Story Lab: Microfiction
The Salamander and the Reed
Once, a young little salamander was taking a meander around the pond it lived at. The salamander's mom had warned the little one to be careful on their journey, and be on the lookout for any predators. The walk was hardly enjoyable, with the salamander swinging their head continuously to keep an eye out for danger. There! The young salamander saw something moving amongst the grass and dived into a nearby puddle, a predator surely on their tail. The salamander spent the whole day in hiding, while the rest of the salamanders watched a reed sway peacefully in the breeze.
The Salamander and the Reed (condensed)
Their mother had warned and so the salamander was on their toes. Though perhaps a bit too on their toes, hiding in fear from a reed subject to the breeze.
Author's Note:
I got my inspiration from the story The Serpent and the File from Aesop's Fables (Jacobs), though I kind of span the whole story on its head. In the original, a snake sneaks into an armor shop and pricks itself upon a file. This angers the snake who tries to attack the file but realizing it was futile because the object is inanimate. Instead of anger, I decided to utilize fear that causes the salamander to act a bit irrationally and impulsively. Though not explicitly stated in my story, I'm sure the salamander later found out how silly they were.
Hi Lanney,
ReplyDeleteI love how this story unravels. At first, it seems logical and very smart for the salamander to be wary of threats, especially if his mom warned him about what might be out there. But then you feel sad for the salamander missing out on life and being too scared of everything. It helps put over-worrying in perspective. Very well done!
Hi Lanney,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your story about the salamander. The mother was right to warn her young about the dangers out there. It is amusing that the salamander took the warning a bit too seriously, but also unfortunate because it caused to him to be overly scared. There are so many different animals and creatures, what made you choose to rewrite the story with a salamander?
I don't have a really goo reason for using a salamander, except that I find them super cute!
DeleteHi Lanney,
ReplyDeleteI loved how you changed the story to fit a different sort of vibe. I think that it is really interesting how you chose to have the Salamander character have an irrational fear and hide away rather than facing it. I know in the original story there is another character that you did not include, but I like how you changed this to allow for a difference in ending. I think as people we tend to do similar things in the sense that we are cautious but sometimes can thwart people or cause issues with being overly cautious to the point of self sabotage. I think it is an interesting take you took her, similarly to Madison I wonder what specifically made you choose a salamander out of all of your options? I think it is an unusual and clever choice since the animal is quite small and large things could scare them.
I think salamanders are quite cute so I chose to go with a baby salamander! I also think that since they are quite small creatures, as you said, they often need to be more caution about potential predators.
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