Who's at the Window?

Cultural origins: This story seems to be one passed around in the American folklore tradition. Beth Horner cites "American Folk Humor" as the source for this tale (106). I first heard it at a storytelling workshop taught by Carol Birch. 

Intended audience: Early Elementary (5,6,7)

Why this audience?: This is fake scary story. It has all the elements of something that will frighten their socks off, but in the end makes kids giggle and want to hear it again.This is also a great story for audience participation "white, white cheeks and red, red lips and long, black fingernails" is repeated 3 times and it has hand motions.

Characters:  A little boy or girl who likes to read (pick a name from the audience)
                        Mother and Father
                        A Witch (with white, white cheeks and red, red lips and long, black fingernails)

Scenes/Settings: A bedroom with a window

Synopsis: Begin with a question: Who loves to hear a story before they go to sleep at night? Pick someone in the audience and use their name for the story's main character. For this example it is a girl named Lucy. Lucy loves to read with her mother and father every night. "Just one more!"  And every night after they have turned out the lights and kissed Lucy on the cheek and said goodnight they leave a small crack of light shining in through the door and walk down the hall. 

Just as Lucy is about to go to sleep dreaming of all the great stories told that night she hears a "SCRATCH SCRATCH SCRATCH" at the window. Lucy sits up, runs to the window and to her surprise she sees: A WITCH! With white, white cheeks and red, red lips and long, black FINGERNAILS! The witch says to Lucy, "Do you know what I love to do with my long black fingernails?" "NO!" Lucy responded and runs back to bed and pulls the covers over her head.

This goes on for two more nights, with Lucy trying to explain to teachers and parents about the witch but they think it's a joke. Until finally, Lucy is resolved to confront the witch and when she does the witch slowly raises her fingers as if to strike Lucy and then, all of a sudden, runs it up and down her lips: "BBBBBB!"

Story Climaxes/High Points: The climax occurs when the little boy or girl confronts the witch and demands to know what she "loves to do with her long, black fingernails." There is, of course a giant pause as the witch waggles her bony finger at the child and then bubbles her lips with the finger.

Special Chants/Phrases: 
"Just as she was about to fall to sleep asleep she heard a scratch scratch, scratching at the window. 'Who's there?'  She ran to window, yanked it open and do you know what she saw?......A WITCH! With white, white cheeks and red, red lips and long, black FINGERNAILS! The witch said to (name), 'Do you know what I love to do with my long black fingernails?'

Bibliographic Information:

Baltuck, Naomi. (1993). Red Lips. In Crazy Gibberish (pp. 32-36). Hamden, CT: Linnet Books.

Horner, Beth. (1994). The Mischievous Girl & the Hideous Creature. In Ready-To-Tell Tales (pp. 106-109). Little Rock, AK: August House.

Pablo, the Robber

Cultural origins:The island of Majorca off the southeastern coast of spain has a rich history in storytelling. There are many sailor stories, owing to the many vessels lost on the way to the island over the years. This story, though, is a trickster tale and is included in every single Majorcan collection I could get my hands on. The boy's name changes, but his intention is always the same: to be a robber so he won't have to work hard. This reflects the Majorcan cultural value of hard work and honest labor.

Intended audience: Early Middle School (10,11,12)

Why this audience?: This is a story that engages those students who have begun to become disenchanted with school. It also speaks to the future and asks the question: What do you want to be when you grow up and how will you get there?

Characters:  Pablo
                        Pablo’s Mother

                        Pablo’s Uncle

                        Captain of the Thieves

                        The Thieves

                        Massot

Scenes/Settings: The mountains of Majorca and the village of Arta.

Synopsis: On the island of Majorca a boy named Pablo loses his father who wishes for him to be able to have any job in the world. When he tells his mother that he wants to be a robber she is very upset with him. But he pursues his dream and when he turns sixteen he decides that it is his time to join the robbers that live in the black mountains. His mother begs for help from her brother in law who writes to his friend, the captain of the robbers, a letter for Pablo to take with him the next day.

Pablo joins the robbers on one condition from the captain of the robbers: Pablo must obey him. On his first day of being a robber the captain sets him an impossible task: steal a lamb off the back of the meanest man in town: Massot. Pablo tricks Massot the first time with a sword. He tricks him another time by pretending to be a sheep. He tricks him a third time by whacking his shoes together much like the sound of two lambs butting their heads together. Pablo succeeds in stealing a lamb not once but three times exceeding all expectations.

