Storytelling Week 14:

Dear Diary:
There is a frog in my bed. I repeat, there is a FROG in my BED. And, I'm not allowed to move it! This is so stupid. And all because I dropped my ball in some water. You see, I was playing with my ball, you know the gold one that I love, and I dropped it and it just happened to fall into the deep, murky water. I was devastated, and this frog asked me what was wrong. I told it and it said it would fetch the ball under some conditions. I was desperate for my ball so of course I said yes (I barely even heard what he asked for). He brought it to me and I ran home elated. Then at dinner, I heard that dreaded awful sound. A plosh-plosh and then a knock at the door. There that darned frog was expecting his repayment. I tried to just push him away, but papa forced me to let him in. Then, as I had so stupidly promised, I had to let him sit next to me and eat off of my plate. After all of that, I then had to bring him upstairs and put him to sleep on MY pillow. Ugh, this is so frustrating! Well, I guess I better try to get some sleep anyway. I better not get warts from this darned frog!


Dear Diary:
I was so excited when that frog left this morning! I thought my problems were over as he was gone all day! But then, at dinner, I heard that plosh-plosh and then a knock at the door. That stupid frog was back and we did everything all over again. Here's hoping he leaves tomorrow and never comes back! Goodnight for now.

Dear Diary:
Well, it was round three today. Once again that frog left in the morning and I was tentatively happy. But at dinner there was that plosh-plosh and then a knock at the door. I really hope this does not last much longer. I am starting to wish I had left the precious gold ball behind. Goodnight.

Dear Diary:
Oh my goodness gracious, you would never guess what happened today! That stupid frog woke up this morning and transformed into a hunky prince. He told me that he had been under a spell and my letting him stay the three nights broke it. We are going to his KINGDOM tomorrow to be wed. I'm going to be a princess! Papa is so pleased and I cannot wait to live in a magnificent castle with the prince of my dreams. I am leaving this diary behind so that others can learn our wonderful story. But now, I am off to marry a prince!

By Walter Crane

Author's Note: I wrote this series of diary entries based on the story The Frog Prince. I really love the story and decided that it would make for really funny diary entries from the princess's perspective. I also liked the idea of her leaving the diary behind when she starts her new life. She is just conceited enough to want her story everywhere. The plot of this story runs rather parallel to the original story, this was more a change of format than a change of anything plot related. I hope you enjoy my rendition of The Frog Prince.

Bibliography: This story is based off of The Frog Prince from Fairy Tales by the Brother's Grimm. Because this is a collection of stories by Project Gutenberg, there is no reported author to credit.

Storytelling Week 13: The Fox and the Stork

Author's Note: This story is based off of the tale "The Fox and the Stork" from the La Fontaine unit. I did not change the plot at all really so there is no need to summarize that here. What I did do however is something I thought worthy of mentioning before reading the story which is why this note comes first. Every single word in this story is only one syllable! I got this idea from the storytelling style random generator and it was so fun to do! I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a way to do their last story next week. I hope you enjoy this monosyllabic version of "The Fox and the Stork."



Once there was a fox and a stork. The fox would oft' play tricks on the stork, but the stork would just turn a blind eye to these antics. One day the fox got up to his rude ways once more. He made a call for the stork to come eat a late day meal at his home. The stork much to his own shock said yes 'fore he knew what he did. So, at dusk he set out for the home of the fox.

Fox took stork's cloak and led him to the heart of the den. There they sat and had a short chat till fox said "I will get the meal." He brought out two bowls though they could scarce be called that for the depth was less than an inch. Each bowl held a bit of broth. The fox set down the bowls and got down to his meal. He used his tongue to lap up the thin soup. But the stork, try as he might could not get even one sip. His beak was much too long and his tongue much too thin. He tried and tried but got not one drop. When fox was done with his food, stork left with his tum left void. Though he said not a word of his woe to the fox.

