My Brothers Grimm: Possible Styles

Topic

My Storybook will be about the only daughter in the Grimm family, Charlotte.  She will be following her brothers from story to story, helping them solve the mysteries and vanquish the monsters.  However, I don’t want them to know that she is helping them.  They think that she is at home, being a good little girl as is expected.  Like many girls, this is far from the truth. 

For my Storybook, I want to use the Grimm fairytales that have are based around a (more-or-less) human villain.  Be it witches or fairies or anything in between, I think that human monsters would be the best option for my storybook.  Because of this, I am thinking of including the story of Jorindaand Jorindel and possibly Hansel andGrethel.  Choosing which stories to use will be the hardest part, since I have to determine which ones will work with my idea. 

Bibliography

"Jorinda and Jorindel" from Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm, translated by Edgar Taylor and Marian Edwardes (1912). 

"Hansel and Grethel" from Household Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, translated by Margaret Hunt (1884). 

Possible Styles

Charlotte’s View:

This is the most straight forward option for my Storybook.  I would write the stories as Charlotte is living them, so the reader gets to experience the stories first hand.  They will get the emotions that Charlotte is feeling and get to hear her inner dialogue with herself.  Not to mention the reader would get to feel her fear and worry as she tries to help (or more often save) her brothers.

Dear Diary:

Another idea I have is to have the stories told in Charlotte’s diary.  With this style, the reader will be able to see what Charlotte thought about her adventures in retrospect.  The reader will be able to not only hear the about the adventure, but also her thoughts and feelings about how she could have dealt with the problems differently.  They will be able to see her doubt about not letting her brothers know she is helping them and the things that she is unwilling to tell anyone else about.

Bedtime Story:

Bedtime stories are always fun! Charlotte could be telling her young children about her adventures when she was younger.  The stories will be a little softer and will always have a happy ending since it is intended for a younger audience, specifically her young children.  No mother wants to terrify her children right before bed, so a happy ending to all the fairytales would be the right choice.  This would be almost a Disney-fied style, but Charlotte will still be a part of the tales since it is the story of her life.

Setting the Record Straight:

With this style, I thought it would be interesting to have Charlotte tell her brothers that she was always there with them.  Of course, they don’t believe her so she has to tell the stories with details that have never been told, details that would make it clear that she had to have been present.  My setup for this style is that her brothers were getting a little cocky and boastful one night, and Charlotte had enough.

Diary. Source: Flickr

Extra Reading Diary: Brothers Grimm (Librivox) Unit

I decided to follow up on my idea of reading all the Grimm units over the course of the semester by finishing the Grimm Librivox Unit.  Overall, I did not read much in this half-unit that I may use in the future.  However, there were a few things as well as one story that I love.

In The Twelve Huntsman, a group of nearly identical woman dress up as men and present themselves to a prince, who was once the love of the princess who called the group together.  I love the idea of women dressing as men to fool those around them.  I especially like the idea of them so easily fooling someone that they love, or even family.

Jorinda and Jorindel seemed like a story that I could use for either of my Grimm storybook ideas.  I could use the old fairy for my Misunderstood Villains idea, or the story overall for the My Grimm Brothers storybook.  I’m not sure yet though.

There was one story in this unit that is near and dear to my heart.  The Twelve Dancing Princesses is a story that I grew up reading.  In fact, I still have the illustrated book that I had as a kid.  It is one of my FAVORITE stories from my childhood.  On another note, it could be an interesting idea for the My Grimm Brothers storybook…

The Twelve Dancing Princesses Book Cover. Source: Flickr

Week 3 Storytelling: The Human Child of a Mother-Wolf

Curious Wolf. Source: Kiza

There I was, perfectly content loping through the woods in search of game.  I knew there had to be deer around here that I could feed to my young sons, I just had to find them.

Suddenly, I caught a whiff of something disgusting.  Humans.  Nasty, filthy, horrible beasts.  I slunk through the bushes towards the smell, hoping for an easy meal, but I didn’t see any of the beasts around.  However, I did hear some whimpering coming from one of the bushes to my left.

When I eased toward the sound, I found one of their repulsive offspring.  I crept forward, preparing to pounce and end its life.  It would make a decent meal for my four young sons, but then I had a thought:  If I save this human, it may one day repay the favor. 

So I raised it alongside my true sons, hoping that my decision would one day pay off.  It was quite the burden, no hair to keep it warm, no strong teeth to kill pray.  While it ran on four legs like us, it was much slower than we were.  It was a struggle to keep it alive in those early years.