So at the end of the night when the robbers have prepared a sumptuous feast and Pablo is about to eat it the Captain tells him he is only to eat a pot of old beans. Pablo protests that this is not fair and the captain points out that there is no fairness among thieves and Pablo is bound to obey him. So Pablo runs home to his Mother and vows to work for the rest of his days.

Story Climaxes/High Points: The climax occurs when Pablo confronts the captain of the thieves complaining that it's not fair that he cannot partake in the lamb stew. This is when he realizes that thieves justice is not justice.

Special Chants/Phrases: 
"Once on the rock they call Majorca in the small village of Arta there lived a young boy named Pablo."
"I want to be a robber. A robber I will be. Robber! Robber! Robber! A robber I will be! "

Bibliographic Information:

Campbell, Marie. (1976). The Boy That was Trained to Be a Thief. In Tales From the Cloud Walking Country (pp. 170-171). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Creeden, Sharon. (1994). A Robber I Will Be. In Fair is Fair; World Folktales of Justice (pp. 114-119). Little Rock, AK: August House.

Mehdevi, Alexander. (1970). Augustine the Thief. In Bungling Pedro & Other Majorcan Tales (pp. 69-83). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Cultural origins:This is Scandinavian folktale first recorded by the authorities in that region: Asbjornsen and Moe. It includes the stock character that shows up in many Scandinavian tales, the Troll. There are many different settings for the retellings of this tale including one crossing the border into Mexico for a fiesta. The common theme is outsmarting the monster blocking the path of the brothers.

Intended audience: Pre-K (4-5)

Why this audience?: It’s a short, simple story with hand movements, chanting, and questions for the audience. Children of that age can get involved for this short period of time with focus.

Characters:  Ben Gruff (smallest billy goat)

Brad Gruff (middle billy goat)

BOB Gruff (biggest billy goat)

The Troll (eyes as big as dinner plates, fingers as long as rolling pins and a mouth as wide as a refrigerator)

Scenes/Settings: The country hillsides of Norway near a wild, rushing, roaring river.

Synopsis: There are three billy goats who love to eat. But they run out of food and go looking for new food when they see a beautiful hillside full of grass. To get to this hillside they must cross a bridge with a nasty, mean old troll. They decide to cross the bridge one by one. Each billy goat convinces the Troll to not eat him because his brother is bigger and will make a better meal. When the Troll finally confronts the largest of the three brothers he gets head butted into the river below. The three billy goats enjoy the grass on the other side of the bridge until they are so full they cannot eat another bite.

Story Climaxes/High Points: The climax occurs during the confrontation between the biggest billy goat and the troll and the troll is head butted off the bridge into the rushing river below.

Special phrases: "A long time ago when the world was still young and animals could talk to each other there lived three billy goats by the name of Gruff."
                              " Snip, Snap, Snout, This tale’s told out."
Chant: Who’s that crossing my bridge?

 It’s me, Ben/Brad/Bob Gruff

 Well, Ben.Brad/Bob Gruff,  I’m gonna eat you sure enough.

 Oh PSHAW, you don’t want me. You want my brother, he’s bigger, you’ll see (clapping)

….Well OK. Be on your way!

Bibliographic Information:

Asbjørnsen, P.C. (1957). The Three Billy Goats Gruff (M. Brown, Illustrator). New York: Harcourt, Brace & World. 

Bender, R. (1993). The Three Billy Goats Gruff. New York: Henry Holt.
Finch, M. (2001). The Three Billy Goats Gruff (R. Arenson, Illustrator). New York: Barefoot Books.
Galdone, P. (1973). The Three Billy Goats Gruff. New York: Clarion Books.

Kimmel, E. A. (2007). The Three Cabritos (S. Gilpin, Illustrator). Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Children.

Rounds, G. (1993). Three Billy Goats Gruff. New York: Holiday House. 

The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Cultural origins: This story has traveled all over the world and its origins are controversial. The version laid out here is the told by Grimm where the boy marries the oldest daughter as opposed to the French version where he marries the youngest daughter. Many picture books have teased out the relationship between the boy and the youngest daughter to great effect, having the oldest sister try to trick the boy into drinking a poisoned cup in the enchanted castle dooming him there for all eternity. In those variants, the youngest princess realizes her love for the boy regardless of his lack of wealth and title and swipes the cup from his hand, saving him and sealing their fate. The story told below is one where the oldest daughter is running the show and the youngest daughter is the worry-wart that wants to ruin everyone's fun. 

