Storytelling: Jonathon and Mr. Piddles meet a Water Sprite

Jonathon and Mr. Piddles were very bored on their Thanksgiving break. Jonathon's teacher. Ms. Hawkins had told them that they should practice their multiplication tables and finish their spelling worksheet. Jonathon had made sure to do that the first evening home so he would not have to worry about it. (In reality Jonathon's father had made him do it so that Jonathon could help cook Thanksgiving dinner.)
"Mr. Piddles what if we went and explored the backyard some more? We haven't been out to visit Mr. Hanuman in a very long time!" Jonathon had tried to tell Ms. Hawkins about their monkey friend, but she didn't believe him. This was a common occurrence for Jonathon and Ms. Hawkins.
"Sure! I could do with some wilderness exploration." Mr. Piddles was always up for going into his natural habitat, the backyard.
Jonathon and Mr. Piddles snuck out into their backyard and climbed under the fence that kept in the family dog, Max. Quickly they were into the unexplored forest, searching for Mr. Hanuman.
“Mr. Piddles, do you remember where we first met Mr. Hanuman? All of these trees look the same to me today!” Jonathon was peering around trees and staring up into the branches.
“I think maybe that way, or that way?” Mr. Piddles crossed his arms, pointing each hand in an opposite direction.
“That is not helpful! Maybe we should go down by the pond and look for him there?” Jonathon always loved to go to the ‘pond’ in their backyard. The ‘pond’ was closer to a puddle, but no one ever wanted to correct him.
“Yea, that’s a great idea!” So off they went in search of the backyard pond.
What they didn’t know was that after Mr. Hanuman had come into their lives, lots of magical creatures had started to find residency in their backyard as well. In this case a little water-sprite had come to make their backyard pond home.
“Here it is!” Jonathon stopped just short of running into the pond He looked around to get his bearings (and his stuffed polar bear).
“Hello there! Who are you?” Jonathon jumped away from the pond to try and find where the voice was coming from. Suddenly he saw a little man sitting on the boulder next to the pond, nestled in moss. Jonathon quickly forgot all about trying to find Hanuman.
“I’m Jonathon, and this is Mr. Piddles. Who are you?” Jonathon was not so much surprised to see a magical woodland creature as he was to see how small the man was. He could not have been much more than six inches tall!
“I’m Cornelius, the water-sprite of this pond! I have come to make it my home and protect it from all others!” Cornelius then crossed his arms in an attempt to make himself look tough.
“Oh, well it is very nice to meet you Cornelius!” Jonathon stuck out his hand to shake Cornelius’ and then realized he need only use his pointer finger.  Cornelius shook his finger and then returned to gazing out into the trees. Jonathon took this to be the end of their conversation and reached to clean his hands in the water.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” exclaimed Cornelius. “You can’t have any of my water without answering my riddle!” Cornelius was very protective of his home and used riddles as ‘locks’ for his home.
“Oh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize that I couldn’t clean my hands in the water. What is the riddle so that I can use it?” Jonathon had managed to get plenty of dirt and bark residue all over his hands in the midst of their original search for Hanuman.
“The riddle is as such: what makes a good water-sprite?” Cornelius had a smug look on his face, because this riddle had never been cracked before!
Jonathon and Mr. Piddles sat together and talked back and forth about what the answer could be. Finally, they came to an answer they both could agree upon.
“A good water-sprite is kind and loving. They are gentle and care for nature, and are the most loyal friend you could ever have!” Jonathon had added the last part to try and win over Cornelius, just in case their original answer wasn’t quite enough.
Cornelius was shocked! No one had ever called him kind or gentle before. In that moment Cornelius grew two inches, merely to compensate for the growth of his heart!
“Oh my goodness! You managed to guess correctly! You may use my water whenever you are here, you are good friends Jonathon and Mr. Piddles.” Cornelius shook Jonathon’s finger again and Mr. Piddles’ paw. The three spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know one another and enjoying the lovely fall weather.

Water Sprite

Author's Note:
I based this story from the Jataka Tales written by Ellen Babbitt. I really liked the story about The Princes and the Water-Sprite. Although, I took several liberties with how the water-sprite acts and the actual plot line, I tried to keep the same moral: that kindness is always key! I also wanted Jonathon and Mr. Piddles to have another adventure together in their own backyard. With Thanksgiving just having occurred I thought that Thanksgiving break would give the two the perfect opportunity to go in search of their friend Mr. Hanuman originally, but wander into meeting more magical creatures. I also just watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas this weekend and couldn't help but steal a few details from it as well (growing two inches, a growing heart).  I have had a lot of fun writing about Jonathon and Mr. Piddles so I hope you all enjoy!

