Portfolio Introduction

For my portfolio I plan on using stories from Aesop's Fables or other folktales that include stories on animals.

Individuality:
This story is about embracing your differences and your insecurities. Although they are the things that, many times, we wish we could change about ourselves, they are the things to be admired. While growing up it is hard to fit in and that is something that is so important to people as they go through high school and college. What is important to remember is that what makes us different is what makes us stand out and these are the things that other people will learn to appreciate.


The Origins of Lightning and Thunder: 
Have you ever wondered how the sun or the moon got in the sky? Or maybe where the wind and the rain originated? Well, this story is here to tell you exactly how lightning and thunder wound up in the sky. Would you believe that they were not always natural elements of the earth, but instead were one of its inhabitants? To find out exactly how all of this happened, read this Nigerian Folktale and all of your questions can be answered.

The Woodpecker's Tail:
There are many different sides to one single story. Each person, animal, object, etc. has its own point of view; one person's opinion of exactly what happened will be different from another person's. This story tells how the woodpecker's tail became the way it is, but tells it from a surprising point of view. To find out how this happened to the woodpecker and the difference point of view can make, check out this unique Tejas legend.

Storytelling: The Woodpecker's Tail

Have you ever looked at a woodpecker before? I mean really looked at one. They’re pretty intriguing if you ask me. They have beautiful red heads and white bodies. Their backs and wings have black splotches or stripes, making each one unique and special in its own way. Each one really does look so different and distinguished from the next, but one thing they all have in common is their stubby tail. It really doesn’t match the rest of their stylish look. Would you be surprised if I told you that long ago they used to have a brilliantly long, embellished tail? Well, sit back and relax because I am going to tell you exactly how this transformation occurred.

Once, long ago, in the plains of Texas, there was a very large pond surrounded by tons of grasslands and trees. About every ten years a heavy, long-lasting rain would come through and flood the lands, wiping out everything in its path. For the animals living on the ground, this was a big issue. They had to prepare for these floods and plan their course of action before the rains occurred. The animals living in the waters on the other hand were much better off, excited even, when they heard a heavy rain was coming. This meant a replenished water source and no Indians out potentially catching them on a hook to eat for dinner. It had been a long while since the last major storm had blown through. So all the animals knew it would only be a matter of weeks.

 One day, a frog came hopping and splashing through the waters in a panic telling all the animals that a flood was a-coming and that everyone should run for their lives. All of the fish gathered together, looked up, and watched as all of the land animals scrambled to find their families and get to higher ground. As the fish were watching they turned to each other in excitement and imagined all of the new water coming their way. Knowing how rough the waters could be during these storms, they decided to all try and stick together and protect one another until the winds calmed down. It’s not fun in the slightest to get knocked to and fro up against the side of the pond during these storms. Each fish grabbed a buddy to make sure they were always together and they all huddled close as they watched the sky turn from bright blue to green and finally to black.

There was one small fish that could not find a buddy! He was the only young fish without any siblings and he could not find his parents. He was very much a loner and did not have any close friends so he just decided to stick very close to the large pack and crossed his fins that he would be okay. When the storm first started it really wasn’t too bad. The waters swayed, but it wasn’t anything too rough to handle. As the hours dragged on, though, the pack was really getting tossed around. The winds were savage and not letting up at all.

At one point the little fish could not take it anymore and tried to swim deeper into the water, hoping this would help get him farther from the rough waters. As soon as he broke away he was swept into a current and tossed up towards the surface of the water and thrown against the edge of the pond. The little fish had no idea what to do and had never experienced such rough waters. He looked around for something, anything, for him to grab and anchor himself onto. Surprisingly, he saw something just above his head, but he couldn’t tell exactly what it was. It was definitely not seaweed or moss, but it was something for him to hold on to so he went for it. He shot himself upward and grabbed onto the mysterious item. It was a soft and a bit slippery, but if he could just hold on for a little bit he would be okay. He immediately felt a strong tug, which caused him to bite down tighter. When he did this, he went spiraling though the water spitting out the soft, slippery item as he tumbled through the water. 

This right here is exactly how the woodpecker lost its tail. This bird had decided not to hop high into the trees like the others and when the waters rose, a little fish tried to grab onto his tail dangling in the water to steady himself. Had he been smarter and hopped higher into the trees, he would not have been so close to the water and the fish would not have been able to bite off his tail. Now don’t worry, the little fish ended up fine and his parents found him just after this little incident. The woodpecker, on the other hand, was extremely sad for his loss and decided for the rest of time, he would peck as loud and as hard as possible and do his best to annoy every fish nearby.

Author's Note: This story is originally from a Tejas Indian legend. As the name suggests, the story takes place in Texas and gives a great description of the different natural aspects that the state has. The story is called The Woodpecker's Stumpy Tail and it was written by Florence Stratton. The original story is from the woodpecker's point of view and tells how his tail got to be so short and stumpy. Like my story, there is a flood coming and all of the animals have been warned. One woodpecker does not take this warning seriously and decides not to take precautions. He regrets this when he cannot climb higher than the flooding waters and a fish takes a bite out of his tail. My story is from the fish's point of view, but has the same story line. I thought it would be interesting to give the fish a background story since he sounds like the bad guy in the original story. I also wanted to tell it from this point of view to show the importance of perspective. Originally it sounds like the fish is the bad guy for biting off the woodpecker’s tail. In my story you can see that the fish was simply trying to survive the harsh storm. I chose this specific image because when I originally read this story I was not exactly sure what a woodpecker looked like. Of course, I have seen them before, but I could not remember all of the details. I thought it was important for readers to see a good picture of their beautiful bodies and stumpy tails in order to get the full effect of the story. I added this story to my portfolio because it includes a story about animals I have not used yet in my other stories.

