Portfolio Introduction

("Old Books" by David Flores)

This is where all of my stories for my Portfolio are going to be located for this class. I am excited to see all of the different stories that I am going to accumulate based on what inspires me from week to week. I am mostly interested in fairy tales that involve magic, princesses, gods/goddesses, and happy endings. I am hoping to create a unique, interesting Portfolio over the course of this semester, and I hope you enjoy reading my stories!

Portfolio Story 1: This is my first story that I wanted to include in my Portfolio because I felt that it was one of my stronger stories that I have written so far. It is originally from Homer's Odyssey, specifically the Cyclops episode, but I made a few changes along the way in order to make it different from the original story but still fun to read. Click on the link to read about Odysseus and his men trying to capture a herd unicorns.

Portfolio Story 2: This is the second story that I wanted to include in my Portfolio because I really liked the changes that I made to make my version of the story different from the original story. Click on the link to read my unique twist of Aladdin and The Wonderful Lamp. 

Portfolio Story 3:  This is the third story that I decided to include in my Portfolio because I wanted to add a really simple story to my Portfolio. The story is based off of the story, “The Cloud That Was Lost," from Florence Stratton's "When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends." The first half of my story is similar to the original version, but the second half is completely different, with a very different ending as well.

Portfolio Story 4: This is the fourth story that I wanted to include in my Portfolio because I thought it would be an interesting addition. The original story is about a young boy named Tommy Pritchard who has good luck and finds a sixpence every single day. In my version of the story, Tommy has something a little more than just good luck.

Portfolio Story 5: This is the final story that I wanted to add to my Portfolio. I wanted to include it in my Portfolio because I felt that it added another unique and dynamic story to it. The original version of the story is about a boy, a donkey, a table, and a stick, but my version of the story takes the main character in a completely different direction.

Story: The Boy and the Old Lady

(Valley View via Wikimedia Commons)

Several centuries ago, there was a young man named Jack. He had a sister named Jill and a father. Jack loved his sister with all of his heart, but absolutely hated his father because he was always mean to Jack and his sister. Because Jack was so miserable, he felt that he had no choice other than to run away from home.

            So Jack started running as fast as he could for as long as he could. He ran until he felt like his legs were going to fall off. Jack finally reached a little town in a valley when he suddenly ran into a frail old lady at the market. All of the food she had just purchased went flying.

            “Oh my goodness! I am so sorry!” Jack exclaimed.

            “It is no trouble, my dear. It was just an accident,” the old lady said.

            “But still – I just wasted all of your food. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you? My name is Jack,” he said.

            “Well, Jack, I just want to know what you are running from and then maybe we can make a deal. My name is Margaret,” she replied.

            Jack then explained how he was running from his old home, trying to escape his terrible father in the hopes of finding a better life. Margaret felt pity for the young man, and took him under her wing. Margaret took Jack back to her little house deep in the forest.

            “You are more than welcome to live here for as long as you would like, as long as you just do some chores for me like cutting down trees and gathering berries,” Margaret said. Jack nodded quickly without hesitation.

            For the next 365 days, Jack did whatever Margaret asked of him. Jack was so happy with his new life. He had a quaint home and a nice person to talk to. The only thing that seemed to be missing was his sister Jill. On the 365^th day of living there, Margaret could tell that Jack was a little sad.

            “What is wrong, my dear?” she asked.

            “I absolutely love my new life here! I just feel like something is missing – my sister to be exact,” Jack said. Margaret gave Jack a soft smile.

            “Well, I was going to wait just one more day to tell you this, but now seems a good a time as any. I am actually your fairy godmother. I meant to bump into you a year ago so that I could take care of you and make sure you live a happy life,” Margaret said. Jack was filled with excitement as Margaret said this. Because Jack had treated Margaret with such kindness and love over the past 365 days, Margaret said that she would grant Jack one wish.

            “I wish for my sister to live here with us if that is okay with you,” Jack said. Margaret smiled, snapped her fingers, and then Jill appeared. Jack explained to Jill that Margaret was his fairy godmother who had been taking care of him for the past year. Jack also told Jill that she could live with them if that made her happy. Jill was overjoyed with this new opportunity. From that moment on, Jack and Jill lived with Margaret, knowing that they would always be safe, happy, and loved.

