Who is a story?
Is it a snapshot of a life, or lives?
Is it more than that?

What is a story?
Is it the fantasies of a lone soul?
Is it more than that?

Where is a story?
Is it locked in words on a page, bound by a book’s covers?
Is it more than that?

When is a story?
Is it a whisper from the past or future?
Is it more than that?

Is it like a life,
Unfolding in sequence,
ending on the authors last word?

Or if you choose…
Could it be more than that?

One winter's day, the Wicked King came to the hut and called upon the Peasant to come out.

'I have come for my rent,' King Marsh-Ayre informed the Peasant.

'Please, sir,' the Peasant begged the King. 'I have no money left to pay you. May I pay you next month?'

'Certainly not!' King Marsh-Ayre said angrily. 'If you cannot pay me now, I will take your daughter instead. She will make a fine wife for my son.'

'No!' ALiceKlien sobbed, for the Wicked King's son, the Ugly Prince, was a foul and evil man.

King Marsh-Ayre paid ALiceKlien no mind. 'I will return in one week for my money or your daughter,' he informed the Peasant. 'If neither is forthcoming, I will send my soldiers to remove you from this place.'

After the Wicked King Marsh-Ayre had left, ALiceKlien could not stop crying. She did not want to marry the Ugly Prince, but if she refused, her family would have nowhere to live. For she knew that her father was too poor to pay the King.

'Oh!' cried ALiceKlien. 'What can I do?'

Just then, a single tear fell from her cheek and landed upon a Dull Brown Hen pecking at the ground, and all at once the Dull Brown Hen changed into a Magnificent Peacock.

'You must go to the Starmaker's palace at the top of the mountain,' the Peacock said to ALiceKlien. 'You must sing for him, and he will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams.'

'But I cannot sing,' ALiceKlien said.

The Peacock spread its magnificent tail and shook it briefly at ALiceKlien, and then, with a final flutter of its beautiful feathers, it was gone. And when ALiceKlien opened her mouth and sang, it was the sweetest sound you've ever heard.

'The Peacock was right!' she cried happily. 'I can sing!'

And so ALiceKlien set off up the great black mountain to find the Starmaker's palace. The mountain was steep and treacherous, and there were thick dark forests where wolves and goblins and all manner of frightening creatures dwelled. But ALiceKlien sang to herself as she travelled, and the beauty of her voice sent all the wild beasts to sleep.

After some time she came to the Wicked King's castle, where she found the Ugly Prince sitting lazily against an old black tree.

'You sing very well,' he said to ALiceKlien with an ugly smile. 'When we are married, you must sing to me every night.'

He was so hideous that ALiceKlien could barely look at him. 'I will not marry you,' she told him. 'I am going to sing for the Starmaker, and he will make me rich. And then I will not have to be your wife.'

The Ugly Prince laughed. 'The Starmaker may indeed make you rich, but he will never make you happy. I am the only one who can make you happy.'

'You?' ALiceKlien exclaimed. 'How can you make me happy?'

The Ugly Prince drew a small glass bottle from his pocket. 'This magic potion can give you all the happiness you need.' And with that he raised the bottle to his lips and drank, and his ugly face melted into a rapturous smile. 'With this,' he said sleepily, getting to his feet, 'you and I will be happy together for the rest of our lives.'

ALiceKlien turned away from him, frightened by the terrible look in his eyes, and she ran.

After running and running through the thick dark forests, ALiceKlien came at last to the Walls of the Starmaker's Kingdom. The walls were high and made of stone, and the only way through them was by means of a great wooden gate.

The gate was guarded by a Horned Beast.

'Do you wish to enter the Starmaker's Kingdom?' the Beast said to ALiceKlien.

'Oh, yes,' she replied.

'Then you must tear out your heart and give it to me,' the Beast said.

'But why?' cried ALiceKlien.

'For only the most heartless may enter the Starmaker's Kingdom,' the Beast answered, gazing into ALiceKlien's eyes. 'That is why.'

As ALiceKlien looked back at the Beast, she thought of her mother and father, shivering in the cold of winter, and she thought how sad she would be if she were married to the Ugly Prince ...

