where its rays will burn anything it touches causing people to avoid it. Wind was to blow through the hot and scorching weather, shriveling and parching all things in its path. She then turned to Moon and told her that she will be high in the nights sky. She will be bright, cool, and beautiful for people will always say that Moon is blessed.

(Sun, Moon, and Wind, Source: Kidsgen)

The father had finished the bedtime story and begun to close his book. He looked into his sons eyes and told him that there is a lesson/moral to every story. The son did not understand what the father was talking about, so the father told him that in this story the Sun and Wind did not appreciate their mother and thought nothing of her in times of fun. However, for Moon she thought of her mother and was very sincere, bringing food back for her. The lesson was that even when you grow up, or have fun, or get mad at your mother, you must always think of her because she is always thinking of you. After hearing this, the son got right up out of bed and ran all the way to his mother. Hugging her tightly he apologized for his bad behavior earlier that day.

Author's Notes:
The original story was exactly the same as the bedtime story told in this rendition. Nothing changed except for how the story was told. The lesson behind this story was very strong in my opinion and can be applied to most people who grow up or get anger at their mothers. In my version, I had the father tell his son the story of Sun, Moon, and Wind and how they went out with their friends to dine and feast and have fun. The son had caused problems for his mother earlier that day and I wanted this story to be told to him as a lesson.

Bibliography: "How Sun, Moon, and Wind Went Out to Diner" by Joseph Jacobs. Web Source

Week 5 Story: The Unsolvable Riddle

There once was a kingdom far from others and in this kingdom lived a king by the name Clever. Clever was known for his undying love for his people. He was not your typical king. When the weather was bad and the crops would not grow, Clever would come down from his castle and help the people sow seeds into the ground. He would go and help the elderly to the best of his ability. He was no ordinary king. He was the people's king.

On day at the break of dawn, a wandering traveler came to the footsteps of King Clever's kingdom. He begged to be let in for he was in dire need of the king's help. Once Clever heard of this he ordered that the man be brought into the lands, be fed, and dressed in the finest clothes. He then had the traveler brought to his chambers and ask him, "Dear traveler, you have wandered a great distance judging by the conditions of your attire. What brings you all the way to my beloved kingdom?".

The traveler answered, "Your highness, I have indeed traveled a great ways to find you for I have heard of the kindness in your heart. You must help me retrieve a body from a cemetery. I would do this myself, but I am not allowed anywhere near the body. Will you please help me? I have brought all my treasures for you. Gold, silver, diamonds, anything you want you can have.".

The king was shocked at the fact that he traveled so far to him find him only to ask that he bring back a body. And so the king told the traveler that he would accept his request and travel with him to the cemetery to aid in the retrieval of the body. They wasted no time at all and by the time the sun came down and the moon shined above, they were already on horseback riding to their destination.

It took 3 days to reach the cemetery. King Clever was a man with the nerves of steel. Nothing had ever scared him and nothing was going to change that night. The weary traveler stop at a willow tree and told the king that this was as far as he was allowed to go. He said, "The body is ways down this path. Just keep following it and you'll see the biggest headstone of them all. That is where the body lays. Please bring the body back to me.".

And so the king set out to find the body. When he finally reached the headstone, it was nothing he'd ever seen before. It stood taller than he himself. He walked over and saw that the grave had already been dug open and down below the casket was already open. Although suspicious, the kind did not hesitate and gathered the body over his shoulders. He began walking back to the traveler when he heard a voice coming from the body. It said "O king, you have traveled so far for such a rotting corpse. Let me entertain you as you carry this heavy body back.".

King Clever, with nerves of steel, asked who lived inside the body. It replied, "It is I, the goblin of the cemetery. I inhabit all bodies that are taken away from their graves. Now let me tell you of my riddles. I will give you many riddles and if you know the answer to them then you will tell me. Once you have answered my riddle correctly I will be teleported back to the grave you found me in. If you do know the answer and choose not to open your mouth then your head will be split into a million pieces. If you do not know the answer then you may take the body all the way back.".

So they went on their way back to the traveler. Again and again the king answered the goblins riddles. And again and again he would have to travel all the way back to the grave to retrieve the body. After twenty-one riddles and twenty-one answers, the king grew tired of the goblins tricks and using his cleverness told the goblin this, "O Goblin say no more as we talk our walk back again. I propose to you a riddle of my own. Instead of my answering one of your riddles you will answer one of mine. I call this riddle 'The Unsolvable Riddle'. No man or woman in my kingdom has ever gotten it right. If you know the answer to it then you shall speak and we can continue with your riddles. But if you are stumped then you will allow me to take the body back to the traveler.". The goblin reluctantly agreed.

