Portfolio Index

The Three Lovers: A modern-day love story of a girl who must choose between three stand-up guys, the toll the decision takes on her, and the way she is able to come to a decision.

The Fish-Peri: A tale of a fairy whose longing for a less lonely life leads her on a journey to finding true love and the obstacles she and her love must face to ensure their happily ever after.

The Stonecutter's Wife: A story of a woman who becomes dissatisfied with her life and wishes for more. However, in searching for happiness in material objects, she finds that she has lost touch with the source of her true happiness and longs for it to be restored. Will she get her wish?

The Fairy Bride: A tale of a young Indian Princess who has always wanted to live a magical life. However, her mother had other plans. With an impending arranged marriage, will Neen-i-zu give up on her dream? Or will she get her happily ever after?

Briar Rose: A bedtime story about a sleeping girl, her kingdom, and the brave boy who was able to wake her up. He broke the spell and the two fell in love. This story couldn't possibly get any better, or could it?

~~~I had a blast recreating these stories and putting them into a portfolio. I was thrilled to be able to keep the theme of love throughout each of my stories and am so happy with how they turned out. I love each of these stories, but my favorite of this bunch is probably Briar Rose. It's just so endearing and I loved that I was able to end my portfolio with a bedtime story. I thought it was the perfect way to wrap it up. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them!~~~

Storytelling: Briar Rose

"Daddy, will you tell us the story again? Please?!" The two little brown-haired, green-eyed girls squealed as they clambered into bed.

"OK, I'll tell you the story. Settle down now," Prince Phillip chuckled as he tucked the giggling princesses into bed. "Here we go....."

~Once upon a time there lived a king and queen who ruled a land where fairies still resided. They had plenty of material things, but they had been married many years and were still childless. This made them very sad.

One day the queen was walking in her garden next to the river when she saw a poor fish that had thrown itself out of the water. The queen felt sorry for the fish and threw it back into the water. The fish was grateful to the kind queen and told her that soon her wish to have a child would be fulfilled.

The fish's promise soon came true and the queen gave birth to a beautiful daughter named Briar Rose. The king was so filled with joy that he decided to hold a magnificent feast to celebrate. He invited all of the citizens of his land.

The queen decided to invite the fairies as well. There were thirteen fairies in their kingdom, but they only had enough room for twelve. So, they had to leave out one of the fairies. The twelve fairies that were invited came to the joyful event and took turns blessing Briar Rose with lovely gifts. One gave her a kind heart, one gave her beauty, and so on until she had everything good in the world.

The eleventh fairy had just finished blessing Briar Rose, when a noise echoed through the ballroom. Whispers quickly started to spread that the thirteenth fairy had arrived. She was not pleasant like the other fairies. She entered the ballroom and scolded the king and queen for not inviting her. She was so mad that she cursed the child to die from a wound inflicted by a spinning wheel on her fifteenth birthday.

The king and queen were heartbroken. The twelfth fairy had not blessed Briar Rose yet and told them that even though the curse had to be fulfilled, she could soften the consequences to a deep slumber of one hundred years instead of death. So, this was the gift she gave to Briar Rose.

The king and queen still hoped they could avoid the curse and ordered that all of the spinning wheels in the kingdom be rounded up and burned. In the meantime, the princess grew up and all of the other gifts were fulfilled. She was so beautiful and kind-hearted and everyone who knew her loved her dearly.

On her fifteenth birthday, her parents were away and she was left alone in the palace. She went exploring and found an old tower with an old door that had a small golden key in the knob. She slowly turned the key and gently pushed the door open. In the middle of the room sat a spinning wheel. She had never seen one before and set to inspecting the strange object. Briar Rose ran her finger across the spindle and pricked her finger. The curse was fulfilled and she fell lifeless to the floor.

~"Oh no!" the girls cried.

"Don't worry," Phillip reassured them. "She's just asleep, remember?"

"Oh yeah!" they said simultaneously. "Keep going, Daddy!"

"Alright," he continued.

~Briar Rose was not the only one who fell asleep. Her entire kingdom had fallen under the spell, including her parents who had arrived home just as the curse was taking place. While the kingdom fell into the deep slumber, a thick hedge of thorns grew around the palace. Every year it grew taller and thicker until the palace was completely hidden from view. However, word spread throughout the lands of the beautiful princess and her sleeping kingdom. Every so often a king's son would try to make his way through the hedge to the palace, but they always got stuck in the thorns and never made it out.

