Portfolio Guide

Simba Strays from the pride

In this story, a rambunctious cub goes off on his own but quickly realizes that he is safer at home with his family. Enjoy the story of Simba and his great adventure.

The Brothers, the Fish, and the Lost Fishhook 

This is the tale of two brothers who trade places for a day and one of them ends up losing something valuable that belongs to his brother. He must go on a quest to retrieve it and earn his brother's forgiveness all while a small fish watches the events unfold from below the water.

The recovery of the magical fish hook

The tale of the hunter retrieving his brother's lost, magical fish hook continues. Our narrator, the fish, continues on with his journey to see if the hunter will recover the fish hook and in the process, he gets involved in the adventure.

A Game of Cat and Mouse

What happens when the predator is outsmarted by his prey? This is the tale of a household whose hierarchy is turned on its head when a very determined mouse shows that a cat is no match for his brain power.

The Determined Boy Scout

Never give up; always fight for your dreams. This is the story of one brave Boy Scout who always works to be the best he can be and has a huge heart for helping people. But in helping someone, he realizes the strength of his determination, all while making a new friend.

The Hard Working Interns

Sometimes, those on the bottom of the food chain get overlooked. But with talent, confidence and some thread, these interns created top notch work that nobody could ignore. Read about how Michelle and Rebecca sewed and stitched their way right into their bosses good graces.

Storytelling: The Determined Boy Scout

Harold the boy scout

Harold always wanted to grow up and be an accomplished Eagle Scout like his dad and older brother. He joined the Boy Scouts when he was really young so he could start learning early all the ins and outs. Every meeting, every event and every chance he was hungry to learn more or practice his skills he took advantage of. Harold convinced his dad to take him to the store and buy him anything he could possibly ever need while he was out on his boy scout adventures. He had rope, flares, first aid kits, water, snacks, extra clothes, fishing lures, Swiss Army knife and even more things.

Fall was the time of year that the Boy Scouts were put to the test to see if they had what it takes to move on to the next level and possibly become Eagle Scouts. Harold spent as much time as he could practice things like how to build a fire or how to make a tent. While he was out in the woods one day practicing his knotting skills, he heard footsteps crunching the dead leaves that the trees had shed. He stayed very still because he was not sure who would be out in the woods with him.

A little girl came into view and she jumped back startled when she saw Harold. It was obvious she had not anticipated running into anyone either.

"Hi, I'm Clara, and boy am I'm glad to see you!" she said.

"Hi Clara, I'm Harold. Why are you roaming around in the woods?" Harold asked her.

"Well, I just moved here and I was at the store getting some candy when these bullies pushed me down and then started chasing me! I couldn't get away but eventually I lost them in the woods. It was fine until I realized I had no idea where I was and I've just been roaming around since," she confused.

 Harold felt bad and as much as he wanted to practice more skills for his eagle scout test, he knew he could not leave the poor girl high and dry.

"Well, how about I see if I can get you back home?" Harold offered.

After she told him her street, he realized they were neighbors and he set off taking her there. Harold told Clara all about what he was doing in the woods and how much be wanted to be an eagle scout.

She gave him a puzzled look and asked, "You practiced so much, so why don't you have any patches on your shirt?"

Harold told her, "Well, I may not be the most skilled Boy Scout YET, but if I stop trying then I'll never get better or even have a chance at being an Eagle Scout!"

Clara smiled at him and said nothing else. Harold got her home and her parents were so thrilled to see her. They thanked Harold repeatedly for making sure that she got home safe and sound. Clara wished him the best of luck on his Eagle Scout exam and promised she would come by his house tomorrow to help him practice pitching a tent. Harold was excited to have someone to help him keep practicing his skills and also was happy he had made a new, unexpected friend.

Alice and the White Knight

Author's Note:
I took this story from my reading of "Through the Looking Glass" specifically the story series called "My Own Invention."  I really liked how when the two knights fought and the White Knight won, he didn't hold Alice as his prisoner and instead agreed to help her get to the other side of the woods. Throughout the story of their journey, it becomes blatantly obvious that the knight is not the best. He has too many items on his horse that are not necessary and he keeps falling off of his horse. Alice continuously helps him back on and he tells her it is all about practice. I chose to write this story as a story you would tell a small child to help them learn a lesson. It is a lesson about perseverance for the things you love and are passionate about, which in Harold's case, was being a good Boy Scout and eventually becoming an Eagle Scout. Harold helps Clara through the woods just like the knight did for Alice. Clara encourages Harold just as Alice did even though neither Harold or the White Knight were that good at what they were doing it. It is a fun, simple lesson that giving up won't get you to your goal so it is best to keep trying!

