Accept and Embrace Change

In our Humanities class, we read fables to learn more about how stories and lessons are told. Every story is told differently in different ways, and teach a different lesson. We learned what symbolism is and how symbolism is used in stories. We also learned how authors use stereotypes for animals, to help readers recognize and identify a character. We learned about the different types of characters there are, besides the protagonist and antagonist. We used all of these things to create our own fables. Below is my own fable about a goose that is learning to accept change, and to not expect much from the world, and himself.

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On a bright morning when the pond glimmered from the radiant sun, a goose named Jules woke up to the sound of the other geese frolicking in the pond. He blinked his eyes and stretched his white wings. He stood up and yawned, as Jules reached for his spectacles. He blinked his eyes looking around for his typewriter. He feared he had lost it because he could not find it anywhere near him. Jules was always the goose with a plan.

He was always very organized. When he did not find his typewriter where he usually kept it, Jules became frantic.

He found it just by the edge of the pond and sighed from relief. He picked up his typewriter and prepared to leave; Jules gazed at the ripples that traveled across the pond. He studied the flowers by the pond and saw that one flower had not bloomed just yet. Jules looked at the grass that grew at the edge of the pond, and at the clear blue sky. He could not wait to begin a new piece of writing, as he would every day. Maybe, Jules would make his best story yet. And with that, Jules left the pond to a more peaceful and inspiring scenery.

Jules traveled to his favorite place-the forest. He knew that new and exciting things would appear in the forest, as they always did. Jules sat down on a log, opened his typewriter, and waited. Jules sighed and kicked his flippers. In the boring silence, Jules decided to go find his own inspiration.

He wandered deeper into the woods looking left and right for something that would catch his blue eye. He walked and walked and began to feel exhausted. The weight of his beloved typewriter began to slow him down. Jules became irritated and tired. He had no choice but to spend the night in the woods since it was getting dark.

This was not what Jules had planned, and he began to worry what he would do. He lied down and stared at the stars in the sky. Maybe Jules could write a story about the stars? He shook his head at the idea because he had already written a story about the beautiful night sky. Jules closed his eyes and decided that he would for sure find something tomorrow.

Jules woke up to the loud echo of something hitting wood. Jules did not expect this at all. He was to wake up from the sun's gentle glow, but of course, this was not the case. Jules furrowed his brows and whipped his head around to find what was causing the noise, only to find it was a woodpecker.

"Excuse me!" exclaimed Jules, in the most polite way that he could in his frustration. "Did you not notice me sleeping here, Woodpecker?" The woodpecker stopped what he was doing and turned to face the goose that interrupted his work. 

"I'm sorry if I disturbed your sleep, Goose. I don't think I have seen you here before, which explains why you don't know that this is where I work. " The woodpecker replied without a care for the goose and continued to peck at the tree. Jules felt shameful for being so ignorant about where he was and became frustrated with having a bad start to his day. Jules wasn’t sure which way was to the pond. Or the Think. Think! What do I do next? The pecking grew louder, and became so loud, Jules was certain he could feel the ground shaking. Jules couldn’t take it anymore; he flapped his wings around, shut his eyes, and screamed: “HOLD IT!” A loud crash of metal was heard, and the woodpecker stopped pecking. Jules opened his eyes and looked to see the loud noise.

Jules’ beloved typewriter had broke from his own rage. He could not believe what he had done. Although he wanted to become mad, Jules simply picked up the remnants of his tool, left the log alone in the broad daylight, and the woodpecker to continue his pecker.

Jules walked and walked with his head lowered. He traveled for a long time and came across the pond. He looked at his broken typewriter, sat right on the ground, and sighed. How was he going to write a story? It was his only way of writing. Then, in an instant, Jules realized that it was going to be okay. He did not need to go to the forest to find his inspiration, and it was okay that he didn't get back home in time. Jules didn't need to know what was going to happen next, and Jules knew that he did not need a typewriter to continue his writing.

Feeling satisfied and better than ever, Jules jumped into the pond and watched the sunset. Jules saw the sun's glimmer on the pond dim, and the grass blow against the cool breeze. He looked for the flower that hadn't bloomed and saw that each and every flower had reached its full potential. This is when Jules realized a change in his life, and he was happy with it.