Many years later, a young prince came into the land and an old man told him the story of Briar Rose and the palace hidden amidst the thorns. The man also told the prince of the countless princes who tried in vain to seek her out. This did not frighten the prince. So he set out to try his luck despite the old man's objections.

It just so happened that it had been exactly one hundred years since the curse fell and so when the prince came to the hedge all he saw were beautiful flowering shrubs, which he easily made his way through. Then he made his way to the palace. He entered the palace and saw the sleeping court.
He continued on until he finally reached the tower. He pushed open the door and saw Briar Rose fast asleep on the floor. He was so enchanted by her beauty that he stooped down and gently kissed her.

As soon as the prince kissed her, she opened her eyes and smiled at him. They made their way down from the tower to find the rest of the kingdom waking up as well. The two wed soon after and they lived happily ever after.

~"The end," said Phillip. "Goodnight, girls, I love you."

"Goodnight, Daddy," the little princesses said.

Phillip put out the light and gently shut the girls' door. He made his way to his room where his wife was waiting.

"The same story again, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I never get tired of it. I could tell the story of us a thousand times," Phillip replied.

Briar Rose smiled at him and he smiled at her. They knew the ending to the story was true, they were definitely living happily ever after.

Author's Note: My story is very similar to the original story of Briar Rose. The plot is exactly the same, but retold in my own words. I wanted to keep the original intact, but add a new flare to it. I thought it would be cute to have it being told as a bedtime story. I thought it would be fun to have the prince from the story being the one retelling the story and it made it even sweeter that he was telling it to his daughters. I liked the idea that Briar Rose and Phillip went on to have children and they loved each other so much that they shared their enchanting story with their eager daughters. The girls having such a strong interest in the story makes it even sweeter because they love listening to how their parents met and the fascinating circumstances that led to their encounter. It was a challenge trying to figure out how to flip back and forth between the dialogue of Phillip and the girls and the actual story itself. I wanted to make it clear without having to add a lot to the story. I named the prince Phillip because that was the prince's name from Disney's Sleeping Beauty which is very similar to the story of Briar Rose. The story still has the fairy tale theme of love, it is just much more subtle.

Image Information: "Take the Fair Face of Woman, and Gently Suspending, With Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending, Thus Your Fairy is Made of Most Beautiful Things" by Sophie Gengembre Anderson (Wikimedia Commons)
-Photo of a Schacht Reeves spinning wheel crafted by the Reeves Family taken from http://heritagespinning.com/wheels/
-"The Council Chamber" from the "Legend of Briar Rose" by Sir Edward Burne-Jones (Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography: Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm; Mythology and Folklore Untextbook

Story: The Stonecutter's wife

There once was a beautiful town in the mountains of Japan. The town was full of people of varying stature. There was the royal family, the royal court, the merchants, and the stonecutters. In this town lived a young married couple who had both grown up in the stonecutting business. They were content in their lives and were grateful for each other even though they didn't have much. They were deeply in love and were able to spend a great deal of time together and for a while all was well in their little world.

One day, the wife made her usual trip to the market. However, she was tired and was feeling a little down because her husband had a large order to fill and was away for a few days. She could have gone with him as she usually did, but she decided to stay home this time. She started to wonder what it would have been like if she had married wealthy. She watched as the merchant wives gabbed in their beautiful clothes. They look so happy, she thought. I wish I could be that happy. If only I had a beautiful dress to wear like them.

Suddenly she heard a voice say, "Your wish is my command." Now the woman had heard stories about the mountain spirit and how it granted the heart's desires, but she never really believed them. So, she decided she was imagining things. She finished her trip at the market and returned home. The rest of the day went on like any other and the woman went to bed feeling glum.

The next morning, she woke up and went to the closet to get dressed. When she opened the door she saw a stunning dress hanging where her old clothes had been. She gasped with surprise. She quickly put the dress on and admired herself in the mirror. She was sure that she had never been so happy in her life. She was so excited that she decided to wear the dress to the market.

Once she got to the market she went about her business, going from stall to stall. As she was shopping, she caught a glimpse inside an elegant carriage where a beautiful woman from the royal court was sitting and smiling. Wow, I've never seen someone look so happy. That woman has a stunning carriage. It must be what is making her so happy, she thought to herself. The woman began to lose her newfound happiness. "If only I had an elegant carriage like her," she said aloud. "Your wish is my command," she heard in response. This time she was sure it had come from the mountain spirit. The woman knew she would get her wish because she had gotten her previous one. She rushed home in excitement and arrived to find a beautiful carriage awaiting her. She shrieked, overcome with joy, and couldn't wait to take it to the market the next day.

