Week 14 Reading Diary B: Grimm Unit

The Queen Bee: I thought this story was interesting that the dwarf was the one who was able to complete all the tasks. If I were to write a Storytelling post over this story, I would write a story about someone who received help from other people who they helped in the past. I would also make it a more modern story so my readers would be able to relate to it.

The Twelve Huntsmen: When I read this story it immediately reminded me of Mulan because like the twelve girls, Mulan pretended to be a man so she could help her country fight in the war. This story also reminded me of Mulan because Mulan was injured and everyone found out that she was not a boy.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses: This story was honestly a little strange because of how the princesses would mysteriously disappear each night. I thought it was also weird that this whole world existed beneath their floor. I also thought it was sad that all of the previous men who tried to figure out where the princesses went each night had their heads cut off just because they could never figure it out. I also thought it was unfair that one of the princesses had to be married to the soldier even though she had a prince she liked much more.

The Willow-Wren and the Bear: This story kind of made me laugh when I started reading it because I honestly couldn't imagine insects, birds, and four-footed animals being at war with one another. I thought it was unfair that the birds and the insects won because they cheated. I wished the four-footed animals would have found out that insects and birds cheated so the four-footed animals could have won, or maybe they all would've given up on the war and would have all just apologized.

("Fairy Tales" by the Brothers Grimm, illustration by Otto Ubbelohde)

Week 14 Reading Diary A: Grimm Unit

The Frog Prince: This story was a little different than the story I've been told my whole life. I believe in the story I've been told the frog didn't turn back into a prince until the princess kissed him. I liked this version because even though the princess was reluctant, she still kept to her word. I think that if I were to write a Storytelling post based off of this story, I would write a story about someone who kept to their word even if they didn't want to.

Rapunzel: When I read this story I was afraid that it was going to have a sad ending. It's so sad that the enchantress wanted to keep Rapunzel to herself so badly that she shut her out from the rest of the world. I also thought it was extremely sad that the enchantress tricked the prince into thinking that Rapunzel was there just so she could punish him. I'm so glad that the prince eventually found Rapunzel and that they lived happily ever after. If I were to write a Storytelling post based off of this story, I would write a story about how good things can still happen to you even though bad things have happened in your past.

The Travelling Musicians: This story made me smile because animals that aren't supposed to like each other became the best of friends. I liked that they all found something that they had in common as well. This story reminded me of the movie "The Breakfast Club" because in "The Breakfast Club", a student from each social group in high school have detention together and in the end they all realize that they aren't that different from one another.

Briar Rose: This story was a little bit different from the original story I've been told all of my life. I believe in the story that I was told there were only four fairies instead of thirteen. I also think in the story I've been told that Sleeping Beauty was the only one who fell into a deep sleep for one hundred years. I don't think anyone else in the palace fell asleep for one hundred years. However, I like that everyone in the palace fell asleep for one hundred years because it made the story seem more mysterious.

("Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm", illustration by Walter Crane)

Week 13 Storytelling: Facing Your Fears to Accomplish Your Dreams

Natalie knew that she didn't want to live in Dallas her whole life and she was willing to do whatever it took to move out of the state to Chicago. She began to think about what she would have to do in order to establish herself in another state. Graduate from college, earn some money for the move, and sell some of her things.

She was the most worried about one of the courses that she would have to take before she could graduate from college. One of the courses that she still had to take was Statistics, and she had been putting it off until the last minute. She didn't understand math. It was like trying to understand a foreign language to her. However, Natalie knew that she couldn't continue to put off this class any more if she wanted to graduate.

On the first day of Statistics after class, Natalie approached her professor.

"Professor, I don't mean to keep you from doing what you need to do, but is there anyone you can recommend for me to seek tutoring from for your class?" Natalie asked.

Natalie's professor smiled and jotted down the name and contact information of the TA for the class before giving the piece of paper to her.

"Taylor would be more than happy to help you," he said.

The next day, Natalie called Taylor and scheduled a day each week that she could meet him for tutoring. By taking multiple practice tests and going over sample problems, Natalie understood Statistics more and more. Natalie took the extra step and spent many late nights in the school library studying for her Statistics exams. Natalie's hard work ended up paying off as she received a B as her overall grade for the semester. Natalie approached her professor on the last day of class.

Natalie's professor smiled as she approached him.

"For a student who struggled with math so much, I'm very impressed with your hard work this semester," her professor said.

"Thank you, Professor. If it hadn't been for your suggestion to meet with your TA I don't know if I would've done nearly as well this semester."

