Dear friends and acquaintance,
Yours truly is going to need thy help. I have worked and have been saving this piece for over a year now, and I need thy comment and advise. This is a story I wrote purposely for children. As I remembered mine was filled with wonderful epic children story and tales such as Johny Appleseed, Maruschka and the 12 Months, Momotaro The Peach Boy and the likes, I would really love to have been able to tell tales and share them. My hopes are high in bringing inspiration and joy to children and adults alike through my stories. And I do hope my first sample here is worthy of publication.
Thus, I seek thy advise. Please leave comments, dear friends. I am open to any comments (if it's crappy, do say so) and suggestion. Although this piece, I admit, is rather straight-forward, I promise thee, my friend, that my next produce will be more oddly colourful, animated and eccentric than this. But for now, I present to thee.....
The Corn Boy
There was once in a village by the valley,
Far, far away from the country,
In a house on a cornfield that grew plentifully,
Lived a happy family of three.
A hardworking man, the father is,
Struggling through all the thick and tall,
With two bright sons, he was in bliss,
The youngest one was the brightest of all.
Taught them well, the father had,
To love the young, respect the old
'And value this cornfield’ said the dad,
‘Our wealth is of his,’ that’s what they’ve been told.
A proud father, the eldest had made him,
A diligent farmer and a successful corn vendor,
The youngest spent more on thinking,
That made the father worried and wonder
‘My son, what will become of you?’ he said,
‘Be more like your brother. He is very successful,’
But the boy replied ‘Forgive me please, dearest dad,
I don’t wish to be a rebel and break your rule.
I wish to be a better man of victory,
But a corn vendor I wish I would not be.’
Surprised, was the father, with anger and fury,
‘Be gone, away! You disappoint me!’
The words of the father had made him sad,
He gathered his belongings and his ambition too,
One day, you’ll be selling corn again,’ said dad.
‘So take this cart of corn, and the donkey with you,’
‘I’ll take the corn, but not to sell.
I’ll make something else of it,’ said the son.
Held close his brother, and bid him farewell,
Away on his journey which had just begun.
The boy arrived to a house near the lake,
Where the air was filled with great smell of bakery,
At the window, there’s a fat Baker with a cake,
Saying ‘Hey, Corn Boy! Come here, come to me!’
‘How much do you sell your corn, young lad?’
Said the Baker, ‘I wish to make corn bread, you see.’
‘It’s free, take and plant some corn in your yard.
But in return, for a month, please teach me bakery.’
Gladly, the Baker took the boy in his care,
For a month they planted corn and learnt bakery,
The boy learnt fast with no time to spare,
Packed some bread and corn, and continued his journey
The boy arrived to a house by the river,
In a garden of carrots, cabbages and green celery,
Out in the open, stood a tall skinny Farmer,
Saying ‘ Hey, Corn Boy! Come here, come to me,’ ‘
How much are your bread and corn, young lad?’
Said the Farmer, ‘A stew with bread and corn can be delectable.’
‘It’s free, take and plant some corn in your yard.
But in return, for a month, teach me how to cook vegetables.’
Gladly, the Farmer took the boy in his care,
For a month they planted corn and learnt cooking,
The boy learnt fast with no time to spare,
Packed some vegetables with the corn and kept on moving.
The boy arrived to a house on a hill,
Scattered with cocks, birds and all the poultry,
On the open porch, sat a cheerful Griller still,
Saying ‘ Hey, Corn Boy! Come here, come to me,’
‘How much are your corn and goods, young lad?’
Said the Griller, ‘I’m cooking a complete chicken dinner for the family’
‘It’s free, take and plant some corn in your yard.
But in return, for a month, teach me how to make dishes from poultry.’
Gladly, the Griller took the boy in his care,
For a month they planted corn and learnt the art of grill and roast,
The boy learnt fast with no time to spare,
With chicken, vegetables, bread and corn, he went away to the coast.