Bibliography:  Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll (1871).

Storytelling: The Hardworking Interns

Interns are always known for being at the bottom of the food chair no matter what company it is. Things were no different for Michelle and Rebecca, but they knew that going in. Their bosses were a sweet tag-team duo, Richard and Stephanie, who owned their own boutique clothing store. Mich and Becca were ready on their first day for anything and everything, whether that was fetching samples, making coffee or running down to wardrobe for extra pieces for inspiration. On their first day though, they realized they were kind of ignore. Sure they were asked to do a casual errand here or there, but for the most part they were left to their own devices.

As the day was winding down, Richard and Stephanie were obviously irritable. They had just started a new project for their fall line and had zero inspiration to get working on the trench coat that would get the look started. They left the office early in a depressed state and told all the employees to just head home early that day. Mich and Becca heard the defeat in their bosses voice and decided to stay and work late. They went over to the mannequins and after circling them a few times, they got to work. By 4 am, both the man and woman trench coats were done. They slept in the conference room until they were awaken by a scream of joy!

They went into the design room to see Richard and Stephanie in awe of the two beautiful trench coats. Neither of the girls mentioned that the work was theirs and neither Richard nor Stephanie asked anyone who had finished the coats. 

The rest of the day went as normal and with the trench coats done, Richard and Stephanie had a boost of inspiration and were working in a flurry all day. Towards the end of the day though, they got hung up on the boots that were meant to finish the looks. They were either too tall, too feminine, too bulky or just flat out wrong. Once again, both Richard and Stephanie left in a huff, dismissing their employees early yet again. 

Mich and Becca stayed back and brainstormed what the perfect fall boot would look like to finish off this beautiful look for the collection. They worked tirelessly all night, stitching, sewing, measuring until they were beyond thrilled with their work. Know they just hoped their bosses were as please as they were with the trench coats. They made their sleepy trek back to the conference room, but right as they laid down, they heard happy screams of their bosses. The bosses later announced that the line was finished and that there should be a big party the next day. Everyone was to go home and relax in celebration of the completion of the looks. 

They next day when Mich and Becca walked in the office, there were decorations everywhere and a big cake in the center of the room. As they got closer they saw there was a banner above it that read "Thanks Mich and Becca." They were stunned and turned around to face their bosses. Apparently, when Richard and Stephanie sent everyone home, they checked security footage and saw Mich and Becca were the one's finishing all the work. They were given full time positions and made heads of the fall men's and women's department. Mich and Becca were thrilled all their handwork had finally been noticed and appreciated. 

Rebecca and Michelle

Author's Note: 

I wrote this story as inspired from the Grimm Brother's story called The Elves. There are two elves who keep finishing all the shoes that the shoe maker starts but doesn't finish. In the middle of the night, while him and his wife sleep, they come out and make beautiful shoes which the shoe maker sells for a fortune the next day. One night, he and his wife stay up and see the elves working away. The next night they have clothes set out for the elves who are over joyed! I recreated this with the setting of a fashion company but instead of elves, the helpers are too under recognized interns. Eventually though, the bosses realize their hard work and reward them just as the man and his wife did. I wanted to keep the theme of hard work pays off and no good deed goes unnoticed. 

Bibliography: The Elves from The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales as translated by D. L. Ashliman (1998-2013).

Storytelling: A Game of Cat and Mouse

Once there lived a cat named Tom and a mouse named Jerry. All the other mice would talk about how intimidating Tom was and whenever he was in the house, all the other mice would run into their hole and stay there until he went back upstairs with his owner. Jerry, however, was never intimidated by Tom and made sure all the other mice knew that he was not scared of some big furry bully.

As it got colder, Tom began to hang out more downstairs by the fire in the living room with his owner. The mice knew this meant they would have to spend more time tucked away in their holes. Jerry refused to stay hidden for almost all of winter and came up with a plan.

"I'm doing to show that nasty old Tom that he isn't the boss of me!" Jerry exclaimed to the rest of the mice.

They all shook their littles heads in dismay, fairly sure that Tom would eat Jerry if he had the chance. Jerry began plotting how he was going to outsmart Tom and make it safe for him and the other mice to roam freely during the winter. Suddenly, he had an idea.

