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Personal Narrative




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"And that was how they all came to start,
jogging off from the inn one fine day,
just before noon,
on laden ponies..."
(The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien)

                              

My adventure began at the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (see BIOGRAPHY) where I was studiously beginning an uneventful and hopefully profitable career as a children's librarian.

Then, WHOOSH, I found myself in a storytelling class lead by charismatic and cool Dr. Brian Sturm (a storyteller himself) and my quiet thoughts of answering people's questions and thumbing through indexes were forever altered, though by no means abandoned.

So now I am devoting my life to an adventurous and uncertain future in the dazzling pursuit of telling stories of all types to all kinds of people and maybe even...

making it.


I have now told at:
Chapel Hill Public Library
The Ackland Art Museum
The Morehead Planetarium
Wilson Public Library
Schools and Libraries in Durham and elsewhere in North Carolina, and
The Swapping Ground at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro.

To contact me in a professional capacity:

basnc@dwarfrune.com

or

(919) 914-3099

or even

Claire V. Basney
316 Everett
UNC Residence Hall
Chapel Hill, NC 27514.

To meet my colleague Dr. Brian Sturm...

To return to A Little Personal Narrative...

"Once Upon a Time..."


Once Upon a Time, time out of mine, there lived an oral tradition and this was how the people who lived at the time passed important information one to another. Especially stories. Then writing came to be developed and popular, and though wise people like Socrates feared it would be the destruction of face-to-face social contact (as his descendents in wisdom would later fear of television and computers), it caught on and information began to be recorded and saved in books.

The End of Storytelling?
Not so. Socrates told stories, Jesus taught in parables, and today people throng to hear everything from urban slasher legends around Halloween to the stories from Genesis and Exodus. And this is the tradition to which I now subscribe, and they are revered ranks to join.

A Real Myth.
If I hear one more person assume that storytelling is enjoyable only to toddlers, my first inclination will be to throw a book at him or her and cry. My second, and the one on which I will act, will be to tell a story.

The Practical.
Where I began was in telling folktales I knew from when I was a child, and I still feel the most comfortable doing that. Folktales lend themselves best to telling because they as a rule are not copyrighted in the way an original "literary" tale (one written by a known author) is. This does not mean I an't tell such a tale, but I need to memorize it instead of simply telling and without fail acknowledge the author. In the most complicated scenario, I might have to write for permission to tell. My present list of stories is a mixture...

To return to A Little Personal Narrative


 "In the Beginning
  was the Word..."

My Brief but Ever-expanding List:
Stories I Tell

Catskin by the Brothers Grimm
The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids by the Brothers Grimm
On To Widecombe Fair: a British folk tale
Battle Song of the Giants: Emily Ivanoff Brown, ed.
The Onions by Lionel Basney
Talk: a folk tale
Star Mother's Youngest Child by Louise Moeri
Little Lost Angel by Janet Heath
The Elfin Knight: a Scottish folk tale
The Old Woman and the Piggy: a folk tale
Little Bunny FooFoo: a children's story (thanks to Brian Sturm)
Wicked John: a North Carolina folk tale
How Orion Became the Star Warrior: a Greek myth
A Tale of Two Sisters: The Dawn and the Moon. A Greek myth.

To return to A Little Personal Narrative


The Stories Behind the Stories



CUE CARD FOR "CAT-SKIN"

Bibliographic Information (best version for telling):
Grimm, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. "Cat-skin." in De la Mare, Walter, ed. Animal Stories. New York: Scribner's, 1940. 297-308.

Ethnic Origin: German

Running Time: 14 minutes

Power Center(s):
When the princess must hide her identity three times at the three feasts, pretending to be a rude country girl, and the king guesses her secret.

Characters:
1. Old King
2. The Queen
3. The Princess
4. Young King in nearby realm
5. Various messengers, weavers, huntsmen, counselors, cooks, and courtiers

Scenes:
1. Queen' with golden hair dies, king notices his daughter's hair is similar and plans their wedding.
2. Horrified princess demands three dresses and fur mantle
3. Princess flees with dresses and mantle into woods, hides in tree
4. Princess as scullery maid, then at young king's feasts in her gowns
5. Princess' identity revealed and she marries king.

Setting: old king's castle in dense woods, the woods, the young king's palace kitchen, young king's great hall.

Synopsis:
When his queen dies after childbirth, a king promises never to marry again unless it be to a woman with the same golden hair as his former wife. He decides to marry his daughter when he discovers she is the only woman to fit the description. The daughter demands three dresses to be woven: one as gold as the sun, one as silver as the moon and pure as driven snow, and one as bright and dazzling as the stars.
When king accomplishes these seemingly impossible tasks, she asks for a mantle made of one piece of fur from each animal in the kingdom. The king succeeds in this task as well, and the princess must flee the, disguised by the mantle and taking the three dresses with her. She is made a scullery maid in a neighboring kingdom.
After three feasts, which she infiltrates dressed in her gowns, she marries the king of that land when he guesses her true identity.

Rhymes/Special Phrases/"Flavor":
Princess saying, "I have no mother and father and I'm good for nothing except to have boots thrown at my head."
"Queen and princess' hair is so bright a gold that if they walk into a room it is as if fifty candles were carried in."

Audience (why is this story appropriate for the audience? developmental characteristics?):
This story is appropriate for an elementary school child, probably one in second or third grade because of its content and length. Its length may prevent younger children from following the whole story.
It addresses the issue of industry mentioned by Piaget in that the princess must take her own life into her hands and make something of herself; she realizes that she can succeed, just as these children are learning that they can, too. In a similar vein, it addresses the growing concept of identity (Erickson) with which these children struggle at this age.

Source(s) recommending this story/collection as good for storytelling:
MacDonald, Margaret Read. Storyteller's Sourcebook. Detroit: Neal-Schuman/Gale Research Co., 1982.

Greene, Ellin. Storytelling: Art and Technique. New Providence: Bowker, 1996. (recommends De la Mare collection for professional reading)

Sawyer, Ruth. The Way of the Storyteller. New York: Viking, c1942.

Bibliographic information on other versions/variants (at least two):
Grimm, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. Állereirauh, or the many-Furred Creature." in Lang, Andrew, ed. The Green Fairy Book. London: Longmans, Green, 1929. 276-281.

Grimm, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. "Many-Fur." in Segal, Lore. The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1973. 236-246.

Brief comparison of all versions/variants in terms of language, rhythm, "tellability," "flavor," content, etc.
I chose the variant I did, by Walter De la Mare, because of certain "flavorful" phrases with which he told his story that the others did not. Not all of them I have included in the final telling, but were sources of inspiration none-the-less.
For instance, De la Mare's queen has hair of "purest, clearest gold." When the messengers return from searching, "their travail, their journeyings, had been in vain." I did not find this suitable for this age group. I omitted De la Mare's huntsmen mocking Cat-Skin and telling her to "beware of the 'Walk-by-Nights!'" De la Mare also calls his drudging princess "Cat-skin" which is easier to say than "Many-Fur" (Segal) or "Many-furred Creature," or "Allerleirauh" (Lang). The third has the nicest flow, but few children would be able to make sense of it.
There was one content issue I liked in the De la Mare version: he mentions the old king at the end and includes what has happened to the lascivious old wretch, which I thought needed to be answered.
The Segal version is shorter and uses fewer direct quotations from the characters than De la mare. Its style is blunter, the details in different places (i.e., the princess makes bread soup for the king), and the character development is not as natural. Also, the young king is much more brutal a character: it is he who throws boots at the princess, and at the end of the story her fur mantle doesn't fall off; he rips it off.
The Lang version is in the middle of the other two stylistically, being not as brutal and not as detailed. For instance, the Lang princess uses the striking phrase "no use except to have boots thrown at her head" but fails to say that anyone did throw boots at her. Also, Lang editorializes a little in the course of the story, taking the role of minstrel or storyteller: at one point, the text reads "Ah, beautiful King's daughter, what is going to befall you now?"

