Notes from the Story Room: The Fisherman and His Wife

This is a part of a series of posts about "Telling One Story Five Ways." It is also my Flannel Friday contribution for this week.

This tale is fairly long for a draw and tell story. It can be done, though the resulting story is one for an experienced draw and tell storyteller. The reason I made it into a draw and tell story is to show how a single story can be adapted to various formats.

This story takes a bit of preparation. It has to be drawn on paper which will be folded in half lengthwise at the end of the story. Since markers bleed through most paper a second sheet of paper should be glued to the bottom half on the back. I took a second piece of paper, folded it in half and glued the halves together, and then I glued that to the back of the first piece of paper. I then folded the paper in half to create a fold line to use as a guide for the placement of the figures and buildings.

To help show how the drawing comes together, I used different colored markers in the examples below. When actually doing the drawing a single color is all that is needed. However, I liked how the final drawing turned out. I am definitely tempted try telling the story using the different colors. It would be a challenge.

It is also going to take a bit of time drawing the buildings as they get more elaborate. I would talk about the how each one differs from the previous one as I draw them.

The Fisherman and His Wife: A Draw and Tell Story

Linda Meuse

Notes from the Story Room

Long ago there a fisherman (1) and his wife (2) who lived in a very small shack (3) by the sea. One day the fisherman went down to the sea to fish as usual. He quickly felt a tug on his line and pulled up the largest and most unusual fish he had ever seen (4). He was quite startled when the fish begged for his freedom. The fisherman released the fish back into the sea.

When the fisherman returned home, he told his wife about his strange experience with a talking fish. "You should have made him grant you a wish!" she said. "You spared his life and he owes you a wish. Go back and ask him for a nice house for I am tired of living in a tiny shack." The fisherman went back to the sea (5) and called, "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish" "What does she want?" asked the fish as it came up above the waves. "She wants a nice house to live in," replied the fisherman. "Her wish is granted," said the fish disappearing under the waves. The fisherman returned home to find a nice house (6) where the shack had been.

A week passed but the wife was not happy. "This house is not big enough," said the wife. "Go back and tell the fish we need a fine mansion." The fisherman returned to the sea (7). "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish," called the fisherman. The fish appeared and asked, "What does she want?" "She wants a fine mansion," said the fisherman. "Her wish is granted," said the fish diving back into the sea. The fisherman returned home to find a fine mansion where the house had been (8).

A week passed but the wife was still not happy. She said, "Go back to the sea and tell the fish that I want to live in a castle. Since I will have a castle I should be king as well." The fisherman went back to the sea (9). He called to the fish, "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish." Again the fish appeared and asked, "What does she want?" The fisherman answered, "She wants to live in a castle and be king." "Her wish is granted," said the fish. The fisherman returned to find a castle (10) where the mansion had been. His wife was wearing a crown (11).

Another week passed. The wife was still not happy so she said to her husband, "Go back to the fish and tell him I want to be emperor and live in a magnificent palace." The fisherman returned to the sea (12) and called, "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish." "What does she want now?" asked the fish. The fisherman replied, "She wants to be emperor and live in a magnificent palace." "Her wish is granted," said the fish. The fisherman returned to find a magnificent palace (13) where the castle had been. His wife was wearing an even bigger crown (14).

Was the wife finally happy? No. A week later the wife said to her husband, "Tell the fish that I want to rule the universe and everything in it including the moon and the stars." Sadly the fisherman returned to the sea (15). The fisherman called, "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish." "What does she want?" asked the fish. "She wants to rule the universe and everything in it," answered the fisherman. "That she cannot do," replied the fish. "Now she must live with what she deserves." The fish dove into the sea never to be seen again and the fisherman returned home to find their tiny shack where the magnifcent palace had been (16).

Drawing Sequence:
(1) Draw fisherman with fishing pole near the bottom of the paper
(2) Draw wife below the fold line leaving enough room to draw the crowns on her head later in the story
(3) Draw the shack in the center with the bottom on the fold line
(4) Draw the fish
(5) Draw waves
(6) Draw house using the shack as a door
(7) Draw waves
(8) Draw mansion around house
(9) Draw waves
(10) Draw castle around mansion
(11) Draw crown
(12) Draw waves
(13) Draw palace around castle
(14) Draw larger crown
(15) Draw waves
(16) Fold bottom half up and draw the shack again

The front - with drawing sequence numbers: