Week 10 Story: Prom Night

Prom Night

Prom! Prom! Prom! That's all Joelle and Laurel could think about. They have been dreaming of this day since they were little girls. They both wanted prom night to be magical, like a fairytale from a book.

Both girls had already found the perfect dress. Joelle's was baby blue with rhinestone all around, and Laurel's was lavender with a floral pattern covering the top. They were eagerly awaiting the day to come.

There was one problem though. Neither of them had a date. They had talked about this before, and if neither of them had a date then they would just go with a group of friends.

Prom was a few weeks away and the girls decided to give it one last go at finding dates. There was a cute senior boy, named Jackson, that Joelle had her eye on. She had always wanted to go with him to prom but never had the courage to ask him.

Laurel had a secret crush too, but never told anyone. She always admired Jackson, the senior boy at her school. She wanted so badly to go to prom with him, but could never gather the courage to ask him.

Neither of the girls knew about the others secret crush, until one morning on their way to school. Joelle brought up the idea that she had to about wanting to ask Jackson to prom. Shocked, Laurel said she wanted to ask Jackson too. "We can't ask the same boy," said Joelle. "How about we both ask him and whoever he says yes to gets to go with him?" asked Laurel. Hesitant at first, Joelle agreed. "Fine, may the best one win," Laurel said in a firm tone.

Later that afternoon, Joelle was thinking of a way she could ask Jackson to prom. Did she want to text him or ask him in person? Should she make a sign or send him a gift? She didn't know what she was going to do.

Laurel was also thinking of how she was going to ask him. Should she send him a note? Or, should she ask him to hangout and then ask him? She didn't know what she was going to do either.

Later that day, Laurel decided she was going to ask Jackson to go to the movies with her tonight. The new Twilight movie was out and she was so excited to see it.

Coincidentally, Joelle was going to ask Jackson to go eat frozen yogurt with her tonight. There was a new place that she wanted to try.

Usually, the girls would go try the new frozen yogurt place and go watch the new Twilight movie together, but they were too focused on winning Jackson over. There was a weird tension between the girls that neither of them wanted to admit.

After lunch the next day, Joelle stopped Jackson in the hallway and asked if he wanted to go grab frozen yogurt with her later on tonight.  To her surprise, he agreed!

A few hours later, when Jackson was walking to his car, Laurel stopped him. She asked if he wanted to go see the new Twilight movie with her later tonight, and he said he would!

Both girls were thrilled that they had a date tonight with Jackson, they couldn't wait to ask him to prom. The only thing in the way was that neither of them knew that he was going to say yes to both of them...

Later that evening, Joelle and Jackson were enjoying their frozen yogurt when Joelle asked if he would want to go to prom with her. She was so nervous that he was going to say no, but to her surprise he said yes! "Wow, really?" Joelle said. "Sure, I'd love to go together," said Jackson.

Jackson dropped Joelle off at her house and headed toward the move theatre to meet up with Laurel.

Once they both found their seats, Laurel shyly asked him if he wanted to go to prom with her. Looking a bit confused, he said "sure." 

Not fazed one bit by his hesitating, Laurel was so excited that she was going to get to go to prom with Jackson.

Prom day was finally here! The girls hadn't spoken since they decided to compete with each other and try to win the date with Jackson, so they were getting ready on their own. They had always planned on getting their hair and nails done together, but since they were fighting they decided to get ready by theirselves. 

The limo pulled up to Joelle's house and out stepped Jackson with a corsage in hand. He looked so handsome and the all white tuxedo that he was wearing paired perfectly with her baby blue dress. They got in the limo and headed to prom, or so she thought.

She noticed that the limo driver was taking them a different way than she expected, but she didn't care because she was going to show up with her handsome date.

A few minutes later she noticed that they pulled up to Laurel's house. "What are we doing here?" Joelle asked. "We're picking up Laurel." replied Jackson. Joelle couldn't believe this. Did Jackson really plan on going to prom with both of us? 