Want to print this out? Printable Cue Card.


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CUE CARD FOR "THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN LITTLE KIDS"

Bibliographic Information (best version for telling):
Grimm, Jakob Ludwig Karl and Wilhelm Karl Grimm. The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1959.

Ethnic Origin: German: one of the Grimm's fairy tales.

Running Time: 8 minutes.

Power Center(s): The power center is when the Wolf finally wins his way into the house and swallows the kids: the coming and going before the door create the tension which leads to it.

Characters:
1. Mother Goat.
2. Littlest Sister.
3. Biggest Brother.
4. The Wolf.
5. The baker.
6. The shopkeeper.

Scenes:
Images
1.Mother Goat’s soft voice and white paws.
2.Biggest Brother’s horns.
3.Littlest Sister’s lack of horns.
4.The Wolf’s harsh voice and black paws.
5.The little house and the big pine woods.
6.Mother Goat turning the key in the lock.
7.The Wolf at the door.
8.Littlest Sister on the other side of the door.
9.The Wolf in town, twice.
10.The Wolf in the Goats’ house.
11.The Wolf with the kids inside him.
12.Mother Goat frees her children.
13.The Wolf with the stones inside him falls in the well.

Setting: the goats’ house; the store and baker’s shop; the field by the well.

Synopsis:
Mother Goat leaves her seven children alone when she has to assist Mother Hen. She warns them not to unlock the door until she comes back. The Wolf comes as soon as she leaves, but the kids will not let him in, thanks to smart Littlest Sister. His voice is rough. The Wolf steals honey from the storekeeper to soften his voice. When he returns to the house, the kids won’t let him in, thanks to smart Littlest Sister. His paws are black. The Wolf visits the baker to whiten his paws. This time when he returns they let him in and he swallows six out of the seven. He falls asleep by the well. Mother Goat returns to find only her youngest alive hidden in the clock. They find the Wolf outside. Mother cuts him open, freeing her kids, and they stuff him with stones. He wakes, tries to drink from the well, and falls in.

Rhymes/ Special Phrases/ "Flavor":
The flavor in this story lies in the characterization: the variation between Mother Goat’s firm gentleness, Biggest Brother’s unimaginative eagerness, Littlest Sister’s cleverness, and the menace of the Wolf. The difference in vocal tones is where is appears the most, plus the images communicated by these characters’ individual postures. Mother Goat is slightly stooped, Biggest Brother is solid, the Wolf sidles, etc. The repetition of the Wolf asking the same question at the door three times is a distinctive feature of this story, and one the youngest children will catch on to and enjoy.

Audience:
This story is recommended for preschool children, and I chose it at face value for its animal characters and repetitive structure. In my experience, preschool and young school children are truly fond of animals and animal characters, and a repetitive structure provides a framework within the story they catch on to immediately. Piaget emphasizes repetition in so many words as he outlines his developmental stages. Through the repetition, the child can anticipate what will come next, and therefore look forward to it.
Other developmental sequences include Charlotte Huck’s: the child age three to five believes deeply in the fantasy world and has an unshaken sense of absolute right and wrong. This story takes place in the fantasy world (in fact, in my introduction I have used "the land of story" as a real place), and the child will appreciate the fact that the little goats are freed and Wolf gets it in the neck. To be blunt, they will empathize with the little goats (especially the siblings Biggest Brother and Littlest Sister, if they have siblings) and instinctively not want to behave like the Wolf. They will decide beyond doubt what role in the story they would wish to have (referring to Erik Erickson.)

