Week 13 Story: The Red Queen's Riddle

One day The Red Queen was enjoying a cup of tea and looking out the window of her big and extravagant castle. It was days before her annual "Riddle Me This" competition. This was a huge event where men trained their minds into thinking in the cleverest way. 

The Red Queen loves riddles, tricks, and puzzles. She believes that a clever mind is more attractive than all the gold in wonderland. She spends hours making her own riddles, doing puzzles, and her personal favorite playing sudoku. 

This year she wanted to really challenge the men competing. After all, the winner gets to go on a date with The Red Queen. She is very picky, that being said the annual event will come to an end once she finds her perfect match.

For this year’s challenge she is going to put the competitors in an escape room. The competitors will individually have to figure out all the clues in order to open the locked case to The Red Queen’s heart. The competitors will have to be knowledgeable on things they know about the queen, her likes and dislikes. She has been single for a long time and really wants to settle down with someone. So, this year it’s really important the best candidate wins her heart. She needed a little help coming up with clever clues in the escape room. She called up the Mad Hatter in hopes he could use his quirk to help. He was hesitate because The Red Queen is very intimidating, but soon realized he had no other choice. Once he arrived they brainstormed and began making some great clues and tricks to out in the escape room. The Red Queen felt very confident that the right man would be able to solve it and unlock her heart!

(The Red Queen)

(Queen's locked heart)

Bibliography: This story is part of the Looking-Glass unit. Story source: Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll (1871).

Week 11: Dreaming in Color

Once Upon a time, there was a town in black and white. The town only knew of black and white, and never experienced color. Everything was in black out white, the sky, the sun, the trees and flowers, the houses and cars. For so many years the town knew that black and white would forever be their fate. However, there was one curious and adventurous resident of the town. Her name was Posie and she spent majority of her life searching for the source of color. Rainbows are the only source of color. Wherever their ends land bring the colors with them. She had heard of rainbows and how they appeared after storms. She was so obsessed and consumed of the idea of color she would dream about them every night. In her dreams everything was bright and bold. Her town would boast with radiant shades of every color of the rainbow. She was determined to make this dream a reality. One night a huge storm came over, Posie stayed up all-night and prayed for a rainbow. She waited for the sun to come up and when it finally did she ran outside as fast as she could. There it was. The moment she had dreamed about was right there in front of her. The end of the rainbow was just a block away. She jumped on her bike and rode to the end of the rainbow. She reached out to touch the rainbow and while submerging her hand into the rainbow, there was color!!! She picked up the rainbow and tied it around her neck like a cape. Then she was off, riding through every street and alley she could. Everything the rainbow touched turned to color! The people of the town ran outside in awe! Posie wasn’t that crazy after all! The town celebrated and partied for the months to follow, all thanks to a dreamer of color!

(rainbow)

Bibliography: Tejas Legends: When the Rainbow Was Torn
Story source: When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends retold by Florence Stratton and illustrated by Berniece Burrough (1936).

WEEK 9: Story: The Muggle Princess

Once Upon a time there was a beautiful young princess named Meredith. The princess was in a secret relationship with William, a young wizard who attended the school of witchcraft. Her parents did not believe in the art of magic and therefore would never allow her to marry a wizard. But, Meredith was in love and was very conflicted on what to do. Her parents would soon expect her to be married and add someone to their royal/muggle family. She ended up marrying a nice and noble prince that her parents approved of. She was heartbroken to have to marry someone she didn’t truly love, but she had no choice. William was devastated and felt betrayed, but he knew his heart and hers belonged together.

So, with his invisible cloak he snuck into the castle. He had a plan to save his princess. He went to the kitchen while it was vacant and stirred up a little confusion concoction. This potion would make the prince sick and confused hopefully allowing William to get alone time with Meredith. After making the potion William snuck out of the kitchen and hurried into where they were serving the prince and Meredith’s meal. He watched him drink the potion, and then “Poof!” he turned into a very sick prince…

The royal staff was embarrassed and immediately sent him away to the nearest hospital. Meredith was just enjoying her food, and acted so worried, however secretly she was relieved. When no one was looking William revealed himself from under the invisible cloak. Meredith’s jaw dropped! It was William! Her REAL Prince Charming! William draped the cloak over both of them and whispered,

“I’ve come to save you sweet Mere! Come live with me and become a witch!”

Meredith apologized, “I am so sorry for marrying someone else, you know I could never love someone as much as you!”

William and Meredith ran out the castle and jumped on his broom and away they went. And they lived Happily Ever After.

Hogwarts

Bibliography:

The Enchanted Prince, written by: by Dean S. Fansler (Web Link), Filipino Tales Unit 

Author's Note: The original story is about a prince who falls in love with a young witch. His father forces the prince to marry the prettiest girl in their town. The young witch felt so hurt and betrayed she turned the prince into a monkey and his whole kingdom into a jungle. He would be stuck as a monkey for five centuries or until he found true love. The monkey prince stayed up in his tree hoping for someone to love, but was turned down so many times. Eventually he noticed a sweet girl outside the church lonely and sad. He took her up to the top of his tree and she soon fell for him. He then turned into a prince again and she woke up in the castle. 

