The Tongue-cut Sparrow -- A Fairy Tale from Japan (T))
This tale is taken from McCarthy’s book and is one where there are characters that are all good and all bad. The villain is an old woman neighbor who cut out the tongue of an old couple’s pet sparrow because she hates his song. With the aid of a talking crow, field mouse and bat the old couple, highly distressed about the disappearance of their beloved pet, find the bird and there is a happy reunion. After a pleasant visit, they prepare to leave and are given a choice between a small and a large basket to take home. The woman, ever thoughtful and unselfish, chooses the small one which she finds later is full of gold. The neighbor, eager to also procure such riches, finds out how to get to the sparrow’s home. Greedy as she is, she takes the large basket home which ends up being full of horrible creatures who fly away with her.
The lesson is quite clear and the tale lends itself well to a discussion about greed and unselfishness. The tale could be compared with other tales of greed, like
Rumpelstiltskin
and
The King with the Golden Touch
.
The Dolphin -- A Fairy Tale from Mallorca (R))
This fairy tale consists of three chapters, but I will be using only the first chapter, which is a complete story in itself. It is found in a book entitled
A Book of Magic Animals
by Ruth Manning Sanders. In this story a friendly dolphin helps a fisherman and his wife catch a special fish that brings about the birth of twins, Peter and Anna. His only stipulation is that he be made godfather of the children. Near this village lives a king staying at his summer palace. He has a beautiful daughter named Nina. The king seeks to foil her suitors’ attempts to win her hand. Peter is among her suitors even though he is only a lowly fisherman. The dolphin helps Peter fulfill the tasks that the unfair king gives him to do. In the end, the dolphin frees Peter from imprisonment and helps him reunite with Nina. Peter’s loyal twin, Anna, agrees to become the dolphin’s wife if he frees Peter from the king’s prison and the story ends with Anna riding on the back of the dolphin.
What does Anna see under the sea as she rides on the back of the dolphin? Indeed, what does it feel like to ride on a dolphin’s back? What kind of dangers might they face and they journey through the water? I will ask my students to consider these questions and put themselves on the dolphin’s back. They will be asked to write a detailed description of such an underwater setting using their five senses. This is another important component of narrative writing that my students need practice in.
The Three Feathers -- A Fairy Tale from Germany (T))
This fairy tale is found in McCarthy’s book and involves a king who sends his three sons on three separate missions to get a carpet, a ring and a woman for him. The two lazy brothers put no effort into their undertakings, thinking that anything will do for their father while Noodle, the youngest son, takes his mission very seriously and with the aid of a kind but somewhat intimidating toad succeeds in his quest to bring his father the finest carpet, the most beautiful ring and the loveliest woman. It is the toad itself that magically turns into a beautiful princess because Noodle, with his courage and bravery, has broken the spell of an evil witch. Noodle and the princess fall in love, marry with his father’s blessings, and go on to rule the kingdom.
This story can quite easily be retold in play form and through Readers Theatre students can retell this story.