Source(s) recommending this story/collection as good for storytelling:
Greene, Ellin. Storytelling: Art and Technique. New Providence: R. R. Bowker, 1996.

Shedlock, Marie. The Art of the Storyteller. New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1936. She recommends the version in the Mrs. Edgar Lewis translation of Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, published by Lippincott.

Bibliographic information on other versions/variants (at least two):
Grimm, Jakob Ludwig Karl and Wilhelm Karl Grimm. "The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids." IN Frances Jenkins Olcott, ed. Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Chicago: Follett Publishing Co., 1968. 407-412.

Grimm, Jakob Ludwig Karl and Wilhelm Karl Grimm. "The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids." IN Lucy Crane, translator. Household Stories from the Collection of the Brothers Grimm. New York: Macmillan, 1953. 41-44.

Brief comparison of all versions/variants in terms of language, rhythm, "tellability," flavor," content, etc.

I chose the Harcourt Brace version because its word choices and tone were more suited to the audience. Though in the beginning there was what seemed to me a gratuitous bit of moral coaching on the part of the editor ("…mother goat who had seven little kids whom she loved dearly, as all mothers love their children" [italics added]), that was the only part of the story which I felt needed to be dispensed with. The word choices in the other versions were translated more archaically: for example, the Crane version describes the wolf as giving the kids "short shrift" in finding and eating them, and the youngest kid hiding in the "clock case" (43). Most preschoolers I know would either be confused, having little experience with any clocks besides their Mickey Mouse ones, whereas the mention of a grandfather clock might ring a bell (forgive the pun.) A phrase like "short shrift" would probably just go straight over the children’s heads.
Secondly, the Harcourt Brace version included an element of the story I had been planning to insert anyway—it had the kids demand that the wolf show his paws, rather than having him absent-mindedly (and not very probably) just happen to put his paws on the window.
Finally, it left out the philosophical reflections on humankind as opposed to animal kind which again sound archaic to my ear and would be glossed over by a preschooler. My version does not bemoan the choice of the miller to rub flour on the wolf’s feet as a moral fault: it merely expresses his quite natural fear of the wolf. I have actually, in practice, combined the characters of the baker and miller into just the baker, for the sake of brevity.
The only thing I did change was to avoid using the word "hoarse." Though I like it better, I think the preschooler would hear "horse" instead, and I do not want to have to explain it beyond making a rough sound with my voice. I substitute either Follett’s "rough" or my own "harsh."

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CUE CARD FOR "ON TO WIDECOMBE FAIR"

Bibliographic Information (best version for telling):
Gauch, Patricia Lee. On To Widecombe Fair. New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1978.

Ethnic Origin: English.

Running Time: 10-12 minutes.

Power Center(s):
The power center I chose was the Tom Pierce's discovery of the death of the old mare. My telling of the story builds to this point and there is just a very short resolution of the story after it. Also, it the place in the story where all of the major characters come together again: they met at the beginning, separated, and reassembled at the power center.

Characters:
1. Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, Peter Gurney, Peter Davey, Dan'l Widden, Harry Hawke, and old Uncle Tom Cobbley.
2. All, the dog.
3. The old mare.
4. Tom Pierce.
5. The people of Widecombe and Spreyton.

Scenes:
Images
1. Tom Pierce's old gray mare.
2. The men at Widecombe Fair.
3. Tom Pierce waiting in Spreyton.
4. Tom Pierce seeing his dead mare, and crying. 5. The ghosts of the men and the mare.

Setting: Spreyton in town, the road to Widecombe, Widecombe Fair.