The next day, she could barely contain herself as she threw on her beautiful dress and practically flung herself into the carriage to go to the market. On her way she passed by the palace where the royal family resided. The princess was sitting outside in her garden when the prince came out to join her. Her face lit up and a huge smile spread across her face. Wow, the woman thought to herself. She must be the happiest person in the world. It must be because she is married to a prince. If only my husband were a prince. "Your wish is my command," she heard immediately. She could hardly wait to return home to see what awaited her.

She had the carriage turn around and raced home. When she arrived there was no longer a little cottage awaiting her, but a magnificent palace in its place instead.

She ran inside to find her husband and tell him what happened. She ran to every room in the palace, but couldn't find him. She finally came across an attending who informed her that her husband was taking care of important royal matters, but that he would make time for her later. She was disappointed, but waited anxiously.

Days passed and she hadn't seen her husband for more than ten minutes collectively. He had many royal matters to oversee and didn't have much time for her. So, she wandered around her giant palace aimlessly. She started thinking about her old life and remembered how much time her and her husband got to spend together. Even though they never had much, they always had each other and that had always been enough. What a selfish girl am I? I had everything anyone could ever need. I had a home and a loving husband who adored me. We didn't have a lot of material things, but we had a love that most people dream of. I wish I could go back to my old life, she thought. "Your wish is my command," was the response. However, nothing happened. So, she went through the rest of the day thinking that her life would always be this way, lonely and empty. The woman went to bed that night with a heavy heart.

Morning came and she could barely bring herself to rise out of bed. She swung her feet over the side of her bed and didn't even open her eyes. She placed her feet on the dirt floor and worked up the courage to open her eyes. Wait, she thought. This is a dirt floor, not a marble floor! Her eyes flung open and she took in the plain room of her cottage. She was thrilled. She ran out the door and saw her husband returning home and ran into his arms. He was taken by surprise, but loved any chance he got to hold her. So there they stood holding each other and the woman vowed to never again take her beautiful life for granted.


Author's note: My story was inspired by the Japanese fairytale The Stonecutter. The Stonecutter is about a stonecutter who is dissatisfied with his life. He asks the mountain spirit to turn him into different things that he thinks are more powerful than himself. He goes from being a stonecutter, to a wealthy man, to the sun, to a cloud, to rain, to a rock, and then ultimately back to a stonecutter. I took the basic plot and kept it the same. I also kept the occupation of a stonecutter involved in the story to help further the connection to the original. However I changed the main character to a female and made it be about the role of a stonecutter's wife. I also changed the way that she transformed. Instead of having her transform into different objects and changing power status, I had her transform into different classes of wealth. I thought that this would make the story a little bit more interesting because she wasn't changing physically, but rather socially. I also wanted to give it an aspect of love to go along with my portfolio theme. The woman realizes that all the wealth in the world can't make her as happy as the love of her husband and the time they spend together. Overall the moral is the same, that greed can take us away from what really matters most.

Bibliography: Japanese Fairy Tales retold by Andrew Lang; Mythology and Folklore Untextbook

Image Information:
Image 1- clipart taken from clker.com
Image 2- Photo of the main gate of the Imperial Palace in Japan taken by KenPei found on Wikipedia Commons

Storytelling: The Fairy Bride

There once was a beautiful Indian Princess named Neen-i-zu. She had long, black hair that glistened in the sunlight and dark eyes that shone with wonder. She was short in stature and could easily be mistaken for one of the mischievous fairies known as Puk-Wudjies that dwelled in the sand dunes, in her opinion. Neen-i-zu was a strong believer in magic and often wandered off on her own into the forest and the sand hills dreaming of a magical place called Happy Land. Neen-i-zu longed to visit the Happy Land and wondered if the Puk-Wudjies acted as messengers to the other fairies who lived in that magical place. It was this thought that coerced her to sing a song of her making in hopes that the fairies would put in a good word with their masters.

She did this multiple times, but to no avail. One day Neen-i-zu lingered longer than usual in her secret spot. She knew that her mother wanted her to marry, but the man she selected was not to Neen-i-zu's liking. He was simple-minded and only thought about and talked about hunting. Neen-i-zu was appreciative of his occupation because he provided food for the tribe, but she needed to be with someone who stimulated her mind. As she was thinking about things, she noticed something move on the edge of the forest. She looked closer and thought that she saw the silhouette of a man. She tried to get a better view, but the clouds covered the moon and took away the light. When the light broke through again the figure was gone. So Neen-i-zu made her way home, dreading the conversation with her mother that awaited her when she arrived.

