Storytelling - Fairy Ointment

Dear Diary,

Today I was going about my own business while wandering through the land of gumdrops and giant mushrooms. I came across one mushroom that had a thick goopy syrup at the base of it. This goop has the most amazing smell so I couldn’t not take a closer look. The smell was so wonderful, it was something that I had never experienced before. The goop also had a shimmery gleam about itself that almost seemed to glow. I bent down and put my face right up next to it so i could bask in the smell. But right when i was doing that a group of scurrying chipmunks ran behind me and I fell into the goop. It got it all in my face and hair. But after that, the most magical thing happened….

(The mushroom forest - 2k1.info)

When I finally got all the goop out of my eyes and was able to see again the land had totally changed. Or at least how I saw it. The once grey brown mushrooms were now brightly colored polka-doted mushrooms. There were thousands of light pastel colored butterflies all over the land, on the gumdrops, in the air and on the mushrooms. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Yeah, it did freak me out a little in the beginning, but everything in the land was so happy and peaceful.

 I spent nearly four hours dancing under the shade of the giant and beautiful mushrooms. I made friends with a pod of butterflies and they traveled with me, resting on my shoulder. When I realized it was time for me to head home I went back to the mushroom where I had fallen in the goop. I gather a jar full of the goop to see if I could make these magical thing appear anywhere else besides the land of the gum drops and mushrooms. 

I am now back home in my willow tree writing to you diary. I am excited to see if the goop will still be magical back at home. Do I have little magical butterflies fluttering around here too? Or maybe I have pixie fairy’s who will grant me wishes! Hopefully mom doesn’t find out about what happened, she wouldn’t be to happy if she heard about all my adventures. Mom often thinks I’m careless and don’t have enough fear because I’m always wandering off from land to land. 

Well here goes nothing. Stay tuned for next time diary and I’ll let you what happens!

- XOXO Daisy D Dwarf 

Author's Note: This story is based on the story Fairy Ointment from the English Fairy Tale unit. In the original story the fairy ointment is used by bad fairies so that they can become invisible to other and steal. I wanted my story to have the same concept of this magical fairy ointment, but instead to be used as a good thing. This ointment can make magical things come to life, and allows ordinary creatures to see these magical things. 

Bibliography: English Fairy Tale, Fairy Ointment, By. Joseph Jacobs (1890)

Storytelling Week 11 - Dorthy and Caterpillar

There once was a girl named Dorothy who was on her way to the Emerald City. Dorothy was a long way from home and hoped that the Wizard at the Emerald City could help her find her way back. After Dorothy's long journey she finally arrived at this magical city, only to be disappointed to find out that the Wizard was a fake. She was now no closer to getting back home then she was at the beginning of her journey. She had made three great friends along the way who were determined to help Dorothy get back home too. There is the kind Tin Man, the cowardly Lion, and the smart Scarecrow.

Her friend the Scarecrow asked all the ladies of the Emerald City barber shop if they knew anyone who could help Dorothy get home. These lady's talked to everyone in the city and so the Scarecrow though they could help them out. After talking to over thirty hairdressers they were still no closer. The Tin Man went to the factory where all the things in the Emerald City were made to ask for help. The workers in the shop didn't know of anyone who could help Dorothy either.

Finally the cowardly Lion asked all the animals if they knew any way or anyone who could help, and they did know someone. There was a rumor that a wise Caterpillar lived in the red sunflower fields to the east of the Emerald City.  Dorothy didn't want to have to go on another journey to just be disappointed again, but without any other options the four of them headed off to the red sunflower field.

(Red Sunflower Field - Public Domain Pictures)

This was only a two-day trip, but once they reached the field they were very tired. They had been traveling for many days now and all missed home. Now that they were in this field they had no idea where to find the Caterpillar or if he would even show up. They walked around the entire field row by row for nearly two hours, and found nothing. They had given up and were now in the same place where they had started. Dorothy began to cry and feared that she would never make it back home again.

