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| Golden Retriever Puppies via Flickr |
I know what you are thinking. "Ew that is a dog!," but Spot was a shapeshifter. He was a dog in the day, but changed into a man at night. We had been friends ever since we were kids. My parents always hated him, they thought less of him because of his physical appearance. As we grew older, we grew closer, and I fell in love with him. I use the word fall very heavily. I didn't chose this like you do not choose to trip and fall. It just happened. I had no control over what I was feeling. Anyway, when I turned sixteen, I became pregnant. When my parents found out they about died. They disowned me and kicked me out. They said, "Do not come back, if you dare to try, we will kill you." So I went from town to town looking for a job. Eventually I got one in a small diner and settled in. While working in the diner, I saw Spot on the television. I turned up the volume to hear that he was murdered a couple days earlier by one of my relatives. Apparently, they had heard about the new life that was inside of me. I was completely distraught. How was I going to take care of this child if everyone is rejecting it's parents? They had even gone to the lengths of killing the father. I packed my stuff up that night and ran. I haven't looked back since. I gave birth to triplets. Rose, Tyler, and Spot Jr. They are my sunshine on a rainy day. I love them so much! However, they take after their dad. They were all born puppies. I didn't even know that they could change into humans until I caught them by surprise one afternoon when they were around five years old! I told them that they are to never be in their canine form again. They are to remain human. So they did as they were told and now they have each become important members of the city. Rose grew up to be a teacher. She is the sweetest thing and she loves every child she works with. Tyler became a doctor. He works with the elderly and does his best to improve their quality of life. Spot Jr. became the town mayer. He keeps this town in order and is the best mayer this town has ever seen. Although my children did not start off with the greatest lives, I did my best to provide for them. I have to say I think I did a pretty good job! I am so proud of my babies!
Author's Note: I kept my story pretty similar to the original story. I had the girl tell the story and changed the fact that her parents tried to actually kill her and were the ones to kill the dog-husband. Also in the end of the original, the boys become chiefs of the people and hunt food (whales) for their citizens. I thought that I would include the sister and would give all of them more modern occupations.
Bibliography: Dog-Husband from Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929). From the North American Marriage Tales Unit.
Chelsy,
ReplyDeleteI think you did a fantastic job of retelling the story, but it is a very odd story to begin with. It is just an interesting concept for a girl to fall in love with a being that is a dog by day and a human by night. I can understand her parents' surprise to the news of her new love, but their reaction was a bit extreme. I also thought it was interesting the way the mother forbade her children from turning into dogs. I would have thought she would celebrate their ability to shape-shift, in memory of their father.
Hey Chelsey!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed what you did with your retelling of this story. The idea of a dog by day and human by night reminds me of a werewolf of sorts. Although, I guess this would be more a a weredog! It was sad that her husband was killed by her family, but at least she escaped and was able to raise her three children.