When she returned home her mother greeted her at the door. "Neen-i-zu, you are my everything and I want to make sure you are taken care of. I won't be around forever to look after you, which is why I want you to marry a good man. I think you know who I have chosen," her mother said.

"Yes, I know of whom you speak. I don't wish to get to know him any better than I already do. He is simple-minded and talks only of his hunts. I am grateful for the meat that he provides for the tribe, but I need to be with someone who excites my imagination. I need to be with someone who has an adventurous mind similar to mine," was Neen-i-zu's reply.

"You silly girl, you have no idea what is best for you," was her mother's retort and with that it was decided that she would marry the hunter.

The looming obligation of her marriage hung heavy on Neen-i-zu's heart. The once merry and carefree nature she possessed turned into gloom. She never laughed any more and spent most of her time looking at the ground. When the day came for her to wed the hunter, Neen-i-zu got ready in great displeasure. She was the picture perfect bride, but her spirit had been weakened and she had no hopes of finding true happiness again. Once she was ready, she headed out into her secret spot once more to say goodbye. The wedding guests looked at her with worried glances, but she did not care.

As she entered the grove she began softly singing her song. Neen-i-zu was so consumed in her thoughts of despair that she hadn't noticed that a figure had slipped out from the edge of the forest and now stood behind her. Neen-i-zu turned around to head back to the ceremony and ran straight into the mysterious figure. Startled, she quickly jumped back and gazed at the man that stood before her. The man was of exceptional beauty and her breath was taken away. This must have been the figure she briefly saw in the woods many nights ago. She was just beginning to come out of her state of shock when the man spoke. " I did not mean to frighten you. I am Enapay, fairy prince of the land you have so desperately sought out. I have observed you many times and was instantly taken aback by your beauty. Please forgive me for not approaching you sooner, but I was immensely intimidated by your beauty. However, I couldn't help but notice that you are dressed for a wedding ceremony and did not want to miss my chance."

Neen-i-zu stood in a trance. This man, or rather fairy, was more beautiful than anything she had ever seen and his voice flowed like the melody of a song. She was perplexed as to why a creature of such grace would be intimidated by her. She was finally able to form words and said, "Kind sir, you flatter me with your praises, but it is I who am intimidated by you. I have longed for so long to be able to see into the Happy Land and to one day venture there."

Enapay smiled wryly and said,"I do not know who you intend to marry, but if you would like I would be honored if you would be my bride and live with me in the Happy Land you have wished for." Neen-i-zu could not believe her ears. The thing that she had wanted for so long was finally being presented to her. Without hesitation she said yes to the fairy prince. A smile that shone brighter than the sun spread over his face and his eyes sparkled with happiness. Overcome with her own joy, Neen-i-zu took Enapay's hand and entered into the land of which she had been dreaming her whole life. The two were wed immediately and they went on to live a life of happiness that one only dreams about. There were many stories about what had happened to Neen-i-zu, but no one could imagine that she was living out her life happier than she had ever been and that she was doing so with the love of her life.

Author's Note: My story is based off of the American Indian Fairy Tale: The Fairy Bride. The original story is set up very similar to my own. The only thing that is really different is what happens after Neen-i-zu enters the grove for what she thinks is the last time. When I read the original story I wanted to know what the interaction would have been like between the fairy and Neen-i-zu that would lead her to enter into the Happy Land with him. It is true that she had always wanted to go there or at least to see it, but I wanted to know what would have been said and how the interaction would go. I decided to have the fairy admit to observing Neen-i-zu, but being intimidated by her because it would explain why he had not approached her before. The fact that she looked as if she was about to get married frightened him and he decided it was time to reach out to her. I also decided to make the two fall in love and get married because Enapay seems to be the kind of man Neen-i-zu was looking for. He was exotic and was obviously intrigued by adventures if he was observing someone from another land. It also goes along with my theme of love that I have established throughout the semester. I also chose the name Enapay after doing some research on American Indian names because it was said to mean "brave." I also have included a link to the Wikipedia page on Puk-Wudjies if you would like to learn more about them!

