Week 7 Storytelling: Puss in Boots Part II

Hardware Store, from Saddle River News

Michael awoke early on Tuesday, anxious to start at his new job. As he brushed his teeth, his cat started at him silently. His cat was wondering if Michael would be so excited given what he had done to help Michael get the job. Michael also didn't know that his cat was going to follow him into town, to ensure that he succeeded at his new job. A wave of nervousness washed over Michael as his cat had these thoughts. Michael thought that they felt eerily similar to the feelings that caused him to make his cat a pair of boots.

Michael's cat slipped out the door of the trailer as Michael left for work, and then hid in the bed of his truck on the drive into town. Once they arrived, the cat jumped out of the bed and slipped in through the propped open back door.  Michael entered through the front and began his shift by stocking the shelves in the store. He was eager to impress his new boss and fellow employees. His cat knew that his owner would not have thought ahead to bring a box cutter, so he stole one from one of Michael's peers and placed it onto the top of the pallet Michael needed to unpack. Michael removed the plastic wrap from the packet and opened the boxes with no problems, though he did leave the box cutter where he found it. The next thing written on his task list was to mop the front of the store.

His cat saw a man with muddy boots approaching the front of the store. Before the man could reach the door, the cat slipped out and untied his shoelaces. The man slipped a few steps later, falling face first into the pavement. He was never able to track his mud into the store entrance, because he had to go back to his truck and fix his bloody nose. The cat returned to the employee locker room. He knew that Michael would take his lunch soon. Unfortunately, someone had stolen the chips out of Michael's lunch. Knowing that this would ruin his day, the cat slipped in the front of the vending machine. He stole a new, identical bag of chips to replace the ones in Michael's lunch. Michael was so relieved to see his lunch waiting for him after a long morning of work.


Luckily for both Michael and his cat, the rest of his shift went off without a hitch. Michael's new boss was impressed that one of his employees made it through the day with no mistakes, and a new employee none the less. His boss was even beginning to regret ever thinking of hiring the other candidate because Michael did such a good job. Michael was beat tired at his trailer that night. He resented his cat for spending all day being lazy on the couch. Little did he know, his cat was largely the reason he succeeded at his first day of work.

Author's Note: I decided to write a follow up story to my version of Puss in Boots last week. The cat helps his owner in the original get the girl, and then he convinces her his owner is what he says he is by travelling in front of them and threatening people into lying. In my version of the story, the cat helps Michael succeed at his new ill gotten job also using morally questionable methods. 

European Fairy Tales by Andrew Lang

Week 6 Storytelling: Puss in Boots

Michael was the youngest of three sons. His parents were poor farmers in Oklahoma who barely managed to scrape by when they had good seasons. When they died, Michael and his brothers were forced to sell their farm to pay off their parents debt. The only thing he managed to keep was the old family barn cat. His brothers saw that there was nothing left for them in their hometown and decided to move on. Michael spent his days locked inside his trailer daydreaming and lamenting to his cat.

Michael's cat, from Bahrat International

One early Sunday morning, Michael heard his cat said to him "If you don't want to have any more worries, just get me a pair of scissors, a plastic bag, and a pair of boots". Michael knew the cat was smart but he was second guessing whether or not he was dreaming or had has cat actually spoken to him. A few days later, Michael was feeling bored and sad after an unsuccessful morning of job applications, so he decided to indulge his cats request. He fashioned up some boots and dug the scissors out from the junk drawer then placed them in front of his cat with the bag, who proceeded to do absolutely nothing.

That night, the cat stole out of the trailer with his new belongings, determined to find his owner a new job. The next morning when Michael woke up he was even more dejected than usual when he thought his cat had abandoned him. He still drove to town, somehow even more determined than usual to succeed in his daily grind despite all of his recent setbacks weighing on him.

His cat had arrived in town the night before and broken into the hardware store where he knew Michael would be applying the next morning. He was prepared to do whatever it would take. His new boots kept his feet from slipping while he climbed to the top of the managers filing cabinets to wait and hide. When Michael arrived he waited patiently as the manager interviewed another man for the stockroom position. Michael gave his usual spiel about how he had fallen on hard times after his parents death and was now looking for a new job. However, the manager was not impressed and Michael knew it. He went home after another long day of failure.