Suddenly a large caterpillar smoking a hookah popped up from the tall sunflowers. The Brave Lion jumped back in fear from his sudden presence. Dorothy introduced them all and told the Caterpillar her story. While Dorothy was telling her story Caterpillar didn't say anything and continued to smoke his hookah. Once she was done explaining her story Dorothy again got choked up and started to cry. The Caterpillar spoke very few words, but did finally speak, "Dorothy you had the power to go back home this whole time. You just have to want it enough. Your red ruby slippers are magical and all you have to do is tap them together and think about home."

Dorothy told all her new friends goodbye and how happy she was to have met them. She thanked the wise caterpillar and was eternally grateful for him. She then clicked her heels together and woke up back home.

Author's Note: I based this story off of the story 'Advice from Caterpillar' from Alice in Wonderland. The Caterpillar helped Alice get back to her normal size after eating and drinking things that had made her grow and then shrink. She was now needing help getting back to her normal size. The Caterpillar was not straightforward with Alice about what she needs to do and is famously quoted saying "Who are you" over and over again. He eventually tells Alice that eating certain parts of the mushroom will make her grow and other parts will make her shrink. After a lot of trial and error Alice is finally able to get back to her normal size again.  I thought it would be interesting to combine this story with the Wizard of Oz. I used the wise Caterpillar as the person who helps Dorothy get home similar to how he helps Alice. I love both of these stories and like combining stories together so I thought it might be fun to do that with these two. I wanted to keep the characters from these two stories true to themselves but just have a different storyline.

Bibliography:
Alice in Wonderland, Advice from Caterpillar, Lewis Caroll (1865)
The Wizard of Oz, produced by Metro-Golwyn-Mayer, (1939)

Storytelling - Corn

At the beginning of time, animals were the only living creatures on earth. These animals were on land, in the sky and in the water. However, one day many many years ago the first man was created and placed on earth. This man roamed the earth and found companionship with the land animals. They showed him how to hunt fish and what plants to eat.

His best friend was a squirrel who followed him everywhere he went. This man roamed all the lands, except for one. There was one area of land that was under constant cover of crows, and he did not dare to venture over there. He had found that for the most part birds were mean animals, they would try to swoop down and take his land animal friends. He was also afraid of them because he did not understand how they were able to fly in the sky and he was not.

As this man got older and grew he became to feel more confident and hunting was an easy task for him. The animals started to follow him because they felt as if he was some sort of master and superior being. He was able to create shelter when rain came and protect the animals from hard downpours. They loved this man and would risk their lives for him. He was a gently master though, and prided himself on watching out for all the animals, small and big.

One year there was constant rain and the animals were not able to hunt in the rivers for fish because the water was to deep. They had to start rationing their food because they were limited to only plants and berries. One day the first man realized that they had not seen many birds for a long time, because they did not do well when it rained. He then started to lead the animals towards the area of land that he previously did not dare to go to. After a few days of traveling they finally reach this haunted land. As the man expected the crows were not there anymore guarding it. He saw this as a perfect opportunity to finally see why they were always swarming this area.

As they moved closer they could see that it was a field of some kind, but they had never seen the type of plant before. The man finally got close enough to touch the plant and grabbed a yellow cornstalk. All the animals were in awe and danced and cheered. But suddenly all the crows flew out of the fields and into the sky. They had been hiding under the shelter of the corn fields during the rain! The crows chased the man and animals for miles to scare them from coming back onto their territory. Finally, the crows grew tired and returned to their hiding ground.

This was the first time man ever found corn.

(Corn Field - Geograph)

Author's Note: This story is based on the Tobacco and Strawberry Cherokee story. The Strawberry story is about the first time a human ever finds a Strawberry. The Tobacco story is about the first tobacco plant. This plant gets stolen and the story is about trying to get the plant back. I thought it would be interesting to create my own story that is similar to the themes of these.

Bibliography: Myths of the Cherokee, Tobacco and Strawberries, By. James Mooney (1900)

Storytelling - The Toddle Family

The Toddle family is just an everyday ordinary family, or so it may seem...They do have one characteristic that makes them a bit unique. You see, this family comes from the same bloodline of ducks. While this was thousands of years ago, the bloodline still flows through their bodies even today. So what does this mean? Well, this family from the outside looks like all other human families and really they are, but they are also able to turn into ducks.

