Week 10 Story: Father-in-law to Be
There was a man who was known for playing tricks on all those he could. His favorite targets were his daughter's boyfriends. His daughter, Clara, had had many boyfriends, and lost most of them because they could not stand her father for any length of time. One day, she met a man who could equal her father's wit, and introduced the two.
"Dad, this is my boyfriend Steve."
"Hey Steve, my name is Walter. Would you want to go on a fishing trip with me?"
"Glad to meet you Walter, I'd love to!"
The pair agreed to leave in the morning. Clara warned Steve that her father often liked to trick her boyfriends, and to be on his guard. With this advice on his mind, Steve left with Walter to go fishing. The two traveled quite some ways and needed to stay the night at a hotel before they could begin fishing the next day. As they lay down to sleep, Walter said,"Nobody I've gone fishing with ever gets to take a picture with their catch because their phone always seemed to be dead and I'm very protective of my phone, so they can't use it."
This was an odd thing for him to say, thought Steve. He remembered his girlfriend's warning and figured Walter was up to something. Before Steve went to sleep, he switched which outlet his and Walter's phones were plugged into. During the night, Walter unplugged the charger he believed to be attached to Steve's phone.
When morning came, Walter said "Oh no! You're phone came unplugged last night and is probably dead."
"Not mine," replied Steve, "but it appears yours has."
Walter realized that he had been outsmarted by Steve, but said nothing about it for he was to ashamed to admit he had been outsmarted. When the fishing was done, and Steve had his picture with his prized catch, the two went back home to Clara. When Clara and Steve were done hugging, Walter said, "I like this one Clara, try to keep him around."
Author's Note: The oringal story was called "The Son-in-Law Tests" from the second part of the Native American Hero Tales. The plot of the story was fairly simple, the father-in-law tried to kill the main character but was always outsmarted. I took this concept and placed it in the modern age, albeit there is less threat of death this time because I think they throw that concept around too will-nilly in these stories.
Bibliography: Tales of the North American Indian by Stith Thompson Link
"Dad, this is my boyfriend Steve."
"Hey Steve, my name is Walter. Would you want to go on a fishing trip with me?"
"Glad to meet you Walter, I'd love to!"
The pair agreed to leave in the morning. Clara warned Steve that her father often liked to trick her boyfriends, and to be on his guard. With this advice on his mind, Steve left with Walter to go fishing. The two traveled quite some ways and needed to stay the night at a hotel before they could begin fishing the next day. As they lay down to sleep, Walter said,"Nobody I've gone fishing with ever gets to take a picture with their catch because their phone always seemed to be dead and I'm very protective of my phone, so they can't use it."
This was an odd thing for him to say, thought Steve. He remembered his girlfriend's warning and figured Walter was up to something. Before Steve went to sleep, he switched which outlet his and Walter's phones were plugged into. During the night, Walter unplugged the charger he believed to be attached to Steve's phone.
When morning came, Walter said "Oh no! You're phone came unplugged last night and is probably dead."
"Not mine," replied Steve, "but it appears yours has."
Walter realized that he had been outsmarted by Steve, but said nothing about it for he was to ashamed to admit he had been outsmarted. When the fishing was done, and Steve had his picture with his prized catch, the two went back home to Clara. When Clara and Steve were done hugging, Walter said, "I like this one Clara, try to keep him around."
Walter's dead phone. Link
Author's Note: The oringal story was called "The Son-in-Law Tests" from the second part of the Native American Hero Tales. The plot of the story was fairly simple, the father-in-law tried to kill the main character but was always outsmarted. I took this concept and placed it in the modern age, albeit there is less threat of death this time because I think they throw that concept around too will-nilly in these stories.
Bibliography: Tales of the North American Indian by Stith Thompson Link
I really enjoyed this story. I had read the original story before and thought that this retelling was great. I really enjoyed how you stayed away from the father-in-law trying to kill the son and rather just did not want him to take a picture of his fish. Most of my stories have been retellings with a modern twist and I like that you have done the same with this story here.
ReplyDeleteHey Joe,
ReplyDeleteThat was a good story! That's unfortunate for that girl that she lost so many boyfriends because her dad would drive them away. Although based on your author's note, those exes probably fared better than those in the original story would have. I noticed one little grammatical error in your story though. It's when Walter is telling Steve that his phone got unplugged. You used "you're" instead of "your". In any case, that was a good story!
Hi Joe! I read the original story as well and I think you have a great modern take on it. I also enjoy that you made the stakes a bit more non-lethal than in the source material. Even so, somehow Walter is more infuriating than his inspiration. It was a welcome twist at the end to see him accept Steve!
ReplyDeleteJoe! I was so entertained by your story. This was such an original and creative storytelling post, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I like how you used a story from the Native American Hero Tales Unit, and then recreated it into a modern tale that college students would enjoy reading. Also, I like the end of your story when the boyfriend outsmarts the dad and how the dad finally gives the boyfriend his approval.
ReplyDeleteHi Joe. Your take on the original was pretty amusing! I really enjoy how you seem to take the original stories and place them in more modern settings, while also including modern tasks such as the phone charger. It was simple but well-thought and I really enjoyed it. It was nice to see Walter decide to accept Steve, which isn't something you always see in these types of stories!
ReplyDelete