By John Rae

The next day, stork made a call for the fox to come eat at his home. The fox was glad to say yes to the stork. He thought it might be good to see stork's house to help him come up with a new trick close to home. When the fox got there, stork sat him down in the nest. He then went and came back with one tall vase and then one more. The best smell came out of the vase as the two braced to start the meal. The stork then used his long beak to peck at the food in his vase. He ate and ate and ate. The fox, though, could not get his nose through the top of his vase. Though he tried he got not one bite. He left the meal most stung, while the stork was most pleased.

The fox had a void deep in his gut where a nice meal should have been. He was not pleased at all with what had gone down. And that fox thought twice 'fore he pulled any more tricks on that wise old stork.

Bibliography: "The Fox and the Stork" is from Fables in Rhyme for Little Folks by W.T. Larned (1918)

Storytelling Week 12: The girl white as milk

This is the girl white as milk

This is the stepmother
That slayed the girl white as milk

This is the millstone
That crushed the stepmother
That slayed the girl white as milk

This is the bird
That dropped the millstone
That crushed the stepmother
That slayed the girl white as milk

This is the miller
That loved the song of the bird
That dropped the millstone
That crushed the stepmother
That slayed the girl white as milk

This is the bird
That went to the miller
That loved the song of the bird
That dropped the millstone
That crushed the stepmother
That slayed the girl white as milk

This is the girl with life so brief
That reborn as a bird
That went to the miller
That loved the song of the bird
That dropped the millstone
That crushed the stepmother
That slayed the girl white as milk

This is the brother struck with grief
That so loved the girl with life so brief
That reborn as a bird
That flew to the miller
That loved the songbird
That dropped the millstone
That crushed the stepmother
That slayed the girl white as milk

These are the bones

That lay buried by the brother so struck with grief

That so loved the girl with life so brief
That reborn as a bird
That flew to the miller
That loved the songbird
That dropped the millstone
That crushed the stepmother
That slayed the girl white as milk

This is the tree
That grew above the bones

That lay buried by the brother so struck with grief

That so loved the girl with life so brief
That reborn as a bird
That flew to the miller
That loved the songbird
That dropped the millstone
That crushed the stepmother
That slayed the girl white as milk

This is the rose

That bloomed on the tree

That grew above the bones

That lay buried by the brother so struck with grief

That so loved the girl with life so brief
That reborn as a bird
That flew to the miller
That loved the songbird
That dropped the millstone
That crushed the stepmother
That slayed the girl white as milk

This is the bird
That sat by the rose

That bloomed on the tree

That grew above the bones

That lay buried by the brother so struck with grief

That so loved the girl with life so brief
That reborn as a bird
That flew to the miller
That loved the songbird
That dropped the millstone
That crushed the stepmother
That slayed the girl white as milk

This is the girl white as milk
That transformed to a bird
That sat by the rose

That bloomed on the tree

That grew above the bones

That lay buried by the brother so struck with grief

That so loved the girl with life so brief
That reborn as a bird
That flew to the miller
That loved the songbird
That dropped the millstone
That crushed the stepmother
That slayed the girl white as milk

(John D. Batten)

Author's Note: For this story, I took the story line of "The Rose Tree" and combined it with the cumulative storytelling style of "The Old Woman and Her Pig". In the original story of "The Rose Tree", there are two children with the same father but different mothers. The daughter from the first wife and the son from the second. The stepmother despised the girl and one day after the girl had messed up a task three times in a row the stepmother devised a plan. She then slayed the girl with an ax. Later, she cooked the girl and fed her to the family. The father unknowingly ate some but the boy refused. He then buried the bones of the girl under the rose tree and cried there so often it watered the tree which grew. Later a white bird appeared in the tree and she sang the song of her story. She used this song to get items from people around town. The first two were gifts for the father and brother and the last was a millstone. She then ran the millstone across the roof of her house to sound like thunder. One by one each came out to check. The brother and father were first and their gifts dropped from the sky. When the stepmother went out to see if she would get a gift, the bird drooped the millstone on her head. I was unsure how this story would work in the cumulative style, but I am satisfied with how it turned out.

