Connla and the Fairy Maiden
In this story, a fairy maiden appears to Prince Connla and convinces him to leave his kingdom for hers. I like the idea of someone close to the protagonist wasting away, waiting for the promise of something better, almost like he or she's under some kind of spell or minor soul-possession. I imagine the protagonist would then have to get her game face on to save her friend or family member, and also that things won't go as planned. I also kind of have to wonder how much of her friend would be left to save after all that, and how much of him/her would've been hollowed out already.
Even though Tom and the Leprechaun are technically at odds in this story, the politeness and civility they show while openly working against each other really cracked me up. I like the idea of a couple of enemies with a dynamic like that: not quite as close as frenemies, but more like really civil acquaintances who are also trying to destroy each other.
In this one, one of the witches calls to the cake they made for help, and the cake replies, "I cannot, for I am broken and bruised, and my blood is on the lips of the sleeping children." It's that last part of the reply that really gets me, and that's what I would want to build my assignment around. Swap out the cake for a pseudo-person spelled together by the witches, and that's a story I'd want to read.
It was an image from the beginning of the story that I think could make for the seeds of an interesting plot itself: "Suddenly, from the dark waters of the lake, he saw three maidens rise. Shaking the bright drops from their hair and gliding to the shore, they wandered about amongst his flock." I like the idea of the maidens actually being monsters instead, and wandering amongst the people of a small, secluded town instead of livestock.
In this story, a rich man offers a tailor an extra big payday for a suit if the tailor sews it in a supposedly haunted graveyard. The tailor takes him up on that dare, because money—but then things quickly get dicey, because the graveyard is even more haunted than all the rumors said. I like the idea of someone taking on all sorts of supernatural risks in a graveyard for their livelihood, so I'd probably go with a story about a girl who makes her money that way, pretty shadily.
Stories about enchanted sleep always interest me. Looking back through my story note archives, I've thought about doing a variation on one of these several times, but haven't gotten around to it—so I thought this time, I might. But as I read on, it was actually the second wife's character that interested me the most. She's level-headed, matter-of-fact, and the way she handled her sister-wife's evil mom was nothing short of inspired. Not sure what kind of story I'd put her in, but she was a lot of fun to read about, and I do think something could be done with a character inspired by her.
Bibliography: Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. Source: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook.
Image Credit: "Temple Hill Graveyard (Cork, Ireland)" by Guliolopez. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
_at_night_06.JPG){kind=link}
No comments:
Post a Comment