Story: The Dog and his Image

(the dog jumping into the stream, source) 

“Here you go little guy.” An older woman smiled as she handed a stray dog a bone from the back entrance of her grocery store. The little dog took it happily and began to drag it away. The woman laughed at the sight of the tiny dog trying to maneuver a bone that was almost twice its size. The same dog had been visiting her daily for the past couple of weeks, and she always gave him a treat when he stopped by. However, no matter how much she fed him he always seemed to remain skinny. The next day the dog came back to her and like usual she gave him another bone. This time, though, she decided to follow him. 

They hadn’t been walking long when they came upon a stream. As soon as the dog noticed it he became angry and growled at the small channel of water. 

That’s odd, she thought to herself. 

Just as she was about to leave the dog rushed up to the shore and jumped into the shallow water with the bone still in its mouth. Instantly the dog lost his grip on the treat and it began to float away. The dog had the most confused expression on his face at first, but once he realized that his food was gone his face dropped. 

He must think that his reflection is another dog with a bone! The old lady concluded. That’s why he’s so skinny, he always gets tripped up at this stream. 

Over time the lady had become attached to the dog, and decided then to adopt him. She walked over to the sad dog and pet him behind the ears. He seemed to completely forget about the bone and barked happily at her. 

I need to remember to keep him away from mirrors. The woman laughed to herself. 

Author’s note: I used the “Dog and his Image” story this week. I didn’t change much from the original besides adding the older woman character and her point of view. However, when I finished this story I realized that I had written a similar one a couple of week ago! I guess I like stories where story dogs get adopted haha. 

Bibliography: "The Dog and his Image" by Jean de La Fontaine. 

Reading Notes, Fables of La Fontaine, Part B

(the garden, source) 

When I started reading “The Bear and the Amateur Gardener” I though it sounded familiar. Then by the end I realized that it’s pretty similar to “The Gardener and the Bear” story. I even used it in my storybook. Besides that I also liked the term “hermit bear.”

Bibliography: Bibliography: Fables of La Fontaine by Jean de La Fontaine. 

Reading Notes: Fables of La Fontaine, Part A

(image from "The Wolf and the Fox" by Tilney, source) 

I’ve heard the “Hare and the Tortoise” story countless times, but I really enjoyed that this one was in the form of a poem. I like the idea of re-writing this story but making it so that the tortoise and hare can only talk in rhymes. 

I love the illustrations in this unit, especially from “The Dog and his Image.” Also the “Wolf and the Fox.” I feel lie I could write a story only based on the images. 

Another story I liked was “The Monkey and the Cat” because I thought the two animals had an interesting dynamic. 

Bibliography: Fables of La Fontaine by Jean de La Fontaine. 

Story: The Cinder-Maid

In the middle of a castle courtyard sat a group of royal soldiers on their lunch break. They had been eating quietly when one of them finally broke the silence. 

“The Prince. He’s not too bright, is he?” one man stated. 

This made several of them laugh. 

“Oh, definitely not! I wouldn’t trust him to run this kingdom, that’s for sure!” chuckled another. 

A bearded soldier took a bite out of an apple before adding, “At the ball a couple of nights ago he had some of us pour honey on the stairs to stop this mystery girl from running away. I don’t know what he expected to happen. She just ran threw it without any trouble! He’s completely clueless, man.”

One soldier seemed sympathetic as they spoke. “Yeah, and since the honey didn’t work he threw another ball and had us put tar on the stairs instead. I guess it turned out a little better. One of the girl’s shoes got stuck and left behind!” 

“Apparently he’s planning on having every girl in the kingdom try on that shoe so that he can find this girl. He doesn’t seem to realize that some people have the same sized feet,” groaned a soldier with bags under their eyes. 

This had the whole table roaring with laughter. Just then the herald stumbled out from the castle and towards the soldiers. 

“I have news from the king! The Prince has traveled the entire kingdom and found someone who fits the shoe. Or should I say several people…”

“No surprise there!” yelled on of the soldiers. 

The herald didn’t seem to think this was funny. “He invited them all to the castle and they’re here now. Hopefully he’ll recognize this woman’s face.” As he finished speaking he left.

The soldiers only rolled their eyes and continued to gossip. After a little while the herald came back with more news. 

“So, the Prince has found the woman he’s been looking for. Her name is Cinder. There were multiple woman with the same sized feet, and a couple of them actually cut off part of their heel and toe so that their feet would fit.”

The soldiers looked at each other and shrugged. Stuff like this seemed to happen all the time in this kingdom. 

