Story: The Best of Friends
This story has been added to my portfolio
Once there was a couple that had great fortune. They were
never excessively rich, but they always had what they needed. The couple spread
this good fortune with others in their lives. One way they did this was by
taking in wayward animals they came across. Soon the couple had a small zoo in
their home from cats and dogs to pigs and birds. The couple enjoyed their diverse
family they had pieced together and loved spreading their luck to others.
One day,
though, they came to their home and realized it had been broken into. Their
house has been ransacked, but thankfully their animals were okay.
Unfortunately, many things had been stolen including a family heirloom of a
gold ring. The ring was not worth anything but they valued it greatly as it had
been passed down for generations. The couple was distraught but tried to put
their lives together. Soon they noticed things were different. Little by little
their fortune turned. It was not obvious at first but soon they noticed that
things just never seemed to work out like it did before. Still, the couple
never complained and humbly faced each difficulty together.
The animals
were all sad to see such things happen to their owners so together they devised
a plan. The dog, cat, and rat were going to go and retrieve the gold ring to
cheer up the couple. Through pets and local animals they learned who had taken
the ring and where it was kept. They set off one day while they couple was at
work. Together the group adventured out, crossing the river on the dogs back and
finding their way to the house of the thief.
When they
arrived, the cat took the rat up to the window and in scurried the rat. He
chewed through a box and found the ring bringing it out to the others. They all
began their trek home and were waiting when the couple returned. They were overjoyed
to find their ring returned and praised the animals for bringing it. The pets
felt so accomplished and forever they remembered how they worked together.
Author's Note: This story is loosely based on the Chinese Fairytale about why dogs and cats are not friends. In the original, the couple sell the ring and then after having bad luck the dog and cat work together to get it back. The big difference is that in the original the cat takes credit for getting it back and so the dog and cat become enemies. I wanted a more happy ending so I changed up the ending and to do so I made the couple lose the rings more naturally.
Image Information: Dog and cat friends, Pixabay
Bibliography: The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).
Hi Kennedie,
ReplyDeleteI read the original story and though that the original ending where the cat gets all the credit and the dog ends up hating the cat was pretty sad. Luckily, your story has a much happier ending. I also liked how you had the ring be stolen instead of being sold by the couple, so that the animals were only taking the ring back from a thief, instead of stealing the ring from someone who had bought it.
Hey Kennedie!
ReplyDeleteI had the same sentiments regarding the tale of why cats and dogs aren't friends. I'm glad that you were able to add a happy ending where everyone was able to cooperate and find success as a team. I think this story would gain a lot of depth if you added parts that went into detail on the kinds of events that took place the made the couple realize that their luck had faded. That would allow the reader to see the different relationships among the couple and their animals perhaps. Overall, this was a good story!
Hi Kennedie!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your story. I love animals so this was a fun read. I am glad you decided to change the ending to make it more happy. I hope after getting the ring back the couples lives are able to go back to how they were. I think it is very interesting that the animals were able to locate the ring from other animals. Great job on this story.
Hi Kennedie. I love your story, I am a big animal lover so reading that the animals saved the day makes me happy. Your story is lighthearted and fun and you do a great job of making it short and sweet while using a great amount of detail. So once they got the ring back did the couple get their luck back? also did the people who stole their stuff ever receive any repercussions?
ReplyDeleteHi Kennedie! I liked the revisions that your story had compared to the original. Your Author’s Note described the differences very well and I commend you for that! I love the stories that tell a reason why something is the way it is nowadays (I wrote a story based on why turtles’ shells have the cracks in them). I like happy endings so this story made me smile. Great job!
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