(Goblin, Source: Pinterest)

The king began the riddle:
"I turn polar bears white
And I will make you cry.
I make guys have to pee
And girls comb their hair.
I make celebrities look stupid
And normal people look like celebrities.
I turn pancakes brown
And make your champagne bubble.
If you squeeze me, I'll pop.
If you look at me, you'll pop.
Can you answer this riddle, dear Goblin?"

Alas, the goblin was finally stumped. He could not utter a single word. And so the king kept walking and walking, but as he almost approached the willow tree of the traveler the goblin finally spoke and said, "O king, you have definitely fooled me. As a token of your reward I will tell you this truth. The traveler that you are seeking this body for is using you. He will sacrifice you to the gods to become king himself.". The king was filled with disbelief at the goblin and went on his way to the traveler. He set down the body and the rest history because as it turns out... the goblin was right.

Author's Notes:
In the original story, there was a monk who approached the king and every time he gave him a gift. Inside the gift was a gem and once the king found out he asked the monk why he had been giving him so many gems. The monk wanted the king to help him carry a body. The king helped the monk and inside the body was a goblin. This goblin kept telling the king riddles as he would walk back to the monk and each time he answered a riddle correctly the body would teleport back to the tree. Finally there was a riddle that the king could not answer and so the goblin told him that the monk was tricking him and to ask him how to lay on the ground so that he can cut off his head. The king did this and killed the monk. I changed the monk to a traveler and the background story of the traveler. I also skipped all the riddles and had the king tell the goblin a riddle instead. The goblin would not get it right and the king would be able to take the body back. The goblin would warn him, but the king filled with disbelief would not hear it. This marked the end of the kings days. I put a twist of the ending instead of the original.

Bibliography: "Twenty-Two Goblins" translation by Arthur Ryder. Web Source

Week 4 Story: Eurylochus's Odyssey

It's been 8 years since we've set foot on our own soil. It's been 8 years since we've seen our wives and children. It's been 8 years since we've been able to enjoy a day without disaster at every turn. We seized and sacked the city of Troy only to be drawn to this never ending journey back home. Zeus and the gods have cursed and forsaken me and my fellow members. I've wanted to give up many times and dive head first into the bearing sea with no reason to resurface, but every time my mind drifts any further Odysseus, my fellow leader and companion, leads me in the right direction. He encourages all of us to keep pushing on, so that the day may come when we are able to see the faces of our wives and hold our children up high. 

We saw it in the blackness of the sky. Smoke coming from land afar. Odysseus told us that this was worth exploring since it was the second day that we were running low on rations and weapons. I told him to be wary and to proceed with caution for I knew that this was the land of the Cyclops's. Odysseus, a man capable of risk, headed my warning and we pushed onward in the night sky to an island of unforeseen dangers. 

When our ship arrived at the shores, Odysseus and I, along with 19 other men we ordered to leave the ship behind and go on an expedition to uncover the secrets of this island. As the smoke from the island started to fade, our men started to walk faster. The smoke was our only clue to what this island holds. It took us many hours, but we eventually made it to the origin of the smoke. It came from a cave as big at the mountains. We proceeded with caution and as we entered we saw riches in forms of sheep, water, endless amounts of food and drinks to last us years. We began to suspect that the inhabitant of this cave would come back soon. Odysseus decided to wait until they got back and ask for hospitality from them. I was skeptical. What if this person was a great threat to us? In the end, we made ourselves at home and began to eat and drink the sheep and wine. 

(Polyphemus and Odysseus, Source: Detsky & Nabytek)

It didn't take long for the Cyclopes to appear from his hunt of sheep. He was a big as the cave itself and towered over us. Looking at Odysseus he asked who we were. Odysseus answered that we were band of men that got lost at sea only looking for hospitality for our troubles. Polyphemus, the Cyclopes, answered with rage and took us surprise. He wept up my men and ate them. First their heads, then their legs, and finally their bodies. About 5 of my men died that night. Polyphemus settled down after feasting on my companions for he was full and needed something to wash down his throat. I was astonished at how fast Odysseus came to devise a plan in the mist of the rampage. He told us that while he would offer Polyphemus wine to wash down the food, the rest of us including myself would sharpen at spear to pierce the one eye of the Cyclopes, blinding him. 

