A Child's Tale

I spent some time earlier this week helping to babysit a group of kids earlier this week, and they taught me some things about storytelling.  Many of the children, mostly the little boys, were so excited to tell all of their friends stories during snack time.  Their tales were so insightful that I felt I must share their storytelling genius with you, dear readers.

Tip 1:  Good stories are rooted in truth.

    Example:  One night, my dog was barking really loud.  And do you know what he was barking at?  It was a possum!!!

Tip 2:  If you frame your story well, nothing really has to happen.

    Example:  Once upon a time, my dog barked at 6:42. 

Tip 3:  If you're being upstaged, the truth is less important.

    Example:  One night, my dog was barking really loud.  And do you know what he was barking at?  It was a bear!!!!  And when I went outside, he had eaten the bear's head!  And arms!  And body!

Tip 4:  When in doubt, just make something up.

    Example:  This one time, I saw a crocodile and I killed it with a sword.

In honor of these children, I'd like to share a story about my week thus far:

    Once upon a time, at 8:30 am June 20th, 2011, my alarm clock went off.  I hit the snooze button lots of times!  When I got out of bed, I found out that a spell had been put on my kitchen that made everyone in it speak French, even if though there was no French toast.  It turns out that an evil dragon had cast the spell because it hates America, so I killed it with throwing stars.  The End.

I hope you enjoyed my story!  As you can see, I learned a lot from these kids.  I hope you find their lessons as helpful as I did!