Microfiction: Cheaters Never Prosper
Story 1 || 100 words:
The Deer once had no horns, and his head was smooth. He could prance through the forest at such a fast pace that the animals were curious whether the great running Deer or the great jumping Rabbit could travel faster. So, a challenge was set between the two to go through a thicket and back, and a large pair of antlers was offered as the prize to the winner. However, the Rabbit was found to be cheating, as he had cleared a path through the forest. So, the antlers were given to the Deer and have been worn ever since.
Story 2 || 6 words:
Cheating Rabbit yields horns to Deer.
Author's Note: For this set of microfictions, I opted to write my own renditions of the story of How The Deer Got His Horns. The original story tells of how the Deer with no horns was a great runner, and the Rabbit was a great jumper. The other animals wanted to see which of the two was faster so they issued forth a race through the thicket and back. The prize would be a large pair of antlers. The Rabbit went forth into the thicket as everyone else was admiring the horns. He had stated that he wanted to explore the terrain as it was all new to him, to which everyone had agreed. Upon taking a long time to return, the Rabbit was discovered to be clearing away a path to the other side of the thicket. The other animals discussed this matter and dismissed the trickster from the race, crowning the prize horns upon the Deer. For my first microfiction of 100 words, I was able to capture most the important details from the original story. I described the running abilities of the Deer, as well as the jumping abilities of the Rabbit. Other details regarding the challenge between the two creatures were also described, and readers are able to definitively interpret how the horns of the Deer came to be. For my second microfiction of just 6 words, I chose to carefully choose my words to characterize the Rabbit as the antagonist and the Deer as the protagonist. This story tells of how the Deer is given his horns because of the Rabbit's act of cheating; this story is short and leaves a significant amount of the story up to interpretation. I personally prefer this shorter story since it allow readers to make their own story up and use their imaginations to think of how the Rabbit cheated and how the Deer got his horns as a result.
Bibliography: How The Deer Got His Horns from Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900)
The Deer once had no horns, and his head was smooth. He could prance through the forest at such a fast pace that the animals were curious whether the great running Deer or the great jumping Rabbit could travel faster. So, a challenge was set between the two to go through a thicket and back, and a large pair of antlers was offered as the prize to the winner. However, the Rabbit was found to be cheating, as he had cleared a path through the forest. So, the antlers were given to the Deer and have been worn ever since.
Story 2 || 6 words:
Cheating Rabbit yields horns to Deer.
White-Tailed Deer - Courtesy of Britannica
Author's Note: For this set of microfictions, I opted to write my own renditions of the story of How The Deer Got His Horns. The original story tells of how the Deer with no horns was a great runner, and the Rabbit was a great jumper. The other animals wanted to see which of the two was faster so they issued forth a race through the thicket and back. The prize would be a large pair of antlers. The Rabbit went forth into the thicket as everyone else was admiring the horns. He had stated that he wanted to explore the terrain as it was all new to him, to which everyone had agreed. Upon taking a long time to return, the Rabbit was discovered to be clearing away a path to the other side of the thicket. The other animals discussed this matter and dismissed the trickster from the race, crowning the prize horns upon the Deer. For my first microfiction of 100 words, I was able to capture most the important details from the original story. I described the running abilities of the Deer, as well as the jumping abilities of the Rabbit. Other details regarding the challenge between the two creatures were also described, and readers are able to definitively interpret how the horns of the Deer came to be. For my second microfiction of just 6 words, I chose to carefully choose my words to characterize the Rabbit as the antagonist and the Deer as the protagonist. This story tells of how the Deer is given his horns because of the Rabbit's act of cheating; this story is short and leaves a significant amount of the story up to interpretation. I personally prefer this shorter story since it allow readers to make their own story up and use their imaginations to think of how the Rabbit cheated and how the Deer got his horns as a result.
Bibliography: How The Deer Got His Horns from Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900)
Hi Jackie!
ReplyDeleteThis is the first microfiction I have read this semester (and, now that I think about it, the first of my life). It is very interesting to see which words you chose in order to emphasize certain aspects of the original story. I am sure it would be quite challenging for me to write my own, especially one with only six words! I understand your six word story because of the note, but I was originally confused because rabbits do not have horns! Anyway, great job!