We did as he told us and as we watched Odysseus offer the wine to the Cyclopes. We waited awhile before Polyphemus began to become impaired from the wine. That was our cue to spear him. We rushed out from behind the sheep and lunged towards his eye, piercing it with all our strength. Polyphemus yelled in pain. He shook the very foundation of the island with his feet stomping all around. While he was busy trying to get the spear out of his eye, we hid underneath the sheep so that we may escape his clutches. As he felt threw his sheep, looking for me and my men, we were all tied to the bottoms making it impossible for him to find us. We miraculously made it out alive and with all our limbs intact. I rushed our men back to the ship as soon as we had made way out of the cave, but as we headed back in panic Odysseus stayed behind. I could hear him shouting at the Cyclopes as I was heading back. I don't know what Odysseus said to this day, but whatever he said to the Cyclopes angered him so greatly that as we were sailing away from the island he heaved a rock so big that it almost made impact with our ship. We were all lucky to have survived that day. Although that was only one of our many troubles along the odyssey. 

Author's Notes:

Odysseus stumbled upon an island inhabited by Cyclops's. He and his went to go explore this island and found a cave filled with sheep and other riches. They decided to stay there and ask the cyclopes for hospitality, however when he returned he set a great huge stone in front on the entrance and began eat the men. Odysseus devised a plan to get the Cyclopes drunk with wine and blind him using a spear. Once he was blinded they tied sheep to themselves. The cyclopes moved the stone door and started to search for the men by shifting through the sheep. Once they made their escape, Odysseus shouted to the Cyclopes enraging him and making him throw huge stones at the ship. The only thing I changed about this story was the point of view it was told in. Instead of Odysseus, it was told from the point of view from Eurylochus, a close companion to Odysseus. I gave a little bit more of an introduction to give insight as to how the crew ended up where they were. 

Bibliography: "The Odyssey" by Homer. Web Source

Week 3 Story: Noah and 2012

On the 25th day of December, God looked down upon the world and saw all the evil that spread across the nations. He saw the theft, killing, adultery, betraying, etc. He grew fed up with his creation of mankind and vowed to erase their existence from the world and start over from scratch. Before he unleashed his wrath upon all that was evil, he looked down once again to see if there was anyone pure left and this is when he stumbled upon a man named Noah. Noah was a man of his 30's and a husband and father of two children. God had seen all that was pure in Noah's heart and sent an angel to warn him of the epidemic to come and what to do. The angel told Noah that the world would be ending in 6 days and that he needed to build an ark, in this case a bunker, deep below the surface of the Earth and gather 2 of every animal, one male and one female, to keep safe.

Days went by and Noah started to finish his bunker deep below Earth's surface. It reach miles down with a giant set of stairs to access each floor of his bunker. After the ark was finished he and his family set out to gather 2 of each animal and bring them back. Of course this did not go unnoticed by the people who lived near Noah. They began to question what he was doing and why. Noah, a man of no fear except for the fear of God, told the city people that there was to be great destruction upon the world at the end of the 2012 calendar year. This frightened people causing mass panic. People went into a frenzy and started gathering everything and anything possible to survive. They boarded up their houses or sought shelter elsewhere for they not know what do come. All the while, Noah kept to his mission and gathered all the animals in pairs of 2. Once he was done, he locked the bunker above him and waited for the destruction of the world to come. 

Then the day came. December 31st of 2012. The day the world would be cleansed of its sins and evils. God unleashed his wrath and wrecked havoc onto everything that was his. Volcanoes erupted plunging everything in its path to ashes. Hurricanes swept through the lands and blew away all buildings and trees. Tornadoes took everything that was grounded and plunged it out of the ground and into the air. Even floods took over the world. Everything and everybody was gone and the lands were then covered in water. As everything was ending, Noah awaited patiently in his ark. He tended to his family and to the animals. He stocked up on enough food and water to last everyone weeks. Every day he would send a dove into the sky. If the dove came back then the the world was still covered in water and no land was to be seen. But one day, the dove did not come back. It had found land and settled down. Noah knew now that God's wrath was receding and fertile land was to be found. 

On the 4th week of the new year, Noah unlocked bunker and set everyone out from underground to the airs above. The land was bare and stripped of everything. Noah and his family would have to start a new and bring about a world of purity. God had seen that Noah had resurfaced, so he went to see him. When God met Noah, he vowed to never unleash his wrath unto the world like that ever again. He made a covenant with Noah in the form of a rainbow. One that stretched miles and a high as the clouds. Once the covenant was made and God had returned to the heavens above, it was time for Noah begin his long and enduring journey to rebuild.

