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I got one more essay to add to my book of Winning
Essays yesterday as I edited a recitation for a young man named Oscar from a middle school in Hu-Wei, Taiwan. Someone adapted the Crocodile and Hen folktale, relatives because
they both lay eggs, and how the hen saves her life by reminding
her predator to this fact of nature; they are brother and sister. The story was solid but it
didn't flow or rhyme until I started editing it. There are only a few weeks
left before the contest but if Oscar listens to the story as i read and recorded and mimics me,
it is only his diction and body language that would get in the way of his
winning.
Why, in the name of English gnomes, don't teachers realize that, no matter how well they did in Taiwan universities, it is imperative to have a native speaker review a work before committing it to a student to memorize? Here I am, at their service, free of charge whether or not they buy textbooks from the publishing agent that contacts me, but they wait until it is too late to do anything about it. They sabotage their students' chances of doing well, perhaps even winning a contest?
So, here it is, for anyone who wishes to share it with their charge, my edited version of "The Alligator and the Hen":
Why, in the name of English gnomes, don't teachers realize that, no matter how well they did in Taiwan universities, it is imperative to have a native speaker review a work before committing it to a student to memorize? Here I am, at their service, free of charge whether or not they buy textbooks from the publishing agent that contacts me, but they wait until it is too late to do anything about it. They sabotage their students' chances of doing well, perhaps even winning a contest? So, here it is, for anyone who wishes to share it with their charge, my edited version of "The Alligator and the Hen":
Good morning dear judges and fellow
students. The story I will share with you is “Why a crocodile does not eat a Hen.” A
long time ago, a hen went down to the bank of a river to look for food. A
nearby crocodile noticed her. The crocodile decided to hunt the hen. Off he
went in the river singing a song to himself. It went something like this:
“Chu-chun-chun-chun-chun
Chu chun-chun-chun-chun
I’m going on a hen hunt
I’m gonna catch a big one
What a beautiful day
I’m not afraid to say.”
He stuck his big head out of the
water and opened his mouth wide to eat the hen, but the hen saw him and cried
out, “Brother, please don’t eat me!”
The crocodile was so surprised that –
SNAP! – he closed his big jaws shut. He was confused. He wondered to himself, “Why
did the hen call me ‘brother’? She is not in my family. I am a crocodile and
she is a hen.” As the hen waddled away, he promised himself, “Tomorrow I will
be back to eat her.”
The next day the crocodile set off
singing the song to himself:
“Chu-chun-chun-chun-chun
Chu chun-chun-chun-chun
I’m going on a hen hunt
I’m gonna catch a big one
On this beautiful day
I won’t be fooled this way.”
He stuck his big head out of the
water looking for the hen. He saw her and said, “Hey hen, today I’m going to
swallow you down in one gulp!” He opened his mouth wide but the hen spoke up
again.
“Brother, please don’t eat me,” and
waddled away. Once again – SNAP – the crocodile closed his big mouth. He was
mad at himself. “Why did I let the hen go? She cannot be a member of my family!
I’m going to find her right now and eat her up once and for all!”
The crocodile got out of the river
looking for the hen. On the way, he met his friend, the lizard, who asked, “Crocodile,
is something bothering you?”
“Listen, lizard. I have a problem.
Every day a fat little hen comes down the riverbank for food. She looks sooooo
delicious that my mouth starts to water but just when I open my mouth to gobble
her up, she says, ‘Brother, don’t eat me!’ Why do you think she keeps calling
me ‘brother’?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” said the lizard. “Ducks
lay eggs. Turtles lay eggs. I lay eggs. You lay eggs. Hens lay eggs.” So in
this way, we are all brothers and sisters.
“Hmmm, I didn’t realize that. Aw
shucks!” He started to go back home but with a different song that went like
this:
“Chu-chun-chun-chun-chun
Chu chun-chun-chun-chun
I’m not going on a hen hunt
I’m not gonna catch one
What a day!
I’m not glad today.”
To this day, even though the hen
looks very delicious, when she comes down to the riverbank, the crocodile does
not eat her.
Thanks you for listening. I hope you
liked the story. Have a good day.
Copyright © 2019 by David Barry Temple. All rights reserved.