Bibliography: Both The Rose Tree and The Old Woman and Her Pig are from English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1890)

Storytelling Week 7: Mythbusters: Brer Rabbit edition

Mythbusters: Brer Rabbit Edition

Jamie: I'm Jamie

Adam: And I'm Adam

Together: And we are the Mythbusters

Adam: You know, Jamie I was just reading through the Brer Rabbit stories the other day--

Jamie: Oh, those southern African-American stories?

Adam: Yeah, those. And I ran across something peculiar. 

Jamie: What's that?

Adam: Well, in one of the stories a turtle tells this bear that he is stronger than that big bear.

Jamie: Well that does sound dubious.

Adam: Yeah, but what caught my attention was the trick he played on the bear. They each took an end of the rope and the bear's goal was to pull in the turtle. But the turtle went into a patch of water and tied his end of the rope to a clay root. 

Jamie: Oh, so the bear couldn't move the root which makes it look like the turtle wins.

Adam: Yeah, but I was wondering if that would work.

Jamie: Well, we could test it. But, we probably shouldn't just attach a bear to a rope.

Adam: No, I think we need to build a pulling machine instead.

Commercial

Adam: So we're here at the shop, and Jamie and I are working on making a mechanical arm that will pull with the strength of a bear. 

Jamie: You see, we need to not only get the strength right, but also the angle and the swiftness of the pull.

Adam: In the myth, the bear both does a few quick, powerful pulls and tries to steadily pull while walking. We need to be able to replicate both.

Jamie: So what I am doing is calibrating the arm to do a powerful jerk type pull when I push this blue button and a less powerful but steadier pull when I push this yellow button. We will try both and see if either can get a clay root to budge.

Adam: So, Jamie, how do we know how strong a bear is?

Jamie: Well I called up an expert at the Sacramento zoo so that we can be as accurate as possible.

Adam: And you are using those estimates to calibrate your little buddy over there?

Jamie: That's right. And it is almost ready for testing.

Commercial

Adam: So we're here at a secret site that has a creek running through it and we've got our bear-o-matic. So what we're going to do, is we are going to tie this rope.....to this root down here......and to the bear-o-matic. 

Jamie: and from behind this blast shield I will first press the blue power button and then the yellow pull button just like the sequence in the story. 

Adam: Alright, here we go, Jamie hit it!

WOAH!!! THE ROPE BROKE

Jamie: Well I think we can say that with an average rope this myth is busted.

Adam: No doubt about that, the rope breaks before anything can move! But I want to do a real match up so lets use some steel cable next.

Steel Cable

Jamie: Sounds good.

Adam: Alright, so now we have attached the steel cable to the root and the bear and we are going to try this again. Jamie, 3....2.....1..... go!

Jamie: Well the sharp tugs didn't work, so lets try the steady pull.

3.....2.....1.... initiating

Adam: So basically, we are now just going to wait until something happens........

Commercial

Adam: Well it has been a full two minutes so we are going to end the test. Let's go look at the root and see how it is faring.

Jamie: Well it looks like the root did actually move a little bit.

Adam: Yeah, it's still in the ground, but it has definitely moved.

Jamie: So the myth is definitely busted, but with a steel cable it appears to be plausible.

Adam: I agree, completely plausible.

End Episode.

Author's Note: This week I read the Brer rabbit unit that comes from Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings. These are a collection of southern African-American stories mostly centered around Brer Rabbit and his friends. This episode of Mythbusters is based around the story Mr. Terrapin Shows His Strength. In this story, Mr. Terrapin brags that he is stronger than Mr. Bear and so they come up with a test to see who really was stronger. No one believed that a little turtle could beat a bear. The test was that each would take an end of the rope and Mr. Bear would see if he could pull Mr. Terrapin out of a small body of water. Mr. Terrapin was clever and tied the rope around a clay root in the water and Mr. Bear was not able to make it move. When the bear came closer to tell the turtle he won, Mr. Terrapin quickly untied the rope and held onto it. I chose this story for a Mythbusters episode because it made me wonder if a bear would actually lose to a clay root. I still do not know the answer, but it made for a fun story to write. 

