The children's
attention span impressed Grandpa. He rarely could hold all of
them for so long. Unfortunately, he realized he was out of
stories, and the young girl was already looking up at him with those
hopeful eyes. When is that baby coming? he thought to
himself. He was starting to get anxious and wished his daughter's
labor would get a move on it so he wouldn't be responsible for keeping
the kids amused anymore. The children were looking at each
other and smiling. Grandpa knew they were about to ask for
another.
"How about a game?" he started to suggest, but the children were already begging for more stories. Their whining was getting a little loud, and he noticed the other families in the waiting room turning to look.
"Pipe down now!" Grandpa commanded. He knew he had to stall for time, or the kids would start to make a scene. "I don't really know any more..."
The disappointed squeals of the children embarrassed him. He muttered something about being quiet. The kids were starting to wander off.
"Get back here!" he shouted. He was surprised how loud his voice came out. A woman, a little younger than himself, came over to Grandpa. He glanced over at her family, but they were busy looking at magazines and talking amongst themselves. He was about to apologize for the disturbance, but she interrupted him.
"Looks like you've got quite an army over here," she said. Grandpa noticed a hint of an accent. The kids stopped and stared at the lady.
"Are you all waiting for a baby too?" she asked.
"We've been waiting forever for our Auntie Rita. I wish they'd just give it to her already," said the youngest girl. The lady gave her a puzzled look. "I saw where they keep all the babies. It's in a room down the hall. I wish they'd just give her one so we could see it."
The lady looked at Grandpa; they laughed heartily at the child's perception of the nursery for the newborns. "Do you want to hear another story?" the lady asked the children. Their excited shouts made Grandpa sigh with relief. "Do you mind if I tell them a story?" the lady asked Grandpa.
"Please, be my guest," he said graciously.
She sat down next to him. The children gathered at their feet.
"I'm from Africa. My parents lived near the White Nile. My father was a Shilluk," she explained.
"What's a Shilluk?" asked the oldest boy. He was always curious, and Grandpa knew he'd be impressed with a new culture.
"We're a kind of people that come from an area in Africa near Sudan. We have a different story about where people come from. Do you want to hear it?" she asked. Grandpa was a little embarrassed that she'd overheard the stories he was telling his grandchildren, but the children couldn't have cared less. They were eagerly awaiting the story.
The creator named Juok made man out of the earth. He made everyone, all the men in all the lands. He wanted to put people all over the earth, so he wandered throughout the globe. In the land of the whites, he found a pure, pale sand, and he molded it into white men. When he arrived in Egypt, he used the red and brown mud of the Nile to make different colored men. Finally, he came to the home of the Shilluks ("That's your people!" said the middle child, and Grandpa shot him a look, but the storyteller just smiled and nodded.). There he found black clay. He made the Shilluks out of the black clay.
He had to find a shape for the man. When he scooped up the first chunk of earth, he said to himself, "I will make a man. But the man must be able to move and walk and run to get from place to place. I will have to give him two strong legs." So he shaped two legs into the earth.
Then he thought, "I must give him two arms so that he will be able to raise his crops and tend to his field." So he gave the shape two arms.
After he made the arms and legs, he thought again, "The man must be able to see his crops. He needs two eyes." And Juok gave him two eyes so he could see. "And he needs a mouth so that he can eat the food he raises." So he gave him a mouth. "Now he had to be able to sing and shout and talk, so I must give him a tongue." He formed a tongue inside the mouth.
Juok was looking over his work, proud of the man he had created. But something was missing. He thought to himself, "What good is it to be able to talk and sing and shout if he cannot hear himself or others? I must give him two ears to hear other men." He made two ears accordingly.
His creation was complete, and he sent the perfect man into the world.
The lady was a very good storyteller. Grandpa was impressed. He'd never heard that story before, and he found himself as enthralled as the children. He thanked the lady for sharing her story.
Author's Note:
I had to add another story of creation to my project, and I didn't think it was realistic for Grandpa to know any more. I thought the best way to tell another would be for another person in the waiting room to tell one. I had the lady tell a version of an African story that I found. I thought it was interesting and would make a good addition to the stories. I'm finding it hard to drastically change the stories I'm not familiar with, because I don't know which parts are important elements in the original stories. I paraphrased the story I found because I didn't want to leave anything out.