Synopsis:
Tom Pierce lends Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, Peter Gurney, Peter Davey, Dan'l Widden, Harry Hawke, old Uncle Tom Cobbley and All his gray mare to go to Widecombe Fair when Uncle Tom's donkey won't pull. The men take turns riding through the towns on the way to the Fair and, upon arrival, thoroughly enjoy the activities, goodies, and beer served by pretty girls. When the Fair is over, they set back out for Spreyton but all ride the mare at once (except for All the dog.) Tom Pierce, meanwhile, has set out for Widecombe after his mare: they meet in the middle. But Tom's mare has died of exhaustion, and Tom cries. Bill Brewer and the rest act as if the whole transaction was no big deal and the people of Spreyton take their words for it. But the people of Widecombe know that for their carelessness they spend eternity as ghosts, riding a ghost mare between Widecombe and Spreyton.

Rhymes/ Special Phrases/ "Flavor":
This story was originally a song so I use the song as part of my introduction and conclusion: "Tom Pearse, Tom Pearse, lend me your gray mare…" That includes the names of the men: Bill Brewer, etc.
From the picture book itself, I borrowed the names of the towns between Widecombe and Spreyton: Whiddon Down, Chagford, Beetor Cross, and Heatree. Not only are they not in the song, but they contribute greatly to the flavor of "old England" (or England today, for that matter.) Likewise, it was apparent that it was Gauch's idea to have "All" (…old Uncle Tom Cobbley and All) be a character-a dog-and I liked that and used it too. The girls at the Fair-Nellie and Betsy-were also Gauch's creations, as is Farmer Fursdon (sometimes I mention him in telling, sometimes not.) The phrases "talking, not walking men" and "walking man, not a talking man" are hers also.
My own flavors are the descriptions of the mare-so swaybacked you could have used her for an ice-cream scoop--, the portrayal of the Fair in progress (striped tents, tables of goodies, beer river, and playing/dancing field) and coming down, the sound of the old mare as she set back out for Spreyton, and All's sympathizing with her when she dies.

Audience:
This story is intended for a young adult audience, probably on the younger side of young adult. The flavors I emphasized for their particular benefit include the fun and slightly racy activities of the fair and the ghosts of the mare and seven foolish men. However, I wanted more quality of story than can be easily found in some of the contemporary "scare stories" so often read by young adults (i.e. R.L. Stine). I think this story has meat on its bones as a story as well as being attractive to the audience.
I can gather from Charlotte Huck, this story fits well with 12-13 year olds. It appeals to an understanding of human feeling (Tom crying at the death of his mare) but is not simpering, and the appeal is made only after the young adult audience's attention is already caught by the fun description of the Fair. It also invites the young adults to laugh at the seven foolish adults--something young adults (especially at 12 and 13) will enjoy and be willing to admit to. After all, as Erik Erickson mentions, they are on the boundary between childhood and adulthood themselves and the acceptance of their peers is essential: to laugh together at silly people comes easily at that time, and is harmless. To refer to Piaget, this story involves multiple perspectives (even two from animals-the mare and the dog) and that also is something the young adult follows easily.

Bibliographic information on other versions/variants (at least two):
As far as I know, there are no versions or variants for this story. Unless you count the song…

Brief comparison of all versions/variants in terms of language, rhythm, "tellability," flavor," content, etc.
Part of the reason I chose this story, besides the facts that I love it and grew up with it, is that I believe it is a unique story. I have never seen it anywhere else. This gives me the freedom to relax into my own images, though conversely I realize that it also means I have nowhere else to look if I draw a blank. I also think that the images in the one telling I have read are strong enough to stand on their own: talking men, not walking men, All as a dog-they are all great! But I am keeping my eye out for any versions or variants that might turn up.

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CUE CARD FOR "BATTLE SONG OF THE GIANTS"

Background: Inupiaq Eskimo tale.

Length: 20 minutes.

Title:
Brown, Emily Ivanoff, ed. "Battle Song of the Giants." Tales of Ticasuk. Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press, 1987. 21-25.

Characters:
1. The Chief
2. The Orphan, Inuuraq.
3. The Orphan's Grandmother.
4. The Chief's Son and two Hunters.
5. The Giant.
6. The Giant's Wife.

