Week 9 Story: The Origin of Rain and Thunder
"Grandma, the cookies are read--AHHH!" the little girl screamed as a loud bang filled the sky, rushing to her grandmother.
"It's okay, dear. I'll get the cookies out of the oven and you can stand right by me." replied the grandmother.
Jessie spent one weekend every month with her grandmother, but none that she remembered had been this stormy. The rain was pounding on the roof and the sky kept lighting up, soon followed by a loud crashing noise.
Jessie did not like this and would get really scared every time she heard the loud bang. The grandma had baked cookies as a distraction, but it was not working as she had hoped.
Jessie turned to her grandmother and asked, "Why does the sky light up and make a loud bang?"
The grandmother smiled. "Here, let's get our cookies and milk, sit by the fire and then I'll tell you."
They did as so and sat down by the fire. The grandmother began to tell the story:
"Well, Jessie, this is what my mother and grandmother told me." Jessie listened intently to her grandmother.
"The angels in heaven sometimes get really sad. And when they get sad they start to cry. They cry so much that their tears fall from heaven down to the earth. We call that rain." The thunder struck again and Jessie screamed, hugging her grandma tighter and burying her head in her side.
The grandma continued, "And when the angels are really really sad, they will bawl. And when they bawl, they are so loud that we can hear it down on earth. That's the loud noise you hear, called thunder."
Jessie was amazed. "Is that really true grandma?"
"Of course, honey. This is the story that has been passed on to me from my mother and grandmother. So there is no need to be afraid anymore. Just remember that it is only the angels crying and bawling. Instead, just pray that for them to cheer up!"
Jessie smiled and laid her head back on her grandma's shoulder. She felt much better now, and every time the sky filled with a bang, she bowed her head and prayed for the angels to stop crying.
Author's Note: This story is not my original idea. It is based on the story from Nigerian Folk Stories, The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder. I retold the story from the perspective of a modern day grandmother and granddaughter and I used the story my mother and grandmother told me.
Bibliography: The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder. Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910).
Hi Libby!
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you told the story by making the grandmother the storyteller. I think it's a cool way of retelling stories. It reminds me of my relationship with my grandma. She would always tell me stories like this a lot too. I also like the picture you chose. It made it easy to imagine Jessie burrowing her head in her grandma's shoulders.
Hey Libby, choosing to write the grandmother as the storyteller was really genius, as grandmother's are always telling stories and it fits perfectly! The environment that you created around the grandmother and granddaughter also sounds so cozy, and it's like the reader can put themselves into the granddaughter's position and enjoy the story being told. Overall, the story gives off such a cozy, nostalgic feel while being an origin story! It was great!
ReplyDeleteHi Libby,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how you chose to open the story. It reminded me of my own grandma and how she used to tell me the story of Peter Cottontail. It's cool that it's such a universal thing. Around the world, kids get told stories from grandparents, parents, or siblings. Other than that, the story was well written and easy to read. You added some nice depth to a common folktale. Good work!