Tech Tip Website

Here is the link to the very early beginnings of my storybook website!

https://sites.google.com/site/malgetstorybook/

There's not much to it yet, but it will grow over the course of the semester to be a really great platform for my stories. For now my chosen topic consists of tales of fairies, gnomes, trolls, and goblins. In other words, it's going to be all about garden creatures. I think it will be a really fun and interesting project to work on, and I invite you to check back in occasionally to see my progress!

Storytelling Week 4: Speed dating Swordswoman

"Son you've been mopping about the house all week, I know none of those women were right for you... But you cant stop trying! We must keep searching, lets expand our search to include queens instead of princesses. Maybe they'll be more mature and more suitable for you... What do you think ehh?" said king Charles.

Prince George perked up at the thought of meeting some older women, "Okay I'll give it a shot, but how do we get women together for me to meet?" asked George.

"You leave it to me" Said King Charles with a grin.

The next day the prince awoke to a commotion outside his window, hundreds of dazzling women were in the courtyard and going in and out of the castle. Prince George was just about to call for his father when he burst through the door.

"Son why aren't you dressed?! All of those lovely women have come to meet you... we are going to do... um... what do you kids call it these days" said the king. "Oh that's right... speed dating!!"

"But father..." said Prince George.

"No buts, you and I are going to sit down with these women and I am going to help you find the perfect wife" said the King.

The two went downstairs are there was a single table with a chair on either side, and already one woman was waiting in it. Behind her was a single file line of hundreds of women, it stretched out the front doors of the palace and into the front yard and street.

The prince sat down across from the first woman. He reached out his hand and said "Hi, I'm Prince George" and he took the woman's hand and kissed it. She blushed.

Then all of a sudden, King George slid up another chair, cleared his throat and said "And I'm his father" with his arms crossed over his chest.

Prince George gave his dad the "go away" look, but King Charles ignored it and said "So tell me about yourself, sweetie"

"Sure! I'm from Eden, and my trade is making clothes." she said.

"I make five outfits a day, one for my God, one for myself, one to sell, one for a homeless person, and one for my future husband" said contestant 1.

"That is just wonderful. I love how charitable..." George was saying when his father interrupted- "That's great my dear, but NEXT" he yelled out.

So the first girl got up and left, the next woman in line took her seat.

Prince George introduced himself again and kissed the second woman's hand.

"So what do you like to do? asked Prince George.

"Well, I have quite a bit of land... so most of my time is spent taking care of my crops, my animals, or working out in the barn"

"Fascinating... I am have had this itch to do some farming of my own" said Prince George.

King Charles mumbled under his breath "no way will the next queen of my castle be a farmer."

Prince George and contestant two were hitting it off when King Charles couldn't take it anymore and he said "Times up my dear, NEXT... please!"

*A hundred or so women later*

Contestant 127 sat down across from the Prince and King.

Without waiting for introductions she said "I'm Claudia and I'm a swordswoman."

Prince George was taken back by this statement, as was King Charles.

"Show us!" Exclaimed King Charles.

So the woman rose and said to Prince George, "Aren't you going to join me?"

Prince George stood up but was hesitant, she was a woman, afterall.

"Come now my boy, show her what you've got!! exclaimed King Charles.

The two drew their swords and sparred well past the time allotted for each speed dating session. When she had beat the Prince, they were done and she left.

A swordswoman

King Charles was beaming and said "She's a feisty one, she'd give us all a run for our money... I like her!"

"No father, she isn't right for me" said Prince George.

"Nonsense. But if you insist we shall meet a few more and then you can decide" said King Charles.

The last woman in line took her seat at the table, she had been waiting since sunrise and now the sun had set.

Prince George jumped right to the point "tell me about yourself" he said.

"I have the power to bring creatures, people, anything back to life. Here, bring me something dead and I will restore its breath!" said contestant 745.

Prince George raised an eyebrow and was at a loss for words.

Then the king jumped from his chair, "What nonsense is this you speak of! Enough of this. It has been a long day and we have no room for witchcraft today! Be gone!"

She left and the king and prince sat at the table for a minute longer. They were exhausted but had a decision to make.

"So now do you agree that the swordswoman will make the perfect wife?" said King Charles not really asking but telling.

"Yes father" said Prince George.

And then they sent out their page to retrieve the swordswoman.

Author's Note:

This retelling comes from the story of The Four Scientific Suitors. In this story, four men were skilled in a trade science and each of them told of their skills to the King, who was searching for a suitable husband for his daughter, the princess. This story seemed like it might be interesting told in a speed dating format, and furthermore I wanted to switch the gender roles. I did this because to me it seems like it is always the women who get set up, but I wanted to switch it to be a prince who was looking for love instead.

 

For a little bit of context- the original story is told by a goblin to the king. The king is carrying the goblin and as he does it the goblin keeps telling him stories with riddles at the end; the story I retold is one of them. The real king had to guess which suitor the king in the story would have picked, and I have changed that to the selection on speed dating. Therefore the story king, King Charles, helps the prince, Prince George, decide. I chose the image for this story because I figured people who read it would be wondering what a swordswoman looked like; now they know! My goal was to make this a really interesting story with lots of dialogue to help it move along. This story doesn’t fit into my portfolio or storybook but it was an interesting one so I rewrote it.

