Bibliographic Information (best version
for telling):
Grimm, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. "Cat-skin."
in De la Mare, Walter, ed. Animal Stories. New York: Scribner's, 1940.
297-308.
Ethnic Origin: German
Running Time: 14 minutes
Power Center(s):
When the princess must hide her identity
three times at the three feasts, pretending to be a rude country girl,
and the king guesses her secret.
Characters:
1. Old King
2. The Queen
3. The Princess
4. Young King in nearby realm
5. Various messengers, weavers, huntsmen,
counselors, cooks, and courtiers
Scenes:
1. Queen' with golden hair dies, king
notices his daughter's hair is similar and plans their wedding.
2. Horrified princess demands three dresses
and fur mantle
3. Princess flees with dresses and mantle
into woods, hides in tree
4. Princess as scullery maid, then at
young king's feasts in her gowns
5. Princess' identity revealed and she
marries king.
Setting: old king's castle in dense woods, the woods, the young king's palace kitchen, young king's great hall.
Synopsis:
When his queen dies after childbirth,
a king promises never to marry again unless it be to a woman with the same
golden hair as his former wife. He decides to marry his daughter when he
discovers she is the only woman to fit the description. The daughter demands
three dresses to be woven: one as gold as the sun, one as silver as the
moon and pure as driven snow, and one as bright and dazzling as the stars.
When king accomplishes these seemingly
impossible tasks, she asks for a mantle made of one piece of fur from each
animal in the kingdom. The king succeeds in this task as well, and the
princess must flee the, disguised by the mantle and taking the three dresses
with her. She is made a scullery maid in a neighboring kingdom.
After three feasts, which she infiltrates
dressed in her gowns, she marries the king of that land when he guesses
her true identity.
Rhymes/Special Phrases/"Flavor":
Princess saying, "I have no mother and
father and I'm good for nothing except to have boots thrown at my head."
"Queen and princess' hair is so bright
a gold that if they walk into a room it is as if fifty candles were carried
in."
Audience (why is this story appropriate
for the audience? developmental characteristics?):
This story is appropriate for an elementary
school child, probably one in second or third grade because of its content
and length. Its length may prevent younger children from following the
whole story.
It addresses the issue of industry mentioned
by Piaget in that the princess must take her own life into her hands and
make something of herself; she realizes that she can succeed, just as these
children are learning that they can, too. In a similar vein, it addresses
the growing concept of identity (Erickson) with which these children struggle
at this age.
Source(s) recommending this story/collection
as good for storytelling:
MacDonald, Margaret Read. Storyteller's
Sourcebook. Detroit: Neal-Schuman/Gale Research Co., 1982.
Greene, Ellin. Storytelling: Art and Technique. New Providence: Bowker, 1996. (recommends De la Mare collection for professional reading)
Sawyer, Ruth. The Way of the Storyteller. New York: Viking, c1942.
Bibliographic information on other versions/variants
(at least two):
Grimm, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. Állereirauh,
or the many-Furred Creature." in Lang, Andrew, ed. The Green Fairy Book.
London: Longmans, Green, 1929. 276-281.
Grimm, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. "Many-Fur." in Segal, Lore. The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1973. 236-246.
Brief comparison of all versions/variants
in terms of language, rhythm, "tellability," "flavor," content, etc.
I chose the variant I did, by Walter De
la Mare, because of certain "flavorful" phrases with which he told his
story that the others did not. Not all of them I have included in the final
telling, but were sources of inspiration none-the-less.
For instance, De la Mare's queen has hair
of "purest, clearest gold." When the messengers return from searching,
"their travail, their journeyings, had been in vain." I did not find this
suitable for this age group. I omitted De la Mare's huntsmen mocking Cat-Skin
and telling her to "beware of the 'Walk-by-Nights!'" De la Mare also calls
his drudging princess "Cat-skin" which is easier to say than "Many-Fur"
(Segal) or "Many-furred Creature," or "Allerleirauh" (Lang). The third
has the nicest flow, but few children would be able to make sense of it.
