Story:

Once upon a time, there was a group of fairies: Kate, Taylor and Brittany. These fairies were very special fairies, for they were responsible for all the beauties and wonders of the world. How it worked was the fairies told each other stories, describing the things they wished to create and their magic would bring it into the world. The fairies enjoyed to play games together and have contests, to see who could come up with the most beautiful and wondrous creations. One day, while seeing who could make the loveliest plant, a visitor approached. Among the sunflowers, roses and tulips that had just been created, another fairy that they had never met or seen before approached the group.

“Hello,” said Brittany. “How can we help you?”

“I would like to participate in your game.” Said the unknown fairy.

“Well, sure!” The other three exclaimed.

“We are trying to create the most beautiful plants we can imagine!” Said Taylor.

“I’ll see what I can do.” The visitor said. Now the three fairies were very curious indeed, and huddled in close to their new guest as she began her story. This story, however, was like no story the fairies had ever heard of or imagined before. For it was filled with terrible things, quite the opposite of the beautiful wondrous creations they usually made. Once the visitor was done, she waited in anticipation to see what the other fairies thought of her story.

“I don’t like that story.” Said Kate.

“Me either, take it back before all those awful things are created!” Exclaimed Brittany.

But, of course, it was too late. For once a story is told, it cannot be called back. The power of the words are too strong, and once told, it is loose in the world.

Comments:

I found telling the story very different than reading it off a page or out of a book. I found that when I would tell the story, it would change slightly each time whether by the wording, the tone of voice that I used or the pauses I added for effect. Rather than reading and having it memorized, I don’t have the punctuation on the page to guide me, and the small details end up being changed depending on my audience or my mood. I told this story to a group of children that I work with, and I found the way I was telling it to them had more expressive voices and different tones than when I told it to my parents or fellow adults. I think that that is one of the main differences between story telling and reading. The story teller can chose how the story is told, whereas an author is limited to punctuation as a guide for how it should be read. With story telling, using different tones and voices can make such an impact on how the story is interpreted, whereas with reading, 6 different people may have 6 different scenes envisioned in their minds. Of course, interpretations can always be different, regardless of reading or hearing, but I find the control a story teller has compared to an author quite interesting.