Jackson stepped out of the limo and out walked Laurel in her floral patterned, lavender dress. We match perfectly, thought Laurel when she saw him in his all white tuxedo.

As she got in the limo she saw Joelle sitting in the seat across. 

"What are you doing here?" asked Laurel.

"I'm going to prom with Jackson, what are you doing here?" replied Joelle.

"Jackson said he would go to prom with me," said Laurel.

"No, I'm going to prom with him," said Joelle.

"Ladies, ladies, ladies, calm down. I'm going to prom with both of you," said Jackson.

Frustrated and confused, the girls realized that neither of them had really won the date with Jackson.

They both learned that compromising their friendship wasn't worth it and they learned a valuable lesson that day. 

Disco Ball

Author's Note: I took the original story "Two Fast Runners," and added my own twist. In the original story, a deer and an antelope were trying to settle an argument. Both of them thought that they were faster than the other, so to settle this argument, they decided that they were going to race to determine who was faster.  The first time they raced, they bet their galls. This race was to take place on the prairie. The antelope beat the deer and took the deer's galls. Unsatisfied, the deer suggested that it wasn't a fair race and that they should race in the timbers. The antelope agreed. This time they bet their dewclaws. The deer won this time and took the antelope's dew claws. In the end, both animals realized that each of them were faster in their own territory. In my story, there was a feud between two friends that wanted to attend prom with the same boy. They both decided to compete with each other to try and win a date with the cute boy at their school. In the end, they realized that fighting with each other and compromising their friendship wasn't worth it. Although they got to go to prom with the boy they wanted, neither of them truly won.

Story Source: Blackfoot: Two Fast Runners

Author: George Bird Grinnell (1915)

Week 9 Story: The Jealous Girl

The Jealous Girl

Rivers and Penelope were the best of friends. They did everything together. They went to the same school, had the same style, and even drove the same type of car. They knew they were going to be best friends forever.

Becoming best friends came so naturally to them because their parents were also best friends. Both of their mothers had known each other since a young age, so it was pre-determined that their children were going to grow up together.

Although they did almost everything the same, they did not look the same. Rivers had short, dark brown hair and the darkest brown eyes that you've ever seen, and Penelope had long, blonde hair with the lightest blue eyes that you can imagine.

They even liked the same type of things. They both loved shopping, watching movies on the Hallmark channel and hanging out with their friends on the weekends. Both of them even shared the same interest in the cute senior varsity football player, Brett. Brett received a football scholarship to the University of Oklahoma, so he was super popular in their small town. Since they both liked Brett, they vowed that neither of them could ever go out with him. It just wouldn't be fair.

One afternoon, after the final school bell had rang, Rivers was waiting for Penelope in the parking lot. Penelope had to stay after to discuss an upcoming project with her science teacher, Mrs. Smith. While Rivers was waiting, she was looking down at her phone, scrolling through Facebook. As she was scrolling, she sensed someone walking towards her. To her surprise when she looked up she saw Brett! "Oh my gosh, how is this happening?" thought Rivers. The cute senior varsity football player was standing right in front of her.

"Umm hey" she said very shyly.

"Hey, how's it going?" asked Brett.

"Oh, I'm just waiting for Penelope to get done talking to Mrs. Smith" replied Rivers.

"Cool!" Brett replied excitedly.

"Why aren't you at football practice?" asked Rivers.

"Coach let us out early today since we have a game tomorrow night" responded Brett.

"Oh yeah, that's right. I forgot about the game tomorrow" Rivers said hesitantly.

"It's okay! You should come to the game tomorrow night. After, a few of us are going to a party if you'd like to come." said Brett.

"A party? That sounds like fun! Do you mind if I bring Penelope?" asked Rivers.

"For sure, the more the merrier! Hey, I have to go, I promised my mom I'd be home early today. See you tomorrow." said Brett.

