Friday, September 21, 2007

Fairy Tales

If you are in Section 17 (meeting at 9:35 T/Th), please send your fairy tale here by "commenting" on this post.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Once upon time in the city that never sleeps, lived a girl named Cindy Ella. She came from the northeastern section of Manhattan also known as Spanish Harlem. After the news of her mother dying in a tragic car accident, Cindy and her father decided to take their life savings along with the insurance money and move to the Upper East Side. Cindy’s father knew that the money wouldn’t last so he got a job in the area at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At work, her father began to see another women who is a curator. One date turned into two and one month turned into six. Shortly after he remarried the curator at the Museum. He’s new wife came along with two other children from a previous marriage. So the father and stepmother decided for the entire family to move in together for financial reasons. Right from the start Cindy’s stepsisters treated her very poorly like as if she wasn’t a member of the family. Apparently when they moved into the new home Cindy’s was left with the tinniest room in the house while her stepsisters got everything. Since her father was working so much to support them he wasn’t around to defend his daughter, so the stepsisters made Cindy clean the house, do their laundry, and anything else they needed to get done. But out of the kindness of her heart she put up with it. She didn’t want to cause a disturbance in the family to ruin her and her father’s new life. So night after night she prayed for things to be better for her and her family.
While at work her father got word of an event that was coming to the museum. So obviously since he and is wife are employee’s they will be attending with their children. On the first Friday in September the museum was hosting a gala affair for a new ancient Egyptian exhibit opening, it was expected that the New York Elite would be attending. When the family was given the news about the party the three girls where ecstatic and wanted to rush out the door to find what they wanted to wear. But the two stepsisters leaned to Cindy and said “on the night of the party, you will be sick” Cindy replies with “ no I wont” then the stepsisters said “yes you will” in a threatening voice. They then told Cindy that since this was to be an event with the who’s who showing up they didn’t want to be looking out for anyone else, because they were trying to impress Donald Trump Jr.cause they knew that he recently broke with his girlfriend. Cindy again who didn’t want to cause trouble agreed to be “sick” on the night of the party.
So the night of the party arrived and the father and stepmother had to leave early, but Cindy’s father asked Cindy “what time will you and your sister’s showing up?” Cindy replied “ they’ll be there around eight o’clock”, her father said, “They’ll” yeah they’ll, I’m not going Cindy said. Father asked why and Cindy replied, “I’m sick”. So her looked at her and gave her a kiss on her forehead and told her to get better. Cindy watched as her stepsisters put on their black dresses from DKNY along with their Prada shoes and the matching handbags. Cindy watched them walked out the door and catch a cab, she said to herself “I hope they have a good time”. Five minuets later a knock came at the door, Cindy yelled out “who is it” a man replied, “bike messenger” she then opened the door and the messenger handed her a letter and left. She opened the letter and it read, “For your hard work and compassion accept this card” there was a card for ten thousand dollars signed by “Felicia G. Madison” on the back. When the realization that this was not a joke, Cindy rushed to fifth Ave. to buy whatever she can to attend the party. She walked in the nearest salon to get her hair and nails done along with makeup. She looked across the street at a Versace dress in the window that her stepsisters would die for along with the matching shoes and handbag. So she rushed over and bought it and changed in the store. She then hailed the nearest cab to take her to the museum.
When she stepped out everyone looked at her as if she was the Princess of New York. As she walked into the building she caught everyone’s eye including her stepsisters who could not recognize her and Donald. Donald Jr. finally built up enough courage to ask her to dace with him in the ballroom. They danced until there was no more music to dance to. Cindy looked at the clock and it was 11:50 and she didn’t want to get home after her family so that they won’t be suspicious. She told Donald that she had to leave but he didn’t want it to be true. Being the gentlemen that he is he walked her to the street to hail a cab. Before she stepped into the cab they kissed and Cindy said “thank you for a good night” she then sped off into the night in her yellow chariot. Donald looked down and saw that she had dropped one of her white shoes. Donald knew that since this was a once night event the chances of seeing her again were slim. So he used is star power to locate her. The next day there was an article on the front page of the New York Post that titled “Donald’s Lost Love”. The article talked about how he was trying to find the woman who he danced with and kissed, and it said if you attended the party last night at the museum to come to Trump Towers to see if a shoe that he holds fits you. So without question every woman at the party lined up outside Trump Towers to try on the white shoe included Cindy’s stepsisters. The first sister’s foot was too fat for the shoe cause toes hanged over the open toes shoe. The second sister’s foot was too wide to even fit.
Cindy thought hard and long to go to Trump Tower to try the shoe. Finally she built up enough courage to go down there and face him, fully aware that she was about to change her life. When she got to Trump Towers the line had already died down and doors where about to close but she skirted in at the last second. She approached Donald’s office with nerves beyond belief. The Donald Jr. was there with a couple of his close associates. As she walked in they looked at her as if she didn’t matter. The man told her to have a seat while I place the shoe on your foot. The shoe slid on to her foot like gem. The man looked over at Donald and said “I can’t believe this it fits” Donald leaped from his chair and asked Cindy “are you the one” Cindy looked at him and said “ I am the once you seek, we danced all night and kissed at the very end”. The two were overloaded with happiness. The next day on the front page of the New York Post the heading read “Lost Love Found”. Her family read the article and couldn’t believe what was going on. the stepsisters without a doubt were extremely jealous. Cindy came home to further explain herself to her family. As soon as she was going to open her mouth to her father he said “you don’t have to explain yourself to me darling, you do what you think was necessary”. The stepmother and sisters stood by and just couldn’t say a word. Cindy turned to them and said “I still love you, and I hope you will find your happiness one day”, and then just like that Cindy walked out to be with her new love. And then so the following days came the circus on television, radio, and newspaper of the wedding of the century between Donald Trump Jr. and Cindy Ella. They were married on a sunny autumn day at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, with the hope of living happily ever after.


Artist’s Statement
In this version of Cinderella I wanted to do something modern that most kids can relate to. Recently there is a new adaptation to the Snow White but the characters are set up in a college setting. I wanted to do the same thing with Cinderella. To me placing the Cinderella in a New York Setting would fit the rags to riches theme. Too many New Yorkers, moving from “ghetto” to the uppers east side is a dream come true. By updating the story to a modern age, I feel like younger kids would relate to the story. Most kids know that there is no such thing as a fairy godmother, but if they received a check or debit card with money on it they wouldn’t question it. They can understand taxicabs before chariots made of a pumpkin, by trying to have the kids relate to this version it would definitely get them thinking a lot more that this really can happen to them cause it takes place in a real city with real elements.

Anonymous said...

Orphan Ella

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Ella. She was beautiful, elegant and everyone adored her. The only problem was that she was missing the one thing that meant the most to her. One year ago both her parents suddenly died. She was now in an orphanage feeling alone and unloved, with her two demanding sisters.
Many miles away set atop a hill was a luxurious castle with many servants and keepers. The beautifully manicured gardens led way to white doves circling around above. Although everything was beautiful inside there was a man, a king, who was devastated. He had just lost his wife, the love of his life. All the king ever wanted was a daughter with blond hair of gold and sea blue eyes.
In the orphanage Ella sat in grungy, dirty clothes. She was treated very poorly and felt very hungry. There was not enough food sometimes so Ella went hungry, as her sisters indulged in double the portions. Her sisters would make her do all their chores. Ella was stuck mopping the floors and cleaning the windows while her sisters played. She would sit at the window after all her chores were done and look up to wish upon a star. She would cry about her parents and think back to the days of warmth and safety. Oh, how she longed for that feeling again.
One snowy and frigid day the King ordered his servants to go out and find a daughter for him to love. He insisted that the girl must have the same golden blond hair his wife once had. So, the servants set out to find the perfect match. They looked all over the village and beyond. Many girls died their hair, but it still didn’t match. Others tried wigs, but to the touch they were fake. After many days they returned to the castle to inform their king that they can not find the perfect golden locks. The king insisted that they continue their search. “Go to every orphanage until you find the one with the golden locks,” said the King.
One night as Ella lay asleep on the floor her sisters lay in soft beds talking about the king’s search. “We will be ready for the king’s servants, dressed in beautiful clothes and clean as can be.” the girls said. The next day the sisters gave Ella all the chores so they could get ready for the kings servants to arrive. Ella went on her way and started mopping the floors. At 12:00 pm sharp the servants arrived at the orphanage. The girls were lined up waiting to see if their hair matched. The sisters pushed their way up through the line almost knocking one of the servants over. They sat down one at a time and waited. The first sister grabbed the golden lock, held it to her head and screamed, “It’s a match, it’s a match.” The servants insisted that it was not. The second sister tried to switch the strand with her own hair, but they were not fooled. After looking at every girl in the orphanage with no luck, they were heading out. One their way out one of the servants tripped over Ella’s wash bucket. As he looked up he said, “What is your name sweetheart?” She replied, “My name is Ella, are you the kings servants?” “Yes we are.” At that moment yells soared through the room. “She cannot be a match; she washes the floors and cleans the toilets.” The servants took Ella over to the chair and held the hair strand up to her head. “It’s a match, a perfect match!”
The servants took Ella and lead her out to an elegant white horse with golden braids. When they arrived at the castle the King was waiting. Ella jumped off the horse and walked up to the King, who was grinning from ear to ear. “What is your name?” the king said. “My name is Ella”, she replied. “You are as stunning as I imagined, we shall call you Cinderella, as you are a princess now.” “You are my treasured gift from above child.”
Cinderella walked into her room and saw clean white linens as fresh as she had ever seen them. Grand windows with lush velvet curtains and a closet full of beautiful dresses. That night she sat by the window and gazed at the stars. She found that she was not wishing for anything that night, because all her dreams had come true.

Artist Statement

I chose pros because I wanted to write a creative story that kept the overall moral of Cinderella, with a new twist. I wanted to change the events in the story to portray a whole new fairytale that was still recognizable. In many of these fairytales the father plays a significant role in the backdrop. I wanted to pull the father character out and make him Cinderella’s “prize.” One aspect of my story that I researched a lot about was Cinderella’s name. I found that in one version of the story her name was Ella and the Stepsisters added on the cinder. I saw this as the stepsisters naming her out of hatred. That is one of the reasons I chose to add it on in the end, portraying her new found royalty. Another much thought out decision was not to name the stepsisters. Because they treated Cinderella so bad I did not want to name them to lower their worthiness. In the end my goals were to write a new story. A story that would be interesting while still being able to analyze it in the same way many of the great ones were written.

Anonymous said...

Kerrie Weeks
Eng 217
Fairytale Assignment

Little Red Riding Hood Poem

Grandmother is sick
Mother wants me to give her a lick
Of some bread and butter

It has reached that time
Don’t stray from the path is on my mind
What a lovely day
Listening to the birds sing makes me want to play

I see a wolf along the way
I do not want to stay
I take the path of needles
As he takes the path of pins

Grandmother I am here
Push open the bolt lock my dear
There’s some meat and wine for you, and
When you’re done there’s room in this here bed for two

“Oh, granny how hairy you are!”
“The better to keep me warm, my child!”
“Oh, granny what long nails you have!”
“The better to scratch myself with, my child!”
“Oh, granny what big shoulders you have!”
“The better to carry firewood with, my child!”
“Oh, granny what big ears you have!”
“The better to hear you with, my child!”
“Oh, granny what big nostrils you have!”
“The better to sniff my tobacco with, my child!”
“Oh, granny what a big mouth you have!”
“The better to eat you with, my child!”

“Oh granny, I have to pee”
Tied up she went out by the tree
Attached the rope to that tree and ran and ran
Until she was free




Statement

I am not that creative when it comes to making up stories, let alone fairytales, so I chose to go ahead and make Little Red Riding Hood into a poem. This fairytale is one that I have never forgotten, and how hard can it be to create a poem? Trust me it can be, if you do not have that creative voice in your head. I had a little difficulty writing this poem, but what I wanted overall was to keep it short and to the point. That is why you may notice the poem is coming from Red Riding Hood, and the big bad wolf’s perspective most of the time. There is not much room in the poem for adding all the other little details that make the fairytale so memorable. I based this poem off the version in CFT, “The Story of Grandmother.” This version held my attention because of how short and to the point it is. The one part of the story that I added into the poem that has been in every version of the tale was the back and fourth conversation between the wolf and Red Riding Hood. “Oh, granny what big ears you have!” “The better to hear you with my child!” So on and so forth.
If there is one part of this story I believe all people remember, that is it and I wanted the poem to touch base with the story we all grew up knowing. My goal for this poem is for all people to be able to touch base with their childhood, but to see the old fairytale in a more modern fashion. In a shortened version so as not to loose the attention of the reader, especially since I am not that creative.

Anonymous said...

