Once upon a time, there were four brothers. They spent their childhood on their family's farm. When the day came for them to find a job of their own, each brother set out on a different path. The first brother had enjoyed his work on the farm as a child, so he decided to get a farm of his own. The second had a passion for woodworking, and thus, set out to become a carpenter. The third wanted more excitement in his life, so he enlisted a soldier so that he might serve his country. Lastly, the fourth brother was unsure what he wanted to do. He disliked working on the farm as a child, he had no strong passions, and he had no desire to endanger himself. Finally, he decided to become a musician.
"It should be easy," thought the fourth, "All I'll have to do is play some music for a few hours whenever I need money."
Upon hearing of their brother's decision to become a musician, the elder three were perplexed.
"You have never played an instrument before," said the first.
"Being a musician takes a lot of practice," allowed the second, "You shouldn't take it lightly."
"Don't worry, I can handle it," replied the fourth.
"Fine, but don't come crying to us if it doesn't work out," said the third.
And so, each of the brothers went their own way.
About a week later, the musician met up with the soldier.
"Let's go drinking tonight," suggested the musician.
"I can't. I have training early tomorrow," said the soldier.
"Alright, if you must," replied the musician, and he went drinking on his own.
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| Soldier Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons |
"Brother, there is a great movie on at the theater. We should go watch it," proposed the musician.
"Not now," replied the farmer, "I have to get my fields seeded for the growing season."
"Fine, have it your way" the musician responded, and he went to the movies on his own.
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| A Farmer with produce Courtesy of Flickr |
"Let's go fishing!" exclaimed the musician, "I haven't spent time with you or our other brothers in weeks."
"Maybe another time," stated the carpenter, "I have a customer who wants a custom dresser made as soon as possible."
"Alright then," sighed the musician, and he went fishing on his own.
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| Carpenter Courtesy of Flickr |
On the fourth week, the musician's landlord requested his rent. After paying his landlord, the musician realized that he was completely broke. Between drinking, the movies, and his rent, the musician had spent all the money his parents had given him to make his start, and in that time, he hadn't practiced at all. He sat down and began playing to see how good he was. From the horrible screeching noises coming out of his instrument, the musician knew that he had much work to do if he wanted to play for money in time to pay his next month's rent.
Just as the musician was getting ready to practice. He heard a knock on the door. His three older brothers had come to visit him.
"Come on!" they yelled, " Let's go!"
"I've finished my basic training, the farmer has sown his fields, and the carpenter has sold an expensive piece, so we're going to the pub to celebrate!" exclaimed the soldier.
"I can't," the musician rebuffed, "I've spent the last few weeks having fun, but now I have to practice if I want to pay my rent."
"Very well, let this be a lesson to you," replied the farmer, and the three brothers went to celebrate while the musician practiced on his own.
Author's Note:
My story is based off of one of Aesop's fables. In the original story, a grasshopper wastes his summer playing music instead of storing food for the winter and ends up starving. He then asks a group of ants for some of the food they have stored up, and they scoff at him for procrastinating. I felt this story had a very appropriate moral for the start of a new semester. In my version, I tried to modernize the tale a little and focus more on the laziness and procrastination of the musician.
Bibliography:
The story is based on the fable "The Ants and the Grasshopper" from Aesop for Children (1919)
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| Brace Yourselves Source |
I really enjoyed this story Will! I liked how you twisted it around from the original story, very creative! You are so right this is great to remember starting a new semester, because falling behind only brings consequences later!
ReplyDeleteThis story reminds me of the saying, “Early bird gets the worm.” “The Lazy Musician” also serves as a warning against procrastination, something that I struggle with. So thank you for the reminder as we begin this new semester. I like how you ended your story with, “Very well, let this be a lesson to you”, in order to guide the reader. This was an enjoyable easy read!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your rendition of this story. You structured this story well, and keeping the characters named with what they do helped keep a folk-tale sort of feel. My only criticism is that I think it would have made more sense if the musician was going to concerts all the time instead of going to the movies, but that is a minor issue, and not at all a major thing. But, I like to add some sort of criticism in comments. So as far as criticism it isn't much, which means: you did a great job!
ReplyDeleteBill,
ReplyDeleteYour story is a reminder of how and why procrastination should be avoided, which is often easier said than done. I will truthfully admit that with it being the second week of school, I have already fallen down the path of turning in late assignments. I am in a real need of reevaluating my schedule, time, and writing down assignments that are due in my daily planner. You story left me with unanswered questions, which is something that I do purposely for the readers when I write stories. I wondered if the musician was able to pay for his rent. Did his skills improve? Or, did he quit and find another trade? I liked that I am able to question the future of the characters, and only hope that their futures work out for the best. I enjoyed reading your story, and I plan to read more from you this semester. Best wishes!
Hi again! I really like how you formatted this storytelling post. I enjoy a story that is easy to read and since it is broken up this story is just that. I also thought it was funny that you ended this post with a humorous meme, maybe I will have to try that sometime.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading more of your posts!
-Sara
Bill,
ReplyDeleteI really liked this story a lot! First off, the characters where easy to remember and the storyline was simple to follow as well. I like how you formatted it a lot because I could easily follow along! I really did like the ending where he finally learns that you need to work hard to survive! Having brothers is a good way for him to learn what it takes to make it in the real world, though. Also A++ for meme use hahaha!