The boy arrived to a city at the coast,
Where boats and seamen just got back from the sea,
On the jetty, stood a Fisherman, so boast,
And the boy approached the man, who stood there arrogantly,
‘Sir, would you want to buy some bread,
Or corn, or vegetables or this healthy poultry?’
‘Boy, see that we’re very rich,’ the man said,
‘We already have those, a lot in this city,’
‘Unless if you have with you beef instead,
You can trade anything for a brisket or steak,’
The boy replied, ‘I shall take my corn and bread,
I’ll search for beef, and in a month, I’ll be back,’
So, the boy went on to the village not far,
Where the prairie is packed with sheep and cows,
There, sat a humble old Shepherd afar,
To whom the boy respectfully greets and bows,
‘Sir, would you want to buy some bread,
Or corn, or vegetables or this healthy poultry?’
‘Sorry, boy, we’re quite wealthy,’ the man said,
‘We already have those quite abundantly,’
‘Unless if you have fishes instead,’
‘You can trade anything for a sardine or snapper,’
The boy replied, ‘What if I can get you that?
But in return, for a month, teach me how to prepare beef dinner,’
Gladly, the Shepherd took the boy in his care,
For a month they the learnt to cook stew, steak, meatloaf and roast.
The boy learnt fast with no time to spare,
He took two cows and two sheep, and went again to the coast.
The boy returned to the coast and met the Fisherman,
Kept his promise, and granted the proud man’s wishes,
‘You’ve impressed me, boy, what do you want in return?’
‘For a month, teach me to cook seafood and prepare fishes’
Finally, the Fisherman took the boy in his care,
For a month they learnt to prepare seafood and fishes.
The boy learnt fast with no time to spare,
Then, went back to the Shepherd to keep his promises.
The ambitious boy, went on his way,
Becoming a corn vendor he still repelled
The boy arrived to a palace courtyard one day
Where a Royal Cooking Competition was being held
Around him were all the greatest chefs and cooks
Skillfully baking, and grilling and stewing,
Using all the ingredients and the lessons he took
The boy cooked a wonderful feast fit for the King
The time is up and the food was ready,
All to be served before the King, so skinny,
Some were too sweet and some were too salty,
Some were tasteless and some were too ordinary.
It was time for the King to taste the boy’s cooking,
Five dishes altogether, served in five servings,
The salad were fresh and the roast was appetizing,
The fish was delicious and the cake was mouth-watering,
The feast was so delicious; he kept eating more.
‘Who is this great cook who cooked this feast?’ the King said
‘I’ve never tasted anything like this before,’
‘It is I, my King, not a great cook but merely a lad,’
The skinny King was impressed; he laughed very loudly,
‘My boy, I’ve never seen a great talent quite like thee.
My people, the winner of this cooking competition is he!’
The crowd of people clapped and cheered happily.
‘From this day onwards, you shall work in my kitchen,
As a Master Cook you shall now be known,
To cook for me bread, vegetables, fishes and chicken,
Take a house in this city and make it your own.’
The ambitious little Corn Boy is now a famous Cook,
Lived in his own house in the big busy city,
Using the knowledge & experience he took,
He lived wealth by cooking feast for Royalties,
The father is now a very proud man,
Both of his son is successful and wealthy,
And every once in while, whenever he can,
The Corn Boy came back to his family,
In house on the cornfield, in the village by the valley.
FIN
Thursday, 26 June 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Yes, this story can be published. But, as you posted this story in this blog, you better patent or register or do whatever to make this story exclusively made by you as soon as possible. Afraid there might be someone tried to outdo you using your original version here. Actually, you shouldn't post it publicly like this even if you ask for comments or suggestions. It is just too risky. Sorry if my comment is too direct. But that's the truth in this cruel world.
anonymous is right azli.
takut org claim yr work as theirs.
but coming from a literature grad (ehem ehem haha) this is a great piece of work. keep it up.
Post a Comment