Rivers couldn't believe what just happened. Did Brett really just come up and talk to her? She couldn't wait to tell Penelope what just happened and that they got invited to a party.

Penelope was finally done talking to Mrs. Smith and began walking to the parking lot.

"You won't believe what I have to do for this science project" said Penelope.

"No time for that, Brett invited us to a party tomorrow night!" said Rivers excitedly.

"Oh my gosh! A party? Awesome!" responded Penelope.

"Wait, you talked to Brett?" asked Penelope.

"Well, he came up and talked to me" responded Rivers.

There was an awkward pause after Rivers responded. Nobody said anything, but you could sense the jealousy coming from Penelope about the fact that Brett had talked to Rivers and not her.

The next morning, they both decided to skip school so that they could go to the mall and get new outfits to wear to the party.

Later that evening they were at the football game, cheering loudly for Brett and the rest of the football team. It was no surprise that the team won the game. They had been undefeated for two years and had won the state championship back-to-back. It was probably because they had Brett as the quarterback for the team, thought the girls.

After the game was over, Rivers and Penelope eagerly drove to the party. When they got there everyone was dancing and having a great time. "This looks like fun" Rivers said. "Yeah, why don't you go find Brett" Penelope said in a sarcastic tone. "I think I will" responded Rivers with a smirk on her face.

You could tell there was some tension between the girls. Penelope was trying not to show it, but she was jealous that Brett was showing interest in her best friend. All she could think about was the vow that both of them took to never act on their interest in Brett.

Once Rivers gathered up the courage, she went and found Brett. He was by the punch bowl getting a drink. "Hey! Would you like some punch?" asked Brett. "Sure, thanks!" responded Rivers as she took the drink from Brett. "I'm really glad you were able to make it tonight" said Brett. "Yeah, me too" Rivers said.

After talking for a while, Brett went to play video games with some of his friends. Rivers started to feel guilty for leaving Penelope to go talk to Brett. She decided she was going to find her and apologize. 

After looking for what seemed like an hour, Penelope was nowhere to be found. Rivers tried calling and texting her, but no response.

Rivers went upstairs to look for Penelope and to her surprise found Penelope kissing Brett! "What is going on here?" said Rivers. Penelope smirked and said "If you break the vow, then so do I." Rivers couldn't believe what was happening. Here she was trying to find Penelope to apologize for leaving her and she finds Penelope kissing Brett.

Rivers left the party in disbelief. Penelope on the other hand, let the jealousy get the best of her. She broke the vow that the girls had made and took it one step too far.

The next day Penelope tried calling Rivers to talk about what happened the night before, but Rivers didn't answer.

Football

Authors Note: I took the original story "The Jealous Wife," and made it my own. The original story is pretty gruesome, so I wanted to make it a more happy story while keeping some similar aspects from the original story.  In the original story, there were two wives who were both married with children. Their husbands were often away to find work. While away, the wives were to look after the children, keeping them from harm and never leaving them unattended. While their husbands were away, the time had come for one of the wives to leave and go gather food. The elder wife went first, while the younger wife was to watch after the children. After a few days of gathering and smoking the fish, the eldest wife had returned. It was now time for the younger wife to go. While the younger wife was away, the eldest wife had grown jealous that her child wasn't as bright or intelligent as the younger wives child. She had planned to kill the intelligent child. When everyone was asleep she sharpened her knife and went and killed the child, or so she thought. Come the next morning, she realized that she had killed her own child. She picked up her deceased child and ran into the woods. There, she nursing ad rocking the child back and forth. Upon their return, the husband could not believe what he was hearing, so they went to the woods to look for his wife and dead child. In the woods they found the wife sobbing while holding the dead child. The husband gave his wife casca (highly poisonous) and watcher her die. They then set her on fire and watched as her ashes burned. As you can see, this story doesn't have a happy ending. In my retelling of the story, I changed the scenery and the characters completely, while modernizing it.