(the shoe, source) 

Author’s note: I used the “Cinder-Maid” for this week’s story. I kept the events from the original mostly the same, but I put everything in the perspective of the soldiers. I always thought it was funny that the Prince didn’t consider that some people have the same sized feet, so I decided to put that in my version. 

Bibliography: "The Cinder-Maid" by Joseph Jacobs

Reading Notes: Europa's Fairy Book, Part A

I liked that “The Cinder-Maid” had new twists that I had never seen before when it comes to the Cinderella story. One thing that always confused me was how the Cinder-Maid’s shoe size was so different from anyone else. Was there absolutely nobody that had the same shoe size as her? Maybe the prince isn’t so bright. If I used this story this week I’d probably explore this question. 

“The Language of Animals” was funny to me. Just this kid going to school for years and learning about one animal. I want to see what the school he went to was like. 

(an illustration from "The Language of Animals," source) 

Then, in “The Earl of Cattenborough” I was surprised that the cat did so much for Jack with nothing in return. 

Bibliography: Europa's Fairy Book by Joseph Jacobs 

Reading Notes: Czech Folktales, Part A

I can definitely relate to John in “Sleepy John.” I would take naps all the time if I could! This line made me laugh: “ONCE there was a lad named John, and he used to go to sleep always and everywhere.”

(Sleepy John, source) 

I’ve read “The Bear, the Eagle, and the Fish” before and it’s a pretty interesting story. 

I really liked the title “The Three Roses” because it reminds me of me and my sisters. There’s three of us and three daughters in the story. It also has some Beauty and the Beast vibes to it. 

Bibliography: Czech Folktales by Josef Baudis

Story: The Rose Tree

There once was a dog, who had no owner, that was often seen stealing various objects from the grocery store. Many people felt bad for the poor dog and handed her a few pieces of food every now and then. There were also those that  disliked the dog scavenging around and shooed her away. Regardless, she always came back. 

One day, a young woman was leaving leaving the store with groceries in hand when she noticed the dog cowering behind a car in the parking lot. This woman was new to town and had never seen the dog before. She looked into her paper bag and decided to give away some of her food. The woman took her loaf of bread, opened the package, and grabbed a couple of slices to offer to the dog. As she squatted to the ground she called out and waved the bead in its direction. The dog was wary at first but couldn’t resist the free food. It slowly inched closer to the woman until it was close enough to snatch the bread slices and run off. The woman smiled knowing that she had helped the starving dog. 

The next day, the woman came back to the grocery store and looked for the dog after she had bought her items. Surely enough the dog was sitting in the parking lot. The woman reached in her bag again and pulled out a few pieces of pre-cooked chicken for the dog. This time the dog was less timid and ran to the lady, grabbed the chicken, and ran behind the store. The woman watched carefully and noticed that the dog had gone that same way the day before. She also realized that it never ate the food right away. 

The woman went to the store for a third day, and bought more bread and chicken for the dog. This time when she gave the dog some food she followed after it. The dog ran behind the small grocery store, past the dumpsters and into a group of bushes beyond. When the woman finally caught up she heard whimpering and realized that the dog had puppies that she was feeding. The dog noticed the woman and instantly became defensive, but the woman handed her more food and she calmed down. The puppies then ran towards her and showered her in a flurry of puppy kisses. The woman laughed and handed them each a a few pieces of bread. She then decided to take them all home so that she could take care of them properly. The mother dog was thin from giving all her food to the puppies. 

One at home the dogs settled in nicely. They especially liked the warmth of the fireplace and soft couch. After the dogs were nursed back to health she found homes for all the puppies and gave each new owner a candle. She wanted each puppy to be connected, even though they were going to live separated from one another. The woman decided to keep the mother dog and one of the puppies for herself. From that moment on the dogs never went hungry again. 

(source) 

Author’s note: I used the “Rose-Tree” for this weeks story post. In the original there was a dog who kept stealing the candles that a girl bought from the grocery store day after day. The dog wasn’t a significant character, and it was never explained why it was doing this. I decided to write about this dog and the possible reasons it might have for hanging around a grocery store. I decided that it was a mother dog that was only trying to feed her puppies. I took a lot of creative liberties for this story, but I did try to keep the candle element. Instead of the dog stealing candles I decided to have those be given  to each new owner of the puppies. 

Bibliography: “The Rose-Tree” by Joseph Jacobs. 

