Week 10 Story: Goldenrod
Edit: This story has been transferred to my Portfolio. Click here to view the most up to date version.
Once, there was a beautiful baby girl born to a kind couple. They adored her and she grew up knowing she was loved. She was named Goldenrod for the color of her hair. Around the age of ten, the girl's mother died of a mysterious and unknown disease. Her father traveled much and quickly remarried so the girl would not be alone. He specifically chose a woman with children so his daughter would have someone to play with. This stepmother and her children were very cruel to Goldenrod. She grew into a young woman in this way. One day, the stepmother complained that she was very hungry and ordered her stepdaughter to kill a deer for their supper. The girl did not know how to hunt, but took a small dagger and went into the woods anyways. She knew there was no reasoning with her stepmother.
While in the woods, Goldenrod encountered a handsome man. She explained her situation to him, and he was kind enough to assist her. He killed a small deer for her and carried it most of the way to her home. She did not want her stepmother to see him, so she thanked him and bade him goodbye. When her stepmother saw the deer, she was pleased but also suspicious.
She ordered Goldenrod to go back into the forest to retrieve some special roots for the stew she would make from the deer meat. She had no idea what these roots looked like and her stepmother refused to provide a description. She went to the place she'd last seen the man and called out for him. He helped her again, but this time asked for her name and they talked for awhile before she returned home. The stepmother was even more suspicious at this point.
She told Goldenrod to bring her one final thing. She wanted her to collect some herbs. Goldenrod actually knew how to find these on her own, but asked her friend to join her for the company. This time, the stepmother followed her and saw the dashing fellow. She was ready to drag Goldenrod away so she might substitute in one of her own daughters, when the man confessed to the girl that he was actually a prince. He was so charmed by her beauty and kindness that he asked her to marry him. The stepmother knew she could not step in at this point, but conjured up a plan for later.
Goldenrod married the prince and went with him to live in his castle. She was very happy there and soon became pregnant with her and the prince's first child. Her stepmother was a midwife and the prince thought it was perfect that she would deliver the baby. Goldenrod did not want this, but agreed since it seemed to make her husband happy. On the day of the delivery, her stepmother told the prince that it was not right for him to be in the delivery room. She took a stillborn infant from another woman and hid it in a basket. When Goldenrod gave birth to a perfect little boy, she handed the stillborn to her and hid the other child. Goldenrod and the prince were devastated. The stepmother took the baby boy home with her and no one else knew the true events that took place.
The prince suggested Goldenrod's stepmother tend her when she became pregnant again a couple years later. She was hesitant but agreed this time as well. And again the stepmother switched the real infant with a stillborn one. However, this time a concerned handmaid peeked into the room during delivery and saw what the midwife did. The stepmother did not know about this and continued on with her plan. She went to the prince and told him that there must be something wrong with Goldenrod if she could only have stillborn children. She told him that if he wanted an heir, he would have to have children by another woman. Both of her daughters were still single and they would be happy to be a surrogate for Goldenrod. She thought that this would be the perfect in for one of her daughters to seduce her way to the throne.
The prince was torn and Goldenrod was still overcome with grief for the loss of another child. Once the stepmother left, the handmaid came forward and told the couple what she had seen. The prince rushed to Goldenrod's childhood home, where they had first met, and found the infant and toddler. He brought the children to their real home and ordered the stepmother to be imprisoned. She was hanged the next morning. The kingdom celebrated the return of the children for days and Goldenrod lived happily with her husband and children for many years.
Author's Note:
In the original story, there was a lot more going on. A girl's stepmother orders her to complete some impossible task and four men help her get what she needs and also give her the ability to spit gold nuggets. The son of the chief sees the girl and marries her because she spits gold. Her stepmother is her midwife when she gives birth on two different occasions. She convinces her that she gave birth to a cat and a snake and drops the infants into a hole in the floor. She convinces the son of the chief to kill the girl since she doesn't give birth to human babies. He drops her into the ocean and marries one of her stepsisters. The four men who helped her earlier rescue her from the water and turn her into a goose. Meanwhile, a dog raises the infants under the house and now their goose mother helps out too. The son of the chief eventually finds them and the dog explains what happened. The goose is returned to her womanly form. The son of the chief has the step mother and step sister hanged. And they all lived happily ever after.
I decided to cut most of this out because it felt random and unnecessary. I chose for my prince to not remarry because I honestly thought that was very rude. I left out the bit about the four men because I wanted Goldenrod to meet her prince directly and I hoped he would like her for more than her ability to spit gold. I made my stepmother keep the children in her home because the idea of a dog raising the children under the castle seemed a little far fetched.
Image Information:
Deer, Source: Pexels
Baby, Source: Pixabay
Bibliography: "The True Bride" from Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929), link to the reading online.
Once, there was a beautiful baby girl born to a kind couple. They adored her and she grew up knowing she was loved. She was named Goldenrod for the color of her hair. Around the age of ten, the girl's mother died of a mysterious and unknown disease. Her father traveled much and quickly remarried so the girl would not be alone. He specifically chose a woman with children so his daughter would have someone to play with. This stepmother and her children were very cruel to Goldenrod. She grew into a young woman in this way. One day, the stepmother complained that she was very hungry and ordered her stepdaughter to kill a deer for their supper. The girl did not know how to hunt, but took a small dagger and went into the woods anyways. She knew there was no reasoning with her stepmother.