Rebecca Moulton September 25, 2007

Maggie and Michael

In a place not so far from here lived a very poor family who loved one another so deeply that they never missed all the material things that most people had because they had each other. The mother and father worked in the same factory, she sewed, and the father operated the machines. They had two perfect children, Maggie and Michael. One sad day the mother had a fatal accident leaving her poor husband with their precious children to raise on his own. As time went by the husband decided his children needed a mother. He remarried a poor women who sold vegetables in town at the outside market.
One year a terrible winter set in, it was the worst that was seen in centuries. This cold killed all of the mother’s vegetables and the factory had to close because there wasn’t enough oil to run the machines and heat the factory. After months of no money, the family could not afford flour to make bread. One night the mother said to her husband, “we cannot feed the children or ourselves, what shall we do?’ The husband felling that he had failed his children and his new wife was beside himself. After giving the children the last morsel in the cupboard that night, the mother said to her husband, “I have a plan. We should leave the children in the orphanage to be adopted by a family who can feed them.” The father’s heart broke even more when his wife spoke those words. He replied, “I will not leave my children, no one can love them like I do”. As days passed, the family was starving and he agreed with the wife to leave the children in the orphanage to save them. Maggie couldn’t sleep on that particular night because her stomach was growling with hunger pains, so she overheard what the mother and father were planning. She thought all night and wondered how they would find their way home from the orphanage. Early that morning Maggie sifted through the garbage in front of their house and found bottle caps. She filled her pockets with them. That morning when the family set out, walking for miles, she stayed a little behind to drop the bottle caps. The orphanage was old and decrepit with cardboard covering the windows, it was cold and dirty. The two children were placed in a room with many other children.
When the mother and father reached town, a rich man recognized the father as the machinist from the factory and ask him if could fix his machine. The father agreed and the rich man gave him a dozen loaves of bread for his work. The father was beside himself because now he would have been able to feed his children that he loved dearly, but they were gone. That night, Maggie and Michael left the orphanage. They followed the bottle caps all the way home. When they knocked on the door, the mother opened it, falling back and gasping, “look who has returned”. The father overjoyed ran to the children and took them into his arms.
The twelve loaves of bread did not last long enough, and after the family broke the last loaf of bread, the wife once again said “we should send them back to the orphanage so a family with money can adopt them”. The father sick with the thought of that said, “I will not do that again”. After a few days without any food, the father once again conceded to the wife’s plan of taking Maggie and Michael to the orphanage. Maggie had heard the plan and early the next morning she went to look for more bottle caps, but the chain on the door was pulled and it was too high for her to reach. The next morning before leaving, the wife gave the children the crumbs left from last night’s supper. Maggie put them in her pocket. She dropped the crumbs all the way to the orphanage. That night, Maggie and Michael ran away again. She started to look for the crumbs she had dropped, but she realized that the winter wind had blown them away. The children were lost. They wandered around in the big, dirty, and dangerous city for hours until finally they turned onto a street that was familiar to Maggie. As they walked, they saw a robbery taking place, afraid that the police would take them back to the orphanage, they hid. The police chased after the robbers and they ran right past Maggie and Michael, and as they did the robbers threw away the many bags of stolen articles. They threw a bag of jewels and a sack full of money in their direction. Maggie grabbed the bags and Michael’s hand and started running towards home, they didn’t stop until they got there.
When they knocked on the door, the mother opened it, falling back and gasping, “look who has returned”. The father overjoyed ran to the children and took them into his arms. Maggie started to tell the father what had happened and gave him the bags of money and jewels. The father said that they would have to return the property to the police. The wife said, “What is the matter with you? This could solve our problems”. But the husband would not hear of it. The next day the children and the father went to the police station and the mother went for a long walk.
When they arrived at the police station there was a very rich man, the same man who had asked the father to fix his machine once before, talking to a police officer. The father excused himself and told the police his daughter and son found these bags of money and jewels. The rich man was so astonished and surprised by the honesty of this man that he asked the father if he would work for him because he needed someone that was trustworthy and honest. Besides a job, the man offered the father a reward beyond his wildest dreams because the stolen items where his families heirlooms. The father so ecstatic about what had happened he took his children into his arms and said, “I will never have to take you to the orphanage again”. In the meantime, the wife had gone for a walk, because she was furious with her husband for returning the stolen things that she wanted to keep. She was not paying any attention to the traffic, stepped in front of a bus, and died.
The father and the children never wanted for any food again, and the love that once filled the house had returned into their lives. The father had realized that all he need was his children to make his heart happy.
Artist’s Statement: I choose to set the scene in the early 1920’s, during the depression. I didn’t want the story to be as cold hearted as letting the children get eaten by wild animals or a witch because I wanted to illustrate that the father loved his children and did not want harm to come to them. I wanted the story to show being a good and trustworthy person will pay off in the end.

Kim Witiak said...

DANCING BELLA

Once upon a time from a land far away
Was a girl named Bella who would dance all day.
Dancing on Broadway, would be her dream come true,
That was her future and that’s all that she knew.

Her parents weren’t supportive, to no ones surprise,
Off to college for her, a future of dance was not wise.
Read your books, study hard and now do your math!
Corporate America would be your most lucrative path.

This was their wish, for her to make lots of money.
“Money is everything, don’t you know this my honey.”
“It’s what’s in your heart that’s important,” she’d scream,
“Don’t tell me I can’t, don’t ruin my dream!”

They said, “It’s a dream that will never ever come true.
We’ll cancel your dance lessons, now that’s what we’ll do.
Now all of your time will be spent learning more.
You will study all day behind your closed door.”

And wouldn’t you know to make matters worse,
She was born with huge feet, oh, oh, what a curse!
Experts will say, “Dancer’s feet are petite,
Dainty, and small to keep up with the beat.”

She’d sneak to dance lessons when her parents were gone,
She’d be whistling a song as she danced right along.
The teacher would balk, “You’re wasting my time.
Your technique is atrocious; you’re way out of line.”

The girl had decided all this scrutiny was crap,
Then she spotted a poster on the wall as she tapped.
That night were auditions for a new spectacular show
With glittering costumes and lights all a glow.

The teacher started laughing, such a wicked loud sound.
It was heard by the girl and all the students around.
“Hang up your shoes and find a new dream.”
She started to cry, the tears rolling down like a stream.

Try-outs were scheduled for a half past eight,
This time at night was absolutely too late.
Her parents would never let her attend.
She would need help, perhaps from a friend.

Distraught and heartbroken she headed for home,
And to her surprise she encountered a gnome.
He was a tiny, little man quite light on his toes.
He was smelling the flowers, and they tickled his nose.



He looked at the girl and said with a smile,
“Sit here with me now and let’s talk for a while.
I’m your guardian gnome sent here with a mission.
Believe it or not, I know what you’re wishin’.”

“Look in my eyes, and speak from your heart,
The beginning is always the best place to start.
Don’t think of the others and the bad things they say.
How would you have it, if you could have it your way?”

The answer was easy, at 8:30 that night,
She would go there to dance with out even a fight.
No altercations from mom or even her dad,
She’d slip out of her house, so they wouldn’t get mad.

He disappeared underground for a second or two;
When he returned he had a drink that was blue.
He made it clear that it was a magical drink.
“Finish it now, and tell me what do you think.”

When she had finished, she simply replied,
“I could dance through the night, I feel so alive!”
So off he sent her to make your visions come true,
“Don’t think about your parents, just focus on you.”

“The only hitch to this magical potion,
Be back by ten or you’ll hear a commotion.
Up until then your parents won’t know
That you have been out, now hurry up go!”

The night was astounding, she danced without fear.
The gnomes magic drink had worked, it was clear.
She dominated the stage like never before;
Her feet were like feathers that took control of the floor.

Before she knew it was half past nine.
She had to get home, she had just enough time.
She ran out the door, but little did she know,
The judges had picked her to be in the show.

They ran after her all the way home;
Right past the garden and right past the gnome.
Up to her door, and surprised who was there,
Her parents who knew nothing and could only just stare.

They explained who they were, and why they had come.
Her parents just laughed thinking it was just fun.
“Our daughter could never get such a part.”
But the judges disagreed, she dances with heart.

“We want her to star in our show on Broadway.
She’s a wonderful dancer; we don’t care what you say.”
Her parents felt awful for they were to blame.
If it was up to them she would never have fame.

The moral of the story is right from the start,
To believe in your dreams and follow your heart.
Live your life to the fullest, and enjoy the big ride,
And your dreams can come true with a gnome by your side.
THE END

ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I chose to base my fairy tale off of “Cinderella.” As a little girl, I loved being read the fairytales, and imagining me as being one of the characters.
I wrote my fairytale as if it would be read to a younger female audience. The rhyming scheme and fun language makes the fairytale more enjoyable for the younger listeners. Being written in a simpler style will make it easier for them to understand. I also based the tale around dancing because ever since I was a young girl, I loved to dance and hoped that someday I would dance on Broadway. The goal of writing this was to encourage little girls, or anyone for that matter, to go after their dreams. Also, not to let anyone tell you that you can’t do something.
I used a lot of the same elements as the real versions of “Cinderella.” For example, Bella had a curfew, her parents talked down to her and saw her as nothing, and she had her fairy godmother, who in this case happened to be a gnome. My version had the same moral to it as the other versions did.
-Kimberly Witiak

Anonymous said...

As a young girl Ela had a wonderful childhood. Her family lived comfortably in a well kept house in a safe upper-middleclass neighborhood. Ela and her sister knew they were lucky to have great toys and were thankful that their parents wanted them to experience all the great things life has to offer. Their parents taught them that hard work pays off. Ela never thought things would change until suddenly one day they did.
Ela’s parents divorced and she and her sister moved in with their mother in a small ranch across town. Money was tight and Ela’s mother worked many hours and often picked up extra shifts to afford the rent so her children could finish school with their friends. Ela knew this meant that she would need to get a job and she would have hard work ahead of her balancing school and a job but she kept her mothers words in mind “Hard work will pay off”.
The day after her sixteenth birthday Ela walked down to the dress shop a couple blocks from her home. She knew that there had been a hiring sign in the window a couple weeks before and hoped that they still had a position available. This was the only place with in walking distance and she knew that her mother did not have the time to be picking her up and dropping her off at work. After talking and pleading with the owner he agreed to let her work but he told her that he would only pay her at a low wage until she proved herself worthy of working at his shop. Ela knew that he was capable of paying her more but she needed the job desperately so she accepted the offer.
For five years Ela worked at the dress shop. The few hours she worked every week soon became days. Ela attended school during the day then worked after school and all weekend. The other girls at the shop looked down on Ela. They often tossed their work onto Ela so they could leave early and take extra long breaks. They were pushy and bossy and often blamed Ela for what went wrong. The work Ela did went unnoticed. The pay raise she was promised was raised very little thanks to the antics of her wicked coworkers.
Ela would not dare tell her mother about what went on in the shop. She knew that her mother felt bad that she worked so hard, but they both knew it was the only way. She always reassured Ela “I know this is hard, but I want you to know how proud I am of you. Your hard work will one day pay off, I promise.”
One day Ela arrived at work to find that she had a new boss. The previous boss had suffered a terrible death the night before. The next couple days went by as they always did with the exception of the presence of her new boss and the feeling that he was always watching her. She feared he too would treat her as the others did. Her coworkers desperately tried to get his attention; Ela hoped that things would not get worse. Quite the contrary, Ela’s new boss had quietly observed the goings on in the shop and confronted Ela about it. “It is normal, I have grown accustomed to the way things are here. I am only here to do work and that is what I intend to keep doing.” But he thought that her hard work deserved better, she was the best worker that the shop had. Ela was given a raise bigger than what she had ever hoped; she was promoted, putting her in charge of the coworkers that taunted her. Her new boss treated her with the respect that she deserved and had been deserving of for so long. With the fear of payback hanging overhead, the girls who had once been her coworkers arrived on time and did their work as she, their new boss, told them to. Surely Ela’s hard work had paid off in more ways than one.

Artists Statement
In this story I changed some of the characters to represent those of the original characters as it is a very modern story of Cinderella. The new boss at the end of the story represents the prince, as he rescues Ela (Cinderella) from the harsh mistreatment at work and the ‘wicked coworkers’ represent the evil stepsisters who take advantage of Ela’s situation and mistreat her. Ela’s original boss is like the stepmother, leaving Ela to do the dirty work and keep the workers “happy”. I switched the typical Cinderella mother and father rolls making the father completely absent and the mother absent on account of trying to provide for her daughters.
As much as I would have loved to do this as an artistic project, I am not that creative so in writing this I hoped to at least come up with something people could relate to. Many college students know the struggle of working while attending school. We just have to remember that like in this story, hard work pays off and after we are done balancing our hectic class schedules, studying and homework along with our (sometimes) lousy jobs, the struggle will have been well worth it when it is over.

Anonymous said...

Angelina Carnevale

Daddy Doesn’t Love Me: It’s not really Happily ever after, is it?

And they lived happily ever after...or did they? No one really tells you what happens after the heroine is saved or wins her prince. After the honeymoon is over Cinderella realizes that she still feels empty inside. Little Red Riding Hood develops an obession with her savior, the woodsman, and is overcome by jealousy when he marries her mother. This is a tale of two women, searching for the lost love of their fathers, but instead they find each other.
The prince is gone, again, to another kingdom to improve diplomatic relations, and Cinderella is bored out of her mind. Her glass slippers are the only thing that make her feel remotely good about herself anymore, so she wears them all the time. The palace is grand, but feels so empty. Cinderella has invited her father over to dine with them several times, but he always turns her down. He used to make excuses, each more lame than the last, but finally he just stopped answering at all. Cinderella knew it was her wicked stepmother that was causing this. Even after all that she put Cinderella through, Cinderella’s father never abandoned her and her awful daughters. Even after she married a prince, he never once looked at Cinderella and told her that she was beautiful and that he was proud of her. Cinderella didn’t know what else she could do to win his affection, and eventually she despaired and decided to wander into the woods with the intention of being eaten by a wolf.
Little Red Riding Hood, or Red, as the woodsman used to affectionately call her, was on her way back from her grandmother’s house, muttering to herself about how pointless her journey was. Red knew that her mother only sent her out there so that she could bone the woodsman, whom she married shortly after he had rescued Red. Red was so grateful to the woodsman that she insisted on him coming home with her and meeting her mother. Red’s mother was a widow, her husband having been dead since Red was an infant, and was so taken with this strong, handsome hero who had saved her only child and her mother from certain death that she married him. Red’s mother loved how good he was with Red; she would hug him and sit on his lap whenever she got the chance and would always kiss him goodnight and goodmorning.
At first Red was happy that the woodsman came to stay with them, because it meant that she could see him whenever she wanted. But when Red got older, she was no longer a cute little girl giving her step-daddy kisses, and the woodsman held her less and less. Red was growing up, and she found her step-father very attractive. She would press herself up against him when she gave him a hug and she could feel the bulge in the woodsman’s pants. She herself was a very attractive young lady, and often she would catch the woodsman looking at her and he would blush as red as her red riding hood. One day Red came home from one of the ever-more-frequent trips to Grandma’s house and heard moaning, screaming, and rustling coming from her mother’s bedroom. Red was still a little naieve, and thought that perhaps someone was attacking her parents. She grabbed the woodsman’s axe which was sitting by the fireplace and flung the door open, ready to be a rescuer just like the woodsman. What she saw was the woodsman and her mother having sex, and the horrible realization hit her that she wasn’t his favorite. Little Red Riding Hood screamed and dropped the axe and ran out the door. She ran all the way to her grandmother’s house, and was so crushed when neither of them ever came to get her.
Since that day, Red had despised going to Grandma’s house, and today was no different. When Red got back to the house, she found it deserted. There was a note saying that her mother had gone into town until tomorrow and that the woodsman was out at work. Could Red please have supper ready for him when he gets back. Red was angry at first that they would both abandon her like this, and then she got an idea. Red made a wonderful meal for her step-father the woodsman and put it out on the table. She ate her portion and then bathed and combed her hair. Then she put on only her little red riding hood and went into the woodsman’s bedroom and waited.
In a short time, the woodsman came home and found his supper waiting on the table. He was hungry, so he ate it without a thought as to where Red would be. After his delicious meal, he was tired, and went into his bedroom. He opened the door to find Red waiting for him. At first he was shocked and embarrassed, and ordered her to get out. However, when she got up, wearing only her little red riding hood, and walked toward him, he could no longer suppress the desire he had for her. The two of them had sex well into the night and fell asleep in each other’s arms. Red could not have been happier, and neither could the woodsman.
Red and the woodsman continued this affair for quite some time, and were constantly coming up with things that Red’s mother should get from the town. One day, Red’s mother came home early and caught the two of them in the act. She immediately banished her daughter from the house, and Red was so frightened and angry that she didn’t bother to get dressed, but simply ran out into the woods wearing only her little red riding hood. She felt so awful that she just couldn’t face anyone she knew ever again. Red went deep into the woods, hoping to find a wolf who would gobble her up and put her out of her misery.
Cinderella was wandering deep in the woods, incredibly lost, which is exactly what she wanted. She thought she heard someone crying, and went to investigate. What she found was a young woman, about her age, curled up beneath a red riding hood, sobbing uncontrollably. Cinderella forgot her search for the wolf and approached this woman to see if she could help.
Red had gotten tired of running after some time and simply fell to the ground and wrapped herself up in her red riding hood to cry until she died of sadness or made enough racket to attract a wolf to eat her. Red heard someone approaching and looked up. She saw a lovely, well-dressed young woman wearing glass slippers coming up to her, and suddenly felt ashamed for being naked under her cloak.
“Are you alright, miss?” the woman asked Red.
Red looked up, and Cinderella could see that her eyes were puffy and red and that tears were still streaming down her cheeks.
When Red didn’t answer, she continued, “Are you hurt?”
Red shook her head no. “I’m not hurt,” she said, “I just want to die. I’m waiting here for a wolf to come and gobble me up.”
“Hello, there,” Cinderella said, holding out her hand. “I’m Cinderella. It just so happens that I came into the woods looking for the same thing. Maybe we can help each other out.”
Red took her hand, and Cinderella helped her up. “I’m Little Red Riding Hood, but you can call me Red.”
Upon standing up, Cinderella could see that the cloak was the only thing that Red was wearing. Cinderella was used to seeing women’s bodies, having had to dress her step-sisters all the time, but never had she seen one so beautiful.
Red saw Cinderella staring at her naked form and blushed, trying to cover herself up with her cloak. “I’m sorry,” said Red. “I’m so indecent.”
“It’s alright,” Cinderella said, pulling the cloth away from her body to continue looking at it. “You’re gorgeous. The most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.”
“Really?” Red asked, hopeful, but still very cautious.
“Really.” Cinderella said, moving closer and touching Red’s soft skin, running her hands down Red’s side.
Red had felt the rough fingers of a woodsman, but never fingers so smooth and gentle as Cinderella’s. A tingling sensation moved throughout her entire body, and Red embraced Cinderella and placed a kiss on her lips. Cinderella intensely returned this kiss, and soon the two women could not get enough of each other. Red helped Cinderella scramble out of her clothing, but asked her to keep the glass slippers on. Red was about to untie her cloak, but Cinderella stopped her. Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood made love passionately until night fell, wearing only a little red riding hood and a pair of glass slippers.
Artist’s Statement

