Week 11 Story: A Happy Ending

There once lived a man who had six daughters. All daughters were incredibly beautiful, with hair as black as a raven and eyes as blue as the ocean. Men could not help but to flock to these girls, and they would often travel many miles in order to ask for their hand in marriage. These men were often very handsome, brave, and very skilled. It was not difficult for the five older daughters to accept these proposals.

After the five older daughters were wooed and married, there remained the youngest daughter. Her name was Grace. Although she was just as beautiful as her older sisters, her personality was much different. Her sisters were proud and talkative, while Grace spoke little and was shy. She was very kind with a loving heart, and would spend most of her time in the woods enjoying nature's beauty. Grace, with dreamy eyes, loved being alone with her thoughts. Yet Grace, modest though she was, had a spirit of her own.

It did not take long for men to see this, and she soon had many suitors. These men, most being conceited and confident that they could win her, were sent away after Grace would laugh in their faces. "Your hair is too dark," "you are too skinny," "you are too tall." she would say. She seemed hard to please. Her sisters started becoming impatient with her. Her father was puzzled.

"Grace, dear, do you wish to never marry?" he asked. "The most handsome and brave men have traveled far across both land and sea to ask four your hand, yet you send them away with silly excuses. Why?"

"Father, these men are handsome, yes. But, it is as if I can see their heart. And these men are not as beautiful on the inside as they appear on the outside."

(Inner Beauty)

Soon after, a strange thing happened. A man named Vincent came to the village. He was many years older than Grace, and was poor and ugly. This was the man she chose to marry.

Her sisters were embarrassed, and they questioned their little sister's state of mind. But they did not see what Grace saw. Beneath Vincent's outward ugliness was a beautiful and most generous heart. He was intelligent, and had the passion of a poet. This is why Grace loved him, and knowing that no one else loved him made her love him all the more.

But when they married, the most spectacular thing happened. For when they kissed for the first time, Vincent transformed into the most handsome man in the world. It just so happened that an evil spell had been cast on him many years ago out of pure jealousy.


Author's Note:
I did not change much of the original story. The original did have a lot more details, but I wanted to make it a little more short and to-the-point. This story was broken into 3 or 4 smaller stories in the unit, so we did not find out that a spell had been cast on the husband to make him poor and ugly until the second story. I wanted to add that into my story to give it that happy ending.

Story source: The Child of the Evening Star by W.T. Larned

Reading Notes: American Indian Fairy Tales Part B

How the Summer Came (End) by W.T. Larned (1921)

There was a man who was very skilled and could do anything he put his mind to. He also had a son who strived to be just like him. Unfortunately, the earth was always very cold. They had heard, though, that in the sky was a place so beautiful. This place was warm, and had summer. One day, the boy was hunting, and the squirrel he was about to shoot spoke up. The squirrel told him that if someone were to go to the sky and bring back summer, it would be a blessing for everyone.

(Summer)

The boy went home to his dad and asked him if he could go to the sky and bring back summer. After much thought and discussion with the animals, the father learned of a tall mountain that want up past the clouds. It took 20 days for the father and the animals to reach the top of the mountain. Once they reached the top, they took a break, and prayed to the Great Spirit for success in their attempt to bring back summer. The animals took turns jumping and trying to get into the sky. The wolverine, after several attempts, was able to "break" the sky and enter. The father followed him, and inside was a beautiful land. It was warm, and there were so many cages with beautiful birds inside. They stood there admiring the land, as summer started to seep out through the hole in the sky that the wolverine created. They went to open the cages to let the birds out so they could follow. The sky-dwellers saw this, and try to catch the wolverine before he was able to escape back through the hole and down to earth. The father, however, remained opening bird cages. Autumn, Spring, and most of Summer were able to escape before the sky-dwellers closed the hole back up. As they tried to pursue the father, he transformed into the fisher(bird). They continued to chase him and shot their arrows at him until one finally hit him in a spot that was fatal. He asked them to please leave him there alone to die. When they left, he tried to find a hole in the plains where he could escape back to earth. He was unable to, and died on the plain. However, he was happy he was able to keep his promise to his son.

Reading Notes: American Indian Tales Part A

The Child of the Evening Star by W.T. Larned (1921)

There was a man who had 10 daughters, all who were very beautiful. Men flocked to them, even traveling far in order to try to marry them. These were great men, as they were very skilled and handsome.

The youngest daughter, however, was the most quiet and modest of all the girls. She didn't talk much, and she loved exploring out in the woods and being in nature. Although she was quiet, men were still crazy about her. However, each time one would come to her she would find some excuse to send them away: "You're too tall," "you're too fat," or "you're too skinny," and would laugh.

After a while, these men started thinking she was just a silly and unreasonable girl. Her sisters had no patience. Even her father grew curious. When he asked her why she was sending all these men away, she told him that she can see what is in their hearts. Just because these men were beautiful on the outside does not mean they are beautiful on the inside, and she had yet to meet a man that was beautiful on the inside.

Not too long after, a man came into the village. He was ugly and poor, yet she married him. He had a very generous and kind heart, and he was intelligent and passionate. The fact that no one really loved him made her love him so much more.

(Inner Beauty)