Bibliography: "The Ass, the Table, and the Stick" from English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs; link to the reading online

Author's Note: I based my story off of Joseph Jacobs’s “The Ass, the Table, and the Stick.” However, my version of the story is completely different from the original version - the only similar parts are that Jack is unhappy at his house because his father treats him poorly, so he runs away from home and runs into an old lady who takes him to live with her and work for her. I also kept the part where Jack worked there for an entire year before something major happened. In the original version of the story, there was a donkey that produces coins and such from his mouth, as well as a table that was covered in food and drinks once commanded. I liked both of those elements as I was reading the story, but I realized that I wanted to take my story in a completely different direction. The original version of the story ended with Jack claiming that he wanted to find the richest lass in town to marry, but I honestly did not really like that ending because it seemed kind of anti-climactic to me since it ended so quickly. The girl Jack really wanted to marry was not rich, so he had all of the girls who were waiting to meet him get knocked out so that the girl he really liked could get all of their money and become the richest lass.

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

Story: The Cloud That Was Lost

("Cloud in Nepal" via Wikimedia Commons)

            A few centuries ago, there were gigantic mountains that were located in the center of a tropical island. At the very peak of the mountains were a bunch of clouds. These clouds were the fluffiest and whitest clouds on the island – they looked like cotton balls floating in the sky. The mountains and the clouds were really close friends. 

            During the day, the clouds would rest on top of the mountains when they were sleepy. The clouds grew tired frequently, because they were constantly waiting for other heavier clouds to float along and produce storms. 

            The clouds spent the majority of their days either sleeping on the mountaintops or floating around with the wind, bumping against one another. They preferred when the sun was down and the moon was high in the sky, because the sun made them incredibly hot. At night, the clouds could rest lower in the mountains, further away from the sky, creating a fog in the mountains at dawn. 

            One afternoon, one of the younger, smaller clouds named Claus was trying to catch a sun ray. Because there were so many clouds high up in the sky that day, the sun rays were bouncing around very quickly. Claus wanted to catch the sun ray so badly that he kept chasing it until he accidentally floated far away from his siblings and all of the other clouds. Claus looked around frantically, unable to find his family of clouds or the mountains. All he saw was the deep blue ocean that was below him. 

            Claus was so lost that he started crying, producing a rainstorm. All of a sudden, another cloud’s voice caught Claus by surprise.

            “What’s wrong?” the other cloud asked.

            “I am lost and I have no idea how to get back to my family,” Claus replied.

            “Well, I am lost too. Maybe we can find our way back together. What is your name?” she asked. 

            “My name is Claus… what is your name?” Claus asked.

            “Nice to meet you, Claus. My name is Claudia,” she replied. “Now, let’s see if we can find our way back.” 

            For the next few days, Claus and Claudia let the wind carry them, hoping the jet stream would carry them back home. Claus had no idea he had floated so far away from home. 

            “How much longer do you think it will take us to get back home?” Claus asked. 

            “I am not entirely sure…. But when I got lost when I was little, my parents always told me to follow the rainbows. If I followed the rainbows, I would always find my way back home,” Claudia said. 

            So the two clouds kept looking for a rainbow, hoping they would eventually find their way back. After a few more days, they finally came across a big, bright rainbow.            

            “I SEE A RAINBOW,” Claus exclaimed. Claus and Claudia floated as quickly as they could towards the end of the rainbow, and finally came across the mountains and the other clouds.

            Claus found his siblings and gave them a huge hug. Claus was so happy to be back home, and even happier to have a new friend there.  

Author's Note: I based my story off of the story, “The Cloud That Was Lost," from Florence Stratton's "When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends." My story is pretty similar to the original version of the story, except for the second half. In the original story, the lost cloud never goes back home, but instead, rains on flowers giving them color and completely disappears after raining too much. This original ending made me sad because I did not like how the cloud completely disappeared and did not find its way back home. I always want my stories to have a happy ending because I personally find those stories to be more enjoyable to read. Therefore, in my story, I made sure there was a happy ending. I wanted the lost cloud to make a friend while being lost, and then have the two clouds find their way back home together. The original story was pretty short, being only around 400 words, so when I was thinking about how I was going to re-write this story to make it my own, I was a little worried that I might not have enough backstory to work with. However, I think my version of the story ended up turning out pretty well! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!