Bibliography: Mr. Terrapin Shows his strength from Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings by Joel Chandler Harris (1881)

Storytelling Week 6:

Author's Note: This is Disney's Be A Man from Mulan rewritten to tell the story of The Envious Neighbor by Andrew Lang. I really loved this story when I read it and thought it would make a fun song. The original story is about a neighbor that is jealous because the couple next door has a very loyal dog that finds them gold in their yard. The man borrows the dog for a night and the dog only finds him stinking bones. He kills the dog in his rage and tells the couple the dog just passed away. The dog later comes to the couple in a dream and tells them to turn their tree into a rice mortar. They do and when they put rice in it the rice turns into gold. The jealous neighbor borrows the mortar but it only gives him gross berries so he burns it in a rage. The couple then has a dream that they should take the ashes and sprinkle them from the trees when the Daimio walked by. They do so and the trees burst into bloom for which the Daimio greatly rewards them. The envious neighbor attempts to do the same and the ashes get in the Daimio's eyes and he punishes the neighbor by throwing him in jail to rot. I turned the story into a song, and if you want to sing along with the tune an instrumental video is provided below. I hope you enjoy!

Let's get down to business
To get some funds.
Did they get a doggie
When they asked for sons?

They're the saddest bunch I ever met
And you can bet before I'm through
Neighbor, I'll have more gold
Than you.

Worthy as a ruler
With a fire within
I have found my center
So I'm sure to win.

You're a spineless, pale pathetic lot
But your dog is quite a sleuth
Somehow I'll get that dog
From you.

Husband: I'm never gonna let you go
Say goodbye to your old owners
Boy, these guys are fools ingrained to giving in
Dog: This guys got a stinking greed
Wife: Hope he doesn't miss a feeding
Husband: Now I really wish that I knew how to deny

GET THE DOG
I must be sly like a little red fox
GET THE DOG
With all the force of a great typhoon
USE THE DOG
With all the patience of a crouching tiger
I'm gonna kill him for getting me those bones

Time is racing toward me
Till the husband arrives.
I will have to tell him
The dog didn't survive

Now they've built themselves a great mortar
Gives them gold instead of rice
How can I get the gold
From those two?

GET THE MORTAR
I must be sly as a little red fox
GOT THE MORTAR
With all the rice I can put in it
STUPID MORTAR
With all the fury of a raging fire
I burnt the mortar and they took the ashes

GET ASHES
I must spread them before the Daimio
SPREAD THE ASHES
With more grace than my stupid neighbors
OHH DEAR
I did not think they would land in his eyes
He's throwing me in the darkest dungeon
OH-NO!

Bibliography: The Envious Neighbor is from Andrew Lang's The Violet Fairy Book (1901).

Week 4 Storytelling: The King of the Fairies

Hello, pravAhaka's the name but most people just call me goblin. What type of goblin you ask? Ah, I typically inhabit the, uh, recently deceased. Not the most glamorous of lifestyles, but it passes the time. Speaking of passing the time, I've got a great story for you. It starts about two days ago.

See, I was just wandering around looking for a body to inhabit when I spotted the perfect specimen hanging in a tree near the cemetery. Young fellow, killed himself, truly tragic. Anyway, I claimed the body and made a nice home in it. I was just settling in when I got some news. Apparently some local monk had gone rogue and planned to use me to become the king of the fairies. The fairies were, well, lets just say they weren't thrilled at the prospect. But the downside to being me is if this monk does the rituals right I have no choice in the matter. So I had to think quick. I spread the rumor that I could only be touched by royalty if the ritual was going to work. Not entirely true, but hey, it's for the fairies. 

