Week 14 Story: The man who met Missouri
There once lived a rich man, so rich that he never needed to leave his house. He lived in Los Angeles, CA with his three sons and wife. His children were so sheltered and spoiled that they knew nothing about the the real, outside world. The oldest son, Francis, was teased by his schoolmates who claimed he knew nothing about the misery of the real world. Francis resented this and one day told his father that he was sick of staying at home. Francis wanted to encounter what misery really was. His father initially objected but realized his son would have to find out about life the hard way. Francis then packed up all of his belongings and set off on is Maserati to find misery. Before he really got going on the road, Francis made a quick pit stop at the local gas station and asked the cashier where misery was. The cashier, confused by his question, pulled out a map and pointed to Missouri. Francis thanked the cashier and left with his destination set for Missouri.
After several days, Francis finally arrived in Missouri. He was shocked by the prairie like landscape that seemed to make up the entire state. He felt that he now understood what his friends meant when they said that he never had experienced misery before. Although he was already home-sick, he decided to force himself to stay at least another day in Missouri. Francis was trying to figure out where he should stay for the night when all of a sudden a homeless man came out of a dark alley and claimed to know a place that Francis could stay for the night. Francis was always a little naive and agreed to let the homeless man guide him to lodging. All of a sudden the homeless man pulled out a knife and demanded Francis turn over all of his belongings. Francis ran from the man for as long as he could.Eventually, Francis came to the realization that he was unable to lose this man. He took off his shoes as he ran and dropped an expensive ring that he always carried with him. When the homeless man saw this, he stopped chasing Francis.
Francis slept in his car that night. The next day he returned to his family who asked him all about his time away from the estate. They asked, "Did you meet Misery?" He replied saying, "Yes I did. It gave me a nice run for it."
Missouri Image
Bibliography: This story is part of the Czech Folktales unit. Story source: The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis (1922).
Author's Note: I took the liberty to make the play on words joke with the state of Missouri. Originally, the rich son was chased by an ogre after he left his family's estate. The ogre took off his finger with a ring but the prince did return home safely(minus a finger). I tried to make mine slightly more realistic by leaving mythical creatures out of it.
After several days, Francis finally arrived in Missouri. He was shocked by the prairie like landscape that seemed to make up the entire state. He felt that he now understood what his friends meant when they said that he never had experienced misery before. Although he was already home-sick, he decided to force himself to stay at least another day in Missouri. Francis was trying to figure out where he should stay for the night when all of a sudden a homeless man came out of a dark alley and claimed to know a place that Francis could stay for the night. Francis was always a little naive and agreed to let the homeless man guide him to lodging. All of a sudden the homeless man pulled out a knife and demanded Francis turn over all of his belongings. Francis ran from the man for as long as he could.Eventually, Francis came to the realization that he was unable to lose this man. He took off his shoes as he ran and dropped an expensive ring that he always carried with him. When the homeless man saw this, he stopped chasing Francis.
Francis slept in his car that night. The next day he returned to his family who asked him all about his time away from the estate. They asked, "Did you meet Misery?" He replied saying, "Yes I did. It gave me a nice run for it."
Bibliography: This story is part of the Czech Folktales unit. Story source: The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis (1922).
Author's Note: I took the liberty to make the play on words joke with the state of Missouri. Originally, the rich son was chased by an ogre after he left his family's estate. The ogre took off his finger with a ring but the prince did return home safely(minus a finger). I tried to make mine slightly more realistic by leaving mythical creatures out of it.
Hi Donovan! Good job with your story for this week. I think that your writing for the story was very clear. Did you consider incorporating any dialogue or conversation? It could have made It a little bit easier to understand the characters. I would have liked to have more information about the original story that your’s was based on. That could have been a good addition to the author’s note. Nice work overall!
ReplyDeleteHi Donovan! I loved the play on Missouri and misery. People from Missouri might object, but I liked it. I think this post would be enhanced if you included an image of the prairie that Francis sees when he arrives. It would be a nice visual aid. After I read you author's note, I couldn't help imagine an ogre running after a prince through the plains of Missouri. Well done on bringing the story to the present.
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