There was one content issue I liked in
the De la Mare version: he mentions the old king at the end and includes
what has happened to the lascivious old wretch, which I thought needed
to be answered.
The Segal version is shorter and uses
fewer direct quotations from the characters than De la mare. Its style
is blunter, the details in different places (i.e., the princess makes bread
soup for the king), and the character development is not as natural. Also,
the young king is much more brutal a character: it is he who throws boots
at the princess, and at the end of the story her fur mantle doesn't fall
off; he rips it off.
The Lang version is in the middle of the
other two stylistically, being not as brutal and not as detailed. For instance,
the Lang princess uses the striking phrase "no use except to have boots
thrown at her head" but fails to say that anyone did throw boots at her.
Also, Lang editorializes a little in the course of the story, taking the
role of minstrel or storyteller: at one point, the text reads "Ah, beautiful
King's daughter, what is going to befall you now?"
Back to Stories I Tell.
Bibliographic Information (best
version for telling):
Grimm, Jakob Ludwig Karl and Wilhelm Karl
Grimm. The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids. New York: Harcourt, Brace and
Co., 1959.
Ethnic Origin: German: one of the Grimm's fairy tales.
Running Time: 8 minutes.
Power Center(s): The power center is when the Wolf finally wins his way into the house and swallows the kids: the coming and going before the door create the tension which leads to it.
Characters:
1. Mother Goat.
2. Littlest Sister.
3. Biggest Brother.
4. The Wolf.
5. The baker.
6. The shopkeeper.
Scenes:
Images
1.Mother Goat’s soft voice and white paws.
2.Biggest Brother’s horns.
3.Littlest Sister’s lack of horns.
4.The Wolf’s harsh voice and black paws.
5.The little house and the big pine woods.
6.Mother Goat turning the key in the lock.
7.The Wolf at the door.
8.Littlest Sister on the other side of
the door.
9.The Wolf in town, twice.
10.The Wolf in the Goats’ house.
11.The Wolf with the kids inside him.
12.Mother Goat frees her children.
13.The Wolf with the stones inside him
falls in the well.
Setting: the goats’ house; the store and baker’s shop; the field by the well.
Synopsis:
Mother Goat leaves her seven children
alone when she has to assist Mother Hen. She warns them not to unlock the
door until she comes back. The Wolf comes as soon as she leaves, but the
kids will not let him in, thanks to smart Littlest Sister. His voice is
rough. The Wolf steals honey from the storekeeper to soften his voice.
When he returns to the house, the kids won’t let him in, thanks to smart
Littlest Sister. His paws are black. The Wolf visits the baker to whiten
his paws. This time when he returns they let him in and he swallows six
out of the seven. He falls asleep by the well. Mother Goat returns to find
only her youngest alive hidden in the clock. They find the Wolf outside.
Mother cuts him open, freeing her kids, and they stuff him with stones.
He wakes, tries to drink from the well, and falls in.
Rhymes/ Special Phrases/ "Flavor":
The flavor in this story lies in the characterization:
the variation between Mother Goat’s firm gentleness, Biggest Brother’s
unimaginative eagerness, Littlest Sister’s cleverness, and the menace of
the Wolf. The difference in vocal tones is where is appears the most, plus
the images communicated by these characters’ individual postures. Mother
Goat is slightly stooped, Biggest Brother is solid, the Wolf sidles, etc.
The repetition of the Wolf asking the same question at the door three times
is a distinctive feature of this story, and one the youngest children will
catch on to and enjoy.
Audience:
This story is recommended for preschool
children, and I chose it at face value for its animal characters and repetitive
structure. In my experience, preschool and young school children are truly
fond of animals and animal characters, and a repetitive structure provides
a framework within the story they catch on to immediately. Piaget emphasizes
repetition in so many words as he outlines his developmental stages. Through
the repetition, the child can anticipate what will come next, and therefore
look forward to it.