WEEK 7 STORY: TIME FROZE

There once was a man named Time. Time was a wise man, he was very efficient and always punctual. Time had three wives, Telepathy, Teleport, and Travel. The three wives had a very dynamic friendship and got along really well, despite the fact they were sharing a husband. Time always ran errands for his wives and he never found it to be an inconvenience for him.
One day the wives each wanted their very own turquoise crystal. The only places to get these crystals were on the outskirts of the town in one of the most dangerous and isolated caves. Time being a wise man packed everything he would need for his journey. As he finally approached the freezing cave and reached for the crystals his hand began to freeze, then his whole are, and eventually Time was frozen.
Back home the wives were running out of food and missed there husband. It had been several days and he still had not returned. So, Telepathy closed her eyes and searched for her husband. Her intuition told her he was in trouble. She recognized where the cave was and told Teleport and Travel. Teleport recognized the cave and grabbed the hands of Telepathy and Travel and all of a sudden they were there in the cave. They all gasped, their sweet husband was frozen. They all hovered around him, unsure what to do. Time was frozen and all because they wanted some crystals. The wives gathered around him and tried to defrost him. They tried to break the ice and that didn't work. They tried everything and realized that they needed to come up with a plan. Telepathy had already used her power to find him and Teleport had already used her guidance to get them there, however Travel had not used her ability yet. Travel maybe the only way to save their husband. She held onto the hands of Telepathy and Teleport and they travelled back in time to before their husband left for his journey. They went back to before they even asked for the crystals and there their husband was, healthy and back to his normal self.

(Ice Crystal Cave)

Author's Note: The Dreamer, The Guide, and The Raiser of the Dead are all married to a man. Their husband was a great hunter, so everyday he went out hunting to bring back his wives food. One day he killed an antelope. They ate it, but soon complained of hunger a little later. So, the man went out to track an Ox because that would be the only to fill them up. However, once he tracked and shot the ox, the ox charged after him and he died. The wives were still hungry and missed their husband. The Dreamer had a dream of their husband being killed by an ox. She know of the road, so The Guide led them to where his body laid. Once they arrived The Raiser of the Dead brought him back to life. Then each wife decided to make him a pot of soup, once he was able to eat so he could pick the soup of his choice. Two of them killed fowls and made them, while the third put pig in her soup. The Raiser of the Dead had the winning soup because she gave him the gift of life.

Stories From Congo: How The Wives Restored Their Husband To Life

WEEK 5 STORY: Mother Nature's Broken Heart

We all know Mother Nature... The woman who controls the winds, the sun, and the sky, she embodies nature.

As powerful as Mother Nature is, she has feelings too. It was Valentine's Day and Mother Nature was in a good mood. She made the sun a little brighter, the sky a little clearer, the winds calm, and the oceans as blue as ever. As Mother Nature began to look down at her world, she felt a little sad and lonely. She knew it was Valentine's Day and that it was a holiday to celebrate love.
She thought to herself, "There are so many people in love and have someone to love, but who will be my Valentine?..."

She began to cry and when Mother Nature cries, the whole world knows. Tears rolled down her face into oceans, creating giant tsunami waves. The sky turned dark, the clouds rumbled, and the winds roared. The world experienced a storm like no other, mother Nature had thrown the temper tantrum of all tantrums.

While all this was occurring there was an intelligent and wise man named Noah. Noah was very intuitive and had a gut feeling something big was going to happen. Noah enjoyed building and construction work. So, in his spare time he would build whatever he could think of. His next big project was to build an ark. Not just any ark, but an ark that could fit men, women, children, and animals. People thought he was out of his mind and a little messed up in the head, despite all the judgment and criticism he stuck to his gut feeling to finishing this project.

Noah was enjoying his Valentine's Day as a single man. He spent is day watering his garden, watching The Notebook, eating a whole box of chocolates, and putting the finishing touches on his ark. When all of a sudden, the sky turned dark and a storm came like no other. Noah looked at his ark, then looked up to the sky and he knew something was wrong.

Many people had heard the stories of Mother Nature, but never thought twice to think if she was real, much less have feelings. However, Noah believed in Mother Nature and that she truly did control the sun and the sky.

So he called out to her, "Mother Nature, Mother Nature why are the winds roaring and the skies so dark?"
Mother Nature rarely had anyone reach out to her. She looked down at the little man with the ark and replied, "I have a broken heart and I am all alone!"
Noah replied, "But, Mother Nature you are not alone! Look at all your creations! I'll be your friend!" Mother Nature looked around and realized that the little man she just met was right. All of a sudden, Mother Nature's tears dried up and the skies cleared and the sun was bright. She was not alone and spent Valentine's day with a new friend.

Image Source

Author's Note: This story was inspired by the Jewish Fairy Tale, The Giant of the Flood
Story source: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa (1919). Og Is a giant begging to come aboard Noah's Ark.

WEEK 2 STORY: The Woman in the Wall

Once Upon a Time, there was an interior designer that loved to design homes for others. She was so talented, creative, and so good at her job that she went all over the nation to design houses. But, one day she was getting tired of designing homes. As she drove home from her office and walked into her house a twinkling star came shining across her yard and all of a sudden, a fairy was standing in front of her. Not knowing what to say or think, the Interior Designer stood there speechless. The fairy introduced her self, "I am the gratitude fairy and I'm here to remind you of all the things you have to grateful for." The interior designer replied, "I don't want to be an interior designer anymore. I'm so tired and just want to sit all day...I'd rather be a piece of furniture!" The gratitude fairy raised an eyebrow and said under her breath, "Be careful what you wish for." With her pretty wand and sparkly magic dust she turned the interior designer into a chair! A day went by and the once interior designer, now chair complained, "I don't want to sit around all day, I want to be a lamp it seems light and warm." So the gratitude fairy turned her into a lamp. Another day went by and the once interior designer, that turned into a chair, now a lamp, complained, "I hate being turned on and off everyday!" I want to be a rug, so I won't get moved around!" So the gratitude fairy turned her into a rug. A couple days went by and the once interior designer, then chair, then lamp, and now rug complained, "I getting stepped on all the time, I want to be apart of the wall, so I can see everything that's going on, and no one can mess with me." So the gratitude fairy turned her into a wall. And there she stayed and lives to this day.

Bibliography.  "The Man in the Moon" from Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson. Web source.

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