And without another word, she suddenly sprang at the Beast and tore off one of its horns and plunged it mightily into the Beast's heart. The Beast howled in pain, and as it died and fell to the ground, ALiceKlien leaped over it and rushed through the great wooden gate into the Starmaker's Kingdom.

When she came to the Starmaker's palace, a wonderful golden building at the top of the mountain, the Starmaker was waiting for her. He was a stern old man with long white hair and a shiny silver cape.

'Sing for me,' he demanded.

ALiceKlien sang, and her voice was as golden as the palace itself.

The Starmaker nodded his head in approval. 'Do you wish to become rich beyond your wildest dreams?'

'Oh, yes!' replied ALiceKlien.

'Then you must stay here for ever,' he said. 'You must stay with me in my palace and never set foot beyond the door. You must obey me at all times. And you must never again speak to anyone else. Do you understand?'

'But what about my poor mother and father?' ALiceKlien said.

'I will see to it that they keep their home,' the Starmaker assured her. 'But only if you agree to my terms. Your mother and father will be safe, but you can never see them again.'

ALiceKlien thought for a long time, trying to decide what to do, and eventually she said to the Starmaker, 'I will do as you say.'
Epilogue

The Starmaker kept his word. He invited Kings and Queens from all around the world to hear ALiceKlien sing, and she did indeed become very rich. She wore fabulous dresses and the finest gold jewellery, and she ate the richest food and slept in the softest beds. But it did not make her happy. For the Starmaker was a charmless man, and he worked her very hard and treated her very harshly. But, worst of all, ALiceKlien had no one to talk to. She had no one to share her riches with. And although her father was very poor and her mother very greedy, she began to miss them terribly. And after a while she became so forlorn and miserable that she completely lost her mind. And early one morning, while the Starmaker was still sleeping in his bed, ALiceKlien chopped off his head with an axe and ran away back to her poor little hut in the shadows of the great black mountain. But the Starmaker's death was soon discovered, and ALiceKlien was taken from her poor little hut and imprisoned in the Wicked King Marsh-Ayre's dungeon.

And even today, if you pass by that dungeon at night, you can still hear ALiceKlien singing.

The End

Make your own: http://www.wetellstories.co.uk/stories/week3/

From We Tell Stories Fairy Tale

One winter's day, the Wicked King came to the hut and called upon the Peasant to come out.

'I have come for my rent,' King Jacomo informed the Peasant.

'Please, sir,' the Peasant begged the King. 'I have no money left to pay you. May I pay you next month?'

'Certainly not!' King Jacomo said angrily. 'If you cannot pay me now, I will take your daughter instead. She will make a fine wife for my son.'

'No!' SliceQueen sobbed, for the Wicked King's son, the Ugly Prince, was a foul and evil man.

King Jacomo paid SliceQueen no mind. 'I will return in one week for my money or your daughter,' he informed the Peasant. 'If neither is forthcoming, I will send my soldiers to remove you from this place.'

After the Wicked King Jacomo had left, SliceQueen could not stop crying. She did not want to marry the Ugly Prince, but if she refused, her family would have nowhere to live. For she knew that her father was too poor to pay the King.

'Oh!' cried SliceQueen. 'What can I do?'

Just then, a single tear fell from her cheek and landed upon a Dirty Worm crawling on the ground, and all at once the Dirty Worm changed into a Golden Snake.

'You musst go to the Sstarmaker'ss palasse at the top of the mountain,' the Snake hissed to SliceQueen. 'You musst ssing for him, and he will make you rich beyond your wildesst dreamss.'

'But I cannot sing,' SliceQueen said.

The Snake rose up and stood on its tail and briefly kissed SliceQueen's upon her lips, and then, with a tiny flicker of its golden eyes, it was gone. And when SliceQueen opened her mouth and sang, it was the sweetest sound you've ever heard.

'The Snake was right!' she cried happily. 'I can sing!'

And so SliceQueen set off up the great black mountain to find the Starmaker's palace. The mountain was steep and treacherous, and there were thick dark forests where wolves and goblins and all manner of frightening creatures dwelled. But SliceQueen sang to herself as she travelled, and the beauty of her voice sent all the wild beasts to sleep.

After some time, she came upon an Artful Merchant who was taking his goods to the market.

'You sing very well,' the Merchant said to SliceQueen with an artful smile. 'If I had a wife with a voice such as yours, I would make her the richest wife in the world.'