Other developmental sequences include
Charlotte Huck’s: the child age three to five believes deeply in the fantasy
world and has an unshaken sense of absolute right and wrong. This story
takes place in the fantasy world (in fact, in my introduction I have used
"the land of story" as a real place), and the child will appreciate the
fact that the little goats are freed and Wolf gets it in the neck. To be
blunt, they will empathize with the little goats (especially the siblings
Biggest Brother and Littlest Sister, if they have siblings) and instinctively
not want to behave like the Wolf. They will decide beyond doubt what role
in the story they would wish to have (referring to Erik Erickson.)
Source(s) recommending this story/collection
as good for storytelling:
Greene, Ellin. Storytelling: Art and Technique.
New Providence: R. R. Bowker, 1996.
Shedlock, Marie. The Art of the Storyteller. New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1936. She recommends the version in the Mrs. Edgar Lewis translation of Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, published by Lippincott.
Bibliographic information on other versions/variants
(at least two):
Grimm, Jakob Ludwig Karl and Wilhelm Karl
Grimm. "The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids." IN Frances Jenkins Olcott,
ed. Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Chicago: Follett Publishing Co., 1968. 407-412.
Grimm, Jakob Ludwig Karl and Wilhelm Karl Grimm. "The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids." IN Lucy Crane, translator. Household Stories from the Collection of the Brothers Grimm. New York: Macmillan, 1953. 41-44.
Brief comparison of all versions/variants in terms of language, rhythm, "tellability," flavor," content, etc.
I chose the Harcourt Brace version because
its word choices and tone were more suited to the audience. Though in the
beginning there was what seemed to me a gratuitous bit of moral coaching
on the part of the editor ("…mother goat who had seven little kids whom
she loved dearly, as all mothers love their children" [italics added]),
that was the only part of the story which I felt needed to be dispensed
with. The word choices in the other versions were translated more archaically:
for example, the Crane version describes the wolf as giving the kids "short
shrift" in finding and eating them, and the youngest kid hiding in the
"clock case" (43). Most preschoolers I know would either be confused, having
little experience with any clocks besides their Mickey Mouse ones, whereas
the mention of a grandfather clock might ring a bell (forgive the pun.)
A phrase like "short shrift" would probably just go straight over the children’s
heads.
Secondly, the Harcourt Brace version included
an element of the story I had been planning to insert anyway—it had the
kids demand that the wolf show his paws, rather than having him absent-mindedly
(and not very probably) just happen to put his paws on the window.
Finally, it left out the philosophical
reflections on humankind as opposed to animal kind which again sound archaic
to my ear and would be glossed over by a preschooler. My version does not
bemoan the choice of the miller to rub flour on the wolf’s feet as a moral
fault: it merely expresses his quite natural fear of the wolf. I have actually,
in practice, combined the characters of the baker and miller into just
the baker, for the sake of brevity.
The only thing I did change was to avoid
using the word "hoarse." Though I like it better, I think the preschooler
would hear "horse" instead, and I do not want to have to explain it beyond
making a rough sound with my voice. I substitute either Follett’s "rough"
or my own "harsh."
Back to Stories I Tell.
Bibliographic Information (best version
for telling):
Gauch, Patricia Lee. On To Widecombe Fair.
New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1978.
Ethnic Origin: English.
Running Time: 10-12 minutes.
Power Center(s):
The power center I chose was the Tom Pierce's
discovery of the death of the old mare. My telling of the story builds
to this point and there is just a very short resolution of the story after
it. Also, it the place in the story where all of the major characters come
together again: they met at the beginning, separated, and reassembled at
the power center.
Characters:
1. Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, Peter Gurney,
Peter Davey, Dan'l Widden, Harry Hawke, and old Uncle Tom Cobbley.
2. All, the dog.
3. The old mare.
4. Tom Pierce.
5. The people of Widecombe and Spreyton.
Scenes:
Images
1. Tom Pierce's old gray mare.
2. The men at Widecombe Fair.
3. Tom Pierce waiting in Spreyton.
4. Tom Pierce seeing his dead mare, and
crying. 5. The ghosts of the men and the mare.
