Storytelling

Recently story telling has been something I feel like I have been doing a lot of lately. Today was no exception...
This afternoon when I was playing with the girls out on the swingset they asked me to tell them a story. I asked them which story they would like for me to tell and through much diliberation they went with Hanzel and Gretel. As I told the story I would sometimes ask questions and so they would kind of guide the story at times to how I told it. So let's just say it wasn't your average Hanzel and Gretel story. Sure it started that way, with the bread crums and eating the witches house. The girls got excited when Hanzel and Gretel were captured by the witch and put into cages of candy that they ate their way out of. Then as they were escaping and made it out of the house but couldn't find their bread crums because the birds and other animals at them. But they stumbled upon the 3 little bears house (they did all the same things that goldielocks did.) The witch followed their scent to the bears home and knew they were on vacation. She lost Hanzel and Gretel's scent because the smell of bear covered it up. So she left. When it was safe for Hanzel and Gretel to come out they did but it was dark so they found a candle and were so lost but wanted to get home. Fairies and fireflies met them and led them home to their mom and dad.

Kenleigh of course wanted another story and Joce wanted to hear that one over again. I decided to tell little red riding hood.

She was going to grannies with bread her mother had made. She ran into the big bad wolf whe was tired from huffing and puffing the 3 little piggies homes down so he wasn't in the mood to eat her just yet so he left into the woods. Then she came across the 3 little pigs and since it was getting dark she stayed with them. Morning came and it was off to grannies. She made it to grannies and the big bad wolf was of course in grannies bed, grannie was in the closet, tied up. Little red found her when he wasn't looking. She knew the only way out was the front door but grannie told her the other way was through the chimney. So when the big bad wolf was in the kitchen because he heard a noise (grannie had borrowed some of snow whites squirrles and birds and deer to help clean) little red climbed her way up the chimney where she met Mary Poppins and her friend the chimney sweep. Little red told them granny needed help and out of mary poppins big bag she pulled out something that looked like a vile of water. Mary Poppins told little red that she had to get the wolf to drink it. Little red needed more help so she went to snow whites house and got her and the 7 dwarfs to help. They of course sang "high-ho high-ho its off to grannies to go..." the 7 dwarfs had the front door down with their pick axes in minutes and they surrounded the wolf. Little red poured the vile of elixir on the bread that Mary Poppins had given her and tempted the wolf so he would eat it. The potion turned him into a frog so he could no longer hurt anyone.

And that is where I ended it. Outside was getting hot so I had to get them in. Kenleigh kept saying "finish the story." I kept saying "later, another time." But after we all got water and sat for a bit I finished the story just for her.

So the 40 years have now past and the wolf who was turned into a frog is still a frog. He was sitting by a pond doing whatever frogs do and a princess was there. She had heard about the legend that a princess kissed a frog so she thought she would try it. She kissed the frog (wolf) and the "curse" that the potion had was broken and he turned back into a wolf. But remember it had been 40 years of being a frog that he forgot all of his angry and mean wolfy ways. The princess loved the wolf no matter what he looked like, to her he was a prince. She took him back to her palace and let him stay in the guest room till she could talk to her parents. That night at dinner with the king and queen she broke the news that she was in love with the wolf. (It was so funny to watch Kenleigh's eyes grow with excitement as I told this part.) The king was delighted for he liked wolfs and said "show him in!" So the princess brought the wolf into meet her parents. They all got along and the princess was to be married to the wolf. Wedding time came and when the priest said "I now pronounce you wolf and wife." The wolf turned into a man, a real prince.
You see, he was a mean wolf because he was once a human but was changed into a wolf and that is why he was so upset.

And that is where I ended the story. Yes, a happy ending and a wedding, isn't that how all fairy tales end? :)

It was funny because later on I heard them talking to their grandma and Jocelyn was telling her all about Hanzel and Gretel meeting the witch. And Kenleigh interjected the fact that their cages were made out of candy. At first their grandma had no clue that it was the story I had told them. But it was so cute to hear them tell her the stories I had told them and their excitement about it.