(Noah's Ark, Source: CLBA)

Author's Notes:

In the book of Genesis in the Bible, God looked down upon his creation of mankind and saw all that was evil. He decided to flood the world and start over. However, he saw that Noah was pure and sent down and angel to warn him of the floods to come and that he build an ark to save the animals and his family. He was to bring back pairs of each animal, male and female. When the flood came, Noah and his ark sailed patiently across the oceans for months. One day, the dove that he sent out never came back so he knew that land was to be found. When he reached land, God told Noah that he would never flood the world again and build a covenant in the form of a rainbow to always remind them. In my version of the story, everything is essentially the same. The backbone of Noah and his Ark remained intact. However, in the book of Genesis, it was an older language that was more difficult to read, so I modernized my rendition in terms of setting and language used. There was also an enormous amount of detail included in the original story that I decided to trim down because it was very repetitive. Also in my version, Noah builds a bunker instead of a ship and it is set in the year 2012 where volcanoes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods scavenged the world. 

Bibliography: "Noah and the Ark" from Genesis in the King James Version of the Bible. Web Source

Week 2 Story: Beauty & Death

In a distant town, far away off from the dark and mysterious forest, there lived a mother and her three gorgeous daughters. One bright morning, the mother got ready to set off on her weekly run to the market at the neighboring town across the forest. She asked her three daughters what they wanted her to bring home and they all replied with a variety of foods, clothing, and one even asked for a handsome man. But the third daughter didn’t ask for anything exotic, only that she be brought back the brightest and most vibrant red rose from her mother’s journey. Her mother promised to bring back what each daughter had asked for and set off.

It took her a whole days’ worth of horseback riding to get to the next town where she spent the night. The next morning she hopped out of bed at the crack of light and began in search of all that her daughters asked for. After all were in her possession, she set off in through the woods hoping to return home before it became dark. Hours went by and the mother slowly started to lose her sense of direction as the night became darker. Soon she stumbled upon a castle as tall as the stars, but cold as the winter. It was as if the weather had changed in the blink of an eye.

As she continued to explore what the castle had to offer outside, she ran into a garden that had her recalling that her third daughter asked for bright roses. Venturing through the garden she found the most vibrant rose of them all and began to find her way back home. This is when the tenant of the castle, a dark and terrifying basilisk, came to apprehend the mother. He demanded that she bring her youngest daughter to the castle to be his prisoner for stealing the roses from his garden. Frightened to her bones, she raced home on horseback.

(Basilisk attacks Horse, Source: WikiMedia)

When she got home, her daughters came out in excitement to see all that she had brought home with her. To their shock, she was in tears and stuttering her words. Eventually she came around to telling the third and youngest daughter that she had to go and be the basilisk’s prisoner as a punishment for her roses. The daughter did not hesitate and set off at a moment’s notice. When she arrived at the castle the basilisk appeared and told her that he had been under a curse from the witch of the forest. This witch enchanted him to look like this hideous beast and roam the earth for all eternity, but the basilisk figured out that there was a way to break the curse. In order to break the curse, the youngest daughter of a family must cut off the basilisk’s head with a sword and then he came be free from this nightmare. This is why when he saw the mother steal from his garden it was the perfect opportunity to break free from his curse.

Little did he know that the youngest daughter, did not come back to be his prisoner. Instead, she came back to exact revenge on the basilisk for frightening her mother to her knees. She agreed to cut the off the basilisk’s head, but at the exact moment she aimed for the body instead striking him a great deal of pain. Straight to the heart was her intent and as the basilisk laid there in agony, slowly dying, she looked down on him with nothing but a smile. She had accomplished what she came to do and was now on her way home, leaving the basilisk to die alone.

When she returned home, the mother and all the daughters were so happy and relieved that the youngest daughter made it out alive. They all asked what had happened to the basilisk, but was only told that she had escaped from his grasp, not knowing that he was dead. 

Author's Notes:

The original story "Beauty and the Basilisk" had a mother go out on a run to the next village in search for her three daughters request. The third daughter wanted three flowers, but didn't find them until she got lost in the woods and stumbled upon a castle. This is where she found the flowers and when she took them a basilisk appeared and ask for her daughter. When the daughter came to the castle, she was to nurse him for three hours a day and then eventually the basilisk demanded that she cut off his head. When she came around to cutting off his head, twice, a prince appeared and asked to marry her. The first half of the story was same because I liked how the story developed, but I did not like the ending. Most fairy tales and love story end up in favor off the "good" side, so I wanted to switch it up and have a "bad" ending that didn't result in what the audience expected. Instead of freeing the prince, she killed him instead. 

Bibliography: "Fairy Tale: Beauty and the Basilisk" from European Fairy Tales by Josef Baudis. Web Source