Story: Tommy and the Fairy

(Image of a cockle-shell via Wikimedia Commons)

A few centuries ago, there was a little poor boy named Tommy who lived in a little town on the coast of Ireland. One sunny morning, Tommy was skipping to school on the stone pathway when he thought he heard a whisper. He looked around, and found nothing but the brick wall to his right. He proceeded to skip to school when he came across a boulder the size of a wagon wheel in the middle of the stone pathway. Tommy took the same path every day for the past three years and had never seen this boulder before.

            Curious yet hesitant, Tommy carefully tiptoed around the boulder to find a little twinkling fairy hiding behind it. The fairy’s long hair was platinum blonde and almost covered her ocean blue dress, which was the same color as her eyes. Tommy was about to say something when the fairy reached up and put a finger to his lips.

            “Shhhhhh. Be quiet. I am trying to hear something,” she said. Tommy was incredibly confused at this point. All of a sudden, Tommy heard a faint whisper that said, “Now is the time.”

            “Wait… you are the chosen one?” the fairy asked. Tommy was still confused.

            “I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about,” Tommy replied.

            “Well, I was waiting to hear from the wind fairy. That whisper you just heard was the wind fairy, telling me who the chosen one is,” the fairy said.

            “The chosen one? What does that even mean? I don’t even know who you are!” Tommy said.

            “My name is Ophelia. Let me explain,” Ophelia replied. She then told him that she had been looking for the chosen one for about a year. The chosen one was the child who could turn seashells into gold so that the fairies could all be freed from the giants. 

            “But why am I the chosen one?” Tommy asked.

            “Because the wind fairy told me so. And she knows everything. Now we just have to find some shells for you…” Ophelia said as she started fluttering away. Tommy quickly followed her, assuming she was heading towards the shore.

            Sure enough, Ophelia was in fact headed towards the shore. Once they arrived at the beach, Tommy could feel the cool sand underneath his feet. Ophelia picked up a few seashells and placed them in Tommy’s right hand.

            “What am I supposed to do with these?” Tommy asked.

            “Um… I am not entirely sure. Just try concentrating really hard. Maybe think of a really happy memory – your happiest memory,” Ophelia said.

            Tommy furrowed his brow and thought about the moment when he learned how to tie his shoes. Within a matter of seconds, the small seashells in his hand turned into little pebbles of gold.

            “YOU DID IT! Now we can save the other fairies from the giants!” Ophelia exclaimed. Over the next few days, Ophelia gathered enough seashells to turn into gold to finally save all of the fairies. To thank Tommy for all of his help, she gave him a little kiss on his cheek and he immediately blushed.

            From that point on, whenever Tommy needed help or guidance, all of the fairies were happy to help and look after him.            

Author's Note: In the original story of Tommy Pritchard, Tommy Pritchard heard a voice singing on the other side of a stone wall on his way to school. He noticed a rock, and looked underneath and found a sixpence and took it for himself. Every morning after that day, he looked under the same rock and consistently found a sixpence underneath the stone every single time. He used them to buy candy and his father grew suspicious because he had no idea where his son was getting the money for the candy. He threatened to beat him so Tommy told his father where he was getting the money. The next day when he looked under the rock, he only found a cockle-shell under the rock, instead of a sixpence. In my version of the story, I wanted Tommy to become a hero and befriend a fairy in the process, so I added the fairy named Ophelia. I gave Tommy special powers so that he could save the ending and make a happy ending (like I always do in my own stories). When I read the original version of the story, I was not entirely sure what cockle-shells were (I googled it of course), so I wanted my story to just have seashells instead.

Bibliography: "Tommy Pritchard" from Welsh Fairy-Tales and Other Stories by Peter H. Emerson; link to the reading online

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During the first week of classes this semester, I went ahead and downloaded the mobile Canvas app on my iPhone so that I could have access to it even when I didn't have my laptop with me. I did not have any problems with the installation. I really only use the mobile Canvas app to check my grades. I receive emails about any grade updates that I get on Canvas, so if I am on the go and running errands, I can just check any grade updates on my phone through the app!

Reading Notes: Tommy Pritchard

(Image of a cockle-shell via Wikimedia Commons)

-Tommy Pritchard was going to school when he heard a voice - make it the voice of a fairy
-He thought it was over a stone wall - have a fairy be on the other side
-He climbed over the wall and picked up a stone, where he found a sixpence - I want to change this to a silver dollar
-Every day he kept looking under the rock and found a *silver dollar*
-His father began to notice that he kept having enough money to buy candy so the father assumed Tommy was stealing
-Tommy wouldn't say where he was getting the money so his father threatened to beat him
-He finally told him where he was getting them
-The next morning, he only found a cockle-shell under the rock

Bibliography: "Tommy Pritchard" from Welsh Fairy-Tales and Other Stories by Peter H. Emerson; link to the reading online

Reading Notes: The Quest of the Holy Graal

(Sangreal, by Arthur Rackham via Wikimedia Commons)

-This is one of the adventures of King Arthur's knights
-Raises the question of the Holy Graal - I would maybe change it to a different object
-In stories it was a "holy vessel" used by the Lord
-It was then brought to Britain by Joseph of Arimathea
-However, it was often confused as a magical vessel full of food
-The relic became invisible because of sinners
-It sometimes became visible by angels or "floating in heavenly light"
-The Knights wanted to find the Holy Graal, even though King Arthur didn't want them to
-However, because they were sinners, they couldn't find it
-Over time, the kingdom grew weak because the Knights were neglecting their duties in order to find the relic
-If I were to use this story for my new story, I would make the story a lot more detailed and in-depth and focus more on the journey of the Knights and probably add a big plot twist per usual

Bibliography: "The Quest of the Holy Graal" by Andrew Lang; link to the reading online