Story Source: The Jealous Wife 

By: Richard Edward Dennett

Week 7 Story: The Bird That Could Sing

The Bird That Could Sing

Chirp the bird loved to sing. He sang all through the day and all through the night. None of his friends sang, so most days he sang alone. Chirp's mother praised her son for his joyful voice. She enjoyed listening to her son make beautiful music.

Harmony, Chirp's mother had a small bakery in the town. She was known for her famous scones. She had the most popular bakery in the town. Everyone loved going there to get all the delicious treats that she bakes.

Chirp's mother was his biggest fan and he knew how proud his voice made her. There was one problem though. The town that they lived in was very small and Chirp had such a loud voice that it overpowered the whole town. It often times made the townspeople angry that his voice was so loud. Many of them had a hard time focusing on their work each day.

One afternoon, Chirp was singing as he usually does. He was at the top of the tallest tree in the town, singing his little heart out. "La la la la la" Chirp sang.

Even though he had a beautiful voice, the townspeople were becoming more angry as the weeks went on. The loud singing was starting to get on their last nerve. The townspeople decided that something needed to be done. They all made the decision to have a town meeting without Chirp and Harmony knowing.

At the meeting, all of them started to express their concerns about the noise and how it was impacting their work. "Something needs to be done" said one of the townsmen. Everyone was agreeing that something had to change. One of the townspeople suggested that Chirp be banned from the town and only be allowed back if he promises not to sing ever again.

The decision was made. Chirp was to be banned from the town unless he promised to never sing again. The townspeople shared the news with Chirp and his mother. Hearing this news made them incredibly sad. Chirp thought that everyone loved hearing him sing. He didn't realize that he was upsetting so many people.

"I can't stop singing" Chirp said to his mother.

"I know, we will just have to pack our bags and move elsewhere" replied his mother.

"What about your bakery?" Chirp said in a concerning voice.

"I'll have to shut it down" said his mother.

After packing up all of their things, Harmony had one last thing to do. She went to her bakery and put a sign on the door that read "Closed" and her and Chirp left town.

Later that day, all of the townspeople saw the sign and realized they had made a big mistake. Banning Chirp from the town meant that his mother was leaving too. They couldn't live without Harmony's famous scones.

The mayor of the town called Chirp and his mother asking them to come back for a meeting. "Surely we can work something out" said the mayor on the phone.

Chirp and his mother arrived at the meeting a bit confused. "You ban Chirp from the town and now you want us back?" asked Harmony. "We realized we have made a huge mistake by banning your son and then forcing you to close your bakery" responded the mayor. "We want to make a deal" added the mayor.

"How about we allow Chirp to sing at designated times throughout the day" said the mayor.

"What do you mean designated times?" asked Harmony

"I want to be able to sing whenever I want" exclaimed Chirp.

"Let's hear what the mayor has to say" responded Harmony.

"How about you sing in the morning, afternoon, and evening of each day?" asked the mayor.

Hmmm Chirp though to himself.

"You can be everyones alarm clock in the morning, waking everyone up with your beautiful voice" said the mayor.

"That sounds like a plan" said Chirp.

Although he didn't quite get what he wanted, Chirp was still excited to no longer be banned from the town. His mother was excited too! She could reopen her bakery and start making her famous scones again.

Chirp

Authors Note: I took the original story "The Lightning and the Thunder" and added my own twist. In the original story, the characters were quite different from my story. In the original story, the thunder was an old mother sheep and the lightning was her son, who was an angry ram. The lightning was very mean and often times destroyed the homes of the people that lived in the town. He would destroy everything in his path when he went on a rage. At times he would become so angry that he would use his lightning power to strike people, which ultimately killed them. He had an angry rage that couldn't be tamed. His mother didn't know what to do. She couldn't control her son, despite her efforts of yelling at him and attempting to stop him. The only option was for the lightning and thunder to leave the town. The king of the town forced them to leave the town and never come back. I changed the ending of my story a little form the original story. In the original story, the lightning and thunder weren't able to come back, but in my story, the two main characters were able to come back to the town.