Eventually, the human was taken by a hunter, a prince nonetheless.  I was glad that my family and I would finally be free from its stench.  I ran after the human with my sons, making it seem like I wanted it back in case it one day returned.

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Years later, the royal family held a hunt in my woods.  I was an old she-wolf by then, not as fast as I had once been.  My sons were able to run from the hunters while I tried to hide in the bush.  The hunter’s hounds, however, sniffed me out. They bayed to the hunters and gave chase. 

I ran, but the hunting party was right on my tail.  I knew the royal’s home was not far and the human had to be there.  I decided that it was time for the human to repay my former kindness.  I ran for the palace, with the hounds nipping at my heels and the horses thundering behind them.  I howled and yelped as I ran, hoping that the beast would hear my approach.

As I burst through the trees, I could smell my two-legged “child”.  I bolted straight for its scent, hoping that it would recognize me.  Thankfully, it opened its robes and embraced me.  The beast declared that I, and my true children, were under its protection and were welcome at its table.  Praise the Moon! The stupid beast had fallen for my false love.

From then on, my sons and I dined at the human’s table.  We had food coming out our tails.  All we had to do was howl for entry and we were welcomed to its bountiful table.  It was the best life that a she-wolf could ask for. 

Now if only we could figure out how to kill the beast and keep the food...

Bountiful Table. Source: Wikipedia

Author's Note: 

I based my story off of the tale The Wolf-Mother of Saint Ailbe in the Saints and Animals unit.  The original story is of a kindly wolf mother who comes across an abandoned child in her territory.  She takes the child and raises his as her own until he is taken by a hunter, the prince.  The child grew up to become a much loved Bishop.  However, he never forgot the wolf who raised him.  When she came to him with the hunting party on her tail, his love returned and he saved her life.

This story made me think of all the tales where the wolf is the villain.  Usually the wolves are just brutes that attack in a more or less straight forward manner.  They do not think long term or consider how they may be affected in the future.  Because of this, I wanted to write about a wolf that was thinking about her future.  In fact, she’s thinking of saving an infant so that it will help her much later in life.  It gave the story a darker twist and showed that the wolf was not a simple animal.  They are intelligent as well as strong and crafty.  They kill when it benefits them, such as food or protection, so why wouldn’t a smart wolf prolong a life if it benefited them farther down the line? 

"The Wolf-Mother of Saint Ailbe" from the Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts, by Abbie Farwell Brown (1900). Web Source: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook

Reading Diary B: Saints and Animals

This half of the Saints and Animals unit was not nearly as interesting to me.  Half of the readings were in the style of ballads, which I don’t really like.  However, the first two readings of the story were very interesting to me.

The Fish Who Helped Saint Gudwall was entertaining.  I like how the island was dangerous for half of the year, which is of course not the time when the saint moved to the island.  I also liked how, even though the saint prayed to God, it was the fish who heard his prayer and decided to help.  I think this is an interesting story device, especially for a religious tale.

The Wolf-Mother of Saint Ailbe was great.  It reminded me so much of the She-Wolf who raised Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.  It makes me wonder if maybe it was a way of incorporating the pagan story into Christianity. 

She-Wolf Bronze Statue.  Source: Wikipedia

These stories gave me a few storytelling ideas, but are definitely not my favorites.  I like some of the other stories that I have read more.  

Reading Diary A: Saints and Animals

I don’t know about anyone else, but I always love when stories have animals.  And I’m definitely one of the first to cry when an animal dies in a movie or TV show.  My love for animals is why I chose the Saints and Animals unit.  Who wouldn’t love a unit all about how animals have helped others!

The story of the Underdog is one as old as time and it always seems to strike a chord with me.   (While this isn't technically an idea concerning animals, it does have an animal in the name! I know, not the same, but I'm including it anyway.) This is why I liked Saint Kentigern and the Robin so much.  The idea of a group of people ganging up on one person and still being the ones to fail is hilarious.  Especially one who is seemingly as insignificant as Kentigern.  While he may be the star pupil, he has no friends and no one to help him.  He is a true underdog, and yet he still wins in the end. 

I also love when there is someone or something in a story that causes animals to put aside their differences.  The animals in Saint Blaise and His Beasts is such a story.  The animals were so devoted to Blaise that they were able to ignore their lifelong rivalries to be with him.  I think this is an idea that would be fun to expand beyond the animals.  Many stories are told of people who put aside their arguments for the greater good, even if it is for a limited time.

Animals are an amazing story device.  They are something that all people can relate to, whether they have a favorite animal or have grown up with them.  I think including an animal in a story is a great way to get people connected with the plot.  

Sanctuary Wolves.  Source: Wikipedia