Bibliography: "The Cloud That Was Lost," from Florence Stratton's "When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends; link to the reading online

Story: Aladdin and the Genie

(Illustration by Walter Crane)

            A long time ago, in a far away land called Lampella, there was a teenage boy named Aladdin. When the boy was very young, his father grew ill with disease and passed away. His mother, who worked really hard, but was very poor, raised Aladdin by herself. Aladdin was a good child but his fellow classmates often teased him because he was not as wealthy as they were. Alas, Aladdin was still kind and did everything he could to help his mother earn some money.

            One day, Aladdin’s uncle came into town to visit him and his mother. When the uncle arrived at their hut, he hugged the mother and gave Aladdin a dusty, old lamp.

            “What is this?” Aladdin asked.

            “Something that you might find great joy in someday – if you use it wisely,” the uncle replied. Aladdin shrugged and tossed the lamp onto the ground, unsure of what exactly his uncle meant.

            Aladdin, his mother, and the uncle spent the next few hours catching up, eating a small meal of bread and wine that the uncle brought, and then went off to bed. For some reason, Aladdin just could not fall asleep that night. He tossed and turned for an hour or so, thinking about what his uncle had said to him earlier that day. He then remembered the dusty, old lamp that his uncle gave him. He popped out of bed and scurried over to the lamp.

            Trying to see if he could get some of the dust off, Aladdin rubbed the lamp with his right hand. All of a sudden, the lamp began to shake, glow, and sparkle. To Aladdin’s surprise, a genie appeared. Aladdin had heard of genies in the past, but this did not seem like a normal genie. Genies were supposed to be really old, but this genie was a young and absolutely beautiful girl. Aladdin was basically in shock.

            “Where am I? Who are you?” The genie asked.

            “Uh, I’m Aladdin. And you are on the outskirts of Lampella,” Aladdin replied. “Who are you?”

            “My name is Jasmine. I am the Sultan’s daughter, but I have been kidnapped and stuck in this lamp for three years,” she said.

            “Well, I am glad I found you then! The whole kingdom has been looking for you for years! Can I help you get back home?” Aladdin asked. Jasmine nodded and the two made their way back to the palace. They had a long journey ahead of them, as Aladdin lived on the very outskirts of Lampella, and the palace was located in the heart of the land.

            Over the next few days, Aladdin and Jasmine really got to know each other and started falling in love. Jasmine began to worry because she was only allowed to marry a prince in order to remain a princess, and Aladdin was definitely not a prince. However, when they had arrived at the palace, the Sultan was so thankful and relieved that Jasmine was finally home that he decided that he would let Aladdin marry Jasmine so that they could stay together. Aladdin’s mother also got to live in the palace, so they all lived happily together.

Author's Note: The original Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp story from the "The Arabian Nights' Entertainments book is about a boy named Aladdin who was an "idle boy" who basically did not do anything and was well on his way to becoming a complete failure. Because of this, his father died from grief and disappointment, so his mother was left to look after him. Then, a man who claimed to be Aladdin’s uncle came along. Aladdin’s mother knew that her husband had a brother, so she did not question this for a minute. However, the “uncle” was actually a magician who was an imposter. The uncle convinced Aladdin to come along with him on a journey to give him better clothes and such. On this journey, the magician tricked Aladdin into getting the lamp/genie for him. For my version of the story, I changed how the father died, the uncle’s role in the story, and made Aladdin a good guy instead of “idle.” Furthermore, I made the genie a princess who was actually trapped in the lamp. I got her name from the Disney movie. I wanted to make the genie/princess a girl so that she and Aladdin could fall in love eventually because I like my stories to have happy endings.

Bibliography: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang; link to the reading online

Story: Odysseus, the Giant, and the Unicorns

(Unicorns by Arthur B. Davis, Wikimedia Commons)

            

Odysseus and his men travelled far and wide in search of the precious unicorn herd. They were sent off to find the unicorns because they possessed special magic that could cure the plague that was taking over the kingdom of Ithaca. Unfortunately, the men came across an obstacle along the way. The men eventually discovered the island of the giants, which terrified the men because they had only heard how vicious the giants could be. However, the unicorns had been rumored to roam the island of the giants, so the men had to be brave and explore further. 