Story Source: Nigeria: The Lightning and the Thunder

Author: Elphinstone Dayrell

Week 6 Story: The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters (link for my Portfolio)

There once were three sisters, Hailey, Tatiana, and Landry, who lived together in a big mansion with their father. Their mother abandoned them when they were young, so it was just them four that lived together. 

All three girls were very spoiled and always had things handed to them. They wore the fanciest clothes and drove the most luxurious vehicles. They always had a maid at hand and could have anything they ever wanted.

Their father was rarely home, he worked more hours than he slept, so spending time together as a family wasn't an option for them. The girls missed spending time with their father. To fill this void, they would go out and shop or buy things they didn't need. 

One day, their father came home earlier than usual, which surprised the girls. He always got home late and left before the sun rose in the mornings. Their father had some sad news to tell them.

He told them that he had become ill and didn't have much time left. Surprised by this news, Hailey and Tatiana told their father how sorry they were and then left to go hang out with their friends. The youngest daughter, Landry, stayed with her father and helped him with whatever he needed.

Days had passed and Hailey and Tatiana had no interest in helping their father. They continued going on shopping sprees and extravagant vacations, showing no sympathy for their dying father. 

Landry stayed and cared for her father. She cooked him meals and made sure he was getting enough rest. Each and every day became harder and harder for the father.

After seeing her father in such a fragile state, Landry started to realize the important things in life, family and the relationship that you have with others. Embarrassed by her past behaviors, she decided she was going to start putting family first. 

Weeks had gone by now and the girls father didn't have much longer. Unchanged, Hailey and Tatiana continued with their old ways, while Landry and their father continued growing closer each day.

Sadly, their father had passed. The girls were very sad by this news, but Landry was the most sad. In her fathers last days, she had formed an unbreakable bond with him.

As the girls were going through their fathers old things, they came across his will. In his will he left, it stated that the youngest daughter, Landry, was to get all of his possessions, as well as ownership of the multi-million dollar company that he left behind. 

"I'm leaving my fortune and most of my possessions to my youngest daughter, Landry. For she took care of me in my time of need" read the will.

Hailey and Tatiana couldn't believe what they were reading. Their father left them with just enough to live on, but their extreme spending habits would have to stop. Landry, on the other hand, could live however she wanted. After all, her father left all of his fortune to her.

Shopping Bags

Authors Note: I took the fairy tale "How Sun, Moon, and Wind Went Out to Dinner" and added my own twist. The original story presents two siblings who failed to consider their mother on one of their outings and another that was thoughtful and caring towards her. This story teaches an important lesson on being considerate towards others and thinking of others before you think of yourself. In my story, I stuck with the same story line but with completely different characters and settings. This story allows the reader to see the rewards of helping others even when nobody else is.

Story Source:Indian Fairy Tales: How Sun, Moon, and Wind Went Out to Dinner
Author: Joseph Jacobs

Week 5 Story: The Sneaky Turtle

Authors Note: For this story, I used the original story Indian Fairy Tales: The Lion and the Crane, by Joseph Jacobs (1912) and changed it up a bit.  In the original story, the lion was enjoying a meal one afternoon and got a bone stuck in his throat. Choking and not able to remove it, he asked the crane for help. The crane was hesitant at first because he would have to stick his head into the lions big mouth to remove the bone. This story was based off of trust. The lion had to trust that the crane would remove the bone and not push it down further and the crane had to trust that the lion wouldn't bite down on his head when the bone was removed.

The Sneaky Turtle

Tut was a land turtle and didn't like swimming in water. One hot afternoon, he was basking in the sun, enjoying the warmth it brought him. He was having a good day. 