J.G. Frazer, Folklore in the Old Testament (London, 1919), pp. 22-3, translating and abridging
W. Hofmayr, 'Die Religion der Schilluk,' Anthropos, VI (1906), pp. 128 ff. "An African Story of the Creation of Man, from the Shilluk, a Nilotic People". Myths of Creation and of Origin--The Creation of Man
"How about a game?" he started to suggest, but the children were already begging for more stories. Their whining was getting a little loud, and he noticed the other families in the waiting room turning to look.
"Pipe down now!" Grandpa commanded. He knew he had to stall for time, or the kids would start to make a scene. "I don't really know any more..."
The disappointed squeals of the children embarrassed him. He muttered something about being quiet. The kids were starting to wander off.
"Get back here!" he shouted. He was surprised how loud his voice came out. A woman, a little younger than himself, came over to Grandpa. He glanced over at her family, but they were busy looking at magazines and talking amongst themselves. He was about to apologize for the disturbance, but she interrupted him.
"Looks like you've got quite an army over here," she said. Grandpa noticed a hint of an accent. The kids stopped and stared at the lady.
"Are you all waiting for a baby too?" she asked.
"We've been waiting forever for our Auntie Rita. I wish they'd just give it to her already," said the youngest girl. The lady gave her a puzzled look. "I saw where they keep all the babies. It's in a room down the hall. I wish they'd just give her one so we could see it."
The lady looked at Grandpa; they laughed heartily at the child's perception of the nursery for the newborns. "Do you want to hear another story?" the lady asked the children. Their excited shouts made Grandpa sigh with relief. "Do you mind if I tell them a story?" the lady asked Grandpa.
"Please, be my guest," he said graciously.
She sat down next to him. The children gathered at their feet.
"I'm from Africa. My parents lived near the White Nile. My father was a Shilluk," she explained.
"What's a Shilluk?" asked the oldest boy. He was always curious, and Grandpa knew he'd be impressed with a new culture.
"We're a kind of people that come from an area in Africa near Sudan. We have a different story about where people come from. Do you want to hear it?" she asked. Grandpa was a little embarrassed that she'd overheard the stories he was telling his grandchildren, but the children couldn't have cared less. They were eagerly awaiting the story.
The creator named Juok made man out of the earth. He made everyone, all the men in all the lands. He wanted to put people all over the earth, so he wandered throughout the globe. In the land of the whites, he found a pure, pale sand, and he molded it into white men. When he arrived in Egypt, he used the red and brown mud of the Nile to make different colored men. Finally, he came to the home of the Shilluks ("That's your people!" said the middle child, and Grandpa shot him a look, but the storyteller just smiled and nodded.). There he found black clay. He made the Shilluks out of the black clay.
He had to find a shape for the man. When he scooped up the first chunk of earth, he said to himself, "I will make a man. But the man must be able to move and walk and run to get from place to place. I will have to give him two strong legs." So he shaped two legs into the earth.
Then he thought, "I must give him two arms so that he will be able to raise his crops and tend to his field." So he gave the shape two arms.
After he made the arms and legs, he thought again, "The man must be able to see his crops. He needs two eyes." And Juok gave him two eyes so he could see. "And he needs a mouth so that he can eat the food he raises." So he gave him a mouth. "Now he had to be able to sing and shout and talk, so I must give him a tongue." He formed a tongue inside the mouth.
Juok was looking over his work, proud of the man he had created. But something was missing. He thought to himself, "What good is it to be able to talk and sing and shout if he cannot hear himself or others? I must give him two ears to hear other men." He made two ears accordingly.
His creation was complete, and he sent the perfect man into the world.
The lady was a very good storyteller. Grandpa was impressed. He'd never heard that story before, and he found himself as enthralled as the children. He thanked the lady for sharing her story.
Author's Note:
I had to add another story of creation to my project, and I didn't think it was realistic for Grandpa to know any more. I thought the best way to tell another would be for another person in the waiting room to tell one. I had the lady tell a version of an African story that I found. I thought it was interesting and would make a good addition to the stories. I'm finding it hard to drastically change the stories I'm not familiar with, because I don't know which parts are important elements in the original stories. I paraphrased the story I found because I didn't want to leave anything out.
J.G. Frazer, Folklore in the Old Testament (London, 1919), pp. 22-3, translating and abridging
W. Hofmayr, 'Die Religion der Schilluk,' Anthropos, VI (1906), pp. 128 ff. "An African Story of the Creation of Man, from the Shilluk, a Nilotic People". Myths of Creation and of Origin--The Creation of Man