The cat laid hidden in the office all day while he waited for the manager to leave. He knew that the manager would call back the first man who interviewed that morning and offer him the job. So, using the scissors, he cut the first mans application into a thousand pieces. He carefully put the pieces in the bag so that there would be no evidence. He now knew that the manager would have no choice but to hire Micheal to fill the position. The cat then collected his bag and crept back out of the store. The next morning, Michael received the phone call he had been waiting weeks for. He was hired to start work the next day. He shared a glance of happiness with his cat, not knowing the bad things that his cat had done to help him.

Author's Note: For my story this week, I was inspired by Andrew Lang's collection of European Fairy Tales, specifically by Puss in Boots. I decided to keep most of the themes and motivations from the original story line for my telling. The main things I updated and changed for my story was to bring it into modern times and I hope make it more relevant to the struggles of us who are graduating soon. 

I decided to cut out the romance element of the story line, and have the cat help our hero simply find a job. The cat still does an objectively bad thing to help his owner in this version, the man whose resume he cut up was more qualified than Michael. I felt that this was an important element from the original. The owner of the cat is either innocent or ignorant in either version depending on the readers interpretation. The cat is definitely malicious though, even if he comes from a place of wanting to help his owner. I also decided to remove the cat actually speaking to anyone to preserve some element of realism, Michael is convinced that his boredom is getting to the better of him. Thanks for reading. 

European Fairy Tales by Andrew Lang

Week 5 Storytelling: Sindbad the Unlucky Sailor Part 2

I awoke suddenly, sick to my stomach due to the rocking of the ship on the waves of the sea. Hearing a loud alarm bell ringing on the deck of the ship, I shot out of my hammock as quick as my feet could carry me. I only made it a few steps from my pitiful bunk before I realized that I was locked in a cage, having been betrayed by my former Captain and sold as a slave to a rich merchant just the day before. One of the sailors ran down into the hold, screaming at the other slaves and me to take up arms, as our ship was being set upon by a group of bloodthirsty pirates. The sailor released us from the cell, and thrust crudely made swords into our hands before marching them out to the deck.

I emerged into the sunlight, only for it to illuminate a scene of chaos. Sailors all around me were swearing and lashing at the ropes the pirates were throwing onto the banisters of the deck so they could climb up the hull from their boarding craft. Suddenly, I heard a man release a scream from behind me. One of the pirates had made it up onto the deck and engaged the sailors in a brutal sword fight. It was only now that my brain decided to remind me of the fact that I was a disgraced merchant, and not a soldier or a fighter by any means. However, I had no time to give this thought any credence, as I was being attacked from all angles. I fought and I fought until the other sailors, slaves, and I encouraged the pirates to retreat back to their vessel and depart. Without a moment's respite, I was forced back into the cells with the other slaves.

The next time I saw the sun must have been days later. Sailors were ushering the other slaves and me, down onto a waiting dock. I walked for miles in the hot sun until I reached what appeared to be a large mansion surrounded by a vineyard. My new owner told me that I would be hunting elephants so that their ivory could be harvested. The next morning, I walked into the jungle and found a sturdy tree to climb and wait for the elephants to walk below me. Once I saw a group of them, I let an arrow fly. It glanced off the of one of the elephants, and they surrounded my tree in short order.

Sindbad being chased by the elephants, from Stefan Mart

The elephants wrapped their trunks around the tree and ripped it out by the roots. I fell from the branches, and then I began to run as fast as I could as the elephants chased me. I had very little idea where I should go to escape the angry herd of elephants behind me. After a few minutes, I emerged into an open field of elephants' skeletons stripped of their tusks. I used this opportunity to hide in the rib cage of an elephant, and tried to keep a low profile as the herd moved past me. These elephants must have blamed me for all of these previous deaths. That night, I fell asleep with no idea as to whether or not I would ever see my home again.

Author's Note: For my story this week, I decided to continue the saga of Sindbad the Unlucky sailor. I really wanted to include the first and seventh voyage of Sindbad in my writing. I saw the most opportunity for me to make my creative changes. I am, of course, skipping the five voyages in between, since I wanted to see my story through to the end. In the original seventh voyage, he is acting as an emissary between two governments before he is captured by pirate slavers. Then he is sold to someone who makes him hunt elephants. The elephants then lead him to the graveyard so that he does not have to hunt them to procure ivory.

The main differences are that Sindbad is already a slave when this story begins, and is forced to fight the pirates as opposed to being captured by them. The next difference is that Sindbad does not reconcile his differences with the elephants. After they uproot his tree, he is chased to the elephant graveyard, which almost acts as a monument to his sins. It is definitely not a happy ending like the original. Sindbad never makes it back home, and never becomes rich, though I haven't definitively ended the saga.  