He went up to the attic and searched for a few hours until he found enough metal and rope. After gathering all the materials he needed he ventured back downstairs to his hole to start working on his contraption. On his way, he crossed paths with Tom. As Tom approached him, he chuckled under his breath.

"And just what do you plan to do with all that junk, little mouse?" Tom questioned

"Oh, you'll see, Tom. You think you're so wise and can intimidate all the other mice into hiding. But not me!" Jerry replied.

With one last laugh, Tom pranced off upstairs without another thought or care as to what Jerry was up to. Jerry knew he had the upper hand now that Tom did not see him as a threat. He set to work building the contraption that Tom would not see coming: a bear trap.

A few days later, Tom was curled up near the fire sleeping. Jerry decided this was the perfect time and set the bear trap right outside his hole. He made his way near the fire and within seconds, Tom could smell him.

"Oh how nice," Tom said. "My dinner has delivered itself to me"

Just like that Jerry started to scurry back to his hole with Tom close on his tail. When he got close to the trap, he swerved around it to avoid getting stuck himself. Tom was too preoccupied with catching Jerry and did not notice the bear trap until it was to late. With a loud clamp, the trap shut around Tom's paw and he yelped in pain. Jerry was safe in his house and Tom had no way to reach him. All the other mice peered their heads out of their hole to see what was the commotion and saw that Jerry had outsmarted Tom just as he had said he would. Tom learned to never mess with Jerry and the other mice again and mainly stayed upstairs in his owner's room where he was safe.

Tom and Jerry 

Author's Note:
I wanted to try a different story telling technique this week, so I chose to re-write Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind as a child's story. I've never used this style before so I decided to write is as a story from the hit cartoon Tom and Jerry. In the original story, Shin-ge-bis, also known as the diver, tells all the fishermen who are scared of Ka-bib-on-okk, the North Wind, that he is not scared of him. Shin-ge-bis tells all the fishermen that he will outsmart the North wind. None of the other patrons believed this and they all retreated just like the mice in my story doubted Jerry and stayed away in their holes. Shin-ge-bis ends up taunting Ka-bib-on-okka enough to where the North Wind enters Shin-ge-bis's home and ends up thawing and nearly melting away. I wrote in my story that Jerry taunted Tom enough that he lured him into the bear trap. In both cases, the antagonist go too sure of himself and his ego lead him right into the hands of the protagonist. I chose to re-write this story because I like the moral that the underdog or good guy can outsmart the bad guy even if nobody else believes that he can. This style of writing was interesting and a lot of fun to try out. I may try to use this style again late in another story I do.   



Bibliography:
American Indian Fairy Tales by W.T. Larned, with illustrations by John Rae (1921). Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind

Storytelling: The recovery of the magical fish hook

I could not believe that hunter was brave enough to go after that fish hook as it spiraled away into the depths of the sea. The odds of him finding the fish hook were slim to none, but nevertheless, I admired his courage and persistence in the circumstances. I continued about my own business swimming around exploring the rest of the sea but I soon became too consumed by curiosity.  The feeling overtook me and soon enough, I swam back in the direction of the palace of Watatsumi, god of the sea, to see if hunter had recovered his lost fish hook or if he had been discovered by the guards surround the palace.

I made a few laps around the outskirts of the palace and could not find him anywhere. It occurred to me that  maybe he had not found the magical hook and decided to cut his losses and return home. As I was beginning to turn away from the palace I saw movement in a near by cassia-tree. The movement was too large to be a fish like me so I took cover in a reef nearby to get a better look at what anomaly was hidden in the tree. Once I looked harder, I saw that indeed it was the hunter hiding in the tree! He was peering over the wall and staring at something with great concentration but yet he maintained a soft smile. I could hear the princess just on the other side of the wall humming softly, then all of a sudden, she gasped.

A little fish on a BIG adventure

After a few minutes, I saw the hunter go over the wall into the palace courtyard. He began to talk excitedly with the princess but I could barely make out what they were saying. I swam up and hid in the tree where the hunter had been, just in time to see the king come out to the courtyard to greet the young hunter. They shook hands and went inside the palace leaving me and my curiosity hanging up in that tree. I decided to wait a while and see if they came back out to the palace courtyard but after a few hours, I decided it was a waste of time and was getting ready to leave, until I heard the town crier trout start yelling. He said that the king was ordering all fish to come to the palace for he had a mission that required their knowledge of the land.  I had a hunch this had something to do with the hunter so I headed through the front gates as fast as I could.

