Storytelling Week 12 - My Secret

                  I hated my wings.  I was apparently born with them.  When I was born, they more like little nubs sticking out from my back but as I grew older they became more and more clearly defined as wings.  My father had a special brace made for them.  I always wore it, unless I was positive no one would see.  As I grew up, I became rather reclusive because I didn’t want people to find out my secret.  I was scared that people would make fun of me or have me thrown into a weird science lab for experimentation. 

                  Everything changed when I met Annabelle.  She was so kind and caring.  No matter how much I wanted to withdraw into my little world, she always brought me back into the real world.  She didn’t care what I did, she just wanted to love me and be with me.  And that was all I needed from her.  After dating for quite a few years, I finally got up the courage to propose to her.  I kept thinking that she was going to turn me down and laugh in my face.  But true to herself, she was so excited to marry me!  She started wedding preparations as soon as possible, and next thing I knew we were married.  However, we got married without her knowing my big secret. 

(Wikipedia)

                  Annabelle never pried into the things I wanted to keep secret, and I loved her even more for that.  I finally got up the courage to tell her.  I sat her down and began to tell her.

                  “So . . . I know that we have been married for a little while now.”

                  “Yeah, and?”

                  “Well, you have always been good about not asking me why I always wear a shirt.”

                  “Well, you have never wanted to talk about it, so I wanted to let you tell me when you were comfortable with it.”  Goodness, she was so patient with me.

                  “And I decided that today I will tell you what is going on that.”  I started to un-button the shirt I was wearing as I was talking.  “You see . . . I have always been hiding this huge secret.  I want you to promise that you won’t do anything when you find out this secret.  Like, give me over to a science lab or something like that.”

                  “Oh of course I wouldn’t do that sweetie!  Do you think I would be that cruel?  Now what is this secret?  You are making me nervous.”

                  “Well, the thing is, I was born with these . . . . “ I ripped off my shirt and the brace to allow my wings to reach their full span.  “What do you think?”

                  “Oh my goodness, John.  They are beautiful!  I think they fit you perfectly!”

                  “Really?  I have always wanted to get rid of them”

                  “Oh don’t do that!  Your secret is safe with me.  They complete you.  I wouldn’t want you without them.”  And with that, she threw her arms around me and gave me one of the most loving kisses I have ever received from her.  I returned the hug, knowing my secret is safe with her.

Author's Note: I chose to use The Unknown Bride as my inspiration from this story.  I took the idea of King Midas' ears in the story and created a story from that idea.  In the story, King Midas has donkey ears that he hides under his crown.  The only person who knows this is his wife.  She is told not to tell this secret, but because she cannot hold this secret in.  So she goes to the swamp to tell the swamp the secret.  The story then has a knight come along and hear the secret, and then the story goes on into following the knight in his quest for his queen.  However, that is not important to the story that I am writing.  The Unknown Bride has three different parts to it and the part I chose, the first part, is the only part that has King Midas mentioned in it.  I also decided to add in a little X-Men flair as well, for those of you who are fans of the series.  I am not the biggest fan so if I get any details wrong, please forgive me.

Reading Diary B- Canterbury Tales

For this reading diary, I am finishing reading the Canterbury Tales.

Little Hugh -There was once a widow's son who was named Hugh, and he was very reverent in his prayers that he said every day.  An older boy taught Hugh a hymn that he was learning.  The devil had the Jewish community turn against him and they hired a murderer to kill the boy singing the hymn.  His mother tried to find him but no one would help her.  Even though the boy was killed, he still sang the hymn.  The boy was found and many people wept.  There was a beautiful funeral for him.

The Cock, the Hen and the Fox - There was once a poor woman who was able to survive on the little amount of money that she was making.  She had a rooster who was very happy and there were seven hens as well.  One day the rooster had a terrible dream that he was hunted down by a terrible being.  One of the hens, Dame Partelote, told him not to be afraid and to have courage.

The Cock, the Hen and the Fox (cont.) - The rooster set about telling a story about two men who went on a pilgrimage together.  The two men stopped at a ox stall one night.  One of the men dreamed, three different times, that the other man said he would killed in the ox stall.  In the man's dream he said his body would be in a rubbish cart, which turned out to be the truth and the innkeeper was arrested for the murder.  The rooster said this to prove that sometimes dreams tell you the truth.

The Cock, the Hen and the Fox (cont. again) -The next morning the rooster was as happy as could be but a fox was sneaking up on him.  The rooster saw him and was terrified.  The fox said he only wanted to hear the rooster's singing.  The rooster was so pleased with the compliment that he started to sing and the fox snatched him up and took him into the woods.

(How Stuff Works)

The Cock, the Hen and the Fox (end) - Everyone was sad about the rooster.  And everyone wanted the fox to be gone.  The rooster tried to convince the fox to let him go.  The fox went to taunt the people and the rooster flew away.  The fox tried to convince the rooster to come back and he would not.

