1) I give you a traditional story. (Like one of Aesop's Fables or a fairy tale, etc.)
2) You write it up differently from the original and send it in to me via the email me gadget that I added to my blog on the right sidebar. (Please, try to keep it about 500 words max but not more than 600. Thanks!)
3) I will judge the entries, place them in order of first, second, third and post them! Please let me know if you prefer me not to publish your entry. This challenge is just for fun so there is no reward.
Here is your first challenge: Rewrite The Boy Who Cried Wolf! Here is an example for you written by my younger sister from an assignment in her writing program, Excellence in Writing. Thanks, Sis! She calls it, Nobody Will Believe.
There
once was a girl who watched the ranch horses in a grassy meadow near
the ranch. Earlier that spring the ranch owner had sternly instructed
her to keep a keen eye out for bobcats. He did this because he
feared that a young girl such as she could not handle a job as
important as this.
After
several weeks of herding, the drowsy girl had become very lonely.
Suddenly an idea sparked in her head. If she called “Bobcat,”
then the ranchers would come to save the horses. She would then have
company. “Bobcat!” the girl shrieked. After two more calls, the
ranchers had arrived. Surprisingly, the ranchers did not scold but
simply replied, “Do not do that. It practically made the grub jump
out of me.” The girl, who was upset that they would not stay,
agreed as they galloped over the hills. She did not call for quite
some time . . . until she got very lonely again because it had been
two months since she had been in proper civilization. “Bobcat!”
she foolishly cried. When the ranchers rode over the ridge and
discovered her prank, they were furious. “Don't EVER do that,”
they all barked.
Several
weeks later, a large bobcat, skinny from starvation, silently
approached the herd. Because of her sharp eyes, the girl saw the
hungry beast sneaking in the tall summer grass. Jumping to her feet,
the frightened girl cried out in alarm. “Bobcat! Bobcat! Help!”
With so much as a glance, the ranchers ignored her. “Bobcat!
Please, help! Bo–” her cry was interrupted by a screaming horse.
This of course caught the ranchers' attention. Loading their rifles,
they raced to the scene but were too late as they found the petrified
girl huddled against a rock in the horses' dust staring where they
had bolted. “It seems as if you have learned this lesson the hard
way,” the leader piped up. “If you lie, then when you don't lie,
nobody will believe you.”
Have fun and please get your entries in as quickly as possible. If you want to, you can title it, but if you don't that's okay too! Please include your name (or an alias if you don't want your name public) and state if you are willing. Thank you!
