Summary Storytelling PDF

Summary Storytelling “Rumpelstiltskin” A poor miller brags to the king about his beautiful daughter’s ability to spin straw into gold. The king demands to see the daughter and tests her spinning skills. The d...

Summary Storytelling “Rumpelstiltskin” A poor miller brags to the king about his beautiful daughter’s ability to spin straw into gold. The king demands to see the daughter and tests her spinning skills. The daughter is locked in a room filled with straw and must spin it into gold by morning. She begins to cry as she cannot complete the task. A little man appears and offers to spin the straw into gold if she gives him something, The girl agrees and gives him her necklace, the little man spins all the straw into gold by morning. The king is pleased but greedy, he sends her to spin more straw in a larger room. The girl again cries from fear and is assisted by the little man, who takes her ring this time. He spins the straw into gold again by morning The king demands she spins more straw into gold. He promises to marry her if she succeeds. The little man appears again, but she cannot offer him anything. He asks her for her first child after becoming queen. She agrees. The king marries her and she gives birth to a beautiful child. The little man returns and demands her to give him the child. She asks for mercy and offers him all the wealth in the kingdom, but he refuses. He grants her three days, in that time she has to guess his name if she wants to keep her child. The queen starts thinking of names and sends a messenger to gather more. On the first day, she tells him names like Kaspar, Melchior, and Balzer, but she fails. On the second day, she attempts more unusual names but fails again.  The messenger returns with news of a strange little man dancing and singing about his name. The queen learns the little man’s name is Rumpelstiltskin and reveals it to him. He gets angry and rips himself in half. Themes: greed, the power of names, and despair. “Pandora’s box” Zeus ordered the creation of a beautiful woman to be sent to Epimetheus as his bride. Hephaestus, the artisan of the gods, created a lovely woman out of the earth’s materials. Then the goddesses grant this woman some of their powers. ○ Aphrodite gave her love ○ Athene gave her wisdom ○ Hera gave her curiosity. Zeus named the woman Pandora and sent her to Epimetheus. Zeus gave Pandora a box that contained her dowry. Remembering Prometheus’s warning to beware of anything sent by Zeus, Epimetheus hid the box and made Pandora promise never to open it. One day, Pandora’s curiosity made her open the box. Then, all evils that represented evil, pain, and suffering escaped. (war and famine, crime and pestilence, spite and cruelty, sickness and cruelty, sickness and malice, envy, woe, wickedness) A little spirit remained in the box, it was hope, so Pandora set it free. Theme: The value of hope “Theseus and the Minotaur” Characters: Theseus: Prince of Athens Ariadne: Princess of Crete Minotaur: half bull and half man. It lived in a maze beneath the city of Crete Plot: In ancient times, Crete won a war against Athens. Athens had to send 14 youths (7 men and 7 women) every nine years to Crete. The youths were offered to the Minotaur. Theseus, the prince of Athens, volunteered to go as a sacrifice to kill the Minotaur. His father was worried but he changed his mind when he saw Theseus's determination. Theseus went to Crete with the other sacrifices. Ariadne disliked the Minotaur and wanted to help Theseus. Ariadne gave Theseus a spool of thread, a candle, and his sword. She told him to tie the thread to the maze’s entrance to find his way back, she advised him to go downwards and avoid turning right or left. Theseus entered the dark maze, he heard small animals and saw bones scattered throughout the maze. Theseus knew he was near the Minotaur by the smell of sweat and damp fur. The Minotaur attacked Theseus. Theseus fought bravely and defeated the Minotaur by cutting its head. Theseus used the thread to return to Ariadne. She had gathered the other youths. They escape back to Athens. Theseus and Ariadne got married. “The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson”  The folk tale tells the story of an old grandfather who lives with his son, the son’s wife, and a young grandson. The grandfather has grown very old. He cannot see or hear. When he eats food, it dribbles out of his mouth. One day, he drops his bowl and breaks it. After that, his son and daughter-in-law make him eat from a wooden bowl. A few days later, the old man’s grandson is making something out of pieces of wood. When his parents ask what he is doing, the boy replies that he is making a wooden dish to feed them when they get old. The son and his wife suddenly see how badly they are treating the old man and change their ways Theme: Elders deserve to be treated with respect. mood: somber tone: serious “The Wise Old Woman” A cruel young lord ruled a small village in Japan, declaring that anyone over seventy-one must go to the mountain and die there because they are useless and cannot work. A young kind farmer lived with his elderly mother. He was sad because his mother turned seventy-one. The farmer struggled to tell his mother of the lord’s decree but feared punishment for not obeying. His mother accepted her fate without fear and encouraged her son to take her to the mountains. On the way, the mother marked the path with twigs for her son to find his way back. The young farmer decided not to abandon his mother and returned home with her. He built a hidden room in his home to keep his mother safe. She stayed there for almost two years without anyone in the village noticing.  