Three wise men of Gotham
Went to sea in a bowl:
And if the bowl had been stronger,
My song would have been longer.
(Three Wise Men of Gotham, Wikimedia Commons)
There once were three friends who lived their whole lives in a small town. One day, the men noticed that they were getting older and they still had not left their village to explore other parts of the world. They began to feel like their time was running out and that they needed to find a way to get across the sea to travel the world, but they didn't have the money to buy passage on a ship.
"Come on men, we are wise. We can figure out a way to get across this ocean," the oldest man said.
"But how? We have no tools to build a boat, no strong legs for swimming, and no money for passage!" one man replied.
"Hmm...I know," said the youngest man, "We can gather clay and mud from the recent rains, and we will build a bowl for us to float across."
The men got busy finding clay to form their bowl. After many weeks, they had finally built a bowl big enough for two men to fit in, but they became very tired and eager to get across.
"I feel like I am getting older by the second," the oldest man complained. "I think we can manage to all fit in this bowl if we try."
"Yes, we should. I can't wait any longer to get out of this village," the youngest man replied.
And so the men piled into their small bowl and set out to sea. As they floated out into deep sea, their bowl began to crack from the weight of the three men. The men began to panic, and the two men quickly shoved the youngest man out of the bowl; but it was too late. The bowl cracked and crumbled from the weight, and the men never made it to the other side of the sea.
Author's Note: It's clear from the rhyme that the bowl the men went to sea in wasn't strong enough and it sank, but I wanted to give a reason why they were in the bowl to begin with, where they were going, and why the bowl didn't hold up. I feel that it gives the rhyme a moral; be patient, don't be too eager.
Bibliography: "Three Wise Men of Gotham" The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang
That is a great example of a rhyme crying out for a story, Toni! I loved how you brought the characters to life by including some dialogue in your story. And they even made the bowl themselves: I never even thought about it that way. So we can see their good intentions... but also their haste, so the moral came through loud and clear, and you did a super job of explaining all that in the note too. Fabulous! Now you can see how it's possible to take a teeny-tiny rhyme and turn it into a story. You can also take long, complicated fairy tales and shorten them... but starting with something short is the best way to let your own imagination be the driving force!
ReplyDeleteAnd have you heard of "Gotham" before...? It is the proverbial land of foolish people. You can read about that here: Wise Men of Gotham at Wikipedia.
Also, I recognize that picture! It's from William Denslow's illustrated Mother Goose, which I just added to the Freebookapalooza blog this weekend: Denslow is a famous book illustrator, especially because of his Wizard of Oz illustrations. I am glad you included that in your post. You can find out more about him here:
William Wallace Denslow ... he is one of my favorite illustrators, so it made me happy to see him here in your post! :-)
Toni,
ReplyDeleteI liked your desire to put a rational behind a nursery rhyme. It gives the story a little more depth than just three men going out to sea and things taking a turn for the worst. The two older men turning on the youngest and throwing him over board I think was also pretty symbolic on its own. You can't always trust the people you think you have a common goal with. Great story!
Toni,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your story! I think giving the rhyme a purpose was a great way to create a story. I really liked how your story dealt with ingenuity and the value of a well thought-out plan. Although the men brainstormed and created a solution to their travel problem, by the end they were too tired and excited to actually think about what could happen. I feel like this is a great life lesson and I agree with what Savannah said about trusting the people you work with!
Great story and imagery!
Toni, I think you did an awesome job of adding detail and motive to such a simple rhyme. I really like the dialogue and conflict you added as well. I love the moral you created as well. Patience is such an important thing, and so is teamwork. Especially having and being a trustworthy team member. I'm excited to read more of your stories!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great story. I liked how you started with a background story so we know why they were so eager to go. I also liked the message that was sent. It was sad that the bowl was not able to hold them but it gives us a reason to not rush things. Another detail that I liked was how they pushed the younger boy out to avoid the bowl breaking but it ended up doing that anyways.
ReplyDelete