He was so artful and sly that SliceQueen could barely look at him. 'I will not marry you,' she said to him. 'I am going to sing for the Starmaker, for he will make me the richest girl in the world. And then I will not have to marry anyone'

The Merchant laughed. 'The Starmaker may indeed make you rich, but he is not as Artful as I. Only I can truly make you the richest girl in the world.'

'You?' SliceQueen exclaimed. 'How can you make you me the richest girl in the world?'

The Artful Merchant drew a gold wedding ring from his pocket. 'All you must do is marry me, and when I place this ring on your finger, all your dreams will come true.' And with that he grasped SliceQueen's hand and began forcing the ring on to her finger.

But he was only an Artful Merchant, and his artfulness gave him no strength, and it only took a moment for SliceQueen to push him away and run off up the mountain.

After running and running through the thick dark forests, SliceQueen came at last to the Walls of the Starmaker's Kingdom. The walls were high and made of stone, and the only way through them was by means of a great wooden gate.

The gate was guarded by a Wily Sorcerer.

'Do you wish to enter the Starmaker's Kingdom?' the Sorcerer said to SliceQueen.

'Oh, yes,' she replied.

'Then you must solve a riddle,' the Sorcerer said.

'But why?' cried SliceQueen.

'For only the wisest may enter the Starmaker's Kingdom,' the Sorcerer answered, gazing into her eyes. 'That is why. Now listen, here is my riddle: If you are six feet away from the gate to the Starmaker's Kingdom, and with every step you take you move half the distance to the gate, how many steps will it take for you to reach the gate?'

As SliceQueen looked back at the Sorcerer, she thought of her mother and father, shivering in the cold of winter, and she thought how sad she would be if she were married to the Ugly Prince ...

And, with those thoughts in mind, she said to the Sorcerer, 'I will never reach the gate. For if I only move half the distance with every step, then I will always have half the distance remaining no matter how small the number.'

'You are, indeed, wise enough to enter the Starmaker's Kingdom,' said the Sorcerer, moving to one side. 'You may proceed.'

And, step by step, SliceQueen walked through the great wooden gate and entered the Starmaker's Kingdom.

When she came to the Starmaker's palace, a wonderful golden building at the top of the mountain, the Starmaker was waiting for her. He was a stern old man with long white hair and a shiny silver cape.

'Sing for me,' he demanded.

SliceQueen sang, and her voice was as golden as the palace itself.

The Starmaker nodded his head in approval. 'Do you wish to become rich beyond your wildest dreams?'

'Oh, yes!' replied SliceQueen.

'Then you must stay here for ever,' he said. 'You must stay with me in my palace and never set foot beyond the door. You must obey me at all times. And you must never again speak to anyone else. Do you understand?'

'But what about my poor mother and father?' SliceQueen said.

'I will see to it that they keep their home,' the Starmaker assured her. 'But only if you agree to my terms. Your mother and father will be safe, but you can never see them again.'

SliceQueen thought for a long time, trying to decide what to do, and eventually she said to the Starmaker, 'I will do as you say.'
Epilogue

The Starmaker kept his word. He invited Kings and Queens from all around the world to hear SliceQueen sing, and she did indeed become very rich. She wore fabulous dresses and the finest gold jewellery, and she ate the richest food and slept in the softest beds. But it did not make her happy. For the Starmaker was a charmless man, and he worked her very hard and treated her very harshly. But, worst of all, SliceQueen had no one to talk to. She had no one to share her riches with. And although her father was very poor and her mother very greedy, she began to miss them terribly. And after a while she became so forlorn and miserable that she completely lost her mind. And early one morning, while the Starmaker was still sleeping in his bed, SliceQueen chopped off his head with an axe and ran away back to her poor little hut in the shadows of the great black mountain.

Where she regained her mind and lived, not quite happily, ever after.

The End

Make one of your own: http://www.wetellstories.co.uk/stories/week3/

Maps...

I am no better at them that Alice was at multiplication.

I am no better at them than I am at Portuguese.

Google is not much better at Portuguese than I am.

I wonder if there is a tool to translate maps into something that makes sense.

"I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning?  I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I am not the same, the next question is,  Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle!"

Carroll, Lewis, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland