Microfiction: How the Turkey Gobbles

Story 1 || 50 words:

Turkey didn't have such a great voice, so he asked Grouse to give him lessons. After several lessons, Turkey had gotten quite good, so Grouse thought it was time to try his voice. Grouse gave the signal, but Turkey was so excited that he could only muster up a gobble.

Story 2 || 25 words:

Turkey was very eager to sing after his lessons with Grouse. He was so excited that, upon hearing the signal to sing, could only gobble.

Turkey - Courtesy of Britannica


Author's Note: For this set of microfictions, I opted to write my own renditions of Why The Turkey Gobbles. The original story tells of how the Turkey did not have a good voice. So, he asked the Grouse for lessons in exchange for some feathers. Thus, Grouse how his collar of turkey feathers. After a few lessons, it was time to test Turkey's voice. So, Grouse tapped upon the log to signal Turkey to begin, but Turkey was so excited that he could only gobble. So now, Turkey gobbles whenever he hears a noise. For my first microfiction of 50 words, I was able to capture a surprising amount of the original story. I was able to tell of how Grouse gave Turkey singing lessons to improve his voice. I was also able to retell how Grouse signaled Turkey to sing, but Turkey could only muster up a gobble. This version omits the detail about how Grouse got his collar of turkey feathers, but readers can still understand why the turkey gobbles. This version essentially is a condensed version of the original, just without some of the finer details. For the second microfiction of 25 words, I had to further reduce some detail from the original story. I had to omit some details regarding Turkey's initial not so good voice. I also had to omit some details regarding Grouse's lesson, but readers can still infer what caused Turkey to gobble. Also, this version omits how Grouse got his collar of turkey feathers. With so few words, I tried to highlight only the key aspects of the original story so that readers could infer the rest. Personally, I prefer the second story of 25 words, as it provides enough plot for readers to follow along but still leaves a lot of the details up to the imagination.

Bibliography: Why The Turkey Gobbles from Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900)

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