A little later, he heard a noise from across the pond. The noise was coming from his friends, they were having a party up on the hill.

Feeling left out, he decided he wanted to join them. The only problem was that he didn't know if he would be able to swim all the way across the pond. He hated water and there was no way he could walk all the way around the pond.

Tut sadly sat near the edge of the water, trying to figure out a way to get across the pond.

An alligator, named Ally, was passing by and saw the gloomy look on Tut's face. Ally loved the water and spent most of her life in it. The only time she ever came out of the water was to lay her eggs.

"What's wrong?" asked Ally.

"I have no way of getting across the pond" responded Tut.

"I see.. I could take you across the pond" said Ally.

"Wow, really?" responded Tut.

"You have to do something for me in return" Ally demanded.

"What do you want?" asked Tut.

Ally demanded that he must help her keep her eggs safe. She had laid them in the mud and grass, near the shore of the pond. She showed Tut where she had them and asked him to help her keep them safe.

"If you take me across the pond, I'll help you keep your eggs safe" said Tut.

Tut climbed on Ally's back and enjoyed the ride as she swam across the pond. Ally was feeling great, thinking that she was going to have help protecting her eggs. Little did she know that Tut had a different idea in mind.

When they reached the other side of the pond, Tut climbed off her back and went to meet his friends. They both agreed to meet back at the shore later that day so that they could go back to the other side to watch over and keep the eggs safe.

Tut met up with his friends. He had a great time.

Later that evening, Ally had returned back to the meeting spot to pick Tut up. He told her that he decided to stay with his friends. 

"That wasn't the agreement we made" said Ally.

Confused, Ally became angry because Tut wasn't going to help her protect her eggs. 

Tut had tricked Ally. He was never going to help her protect her eggs. Instead, he used her so that he could get a ride on her back to go across the pond and be with his friends.

Sad and heartbroken, Ally returned to the other side of the pond to be with her eggs. She learned a valuable lesson that day. Be careful when it comes to trusting others, you never know what their motives may be.

                                                                             

                                                                            Turtle

Week 4 Story: Noah's Animals

Noah: The Flood (Genesis)
By: Louis Ginzberg (1909)

Authors Note: For this story, I decided to take the story "Noah: The Flood" and put my own twist on it. In the original story, Noah was called upon to build an ark so that him and all the animals could survive the massive flood that was to occur. Through trial and error, Noah was able to build an ark and bring a pair of every animal imaginable onto the ark. Thinking they were safe and free from harm, Noah began to notice the waves from the water were becoming more violent. To add to the situation, they were beginning to run out of food. Worried, Noah began to improvise.

Noah's Animals

One day Noah was working outside, as he usually does. Working on the farm and making sure everything was in order. He heard a voice speak to him.

"You must build an ark before the flood comes" says the voice.

"Who's there?" Noah asked.

"Go and build the ark, for I am the LORD and you shall do as I say." said the LORD.

Shocked and confused, Noah began to collect wood and tools that he would need to build an ark.

"How am I supposed to build an ark?" Noah thought to himself.

The next day, Noah was going to go gather some more wood and tools. As he stepped outside he stubbed his toe on a big box that was sitting on his porch.

"What is this?" Noah thought as he scratched his head.

Noah opened the box and to his surprise it was full of wood and tools.

Later that day, Noah began to build the ark. He worked for hours and hours, for he remembered the LORD told him he didn't have long.

The next morning, Noah opened his door and saw another box!

"I wonder what this could be?" said Noah.

He opened the box and found it filled with nails and screws. Something he desperately needed to finish the ark.

"Where is all of this coming from?" Noah wondered.

Exhausted and sleepy, Noah laid down on the couch for a nap. As he shut his eyes he heard a knock on the door. He went to the door and as he opened it, a pair of dogs walked in.

"Oh my! Where did you two come from?" said Noah.