Story: Gwendolyn and the Garden

Gwendolyn crept around the fence, pushed her thick brown hair out of her face, and slowly opened the garden gate. She had just turned thirteen and was determined to be independent. Granny Ronni had always been a family friend, so she didn’t want to disrupt anything. She just wanted a few tomatoes to try for her new salsa recipe. And Granny Ronni’s looked so juicy and plump that they could practically fall off the vine by themselves. Gwen closed the gate behind her and checked again that all the lights in Granny’s house were off, it was mid-afternoon and not the most discreet time to sneak around but Granny was supposed to be gone. 

Granny Ronni's Garden

Gwen had grown up next door to Granny Ronni’s house, and had seen Jonathon and his little stuffed polar bear slowly growing up. Granny Ronni had been there when she had broken her arm from riding her bike, when she had graduated from eighth grade, and when her first boyfriend, Tom, had broken up with her. Granny Ronni had always taught her right from wrong and she knew stealing from Granny Ronni would be wrong. But Gwen hoped that she wouldn’t miss a few tomatoes, and a few jalapenos now that Gwen could see them wedged between lettuce leaves. Granny had always said that she would help Gwen with anything she needed, but the garden had been off limits as she had grown up because Granny kept several poisonous plants and didn't want anyone to get hurt.

Gwen started to gather the tomatoes and place them into her shirt when she heard a young boy behind her.

“Gwen, what are you doing with Granny’s tomatoes?” Gwen whipped around to see Jonathon standing in the garden with his polar bear, Mr. Sniffles… Piffles… something.

“Oh, hey Jonathon, what are you doing here? I thought Granny Ronni was out for the day...?” Gwen wanted to find out if she was about to get in big trouble or not.

“Granny’s at the supermarket getting food for Mr. Piddles and me.” Piddles! Mr. Piddles! How could she have forgotten such a ridiculous name? Jonathon began to talk to the polar bear while Gwen tried to think of her exit plan.

“Uh huh, well, Granny Ronni told me this morning that I could borrow a few of her tomatoes for salsa I am making! So I’ll just be on my way now!” Gwen started to walk towards the gate when she heard another voice join them in the garden.

“Gwendolyn, what a nice surprise! I didn’t know you would be coming over today.” Gwen slowly turned around, afraid to see the body attached to the voice that had spoken.

“Heeeyyy…. Granny Ronni… I didn’t know you were going to be here this afternoon. I just wanted to stop and say hello to Jonathon and Mr. Piddles! It looks like your garden is doing very well this season. Well, I have to go now! My parents will start to worry if I’m nowhere to be found!” Gwen hurried over to the gate when Granny spoke again.

“It looks like you have some of my tomatoes with you there, Gwen. Have you forgotten something?” Granny Ronni was now standing with her arms crossed. Gwen had been caught.

“I’m really sorry, Granny, but they looked so juicy and… and… I’m making a salsa, so how could I not want to use the best ingredients? I’m really really super duper sorry. I just couldn’t help myself.” Gwen put the tomatoes in a small bucket by Granny Ronni’s back door.

“It’s okay, Gwen, I never mind someone using my vegetables to make delicious food! But make sure you ask permission next time. Perhaps I had been planning to make salsa with those juicy tomatoes?” Granny was smiling so Gwen knew she wouldn’t get yelled at. Jonathon and Mr. Piddles were eagerly nodding, probably hoping that Granny was going to make the aforementioned salsa for them to eat. “We each have a duty to do good, and as soon as we stop doing that we lose a little piece of ourselves. Gwen, we are on a very slippery slope. Just remember that stealing is never a good idea, okay?”

“Yes, Granny Ronni!” Gwen was relieved that she was free to go and decided to never steal again.

“How about we go make that salsa for Jonathon and Mr. Piddles to try?” Granny had also noticed the young boy’s attentiveness.

“Of course!” Gwen, Jonathon, Mr. Piddles, and Granny walked into Granny’s house and made a wonderful batch of salsa for all of them to enjoy!

Author's Note: 

This week I learned more about Vishnu’s Seven Secrets by Devdutt Pattanaik, particularly focusing on dharma and adharma. Dharma is all that is natural and good in the world, whereas adharma is the antithesis of this concept. I wasn’t originally sure how I was going to fit these concepts into a story with Jonathon and Mr. Piddles, but then I thought about including a next-door neighbor! I thought that showing how stealing and lying were adharma, with a gentle reminder at the end, it could play off of Vishnu’s Secrets concepts. Although I didn’t set out to make this story have a moral, it made more sense to end with a moral and not try to fit the actual Indian cultural words throughout my story. Although I may have Jonathon and Mr. Piddles end their adventures with Hanuman and traveling to India to learn something new for my final story! I have enjoyed watching the videos on Vishnu’s Seven Secrets and may watch another set of videos for the last few weeks of assignments.

Storytelling: Jonathon and Mr. Piddles Meet the Neighborhood

Grammy Ronni opened her door only to find Jonathon and Mr. Piddles!

“What are you two doing here? I thought your dad wasn’t dropping you off until this evening?” Grammy Ronni had been working on a new scarf for her neighbor when she had heard a knock at the door.