I was one of the first few fish in there so I was near the front of the pack when the king came out to address us all and disclose just what our mission was to be. He explained quickly that his new son-in-law had lost his brother's magical fish hook and that whichever fish found it first would be greatly rewarded. I began racking my brain, trying to think if I remembered specifically what direction I had seen the hook float. After the king released us, I began to think back on what I had seen over the past few days. I recalled seeing the hook float to the right of the kingdom towards the reef where the Red Woman dwelt. I visited her and saw she had the hook lodged in her gills. She said she had been sleeping outside when she felt a sharp pain and woke up to this strange object lodged in her gills.

Quickly, I took her to the king who removed it and gave it back to the young hunter. The hunter, king and princess were all so thankful and as a reward, the king declared that I and my family could live in the west wing of his castle since I had done a great service for him! I could not wait to tell my mother, father and brothers of my good fortune. As I headed back to my village, all I could think about was rubbing it in my friends' faces for them undermining my great story.


Author's Note:

This is a continuation of the last story "The Brothers, The Fish and the Lost Fishhook." In this continuation, the little fish follows the hunter as he explores the palace in search of his brother's lost fish hook. I kept the story I told as close to the original as I could. All I wanted was to tell it from a 'fly on the way perspective' so I kept with the narrator being the fish from the other retelling. I was not able to keep the timeline the same as the original though because that one required years. This story I wanted to keep a little faster of a pace so I have it happening all within a few hours. Since the fish had helped the king and the hunter I thought it was only fair that he should be rewarded for his good deeds and living in a royal palace seemed like a good reward. In the first story, all his friends thought what he had told them about seeing the brothers and the fish hook was silly and unimportant. So I can imagine he would want to rush home and tell them what had happened. Boy were they wrong!

Bibliography: Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).

Story telling: The brothers, the fish, and the lost fish-hook

I've dwelt in these waters for as long as I can remember. My father, my father's father and even his father's father all lived around the same coral reef. Fishermen would frequent the lake quite frequently, always trying to catch one of us, but we were too smart and avoided their boats. There was one fisherman that was always at the lake and there was something about the hook he used that just entranced you if you got too close. My mom and dad always warned me to stay away from the golden hook if I saw it glistening in the water.

One day, the fisherman's brother followed him to the lake. I had heard some of the birds who gathered near the lake saying that the fisherman's brother was a fearsome hunter.  That day was just like every other one, until I saw the brothers talking intently on the shore of the lake. I was curious what they were talking about that was so serious so I swam closer to the shore so that I was hidden but could see what they were doing. Suddenly, the hunter gave the fisherman his bow and arrows and he instead took the pole and the magical hook and jumped into the boat. I was confused that they decided to switch places and swam back to the reef to tell all my friends what I had just witnessed.

I told all my friends what I saw happen but they told me I was too consumed in the everyday lives of these humans. I agreed they were probably right, that it was nothing too strange, and we started to play hide-and-seek in the reef. While I was hiding behind the reef, I saw something bright come floating towards me quickly! As it got closer, I soon realized that it was the golden, magical fish hook. None of my friends were around to see it and I was sure they would not believe my story. It flew past me and continued to float down towards the palace of Watatsumi. As I watched the magical hook disappear from my view, I realized that it was likely gone forever. The hunter would likely assumed that the hook was too deep in the water to recover. I wondered if the hunter knew the fish hook was magical and how his brother would take the news of it being gone.

Later that day, I saw the fisherman return to the lake to see his brother and return the bow and arrow. I saw no dead animals with him so I assumed his time hunting in the forest had not been successful. It looked like their conversation was escalating and suddenly the fisherman was screaming at the hunter, waving his hands and pointing in his brother's face. He stormed off leaving the sad hunter alone on the shore of the lake. I assumed the fisherman was extremely disappointed in his brother for losing the magical fishhook. I have no siblings, but I could imagine what it would feel like to lose a friend and I can imagine disappointing a brother would be worse by tenfold.