I wrote this piece as a comedic parody/combination of Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood. In the pieces of literary analysis that we read as a class, the authors were very concerned with underlying oedipal symbolism and hidden sexuality. In reaction to this, I decided to write a humorous piece that explores these themes openly, showing just how ridiculous these things sound when you actually talk about them. Also, I threw in a bit of a femminist twist, making the two girls lesbians and not reliant on men for happiness, which is counter to most fairytales. I wanted to see how far from the beaten path I could get with familiar characters while creating interesting commentary on the concepts explored by analists of fairytales.

Anonymous said...

Once upon a time, there were three sorority girls living together in a third floor apartment on the outskirts of their suburban campus. They were as close as sisters could be, although they came from different areas of the country. One day, Molly, a sister who had previously lived with them, and had switched schools at the start of the semester decided to come and pay them a surprise visit. When Molly’s flight arrived on Sunday at 11:00 a.m., she grabbed a taxi and made her way to their apartment. Upon arrival, she rapped loudly on the door several times, waiting for her sisters to look out the peephole and excitedly rush out to greet her. Much to her dismay, there was no response. She knocked again, and hearing no movement inside, took out her old key to the apartment and let herself in.
Molly shook her head and chuckled under her breath as she stepped inside and took a sweeping look around the apartment. Trina’s shoes were neatly lined up on the floor all the way down the wall in the entrance hall as always. She was the neatest person Molly had encountered since moving away from home. Unable to help herself, since Trina had bought so many amazing new pairs of shoes since she had last seen her, Molly kicked off her own flip-flops to try a few pairs on. First she tried on the gold Coach sneakers, walking up and down the hallway to test them out. “Ouch, they are a little tight, and they don’t really match my mini skirt” she said, kicking them off back into the pile. Next, she tried on Trina’s leopard print platform slides, strutting up and down the hallway to test them out. “Ohh they make my legs look long and luscious. And who doesn’t love animal print?” she thought. “But perhaps these would be better for Thursday night when we go clubbing,” she said kicking them off into the line of shoes. She slid her feet into the chestnut colored mid-calf Ugg boots that were next in line, leisurely sauntering up and down the hallway to test them out. “Wow, these are amazing,” she said. “They are as comfy as slippers, but look way cuter! I think I’ll keep these on for a while.”
As she finished admiring the shoes, her stomach growled, and she made her way to the refrigerator. Molly popped it open to see every kind of diet snack, drink, and meal on the door of the fridge. Besides that there only were a few bottles of water, Chinese food that looked as if it had been there a week, and a bottle of wine. “Why not?” she thought, grabbing a high protein diet snack. She opened it and bit off a piece only to spit it out. “Ew, this tastes like paper!” she exclaimed, and reached in for a different kind. More cautiously, she bit into the next one, again spitting it out. “Ew, this one tastes like plastic!” she cried. She consented to try one more before just eating the old Chinese food, regardless of the consequences it would have on her body. She bit into the last diet bar, and her mouth salivated. “Mmm, this one actually tastes like peanut butter!” she marveled, taking two more and shutting the fridge.
She made her way to Lin’s room in hopes of finding an Ipod to listen to while she checked her Email and browsed the Internet until her sisters came home. She found it lying on Lin’s bed and popped the headphones on. Molly searched through the artists, sampling different ones to see what she was in the mood to listen to. First she played “Ticks” by Brad Paisley. “Too country,” she complained. Next she played “Stronger” by Kanye West. “Too rap,” she complained. She scrolled down to “Rockstar” by Nickelback and said “I wanna be a rock star!” immersing herself in the music.
Soon after Molly put the headphones on and cranked up the volume, her sisters returned from their various outings. Trina was exhausted from shopping, Sara was exhausted from her fitness class, and Lin was exhausted from her morning work shift at Best Buy. As they talked about their mornings, Lin reached for her keys to unlock the apartment. Sara bumped the door and it opened. They warily peeked in before continuing. Trina saw her shoes out of order and started yelling at her sisters. “Why did you touch my shoes? You know I hate it when you try them on and mess them up!” Both sisters looked at each other and claimed they didn’t know what Trina was talking about. Sara went to the fridge to refuel, and seeing the wrappers and half eaten diet bars got as mad as Trina was. “You know how expensive these are, how could you eat them on me?” she sobbed. Trina and Lin shrugged at each other in question, and Lin went to change out of her work clothes. As she entered her room, her jaw dropped, seeing someone in her computer chair. She screamed, bringing her sisters running. Lin grabbed her TV remote, hurling it at the intruder. It connected with Molly’s head, and in shock Molly lost her balance with the chair sliding and her crashing to the floor. With a loud “SNAP,” Molly’s face turned white and the sisters momentarily froze.
As they realized who she was, however, their screams turned into panicked shrieks and they ran over to help her. Molly’s arm was crumpled underneath her at an odd angle. She was brought to the hospital and underwent surgery followed by therapy for the remainder of her visit. Sadly, after all of her secretive planning, there was no clubbing, no parties, and no fun sisterly reunion for Molly.

I chose to show the current day college student’s life through prose because most college students would not choose to use poetry if telling a story about something that happened to them. I focused on the busy lives of students by using Sunday, which was once known as a day of rest as a day where they are doing everyday activities such as working, working out and shopping, treating Sunday as if it is the same as every other day. We are always “on the go.” I chose sorority girls living together because it symbolizes sorority girls, sisters, classmates, or friends, showing how there are many “sisterly” relationships formed in college. Each of the sisters symbolizes a different aspect of society-the fashion diva, the diet queen, and the techie with all kinds of modern clothing brands, foods and gadgets that their lives revolve around. Many people act before thinking things through, which is shown in a couple ways here.

Anonymous said...

Once Upon a Boy
Not to very long ago there was a very nice boy with golden hair just like the sun and heart that was the most pure. One day the little boy’s father past away and left him to his mother’s care. Since she worked so many hours he taught himself how to sew, dance, cook, and clean the house. When he reached to be a teenager his mother remarried to a man who brought along two daughters.
Neither the stepfather nor the stepsisters were happy to have a new man in the house, but they certainly did get used to all of the things he did for them. Soon they just took advantage of his ability to sew their clothes, make them breakfast lunch and dinner, and even clean up after them. The father eventually took over his stepson’s room to make a bigger closet for his two daughters and made his stepson a new bed on the couch next to the fire. Since he spent most of the time next to the fire they began to call the boy Cindred. Along with all of the house chores he spent most of his time sitting in his father’s old pick-up truck crying and praying for something to happen to change his horrible life. Cindred’s stepfather and stepsisters did not understand him nor did they treat him well, always bossing him around and making him do things his father would never have even asked him to do.
Every year there was a festival in honor of the mayor, which everyone in town attended. Cindred and his stepsisters were so excited about the festival because of the dance competition. The mayor would judge who was the best dancer in the competition and they would win a cash prize. So the stepsisters had Cindred make their costumes and help with their dance routine. Cindred always loved to dance and asked his stepsisters if they could help him with his routine and costume, but all they did was laugh at him and call him names for wanting to do such a “girly” thing. He burst into tears and ran to his father’s old pickup truck and prayed and wept because no one understood him. He was so upset he cried himself to sleep and stayed there all night.
The next morning Cinder awoke in the truck to find himself dressed in the most beautiful costume he had ever seen. It was a golden shirt with buttons made of what seemed to be diamonds, pants made of the finest black silk, and tap shoes that were made of gold and Swarovski crystals. There was also a golden mask that fit only his eyes and face. Cinder thanked God for the beautiful costume and hid it until night, when the dance competition was.
Since the festival was that day and neither Cinder’s stepfather nor stepsisters wanted him to go they gave him extra chores to do around the house and even made him clean out the chimney. Cinder worked as hard and as fast as he could so that he could make the dance competition. Cinder finally finished all of his chores and put on the costume that he had received. When he got to the competition he realized that he had not worked on his routine and started to get very nervous. Right before it was his turn to go up a boy, about Cinder’s age, walked by Cinder. The boy could tell that he was very nervous and decided to wish him good luck. The boy thought something special of Cinder and gave him a wink. Cinder felt a rush of blood go to his cheeks, along with an odd warm feeling he had only felt before his father had died.
Cinder finally took his place on stage and danced like he had never danced before. Everyone cheered and clapped for his wonderful performance, making all of the girls notice him. When he was done all of the girls wanted to talk to him and ask him were he got his costume. Cinder’s two stepsisters were so jealous that they told everyone that he was a dirty slave and a faggot. All of the girls started laughing and making fun of him. Cinder began to cry and started to run away. He ran so fast that he ran into the boy that had wished him good luck. The boy asked him what was wrong, but Cinder’s mask feel off and was so embarrassed he ran away. The mask was the only peace of Cinder that the boy had. The boy was determined to find out who he was and were he lived for Cinder was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.
As soon as Cinder got home his stepfather was waiting for him he was scolded and given even more chores to do around the house. Cinder was so upset that he ran straight to his father’s pick up truck and started to cry. Although he was so mad, he could not stop thinking about the boy he had met at the festival. He was the only person that has ever tired to understand him, even a little bit. Cinder had hoped to see him again, but with all of the chores he was doing he would never be able go search for him.
Now while Cinder was busy doing his chores the boy was using all of his resources to find Cinder. Luckily the boy’s father was the Mayor of the town and new exactly how to find him. When the boy finally found Cinder’s house and knocked on the door Cinder’s stepfather opened the door and denied the fact that Cinder lived there. The boy was so sad he called his father and told him what had happened and ask if his father could pick him up. As he was walking to the end of the driveway he saw the old pick up truck and saw someone inside of it. He opened the door and there he found Cinder all dirty and dressed in rags. The boy and Cinder, embracing, were so happy to have found each other. The mayor saw how he was being wrongfully treated and was not being accepted for who he really was. So the mayor invited Cinder to live with him and the boy. This made Cinder the happiest boy because he was finally understood again, just as his father once had.

I wrote the “Cinderella” story the way I did because I wanted a fairy tale that once appealed to girls to also appeal to boys. I put the whole different sexuality idea in my fairy tale to show what kinds of lifestyles are acceptable for the 21st Century. This was not written to offend anyone.

Anonymous said...

"Rajkumari Kongkaboti"

Once upon a time there was a happy king and his family, who lived in a village called Dhanshiri. The family had only one daughter whose name was Rajkumari Kongkaboti. They had an apple tree in their front yard. One day the king adjured his wife not to eat any apples from that tree, or else she would become a cow. In response to that, his wife begged him not to eat any apples from the tree either, or else he would become a monkey. A long time passed by; neither of them broke their promises. Until one day the queen, while giving an apple to her daughter, she also took a little bite to taste, while her husband was not present. As soon as she took the bite, she turned into a cow.
When the king came home and saw that a cow was running around the house, he was extremely upset because he knew it was none other than his own beloved wife. He kept the cow tied up in the yard of his home and tended it very carefully.
After a few years the king married again, but his new wife was not so kind to his daughter. As time passed by she disliked Kongkaboti more. She let Kongkaboti do all the house work and gave her little food. Her mother, the cow, heard her complaining and noticed that she was getting weak and thin. So the cow secretly called Kongkaboti and told her that whenever she is hungry just to strike the cow’s horns and then the food will fall down for her. She did so, and instead of becoming weaker, as her stepmother expected, she turned stronger and prettier. The wicked woman was so surprised to see Kongkaboti getting so fat and strong while she was giving her little food.
In the meantime, one ugly daughter was born to this wicked woman. She loved the girl with all of her heart and gave all the attention which was needed. Once the girl had grown a little big, the wicked woman sent her with Kongkaboti to play and ordered her to notice how and where she obtained anything to eat. The girl promised her mother to do so and stayed very carefully with Kongkaboti for a whole day. The girl saw how Kongkaboti obtained food from the cow.
After hearing that the cow was supplying all the food to Kongkaboti the wicked woman decided to kill the cow as soon as possible. So she pretended to be sick and told her husband that if she eats the cow meat, then she will recover from her illness. The king did not mind as long as it really recovered his wife. But Kongkaboti cried when she heard it, and went to the cow and told her everything. The cow said, “Do not cry, it is much better for me to die than surviving like this. You will still get food and supplies, if you listen to what I say. Make sure you gather all the bones and then bury them in a secret place and then whenever you feel hungry or need anything it will be given to you.”
The wicked woman killed the cow, and ate all the meat. Kongkaboti only got the bones to eat and she did what the cow told her. After that, she cried so much that she went to a river to wash her face so that her stepmother did not say anything to her. While washing her face, her nose ring fell into the water. A fish saw the ring and swallowed it. This fish was caught by a fisherman, who sold it to another King’s house. There was a great surprise when they cut the fish to eat, the nose ring was found. The king’s son was interested in it and issued a proclamation and sent it to every town and village, that whoever missed a nose ring should claim it. Within a few days Kongkaboti claimed that it belonged to her, and that it was she who had lost it while washing her face in the river. The prince was so fascinated by her pretty face and nice manner that he married her, and took all the responsibilities from her.