I kept the same first person point of view for this story as I had in the first part, and as it was in the original story by Andrew Lang. I feel that it helps keep my telling of the story relatable to those who have read the original version.

The Voyages of Sindbad, by Andrew Lang

Week 4 Storytelling: The First Voyage of Sindbad the Unlucky Sailor

I had squandered all the wealth my parents had left me upon their death. I was forced to trade my house for some merchant goods and passage upon a ship leaving from the port city of Balsora. On this ship, I would be travelling with other merchants, and we would be stopping at various ports to sell or trade our wares. With the winds at our backs, we left the coast or Persia and sailed for the East Indies.

After many weeks of travelling and selling my wares at various small islands, I was quite a bit wealthier than I was when we left Balsora. We were sailing up to an unmapped island the helmsman had spotted. We could soon enough see that there were no people living on the island, but the Captain ordered us to stop so that we could stretch our legs and attempt to replenish our fresh water. A few merchants and I disembarked to explore the island. As evening fell, we all lit a fire to keep the cold ocean breeze at bay. As soon as the wood went up in flames, we felt the island tremble below us.

The island turned out to be an old, sleeping whale. What had appeared to be grass to my eyes turned out to be seaweed washed up on the back of this whale. The whale had been still so long that palm trees had managed to grow. He shook us off his back violently. Everyone on the whale's back was flung off along with all the foliage. I watched some of my fellow merchants drown as I grasped onto a floating palm tree. I could see the ship fleeing to the distance. I'm sure the sailors were fearing further retaliation from the whale. The captain was inadvertently leaving me for dead, floating in the ocean. I fell asleep floating on the log, thinking about how I shouldn't have wasted my parents' fortune.

Sindbad being thrown from the whale, from Look & Learn

When I awoke, I could see a beautiful white sand beach below some cliffs in the distance, and the current was carrying me that way. Once I reached the beach, I climbed the cliffs and found myself face to face with what appeared to be a royal guard. The guard wore a purple uniform decorated with the regalia of a country I did not know. He held out his sword to my throat, and called for his countrymen. They pushed me to my stomach and bound my hands. They only spoke to me to tell me to march behind them. Then they offered me water, which I was very grateful for. We walked around a small grove of trees where their horses were tied up.

I was forced to march behind their horses for hours until we reached a walled city with a large castle in the center. The stone was tan colored, and many purple barriers featuring the same regalia hung from the walls. Here, a Captain of the Guard explained to me that I was now one of King Mihrage's prisoners, charged with being a spy. Evidently, I had climbed the cliffs next to the King's summer residence where his wife was currently vacationing. I tried to explain that I was just a shipwrecked merchant, but no one believed me. The guard then explained to me that I would be taken to the port and sold into slavery as punishment for my crimes. The ropes that bound my wrists were replaced with chains, and I was forced to begin marching again.

I walked down a hill below the castle and saw that I would soon be at the port. Then I was greeted by a familiar sight -  the ship that I had set out from Balsora with. I was about to call to my Captain so that he could rescue me, but then I saw the crew unloading all of my goods for sale. Apparently the Captain thought he could just sell off my possessions. Now angry, I called out to him and the color drained from his face. He knew how bad it would look if he was found to have left me for dead in the ocean and then sell all my goods. He vehemently denied all knowledge of me to the guards. He wouldn't even use the money he made from my stolen goods to buy my freedom. Dragged to the far end of the port, a rich merchant bought me. He claimed that I would help him with maintaining his ivory trade. So, in a cell on another ship, the first voyage of Sindbad ended. I relayed my story to the other slaves locked in the cell with me and we all lamented about our misfortunes.

Author's Note: For my writing this week, I have decided to take a more realistic view of the Voyages of Sindbad. Sindbad is quite lucky in these stories. Everything seems to go right for him. My story turns that idea on its head. He is not well received by King Mihrage like he is in the original story. Also in the original story his fortune is restored by the ship captain after he recognized him. 

Some things I did keep, such as the first person perspective of the original story. Keeping the style original makes it feel more like the original writing. Also I felt the beginning with the whale is weird, and could be changed to just a regular shipwreck since I am making this a more "realistic" story, but I decided to stay true to the original story. If I were to change everything, it would no longer be inspired by the story of Sindbad. 

