fandomhigh | Traditional Fairy Tales, Class Eight (03/05)

Monday, March 5, Period 2

Students arriving at the Danger Shop will find themselves in an idyllic country setting. A thatched hut stands nearby, and in the yard grazes a rather thin-looking cow. Once the students are assembled, Aziraphale gives his instructions for the lesson.

"Before we begin today's lesson, I have just a bit of business to take care of. First, I'll need written excuses for absences for the following students:

Armony Eiselstein (two absences)
~~Conner McKnight (one absence)~~ excused
Matilda Wormwood (one absence)

"Also, come prepared next week to participate in an open discussion. This will be a chance to study for your upcoming test, and to discuss any questions or ideas you have about the lessons and assignments so far. You may also use the time to meet with your project groups.

"And one final announcement: our field trip with the Conflict Management class will be on March 16-18. We'll be traveling by train up to New York City, where we'll visit the United Nations and take in a Broadway play. More information will be handed out next week, along with your room assignments."

LESSON: "Today you'll be participating in another Immersion Study. This one is based on your reading from our previous class: "Jack and the Beanstalk". You'll each be taking on the role of Jack, and your assignment is to get into the giant's tower and steal three items: a bag of gold, a hen that lays golden eggs, and a singing harp. You can slip in on your own, or try to get assistance from the giant's wife. However, be aware that you can only carry one item at a time, and the giant's wife will become more suspicious each time you return. Also, if the giant himself discovers you, he'll attempt to capture you. If the giant gives chase, you may use whatever means you like to defeat him. The assignment is completed when you return with the third item."

[OOC: There are OCD threads below for three encounters: first to steal the bag of gold, second for the hen, and third for the harp. As mentioned above, you can play out the scenario as it is traditionally told, or you can be creative and put your own spin on it. The giant and his wife will respond accordingly. The Danger Shop will provide you with whatever materials you might need, but keep in mind that it will also equip your adversaries in the same manner. If you feel you won't have time to do all three phases, feel free to skip ahead, or to SP the tags. You have until the end of the week to play it out.]

ASSIGNMENT: Write a brief essay on your experience with the Immersion Study, focusing particularly on the theme of Coming of Age or Morality as it applies to this tale. There is no reading assignment for next week.

[ooc: Class is going up early because I may be somewhat AFK in the morning. ~~Please wait for~~ OCD is now up, and class is in session. I will catch tags for Aziraphale and the lesson in the morning.]

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There were several windows around the first floor of the tower, all of them quite high, but by standing on one's toes, a person might be able to peer over the sill and look inside. The front door was massive, with a heavy iron knocker, and appeared to be the only door.

Although a close inspection around the perimeter of the tower would reveal a narrow gap in the stones at the back of the tower, possibly large enough for a smallish person to just squeeze. Looking into the gap showed that it led into what looked like a pantry.

Not exactly a back door, but it would work nicely. Turtle felt a bit like a mouse as she squeezed through the gap carefully, stumbling at bit at the renewed space once she'd reached the pantry and took a look around.

The pantry where Turtle stood was filled with huge haunches of smoked meat, long ropes of sausages, gigantic wheels of cheese and great casks of beer. From the next room she could smell the scent of cooking food, and hear a woman's voice humming.

Turtle hadn't had breakfast yet, so her stomach growled a little at all the food, and she clamped her hands over it and looked wearily in the direction of the humming, hoping she was too little for it to have been heard. She crept carefully across the room to peer into the next.

In the next room, Turtle could see a woman sweeping the floor. She was quite tall, although not as immense as the surroundings might have suggested. The furniture in the room was enormous, however, with a table so tall that Turtle could easily walk underneath it with room to spare.

In the fireplace was a simmering pot of stew. There was a huge woodbox, big enough for Turtle and two others to fit inside, and up on a high shelf was a gigantic wooden chest, the size of a steamer trunk, with a heavy lock.