Bibliography: "The Four Scientific Suitors" from Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder, with illustrations by Perham W. Nahl (1917).

Week 4 Reading Diary, Continued: 22 Goblins

This reading diary covers the stories from "Twenty-Two Goblins", translated by Arthur W. Ryder, with illustrations by Perham W. Nahl (1917).

The Snake's Poison
The kings answer this time was really interesting, he said that no one was guilty of poisoning/killing the man except for the man himself. That was along the same lines that I was thinking, especially since the thought of the charitable woman being accused for poisoning him made me sad. The poisoned man claimed it was her so she was shunned by her people anyways, how sad.

The Girl and the Thief
A girl refused to love or marry anyone, except when she saw a thief on his way to be executed she fell in love. She was going to kill herself but the God Shiva granted her wishes for her devotion- she rose the thief from the dead and made his a nobleman. My first thoughts were, what a miraculous story, and what a stupid girl. It reminds me of how today some girls are attracted to bad boys when they really shouldn't be.

The General's Wife
When the king answered this time, something was different. The goblin asked him "why?" almost as if that was the wrong answer but he wanted an explanation. Then once the king explained, the goblin liked his reasoning so he again ran away. The moral of the story he told was "actions of devoted men are blameless." Then the moral presented for the kings actions was "No great man stops in the middle of the hardest undertaking."

The Four Brothers
The brothers brought a lion to life and then the lion killed them all. I easily guessed that it was the final brother who breathed life into the lifeless lion was the one responsible for getting them all killed. This story was interesting because it involved animals instead of just people, like almost every other tale before this one did. I like that it wasn't about winning a woman for once... those can get a little old.

The lion that killed the four brothers

The Old Hermit
The old hermit was a magician and so he took over the body of a deceased boy, leaving his old body now deceased and he became reborn again in the youth's body. Again the king guessed correctly as to why the man was both weeping and dancing. I could see this story unfolding beyond the transformation and the old hermit living a really interesting life in the boys body.
Father and Son, Daughter and Mother
On this final riddle, the King was stumped, and so finally the goblin ended his games. He told the king about the other guys evil plan to kill him once he returned the dead body, and then the goblin left the body. Finally the king headed to the monk to give him the body. I really didn't expect this to be the reasoning behind all the stories. I thought of the goblin as so evil when in reality he was stalling the king so he wouldn't get killed by the monk. He did a good deed by telling all these stories/riddles.

Conclusion
The king did as the goblin told him and he tricked the monk and cut off his head. This was pleasing to the goblin and to Shiva, so he became king of the fairies and received a magic sword. The goblin promised him that these 22 stories would become known around the world, and when they were told people benefitted and monsters suffered. This ending couldn't have been any further away from what I expected. I think it may be interesting to do a retelling of the goblin stories but to talk more about the goblin, instead of his stories.

Week 4 Reading Diary: 22 Goblins

This reading diary covers the stories from "Twenty-Two Goblins", translated by Arthur W. Ryder, with illustrations by Perham W. Nahl (1917).

Introduction:
A monk gave the king 12 years of gifts consisting of fruits with jewels in them, and then the king returned the favor by doing a task for the monk. He was to cut down a body hanging from a tree and carry it to the monk in the cemetery. That body turned out to be inhabited by a goblin and the goblin wanted to tell the king stories as they traveled. The stories are riddles and require an answer from the king in the end. This intro was short and to the point. I'm glad it exists because otherwise I would have had no context for why the goblin was with the king and telling stories.

The Goblin hanging from the tree, the king approaching to retrieve him.

The Three Lovers: 
This is the first story told by the goblin, three men bring a dead girl back to life and the king must decide who should be the husband. If he is wrong the goblin will tell another story, if he is right the goblin escapes and hangs on the tree again, if the king knows but pretends he doesn't his head will explode. The king ultimately answers correctly. I couldn't guess what the answer would be or how the king would answer so it was an interesting story.

Brave, Wise, Clever
Another story about who a woman should be given too.. I'm not sure I like this theme. This time three men, one brave, one smart, and one clever, defeat a giant to get a woman and again the King guesses correctly which one should get her. This tale seemed too similar to the last one so I didn't like it.

The Girl, Her Husband, and Her Brother
A woman mixed up the heads of her brother and husband when attaching them back to their bodies. The king said the head matters and that one is her husband. Again the goblin escaped. I'm starting to think the king will never make it back with the goblin. The stories are all very weird.

Food, Women, Cotton
Three men were said to be specialists in food, women, cotton. The king decided it was the cotton specialist who was the cleverest after hearing of how the king in the story tested them. This seemed pretty far fetched, I don't think that man actually felt the single stand of hair through seven cotton quilts.

The Four Scientific Suitors
Four men made their case for the hand of the princess and the king chose the warrior swordsman as the one who should get to marry her. This story had a lesson at the end- "Discouragement never enters the brave heart of a resolute man." I could see this being turned into a dating show, and furthermore the gender roles could switch. The suitors could be women and the princess would turn to a prince.

The Three Delicate Wives
The three wives in this story were injured by either a falling lotus petal, the beams from the moon, or the sound of pestles grinding. The king said the one bruised by sound was the most delicate and he was right. The tales in these stories are so odd, I wonder where the goblin got them. You would think after running after him so many times the king would just give up. I'm ready to see what finally happens.