1. Stories I could use
Connla and the fairy maiden (Celtic)
- Characters: Connla of the Fiery Hair, maiden, King Conn of a hundred
fights, Coran the druid
- Summary: The king’s son encounter’s an unusual maiden who invites
him to a land of ever living. When the king hears about this, he sends his
druid to cast a spell to clear her away, but she throws an apple towards
Connla. A month later, Connla and his father stood together when the
maiden appeared again, once again inviting Connla to Moy Mell. After a
failed attempt to clear her away again, Conn finally offers his son to the
maiden and they sail away together.
- Location: royal height, flat plain
- Audience: ideally for young children (3-6)
- Style: Digital illustration
- Adaptation: although it may be controversial, it might be ideal to change
to a medieval setting from the original setting to be more relatable.
The Bird with Nine Heads (Chinese)
- Characters: eponymous bird, king, queen and daughter, youth, great
dragon, dragon’s father
- Summary: When the king’s daughter is kidnapped by a bird with nine
heads, the king offers her hand in marriage for whomever successfully
returns with her. A youth, who had seen the bird, sets out and is helped by
his friends into the cave where it resides. After tricking the bird into
falling asleep, the youth slays it. The youth then decides to stride deeper
into the cave when he encounters a dragon, which shows him magic
pearls. He takes the youth to the sea and the youth throws one of them in,
dividing the sea. A sea-dragon emerges, revealed to be the dragon’s
father, who offers the youth hospitality. After reward, the youth asks for
the dragon’s gourd flask. Returning home, he was offered a meal by the
royal family, and his daughter’s hand in marriage.
- Location: royal castle, cave in a steep cliff, dragon’s castle
- Audience: ideally for young children, though the concept may appeal to
slightly older children
- Style: Digital illustration
- Adaptation: change slaying the bird to something less harsh so as not to
scare younger audiences
The Council held by the Rats (La Fontaine fable)
- Characters: Rats, Old Rodilard (cat), Rodilard’s wife
- Summary: Rats live in fear of Old Rodilard the cat. One day, while the cat
was meeting his wife, a group of rats discussed how to deal with him. The
dean of the council suggests putting a bell on the cat, so that they knew
when he was coming so they could hide. However, no rat would volunteer
to put the bell on Rodilard so the council is cancelled.
- Location: a house: hallways, holes in the wall
- Audience: ideally for young children (3-6)
- Style: hand-drawn style illustration
- Adaptation: avoid explicitly stating death, though catching, and possibly
eating, is ideal for mentioning to ensure the audience knows WHY the cat
needs dealing with.