I am not completely closing off the possibility of writing the rest of the voyages, and I left the ending somewhat open, though I'm sure those familiar with the story and how I'm changing it can see where it will end. Look forward to more soon!

The Voyages of Sindbad, by Andrew Lang

Week 3 Storytelling: Hector's Victory

Hector stood guard outside the gates of Troy as Achilles was causing his fellow soldiers and countrymen to fall back behind the well in droves. Hector listened to King Priam, his father, beg him to return to the safety of the fortified city, because King Priam believed that not even Hector, the cities greatest warrior, could stand up to Achilles. Hector would not even recognize the pleading of his mother, Queen Hecuba. Hector simply stood outside the gate like a stone sentinel, watching his foe draw nearer.

Zeus, watching these events unfold from Olympus, began to have a change of heart. He had promised Thetis that Achilles would succeed against the men of Troy, but seeing how Achilles had driven his enemies back inside the wall, Zeus decided that he had exacted revenge for Patroclus. Zeus then sent his messenger, Hermes, to tell Achilles to stand down, or be prepared to meet his fate on the battlefield.

Achilles received Hermes, but sent him back to Zeus with the message that he would not stop until the man who had killed Patroclus laid dead on the sand. Achilles began his final approach to the walls of Troy, and the lone figure standing under the main gate awaiting him.

The reply from Achilles angered Zeus, and he forbid the rest of the Gods from interfering in the upcoming fight. He declared that "Whomever is left standing at the end of this day shall earn that right through his actions alone". Athené and Apollo in particular took umbrage with this statement, but they did not dare disobey Zeus.

Achilles slowly approached the open clearing where Hector stood waiting for him.

Hector and Achilles fighting, from Ari Kohen

"We meet at last, on the field of battle", Hector said to Achilles.

"Yes, and it is where you shall die, for you killed the man who I loved most, Patroclus", replied Achilles.

Both Hector and Achilles having said what they wanted to, they slowly began to circle each other, both of them with their spear ready in a throwing position. Suddenly, Achilles braced and threw his spear with all of his might at Hector, but just missed. The spear flew over Hector's left shoulder. Seeing Achilles defenseless and standing still, Hector also threw his spear, but missed Achilles, with the spear flying a foot wide of Achilles.

After a moments peace as both the soldiers evaluated their situation, they drew their swords from their scabbards and charged at each other yelling. Achilles raised his arm to strike, but Hector deftly dodged. Hector then thrust his sword into the armpit of Achilles' raised arm, where his plates of armor met. The sword pierced his arm, rendering him unable to fight. Achilles fell to his knees and began to beg for mercy, with all the soldiers from Greece and Troy looking on. Hector looked up at the castle walls, where his father stood watching him. He then took his sword, and slew Achilles.

The Greeks, who had all been watching the fight, immediately withdrew back to their camps. King Agamemnon, knowing that Achilles was his greatest chief, knew his soldiers would be too demoralized to continue fighting, and the next day they withdrew from Troy forever.

Author's Note: This week, I've decided to rewrite Homer's Iliad as if Hector had won in his fight against Achilles. I did similar writing in Epics of India, so I decided to give it another try. It's fun to explore alternate possibilities in given universes. In the original source, Achilles kills Hector with help from the Gods, so I decided that removing that element would give Hector a more fair shot at winning. I also wrote the ending so that the Greeks withdrew, and never built their horse. 

From Homer's Iliad, retold by A.J. Church.

Week 2 Storytelling: The Farmers Pets

A barn, courtesy of Hobby Farms

A dog and a cat, owned by a farmer, both lived in a barn. The dog herded sheep for the farmer, and the cat caught rats. However, they did not get along. Despite the farmer treating them both equally and them both doing separate things, they saw each other as competition.

One morning after the farmer had come to give instructions to the cat and dog, the cat came to the dog and said "I can do your work as well as mine. Once the farmer sees this, he'll kick you out and I'll be rid of you forever". The dog, sensing an opportunity, agreed to the cats challenge. The cat went out of the barn to heard the sheep into a pasture. The sheep were not intimidated by the cat, instead they looked to him and asked "where is the dog that usually comes to move us along". The cat replied in a snarky tone "I am the one who will herd you now, so move into the next pasture". The sheep replied "why should we move for you, when the dog always treated us with respect and asked us nicely to move". After this, the sheep refused to move from their pasture. The cat ran around and hissed at the sheep until nightfall, but they did not budge. When the cat could barely stand up, he returned to the barn.