Turtle's eyes were definately on the chest and the heavy lock. She eyed the woman, wondering if there was a way to get her out of the room so she could try to get up there and inspect it. She could just wait. Turtle could be patient. She crept over to the woodbox to see if there was any room for her to hide in it for now.

The woodbox had plenty of space, and if Turtle was very quick and very quiet, she could slip inside before being noticed. The woman didn't appear to be expecting anyone to come creeping around her house, and so continued on with her sweeping.

Until, that is, the front door opened and closed with a bang, and thundering footfalls approached the room.

"I've returned for my lunch, and to count my gold!" a deep voice bellowed.

Oooh, gold. The magic word! Now, if she could just wait, and then figure out something...

Turtle winced a bit. It was all very well to be sitting in a woodbox while the giant counted his money, but that didn't help her much in actually getting it. She thought carefully; she wondered how the giant's shins were...

Turtle tapped her chin as her mind started working on a potentially stupid and dangerous plot, which made it perfect. So, for now, she'd sit and she'd wait.

From inside the woodbox, Turtle could hear the sounds of the woman serving up the giant's lunch. The scrape of a chair across the stone floor told her when the giant sat down.

Then, his deep voice rang out. "Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman, Be he alive, or be he dead, I’ll have his bones to grind my bread."

"Nonsense," answered the woman's voice. "There's no one here but you and me, and nothing to smell but your lunch."

That seemed to mollify the giant, as was evidenced by the slurping and chewing noises, followed by the sound of clinking metal. The clinking sounds gradually became slower and slower, until they were replaced by heavy snores.

Turtle drew in a deep breath. Here we go. Time to intiate plan So Crazy It's Gotta Work.

Turtle climbed out of the woodbox to stand on the edge, which proved more difficult than she thought it would be, but she managed it and struck an intimidating pose as she called out with the largest voice she could manage. "Ha! I am no Englishman, nor am I a 'he,' I'm an American, and a girl, and that means trouble for you. Bones would be gross in bread anyway! Ha!"

She quickly lept off the box and charged forward under the table to kick the giant's shin as hard as she could, as well as she could. "Take that! Give me your gold and I will harm you no further, by the honor of my braid."

Turtle rather prefered dealing directly with things like this.

Turtle's unexpected announcement, combined with the force of her kick to the giant's shin, startled him awake, and as he struggled to get away from the insane shin-kicking attacker he flung out his arm and knocked the chest full of coins to the floor. Several large sacks, and a number of loose coins, spilled out of the box.

"What is this?!" the giant bellowed, jumping up from his chair and peering around. "What manner of creature has invaded my home?! When I catch you, I will roast you and eat you and crack your bones!"

Turtle had to clasp her hands over her mouth to keep from laughing; this was turning out better than she had hoped and she wouldn't even have to try the whole dash-and-run and then hide and sneak back in thing yet. She considered the falling coins, but a thought was diverging her to see just how stupid this giant was.

"I'm a ghost!" she shouted up in a ghostly wavering voice. "A ghost of the kitchen, and you have upset me something fierce with your talk of putting bones in bread, for...that is...how I died! Begone from this room at once! Or I will cause you more ghoooooostly paaaaaain."

Here's to hoping the giant didn't just look under the table.

It's not easy to scare a giant, but a ghost who appears out of the woodbox and kicks you in the shins is pretty frightening.

"No! No, sir ghost, I'll eat no more bread with bones in it!"

And the giant did exactly as Turtle told him, rushing out the kitchen, his wife following fast on his heels.

Sir? Turtle glared a little, wrinkling her nose, but, hey, look, gold on the floor for the taking and she'd even convinced the guy to improve his eating habits. This was definately a success. She gathered up as many coins as she could carry and went out the way she came.

When Turtle returned home, her 'mother' was overjoyed at the gold, and Turtle didn't even get a scolding for running off and climbing strange beanstalks.

[Proceed to Phase Two!]

Traditional Fairy Tales, Class Eight (03/05)

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