The Priest Who Learned to be a Philosopher -There was a priest who had very little expenses so he had a lot of money saved.  One day a man asked for a loan.  The priest was happy to do it because he felt that he was helping the man.  The man said that he would show the priest how to go about with philosophy as a way to pay him back for the loan.  The man then told the priest to use a crucible for ounces of silver.

The Priest Who Learned to be a Philosopher (cont.) - The priest followed what the canon said.  So he heated the coals and put the crucible in the fire.  After a while the canon went to stoke up the fire and put a specially made coal on top of the fire.  The canon then tricked the priest to think that silver filing appeared on the crucible from the fire.

The Priest Who Learned to be a Philosopher (end) - The canon told the priest to stoke up[ the fire again, so he immediately went and did that and the canon played another trick on the priest.  The canon convinced the priest that he could turn cooper into silver.  The canon gave the priest the recipe in exchange for 40 pieces of gold, which the priest did, but it never worked again.

Reading Diary A - Canterbury Tales

For this reading diary, I am reading the Canterbury Tales.

The Unknown Bride - A knight was challenged to find what it is that women want the most.  King Midas' wife could not keep his secret under wraps and went to tell the marsh.  The knight was there and the Queen promised to help him if he did something for her in return.

(Wikipedia)

The Unknown Bride (cont.) -  The knight came back the court and told the Queen that women wished to rule their husbands.  The woman who had helped him said that he request to him was that she become his wife.  The knight refused but he still had to marry her all the same.  And because the knight committed himself to her, she turned into a beautiful young woman.

The Story of the Summoner -  A summoner went out to get some money.  He met a stranger who promised to help him.  The two men were talking about how to best keep their money.

The Story of the Summoner (cont.) -  The two men passed a cart where a man was yelling at two horses.  One of the men said that they could take it based on what the man said, but then the man changed how he spoke so they could not.  The men then tried to trick an old woman to have her give them money.  They got the money but then the stranger took the summoner back with him to hell.

The Promise of Dorigen - A knight named Arviragus was trying his best to win the love of a noble lady.  The noble lady then came to love him.  The knight had to leave after a year for business and the lady was very sad.  While the lady was with her friends one day, a young lad fell in love with her.  He then one day proclaimed his devotion to her.

The Promise of Dorigen (cont.) -Dorigan said the Arviragus was her only love.  The young lad wished that he might win Dorigen over.  But then Arviragus returned home.  The lad's brother was sad because he knew the pain he was in.  But then he remembered a magic book.  Aurelius and his brother then set off to find the book.  The brothers then found the magician who had the book.

The Promise of Dorigen (cont. again) - The brothers explained why they were there.  The magician said he could do it for a thousand pounds.  The magician performed the spell and Aurelius went straight to Dorigen.  Aurelius told her that since all of the rocks were gone, she now had to come to him and leave her husband.  While this made Dorigen very sad, she agreed.

The Promise of Dorigen (end) - Aurelius saw that Dorigen had come and that Arviragus would rather have her keep her word than stay with him, he told her to go back to her faithful husband.  He went to go pay the magician.  When he explained the story to the magician, then the magician released him from his debt.

The Revelers - There was a group of men who partied all the time, day and night.  One day they were in a tavern in the morning, and they heard the story about how one of their companions died last night.  The men then decide to confront this thief named Death and kill him.  They started walking up the road when they ran into an old man.

The Revelers (cont.) - One of the young men asked him why he was so old and the old man replied that he could not find someone to give him their youth and to take his age.  They then talked about Death and the old man told them where to go.  They went along the path and found a pile of gold.  The men decided it was best if they brought the gold back at night to prevent any suspicion.

The Revelers (end) -They drew lots and one of the men went back to town.  The other two decided that they would have more money if they split it up between the two of them.  So they plotted to kill the third member.  The third man planned to poison the other two men.  Both plans went as planned and soon all three met death.

Extra Reading Diary - Nursery Rhymes

For this reading diary, I am finishing reading Nursery Rhymes.

Nursery Rhymes: Jingles - I wasn't surprised by the fact there were only a few I recognized.  It seems like there are quite a few that I have never heard of.

Nursery Rhymes: Love and Matrimony - I understood why the majority of the nursery rhymes were put in this section, but there were a couple that I was confused why they were there.

Nursery Rhymes: Natural History, Part 1 - I thought all of these nursery rhymes were very cute, talking about the different animals.

Nursery Rhymes: Natural History, Part 2 - I thought these rhymes were just as cute as the first page of natural history rhymes.

Nursery Rhymes: Accumulative Stories - I was surprised there wasn't a rhyme similar to the old lady who lived in a shoes.

Nursery Rhymes: Relics - There was only one that I recognized which was the rhyme "Little Miss Muffet".

(Wikipedia)