'Family Fairy Tales'
As a lover of fairy tales I have chosen five of the best-known, and perhaps best-loved of them, adapting and dramatising them as 'story poems' - or what used to be called ballads.
Traditional stories continue to work their magic on our imaginations.
The sun was high, in a clear blue sky,
And the woods were filled with song;
The trees stood tall and friendly
As a little girl skipped along.
She kept to the path, as her mother had warned,
And remembered she mustn't delay,
As she carried her basket of sweet-smelling scones -
Freshly baked today .......
Early one morning, in Curious Wood,
A long, long time ago,
When the sun was high in a blue, blue sky,
A voice cried out: "Oh, no!
m
"I've burnt my tongue!" yelled Baby Bear.
"My porridge is far too hot!"
"Did you blow it?" said Mummy and Daddy Bear;
"Oh!" Baby said, "Oh, I forgot." ......
Goldilocks
& The Three Bears
Said Mummy to her pigs,
"It is time to leave home.
One! Two! Three!
You are on your own!
"Word of warning! Mind the Wolf,
'Cos he's a very bold, clever old hungry Wolf!
With his huff and his puff
And his angry frown,
He knows if he blows
He might knock your house down!" ......
The Wolf
& The Three Pigs
Once, once upon a,
Once upon a time,
There were just three Billy Goats Gruff.
They lived on the land at the bottom of a hill
Where the grass was old, rough, tough.
Then Little Gruff, Middle Gruff and Big Old Billy Gruff
Raised their heads up high -
And there they saw,
On the side of the hill,
Some fresh green grass - "Oh, my!".......
The Three
Billy Goats Gruff
"Jack! Jack! Get out of bed!
Get out of bed, you sleepy head!
We have no food; please get up now!
Go to market and sell the cow!"
So Jack led Daisy up the road:
The more he pulled, the more she slowed,
And soon enough poor Jack sat down:
"I'm tired - still five miles to town ......
Where all minds can meet.
"Thank you for a lovely session last Monday. The children loved it and it was a great springboard into our traditional tale unit."
Fairy Tales from who knows when
For young and old together
Imagination's meeting place
Where stories live forever
Mike Smith
mikesmith@mypostoffice.co.uk
'Rhythmic Rhyming Entertainment -
With a Laugh & the Sing of a Song'