Sunday, March 20, 2016

Week 7 Storytelling: Little Friends

I was seven when I was first visited by my miniature friends. I remember the night just like yesterday. I was in trouble with my parents because I started a fight with a couple of kids at school. After scolding me, they sent me to my room for a time out. While sitting on the floor I heard some noises coming from the corner of my room. To my great surprise I saw miniature people coming out from a hole in the wall.

There were four miniature people, two miniature horses, and a miniature dog. The horses were about as big as grasshoppers, the dog as big as a small ant, and the people about the size of flies. I scooted against the wall in both terror and curiosity.  They walked closer and closer to me, which made me uneasy.

"Don't be afraid.  We come in peace," said one of the miniature people.

They told me that they liked to visit kids who seemed like they needed some extra friends. They introduced themselves as Jeb, James, Janice, and July. They introduced the horses as Pete and Pat and the dog as Rufus. I introduced myself as Henry, they climbed into my hand, and we became friends. 

That day we talked about dreams, aspirations, friends, and about life in general. They listened to what was on my heart and cared for what I was saying. They were fun too! We played soccer with a red bead and with me using only my finger. We played and talked until we all heard my parents walking down the hall. My miniature friends told me to be well and said that they would return when needed. They also told me to keep them as a secret, or the magic would be gone and they wouldn't be able to return. I watched them crawl back into the hole in the wall and disappear. My parents came in and noticed my strange behavior, but just tucked me into bed. 
Little People
I didn't see my friends again for another couple of weeks. They came into my room one night after I had had a not very good day. I found out my so-called friend Timmy didn't invite me to his birthday party even though everyone else was invited. I picked them all up and placed them on my bed. They listened to me and helped me feel better. Rufus, the dog, curled up on my finger while I talked and comforted me.

"It will all turn around. Try to find true friends to confide in other than us," said Jeb.

They left later that night and life got a little bit better. 

Over the next couple of years I only saw my miniature friends when I was in trouble or in a bad place emotionally. They were my safety net and wanted to see me go down the right path in life. I missed them greatly when they were away, but I knew that they were always watching over me. As I got older and older, I saw them less and less. They helped me through elementary school with finding new friends, through middle school during my parent's divorce, and even through high school with puberty and peer pressure. 

Right before l left for college and moved away from my childhood house for good, they came and visited me for one last time. We all sat on my bed surrounded by boxes and they told me that they would always be there for me wherever I am in life.

"Try to use your head and follow your heart and to never forget who you are," said Janice.

"Why can't I ever see you again?" I asked

"It was time for you to move on so we could help the next kid that needs their own set of extra friends," they all said together.

I said goodbye to Jeb, James, Janice, and July and pet Pete, Pat, and Rufus for the last time. They disappeared into the hole in the wall and I finally understood that it was time to start the rest of my life. I am forty years old now with a family of my own and continue to appreciate all that my little friends did for me. They kept me on the right track and made me the man I am today. I hope that everyone has that support group for them as these friends were to me. 

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Author's Note: This week I decided to read the Chinese Fairy Tales Unit. This story in particular is called The Little Hunting Dog. In the original story, it is about a scholar who wanted to live away from all other people. He went to go live in a Buddhist temple by himself. One night he woke up to noises of two little knights riding on two horses, a hawk, and a hunting dog. They were all the sizes of insects and walked into the temple. The scholar pretended to be asleep while they walked around. They later disappeared but accidentally left behind the hunting dog. The scholar picked up the dog and they became friends. They snuggled in bed together and enjoyed each other's presence. In the morning the scholar accidentally rolled over in the bed and killed his little dog. This is how the story ends. I really liked the sense of using little people in my story, kind of like the movie, Honey I Shrunk The Kids. I wanted to do more with the story so I made the little people and the human friends. I made them more into a support group that helped the boy, Henry, through life. The stories are not very similar by their story lines, but I liked the idea of the people involved. 

Bibliography: The Little Hunting Dog. The Chinese Fairy Book. By R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens. 1921

10 comments:

  1. The Asian culture really does have some interesting stories! I really enjoyed reading your adaptation of this one! As I read it I could not help but think of this being a combination of a twilight zone episode and toy story; an interesting mix. The beginning was more twilight zone where the end was more toy story. Though it was say the last time the friends were seen, they instilled important morals within the person.

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  2. Hey Claire! I thought your storytelling was so creative this week! I thought it was so cool that you kept with using the small people in your story but that you took it even farther with helping the child. I can’t imagine how scary it would be looking down and seeing little people coming out of a hole in your wall as a child! It would be comforting knowing that they were always there to support you. I loved the story and thought it had such a sweet plot!

