Story Laboratory: Persian Tales, Week 6
Tortoise Bowl-On-The-Back and the Fox
There once was a tortoise sowing seed when a fox stopped by saying “may Gog give you strength.” Soon the seed was ready for reaping and the fox came by to say the same thing as before. He came again at harvest time, but this time he came for his share. The two began to fight, leading to a proposed race. The tortoise had his brother hide in the threshing floor since he knew he couldn’t beat the fox. When the fox got to the barn, he realized he lost. He had been tricked. The greedy are put to shame.
The Story of the Wolf-Bride
Once there was a father who had a son and one day an akhund prophesied his son would be torn apart by wolves. The father built an underground chamber for his son to live. As he grew older, it was time for him to marry so the son married the father’s brother’s daughter. In the chamber, the girl turned into a wolf and tore him to pieces. When daylight came, the woman found the dead bridegroom and the girl. The girl told her what happened, frightening the woman. The woman then took the boy and buried it far far away.
The Hemp-Smoker's Dream
There once was a hemp-smoking man who went to a barber for a haircut. He thought highly of himself and believed he could marry the daughter of the King of China. On his journey there, he collected a few friends. They arrived in Chin and requested the king’s daughter, but the king wouldn’t allow unless they got the marriage deed ratified. The men went off and did just that, stopping to rest under a chenar tree. On the journey back to get the girl, they began to quarrel over her. Suddenly, the man woke up from his dream and drunkenness.
Author's Note:
I chose to write micro-fictions for three Persian Tales I read this week. I simply shortened the stories into a hundred words, but I kept the same plot lines and characters. I enjoyed how the stories were, so I wanted to challenge myself to rewrite them in a shortened version. It challenged me to pick the most important details and leave some out! Overall, I think they turned out well and I enjoyed this week's stories!
Bibliography:
Title: Persian Tales
Author: David and Emily Lorimer
Image: (A demon throwing Rostam into the sea: Wikipedia)
Ever since I started writing microfiction, it's become one of my favorite things to read! I enjoyed your retelling of these stories, Morgan, and how you made it a challenge to pick out the most important details. I would say that's usually the most difficult aspect of writing microfiction, besides staying within the word limit, is deciding on what's most necessary to include when rewriting it. Likewise, the Persian tales you chose fit perfectly with your writing style and the format, so everything turned out nicely. I hope to read more of your microfiction in the future, for sure!
ReplyDeleteMorgan, great job on the micro fictions! I wrote a micro fiction last week and it was much more challenging than I thought it would be. It can be difficult to condense a whole story, with multiple characters and side plots, into only 100 words. But you did it successfully three times. I really liked the micro fiction about the Wolf-Bride. I may have to go and read the original story on that one, it sounded so interesting! Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Morgan! I really enjoyed your little short stories! I didn't read the Persian Tales for week 6 so I really liked getting to read some new stories! I found the story of the wolf bride super intriguing and a bit strange. I won't lie, I thought is was super sad that the son had to die like that! Strange too that he had to marry his cousin... Anyways, great job!
ReplyDeleteHey Morgan, These microfictions are really cool! You made them really easy to read and understand. 100 words is definitely a challenge and I think you did it well. You definitely succeeded in finding the most important parts to keep and what to leave out. Reading these makes me want to find more stories like them. Keep up the good work!!
ReplyDeleteHi Morgan this is my first time reading a micro fiction! I am for sure a fan from now on. It is really easy to understand and I love how you can add your own touch in such a small word count. I hope to read more like these in the future.
ReplyDeleteThese are so cool! I really liked you challenged yourself to do that. I struggle a lot with making things short, and I think you did a really good job at it! It felt like I was getting a really condensed version of all the stories. They've made me really want to look into the Persian tales now. The microfiction about the Wolf-Bride was my favorite. I didn't know where it was going to go, and you had me hanging onto every word to see what was going to happen.
ReplyDelete