So word gets around to the monk that he needs royalty to fetch me. I thought this would at least deter the old fella for a bit, but NO he goes and asks the bloody king for a favor! How was I to know the king would agree? And I heard the pretentious punk was going to use the king for the necessary sacrifice. So now I had to come up with a plan to deal with the king. I'd heard this guy was pretty clever so it needed to be a real good plan. By the next day, I had it all figured out. I wasn't too pleased about having to ruin this poor bloke's life, but it would at least be entertaining. I love messing with people. I'm a goblin, it's what we do. 

Right, so the next night the king comes waltzing up to the tree and the guy looks like he's on a mission. He takes my nice cozy home of a body down from the tree and I freak him out a little. He thinks the body is still alive so he sits there trying to warm it up! I decide to just start talking to the guy in hopes he would figure out I was in there. Maybe when he knew it was a goblin and not just a body he would decide this task wasn't for him. Nope. He says alright, I'll just have to take you with the body. So there we are, him walking back towards the monk and me slung over his shoulder. Luckily, I had a fool proof backup plan.

The king carrying the goblin

By Perham W. Nahl

I told this king that I wanted to help him pass the time so I would tell him a story. He just kept walking so I told him a real good story about three guys who all wanted the same girl. It was great. Anyway, I finish the story and here is where my great plan comes in. I asked him a riddle. That's not all though, I told the guy that if he got it right I would jump back to the tree, but if he knew the right answer and didn't tell me I would explode his head. So the only way out was to genuinely not know the answer. That's my great scheme you see, either his head explodes and he never gets me to the monk, or we just go back to the tree over and over till he gives up. 

Well, this king was indeed pretty clever and he answered the riddle easily. And the next one. And the next one. He answered twenty-one riddles without batting an eye. Nothing was rattling this man. He never even complained. Suffice it to say I was impressed. Never in all my days have I met someone as determined to complete his task with a good attitude. I mean he's a king! He can do whatever he wants and instead he spends a night walking the same path over and over and answering dumb riddles. I was so impressed that I decided to do the guy, and the fairies, a favor. 

For the twenty-second story I told the hardest riddle I have in my arsenal. It is a doozy. The ultimate case of familial mix ups. Anyway, when I finished the story I could tell he was stumped. So I gave the man some relief. I didn't jump back to the tree and I told him all about the monk's little plan. I even told him in detail how he could stop the monk from using him as a sacrifice. All that was left to do was hope he took the advice.


So we get to the monk and I'm just sitting there wondering whats gonna happen. A real nail biter. Then all at once the deed is done. The king kills the monk as a sacrifice like I told him to and I tell him he can be the king of the fairies. But what does the man do? He says no, I don't need to be the king of the fairies. All he asked was that the twenty-two stories be known all over and be held with honor. I thought to myself that this ridiculous, clever, humble man deserved more than such a simple gift. So, I decided to add that whoever heard the story would be free from sin and would be immune to imps, goblins, and other nefarious creatures. We then parted ways.

I'm telling you this story because I heard some great news today. Apparently Shiva bestowed great honors upon this king and some day he will join Shiva himself. So I wanted to make sure my part in all of this was known. You heard it here, I, pravAhaka, masterful goblin that I am avoided crowning a horrid king of the fairies and created a god. How's that for a day's work?


Author's Note: This story is based off of Twenty-Two Goblins, an ancient Sanskrit tale. The story is a frametale in which a king is asked by a monk to bring him a certain body hanging in the cemetery on a certain night. The king agrees but when he arrives the person speaks and the king realizes he is inhabited by a goblin. He starts carrying the goblin who starts telling him a story. At the end of the story the goblin asks a riddle and tells the king if he answers correctly they have to go back to the tree but if he knows the correct answer and hides it he will explode the king's head. So the king gets the riddle right and they hop back to the tree. This happens for the next twenty tales and riddles as well. In the end, the king cannot answer the twenty-second story and so the goblin tells him the monk's secret plan to kill him and become fairy king. The king then kills the monk and though he did not ask for it is bestowed with many honors by the goblin and Shiva. For my story, I retold the original from the goblin's perspective. I got the name for the goblin by looking up the sanskrit word for goblin.