This family can decide when they want to change their appearance, which has allowed them to blend in easily with the rest of civilization. However, they often choose to live out in the countryside on their own where they can spread their wings and soar high in the sky when they freely choose.

As if turning into a duck wasn't different enough, there is even more. This family is also able to die in bird form and be brought back to life. Often when the family is living off in solidarity one of them will change into bird form and be killed. The rest of the family will gather all of the duck's bones and throw them into a nearby body of water. The next morning at sunrise the duck's bones will again become a living duck and then is able to change into a human.

Now that you know the secrets behind the Toddle family, it's only fair that I tell you who the members of this family are. The first is the grandparents of the family that go by Bip and Ronald. This couple had three children Lou, Ray, and Carch. Ray married a sweet lady named Anna, and Lou married a strong and large man named Trevor.

It has always been important that this bloodline is carried on so that this special family can continue. From a young age, the elders of the family have taught the children that the most important thing in life is to marry and create children. Ray and Anna were unable to ever have kids no matter how hard they tried. This made Ray very sad because he felt as if he was a failure to not be able to provide the most important thing in life. After Lou married Trevor, Ray didn't feel as bad. Lou was able to have kids very soon after getting married and ended up having three little boys.

Now as the boys were getting older it was time for the entire family to educate them on who their family was, where they came from, and the most important part of life. But these three boys were turning out to have more problems than the others of the family with who they are. They would often joke around about turning into a duck and never fully appreciated their heritage. The elders of the family tried their best to educate the boys and show them how fortunate they were to have this gift, but the boys usually couldn't seem to care less. With the years of their youth slowly becoming a thing of the past and the boys coming into adulthood will they ever learn to cherish the gift that they have and be able to carry on their family's blood line and bring new women into their weird and unique lives?

(A Member of the Toddle Family - Public Domain Pictures)

Author's Note: This story is based on a Native American Marriage tale , The Youth Who Joined the Deer. This story originates from the Nlakapamuk people, also referred to as the Thompson River Salish, in British Columbia. In this story there is a village of people who can turn into Deer. These people hunt each other for food and then throw the deer bones into a river and the deer comes back to life. A hunter marries one of these deer women and lives with their tribe. He learns about them and is well respected. The hunter and his wife have a child together and decided to return to his people for some time. During the time they spend with his people they teach them to always throw the deer bones into the river. They decide to return to his wife's people and the hunter ends up turning into a deer too.

I thought this was a very interesting concept so I decided to make up my own story with a similar theme, but place it more in today's world. I thought the concept of a group of people changing into another animal was really neat. I also liked the aspect of killing the animal for food and then bringing it back to life. I wanted to keep this aspect of the story as similar to the original as I could, but created a different plot line surrounding it.

Bibliography: Native American Marriage Tales, The Youth Who Joined the Deer, By Stith Thompson (1929)

Storytelling - The Three Brothers Continued

Author's Note: This story is an expanded ending of a Congo story, The Three Brothers. In this story a mother had three boys, triplets, and abandoned them by a river because she was unable to care for three babies. The river-spirit fed the three boys in their early years and allowed them to grow up to be strong men. It also provided the men with women to become their wives and the men end up building their own house, multiplying, and creating their own little town. The boys father one day was wandering around and saw his three son's and ran back to the village to tell his wife. The father and mother made their way to where the sons lived but the mom was an old lady and had to stop from exhaustion. One of the brothers son's saw them on their property and ran back to the house to tell about the intruders. The story ends with the brothers planning to kill the intruder but the river-spirit tells them that the intruder was their mom and they invite her inside. I really liked this story but it ends very abruptly and left me wondering what happens. After the brothers planned on hunting and killing the intruder I found it odd that the story ends with "And they did so," in regards to letting this lady into their house. Also, what happens to the father that came with their mother to find his sons too? So here is my own elaborated ending to the story.

(The Three Brothers in the River - Wikimedia)

The three brothers had always listened to the river-spirit, for it had saved their life. The river-spirit had never led the brothers wrong. This time they really had to think about what the spirit had said about the intruder though. They had never heard about their mother and knew nothing about her. How would they even be able to tell if it was her or not? The brothers also agreed that their priority was to keep themselves and their land safe. The brothers decided to go check out who this intruder was and then make a judgement on what to do with them once captured.

