Week 10 Storytelling

Day Dreaming about Bug Beauties 

Once upon a time there was a very lonely man who lived by himself and could not find a wife because he was not a very good hunter and he almost never woke up before noon. The women in his village ignored him and would hide away in their homes when he walked through the streets. He didn't mind the bachelor life at first, but after a while he grew bored and sad. He longed for a wife more than anything, and found himself drifting off in day dreams often, imagining a life for himself with a beautiful woman by his side. 

On one occasion, while he rested under a tree, the man found himself caught up in a dream that he'd had many times before. Women were throwing themselves at him, offering to be his wife and he was overjoyed because he could have his pick. However, this time, the women were a little... different. 

In his dream, the man sat in his home on his comfortable little chair and waited patiently for the women he heard whispering on the other side of the tapestry that separated his living room area from the kitchen. His anticipation and excitement grew as his dream self imagined what beauty hid behind the cloth. Then he heard a small, feminine voice ask, "Are you ready dear?" He clapped his hands and eagerly replied, "YES! YES! Please come talk to me my beauties!" 

The first prospective wife was a crane fly. She flew up to his shoulder and talked into his ear, " will you have me as your wife? I'd love to be yours forever!" He tried not to shudder and calmly replied, " I'm sorry, but your legs are just too long and your eyes are so far apart! I don't think I can take you as my wife." With that, she flew off, disappearing behind the tapestry. 

Crane Fly

found on FCPS

Next, a centipede crawled out from the kitchen. Its legs worked furiously and it quickly spiraled up the man's leg and sat up on his lap. "Take me as your wife!" the centipede exclaimed. The man was disgusted, and said, "Oh, gosh no! I'm sorry, but you have just too many legs and your coloring just doesn't suit me." The centipede looked disappointed as she scurried back behind the curtain and out of sight. 

Centipede

photo by ALAMY, found on telegraph

"Surely," thought the man, "this must be a joke. Why are all of these women bugs?!" The man scratched his head and shook it back and forth. When he looked up, he was surprised to see a snail had slowly made its way to his lap. Slowly, she scooted up and came to a stop on his hand. He held her up to his face and she smiled and said, "Please take me as your wife. I would be sweet to you always." The man almost felt bad, but replied, "I'm sorry. I just can't. You are too slimy and slow. You just wouldn't make a good wife for me." She looked to the ground and he lowered her there gently so she could slink away. 

Snail

by Mad Max, found on Wikipedia

Before the snail had made her way back to the doorway, something blue began running quickly toward the man. He couldn't make it out, but felt very nervous as it approached. Suddenly, it jumped with great speed and landed on the man's lap. He looked down and saw a great blue tarantula gesturing with its front legs, apparently trying to get his attention. "Hey! Hey! Take me! Let me be your wife!" she shouted excitedly, her front legs waving wildly in the air. The man grimaced, he hated spiders. "Ew! No!" he yelled, "You are so gross and hairy! I could never be with someone so hairy! You would never make a suitable wife!" The spider was offended and quickly ran off. 

Cobalt Blue Tarantula

found on SVSU

The man was stunned and couldn't believe these insects really thought they could be his wife! What was going on? Then, something fell and startled the man, waking him up. "Whew," he said with relief, "Thank God that was only a dream!" With that, he got up and shook the bugs that had crawled on him in his sleep off. Feeling curious and uncomfortable, the man looked at the ground where he'd been laying, and there, in the shade of the tree was a crane fly buzzing around, a centipede scuttling up the tree, a snail in the grass, and a big blue tarantula looking back at him. He made a strange, fearful noise and wiggled, trying to get the feeling of the bugs off of his skin. From that day on, he no longer day-dreamed under that tree and he promised he would be better. He began getting up early and practicing hunting in the hopes of finding a human woman that he could be worthy of. 

Author's Note:

My inspiration for this story came from the story of The Insects That Wooed a Wifeless Man which was taken from  Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knud Rasmussen with illustrations by native Eskimo artists (1921) and included in the Eskimo Folk Tales Reading Unit in the un-textbook. I liked the story because it was really strange and fun to think of a bunch of bugs offering to be someone's wife. I used a couple of different bugs for fun and because I thought they were pretty. Who doesn't want a pretty wife? Beauty is, after all, in the eyes of the beholder. I also changed the setting and a few other small things about the story, but over all I stuck with the original. Also, I tried to give the bugs some personality which wasn't done in the original, and I didn't make them laugh after he denied them, like they did in the original. I hope you liked it!