All the characters of “Rajkumari Kongkaboti” came from my imagination. The story line of this story goes to the Bengali culture. For example, I chose to use a cow as a godmother because long ago in Bangladesh keeping a cow in your house was similar to keeping a pet in your house. Another example is that Kongkaboti lost her nose ring in the river and that is how she caught the prince’s eyes. In early days, nose ring was one of the beautiful symbols among young Bengali girls. Word “Rajkumari” was taken from a pure Bengali language, which means a princess. My goal for this tale is to show some Bengali culture to my readers.

Unknown said...

http://picasaweb.google.com/sgoodwin4786/NewAlbum92407116PM

Anonymous said...

Once upon a time in the middle of summer, there was a national ranked softball team. The team had exactly nine players, who all had a lot of talent and skill. There was one player, who was young and very quiet, but she shined on the field and her talent came so natural. Her name was Tyla. It was her first year joining the new team and exciting to play this summer.
The team’s pitcher and captain of the squad, has a huge ego and thought she was the best thing that played the game. She could not accept being second to anyone in softball. Later that evening after practice, the pitcher went home to her room. She had a magical mirror that would tell her the truth. Looking upon the mirror she would always ask:
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who’s the best athlete of them all? “
The mirror would always reply: “you are the best athlete of them all.” The pitcher was happy and new she was the best one on the field.
This time after practice and Tyla joining the team things were a little different. When the pitcher went home and looked at her upon the mirror she asked:
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who’s the best athlete of them all?”
The mirror replied: you are good but Tyla is so much better of an athlete than you are.”
The pitcher could not accept that she was no longer the best and decided that she needed to get rid of Tyla once and for all. She knew that the only way to be the star was to hurt Tyla bad enough that she could not play anymore.
The next day in practice the evil pitcher decided that she was going to try to take her out. She pitched the ball as hard as she can, hitting Tyla right in the knee. This knocked Tyla down causing her a great deal of pain. She was unable to practice the rest of the day.
The other seven team mates started to notice that the pitcher did not like Tyla and hurt her intentionally. They decided that they were going to help Tyla get better fast so she can still play. Getting her ice and wrapping her leg up tight. They told Tyla to stay away from the evil pitcher at practice.
Later that evening the pitcher went home, happy that she hurt Tyla. She thought she was once again the best one on the field. Going back to her mirror, the evil pitcher asked:
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who’s the best athlete of them all?”
The mirror replied: you are good but Tyla is so much better of an athlete than you are.” “The other seven players on the team helped Tyla to recover, so that she can still play.” This made the pitcher mad, she thought she was finally the best again, but it turned out Tyla is able to still play.
The evil pitcher knew she must do something worse to stop Tyla from playing anymore. She knew that it must be away from practice and the seven other players.
She came up with an idea to hurt Tyla once and for all. She decided to hide herself in a tree near Tyla’s house. She sat there waiting for Tyla to leave for practice. Just as Tyla left and started walking, she threw a softball, hitting Tyla in the head. By doing this it knocked her down to the ground unconscious.
When it was time for practice Tyla did not show up, the other seven players knew something had to be wrong, for Tyla never missed a practice before. They went off to her house looking for her. As they were right outside her house, they found her lying down on the ground not moving. They thought that she was dead.
As they were carrying her back to the house, Jenny Finch was walking by them. She knew right away that Tyla was not dead but unconscious, that she needed CPR. Jenny quickly giving her rescue breaths, waking her back up. Tyla was so confused to what had happened to her, but thanked everyone for saving her life. Tyla being a huge admirer of Jenny Fitch quickly asked her to play on their team.
As all of this was going on the evil pitcher once again thought she was the best athlete to play the game. She went home and looked upon the mirror and asked:
“Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who’s the best athlete of them all?
The Mirror replied: “you are good but Tyla is still better than you are.”
The evil pitcher did not understand she thought she finally had got rid of Tyla. The next day the pitcher ran to practice, but it was too late Tyla and the rest of the team decided they did not need her anymore. As she arrived at practice balls and bats were thrown at her head, hurting her so bad that she was never able to play softball ever again.





For this assignment I decided to change the story to something I was interested in. I used my sister’s name as Snow White, and used softball as the sport because I play and umpire the game. I thought it would be interested to make a fairy tale from a sports theme.

Anonymous said...

Kerry McQueeney
English 217
Dr. Sonnenschein
September 25, 2007

Pink Ribbon

There was a girl so cute and adorable that everyone in her small suburban town knew of her. Her most recognizable feature was a pink ribbon, which had been given to her by her Granny that she wore in her hair every day. Because of this ribbon, all the townspeople called her Pinky.
One-day Pinky’s mother told her, “Here you go sweetie” as she handed her two thermoses, “Here is some fresh chicken noodle soup and some hot tea for your Granny. She has been quite ill lately and maybe a visit from you and this food will make her feel better.” Pinky excitedly ran out to the shed and took her bike to go on her ride.
Just as Pinky was placing the thermoses in her basket and climbing on her bike, her Mother came outside to give her one last warning. “Pinky please be careful while riding to Granny’s house it is your first time going by yourself,” her mother said, “I do not want you talking to strangers. And don’t ride on the main road it’s too busy, stay on the side streets!” Pinky assured her mother that she would do as instructed as she put on her helmet, and peddled off.
Pinky was carefully riding her bike along all the side streets and looking both ways before she crossed the street and when she was a quarter of the way there the neighborhood bully Timmy started following her on his scooter. Timmy was only one year older, but possessed an overwhelming presence over Pinky. As soon as he saw her Timmy started chanting, “Look at Pinky, still sucking her binky, too little to be on the busy street, still has to be on the side street!” “Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Pinky whined back, “All I want to do is go visit my Granny.” Nevertheless, Timmy started up again, “Look at Pinky, still sucking her binky, too little to be on the busy street, still has to ride her bike on the side street!” Pinky started to be upset and exclaimed back, “Timmy, I can too ride my bike on the busy street! I’ll prove it to you!” Then she peddled off towards the busy street, buzzing with traffic, as Timmy followed behind on his scooter.
As she was peddling, a Blue Bird came over and said to her, “Pinky, you know that you should not ride on the busy street Mother told you not too.” She replied, “Your right Blue Bird, but I want to prove that I’m a big girl and that I can ride on the busy street.” “Well, you can prove him wrong and still be safe and follow Mother’s rules. Peddle fast in the direction of the street, because he will not be able to stay close behind on that scooter. And when he is out of site go down that side street right there and you will be back on the correct path to Granny’s house and will have never gone on the busy street,” the Blue Bird told her. Pinky did just as the blue bird suggested.
Timmy rode along the busy street, but did not see Pinky. Timmy got angry and exclaimed aloud, “I was tricked…tricked by a girl…a little girl!” Remembering where Pinky was going he decided to meet her there with a surprise.
Timmy beat Pinky to Granny’s house because the busy street was a lot quicker than the side streets. He knocked on Granny’s door and said that he had urgent news for her about Pinky. Granny got really upset and yelled for him to take the key under the mat, unlock the door, and come into the house. Timmy did this, went in, and proceeded to tell Granny that he saw Pinky riding her bike on the busy street. Granny got very upset, but thanked him for telling her this and that it was nice of him to look out for Pinky. Timmy thanked her for the compliments and left the house, hoping to run into Pinky before she arrived at Granny’s house.
As he was riding off from the house he ran into Pinky peddling up to Granny’s house and shouted, “Oh boy are you going to be in trouble! Riding your bike on the busy street Granny did not like that” and then pushed her off her bike and rode away laughing at her!
Pinky got up from the ground and went into grandma’s as she walked in Granny scolded her for going where she was not supposed to be. Pinky tried to explain that she had not ridden where she was not supposed to, but that she had tried to trick Timmy so he would no longer tease her. Granny did not believe her and sent her upstairs to think about what she had done, while she called Pinky’s mother.
Just as Granny picked up the phone to call her mother, the Blue Bird flew into the house and told Granny the truth. The Blue Bird proclaimed, “Pinky did just as she was told. She never went off the correct path; she just made it appear to Timmy that she did so that he would stop teasing her. She came here to bring you soup and tea to make you feel better.” After being told this Granny felt bad that she punished Pinky when she had not done anything wrong and that she complimented Timmy, who was really a bully and a liar. Granny then called Timmy’s parents and informed them of his misbehaving. She then called Pinky downstairs and apologized for not trusting her. Then she thanked her for coming to bring her the soup and tea and that her visit meant a lot and the two enjoyed the rest of the afternoon happily.

























Artists Statement

For my version of "Little Red Riding Hood,” I chose to make it a more updated and modern version. Modern updates included the use of a ribbon instead of hood. Even the color change from red to pink was more modernized, while still holding its own symbolic value. The pink represents innocence, cuteness, purity, and being a girl. Another update was the change from the paths of pins and needles to streets. Even the change from walking to riding a bike and the food being soup and tea is a bit more modern.
I also attempted to make it somewhat more realistic while still including themes that make it a fairy tale, for example the bird that talked and saved Pinky from punishment. A talking bird is not realistic; however, it gives the story some fairy tale characteristics by keeping that bit of magic and playing the role of the woodsmen saving the day. The bird is symbolic too. I chose a blue bird because blue symbolizes wisdom, which the bird possesses and uses to reveal the truth to Granny. I chose to change the wolf to a human because although fairy tales have some sense of magic I felt as if a wolf or another animal would be too big of a stretch and that a human was more fitting for an updated version. While attempting to make the story more realistic I decided that my story would not have as much violence as the original versions of “Little Red Riding Hood.” I made this decision because I did not want it to be too disturbing like the others. The violence that I did include was minor, but had significant meaning behind it. The act of Timmy pushing Pinky off her bike shows that bullies use more than words when harassing people.
The moral of this story for children was to obey your parents, always tell the truth, and that good prevails over evil. However, there was also a deeper moral for parents or elders reading the story. For them, it was that they cannot rush to judgment of children and if they make mistakes, they must admit them and try to correct their errors. I chose to change the moral from that of the original “Little Red Riding Hood” because in today’s society not talking to strangers is taught to children at a young age but honesty is something that kids and parents need to value more. The moral for the adults is also valuable because adults underestimate kids and need to realize how intelligent they are. In addition, although they are the elders they can make mistake too and need to admit when they have done wrong and do their best to fix their wrong doings.

Anonymous said...

Tyler Greco
9/25/07
English 217
Bigger than a Bagger

Once upon a time, there was boy named Tommy. He loved the game of baseball and played it everyday. He lived in the small town of Fort Myers Florida with his father and his father’s girlfriend. One day, he was playing baseball in the park and he saw a flyer that was posted about a baseball tryout for the Fort Myers Miracles, a minor league team for the Minnesota Twins.
He rushed home and told his father about what he had read on the fence in the park. His father’s girlfriend overheard them talking and rudely interrupted them. She said that Tommy was a mediocre player and did not have the skill that the major league players such as David Ortiz from the Boston Red Sox. Tommy’s father was afraid to upset his girlfriend, so he told Tommy that he would be better off working as a bagger at the local “Publix” grocery store. Tommy did not let this discourage him. He was going to practice everyday in the park until the day of the tryout.
Tommy was woken up on the day of the tryout by the sound of his father hammering on the walls. Tommy forgot that his father’s girlfriend told him that he had to stay home and help his father all day. Tommy was devastated because he did not know how he would be able to make it to the tryout. When his father took a break to eat lunch, Tommy pretended to go to the bathroom. Instead, he grabbed his lucky bat and his glove and ran down to the field where the tryout was being held. The team was just about to end the tryout when Tommy ran onto the field. They threw him batting practice and then let him field some ground balls. Tommy never imagined that he would be trying out with players of this caliber.
Tommy looked up at the jumbo-Tran in centerfield and saw the clock said it was one o’clock. He had been gone from his house for an hour. If his father’s girlfriend found out that he had gone to the tryout, she would never let him go play baseball in the park again. He immediately stopped playing catch and started to run off of the field. Tommy had left his bat in the dugout because he was in such a rush.
When Tommy arrived home, his father had just eaten the last bite of his sandwich. He realized he had forgotten his bat and knew that he might never get the chance to pursue his dreams of making it to the big leagues because he ran off of the field. A few days later Tommy went down to the park to hit a few balls and he saw another flyer posted on the fence. It said that there was a bat left at the tryout for the Fort Myers Miracles and it needed to be picked up by five o’clock. Tommy looked at the clock tower, which read it was twenty minutes until five o’clock. He sprinted to the field where he had his tryout and told them they it was his bat. He took out his school ID and showed them that the name matched the one engraved on the bat.
The general manager was so impressed with Tommy’s display of hard work that he had prepared a contract for him to sign on the spot. Tommy knew that his father would be disappointed in him for going behind his back, but he knew that he was capable of much more than bagging groceries at “Publix” grocery store. He took the pen in hand and signed his name for 2.5 million dollars. He was given a ride home in the team van and ran into the house to tell his father. His father was thrilled with the news and told Tommy that he was so proud of his accomplishment. His father’s girlfriend came into the room when she heard the commotion. Tommy’s father told her that if she wanted to be a part of their lives, she would have to be happy for Tommy. Tommy told his father that he would like them all to live happily together in a huge house near the water, where they could all live out the American Dream.