The brothers went to the spot where their son saw the intruder, but she wasn't there anymore. They searched the whole rest of the day for the intruder but could not find them. Later that night the river-spirit told them again that the intruder was their mother and to not harm her. The three brothers listened to this warning but decided to continue with their original plan of hunting and killing the intruder if they saw her again.

Meanwhile, the three brother's father had gone back into town to gather supplies in order to continue their journey. The mother rested in a ditch by the riverbed to wait for her husband to return from town and sleep. The father gathered a backpack full of water and food to bring back to his wife. She wanted to have as much energy and strength as she possibly could before she met her sons.

The brothers awoke the morning after the intruder was spotted on their land and spent that whole day searching far and wide again, but found nothing. They began to blame the brother's son who saw the intruder in the first place. They accused him of just seeing an animal or something, saying that it probably wasn't even a person at all. But again that night the river-spirit spoke to the brother's and assured them that the brother did see someone the previous day, and the person he saw was their mother.

After two days of searching, the brothers decided to call it quits. They came up with a plan in case they ever had future intruders and decided to be on guard for anyone on their land the next few days.

The brothers father had a hard and long day walking back to his son's house to meet his wife. When he met back up with her they rested for a few more hours and drank lots of water and filled up on food. After this long day, they finally decided it was time to go up to their son's house. It was nighttime now and the three sons were all inside.

The father and mother finally made it to the house. The mother was very excited to finally meet her grown sons, for she had wondered about them every day since giving birth to them. They knocked on the door but no one came to answer so they knocked again. Finally the door opened and they were greeted by the three sons holding bats and hunting weapons. The sons tried to come after their mother and father because they didn't know who they were. Their mother and father pleaded for them to stop and listen. The brothers finally did so because of all the warnings given by the river-spirits.

The three brothers eventually settled down enough to let their father and mother inside.  They stayed up and talked all night about their lives and everything their mother had missed out on. She explained how she always regretted leaving them but that she was unable to care for three children at that time in her life. She told them about the sadness she had when leaving them by the river that day, and her feelings about seeing the river now all these years later. She plead for the river-spirit to watch over her three babies before leaving that day, and somehow she knew that they would.

Their mother and father ended up moving in with the three sons. They lived out their final elderly years all as a big happy family.

Bibliography: Congo Unit, The Three Brothers, By. R.E. Dennett (1898).

Storytelling Week 5: How Cat and Dog Became Enemies

For centuries cat and dog roamed the earth together. Man loved both cat and dog, but they both also lived free in the wild together. These animals would lie in the warm sun together and chase butterflies in the wind. Cat and dog often hunted together and ate similar foods. These two creatures looked out for one another.

Each year there was a grand gathering of all the dogs and cats in the surrounding areas. Everyone brought gifts and food of all kind to this grand event. Each year the dog leader Fido, and the cat leader Lily sat side by side at the center of the gathering. These two leaders were great friends and worked together so make all the animals of the land happy.

(Lily - Wikipedia)

One of the main events of this annual gathering was the big games. All the cats and dogs created teams and competed against each other in various games. The cats were usually good at the games of trickery, such as hide and seek. The dogs were usually good at games that involved strength, like tug of war. This year was the hundreth anniversary of this gathering, and the games were more grand and competitive than ever.

For the first time there was a grand prize for the team who won the most games. The winning cat team would compete against the winning dog team for an all out final games battle. The cats and dogs prepared for these games for weeks, never taking a day off to rest. They practiced balance, agility, speed, strength, focus and endurance. Every cat and dog believed that they had trained hard enough that they deserved to win that final prize.

The day finally came for the big games to start. Fido and Lily blew the opening horn to start the first race. As the day progressed it was clear what teams were in the running to compete in the final games battle. At the end of the day there were obvious winners for each cat and dog team. The dog team that won was called the Hip Hoppers, because they were quick on their toes. The winning cat team was the Sly Sneakers because they were expert hiders and trickers.

(Dog on the Hip Hoppers - Wikipedia)

Both teams went home that night to gear up for the next day. All the other cats and dogs went home sad about not winning, but also excited to cheer on their friends in the upcoming game battle.

