Week 4 Storytelling: That Modern Family episode

After a long day at school, Haley plopped down onto her bed and opened up her diary. She needed an outlet to vent to and she knew that her diary was the only one who would truly understand. She began to quickly scribble a note.

September 8, 2012

Dear Diary,

Today I met the cutest guy at school! But I don't know if he would ever like me back. He's kind of out of my league. I guess only time will tell, but I plan on getting to know him better. Gotta go! Mom is calling me downstairs for dinner. 

Sincerely,

Haley Dunphy 

September 10, 2012

Dear Diary,

Today Dylan and I sat next to each other in class. We passed notes back and forth and I think tomorrow he might come over to study together for our Biology test. I know that Luke and Alex will do their best to embarrass me in front of him when he comes over, but I have to assure mom and dad that I'm not interested in him. Who knows if they'll believe me, but it may be the only way I can hang out with him. Wish me luck.

Sincerely, 

Haley Dunphy

September 30, 2012

Dear Diary,

I apologize that I haven't written you in such a long time! That day Dylan came over went great! Luke and Alex made fun of me as expected, but I just did my best to ignore them. I think mom and dad had their suspicions too, but whatever. I like this guy and I'm going to go for him. Dylan texted me earlier today and told me that he had a surprise to give me tomorrow, and I have a feeling that he's going to ask me out on a date! Okay I'm not 100% sure but a girl can hope, right? I'll let you know how things go tomorrow. 

Sincerely,

Haley Dunphy 

October 25, 2012

Dear Diary,

Okay, okay...I'm sorry I never let you know how that day went until now! So...I was right. I showed up for school the next day and Dylan gave me some flowers and asked me if I wanted to go on a date. Of course I said yes! On our date, he brought out his guitar and played a song that he wrote for me and asked me to be his girlfriend. Of course I said yes again! My parents wanted him to come over for dinner the other night and my parents asked him a thousand questions during dinner. It was awkward and I could tell that Dylan felt like he was under pressure. I kept on looking over and saw that my dad looked like he was judging him. I can tell that he doesn't like him for some reason. It's probably because he comes off as being rebellious and he thinks that he's being a bad influence for me. I know Dylan really likes me, but I hope my dad doesn't scare him off. Please pray for me that everything will be okay. 

Sincerely,

Haley Dunphy      

November  18, 2012

Dear Diary,

Today Dylan came over to hang out with me and he saw that Luke was practicing baseball in the backyard. He went outside and started helping him and I could tell that my dad liked that. As I was helping my mom do the dishes after dinner, I saw my dad and Dylan talking in the living room. I could tell that my dad has been warming up to him and my mom too. My mom told him tonight that he is welcome over for dinner any time. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think my family is finally starting to like him! I'm glad that they're starting to see that he can be a good guy, and that he treats me well.  I haven't been this happy in a long time!

Sincerely,

Haley Dunphy 

(The cast of the TV show, Modern Family. Source: Flickr)

Author's note: I based this story off of one of the Indian Fairy Tales, The Prince and the Fakir by Joseph Jacobs. In this story, a princess sees a prince below her window and knows that she has to marry him. When her father, the king, invites all the men in town to have to chance to be chosen by her, she chooses to marry him even though he is wearing a Fakir's clothing. A Fakir is seen as someone who rejects worldly possessions and is not seen highly by many Indians. I'm not exactly sure why the prince decided to wear the Fakir's clothes. Maybe he wanted to blend in with normal people. The princess never tells her father that he is not a Fakir, so the king never approves of their marriage but doesn't say anything. In the end, the prince and the king connected and he began to like his son-in-law. I wrote my story from the perspective of Haley Dunphy, a character from the TV show Modern Family, because her parents don't like her boyfriend, Dylan, but they begin to like him in the end. The king is similar to the dad from Modern Family, because he never tells his daughter, Hayley, that he doesn't like her boyfriend. I thought this would be a good way to retell the Indian Fairy Tale in a modern setting. 

Week 4 Reading Diary B: Indian Fairy Tales

The Talkative Tortoise: I liked this story because it reminded me of the fact that if you say something mean to someone who said something mean to you first ,then you are just as low as they are. It was hard for me to picture a tortoise splitting in two, but I could honestly see the Buddha having people gather around him to tell them this story. I could imagine the people becoming humans of few words from then on out. I feel like I could retell this in my Storytelling post this week by telling a story of a mother trying to teach her children a lesson.

The Prince and the Fakir:  I was shocked when I read that the prince killed the Fakir. I was also shocked that the princess didn't tell anyone that the prince really wasn't really a Fakir. I'm surprised that the king didn't try to protest his daughter's marriage. I did like that he accepted his son-in-law in the end. That made me smile. I could see this story being told in a modern setting. This would make a great Storytelling post for me to do for this week.

Why the Fish Laughed: I think this story was unnecessarily long, but I liked it. I wondered at the beginning of the story if the young man was really foolish. I thought it was funny that the father's daughter said that he was extremely wise and ended up making her dad look like the fool. I thought it was odd that she was the only one who understood why the fish laughed, but I liked that the young man was able to save his father's life.

How Sun, Moon, and Wind Went Out to Dinner: I really liked this story because it explained why so many people still to this day don't like the sun and the wind. I think it was very generous that the moon brought home dinner for her mother, but I don't think it was fair for the star to expect her children to bring home dinner for her. I thought it was great to finally come across an Indian story that explains the origins of the sun, moon, and the wind.  

(Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, illustrations by John D. Batten (1912))

Week 4 Reading Diary A: Indian Fairy Tales

The Broken Pot: I liked this story because it reminds me a lot of The Goose With the Golden Eggs that I read last week, because the man starts getting overly greedy and then destroys everything he has. The only difference between this story and The Goose With the Golden Eggs is that the Brahman is thinking all of this in his head and the man in The Goose With the Golden Eggs actually decides to kill the goose and cut it open to see what is inside. Therefore, the man is crazier than the Brahman!

The Magic Fiddle: This story reminded me of Cinderella immediately when I read it because she transformed into a bamboo plant. I imagined writing this for my Storytelling post this week and relating it to Cinderella transforming before the ball when she saw the prince. I also would relate this story by changing the boy who watched her to the prince searching the whole town to see if the glass slipper fit. Instead of her being bitter that her step mother and step sisters punished her, I would have her decide to be grateful that she was no longer in that situation.

The Tiger, The Brahman, and The Jackal: I really liked this story because even though the tiger kept saying how foolish everyone else was, he was the foolish one in the end! I like how the jackal pretended to be stupid in order to help the Brahman trick the tiger. I could see the Brahman being shocked when the jackal closed the gate on the tiger, but I imagine that he was very happy!

The Charmed Ring: I really liked this story because it had a lot of characters and also because it seemed so similar to The Lord of the Rings to me. It seemed so similar to The Lord of the Rings to me because everyone is fighting over a ring because it gives them magical powers. I think this would be a great story to do my Storytelling post over!

(Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, illustrations by John D. Batten (1912))