"Natalie, congratulations on graduating. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors," Natalie's professor said.

Natalie left her Statistics class for the last time grinning from ear to ear, and suddenly graduating in May and moving to Chicago seemed closer to her now than ever.

("Chicago skyline at dusk". Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Author's Note: I based this story off of "The Little Mermaid - Part 3" by Hans Chrisitan Andersen (1872). My story relates to "The Little Mermaid - Part 3" because Ariel, the youngest mermaid, was willing to do whatever it took to have the possibility of marrying the prince—even if that meant visiting the sea witch so she could help her out. Ariel greatly feared the sea witch because she thought she was scary and evil.
Like Ariel, Natalie was willing to do whatever it took to graduate and move out of state—even if that meant having to face her fears of taking that Statistics class that she had put off since she entered college. Like Ariel, Natalie was willing to put in some hard work even if that meant she could accomplish her dream. Just like Natalie had to suffer through weeks of tutoring sessions and many nights that consisted of long hours of studying, Ariel was willing to have her tongue cut out and endure the feeling of stepping on knives if that meant that she could have legs. Although the two girls went through completely different situations, they both learned that they could do whatever they wanted to do if they worked hard.

Week 13 Reading Diary B: Hans Christian Andersen

Little Mermaid - Part 1: I thought it was interesting to hear that each one of the sisters had a different perspective and experience of the world above. I think the youngest sister's experience in the world above will be very unique compared to her sisters'. I bet she will fall in love with a prince just like in Disney's version. I bet she will do whatever it takes to stay in the world above just so she can be close to him.

Little Mermaid - Part 2: I thought it was so sad that the prince never found out that the mermaid was the one who saved him. I hate that the mermaid went into a deep depression over a boy. That was a little silly. I'm really glad that she ended up telling her sisters about the prince, and I'm also happy that one of their friends was able to tell the youngest mermaid where he lived.

Little Mermaid - Part 3: I'm glad that the youngest mermaid's grandmother was able to give her some insight on how she could become a human. If I were to write a Storytelling post this week over this, I would write a story about how someone was willing to face their fears in order to accomplish their dreams and goals some day.

("The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen (1872), illustration by W. Heath Robinson)

Little Mermaid - Part 4: I thought this was a rather frightening scene to picture the sea witch's home. It all seemed so evil. I hate that the witch said that she would have to cut off the mermaid's tongue in order to create this potion so she would be able to walk. I haven't seen the Disney movie in a long time, but I think that the mermaid was turned back into her original form if she could not get the prince to love her instead of dying. 

Little Mermaid - Part 5: This part of the story was really depressing because I realized more and more how dumb she was for being willing to give up her own life just to have the possibility of marrying the prince. I wish she could tell him that she was the one who saved him, and then he might realize that he loves her more than anything.

Little Mermaid - Part 6: I knew the ending of this story was going to be much unlike the familiar Disney version. I had a feeling that the mermaid would end up dying instead of getting married to the prince. I feel so sorry for her, but at the same time I don't feel that bad for her. She knew that there was a great possibility of never being able to get married to him.

Week 13 Reading Diary A: Hans Christian Andersen

The Princess and the Pea: I was expecting this story to be unlike the original that I had heard since I was little. I think it's crazy that she was able to feel a pea under twenty mattresses! I can relate to the princess because I am unable to sleep that well unless I have just the right amount of pillows and blankets. I hope that she wasn't mad that the queen and the prince wanted to make sure that she was a real princess by possibly causing her to sleep terribly! I think a great Storytelling post for this week would be to tell a story about how someone couldn't sleep well unless they were at home.

("The Princess and the Pea" by Hans Christian Andersen (1872), illustration by Edmund Dulac)

The Emperor's New Suit: I was also expecting this story to be different from the version I have heard my whole life. I hate how the swindlers charged the emperor all of this money only to not give him any new clothes at all. I thought that was so rude that they used him! It seemed that all of the people in town couldn't see the new clothes so they were being tricked as well! I think a good Storytelling post for this week would be to tell a story about these two people who made a scam and tricked everyone in town. However, one of the citizens was brave enough to turn them in!

The Brave Tin Soldier: I had actually never heard of this story until now. I now know why I had never heard of it before. This story was incredibly sad. I thought it was going to have a happy ending when the soldier found out that he was back in the same home that he had lived his whole life. I thought it was also sad that the little dancer melted into flames as she tried to save the tin soldier. This story reminded me of Romeo and Juliet because I believe that the dancer and the tin soldier were star-crossed lovers as well.

Week 12 Storytelling: An Alternate Dimension

Kristen was sitting at the kitchen table and slowly started to doze off to sleep while she was working on her homework. In her dream, she saw a long flight of stairs and a door at the top. Nothing else was in the room, it was all blank.

"Should I really open that door?" Kristen thought as she stared at the door ahead of her.

"Eh, why not?" she thought as she started to ascend the staircase.

As she opened the door, she stepped right into her kitchen at home—the exact same place where she fell asleep.

Her sister was always the one who kept to herself while she was at home—she never came out of her room. She now looked at her sister in the kitchen as she was relentlessly telling her dad everything that happened during her day.

Her dad always fell asleep watching TV when he got home from work every day. It was 7 p.m. and he was wide awake and talking to Kristen's sister in the kitchen. Her mother was always the one who was talking to Kristen at night and was passed out, asleep on the couch.

"Is this real life? Can they see me?" Kristen thought to herself.

"Oh, hi dear," Kristen's dad said as he ran up and gave her a hug.

Kristen gave him half of a hug back as she looked around the room at the two of them in dismay.

"Kristen, come join us at the table. Your sister was just telling me a story about how her ACT went today," her dad said.

Kristen followed him to the table and took a seat across the table from her sister.

"Kristen, oh my gosh! It went so well, and if I didn't get a nearly perfect score I'll be shocked!" her sister said as she looked at Kristen as her whole face lit up.

"Oh c'mon, Kristen! Tell your sister how happy you are for her!" her dad said as he patted Kristen on the back.

Kristen congratulated her sister, but immediately thought about how she missed how things were back in reality. She loved getting to talk to her sister and her dad like she normally wouldn't get to at this time, but she really appreciated how things were. She began to realize how she took her real life for granted. She loved her family. She loved having to practically pry her sister out of her room and have one-on-one talks about what was going on in her life. She loved talking to her mom in the kitchen as she worked on homework at night. She loved occasionally watching TV with her dad and talking until he fell asleep. She so desperately wanted to be back in reality.

Kristen closed her eyes and focused on her one wish.

"Please send me back home. Please send me back home," Kristen said as she began to notice her dad and sister's voices blend together. The whole room felt like it was spinning around her. Kristen opened her eyes and peeled her face from her textbook below her. She was back at the kitchen table again.

"Kristen honey, I made you your favorite homemade pizza," Kristen's mom said as she placed the scrumptious pizza in front of her.

Kristen glanced around the house. She saw her dad asleep on the couch with the TV on and heard her sister upstairs in her room talking to one of her classmates on the phone. Kristen sighed.

Life was perfect.

(illustration by John Tenniel)

Author's Note: I based this story off of the story "Looking-Glass House" from Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll (1871). When Alice steps through the mirror above the fireplace at her house, she finds herself in an alternate dimension. I kept my story close to the original in this way by having my character enter an alternate dimension. When Alice entered her alternate dimension, she met people and creatures she had never met before in her life. I changed my story a little bit by having my main character meet the people she knew so well, but they acted the exact opposite of how they normally did.
The only thing I did change from the original story to mine is that Alice woke up from her dream by shaking the Red Queen and turning her into her own cat from home. My main character woke up by wishing that she was back in reality. Although they were both dreaming, Alice and Kristen both dreamt completely different dreams. I thought it would be cool to write a story about an alternate dimension because I think we all wonder at some point in our lives if everything we knew and everything that happened to us was totally different.

Week 12 Reading Diary B: Through the Looking-Glass

My Own Invention: This story reminded me of taking care of a drunk person when you're completely sober. This story reminded me of that because of how the knight kept on falling off of his horse all the time, and Alice would have to help him back up. She was also very frustrated about having to continue to help him, much like someone is when they have to take care of someone who is drunk.

Queen Alice: This story reminded me of two siblings having a fight over who would get to hang out with their friend. This story reminded me of this because The Red and White Queen kept on bickering over Alice and wouldn't stop. They were also saying mean things to her with no concern over what they had just said.

(Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll, illustrations by John Tenniel (1871))

Shaking and Waking: This story reminded me of Beauty and the Beast. It reminded me of Beauty and the Beast because of all the items in the dining hall coming alive. It also reminded me of Beauty and the Beast because all of the items in the dining hall also began to talk. It's weird that this was all just a dream; I thought Alice had actually entered an alternate dimension. It's also comforting that her cat was with her all along during this dream. If her cat had been the Red Queen all along does that mean that her cat is evil?