All the cat's and dog's woke early that next morning anxious for the days festivities to come. Both sides were getting a little heated with each other because they had trained so hard for this and wanted to make their species proud. The Hip Hoppers and the Sly Sneakers went back and forth all day switching off winning and losing each game thrown their way. The crowd was going crazy from the excitement! They shouted advice and encouragement to their friends.

The last event of the day was finally here and both the teams were tied. Because these teams were tied this event was what would decide who won the grand battle and the grand prize. This final event was tug of war. The game went on for nearly ten minutes. Both of these teams were not giving up. The crowd was going crazy and wanted their teams to win just as bad as the teams competing. The cats were running in circles around the arena because they couldn't sit still from all the excitement. The dogs were concentrated on giving the Hip Hoppers all the advice and motivation possible.

The Hip Hoppers and Sly Sneakers finally started to tire out, and one team had to give up. The Sly Sneakers could no longer hold on so in unison they all let go. This caused the Hip Hoppers to all fall back on top of each other. The animals in the crowd were in utter shock. All the dogs rushed onto the field to help the Hip Hoppers up from their fall. The cats in the crowd ran to console the Sly Sneakers. The arena was now a very crowded place with all the animals in it. The cats and the dogs started fighting and talking badly about each other. Fido and Lily went into the pile of animals to try and calm them all down. They were unable to help the situation and eventually got involved with the fighting as well. From this day on cat and dog have never liked each other. They are often still seen competing for the attention of humans and competing for objects and food.

Author's note:
This story is based on two Khasi folktales. These stories both describe different ways these animals came to live with humans.

The first story is "How the Cat Came to Live With Man." This story is about a cat who has a lion as a brother. The lion is not nice to the cat and one day the cat meets a group of nice children that pet her and treat her well. The cat ends up running away and staying with the children after her brother gets really mad at her. This is how cats came to live with man.

The second story is "How the Dog Came to Live With Man." A dog goes to an annual gathering where dogs from all over bring goods and food. This dog gets made fun of for what he brings to the gathering because it smells bad. The dog confides in a human about being made fun of. He becomes very fond of this human and continues to live with him because all the dogs treated him badly. This is how dog came to live with man.

I thought it would be interesting to add to these stories and make a story about dogs and cats instead of their relation to humans. Both of these stories are about the animals going against their own species. I wanted to make a story about them sticking together with their own kind.


Bibliography: How the Cat Came to Live With Man and How the Dog Came to Live With Man, Folktales of the Khasis, by Mrs K.U. Rafi, 1920.

Week 4 Storytelling: The Beautiful Fish

There once was a woman that went by the name Jan. Jan loved to be outside and wanted to explore everything the world had to offer. Jan loved doing adventurous things such as hiking up tall mountains, she also liked to relax and tend to her garden. Her favorite hobby, though, was fishing.

Jan always felt disconnected from other people and found that she connected with the earth and animals more. She never had many friends, definitely never a boyfriend of any sort. But she was happy like this. She found joy most in just being outside and connecting to nature.

One day on her normal fishing outings Jan caught a beautiful fish. She always ate what she caught, or she would just let the fish back into the water. Jan couldn’t seem to let this beautiful fish go, so she kept it. Once she was back home she debated on cutting this beautiful fish up for dinner, but could not bear to mess up its beauty. At a loss of what to do, she placed the fish in a big tub of water out in her garden and decided to deal with her dilemma in the morning. The beautiful fish was still swimming around in this tub, looking just as radiant as ever. 

When Jan woke up, she followed through with her normal routine of cooking breakfast and tidying up the house. Jan went outside to her garden in hopes of finding a ripe tomato for her breakfast. To her surprise, her garden was flourishing with perfectly grown veggies and plants of all kinds. Jan had no idea how this had all appeared overnight. She was so excited, though, that she didn’t think to much about how it happened.

Jan went along with her day as usually. She made many delicious recipes with the plants in her garden. She made homemade muffins and fed them to the birds at the end of her day. Once she got back home she realized she still hadn’t done anything with her beautiful fish. The fish looked just as radiant as it had the day before and was still in perfect condition. So Jan once again went to sleep and decided to leave the fish to deal with till the next morning.

