Curly locks! curly locks! wilt thou be mine?
Thou shalt not wash dishes, nor yet feed the swine,
But sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam,
And feed upon strawberries, sugar, and cream!
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RIINNGGGGG!!!
The school bell yelled throughout the
room. John stood up and gathered his belongings, anxious to get home to his
pig, Rover. As he passed the last desk, he caught wind of her magical
perfume. He knew. He knew exactly where it came from: Mary Ann
Higgins. The most beautiful girl in the
world.
She glanced his way and he looked away hastily, as he realized he
was staring. Isn’t she used to it? Someone as sweet and perfect as her must
attract a crowd.
He walked over to her, palms sweating, “H-Hey Mary, I was
wondering if you’d like to get an ice cream?” All his after school plans were
long gone, because he was looking his future in the eyes. He wouldn’t have believed the words came out
of his own mouth if he hadn’t heard them too.
“Well Johny Boy, I could do that,” she said with a nod and a
grin. Her angelic golden curls bounced
with the shake of her head. He was
shocked. She was a woman of power and
leisure, and with a father like Mayor Higgins, John knew he was walking a
dangerous line. He couldn’t picture must
past this date, so he’d just have to savor every second.
A boy and girl featured in The Nursery Rhyme Book (1897) found on Project Gutenberg.
To his (and everyone else’s) surprise, they began courting just a
few months later. Mayor Higgins liked
John Rollins, but he did NOT want his daughter feeding that infamous pig, or
being his little maid, washing his dishes and such. No, he would have to test him. If he passed, he could have Mary; if not, he
would be sure their courtship was shattered, by his own hand no less.
One frigid night, Mayor Higgins dressed up as a beggar, roaming
the streets of the very town he ran, Hamilton.
Knock! Knock! Knock! The mayor’s plan was in full swing. John answered swiftly, with a wool blanket
wrapped around him to combat the frozen air.
“Sir, could you spare a crumb? Or a sock?” mayor muttered in his
most unfamiliar voice, “it is dreadfully cold, and I don’t believe I’ll make it
through the night!”
John stared blankly for a moment.
He remembered how warm he was; how he felt as though he was hugging a
polar bear in a blizzard. Not a moment
later, he unwrapped the blanket and put it on the hunched frail man. He needed it more.
“Well don’t just stand there! Come in! I’ve prepared stew for me and Rover, but I do
believe split three ways is sparse different from two,” John exclaimed. Mayor walked inside and let John close the
door. He suddenly threw off the blanket,
along with his wig and rags, revealing his true persona: Mayor Higgins.
“Sir! I’m so sorry! I didn’t recognize you! I-I-I.....” —
—“Son, I have never been more impressed than I am right now. You exhibited exactly what I want to see in
the man who marries my precious Mary. I
not only approve of your pending engagement, but I’d like to offer you
something extra special. How would you
like to be the Sherriff? It’s the second highest paying job in the town, second
only to me, of course.” He said with a chuckle.
John stared at the mayor, in complete shock. He thought he was just helping an innocent
man in need of a helping hand.
John rode to Mary’s house at first light, ecstatic to tell her the
news.
“Mary! Mary! Before you say anything, just listen! I have loved you from the moment I laid eyes
on you. Your heavenly curls and beautiful
heart are all I want to enjoy for the rest of my life. And I know you’ve been worried about money,
and not wanting to live in poverty, but that won’t happen! I have it all figured out! You can do your sewing you like so much, and
eat all the desserts your heart fancies! What I’m really asking here is, will
you be mine?”
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Author's Note. The poem above is very short, and gives no reference to who is speaking or what they are talking about. This was my favorite part, because it gave me full reigns on where to go with the story. Also, just like the poem, I left my ending completely open to interpretation. The story of John and Mary came to mind by picturing a man in the 1800's, and wondering why he would be saying the words in the poem. I hope you enjoyed!
Bibliography. This story is based on the nursery rhyme "Curly lock! Curly Locks!" in The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang and illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke (1897).
What a fun rhyme, Whitney! And since it is not a famous one, I really like your choice to include the rhyme first, and that way people can appreciate how you built your own story based on that tiny rhyme. You created a whole cast of characters, a setting, and this full-scale drama: it's so cute, a fairy tale in its own right where the good-hearted hero and the lovely lady get their happily-ever-after. Wonderful! When you start reading the Ramayana next week, you'll see it begins with something like a fairy tale also as prince Rama wins the hand of the lovely princess Sita in a contest staged by Sita's father.
ReplyDeleteFor the image, you need to follow the step by step for saving the image to your computer and uploading that copy to your blog; Gutenberg, like many sites, does not allow you to display the image by the URL as you did here. The image is replaced by their policy statement: screenshot ... but adding the image by upload just takes one extra step, so it's not hard to do at all. There's a link here for how to do the upload method for images, and that always works! Formatting Blog posts
Great story! I loved how much you were able to develop the storyline beyond the little bit given in the nursery rhyme. There were nods to the rhyme at the beginning and end, but otherwise your version really took on a life of its own. And the test of the hero by a disguised figure is classic. :) I really enjoyed reading this!
ReplyDeleteWhittney,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your story. I loved the way you have many paragraphs in your story,that makes it easier to stay focused and read the story. However, your picture is not clear enough in this blog. It was a little bit trouble for me to ready your Author’s note and I do believe if you use a different font it would be a lot better. Good luck.
Great take on the rhyme Whitney! I think you are a very creative writer! It’s nice to read such an enthusiastic storyline! The way you added all the details behind the characters action really made me interested. I already imagined funny voices for all the characters because you did so well in portraying their characteristics! Keep up the good work and hope to read more from you!
ReplyDelete