Noah gave them both some food and water and laid back down. A little later, there was another knock on the door. Noah got up to go see who it was, and in walked a pair of kittens.

"How is this possible?" yelled Noah.

He gave the kittens some milk and put them next to the dogs. After the kittens were fed, Noah was able to go to sleep.

The next morning, Noah woke up to yet another knock on the door. As he opened it in walked so many pairs of animals he couldn't even count them all. Noah became overwhelmed. He still had to finish the ark and hadn't yet figured out where those boxes full of wood and tools were coming from.

Noah called all the animals over and had them gather around. Looking at all of them, he saw so many pairs of different animals. Dogs, kittens, giraffes, penguins, elephants, snakes, and so many others! Noah couldn't believe his eyes.

"Do you want us to help you finish the ark?" said one of the giraffes.

"You can talk?" said Noah.

"Of course we can" responded the giraffe.

"We've all been bringing you the tools and wood to help with the ark" said one of the penguins.

"Wow, that's so wonderful! Let's get to work" exclaimed Noah.

All the animals began helping Noah finish the ark. The giraffes were helpful with putting the boards up and the snakes checked for any holes or cracks that needed to be repaired.

Many hours later, the ark was completed! Worn out and exhausted, Noah and the animals all went to bed.

Later that night, Noah was awoke by a loud voice.

"Wake up! Wake up!" the loud voice yelled.

Noah and all the animals awoke and boarded the ark. Scared and worried, nobody knew what to expect. Within minutes of boarding the ark, a large amount of water began flooding in. Noah watched as his house and farm were washed away.

The flood began to rock the ark back-and-forth.

"Hold on!" shouted Noah.

Thankfully, the water let up and the ark was able to peacefully float in the water.

After many days, the flood eventually subsided and the water began to go down. Noah and the animals were beginning to become very hungry.

"What do we have to eat?" asked one of the elephants.

"We don't have any food left" Noah said sadly.

Worried, the animals began to panic.

"LORD please help us!" begged Noah.

"No need to worry" responded the LORD.

A few days had passed and the animals and Noah became weaker and weaker. They were so hungry they could barely stand. They all went to sleep early that night.

The next morning, all of them awoke to a wonderful smell. There was a feast awaiting for them! There was food everywhere. Any type of food imaginable was on the ark. Noah and the animals began jumping with joy. All of them began to fill their bellies.

Many weeks had passed, Noah was begging to worry.

"Will we ever get off this boat?" wondered Noah.

"No need to worry" said the LORD.

The next morning, Noah and the animals woke up to an exciting surprise. The ark was parked in front of a big house. So big that all of the animals could fit. Noah was excited that he had a new house and that all the animals could stay with him.

All of the water was gone. They all got off the ark and went to explore their new home.

Noah's Ark

Week 3 Story: The Whale and The Mermaid

Authors Note:
For this story, I've decided to take a whole new route. I've changed up the main characters who in the previous story were many fish, a saint, and his friend. I've decided to use the same scene as the previous story, but have a whole new story plot and ending. A little background on the original story, which includes the fish in the sea, the saint (Saint Gudwall), and his friend. The saint and his friend lived on a tiny island together and were beginning to worry because the waves from the sea began rising and crashing into their home. Devastated and cold, they had no where to go. Sure enough, the fish in the sea came to their rescue. The fish began to build a sea bar to create a barrier so that the waves would no longer crash onto their island. Saint Gudwall and his friend were able to return home and live on the island.

Saints: The Fish Who Helped Saint Gudwall
Author: Abbie Farwell Brown (1900)

The Whale and The Mermaid

Many years ago, a beautiful girl, named Coral, lived on an island all by herself. She didn't mind living alone though, for she found it to be peaceful.

Coral lived on a tiny island that had all she needed. It had a small cave to where she had shelter, and many trees to where she found fruit hanging on them to eat.

To fulfill her days, Coral would go out into the ocean and swim with the fish and sea turtles. She had always felt some sort of connection with the sea and the animals that lived in it.