Setting: Spreyton in town, the road to Widecombe, Widecombe Fair.
Synopsis:
Tom Pierce lends Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer,
Peter Gurney, Peter Davey, Dan'l Widden, Harry Hawke, old Uncle Tom Cobbley
and All his gray mare to go to Widecombe Fair when Uncle Tom's donkey won't
pull. The men take turns riding through the towns on the way to the Fair
and, upon arrival, thoroughly enjoy the activities, goodies, and beer served
by pretty girls. When the Fair is over, they set back out for Spreyton
but all ride the mare at once (except for All the dog.) Tom Pierce, meanwhile,
has set out for Widecombe after his mare: they meet in the middle. But
Tom's mare has died of exhaustion, and Tom cries. Bill Brewer and the rest
act as if the whole transaction was no big deal and the people of Spreyton
take their words for it. But the people of Widecombe know that for their
carelessness they spend eternity as ghosts, riding a ghost mare between
Widecombe and Spreyton.
Rhymes/ Special Phrases/ "Flavor":
This story was originally a song so I
use the song as part of my introduction and conclusion: "Tom Pearse, Tom
Pearse, lend me your gray mare…" That includes the names of the men: Bill
Brewer, etc.
From the picture book itself, I borrowed
the names of the towns between Widecombe and Spreyton: Whiddon Down, Chagford,
Beetor Cross, and Heatree. Not only are they not in the song, but they
contribute greatly to the flavor of "old England" (or England today, for
that matter.) Likewise, it was apparent that it was Gauch's idea to have
"All" (…old Uncle Tom Cobbley and All) be a character-a dog-and I liked
that and used it too. The girls at the Fair-Nellie and Betsy-were also
Gauch's creations, as is Farmer Fursdon (sometimes I mention him in telling,
sometimes not.) The phrases "talking, not walking men" and "walking man,
not a talking man" are hers also.
My own flavors are the descriptions of
the mare-so swaybacked you could have used her for an ice-cream scoop--,
the portrayal of the Fair in progress (striped tents, tables of goodies,
beer river, and playing/dancing field) and coming down, the sound of the
old mare as she set back out for Spreyton, and All's sympathizing with
her when she dies.
Audience:
This story is intended for a young adult
audience, probably on the younger side of young adult. The flavors I emphasized
for their particular benefit include the fun and slightly racy activities
of the fair and the ghosts of the mare and seven foolish men. However,
I wanted more quality of story than can be easily found in some of the
contemporary "scare stories" so often read by young adults (i.e. R.L. Stine).
I think this story has meat on its bones as a story as well as being attractive
to the audience.
I can gather from Charlotte Huck, this
story fits well with 12-13 year olds. It appeals to an understanding of
human feeling (Tom crying at the death of his mare) but is not simpering,
and the appeal is made only after the young adult audience's attention
is already caught by the fun description of the Fair. It also invites the
young adults to laugh at the seven foolish adults--something young adults
(especially at 12 and 13) will enjoy and be willing to admit to. After
all, as Erik Erickson mentions, they are on the boundary between childhood
and adulthood themselves and the acceptance of their peers is essential:
to laugh together at silly people comes easily at that time, and is harmless.
To refer to Piaget, this story involves multiple perspectives (even two
from animals-the mare and the dog) and that also is something the young
adult follows easily.
Bibliographic information on other versions/variants
(at least two):
As far as I know, there are no versions
or variants for this story. Unless you count the song…
Brief comparison of all versions/variants
in terms of language, rhythm, "tellability," flavor," content, etc.
Part of the reason I chose this story,
besides the facts that I love it and grew up with it, is that I believe
it is a unique story. I have never seen it anywhere else. This gives me
the freedom to relax into my own images, though conversely I realize that
it also means I have nowhere else to look if I draw a blank. I also think
that the images in the one telling I have read are strong enough to stand
on their own: talking men, not walking men, All as a dog-they are all great!