While in the woods, Goldenrod encountered a handsome man. She explained her situation to him, and he was kind enough to assist her. He killed a small deer for her and carried it most of the way to her home. She did not want her stepmother to see him, so she thanked him and bade him goodbye. When her stepmother saw the deer, she was pleased but also suspicious.
She ordered Goldenrod to go back into the forest to retrieve some special roots for the stew she would make from the deer meat. She had no idea what these roots looked like and her stepmother refused to provide a description. She went to the place she'd last seen the man and called out for him. He helped her again, but this time asked for her name and they talked for awhile before she returned home. The stepmother was even more suspicious at this point.
She told Goldenrod to bring her one final thing. She wanted her to collect some herbs. Goldenrod actually knew how to find these on her own, but asked her friend to join her for the company. This time, the stepmother followed her and saw the dashing fellow. She was ready to drag Goldenrod away so she might substitute in one of her own daughters, when the man confessed to the girl that he was actually a prince. He was so charmed by her beauty and kindness that he asked her to marry him. The stepmother knew she could not step in at this point, but conjured up a plan for later.
Goldenrod married the prince and went with him to live in his castle. She was very happy there and soon became pregnant with her and the prince's first child. Her stepmother was a midwife and the prince thought it was perfect that she would deliver the baby. Goldenrod did not want this, but agreed since it seemed to make her husband happy. On the day of the delivery, her stepmother told the prince that it was not right for him to be in the delivery room. She took a stillborn infant from another woman and hid it in a basket. When Goldenrod gave birth to a perfect little boy, she handed the stillborn to her and hid the other child. Goldenrod and the prince were devastated. The stepmother took the baby boy home with her and no one else knew the true events that took place.
The prince suggested Goldenrod's stepmother tend her when she became pregnant again a couple years later. She was hesitant but agreed this time as well. And again the stepmother switched the real infant with a stillborn one. However, this time a concerned handmaid peeked into the room during delivery and saw what the midwife did. The stepmother did not know about this and continued on with her plan. She went to the prince and told him that there must be something wrong with Goldenrod if she could only have stillborn children. She told him that if he wanted an heir, he would have to have children by another woman. Both of her daughters were still single and they would be happy to be a surrogate for Goldenrod. She thought that this would be the perfect in for one of her daughters to seduce her way to the throne.
The prince was torn and Goldenrod was still overcome with grief for the loss of another child. Once the stepmother left, the handmaid came forward and told the couple what she had seen. The prince rushed to Goldenrod's childhood home, where they had first met, and found the infant and toddler. He brought the children to their real home and ordered the stepmother to be imprisoned. She was hanged the next morning. The kingdom celebrated the return of the children for days and Goldenrod lived happily with her husband and children for many years.
Author's Note:
In the original story, there was a lot more going on. A girl's stepmother orders her to complete some impossible task and four men help her get what she needs and also give her the ability to spit gold nuggets. The son of the chief sees the girl and marries her because she spits gold. Her stepmother is her midwife when she gives birth on two different occasions. She convinces her that she gave birth to a cat and a snake and drops the infants into a hole in the floor. She convinces the son of the chief to kill the girl since she doesn't give birth to human babies. He drops her into the ocean and marries one of her stepsisters. The four men who helped her earlier rescue her from the water and turn her into a goose. Meanwhile, a dog raises the infants under the house and now their goose mother helps out too. The son of the chief eventually finds them and the dog explains what happened. The goose is returned to her womanly form. The son of the chief has the step mother and step sister hanged. And they all lived happily ever after.
I decided to cut most of this out because it felt random and unnecessary. I chose for my prince to not remarry because I honestly thought that was very rude. I left out the bit about the four men because I wanted Goldenrod to meet her prince directly and I hoped he would like her for more than her ability to spit gold. I made my stepmother keep the children in her home because the idea of a dog raising the children under the castle seemed a little far fetched.
Image Information:
Deer, Source: Pexels
Baby, Source: Pixabay
Bibliography: "The True Bride" from Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929), link to the reading online.
Hey Casey! Great story and I loved the pictures of the deer and baby! I think that you set up a great amount of imagery through the adjectives you used as well. Your author's note was very well written and helped me understand your story better as well. I had not read the story so that was what helped make every thing come together in the end for me. Great work!
ReplyDeleteHi Casey!
ReplyDeleteYour author's note was really helpful and I can definitely say that I prefer your version over the original. I like all of the changes you made, but especially that you had Goldenrod meet the prince and get to know him before they got married. That's always been my biggest problem with fairy tales because, to quote Elsa from Frozen, "you can't marry a man you just met." I also like that the husband remained faithful to his wife. She didn't do anything wrong and he should trust his wife's judgement. If the prince had been smart he would have listened to Goldenrod and not let the stepmother be a midwife. Then the whole situation could have been avoided!
Hi Casey!
ReplyDeleteI really like the way you changed this story! From the author's note, it seems almost comical how much was going on in the original! You did a great job picking out the most important parts to make a story that was easy to follow but still original and entertaining. I especially like that you created real romance between the prince and Goldenrod, whereas in the original story he only married her for a superficial reason and then dropped her. Also, this was so well-written and pleasant to read!
Casey
ReplyDeleteIt’s probably a really good thing that you took out all the stuff that was going on in the original tale, or your story would have been so much longer! Plus, by focusing on such an integral part, we understand better what the main part of the story was supposed to be. I wish there was more dialogue amongst the writing, because it makes it so much easier to get into the story, but you did a good job regardless!