(Jan's Overgrown Garden - Flickr)

That next morning Jan woke up and headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Once again when she went to her garden she was in utter shock. All the vegetables she had used the day before were regrown and doubled! Her planters were no longer big enough to hold the amount of vegetation that was growing in them. Jan was now becoming more suspicious, but had no idea what could have caused this to happen. Jan then saw the beautiful fish and remembered that she needed to decide what to do with it today. So she put off her garden mystery for now and tended to her fish.

Jan took the fish into her house and rinsed it off in her kitchen sink to rid it of dirt. When she was rinsing the fish it began to grow and transform in front of her eyes! Startled, Jan dropped the fish into the sink and ran to the other side of the kitchen. Within seconds there was a stunning man in her kitchen where the fish had once been.

The man proceeded to explain to Jan what was going on so that she was no longer frightened. The beautiful fish had changed into a man during the night and tended to Jan's garden. He had healing powers and strong connections to the earth. This allowed him to grow any type of plant he wanted.

As days passed, Jan and the fish man began to grow fond of each other because of their deep connection to the earth. Jan found that it was nice to have someone to share her love of nature with. In the end, the fish man decided that he wanted to live out the rest of his life as a man and spend it with Jan. They then both lived happily ever after.

Author's Note: I based this story off of the story "The Fish-Peri." In this story the fish turns into a woman, and the woman cleans the man's house every night while he is sleeping. In my story I instead had the fish man tending to the garden and causing it to grow with his magical connection to earth each night. It is a man's job to provide for his family and place food on the table, so I thought this was a fitting comparison to the original story. I also thought it was an interesting concept to have a fish turn into a person's future spouse. I kept with this theme for my story, but the fish changes into a man instead.  My story also has the theme of nature, which is different form the original. Since this person changes from a fish into a human I like the idea of them being connected to nature. I think that this fish man is the perfect husband for Jan and is maybe the only person on this earth that she would be able to and want to connect with. I used the same general theme of the original story but changed it up to make it my own.

Bibliography: The Fish-Peri, A Turkish Fairy Tale, By Ignacz Kunos, 1913. 

Week 3 Storytelling - The Wedding

I would say this was the wedding of the century, but that would be an understatement. This was the wedding of eternity. The wedding of the universe. There was never again a more important wedding. It was the first wedding, Adam and Eve’s that is.

 No celebrity wedding will ever come close to matching the icons that were at this special event. There were angels at this wedding, multiple at that. Every species of animal living on earth was in attendance. Not to mention the most important guest of all, God. This wedding set the stage for all other wedding to come.

The most memorable thing about this day was light. There was so much light all around. Also, joy. Everyone and everything there was full of joy that multiplied around the earth.  The animals that attended all added their own unique gifts to the ceremony. The birds chirped and flew in perfect symmetrical patters around the sky. While the grasshoppers jumped around and around placing leaves and shrubs to coat the ground. All of earth’s creatures came together to celebrate the beauty of Adam and Eve’s unity.

The day started early with the angels helping Eve get ready for the big day. The angels had been working hard on getting her outfit ready. They dressed her in casual elegant white cloths. This dress blended in with the elegance of the wedding and with the earth in which they shared it. These cloths’ flowed effortlessly with the wind and made Eve feel beautiful. The white symbolized Eve’s purity, as pure as the bright light that surrounded her. Eve was glowing from ear to ear, excited for the day to come.

Adam bathed in a nearby river that morning, to cleanse his body of any dirt or impurities. The doves had sown him a skirt of leaves for him to wear for the ceremony.  The earth was also a critical element to this wedding. There was greenery surrounding the whole wedding alter and intricate vines lining the archways of the isle. Flowers of all colors were represented at this ceremony; Rosebuds, sunflowers, daffodils and more. Tall willow trees created shade for the guests and added to the intimate ambiance.

The ceremony itself was grand as well. God officiated it and presented the values of all weddings to come. Once the ceremony ended Adam and Eve left as husband and wife. Their covenant of marriage could finally begin as God had planned all along.

