More creative fable writing

Sorry about the length of time between posts, but I admit to being a bit preoccupied by other things. Jacob has been faithfully typing out his final drafts, so I will share some of his stories (Joshua doees not really type much yet, mostly because I don't make him and he is not motivated the way Jacob is. Oh well, it will come). So, when last we left you, the boys had completed their first re-writing of a classic fable. After that, they completed outlines and re-writings of several more fables and some short stories. Jacob has a tendency to simply embellish the same theme, while Joshua seeks to change the characters and setting to make it truly his own. Both styles are just fine, as the most important thing is that they are learning to identifythe significant elements of the stories and that they practice, practice, practice their new writing dress-ups, decorations, and sentence starters.

The General and the Grasshopper
by Jacob McKinnis

One beautiful winter day, General Jacobson was directing his army of ants. Jacobson was in the middle of telling his men where to put the grain that they had successfully gathered during the summer when a voice whimpered, “Mmay I have some ggrain, ppplease ?”

Quickly, the general whirled around to see that the voice belonged to a grasshopper who was shivering. Because this wasn't a sight you see every day, Jacobson paused. But, after a moment, Jacobson recovered. Then, he asked, “Why do you want our grain?”

“Because I was dancing in the summertime and didn't have any time to collect grain.”

“Well,” stated Jacobson as he ordered his men to drive the grasshopper away, “if you don't work for it, you don't get it.”


Ok, so that one is a very short version of a very short fable. What I like about his version, though, is how he basically excused the attitude of the ant by making it an army ant. The general would not tolerate laziness and would consider justice far more important than compassion. The abruptness of the story itself also fit that theme nicely.
In another of Jacob's stories, he begins to play a bit more with his words. This is one of the valuable things I have found in the IEW system: the tools become like playthings for the children to experiment with, and they truly do begin to love and appreciate the fun side of writing.

The Visit
by Jacob McKinnis

One cloudless summer day, a family of mice were cleaning their cozy country home. Suddenly, there came a rap at the door. “Come in,” the mother mouse called. When the mouse came in, the family rushed to embrace him. It was Cousin William! Then, William sat down and Mother Mouse, who was making a fuss over William because they didn't get to see him often, asked him all sorts of motherly things. Finally, after Mother got William all the things he could possibly need, William began to tell them about what was happening at his house. He also talked about how they had so much to eat; so much, in fact, that they couldn't dream of eating it all. He talked until it was very late, and then he left for his home.

Quietly, the mouse family went to bed. The littlest mouse, however, stayed awake thinking. Finally, he made up his mind. “I'm going to live with my cousin.”

And so he went off. When he got there, he was welcomed warmly. “This calls for a feast” William announced. And what a feast it was! There was Swiss cheese and cake and even some elegant caviar. And just as the feasting was at its height, who should come along but the cat!!! Everyone scrambled for their holes. But just as the littlest mouse was about to reach a hole, he tripped over a large wooden block. Snap! He was stuck in a mouse trap!

The littlest mouse began to wiggle and squirm. He was going to get out of this horrible mouse trap if it was the last thing he'd do. When he escaped from the mouse trap, which had caused him a great deal of pain, the littlest mouse quickly and quietly ran as if an army of cats were after him all the way home. Because every one was still asleep, the littlest mouse slipped into bed and only he and you know the story of how he visited his cousin's house.


I think perhaps my favorite part is the ending. Next, I will have to find the time to type out some of Joshua's stories, as there is such an interesting contrast in their styles. This is all I have time for just now, though. TTFN!