-‘Now Jo, Daddy’s telling the story. Do you want to tell Daddy the story?’

-Reality phase

-''She had made him miss a beat in the narrative''

-Rapt expression

-‘Very silly of your stupid old daddy.(Roger fish-skunk incident)

- 'Jo made the crying face without a trace of sincerity'

-Taking stuff for granted

-Apprehensive(Parent preferred people hanging on his words)

-‘Whats that awful smell?’’
-''Yet even in her agitation did not quite dare to stop the source of truth''

-That’s not the story
-'Its daddy’s story'

-Rare emphasis
-'Her plump arms chopped forcefully

-'The point is that the little skunk loved his mommy more than he loved all other little animals and she knew what was right."

-'She kicked her feet and sat down with a great heave and complaint of springs, as she had done hundreds of times before'

- "Joanne! Shall I come up there and spank you?"

 The humiliations he faced
 Of which he regretted deeply

He is the comforting arm of night
 Whose stories put me to slumber
 Daddy told me what was true
 And the realities I never knew
 
 It was always daddy's stories
 That made me gaze at him
 With rapt expressions and 
 Me crying terribly

 Without a trace of sincerity

‘That’s not the story’’ I would say
Annoyingly kicking my feet midway

With a great heave and a complaint of springs

Which made my daddy’s head swing

Taking his stories for granted
 Was something i knew he hated
 But know that I was enchanted

By all the Roger tales he created 

Just like the little skunk
Who loved his mommy more
Than all the other animals
Whom he chose to ignore

I will always love my daddy
A little more than my mommy
As the midnight memories unfold
My love for him will never go cold

THE ACT OF OLLIE

In a deep dark forest, where the sounds of birds of paradise echoed all around(DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES), there lived a wise owl named Ollie. He was as wise as he was old(SIMILE) . All the vivid living creatures of the forest disliked him. Though he tried to help everyone they just kept him away. So he  remained silent throughout the day inside his tree hole and only came out  at night. People say that is why owls are seen out only at night.

On one fine night, when Ollie was about to peep out of his hole, he heard something unusual. A sweet voice, as that of the nightingale(SIMILE), seemed to pull him out of his tree hole and looking out, up in the sky he saw the moon or rather the grin of the Cheshire cat(METAPHOR). So thin, so narrow. ‘Well the forest itself was so dark and scary, now what more could it be’ thought the owl.

“Excuse me, Sir” spoke the voice, “Is it possible that I stay in your tree hole for the night? It is very cold outside and I am a lost traveler.”
It was none other than the cunning racoon rex who had come to feed on poor Ollie. A medley of thoughts ran through his head. “Would I get a get a new friend? But why now? No one cares to talk to me in the mornings… Could it be a trap?”

After all being a very kind and helpful person he decided to let him in. But then, luckily for the owl, the moon’s grin turned out to be helpful. Ollie saw the evil whiskers and the wagging tail of the racoon. He suddenly thought of a plot and said,
“Oh dear, you are certainly the most welcome. But for now, I only have food for one and I am very hungry. Wouldn’t it be rude if I don’t share? And also, I like the cold breeze flowing into my hole and so do not have anything to protect you from the cold weather.”

“Oh, that’s no problem. I have a matchstick and firewood. I sure can survive with that. Only if I could see the face of my kind host would I be pleased to take shelter underneath the tree and definitely pray for your wellness.” Said the racoon.

“I realize that you are so eager to thank me for my kindness. But I would be at my best if you let me alone and feed on someone else for this night”

The racoon realizing that his disguise went in vain, returned embarrassed to his cave and the story of the owl’s wise act spread throughout the forest.
People still repeat this story to their children to make sure that they too become wise like the owl and shoo away the evil cleverly.


Moral of the story-"A villain may disguise himself, but he will not deceive the wise." Be wise and shun the quack.

Theme- Wisdom

Settings-Forest

__________________________________

As the fox prepares to kill the rabbit, the rabbit cries out, "Please don't kill me Mr. Fox, sir! I have a wife, and many children whom I love very much. They won't be able to fend for themselves if you eat me! Please sir, I beseech you. Do not eat me! I'll tell no bunny."

The fox looks at the rabbit, and sighs, "I have many children as well, and whom you should know, I love very much. If I do not kill you, then I won't be able to feed my wife so that she may feed my children. It is a rare thing for me to be able to catch a rabbit so easily, and I must avail myself of the opportunity. If I do not kill you, what would you have me do to feed my family?"

"If you let me live”, said the rabbit, "I’ll lead you to another rabbit family’s hole, and you'll be able to catch all of them to take to your family."

The fox looked at the rabbit with suspicion and said, "How do I know you will not run away, as soon as I let you go?"

"I give you my word, on the lives of my children that I will not run away, "said the rabbit, "And to show you that I will do as I say, I will crawl on my belly the entire way to the other rabbit’s hole."

The fox let go of the rabbit and true to his word, the rabbit never stood up. He began to crawl on his belly to the other hole. After a time they reached their destination and sure enough, there was a small opening in the ground.

The rabbit said quietly to the fox, "Here is the hole I talked about. Be very quiet when you enter, and you may be able to catch them all."

"Very well”, said the fox, "You wait here, while I enter and have a look around inside."

The fox entered the hole and soon began to howl and cry. The sound was suddenly cut short, and the fox never made another sound again.

As the rabbit gleefully hopped back to his home, he said to himself, "I must have my wife remind me to send a thank you card to the rattlesnake family today."

Theme:  Losing faith in Stereotypes

Plot: The story talks of the tale of a hungry fox and a rabbit. The story is written in a duo-narrative form, where the story gradually unfolds through a conversation between the fox and the rabbit. On a sunny day in a desert, the hungry fox catches a rabbit. The rabbit, in an attempt to bargain for his life promises to lead the fox to another family of rabbits if the fox lets him go. The hungry fox, believing that the rabbit is too dumb to try any tricks, readily agrees and follows him to the rabbit hole.The sly rabbit however, tricks the fox into entering a rattlesnake hole instead.  In the hole the two fight and the fox is killed. In this way the rabbit manages to get rid of its predator and saves himself. The story catches its readers’ attention due to the witty puns and unusual metaphors that it makes use of, such as “No-bunny” or the reference to the bunny as the cunning fox, that it makes use of.

Characters: A hungry fox, a sly rabbit, a rattlesnake

Settings: In a dry, arid desert.