Artist Statement
I chose to go with the Cinderella theme because I felt I could best relate it fit the Fairy tale that I had been thinking of. In this story, I chose to use Tommy’s name instead of Cinderella. I also changed the glass slipper to a baseball bat because a bat symbolizes strength and power as the slipper represents beauty for Cinderella. The Fathers girlfriend played the role in Tommy’s life of the evil stepmother.
Lastly the signing of Tommy’s professional contract represents the success of pursuing his dream. This was apparent in Cinderella at the end of the story when she marries the Prince. I feel that this story, Bigger Than a Bagger, is a “modern day boy’s” version of the classic Cinderella story.

Anonymous said...

Once upon a time in a cottage far away, lived a father and his two daughters. The eldest daughter was an average looking girl, with no special features about her. The youngest daughter however, was beautiful. She had hair as black as a clear winter’s sky, skin as fair as porcelain and lips as red a rose. Her name was snow white. Their father had been ill for quite some time, but only the eldest daughter looked after him. This often made the eldest daughter angry because even after all she did for her father; snow white was still the apple of his eye and the center of attention.
One night the eldest daughter decided she was tired of hearing how wonderful and beautiful her sister was. She had been practicing witchcraft for years and decided that she would cast spells on her sister to make her par for all the misery she caused her. She cast spells to make her hair fall out and turn her fair porcelain skin wrinkled and sandpaper like. Unfortunately for the eldest sister, her spells didn’t work; they just seemed to make her more beautiful. Finally, she thought out loud “enough is enough”. The eldest sister was tired of always being second best. She did all the work around the house and took care of her father, but still wasn’t good enough for anyone. “Snow white must die!” she said.
The sister plotted day after day to eliminate her sister show white but, nothing seemed good enough. Finally she came up with the perfect way to eliminate her sister once and for all. Each morning, snow white would go out to the water well in her yard and sing to the animals in the yard.
When her back was turned, the eldest sister pushed her into the well. It was seven feet deep and made of soundproof glass; no one would be able to hear her. The sister was very happy with her, and thought that everything would finally be right in her life now, but when she returned home her father sensed that something was wrong. When snow white didn’t return home that night, her father sent out an army of men to search for her. When no one found snow white, her father, so consumed with grief, fell into a coma. In fear of losing her father, the eldest daughter decided to save snow white and bring her out of the well. When snow white returned home their father awoke and she told him all about her sister and her evil plan to kill her. Their father disowned the eldest daughter and locker her up in the glass well where she remained for eternity.



There are many aspects of my version of "Snow White" that I changed form the original version. I decided to make the sister evil instead of the stepmother. There is often a lot of jealousy between sisters, especially when one feels that one parent cares more about one than the other. I also purposely didn’t give the eldest sister a name because having no name goes along with being the “abandoned,” not cared for, child. I feel that there is more animosity between siblings than there are between children and their stepparents. I also chose to keep the father a big part of the story because in a lot of the other fairy tales the father has either died or is not a part of the children’s lives.

Anonymous said...

Years ago, at the edge of the forest,
A man, a wife, and two children live.
Family in famine, no bread, the worst.
A man wanting to provide, nil to give.

O no, how tragic, what is he to do?
A poor and old woodcutter he is only,
Set in his ways, a skill of new not knew,
Can just sit and worry, the end gloomy.

The wife of a woodcutter, his lover,
Now the stepmother of his two children.
And the children, so crafty, so clever,
But to the mother noting but burden.

Nothing for them here, life is but a bore.
Family, they are starving, they are poor.


A poor starving family at a loss,
They must do something before it’s too late.
The children in to the woods they will toss
And becoming food themselves is their fate.

Deep in to the dark woods they will lead them
With nothing but a slice of bread to eat
Then slip away when they rest, to condemn
Them to their doom, to become but mincemeat.

The crafty boy has heard all of the plan,
But of his own, one he has, make a path
Of shiny stones leading to the woodman.
Early gathered in pocket, stones he hath.

The others mother put herself above,
But the good children have each other’s love.


In the morning a family left home,
Together through the wooden path they go
By the camp fire they are left alone.
Tired from their trip, sleeps our young heros.

Fast asleep their parents gone, no one there
They awoke amidst the darkness around,
No fire, no parents, no one, a nightmare,
Emptiness, not one soul here to be found.

The moon lighting their path of shiny stones
They followed the stone path they knew so dear
Straight to their home they walked all night alone
Arriving home father let out a cheer.

In morning a family left as four,
Caring, compassion, that is their saviour.


Their stepmother was enraged, her plan failed,
Blind to her own greed, so she could not see
She cannot win, and with a sigh exhaled,
“The next plan will surely work easily.

Further into the dark she went than last
Dragging the children she blamed so much for
The hunger that controlled, made her downcast,
But she could not see they could be the cure.

By the fire they sleep, alone they wake.
Alone here, no food, how will they survive?
Alone here, their breadcrumb path birds did take,
But they are still together, here, alive.

Their stepmother gave them another shove,
No matter, their love rises like a dove.


Hansel, just a boy, Gretel just a girl,
Together they roam, for three days are lost
Walking, searching, amongst the deer and squirrels,
No path to home, walking until exhaust.

All night they had walked, no food of their own
Just laying around, they had found berries.
Nothing more to eat, hope fades, stomachs groan,
Only if they had food for their bellies.

They missed their warm bed and they missed their room,
The ground is where they lay, the woods their house.
With the situation ever so gloom
At this point, they might even eat a mouse.

What will happen to this innocent pair,
Lost in the woods, the children in despair.


Lost in the woods for them hope can be found,
Fast the children ran, and when they were close,
A house of cake and sugar, how confound!
The children in shock, one bite won’t impose.

One bite turned into many, twas a feast!
Some of the roof and some of the window
Did they consume, their long hunger a beast
Now content, when then the owner did show.

The owner, an old lady, as sweet
As the house of cake in which she did live,
Invited the children in for a treat,
Food, drink, and shelter to them she did give.

The third day, their trial over it seems,
When they found a house made of cake and dreams.


A nice old lady was more than she seems,
Her disguise may be fare but she is not,
A witch she is, causing little kids screams
At night, of nightmares she is a mascot.

Preying on the unsuspecting, the young,
Disguised as an old lady she would tempt
Children, with putting sweet treats on their tongue
To eat children for lunch was her attempt.

The cake and sugar house, was but a ruse
For her young prey, unable to resist,
From them her dinner she would then produce
Roasted, boiled, sometimes covered in grist.

The cake house of dreams was really a scare,
In which lived a witch, they had found her lair.


The children are inside to rest and eat,
Fill their bellies with many treats unknown,
Then the old lady, now much less discrete
Announces her plans to eat them once grown.

The witch’s true evil now shines on through
So everyone can see who she is,
Evil in its pure form exposed to view,
Controlling, manipulating, it is.

What will she do to the children she steals?
Imprisonment for one, to fatten him,
The other a slave, to prepare the meal.
The evil takes over, outlook so dim.

Their new fate now known, mixed in with the crèmes,
Her dinner announced, time to eat they scream!


Just a boy who wanted to return home,
Hansel, now imprisoned in a small shack,
No windows and no room, just a small dome,
At dinner, food was slipped through a small crack.

“To fatten you up right,” his captive said
For she wanted to make sure he would make
A proper dinner for her to be fed.
Hansel sat, and planned out his great jailbreak.

The witch she came to feed everyday
But she was blind, and could not see, but feel
She would, but Hansel had tricked her astray
With a bone, and he would just eat his meal.

Under her evil spell, of the old beast,
Hansel captive, fattened up for the feast.


Just a girl who wanted to return home,
Gretel a slave for just taking the snack,
Now wishes that she could only just roam,
Working in the fear of the next hard smack.

Bringing the water for cooking the food
In the kettle she must make a fine stew
For her brother, she gets rotten seafood,
For him she cried, but had not a tissue.

Working day to night, no end in her sight
For the witch will give her chores to no end.
At night she prays for the almighty right,
Forgiveness and love she hopes will defend.

Through the old witch, caught by her own hunger,
Gretel enslaved forced to cook her brother.


Hansel is stalling in the lonely shack,
Gretel praying; brother, sister be free.
They must now plan for their own swift payback,
A mistake would be to defy bluntly.

The witch and her fast growing impatience
Calls for the feast, another fine stew must
Be fixed, Hansel now faces his sentence
Of doom, a plan they need in the swiftest.

An order of bread the witch does command,
In to the oven the bread should it go,
Check the fire for its heat must be grand.
Gretel you first, crawl inside so you know.

The time is here, do not fear in the least,
Must not give up, else eaten by the beast.


Now Gretel claims that in she does not fit
So the witch will show, in to the oven
She now goes, behind her in the rump, hit,
The door now closed so the witch now ashen.

Tricked was the witch by children so young
She saw not that they were very clever,
Underestimate them and now was flung
Into the fire, return she will never.

Burnt to a crisp, fire so raged
Like her hatred so fed by her own greed
She could not forever keep it caged,
Making her under control, to misdeeds.

Overcome by the endless love entire,
The witch is dead, consumed by her own fire.


The children by themselves now are free
When they find in the house treasures untold,
They carry in pocket as much can be
To take home, they will share with their household.

Gems of red, green, an entire rainbow
It seems, they can now feed their family
When they get home their father they will show
And ever they will live so happily.

Travel home now, with their love renewed,
With help of friends to us they return,
With much support they have been rescued
An end to their long and harsh sojourn.

Free from the grip of their own private hell,
Free at last, let’s go home, be one, be well.


Home they made it now they are safe indeed
Their father was so glad, lonely he was,
His second wife now gone, dead from greed
After they left he saw her many flaws.

Hansel and Gretel showed him the gems
They had retrieved, they said worry not
Because our famine we will now condemn
With these, food we will surely have a lot.

Demons of every type our heros
Had faced, overcoming them with not
But each other’s love. When faced with foes
They sought love of each other, not besot.

Home at last, their troubles gone all now well,
What took them is now gone, free from the spell.


Family, they are starving, they are poor.
But the good children have each other’s love.
Caring, compassion, that is their saviour.
No matter, their love rises like a dove.

Lost in the woods, the children in despair
When they found a house made of cake and dreams.
In which lived a witch, they had found her lair.
Time to eat, her dinner announced, they scream!

Hansel captive, fattened up for the feast,
Gretel enslaved, forced to cook her brother,
Must not give up, else eaten by the beast.
The witch is dead, consumed by her own fire.

Free at last, let’s go home, be one, be well.
What took us is now gone, free from the spell.


My Statement:

I wanted to try something new and challenging, and this defiantly was both of those for me. I enjoyed working with the sonnet form, it was something I had only used once before, and nowhere near this scale. I wanted to experiment with making it all tie together. I changed some of the symbolism slightly, bringing what I felt were some important lessons hidden in the story to the top and adding in a vague reference to a new one. Typed out in this format it may look long, 6 pages, in paragraph form it is well under 3 pages.

Lea said...

Lea Mineo
September 25, 2007
Lit 217
Modern Fairy Tale

Little Silver Pump

In a small town in Connecticut, there was a girl named Cindi. When she was young her parents divorced and her mother left. Her father was a wonderful man but she was young and longed for a mother. A year had passed and he finally met someone. She was magnificent to look at but inside she was ugly. She wanted her father to be happy so she kept her opinions to herself and gave her approval. Her father did remarry and they moved to a beautiful house in the country. Moving day was approaching and Cindi was excited to choose her new bedroom.
She envisioned a room with a picture window overlooking the pond in the back. Her two step sisters got the nice, beautiful rooms up stairs. They even got their own bathrooms! Her step mother put her room in the basement. The dirty, cold basement.
It was now summer vacation and Cindi was excited to think of all the fun she’ll be having but instead her step mother put her to work. She had to clean the house, mow the lawn and clean the barn every week. She was devastated. Her step mother even took away her cell phone, so she couldn’t even call her friends. For once Cindi was actually excited to get back to school.
Once school started Cindi thought things might change. She was going into her senior year at Scared Heart Academy and there was this boy she liked that went to Notre Dame of West Haven. When she returned to school her friends were upset with her that they hadn’t spoke all summer. Cindi tried to explain…but they wouldn’t listen. Her step mother ruined everything! She went home upset, and once again her step mother put her to work, cleaning the kitchen and bathroom. The days and nights flew by extremely quickly because this is what her life consisted of.
One day at school she heard all the girls buzzing about their upcoming senior prom. She didn’t even realize it was May! She thought to herself, “I am not going to be able to go to prom.” Cindi began to sob in the hallway. Her guidance counselor, Mrs. Masto saw her and called Cindi into her office and asked what was wrong. Cindi spilled everything to her. She told her how upset she was that her step mother wasn’t going to let her to go prom and all the chores she was doing. Her guidance counselor told her not to worry at all! After school, Mrs. Masto took Cindi to the mall, and not just any mall- West Farms. This was one of the best malls in the state. Mrs. Masto took Cindi right to Nordstroms. She found the most beautiful Roberto Cavalli dress and the most extravagant Dolce and Gabanna shoes!
Cindi was all ready for prom but had no date! Mrs. Masto told her not to worry, her son, Charles was going to prom but didn’t have a date either. Mrs. Masto’s son was handsome, and the most popular boy at Notre Dame. He was even captain of the football team! Cindi thought to her self, “How is the most handsome boy at Norte Dame dateless and why is he going to want to go to the prom with me??”
Cindi’s parents were going away for the weekend, which made it a lot easier to sneak out and go to prom. Her step sisters were too busy having a party to even notice that Cindi was dressed up and ready to leave the house. She looked exquisite in her Roberto Cavalli dress and the most amazing Dolce and Gabanna shoes. Charles picked her up at the corner in a beautiful stretch Range Rover limousine. Once she sat down next to him, he couldn’t take his eyes off her!
They arrived at the prom and were the most beautiful couple there. She was amazed that Charles really did like her. Mrs. Masto warned Cindi that she had to be home by 2 am. After prom Charles and her went to after prom, but only until 1:30. At the after prom, they sat in the corner and talked. He wanted to know everything about her and she wanted to know everything about him! Once one thirty came he drove her home, but she left one shoe in his car.
The next day he went to Sacred Heart and looked for her. While walking through the halls, he actually walked right by her because her step mother wouldn’t allow her to wear make-up to school. Frustrated, he went to the principal’s office and had her paged on the overhead system. When she arrived in the office, there Charles was, standing with a bouquet of red roses and her silver pump! He wanted to make sure it was actually Cindi, so he made her sit down, and slipped the shoe on her foot. The lack of makeup made no difference to Charles. It was her inner beauty that Charles liked most of all.
From that day on they were inseparable and her evil stepmother and spoiled stepsisters had no effect on her any longer. Charles and Cindi attended the same university and before long they were married with three beautiful children.

The End

Anonymous said...

Cindy was a sad and lonely girl. She sat day by day in her little room akin to a porcelain tub and pushed mail into trays, boxes, and carts, but Cindy had not always been a serf to her superiors.
In previous Cindy had been a project manager for her mother’s investment company, but New York can be a cruel place. One minor mistake and Cindy had lost a client millions of irreplaceable dollars. Anyone else would have been terminated, but Cindy’s mother could not replace her daughter.
After a few months, Cindy’s mother had grown ill and eventually died from small cell lung cancer. With her mother’s death, Cindy’s father inherited the company and struggled to keep it afloat. Flash forward two months and a new woman was brought in to be Assistant Vice President. This woman had no emotional attachments and would do everything in her power to see that her daughters would become figureheads for the company. Her immediate disdain for Cindy was made apparent when she swept Cindy to the mailroom.
Cindy toiled day and night in the mailroom trying to re-establish herself within the company her loving mother had set up for her inherit and run. However, Cindy could never do anything right in the eyes of the Assistant VP. Cindy would anguish in the mailroom for some time longer.
Cindy began to become more jovial despite her servitude to the mailroom once she had coped with her mother’s death. Seeing that everyone in her life had abandoned or left her, Cindy was like a dummy to her need for emotional and physical attachment. She began to flaunt herself around the office, but did not lower her self to the status of whoredom.
Her wiles worked. Cindy maintained a constant schedule and her lunch was no different. She ate her meals at the same little restaurant on the corner of fifth and Walnut. She caught the eye of a tall, dark, handsome man by the name of Pere while eating by her lonesome in the corner of the deli. As he sauntered over to her, she looked up and began to ignore him. He realized she was playing hard to get, but he still sat down. Cindy abruptly left and went to her mailroom across the street to avoid him.
The man asked the waiter whom she was and got her name. That was all he needed. From there, he facebooked, googled, searched myspace for Cindy. He eventually found some relevant information while he stalked her.
Cindy continued to toil in her room and receive the degradation of her superiors. She eventually though to herself, “Why don’t I talk to this guy?”
The next time she went to the deli on fifth and walnut she sat and ate in the front of the restaurant, clearly visible. Pere entered shortly after Cindy started to eat. The two exchanged pleasantries and hit it off. From that conversation, the two became inseparable.
This newfound confidence and stability in her life gave Cindy the courage to tell her bosses and her father to go to hell. She did not hesitate in her conflicts and stood strong. She had become the woman her mother had known before Cindy’s mistake. Ultimately, Cindy had found a catalyst for her life: her Prince.


I wanted to make a modern version of the tale of Cinderella. I feel that I accomplished this goal and got the basic ideas down for what I feel will be a solid story. Once I add dialogue and make some parts more poignant in order to convey their meanings, I believe I will have a decent piece of work. I wanted to convey the general concept behind Cinderella in that, a woman experiences many emotional issues and with the help of a catalyst is able to turn her life around. I purposely left out any version of a fairy godmother etc. because I felt that it would not enhance the story, thus I merged the characters of the prince and fairy godmother into one, an enabler. I took a plausible event and turned it into a modern version of Cinderella.

sry about this i posted last night as anonyomous...

Anonymous said...

Lily Rose

Watch Lily Rose go
Always looking so beautiful
Where her fate will lead her
Really is so pitiful

As sweet as she seems
Do not be fooled
Soon any man, creature, or being around
Will need to be cooled

Off she goes
In her little red skirt
Which she really uses
Just to flirt

Her mother asked her
A sweet little favor
Little did she know
Her daughter would soon be something to savor

Walking down the road
Little by little
Through a nearby watcher’s eye
She looks so fair and brittle

With her short red skirt
And flirty personality
She looks like an easy catch
And also the key to immortality

Although few realize
The special key she holds
The big bad neighbor wolf
Knows her truth is really two fold

Lily Rose was born
To seem sweet and innocent
But the truth behind her fake façade
Was really quite magnificent

Two whom ever attempts
And actually catches her
Will live forever
With endless riches and fur

Half way there
Lily Rose was stopped
And somewhat startled
By something that popped

There the wolf stood
All fury and shedding
Just to ask the girl
Where she was heading

She pointed the way
To which she was walking
Doing all of this
With no sign of talking

Off she went
Without a second thought
On her way
To bring grandma was she brought

Once she got to Grandma’s
She gave the door a knock
But all she could hear
Was the tick of the clock

In she went
To see grandma at rest
Little did she know
It was actually an un-welcomed guest

Closer and closer she got
Not fearing for her safety
She did not know the wolf was there
Thinking she would be so very tasty

She walked all the way up
Right next to the bed
Just to find her poor grandma
Murdered and dead

As soon as she saw
The neighbor wolf’s face
Right then she knew
She was not in a good place

Before she could even try
To fight and get away
The wolf decided to tie her up
To have some fun and play

Because she was so flirty and beautiful
The wolf let it fog his mind
But once Lily Rose figured out what was going on
She decided not to be so kind

She played along to get the wolf
Right where she wanted
It was so quickly turned around
To where the wolf was the one taunted

The wolf was tied up
To the point he could not move
It was then Lily Rose knew
She was back in her groove

She gave him a wink
And a flirty little smile
Tuned to leave the house
And walk home the one mile

Still she stayed
Innocent with her gift
She now knows next time
To just grab a lift

















Writer’s Response

The first thing I changed was giving the main character a name. I gave her the name Lily Rose. I did this for two reasons; one of which it gave her a name that sounded sweet and innocent. Also Lily Rose has the same letters as “Little Red.” I also changed the story in the sense that it was very obvious that she was flirty and gave her a red skirt instead of a red cap or hood. I did this because I was intrigued by some of the older version we read in class that had sexual innuendos tied into their versions. I also incorporated this sexuality subtly throughout the whole poem. Another major change I made was to make it into a poem. I liked the idea of putting it into a poem because poems are quick to learn and pass on. I added a little side story that gave the wolf an actual reason for wanting to catch Lily Rose. I kept a few things from the original versions such as grandmas house, the wolf, and grandmas death so that it would be recognizably a version of Little Red Riding Hood. I kept a similar ending to “The Story of Grandmother” but made it more of a modern ending. I also made a somewhat obvious moral at the end but again tried to make it more modern by saying she knows to “grab a lift.”

Anonymous said...

Ronald Turner
Literature 217
9/25/07



Once upon a time in a land far away where green grass cant grow over the pavement and trees are rarely seen in the shadows of towering buildings. There lived a beautiful girl the finest in the city, with her long hair and fair skin she earned the nick name Red by all the local boys. Red lived with her mother in the part of town many wouldn’t dare to go but they were happy. Red a star in basketball had the world at her finger tips.
“Red bring this little bit of money to your grandmothers house so she can buy some cigarettes and lotto tickets and hurry up” her mother told her. “Dang why I always gotta go over there, shoot!”
And she was on her way down the block, through the park where she often plays ball, past the corner store and down near the package store. She stopped for a minute because her feet were hurting her and sat on the curb where she took off the beaten shoe to stretch her foot. “Hey there red” a voice said behind her. She turned it was Marques Wolfe a local guy who always hung out infront of the package store and always wore the nicest close and latest kicks. “So where you on your way too” he asked. “To my grandmothers house” Red said. And he let her alone, so she thought knowing where her grandmother lived he beat her there he was very cunning and trick the grandmother into leaving saying that pastor had called an emergency church meeting and if she needed she could use his car.
Red got to the house and notice the door was open so she went in thinking that grandmother never leaves her door open in fear of being robbed. “Hello Red” a voice called out. “Iv been expecting you Iv got something for you its on the table. Red went over to the table only to find a bag of what she thought looked like sugar, a spoon and a lighter. “But grandmother what is this for” she asked. “Just do what grandmother says” the voice bellowed. Red had heard about what people do what such things and new her grandmother would never ask her to do such a thing. “What is this spoon for” she asked. “To taste the medicine” the voice echoed. “And what is the stuff in the bag?” “The medicine of course” the voice said. “And what is this needle for” she asked. “To make you feel alive” the voice said.
And Red put all the things on the table into her pocket and went into the bathroom. She flushed it all down the toilet climbed out of the window and ran home. To her delight her grandmother was at her house and had been there all day.

Anonymous said...

My Version of Little Red Riding Hood

Once upon a time, in a small town known as Monroe a woman was putting together a small care basket for this guy she was seeing. She put everything in the basket, put on her shoes, and tied her infamous blue bow up in her hair. She wore her little bow with every outfit, it was what she was known for. Some people even called her Little blue.
She started to walk down the street, seeing as though her boyfriend only lived a couple of blocks from her place, there was really no reason for her to drive there. She walked and walked, and then all of the sudden met up with a girl she thought looked vaguely familiar.
The other girl, was tall with blonde hair and bright green eyes, and her name was Sandy. Sandy knew exactly who Little blue was because a few months before she had found out that her boyfriend had cheated on her with Little Blue. She was devastated and still hadn‘t gotten over it. She knew exactly where she was going. But she proceeded to be nice, and she said, “Oh, Hi! How are you?” Little Blue replied, “I’m great!, how are you? Do I know you from somewhere?” Sandy wasn’t sure if she should tell the truth of how she knew Little Blue, so she lied, “Yea, I think we met through your friend Jen at a party a few weeks back.” “Oh that’s right now I remember!”, said Little Blue. “So where are you headed?” Little Blue, thinking that she had met this girl at a party was happy to share where she was going with her. So she began to tell her that her boyfriend wasn’t feeling well, and that she was going over to give him some treats to make him feel better. Sandy felt bad her ex boyfriend was sick, and thought of a great plan to get back at both of them. So she said by to Little Blue and walked briskly down a side street. Sandy knew a fast way to her ex boyfriends house and took off.
Little Blue, on the way there decided she should stop and get some ice cream for him because she knew how much he loved it. Which only ended up working in Sandy’s favor. Sandy knocked on his door as he said, “Come on in!” So Sandy walked into his apartment, and proceeded to do what she came there to do. He was very surprised to see her, and wasn’t quite sure why she was there. But as they sat and talked and she cried (faking it of course) he began to feel bad. “I still love you” she said, “I can’t get over you and I never want to. You’re all I ever think about, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to change this feeling.” She went on and on and he began to realize that maybe he mad a mistake. He kissed her softly on the cheek. And as she looked up into his eyes, she kissed him a little harder on the lips. As soon as their lips touched, his door opens and Little Blue walks in. She looks over at the couch and see’s the lip action, then she realized exactly where she knew Sandy from. She got so angry she dropped the care basket and went right over in her face. Sandy smaked him acting as though he was the one who kissed her. He knew he was in trouble now. “I’m sorry!” He yelled, “I am so sorry Little Blue, but it’s not what it looks like!” Little Blue didn’t want to hear it at all, “How can you do this to me? Sick my ass!”
As they sat there screaming and yelling, Sandy just sat on the couch with a tiny malicious grin on her face. She knew she had accomplished what she was looking for, revenge. He had cheated on her with Little Blue, and she was heartbroken. All she wanted was a little way to get back, to push some buttons and cause some tension. She did exactly what she came for. And as they screamed and cried, she slipped out the door unnoticeably, she never spoke nor saw either on of them again.

Anonymous said...

Michelle Cole
English 217
25 September 2007

Little Annie and the Prom: A Modern Cinderella Tale

Once upon a time, in a quaint area tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the city, there was a town of close-knit civilians called Andersville. This town was so discrete that not many outsiders knew it existed, but those who lived there had very satisfying and safe lives away from the crime and insecurity found in the city now-a-days. Not many newcomers find themselves in these few blocks that they consider a town, but this year it was going to change.
Happy Endings High School, the only high school in the area of course, had a population total of about 300 attendees and focused on the futures or ‘happy endings’ of the students that graduated with the school as their alma mater. The school was just like any other high school, well equipped with the judgmental cliques, popular girls and boys, and those who fell short of these categories. On the day that little Annie Timid enrolled in the high school as a new transfer student, the students were in for a big surprise as the normalcy of the school was to be compromised.
Living with a father who traveled multiple places with his job made life difficult for Annie, but having moved about four times in the past year, she was getting used to the transition phase. Although her father was almost always at work, her parents were very protective of her safety and were strict with the rules she had to follow. Annie did not ever complain about anything for she appreciated what she was able to do. Starting at Happy Endings was more difficult than she had anticipated, the constant teasing about her apparel, and her not having many companions being a new student had her in the guidance office at least two times a day. Annie was strong when it came to ridicule and she found comfort in spending time talking to Ms. Benign, one of the school’s guidance counselors.
Although Annie was teased often, she was happy with herself and her choices in clothing, she didn’t see it necessary to wear clothes that had expensive store’s names written on them. She was more than satisfied with the clothes she bought at the local department stores. Living in such a small town, there were not many stores around therefore the popular kids were even more popular if they wore clothes that could only be found in stores far, far away. One boy that stood out to little Annie was the ever so popular football star, Brad Desired. Every girl in the school wished they could have the chance to be his date, and Annie was one of them, but kept her distance because the competition was too high.
As time went by, the school began to plan for the biggest event all school year, the annual Prom. The Prom committee had been brainstorming ideas for the theme of the dance, and decided on a Prince and Princess Ball. Upon hearing this idea, Annie had no hope in her heart that she would find a date or be able to go to the dance for she had nothing to wear and did not think she could ever be like a princess. After Annie had discussed this issue with Ms. Benign, the guidance counselor had become quite discouraged and began to think of a way to make this wish come true.
Days went by and the chatter around the school about dresses and dates became more and more realistic, but little Annie just went about her school work and did not think about what she would be missing out on. Before math class began, Annie overheard two girls discussing a key situation that Annie found some interest in. The rumor going around the school was that Mr. Brad Desired himself did not have a date for the dance. Since every girl had already asked him, he made it clear that he would dance with every interested girl at the Prom and then decide which one would be his girlfriend. Annie was so surprised from this news that she actually had a glimmer of hope for attending the Prom glow in her eyes, but then she frowned remembering that she had nothing acceptable to wear.
It was the night before the Prom and her cell phone began to ring, an unknown number. She answered it cautiously, and to her surprise it was Ms. Benign! Annie was given specific instructions to meet her in the school parking lot in twenty minutes. After getting permission from her parents, she was on her way to meet the counselor with no idea the purpose for the meeting. The two met in the parking lot as planned and Ms. Benign took Annie on a shopping spree for a beautiful dress and shoes that were sold specially in only one store in Andersville. The finishing touches of makeup were complete, her hair was done perfectly with a shimmering tiara to top it off, the dress fit flawlessly, and the shoes were the ideal accessory to capture the brilliance of her inner beauty. Ms. Benign then delivered her to the Prom looking like a princess, and Annie was thrilled to be attending such an amazing event.
As she strolled into the Prom, everyone’s eyes could not help but be glued to Annie walking so daintily through the double doors with such dignity. Every aspect of her outfit gleamed from the lights of the disco ball on the ceiling. The beauty that had always been inside of Annie had shone through tonight for all of her criticizing classmates to see. In the middle of the dance floor, as expected, was Brad with a line of girls waiting to dance with him. Annie was so confident in herself that night that she did not want to be one of those girls desperate to be graced with his presence for a dance, so she decided to go get herself something to drink.
While gently pouring a glass of punch, she heard a deep voice behind her ask, “Would you like to dance?” She turned around and to her surprise it was Brad, asking for her to dance with him! Annie contained her excitement and agreed to the dance, so they walked into the middle of the dance floor surrounded by the entire school. Every girl was jealous to see that this mystery girl had gotten Brad’s attention and was able to dance with him. The two bonded well that night as they danced the night away, but when Annie caught a glance of the clock, she had to dart out of the door because her mother’s strict rule was to be waiting in front for her ride at 10:15pm. Annie raced outside throwing off her heels to make it in time as her mother’s car was pulling around the corner, but did not realize that she had forgot to give Brad her name.
The next day at school, the chatter was now about the beautiful mystery girl and her dramatic exit from the Prom leaving behind her precious Christian Louboutin shoes. It was impossible to find that brand of shoe in Andersville, and the materialistic girls were curious as to who would leave such valuable things behind. Brad was so determined to figure out who this girl was that he posted signs all over the school with a picture of the shoes hoping that the mystery dancer would come looking for them. Then he would find out who she was once and for all. Annie never responded to the posters because she did not miss those shoes and only thought that Brad wanted her because she owned them.
More time went by and Brad was still at unrest about the situation, so he decided to research the only store in town that sold Christian Louboutin shoes and was able to get some information regarding who purchased them. After finding this out, Brad made an appointment with Ms. Benign and asked her about the shoes. Ms. Benign finally spilled and let him know that Annie Timid was the mystery beauty he had been looking for all this time. Discovering the truth, Brad came up with a clever plan.
One afternoon after school, Annie had arrived home and discovered a box on her front steps with a large bow on it addressed to her. She took the box inside and opened it curiously only to find her glimmering shoes she had left behind at the Prom with a note inside saying, “Annie will you be my date?” Love, Brad. Moments later there was a knock at the door and as the door swung open, Annie was more than happy to see Brad standing there with a smile on his face.
Brad and Annie realized that they were meant for each other and her inner beauty was what he was most attracted to. The entire senior year, the two dated happily ever after.