Then, Lord Higa threatened to conquer the village unless they completed three tasks. First, the villagers had to provide one thousand ropes of ash. The village's wise men thought the task was impossible, causing despair among the villagers. The farmer told his mother, who suggested soaking ordinary rope in saltwater. Her idea saved the village, and the lord rewarded the farmer with gold for his wisdom. Then, Lord Higa demanded they had to thread a single thread through a log. Again, the wise men found the task impossible. The farmer told his mother again, and she said they had to tie an ant to a thread and put a piece of sugar in the other end of the log, the ant could thread it through the log. The farmer presented this solution, earning more gold and further respect from the lord. Finally, Lord Higa wanted a drum that sounded without being beaten. The young farmer's mother advised using a bumblebee inside a paper drum to create sound. Impressed with the farmer’s solutions, the lord asked him how being so young could be so wise. The farmer tells the truth about his mother. The village lord realized he was wrong to make elderly villages go away to die, and he decided that the villagers no longer had to follow his decree. Lord Higa is impressed by the old woman’s wisdom and no longer threatens to conquer the village. Theme: Elderly people should be respected for their knowledge, wisdom, and experience. “The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson” and “The Wise Old Woman” Universal theme: Value elderly people, treat them respectfully, and include them in the community. All Stories are Anansi All the stories belonged to Nyame, the Sky god. Anansi the spider went to Nyame and asked how much the stories would cost to buy. Nyame set a high price: Onini the Python, Osebo the Leopard, the Mmoboro Hornets. First, Anansi captured the hornets. The spider poured water over himself and the hornets to make them appear foolish. Then, it told them to go inside the gourd to protect themselves from the water. The hornets flew into the gourd, where Anansi plugged the hole. Then, Anansi pretended to argue with himself about the python’s size. Onini agreed to measure himself against a bamboo pole. Anansi tricked Onini into being tied to the bamboo pole. Anansi secured the captured python and took him to Nyame. Finally, Anansi prepared a trap for Osebo. It dug a deep pit and concealed it with branches and leaves. Osebo fell into the pit during the night. Osebo asked Anansi to help him. Anansi tricked him and tied him up. Anansi took him to Nyame. Nyame granted him the right to tell all stories, which is why all stories are Anansi’s and are called spider stories. Aunty Misery This story is about an old woman who lived in an old hut with no relatives but a beautiful pear tree. She spends all her time taking care of it but the neighborhood children keep coming and stealing her fruit and insulting her as “Aunty Misery”. One day, a stranger came to her house and asked to stay for one night. She let the stranger stay. The next day, the stranger tells her that he is a sorcerer and he grants her a wish for her kindness.  Aunty Misery wishes that anyone who climbs her pear tree to remain stuck until she allows them to leave. Time passes by, and another stranger goes to her house, it’s Death. He says it’s time for her to come, but she tricks him. She cleverly tells Death to climb up the trees to get some pears before they leave. Death climbs the tree but also becomes stuck. Death's threats and curses do not persuade Aunty Misery to release him. Years pass without death in the world, causing different problems. Doctors, pharmacists, priests, and undertakers all suffer due to the absence of death. Aunty Misery, feeling guilty for the situation, offers Death a deal. She promises to free him if he never comes for her again. Death agrees and that is why Misery and Death coexist in the world. Greek Fables 1. The Ant and the Grasshopper The story tells about the grasshopper and the ant’s life during the summer. The Ant worked hard all summer, gathering food. The Grasshopper spends the summer singing and dancing. One day in winter, the Ant was carrying a piece of corn, and the Grasshopper asked for a piece of corn because he didn’t have food The Ant didn’t help the Grasshopper. Theme/lesson: be prepared and work hard. 2. The Fox and the crow A crow has found a piece of cheese and retired to a branch to eat it. A fox, wanting it for himself, flatters the crow, calling it beautiful and wondering whether its voice is as sweet to match.  When the crow starts to sing, the cheese falls and is devoured by the fox Theme: don’t trust flatterers. 3. The Lion and the Statue A Man and a Lion were discussing which was stronger. The Man said that men were stronger than lions because of their greater intelligence. The man showed the lion a statue of Hercules killing a lion. The lion mentions that a man made the statue therefore not a trustworthy source. Theme: different perspectives can lead to various interpretations of the same situation.