Today being April Fool’s
Day, I thought it appropriate to begin with April’s Fool. The fool in story is a common phenomenon. The
medieval court jester or fool had the king’s ear, was to amuse the king - so
the king thought. But the Jester or
Professional Fool could tell the king anything.
And maybe, just maybe the king would listen. So saith my jester friend, Miles Eddy. And believe me, Miles is nobody’s Fool.
Then there are the noodlehead
stories. Stories where a character or
characters are so foolish that the audience waits only for the scene to be
set. After which the audience anticipates
how the story will go. The noodlehead
stories are in many cultures. Such
stories include the Fools of Chelm (Jewish), foolish Jack (British), Nasreddin
Hodja (Turkish), Jean Sot (Cajun), and lazy Heinz (German), Polite Jack
(Appalachia). And, yes, there is a
southern noodlehead tale, some of you may have heard it – Epaminondas. Sara Cone Bryant wrote down Epaminondas and His Auntie in 1907. Whether the story was concocted in Ms
Bryant’s head or someone told it to her, I do not know.
My mother told the story
to me when I was a child in the 1950’s.
When I needed a foolish story to tell in a workshop a friend and I were
giving, I thought of Epaminondas, found my copy and learned it. Recently (2002) Epossumondas and His Auntie was written by Coleen Salley and illustrated
by Janet Stevens. In this version of the
story the main character, a boy, is replaced with a possum. So it is the possum who is the fool. This was when I was still working as a school librarian. It was a student who brought home to me the
fact that I could pair my telling of Epaminondas with a reading of Epossumondas for a
compare and contrast lesson. And be sure
you hear the version Donna Washington tells!
Auntie is Grandma in her version.
It was my grandsons’ favorite story the year I lived in Florida and was
their caretaker because, “Even if you drive your mama crazy, your grandma will
always love you.”
You might also enjoy Donna's Blog - she tells it like it is when comes to Language, Literacy and Storytelling!
We've all done foolish
things from time to time. Noodlehead
stories help us laugh at ourselves when we do.
When was the last time you laughed at yourself?
6 comments:
Hi, there... I am a retired elementary school librarian as well. I loved telling stories to my classes once a month. I dressed as an old-fashioned grandmother and called it "Grandmother Day." Then at the end of class, I gave each a cookie and sent them on their way. Great fun! Best regards to you, my friend! Ruby aka Blabbin' Grammy. You really should turn off the comment moderation or you will get very few comments. We have been asked to do so. Thanks.
Ah, pardon me, I see you have turned them off. My bad! Sorry.
How did that character get named after an ancient Greek general? That's what I wanna know :D
@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary
Csenge Zalka, did the Grecian Epaminondas fool the Spartans into turning Thebes loose? :D I think children a century ago were named after famous anyones.
Grammy do you blog?
Nice post to start off the challenge. I've never been a fan of April Fools day, mostly because I never know who or what to trust. I have laughed at myself recently. Tends to happen at least once a day. :)
Kela, I'm glad you are able to laugh at yourself. It makes life a lot easier than taking yourself so seriously. I don't like the "practical jokes" people seem to think have to go along with April Fools Day. But I do like stories that get us to laugh at ourselves through the antics of the characters.
Thanks for stopping by.
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