Bibliography: Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder (1917).

Storytelling Week 3:

A young man with a large family recently came into a small fortune. The man, once a hardworking but poor farmer, now had the means to buy his family a grand place to live. He prayed and searched for the best realtor around and he finally settled on a homely old man who, though he had not been around long, had a solid reputation. The next day at sunrise he sought out the man. He described his dream to the realtor who listened intently.

"Yes, yes. I have just the place in mind," he uttered while staring off in the distance.

With that the old man shuffled away and the young man, curious and surprised at the old man's speed, followed hastily. The two men obtained two camels and rode and rode until just before sunset when they reached the gates of an ancient city.

The two men with their camels

The young man spoke up and asked "Where is the estate for which we have traveled such a way?"

The old man said nothing but gazed just beyond the city. The young man followed his gaze and his eyes rested upon a once grand spire that had blackened with age. His eyes then found another spire peaking out over the city.

The young man asked "to whom did this ancient palace belong?"

"A man long before your time. The name is of no consequence to you, but the legend may capture your attention. "

"Please, tell me the tale as we ride closer."

"It is said that the palace grew in one night. Ah, do not look so skeptical young one. After all it is simply a tale. The constructor was an Arab who committed himself to a very poor gentleman as his slave. The gentleman was much in need of money so he took the slaves offer to sell him in town. See, the slave was a grand architect who had plans for a gorgeous palace. He just needed someone to ask him to make it. So the two found a rich jeweler who wanted a palace and showed him a tiny model of one that the slave had. The jeweler bought the slave for a high price and offered him freedom if he built this palace. The slave agreed. He asked for no supplies nor workers and promised the palace in just one day's time. The jeweler, dumbfounded, led the man to the plot of land we now approach. As promised, the next day this palace appeared much to the astonishment of the jeweler and the now rich gentleman."

"But who was this miracle constructor?" the young man asked.

"That is of no consequence to you," the old man replied.

Though the young man was still burning with curiosity he let it be because they had just reached the gate to the palace. It was hanging open from rusted hinges. The young man stared up at the dilapidated building that rose before him. The building's once majestic marble walls were fully obscured under layers of dirt and dust. The cupolas were cracked. The metal railings stood only from rust.

The young man thought to himself "even with the money I now possess and the wretched state of this building I doubt I can afford it."

"How much does the palace cost?" he asked hesitantly.

"For you, nothing if one task you complete. The building is yours if in one night you can restore it."

"But how can this be achieved?" The young man asked desperate to have a place large enough for his family.

"That is for you to determine."

The young man turned back to look at the building, and by the time he went to look at the old man he was gone. He turned back at the palace, wondering how on earth to accomplish such a tall order.

He spent some time thinking through how many workers his money could buy. He then inspected the building from corner to corner and made a list of all the supplies needed. When he finished around midnight he just marveled at the insurmountable task that laid before him. The young man felt his heart drop to his stomach realizing he could never accomplish the task and the palace would not be his. Suddenly, he dropped to his knees and prayed. He prayed for hours upon his knees until he drifted into a restless slumber.

In his dreams, he saw workers appear in the dead of night and shine returning to the building. When he awoke from his desperate dream he was nearly blinded by the sunlight glinting off the spires and cupolas. Somehow, the palace was restored to all of its former glory.

The young man leaped up with joy and spun around looking for the old man. He spotted him on the horizon for only a moment before he faded as if disappearing.

"This must have been the work of Elijah," he thought as he thanked God for his palace.

Author's Note: This story is based on The Magic Palace. The story is summarized in the old man's retelling. I based the format of this story partly after the real-estate style. I started with that style and then just wrote the new story.

Bibliography: The Magic Palace is from Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa (1919).

Storytelling Week 2: AnimalBook Tragedy

Scrolling through AnimalBook the other day I stumbled upon the tragic story of Mr. Mouse. Herein lies the details of his bravery and tragic death.

