Thursday, January 25, 2018

Week 2 Story. The Crane: A Hunter

THE CRANE: A HUNTER


Father smacked me upside the head. It hurt. It usually hurts, but I'm used to it. I didn't bring enough food home and we were 3 fish shy of having the most in the village, which meant honor for our family. I wouldn't say my childhood was hard, it just had its ups and downs. Father was loving, in his own way, and mother was eaten by an alligator before I even hatched, so I never knew her. It's a thankless job, being a crane. Everyone blames us for depleting the lakes of fish, but how else are we supposed to survive. It's a crane-eat-fish world, and the only way to win is to play the game. Because I wasn't the fastest or biggest crane in the family, I resorted to different tactics in order to fill my stomach for the day and bring home enough food to honor my family. I began to talk to the fish, I gained their trust, and just when they think I'm not a threat, they're already in my mouth. I knew it wasn't the most "ethical" way to hunt, but it did its job and I don't go hungry. With this method of hunting, our village became the fattest and most powerful in the crane kingdom, and I was their star hunter. No matter how fast or big the other cranes were, they couldn't gain the fish' trust like I could. I was invincible. Until one fateful day... I was making my rounds around the local ponds and lakes and I came across a dried-up pool with many fish, barely submerged, dreaming of the nearby lake. I, like always, saw an easy way to satisfy my hunger without even making an effort. One by one I promised each fish a trip to the lake, only to devour them in my nearby eating tree. It was all going well until I got greedy and wanted something more: a crab. I had never eaten crab and was curious to see how the little shelled creature would taste. He seemed to be falling for my ruse, but held onto my neck as we traveled, rather than my mouth. I found it odd, but knew I'd get my meal soon. All of that changed when I felt a sharp pain in my neck and heard the words that chilled my spine: "If you try anything, I'll kill you, Crane." He knew. I had to choose my next moves very carefully or they could be my last. I gave him the waterworks. It was the last thing I had. He spared my life as I let him in the lake. I thought I was free, I thought I would go on to hunt and gather and live my life as I had been, but his claw to my neck cut all of it short...

Author note and bibliography: Story inspired by The Cunning Crane and Crab by W. H. D. Rouse


Crane eating a fish (Dina's Wildlife Adventures)



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4 comments:

  1. UnknownJanuary 28, 2018 at 2:52 PM

    Hi Tib! I really liked this story - it was so cool how you flipped it to be from the crane's perspective. The crane in the original story is just a total jerk, but you created a bit of empathy for him in the way he was driven to be hungry for glory in bringing his family honor. You did a good job of exploring the crane's motivations and giving insight for why he manipulated the fish.

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  2. UnknownJanuary 30, 2018 at 12:12 AM

    Hi Tib! This story was cute and funny. I enjoyed reading it from the Crane's point of view, it explained why he hunted and led him to be greedy. The poor thing got hit upside his head so many times, he didn't know right from wrong! Just kidding, anyway, the style was really good and the ending was amazing. I would have never been able to figure out how to write a story from the start to its death, not to mention, it sounded a lot less worse that the original story. It sounded happy to be honest which is nice. I look forward to reading more of your stories!

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  3. UnknownFebruary 3, 2018 at 8:46 PM

    I enjoyed your take on the story! It was neat to read the story from the crane's perspective. In the original story, we did not know the crane's side of the story and his motives for what he did. However, your retelling explores the crane's version of the story, which I enjoyed. You made the story funny and creative, while still sticking to the story and its message. I thought this story was going to be a bit intense/scary because I read "Father smacked me upside the head." However, it ended up being a funny and great story! Excited to read more of your retellings!

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  4. rosa trnaFebruary 9, 2018 at 9:59 PM

    Hi Tib! I absolutely loved your version of the story! I also wrote my story based on the Cunning Crane and the Crab. I like how you wrote it from the perspective of the crane because it gives insight to the cunningness of the crane. I laughed when I read the “crane-eat-fish world.” I would suggest breaking up the story into paragraphs to make it a little easier to read.

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