            Odysseus stepped ashore on the dark brown sand and looked around, trying to see if anything potentially harmful was in sight. As he looked around, he saw overgrown grass and weeds everywhere, along with fallen fruit scattered on the ground. Odysseus and his men followed the path of scattered fruit, in the hopes of finding something that could lead them to the unicorn herd. They so badly wanted to find the unicorn herd, but they also wanted to avoid the giants on the island.

            After a few miles of scattered bananas, apples, pears, and coconuts, the men found a cave covered in vines. To the left of the cave was a teeny tiny opening, just small enough for a human to fit through. Because the hole definitely was not large enough for a giant to fit through, the men all agreed that the cave was safe, and that they should explore the cave further.

            One by one, the men crawled through the opening, and gasped as soon as they saw a giant hovering right above the cave opening. The first thing they noticed was the enormous eye the size of a large boulder in the middle of his forehead. Once they got passed his eye, they saw that he had blonde stringy hair, extremely crooked teeth, and wore a brown cloth that draped over his very plump body. The men had hoped the giant did not see them, but they knew immediately that he had.

            “Well, hello there!!!” shouted the giant while holding out his hand for a handshake. “My name is Greg!”

At first, the men thought they were being tricked, so they just stood there silently.

            Greg said, “Don’t just stand there. Say something back! That’s what new friends do… right?”

The men were so taken aback that they did not know how exactly to respond. After a minute or two of incredibly awkward silence, Odysseus stepped forward and introduced himself.

            “Uh… hi? My name is… Odysseus and these men are my noble friends,” he said.

            “Noble friends?! That’s incredible! I don’t have any friends, let alone noble ones,” Greg replied. Just as Greg said this, Odysseus noticed something sparkle in the distance… something resembling a unicorn.

            “Greg, do you happen to have any unicorns?” asked Odysseus.

            “Well, yes. But the unicorns aren’t my friends. I just keep them here because I get lonely,” replied the giant.

            “Could my men perhaps take a look?” asked Odysseus. Greg nodded and the men hesitantly walked past him towards the unicorns. The unicorns were white as snow, and had a subtle sparkling glow around them. Their magical horns, which were the source of the cure, were made of pure gold.

            One of the men asked Greg, “How much would it cost for us to take these unicorns? Our kingdom is in desperate need of their magic, and everyone will die if we return without it.”

            “I am never going to accept anything for the unicorns. If you take them, I will truly be alone forever,” said Greg. Odysseus motioned for his friends to come close so that they could talk without Greg overhearing. After a few minutes of whispering in a huddle, Odysseus stepped forward from the group.

            “We have a new proposal. What if you and your unicorns came with us back to the kingdom? We could be your friends and you could live with us and the unicorns in the castle,” said Odysseus.

            “Do you really mean that?!” Greg exclaimed. All of the men nodded and the giant swooped them up for a big hug. The men, Greg, and the unicorns travelled back to the kingdom, and the unicorns used their magic to cure the plague. The men became close friends with Greg, and they have lived happily ever since.

Author's Note: I based my story off of Homer's Odyssey. In the original story, Odysseus and his men were on a journey to go back home after the Trojan War, but come across the land of the Cyclopses who are really mean, aggressive, and lawless. They also eat humans. The land is incredibly worn down except for the wild sheep that roam the land along with the Cyclopses. The men come across a cave where one Cyclops was dwelling. The Cyclops keeps the men hostage and eats them one by one over time. Eventually, the remaining men are able to escape by hiding between herds of sheep. For my own story, I wanted to refer to the Cyclopses as giants, and change the personality of one of the giants so that he would be lonely instead of mean and aggressive. In addition, the original story did not include a plague that was killing the people of the kingdom. The original story also did not include unicorns, but I added those plot lines myself to make the story more unique. I chose the image that I did because this one seemed like a historic painting that depicted unicorns as opposed to the other modern pictures that I found that kind of look tacky. I felt that the image added another element to the overall story.

Bibliography: Homer's Odyssey, as translated into English by Tony Kline; link to the reading online