Coral always thought there was something different and unique about her. She could swim hours upon hours in the ocean and never become tired. She was a fast swimmer and found racing the fish and turtles to be fun!

One afternoon, she noticed that the waves were unusually large and violently crashing onto the shore. The water was beginning to rise and started washing into the cave. She started to become worried.

Later that evening, she was awoken by the cold water touching her skin. The water had flooded her cave and she had no choice but to leave the cave and go somewhere else. She walked to the shore line and saw a whale that had washed up on the beach.

"I have come for you" the whale said.

"You have come for me?" asked Coral.

"You are the chosen one, and you must come with me now." exclaimed the whale.

"I can't just leave my island, it's been my home for so long" Coral replied.

"If you don't come now, the water is going to continue rising and wash away your island" said the whale.

Hesitantly, Coral took one last look at her island and swam with the whale into the ocean.

As Coral and the whale began to swim, she started to feel weird and tingly. She became concerned.

"Don't be afraid, you are the chosen one" said Whale.

Confused, Coral continued to swim.

A bit later, Coral had noticed she was swimming unusually faster and didn't even need to hold her breath under water. She also noticed that all the animals in the ocean were following and smiling at her.

She soon realized that she was in fact the "chosen one."

She had been chosen to become a mermaid and become the queen of the ocean. Everyone began congratulating and applauding her as she grew her mermaid tale and wore her crown.

Coral was much happier in the water and loved being surrounded by her friends. 

                         

                                                        Palm Trees by The Sea

Week 2 Story: The Princess Maid

This story is now available in my Portfolio: The Princess Maid

Bibliography: "Beauty and the Basilisk" by Josef Baudis (link)

Authors Note: I took the fairy tale, "Beauty and the Basilisk" and added my own little twist on it. This involves completely different characters and is about a prince who has turned into a beast and his servant who transforms into a princess and eventually rules her own kingdom.

                                                        Photo Source: Royal Crown

The Princess Maid

Belle had lived most her life as a servant. Always following the rules and doing as she was told, it's all she had ever known. She lived in a beautiful castle as a maid who did all the cooking and cleaning.

Belle grew up in the castle with her mother and her father, whom were servants as well. To Belle, living in the castle and doing all the chores was her everyday normal life.

Belle and her parents tended to one man in particular in the castle. This man was very demanding and always expected perfection and nothing less. He would yell and scream if anything was out of order or if anyone or anything was late.

He woke up at the same time each day. He ate his meals at the same time each day. He did the same thing at the same time each and every day. This man could become easily angered, and was often mean to the servants.

Many years ago he was cursed by a witch who turned him into a beast. He was no longer the handsome prince that everyone knew and loved. Instead, he had giant paws, sharp teeth, and a roar so loud that everyone in the kingdom could hear.

The only way that Beast could be transformed into a handsome prince again is if he fell in love with a girl. But how could anyone love him if he was a beast?

One night during dinner, Beast asked Belle to sit and eat with him. During the meal, Beast had grown very fond of Belle and asked if she would go on a walk with him.

During the walk, Beast and Belle began talking and soon found out they had similar things they both enjoyed. Beast knew she was the one.

Later the next day, Beast asked Belle to dance. Belle wore a beautiful light blue dress and Beast wore a sharp yellow tuxedo. They were the perfect pair.

Later that evening Beast said to Belle "You are the one for me," and Belle replied "I love you, Beast."

Right after Belle said those four words, Beast started to transform into the beautiful prince that he once was.

Little did he know, the witch that cursed him had a little trick up her sleeve.

Beast was to fall in love if he ever wanted to be normal again, but he would lose all of his power once he did.

Beast was no longer the prince of the castle and had no servants.

Instead, Belle became the princess of the castle and Beast was now the servant to her and her parents.

Together, Belle and her parents took over the palace and ruled the kingdom.