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  3. Very cute story! I like how the little friends only came when the person was feeling down. When I started reading your story I thought of Author and how he was shrunk down.
    I like how you changed up the story and they all became friends. I think its a better ending than the original when the dog was killed.

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  4. Hi Claire!

    This is actually my first time reading a Myth Folklore story as I am actually in the other class, Indian Epics and I think I chose a great story to start with! Your writing style is great, it is clean and easy to follow. I really like how much detail you put into your story because it makes it really vivid to the reader and allows them to really understand what is going on.
    I thought the idea of basing your story off of the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" movie was a great idea and you did a really good job of making your story funny like the movie! I thought it was so cute that the little people and the human were friends!
    I actually really like that you made them into a support group, like you said, because it makes it relatable and makes them seem so close and caring.

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  5. Claire,

    It is great to meet you! I’m Sean from the Indian Epics class.

    I really liked this story about the little people. It completely reminded me of a show I used to watch called “The Littles.” It was about pretty much the same thing, little people that were friends with a child and helped them to grow into an adult!

    There were a couple of things that caught my eye that you might want to adjust. First “after I had had a not very good day” the double had really makes this read funny. You may want to revise it to feel a little more natural. I wonder what would have happened if we heard some of the dialog between the little people and the child. As this story is I really didn’t feel like I connected with the characters because they seemed to be kept at bay. “...middle school through my parent's diverse” I believe you meant to say divorce.

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  6. Wow, what a great story! First off, I loved how you jumped right into the story of the miniature people. I think the start of the fourth paragraph is supposed to be “They” so maybe just double check your spelling on that part. I also really enjoyed your formatting. In my opinion, the paragraphs could be even shorter, but you did a good job with text and spacing. I also really enjoyed how you gave all of the miniature people a name. This made them seem more realistic and made them come to life for the readers! The ending of your story was so creative. I was sad to see that Henry would never see his friends again, but I was excited to know that they could help another person like him! What if you added a side note at the end of where the miniature people went next? Overall, this was such a creative story! Keep up the great work.

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  7. I really like this story! It was a creative idea to have these little friends come to help a lonely girl. It kind of reminded me of the movie called The Indian in the Cupboard, which was one of my favorites when I was little. I like how the friends have an altruistic sense about them and they just want to help kids in need. I think it is funny they had horses and a dog with them. I wonder how they get miniature feed for them. I thought it was a great story overall though, nice writing!

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  8. Hey Claire! I really enjoyed your story--I liked how you picked and chose the elements you wanted to include, and combined them with your own. That tends to make for some of the most creative stories, I think! It was a cute idea to make the animals all come when the boy needed a friend--I think that friends that just sit and talk and be there to try to comfort you when you're sad are the best kind (although obviously it's also great when you can comfort them when they're sad, as well). Animals are great at just being there when you need them--the dog curling up on the boy's finger was a great detail, and very touching. My only thought while reading was that it was kind of strange that these were his best friends but he never really talks about them except as a group...I wondered what each of them, individually, would say or do...anyway, great job, and good luck for the rest of the semester!

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  9. Hi Claire! Youre story was so so cute and fun to read! When I first started reading about the little people I immediately thought of the tiny green army men from the Toy Story movies... not sure why but I love those guys. You did a great job with the details, with the dialogue, and with sharing a lot of the characters thoughts and emotions with us. It was so neat that those tiny characters were able to help the boy with emotional support whenever he needed it. I especially liked the part where you mentioned the little dog curling up on the boys finger... that put the cutest image in my head! When I got to your authors note I was saddened to find out that in the original story the guy rolled over on the tiny dog and killed it :( I'm so glad you made this a happier ending than that even if the boy did have to leave the tiny guys for good.

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  10. Hi Claire! I really enjoyed reading this story in your portfolio! It reminded me of a book I read when I was younger that was a little bit similar, except with a doll that came to life. I liked how uplifting the little friends were in your story, and I’m happy that the dog didn’t die! Your detail of when and why the little friends showed up was great, and I especially liked how you added that if he told anyone they wouldn’t come back. At first I thought that maybe they were just the boy’s imagination, but I was pleasantly surprised that they were really just small friends trying to help a boy out. This story had such a cute plot line, and I’m glad you changed it form the original how you did! I think it makes a great addition to your portfolio, and I hope I get to read more of those stories soon!

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