But I am keeping my eye out for any versions or variants that might turn
up.
Back to Stories I Tell.
Background: Inupiaq Eskimo tale.
Length: 20 minutes.
Title:
Brown, Emily Ivanoff, ed. "Battle Song
of the Giants." Tales of Ticasuk. Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press,
1987. 21-25.
Characters:
1. The Chief
2. The Orphan, Inuuraq.
3. The Orphan's Grandmother.
4. The Chief's Son and two Hunters.
5. The Giant.
6. The Giant's Wife.
Events:
Images
1. The Chief's Son and hunters do not
return from hunting.
2. Inuuraq volunteers to see what has
happened.
3. He kills a giant shrew on the way,
with the Chief's weapons.
4. He approaches the igloos of the giants.
5. The Giant hurls his ulu but misses,
and is killed.
6. The Giantess hurls the ulu and misses,
and is killed.
7. Inuuraq rescues the Son and hunters
and returns in triumph with the giant shrew's head.
Setting: Alaska or northern Canada, long ago.
Rhymes/ Special Phrases/ "Flavor":
the orphan's name, Inuuraq; his thoughts
about the giant shrew; the Giants' songs and Inuuraq's response; the use
of the ulus.
Back to Stories I Tell.
Background: Scottish folk tale.
Length: 15-20 minutes.
Title: "The Elfin Knight." Scottish Fairy Tales. …
Characters:
Earl St. Clair
Earl Gregory
The Elfin Knight
The goblin.
Events and Setting:
1. The legend of the Elfin Knight is told.
2. Earl Gregory visits Earl St. Clair
in his moor-side castle.
3. Gregory and St. Clair argue over hunting,
because of the legend.
4. Gregory and St. Clair hunt, St. Clair
with the clover on his arm.
5. Gregory follows the Elfin Knight, and
St. Clair Gregory.
6. Gregory is bewitched by the Elfin Knight's
ale.
7. The goblin tells St. Clair how to rescue
Gregory, and he does.
8. The moor becomes inhabited: the Elfin
Knight is gone.
The moors of Scotland.
Things to Keep:
1. For adults: "just a story to frighten
the bairns."
2. The breathing of the monster under
the enchanted circle.
3. The wings of the Elfin Knight's horse.
4. The Elfin Knight rides a "German" horse and cannot touch St. Clair because
of the talisman.
5. The ale "foams" over the goblet.
6. The frozen elves and goblins.
My Additions to Keep:
1. St. Clair can stay home and "knit."
2. St. Clair is shorter than Gregory with
deep blue eyes. Both have black hair.
3. The description of the moor: withered
grass and heather, bogs, cold wind, jutting rocks.
4. The carved oaken table and the soft
wind in the enchanted circle.
5. The deep mist in which Gregory rides,
following the hoofbeats of the Knight.
6. St. Clair never tells what happened
on the moor to Gregory or anyone.
7. "Threw back his head and laughed."
8. Gregory's horse disappears.
9. The screech of the elves when Gregory
falls.
10. The earthquake when the ale is removed
from the circle.
11. Intro and Conclusion.
Back to Stories I Tell.
Background: Greek myth.
Length:
Title: How Orion Became the Star Warrior
Characters:
1. Orion
2. Artemis
3. Apollo
4. Ephialtes
5. Brother
Events and Setting:
1. Ephialtes and Brother decide to win
Artemis.
2. Artemis tricks them and likes Orion.
3. Orion hunts with her, killing all the
animals.
4. People complain to Apollo about it.
5. Apollo is jealous of Orion and sends
the Scorpion.
6. The Scorpion stings Orion.
7. Orion and the Scorpion are set in the
sky as reminders.
The islands of Greece
Things to Keep:
My Additions to Keep:
Back to Stories
I Tell.
Background: Greek myth.