“Well, we decided we wanted to come earlier! I have some homework I need to work on and a new coloring book that Mr. Piddles and I want to break in.” Jonathon had his favorite, large stuffed polar bear tightly wrapped in his arms.

“Oh, well, come on in! I just need to move my yarn out of the way and the dining room table is all yours.” Grammy Ronni had been storing her large basket of yarn supplies on top of the table to make sure she didn’t accidentally lose any. She quickly picked up the basket and moved it to beside her couch. “There you go, boys! Let me know if you two need anything!” Grammy Ronni had grown accustomed to just hearing Jonathon’s side of conversations, but knew that Mr. Piddles was very real to her grandson.

“Thanks, Grammy!” Jonathon took off his backpack and sat Mr. Piddles in the chair next to him. “Okay, Mr. Piddles, now we can start working on our math homework. The worksheet Ms. Hawkins gave us is pretty tricky.” Jonathon began to pull out papers and pencils.

“Um, I think you mean your math homework. Polar bears do not need math skills. We rely on instinct!” Mr. Piddles crossed his arms and snorted towards the worksheet.

“Well, I have to get these multiplication charts down and I could use your instincts! So, what is 4 times 6?” Jonathon turned towards his pal. Grammy Ronni waited to see what the boy wrote down, fully knowing it would not be 24.

“Well… My nose tells me it must be 43! And my nose is never wrong.” Mr. Piddles grinned, proud of his intellect.

“Oh, well, that makes perfect sense!” Jonathon eagerly wrote down the answer provided and continued to work on the worksheet for another hour with Mr. Piddles as Grammy Ronni continued to work on her knitting, all while listening to her grandson irrationally pluck numbers out of thin air for his math homework.
Soon it was evening and Grammy Ronni decided she should go collect her mail.

“Jonathon, why don’t you and Mr. Piddles come walk with me to get my mail? You could play outside for a bit too. It seems to be nice weather!” Grammy Ronni was a large proponent of children getting lots of outdoor playtime.

“Okay, we just finished coloring a picture for you!” Jonathon tore out the picture of a big brown bear from his coloring book. “Here, you can hang it up on the fridge!” Jonathon picked up the picture and Mr. Piddles and walked towards the front door. Grammy Ronni collected the picture and hung it up at the top of her fridge, front and center.

Jonathon and Grammy Ronni walked outside and noticed some other children playing outside.

“Grammy, Mr. Piddles and I are going to go play with them! Is that okay?” Jonathon turned towards his grandmother and waited for an answer.

“Sure, just stay in sight of my house, okay?” Grammy Ronni was glad that Jonathon could make some new friends.

“Thanks!” Jonathon ran over with Mr. Piddles in his arms. “Hi! My name is Jonathon, and this is Mr. Piddles, my stuffed polar bear.” The children turned to face them and immediately stared at Mr. Piddles.

“Can we touch your polar bear?” The kids all ran towards Jonathon to try and grab Mr. Piddles.

“NO! He doesn’t like to be touched by strangers!” Jonathon quickly pulled Mr. Piddles in towards his body.

“Hey, Jonathon, I think we should leave. These kids don’t seem very nice…” Mr. Piddles turned his face up towards Jonathon and tried to bury his eyes.

“It’s okay, Mr. Piddles, we just need to get to know them better. If we treat them with love and respect, they will treat us the same way. But I think we have done enough for today.” Jonathon ran back to Grammy Ronni as she was walking back towards her house.

“Hey, Grammy, the kids didn’t seem very nice so we’re going to wait until we can meet them individually. Mr. Piddles didn’t feel safe around all of them.” Jonathon opened the door for his grandmother and quickly shut it behind them.

“Oh, okay. Next time you come over maybe we can invite one of them over for you to meet?” Grammy Ronni had forgotten how shy her grandson could be. As well as how attached he was to his stuffed polar bear.

“I like that idea ,Jonathon. We could handle them two on one.” Mr. Piddles snarled to show that he wasn’t afraid.

“Yeah! Mr. Piddles and I think that would be great!” Jonathon sat back down at the dining table and began to color a chameleon. Grammy Ronni returned to her knitting and wondered what they would do for dinner. 

The Two Pigs

Author's Note:

 I read the Jataka Tales written by Noor Inayat this week and was inspired by one story in particular, The Two Pigs. In the story a woman takes in two baby pigs she finds outside her home, much like Grammy Ronni taking in Jonathon and Mr. Piddles. The two pigs grow up and eventually the townspeople want to eat one. The woman tells them no until they get her drunk and then she tells them that they can have one of the the two. However, the two pigs realize they are in danger and the pig that was chosen to be eaten is saved by the king asking for them to be his advisors due to the older pig's wisdom in the situation. I wanted to put a twist on the story by having Jonathon and Mr. Piddles be the two pigs and playing with children be their situation with the villagers. I liked having them interact with the neighborhood this week, and may try to explore that further.