An Artist’s Statement

As the artist looking back on my finished creative piece, I selected to retell the common story of Cinderella with a modern day spin. Many of the similar threads from the original tale are woven throughout my story but with a different spin on them. For instance, with the motif of the modern world, the “glass slipper” was instead a very expensive brand of shoe, the enforced curfew took the place of the stroke of midnight, and the guidance counselor took the place of the fairy god mother. Based on the world we live in today, it seemed only right to use a theme of materialism within in the story. Rather than the surrounding characters teasing the main character about the cinders she sat in, they teased her because of her less than authentic wardrobe. High school students today tend to care a lot about the way they are perceived by their peers, and clothing is a huge marker as to how they “rank” in the ladder of popularity. It was interesting to create a character in this story that did not care what others thought as well as did not see a purpose to dressing for others’ taste. Annie’s differences made her stand out, but also made her a likeable character. The character of Brad, who stood for the prince, was also important because he was able to see Annie’s inner beauty in the end which prevails over the external aids that the other girls used in the story. This lack of necessity Annie saw in these material things was displayed with her discarding the expensive shoes she was wearing in order to make curfew. Overall, I feel that using prose in this way captured the details of the story and served the purpose of connecting the story of Cinderella to a modern day situation that many girls go through in high school. Good seems to always prevail over evil as well as inner beauty is cherished more than materialistic views.

Anonymous said...

There was once a little girl named Red Riding Hood.
Her granny lived inside the deep dark wood.
She visited her granny whenever she could.

Inside the forest lived a big bad wolf.
Who thought Red Riding Hood would taste, Oh So Good!

As soon as the wolf began feel
That he would like to enjoy a nice big meal.

He crept into the wood to catch his feast
And Red Riding Hood appeared a rather small piece.

He knew that granny would offer a much bigger deal,
And with his sharp white teeth and rather large feet
Wolf ran over to granny’s street.

With a knock on the door and a hunger for more,
Granny announced “Come in my sweet.”

Wolf rushed right in and gave her a grin
And didn’t expect the hit with a tin!

See Red Riding Hood was on his tail
And what he didn’t know,
Was that Granny worked for the jail.

Granny knocked him down and cuffed him up,
The big bad wolf had to give up.

Red Riding Hood rushed right in,
And said to Wolf “Villains never win.”








Artist’s Statement

I chose to include the motif of Red Riding Hood being very young and innocent but, I then changed her almost naïve nature into awareness. I think children these days understand more than we give them credit for. It seemed to me in every Red Riding Hood tale she was either rescued or killed. I wanted children to know that they too can be helpful in a bad situation. Granny in my poem was used as a good example, a leader. Showing that she could outsmart the wolf would allow kids to believe in the power of knowledge and courage. Another motif that I chose to use was the “big bad wolf.” This was very significant in many of the tales because the wolf is seen as ferocious and unforgiving. He is also used as a symbol of a man who is perhaps dangerous. I didn’t want the wolf to die in my poem because, I felt as though children shouldn’t believe that all “bad” people are condemned to death. Another common motif I used was good triumphs over evil. I chose to write a poem and make it short because I feel as though children remember rhymes more vividly and they just don’t enjoy sitting for long periods of time! I know when I was a child I liked the stories to be short and sweet. I think that short and sweet gets the message across without losing the child’s attention. I changed the poem many times and as always, I’m looking forward to suggestions on how to improve it.


Kristy Schumann
Fairy Tale Assignment

Anonymous said...

Justin Violette
Dr. Sonnenschein
English 217-17
Fairy Tale Assignment
9/25/07
There once was a very wealthy family that lived New York. There was a father, a stepmother, and two children, from the marriage with the father’s late wife, named Michelle and Samuel. The family lived very prosperously in the middle of the city. They drove around in limos, flew in their private jet, went on vacation where and whenever they pleased, and had all the great commodities you could ever dream of having. The father was the only one in the family who worked, and then again he was the only one who had to because he owned the best hotels in the country. The children went to school and when they came home they would do all the chores without question on top of their hours of homework. The stepmother spent everyday did nothing but enjoy the perks of marrying a rich man. The endless shopping, the day trips to exotic spots, days spent at the spas.
The father had caught on to what it was the wife was doing, he was becoming tired with her just spending his money, and never doing anything but spend it while he and his children were working as hard as they could. One day the father came home from the doctors with terrible news. He had an incurable virus and the doctors didn’t think there was anything that they could do to save him. They had told him he had only one more month to live. He gathered the family and told them what the doctors had said, and they were all devastated. At this time he also announced that on his way home he had stopped at his lawyers to redo his will. Originally the stepmother was to get the bulk of his estate when he died so she could take care of the children, but Michelle was older now, 18, and was mature enough to take care of Samuel, 12. So he said that Michelle and Samuel would be left the house, cars, the company and all the money but $10,000. This was all the stepmother would get since she had spent so much of the money.
The stepmother was furious and devised a plan to get rid of the children so all the money would comeback to her. She had money put away from her first marriage and she planned a family trip to the Grand Canyon. This would be the perfect place to get rid of the children by throwing them over the edge and making it look like they had just fallen. The next morning she gathered the family and told them about the trip that she had planned for all of them. The father was astonished and they were all excited since they had never been there before. They took flight that afternoon and arrived in Arizona that evening. The stepmother paid for everything, their hotel, their dinner, and anything the children wanted. The next day they all climbed to the top of the canyon and the wife began to put her plan to work.
While she was standing by the edge she called the children over to see the view, the father was nowhere to be seen. When the children came over she gave them both hugs, pushing there noses into her shoulder. Her shoulder had chloroform on it which caused the children to pass out. Then when nobody was watching she pushed them over, turned around and let out a horrific scream. Everybody ran over and she said the children had fallen into the Colorado River; they were nowhere to be seen. Search crews searched for days and no sign of the children was ever found. Heart broken the father and the stepmother returned to New York.
A day after the search had been called the children awoke. They had fallen in to a deep dark hole on the canyon and had become unconscious when they had hit the bottom. They began to scream and yell hoping somebody would hear them. Somebody did, a man, and he threw them a rope and pulled tem out one at a time. The man told the children that he was having a big feast at his house and that they were welcome to come. The children were so hungry that they were on their way before he finished. When they arrived at his house however they found that there was no feast. They were the feast. The man locked Michelle in the basement since he planned to eat her first and made Samuel cook all day. He cooked steak, potatoes, cakes, and pies, all for Michelle. Samuel was given only what Michelle did not finish and this was only because the man was going to eat him after he had eaten Michelle.
After about a month he believed Michelle was ready to be cooked so he told Samuel to go out into the yard and prepare a fire. Samuel did so and when he finished he hid. When the man came out Samuel jumped out and scared him so much that he tripped over a stick, fell into the fire, and burned to death. Samuel then released his sister and they hitched a ride on the back of a truck to the airport, where they flew back to New York.
When they arrived at their house Samuel knocked on the door and their father answered. All three of them stood in amazement. A month had passed and the father was still alive. He hugged his children and explained that the doctors were wrong and had gotten rid of the virus. He also explained that he was so devastated and tired of the stepmother spending his money that he divorced her. From there on all three of them lived happily ever after.

Kim Witiak said...

I absolutely loved Emilie Bobowick's version of Little Red Riding Hood. As I was reading it, it reminded me of my years in high school, and all the drama that went on between girls and their boyfriends. I feel that when people read this they can relate to when they have gotten hurt in a relationship. I thought it was well written and flowed good. It was simple but entertaining.

I also enjoyed Leandra Brant's
version of the 3 Bears. I love how she related it to college life. Being a girl, I loved how she included the coach shoes and the leopard skirt. I also thought it was well written and throughout the whole story I stayed entertained.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE Dancing Bella. It was a great version of "Cinderella." The rhyming and dialogue made it very entertaining. The twist of the story made it more modern and the way dancing was incorporated made it very entertaining as well. It was a very well-done version of "Cinderella."

Anonymous said...

I really liked Kristy Schumann version of Little Red Riding Hood. I liked how she was able to put the story into a well-worded concise poem that entertained. It was a good way to re-do the fairy tale.

Anonymous said...

"Chiquita Muñeca"

There once was a little girl who lived in a small village. Her hair was as brown the dirt under her feet with eyes as green as the leaves on the trees. One day she received news that her poppy became very sick. This saddened her because of the close bond she shared with him. At his elderly age this made her think that she may not have much time left to spend with him.
The young girl was known as Chiquita Muñeca because she was very beautiful and still. After receiving the unfortunate news about her poppy she made him a dinner of wild rice with healing herbs and chicken with a savoring papaya glaze. By the time she was finished night had fallen on the sky. She would now have to make her way through the jungle to her poppy’s small villa located right outside the jungle.
She set out with her goods and made her way down to the entry of the jungle. She was a bit hesitant when thinking of all the wild animals, insects, and reptiles but she was afraid that this might be the last chance to see her poppy. She knew a lot about the creatures that lived in the jungle from her older brother who would take her with him on his hunts for food. So she regained her confidence and began to set out into the dark jungle praying to the Holy one that she could make it to poppy’s villa safely.
Her quiet footsteps and awareness helped her make her way about a mile through the jungle. She then heard a noise coming from above her. She looked up to the trees and saw the giant leaves swaying and felt a cool night breeze run through her hair. She stood extremely still and waited a few minutes before continuing on her journey.
Chiquita Muñeca felt a great presence after she continued on and knew not to move a muscle. She began to think that a creature may have smelt the goods she was bringing to poppy. But she did not want to abandon these goods for they may help heal her poppy. Then she looked into the deep darkness and saw two small and shiny objects in the distance. As they came closer she then saw an outline of small ears and knew this creature was the color of darkness. Chiquita Muñeca remembered what her brother had taught her to do in these situations. To show no fear, be still, and this creature will know you are humble and show you no harm.
The dark creature came right up to Chiquita Muñeca and was face to face with her. At this time she knew that a puma was looking at her dead in the eyes. The puma smelled her and then growled fiercely. The little girl showed no weakness and felt no fear and the puma sensed this. The wisdom her older brother gave her saved her life. But Chiquita Muñeca was grateful for this even before she was able to put it into use. The puma walked into the tall grass and left her alone.
She continued onward and could hear giant ocean waves smashing onto the rigid rocks and knew poppy’s small villa was very near. Being overjoyed of her safe journey and how the puma spared her life she began to run towards the small villa. As she was running the puma came from behind her and was slowly running by her side. She arrived at the door with her new friend puma and softly knocked on poppy’s door. Chiquita Muñeca let herself and the puma in. She heated the dinner dish and gave the puma a piece of raw meat from the fridgerator. She brought the dish upstairs to poppy to find him asleep in his bed. She set the dish on the small table and said a prayer for him.
A few minutes later he woke from his rest and saw this little doll face on his side. He was so happy to see his granddaughter and very grateful for her kindness to come out to his small villa to bring him a healing meal. He slowly sat up and ate the chicken with papaya glaze and wild rice with healing herbs. He finished the meal with a tall cup of water. After using much of his strength to eat his meal he fell back to sleep and told Chiquita Muñeca to make herself comfortable in the spare bedroom. For he did not want her going home back through the jungle so late at night. She obeyed him and the puma laid down with her and they fell fast asleep.
The sun rose early and the warmth on Chiquita Muñeca’s face awoke her. She let puma go outside to return to the jungle and came back inside to check on poppy. She knew that she and the puma would remain friends and she would see him again. Her poppy became awaken and felt healthy and strong. The little girl was so happy she jumped up and down and gave her poppy a big hug and then began to tell him about her journey. He was very proud to have her as a granddaughter. She displayed good morals, courage, strength, humbleness, and wisdom.





My goals as a writer was to make sure my audience would be interested in the subject and would want to know what was going to happen in the story. I did this by being very descriptive with details and making the subject of the story interesting. I related Chiquita Muñeca to Little Red Riding Hood. I changed a lot of the elements and made the story more realistic. A lot of this story I related to myself and brought in very special people in my life. I chose to make the story more realistic because a lot of the ideas in the story come from my life. I did not want my audience to think of this story as something made up that could never realistically happen. It was the best writing experience I have had in a long time. It was a joy to do this assignment and I am very happy with the outcome.

Anonymous said...

Once upon a time there was a king whose wife died, and he had a little daughter whose name was Angela.

The king married a woman by the name of Goldie, who later became very unfriendly toward poor Angela. One day while on a day trip, the queen came across a talking well.

She asked:
“Am I not the most beautiful queen in the world?”

The well replied:
“Indeed you are not!”

She asked:
“Who then?”

The well replied:
“Why your daughter Angela.”

The queen became furious and went home in rage. She decided to get rid of Angela and came up with a plan. She lay on her bed and pretended to become very ill. She told Angela the only way she would get better is she went off into the woods with the butler and helped find the unique wellness flower. Of course she agreed as she wanted the Queen to get better.

The queen instructed the butler to kill Angela while they were in the woods or she would have his daughter killed. The butler didn’t want to kill Angela, but had no choice as since he didn’t want anything to happen to his family.

They both went into the woods to find this flower, but had no luck. The butler became remorseful and couldn’t kill Angela. He told her the truth and said, “My dear run away, the queen has plans to kill you!”

Angela ran one way and the other for a long time, only to find herself even deeper in the dark woods. Evening came and suddenly she saw a light. She walked toward it and came to a little house. The house belonged to seven dwarfs. She approached the house and told them what had happened.

“You don’t have to be afraid of us,” said the first dwarf. “Stay here with us and cook, sew, and wash for us.”

Angela agreed and while they went to work, she worked around the house. One day while outside watering the flowers, the prince traveling by the house was astonished by how beautiful she was and decided to approach her.

They talked away for a couple of hours and the prince felt as if he had fallen in love and went home to tell his father.
The queen once again went to the well, but with confidence this time and asked:
“Am I not the most beautiful queen in the world?”

The well replied:
“Indeed you are not!”

She asked:
“Who then?”

The well replied:
“Why your daughter Angela. She lives with the seven dwarfs and the prince has fallen in love with her.”

The queen was livid and decided to take matters into her own hands. She dressed up as an old lady and went down to the dwarfs house and knocked on the door.

Angela answered the door and the queen disguised as an old lady said, “Look my child, I have here a beautiful ring. The prince has sent this to you for your hand in marriage.”

Angela was shocked and said, “No! I can’t take this.”

The old lady said, “Go ahead try it on.”

Angela was doubtful, but thought trying it on wouldn’t hurt. As soon as she put the ring on she fell down dead and the old lady ran off into the woods. Running back she took off her disguise and was shouting, “I did it! I did it! I killed her and I am now the fairest one of all!

The prince traveling by in the woods by horse heard her and went towards the dwarfs house and found Angela on the ground dead. The dwarfs soon came home and asked what had happened. They laid Angela on the bed in hopes of her awakening.

The prince stayed there that night and on his way out the following day he gave Angela a kiss goodbye and she finally woke up. He explained to her what had happened and they decided to get the queen back for what she did.

Every year the village has a ball where all the kings, queens, princes and princesses attend and he plotted to poison her drink at the ball.

He attended the ball with his lovely white suit on and asked the queen to dance with him. She agreed and off they went onto the dance floor.

She said:
“Wow I worked up a sweat. Would you mind getting me something to drink?”

The prince replied:
“Of course my pleasure.”

He added the poison into the drink and gave it to the queen. As soon as the queen drank it she fell down dead.

No one really seemed to care what had happened to the queen since she was such an evil lady.

Angela and the seven dwarfs soon arrived at the ball and the prince asked Angela for her hand in marriage and she agreed. The dwarfs moved into the castle as well and they all lived happily ever after.




I decided to write my fairy tale in a prose piece since poetry is not my cup of tea. My version of the fairy tale resembles “Snow White” but I decided to add another message in my tale. We all have heard of the infamous message an eye for eye and I wanted to include that. In my tale the jealous Queen poisons Snow White, in my tale Angela, and the prince who has fallen in love with Angela repays the Queen by doing the same to her, but the twist is she does not awake from the poison. I am a strong believer in what goes comes around goes around and I wanted to include that. I am not a strong writer, but this semester I would like to improve as a writer and I really enjoy this class since the readings are very interesting and go along with tales we have all grown up reading.

Anonymous said...

The Pig Brothers
By Andrew Steel

Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there lived a mother pig and father pig. They had a house set upon a hill top overlooking a vast meadow. The mother and father pig had three piglet sons. The three piglet brothers were always together and loved being around each other. But, the brothers grew up fast, and the mother and father pig knew their children would be leaving the house soon to build their own homes. So, the day came when the pig brothers were old enough and they left their parents home on a path to start their own lives. After walking for a while, the first pig saw a man with a bushel of straw and asked him,
“Sir, may I have some of your straw to build a home”?
The man knew that he had more than enough and agreed to give the pig some for a house. So, the first pig picked a spot and began to build his home. The two remaining brothers continued on until they reached the edge of the forest. The second brother saw many sticks lying around and decided to use them to build his home. The two brothers said goodbye for now and the last pig continued on the path into the woods. The third brother came across a man with a cart full of bricks and asked,
“Sir, can I have some of your bricks to build a home”?
The man realized he had been traveling all day and the cart was awfully heavy. He said that he would give him the bricks to help lighten his load. The pig thanked the man and began building his home.
Unknown to the pigs, there was a wolf who had followed them from the second they left their parents home. He knew that if he waited long enough, he may be able to get one of the brothers alone and eat him up. He came to the first pigs house made of straw and said,
“Little pig let me in.” The pig replied, “Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin.” The wolf responded with “Then I’ll huff and puff and blow your house in.” The little pig knew he was in trouble so as the wolf inhaled a huge breath of air, he ran out the back door towards the first brother’s home. Just then, the wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house in. After he finished blowing the house down, the wolf saw the little pig running towards the forest edge and chased him to the second pig’s house.
When the wolf reached the second house made of sticks he exclaimed, “Little pigs, let me in.” The brothers responded, “Not by the hairs on our chinny chin chins.” This angered the wolf and he yelled, “Then I’ll huff and puff and blow your house in.” Once again the wolf inhaled a huge breath of air, and the pigs knew they must get away, so out the back door and into the woods they ran. The wolf huffed and puffed and blew the stick house in. The wolf noticed over the rubble where the house once stood the two pigs running into the woods toward another home.
The brothers reached the final pig’s home and hurried inside. The wolf was right on their trails and reached the front door of the brick house. He demanded, “Little pigs, let me in.” The voices of all three pigs said, “Not by the hairs on our chinny chin chins.” “Then I’ll huff and puff and blow your house in” exclaimed the wolf. So, he inhaled and he huffed and puffed but the wolf could not blow in the house of bricks. The three brothers giggled as the wolf inhaled huge breaths of air and failed each time. Eventually the wolf became so tired and lies down on the ground. The brothers huddled and came up with a plan. One pig went to the window and started to tease the wolf. Around the corner of the house came the other two pigs and while the wolf was distracted, bonked the wolf over the head with a pan.
The wolf never knew what hit him and the three pigs tied him up and boiled him in a pot. They used his fur for coats and rugs, they used his bones for wind chimes, and his teeth for necklaces for each of them as a reminder of how they tricked the wolf. The brothers all built homes of brick after that and lived happily ever after.

Artists Statement
I chose to write in the prose form because I felt it was the clearest way to portray the story of The Pig Brothers. Using the quotation marks gives the reader a way to imagine the deep voice of the wolf and the soft squeaky voices of the pigs. I also chose to use the traditional once upon a time opening to let the reader know that this is a fairy tale. I used the repeating verses of let me in and not by the hair on my chinny chin chin because I think it makes the reader anticipate the next action that will happen in the tale. In the end, I want the reader to think of the morals that a child she receive out of the tale. These morals included:
-Don’t let strangers in your house
-Brotherly companionship is a hard bond to break
-In life, a strong foundation is a great way to live
Of course you may interpret the story differently, but I will leave that to you.

Anonymous said...

I Greatly enjoyed Marlene Moutela version of the seven dwarfs. It was very entertaining and it was nice to see small but subtle changes to a famous fairy tale.

I also really liked an annonymous entry about Little Red Riding Hood. It was so entertaining that it rhymed and it made for a fun read! Great Job!

Anonymous said...

Once upon a time… there was a girl named Cindy up in the Fairfield hills of Connecticut. This young girl had a wonderful nurturing mother who took great care of her and raised her daughter like any great mother should. Her father, although he did love her very much, was always away on active duty in the military and felt that the upbringing of his only child and daughter should be left up to his wife. Cindy’s mother did in fact take care of her, raised her and taught her good morals and values that she would carry on for the rest of her life.

Unfortunately, Cindy’s mother fell ill and soon passed away leaving her alone in the world with only her father. Her father had no idea how to deal with an adolescent young girl and quickly married another woman, thinking it would be best to have a woman in the house to run the household and take care of his daughter. Along with the step mother came along her two daughters. Once her father left again on duty, it was just Cindy, her step mother and step sisters living together in her home.

Soon, it became quite apparent that neither the step mother nor the step sisters were very fond of Cindy. In fact, they detested her simply for the reason that she was much more beautiful than they were, much more intelligent than they were, and most importantly deep down inside they knew that she was much better at heart than they were. So, they took it upon themselves to continuously use and abuse Cindy. They would give her lists of chores to do while they went shopping and spent her father’s money. They put her down and made fun of her until the point where she slowly began believing them. If she ever complained about the way that she was being treated to her step mother, she would only tell Cindy that she was over exaggerating and that if she would complain to her father she would only give him stress and worry while he was away on duty. Cindy just continued listening to her step mother’s commands and accepted it as her fate until she could move out and go to college.

Some time passed by, and it was almost senior prom. Cindy’s step mother had quickly spent most of her father’s savings down to almost nothing because of her extravagant shopping with her daughters and more problems arose. Her two step sisters had already bought their gowns months ahead and head spent every free moment planning for their prom while Cindy spent all her time applying to college’s and applying for financial aid. When it came time for her to get ready for prom and buy a dress her stepmother told her she should wear something she already had and not waste her father’s money on something she would never wear again.

Cindy went up to her room to cry herself to sleep, as she did almost every night, when she heard a voice from below her window. She saw that it was her good neighbor, a dear old woman, who was very wealthy and very alone in the world. Since Cindy would go over and help her neighbor with things around the house, her neighbor now felt that it was time to help her. So her neighbor hired a limo and they went to New York to get Cindy ready for her prom. She purchased the most beautiful Versace dress with matching stiletto heels and went to the most upscale salon and got the most beautiful hairstyle. The limo then dropped her off at her prom.

As soon as she got there, everyone began talking about how beautiful she was and how amazing she looked. Her two step sisters were livid about Cindy and were hoping that she would not show up at all, let alone be the star of the prom. After they announced prom king Cindy was getting ready to leave when they announced prom queen and she heard her named be called. The spot light stopped on her, and all eyes were watching, as she walked up to her prom king and had their dance. It was a beautiful ending to a magical night.

In the fall, Cindy started school and lived on campus where her boyfriend, former prom king, also was attending. Her father had come to realize what kind of woman he actually married and divorced her step mother, who was now working at Wal-Mart with her two daughters, trying desperately to pay off their credit card debts. Four years later Cindy graduated with honors with a teaching degree and married her boyfriend that summer. Since then, she has lived happily ever after.


The reason why I chose to do a version of “Cinderella” is because I think that it is a story that most girls can relate to or understand the best. It is probably the most well known fairy tale and is the one I personally remember the best, so therefore I thought it would be better for me to write about what I know.
I wrote it in a modern version, where all of the events could really happen today. I thought it would be best to keep it simple with some humor. I wrote it the same way I would tell this story to a young girl, such as my 12 year old sister. That is how I approached it. Since these fairy tales began as oral versions of stories passed on over generations, I figured I would write what I felt could happen today and how I would tell it myself.

brian said...

Brian Sturtz
English 217
Fairytale assignment
Argentyna

This tale takes place in New York City during the late 1800’s. This was a time when many different groups of people where entering the United States searching for great opportunity. Argentyna’s father had done just that, he had made a name for himself in the oil business, and was working constantly. After the death of Argentyna’s mother, her father remarried to an attractive but cruel alcoholic of a woman with three daughters of her own all of them equally as cruel. Since Argentyna’s father was immersed in his work, it was up to her stepmother to look out for her. Argentyna’s stepmother was unbelievably cruel to her due to her drinking, jealousy, but mostly just because she was a cruel person. Argentyna was a beautiful girl, but with all the chores the stepmother had her do, you would never know. Argentyna was always dirty from cleaning the sizable house in which they inhabited. Argentyna got no break even when her chores where through, her stepmother would beat her with a switch and tell her what a terrible job she had done.
One night Argentyna had gotten so upset that she kneeled by her window in the moonlight and preyed to her mother and God for some relief. As the God saw this was no way for a child to live, he sent her down a guardian angel. The next night while Argentyna lay in her bed the guardian angel came down and spoke with her. The angel told her of this great ball that was to take place the following night downtown, and all the rich, powerful and important people would be there. The angel said I will meet you back here at eight o’clock tomorrow night. With a flash the angel was gone. When Argentyna woke the next day her stepmother was screaming for her to do her chores. The thought of the ball later that evening made the day bearable.
When the clock struck eight the angel came back into meet Argentyna. The angel dressed her in the most expensive beautiful clothing and walked her out to a gallant coach with a driver and two white horses. As she was leaving the angel warned her to be back by midnight because at midnight her clothes will turn back into the rags which she was accustom to wearing.
Argentyna went to the ball and upon entering was taken back by the beauty of the ball. She also was scared when she saw her stepsisters, but they did not recognize her because she looked beautiful, and was dressed in nice clothes. There was also a wealthy heir to a large fortune, who was blown away by Argentyna. The heir and Argentyna danced and had a great time all night, until it became five minutes till midnight and Argentyna runs away. The heir gave chase, but could not catch her only a silver slipper that fell off during her run was left behind.
The next day the heir went all over New York searching for his lady by having each one of them try on the slipper. When he arrived at Argentyna’s house, Argentyna’s stepsisters locked her in the basement and tried on the slippers themselves. After struggling, Argentyna busted out of the basement, tried on the slipper, and it was a perfect fit. The heir and the girl went on to live happily ever after.
However, the stepmother and stepsisters were not so lucky, the guardian angel came down and took all of their eyesight’s from them for the horrible treatment of Argentyna.



Statement: I chose the name Argentyna because it means silver in Latin, and thought it would be a good tie in for the silver slipper.