After school one day, a young boy ran as fast as he could to the playground. He had heard of a fight that was taking place between the two biggest kids in his class. He believed it to be a once in a lifetime opportunity and would not miss it for anything else in the world. Once he arrived he found a large group of his fellow students gathered chanting the fighters on. The boy was reluctant at first to join the group in their enthusiasm. Eventually, the boy caved and began chanting along with his fellow students, "Fight! Fight! Fight!". Halfway through the altercation the students were disbanded by the principals and teachers of the school. The students bolted in every direction in hopes to not get caught up in the trouble. The young boy was too entrapped in his own chanting that he did not notice the school faculty's presence. He was the last student still chanting until the principal yelled at the boy "Enough!". The boy, incredibly shocked, had become silent. The playground was so silent you could hear a pin drop. The principle said "You! To my office now!" The boy was incredibly scared and had no idea why he was being sentenced to the principal's office. However, he headed straight to the office, not even thinking about looking back.
As the student sat in the office he began to ponder what he was in trouble for. "I was not even fighting! Why am I in the office? This is not fair! It should be the other kids, not me!". After 30 minutes of anxiously waiting in the office, the principal finally entered. The boy, cowering in his chair said, "What am I in trouble for?!". The principal then replied to the boy, "I know you were not physically fighting, but you encouraged it. Words encourage deeds and in this case..that is worse than fighting".
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Author's noteThe original fable I used was titled the "The Trumpeter taken Prisoner". This fable was about the trumpeter who sounds calls during war to inform troops. In the story, the trumpeter wanders too close to the enemy and is taken hostage. While he was prisoner, the trumpeter pleads for his life saying he does not cause harm to them because he is just a musician. However, the enemy sees it in a different light. The enemy state's "You may not fight yourself, but you encourage and guide other men to fight". This fable reminded me of childhood school fights and how they can influenced by a student's peers.
Bibliography
The story is based on the fable "The Trumpeter taken Prisoner"in Aesop's Fables.
Tyler, I really liked your story! I liked how you changed it to a school yard fight, because that is something that everyone can in some way, relate to. I liked your balance of story telling and dialogue as well, keeping the story interesting! The was you ended the story with a lesson wrapped it up nicely, and also suits a children's story perfectly! Great job.
ReplyDeleteGreat story Tyler. I have not heard this particular fable before, but it serves to teach a good lesson. We often do not realize how powerful our words are, especially when influencing the actions of others. In today's society, anonymity is so easy and people often hide behind their words. It takes an important story like this to remind us how important words truly are. I think your format and length were perfect, and your word choice appropriately highlighted the severity of the child's actions, even though it was a playgroud banter.
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ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how you took a fable about men in war to boys in a fight at a school. The way you were able to get into the mindset of a younger boy and captivate the readers was astonishing. Your writing is very well developed and flows smoothly through each sentence. I think you are a very good writer and to keep this momentum throughout your blog!
DeleteThis story was a really interesting twist on the original tale. I love that you kept the original moral of the story in your new version. I wonder what started the fight in this story. If you wanted to lengthen the story or revise it, you could give the characters some background, and write in a reason for the fight. You could also talk about what happened to the other kids or if anyone else got in trouble. I wonder how much trouble this kid got into for egging on the fight. You could write this portion in as well if you wanted to revise, and maybe parallel it to the story that you started with and whatever happened to the trumpeter. You have a lot of places where you could add to this story in really interesting and new ways. Your story was great and it was very creative to relate the original to a modern day setting in a playground! Great writing!
ReplyDeleteThis was an awesome story, first of all. I enjoyed how you created your own twist to the Aesop's Fable by coming up with a story that is common to a lot of people's childhood. The picture was also the perfect tie-in because the kid just looks really sad and it echoes what the student in the story is feeling. Overall, great story!
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