Meanwhile, the dog went to the rats in the barn and said "If we work together today, we could be rid of the cat forever. If you simply hide in the barn so that the cat thinks I have gotten rid of you. Tomorrow morning when the farmer comes to check, reveal yourself. He will kick the cat out". The rats, seeing the wisdom in his plan, agreed.

When the cat finally returned to the barn and saw that the rats were gone, he was pleased. With the sheep in the wrong pasture and the rats gone, the farmer would assume the dog got lazy and did not do his work. He then fell asleep since he was so tired. After the cat had passed out, the dog ran out to the field and spoke to the sheep. He said "Move to the other pasture now, so when the farmer comes to check he will see that I have done my work. He will also see that the cat has not done his, and kick him out". The sheep moved, since they also wanted to see the cat gone after their unpleasant interaction.


The next morning, when the farmer returned to the barn, he saw rats everywhere and the cat still sleeping in the corner. Livid, he woke the cat and kicked him out, saying "I won't feed an animal that is too lazy to pull it's weight". The cat defended himself, saying that the dog and him had switched work yesterday, and the dog had also not done his work. The farmer replied "I don't believe you. The sheep are in their new pasture. Not only are you lazy, but you are a liar". The cat had no choice but to leave the farm forever.

Author's Note: I was inspired by Aesop's Fables this week. In Aesop's Fables, none of the stories end "happily ever after", usually someone is tricked and ends up in a worse position than they were before because of it. 

Aesop's Fables by Joseph Jacobs.

Storytelling Week 1: Vacation at the Lake

Jim had always had bad luck. While visiting his holiday home with his family, he had woken up too late to accompany them to the lake. Deciding to make an adventure out of it, Jim choose a different trail to reach the lake than he had ever taken before. The lake was a straight shot east of the holiday home, but Jim decided he would walk to the north east for a while, and then cut back south east to find his family at the lake. He figured he would arrive in time to enjoy a picnic lunch with his family. Little did he know, Jim would be delayed in ways he could never imagine.

Lake Tahoe, posted to Flickr by the_tahoe_guy. 

Before he left, Jim made himself some toast to eat while he walked. Unfortunately, he soon came upon a pack of angry birds perched on a spooky tree. The birds swooped into attack Jim, forcing him to flee. Jim dropped his toast in an effort to satiate the birds long enough for him to run away. His plan worked, and after running for a while longer, he slowed to a walking pace and continued to the north east.

About the time Jim decided to turn back south east towards the lake, he came upon swamp gas. The gas made it nearly impossible to see, and he no longer had any sense about what direction he was going. Hearing a sound in the woods, Jim turned around, fearing that the angry birds had caught up with him. He saw nothing, but when he turned back around, a man in an orange jumpsuit was standing in front of him. The man said "I just escaped from the county jail, and I was wondering...". Jim decided to run before the man could finish his sentence, but he tripped and hit his head on a rock, falling unconscious.

Waking up, Jim realized he was inside a wooden building. He could see sunlight through the rotting ceiling above him. Sitting up, Jim looked around while his eyes adjusted to the darkness. His eyes landed on an orange jumpsuit hanging on the wall in front of him. Jim realized he must have been dragged into the building by the escaped convict. Standing up. Jim decided to leave the area as carefully as possible, to avoid attracting any unwanted attention from the convict, or any friends the convict may have. About 100 yards from the house, Jim heard a scream for help. Deciding his consciousness couldn't leave a person in danger, he headed for the sound. In a clearing next to a bog, Jim saw a man he recognized as the convict, who had been mauled by a bear.

With his fear now overpowering his conscience, Jim turned tail ran as fast as he could. He ran for what felt like miles, and eventually came upon the lake shore, seeing his family cleaning up after their picnic on the beach 50 yards away. Running up to them, Jim attempted to explain what had happened to him. His whole family, confused by his stammering, decided everything he said was an excuse for waking up late and getting lost in the woods. Jim realized that he could never convince them of the truth, and sat down on the sand, resolving never to stray from the main path in the woods again.

Author's Note: This short story is based off of Tom Gauld's map from his book, Robots, Monsters, Etc. The map is presented below.  

Created by Tom Gauld, link

Bibliography 

Map of the Area Surrounding our Holiday Home, a cartoon by Tom Gauld from his book ROBOTS, MONSTERS Etc., 2006. Link to online source.