Image information: Fairy Bride taken from thecelticshop.net on Pinterest

Bibliography: American Indian Fairy Tales by W.T. Larned; Mythology and Folklore Untextbook

Story: The Fish- Peri

Once upon a time there was a young maiden who lived beneath the sea. She had long, beautiful, golden hair and big, bright green eyes. She had a kind heart and was very intelligent, but she was also very lonely. She had friends who lived nearby, but they all had families and loved ones of their own and so she couldn't help but feel alone. One day a young fisherman came to fish near where she resided. She studied him while he was fishing and was intrigued by him. He had sad eyes and looked weary, but his eyes also sparkled with the potential of great happiness and this made the maiden decide that she wanted to get to know him better. She felt a connection with him because of her sadness at being alone and wondered if they could be the missing pieces in each other's lives. The next day the man returned to fish again. The young maiden, who was really a magical fairy, transformed herself into a fish and allowed the fisherman to catch her.

Once the fisherman had caught her in his net, she asked him to either eat her or sell her. The young fisherman, who also had a kind nature, decided to dig a pond near his small cottage and placed the fish in the pond so that it may live.

The young maiden was very pleased with his actions and decided to reward him. So, the next day when the fisherman went out again she jumped out of the pond and transformed back into her human form. She did chores around the house of the young fisherman so that he would not have to worry about them when he returned home.

When the fisherman returned home from work he was shocked. He assumed that his neighbors had paid him a kindness and put it out of his mind. The next day he went out to sea again and when he returned home the house had been cleaned once more. He was perplexed and shared the story with a friend. The friend asked him who was left at home while he was away and the fisherman told him that there was no one there except for the fish. After hearing this, the friend told the fisherman that he should act as if he was going to work and then hide to see who was doing the cleaning.

The following day the fisherman followed his friend’s instructions and acted as if he was going to work and then hid in the cupboard. The maiden then leaped out of the water and shed her shiny orange fish disguise once again. The fisherman was surprised and transfixed by the maiden’s beauty. Her damp hair and skin glimmered in the sunlight and even though he was taken aback by her beauty, he was able to act quickly and grabbed the fish skin and threw it into the fire. The maiden was upset at being caught and felt vulnerable in her human form. However, after watching the young fisherman for many days, she had begun to fall in love with him and the vulnerable feeling quickly vanished. She relayed her feelings to him and he declared that he might be falling in love with her as well. So, the two decided that they should be wed.

 News of the maiden’s beauty quickly spread and reached the ear of the king. The king sent for the girl and upon seeing her decided that he should marry her. He knew that she was to marry the fisherman so he made him a deal. The king said that if he completed a series of tasks that he would allow the fisherman to marry her. Each task seemed impossible. The king asked for a beautiful palace made of gold and diamonds, he asked for a crystal bridge, a feast that would feed the kingdom and still have food leftover, and for an infant who was less than a day old that could walk and talk. The fisherman felt utterly defeated, but his love assured him that everything would work out. She helped him complete all the tasks by using her magic and her magical connections. The king was annoyed and frustrated that the fisherman had bested him, but he was a man of his word so he allowed the fisherman and the maiden to wed. The fisherman's entire village attended the wedding ceremony and it was beautiful. The wedding celebration consisted of exquisite foods and fine wines and it lasted a whole week. The young couple then went on with their new life together and lived happily ever after. 

Author's Note: I based my story off of the Fish-Peri from Forty-Four Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignacz Kunos. The original story starts by explaining how the boy's father was a fisherman, but didn't want his son to know where their money came from. The father died and the mother followed her husband's wishes. She later died as well and the boy tried his hand at many different trades and could not succeed. He eventually found his father's fishing net and decided to give that a try. He did pretty well and eventually caught the fish-peri (fairy). At this point I left the story pretty much the same. I left out specific details about  how the different tasks were completed, added the part about the girl loving the boy first and wanting to be caught, and shortened the wedding celebration. The rest of the plot is generally the same because I didn't want to take to much away from the original story.

The main part that I changed was having the fish-peri purposely get caught by the fisherman in the hopes of finding love. I wanted to add this aspect to the story because my portfolio is following the direction of fairy tales and love stories. In the original the fisherman and the fish-peri do get married, but I wanted to add more of a back story. I wanted to put more motivation behind their love and the wedding. I thought by starting the story with a lonely maiden and then showing the journey she goes on to find love helped give this story more of a romantic fairy tale feeling, which follows the theme of my portfolio.

Image Info: The Fisherman by Charles Napier Hemy; Wikipedia Commons

Bibliography: Forty-Four Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignacz Kunos; Mythology and Folklore untextbook

Story: The Three Lovers

Kylie had always been a beautiful girl. When she was growing up everyone who knew her would say that the gods must have created her in the image of an angel. The older Kylie got the more beautiful she became. She went through school being sought after by all the guys. In high school, they all tried to convince her to be their girlfriend, but she always refused. Her senior year she decided she would take a boyfriend, but only if there was a promise of forever with the relationship. She didn’t want to waste her time with a meaningless relationship, but instead wanted to be a part of one with a promising future.