Author's Note: When I initially read the two stories The Mouse and The Lion and The Married Mouse in Aesop's Fables (Jacobs and Crane), I thought it was very creative that someone had taken the original and added a sequel. I immediately knew I wanted to work with these stories in some way. In the stories, a mouse accidentally wakes a lion when it is scurrying around on top of it. The mouse convinces the lion not to kill him because he may be useful to the lion some day. The lion was not so much convinced that the mouse would be helpful, but was delighted by the prospect. The mouse later does save the lion by chewing him out of the trap. In the sequel, the mouse asks to marry the lion's daughter as a reward. The lion agrees but not long after the marriage the lioness accidentally squashes the mouse under her paw. Since there was already a sequel involved, I did not think the story needed any plot extension. So, I decided on a complete format change while maintaining the original story line. I also added in the character of the Cheetah as an outside observer of the events taking place. It was fun working with the Facebook (or should I say Manebook) simulator and I hope you enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed creating it. 

Bibliography: The two stories The Mouse and The Lion and The Married Mouse are from Aesop's Fables. The first is from the version by Jacobs 1894 and the second is from The Baby's Own Aesop illustrated by Crane in 1887. To make the Facebook posts, Simitator was used. The profile pictures of the Lion, Mouse, Cheetah, and Lioness can be found at their respective links. 

Week 1 Storytelling: Little Johnny

RIDE away, ride away, Johnny shall ride,

And he shall have pussy-cat tied to one side,

And he shall have little dog tied to the other,

And Johnny shall ride to see his grandmother.

(traditional nursery rhyme)

*****

Mommy and Daddy were whispering away in their room. Little Johnny walked by and saw the door was just barely ajar. He stuck his little eye in the crack and saw Mommy and Daddy talking. 

"Secrets are fun to know," Johnny thought. So little Johnny stuck his little ear to the crack and listened in on the grown-ups' whispers.

"Mama must be so lonely with Papa gone," Mommy sighed. 

Little Johnny wondered where Grandpa had gone. 

"I just don't know how to help her," Mommy said as Daddy wrapped her in a hug.

"I've got an idea!" little Johnny thought, "I'll visit Grandma and take her my pussy-cat. Georgie can keep her company 'til Grandpa comes back."

So Johnny ran to go grab the pussy-cat. He took Georgie out to the stable and tied him to his favorite horse's side. When Johnny got ready to head out he heard a loud barking. He looked down and saw his little dog Lenny was making the noise. Lenny did not like Georgie leaving and wanted to go with Georgie wherever he went. Because Johnny was afraid his parents would hear the barking and come to the stable, Johnny decided to tie Lenny to the other side of the horse. He then sat in the middle and started to ride. He rode away, away to grandmother's house. 

(Lenny and Georgie were best friends)

Grandmother was surprised to see Johnny all alone. She wasn't prepared and still had on her robe. Johnny leaped down from atop the horse and ran to see sweet grandmother. He then took down Georgie to put in her arms and said "This is Georgie, he is a very smart cat and is here to keep you company till Grandpa comes back." Grandmother took the little cat into her arms and looked at little Johnny with love and sadness in her eyes. 

Because Grandmother still looked sad Johnny turned back to the horse. "Here you can have Lenny too. He's rather slow but he's sweet and--" But as soon as Johnny untied Lenny the pup ran to see grandmother with leaps and bounds. He slammed right into her and they both fell to the ground. 

Now grandmother has to walk with a cane, and Lenny was sent to keep grandpa company.

Author's Note. The original nursery rhyme only said that Johnny rode to see grandmother with a cat tied to one side of him and a dog to the other. I decided to expand on why Johnny was going to see his grandmother with his pets. I then based the pets' names and the remainder of the story on Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck. Though rather than accidentally killing someone like the book Lennie, my Lenny just injures Grandmother. However, their consequences are sadly the same. The title I just came up with on my own. 

Bibliography. The original nursery rhyme is "Johnny shall Ride" from The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang (1897).