While the hunter sat on the shore weeping, I saw the old man walking across the shore towards him. I had never seen this man before and I was immediately curious what he was doing. I swam a little bit closer to get a better vantage point of their conversation. The old man put his hand on the hunter's shoulder and spoke kindly to him. Eventually, he gestured for the hunter to look out towards the far end of the lake and I suddenly realized what he was telling the hunter to do. I didn't think the hunter would be brave enough for a task like this even if it did mean his brother's forgiveness and acceptance. But without even a thought, the hunter dove into the water and began swimming deeper and deeper. He was headed for Watatsumi's palace.

Wata-tsumi

Author's Note:

I was inspired by the story The Fortune Fish-Hook to re write this story from a different perspective. The one brother is a hunter and the other one is a fisher. Both brothers are extremely talented in their fields. One day, they decide to switch roles and see how they fair at the others specialty. The hunter comes back empty-handed and so does the fisherman except the fisherman lost his brothers magical hook. The fisherman rejects the hunter brother and the hunter goes on a quest to get the hook back. I chose to use a fish living in the lake as the storyteller here. It proved to be a fun take as an outsider watching the brothers switch roles for the day only for both of them to fail at the other's task. I have done this in the past where I retell the story from an animals perspective, sorta like a fly on the wall and it always proves interesting to have an outside perspective on what the characters are doing.

Bibliography
Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).

Story telling: Simba strays from the Pride

It was a warm Spring afternoon in the heart of Africa. All the cubs in the pride were out to play with one another in the bright sunlight. The mother lionesses stayed close by to keep a watchful eye over their rambunctious cubs. All the mothers wanted to talk to Nala about her son Simba and all the amazing things he said and did. He was wise far beyond his years and everyone in the pride took notice of it. The entire pride was getting ready to journey back to their homeland after a week of being away for the annual feeding excursion. Simba had done well in the hunting and at night when they rested he told wise stories to the other cubs and families that had great messages and lessons to be learned.

After a few more hours of play, Mufasa and the other lions decided it was time to start the journey back to the pride land. They rounded up all the cubs and set off on their journey home. Everything was going smoothly with the journey until about the second day when Mufasa and Nala realized they had not seen their son Simba in quite some time. They looked to see if he was talking to the elders of the pride but he was not with them. They sought out the cubs to see if he was playing with them but he was not with them. They checked with the mothers to see if he had offered to help them with their young but he was not with them. Slowly his parents realized they had not seen Simba since they set off for home. Riddled with grief and anxiety about the whereabouts of their son, Mufasa and Simba told the others to set up camp where they were while they both went back to find Simba.

Mufasa and Nala began the long trek back to the hunting grounds they had been at. The entire way there, they were concerned about their son, looking for him as they traveled back to where they had come from. Eventually, they reached the hunting grounds but did not see Simba anywhere. As they continued to search, they found him in a nearby cave surrounded by the elders of the baboon tribe. He was talking to them about the order of the pride land and how the entire ecosystem was balanced and how to maintain harmony with in the tribe. His parents were astonished at his wisdom and silently stayed at the opening of the cave until he had finished his stories. Once the elder baboons began to disperse, his mother confronted him, concerned that he had wandered but curious about the extent of his wisdom.

"Simba, why did you not stay with the pride? Why did you stay behind with these strangers?" Nala asked.

"Mother, no creature that walks the same earth and breaths the same air is a stranger. Should you not be overjoyed that I am sharing the knowledge you have instilled in me? Or at least be proud of the image I represent on behalf of our pride," Simba replied.

With that Nala was stunned and had no response. But she took his words and considered them deeply, vowing to never forget them. Simba apologized for worrying both her and his father and together the family set off to go meet the rest of the tribe and finish their long journey back to the pride land.


Bibliography:
Infancy Gospel as told by the apostles Luke and Mathew

Author's note:
I chose to write this story based on the story of when Jesus, Mary and Joseph were traveling from Jerusalem. His parents realized he was not with them and turned around to search for him in Jerusalem. H had stayed behind to speak to some of the high priest there and shared his wisdom and insight. When his parents finally found him in the temple, they were confused as to why he stayed behind and the great knowledge he was sharing with he elders. This made me think a little of the Disney movie the Lion King because of how independent Simba was in the movie. I could imagine him running off to go on some big adventure alone and worrying his mother and father to death. I wanted to try storytelling with animals but retain some of the tone that was used in the original story in the Infancy Gospel . I also wanted to use parallelism by repeating the phrase "but he was not with them." I felt like the phrase added a tone similar to the Bible to my story. I was nervous about writing this story at first but once I got this thought in my mind it was fairly easy to write.

Simba, Nala and Mufasa

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