Bibliography: The Woodpeckers Stumpy Tail by Florence Stratton

Woodpecker

Portfolio Introduction

For my portfolio I plan on using stories from Aesop's Fables or other folktales that include stories on animals.

Individuality:
This story is about embracing your differences and your insecurities. Although they are the things that, many times, we wish we could change about ourselves, they are the things to be admired. While growing up it is hard to fit in and that is something that is so important to people as they go through high school and college. What is important to remember is that what makes us different is what makes us stand out and these are the things that other people will learn to appreciate.


The Origins of Lightning and Thunder: 
Have you ever wondered how the sun or the moon got in the sky? Or maybe where the wind and the rain originated? Well, this story is here to tell you exactly how lightning and thunder wound up in the sky. Would you believe that they were not always natural elements of the earth, but instead were one of its inhabitants? To find out exactly how all of this happened, read this Nigerian Folktale and all of your questions can be answered.

The Woodpecker's Tail:
There are many different sides to one single story. Each person, animal, object, etc. has its own point of view; one person's opinion of exactly what happened will be different from another person's. This story tells how the woodpecker's tail became the way it is, but tells it from a surprising point of view. To find out how this happened to the woodpecker and the difference point of view can make, check out this unique Tejas legend.

Story: The Origins of Lightning and Thunder

If you stand at the bottom of the mountains, just past the big round lake and over the small rolling hills, look up and you can see one white lone figure. Look a little closer and you can make out that the lone figure is a lamb, small for its size, so it is probably a baby. Try to look just a tiny bit closer and you can see that the baby lamb is gazing up to the sky. As the baby lamb stares up at the stars she sees a lightning strike far off in the distance; not long after, thunder sounds over the rolling hills. The storm is heading her way and the mother lamb beckons her baby to come into their cave for the evening. As she lays down to sleep, the baby lamb asks her mother for a bedtime story, specifically for one about her ancestors. Snuggling closer to her mother and closing her eyes, the baby lamb listens as her mother begins to tell of how the lightning and thunder came to be what they are today.

Lightning

Long long ago, Thunder was a sheep here on Earth and Lightning was her son, a ram. Like most young rams, Lightning had a temper much of the time. Unlike most young rams, Lightning chose to take his temper out on the nature that surrounded him. He would carry this out by burning houses, forcing down trees, damaging people’s farms, and even going as far as killing people. Thunder would rebuke Lightning with her loud and powerful voice when he did these terrible acts, but Lightning could not rein in his temper. Eventually, the people had enough of his nonsense and took their complaints to the king. The king, not wanting to deal with lightning’s wrongdoings, decided he would banish Thunder and Lightning from the town so they could no longer hurt the people….or so he thought.

This banishment did not seem to have an effect on Lightning because the next time he got angry, he burned down the entire forest. This forest fire spread to the entire town and burned down all the farms within range. The king had no other choice than to banish Thunder and Lightning yet again, but this time he banished them away from Earth and into the sky where Lightning could no longer directly destroy the things on Earth.

Even though they were banished to the sky, they are still seen and heard among those living on Earth. Whenever Lightning gets angry, you can see his marks across the sky. Just after seeing these marks, you can hear Thunder, his mother, reprimanding him. The longer it takes to hear her rebuke, the farther away the two are up in the sky. Lightning is still very bitter that he was banished, so every once in a while he reminds the people on Earth of the destruction he can cause by striking down and making his mark hit the Earth’s surface, sometimes causing similar destruction as before.

When the baby sheep’s mother finishes this story she can see that her sweet baby is fast asleep. As quietly as she can, she slips away from her baby and goes to the opening of the cave. She looks out over the rolling hills and big round lake and finally gazes up into the sky. Before the mother turns around to head to bed, she sees one bright, threatening lightning bolt strike cross the sky.

Ram

Author's Note: This story is originally from folk stories of Nigeria. Many of the Nigerian folk stories are about either the origins of certain elements in nature or the origins of behavior in certain animals. The story I chose is called The Lightning and the Thunder. This story is very close to the story I told. It tells of how a sheep and her ram son were once here on earth as lightning and thunder. Lightning was unruly and destructive and his mother would rebuke him with her loud voice. He would not listen to his mother’s reprimanding and continued his assault on the earth. The people feared he would harm them so they went to the king. He first banished them from the land, but this was not sufficient to keep the people and their property safe. The king reassessed the situation and decided that they would both banished to the sky. Today the two can still be seen and heard from the sky. I added in the parts about looking up the mountain and seeing the baby lamb and also the parts about her asking her mother for a bedtime story. I wanted to keep the original story in my writing so I just added in a side story so that the original one could be told.   

Bibliography: The Story of the Lightning and the Thundery by Elphistone Dayrell