One day, a boy named Giles.
Giles grew up with a big family and had a lot of brothers and sisters, but he was the youngest. All of his siblings were so different. Some were quiet, others were kind, and some were down right mean.
Giles did not know what kind of person he was yet and he wanted to figure it out. He was around his siblings all the time so always over heard their conversations and saw what they were doing. So everyday after school he decided to start imitating one of his siblings so he could figure out if he was quiet, kind, mean, or anything else like his siblings.
On the first day, he overheard he eldest sibling Britney talking to her friend about how being mean helped her get what she wanted. So the next day Giles decided to be mean. He started yelling at his parents and telling them what he wanted instead of asking. At first his parents thought he might just be having a hard day, but as the day went on he just kept being mean. They decided to wait until the next day to see if he would act any different.
That night Giles decided he liked being mean because like his sister Britney said, it helps you get what you want. This made him continue to act mean the next day.
When his parents were trying to rack their brain to figure out what why their normally sweet, thoughtful son was acting so mean, it dawned on them that just a few days prior he was asking his parent's how they knew what kind of person they were. So Giles' parents came up with a plan. They talked to all of their children, besides Giles, and told them why he was acting so mean and that the only way to stop it would be if they all started being extremely nice and telling Giles how good it is to be a nice person. Everyone was in agreement.
The next day, Giles woke up intent on being mean, but came to find his whole family being so extremely nice to him. Even when he tried being mean, they were nice. Giles started racking his brain and thought about how everyone was being so nice and that it was wonderful. Later that day he started acting nice again.
After that day, Giles decided he only wanted to be nice to everyone from here on out.
Title: Jataka Tales - The Elephant Girly-face
Author: Ellen C. Babbitt
Illustrator: Ellsworth Young
Year: 1912
Giles grew up with a big family and had a lot of brothers and sisters, but he was the youngest. All of his siblings were so different. Some were quiet, others were kind, and some were down right mean.
Giles did not know what kind of person he was yet and he wanted to figure it out. He was around his siblings all the time so always over heard their conversations and saw what they were doing. So everyday after school he decided to start imitating one of his siblings so he could figure out if he was quiet, kind, mean, or anything else like his siblings.
On the first day, he overheard he eldest sibling Britney talking to her friend about how being mean helped her get what she wanted. So the next day Giles decided to be mean. He started yelling at his parents and telling them what he wanted instead of asking. At first his parents thought he might just be having a hard day, but as the day went on he just kept being mean. They decided to wait until the next day to see if he would act any different.
That night Giles decided he liked being mean because like his sister Britney said, it helps you get what you want. This made him continue to act mean the next day.
When his parents were trying to rack their brain to figure out what why their normally sweet, thoughtful son was acting so mean, it dawned on them that just a few days prior he was asking his parent's how they knew what kind of person they were. So Giles' parents came up with a plan. They talked to all of their children, besides Giles, and told them why he was acting so mean and that the only way to stop it would be if they all started being extremely nice and telling Giles how good it is to be a nice person. Everyone was in agreement.
The next day, Giles woke up intent on being mean, but came to find his whole family being so extremely nice to him. Even when he tried being mean, they were nice. Giles started racking his brain and thought about how everyone was being so nice and that it was wonderful. Later that day he started acting nice again.
After that day, Giles decided he only wanted to be nice to everyone from here on out.
Title: Jataka Tales - The Elephant Girly-face
Author: Ellen C. Babbitt
Illustrator: Ellsworth Young
Year: 1912
Authors Note: In the original story, Giles was actually an elephant named Girly-face because he was so nice and would never harm a fly, but when a group of robbers came he overheard them talking about how you have to be mean. After that girly-face became mean until the owners realized what happened and sent good men to go talk about to act like a good man. After that girly-face was a nice, sweet elephant again. I really liked this story and thought it would be fun to retell it as humans. I tried not to change a whole lot, but I liked the idea of make the main character try to figure out who he was as to give it more of a backstory as to why he started acting different.
I enjoy your story idea and the way you executed it! I think the main thing you can fix with this story is the length. I think it would be awesome for you to complete more character building, which could be done in lengthening your story. This would made the reader feel as if they really know the characters. I really liked your author's note, I think these are so critical to having a good retelling.
ReplyDeleteHey Chelsee!
ReplyDeleteI loved this story. I remember reading the original but yours was much cuter. I liked how you incorporated kids because I feel like that could actually happen in real life. Kids often just do what they hear without really knowing the repercussions. But your story had a nice little twist. Also that picture you chose was so cute. It made me smile just to look at!
Hi Chelsee!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a perfect reimagining of the Jakata. I didn't read it, but you explained it very clearly in your author's note, and I think it makes perfect sense to make the main character a little boy. It definitely seems like something a little boy would do, mimicking his older siblings. It would be fun to see all the Jakatas as stories about little kids. I think it would make for a really cute picture book or kid's show.
Hi Chelsea,
ReplyDeleteThis was nice short story. I was a little confused on the first line "One day,a boy named Giles," it was not connected to the story. Maybe you meant "Once there was a boy named Giles." I read the original story and it was a good read. I like the way you turned it around for the audience and gave them a different story with the family. One suggestion would be too add little more details on how Giles acted mean or what made him change his mind so easily. Otherwise, I enjoyed reading your story.