Events:
Images
1. The Chief's Son and hunters do not return from hunting.
2. Inuuraq volunteers to see what has happened.
3. He kills a giant shrew on the way, with the Chief's weapons.
4. He approaches the igloos of the giants.
5. The Giant hurls his ulu but misses, and is killed.
6. The Giantess hurls the ulu and misses, and is killed.
7. Inuuraq rescues the Son and hunters and returns in triumph with the giant shrew's head.

Setting: Alaska or northern Canada, long ago.

Rhymes/ Special Phrases/ "Flavor":
the orphan's name, Inuuraq; his thoughts about the giant shrew; the Giants' songs and Inuuraq's response; the use of the ulus.

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CUE CARD FOR "THE ELFIN KNIGHT"


Background: Scottish folk tale.

Length: 15-20 minutes.

Title: "The Elfin Knight." Scottish Fairy Tales. …

Characters:
Earl St. Clair
Earl Gregory
The Elfin Knight
The goblin.

Events and Setting:
1. The legend of the Elfin Knight is told.
2. Earl Gregory visits Earl St. Clair in his moor-side castle.
3. Gregory and St. Clair argue over hunting, because of the legend.
4. Gregory and St. Clair hunt, St. Clair with the clover on his arm.
5. Gregory follows the Elfin Knight, and St. Clair Gregory.
6. Gregory is bewitched by the Elfin Knight's ale.
7. The goblin tells St. Clair how to rescue Gregory, and he does.
8. The moor becomes inhabited: the Elfin Knight is gone.

The moors of Scotland.

Things to Keep:
1. For adults: "just a story to frighten the bairns."
2. The breathing of the monster under the enchanted circle.
3. The wings of the Elfin Knight's horse. 4. The Elfin Knight rides a "German" horse and cannot touch St. Clair because of the talisman.
5. The ale "foams" over the goblet.
6. The frozen elves and goblins.

My Additions to Keep:
1. St. Clair can stay home and "knit."
2. St. Clair is shorter than Gregory with deep blue eyes. Both have black hair.
3. The description of the moor: withered grass and heather, bogs, cold wind, jutting rocks.
4. The carved oaken table and the soft wind in the enchanted circle.
5. The deep mist in which Gregory rides, following the hoofbeats of the Knight.
6. St. Clair never tells what happened on the moor to Gregory or anyone.
7. "Threw back his head and laughed."
8. Gregory's horse disappears.
9. The screech of the elves when Gregory falls.
10. The earthquake when the ale is removed from the circle.
11. Intro and Conclusion.

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CUE CARD FOR "HOW ORION BECAME THE STAR WARRIOR"


Background: Greek myth.

Length:

Title: How Orion Became the Star Warrior

Characters:
1. Orion
2. Artemis
3. Apollo
4. Ephialtes
5. Brother

Events and Setting:
1. Ephialtes and Brother decide to win Artemis.
2. Artemis tricks them and likes Orion.
3. Orion hunts with her, killing all the animals.
4. People complain to Apollo about it.
5. Apollo is jealous of Orion and sends the Scorpion.
6. The Scorpion stings Orion.
7. Orion and the Scorpion are set in the sky as reminders.

The islands of Greece

Things to Keep:

My Additions to Keep:



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CUE CARD FOR A TALE OF TWO SISTERS: THE DAWN AND THE MOON


Background: Greek myth.

Length:

Title: A Tale of Two Sisters: the Dawn and the Moon

Characters:
1. Eos the Dawn.
2. Selene the Moon.
3. The prince Tithonus.
4. The shepherd Endymion.
5. Zeus.

Events and Setting:
1. Eos falls in love with Tithonus.
2. Selene falls in love with Endymion.
3. Eos asks Zeus for eternal life for Tithonus.
4. Tithonus turns into a grasshopper.
5. Selene asks Zeus for eternal sleep for Tithonus.
6. He dreams he holds the moon in his arms.

Greece

Things to Keep:

My Additions to Keep:


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