Week One Storytelling: Untold Truths

Her mother always told her never to walk without an adult when passing the brown house with the numbers 233 hanging from the side, but Hanna was always a child of curiosity and liberty believing the family that lived in the home was no different from her own.  Blake was a ten year-old boy who she sat next to in class, and he never said a word.  The children teased him, for his clothes were always too small, and he walked slow and hunched over like he was old.  Hanna would stare out the corner of her eyes at Blake and wonder why no one passed his house without having someone watching them nearby.  The young boy consumed her mind and she thought to herself that he is a frail kind of guy, and his quietness must be shyness.  One day, Hanna walked up to Blake during recess where he sat nearby the swing set with his knees to his chest and head resting on his arms. “Blake, can we play together?”

 Little boy at playground

No answer came from his mouth and no movement from his body.  She stood before him just a bit longer, and then walked away.  Three days in a row she asked him, and each time he found a new place to sit, with his knees to his chest and his head resting on his arms.  He never spoke a word to Hanna or moved to show any motion.  As the school week passed, Hanna became more curious than usual and set her mind to walking to the small brown house where Blake lived.  When Saturday approached, Hanna did her chores and asked her mom if she could go out and play. 

When her mother asked, “Where will you be?” 

Hanna lied and said she would be at the park with the other girls from her class.  Hanna grabbed her purple jacket and walked out the door, looking back to see if her mother was watching her from the window.  Instead of turning left, she turned right to the small brown house where she heard the dogs bark from the inside with all their might.  She knocked and then rang the doorbell only hearing the dogs. What she did not know is that Blake was standing behind the door looking at her through the peep hole.  As she rang the doorbell again, Blake then opened the door.

 “Can you play?” Hanna asked.

Small brown home

Blake stood there until his mother walked to the door.  She asked Blake who the girl was, and to invite her in.  Blake looked at his mother and then walked away. His mother grabbed Hanna's hand and pulled her in. Hanna then stood in the door way and watched Blake’s mom grab the two large dogs by their collars.  Blake entered a room ten steps away from the front door, and Hanna followed. “Blake you never speak and I always ask you to play.” Blake said nothing. His mother came to the room and gave them both milk and cookies.  She complimented Hanna's hair bows, and started to hug her very tight. Hanna told Blake’s mother thank you, and his mother smiled while walking out the room. Hanna grabbed the snicker doodle cookie from the plate. Blake marched up to her and grabbed the cookie from her hand.  They stood before each other face to face, and then Hanna felt a certain way.  It was not a terrible feeling, but she knew something was not right.  She heard a large thud from the room next to Blake’s and asked what it was. She moved closer to the wall only to hear a low voice and scratching on the walls.  Blake grabbed Hanna's hand and power walked her to the door, and when he opened it, he shoved her out the door.  Blake then said to her in a very low voice, “What you heard was nothing and never come back.  Just know that the Boogeyman watches you from that window, and he wants you as his snack.”

Gloomy Window

Hanna walked back home awfully confused.  She then turned around seeing a shadow in the window, and then the drapes were closed.  She opened her front door and was greeted by her mother who stood there in the doorway. Hanna then told her mother the truth. Her mother embraced her with a hug and her eyes started to water.  Monday when class started, Blake came in and sat in his chair without uttering a word.  Hanna said hi, and Blake looked through her as if she were glass. Hanna had thought of what her mother had told her that Saturday afternoon, "looks can be deceiving and there are secrets behind some doors. You'll understand when you're older, but you cannot go over there anymore."  What Hanna did not know is a story that was more than twenty years old.  Hanna's mother used to visit that same house long ago, and it was there she was told to keep a secret but it was only for adults to know.     

Author's note: This story is based off the tale "The Cat, The Cock, and the Young Mouse".  In the story, the young mouse decides to venture out side of his home and later reports the things he sees to his mother.  He describes to his mother an animal that looked dangerous with raw pieces of meat hanging from its face, and another animal that was covered in fur and had a gentle presence.  The young mouse wanted to meet this beautiful fur covered animal, but the animal that looked treacherous chased him away. As his mother listens to his story, she realizes that her son is describing both a cock and a cat.  She tells her son, the animal who frighten him by flapping its wings and shrieking was trying to save him from being eaten the cat.

          Instead of using animals like the original story, I felt that it would be easier to relate to the characters if I made them human. The message of the story is “Do not trust alone to outward appearances”.  I made sure the character Hanna shared traits that the young mouse possessed. The young boy Blake was the cock warning Hanna to stay away from his home.  Lastly, the mysterious figure in the window  that watched Hannah walk back home played as the cat.    

 

Bibliography: "The Cat, The Cock, and the Young Mouse" in The Aesop For Children written by anonymous with Pictures by Milo Winter (1919)