Once upon a time, there was a mouse who was very mischievous. The mouse always went into the kitchen and stole cheese from the old lady.
One day when the mouse entered the kitchen, she was surprised by a quick snap and ended up caught in a mouse trap. When she looked down, she realized that her tail was caught between the metal.
"Oh no!" she screamed. "My tail!" The mouse's tail had been cut off halfway down. She was heartbroken, so she started a mission to find someone to sew her tail back on.
First, she went to the cobbler. Cobbler, Cobbler, sew on my tail!
The cobbler said, "Run away and bring me some thread so that I can sew on your tail." So the mouse left; she went to find the bookkeeper.
Bookkeeper, bookkeeper, give me a thread
To give to the Cobbler to sew on my tail.
"Bring me an apple," said the bookkeeper, "and I'll give you a thread." So the mouse left; she went to the kitten.
Kitten, kitten, give me an apple
To give to the bookkeeper, who'll give me a thread
To give to the Cobbler to sew on my tail.
The kitten said, "go and bring me some milk and I'll give you an egg." So the mouse left; she went to the cow.
Cow, cow, give me some milk
To give to the kitten, who'll give me an apple
To give to the bookkeeper, who'll give me a thread
To give to the Cobbler to sew on my tail.
"Bring me some hay," said the cow, "and I will give you some milk." So the mouse left; she went to the farmer.
Farmer, farmer, give me some hay
To give to the cow, who'll give me some milk
To give to the kitten, who'll give me an apple
To give to the bookkeeper, who'll give me a thread
To give to the Cobbler to sew on my tail.
The farmer looked down at the exhausted mouse. "What do you really need?" asked the farmer. "I can't imagine that you are actually going to eat the hay I give you."
"I'm just trying to gather some items so I can get the thread for the Cobbler to sew my tail back on," replied the mouse.
"Oh, I see," said the farmer. "I think I can help you."
The farmer walked back into his barn. A few moments later, he brought out a large ball of thread and handed it to the mouse. "I can't sew on your tail for you, but I can prevent you from having to gather all of those items. Now go back to Cobbler and get your tail fixed."
The mouse thanked the farmer and ran home towards the Cobbler. She was so happy, she could not even contain herself. She was so grateful for the kindness that the farmer showed her. The mouse ran as fast as she could to the Cobbler and he fixed her tail.
The mouse never went near the kitchen again.
Author's Note:
This original story was about a mouse that got caught in a mouse trap and lost her tail. She was frantic to find someone that would sew her tail back on. First, she went to the cobbler, then to the Jew, then to the hen, visiting several friends to try to fix her tail. At the end of the story, she still did not have her tail fixed.
As seen, I decided to change the characters a little bit in the story. The mouse is still searching for various items, but they are different. The major change that I made was the ending. Instead of the mouse still continuing to search for the items to eventually get the thread, I just ended the story by the farmer giving the mouse the thread to take back to the Cobbler. I did not like how the original story did not have a satisfying ending.
Bibliography:
"The Sad Tale of the Mouse's Tail." Story source: Persian Tales, translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer and illustrated by Hilda Roberts (1919).
Image information:
Sad Mouse. Web Source.
One day when the mouse entered the kitchen, she was surprised by a quick snap and ended up caught in a mouse trap. When she looked down, she realized that her tail was caught between the metal.
"Oh no!" she screamed. "My tail!" The mouse's tail had been cut off halfway down. She was heartbroken, so she started a mission to find someone to sew her tail back on.
First, she went to the cobbler. Cobbler, Cobbler, sew on my tail!
The cobbler said, "Run away and bring me some thread so that I can sew on your tail." So the mouse left; she went to find the bookkeeper.
Bookkeeper, bookkeeper, give me a thread
To give to the Cobbler to sew on my tail.
"Bring me an apple," said the bookkeeper, "and I'll give you a thread." So the mouse left; she went to the kitten.
Kitten, kitten, give me an apple
To give to the bookkeeper, who'll give me a thread
To give to the Cobbler to sew on my tail.
The kitten said, "go and bring me some milk and I'll give you an egg." So the mouse left; she went to the cow.
Cow, cow, give me some milk
To give to the kitten, who'll give me an apple
To give to the bookkeeper, who'll give me a thread
To give to the Cobbler to sew on my tail.
"Bring me some hay," said the cow, "and I will give you some milk." So the mouse left; she went to the farmer.
Farmer, farmer, give me some hay
To give to the cow, who'll give me some milk
To give to the kitten, who'll give me an apple
To give to the bookkeeper, who'll give me a thread
To give to the Cobbler to sew on my tail.
The farmer looked down at the exhausted mouse. "What do you really need?" asked the farmer. "I can't imagine that you are actually going to eat the hay I give you."
"I'm just trying to gather some items so I can get the thread for the Cobbler to sew my tail back on," replied the mouse.
"Oh, I see," said the farmer. "I think I can help you."
The farmer walked back into his barn. A few moments later, he brought out a large ball of thread and handed it to the mouse. "I can't sew on your tail for you, but I can prevent you from having to gather all of those items. Now go back to Cobbler and get your tail fixed."
The mouse thanked the farmer and ran home towards the Cobbler. She was so happy, she could not even contain herself. She was so grateful for the kindness that the farmer showed her. The mouse ran as fast as she could to the Cobbler and he fixed her tail.
The mouse never went near the kitchen again.
Author's Note:
This original story was about a mouse that got caught in a mouse trap and lost her tail. She was frantic to find someone that would sew her tail back on. First, she went to the cobbler, then to the Jew, then to the hen, visiting several friends to try to fix her tail. At the end of the story, she still did not have her tail fixed.
As seen, I decided to change the characters a little bit in the story. The mouse is still searching for various items, but they are different. The major change that I made was the ending. Instead of the mouse still continuing to search for the items to eventually get the thread, I just ended the story by the farmer giving the mouse the thread to take back to the Cobbler. I did not like how the original story did not have a satisfying ending.
Bibliography:
"The Sad Tale of the Mouse's Tail." Story source: Persian Tales, translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer and illustrated by Hilda Roberts (1919).
Image information:
Sad Mouse. Web Source.
Arianna,
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of happy endings, so I really enjoyed your twist of the mouse getting her tale sewed back on. I also enjoyed your character changes and the use of animals and the farmer. Your characters seemed more coherent to me than the ones used in the original story. Your dialogue was a nice touch and it was a very easy read! Great work!
Such a sweet story of kindness. I wonder if this is the original "bring this to this person for this to take to this person and so on" myth, because I feel like that's a common storytelling trope, especially in televisions shows or short skits. Also, the italics and rhyming gave this story a nice sense of how the original was written.
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