Once the word got out that Kylie was willing to be in a relationship, three boys distinguished themselves from the rest. Matt was captain of the football team and student council president. He was handsome, strong, and all the girls loved him. Steven was a drum major and top of his class. He was graduating with honors and was set to be valedictorian. He also had many scholarships lined up for college. Dylan was a drama geek. He was the lead in all the school plays and had a full ride to Julliard waiting for him when he graduated.

Kylie knew each of these boys well because they had all gone to school together since they were little kids. She liked each of them for different reasons. She knew she had said that she would pick a boyfriend, but she couldn’t. How was she supposed to choose between three exceptional young men? They were all so nice and kindhearted and she didn’t want to hurt the feelings of the ones who weren’t picked. She stressed about the decision for weeks. She couldn’t even focus on her school work because she was so worried about who to pick. The stress of the decision, plus the stress of finals, and the stress of graduation and the future proved too much for her to handle. Her body gave out and she fell into a long coma.

                                                                                         

The boys, being head over heels for her, were distraught. They all handled it in different ways. Dylan stayed by her bedside the whole time. He didn’t even leave to go to his classes. He helped brush her hair and sang to her. He talked to her and kept her company. He wanted to make sure she knew what was happening in the outside world. Matt dedicated every football game to her and set up a fundraiser to help her parents pay for the medical bills. Steven spent hours and hours researching her condition. He was extremely smart for his age and was trying to help the doctors find out what was wrong and how to treat her.

Weeks went by, but Dylan never left her bedside. Matt had played better than he ever had and he had helped raise a significant amount of money for Kylie’s medical expenses. Steven spent tireless hours in his lab, on top of going to school, desperately hoping to figure out was wrong with her. Finally, there was a breakthrough and the doctors found a diagnosis. They started her on treatment right away and in a matter of days she was awake. She was as beautiful as ever. Her eyes sparkled, her skin seemed to glow and not one hair on her head was astray. No one could even tell that she had spent weeks lying in a hospital bed. The boys each explained to her what they had done for her. Matt told her about all the games he won in her name and the amount of money he had raised for her. Steven told her about his contributions in finding her diagnosis. Dylan told her how he never left her side, how he kept up her appearance, and that he sang to her and talked to her.

After hearing the things that the boys went through, Kylie was able to make a decision. She thanked Matt for all he did, but told him that the way he reacted is the way a son would react and therefore he should not be her boyfriend. She told Steven that she greatly appreciated his dedication and hard work, but that he reacted the way a father would and therefore should not be her boyfriend. She then talked to Dylan and told him that she wanted to be with him. She told him that he reacted the way a young man in love would react. He gave up his time and didn’t worry about how missing school would affect him his senior year; the only thing he cared about was being there for her and making sure she got better. This is how a boyfriend should act and it also showed her that they had a promising future. Her decision was final and she made the right call, for Kylie and Dylan went on to have a long and happy relationship.

Author’s note: I used the story of the Three Lovers who brought the Dead Girl to Life from Twenty- Two Goblins. The story is a riddle the goblin is telling the king about a young girl who has to choose between three men to be her husband. She couldn’t make a decision because she didn’t want to hurt the feelings of the other two. Then she got sick and died, which left the men distraught. After she was cremated, one of them slept on her ashes and begged for food, the second dipped her bones in the sacred Ganges River and the third became a monk and wandered the world until he found a spell to bring her back to life. He then went back to her grave and brought her back to life. Once she came back to life the men began to fight over who should get to marry her. The goblin then asks the king who should be able to marry her. The king replies by saying the man who brought her back to life acted as a father would. The man who dipped her bones in the river acted as a son would. The man that gave up his life to live in the cemetery acted as a lover and deserved to marry her. This was the correct answer. I chose to keep the plot close to the original story, but I wanted to make it more modern. I also changed it to where she was only in a coma so it wasn’t as dramatic. I chose this image because even though it is of Sleeping Beauty, it goes along with the concept of her being in a coma. The story also has a fairy tale feel to it, so having a fairy tale image felt appropriate.

Image Info: Sleeping Beauty by Henry Meynell Rheam; Wikipedia Commons

Bibliography: Twenty- Two Goblins translated by Arthur Ryder; Mythology and Folklore Untextbook