Length:
Title: A Tale of Two Sisters: the Dawn and the Moon
Characters:
1. Eos the Dawn.
2. Selene the Moon.
3. The prince Tithonus.
4. The shepherd Endymion.
5. Zeus.
Events and Setting:
1. Eos falls in love with Tithonus.
2. Selene falls in love with Endymion.
3. Eos asks Zeus for eternal life for
Tithonus.
4. Tithonus turns into a grasshopper.
5. Selene asks Zeus for eternal sleep
for Tithonus.
6. He dreams he holds the moon in his
arms.
Greece
Things to Keep:
My Additions to Keep:
Back to Stories I Tell.
Background: Scottish folk tale.
Length: 10+ minutes
Title: The Seal Catcher and the Selkie
Characters:
1. The Seal Catcher.
2. The Large Seal.
3. The Wealthy Gentleman/Selkie.
Events and Setting:
1. The Seal Catcher stabs a seal that
escapes with his knife.
2. He meets a Wealth Gentleman on the
way home.
3. The Gentleman offers him money and
a knife for many sealskins.
4. The Seal Catcher goes with the Gentleman
to the top of a cliff.
5. They both go over the edge and turn
into seals.
6. The WG/Selkie leads him to a grotto
on the bottom of the sea, filled with selkies.
7. The Seal Catcher heals the large seal.
8. The Selkie returns him to land and
pays him the money if he will never hunt seals again.
The islands of Scotland
Things to Keep:
Words of the Selkie: "Never say that we
deprived a man of his livelihood and gave him nothing in return."
My Additions to Keep:
From Susan Cooper's retelling of the Selkie
Girl: "The islands rise green out of the sea. The waves dash on the gray
rocks and strange things may happen there." Beginning.
"...and strange things do happen there."
End.
Colors of the sea: blue with sun, green
with little sun, dark blue, black with shiny fish.
Sealcatcher's greed for money.
Wealthy gentleman's trouble with speaking.
Back to Stories I Tell.
Background: Scottish folk tale.
Length:
Title: Thomas the Rhymer
Characters:
1. Thomas (True Thomas, the Rhymer).
2. The Elf Queen.
3. Elves, Courtiers, etc.
Events and Setting:
1. Thomas goes hunting.
2. He meets and asks the Elf Queen for
a kiss.
3. She turns hideous and takes him to
Elfland.
4. She gives him the apple of truth.
5. She brings him back after seven years/three
days.
6. He becomes known for his prophecies.
7. He returns to Elfland.
Scotland/Elfland
Things to Keep:
The three roads: thorny=Heaven, flat and
straight=Hell, bonny and winding=Elfland.
Three days=seven years.
Fear for him to be the sacrifice.
The burn of Breid/ shall rin fou reid.
Hart=female. Hind=male.
My Additions to Keep:
Background: My own story.
Length: 10 minutes.
Title: The Mice and the Wind-Cat
Characters:
1. The young mouse.
2. The warrior mouse.
3. The prince mouse.
4. The wise old mouse.
5. Other mice.
6. The wind.
Events and Setting:
1. The mice begin to starve.
2. They meet to decide what to do.
3. The small mouse tells the story his
grandmother told him.
4. The warrior mouse tries to catch the
wind and does not return.
5. The noble prince mouse does the same.
6. The wise old mouse suggests they work
together.
7. They make a net and harnesses of grass.
8. They catch the wind in the form of
a cat.
9. They drag the wind cat to the ocean
and threaten to throw it in unless it stops blowing so hard.
The Eastern European steppe.
Things to Keep:
The wind may purr or rumble, but it never
snarls, roars, or snorts.
The grass grows and drops its seeds for
the mice to eat.
Only animals that live on the steppe=mice.
The grandmother told the story that the
wind might be caught in its form when it snarls.
Wind appears first as a wolf: second as
a bear/boar.
They listen to the grass growing.
The mice are making "something" and practicing
hanging from roots.
They find the warrior and prince mice
as they process.