(Adam and Eve Wedding Depiction - Wikipedia)

Authors Note: This story is based on the story of Adam and Eve. Nowhere in this story does it go into much depth about the surrounding of the wedding. The story does tell us that God, animals, and angels were in attendance. It also describes what God talk's about during the ceremony. I just though it was such an amazing event in history that it would be fun to try and imagine what that day was like.  

Bibliography: Adam and Eve, By. Louis Ginzberg, 1909. Link to online source 

Week 2 Storytelling: A Flood from Under the Water

Once upon a time, right here on earth, there was a terrible flood. This flood covered every bit of land, up to the tallest mountain. All that was left was water. Now many might wonder what happened to all those living things that lived on land, but did you ever wonder about the fish that lived down below? Were these sea creatures happy that now their whole world was truly their oyster? Or did they have just as hard of a time as all the other living creatures of the earth? This flood came swiftly and lasted an entire year. Here is the tale of one fish in particular, a fish named Sparky.

(Earth Cover by Water - Wikipedia)

Sparky was a tropical fish that lived in warm waters right in the center of earth. Sparky was a mid-sized fish with hints of blue and yellow coloring scattered over his body. He had two fins on the side of his body that were yellow and three back fins that were a radiant blue.  Sparky was a fast little fellow, and he loved to spend his days dashing from seabed to seabed. He had lots of brothers and sisters that he did everything with. One of his favorite things to do was play games and swim all day with his friends and family. He often went to shore during the day to play in the waves, until one day, there was no shore. Where there once was a beach with radiant waves, there was now just more water. Sparky was sad that he could no longer play in the waves, but he found that he had tons of green vegetation to eat. There were more plants to eat than he had ever seen in his life. He ate and ate until he nearly couldn’t swim anymore. As weeks turned into months Sparky began to lose his spark.

(Sparky - Wikimedia)

He really wished he could play in the waves like he used to, and he couldn’t even swim very fast anymore. He had eaten so much that he had become fat and no longer had the speed and agility he once had. The shallow sea beds where Sparky used to go to hang out with his friends was there no more.  The whole ocean had changed. There were no longer shallow waters for Sparky to lie down and rest. He found himself constantly moving from place to place, and often became very tired.  There was too much water and all his normal migration patterns were messed up. Sparky had a hard time finding any fish or living things around him sometimes at all. This dark era nearly caused Sparky to lose hope and forget all the good times he used to have.

Until one day something changed. Not all at once, but Sparky could feel that something was different.  He had been swimming in deep waters of darkness for so long, but he could now see rays of light. The water had also turned so cold during this last year, but he could now feel it warming back up. He began to grow optimistic with each passing day. After a few weeks Sparky finally saw land. That was probably the happiest any fish has ever been to see land. Sparky returned to the warm waters of his home, still a bit plumper than he used to be, and after what seemed like an eternity he played in the waves.

(The Land and Waves - Pixabay)

He was reunited with his fishy friends and family. Some of his friends didn’t make it back home, which was very sad for Sparky and his friends. All the fish will still remember the year where the whole earth was under water for a long time. But for the most part things went back to normal and Sparky got to go back to his fun sparky ways.

Author's Note: This story is based on the story Noah and the Ark, and the flood in that story. This flood lasted one year and covered the whole earth in water. Noah put two of every species of animal on this Ark in order for those species to survive. He was not able to put any fish or marine animals on his ark though.

We always hear about all the animals, people and living things on land that suffered from the flood, but no one ever considered the animals in the water. There are many major problems that would have caused marine life to suffer from this flood as well. First, the migration patterns of animals would be completely messed up and many of those fish would become separated. Secondly, lots of fish can only survive in shallow waters and would not survive in all the deep waters that covered the earth. Another factor that would be harmful is the change in salt water and fresh water. The fresh and salt water would become mixed and entirely change the water composition. There are many more problems that would come from this flood that would impact aquatic animals. These are just some major ones that I can thing of.  

This story originates from the Bible and I wanted to make it fun and lighthearted to where children would like reading it. If they read this story they might want to learn more about the original Noah’s Ark story and other stories from the Bible. 

Bibliography: Noah and the Ark , by Louis Ginzberg, 1909. Link to online source