Reading: Welsh Fairy Book, Part A

When I started reading “March’s Ears” I wasn’t expecting him to actually have horse ears. I think the concept was interesting, he could have anything he wanted but he was insecure about how his ears looked. 

 (source) 

Bibliography: Welsh Fairy Book by Jenkyn Thomas

Reading: English Fairy Tales, Part A

In "Tom Tit Tot" I thought this quote was funny: “she meant, you know, the crust would get soft.” While I read this story it also seemed like the king was disappointed that he didn’t get to kill his wife: “and as I reckon I shan't have to kill you”

When I read the “Rose-Tree” I kept wondering about that dog who kept stealing the candles. What was it doing with them? 

(source)

Bibliography: English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs 

Story: Hey Diddle Diddle

There once was a little dog, more specifically a brown chihuahua, who had been born with the ability to wield magic. He was known to wander and as a result he never stayed in the same place for long. This was ideal since he had the tendency to cause mischief wherever he went. Of course today was no different. 

As the tiny dog was strolling along the roadside he came across a quiet farm. He noticed a cow speckled with black spots standing by the barn, and a brown tabby cat lounging on the farmhouse porch. Beside the cat was a worn-out fiddle, dish, and spoon. Instantly, an idea popped up in the chihuahua’s head and he headed for the grazing cow. She didn’t take much notice of him until he cleared his throat. Once her gaze was on him he spoke. 

“Hello there, I was just wondering-“ 

“No,” the cow interrupted. 

“I just had a question miss. Would you believe me if I told you that I have magic?” The dog asked. 

The cow rolled her eyes before responding. “No.” 

The chihuahua’s patience was starting to waver, but he continued on. “Well, what would you do if I could prove that I have magic?” 

The cow stopped chewing for a moment to consider this. “I’d jump over the moon.” 

“Deal!” smiled the little dog. He then turned to head for the snoring tabby on the porch. As he approached he began to recite a spell. “HEY! Diddle, diddle. The cat and the fiddle.” As the last word came out of his mouth the magical dog barked once and the cat woke up, grabbed the fiddle, and started to play. 

The cat was wide eyed and confused. “DUDE! What’d you do to me!?” 

“Just a little spell,” replied the dog. He then turned towards the dish and spoon before starting a new spell. “HEY! Diddle, diddle. The dish ran after the spoon.” Once again he barked at the end and the spoon flew from the bowl and started running towards the sunset. Then the dish became animated and raced after it like there was no tomorrow. 

The tabby cat audibly gasped and the dog heard a deep bellow from behind him. 

“You actually did it…” The cow trailed off. “Too bad I can’t actually jump over the moon.”

The little brown dog brightened up at this. “I can arrange that. I still have one more spell.”

He took a deep breath and recited, “HEY! Diddle, diddle. The cow jumped over the moon!”

And with that the cow began to glow and rise slowly off the ground. She climbed higher and higher and eventually she began to gain speed. In just a few seconds she was hurtling out of the atmosphere. The chihuahua watched as this happened and couldn’t help but burst out laughing. He blinked away tears as he saw the cow round the moon and come flying back to Earth. She then landed safely next to the dog. 

(the cow jumping over the moon, source)

“ARE YOU CRAZY?” she yelled. “YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME!” 

“But I didn’t, and you’re safe aren’t you?” the dog asked. 

“I guess that was kinda cool.” the cow sighed and looked over at the cat. “You should probably take the spell off of him.” 

The dog glanced over his shoulder and barked twice. As a result the cat dropped the fiddle and yawned before falling back asleep. The chihuahua magician then said goodbye to the cow and went on his way. 

To this day there’s still an antique dish and spoon running across the Earth. 

Author's note: I based this story on the "Hey Diddle Diddle" nursery rhyme. There weren't many details so I had to make up some things, such as the dog being magical and causing chaos. I tried to keep the elements form the nursery rhyme, such as the cow jumping over the moon and the cat playing the fiddle. I also based the dog character on my own chihuahua, Hunter!

Bibliography: Nursery Rhymes by Andrew Lang

Reading: Nursery Rhymes, Part A

“There Was a Crooked Man” was pretty interesting to me, is he physically crooked or is he “crooked” personality wise?

“The Lion and the Unicorn” had a cool dynamic to it as well. I would have never pictured a lion and a unicorn fighting over the leadership of a kingdom. 

(Illustration from "The Lion and the Unicorn," source)

The riddle about the dog’s name being “Take” was clever too. 

Bibliography: Nursery Rhymes by Andrew Lang