Intended audience: Middle School Students (11-13)

Why this audience?: This story has dark elements, while still retaining the fairy tale features that secretly appeal to middle school students. It is too mature for an elementary audience, but is capable of lighting the imagination of late elementary to middle school tweens.

Characters:   The Oldest Sister

                        The Youngest Sister

                        The King

                        The Old Woman

                        The Soldier/ Michael

Scenes/Settings: The Countryside, The Castle, The Bedroom of the 12 Princesses, The 3 Enchanted Forests of the Underworld (silver, gold, diamond) and the Underworld Castle surrounded by a lake.

Synopsis: A weary soldier, tired of war, is wandering in the woods when he encounters an old woman begging for food. He shares his food with her and in return she offers him the chance to make his fortune by winning the hand of one of the 12 princesses in the neighboring kingdom who are rumored to be under a spell. Every morning their father discovers that their shoes are danced to pieces even though he has kept their room locked all night. Every morning the new shoes are worn to pieces and the King is so frustrated he offers his kingdom and his daughter’s hand to any man who can discover where the princesses go every night. The old woman gives him a cloak of invisibility so he can accomplish this task as well as the most important piece of advice: do not drink anything in the castle.

            Michael sets off to the castle to seek his fortune and discovers to his horror that all the men who have tried to discover the princesses secret before him have vanished within the princesses’ chamber. He pretends to drink from the cup offered to him by the oldest princess and succeeds in fooling them, then follows them through under the oldest sisters bed into an enchanted underworld with 3 forests (silver, gold and diamond). Michael almost get caught following them when he trips on the youngest sister’s dress and when he is gathering evidence of the forests for the king and the youngest sister hears the crack. At the edge of the forest is a black lake with 12 boats along with 12 handsome men entirely dressed in black. Michael takes one last piece of evidence from the palace, the princesses’ final destination: a goblet. He then rides back, invisible, with the princesses and awaits the King in the morning. The morning the King opens the door, Michael tells him of the Princesses secrets and offers the proof. As soon as the secret has left his lips the princesses’ bedroom floor crumble to pieces and buries the entrance to the enchanted world once and for all.

            The King offers Michael the hand of any daughter he wishes. He chooses the oldest daughter:" I have grown old in my years in battle and your oldest daughter is old enough for me."
             They return to the glen where Michael first met the old woman who gave him the cloak of invisibility and when they found that her hut was missing they asked around for the old woman who lived in the woods. The villagers had never heard of such a woman, nor any hut.

Story Climaxes/High Points: Michael reveals the secret of the underworld the princesses secretly visit every night and produces evidence (the goblet and the branch of diamonds). When he reveals there secret the floor of the bedroom suddenly crumbles, forever blocking anyone from entering the underworld ever again.

Special phrases: "12 Princesses, each more beautiful than the last."

                               Old woman: "One bite is a feast to those who have nothing."

                               "He decided he wanted a wife as clever as she was beautiful."

Bibliographic Information:

Carter, A. (1989). The Twelve Dancing Princesses. New York: J.B. Lippincott.

Heiner, H. A. (Ed.). (2010). SurLaLune Fairy Tale Series: Twelve Dancing Princesses; Tales From Around the World. S.I.: SurLaLune Press. 

Lang A. (1966). The Twelve Dancing Princesses.  In The Red Fairy Book (pp. 1-14). New York: Dover Publications. 

Mayer, M. (1989). The Twelve Dancing Princesses (K.Y. Craft, Illustrator). New York: Morrow Junior Books.

McKillip, P. A. (2000). The Twelve Dancing Princesses. In E. Datlow & T. Windling (Eds.), A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales (pp.150-165). New York: Simon & Schuster. 

McKinley, R. (1981). The Twelve Dancing Princesses. In The Door in the Hedge (pp. 137-216). New York: Greenwillow Books. 

Opie, P & I. (1974). The Twelve Dancing Princesses.  In The Classic Fairy Tales (pp. 248-252). New York: Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1823) 

Pullman, P. (2012). The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces. In Fairy  Tales from the Brothers Grimm; A New English Version (pp. 344-349). New York: Viking. 

Quiller-Couch, A.T. (1923). The Twelve Dancing Princesses.Twelve Dancing Princesses (pp. 117-150). New York: George H. Doran Company. 

Sanderson, R. (1990). The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Boston: Little Brown.